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!!

Deepavali Special - Thengalu

        Thengalu is a very traditional snack made with rice and urad dal. It is a must in every Brahmin household during Diwali festival and other important occasions..

Ingredients:

Urad dal - 1 cup

Rice - 4 cups

Cumin seeds - 2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 to 2 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

First wash the urad dal and rice separately and dry them on a cloth for around 4 to 5 hours. They must dry in shade..

Once they are dry, roast them on low flame. Urad dal should be roasted till it is nice  golden in colour. Rice should be roasted for only 2 to 3 minutes till it becomes warm. 

Now grind both of them together into fine powder. Now take them in a large bowl and add cumin seeds , asafoetida and chilli powder. Mix it properly. 

Heat oil in a pan for frying. Once the oil is hot add around 2 tbsp of oil to the ground powder and mix well. Now take a thengalu making machine that is similar to the chakli machine. 

This generally has three holes on it. 

Now just take little powder and mix it will with water to form dough. Knead the dough properly. The more you knead the softer and crispier the thengalu are going to turn out. 

Do not mix the entire powder together. Once the dough is formed, place it in the thengalu maker and press. Once the thengalu comes out , put it in the hot oil and fry it on medium flame till they are nice and golden.

Store them in an air tight container and enjoy them with your evening tea.

Enjoy cooking !!

Deepavali Special - Kaaja

           Kaaja is a very popular sweet in the eastern states of India and also Nepal. It's hard on the outside but juicy from within. It doesn't take much time to make it and can be stored for almost a week.. I have heard that it's very popular dish of Orissa and is also offered to Puri Jagannath as one of the chappan bhog offered to the Lord...

Ingredients:

Maida - 1 cup + 2 tbsp

Sugar - 1 1/4 cup

Ghee - 3 to 4 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil for frying

Method:

    Take maida in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp of ghee and mix properly till the flour crumbles in texture.

Now add water and make a smooth dough. Cover it with a wet cloth and allow it to rest for 30 mins.

     Till the dough rests, make the sugar syrup. Take sugar in a pan. Add 1 cup water to it and heat it to form a syrup. If u want a lite syrup coating boil it for only 5 mins just like gulab jamoon. But i like an extra sugary texture on the dish. So i boil it till it is one thread consistency. Switch off flame and allow it to cool.

Now roll the entire dough into a thin sheet. Melt the rest of the ghee and add the 2 tbsp maida to it to make thin paste. Apply it on the rolled dough .

     Start rolling the dough from one side as in the picture. In between keep applying a paste of maida and ghee to get the textures. After rolling the dough into long strip. Cut it into 1" size pieces. Press them slightly.

     Heat oil in a pan and fry them in medium to low heat till they are nice golden brown. Remove them and soak them in sugar syrup for 2 to 3 minutes..

      

      Tasty Kaajas are ready to be enjoyed in this festive occasion.

Enjoy cooking !!!

Hayagreeva

 A very special dish and very close to my heart. This dish is offered to the deity of Sode Vadiraja mutt everyday...
The feeling that you experience when you relish it just cannot be explained.. try it during this festive season..

Ingredients:

Channa dal - 1 cup

Jaggery - 1.5 cup

Dry dessicated coconut - 1/2 cup

Khus khus (gasgase) - 2 tbsp

Cashew, dry grapes and Almonds - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 3 to 4 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Wash the Channa dal and pressure cook it for 4 to 5 whistles in a pressure cooker with little water.

Once cooked, strain the water and slightly mash the dal.. the cooked water can be used in making rasam or sambar.

Now heat a pan and dry roast khus khus in medium flame till it splutters. Remove it in a plate. Now add two tbsp ghee to the pan and roast all the nuts till they are golden in colour. 

Keep them aside 

Now take the jaggery with little water and heat it. Once the jaggery melts and starts forming syrup, add dessicated coconut to it.

Now add mashed Channa dal and mix well. Also add the khus khus and nuts to it. Cook on low flame for another 5 mins till everything come together and thickens. Now add the cardamon powder and rest of the ghee and mix well and switch off the flame.. 

Serve it with all the other festival delicacies..

Enjoy cooking!!!

Quick Vegetable Pulao

Quick lunch box recipe. Trust me it will be one of your kids favourite dishes.. A wholesome dish loaded with nutrients and veggies and very mild in spice..

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Carrot - 1 med

Potato - 1 med

Beans - 8 - 10

Green peas - 1/2 cup

Cashews - 6 to 8

Dried grapes - 1/4 cup

Cardamom - 1

Cinnamon - 1/2" stick

Cloves - 2

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Ghee - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1tsp

Method:

Heat a small cooker pot. Add ghee to it. Chop all the vegetables into chunks. Once ghee is hot, add cinnamon, cardamom and clove. Now add all the vegetables and mix well.

