Lychee pannacotta with Ginger biscuit crumb and Coconut lemon curd

I am back to crazy 'Masterchef Australia' watching days. With the current season going on at number 8, I realized that I have missed many seasons in between my first tryst with the series. It all started with series 2 and I remember those days when Dinner was finished by 9 PM so that I could indulge in some non-stop gastronomic ride. My baby, Vaanya was then just few months old and needed attention all the time. Vishal and me would take turns to look after her while we eagerly watched each episode very religiously. 

This season my interest got rejuvenated and I have been ogling and drooling at all the artistic desserts that have been put up. Plating is the key in making even a simple dish shine and stand out in front of complex ones. With all this in my mind, I decided to try my hands in a simple dessert with different elements and a pretty plating technique. Firstly, I decided to hero the fruit-Lychee and pondered on all the other components which can go along with it. In terms of flavours, I decided to pair my lychee with ginger and coconut. So, the idea of ginger biscuits crumb and a coconut lemon curd came into my mind which sounded like a perfect harmony to my lychee pannacotta. 

I used some thickened grape juice to brush the plate and then very patiently decorated all the components on it. My over excitement led me to try 2 different platings with the same dessert. I am super mighty happy with the outcome. Do share your thoughts on the dessert. Will mean a lot to me. 

Components : 

• Lychee Pannacotta
• Ginger biscuit crumb
• Coconut and lemon curd
• Reduced grape juice
• Fresh lychees
• Mint leaves

Ingredients and Procedure: 

Lychee Pannacotta : 

• 1 cup cream (I used Amul)
• 9-10 lychees, peeled and deseeded
• 2 tbsp sugar, powdered
• 1 1/2 tsp gelatin powder

Blend the lychees in a mixer and strain.

Bloom gelatin in 1 tbsp cold water and allow it to get spongy for about 5 minutes.  

Heat cream and sugar on medium heat and add the pureed and strained lychee mixture. Do not let this mixture boil. 

When the mixture is warm enough to touch, add the bloomed gelatin and mix well. 

Pour in moulds of your choice. I chose my small spherical moulds and some silicon cupcake moulds. 

Refrigerate for 4 hours.

Ginger Biscuit : 

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 4 tbsp brown sugar, powdered
• 25 gms butter, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tsp dry ginger powder

Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add baking powder, baking soda, dry ginger powder, salt to all purpose flour. 

Add flour mixture to butter-sugar mixture and mix well.

Knead the mixture to a dough and cling wrap it. 

Refrigerate for 1 hr.

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Roll the dough and cut round shapes from it.

Place on a baking paper lined baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Coconut and lemon curd : 

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 25 gms butter, cut in cubes
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Take egg yolk and sugar in a bowl and put on a double boiler on low heat. 

Keep stirring the mixture.

Add butter cubes and mix well.

Add coconut milk and stir till it thickens for about 3-4 minutes.

Finish with adding lemon juice and mix well.

Allow to cool and then transfer to a piping bag. 

Plating : 

Brush your plate with the reduced grape juice which is made by simply putting grape juice in a pan and heating it till it thickens. 

Crumble the ginger biscuits and put them on the plate in a round shape, a little bigger than the pannacotta size.

Demould the Pannacotta and gently put on top of the ginger biscuit crumb. 

Add some fresh peeled and deseeded lychees.

Pipe the coconut lemon curd in intervals and finish with arranging fresh mint leaves. 

Happy Masterchef Inspirations

Amrita

Lychee lemon Sorbet

Summers are synonymous with lovely fruits like the eternal Mango and Lychees amongst others. I have fond memories of devouring these luscious lychees, enjoying the process of peeling the red covering and then de-seeding the white juicy pulp with the sweet nectar flowing down my elbows. The lychees always needed to be refrigerated for some time to enjoy them even more. Enjoying lychees in Summer time was such a ritual that I never realized that some of the best lychees are found in Calcutta. This realization was conveyed to me by my dear friend Afsana who hails from Bombay. According to her lychees in Bombay are horribly expensive and not as plump and juicy as the ones we find here. Now, I believe in every word on fruits that comes out from Afsana's mouth because she knows them in and out. It was while staying in Hostel that I realized how good she is in picking fruits from the market. She would touch, smell, ponder on them and then buy. She would know how to select a fruit, how to find out if its good or bad at an age where I didn't bother about fruits or vegetables. She would talk about the benefits of eating fruits and encourage spending money on a fruit than other junk food. She truly is my Fruit Guru. 

