Welcoming 2016 with Mini Lemon Tarts

MINI LEMON TARTS

Hii..
Yes it is the beginning of the new year so it gives me yet another reason to start the year with something sweet and tangy, just the way I want my whole year to be..fun adventurous and happy!! Lemon flavoured desserts have always been a favourite with me n N and it was high time I tried my hand at something lemony and fresh.. So on New Year's eve I decided that I will be baking the family favourite 'Mini Lemon Tarts' (or Tartlets as some call it).
This is a two step dessert, the first step being preparing the Lemon Filling / Lemon Curd and the second being baking the mini-Tarts. If you have guests coming over this can be made a day or two early and refrigerated. I made the Lemon filling/curd the previous day and kept it in the fridge.
For this recipe I totally relied on Stephanie's Joy of Baking!!

MINI LEMON TARTS
Makes: Around 25 Tart-lets

Ingredients

Lemon Filling/Curd

3 large eggs

180 grams (3/4th Cup Sugar plus 2 tablespoons) granulated white sugar

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)

4 tablespoons (60 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest

Tart Shells

10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Almond flour - 3 tablespoons

Procedure
Lemon Filling/Curd
1.In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended.

2. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce (This will take approximately 7-8 minutes)

3. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps.

4. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool.

5. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools.

Tart Shells

1. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about two  minutes).

2.Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated.

4. Divide the pastry in half and then roll each half between two sheets of parchment or wax paper until it is about 1/8 inch  thick. As you roll, periodically check the top and bottom sheets of parchment and smooth out any wrinkles.

5. Place the pastry on a baking sheet (along with the parchment paper) and place in the refrigerator until firm (about 1-2 hours).

6. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease your miniature tart shell cups.

7. Once your pastry has chilled, remove one portion from the refrigerator and peel off the top piece of parchment paper. Using about a 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) cookie cutter, cut out rounds of pastry and gently press them into the tart shell cups.

8. With a fork prick some holes into the pastry in the cups.

9. Bake for about 11 - 12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

10. Once cooled, sprinkle some almond flour/meal inside the shells .

11. Fill the shells with around 1.5 teaspoons of the Lemon Filling/Curd.

12. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. Serve chilled!

Wishing you A VERY VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope you have a joyous 2016!!

Happy New Year

Thanks for reading!! Ciao Ciao!!

No Time for Lunch - Lemon Rice

Hii..
Remember I told you in my last post that both me n N are WFH (Work From Home) people..and I had mentioned a zillion advantages but one disadvantage is that we are never on a fixed schedule even when it comes to food..
There are days when both of us are so busy working our bums off that none of us go to the kitchen timely to cook..

So this was one of those days..it was 1 pm and we realised that there is nothing ready for lunch.. A tempting solution was to call up a Pizza guy but then it can't happen everyday..so I quickly wrack my brains to find a quick fix and I got a brainwave 'Ting'.. Lets make LEMON RICE aka Pulihora (Please correct me)..

Thankfully we have a Vegetable Store inside our building complex.. so I throw the car keys and a list towards N (Yes we are too lazy to walk down hehe) to go and get the stuff while I boil some rice.

Its a simple yet tasty recipe when you want some quick lunch.. We usually club it with some Raita and Roasted Papad..

LEMON RICE / PULIHORA AND RAITA

Lemon Rice with Raita

Makes: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

Rice - 1.5 cup

Preparations

Peanuts - 2 tablespoons

Coconut (freshly grated/scraped) - 1 cup (Half the Medium Coconut)


Juice of 1 Big Lemon

Turmeric Powder / Haldi - 1/2 teaspoon

Sugar - 4 teaspoons

Salt - to taste

Curry Leaves - 5-6

Black Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Dried Red Chilli - 1

Chana Daal - 1 teaspoon

Urad Daal - 1 teaspoon


Refined Oil - 4-5 teaspoons

Procedure:

1. Firstly Boil the Rice in sufficient water and Drain the excess water (Note: Don't over boil) . Keep the rice to cool slightly
2. Scrap the Coconut.

Rice and Roasted Peanuts

3. In a Kadhai take 2 teaspoons of refined Oil and saute the peanuts till brown and crispy. Mix the Peanuts with the Rice.
4. In the Same Kadhai heat some more Oil (2-3teaspoons).
5. Add the Mustard Seeds, Once they start spluttering add the Haldi, Chana Daal, Urad Daal and the Curry Leaves, Saute for a few seconds
6. Now add the Grated Coconut and Mix for 1/2 a minute
7. Mix the entire coconut mixture with the Rice.
8. Add Salt, Sugar and Lemon Juice to the Rice and Mix Well
9. Garnish with Scraped Coconut and Serve with Raita and Roasted Papad

Lemon Rice

Raita
1. Beat the Dahi/Yogurt till it looks totally smooth

Raita

2. Add Salt, Rock Salt, Sugar, Black Pepper Powder, Roasted Jeera Powder and Mix Well
3. Add finely chopped Onion, Tomato and Coriander Leaves (Dhania) and Mix. Serve Chilled.

So finally me n N got something decent to eat in a jiffy.. and then what..then back to our respective computers to finish our work...

P.S: Since we both prepared it together it was done in less than half hour otherwise it will take slightly more time.. But still a pretty quick thing to do!!

Ciao n thanks for reading!!