Wash the rice and add it to the cooker. Add garam masala, cashews and dry grapes and salt. Add two cups water to the cooker and mix everything properly. Add lemon juice.

Close the lid and cook for two whistles.

Serve hot with raitha.

Enjoy cooking!!

Sabakki Payasa / Sabudana Kheer

     Sabudana, sago or Tapioca pearl is very good for the body. It keeps the body cool and is rich source of proteins, vitamis and calcium. Hence this is very beneficial for kids too. Give this once in a week to your kids.

Ingredients:

Sabakki/ Sago - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Saffron - 1 pinch

Milk - 1/2 litre

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Cashew, Badam and dry grapes - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method:

Wash and soak the Sago in a cup of water for one or two hours. The more it soaks, it cooks faster. Soak the saffron in little milk. Chop the dryfruits and keep aside.

Heat a pan and add ghee to it. Fry the dry fruits pieces till they are golden in colour. Keep aside. Now add milk  to the pan. Once milk starts to boil, lower the flame and add sago with water to it. Allow it to cook till the Sago is cooked and turns translucent. 

Once sago is done, add the saffron milk, cardamom and sugar. Mix well and allow it to simmer for five more minutes. Add the dry fruit strands to it and mix well.

Serve hot... Enjoy cooking!! 

Beetroot Poori

     Kids favourite recipe..They would love to take this in their lunch box as their lunch box would look more colourful..

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 1 bowl

Beetroot - 1 med size

Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Ajwain powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

Peel and cut the beetroot into large pieces. Boil them till they are cooked with little water. Once they are cooked, strain the beetroot and keep the water aside... 

Grind it into a fine paste. Take wheat flour in a large bowl. Add ground beetroot paste, cumin, chilli, turmeric, Ajwain powder and salt to it. Add little oil and knead into firm dough. Use the water from boiled beetroot for kneading.

Let the dough rest for 30 mins. Later roll the dough and fry pooris.

Serve hot with potato bhaji...

Enjoy cooking!!

Badam Holige

A delicious recipe which can be enjoyed by the entire family.. As this is a festival season, enjoy making it for one of the festivals.. This can be stored in an airtight container for two to three days..

Ingredients:

Almonds/Badam - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Milk - 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Saffron - 1 pinch

Ghee - 4 tbsp

Maida /all purpose flour - 1 cup

Wheat flour - 2 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Oil - as required

Method:

   Soak the almonds previous night. Next day peel the almonds and grind them to a smooth paste with little milk.

Soak saffron in a tsp of milk. Heat a pan and add ghee to it. Now add the badam paste to it and mix well. Keep mixing. Add sugar to it and mix well.

     Cook on low flame and keep mixing till it starting turning into a paste. Add saffron and cardamom powder to it. Mix everything together. Switch off flame and allow it to cool.

       Take maida, wheat flour , salt and turmeric in a bowl. Add water and form a very soft dough. Add little oil and  soak it for 30 mins..

      Now take little dough and press it with your hands. Take a big lemon size filling and place in the dough. Cover the dough well and roll the dough. Roast it on a pan on both sides with ghee.

        Enjoy it with little ghee.

Enjoy cooking !!!

Masala Khichdi

     I am back with again a quick one pot recipe which is also a lunch box recipe.. wholesome meal loaded with vegetables.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Moong dal - 1/2 cup

Tomato - 1 large

Onion - 1 large

Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves

Green peas - 1/2 cup

Potato - 1 large

Carrot - 1 large

Beans - 10 to 15

Brinjal - 1 medium size

Green chillies - 3to 4

Oil - 1 tsp

Ghee - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 5-10

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste.

Method:

Cut all the vegetables in chunks or large pieces. Chop the tomato, onion and garlic finely.

Wash the rice and dal together. Then add all the chopped vegetables except tomato and onion. Add five times water to it and pressure cook for four whistles will everything is cooked well.

Now heat a pan and add oil and ghee to it. Once hot add mustard seeds. As they splutter, add jeera, garlic, curry leaves and onion. Fry for a minute. 

Then add tomatoes, slit green chillies to it. Fry for few minutes. Now add all the masala powders and mix.

Add the cooked rice and vegetables to the pan and mix well. Add salt and  little water if required. Cook on low flame for few minutes.

Serve hot on a lazy Sunday with some masala papad..

Enjoy cooking!!