Vaanya, my daughter, has been waiting for Summers to relish Mangoes. Just before the Mango season started she asked me if it was Summers because she knows she can eat the fruit only in that season. This season she has equally, if not more, enjoyed the Lychees. During our vacations in Allahabad, she relished on the peeled, de-seeded and refrigerated lychees that I would very fondly prepare for her almost every day. 

Seasonal fruits itch me to put my hands on desserts and this season I wanted to experiment with the lychees. I started with the super easy Sorbet and found it extremely refreshing and a perfect palate cleanser. It just washes down your gut with that lingering taste of the sweet lychees and the lemon and makes you crave for more. 

Do try this recipe at least once for its a keeper. I plan to try out the same with a pack of readymade lychee juice for some non- seasonal indulgence. Shall update it here with the experiment soon. Till then enjoy the real thing. 

Ingredients : 

• 8-10 peeled and de-seeded Lychees
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Procedure : 

Put lychees, sugar and water in a pan and bring it to a boil. Once sugar dissolves, turn heat off and allow the mixture to cool.

With a hand blender, blend the lychees in the pan.
Stir in the lemon juice. 

Strain the mixture and transfer to a container and freeze for 3-4 hrs. 

Take out and with a fork break the crystals and put the container back to the freezer. Repeat this 3-4 times. 

Serve and enjoy. 

Note : Try adding grated ginger to the pan with lychees and then blend them all and freeze as per the above instructions. 

Happy Sorbet-ing

Amrita

Dal Chawal Chokha - Mummy's recipe

There are recipes that you feel only one particular person can make it that good. For me, there are many such that I associate perfection of that recipe only if its made by that person. The Rajma recipe I shared few posts back is one such. 

When I think of my mom and wonder which recipe of hers I love the best, I actually feel lost. For a child, his/her mother is always the best cook because that's the food we grow up with, that's the food we associate love and care with, that's the food we find comfort in. When I was away at hostel for 4 years, I missed mom's simplest of dishes. I would crave for a bowl of dal with a roti and a piece of mango pickle, just like how I would enjoy at home.

My mum's dal has been famous with my Bitty Mama too who would insist on this lavish meal of dal chawal chokha whenever we would visit them in Punjab. I remember how coyly we would all be seated with our plates relishing the simplest of meals with loads of lemon juice on top. Such simple lovely days. 

I first attempted making Mom like dal after marriage and it was a complete disaster. It was awful and terrible, the dal was overcooked, the tadka wasn't cooked well and I tried cooking in very very less oil. Many attempts later I still do not make it as well as she does and love to relish that simple bowl of mum made dal with my roti and pickle and on some days with the chawal and chokha. I am blessed to be living in the same city as my parents do and often find myself getting pampered with food and love. 

This Mother's day, I want to say a simple I love you to my mom who has always been by my side and, who has loved me for everything that I have done, who has been my partner in a whole lot of maniac things I keep doing. Love you Mummy. 

Ingredients : For 2 servings

Dhuli Moong Masoor dal :

• 1/4 cup dhuli moong dal (Split Skinned Green Gram)
• 1/4 cup dhuli masoor dal (Split red lentils)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, grated
• 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 " ginger, chopped
• 1-2 green chillies, chopped
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds) 
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• coriander leaves for garnishing

Aloo Chokha : 

• 4-5 medium sized potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1 onion, chopped
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp amchur powder
• 2 tbsp refined oil
• lemon juice
• coriander leaves for garnishing

Procedure : 

Dal : 

Wash and drain the dals.

Take a pressure cooker and add water. Add the dals.

Add salt and close the lid. Allow to cook for 2 whistles. 

