Aloo Parata

Aloo/Potato is a stuffed flat bread, usually had for breakfast in Punjab and northern part of India.

Cooked potatoes are mixed with spices and salt and stuffed in wheat flour dough and rolled to thick discs and shallow fried to crisp in oil or ghee.

These are served with chole/chickpeas or plain yogurt raitha, pickle  and white butter.

I have made slight changes to suit the palette of our family.

First we do not prefer heavy breakfast any day...

Mornings to be light and simple food.

So I make paratas for brunch on weekends.

Try to make it as healthy as possible.

I add just few drops of oil to cook and serve with pickle and raitha.

Ingredients:

For Outer Dough:

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup,

Salt

Oil - 1 teaspoon

Water - 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons.

For Stuffing:

Potato - 4 medium cooked, skin peeled and mashed,

Chopped green chillies - 1 teaspoon,

or Red chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon

Salt,

Chopped Coriander - 1 tablespoon,

Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon,

Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon,

or Amchur Powder - 1/2 teaspoon.

Oil to cook paratas.

Method:

First in a wide bowl mix salt and flour.

Slowly add water and bringing flour together into a medium pliable dough.

Rub oil on the dough and cover and rest it, until the stuffing is ready.

In a bowl, mix mashed potatoes and rest of the ingredients except, oil for cooking and mix well.

Now proceed to  make paratas, take a lemon size dough and roll into 2 inch diameter round disc.

Take a small lemon size potato stuffing and place in the middle of the  disc, and bring flour edges together to cover the stuffing very well and seal it well.

Dip this balls in the flour and roll out evenly thick sized discs.

Heat the griddle,  place the rolled paratas on the  hot griddle and cook on both sides until crisp and brown, adding few  drops  of oil on each side while cooking.

Repeat the same with rest of dough and filling and cook the paratas.

Serve hot with butter, yogurt raitha, pickle or chole  and enjoy.

Notes:

While rolling the paratas, if a bit of stuffing comes out, it is absolutely fine.

Take care not to over cook potatoes, if  the potatoes  are  soggy they will not bind well, makes  difficult to roll.

If it happens, add a bit  flour on the stuffing and seal and roll, this  should help.

Southekaayi/Cucumber hasi saasive

Saasive is a simple side dish to be enjoyed with rice..Sasive means mustard in Kannada.
Its a mustard and coconut based dish. Since in Karnataka rice is the staple food, we make lots of side dishes to  go with rice, like chutneys, dry powders, thambulis, saasive and so on.
'Hasi' means raw, dont need to boil this dish.
There is also saasive..which needs boiling of vegetables and the ground paste.
This is a very easy and simple dish.
Coconut, red/green chillies, mustard, sesame seeds, tamarind paste, salt and jaggery/sugar is ground to paste.
Then chopped cucumber is added and temepred with  mustard, curry leaves and served with hot plain steamed rice.
You can also used grated beetroot, fried okra, lightly fried grated beetroot, mango, pineapple, seedless grapes and so on.

Ingredients:
Cucumber - 1/2 cup chopped,

To Grind:
Salt,
Coconut - 4 tablespoons,
Mustard - 1 teaspoon,
Red/Green Chillies - 2,
Sesame Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon,
Tamarind paste - 1/3 teaspoon,
Jaggery/Sugar - 3/4 teaspoon,

To Temper:
Oil - 1 teaspoon,
Mustard  - 1 teaspoon,
Asafoetida/Hing - a pinch,
Chana dal and Urad dal - 1 teaspoon,
Curry leaves - few.

Method:
Peel the skin of cucumber and chop finely and keep aside.
Grind the ingredient, under grinding table with water to thick smooth past.
Remove the  paste in a bowl.
Mix chopped cucumber and mix well.
Heat oil in a small pan, add mustard  and hing.
When mustard splutters, add the dals and fry until golden brown.
Add curry leaves  and fry crisp.
Add this to the ground paste and cucumber mixture and mix well.
Serve with steam rice and enjoyy...

No Grind Simple Vegetable Pulao

There are days, especially cloudy, gloomy days, when I dont want to have my regular meal, but want to have a simple warm satisfying one plate meal.
Because I will not be in mood to cook, no choice I have to cook, whether I am in a mood or not.
Those days, when kids and hubby are gone out for long school and office hours, like today.
I will be left to cook myself and spend a long day lazily...honestly I like to spend the day lazily, without any hurry, doing all the chores slowly in my own time, with some music.
So this  pulao, do not require any grinding, can be done within half hour and enjoyed warm all for  yourself.
You can use only ghee to cook pulao, its optional.
But I have used oil instead and finally drizzled a spoon of shudh ghee for aroma and taste.
You can top with any salan or raitha.
But I love to have just the pulao, with no side dish.
Its very easy.
Chop vegetables, soak rice for 20 minutes, there you go...

Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice - 1 cup, sooaked for 20 minutes,
Oil - 1 tablespoon,
Bay Leaf - 2,
Cinnamon - 2, 1 inch stick,
Cloves - 4,
Cardamom - 1,
Star Anise - 1,
Cashew - 10-12, optional,
Green Chillies - 2 slit length wise,
Garlic - 5 cloves finely chopped,
Onion - 1 medium sliced,
Mixed Vegetables - 3/4 cup(Beans, Carrot, potato, cauliflower,..),
Green Peas -  2 tablespoon, fresh/frozen,
Water - 2 cups boiled,
Salt.
Ghee - 1 teaspoon, optional.

