Orange Semolina Cake or Rava Cake

Then one fine day when I saw a neighborhood kid playing with snow throwing snow balls and enjoying the weather, I remembered my childhood days and all my memories started pouring out from past to present. Nostalgic…It is rightly said “Childhood is a short season”. Speaking of my childhood days I fondly remember the memories of my yesteryear’s birthdays and homemade CAKES!! How did I miss that? My birthdays used to be very special as my Grandma used to bake a Cake for me for the big day. I used to wonder.. Is that a magic recipe or magic hands? She used to bake this “Ravyacha Cake” (Semolina or Rava Cake) using homemade “Loni” (butter). The aroma of the cake …mmm… I can still feel it. She used to bake it using Tawa by adding layers of sand on to it. Without wasting any further time I got hold of this Grandma recipe from her treasured book “Ruchira”.

Orange Semolina Cake or Rava Cake

This is a simple, straight forward recipe yet healthy and fatless I made few alterations though, like instead of using Saffron flavor I used citrusy and fresh Orange Juice to add some orangy flavor. My Cake came out awesome. I myself couldn’t believe the magic of this cake brought to life from my childhood memories . I dedicate this cake to everyone out there having wonderful childhood memoirs and my beloved Grandma.

Orange Semolina Cake or Rava Cake Ingredients

Time to Prepare : (excluding the time when batter is kept overnight) – 15 to 20 minutes

Time to Bake : 25 to 30 minutes.

How to prepare Orange Semolina Cake or Rava Cake:

1. In a mixing bowl beat curd and sugar with an electric beater or whisker until creamy and sugar are dissolved. Do not over beat.
2. Add butter to the above mixture and beat again.
3. Add Milk and Rava slowly, bit by bit, while you keep beating the batter until formed.
4. Now just add baking soda (1/2 tsp out of 1 tsp), baking powder, vanilla extract, salt, cardamom powder and give it a gentle whisk with a spatula or whisker. The batter is ready .
5. Leave the batter out for around 6 to 7 hours before baking it. I kept the batter overnight so that the Rava is completely softened and gives more fluffiness to the cake.
6. Once the batter is ready after keeping it overnight add the remaining 1/2 tsp baking soda, Orange juice and raisins. Mix it well with a spatula. Do not beat.
7. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C. Grease the Cake pan with oil/butter and pour the batter evenly into it until it is half or 3/4 full. Allow the Cake batter to settle in the Cake Pan. Bake the cake for around 30 minutes. The cake is done when it turns golden brown and starts leaving the edges.
8. Once baked remove it from oven and insert a skewer or a tooth pick to check if it is done. If skewer comes out clean the Cake is finally done..
   

   Orange Semolina Cake or Rava Cake after bake

9. Allow the Cake to cool down for 5 minutes and then invert the cake delicately on the plate and serve warm.

Voila!! The Rava Cake is now ready to feast upon. When I tasted mine, I was stunned by the way it tasted. It was tender, moist, fluffy and yummy. I could get a sweet flavor of the mix of Orange juice, chunks of raisins and cinnamon powder to the scrumptious Cake.

Orange Semolina Cake or Rava Cake

Garnishing:
I did not use any icing or any decorative stuff to garnish this Rava Cake. I preferred to keep it simple but elegant. So I used almonds and raisins to garnish. The most attractive thing I did to decorate was :

1.  An Orange Basket : It was fun to create this basket. I used a sharp carving knife to cut the orange into half( baskets), letting a part of the rind remain to serve as the handle. After having removed the two sections, the knife may easily be run underneath the rind, on the inside, separating it from the pulp of the fruit. With the help of spoon you can remove the watery juice from the basket and loosen the whole pulp from the basket, leaving the rind free.Kind of patience required to make this one. i played with 2 oranges to get one right.
2. An Orange Flower or Rosette : A Quicky! Just keep peeling the orange from top side to the bottom in circular motion without breaking the long peel. At the end you are left with a long peel which you just have to turn round and round and then turn upside down. The Orange flower is ready!!

Orange Semolina Cake or Rava Cake

My Tips

1. Once the Cake is baked and out of oven it will be kind of soggy and hot. Need not to worry. Let it just cool down for 5 minute to get the perfect texture.
2. The cake is made sans All Purpose Flour. So don’t worry if it does not rise much. This cake does not rise much like cakes made out of all purpose flour.
3. Saffron can be substituted in place of Orange juice.

Savor the flavor of Cake in lazy time with a cup of tea on a fine afternoon or evening…and don’t forget the childhood memoirs..

Earlier ladies would grind and prepare Dosa batter manually in small stone blocks with a round pit in it called the “Worallu kallu” in Kannada. This work would give their hands lots of strength. Now everyone seems to use either the stone grinder or the mixer grinder.

Dosa

I always prefer to use Dosa Rice available in the stores which is bit thicker than the normal rice, as it gives more taste to it. My experiments with Sona Masoori or other rice did not give me tasty Dosa. About Urad Dal or White Lentils I use split Urad Dal not the whole ones. Here, I have explained how to prepare Dosa batter in two methods. We usually follow the first method at home. There is a lot of difference in these two methods. If you are in a hurry you can opt for the first method. My mother used to prepare using the second method, in which Dosa batter ferments more and also its volume increased.This method gives much tastier Dosa than the first method, in my opinion.

For more information on Dosa one can visit Veggie Belly Website. She explained clearly on how to prepare Dosa Batter and also ferment in colder places.

Dosa can be served with Chutney, Sambar or with Chutney Powder.

Soaking Time: 5-6 hrs

How to Make Dosa Batter:

First Method:

1. Mix Rice, Urad Dal and Methi Seeds in a vessel and wash them thrice with water and soak with fresh water for 4-5 hrs.
2. Wash Thin Poha and keep aside.
3. Grind the soaked ingredients in a mixer or in a wet grinder for 8-10 minutes. Then add the washed Thin Poha or Beaten Rice, Salt and sufficient Water and grind until it turns to a smooth batter. I use wet grinder to grind for Dosa or Idly. While using wet grinder for grinding Dosa, grind at least for 25-30 minutes, as Methi Seeds takes more time to grind in wet grinder. If you grind in wet grinder the Dosa turns very tastier than grinding in a mixer grinder.
   

   Dosa Batter

Second Method:

1. Mix Rice and Methi Seeds in a large vessel. Wash and soak them. Same way wash and soak Urad Dal in another vessel separately by adding sufficient water. The water level in both the vessels should be 2-3 inches above the grains. Soak them at least for 5-6 hrs.
2. Wash Thin Poha and keep aside.
3. Take the Urad Dal soaked separately from step 1, and grind it first until it turns to smooth batter by adding sufficient soaked water to it. Transfer the Urad Dal Batter from the grinder completely to a vessel and then add the soaked rice, Methi seeds, washed Poha, Salt and sufficient water to the grinder and grind until it turns to a smooth batter. If you add more soaked water at once, the batter turns too thin and Dosa does not turn good. So check in between the grinding process. If you find the batter is too thick then add water and grind. Remove the rice batter to the same vessel containing the Urad Dal batter and using your hand mix well the batter.
   

   Dosa

4. Transfer the Dosa Batter to a medium sized vessel, close the lid and keep for fermentation at least for 8 hrs or over night before you start to prepare Dosa.

Note: This method of grinding has 3 benefits i.e., increase in volume of the batter while fermenting, tastier Dosa and fluffy, reddish brown Dosa.

Salt : Duration for soaking is minimum 4 hrs and in very cold regions 5 hrs. As well, duration for fermenting is min 8 hrs and 12 hrs in very cold regions. For people who cannot manage this time, little modifications can be done though the resulting Dosa taste will vary. In the process where soaking and fermenting is done in short period, one needs to add salt while grinding as the salt aids in early fermentation. Again this batter cannot be stored for more than 24 hrs as the batter starts to leave water. So take a note if you want to store the batter for longer period the salt should be added only just before preparing the Dosa.

