Chocolate cupcakes

My daughter was complaining that the cupcakes I made were very dry. So I decided to change the recipe and here is the final version.

   
 Beat 1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1/4 cup oil and 2/3 cup sugar until soft and silky. 

Add vanilla essence and 4 eggs one at a time while beating until it mixes well on a low speed.

Add 3/4 cup plain flour and cocoa powder (unsweetened) each, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 cup milk and a pinch of salt. Mix well.

In a preheated oven (190 deg. Cel.) bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out dry

In the meanwhile, let’s make the buttercream frosting.

Beat unsalted butter 200gms, until soft and silky. Add vanilla essence and mix. Now add 3 cups of icing sugar, 1 tbsp meringue powder and 1/4 cup milk. Add coloring. Mix well until the frosting is to your liking. 

Spread or pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes.

  

Lemon Cake

   
 
Beat 200gms of butter with 1 cup of sugar (You may adjust the sugar as per your requirement) basically 1 slab and oil ( a little less than 1/4 cup).

Once the batter is smooth add 4 eggs and vanilla essence.

Add 2 cups flour and 2 tsp baking powder after sifting.

Add the zest of 2 lemons and it’s juice.

Mix well to form a smooth batter.

Divide the batter in 2 small cake pans and let it bake for 55 minutes at 180 deg. Cel.

Meatloaf

I have had this weird caving where I want to have only Indian vegetarian food. It is weird because I love meat and I thought it would die off in a couple of weeks. This went on for so long that my family refused to boycott home cooked meals. Finally, I caved in and made them a meatloaf. You can imagine the joy on their face. Read below for the recipe.

  
Ingredients

1.5 cup shredded carrots

1 yellow pepper

3 cups of mince meat

1 egg

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

3 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 red chili

4 tbsp BBQ sauce

2 tbsp ketchup

3 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 200 deg. cel.

Add all ingredients except the olive oil and mix.

Pat the mixture on a tin to create a shape of a bread and rub with olive oil.

Let it bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Serve with tomato sauce and baked potatoes.

Baked Potatoes

I love potatoes. Who doesn’t? My daughter. She does not even crave french fries. So this post is definitely not for her. To all those who love potatoes.

  
Ingredients

8 New potatoes

2 tbsp Dried Rosemary

3 tbsp Olive oil

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven at 200 deg. cel.

Cut into halves the new potatoes.

Toss them in a pan with the rest of the ingredients.

Bake in the over for 30  minutes.

Note: You may add other vegetables to this if you wish.

Rice Kheer or Porridge….what’s in a name

My husband was diagnosed with diabetes. For a food lover that was torture. This morning he was craving for something indulgent. This is what I made for him.

Ingredient

3 tbsp rice (any kind)

2.5 cups milk

2 tbsp pistachios

2 tbsp almonds

2 dates

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp clarified butter (ghee)

Method

Soak rice, pistachios and almonds in a separate bowls for 30 minutes.

Drain the rice and roast it in ghee till it tuns golden brown.

Add milk and continue cooking the rice while using a ladle to scrape of cream from the sides of your pot.

In the meanwhile, peel the pistachios and almonds.

Once only a cup of milk remains add the sugar and mix well. The rice will also have been cooked by now.

Chop the dates and mix it in with the porridge.

Remove in a bowls and garnish with the chopped nuts.

Orange Chicken

My daughter loves meat and prefers a little sweet marinade. So here is what I made tonight.

Ingredients:

Chicken 1 cup

Red pepper juliennes 1

Yellow pepper 1

Sesame seeds 2 tbsp

Onion juliennes 1

Garlic pods crushed 2

Ginger juliennes 1 inch piece

Five spice powder 1 tsp

Honey 1 tsp

Soya sauce 1 tbsp

Oyster sauce 1 tbsp

Oranges peeled and deseeded 2

Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

* although the ingredients list is pretty long the entire thing doesn’t take more than 15 minutes.

Method

Heat oil in a pan and add onion, garlic and ginger and sauté till onion in golden.

