Thursday, March 12, 2009

Caramel Mocha - A coffee delight


How many of you are coffee lovers? I'm sipping my hot coffee right now. Can you smell it? There's a fantastic aroma originating from my kitchen now. Its late afternoon, dark outside and raining. Enjoying coffee on a rainy day is one of those simple pleasures of life. I have always noticed myself in an elated state whenever I enjoy my coffee. I am usually an incoherent amoeba until my first cup of coffee. But a dose of caffeine does magic to my mind and body. Complicated things seem to be simplified after a cup of coffee! It gets me going for the day. Fortunately, we both are coffee lovers and my hubby makes coffee much better than me. Since he's an early-morning person, he makes it every morning and I usually wake up smelling the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filling our house. His coffee has been a big hit in our friends circle and parties at our house never end without his yummy coffee.

One of my best experiences every time I visit India is enjoying that wonderful filter coffee at my hometown, I can even taste it when I close my eyes! Especially when I go home after a long time, that familiar coffee smell with which I grew up makes me feel so comfy! Though we still make our traditional filter coffee at home everyday, it didn't take a long time for us to get used to the coffee here. The first time we had coffee after coming to the states was at North Carolina. It was our first week in this country and our friends took us to this coffee shop in our neighborhood. We ordered and after a while, the girl came back with a big white cup (actually, its a bowl!) with a dark liquid in it. It took a few mins for us to realize that was it! It was watery, bitter and had a wierd flavor added to it (we later learnt it was hazelnut!). It was just shocking to know that coffee could be so different from country to country! We couldn't take more than two sips and had to dump the rest. We still feel so sorry for it, as my friends had paid for it. But surprisingly we adapted pretty quickly, perhaps there was no other choice in our work places. Nowadays I enjoy every flavor of it like latte, mocha etc. and I get fascinated with those fancy blended coffee at starbucks.

Well, last weekend I thought I deserved a pat on my back after finishing up my long pending pantry re-arranging project. I wanted coffee but I was also in a mood to prepare something elaborate (just coffee, not dinner!). So I made this Chocolate Caramel Mocha which I always relish. I've made this several times and keep tweaking with some variations everytime. This time I added a pinch of cinnamon powder and it tasted great! If you are a coffee lover, this is a treat for you!

Ingredients: (for 2 cups of Mocha)
  • Instant Coffee Powder - 2 tsp
  • Caramel - 1 tbsp
  • Chocolate Syrup - 1 tbsp
  • Water - 1 cup
  • Sugar - 1 tsp
  • Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
  • Hot milk - 1 cup
  • Whipped cream - Optional.
Procedure:
  • Heat the water in a pan. When its about to boil, add coffee powder, sugar, caramel, chocolate syrup and cinnamon powder. Stir until everything is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
  • If you have the patience, whip up the hot milk for a min or two until it forms foam on the top. This just gives that extra kick, but even otherwise it tastes great!
  • In two serving glasses, fill up half of the glasses with the coffee mixture, then fill the remaining with the hot milk seprating the foam. Top it up with foam and whipped cream. Sprinkle with instant coffee powder and cinnamon powder.
There you go! Delicious Chocolate Caramel Mocha is ready!

37 comments:

FH said...

Beautiful photo. I always find it hard to photograph drinks, your's looks fab! :)

Manju said...

dont i love this or what?!! fabulous photo!

Anonymous said...

Awesome... that looks sooo delicious :)
I have been meaning do a post on coffee for a long time now... you have said it all :)
the first time I ordered coffee outside India was on the flight to U.S - I got this black liquid and I could not drink it.. even after dumping sugar and cream.. now, I have gotten used to the taste... and yeah... I too love the idea of sitting down for coffee - especially when its raining or snowing outside... and I cannot function without the morning caffeine fix... sorry for hogging up your comment space... its just that at the mere mention of coffee, I tend to get carried away :)

Cham said...

When we are addicted to coffee, we think, after having a sip of hot coffee, we can even resolve in minutes any problems! I am like you but reduce, no no rarely drink coffee now :) Gorgeous picture!

Sujatha said...

Thanks Asha & SC!

Hi Indhu! You seem to be a terrific coffee lover too! Thats nice to know.. :) Yeah, I guess everyone will be having an interesting story about their first coffee experience in the U.S!

