Pavlova Miniatures

Yesterday, I had been for lunch at a restaurant and they had Pavlova as one of the many options for dessert. Pavlova is meringue based dessert having delicate but crisp crust and soft marshmellowy center. It is typically served by decorating the top with whipped cream and fresh fruits like Strawberries, Kiwi, Passion Fruits etc. This dessert is said to be created first either in Australia or New Zealand. After having tasted this lovely dessert, I decided trying to recreate it.

The base of Pavlova is made by slow baking the firmly beaten egg whites and then garnishing it with whipped cream, fruits crush and fresh fruits.

Baked Meringue Bases, Whipped Cream and Fresh Fruits

Ingredients

Egg Whites - 4 (make sure not even a drop of egg yolk is mixed)

White Sugar - 225 gms (finely ground)

Cornflour - 2 tsp

White Vinegar - 2 tsp (you can substitute it with lemon juice)

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Whipping Cream - 250 ml

Kiwi Fruit - 2 nos.

Peach - 1 no.

Strawberries - 10-12

Fruit Crush - 3/4 cup (I used Mala's Very Berry crush)

Makes 9 Pavlova miniatures of 4 inch diameter

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 150 degrees centigrade
2. In a sufficiently big bowl take egg whites and beat until they hold firm peaks but are not stiff
3. Gently add sugar, one spoon at a time while beating continuously. Make sure that all the sugar is dissolved completely and then beat further until you get snowy and shiny meringue but it is not dry. (Ensure not to over beat the meringue else egg whites loose volume and deflate when folded with other ingredients)
4. Sprinkle cornflour, vinegar and vanilla essence on top and gently fold in the meringue to combine
5. In the baking tray, keep the silicone baking sheet (alternatively you can use baking sheet lined with parchment paper)
6. Spoon the meringue on the baking sheet and spread in approximately 4 inch diameter circles with 1 inch spacing between them. Try to make the rim little higher than the center so that it can hold whipped cream and fruits later (unfortunately, my meringues were not indented in center. You can use backside of the spoon to make indentation in center)
7. Put the baking tray in the oven, reduce the temperature to 130 degrees and bake for around 50 minutes or until the surface is slightly light brown and is hard if touched
8. Switch off the oven, keep the oven door slightly open and allow it to cool inside the oven itself for around 30 minutes.
9. Once cooled, transfer to wire rack
10. Meanwhile, peel and cut the fruits
11. In a cold vessel, take whipping cream and beat it until soft peaks are formed. (Add 1 tbsp sugar while beating if whipping cream is unsweetened)
12. While assembling the Pavlova, put a dollop of whipped cream on the baked meringue based and smooth it from all the sides. Place a spoonful of fruit crush and then place cut fruits on top
13. Enjoy the tasty Pavlova

Tip: If you are not assembling the Pavlovas immediately, baked meringue bases can be stored in airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Ingredients

For The Coverings 

1/2 cup maida
1/2 cup cornflour
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp melted butter
a pinch salt

For The Stuffing

1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup chopped spring onions whites
1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables (french beans , carrots , cabbage) , cut into thin strips
3/4 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup boiled and roughly chopped noodles
1/2 cup chopped spring onion greens
2 tsp soy sauce
salt to taste

Other Ingredients

3 tbsp plain flour (maida) dissolved in 1/4 cup water
oil for deep-frying

For Serving

Szechuan sauce

Method 

For the covering

1. Combine the plain flour, cornflour, milk, salt and ½ cup of water in a bowl and mix well till no lumps no remain.
2. Grease a non-stick pan with butter, pour 2 tbsp of the batter into the pan and tilt it around quickly to make a 100 mm. (4”) diameter thin circle.
3. When the sides begin to peel off, turn the pancake and cook on the other side for 30 seconds.
4. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 11 more pancakes.

For the stuffing

1. Heat the oil in a wok /kadhai on a high flame till it smokes.
2. Add the spring onion whites, mixed vegetables, bean sprouts and msg and sauté on a high flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the noodles, spring onion greens, soya sauce and salt and sauté on a high flame for another 2 minutes.
4. Divide the stuffing into 12 equal portions and keep aside.

How to Assemble

1. Place a panacke on a flat, dry surface and place a portion of the stuffing on one of its edge
2. Apply a little flour paste along the edges of the pancake.
3. Fold the top edge over the mixture to seal it firmly.
4. Fold the left and the right side of the pancake in order to get a rectangle.
5. Roll the pancake downwards tightly sealing the ends securely with the flour paste.
6. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 11 more rolls.
7. Heat the oil in a wok / kadhai and deep-fry in batches till they turn light brown in colour.
8. Cut each roll into 2 equal portions and serve hot with schezuan sauce.

Moong Dal Cheela

Ingredients

Moong Dal - 2 cups
Rice - 1 cup
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Dry Red Chillies - 12-15
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Garlic - 5-6
Salt to taste
Vinegar or lemon juice 1 tsp

Method

1. Soak moong dal and rice together for around 1 hour. 
2. Strain dal & rice and grind it little coarsely in mixer. 
3. Add to it little salt, red chill powder. Add little water and make the batter like dosa batter consistency.
4. Soak red chillies for 15 minutes in warm water. 
5. Make fine paste with soaked red chillies, ginger, garlic, salt and vinegar / lemon. Keep it aside.
6. Heat a nonstick pan and pour the batter with laddle and spread it evenly. Put little oil all around. 
7. Spread red chilli paste using a spoon all over the cheela. Make it light brown from one side and then reverse it on the pan. 
8. Cook for 30-45 seconds on other side. Serve hot.