Strawberry Oats Cake

It is strawberry season here and I just dunno why but I picked up a pack of strawberries while we grocery shopping this weekend. When I found a tiny amount of oats remaining in a jar, I knew that I had to make the strawberry oats cake that I had seen on Aparna and Greeshma's blog - here. I was just hoping that I had the right amount of oats. Gingerly I opened up my laptop and found the recipe which is actually from this site. I was happy to see that it required just 1/2 a cup of oats. Since, it is just two of us, I usually make cakes with a cup of flour so I had to just halve the ingredients and 1/4 cup of oats is all that was needed.

As you all do know me by now, I just had to put in a twist or two.

Ingredients:
1. 1 cup of whole wheat flour
2. 1/4 cup of quaker quick coooking oats
3. 1 teaspoon of baking powder
4. 1 whole nestle strawberry yoghurt

5. chopped walnuts
6. A pinch of salt

7. 1 egg ( the original recipe indicates the use of a ripe banana which was, in my case, amidst gastronomical juices today)
8. 1/2 cup of sugar
9. 1/4 cup of honey
10. 1/2 to 3/4 cup of strawberries chopped (The cake was very moist due to the number of strawberries that I had put in. This reflects a modified moderate amount)
11. 1/4 cup oil
12. 2 tbsp of milk - can avoid if the batter is smooth

How I made it :
1. Sieve together the salt, baking powder, atta. Add the oats and walnuts.
2. Beat the egg with sugar, honey, oil.
3. Once the mixture is creamy, add the yoghurt and the dry mixture of step 1. Fold in the ingredients.
4. Add the strawberries. Mix softly. Add the milk if the batter is too thick and lumpy.
5. Bake for 45 minutes in a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes at 180 degree C.

This cake is quite moist and therefore can't be kept for more than a day.

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Beetroot halwa

I know most of my readers would not have opened up this post seeing the word "beetroot". If you've made it till here, I salute you for that. Beetroot is one good veggie for us. But that is not the reason I chose to make the halwa out of it.

Well, Hubby and I visited "Lumiere - The organic restaurant" on Christmas 2011. They have a very lovely place with great ambience. Fortunately, it was one restaurant that I've finally found in Bangalore that is not crowded on a holiday. I think it is attributed to the fact that most people misunderstand "organic" for "vegetarian". Ironically though, their board does have a picture of a prawn :) Check out their website here. Well, as a welcome drink, we were served a pinkish liquid. I assumed it was due to the root that is dissolved in the water by Mallus. One taste and I knew I was wrong, we were given a beetroot with lemon juice. It was really good. Hence, this week while grocery shopping, I picket up a few beetroots to try out this simple juice that was detailed out to us by the ever helpful waiter. However, I was still wondering what I would do with the beetroot pulp that would remain once I had extracted some juice. One moment I thought I'd make something like a tikki but with the success of the carrot halwa, I just knew what to do with the pulp. So here's how I made the beetroot halwa. I did not have milkmaid on hand this time so skipped it.

Ingredients :
1. 4 medium sized beetroots grated or blitzed in the food processor
2. 300 ml of milk
3. 60g of khova
4. 1 tablespoon of sugar
5. 3 tbsp ghee
6. 1 elaichi

How I made it :
1.  Heat up the pressure cooker. Pour in the ghee.
2. Add the elaichi. Once it is aromatic, add the beetroot. Fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add the milk. Close the cooker and boil till 5-6 whistles.
4. Once the pressure releases, cook on sim, add the khova and keep stirring frequently till all the milk is absorbed.
5. Add the sugar.
6. Turn off heat  once sugar dissolves.
7. Garnish with chopped dry fruits and serve. I dumped a handful of cashews and almonds in the microwave for about 1 minute. Once they had cooled, I chopped them. This makes them more crunchy.

Hubby certified that the beetroot halwa was more tasty than the carrot halwa. I guess it is just that since it was my second attempt, I got a better hang of it.

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Carrot halwa

Off late, due to the increase in percentage being taken by the food coupon companies, many biggies in the supermarket business have stopped accepting coupons. I was very worked up when I found a bundle of coupons for 4000 rupees lying in the back of my hubby's cupboard. Yesterday, while going for a walk, I found that a small department store near my place accepts the coupons. Hence, hubby and I went on a shopping spree :) I found really good delhi carrots as well as khova. Hence, I decided to make carrot halwa.

