Eggless Dates Walnut Coffee Cake

Baking Cake on weekend(sunday) and enjoying it on weekday with coffee is something very rewarding...Why am I saying this..because that is what I am doing while typing this recipe.
My dates and walnut cake is a hit always, with friends and family.
But for quiet long I was wondering whether I can transform it to a healthy fruit cake.
So what better to try it on a weekend, when I have a good quality of dates and walnuts.
My original dates and walnut cake recipe has butter and completely based on Plain flour.
Want o simply know why walnuts, then read here.
Dates are good for digestion, rich in dietary fibre, prevents bad cholesterol, rich in iron, potassium, vitamin B,  B6,A and K and along with it has  Copper, magnesium, manganese, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), niacin, pantothenic acid, and riboflavin are also present in dates and provide their own unique preventive and healing functions.
So what all these does is simply, help your body metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Eating dates in moderation can contribute to many health benefits, such as protecting against damage to cells from free radicals, helping preventing a stroke, coronary heart disease and the development of colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers.
Enough of knowledge to use dates and walnuts.
Now in the recipe I have whole wheat flour, pure cane sugar instead of normal sugar, vegetable oil in place of butter and for the extra kick the coffee.

Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour - 11/2 cups,
Plain Flour - 1/2 cup,
Salt - a pinch,
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon,
Bicarbonate of Soda - 1/2 teaspoon.

Wet Ingredients:
Dates deseeded and chopped - 1 cup,
Walnuts - 1/2 cup chopped,
Milk - 1cup room temperature,
Water - 1cup,
Instant Coffee Powder - 2-3 teaspoon according to the taste.
Cane Sugar - 3/4 cup
Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon.
Vegetable Oil - 1/2 cup.

Method:
Preheat the oven at 180 degree celsius /gas mark 4.
Grease the baking tin and line it with parchment paper.
Sieve the dry ingredients together and keep aside.
Boil water, remove from heat and add coffee powder and stir well.
Add chop dates to this coffee and rest not more than 10 minutes.
Mix milk, sugar and vanilla extract and stir well.
Dust walnut with little flour, so that the nuts do not sink to the bottom while baking.
Mix vegetable oil to the water and mix well.
Mix water and milk mixture, gently add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold gently.
Take care not to knock the air bubbles by brisk or over mixing  batter.
Add chopped walnut and fold to the batter.
Pour to the greased tin and bake for 40 -50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy with a cup of coffee.
 

Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice is such a simple and flavourful south indian rice dish. This is was not my thought before my marriage, I always thought it as a very boring and it is made, when nothing comes to your head for cooking. All this changed after getting married and tasted my mil's lemon rice, yes it is the quickest thing you can make, but but it is very flavourful, soulful and very much enjoyable when done in my mil's way. Trust me she surely does very yummy. Correct blend of spice, tangy and a dash of sugar added to balance the spice and tanginess. Did I say she never adds coconut yes you read it right. Without coconut she brings out all the flavours to the rice. Now I savour it with much pleasure and enjoy it. There is a small twist to my mil's recipe, certain things you have to follow to make it a perfect lemon rice. Soo Here it is!!!!!!

Ingredients
Rice - 1 cup cooked and cooled at least 2 hours before making the lemon rice,
Salt,
Sugar - 3/4 teaspoon,
Lemon Juice - 1/4 cup and a little more,
Coconut oil - 1 teaspoon.

To Temper:
Oil - 1 Tablespoon,
Mustard - 11/2 teaspoons,
Asafoetida - a fat pinch,
Peanuts - 1 tablespoon,
Chana dal - 1 teaspoon,
Green Chillies  - 5-6 finely chopped,
Red Chillies - 2 broken
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon,
Curry Leaves - 10-12,
Coriander - 1 tablespoon chopped.

Method:
Cook rice and allow it to cool well. This is very important tha,t rice has to be cooled well before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Again my mil doesn't cook rice for lemon rice very grainy, she cooks soft and fluffy.
Once rice is cooled, add salt and lemon juice and mix well. Keep aside.
In a pan heat oil, add mustard seeds.
When it crackles,  add asafoetida, peanuts and chana dal.  Fry until peanuts and dal turns medium brown.
Add Turmeric, green chillies, red chillies and curry leaves. Fry for 30 seconds.
Remove from heat and add chopped coriander. Add tempering with sugar to rice and mix well.
Add a spoon of coconut oil and mix well. (this is my twist to my mil's lemon rice, it tastes heavenly with the flavour of coconut oil, again its optional , if you don't like the flavour, you don't have to add it).
Allow this to rest for half hour and slightly warm it up and serve.