How to Make Dosa :

1. Heat the Dosa tawa or griddle. I use Iron tawa or skillet. Sprinkle some water on a heated tawa, the water should sizzle and evaporate. This is to know that the tawa is ready to prepare Dosa.
2. Pour 1/4 tsp of Oil on the centre of the tawa and rub it in circular motion with the help of half diced Onion piece. The flame should be low.
3. Pour a ladle of Dosa Batter on the centre of the tawa and spread the batter into a circle shape with the help of ladle.
4. Now increase the flame to medium and pour 1 tsp of Oil on all over the Dosa and close the lid. Let it cook properly for say about 30 seconds and the remove the lid.
5. Once the edges turns the color to golden brown; lift the dosa slowly along the edges using the flat spatula (mogache kai in kannada), flip it to the other side and cook for a minute. If the Dosa color is turning to dark brown or black reduce the flame.
6. Remove the Dosa from tawa by folding one side and serve Dosa with Chutney.
7. Repeat the process for the other Dosa.

Tips:

1. Always wash the grain properly in water thrice and soak them in a fresh water.
2. While grinding the lentils or rice always use the soaked water, it helps in fermenting and use your hand while grinding or removing the batter from grinder instead of using spoon or laddle. This also helps in fermenting especially in winter season.
3. I always use Dosa Rice which is thicker than the normal Sona Masoori or other rice. This gives good taste to the Dosa.
4. Using Methi Seeds in Dosa gives more taste, stickiness and also gives color to the Dosa.
5. Add a tsp of Oil and Sugar to the Dosa Batter, this also helps the Dosa to turn golden brown in color.
   

   Dosa

6. Always use Iron skillet or tawa for Dosa to give more taste.
7. Better to use Wet Grinder for grinding Dosa or Idli as it gives more taste than grinding in a mixer.
8. For storage of batter in refrigerator keep unsalted batter in fridge section. While preparing Dosa, mix Salt after it comes to room temperature. If you have any salted batter remaining keep it in fridge and use it within one day, as the batter starts to leaves the water.
9. Bring the refrigerated batter to a room temperature before preparing the Dosa. Else the refrigerated batter turns Dosa white, dry and brittle.
10. Always rub the Tawa at least for the first Dosa, this helps removing the it from the Tawa. The Heat of the tawa will vary from low to medium flame.

Nankatai or Butter Biscuit

These tea time cookies simply melts in mouth within no time. During my childhood days, father used to buy us these cookies from bakery. Also my aunt would prepare these yummy nankatai whenever we visited her in vacations. Once before my marriage I experimented baking using my mom’s OTG. The result was good. Here, I have explained the baking process using the Convection Oven as well as the OTG.

Preparation is very simple. Beat the Ghee and Sugar in a bowl with your hand. Add Baking Powder, Cardamom Powder and mix with Maida like chapati dough. Prepare medium sized balls and place them on a tray. Preheat the oven at 200 C for 10 min. Now adjust the temperature to 180 C, keep the tray in the oven and bake it for 15-17 min. So try and enjoy these favorite lip smacking cookies.

Time to Prepare: 20 min

Baking Time : 15-17 min each tray

How to Make Nankatai or Butter Biscuit :

1. Powder the Sugar finely in a mixer grinder. Melt the Ghee if it is thick in a pan and keep aside.
2. Transfer the Powdered Sugar into a large mixing bowl. Slowly one spoon at a time add the melted Ghee or Clarified Butter over it. Beat both Sugar-Ghee mixture with your hand for 8-10 minutes or until the mixture mixes well to look like a smooth paste.
   

   Nankatai or Butter Biscuit

3. Once the Sugar-Ghee mixture is prepared, add Baking Powder, Cardamom Powder and beat for 5 more minutes.
4. Once the beating process is completed, add Maida or All Purpose Flour to the bowl slowly in 3 parts. Mix the dough with your fingertips until everything comes together and kneed the dough like a chapati dough.
5. Take a small amount of Nankatai dough, shape it into small ball and flatten slightly with your fingers. Repeat the process till the dough is made to several balls. Place the prepared balls on a greased baking tray with enough space in between each balls as they expand in size during baking.
6. Preheat the oven at 200 C for 10 minutes and reduce the temperature to 180 C. Keep the tray in the oven and bake it for 15-17 min (Time taken totally depends on the Oven which you use). The balls starts to expand and breaks slightly on the top. Once baked the Cookies or Butter Biscuits will feel soft on touch. Remove the baked butter cookies or biscuits from the oven and cool on wire rack. Once cool down the Nankatai turns hard.
   

   Nankatai or Butter Biscuit

7. If the Butter Biscuit dough remains, repeat the same process as said above in step 5 and 6. This time the dough turns bit hard on touch, as the Ghee starts to harden the dough. Just knead it once more to soften the dough before you keep for baking. Now the Nankatai or Butter Biscuits is ready. Once the Nankatai cools down, transfer them to an airtight container. Can be stored for more than 15 days.

Microwave Convection Oven Method:

As all of you know that I use Microwave Convection Oven to prepare Cookies and Cakes, I have explained the same here. So to bake the cookies or Nankatai in Microwave follow the below steps.

1. Follow the same process until the step 5. The Microwave Oven comes with Teflon coated cookie tray. So there is no need to grease the plate. Just keep the prepared balls on a baking tray with proper gap.
   

   Nankatai or Butter Biscuit

2. Preheat the Oven with a lower grill rack at 200 C for 10 min. I press the pre-heat button in my oven which takes 10 minutes to preheat the oven. Once the preheat is over, turn the oven Convection mode and set the temperature to 180 C. Keep the prepared tray on a low grill rack and bake it for 15-17 min.
3.  Once done, remove slowly from the tray and transfer them to wire rack. Cool the Butter Biscuits or Nankatai completely and store in an air tight container.

Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake

The cake turned out to be awesomely soft and delicious. It was thoroughly enjoyed by my friends and there was ‘Once More’ request from everyone.

So everyone, get ready to indulge in fantasy of warm Chocolate Lava Cake !!

This post is by Manasi – my ‘cousin-in-law’ and close friend. You will find her to be full of energy and talent as she posts more and more recipes here. Wishing her good luck as she begins her online journey with this post. More about her to follow – Hema

Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake Ingredients

Time to Prepare: 30 minutes
Time to Bake: 18 to 20 minutes

 How to prepare Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake:

Beating Process

1. In a mixing bowl sieve all-purpose flour(Maida), baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and thoroughly and keep aside
2. In another bowl beat together brown sugar (or powdered white sugar) and butter until it is creamy and sugar is dissolved. I used an electric beater which gives even creamy consistency with less time. If you use a whisk it may take some more time than the electric beater, like at least more than 5min. The beating process is preferred to be in single direction.
   

   Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake Beating Process

3. Add chocolate or Vanilla extract and curds to the creamy mixture prepared above and beat it again smoothly for another minute.
4. Add the dry ingredients from step 1 and milk to the mixture little by little, while you keep folding it gently until all the lumps are dissolved.
   

   Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake Beating Process

5. You will now get the perfect molten lava cake batter with dropping consistency.

Baking Process

1. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C.
2. Meanwhile grease the Ramekins (small porcelain bowls/moulds) or the Muffin Pan with butter or oil on the sides and bottom. Sprinkle it with single tsp all-purpose flour (maida) uniformly.
3. Pour the cake batter filling about ½ of the ramekin depending upon the size of ramekin. If the ramekin is large size fill it with ¾ of the cake batter. I used 2 Ramekins and the rest of the batter I poured in Muffin Pan filling it about ½ (the use of muffin pan is optional).
4. Drop a cube of Dark Chocolate and push a little in the center of the Ramekin or in each cup of Muffin Pan while is half filled with Cake batter and cover it or top it using little batter again. Just the amount of batter to cover the dark chocolate cube should be used as shown in the picture.
   

   Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake before Baking

5. Gently tap the ramekins to allow the cake batter to settle well inside.
6. Now place the Ramekins and Muffin Pan in the pre-heated oven and bake at 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C for around 20 minutes. Mine was done in 20 minutes.
7. The Molten Lava Cake is baked once you see the edges starting to leave the sides and outer cake becomes fluffy and soft and the center is gooey with molten dark chocolate.
   

   Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake baked in Muffin Pan

8. Now remove the Ramekins and Muffin Pan from the oven and allow it to cool down a little for about 3 to 5 minutes. After cooling it off insert a knife around the edges to remove sides completely and invert the cake delicately and carefully to a plate. The most awesome part is now when you cut the cake from center, the molten and hot dark chocolate lava gushes out making it more tempting to relish on..
   

   Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake baked in Ramekin

9. Sprinkle or dust the powdered sugar on the cake and top it with a strawberry or a cherry.
10. Serve warm with Vanilla Ice cream or you can just enjoy it with molten dark chocolate. I just enjoyed the way it is!!

My Tips and Notes

1. From the above measurements I made 5 molten lava cakes. 2 from the Ramekins and 3 from the Muffin Pan. Using of Muffin Pan is optional. One can use just ramekins. I used the Muffin pan to try out for those chocolate cake lovers who do not have ramekins as sometimes Ramekins are difficult to get in the Market.
   

   Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake

2. I used Semi Sweet dark chocolate. One can use a complete Dark Chocolate having 100% cocoa. Any other Dark chocolate will do.
3. For Muffin Pan :
1. While trying out with Muffin Pan, do not use paper cups in Muffin Pan. Just pour the cake batter directly into Muffin Pan. I tried using Paper cups which resulted into cake turning into pieces and the paper cups don’t hold the molten lava. As the size of each cup in Muffin Pan is small as compared with Ramekin the dark chocolate cubes to be used should be of small size which results into less flowing of molten lava.
2. Before baking, Fill each cup of Muffin Pan to its half of the cake batter and then insert the small cubes of dark chocolate.
4. The dark chocolate cubes should be entered only in the center of Ramekin and not to the sides because if you invert the cake to the plate the sides should be strong enough to hold molten lava inside. If by mistake the cubes are not in center the sides will have the molten lava and the cake will not easily come out of the ramekin.
5. Oven temperatures may vary so bake the cake for 18-20 minutes. Mine was done in 20 minutes. Do not under or over cook the cake as it may turn out uncooked or un gooey.
   

   Eggless Molten Choco Lava Cake

6. If I have to compare between Ramekins and Muffin Pan, I would go for a Ramekin as it was my first choice plus the quantity and the quality of Molten Lava Cake turns out a bit better in Ramekin. Muffin Pan is a try if you don’t have or could not get Ramekins.
7. Serve the Molten Lava Cake warm. Do not keep it unserved for a long time as the molten lava inside hardens and turns into hard dark chocolate again.

The Irresistible Molten Lava Cake is ready to gorge on. Be ready to travel to the Molten Chocolate Wonderland when you take the first bite!!!

Preparation is quite easy – prepare simple seasoning and add chopped Onions, Tomatoes and soaked Dal. Once everything is cooked well, add Cabbage, Turmeric/Chilli Powder and Salt. Finally add Lemon Juice. One can also have the Cabbage cooked in a microwave by heating for 5-6 min to save cooking time. You may also cook directly in flame by having sufficient water with the vegetable. Try out the Purple Cabbage Subzi and let me know if you like it.

Purple Cabbage Sabzi

Purple Cabbage is also known as Red Cabbage. It has a high ratio of nutrients and vitamins to calories and fat. Using this Purple cabbage we can prepare Salad, Sabzi and Pulao. After cooking the Purple Cabbage, it normally changes its color to blue. The flavor of this Cabbage is as good as green cabbage, but they say it tends to be more peppery than green when it is consumed raw. After cooking the taste is as good as Green Cabbage.  To know more about the difference between these two cabbage visit Red Cabbage Vs Green Cabbage. Also it was interesting to know that Purple Cabbage is just one of the six different varieties of Cabbages available.

Time to Prepare: 20-30 min

How to Make Purple Cabbage Sabzi :

1. Soak the Toor Dal or Pigeon Peas in water for half an hour or until the Dal turns soft. To ensure it is ready, take the single dal and press it with your two fingers; the Dal should get halved.
2. Chop the Onion and Tomatoes to small sized pieces. Keep aside.
3. Heat Oil in a frying pan, add Mustard Seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add Cumin Seeds and fry for a minute.
4. Now add the chopped Onion and Turmeric Powder and fry until the Onion turns soft. Next add chopped Tomatoes and fry until it turns mushy and gets mixed with other ingredients.
   

   Purple Cabbage Sabzi

5. Now add the Soaked Toor Dal(Pigeon Peas) and cook for 5 minutes. Then add chopped Purple Cabbage, mix once, add 1/4 cup of water to the pan and close the lid. Do not add extra water, as the Cabbage leaves have additional water content in them. Leave the mixture to cook for 8-10 minutes in medium flame. In between, mix with the ladle to ensure that the ingredients are prevented from getting burnt at the bottom of the pan.
6. Once the Cabbage turns soft, add Sugar, Salt, Red Chilli Powder and mix once. Cook until the water content disappears. Then add Lemon Juice to the Sabzi and mix properly. Finally garnish with Coriander Leaves.

Now the Purple Cabbage Sabzi is ready.

Tips:

1. Needless to mention, this Purple Cabbage Sabzi can be prepared with normal Green Cabbage as well.
2. To help prepare the Sabzi faster, one can cook the Cabbage in Microwave Oven for 5 minutes or pressure cook until you hear a single whistle before mixing with the other ingredients.

Kara Sev

Kara Sev is quite easy to prepare with relatively few ingredients and consumes less time too. Just mix all the below listed ingredients to form the Kara Sev dough and deep fry in hot Oil with dough dropped from Chakkali press with a medium sized holes plates meant for Kara Sev. The dough should be little sticky (not stiff) so that pressing to hot Oil directly requires lesser effort in pressing directly to the hot Oil. Remove from the Oil when “Shh” raw dough frying sound stops; if delayed, the Kara Sev turns brown in color and bitter in taste. Enjoy the Kara Sev in this winter season as evening snacks.

Time to Prepare: 20-30 min

Kara Sev

How to Make Kara Sev :

1. Crush the Carom Seeds or Ajwain Seeds with the help of Mortar and a Pestle (Kuttani); Keep aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, have Bengal Gram Flour or Besan, Rice Flour, crushed Carom Seeds, Chilli Powder and Salt.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp of Oil in a frying pan until oil is piping hot. Then add the heated Oil to the above flour mixture and mix well once.
4. Now add water to the above mixture little at a time to form the dough. The dough should come out a little sticky. Do not make dough stiff – pressing the dough in the Chakkali/Murukku press will be a bit difficult.
5. Heat Oil in a frying pan, with enough quantity to deep fry the Kara Sev. Fill Chakkali/Murukku press with above prepared dough with the plate which has bigger holes made for Kara Sev. Press it in a single circle shape into the hot Oil. Do not try to make too many circles since the dough can stick to each other and turn soft inside instead of staying crispy. Fry in a medium to low flame until golden in color. Better way to find out if the Kara Sev is done is by frying until you stop hearing the “Shh” frying sound. If you fry in excess, Kara Sev turns bitter in taste.
   

   Kara Sev

6. Drain the Sev in paper napkins. Break them roughly into medium size pieces as seen in the image. Allow to Sev to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container.

Cashew Almond Burfi

To celebrate new year and my blog anniversary, I prepared Cashew Almond Burfi and it came out really well. The recipe for this deliciously soft preparation that dissolves in mouth within no time, was taken from my cousin’s wife Ramya. Quite easy to make, Cashew Almond Burfi takes about 30 min to prepare, if you exclude the soaking time. Only difficult job is that of peeling the skin of Almonds. The task become easier if you peel the Almonds while they are soaked in hot water.

The process involves preparing a smooth paste of Cashew Nuts and Almonds. Then you mix well with Sugar and stir continuously for about 20 min. Switch off the flame, add Ghee, Saffron strands and spread on plate and cut into pieces. No need to prepare Sugar syrup and mix with the paste as is usually the case with many Burfi preparations.

