Pecan Walnut Cake (Eggless)

My dearest niece got married on March 22nd. I wish her a very happy married life. May God shower all the best things for her. Here I made this cake as a toast for her "Happy Married Life"!! Since I just went to India....I could not make one more trip for her wedding ...but I had the oppurtunity to attend her Engagement and I am happy about that. I have been communicating with my cousin (her mom) enquiring about the arrangements, chatting/talking/emailing my niece about her shopping, packing, dress rehersals and what not...and felt good about being part of it this way atleast (though physically 1000's of miles away). Looking forward to see her soon...she will be here in another 10 days or so....I cannot wait for the moment when I can lift the phone and talk to her anytime of the day. ....I miss those days when we used to go around in my TVS Champ or on her Scooty shopping at Rekhas/Kamini, Cheenu temple, Veluk's upanyasams!! I miss all those things that I did together :(

1 Cup All Purpose flour
2 TBSP Condensed Milk (optional)

1 Cup Milk

2 Cups of Walnuts and Pecan
1 Tsp Hersheys Cocoa Powder
1 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Stick Butter (you may also  use refined oil)

Sift the flour and baking soda. Keep aside.

Microwave walnuts and pecan in milk for around 2 minutes and grind it after it cools down.

Add the butter, condensed milk, cocoa powder and sugar to the flour and mix well.

Slowly add the flour to the grounded mixture without forming lumps.

Grease the pan . I used a 9 inch round pan for baking this cake. (Note:  Always sprinkle little flour on the greased pan and turn it upside down to get the excess flour out. This helps in preventing the cake to stick at the bottom and come off easily when getting the cake out of the pan)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F.

Pour the contents into the greased pan and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or when a fork is inserted it should come out clean without getting sticky!!

It came out well...dense and soft!!
It is good to be served along with coffee or as an evening snack. If you want it richer you may add  whipped cream or butter cream icing to it but it tastes pretty good without it too.

Best wishes to my dearest niece and her husband for a very Happy Married Life.....sure will bake a cake when she visits me :)

Dinner in a Jiffy with Tacos

I am not a great fan of Mexican food especially when it comes to going to a Mexican Restaurant...I am always scared to trying food at these places since I am not sure whether the food served  is pure vegetarian but I do not mind having Tacos at home...I like them in shells as well as in the bowls. When you do it in the bowl it helps you fill it up with lot more items than on the shells!! But I had only shells with me...when I get occasionally bored with cooking..you might think this female rights blogs and how on earth can she say that she gets bored with cooking ....I will phrase it this way -"it is not the cooking that makes it boring but cutting veggies, rolling rotis and the washing dishes that comes later is the one that keeps me away on some days to turn towards easier alternatives like tacos, pasta" etc!!

This was one such days and I had all the ingredients that I generally add for making Tacos...
We were buying the refried beans but since it is simply fattening and we do not get the veggie cans of it often...I started making beans on my own.

Ingredients :

Taco Shells or Bowls
1 Cup Rajma
2 Tbspn Onion cut into small pieces
1Tbspn Sour Cream
1 Tbspn Guacamole (you may buy store bought or make it from the scratch by peeling the skin off avacado. Take the pulp out and beat it well with little bit of salt and lime juice)
1 Tsp Oil
1/2 Tsp Zeera
Cut Green chillies
Salt as per taste
Few Jalapeno as per taste
Salsa as per tasta
Shredded Mexican Style Cheese (optional)
Cilantro

Soak the Rajma for few hours and presurre cook it (when pressed it should mash well). Heat the oil and add zeera and green chillies. Add the boiled Rajma (kidney beans) and cook it well. Add salt and keep it aside.

Prepare the tacos as mentioned in the package.

Now, it is ready to be filled and served. Fill the tacos with rajma and then add cut onions, salsa, sour cream, guacomole, jalapenos, cheese, cut onions and finally top it with cheese and cilantro.

If you happen to use taco bowl then you may add salad first and then add the rest of the ingredients. You may do any variations to it...it will still taste good.

My son loves this since it is like chips...he likes are karuku murukku items and we recently found out that he likes tacos too!!

Paruppu Urundai Kuyambu

This recipe is very famous in Tamil Nadu I suppose...I have not heard my friends from other states making this kuyambu. Kuyambu in itself is a thing made by us ...you may treat it this way - "sambhar devoid of dhal". There are many ways of making this variety and one such is Paruppu (toor dhal) Urundai (koftas/balls) kuyambu.

