mahimihettiarachchi

[mahimihettiarachchi]

Hi!! I tried your Panna Cotta recipe and it was delicious! Do you have any suggestions to use as a garnish for the Panna Cotta? Thx!

Yes actually! Some good quality raspberry or strawberry jam is a heavenly pairing with the Panna Cotta, and I’m so glad you liked it! 

[mahimihettiarachchi]

Food? Food.

Food has always been something close to my heart. It always managed to lift up my mood on the gloomiest of days. It also has the weirdest ability to bring so many different people together. Eating something delicious always manages to put a lot of people in good moods which I think is a beautiful thing on it’s own. 

The first meal I made was far from perfect, but my family had praised me, told me I’d done a good job which really was the small push I needed towards becoming a full blown foodie, hungry and eager to try out new recipes. The feeling you get when you’re successful and you see people smile while eating food that you’ve made, that feeling is immeasurable to me. So Food? Food. is my way of hopefully pushing other people like me to have a relaxing hobby! 

[mahimihettiarachchi]

Quick and easy but heavenly Panna Cotta? Say no more.

Before I start on with this, I got the baseline recipe from Martha Stewart, of which I made a few adjustments to.

2 teaspoons of gelatin

1 1/5 cups of heavy cream

1/4 cup of sugar (brown sugar gives a nice colour to the panna cotta!)

1/2 cup of whole milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla essence

4 teabags of your preferred flavour of tea (I usually use vanilla or honey lemon green tea)

Pinch of salt to balance flavours

First off measure everything and keep them in separate bowls because you’ll have to move quick!

Grab 6 ramekins (if you don’t own them, ordinary small but deep glasses would do) and pop them in the refrigerator to chill.

As for your milk, add four of the teabags with the milk into a heat resistant bowl and pop it in the microwave for two minutes. Carefully take out the teabags (get rid of them, they’ve done their job).

Then, sprinkle your gelatin into a cup with around 4 tablespoons of cold water.

In a plunged, non-stick pan, pour all your cream with the sugar and keep stirring while the mixture goes hot under low heat until you see one or two bubbles appear around the corners. That’s your indication that it’s done. Take it out of the heat and add in the milk along with your gelatin, salt and vanilla. Whisk for a little.

Then pour your panna cotta mixture into the ramekins and put them in the fridge to chill for 2 hours.

You could stop here and eat the panna cotta out of the ramekin but if you’re anything like me and like to go the extra mile, then I’m going to teach you how to turn your panna cotta over to actually see that perfect wobble and positively blow your family’s mind.

Grab a deep bowl and put water until it reaches the little lower than the top.

You need the water quite hot so pop that in the microwave for 3 minutes.

Grab your set panna cotta and gently, making sure not to get water on the panna cotta, let the ramekin fall into the hot water.

Let it sit for about 10 seconds before you take it out of the water, grab your dessert plate and place it face down on top of the ramekin.

Grab the plate and ramekin together and slowly turn it over. The dessert will slowly slide down the ramekin and then rest on the plate. And there you have it! A fancy dessert made easy. Now go admire the wobble. 

Stewart, M. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.marthastewart.com/340275/panna-cotta-with-vanilla-syrup

[mahimihettiarachchi]

Nothing beats a steaming plate of SriLankan noodles.

Yeah, western food is good, it’s oily, it’s juicy and its yum. But being born and raised in SriLanka has taught me one thing, don’t ever underestimate the power of your mum’s twist on the classic veggie noodles! Paired with some good, spicy dhal, it’s like home in your mouth. Hence why I’ve decided to share how I make it so everyone else can enjoy it too!

You’ll need the following for a serving for two:

2 blocks of your favorite ramen noodles (Vermicelli noodles is a brilliant option too)

One carrot, julienned

One leek stalk or a handful of chopped spring onions

About 7-8 pieces of Bok choy

2 eggs

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

4 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of oyster sauce

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

1 teaspoon of pepper

2 teaspoons of chili powder

Salt to taste

5 tablespoons of oil

Butter

To get started, First boil your ramen noodles in a pot of water with a little bit of salt and small knob of butter. Ideally, the noodles should be cooked in 3-5 minutes, do not let it overcook because it will lead to a collective soggy fried ramen block!

Then, drain the excess water and let the noodles rest while you fry your veggies.

Get your Wok out and let it get really warm on high heat. While that is happening, add your oil and a knob of butter to create a base for your garlic and onions.

Carefully add in your chopped garlic and onions, letting it fry until the onions is almost translucent.

Add the carrots next and while that cooks, whisk the two eggs together and add in a dash of salt and soy sauce into it (the soy sauce gives more flavour to the egg). Move aside the vegetables frying in your wok to make space for the eggs.

After adding in the whisked eggs, work quickly to scramble it.

Finally, add the bok choy and the leeks next since it needs the least amount of time to cook.

After about a minute of letting everything mingle together, making sure there’s still enough oil in the wok for the noodles to fry, dump all of your ramen into it.

Move it all around and let fry for two to three minutes.

Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, pepper, salt and chili powder.

If required add a little more oil to separate the noodles and let fry for a further 3-4 minutes.

And there you have it. A steaming plate of gorgeous SriLankan noodles for two!

[mahimihettiarachchi]

Need a quick fix desert for an impromptu party? I’ve got you covered!

For this Vanilla and Chocolate Marble Cake you’ll need the following ingredients

250g flour

200g sugar

250g softened butter

50g of good quality cocoa powder

100ml milk

4 eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla essence

For the icing you’ll need

100g softened butter

100g of good quality chocolate

200g whipping cream

Strawberries for garnish

Strawberry jam

To start off, set your oven temperature at 180 degrees Celsius, set up your stand mixer and add in your butter. Let that whisk and lighten in colour just a little bit before you add in your sugar.

Then let that work together until it becomes fluffy and light, then go ahead and integrate the eggs one by one.  

Add the flour, bit by bit and mix in the milk afterwards, letting the mixer run slowly.

Then add the vanilla and fold it in.

Now you have you cake batter ready, but since this is half chocolate and half vanilla, separate the batter into two equal parts.

Sieve the cocoa powder into one part and fold in gently.

Next grab a heat resistant, round cake tray and add a little bit of the vanilla batter, then a bit of chocolate batter on top of that, keep doing this until you run out of batter. You’ll have a dart board-like design by the end of it. Then grab a barbecue stick and go crazy with the batter, moving it around till you get a desired design.

Go ahead and pop that in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

While that is baking, start preparing the icing.

You’ll need to melt the chocolate first, so break them chocolate into small pieces and add in about two tablespoons of butter to it. Put that in microwaveable dish and heat it for 20 seconds before you take it out and move it around, then put it back for another 20 seconds. Keep doing this until your chocolate has melted into a gorgeous consistency, making sure not to burn it.

For the base of the icing, put the butter into your stand mixer and beat it until its soft and fluffy, then integrate your chocolate and whipping cream part by part.

Frost and decorate how you like!