Healthy Cake..

When you say “Cake”, all one can see before their eyes is lots of maida, cream, beating of eggs till fluffy or separating of eggs, etc…But I am sure all mothers whose kids are cake lovers will definitely love this recipe…

      And yes cakes can be made from atta also…

     I got this recipe on a Marathi cookery show. What I loved in this recipe is that no maida, no beating of eggs till fluffy & with carrots & apple. I loved this recipe at once. So now its once-in-a-month, this cake is baked at our house… everyone loves it……

    When I 1^st made it everyone was shocked to learn that it was made with minimal amount of maida… you surely will love this cake…

Ingredients

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter

¼ cup maida

¾ cup atta

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup grated carrot

½ cup grated apple

Dry fruits  

1 tsp Elachi powder or vanilla essence

·         Beat the eggs a little.

·         Powder the sugar & then add it to the eggs along with butter.

·         Mix till sugar melts.

·         Add elachi powder or essence.

·         Sieve thrice, together maida, atta baking powder, soda & cocoa powder.

·         Add this to the egg mixture bit by bit.

·         Now add grated carrot & apple.

·         Also add dry fruits coated in maida/ atta.

·         Pre heat oven at 180`C for 5 min.

·         Pour the cake mixture in  a greased tin & bake at 180’C for 30 - 40 mins or till knife comes out clean.

Note:

•   Instead of maida, add equal amount of atta.
•   You can add choco chips on top to look like a chocolate cake.

Happy baking 

Coleslaw..

     2 days back had gone to market for usual vegetable shopping & I was fascinated by small red/purple cabbages sold by the vendor…thought should give a try for its colour …

          So tried making a coleslaw… though not a perfect recipe, but somewhat similar

Ingredients

1 small red/purple cabbage

2 white/green cabbage leaves

1 medium sized carrot

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp garlic flavor mayo

2 tbsp dahi

Salt, sugar & black pepper to taste

1.    Wash & finely shred both the cabbages.

2.    Finely slice or grate carrot.

3.    Mix all the ingredients & keep in fridge to chill.

4.   Serve cold with chapatti or as a sandwich filling or with khakara…

Enjoy Cooking J

Oondi...

This is traditional Manglorean breakfast recipe taught to me by my mother-in-law. Easy to cook & healthy & filling too…

Ingredients

1 cup idli rawa

2 cups water

1 tbsp + 1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

Grated coconut

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp urad dal

·           In a kadai take 1 tbsp oil & add urad dal & mustard seeds.

·           When it starts to splutter, add water, salt & bring it to boil.

·           When it starts to boil add rawa & coconut.

·           Keep stirring it till it forms a lump.

·           Turn off the gas & Cover it for few seconds.

·           Allow the mixture to cool.

·           Pre heat idli steamer.

·           Make small small oval balls of the cooled mixture & place it in the steamer for 10 min.

·           Serve hot with coconut chutney

 

Another version of this is a sweet one for people with sweet tooth J 

·         Avoid the 1^st step. Instead directly keep water to boil. When it starts to boil, repeat the whole process as above but add ghee instead of oil.

·         After the rawa mixture is made, keep aside for cooling.

·         Meanwhile prepare jaggery & coconut mixture usually made for stuffing in modaks.

·         In a non stick kadai, take grated coconut; add jaggery (gul) according to your taste. Mix well. Add elachi powder. Stir till mixture is dry.

·         Now after both mixtures have cooled, take little of rawa mixture, flatten it on your palms & fill with sweet coconut mixture. Shape it in round or oval balls.

·         Now steam it for 10 min as above.

·         Serve hot with desi ghee.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Mushroom is one of my favorite vegetable…Many think of it as meat… but it’s a vegetable… I had got this idea while watching cookery show…though not the same recipe…made some changes …

          So here’s recipe for stuffed mushroom ……

Ingredients

1 pack button mushroom

1 medium tomato

1 medium onion

Few cloves of garlic

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp red chilli flakes/powder

1 tsp mixed herbs/fresh herbs

Salt to taste

Black pepper powder

Cheese to taste

Olive oil 1 + 1 tsp

1.    Wash nicely all the mushrooms under running water. Pat dry using kitchen towel.

2.    Remove the stalks of mushroom & finely chop them.

3.    Keep the round part of mushroom intact.

4.   Finely chop onion, tomato & garlic.

5.    In a kadai, take 1 tsp oils saute garlic till it smells, then add onion & ginger garlic paste.

6.   After onion turns translucent, add tomatoes & mushroom stalks.

7.    Add chilli flakes, herbs, salt & black pepper.

8.   Cook till all water is dried up.

9.   Remove it in a plate & allow to cool.

10. Stuff this mixture in the empty portion of the round mushroom.

11.  Cover it with cheese & sprinkle little herbs (optional).

12. In non stick pan, add remaining oil (if you want you can add butter), arrange the stuffed mushrooms & cover it & cook till cheese melts.

13. Serve hot as a starter with ketchup.

Ginger Garlic Paste

“Now-a-days ginger garlic pastes are easily available in supermarkets, so why take so much trouble” is what some will say. But I was never satisfied with taste of readymade pastes.

With little effort we can make the paste in required quantity, easy on pocket & makes a huge difference on taste…

Ingredients

100 gms ginger

100 gms garlic

Green chillies according to your taste

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp Vinegar

2-3 tbsp oil

1.    Wash & pat dry ginger & chillies.

2.    Remove skins of garlic pods.

3.    In a mixie make a fine paste of ginger, garlic, chilli & salt.

4.   Add Vinegar.

5.    Heat the oil to smoking point & then let it cool a bit.

6.   Add the oil to the paste, mix well.

7.    Store in a glass container.

8.   It stays in fridge for nearly 6 months.

Notes:

·         You can make a paste of only ginger & garlic, or separate pastes in same manner & store.