Method:
After soaking period of rice is done, drain water completely from water and keep aside.
In a wide pan, heat oil/ghee.
Add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and star anise.
Fry for few seconds, until all the masalas emit nice aroma to the oil.
Add cashew nut and fry until lightly browned.
Add green chillies and fry for a few seconds.
Add chopped garlic and fry until light brown.
Add onions and fry until transclucent.
Add veggies and peas and fry, until they are half cooked.
Add rice and fry gently for 2 minutes.
Add boiling water and salt and mix well.
Cover and cook  in high for 5 minutes.
Lower the heat to medium low and cook until all the water is evaporated.
Remove from heat and cover and keep it for 5 more minutes.
Drizzle a teaspoon of ghee and mix.
Enjoy with salan or raitha., like me just like that..

Spicy Boondi Mixture/Khara Boondi Mixture

Spicy Boondi a cup of hot tea is my favourite evening snack..though my favourite snack.
 I dont make and enjoy very often, as it is deep fried and loaded with calories.
It also goes very well  with sambhar, bisibelebhath and also as a snack.
You can use the same boondi for making boondi chaat and also in pani puris.
It is very easy and simple to make, just that you have to get the right consistency and right temperature of oil.
For a cup of fine besan, add one tablespoon of rice flour, salt and rd chilly powder and a bit of bi carbonate of soda.
Mix with water to medium thick consistency, like dosa batter consistency without any lumps.
It should be free flowing.
The temperature of the oil should be hot and a little smoky.

Ingredients:
Chickpea flour/Besan - 1cup,
Rice Flour - 1 tablespoon,
Bi Carbonate of soda - a pinch,
Water as required,
Oil as required to fry,
Salt,
Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon.

For Tempering:
Oil - 1 teaspoon,
Asafoetida/Hing - apinch,
Peanuts - 2 tablespoon,
Curry Leaves - 10-12.

Method:
In a deep, wide, frying pan add sufficient oil and heat.
In a bowl sieve the besan/chickpea flour twice, to ensure it is smooth and lump free.
Add rice flour to besan and mix well.
Add soda and mix well or alternately sieve it with besan.
Add water slowly and mix without lumps to  a smooth batter of medium thick consistency.
Take a perforated spoon wash and dry well and keep ready. 
When the oil is heated well and a bit smoky, then the oil is ready for boondis to be fried.
In a scoop kind of spoon and fill it with batter, keep the perforated spoon above the oil, say about few inches high on the oil, and pour the batter from the spoon,
Take care the heat rises up and you might feel the heat.
Once you pour the batter on the perforated spoon and rub it with the back of the scoop spoon, as to ensure all the the batter on the perforated spoon is done with.
Move the boondis in the frying pan to ensure even cooking.
Meanwhile wipe the back of the perforated spoon for next use.
Otherwise the besan batter might get dry and will not be able to use for next batch.
It takes 3-4 minutes for each batch of boondis to cooked.
When they are golden, remove from oil and put on kitchen towel, to drain excess oil.
Repeat the procedure for the rest of the batter.
Once all the boondis are fried, drain excess oil and allow to cool a bit.
When the boondis are warm, add salt and red chilly powder and mix well.
In a pan heat a spoon oil, add hing, curry leaves and peanuts and fry until curry leaves and peanuts are crisp and crunchy.
You can also add broken cashew in tempering, if you wish to.
Add this tempering to boondis and mix well.
When cooled fill in a air tight jar and enjoyy!!

Seven Cups

Seven Cups is sweet barfi...I would say something like Mysore Pak...Both of them is based on chickpea flour as the base ingredient..
Seven Cups is the quantity and ingredients altogether measures to seven cups.
I have made slight changes to the ingredients, instead of just chickpea flour, I have also added some fine semolina to give the crunch,  the soft, melt in mouth chickpea flour.
Its a very easy, made in just under half hour.
When you want to make a quick sweet for your craving sweet tooth or you want to make for guest, who have arrived in short notice.
You can omit semolina, and make only with chickpea flour...semolina is optional.
The important step here to follow is to measure all the ingredients in the same cup, which you are using to measure chickpea flour.
When it comes to sugar, the original recipe has 3 cups of sugar, but I have added just two cups, according to my taste.
You can alter and add more or less than that.
I love pistachios, so I have garnished with pistachios, you can add any nuts and dry fruits of your choice or just keep it simple and plain.
When it comes to chickpea flour, I would prefer home made chickpea flour, like get chickpeas and mill it in a mill, dry cool and store in a airtight container.
You can use store bought good chickpea flour.
Chickpea flour is Besan/Kadale maavu/Kadale Hittu.

Ingredients:
Chickpea Flour/Besan - 1 cup,
Fine Semolina/Fine Rava - 1/4 cup,
Ghee - 1 cup melted,
Milk - 1 cup boiled and cooled,
Fresh/Frozen Grated Coconut - 1 cup,
Sugar - 2 cups,
Saffron - few stands optional,
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 teaspoon,
Pistachios for garnishing.

Method:
In a deep, thick bottomed pan, add chickpea flour and fry until warm.
It should not change colour or should not emit aroma.
Remove chickpea flour from heat and keep aside.
In the same pan add semolina and fry until warm, remove from heat.
In the same pan add milk, sugar and coconut and mix well and heat.
Add ghee and mix well.
Add chickpea flour and semolina slowly and mix well without lumps.
Bring it to boil.
Once it boils, lower the heat to medium low and keep stirring.
The mixture slowly starts to thicken.
Meanwhile  grease a plate with ghee and keep ready.
After 15 to 17 minutes of stirring, you will notice the mixture coming together.
At this stage, the mixture becomes porus, frothy and comes together leaving the  pan.
Add the cardamom powder, saffron and mix well.
Immediately pour the mixture to the greased plate.
Smoothen the mixture and spread it even with rolling pin or spatula.
Immediately cut into squares or diamonds, the shape you wish.
Within few you can savour this melt in mouth barfi.
Enjoy!!!!!!