Take ghee in a pan and add jeera, garlic, onions,  green chillies and ginger one by one. Cook till the onions brown well.

Then add grated tomatoes and cook till the masala leaves oil.

Add haldi powder and cook for a minute.

Now add the boiled dal and stir. 

Adjust salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. 

Aloo Chokha :

Take oil in a pan and add onions. Cook till the onions brown well.

Add the boiled and mashed potatoes and stir well. 

Add salt to taste and amchur powder. 

Sprinkle lemon juice and adjust according to your taste. 

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with boiled rice and lots of fresh lemon juice sprinkled on top. 

This recipe is part of Kolkata Food Bloggers ongoing event Comfort Food where Sayantani Mahapatra of A Homemaker's diary is the featured blogger.

Happy Mum's recipe relishing

Amrita

Rasmadhuri

April heralds the welcoming of new year all over India. It is amazing to see a true example of unity in diversity through the new year celebrations all over. The essence of the celebrations are more or less the same everywhere. 

Celebrated with different names, it basically marks the beginning of the harvest season and arrival of Spring.

It is called Vaisakhi in Punjab, Vishu in Kerala, Ugadi in Karnataka and Andhra pradesh, Chaitti in Himachal Pradesh, Mahavishuva Sankrant in Orissa, Navreh in Kashmir, Cheiraoba in Manipur, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, Rongali Bihu in Assam.

Poila Boishakh is celebrated in West Bengal which literally means first day of the first month. An auspicious time for marriages and beginning of all business activities, it is celebrated with traditional dressing and food. 

Born and brought up in Kolkata, I have had a mixture of celebrations with each festival. To me, Poila Boisakh means the rustle and bustle at Chaitra sales, cleaning up the house spic and span, throwing away old unwanted things and bringing in new stuff. No Bengali festival is complete without their elaborate meals and it is the perfect time of the year to visit eateries serving traditional Bengali thali's-the amish and niramish ones. People are seen jostling in their favourite sweet shops to buy the most coveted mishti for the celebrations. Each shop burns the midnight oil to create sweet delicacies which are devoured with much fun and fervour.

Poila Boisakh is also incomplete without the traditional dressing. It is so wonderful to see the passionate and artistic community of Bengalis stick to their roots and wear traditional dresses. So while women don their favourite sarees, the men are seen with their Panjabi or dhoti. Even the little ones are seen donning traditional dresses. 

Bengali is one of the sweetest known language and throughout the day it is lovely to hear people wishing each other in the melodious 'Shubho Noboborsho'. 

An important part of new year is the cleaning of the house. It is Spring cleaning time of the year where old unwanted things are thrown away, houses are painted, nook and corners cleaned of dirt and pests. This is time of the year when the Summer has just entered the city and humidity is also a bit high hence cockroaches sneak out from their hiding and make their way into our homes, crawling in through the dirty drain pipes bringing in all the disease causing bacteria with them. The most easiest and sure shot way to get complete rid of them is Godrej LAL HIT, with its deep reach nozzle, it is able to get rid of the cockroaches hiding in your kitchen sink outlet, under the gas cylinder or under your fridge. This ensures a hygienic environment for the family which is of utmost importance, esp during Poila Boisakh where we are eager to cook the quintessential and delicious Payesh. From this Poila Boisakh onwards, make it a point while cleaning your kitchen to use Godrej LAL HIT in the places where cockroaches hide frequently-like sink outlets, under the fridge and gas cylinder and around the dustbin. 

I planned to try my hands on a mishti for this new year and have come up with Rasmadhuri where a rasagulla log is sandwiched with a saffron infused sandesh and then covered with the same. In the essence of the traditional festivity, I have placed the mishti in banana leaf wrappers. 

Ingredients : Yields about 6 in number

• 500 ml cow's milk (or full cream milk)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice/a pinch of citric acid
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup water
• a tsp each of chopped almonds, pista and raisins
• few strands of saffron in little warm milk
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

Procedure : 

Heat milk in a pan and let it come to a boil. 

Add citric acid/lemon juice and stir well. 

