Smacking Good Seven Layer Dip

An absolute must for a masti party is a Seven Layer Dip served with soft and hard tacos or tortilla chips. It is a colorful feast to the eyes and disappears quickly.

I like to spice it up a bit as you will see ... but follow your tastes and adapt it as needed. Let's have some fun. It's fiesta time!

Seven Layer Dip

Prep Time: 60 minutes Ready: 60 minutes
Yield: 36 Tacos

Ingredients

• Two 15-ounce cans Vegetarian Refried Beans 
• Two 15-ounce cans Black Beans
• One 16-ounce Sour Cream
• 3 cups Chunky Salsa
• 3 cups Guacamole
• 3 cups Grated Cheese (Cheddar or Mexican style)
• 1 cup Chopped Tomatoes
• 1 cup Scallions (optional)
• 2 Garlic pods (optional)
• 1 small can of Black Olives
• 1 tsp Cumin powder
• 1 Lemon
• Salt (as needed)

Method

Layer 1 : Refried beans

On a stove top, heat the refried beans with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add a little water to make it easier to stir the beans. Once the beans get bubbly, turn off the burner and add some grated cheese. Spread this mixture on a 13" x 9" serving dish. Sprinkle a little more cheese.

Layer 2: Black Beans

Drain the black beans from the can and rinse them with water. Chop the scallions and keep the greens aside as we will use the greens later in the last layer for that pop of color. On a stove top, heat a tbsp of olive oil, add scallions (not the greens) and chopped garlic to the pan. Once it is aromatic, stir in the black beans. Add cumin powder. You can also add hot sauce if you like to up the spice meter. I also like to mash up some of the beans with the back of my ladle. A few stirs and we can spread this over the refried beans. Sure, sprinkle some cheese (for good luck!).

Layer 3: Salsa

Layer the salsa (store bought or home made) over the black  beans ... chunky, mild, medium, spicy ... the way you like it. Recently we tried the chunky Habanero salsa (Tostitos) ... so yum!

Layer 4: Sour Cream

Mix sour cream with lime juice and layer it smooth over the salsa.

Layer 5: Guacamole

Spread the guacamole over the sour cream. Here is a recipe for Sweet 'n Spicy Corn Guacamole ... you can skip the corn or leave it on.

Layer 6: Cheese

Spread a nice thick layer of the remaining finely shredded cheese.

Layer 7: Tomatoes, Olives and Greens

Top it with chopped tomatoes, greens from the scallions and olives for that final pop of color.

Serve it with warm taco shells, soft tacos or tortilla chips. Enjoy!

                                                         **************

Sweet 'n Spicy Corn Guacamole

Quick and easy, this flavorful recipe is sure to delight everyone! Sweet corn and spicy serrano chilli peppers gives this Guacamole a burst of flavor.

When buying avocados for this dip, get them ripe ... so they'll yield to gentle pressure. Hass avocados are typically deep purple in color  when ripe. If you are buying a few days in advance, then they can be firm and green and will ripen in a paper bag.

If making this recipe without onions and garlic, then add chopped green peppers for the crunch.

Sweet 'n Spicy Corn Guacamole Dip

Prep Time: 10 minutes Ready: 10 minutes
Yield: 6 appetizer servings

Ingredients

• 2 ripe Avacados
• 1 cup Sweet Yellow Corn
• 1 Lemon
• 2 Scallions (green onions)
• 2 chopped Garlic Pods
• 1/2 Medium sized Red Onion
• 1/2 Serrano Chilli Pepper
• Finely chopped Cilantro
• 1/2 tsp Cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp red Cayenne Pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt (as preferred)

Method

1. Cut and mash the avocados

Hold the avocado gently and slice it length wise around the seed as shown in the picture. To remove the seed, either wedge it out with a spoon or cut the half with the seed length wise again making it easier to remove the seed. Peel the skin and mash the avocados with a fork.

2. Chop onion, garlic, serrano and scallions

Add the finely chopped garlic, serrano, scallions and red onion to the avocado mixture.

3. Add sweet corn kernels

When using frozen corn, microwave it for 1 to 2 mins, so it's moist, tender and ready to eat. Drain the water if any, and add the corn to the mix.

4. Season it with spices

Season the mix with salt, cumin and red chilli powder on to the mixture.

5. Squeeze lemon juice

Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice on the mixture.

6. Mix and Garnish

Stir it well and garnish it with cilantro.

Serve it with tortilla chips, crackers ... Dig in. Enjoy!


                                                                  ******

Eggless Classic Cheesecake

Cheesecake is an all time favorite dessert in our family. The recipe that I am sharing with you today is simple, easy and will bring loads of smiles and request for seconds!