Nuchina Unde

Nuchina unde is a tasty lentil based steamed savoury dumplings.. if I have to put it in that way...also a very good alternative to the fried snack..
It is one whole snack in itself very filling and healthier..
It can also be added to mor kuzhambu/majjige Huli instead of vegetables and had with hot steamed rice.
You can either use split chickpeas or tuvar dal(non oily).
Or either mix of both.
I have used only tuvar dal to keep it healthy.
You have to saok dal dal for 2 hours but not more than 3 hours.
Grind red chillies, turmeric, ginger, asafoetida, cumin coarsely.
Then drain water completely from dal, and grind it coarsely, like a dal should be broken into 4 to 5 parts maximum.
Add this coarse dal mixture to the coarse paste.
Add salt, chopped coriander, curry leaves and fresh/frozen coconut.
Mix well.
The mixture should be tight and binding.
Make small size balls steam them until cooked, like idllies, without adding whistle to the cooker and serve hot with chutney or morkuzhambu.

Ingredients:
Tuvar Dal - 1 cup,
Green Chillies - 1,
Red Chillies - 1,
Turmeric a pinch,
Ginger - 1/2 teaspoon grated,
Asafoetida  - a pinch,
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Salt,
Grated coconut fresh/frozen - 1/2 cup,
Chopped Coriander - 1 tablespoon,
Curry Leaves  - 8-10 chopped.

Method:
Soak dal for two to three hours.
After the soaking time, completely drain water from the dal.
Grind green chilly, red chilly, turmeric, ginger, asafoetida and cumin seeds to a coarse paste, without adding any water.
Now, grind the dal to a coarse powder.
Mix dal and paste,  to this mixture, add grated coconut, salt, coriander and curry leaves and mix well.
Meanwhile keep the streamer ready, if you are using idly plates grease them.
Or alternately grease a big bowl which you can place in the steamer
Make small balls and put them on the greased idly plates or bowl.
Do not over crowd the bowl.
Cover and cook in high flame for 5 minutes and lower the heat to medium to low and cook for another 10- 12 minutes.
If you insert a tooth pick or skewer it should come out clean.
Cool the for 2 minutes and enjoy hot nuchina  undes with fresh coconut chutney or mor kuzhambu/majjige huli.
You can find the recipe for the moz kuzhambu/majjige huli here

Notes:
You can also use either only chickpea/chana dal or half and half combination of both tuvar dal and chana dal.
The soaking time would be the same.
You can also add washed cleaned, chopped methi leaves or dill leaves or finely chopped onions.
Again one of the above or combination of them.
If you are using pressure cooker, then do not use the whistle to steam them, just steam them like idllies or dhoklas.

Eggless Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Though I am late for Christmas..but I thought, I will post some of the cake recipes which I made and will be making for my friends and family in this season.
It is Egg less Pineapple upside down cake..its very easy and yummy to taste, I have'nt followed any particular recipe.  I have made slight variations to my basic vanilla sponge cake to suit pineapple cake and laid the pineapples and baked it.
It tasted yum and with the flavor of pineapple and real bites of crunchy pineapple makes it more flavorful and tasty.
I have used cannned pineapples, but you can use fresh sliced pineapples.
I was lazy to buy fresh ones and slice it. Canned pineapples were with me and it is handy.
They were already sliced. To make it look more appealing and crunchy, have placed some candied cherries in the middle of pineapples...
It can last upto a week in your refrigerator...
I have used the juice which was in the can or if using fresh pineapple you can juice it fresh...


Ingredients:
Cake Flour - 2 and 1/2 cups to make cake flour see here,
Baking Powder - 2 teaspoons,
Bi Carbonate of soda - 1 teaspoon,
Salt a pinch,
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can/400 grams,
Water - 1/2 cup,
Pineapple juice - 1/2 cup(fresh or canned),
Pineapple essence or vanilla essence - 2 teaspoons,
Odourless Oil - 1/2 cup,
Pineapple Slices - 8 slices (depends upon your slices),
Cherries - few.

Method:
Preheat Oven at 175 degree celcius.
Grease a nine inch cake tin with butter and line with a parchment paper and line the pineapple slices and stud the cherries in the middle of the pineapple slices.
In a large bowl sieve together cake flour, baking powder and bi carbonate of soda and keep aside.
In another bowl mix condensed milk, water and pineapple juice and whisk well until combined.
Add pineapple essence or vanilla essence  and mix.
Finally add oil and mix well to combine.
Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and gently fold to combine and without lumps.
Pour the batter gently on the top of sliced pineapple and bake it in the oven for 40 minutes or till a skewer comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, keep it in the pan for 10 minutes and unmould.
Allow to cool and serve the slice with hot coffee and Enjoyyy!!!!!!!!!

Poori Palya

When the fellow blogger Madhuri Agarwal of  https://madaboutkitchen did a post on poori palya..I was soo tempted to do one..People from bangalore and mysore like to eat their pooris hot, puffed up with spicy sagu(mixed vegetables in gravy), you can check that here or palya with chutney.
Its a typical morning breakfast with saagu or palya, that is potato and onion curry, the same which is used in masala dosa. 
Unlike in other parts of India Pooris are had with chola, sooji halwa and other subajis..
But it is typical here in karnataka, it is had with spicy saagu or palya with chutney.
My family and me are no different, we love hot puffed pooris with palya or saagu.
the palya is supposed to be mild in spice and a bit spicy chutney.
My daughter loves pooris rolled in palya for having at home for breakfast or for packed lunch.
Though we are not great fans of fried stuff, sometimes its ok to give in for your craving.
So it is mostly brunch when it comes to pooris.
Back in India when I was in college, it  used to be the regular breakfast on sundays.
But I make it only once in six months or so.
I am giving an exact measurement  for pooris, so it puffs up nicely and stays like that for a while.
Also some tips to make perfect puffed, crisp pooris.