Cashew Almond Burfi

Time to Prepare: 30 min

How to Make Cashew Almond Burfi:

1. Soak Cashew Nuts and Almonds separately in a bowl by adding hot water; keep aside for half an hour. Soak the Saffron strands with 1 tsp of warm milk.
2. Peel the Almonds outer covering when the water turns lukewarm; its easy to peel when the water is warm.
3. Grind the peeled Almonds and Cashews in a mixer grinder until it turns to smooth powder in texture. Now add little Milk to it and grind until it turns to smooth paste until you see no lumps or granules of nuts left in it. If you find that the paste is too thick, just add 2 tsp of Milk and grind again but make sure the Cashew Almond paste is not too thin.
   

   Cashew Almond Burfi

4. Transfer the Cashew Almond Paste to a pan, add the Sugar to it and turn on the flame. Stir continuously with the help of a spatula. First the Sugar dissolves completely with the paste and turns watery and slowly it becomes thick and the mixture takes the shape of a ball. It takes minimum 20 min to come to this stage. Till then stir continuously without stopping.
5. To check if thickness/consistency is right, take a pinch of the Cashew-Almond-Sugar mixture and hand rub it on a plate. If the mixture does not stick to the plate, then you can be confident that the mixture is cooked completely.
6. Turn off and remove from heat. Now add Ghee/Clarified Butter slowly, spoon by spoon, to the pan and stir continuously with the same spatula until the mixture mixes well with Ghee. Now add the soaked Saffron Strands and mix well properly. By this time the mixture turns warm. Slowly transfer mixture to a Ghee greased plate and press properly so that the top surface of the Burfi is smooth. Once it turns cool, cut the Cashew Almond Burfi into desired shape.

Try and enjoy the Cashew Almond Burfi.

Cashew Almond Burfi

Tips:

1. Always prepare the Cashew Almond Burfi in indolium pan; do not use the non-stick pan, as it separates the Ghee from the mixture.
2. One can also use silver foil for the decoration.

Aloo Methi Gobi Sabzi

This Aloo Methi Gobi Sabzi is quite easy to make; except for the slight effort involved in cleaning the Fenugreek leaves and Cauliflower/Gobi. This curry goes well with Chapati, Roti or with plain Rice too. Try this out and have a sumptuous meal with the delicious curry.

Preparation Time : 20-30 min

How to Make Aloo Methi Gobi Sabzi :

1. Clean and soak the Methi Leaves in salted water for 10 minutes. This helps to remove the dirt from the Fenugreek Leaves/Methi and also helps to remove the slight bitterness present in the Methi Leaves. Remove the leaves from water, chop them and keep aside.
2. Cook the Cauliflower Florets in salted water for 5-7 minutes. Remove the florets from water and keep aside.
3. Heat Oil in a pan, add Jeera/Cumin Seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add grated Ginger and Hing/Asafoetida and fry for a minute. Then add chopped Onion and Turmeric and cook until the Onion bits turn transparent.
   

   Aloo Methi Gobi Sabzi

4. Now add the Coriander Powder, Red Chilli Powder and saute for a minute. Now add Potato and fry for 3 minutes. Then add Cauliflower Florets from Step 2 above and Methi Leaves from Step 1. Pour 1/2 cup of water and close the lid. Cook for 10 minutes in low flame. This helps to cook the Potatoes properly.
5. Then add Garam Masala Powder, Salt and Sugar. Mix well intermittently, close the lid and cook for 10 more minutes. Next, open the lid and allow the contents to boil until the water content in the vessel evaporates to a small extent (let it not dry up).

Aloo Methi Gobi Sabzi is now ready to serve. Serve this with Chapati or Roti.

Spicy Puffed Rice or Kara Pori

We use less Garlic at our home and hence I did not use the same for preparing this spicy mixture. But many love to mix Garlic with this preparation. One can add 3-4 pods of Garlic after frying the peanuts. I have used Hing or Asafoetida instead of Garlic.

The process is simple – preparing this involves adding simple seasonings, frying all the ingredients and mixing well with Puffed Rice. Let the whole thing stay on stove for 5 minutes to turn the Puffed Rice crispy in texture. Add the Powdered Sugar and Powdered Roasted Bengal Gram at the end, after adding the Puffed Rice. So try out the much liked Spiced Puffed Rice as evening snack.

Spicy Puffed Rice or Kara Pori

Time to Prepare: 10 min

How to Make Spicy Puffed Rice or Kara Pori :

1. Heat Oil in a deep Kadai or pan; add Mustard Seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add Urad Dal or White Lentils. Once the lentils turn light golden in color, add Peanuts/Groundnuts. When the nuts turn slightly brown in color, add Curry Leaves and Roasted Bengal Gram Dal/Putani and fry for a minute.
2. Now add Hing/Asafoetida, Turmeric Powder, Red Chilli Powder, Salt and fry for a minute. Ensure that the heat is low to medium flame until done, else the Puffed Rice can turn brown in color and may get burnt.
3. Now add Puffed Rice/Mandakki/Kadlepuri and mix well with all the spices. Next add powdered Sugar and powdered Roasted Bengal Gram/Putani and mix well. Keep this mixture under heat for 5 minutes, then switch off the flame. This process turns the Puffed Rice crispy in texture.
   

   Spicy Puffed Rice or Kara Pori

4. Once everything cools completely, transfer the Spicy Puffed Rice or Kara Pori to an air tight container.

Try out and and enjoy this Spicy Puffed Rice or Kara Pori as evening snack.

Tips:

1. Always add the Powdered Sugar and Powdered Roasted Bengal Gram after adding the Puffed Rice. If these two ingredients are added directly to the Oil, they can turn hard and form balls.
2. One can vary the quantity of Peanuts and Roasted Bengal Gram and also the spice level depending on ones preference/taste.
3. Be careful about the amount of salt you add; Puffed Rice has small amount of Salt in it already.
   

   Spicy Puffed Rice or Kara Pori

4. Many prefer to not use Mustard Seeds and Urad Dal in the seasoning as they settle at the bottom in the container and do not mix properly with the mixture. So you can omit these two ingredients if you wish.

Kadale Kalu Usli or Chana Usli

Chickpeas are good for health and they taste good when prepared by adding proper ingredients. Instead of using Black Chickpeas one can also use White Channa. To talk about Chickpeas, they are high in protein, with lots of fiber and low fat content in them. One can often have Usli as evening snacks too instead of having other fried snacks and can also feed to the children once they come home from schools. A cup of Kadale Kalu Usli or Chana Usli can be had while dieting too – it fills appetite with lots of protein in it and hence reducing intake of food.

Time to Prepare: 10-15 min

Soaking Time : 8 hrs

Kadale Kalu Usli or Chana Usli

How to Make Kadale Kalu Usli or Chana Usli:

1. Soak the Black Chickpeas overnight or for around 8 hrs. Cook the soaked Chickpeas in a pressure cooker by adding sufficient water with Salt and Turmeric Powder until you hear 3 whistles.
2. Heat Oil in a pan, add Mustard Seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add White Lentils or Urad Dal. Once the Dal turns to golden in color, add broken Red Chillies followed by Curry Leaves. Also add Green Chillies (or Green Chilli Paste) and Hing or Asafoetida.
3. Now add cooked Black Chikpeas or Channa to the pan with little Sugar and grated Coconut and mix well for 5-7 minutes. Garnish with Coriander Leaves.

Kadale Kalu Usli or Chana Usli

Serve Kadale Kalu Usli or Chana Usli when hot or warm.

Tips:

1. One can also grind the Green Chillies with 2 Tbsp of Coconut and mix with other ingredients.
2. I added a single Red dried Chilli to give the flavor and taste to the Usli, you can exclude the Red Chilli if you prefer so.

Spinach Pasta

One can prepare Spinach Pasta in two ways – one can do it directly without adding the Cheese to it, or can directly add the Cheese to the Pan once the Pasta is completely done. The Cheese will melt with the pan heat. I added the Cheese as the topping and melted it in a preheated oven for 10 min. Try it out and enjoy relishing the Spinach Pasta.

