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I thought I would receive it on my birthday.

I didn’t.

It landed at my desk on Valentine’s Day instead.

The DVDs of the International Street Food episode for which I did the Mumbai segment. And a very kind note from the producers of the show Patrick & Beth.

Allow me a little gloat while I savour the moment and paste a photo of the note.

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I kept reading the note and then played the DVD thrice on my comp till I told myself to stop dragging in the guys at work to make them see it…and then waited patiently till I came home, played the DVD and saw it on TV.

Felt proud to see Mumbai look so good. Felt proud to see Mumbai feature first in a superb show which showcased 7 fantastic cities across the globe.

And here’s the clip of the Mumbai segment

Emboldened by how thin they made me look on TV I decided to come home make cookies. Another item from a list of things that I wanted to do for long but hadn’t. This is my year to tick that list remember?

I had once lamented about the lack of good cookies at Mumbai. Folks had written saying that I should try making them at home as it was very easy to do so. I found out that they were right. Three years later

The cookies were based on what we learnt in the Le 15 Patisserie baking class for men . Those were soft milk chocolate chip cookies. But I wanted to make double chocolate ones as that’s what K prefers to milk chocolate ones. I like the latter though.

Pooja had said that substituting a part of the flour with cocoa would do.

I came back from work. Had a balanced late evening snack of green tea and a sandwich of the Australian cheddar Bhavna got from Perth with Kalman’s smoked bacon grilled in Candies high fibre bread. Dietary extremes which one could only hope would equalise each other.

And then I set upon the cookies.

The recipe from Le 15 was really easy. Had a childish innocent touch to it. Measures were in cups and not weights. I assumed tea cups and halved them for coffee mugs. And it was simple enough to do even at 9 pm after a day at work and a back pain.

The result?

Delightfully gooey, walnutty, dark…everything I would want to be. I rarely praise the results of recipes I put up but these cookies did gave a lot of joy and pleasure.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients (about 12 large cookies) :

  1. 100 g salted butter. Amul
  2. 1/2 coffee mug sugar + 1/4 coffee mug brown sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  4. 3/4 coffee mug white flour + 1/4 coffee mug cocoa powder
  5. 1/5 coffee mug boiling water
  6. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  7. 1 coffee mug chocolate chips. In this case Belgian 53 % dark cooking chocolate chips from Callebout that they use from Le 15.
  8. 1 coffee mug roughly broken walnuts

    Cook:

  • Mix the butter, sugar and vanilla essence. If using a whisk then you will need a spoon to keep separating out the mix and getting it together

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  • Add the flour and cocoa (skip the cocoa if you want milk chocolate cookies). Slowly mix this with the butter mix. It will begin to come together first in little lumps

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  • Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water and add this to the mix. Mix this slowly as the dough becomes moist and muddy

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  • Add in the chocolate chips and walnuts and slowly stir

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  • Chill the dough a bit so that it becomes firm and easier to work with
  • Use your hands to shape up truffle-like dough balls and put them on the tray

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  • Or spoon the dough on to the a baking tray lined ideally by butter paper. I did use cooking foil once

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  • Preheat the oven at 175 degree C for ten minutes
  • Put the tray in the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 175 degree C
  • Take the tray out immediately and leave it to cool

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  • Once cool slowly take out the cookies. Remember they are going to be really moist and decadent and would need a lot of TLC and a flat spatula to take out. Plunge in a toothpick once the cookies are cool. If the toothpick comes out easily then your cookies are ready
  • A couple of them might brake when you take them off the foil. Don’t fret…just stick the edges together
  • The taste … phenomenal, dark, intense, sinful and brooding. The sugar balance just right

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(Incidentally the handle to the door of the six month old Morphy Richards grill came off as I was about to take out the cookies. The door was aligned wrong to start with and their service guy had to come and fix it. That’s some really shoddy work from Morphy Richards. Now one has to go through the bother of chasing them and getting it fixed)

This is the original recipe for the cookies:

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These cookies are in memory of my food blogging friend Raji or Miri of Peppermill

She passed away yesterday after battling illness.

Else she would have definitely left a warm and encouraging comment here.

Some of the posts written by people whose life she has touched show what a fighter she was. There was not an inkling of the pain and struggle she was going through in life in the comments she would put, the blog posts she would write.

I guess somewhere there is possibly a lesson for us in her fighting spirit.

Do pray for her soul to find peace and for her family to find strength.

Do read some of these posts and the comments that follow to know more about the wonderful lady that was Raji

Sandeepa at Bong Mom’s post

Manisha at Indian Food Rocks writes

Nina at Eat Write Think writes

 

 

No Comments

  • Preeti says:

    Yes, Raji has found a place in my mind and heart for ever. A brave lady with such positive vibes around her..saw her picture on Bongmom's and Manisha's blog. Never met her but I am absolutely inspired by her way of celebrating each and everyday of life..inspite of knowing the facts.
    Congratulations on the letter…and the DVD arriving. Waiting till you cut and share it with us. And yes, the cookies look very inviting:)

  • Congratulations !!!!! Awesome job !! Will wait for u to post the video !!

  • Madhuli says:

    Waiting eagerly for the video kalyan. The chocolate chip cookie recipe is bookmarked. Love your posts always even if I am a vegetarian since they have lovely little stories :)Cheers!

  • So nice to see that you have taken to baking and have laid your fears to rest. Welcome to the dark, chocolatey and yummy side!

    I read so many comments about Raji on various blogs and I feel a touch of jealousy towards all those people whose lives she touched..I never interacted with her though I read her blog posts quite often. She was one of those rare people who spread only joy, it seems from all that I read. She, and her beautiful blog posts will be missed for sure…

  • Sumanjit Kaur Tripathy-Obsession says:

    WoW ! Great !! U have done a good job Kalyan. They do look very tempting……
    Loved ur write up too. Best is to use dark chocolate only. And instead of ready chips, if u cut and use choc, it's even nicer ….

  • @Preeti: yes the more one thinks about it the more inspiring Raji's life is…wish I could share the cookies

    @turmericnspice thanks 🙂

    @Madhuli: thanks a lot Madhuli and well the good thing is these cookies are actually vegetarian 🙂

    @Rhea thanks …now i have to make Nigella and your peanut butter nutella fudge…and yes we were lucky in a way to come across Raji

    Thanks a lot Suman and rough chocolate cuts seem like a very good idea

  • Sumanjit Kaur Tripathy-Obsession says:

    Yes Kalyan, that imparts a good taste. I personally cut and use. As the ready chips mostly have a light vanilla flavor.

  • Unknown says:

    Hi, have been trying to make cookies and the problem seems to be between taking them outta the oven and letting them cool. are the cookies still soft when then come outta the oven and do they get harder once they cool. Im taking about soft and chewy cookies.

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