For Poori Dough:
Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Salt - 1 tspn,
Water - 1/2 cup,
Oil - 2 teaspoon,
Oil to fry.

For Palya:
Onion - 2 Large, sliced and cut into halves( I have used red onions, but you can use normal onions),
Potato - 4 medium (boiled and skin peeled and coarsely crushed),
Oil - 1 tablespoon,
Mustard - 1 teaspoon,
Split Bengal Gram/Chana dal - 1 teaspoon,
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon,
Green Chillies - 1 finely chopped,
Curry Leaves - 10 torn,
Chopped Coriander - 1 teaspoon,
Salt.

Method:
In a bowl add flour, salt and mix.
Measure water and take away two teaspoons  from it.
Make a well in the flour and slowly add water.
Keep mixing the flour with water to make a stiff dough.
Keep kneading it for at least 10 minutes.
Until it becomes a pliable dough.
Rub the oil all over the dough, this is to avoid dough from drying out.
Cover and rest it for half an hour.

In a deep pan add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat.
Add mustard seeds and allow to crackle.
Add chana dal and fry until light brown.
I have skipped chana dal as my family does'nt like it.
Then add chopped green chillies and curry leaves and fry for few seconds.
Add onions and fry until pink.
Add turmeric powder and mix well.
Lower the heat.
Add coarsely crushed potato, salt and mix well.
Switch off the flame, add chopped coriander and mix well and keep aside.

In deep pan heat oil to fry pooris.
There should enough oil, for pooris to be immersed and fried.
From the dough, pinch a small lemon size dough, evenly roll out palm size discs.
Important it should be evenly rolled out for pooris to puff up.
Roll the rest of the dough, keep it covered until fried.
Oil should be lightly smoking when you are ready to put pooris.
Carefully drop the rolled pooris into hot oil, try to immerse down pooris in the oil gently.
When it comes up, scoop oil from sides and pour on poori.
Cook atleast for a minute on each side, until nice brown.
Cook on both sides, scooping oil and pouring on it, until it is brown.
Remove from oil, and drain the extra oil on a kitchen towel.
Serve hot pooris with palya and chutney.

Avalakki Oggaranne/Avalakki Chitranna/Plain Poha

Poha/Flattenned rice is a staple breakfast or snack in Karnataka.  Poha in karnataka is called avalakki and oggaranne means tempering/tadka.  ITs simple,poha tempered with spices.  I love both in my breakfast or as snack with tea or coffee/tea.
Having hot poha is a different bliss.
It is simple, easy and done in jiffy..but tastes awesome. You can have either plain poha like I am posting today or with veggies like onion, tomato, grated carrot, potato or green bell peppers/capsicum.
I love plain more than veggies, with lot of lemon squeezed on it.
With poha I love a hot cup of coffee/kadak adrak ki chai.
I have a weird lot of sides with poha.....like yogurt sprinkled with salt and roasted cumin powder, with ripe bananas, with spicy pickle or sprinkling lot of finely chopped onion, tomato, chaat masala, coriander,fine sev and green chillies and sometimes with mirchi bajji...are you feeling crazy listening to combinations..but dont worry..trust me try any of these..its surely tastes awesome..takes humble poha to different level.
I can say it is one of my comfort foods.
My family enjoys it too.

Ingredients:
Thick Poha/Flatenned Rice - 2 cups,
Oil - 2 tablespoon,
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon heaped,
Asafoetida - a fat pinch,
Urad  dal/deskinned halved black gram - 2 teaspoons,
Peanuts - 1 Tablespoon,
Green Chillies - 5,
Curry Leaves - 10,
Turmeric - 1 teaspoon,
Salt,
Sugar - 1 teaspoon,
Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon,
Chopped Coriander - 1 tablespoon.

Method:
Wash poha twice in water and soak the flattened/Beaten Rice, it has to be completely immersed in water.
Check after 15 to 20 minutes of soaking, the rice would have blown up, take care not to over soak and make it much.
Drain water completely from poha by gently squeezing and keep it aside.
In a thick bottom wok heat oil.
Once oil is heated, add mustard seeds and asafoetida.
When the mustard seeds crackle, add peanuts after a minute add urad dal.
Once peanut and dal is evenly roasted/browned, add green chillies and curry leaves.
You can reduce or increase chillies according to your taste/spice.
Fry for 20 seconds and add turmeric powder and mix well.
Reduce heat and add soaked, drained poha.
Gently mix well and allow to heat up.
Add salt and sugar and mix well.
Again adding sugar gives a tinge of sweetness, balancing the spice and tangy taste in the poha.
You can as well skip if you dont want to.
Remove from heat and wait for couple of minutes, to cool a bit.
Add chopped coriander and lemon juice and mix well.
Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee/tea
Do sure try any of the above sides to go with poha.

Banana Mango Rawa Kesari/Kesaribhath/Sheera/Halwa

This is one exotic, yum, sinfully tasty halwa which is a must try during mango season.
To be honest my family and me are not sweet tooth people..in fact my kids hate sweets loaded with sugar and ghee....but I have extended family and friends who are extremely sweet tooth and love Indian traditional sweets.
This combination of banana and mango happened accidentally to me..not that I haven't tried fruits kesari before, but this time when I invited few friends for dinner for a pooja, I was making a seven course meal, and people I had invited half of them were sweet tooth and half not at all.
So wanted to make something simple and exotic, loved by both.
So thought of making making basic rawa kesari, but with a twist or different.
Mangoes on the table caught my eye.
So decided to make mango rawa kesari.
Then again thought of adding pineapple  to add a bit of sourness to beat the sweet.
But I had run out of pineapple,  but saw too ripened bananas.
They were good for kesari but not for consuming as a fruit.
So thought of matching both in kesari.
But my combination was hit that day, people who hate sweets also loved it and enjoyed.
So sharing the recipe with you.