Spinach Pasta

Time to Prepare: 30 min

How to Make Spinach Pasta:

1. Boil 2 liters of Water in a vessel, add 1/4 tsp of Salt and Oil. Once the water starts to boil, add Fusilli Pasta and cook for 10-15 minutes (it may take less time to cook other types of Pastas). Stir in between and cook until it is slightly soft, yet crunchy to bite. Once done, drain the water and immediately add the normal water to the cooked pasta so that the Pastas do not stick to each other. Keep aside.
2. Chop all the Vegetables like, Garlic, Onion, Tomato and Capsicum into small pieces (I have not used Capsicum; it was not at hand).
   

   Spinch Pasta

3. Cook the Spinach/Palak outside or in a microwave. Once cooked, cool and prepare Palak Puree by grinding in a mixer grinder.
4. Heat Butter in a pan, add chopped Garlic and fry for a minute. Add chopped Onions and fry until it turns golden in color. Then add chopped Capsicum and fry until it turns soft. This may take 2-3 minutes.
5. Now add the chopped Tomatoes and cook until it turns soft and mushy. Next add the cooked Palak Puree and cook for one boil and add Salt, Pepper, and Pasta Seasonings and mix well.
6. Add the cooked Fusilli Pasta and mix well until the mixture coats the Pasta.
7. Preheat the oven for 200 C for 10 minutes. Transfer the prepared Spinach Pasta to the bowl and spread grated Cheese on it and bake the Spinach for 10 min or until the Cheese melts.

Serve the Spinach Pasta when it is hot.

Spinch Pasta

Tips:

1. One can have the Spinach Pasta without adding Cheese.
2. While cooking the Pasta, Salt is added to the water, and the Cheese also contains Salt. So take care when adding Salt to the Pasta preparation.
3. I used a Convection Mode Oven to melt the Cheese. OTG can be used to melt the Cheese. You may be able to use the normal Microwave to melt Cheese.
4. If you would like to add Mushrooms to this Pasta, add after the tomatoes are done.  I have not added Mushrooms to the recipe.

Vangi Bath Powder

One can also find this Powder in departmental stores. We can use ready-to-use Vangi Bath Powder of MTR, and of course, you can also find many other companies’ powders in stores. I have not yet posted this recipe using Brinjal/Eggplant in my website, but I will surely prepare it and post as soon as possible.

Time to Prepare: 10-15 min

Vangi Bath Powder

How to Make Vangi Bath Powder:

1. Dry roast all the ingredients listed above separately except Salt and Turmeric Powder until it gives a good aroma.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a plate and leave it to cool completely.
3. Once cooled down, transfer the roasted ingredients to a mixer grinder with Salt and Turmeric Powder and grind it to smooth powder.
4. Now the Vangi Bath Powder is ready. Store it in an airtight container for longer use.

Vangi Bath Powder

Tips:

Red Chilies can be mixed of two varieties (Byadagi and Guntoor) according to the spice levels. Red Byadgi Chilies give good color and Guntoor Chilies give spice to the Vangi Bath Powder. I usually use Byadagi Chilies, as in our home we prefer less spice.

Jeera Rice

The secret behind Jeera Rice is that the Jeera or Cumin Seeds must be added at the end, not immediately after heating the Oil. This retains the aroma of the Jeera in the Jeera Rice. Here, I prepared the Rice without using a cooker. It can also be prepared in a pressure cooker. I have explained both methods in the steps given below. Simply follow my recipe and enjoy eating Jeera Rice with Dal Fry!

Time to Prepare: 20-30 min

Jeera Rice

How to Make Jeera Rice :

1. Cut the Onions and Green Chilies lengthwise and keep aside.
2. Soak Basmati Rice for 1 hour and cook it in a cooker by adding 2 Cups of water to it until you hear 3 whistles; one can also cook in a separate vessel by adding sufficient water and cooking until it softens and straining the excess water through the strainer. Once the Rice is cooked, spread it on a plate and separate the grains.
3. Heat Oil in a pan, add 1/4 cup of chopped Onion, and deep fry until it turns dark brown in color. Then, transfer it to a paper napkin to remove the excess Oil from it.
   

   Jeera Rice

4. Now add Curry Leaves to the heated Oil. Once it splutters, add remaining chopped Onions and fry until it turns golden in color. Add Green Chilies and fry for a minute.
5. Now add Cumin Seeds or Jeera to the pan and fry for 2 minutes. Then add the Salt and Lemon Juice to the pan and mix well with spatula.
6. Next, add the cooked Basmati Rice and mix well for 2-3 minutes. The Rice should blend well with the other ingredients.

Now the simple (yet yummy) Jeera Rice is ready to serve. Serve this with simple Dal Fry.

Dal Fry With Jeera Rice

Tips:

1. One can use normal rice, like Sona Masoori, also. I prepared this Jeera Rice by adding 1/2 Cup Basmati and 1/2 Cup Sona Masoori Rice. Even this tastes good.
2. Adding Cumin Seeds or Jeera at the end gives good taste and a nice aroma to the Jeera Rice. Do not add the Jeera once the Oil is heated. This method will ruin the aroma of the Jeera in the Rice.

I usually prepare Sambar daily at home, by adding different Vegetables with Toor Dal. We South Indians usually use Coconut to the Sambar or Huli. Just add 2 Tbsp of Sambar Powder to 1/2 Cup of grated Coconut and 1 tsp of thick Tamarind Paste; grind it to a smooth paste and add it to cooked Dal and vegetables with Salt and Jaggery, Curry Leaves and Coriander, and cook it for 5-7 minutes.

Sambar Powder

I have already posted Radish Sambar. There, I explained how to prepare it by adding Sambar Powder. If it is not on hand, one can prepare it the other way, which is explained in step 2. We can prepare the South Indian Style Sambar in these two methods.

If you do not prefer Coconut, just add Toor Dal in Sambar Powder, as I explained in the tips below. Enjoy the varieties of Sambar preparation using Sambar Powder.

Also have a look at my Idli/Sambar Recipe.

Sambar Powder

Time to Prepare: 10-15 min

How to Make Sambar Powder :

1. Dry roast the Coriander Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Urad Dal, Bengal Gram Dal, and Fenugreek Seeds separately until it gives a good aroma.
2. In a same pan, add Oil and roast Red Chilies and Curry Leaves for 2-3 min or until done.
3. Mix all the roasted ingredients and allow it to cool completely.
4. Once it has cooled down, transfer the ingredients to mixer grinder and grind to a fine powder.
5. Cool for few minutes and store the Sambar Powder in an airtight container.

Sambar Powder

Note:

1. This recipe yields approximately 150-200 gm of Sambar Powder.
2. Adjust the Red Chilies according to the spice levels desired.
3. If one not using Coconut in Sambar, just add fried 2 Tbsp of Toor Dal in Sambar Powder when roasting and powder with other ingredients. This gives the thickness and taste to the Sambar.

I thought of posting this 7 Cup Burfi long ago, back when I started my website. Now I have the time to post this delicious sweet for you all. I started preparing this Burfi after my graduation almost 10 years ago, and my mother always asks me to prepare this 7 Cup Burfi for our guests at home. After I was married, this Burfi became very popular at my home and with my family members, especially my husband (who loves to eat it almost daily). Nowadays, if I ask what sweets I should prepare, my husband always says “7 Cup Burfi.” So, this sweet has become a regular in my household.

7 Cup Burfi or Besan Burfi

This may take 30-45 min to prepare using the ingredients I mentioned below. If you want to double the recipe, it may take more than an hour. Also, try to reduce the Sugar, for example: if it is for 2 Cups of all the other ingredients, try to add 4 and 1/2 to 3/4 Cup Sugar. This time, I doubled my recipe and added 4 and 1/2 Cup Sugar and it turned out superb. So try out this 7 Cup Burfi and enjoy.

