10 Easy Recipes to Impress Your Valentine

Going out for dinner is so blah. A truly memorable Valentine's Day meal should have a personal touch, shouldn't it? But I don't know how to cook - is that what we hear you saying? Not to worry. Some of our recipes are SO simple that even if all you've ever done is make tea and omelettes, you should be able to follow them with ease.

Here is our pick of some of the easiest and tastiest recipes to impress your better half this Valentine's Day:

Strawberry Cream

Chop the strawberries into slices and put the cream in a piping bag. Take a martini glass and fill it with a layer of chopped strawberries. Top with a layer of whipped cream and then a layer of chocolate sauce. Repeat the layering process until the glass is full. Garnish with a dollop of cream and chocolate sauce and enjoy!

Tomato Soup

Take chopped tomatoes, beetroot, garlic cloves, pepper, salt and sugar in a pan. Boil with water. Add two bay leaves to the water and mix. Cook till mushy and easy to grind. Put the mixture in a grinder and grind until smooth.

Heat butter in a pan and add maida. Roast for a little while and then add the soup from the grinder. Stir constantly so that the soup doesn’t form lumps. Pour the soup into a bowl and garnish with chopped coriander, fresh cream and bread croutons or soup sticks.

Chettinad Baby Potato Roast

Dry roast ingredients required for powder and grind. Keep.aside. In a kadhai, heat oil and add fennel seeds and curry leaves. Add ginger garlic paste, chilli, turmeric and sauté for few seconds. Put in par boiled potatoes, salt as required and sprinkle some water. Mix and cover and cook for few minutes.

Add ground powder, sprinkle water again and cover and cook till potatoes are well done. Add lime juice and toss. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Anda Bhurji

In a heated pan, add in oil, chopped onions, tomatoes, capsicum, curry leaves, bell peppers, curry leaves, turmeric powder, red chilli powder,green chillies, garam masala powder and mix well. In a bowl, break two eggs and add in salt and pepper. Whisk and add to the pan. Keep mixing gently until the eggs cook. Serve hot with pav or bread.

Chicken Chilli

Heat a wok and pour oil in it. Add garlic-ginger-green chilli paste, green chillies, shredded spring onions, shredded green capsicums, chopped spring onion greens, chilli sauce, soy sauce, black pepper powder and salt and mix it well. Put in boiled shredded chicken and mix it well. Cook for 5 minutes and serve hot.

Red Velvet and Oreo Milkshake

In a blender, add 1 cup vanilla ice cream, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 5 crushed Oreo cookies, 2 tablespoons of red velvet cake mix or crumbled red velvet cake and 1/2 teaspoon of red food colouring. Pour it into a glass and top it off with whipped cream and sprinkles.

Eggless Chocolate Mug Cake

In a 12-ounce mug or larger, mix 4 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon oil, such as vegetable or canola and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Once combined, add 1 tablespoon chocolate hazelnut spread on top.

Microwave on high for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn’t spill over (depending on the size of the mug). Let cool one minute before eating.

Chocolate Pancake Stack

Combine 150g flour, 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder and salt to taste. Pour the batter on a skillet and make three pancakes. Pour lots of chocolate sauce on the first and add a second pancake on top. Repeat to create a delicious stack.

Veg Cheese Sandwich

In a bowl, mix cream cheese, boiled sweet corn, finely chopped carrots, capsicum, cucumber, pepper, mixed herbs and salt to taste. Cut the edges off the bread sides. Spread a spoonful of cream cheese stuffing over one slice of bread. Cover with the other slice of bread, gently press and cut to the desired shape of your choice.

Tomato Pulao

Heat oil in a thick kadhai. When hot, add mustard seeds , followed by fenugreek seeds and curry leaves and allow to crackle. Now add ginger garlic paste , followed by onions. Saute till translucent. Now add tomato puree and allow to cook on low flame for a couple of minutes. Add turmeric, coriander powder, cinnamon and cloves and mix well.

Cook on a low flame for a few minutes till tomatoes are homogeneous. Then add cooked rice, salt and half a cup of water. Cover and cook on a low flame for a few minutes, till rice starts steaming. Garnish with coriander and lime juice and serve with papad and dahi or raita.