Ingredients

1/2 kg carrots grated

1/2 litre milk

100g khova

1/4 cup milkmaid

3 tablespoons sugar

1 elaichi powdered/smashed

3 tablespoons ghee

Dry fruits to garnish

How to make :

1. Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the carrots. Fry the carrots for about 3 minutes. 

2. Add enough milk to cover the carrots. 

3. Pressure cook on high for 5 whistles. 

4. Once the pressure releases, add the remaining milk and keep stirring. Add the elaichi.

5. After about 8 minutes, add the milkmaid and the khova. Continue stirring. Use a glove to protect your hands from the steam while stirring.

6. This takes sometime. You will need to keep stirring to ensure that it does not stick to the bottom. Once you feel that the halwa has absorbed all the milk, add the sugar.

7. Turn off heat once sugar dissolves.

This was the first time that I tried making carrot halwa and it was truly delicious.

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Vendakka Kara Kuzhambu/South Indian Ladies Finger/Okra curry

For a long time I have been trying to master kara kuzhambu. Every time my friend Anitha would bring the same in her lunch box, I would say to myself "Now, this is one dish I need to master.". My aunt's maid in Coimbatore used to make really good Kara Kuzhambu/Vatha Kuzhambu. I miss that. Finally, today after viewing this link, and with a few modifications of my own, voila, I got the perfect kara kuzhambu. It was truly delicious certified by Pras as well as Latha, the owner of the house which we've rented. Latha is an excellent cook and she too, like me, keeps experimenting and trying out new dishes. We keep sharing our recipes and food :) I did borrow some tips that she had given me for this yummy kara kuzhambu.

This curry has the sweetness of the fennel seeds, the bitterness of the methi/fenugreek and the sourness of the tamarind - get the proportion right and you won't stop licking those fingers.

Ingredients
Ladies finger/okra - 20 cut into 1 inch sized pieces
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
3 tbsp oil
1 medium sized onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 and 1/2 cups of tamarind juice (soak a lemon sized tamarind ball in hot water and extract the juice)
2 tbsp sambar powder
1 red chilly
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Water as needed
1 country tomato (optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala powder

To grind into a fine paste after dry roasting:
10 shallots or 1 small sized onion chopped
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 tsp coriander seeds/powder - I did not have seeds to directly used powder at hand
1/2 cup of grated coconut
4 red chillies (adjust as per spiciness desired)

Steps to get that yummy kara kuzhambu:
1. Dry roast the ingredients which need to be ground into a paste. This takes some time and should be done on low heat until the coconut starts to brown. This adds to the colour of the dish. Cool and grind to a fine paste. Add water as needed. If you are one of those who do not like fenugreek seeds, please add them after about 5 minutes of roasting and powder along with the rest. I prefer adding them to the tadka.
2. Heat one tbsp of oil. Fry the okra pieces till you can see them beginning to brown and keep aside. Do this with care so as not to break the okra pieces.
3. Heat the other 2 tbsps of oil. Add the mustard and fenugreek seeds(Skip this if you've added it to step 1). Let the mustard splutter. Add the red chilly and fennel seeds.
4. Add the onions and fry till translucent.
5. Add the tomato and fry till cooked and mushy.
6. Add the paste and fry for about 5 minutes on sim.
7. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder and sambar powder.
8. Add in the tamarind juice and boil away - may be for about 15 minutes.
9. By this time the fat should've separated - you can see small rounds of oil floating on top. Add salt, the okra, garam masala powder. Adjust consistency. Add a little more water.If you do have the country tomato, chop it into 4 quarters and drop them in - this gives it a more restaurant look. Boil for 5 minutes and voila - it is ready.

I served it with hot rice and popadams.

Tips :
1. Wash the okra and wipe them dry with a cloth or tissue. Lesser the water on them, the lesser the sliminess while cooking, meaning easier cooking.
2. The longer this cooks the better.
3. You could replace okra with drumstick/brinjal/garlic.
4. Since this dish contains coconut, it may get less spicy, so I suggest not reducing the red chillies.
5. The basic trick is to get the tamarind to sambar powder ratio right. That makes all the difference. Keep adding sambar powder a little by little to the tamarind water and keep tasting, you will hit the G spot.

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Christmas Fruit Cake recipe

It is Christmas season and how could I not bake a cake? I just had to. I had already tried out the fruit cake recipe from http://www.joyofbaking.com/FruitCake.html 3 weeks ago and it was delicious. So I just had to make it again. I had some palm sugar this time - bought it from the Lumiere organic store near Marathahalli, so I decided to use it. I was a bit hesitant as I've never used palm sugar before. Jaggery in cakes and tea - yes.. but Palm Sugar - NO.. Anyways, I decided to go ahead. Those of you who know me, do know by now that always the recipe will have some twist.