Time to Prepare: 30 – 45 min

7 Cup Burfi or Besan Burfi

How to Make 7 Cup Burfi or Besan Burfi:

1. Grease the plate or square tray with a little Ghee or Clarified Butter; keep aside.
2. In a vessel, add Besan or Bengal Gram Flour and Milk in 2-3 batches and stir with a whisk. Check to make sure no lumps are formed.
3. Take a Kadai, add Besan-Milk mixture, Melted Ghee or Clarified Butter, Grated Coconut, and Sugar. Mix properly once, then switch on the flame and stir continuously without stopping. If you stop stirring for a while, it may stick to bottom and turn brown.
4. Once Sugar melts, the whole mixture starts to boil, so be careful because it may spill out. It’s better to reduce the flame and stir with a long spatula continuously.
   

   7 Cup Burfi or Besan Burfi

5. It may take 30 minutes for the whole 7 Cup Burfi mixture to form a big lump and start to leave the sides of Kadai.
6. Now pour the mixture to the Ghee-greased plate. Leave the plate undisturbed for 10 min and mark with the desired shape with a knife. I usually cut it into diamond shape. Leave the plate to cool completely.
7. Once it cooled, remove the pieces from plate and store in an airtight box for no more than a week. If you want to store for more days, store the 7 Cup Burfi pieces in refrigerator.

Tips:

Do not use the non-stick kadai, because it starts to leave the Ghee and never mixes properly with other ingredients. It’s better to use indolium kadai.

I took this recipe from my mother. She usually used the medium sized Rava to prepare this Laddu or Ladoo. I used the same type of Semolina. Prepare Sugar syrup and add the roasted ingredients. Mix well and prepare Laddoo when it’s warm, and in no time the Rava Ladoos are done.

Rava Laddu or Rava Ladoo

Time to Prepare: 15 min

How to Make Rava Laddu or Rava Ladoo:

1. Heat 3 Tbsp Ghee in a frying pan, add Rava and fry until you see a slight change in color.
2. At this stage, add the Grated Coconut to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes. Then, switch off the flame.
3. Heat a Tbsp Ghee in a small frying pan, add Cashew Nuts and Raisins and fry until they turn to golden brown in color; keep aside.
4. In another pan or vessel, add Sugar and little water (just enough to immerse the Sugar) and boil until there is one threadlike consistency. Prepare the Sugar syrup and switch off the flame.
5. Now add the fried Rava, Grated Coconut mixture, and Cardamom Powder to the Sugar syrup and mix well with a spatula.
   

   Rava Laddu or Ladoo

6. Leave the mixture to cool for 10 minutes so that you can prepare Laddus by taking the mixture in hand.
7. Form the Laddu by taking a small portion of mixture in hand and add the fried Cashew Nuts and Raisins in the middle or top of the each Laddu as in the image. Proceed in the same way for other Rava Laddus and arrange them on a plate to cool and harden a little.

Now the Rava Laddus or Ladoos is ready to serve. You can prepare this Rava Laddu for the festivals, too!

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer Butter Masala is rich in taste but comes with high calories as it has lots of milk derivatives like, Paneer, Curd, Cream, Butter and Ghee. It can be prepared occasionally if not regularly. I prepared Chapati and also we bought Tandoori Roti from restaurant when we prepared this dish. Also, I have to mention that I added Garam Masala prepared by me at home. This Garam Masala Powder along with Kasoori Methi gave good aroma and taste to the curry. Just try out the delicious Paneer Butter Masala and serve with Roti, Naan and Chapati.

Time to Prepare: 30-40 min

How to Make Paneer Butter Masala :

1. Soak the Cashew Nuts in hot water for 15-20 minutes (helps to soften Cashew Nuts and to obtain smooth paste) before preparation and grind into a smooth paste.
2. Cut the Green Chillies lengthwise. Prepare Onion paste by cutting the Onions and grinding into a paste in a mixer grinder. Also prepare Tomato Puree by grinding the chopped Tomatoes (This time I peeled the outer covering of the Tomatoes) in a mixer grinder; keep aside.
3. Cut the Paneer or Cottage Cheese into small sized cubes and deep fry in Oil until these cubes turn golden brown in color. Transfer them immediately into the Curd and soak for 10 minutes to soften them.
   

   Paneer Butter Masala

4. Heat Oil + Ghee in a pan, add Onion Paste from Step 2 and Ginger + Garlic paste and heat until the raw smell of the Onion disappears – this may take 2-3 min. Then add the Green Chillies and fry for a minute and then add Tomato Puree and heat for 5 more minutes.
5. Now add the powders like, Turmeric Powder, Red Chilli Powder, Dhaniya/Coriander Powder, Jeera/Cumin Powder, Tandoori Color (optional and I did not use them) and Salt and mix well. Allow the ingredients to cook for a while.
6. At this stage add Milk Cream and sufficient water and mix well and cook until the bubbles start appearingin the pan. Now add the Cashew Nut Paste (from Step 1), fried and curd soaked Paneer (from Step 3) to the pan and cook until the gravy turns slightly thick. This may take about 3 minutes.
7. Finally add the Butter, Kasoori Methi or Dried Fenugreek Leaves (by crushing the leaves between the palms) and cook for 2 minutes. Switch off the flame.

Now the Paneer Butter Masala is ready to serve with Roti, Naan, Chapati or Kulcha.

Paneer Butter Masala

Tips:

1. Instead of adding entire 1/2 Cup cream, you can add 1/4 Cup cream and 1/4 Cup Milk also. I added Amul Milk Cream and taste was good.
2. I never use Tandoori Color for my preparations at home; so the color of the Paneer Butter Masala was bit lighter than what we get to see in restaurants.
3. Note that I prepared Paneer and Garam Masala Powder at home and used it for this Curry. Especially the home made Garam Masala Powder gives good aroma and taste to Paneer Butter Masala.

Garam Masala

This Garam Masala can be used for North Indian Curries, Pulao, Sambar prepared for Idlies and Cutlets of course. It gives good aroma and taste to the dish prepared. As instructed below, dry roast all the ingredients separately, grind it into smooth powder and store it in an airtight container. Garam Masala Powder can be stored and used for more than 6 months. Just add 1/4 tsp of this Garam Masala to any dish you prepare. I have not used Red Chillies for this powder and hence add the Red Chilli Powder to the curries and for the other dish preparations. For Pulao, one usually goes for Green Chillies; along with these Green Chillies use 1/4 tsp of Garam Masala to give more taste. Hope your preparation turn out to be tastier with this home made Garam Masala as has been my experience.

Garam Masala Ingredients

Time to Prepare: 10-15 min

How to Make Garam Masala:

1. Heat the frying pan and dry roast the above listed ingredients seperately (one and only one at a time) until you obtain good aroma of fried ingredient.
2. Transfer the dry roasted ingredients to a plate and allow it to cool completely.
   

   Garam Masala

3. Once cooled down, transfer these ingredients to a mixer grinder and grind to a smooth powder. The Garam Masala is ready!
4. Cool the Garam Masala Powder for few minutes before transferring to an airtight container.

Tips:

1. While grinding the Cinnamon,  Star Anise and Clove in a mixer grinder, for each of these ingredients, use whipper first to grind them into coarse powder and then use grinding levels provided 1,2,3 in your mixer grinder to powder it. Cinnamon, Star Anise and Clove are too hard to crush, so it is better to churn first before grinding to a smooth powder.
2. In this Garam Masala Powder I have not used Red Chillies, so add Red Chilli Powder to the preparations (eg: Curries, Cutlets etc.,) along with Garam Masala.
3. Unlike the ready-made Garam Masala you get in the departmental stores, Garam Masala prepared using above method is quite strong/concentrated and hence use only 1/4 tsp to the recipe one try. This much is enough to give good aroma and taste to the dish.
   

   Garam Masala

4. Do not use the regular cup to measure the above ingredients. Use smaller cups (like the coffee cups) to measure the ingredients. This helps to avoid producing Garam Masala in bigger quantity than needed. Keeping the powder for a long duration will reduce the aroma of the Garam Masala. So better to measure in small cups to obtain the right quanity of Garam Masala.
5. Always cool the above ingredients completely after roasting and before grinding; else lumps may be formed when grinding into powder.
6. If so desired, measurements of the Cloves, Cinnamon, Cardamom and Star Anise can be reduced to some extent.