I made this when my friend visited us last year after a long long time and she visited us again last weekend. I asked her what she wanted me to prepare and she mentioned that her husband loved the paruppu urundai kuyambu I made last time they visited and asked me to prepare the same...I too had been contemplating on making this some time and I got an oppurtunity to do it. I was so happy that my friend visited and stayed with us too this time. We both have sons who are two year olds and they enjoyed a lot. My son misses them and keeps asking for them. We are planning to visit them someday....not sure when that is going to be!!

Ingredients:

For the Urundai - (yields about 10 -12 small lemon size)
Toor Dhal - 1 Cup
Red Chillies - 4
Salt to taste
Turmeric -  a pinch

For the Kuyambu -
Tamarind - lemon sized
Sambhar Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt as per your taste
Oil for the tadka
Mustard, Urad dhal, Channa Dhal, Curry leaves, Asafoetida (a pinch) for tadka
Cilantro - for garnishing

Let me first get to the method for making the urundais. Soak the toor dhal and red chillies in water for about 2 hours. Drain the water completely.Grind it without any water in it. Add salt and turmeric.

In the mean while when the toor dhal is soaking. Make tamarind water the way you normally do it for sambhar. Keep it on the stove. In a pan take a teasspoon of oil and add the ingredients for tadka. Add this tadka to the tamarind water. Add the Sambhar powder and salt. Let it boil. When it starts thickening - make small lemon sized balls of the grinded toor dhal. Start adding the Urundais (koftas) one by one. Do this by adding one at a time. Add the next one when it starts floating on top (Do not panic if it starts dissolving when you add the first one. Just add the urundai mixture in a pan and get the excess water out and follow the above process). Finish adding all the urundais. Make sure you make enough kuyambu since there is a chance of these toor dhal balls absorbing lot of the kuyambu into it ..you do not want to be left with just the urundais when you start serving!! Serve the Paruppu Urundai Kuyambu with rice. Garnish the kuyambu with cilantro. My Patti used to make it all the time.

Corn Chaat

This is one easy starter cum  healthy snack!! Corn chaatwala's have sprung up in every nook and corner in Chennai...each and every mall has this one. I first had the masala corn in Abirami Mall long time ago!! It was awesome. I made some improvisation to the corn masala chaat and this is simple to prepare and loved by all my friends here. They do not get bored of it even if I prepare it every time we meet ...We all have corn in the freezer all the time and if you happen to have sudden guests at home ...serve them this chaat and they will love it!! I am not going to provide the method of preparing it by "OZ" or per "TBSPN"....the best thing about this is you make the way you want it...discover the joys of it by adding the things you like the best!!

Items needed -

Tostitos scoops (If you do not have this do not worry...but it is lot easier to eat when served with scoops)

Corn Frozen 

Tomatoes - cut into small pieces

Onion - cut into small pieces

Coriander Powder

Chilly Powder

Cumin Powder

Mint Leaves - finely chopped

Cilantro - finely chopped

Amchur Powder - a pinch

Fennel Powder - a pinch

Salsa

Salt

Lemon Juice

Microwave the corn for few minutes. Add all the ingredients listed above except the lemon juice and salt. If you are going to serve the corn immediately then you may add them all. But if you are just preparing it and  serving it at a later time then add the salt and lemon juice just before serving so as to avoid the chaat leaving water.

Serve it with tostitos scoops....If you are a person who can take spicier food then you may add Jalapenos or Banana pepper........as said earlier....make it, serve it and eat it the way you like it!! Enjoy!!

Karadayan Nonbu Koyukattai (Steamed Rice Flour Jaggery Sweet)

I am a pretty fussy eater...I do not like lot of things but in recent years I have been trying anything under the sun.. but luckily my husband and myself have a lot of sweets that we like in common. Even though I am a fussy eater...he in general likes to try out everything (he even started eating pavakkai and brinjal these days!!).

One of the sweets that we like in common is this karadayan nombu koyukattai. I made this couple of months ago as an evening tiffen but thought of posting this now since this year's maasi nonbu charadu is falling this Sunday (March 14, 2010) and I thought it would be appropriate to post it this week. I planned to make this koyukattai this Sunday. Let me see how that goes since we need to do the pooja and the sacred charadu as early as 6:45 A.M. and I am not too sure whether I will be able to prepare it that early. This sweet involves a very lengthy process though...but has the ultimate taste to it when eaten with butter.