Notes:
If you want, you can add grated coconut about a tablespoon.
The lemon rice should be a competitive blend of spice and tanginess.
Cooling of rice before tempering and resting after tempering, allows all the tastes of the spices to seep in and bring out the flavours.
Adding sugar just compliments the spice and tanginess of lemon.

Avarekaalu/Hyacinth Beans Rice Rawa Upma

As I said earlier it was very difficult to stay away  from my blog. Lot of things happened in this time.  First there was a problem in my blog..by the time it was sorted out, my laptop broke down.

Then I travelled to India to visit my mom..which I was waiting for a year.

It was much awaited travel I was waiting for. Then came the drooling cuisine of Mysore.

I was born and brought up in this beautiful city. As I walked through the streets, it was nostalgic.

The cuisine, street food like masala puri, churmuri(I die for it, because people from mysore never like churmuri, from any part of the world, except for in mysore. It is soo authentic of mysore). I am a no excuse of this rule. The evening walk is just a excuse to savour all these. The hot bajjis, vadas and the not to forget fresh sugar cane juice. The old restaurants, which are famous for the morning hot idli vada sambhar, masala dosas, set masala dosa used to be my favourite(two small sized masala dosas).

Some other restaurants during my college days, where we used to celebrate our parties, which introduced north indian food like cutlets, samosas , ohh the list is endless.

Though many new restaurants have come up a lot, ask me, I never try them, but go the same ones, which I used to.

Its been more than 10 years I left the city.

Best of all while enjoying food, one simply gets carried away with the nice smell of mysore jasmine flowers. The pan or the betal leaf the city is famous for.

A special variety of green brinjals   which comes from the outskirts of the city, from a place called EERANGERE, and the variety of brinjals is prefixed by the name of the place 'EERANGERE BADANEKAYI'.  Badnekayi means brinjals.

This was the street and restaurant food.

Home cuisine is something different, you don't get in hotels or anywhere.

I will be posting few of them in my next posts.

Avarekaalu or hyacinth beans is what mysore is soo famous for.

The crop is between December to march.  Miles before you can smell the beans.

People just love the aroma. The beans is like, what is jackfruit to kerala, is avarekaalu for mysore.

During this season of beans, the household will be filled with variety of different food, but everything will have this beans  in one way or another, like upma, sambhar, kootu, pongal, nipattu, the list is endless..the beans is soaked and outer skin removed and fried to make mouth watering chivda mix.

 

Today I am posting the all famous rice rawa/semolina sooji avarekaalu/hyacinth beans upma.

 

Ingredients:

Rice Rawa - 1 cup,

Oil - 2 teaspoons,

Mustard - 2 teaspoons,

Asafoetida - a fat pinch,

Chana dal - 2 teaspoons,

Urad dal - 2 teaspoons.

 

Avarekaalu/Hyacinth Beans - 3/4 cup.

 

Oil - 1 tablespoon,

Green Chillies - 4-5 finely chopped,

Curry Leaves - 12-15 leaves,

Water - 21/2 cups boiling,

Salt,

Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup fresh or frozen.

Coriander - 1 tablespoon, finely chopped,

Juice of 1 medium sized lemon.

 

 

 

Method:

You can either use fresh or frozen beans,

Pressure cook beans with enough water and salt for 2-3 whistles.

If you are using frozen beans cook it for 5 minutes in boiling water.

In a pan heat two teaspoons of oil.

Add mustard and asafoetida.

When mustard crackles, add chana dal and urad dal and fry until slightly browned.

Add rice rawa and fry until the raw smell evaporates and keep aside.

In another broad kadai, heat 1 tablespoon of oil.

Add green chillies and curry leaves and fry for few seconds.

Drain water from the beans and reserve the water, you can later use to cook the rawa.

Add beans to the kadai and fry for couple of minutes.

Add the reserved water, if it is less, then add more boiling water, according to the measure.

Adjust salt.

Add rice rawa and mix well.

Take care that there are no lumps of rawa, in the mixture.

Lower the heat completely, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes,

When water is evaporated 90%, remove from heat.

But keep covered for couple of more minutes.

Then remove the lid, add coriander chopped and lemon juice and mix well.

Serve hot with a spoon of ghee and enjoy.

 

Note:

Making of  rice rawa is simple.

Simply mill the raw rice in a flour mill to medium rawa/sooji/semolina consistency.

Sieve it to take out the fine flour and store in air tight containers.