Soon you will see the milk curdling and whey separating. 

Wait till the whey separates well.

Remove from heat and using a muslin cloth drain the chenna(curdled milk) from whey. 

Hang the muslin cloth to drain excess water for half an hour. 

Remove and put on a plate. Cover with another plate and put a heavy object to drain any remaining liquid for about half an hour.

Take out the chenna and knead with the heel of your palm till smooth and reaches dough consistency. This requires patience and strong arm muscles and can take around 10 minutes.

Make cylindrical shapes out of 1/3 rd of the kneaded chenna and keep remaining aside.

Make sugar syrup by boiling 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cup water in a wide mouthed pan. 

Lower the log shaped chenna very gently in the sugar syrup.

Let them simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes or till they begin floating on the surface. 

Strain out the chenna cylinders and reserve for further use.

Alternatively, take sugar and water in a pressure cooker and as the syrup comes to a rolling boil, lower the chenna cylinders. Put the lid on and cook on medium heat for 2 whistles. Allow the heat to dissipate naturally and take out the cooked chenna cylinders.

Divide the remaining kneaded chenna again into two. To one part add  1 tbsp powdered sugar, chopped nuts and saffron infused milk. 

Cut the chenna cylinders into half and sandwich with the nuts and saffron milk added chenna.

Place these sandwiched logs in Banana leaf wrappers.

Add 1 tbsp of milk and 1 tbsp powdered sugar to the 1/3rd remaining chenna and mix it well. Add more milk if required to get a diluted consistency. Fill the banana leaf wrappers with this diluted chenna. 

Refrigerate for it to set.

Garnish with  saffron coloured streaks on top and a pista. 

Banana leaf wrapper can be made very easily at home. Here is a picture tutorial. 

Disclaimer : This post is in association with Godrej LAL HIT.

Shubho Noboborsho
Amrita

Tahini Cookies

My bookshelf is full of baking books. But that shouldn't be something surprising to all who know me. The baking bug always makes me end up buying more and more books on baking. The irony is that I hardly try any recipes from them. It is just this fancy, this unexplainable pleasure that I get from collecting baking books. 

This month while cleaning my bookshelf, I took a solemn pledge to at least leaf through one baking book a month. And this month happened to be The Big Book of treats by Pooja Dhingra which I had bought while attending one of her classes held at The Corner Courtyard, Kolkata. The book has easy recipes with simple instructions and I have earlier tried her recipe of Chai cupcakes. 

While leafing through the book, I came across the recipe of Tahini Cookies. Now, we have 2 jars of Tahini sitting pretty in our cupboard which was sent all the way from Israel by Vishal's friends. Having only tried a Tahini Chicken by our friend Vikas, I have been wanting to put the jars to some good use for a long time. So the recipe of Tahini cookies lit a 440 Volt bulb in my head and I was on my toes to make them soon. 

The cookies have a beautiful lingering on taste of the Tahini and the almond adds a lovely crunch to it. 

Pair these irresistible and decadent cookies with a hot cup of tea this Monsoons.  

Adapted from : The Big book of Treats by Pooja Dhingra

Ingredients : Yields around 15 cookies

• 25 gms butter, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp tahini
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp milk
• almonds

Procedure : 

Preheat oven to 170 degree Celsius.

Take a bowl and mix sugar, flour and butter with your fingers till they resemble breadcrumbs in texture. 

Add tahini and lemon juice and mix.

Add milk and knead the mixture to a dough. 

Take a little mixture and shape it into an oval shape with your hands. You can make a round shape too and flatten it from top. My mixture was not very pliable so shape it with a little patience. 

Press half of an almond on top and place the cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or till the cookies get a beautiful golden brown colour.

Cool them to get crisp.

Sending this recipe to KFB's Monsoon Celebration event.

Happy Tahini Cookies relishing

Amrita

Tarte Tatin

Vacations in Allahabad are the best time to bake for me. I get all the time and luxury to dig out recipes that have been piling in my note books and try them out. 