Ingredients:
Ghee - 1/2 to 3/4th cup,
Broken cashew - 1 tablespoon,
Fine Rawa/Sooji/Semolina - 1 cup,
Mango Puree - 1 cup,
Bananas - 3 medium ripened and chopped finely,
Saffron - few strands,
Cardamom Powder - 1 teaspoon.

Sugar - 2 cups/reduce to 1 and 1/2 cup if you prefer less sweet,
Water - 2 cups.

Method:
In a vessel add water, mango puree, sugar and banana and keep it on medium flame to boil.
At the same time in a thick kadai, add ghee and heat.
Once ghee is medium hot add cashew and rawa together and start frying in low medium heat.
Roast it evenly until light brown and by this time cashew would also have been roasted in the heat evenly.
This is a important step in making a perfect kesari, by the time you roast semolina, the water also should start to boil, the timing to be perfect.
Add saffron to water mixture and boil for a minute.
Pour the water, banana and mango mixture to roasted rawa and lower the heat completely.
Cover the kadai and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Stir once in between.
After almost all the water is observed switch off the heat and keep it covered for few more minutes.
Finally add cardamom powder and serve warm.

Note:
You can omit saffron if you don't have.
You can increase or decrease the quantity of sugar and ghee according to your taste.

Basic Eggless Sponge Cake

I have always loved basic sponge cake since my childhood...It has lot of nice memories from my childhood days with friends.

During our summer break, friends used to give a surprise visit to my place in the evenings, it was something like a written agreement, that we would spend our evenings chatting and laughing loud with these sponge cake, sev, crisps and fruit juices.  Those were the days, I still miss.

Those evenings I can never forget, there was something soo special, even today I cherish and relish.

So whenever I thought of baking a sponge cake, I was looking for a perfect sponge cake, which would take me to those lovely nostalgic days.

Tried a lot of recipes, but never happy, I wanted a stronger real vanilla flavour in my cake.

So tried this recipe from a blog,which I was really happy about and took me to those  days.

I have made some changes to the original recipe, but you can click here for the original recipe.

I have replaced butter with oil to get lighter and fluffier cakes, but you can add same quantity of melted butter.

Adding butter makes cake denser.

I haven't added any sugar to the cake, but you can reduce the condensed milk to 300 grams and add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar.

Ingredients:

Cake Flour  - 2 and 1/2 cups

Baking Powder - 2 teaspoons,

Bi Carbonate  of Soda - 1 teaspoon,

Salt - a pinch,

Sweetened Condensed milk - 1 tin(397 grams),

Water - 1 cup,

Vinegar - 2 tablespoons,

Pure Vanilla extract - 2 tablespoons,

Odourless Oil - 1/2 cup.

Method:

Pre-heat oven at 175 degree celcius.

Grease a nine inch cake tin with butter and line with a parchment paper and keep aside.

In a bowl sieve cake flour, baking powder, bi carbonate of soda and salt together and keep aside.

In a another bowl, add water and condensed milk and mix well.

Add vanilla essence and oil and mix well.

To this wet ingredients, add sieved flour mix in parts and mix gently.

Take care not to over mix.

Pour the batter into the greased tin and bake for 35- 40 minutes.

Again each oven differs, so keep an eye and check after 25 minutes.

Until a skewer comes clean when inserted.

Remove from oven, and let the cake be in tin for 10 more minutes.

Remove the cake on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Slice it and enjoy with your tea or coffee!!!!

Note:

To make cake flour, take a cup of plain flour, take two tablespoons of plain flour from the cup and replace it with 2 tablespoons of corn starch and sieve.

This  is  the cake flour.

Cake Flour will make cakes fluffier and lighter than just plain flour cakes.

Fresh Green Peas Rawa Idly

I have already posted rawa idly/semolina steamed cakes..but a simple and humble addition of a sweet ingredient called fresh shelled green peas...makes the rawa idly more enjoyable.
I always try to include fresh green vegetable in our food..I personally love all fresh green vegetables including bitter gourd but you know kids not very fond of vegetables in their food except for few.
So we moms always try novel ways to include veggies in their diet to make it interesting and colorful, entice them to eat their food and enjoy it with vegetables.
My son does'nt eat semolina in any form, but green peas is one of his favourite vegetable.
Tried rawa idlies with fresh green peas, it tasted yum and my family enjoyed it with mint coconut chutney and fresh home made ghee.
Now coming to the reciepe, its very simple with the same ingredients but with an addition of fresh green peas.

Ingredients:
Oil - 1 tablespoon,
Asafoetida - a pinch
Mustard Seeds - 1 and 1/2 teaspoon,
Chana Dal  - 2 teaspoons,
Broken Cashew - 1 tablespoon,
Green Chillies finely choppped - 1 teaspoon,
White medium rawa/Semolina - 1 cup,
Coriander leaves - 2 tablespoons finely chopped,
Fresh Green Peas - 3/4 cup, shelled,
Sour yogurt - 1 and 1/4 cups,
Salt,
Hot Water - 2 tablespoons,
Bi carbonate of soda - 1/2 teaspoon.