 

 

 



Sweet Pumpkin or Yellow Pumpkin Dal

With sweet pumpkin or yellow pumpkin, I normally make sambhar, kootu, dry stir fry with rice flour rotis, raita, but never tried dal. But last week when I was thinking of dinner then I thought of making yellow pumpkin sambhar lying on my kitchen counter. But I was lazy to fry the ingredients and follow the procedure for sambhar and I was also feeling a bit feverish and wanted to keep something light and simple. Then I remembered of reading of pumpkin dal sometime ago, but couldnt remember where, and also the method and ingredients exactly.
So vaguely again I tried to remember, but yet thought to do it just like I do the normal dal.
But was a bit apprehensive about the sweetness of the pumpkin, not to make the dal sweet.
Then I thought of cooking the dal with red chilly powder and fry the pumpkin with green chillies and give the sharpness of red onion as well. So started experimenting as I thought.
Then what I get? a wonderful mildly sweet dal, but the sweetness is complementing with the spice of red chilly powder and the sharpness of green chillies and red onions.
To go with this I made french beans and potato stir fry and had a satisfying dinner. The dal tasted much better the next day.
I am also giving the recipe for simple beans and potato stir fry.
Hope you will enjoy!!!!!

Sweet Pumpkin Dal

Ingredients:
Toor Dal - 1cup,
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon,
Red chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon.

Oil - 1 tablespoon,
Mustard - 1 teaspoon,
Asafoetida - a pinch,
Curry Leaves - 8-10,
Green Chillies - 3-4 finely chopped,
Garlic - 1 clove finely chopped,
Red Onion - 1 small finely chopped,
Yellow Pumpkin - 1 cup skin peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes,

Salt,
Garam Masala Powder - 1 teaspoon,
Coriander - 1 tablespoon finely chopped to garnish.

Method:
Cook toor dal with enough water, turmeric and red chilly powder for three whistles or until dal is completely cooked.
Once the dal is completely cooked and cooled, mash with the spoon and keep aside.
In a medium broad pan add oil and heat.
Add mustard and asafoetida and allow mustard to crackle.
Then add curry leaves, green chillies and fry for a minute.
Add chopped garlic and fry until it slightly browned.
Add chopped onion and fry until it is transparent.
Add cubed pumpkin and fry for couple for minutes.
Add a couple of tablespoons of water and simmer and cover and cook.
Cook until the pumpkin is completely cooked, but not mushy, it should hold its shape.
Add the cooked dal. Add salt and garam masala powder.
Adjust the dal to medium consistency by adding water, if the dal is thick.
Boil for couple of minutes and switch off the flame.
Garnish with chopped coriander.
Serve with hot steamed rice with any stir fry of your choice.

Beans and Potato Stir Fry

Ingredients:
Oil - 2 teaspoons,
Mustard - 1 teaspoon,
Curry leaves - 5-6,
Beans - 1 cup into 1 inch strips,
Potato - 1/2 cup cut into i inch strips,
Sambhar Powder - 2 teaspoons,
OR
Red chilly Powder - 1teaspoon,
Coriander Powder - 1/2 teaspoon,
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon,
Salt.

Method:
In a broad thick bottomed pan, heat oil.
Add mustard and curry leaves, allow mustard to crackle.
Add Potatoes, and fry for couple of minutes.
Then add beans and fry in medium heat.
Turn heat to low and cover cook for 4-5 minutes or until the both the veggies are cooked, yet in shape, that is not over cooked.
Add sambhar powder or if you do not have sambhar powder add red chilly powder and coriander powder.
Add salt and turmeric. Mix well.
Fry for couple of more minutes in low flame.
Remove from heat and serve.

Aloo Tikki

The famous Aloo Tikki...A all time North Indian Snack. Just savour it with chutney or ketchup..go  a step further spread some green chutney, sweet tamarind chutney, some beaten curd , sprinkle chaat masala, onions and sev  ready to savour as chat or the famous ragda patis , if you have left over choley, then heat up choley spread on hot tikkis some green chutney,fresh onions, coriander and ready to serve..Lot of different tikkis later came on, with this basic aloo tikki, like mixed vegetable, beetroot, fresh peas and so on..but potato remains the base for the tikki..Unless replaced by raw banana, but that posts will come later.
Now I love aloo tikkis, while watching a nice movie in the evening on a weekend with family.
These tikkis are soo simple to make, can be made in less then half hour and  even be made low calories by baking them, they also feel less heavy on your tummy.It is up to you however you want to savour. I have shallow fried them with as much less oil I can. Can be sent to kids packed lunch wrapped in foil to keep fresh and crispy.

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 4 Medium boiled, cooled and skin peeled,
Onion - 1 small finely chopped.
Green Chillies - 2 finely chopped,
Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon,
Plain Flour - 2 tablespoons,
Cumin Powder - 11/2 teaspoon,
Salt,
Chopped Coriander - 1 tablespoon,
Lemon Juice - 1 medium lemon,
Bread crumbs - 1/4 to 1/2 cup,
Oil for frying.