Add the chicken and sauté for a minute then add the peppers. Sauté for another minute.

Add the remaining ingredients sauté till chicken is cooked.

Serve on a bed of steamed rice.

Gatte Ki Subji – As I remember it

I lived in a small town for some time in my life. We had quite a few Marwaris who still continue to live there. Obviously, our taste buds were introduced to the Marwari cuisine. One of the dishes close to my heart is the ‘gatte ki subzi’ Here is what I remember of it. When I made it the other day it tasted pretty close to what I used to have as a child.  However, if there is any marwari reading this..please send me the authentic recipe and I will definitely give you credit for it in my blog and include the recipe.

Ingredients for gatte:

besan (gram flour)

salt

ajwain

oil

water

Method for Gatte:

Bring a pot of water to the boil.

Take some besan in a bowl.

Add a pinch of ajwain followed by salt and oil.

Knead the dough with water.

Now make small balls called gatte and add it to the boiling water.

It will be ready 6-9 minutes.

Ingredients for the sauce:

chopped onion 1 cup

chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup

3 green chillies

cumin seeds 1 tbsp

corriander powder 1.5 tbsp

hing 1/2 tsp

salt

oil 4 tbsp

garam masala 2 tbsp

Method for sauce:

Add cumin, hing and green chillies to hot oil.

Fry onions once the cumin seeds start to crackle.

Once the onion turn golden brown add the tomatoes and fry.

Add corriander powder, green chillies and salt to the cooked tomatoes and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add 1/2 a cup of warm water and bring to a boil.

Add the gatte and cover the vessel for a few minutes.

Once ready, sprinkled with corriander leaves.

Okra salad

I have always wanted to make okra salad. However, Indians love okra with loads of spices. The idea of an okra salad was repulsive. So with shaking hands I made this for my honey and ta-da just like that he loved it.

Ingredients:
A bunch of okra

A bowl of green and yellow pepper and celery

A few sprigs of coriander

Thinly sliced onion

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Balsamic vinegar

Lemon

Water
Instructions

Boil water and add okra. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Heat a pan and add oil. When the oil is hot add the okra and sauté it for a few minutes – until crispy.

In your salad bowl add all the ingredients. Add freshly squeezed lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Toss it and serve immediately.

Some Sort Of Tangdi Kebabs

When I started making this recipe for tonight’s dinner, I had no plans of including it in my blog. However, since I have not posted anything for so long I thought it would be a good idea to do so. So I have made two versions of this spicy and non spicy. The marinade is the same. All you have to do is add some chilli powder to the spicy ones.

Ingredients:

4 pieces of chicken drumsticks

3 spoonfuls of plain yogurt

1 tbsp very finely chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic grated

1.5 inch piece of ginger grated

1 tsp black pepper powder

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp turneric

1.5 tsp garam masala

1 tsp dry mango powder (amchur)

1/2 tsp dry pomegranate seeds (anardana)

3 tbsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp oil

salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients other than the chilli powder. Add the chicken drumsticks and massage the mixture well into the drumsticks. Now separate the chicken drumsticks. Add the chilli powder to the other set of the drumsticks and massage it well into the pieces. I marinated it for half an hour although overnight would be just fine.

Pre-heat an oven to gas mark 6 and place the chicken on the tray. Let it cook for 25 minutes or until done.

Sprinkle some mint and coriander leaves along with some lemon juice. Serve it hot.

Sol Kadhi

It’s my birthday today and I would have really liked to create a fab Malvani fare. However, with all the nausea that is not happening. So I decided to make just a part of it – Sol Kadhi

Ingredients:-

1 cup kokam

1.5 cups water (hot)

1 green chilli cut into half

1 tsp asafoetida (hing)

2 tsp sugar

0.5 cup coconut cream

2 tbsp corriander leaves

Process:

Grind the kokam and the green chilli together. Mix It with the hot water and cover it. Let it rest till the water completely cools down. Now strain the mixture and add the other ingredients. Mix well and let it cool in the fridge. Now taste and adjust the thickness of the kadhi.