Usually a springform pan is used to bake the cheesecake, but as I found out - not essential. In fact, when I first set out to make this cheesecake, I couldn't find the base of my springform pan. Disaster, right? I improvised with a round baking pan and it turned out great! The experience was so good, that I haven't gone shopping for a springform pan yet! And I've made this cheesecake many times since. :)

Few important notes before diving into the recipe ... Make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature. This makes the mixing process easy as the ingredients are soft and prevents lumpiness and over mixing! As a general rule, leave them out for 1-2 hours. I like to leave them out for 2 hours before I am ready to begin.

Using a water bath while baking is key to a smooth and moist cheesecake! The water bath helps it bake evenly and prevents cracks from forming on top of the cheesecake. To make a water bath when using a regular round baking pan - Place the round baking pan in a larger pan with hot water until it's almost half way up the sides of the cheesecake pan. If you are using a springform pan to bake the cheesecake - Place the springform pan in a slightly larger empty pan. Now place this in a larger pan filled with hot water until it's almost half way up the sides of the cheesecake pan.

Finally, parchment paper is a life saver! Cut parchment paper to fit the base of the round pan.

Patience and prep will go a long way to help the the baking experience enjoyable. Come on, let's have some fun!

Recipe adapted from amyinthekitchen.com

Eggless Classic Cheesecake

Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 1 hr
Yield: 8 slices

Ingredients

Crust

• 1.5 cups crushed honey graham crackers
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cheesecake Filling

• 16 oz cream cheese, room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream, room temp
• 1 cup heavy cream, room temp
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. To prepare the crust, place the graham crackers inside a gallon sized Ziplock bag. Crush the crackers with a rolling pin into a fine powder. Mix in the cinnamon and brown sugar. Add melted butter.
2. Preheat the oven to 320 degrees. Line the bottom of a round pan or springform pan with parchment paper.
3. Press the graham cracker mixture nicely onto the bottom of the pan to make a smooth and compact base. Now place the pan in the refrigerator until the cheesecake filling is ready.
4. To prepare the cheesecake filling, beat sugar and cream cheese with a standard electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Add the rest - one ingredient at a time and beat on low until fully incorporated. 
5. Pour the cheesecake filling into the pan and gently tap it down to remove any air bubbles.
6. Prepare the water bath and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
7. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for another hour by cracking open the oven door.
8. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and now run a sharp knife along the rim of the pan to release the cheesecake from the sides.
9. Wait for the cheesecake to completely cool down on the counter. Once cooled, place it in the refigerator overnight or atleast for 4 hours. 
10. Remove the cheesecake from the pan. If using a regular round pan like me, just place a plate on top of the pan and tap the cheesecake onto the plate. Now quickly place the crust side down onto the serving plate.
11. Serve it with a favorite fruit glaze and/or fruits. Slice 'em and serve. Enjoy!

* Will update with pictures shortly! Here is a pic of the water bath sans the cheese cake! :)

Walnut Burfis

Happiness is sweet. To share happiness ... is sweeter. Today, I share with you Walnut Burfi recipe, that always (and I really mean always) comes out simply perfect and is bound to spread sweet happiness!

This recipe really can be customized to make any 'nut' burfi - think cashews & almonds. However, my favorite version of this recipe, hands down is with Walnuts. Walnuts are packed with Omega 3 goodness and much much more ... but the reason it is my top choice is due to its earthy and unique flavor, which provides the perfect balance of taste & richness for this melt-in-the-mouth burfi. So come along, let's have some fun.

Walnut Burfi Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 25-30 pieces

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted untoasted nuts (mostly walnuts & a handful of either cashews or almonds)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Method

1. Powder the nuts

Grind the nuts until almost creamy texture. Grease a 11 inch rectangular (or any shape!) dish with a drizzle of ghee or melted butter.

2. Add all ingredients & stir on stove top

Add all the ingredients in a wide pot. Place the pot on the stove top and turn on the burner to medium. Stir the mixture. (If you see clumps of walnut powder, that's quite alright. They will get incorporated into the mixture once it gets bubbly). Care must be taken that the mixture doesn't get burned by stirring it attentively and even lowering the burner. Stir until the mixture comes together (as a ball) and no longer sticks to the pan. This takes about 15-20 minutes. The 'almost there' pic below was taken roughly about 1-2 minutes before I turned off the burner.

ready, set, go!

almost there!

3. Pour the mixture into a greased dish. Cool & cut.

To give the burfi an even texture, press the hot burfi mixture flat using a small stainless steel cup as shown below. Cut into diamond squares. Enjoy!

melt-in-the-mouth goodness! :)