This makes a very large cake.

Ingredients :
1. 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour - for a healthy twist
2. 1/4 cup of maida
3. 1 cup of rum
4. 1.5 cups of chopped apricots, dates(not the dried ones), figs and raisins
5. 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
6. 1/2 cup of palm sugar - you could also use jaggery, see note below
7. 1/2 cup of almonds - ground to a flour - I powdered these with the palm sugar
8. 2 eggs
9. 1/4 cup of milk
10. 110 g of unsalted Butter (softened)
11. 12 almonds for decorating
12. 1 tsp baking powder
13. A pinch of salt
14. Zest of one lemon
15. Juice of one orange

How I made it :
1.  Soak the chopped dried fruits in the rum overnight for best results. 30 minutes will also do.
2. Preheat the oven to 160 degree C
3. Prepare the cake tin by oiling and dusting it with maida
4. Beat/cream together the powdered sugar, powdered almonds and butter.
5. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition.
6. To this add the rum along with the soaked dried fruit and walnuts.
7. Also add the orange juice and lemon zest.
8. In another bowl, mix together the maida, whole wheat flour, salt and baking powder. Pass this through a sieve to incorporate some air.
9. Mix the dry and wet ingredients in both the bowls.
10. Add milk to make the batter smooth.
11. Pour the batter into the cake tin. Decorate with almonds on the top and put into the hot oven.
12. Bake for about 40 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 140 degree C and bake for another 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Note : If using jaggery, dissolve the jaggery in as little water as possible and pass through a sieve to get rid of impurities.

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Strawberry Smoothie

Strawberries all around... I can't get enough of strawberries, they remind me of my childhood in Ooty where these yummy, red, juicy berries grew in our garden. Unfortunately, with the rapid urbanization of the area around my house, the drains do not hold up :( This totally affected the area where our strawberries used to grow. Hmm, well they are history now.

Anyways, the street vendor tempted me into buying the last box of strawberries and immediately I was thinking "SMOOTHIE".

Ingredients for 2 glasses of smoothie :
1. 12 strawberries
2. 1/4 cup fresh cream
3. 3 tbsp honey - adjust as per sweetness desired
4. 1 tsp flax seeds - for the Omega 3 - can be omitted
5. 1.5 cups of milk
6. 1/4 cup of water

Method :
Blitz the ingredients together in a juicer and serve :)

I could not get any really WOW pictures but the smoothie was truly WOW

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Eggless Strawberry Pancakes

Well, it is holidays now and I get really lazy, more so that it is quite cold this year in Bangalore. I woke up and Pras was like "I want some breakfast!!" I had hardly any ingredients on hand to make a healthy breakfast, not even eggs!! I went to open up the fridge and I saw "STRAWBERRIES". Out they came and pancakes were on my mind. Quickly, as almost always, I went to one of my favorite blogs and adapted the recipe from Eggless Blueberry Pancakes by Nags.I also had some condensed milk handy. So I served the pancakes with the condensed milk.

Ingredients  to make 3 pancakes :
1/3 cup maida
1/2 tsp baking powder
Sugar - 1 tbsp as the original recipe. Use more if not serving with maple syrup or sweetened condensed milk
A pinch of salt
2 tsp olive oil
A little under 1/2 cup of milk
A handful or more of strawberries
2 tbsp nutella ( optional)
2 tbsp butter/oil

Method :
Mix together the maida, baking powder, sugar, salt, olive oil, nutella and milk to form a smooth batter. Chop the strawberries.
Heat up a tawa. Smear the butter. Pour on some of the batter on the hot tawa. Once the bubbles start appearing, sprinkle some of the chopped strawberries over the batter. Cover it for about 30 seconds. Make sure the heat is on low. Take off the cover and flip the pancake. Cook until golden brown on the other side. Take off pan and serve with sweetened condensed milk.

This is ready in minutes and is eggless. Do give it a try. It was truly yummy with the condensed milk ;)

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Mushroom Bread Burger with baked Mc Cain Smileys

I just love mushrooms since I was a kid. Fortunately, it was one of the things that both my dad and I liked. Usually, we'd be arguing over what was to be made for lunch or dinner cause of our differing tastes. I always preferred roti and sabji and he would prefer south indian meals with rice. I had mushrooms as well as buns the other day and so tried this recipe out. It was scrumptuous. This time, I did not get the buns but had fresh bread at hand, so decided to get experimental.