Me too cham. I've reduced my intake a lot and just have my coffee once a day nowadays and sometimes if I'm craving may be twice. It was hard to cut down..

A_and_N said...

I love love love the pic, and the drink too!

Suparna said...

Coffee and tea are the love of my life :) but I've cut down on it a great deal. Mocha looks perfect sujatha, Pic is fab!
TC

Unknown said...

Awesome look....!!I am also with you...The sip of a coffee that too after a tiring day....One of life's simple pleasures it is....

Unknown said...

yes Iam a big coffee lover early in the morning if i have a cup of hot coffee that makes my day and this recipe of coffee is just awesome and that pic oohh great

Sanghi said...

Excellent Click Sujatha..! First time here and you have a great place! do visit mine..!:)

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow somethings in life are to be feeled.....Hmmm I love the aroma of coffee beans when they are grind.....Hmmmmmmm wish i could smell it...Tempting and alluring....

Laavanya said...

I love that picture! I prefer mocha to actual coffee but nowadays am growing to like the intense coffee taste though I still prefer a rather milky version. Nice recipe.

Ranjani said...

great click:)

Malar Gandhi said...

Awesome click. I am die hard fan for any coffee. Love towards coffee is endless...from madras filter coffee to this caramel mocha...glad that u posted its recipe.

Finla said...

I love love my coffee, i only started drinking coffee after i gotmarried, and i love you caramel mocha, I am gonna try this once.

Unknown said...

OMG,this is an award winning photo :)and the recipe looks yum yum Sujatha...

Deepthi Shankar said...

That pic looks fab .. I can totally relate to your love for coffee .. I love it too esp filter coffee & during rains, what a pleasure to sip coffee. I enjoy it in mornings while Iam @ a sudoku puzzle & my minds instantly runs faster .. I would love to make this one sometime

gtyuk said...

lovely, i love coffee , anything with coffee, chocolates, cream desserts, cakes, anything will do!!! This is more than a coffee, pure goodness for the day!! I won't miss the whipped cream topping , love along with that , yummm! ( Haƫ.g..s coffee parlours can say "Bye Bye"!)

Gita Jaishankar said...

Delicious caramel mocha...nice picture :)

Varsha Vipins said...

Excellent pic!!!..am a coffee lover too..always use to awe at endless varieties of coffee beans at stores..:P..loved this Sujatha..

AnuSriram said...

Awesome picture! Nice click! delicious!

Dori said...

I love coffee!!! Plain, flavored, filtered, instant, whatever... I love it all! I really like this, It's a perfect after dinner coffee!

Sum Raj said...

iam a coffee lover...plzz pass on tht glass..

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

wow..i am a cold coffee lover... not hot coffee. this one looks heavenly for me. everytime i go to bookstore, i buy this cold coffee...i am addicted to it.

Purva Desai said...

Mocha topped with Caramel, wow sounds really interesting and mouth watering

Raks said...

Thats a great picture,first I have to tell you!
Looks yummy!

Uma said...

I am imagining myself drinking that glass of beauty! Gorgeous mocha! Yummy! I am not that coffee lover, but I like the smell of it. I need coffee in the morning for a boost!

Poornima Nair said...

Wow...thats indeed a delight...just wanna snatch that glass...very tempting.

notyet100 said...

lovely click,...:-)nd ya wish we could share coffee some day,...

Usha said...

Fantastic photo !

Sia said...

me me me... i love coffee... so pick ME :)
gorgeous mocha girl :)

Paru ... said...

Lovely picture and great mocha :)..Luved it Sujata

Anonymous said...

Fantastic click there...Mocha looks perfect.(hey am ann,new here..better late than never na..loved your yummy place Sujatha)

vidhas said...

First time here Sujatha, Nice blog. I also love coffee, especially filter coffee.Without a cup of cofee i won't feel fresh in the morning. YOurs caramel mocha sounds delicious. Surely will give a try. Thanks for sharing.Nice click.

delhibelle said...

looks so fantastic!

CurryLeaf said...

Fabulous photograph.I am not a coffe lover,but a tea person,the post and the pic are too tempting and the chocolate syrup in the recipe makes me want to try it now.Lovely pic and delcious recipe

Sujatha said...

Welcome Vidhas to my blog! And you have a great space as well!