Love - thy name spells magic; Celebrating it with Coffee Kissed & Red Chilli Spiced Brownie

Hubby dearest took a bite of this brownie and commented " This tastes much like our marriage "- all spiced up and full of heat,slightly nutty with a hint of the bitter coffee but at the same time chewy, fudge y and chocolate y" He couldn't have put it better :)

I have been married to my better-half for the past 10 years and would safely say "To love and be loved is everything". Back in the college days, I was a huge fan of Mills & Boon. Lascivious tales of tall, dark, handsome guys not necessarily in horses causing much distress in the damsel's heart had my undivided attention. Many a times, I have imagined myself as the protagonist pining for the hunk (shhhh!). Yup, I loved such mushy stuff. Still do :D 
The fact of the matter is I have always been in love with love. Cliched but true ! Wooing, pining and yearning appealed to my mushy side and I was ready to fall in love. Fortunately or unfortunately my upbringing never conditioned me for love before marriage and I got married to a stranger, whom my parents had shortlisted after the necessary matching of horoscope (horror scope ?). I met him for the first time one sunday morning a good 10 years back and within a few hours got engaged to be married 2 months later. Too shy to speak I was content in sneaking  a few surreptitious glances. We bid goodbye after exchanging e-mail address. A few mails to each other decked in all its polite courtesies was the maximum our exchange went up to. Married within no time, I learnt that love is not the bed of roses that I used to imagine. Almost everything including language, food & upbringing was different and thus  started my adventures of the heart. There was nothing in common and we were as similar as chalk and cheese. The different upbringing gave its share of fission but also brought us together. Opposites attract they say and we revelled in our differences.Over time, I realised love is like a bottle of old wine. It gets better and better with the passing minute. 

I see many a successful love marriage and also witness the breaking up of arranged marriages. In this context Anne Taylor Fleming's quote "A long marriage is two people trying to dance a duet and two solos at the same time " holds true. Poetic isn't it ? 
It doesn't matter whether the marriage is an arranged one or is an union of love but what matters is falling in love and remaining in love and of course with the same person.And it ain't easy; you have got to work daily, every minute of it and till the last breath. Laugh often and laugh together, say "I love you" everyday and as often and mean it; appreciate the good, the bad and the ugly; enjoy the differences. It it is very easy to take the relationships for granted; staying in love makes sure we don't fall in to that trap and it brings with it a lot of commitment,understanding and trust. Love makes a marriage work, love rocks the marriage and love alone makes the ride of life worthwhile. These are my 2 cents on the Love Marriage ya Arranged Marriage a contest by IndiBlogger.



Coming back to the brownies which sparked my train of thoughts, the recipe from Baking Bites has been tweaked to suit my palate. I love the caffeine hit and hence added some instant coffee powder. Also, red chilli powder has been substituted instead of cayenne pepper powder. 

What's in it :-

• Butter - 115 grams (1/2 cup)
• Dark chocolate - 125 grams  - chopped ( I used Cadbury's Fruit N Nut) 
• Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
• Sugar - 250 grams (1 cup)
• Eggs - 2 large 
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• All Purpose Flour - 85 grams (approx) (2/3 cup)
• Cinnamon Powder - 1 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp (or a little less than it/to taste)
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Instant Coffee Powder - 1 to 1 1/4 tsp (I used Nescafe Instant)

Here's How :-

Preheat oven to 350F/ 176 C. Line a 9*9 baking pan/ or any other tin with aluminum foil and lightly grease.In a small pan, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until very smooth. Tip in cocoa powder and mix until fully incorporated. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Whisking steadily, pour chocolate mixture into sugar mixture. Stir until smooth. Sift flour, cinnamon,  chili powder and salt into the bowl, add coffee powder and stir until just combined. 

Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake for about 35 minutes, until brownies set and a toothpick inserted comes clean.

Cool in the pan completely before slicing. I served them with a liberal helping of Red Wine Choco-Mint Sauce

Serve it as such or with whipped cream,or a scoop of ice cream. You can dress it with chocolate sauce and nuts too ! They hold good when stored in an air-tight container. Refrigerate them to retain freshness.


E.N.J.O.Y