When I prepared the curry for the first time, I used Sprouted Green Mung Bean for this and next time I prepared by pressure cooking the Green Mung Bean directly into the cooker. Both tasted differently. Here I have explained second method where the beans are pressure cooked since it is quite easy and takes less time to prepare and tastes good. This recipe is given by my cousin Vijaya, thanks to her. So try out and enjoy the Green Mung Bean Curry/Sabzi.

Green Mung Bean Curry

Time to Prepare: 20-30 min

How to Make Mung Bean Curry/Sabzi:

1. Wash and cook the Green Mung Bean in a pressure cooker by adding sufficient water to it and cook until you hear about 4-5 whistles or till the beans turns soft.
2. Chop Onions, Tomato and Potato into small size pieces; keep aside.
3. Heat 1/2 tsp of Oil in a pan, add chopped Onion from grind to paste ingredients above and fry for 2-3 minutes and transfer to the mixer grinder and add all other ingredients listed in the grind to paste ingredients and grind them until you obtain a smooth paste.
   

   Green Mung Bean

4. Heat Oil in a same pan, add Mustard Seeds, once they splutter add Curry Leaves and fry for a minute. Add chopped Onion and fry until it turns golden in color. Then add chopped Potatoes and fry for 5 minutes. Add chopped Tomatoes and cook by closing the lid until Tomatoes turn soft and Potatoes are cooked properly. Add cooked Green Mung Bean from Step 1 above and ground paste from Step 3 to the pan and mix everything well with the help of spatula.
5. Add Salt and Sugar to the Green Mung Bean Curry or Sabzi mixture and cook for 5 minutes by adding sufficient water to get a proper consistency of a gravy. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with chopped Coriander Leaves.

Now Green Mung Bean Curry or Sabzi is ready to serve. Serve with Chapati, Roti. As said earlier, just wanted to reiterate that one can prepare this Green Mung Bean Curry or Sabzi with Sprouted Mung Bean also.

Eggless Blueberry Muffins

Time to Prepare: 1 to 1 and 1/2 hr
Preparation time : 15 mins
Baking time for one tray : 23-25 min

Eggless Blueberry Muffins

How to Make Eggless Blueberry Muffins :

1) Clean and dry the Blueberries. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle Maida or All purpose flour on them and mix well. This will make sure that the Berries will not sink to the bottom of the muffins. Here I have used Sun dried Blueberries, so I directly sprinkled the flour on the Blueberries and mixed well.
2) In a bowl, mix the All Purpose Flour or Maida, Baking Powder and Baking Soda and sieve thrice before starting the beating process. This method helps to mix all the ingredients properly.
3) Now mix the Powdered Sugar and Milk Powder and keep it ready for beating process.

4) Take the melted Unsalted Butter in a bowl, add the Vanilla Extract to it and mix well with the help of a whisk. Add the Powdered Sugar and Milk powder mixture and beat and add slowly the Milk to it in the middle while beating the ingredients.
5) Divide the sieved ingredients into 3 equal parts. Add the seived ingredients to the Butter-Sugar-Milk mixture step by step in 3 proportions by adding the Milk in the middle of beating process and beat all the ingredients making sure that there are no lumps formed in the batter. Do not over-mix the ingredients during beating process. Anushruti says the secret to good Muffins is “less mixing”. So I prefer here to use always whisk than an electric beater.

Eggless Blueberry Muffins

6) Gently mix the flour coated Blueberries to the Muffin batter prepared in step 5 such that the Blueberries are distributed evenly throughout the batter.
7) Preheat the oven for 10 min by setting the temperature to 180ºC/350 F. Meanwhile line the Muffin trays with paper cups and fill up to 3/4 cup with Muffin batter. I then just topped some of the Muffins with Blueberries.

Eggless Blueberry Muffins

8) Bake the Eggless Blueberry Muffins for 23-25 min by setting the temperature to 180ºC in OTG or in Microwave Convection mode till done or till top of the Muffins turn golden brown in color. To check if the Muffins are baked, insert thea tooth pick to one of the Muffins and check if the tooth-pick comes out clean with no batter or flour nothing sticking to it.
9) Remove the baked Eggless Blueberry Muffins from the tray and arrange them on a wire rack to cool it completely.
10) As always I bake the cakes and Muffins in my Microwave Convection mode oven instead of OTG. Refer Eggless Banana Muffins post for the detailed instructions.

Eggless Blueberry Muffins

Now the Eggless Blueberry Muffins is ready to serve. The quantity suggested here makes 12-15 Muffins or Cup cakes.

Tips:

1. I have used the sun dried Blueberries here. The dried Blueberries tend to sink at the bottom of the Muffins. So I feel better to use the fresh Blueberries than the Sun dried ones.
2. Do not beat too much or over-mix the Muffin batter like we do when we beat during Cake preparations. The secret of good Muffins is less mixing or beating.

Kashaya – Herbal Drink

While preparing Kashaya, taste suffers if you boil the powder with water and add Milk and Sugar to it. I usually prepare Kashayam by boiling the Milk and then mixing the Kashaya Powder and Sugar to it. Even without Sugar, Kashaya can taste good and someone suffering from diabetes can have it. You can have this herbal drink morning instead of coffee or tea and in the evening too; twice a day is ok.

Time to Prepare: 10-15 min

How to Make Kashaya/Kashayam Powder :

1. Heat the frying pan, add the Coriander Seeds and fry (without Oil) for 2-3 minutes or until the Coriander Seeds turn light golden in color. Remove from the flame and transfer the contents to a bowl.
   

   Kashaya Powder

2. Next in the same pan, add Cumin Seeds or Jeera, fry for 2 min and transfer them to the same bowl that contains fried Coriander Seeds. Follow the same steps to the other above listed ingredients like Fennel Seeds, Pepper Corns, Cardamom and Cloves. Fry everything separately but mix all the ingredients into a single bowl. Allow the mixed ingredients to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the cooled Kashaya ingredients to a mixer grinder and grind them to a smooth powder. Now the Kashaya or Herbal Drink powder is ready. Store the Kashaya Powder in an air-tight box to keep it fresh retaining its aroma.

Time to Prepare: 5 min

Kashaya – Herbal Drink

How to Make Kashaya – Herbal Drink :

1. Boil a cup of Milk (should be piping hot). Switch off the flame.
2. Mix the Kashaya Powder and Sugar to the boiled Milk and stir well until the Sugar dissolves and the Kashaya Powder is mixed well with Milk. Filter the Kashaya with the help of filter and serve hot. One can have Kashaya/Kashayam without filtering out the herbal ingredients also.

Now the Kashaya/Kashayam is ready to serve.

Open Grilled Veggie Sandwich

Time to Prepare: 20 min

How to Make Open Grilled Veggie Sandwich:

For the Sandwich Topping:

Open Grilled Veggie Sandwich topping

1. Cut the tri-colored Capsicum / Bell Pepper into short thin strips and finely chop the Onions. Keep aside.
2. Heat Oil in a non-stick pan (to achieve good results for caramelize of Sugar, always use non-stick pan). Add the sugar to the Oil and allow it to caramelize (turn golden brown in color) for 2-3 minutes. Then use wooden spatula to mix well with the Oil.
3. Now add finely chopped Onions and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add grated Garlic and mix well with all the ingredients. Then add one by one colored Capsicum / Bell Pepper like Green, Red and Yellow cut in Step 1 and saute on a medium flame for 5-6 minutes by stirring continuously with the help of spatula.
4. At this stage, add Salt, Mixed Herbs, Black Pepper Powder and mix well and saute on high flame for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the flame and divide the mixture into 8 equal portions (one each for the 8 bread slices).

