Eggless Blackforest Cake

                        Who doesn't like cake? I am always a bit apprehensive when buying cakes for my daughter from the cake shops. The best thing would be to make them at home and enjoy them without any doubt regarding the quality of the ingredients used. Again the icing on the cake :) would be if we are able to make them in the pressure cooker rather than a microwave.

                         So here is a simple recipe for an eggless blackforest cake made in a cooker.

Ingredients:

Salt for cooking cake - 1 packet

For Cake:

All purpose flour(maida) - 1 cup

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Butter - 1/2 cup

Milkmaid - 1/2 cup

Choco powder - 3 tbsp

Milk - 1/2 cup

Tinned Cherries - 1/2 cup

Cherries for decoration

Dark or Milk Chocolate 

For Icing:

Amul Whipping Cream - 1.5 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

For Sugar syrup:

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Water - 1/2 cup

Method:

Take the salt in the pressure cooker and heat it on a medium flame for five minutes till it becomes hot.

Meanwhile, take all the dry ingredients(maida,baking powder,baking soda,chocopowder) in a bowl and sieve them. Grind the sugar into powder and add to the mix. Now melt the butter to room temperature and add it. Also add milk maid and milk to the bowl and mix well till it forms cake batter consistency.

Take a round pan (you can even use steel ones) and grease it well with butter and place a butter paper on it cut according to its size.

Now add the cake batter to the tin. Tap it well so as to remove any air bubbles. Place a small stand in the pressure cooker and place the cake tin on it. Close the lid. Do not use the gasket or the weight. Cook on medium to low flame for around 30 minutes. If the cake batter is around 5 cms thick then you need around 30-40 mins for the cake to cook completely. Adjust the timings accordingly. Once done use a tooth pick to check whether the cake is cooked completely.

Once the cake is done, remove it from the flame and allow it to cool.

Meanwhile take the whipping cream in a bowl. It should be chilled. Add sugar powder to it and whip it for around 10 to 15 minutes till it forms stiff peaks. Once done store it in the refrigerator.

Make sugar syrup with sugar and water by boiling them together for around 5 minutes. Keep the syrup aside to cool.

Once the cake is cooled, cut it into two or three layers depending on the thickness of the cake.

Take the first layer and add sugar syrup to it. Let the cake soak in the syrup. Now add little chopped tinned cherries on top of it. Now layer the whipped cream on it. Place the second cake layer now and repeat the process. Once all the layers are assembled, cover the entire cake with whipped cream, decorate it with cherries on top.

Also grate some chocolate and apply it on the sides and on top of the cake..

Allow the cake to cool down in the refrigerator for atleast an hour before cutting it. Enjoy it with your family members without any guilt. I am sure your kids would love it.

Enjoy Cooking!!!

Poori

     Poori is a fried flat bread and is a popular breakfast recipe in India. It is very tasty and is everyone's favourite... It's a great recipe for lunch box and is a favourite in my house when prepared with Vegetable Saagu or Bombay Saagu..

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Salt for taste

Oil for frying 

Water

Method:

Add a 1/2 a tsp of salt to the flour and mix well. Add sufficient water and knead it into a firm dough.

Divide the dough into small pieces depending on the size of the Pooris you want. Roll the dough into flat shape little thicker than chapathi...

Fry in medium to hot oil until they puff up..

Enjoy with the Saagu... (Link for the recipe provided above)

Enjoy Cooking!!!

Vegetable Saagu

      A quick recipe which can be prepared during the busy weekdays.. it tastes great with Poori (click here for poori recipe). Kids love this recipe and its a healthy way to feed vegetables to them...it's also very mild in flavours as it doesn't have any strong spices added.

Ingredients:

Beans chopped - 1/2 cup

Carrot chopped - 1/2 cup

Potato (1 med size) chopped

Green peas - 1/2 cup

Onion (1 med size) chopped

Green chillies - 2

Fried Bengal gram - 1/4 cup

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

Coriander chopped - 1/4 cup

Curry leaves - 2 stalks

Oil for tempering

Salt for taste

Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Method:

Heat water in a pan and add all the chopped vegetables to it until they are just cooked. Also add half of chopped onion and one stalk of curry leaves into the pan.. let the vegetables soak in onion and curry leaves flavour.

Meanwhile grind coconut, chilles, fried Bengal gram, half onion and coriander together with little water to form a paste.

Once the vegetables are cooked add the ground masala to it. If required add more water as it's going to thicken because of coconut and bengal gram. Add salt and mix well.

Cook for 5 more minutes till the gravy thickens and then temper it with mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida .

Enjoy with some hot Pooris...

Happy Cooking !!

Stuffed Green Chillies

    This is a favourite recipe in my home during the  winter months when it is the season for these chillies. They are mainly available in northern parts of Karnataka. They are thick skinned and are very mild in hotness.. Just shallow fry them with little stuffing and they are good to go with any south indian dal or sambar and hot rice.

The below recipe is my mother's recipe. This needs only few ingredients.

Ingredients:

Green chillies - 8 to 10

Roasted gram powder - 1/2 cup

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Lemon - 1 large

Salt to taste

Oil for shallow frying

Method:

Make a slit on the chilles and deseed them.

Take roasted gram powder in a bowl. Add cumin and coriander powder to it. Add salt and juice of the lemon. Mix well.

Stuff the green chillies with it.. Heat a pan and add two to three tsp of oil to it. Once the oil is hot, add the chilles.

Keep frying the chillies until they are coated well with golden colour and turn soft. The skin also loosens up a bit.

Serve them hot with hot rice, dal and some mango pickle on the side..

Enjoy cooking!!