Daring Bakers challenge for the month of March was suggested by a very dear member Korena who in the past has suggested some beautiful cakes. Tarte tatin as she describes is a classic French dessert which is a distant cousin of sorts to the famous Apple pie. Tarte Tatin is basically an upside down pastry where apples are first caramelized in sugar in a saucepan, covered with a rough puff pastry and then baked. Usually the same oven proof saucepan is used for both the times i.e. caramelizing and baking. 

Like almost all French pastries, this one has an interesting story too which says that tart gets its name after the Tatin sisters who used to run a hotel and who accidentally forgot to put the bottom crust of an apple pie. The guests loved it so much that it became the hotel's signature dish.

I, as usual, reduced the quantity for my experiment and came out with 2 mini pies. Try and use a firm apple for this recipe, preferably the green Granny Smith variety. 

Recipe adapted from : Korena in the kitchen

Ingredients : serves 2

Rough Puff Pastry 

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 30 gms cold butter
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp powdered sugar
• cold water for kneading

Combine flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.

Cut butter in small cubes and add to the flour.

Rub butter with flour till all is mixed.

Visible bits of butter is fine.

Add water little by little and knead to a dough.

Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough into a rough rectangle.

Fold bottom third up into the middle and fold the top third down, like folding a letter. This is one fold.

Turn the dough a quarter so that open edge faces you and roll again to a rough rectangle.

Fold again. This is second fold.

Repeat 3 more times making it 5 folds in total.

After the last fold, roll dough into a square and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

Filling : 

• 1 apple (I used a green apple)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice 
• 20 gms butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• pinch of salt

Peel apple, remove core and cut in slices. 

Place apple slices in a bowl and add lemon juice and 2 tbsp sugar. 

Mix well and set aside for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 190 degree Celsius. 

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar. 

Stir until sugar melts and becomes pale smooth caramel.

Remove from heat.

Add the apple slices to the caramel taking care to discard the juice that come out from apples. 

Cook for few minutes till the apple slices get covered in the caramel.

Place the apple slices in a 3" round tart shell.

Roll out the pastry into a rough circle 4" round and lay it over the filling, tucking in the edges at the sides of the tart shell. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or till the pastry is golden brown.

Serve with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream and with a drizzle of some caramel sauce.

Happy rich caramel and puff pastry Indulging

Amrita

Rose sandesh

Its time of the year when Calcutta gets transformed big time and gets illuminated with lights and adorned with beautiful & intricate pandals to worship Ma Durga who descends from heaven on Earth. 

Its the perfect time of the year to see the zest and enthusiasm in the inhabitants of this city irrespective of any religion. I remember as children we would visit pandals from the south of Calcutta to the north often walking for hours together. Eating out is a big part of the Pujas and we would indulge in everything from Biryanis, rolls, chaats to mishti. 

Growing up in Calcutta is perhaps synonymous to having a sweet tooth, at least for me. I have seen my Sikh family gorge on sandesh, rasagullas and mishti doi on most occasions. 

For us Indians, any festival means sweets so for this Puja, I decided to try my hands on some simple Rose sandesh. I wanted to try and achieve an ombre effect and thus the layering in this sandesh. Well, the effect is not prominent and this gives me another chance to experiment on an ombre sandesh. How cool that sounds, right?

Since we have been busy lately with the Zee Khana Khazana episode, I have missed on sharing a recipe for my Sweet day dedicated for my sweetheart and therefore this one gets added there. 

Ingredients : Yields 4 pieces

• 500 ml cow's milk (or full cream milk)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice/a pinch of citric acid
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar (or more as per taste)
• a drop of red food colour
• a drop of rose essence 
• rose petals for garnish

Procedure : 

Take milk in a pan and bring it to a rolling boil. 

Add lemon juice/citric acid and stir in the milk.

The milk will start curdling soon. Switch off the flame and wait till the milk curdles and the whey has separated well. 

Strain this through a muslin cloth into a bowl to collect the chenna. 

Reserve the whey to use in dal, curries or for kneading chapati dough. 

Tie the muslin cloth for the remaining water to drain for about 20-30 minutes.