This recipe is adapted from Mushroom Veggie Burger Recipe. Thanks to Pras for taking this yummy looking picture.

Ingredients :
For the patty
1. Button Mushrooms - 1 packet
2. Onion - 1/2 chopped
3. Garlic - 6 cloves minced
4. Olive oil - 3 tbsp
5. Salt to taste
6. Pepper to taste
7. Oats - 1/2 cup ( I don't know what rolled oats are so just used the Quaker oats that I have at hand)
8. Bread crumbs - 3/4 cup
9. Parmesan cheese - 1/4 cup - I had bought this at acres wild, coonoor. It is also sold at the "Bee Museum" in Ooty.
10. Eggs - 2 beaten
11. Oregano - I did not have any at hand this time
For the burger
12. Tomato - 1 sliced
13. Cucumber - 10 slices
14. Pudina chutney - recipe Mom's pudina chutney
15. Tomato sauce
16. Cheese slices - 5
17. Bread slices - 10
18. Butter

Method:
For the patty
1. Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the garlic, onions and sliced mushrooms till all the water that the mushroom leaves out evaporates.
2. Mix the above mixture with the oats, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, beaten eggs, oregano, salt and pepper. Leave this aside for minimum 15 minutes.
3. Shape into patties of desired shape.
4. Heat oil on a gridle/tawa - just enough to form a thin coating of oil on the tawa.
5. Place the patties and let them cook for about 3 minutes on medium heat on either side.
Assembling the "bread" burger
1. Butter 5 slices of bread and heat them on a tawa/gridle till they just start getting brown - this firms them up.
2. On the other 5 slices of bread, spread out the pudina chutney as much as you would like. Place these to warm up on the tawa. Make sure to place the plain side on the tawa.
3. On the buttered side of the bread, place the cheese slice. Place a slice of cucumber and a slice of tomato. Place the hot patty on top. Top that with another slice each of cucumber and tomato. You could add some tomato ketchup. Cover with the other bread slice.

Now, warm this up for 30 seconds in the microwave and serve hot with tomato ketchup. I also added baked McCain Smileys to the plate.  These smileys were introduced to me by a colleague and friend, Rachna Gupta.  She also did suggest using Robin Cuffs N Collars on a stain, which seemed like of oil on my new jacket, which actually works. Now, just as she does, I first use Robin Cuffs N Collars on any stain.
Alright, awright.. enough of rambling..... Go ahead and enjoy this yummy hearty burger.

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Rava Idli Cake with Coconut Chutney

I am an ardent follower of a good friend's blog http://www.fingerlickingfoodblog.com. Namratha and I studied in St. Hilda's together and recently we caught up while she was here in Bangalore. I am always on the lookout for good and easy to make breakfast recipes and I've made this one from Namratha's blog earlier too. This time I captured some good pictures - at least I would like to think so :) The main reason why I religiously follow this blog is because the method and ingredients are so much like what I've grown up eating. So here is the how I made my own version of http://www.fingerlickingfoodblog.com/2007/11/rava-idlis-and-bombay-gojju.html.
My husband won't allow me to buy an idli cooker saying that too many pots and pans in the kitchen make shifting houses/places more difficult. So, I make idli cakes ;)


Ingredients
1 Cup rava dry roasted till fragrant
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
5 whole cashews cut roughly
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sour curd
1 cup fresh curd
Salt to taste
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 medium carrot grated
1/2 cup peas - if not using the frozen variety make sure to boil them separately before use

Method:
1. Heat the oil.
2. Put in the mustard seeds.
3. Once they splutter add the curry leaves, urad dal, channa dal and cashew bits.
4. Once the cashews start to brown, add the rava and salt.
5. Once this mixture cools, add the curd.
6. Oil a vessel. Sprinkle the peas and grated carrot. Pour over the batter.
7. Steam in a cooker for 10-15 minutes till done.