Method:
Shelve the peas, and grind it to coarse paste in food processor/mixer without water and keep aside.
In a thick bottom kadai/pan heat oil.
Add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When mustard crackles add broken cashews and fry for a minute and then add green chillies and curry leaves and fry.
Add semolina and fry in medium low flame, until the rawa is fried well and emits nice roasted aroma.
Take care rawa should not be browned.
It should be white but roasted well.
Switch off the flame and remove from heat.
Add salt and chopped coriander and mix well.
Allow to cool.
When it is warm mix the ground pea mixture and mix well.
Grease the idly plate with oil and steamer to boil with water.
When you keep plates, the steamer should be steaming hot for perfect rawa idlis.
Once completely cooled, add yogurt and hot water and mix well.
The batter should be like normal idly batter consistency.
Just before pouring the batter to plate, add soda and a teaspoon of hot water on the soda and mix well in the batter.
In a minute you see the batter rising to almost double.
Now pour this batter to idly plate and place in the hot steamer.
Allow to steam cook for 12-15 minutes.
When it is completely cooked, if a skewer poked, comes out clean.
Then remove from heat and rest for couple of minutes and demould the idlies.
Serve with your choice of chutney and enjoy!!!!!

Eggless Tutti Fruitti Cake

To be honest I am not a big fan of tutti frutti cake..I like tutti frutti only in Bangalore-Mysore bakery style dil pasand.  But when, one of my friend invited for unplanned ladies lunch, then I wanted to take something with me to her lunch party.
Whenever I go for lunch or dinner to a friends place, I love to carry an eggless home baked cake for them.
All my friends love my bakes.
So when I searched my pantry I found this tutti frutti lying in the fridge for very long now. This turri frutti I got from one of the Indian stores here in London..they are not big pieces like what we get in India..but very tiny pieces..I am not very happy about, as you don't feel that big bite in your mouth..but I have to make do with these, when I run out my stock brought from India..Again even turri fruitti were not generous enough...so thought of adding other nuts like cashew and almond.
Then I thought of adding only tutti frutti  and broken cashew in the cake and to sprinkle generously sprinkle chopped almonds on top. Didn't add any raisins or other dry fruits.
Now again I wanted a dense cake so adding butter instead of oil.
Interestingly I had read somewhere, while surfing the blogs, that frothing up the yogurt with bi carbonate of soda and baking powder and then mixing the flour, makes the cake fluffier and gives nice texture to the cake.
So tried that method this time and was very happy with the results.
So lets bake a tutti fruitti cake!!!!!!

Ingredients:
Plain Flour/Maida - 1 and 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon,
Granulated Sugar - 1 cup,
Sour Yogurt - 1 cup,
Baking Powder - 1 and 1/2 teaspoon,
Bi Carbonate Soda - 1/2 teaspoon,
Melted butter - 1/2 cup,
Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon,
Salt a pinch.
Tutti frutti - 3/4 cup(but I had a little less than 1/2 cup)
Broken Cashew - 1/2 cup,
Chopped Almonds - 3/4 cup.

Method:
Mix tutti frutti and broken cashew and add 1 teaspoon of plain flour to this mix and mix it well.
This is to ensure that the nuts don't sink to bottom while baking.
Separately dust chopped almonds with plain flour and keep aside.
Grease baking tray with butter or oil and line with parchment paper and keep aside.
Mean while preheat the oven at 170 degree celcius.
First mix yogurt and sugar and whisk well to make a smooth consistency.
Then add bi carbonate of soda and baking powder, whisk well and set aside for few minutes to froth'n up.
Meanwhile sieve plain flour to avoid  lumps.
Once the yogurt froths up to double quantity, add salt, vanilla essence and butter.
Gently mix, so the air bubbles formed, will not break.
Add the plain flour and gently fold.
Take care not to over mix otherwise the cake will sink and very become very dense,
Gently fold tutti frutti mix to the batter.
Pour the batter to the greased baking tin.
Generously sprinkle chopped almond on top and place it in the preheated oven to bake for 30-40 minutes..depending on your oven, mine took 45 minutes.
So keep an eye and check after 30 minutes.
A Skewer inserted should come out clean.
Take it out of the oven and keep in the pan for ten minutes.
Invert it on a wire rack and cool it completely.
Cut into desired  shapes.
Enjoy with tea or coffee!!!!!!!

Note:
If you dont want denser cake or  dont want to add butter, then you can add oil for lighter cake.
It would be 1/2 cup of odourless/flavourless oil.

Dill Leaves/Sopssige/Sabbakki Soppu Kootu

Dill leave are very aromatic greens..with strong flavour and high nutrient value..
Great for nursing mothers...but you need no reason to eat  this leafy green vegetable..
It can used in almost all of your daily cooking....like in sambhar, rasam, kootu, sabji and so on..like in rottis and dals as well..
Though this is used as herb in west for salads and soups to increase the flavour.
Kootus are my favourite South Indian gravies.
This particular kootu what I am writing today is very flavourful, spicy and easy to make.
This goes very well with rice and as side dish for chapathi.
I and my husband are ardent fans of dill leaves in any form.
Dill leaves can be used even in chana dal masala vada to increase the taste and flavour.
I have used peanuts in the kootu to give the crunch, but you can use any beans of your choice, like soaked and cooked kala chana or hyacinth beans in season or tuvar beans and so on..
This kootu needs no tempering or tamarind.

Ingredients:
Dill Leaves - 2 large bunches,
Toor dal/Tuvar dal/togari bele/tuvaram paruppu - 1 large cup,
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon,
Peanuts - 1 cup,
Jaggery/Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon,
Salt.

Grind to paste:
Coconut - 1 heaped cup,
Mustard seeds - 1 tablespoon,
Rice - 1 teaspoon,
Coriander - 1 teaspoon,
Red Chillies - 10-12,
Asafoetida - a fat pinch.