Sandwich Preparation:

Open Grilled Veggie Sandwich

1. Once the toppings are ready, place a Bread slice on a plate. Spread the topping evenly on the Bread slice and sprinkle the grated Mozzarella Cheese and few slices of Olives. I did not use Olives to prepare the Sandwich, still the Open Grilled Veggie Sandwich turned out very tasty. Repeat this procedure for other Bread slices.
2. Bake the prepared Bread slices in a pre-heated oven at 200 degree C for 5 minutes or till the cheese melts (As per Tarla Dalal). But I used Microwave Oven to bake the Bread using Grill Mode of Microwave – preheat the Oven for 3 min.
3.  Arrange the Bread slices on a high rack grill (at a time 2-3 slices can be arranged) and bake all the slices for 6-7 minutes or till the Cheese melts. Repeat for all the Bread slices.

Open Grilled Veggie Sandwich

Now the Open Grilled Veggie Sandwich is ready. Serve with Tomato Sauce.

I have used Toor Dal in this curry which imparts taste and thickness to this preparation. The groundnut seasoning adds its own flavor. Methi and Palak is a great combination. Without Palak, the curry can acquire a slightly bitter taste when Methi alone is used. So, make sure you add at least a cup of chopped Palak or Spinach Leaves to the curry preparation.

Methi Palak Curry or Fenugreek Spinach Curry

Preparation Time : 20 – 30 min

How to Make Methi Palak Curry or Fenugreek Spinach Curry:

1. Wash and soak the Methi Leaves in salted water for 10 min and then chop and keep aside. Wash and chop the Palak leaves as well.
2. Chop the Onions and Tomatoes into small chunks. Keep aside.
3. Wash and cook the Toor Dal / Pigeon Pea in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles. Remove from the pressure cooker when the pressure eases and keep ready before to start the curry.
4. Heat Oil in a pan, add Mustard Seeds, once it splutter add Jeera and fry for a minute. Now add the Groundnuts or Peanuts.Fry until the Peanuts turns to golden in color.
5. At this stage add the chopped Onions and Turmeric Powder and fry until the Onion turns to transparent. Now add the chopped Tomatoes and cook until the Tomatoes turn soft and mushy.
   

   Methi Palak Curry or Fenugreek Spinach Curry

6. Add the Washed and chopped Methi or Fenugreek Leaves and Palak or Spinach Leaves and add 1/4 Cup of water and cook it for 10 minutes or (until the Leaves cooked properly) by closing the lid.
7. Now add the cooked Toor Dal or Pigeon Pea to the pan and stir once to mix well with all the other ingredients.
8. Then add the all the Powders like Red Chilli Powder, Garam Masala Powder, Salt and Jaggery and mix well once and allow it to cook for 5 more minutes.

Now the Methi Palak Curry or Fenugreek Spinach Curry is ready. Serve this with Chapati or Jowar Roti.

Homemade Crunchy Chocolate

Variations of Homemade Chocolates are achieved by the appropriate fillings, by just adding the dry fruits to the chocolates and by adding different flavors (like Vanilla, Strawberry etc) added to the Chocolates directly. My first post on Homemade Chocolates talked about Coffee Chocolate and this one explains what is known as Crunchy Chocolate. One of the cousins of my Husband bought this Crunchy Chocolate from Bliss Chocolate Lounge, Forum Mall here in Koramangala, Bangalore. When I tasted it, I could see that they just used regular Corn Flakes to achieve “crunchiness” but the cost was too high for each piece. So I thought of trying it in my kitchen and it came out really good, just like so many other variations of Chocolates.

For making Crunchy Chocolate at home, you can use a mixture of Dark Chocolates and Milk Chocolates or you can just use one of these two exclusively. It all depends on one’s taste. For Corn Flakes, you may use plain Corn Flakes or Honey based. I used Honey based since I had it ready at home. Best to avoid other Corn Flakes flavors like Strawberry or Mango or Banana, since they may ruin the Chocolate Flavor. You can control the crunchiness of Chocolate by adding less or more of Corn Flakes (the more you add Corn Flakes, crunchier it is likely to get but make sure you keep it in balance). So, try this simple and easy Chocolate recipe and enjoy wholesome goodness of Chocolates made at home. I plan to post next Caramel Filled Chocolate. So keep an eye on my website if you are looking for more varieties of Chocolates to prepare at home.

Homemade Crunchy Chocolate

Preparation Time : 10-15 min

How to Make Crunchy Chocolate :

1. Crush the Corn Flakes with the help of hand, ensure that they are not powdered. Keep aside.
2. Melt both Milk and Dark varieties of Chocolates seperately using double boiling method or by using microwave for 1-2 minutes. Do refer to my post on how to melt the Chocolate for melting instructions.
3. Mix both melted Milk and melted Dark Chocolates. Now add the crushed Corn Flakes to it and mix well until crushed Corn Flakes are covered completely.
   

   Homemade Crunchy Chocolate

4. Now take Corn Flakes Chocolate mixture one spoon at a time and arrange each of these one spoonful of Chocolate paste on a butter sheet or on a parchment paper. Butter sheet or a parchment paper helps to avoid Chocolates sticking to the sheet and that’s why I used them.
5. Once the chocolate pieces are arranged, keep the arranged Crunchy Chocolate butter sheet on a plate and keep it in freezer for 5-6 min. Then remove from the freezer and keep for a minute or so in room temperature and then remove the Crunchy Chocolate from the butter sheet or parchment paper. The measurements for ingredients I have provided above may yield around 10-12 Chocolates.
   

   Homemade Crunchy Chocolate

Now the Homemade Crunchy Chocolate is ready. Store them in an air tight box or wrap in an aluminium foil for longer use.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Time to Prepare: 1 to 1 and 1/2 hr
Preparation time : 10 mins
Baking time for one tray : 15-17 min
Resting time : 30 min

How to Make Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1. Sift all the dry ingredients – All-Purpose Flour or Maida, Unsweetened Cocoa Powder and Baking Powder 2 times, so that all the 3 ingredients mix well.
2. Take a bowl, add Unsalted Softened Butter and Icing Sugar or Confectioners Sugar. Mix both the ingredients using whisk or with the help of hand until you get a smooth and creamy mixture.
3. Now add the Vanilla Extract or Essence to the Butter-Sugar mixture above and mix once again.
   

   Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

4. At this stage, add the sifted dry ingredients from Step 1 above to the above wet mixture in 3 increments, mixing well to form soft Chocolate Chip Cookies dough. If you wish to add the Chocolate Chips, just add them while preparing the dough or you are fine with plain Chocolate Cookies dough now. I just divided the dough into two kinds – one plain with only Cocoa Powder with no Chocolate Chips and for another I added Chocolate Chips. To keep things separate, I baked twice – once the dough with Chocolate Chips and the other without it.
5. Once the Cookies dough is ready, just wrap the dough in a plastic wrap or keep it in a airtight box and allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
6.  As some of you know, my usual baking is in Microwave Convection mode oven and not in OTG. Set the Microwave temperature to 180 C and preheat the oven for 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, line the baking tray and keep ready to bake the cookies. Remove the Eggless Chocolate Cookies dough from the refrigerator and pinch a small amount of dough and press with the help of palm to prepare lime sized balls and place them on a tray leaving enough space in between the cookie balls. Flattening the balls slighty on the top gives crispiness to the cookies. I tried both versions – one without flattening and the other flattened. One turned out soft while the flattened out were crispy. I decorated some cookies with chocolate chips on the top and then baked the balls in the Microwave.
8. Keep the ready dough tray in a preheated oven. For baking in Convection oven, keep dough tray on the lower grill rack for baking.
   

   Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

9. Set the temperature as per your oven settings. In my case, I tried setting the temperature to 160 C and baked one batch for 20 min; in the next batch I set the temperature for 180 C and baked for 15-17 min. For normal OTG set the temperature for 150 C/350 F and bake the cookies for 20 min or till done.
10. Remove the baked Eggless Chocolate Cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack for at least 15 min. Once completly cooled, consume or store the Cookies in an air tight container.

Now the Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies is ready to serve. Enjoy your home baked Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Tips:

1. As mentioned above, I tried these Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies using Icing Sugar and not with normal Sugar Powder. When I prepare next time, I will use the normal Cane Sugar Powder and update on how the cookies turn out.
2. One can preserve the cookie dough for a month in the freezer or you may refrigerate them for a week. Then defrost and bake the Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies.