Wish you all a Merry Christmas 🎄🎄⭐🧑‍🎄🎁🔔⛪❄️☃️

The Christmas season is here, bringing with it a delightful array of desserts that are celebrated during this festive time. It’s a fantastic opportunity for sweet lovers and chefs to indulge their cravings without any guilt. Their imaginations run wild, often disregarding health considerations in their sweet creations. Nevertheless, health-conscious individuals still strive to include nutritious elements in their culinary masterpieces. For me, Christmas has always been a chance to experiment in the kitchen, whether with new techniques, fresh ingredients, or a combination of both. This year, I’ve recently been introduced to the flavor of matcha which is finely ground Japanese green tea powder. This matcha tea powder is prepared from tea leaves that are grown in shades & are steamed, dried and then finally stone ground to make this powder. It is known to have high antioxidant properties with many other health benefits. My brother gifted me a packet of matcha not long ago, and I was initially unsure how to use it. After enjoying matcha tea, matcha milk, and matcha smoothies, I began to think about incorporating it into desserts. Just as this idea was forming, Christmas arrived, and I baked muffins with matcha, which I absolutely adored for their flavor and vibrant color. However, that wasn’t enough for me, so I pondered how to elevate it further, and the thought of creating a matcha cheesecake came to my mind & when I browsed in the internet found plenty of it. I always aim to create lighter desserts by avoiding heavier components like cream cheese and whipped cream, using readily available ingredients and by opting for vegetarian options. So crafting my own version of cheesecake posed a bit of a challenge.I was eager to take on this adventure and learn from the experience. To my surprise, my matcha cheesecake turned out to be delicious and nearly perfect, meeting all my expectations.I finally succeeded in preparing this version of my cheesecake which is fully Indian version with all readily available ingredients from our Indian kitchens except the matcha powder ( flavouring agent, here) without using cream or cream cheese.You may try this recipe using any other flavouring agent of your choice & savour it’s flavour.If you’re curious about the recipe, here it is for you👇

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

A. For Cheesecake base or crust:

1. Digestive biscuits – 10-25
2. Unsalted butter – 2 tbs.

B. For Cheesecake filling:

1. Paneer/Chhena (freshly made) – 200 g
2. Full fat milk – 1 cup
3. Condensed milk – 1 cup
4. Corn Starch – 2 tbs.
5. Cardamom powder – 2 powdered cardamom pods.
6. Sugar (optional) – As per taste.
7. Matcha tea powder – 2 tsp.

C. For Garnishing:

1. Strawberries or any fresh fruits of your choice.
2. Pistachio
3. Chocolate Sauce.

Preparation:

A. Preparation of the base crust.

1. Grind the biscuits to a smooth powder in a grinding jar.
2. In a mixing bowl, take the biscuit powder & molten nad unsalted butter to it and mix them thoroughly, so that the butter gets uniformly absorbed in the mixture. You may also add any kind of essence or flavouring agent in it, however I have not added any flavouring agent here.
3. Take your baking pan, grease the bottom and sides of your pan using a brush and put butter paper at the bottom nd also in the sides of your greased pan. (Note: You may use any ordinary pan for baking , however using a springform pan for baking makesdemoulding your delicate cheesecake easier.
4. Now, add the buttered biscuit flour o to the base of the greasedpan and level uniformly using a spatula.
5. Cover the pan and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to set the base properly.

B. Preparation of the cheesecake filling:

1. In a blendng jar, take paneer and milk with few pistachio (optional). Blend them together to make a smooth paste.
2. Take out the paste in a jar, and add condensed milk, corn flour and sugar (if required) and whisk them to mix them uniformly using a wire whisk or spatula.
3. Add Matcha powder and mix again, till it blends uniformly in the mixture, imparting a light green colour (Note: The consistency of the mixture should not be runny, it should be thick enough but still pourable).
4. Transfer the mixture to your baking pan by pouring it overthe previously set base layer.

C. Baking the cheesecake:

1. Spread the mixture uniformly over the base layer using the back of a spoon and tapping the sides of your pan gently.
2. Cover it with a lid tightly and wrap aluminium foil properly around the top as well as the botto of the pan, so that no water can enter inside.
3. Take your pressure cooker, add 2 glasses of water in it, place a separator or wire rack in it, take out the whistle from the lid and cover with the lid.
4. Pre-heat your cooker for 5-6 minutes in high to medium flame.
5. After 5 minutes, open the lid, place your baking pan gently over the separator, lock the lid, and bring down the flame to medium.
6. Let it cook for 35-40 minutes, over a medium flame.
7. After that, switch off the flame and let the cooker cool down slightly and release the pressure (if any) naturally.
8. Gently open the lid and bring down the cooker.
9. Let the pan cool down, so that we can take it out conveniently.
10. Let the pan come to room temperature, and then refrigerate it for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight so that your cheesecake sets firmly. (Note: Do not demould it now, as it will cause your cheesecake to break).
11. After refrigeration, take out your cheesecake to demould it.

D. For demoulding the cheesecake:

1. Take a knife and run carefully through the edges of the cheesecake to detach it slightly from the sides.
2. Take a hot towel and put on the sides and the bottom of the pan to slightly warm the pan, so that the cheesecake comes out easily, as warming up slightly dissolves the fats loosening it slightly from the pan.
3. Take a dish over the pan and gently invert the pan over it.
4. Gently, tap the bottom of your pan to remove the cheesecake.
5. Now, take another dish over the inverted cheesecake and again invert the first dish over the second, to place your cheesecake upright.
6. Garnish your Matcha cheesecake with any toppings of your choice. I have poured some molten chocolate and topped with fresh strawberries and chopped pistachios to relish y soft, velvety Matcha cheesecake.