Method:
Boil the potatoes until they are well cooked.
Cool them well and peel the skin.
Keep in mind, before mixing the ingredients, make sure that potatoes are well cooled, or else hot potato mashed and mixed for tikkis, make the tikkis dry.
Then mash the potatoes with masher, or grate them.
Mix rest of the ingredietns with mashed potato and make a pliable dough.
No need to add water.
Heat a inch high frying pan, pour some oil, say about a 2 teaspoon for a tikki.
Make round balls of the dough, like you make for chappatis, you can take the same size as you take to make chapaptis or a bit bigger than it.
Roll them over bread crumbs well.
Place them on the hot oil, on a medium low flame.
Cook them both sides until golden brown , carefully flipping on both sides.
Take care to flip to the other side, only when it is properly cooked, or you will end up breaking the tikkis.
Serve hot with ketchep and green chutney.

Note:
For some reason, if your tikkis becomes soggy and not able to handle and make tikkis then refrigerate for an hour and then try making tikkis and fry them.

Avarekaalu/Mochakottai/Surti Papdi Masala bhat

Avarekaalu so very popular in Karntataka, especially in Mysore, Bangalore..people crave for it. Now during november december and up till february people enjoy...It is at its best flavour during these dew days...the aroma spreads the whole house..and it is overnight left in the dew..In bangalore during this season avare mela is conducted hundred and thousands of raw, cooked and different of varieties of dishes are made with this beans in the mela...The most popular house hold dishes are upma, rice flour rotti, pulao, dosa, sambhar, usili, nipattu and some even make payasam...except for tea and coffee during the season this beans is used literally in anything and every thing...it is a sin to not have this bean. There is a special dish called chidikida avare gojju is very popular which I will be posting in my future post...heavenly to go with poori, parboiled rice idlis and raagi balls.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 2 cups soaked for 20 minutes,
Oil - 1 tablespoon,
Ghee - 2 tablespoons,
Onion - 1 large sliced,
Above said Beans - 11/2 cups,
Salt,
Boiling Water - 4 cups.

To Grind:
Cinnamon - 1 inch,
Cloves - 5,
Cardamom - 2,
Green Chillies - 8-10,
Coriander - 1 tablespoon,
Mint - 1/2 tablespoon,
Ginger - 2 inch,
Garlic - 4 pods,
Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon(optional).

Method:
Pressure Cook the beans, with enough water, little salt for 3 whistles.
Grind the ingredients, under the grinding table with water to smooth paste.
In a broad pan, add oil and ghee and heat it.
Add sliced onions and fry until glossy.
Add cooked beans, water completely drained beans and fry for couple of minutes.
You can save beans cooked water, later to cook rice, as it adds aroma to the rice.
Add ground paste and fry until raw smell evaporates.
Add boiling water and adjust salt.
Drain completely water from rice, and add to boiling water.
Cover and cook, until rice completely is cooked and fluffy.
Approximately it takes 15-20 minutes, depends on the rice.
Serve with any raita.

Spinach Masoor Dal

One of the best dals with spinach that I love to savour..the masoor dal gives a lot of body unlike moong dal which makes you heavy after eating..the masoor dal though gives lot of body to the dal...but you will still feel light on your tummy. The wonderful taste of  masoor adds flavour and also nutritious.
The dal is cooked with turmeric and red chilly powder and then spinach  is cooked in the dal. Then tempered with spices. This goes well with rice as well as roti. Spinach adds more nutrition to the dal.

Ingredients:
Masoor Dal/Red Lentils - 1 cup,
Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon,
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon,
Spinach - 2 cups loosely packed,
Salt.

To Temper:
Oil - 1 teaspoon,
Ghee - 2 teaspoons,
Whole Red Chillies - 2,
Cumin - 2 teaspoons,
Garlic - 2 cloves finely chopped,
Green Chillies - 2 finely chopped,
Red Onion - 1 medium finely chopped.

Method:
Clean the spinach by rinsing it number of times with water and chop it finely and keep it aside.
Wash the masoor dal twice and pressure cook it with enough water, turmeric and red chilly powder for three whistles. Once the pressure cooker cools blend the dal.
To the blended dal  add the chopped spinach and cook it until spinach wilts.
No need to add water to dal while cooking spinach as the, water in dal and also spinach leaves a lot of water while cooking, it is sufficient to wilt the spinach.
In another small pan, heat oil and ghee.
Add Red chillies and allow it to blacken.
This gives the smoky, sharp flavour to the dal, which enhances the taste of the dal.
Then add cumin, when it crackles, add green chillies and garlic.
Fry until garlic turns light brown.
Add onions and fry until glossy and add to dal.
Cover the dal immediately and rest it for couple of minutes, for the spices to seep into the dal.
You can squeeze a juice of lemon if you want to.
Serve with hot steamed rice or rotis with papad pickle or any sabji and enjoy.