Method:
Clean dill leaves, pick only the leaves with tender stem.
Clean them and wash well, so no sand particles are in it.
Chop them finely, and cook with very little water, until it wilts.
Pressure cook the dal with turmeric in water, in one container and peanuts with little water and little salt in another container at the same time. 
Or if you cannot do that, then separately cook them until dal is well cooked and peanuts completely cooked, but holds shape intact.
Grind the ingredients under the grinding table, with water to a smooth paste.
Once dill leaves wilts, add ground paste, salt and jaggery/sugar and bring it to boil.
Boil well for 4-5 minutes until raw smell goes and nice aroma eminates from the boiling mixture.
Finally add the dal and peanuts and mix well and remove from heat.
Serve hot with rice or chapathi and enjoy.

Note:
You can reduce the quantity of chillies according to your spice taste.
You can skip sugar or jaggery if you don,t like, but it blends well with kootu.

Menthya Hittu or Metkut

Me and my hubby are ardent fans of all kinds of chutney powders, which go with hot steam rice.
Sometimes we get very bored of our regular rice, roti, sabji, rasam, sambhar etc...but we cannot live without rice..so on those days, we simply love to eat our rice....like mix hot steam rice with ghee or oil and dry chutney powder and enjoy. 
One of those dry mix powder is menthya hittu or metkut...menthya/vendiyam means fenugreek seeds....
It is a very flavourful mix of lentils and mildly spiced with little addition of fenugreek seeds.
It mildly tastes bitter,  but it is enjoyable, when mixed with hot rice and ghee.
Rejuvenates your taste buds and it is, trust me comfort soul food.
It has a shelf life of more than  months...can be stored in refrigerator for upto six months.


Ingredients:
Chickpea dal/Chana dal - 1 small heaped cup,
Urad Dal - 1/2 small cup,
Whole Wheat/Flour - 1 and 1/2 tablespoons,
Rice - 1 and 1/2 tablespoons,
Cumin seeds - 1 and 1/2 tablespoons,
Coriander seeds - 3/4 tablespoon,
Red Chillies - 2,
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon,
Dry Ginger Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - 1 teaspoon.

Method:
Except salt, turmeric and dry ginger powder, dry roast rest of the ingredients separately.
Dals to be roasted until golden brown.
Once all the ingredients are roasted, mix everything together.
Allow to cool.
To this cooled ingredients, add salt, turmeric and dry ginger powder and grind to fine powder.
Store in air tight container.
Mix with hot rice and ghee/oil and enjoy.

Note:
Dry roast means, frying or roasting without oil.
Take care not to burn any ingredient while roasting, else the end product will be very bitter.
So roast on medium low flame.

Bangalore Style Stuffed Mirchi

Mirchi/Chilly Bajjis/Pakodas are perfect match on a rainy or cold evening with a cuppa.
But this time when it was cloudy outside, I was feeling a bit low because, I was just remembering my days in Bangalore, When we used go out for shopping in the evening, and suddenly it used to start drizzling..we used run for the shade...but some where from near by, the aroma of hot fried pakodas would drag us to  the shop.
This one place we would never miss to visit when we were nearby...was our hot bajji spot...
He used make whole  green bell pepper(green Capsicum) pakodas...once fried cut hot pakodas into quarters and sprinkle generously chopped onion, grated carrot, chopped coriander mixture..to top it with red chilly powder and a squeeze of lemon...mouth watering..this would continue to rest of bajjis/pakodas like raw bananas, baby corn, mirchis and so on...We would stuff ourselves and return home and skip our dinner.
The clouds were supporting my mood today..ready to pour  from sky and my eyes...all those days came flashing in front of my eyes..I just don't know how many evenings we cousins spent shopping and enjoying these foods..Wish I could go back again there....free of all worries and responsibilities..I know it almost near to  impossible..but anyway..I simply craved for that stuffed bajjis..so what next?..went into the kitchen and looked into my fridge..I was lucky to find the chillies to make pakodas..being sunday, husband and kids having a nap after lunch..so thought of surprising them, when they wake up..
Also made some green chutney to go with..since my lil one doesnt eat spicy food, so thought of making some potato bajjis for her..Once done and the family came down for tea....tadaaaa...here it is the stuffed mirchi bajji with hot coffee..we all enjoyed a lot..needless to say skipped lunch..but it surely took me to good old days for few hours...hah..sigh..

Ingredients:
Mirchis/Chillies - 10-12,
Chickpea/Besan Flour - 2 cups,
Rice Flour - 1/2 cup,
Red chilly Powder - 2 teaspoons( I used mildly spiced),
Salt,
Sodium Bi  Carbonate - 1/2 teaspon,
Oil - 1 tablespoon,(do not heat, it is just raw oil).
Oil to deep fry pakodas

For Stuffing:
Onion - 1 large chopped,
Carrot - 1 large grated,
Coriander Leaves chopped - 3 tablespoon,
Salt,
Red Chilly powder - 1 teaspoon,
Lemon juice - juice of 1 large lemon.

Method:
In a kadai keep oil to heat.
Slit the chilies and desseed it, if you find it very spicy.
Mix chickpea flour, salt, red chilly power, rice flour, soda and mix well.
Slowly add water to make a smooth, medium thick, lump less batter.
The chillys should hold the battter, not flow away, when to put into hot oil.
So I have said slightly thicker batter.
Add one tablespoon of oil  to the batter(dont need to heat) and mix well.
When the Oil in the kadai is medium hot, 
Dip chillys in batter and deep fry evenly to golden brown.
Remove and drain excess oil on a kitchen towel.
Meanwhile, mix onions, grated carrot, coriander leaves and keep aside.
Once the mirchi pakodas are fried, make a little larger slit in the middle of the pakodas.
Stuff generously the stuffing mixture, sprinkle salt, red chilly powder and squeeze of lemon juice.
Serve Immediately with  green chutney and enjoy.