Homemade Mango Jam

         This simple recipe assures that you will be giving healthy food to your kids without any preservatives and they would relish it as much as the elderly in the home.. My family loves the taste as much as I do.. Relish this in the mango season. It can be stored in the refrigerator for upto two months.. Later you can go for other seasonal fruits or apple. 

           I have already posted apple jam recipe in the link below...

https://mykitchenfantasies.blogspot.com/2012/06/homemade-apple-jam.html?m=1

Ingredients:

Mango - 1 large ripe

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Peel and chop the mango.. Grind it in a blender till it is a fine puree. If the mango puree is around one cup, you will need around 3/4 cup of sugar. Adjust the sugar consistency depending on the sweetness of the mango.

Take the puree and sugar together in a pan. Heat the pan and cook the mixture on medium flame until the sugar dissolves and starts forming syrup. It takes around 5 minutes to cook. 

Keep stirring till the jam starts to thicken and forms paste. Add salt and mix well. 

Switch off the flame and allow it to cool down. Store it in an airtight container and refrigerate it.

Enjoy it with bread or chapathi... Kids will love it...

Enjoy cooking!!!

Tomato Rice

     A quick one pot recipe and very useful for lunch box. Kids love this too as it's not very spicy and mild in flavours ..

Ingredients:

Rice - 1.5 cup

Tomato - 3 med size

Onion - 1 med size

Green peas - 1/2 cup

Garlic - 2 cloves

Ginger - 1" piece

Curry leaves - 8 to 10 leaves

Coriander (chopped) - 1 tbsp

Mint leaves (chopped) - 1 tbsp

Fresh grated coconut - 1 tbsp

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon - 1" piece

Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and keep the rice aside. Chop tomatoes and onions. 

Grind garlic, ginger, coriander, mint, coconut, cloves and cinnamon together with little water.

Heat oil in a small pressure cooker. Add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add curry leaves, turmeric and chilli powder. Now add chopped tomatoes and onion and fry till onions are translucent.

Add the ground paste, Jeera powder, garam masala. Mix well and cook for two minutes. Now add peas and mix well. 

Add the washed rice. Mix everything together after adding salt. Add 2.5 cups of water. Once again mix everything together. Close the lid and pressure cook for three whistles.

Serve hot with some papad and raitha...

Enjoy cooking!!!

Mango Lassi

          Fresh summer drink that is very popular in India. It has high nutritional values as it is filled with vitamins and protein.

Ingredients:

Mango - 1 large

Curd - 2 cups

Milk - 1/2 cup (optional)

Sugar - 2 tbsp

Salt - a pinch

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Ice cubes

Method:

Chop the mango into small pieces. Keep two to three tsp mango pieces aside for garnishing. Add the rest of the mango, curd, milk, sugar, salt and cardamom powder and make a smooth paste in the blender. Milk is optional or you can just add water. 

Add ice cubes and blend again to the lassi consistency...

Garnish with mango pieces and enjoy chilled in this hot summer..

Enjoy Cooking !!! 

Spaghetti

      Spaghetti is one of the wholesome meal that we can depend on when we are bored of the same rice and roti dishes.. Its quick to make and is stomach filling..

    We can add wide varieties of veggies to it and make it more relishing and healthy.. I have made here a simple and quick version of spaghetti without many vegetables. This can be customised according to your taste..

Ingredients:

Spaghetti pasta (cooked) - 2 bowls

Onion - 2 medium size

Tomato - 2 medium size

Garlic - 5 to 6 cloves

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Italian mixed herbs - 1 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

Sugar - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Method:

To measure the required quantity of spaghetti for a single person meal, just pass the spaghetti though the hole in the pasta ladle. The hole is actually a measurement of spaghetti required for one person. If you don't have the ladle just take the enough quantity of pasta that u can pass through when u make a hole between your thumb a fore finger ( simpler one isn't it :) )

Heat water in a pan. Add one tsp of oil and little salt to it. Once it start to boil, add the spaghetti and cook for around 10 - 12 mins or till it's just cooked enough and breaks when you pinch it.

Once cooked, drain the water and soak the spaghetti in cold water. 

Now heat a pan and add the rest of the oil to it. You can either chop the veggies or just grind them together. I grind them so that they take less time to cook. 

Once the oil is hot add the ground tomato, onion and garlic paste to it. Shallow fry till the paste becomes more red.. now add chilli powder, pepper powder and mixed herbs to it.

Mix well. If you wish to add more vegetables, you can add them and fry for a while before adding ground paste. 

Add sugar and required salt to it. Now add the cooked spaghetti and mix well. Add tomato sauce to it and mix.  Cook for another two minutes on low flame till all the flavours come together..

Serve hot. You can also garnish it with little parmesan cheese if you would like to.

Enjoy cooking !!