Take the chenna in a plate and start kneading it with the heel of your palm. Keep spreading it with your palm till it becomes soft and comes together like a dough. This can take about 10 minutes. 

Divide the dough in two parts.

To one add 1 tbsp sugar and mix it well.

Take a plate and spread this part in the shape of a square. 

To the other part add a drop of the red colour and the rose essence and mix well. 

Spread this part on top of the white layer.

Take little water on a finger and spread on top of the pink layer and start arranging the rose petals on top.

Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes for the sandesh to set.

Cut in squares and serve.  

Happy Sandesh indulging

Amrita

Chocolate Vermicelli nests for Easter

Easter is a time for children and adults to indulge in chocolate eggs and other yummy goodies. The custom of giving eggs on Easter is to celebrate new life. The egg is seen as a  symbol of Jesus's resurrection when he rose from the dead. The eggs are thought to be special as they have life within them and are now synonymous with Easter celebrations.

My fascination for festival special sweets is known to everyone with a number of posts on festivity celebrations. Be it Diwali, Holi or Christmas, I love to whip up and create goodies with local ingredients.

I have been wanting to try my hands on these famous chocolate nests which is usually made with noodles or crushed cornflakes. I wanted to Indianize them and present them as an Indian sweet therefore I chose to use roasted vermicelli or sewaiyan for the nests and mould sandesh as little eggs.

After some trials I came up with the baked version which gives a crunchy texture to the nests very much like the vermicelli baklava.

Wishing all our readers a very Happy and Blessed Easter.

Ingredients : For 5 such chocolate nests

• 60 gms roasted vermicelli/sewaiyan (roughly 3/4 cup of broken vermicelli)
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup melted dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp cream (I used fresh cream that sets as top layer of boiled milk, you may use Amul)
• 2 tbsp warm milk

Easter eggs : 

• 1 cup milk 
• a pinch of citric acid/1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp powdered sugar
• a drop of red, yellow and blue edible food colouring

Garnish:

• grated milk chocolate

Procedure :

Chocolate Nests : 
Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Take roasted vermicelli/sewaiyan in a bowl and crush them.
Add melted butter and mix well with the vermicelli.
Grease a muffin pan or individual muffin tins and spread the vermicelli in the pan.

Put the muffin pan in the preheated oven and bake for 10-15 mins or till you see them brown a little.
Allow to cool.
Take melted chocolate in a bowl and add the cream and milk. Mix it well. 
Dip the vermicelli nests in the chocolate mixture and keep on a plate. Refrigerate for the chocolate to set well. 

Easter eggs : 
Take milk in a pan and bring it to a boil.
Mix in the lime juice or citric acid and stir till you see the milk curdling and the whey separating.
Turn off the flame and let it stand for 2 mins. Meanwhile prepare a vessel by placing a muslin cloth or use a colander.
Strain the mixture into the muslin cloth. I usually save the whey to use it to knead my dough for roti or use it while boiling dal.
Bring the sides of the muslin cloth together and hang it to drain excess liquid for 20 mins. This is the Chenna.
Take the chenna in a plate and knead it with the heel of your palm for 5-10 mins till you get a smooth and doughy texture. Mix in the powdered sugar and make it into a ball.
Divide into four and add a drop of the red, yellow and blue food colouring to each. 
Mix it well and form small balls out of each colour and then shape into an egg. 
I made red, yellow, blue and white eggs. 

Sprinkle the grated milk chocolate over the nests and place the colourful eggs in the chocolate nests.
  

 

Notes : 

• I used readymade roasted vermicelli. You may dry roast the unroasted ones and use. 
• If you do not want to add chocolate to the nests, add some powdered sugar along with melted butter and then bake. 
• You may melt the chocolate on a double boiler or in the microwave for about  a minute with 15 seconds bursts.
• I made a little runny chocolate mixture to coat the vermicelli nests. If you want a thicker coat of chocolate skip the milk and substitute with cream. 
• If you do not want to add food colours, keep them plain white or add a drop of any fruit crush to get some colour and flavour.

Happy Easter

Amrita