Banana Milk Shake

Yet another basic milkshake recipe..when I first made a milkshake..it was banana milkshake..
I remember reading in a local magazine...then I wanted to try it.
I soo wanted to try  because we had got our new fridge...I wanted to chill the milkshake and drink it.
The recipe  called for only few basic ingredients...like banana, sugar, milk, fresh cream or malai and lemon.
At First I was wondering why ? lemon...later I found out to stop the discolouration of the bananas.
Through the process making it for many years..there was many changes to make it  healthy.
I omitted fresh cream, used semi skimmed milk, instead of sugar..used honey..sometimes added more bananas...added maple syrup..flax seeds powder and so on..
Add nuts like almond powder and add vanilla essence...
But whatever even today I enjoy and love it the same way I did the first time.
It is a compulsory drink I have after my breakfast on saturdays in summers.

Ingredients:
Banana - 3 large,
Chilled Milk - 250 ml,
Sugar/Honey/Maple Syrup - 1 Tablespoon,
Flax Seeds Powder - 1/4 teaspoon,
Vanilla Essence - 1/4 teaspoon,
Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon.

Method : 
Blend all the ingredients, in a blender, to smooth frothy liquid and pour it to glasses add ice cubes and serve.
If you cannot have any kind of sweetener, add one extra banana while blending.
If you want to add oats, add 1 tablespoon powdered and soaked oats.
You can also add almond powdered to it

Raw Mango Thokku

It is my atte's(my father's younger sister) signature dish.
In my childwood days, summers would mean, raining tender mangoes, big omelette variety mangoes and to ripe mangoes in our backyard.
It would start with tender mangoes/baby mangoes pickling in jaadis/chettis.
The aroma of that raw mangoes would fill the house.
We would steal couple of those, break it by keeping them in door joints.
Then add salt and chilly powder and enjoy it.
Then while pickling big cut mangoes, it was to save few of them and make this thokku/Chutney.
We used to love this chutney with dosa, idly and with hot steamed rice.
This time when I went for Indian grocery shopping, saw those big raw mangoes, picked it up.
The first thing after I came back called up my aunt and took the recipe.


Ingredients:
Big Raw Mango - 3 quite sour(when I grated I got 750 grams of grated mango),
Oil- 150 grams,
Mustard - 1 tablespoon,
Curry Leaves - 20 leaves,
Whole Red Chillies - 10,
Turmeric - 1 teaspoon,
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Red Chilly - 200 grams Powdered,
Asafoetida - 10 grams,
Salt,
Sugar/Jaggery - 1 and 1/2 tabelespoon.

Method:
Dry roast fenugreek seeds/methi seeds until nice brown.
Take care not to burn, or else it turns bitter.
Powder and keep aside.
In a kadai, add oil and heat it.
Add mustard seeds, when it crackles, add asafoetida, curry leaves and red chillies.
Add grated mango and fry until it soft,
Add turmeric, salt, red chilly powder and fenugreek seeds and mix well.
Cook for five more minutes.
Remove from heat, cool until it warm.
Add sugar or grated jaggery and mix well.
Allow to cool well and store in air tight jars.

Papaya MilkShake

One more Summer cool drink.
In summers you always want to drink something cool.
It may be from simple lemonade to any other fresh fruit juice or cool cool milk shakes.
I like milkshakes after my light breakfast in the morning or in between breakfast and lunch.
It keeps you cool and healthy for long, you don't need to munch on any high calorie snacks.
If you add oats, skimmed milk, add less sugar/no sugar or replace with honey..makes a healthy drink and filling too.

Ingredients:
Papaya - ripe 1 small size or say 1 medium sized bowl heaped
Milk - Chilled 2 cups
Sugar/Honey - 1 tablespoon or less(optional),
Lemon - 1 tablespoon.
Ice cubes -few.

Method:
In a blender add all the ingredients and blend well.
Pour in glasses, add more ice cubes and serve.


Note:
I have used semi skimmed milk, you can use skimmed milk or whole fat milk.
Adding lemon gives a nice zing to the milkshake.
You can oats powder or soaked oats.
You can skip honey/sugar or skip its optional.
You can flax seeds powder, almond powdered or ground to make it healthy.
I haven't added ice cubes as my kids and hubby cant have ice.

Saffron Almond/Badam Milk

It is one of my favourite cool drink during summers,
Its favourite and common in all households in India.
Drink it hot or cold, it always relishes you.
It is very healthy to all ages, be it kids or grown ups.
I love this drink during summer nights after my food.
Adding a pinch of nutmeg powder, adds more spice to  the milk but also get a good night sleep.
Nutmeg is said to be best medicine for insomnia/sleeplessness.
Homemade fresh and all the goodness of milk, almonds and a pinch of dry ginger powder and a pinch of nutmeg powder.
Saffron not only gives unique yellow color and flavour, also saffron is good skin lightning.
Cardamom gives that needed nice aroma for the drink.

Method:
Milk - 2 cups,
Almond - 10-12,
Sugar - 1 tablespoon
Or 
Honey - 1 tablespoon,
Saffron few strands,
Nutmeg Powder - a pinch,
Dry Ginger Powder - a pinch,
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 teaspoon,
Pistachio - chopped to garnish.

Method:
Soak almond in warm water for 4-6 hours or overnight,
Then remove skin, save a couple to garnish and grind rest to smooth paste with milk.
Soak saffron in warm milk, again save one or two strands to garnish.
Now bring milk to boil, once it gets a boil add ground paste of almond.
Cook for a minute, add sugar/honey(optional).
Remove from heat.
Add nutmeg powder, dry ginger powder and cardamom powder.
If you  want to serve chilled cool it well, and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
Then remove from fridge and serve with chopped almonds, pistachios and saffron strands.
If you want to serve it hot, serve it immediately garnished with chopped almonds, pistachios and saffron strands.

Note:
Adding sugar or honey is completely optional.
I have used semi skimmed milk, you can also use skimmed or whole fat milk, choice is yours.