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Pav Bhaji

Since I keep trying new stuff, it is a long time before I actually repeat a recipe. Also Pras prefers that I make something new with the same ol' ingredients. I had beetroot which for long was lying the basket. To put it to use, I hit upon "Pav Bhaji". I did refer Mom's Pav Bhaji. Namratha is a fantastic cook. She used to be my classmate and I am proud of what she has achieved with her blog. So here goes - I made it a tad bit different ;)

Ingredients:
To be boiled together till mushy:
4 medium sized potatoes - cut into quarters
1 medium sized carrot - cut into roughly small pieces
1 medium sized beetroot - cut into roughly small pieces
1/2 cup of cauliflower florets

To grind into a paste:
4 small to medium sized tomatoes
3 long green chillies - adjust as per taste and hotness of chilly
6 cloves of garlic

Other ingredients:
1 large onion finely chopped
1 medium sized capsicum/green bell pepper finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp Pav Bhaji masala
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp oil
water as required
salt to taste

To garnish :
freshly chopped coriander
chopped onion
1 tbsp butter
lime juice to taste

How I made it :
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil.
2. Add the onions and fry till dark golden brown. You can add more oil to prevent the onions from burning.
3. Once onion is brown, add the bell pepper and green peas. Fry till green peas are almost done.
4. Add the red chilli powder.
5. After 30 seconds, add the tomato paste. Fry till oil separates
6. Mash the boiled veggies and add.
7. Add salt and the pav bhaji masala.
8. Add a little water and allow to simmer for 10 minutes with cover on.
9. Garnish with chopped onion, coriander and a sprinkle of lime juice.

Serve with buttered pav.

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Veg Moussaka

I adapted the recipe from http://arundati.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/moussaka-not-quite. It was truly yummy. If only I had a 8x8 baking dish, I would have had great pictures to post too.

I did make a few changes - I did not add the pasta as was suggested and I made the belchamel sauce a tad bit differently. However, I prefer plain belchamel sauce - made up of maida, butter n milk.

Ingredients

1. 12 thick slices of potato

2. 1 large brinjal cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

3. 2 tbsp oil

For the soya layer which replaces minced meat

3. 1 1/2 cup soya granules soaked in boiling hot water

4. 1 1/2 cup tomota puree

5. 1 large onion finely chopped

6. 1/2 capsicum finely chopped - I had this left over from the sandwiches that I made earlier in the week

6. 8 pods of garlic - I used the large variety which are considered more pungent

7. 1 tsp red chilli powder

8. 1 cinnamon stick

9. 1/2 tsp cumin/jeera powder

10. salt to taste

11. 1 tsp oil

For the belchamel sauce

12. 1 tbsp butter

13. 2 tbsp maida

14. 1 1/2 cups milk

15. 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

16. salt to taste - be careful as the cheese and butter are salted generally.

17. pepper to taste

How to make...

1. In a wide pan, heat the 2tbsp of oil. Lay the potato slices and fry till they are 3/4th done on both sides.

2. While the potato is getting done, you can salt and keep the brinjal slices aside so that any bitterness will be removed.

3. Once the potato is 3/4th done, remove and place on paper towels to drain. Fry the brinjal slices in a similar fashion till done. Remove on kitchen towels to drain.

4. In the same pan, add a little more oil. Put in the cinnamon stick. Fry the onions and capsicum till onions are translucent. Add the chilli and cumin powders. Add the soya, after draining all the water. Fry the soya for a minute. Next add the tomato puree. Adjust salt. Fry this till almost dry.

5. In another pan, melt butter. Fry the maida till fragrant. Add warm milk, whisking throughout to make sure there are no lumps. Add pepper, cheese and salt(with care). Once it reaches a sauce like consistency, take off from fire.

6. Now to assemble the whole thing together. Place the potato pieces at the bottom of an oven proof pan. Place the brinjal slices on the top of that. Layer with the soya granules. Now pour over the belchamel sauce. Bake for 30minutes in a pre-heated over at 180 degree C.

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Sakkarai Pongal

My sweet tooth got the better of me yesterday and I made sakkarai pongal, which is very simple and easy.

Ingredients :

Rice 1/2 cup

Yellow mung dal - 1/2 cup - dry roasted till fragrant

jaggery - 1/2 cup powdered

coconut milk - 1/2 cup

cashewnuts - a handful - dry roasted

almonds - sliced and dry roasted - a few

water - 2 cups

milk - 1/2 cup

ghee - 4 tbsps

How I made it :

1. Soak the rice and mung dal for about 30 minutes

2. Cook the rice and mung dal with 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of milk - slightly overcook them.

3. Mash the rice and mung dal with a masher or the back of a ladle.

4. Add the jaggery.

5. Once the jaggery melts and mixes in, add the coconut milk.

6. Add ghee. You could fry the nuts in the ghee before adding.

7. Decorate with the nuts and serve.

Tastes best cold. Add elaichi/cardomom pods if you like the taste of those. My hubby detests it like crazy. We constantly argue about this.

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