·         Take care none of ingredients has water droplets.

Milk Mithai

                         Sometimes when you boil milk it gets split… what we usually do is either make paneer or those who don’t know how to use it, just throw it down the sink… but here is a way where in you can make a sweet from it tastes like kalakand

Ingredients

Spoilt milk

Sugar – to taste

Elachi powder

In a non-stick pan/thick bottom pan take the spoilt milk. On medium heat reduce the split milk, when all the water gets reduced, add the required amount of sugar & elachi powder.

When the sugar melts either reduce the water content completely to form a lump & pour it in greased plate or keep it in little liquid form to be eaten with chapatti or bread as a spread …

Choice is yours…

Mixed Veg

Frankly speaking I don’t remember from where I got the recipe. Once it just popped in my mind & tried & Hubby dear liked it… so here’s a simple mix veg recipe…

Ingredients

1 big floret broccoli / cauliflower

2 carrot, diced

1 pack mushroom, cleaned & quartered

1 pack baby corn

1 zucchini

1 capsicum

1 tomato

1 onion, thinly sliced

1” ginger, grated

1 pod garlic, thinly sliced

Fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, basil etc

Red chilli flakes

Salt

1 tsp Olive oil

1 tsp butter

1)    In a non stick pan, add oil & butter.

2)    After butter melts, add ginger, garlic & onion. Fry till onion turns translucent.

3)   If you want you can par boil broccoli, flower, carrot & baby corn with little salt.

4)   Once onion is cooked add all the veggies, including the par boiled veggies, zucchini, capsicum, mushroom & tomatoes.

5)   Add salt, fresh herbs & chilli flakes.

6)   Cover the pan till veggies are crisp & cooked.

7)   Serve hot.

Imp Tips:

Ø  You can use coloured capsicums or just green.

Ø  You can use fresh herbs or else dried herbs will also do.

Ø  If both are not available you can add coriander leaves & crushed black pepper.

Ø  You can use either olive oil or butter or either one or even refine oil.

Ice creams..

      

         Summer means all you can think of ice creams & cool drinks…But making Ice creams means, keep reducing milk, which takes lots of time or using condensed milk means high sugar or easy way out is buy from outside, which means spending more money… but here is a recipe which doesn't take lots of time, easy on pocket & also you can control sugar content…

        

         I came across this recipe on a Marathi cookery show & from then it has been my fav, superhit recipe in my house & also in my family…

         

            So my ice cream recipe on popular demand from my family members ……

Ingredients

2-3 Alphonso mangoes (makes nearly 1 cup pulp) [Don’t add water]

Sugar

Full cream Milk

Milk powder

Malai/ Cream

1)    Take the pulp of the mangoes & measure it.

2)   Now take equal amount of milk, sugar, malai & milk powder.

3)   Blend all 5 ingredients in blender or mixture & put in a plastic container & deep freeze it…

4)   Your ice cream is ready…

 

NOTE:

Ø  You can add equal amount of sugar or you can reduce the amount depending on sweetness of pulp.

Ø  Malai also, if you want you can avoid it. It won’t make difference to taste…

Ø  You can make ice creams of various fruits, like chikku, anjeer (fig), sitaphal or tender coconut or any other fruits of your liking using same recipe…

Karela Fry

                 Many of you after reading the title are going to wrinkle their noses, as I know many of them don't like karela...
                 I had come across this recipe long time back in some newspaper…Though I myself was not that great fan of karela at that time, thought of giving it a try & sure enough I fell in love with this recipe … so here is the recipe for karela / bitter gourd…

Ingredients

½ kg karela / bitter gourd

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 medium tomato, finely chopped

1” ginger, finely chopped

1 pod garlic, finely chopped

Few dania leaves, finely chopped

2 green chillies slit in middle

Pinch of haldi/turmeric

Red chilli powder, dania jeera powder: according to your taste

Salt to taste

Gul / jaggery ½ tsp

1.    Wash nicely all the karelas, & pat dry with a towel. Make a slit in middle & remove the seeds & also the stalks on it head.

2.    Then finely chop them in to small pieces.

3.    In a non stick kadahi, put 1 tbsp oil & roast those karela pieces till crisp on a medium flame. (Note: if you want, you can deep fry those karela pieces but I prefer roasting them)

4.   Add little bit of salt to fasten the process.

5.    Once all the karelas are crisp, remove them on a plate & keep aside.

6.   Again put 1 tsp oil, add ginger, garlic, chillies & onion fry till onion is transparent.

7.    Add other ingredients, like tomatoes, haldi, red chilli, dania jeera powder & gul.

8.   Mix well. Adjust salt.

9.   When done, close gas & add dania leaves & serve hot with chapattis, or dal rice.

Summer Cooler...

                         In this sultry summer, my Aayi always makes this cool drink for us… So I thought why not share with you?? … so here’s the recipe for cool & healthy drink

Ingredients

1 cup whole green gram / moong

Gul/jaggery according to taste

2 tsp elachi & nutmeg/jaiphal powder

Water

          Dry roast the gram till it smells & changes from green to brown. Add water & let it soak for nearly 1 hour.

After 1 hour, wash the gram & drain the water completely. Grind it to fine paste with elachi powder & gul. Add water to get required consistency. Strain the mixture. Adjust the water & sweetness to your taste.

Serve cold…

I am sure you’ll enjoy this cool & refreshing homemade drink in this hot summer…ENJOY…