When we mention koyukattai people tend to associate with the one we make for Vinayaka Chaturthi...but this is different. For people from other regions of India I came up with a name easy for them to understand..."Steamed Rice Flour Jaggery Sweet" (I am not sure whether it is appropriate to call it patties).

On the nonbu day, this sweet is prepared and kolam (patterns with rice flour) are drawn and  the banana leaf is laid on top of the kolam. The vetrilai (beetel leaves), Poo (flowers), banana and this charadu (sacred yellow thread) is kept in one corner of the leaf and the koyukattai in the centre of the leaf. This nonbu is performed by all the ladies and when we were young they used to say that we need to perform this nonbu well inorder to get a good husband!! We will be asked to recite the sloka and then eat the koyukattai with dollops of butter -

"Urugaadha vennaiyum or adaiyum vaiththu un nonbu nootren,

oru kaalum en kaNavan ennai vittu piryaadu errukka vendum"

 

Back home they soak the rice for couple of hours and then they dry it on thin clean cloth and then grind it in the mixie. For Pandigai (festivals such as Nonbu, Sri Jayanthi) they always use the flour made at home they do not buy it from the shop. But here I just use the rice flour bought from the Indian Store.

Ingredients for making it -

Rice Flour - 1 Cup

Jaggery - 1 1/2 Cups (you may use 1 1/4 if you do not have a sweet tooth)

Karamani (black eyed beans) - 1 to 2 TBSP soaked in water for few hours

Coconut small bits 1 TBSP  - "optional" (but I use the dry coconut)

Cardomom - 4 (Always roast it in ghee before powdering it)

Back in India they use banana leaf to steam this. But here I use the idli plates to steam them!! Once my friend made it kerala style and she steamed it using frozen banana leaf....I am planning to use them for this year's nonbu.

Roast the rice flour till turns light brown and when you start getting a nice fragrance. Get it off the stove.

Melt the Jaggery in water and add the coconut and the karamani. Slowly add the rice flour without it forming lumps. Allow it to cook for some more time.

When it cools down. Make balls using the dough prepared above and flatten it the way it is shown in the photo (it more or less looks like the way we do vada). Make a whole in the center. The elders in the family always insist that we make a whole in the centre while making vadai, adai etc...but I guess it makes sense since it helps in making it cook faster.

Steam these vadais in the idli plates if you cannot find banana leaf.

Serve it with dollops of butter. It enhances the taste of the koyukattai when served with butter.

Spinach Pasta (Alfredo Sauce)

I love Italian food since it has lot of Vegetarian options...and watching food network especially those of Giada De Laurentiis's Everyday Italian is a routine for me now. Routine in the sense, I try to watch atleast couple of her shows every week (atleast the ones where she does vegetarian ones). I do not get that much of a TV time when my son is around since he would be watching his Fav Cailou or Little Einsteins (which features at the same time!!) or I would be busy building bridges and sky scrappers or reading his favorite book "Rattletrap Car"!!

I like the way she does innovation with pasta ...I got inspiration to do this by combining couple of her recipes and by adding my touch too in it !!... she always makes her own sauce....but I went the easy way and used store bought "alfredo sauce" my favorite which has been in my pantry  for a long long time!!

Ingredients:

Spinach - 4 cups
Alfredo Sauce - Store bought
Brocolli - 1 cup florets
Yellow Zucchini - 1 cup cut into cubes
Red Bell Pepper - 1 Cup cut into cubes
Green Bell Pepper - 1 cup cut into cubes
Asparagus - cut into 1 inch piece from 4 strands
Cherry Tomatoes - 10
Pepper - freshly crushed
Salt to taste
Parmesan Cheese
Pasta Mostaccioli (you may use penne too for this)

Cook the spinach about 3 cups in a pan without water. Allow it to cool and set aside. Grind the spinach after it cools (if you love garlic you may grind garlic with it).
Take Olive oil in a pan and add the veggies and saute them. Follow this order while cooking the veggies. First add the peppers, cherry tomatoes and the zuchini. When they are half done add the salt, brocolli and asparagus. Do not let them get soggy.
Boil water in a pan and cook the pasta with little salt. Drain it.
Toss the remaining 1 cup spinach into the veggies and turn it off.
Add the pasta to the veggie mixture.
Add the Alfredo sauce and cook for sometime.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese before serving. Enjoyed the creamyness of the spinach in every bite of pasta....creamy the way I like it!! I complimented with warm asiago cheese bread!

Eggless Condensed Milk Cake

It was yet another day when I bored of cooking the same old stuff..roti, dhal, channa. sambhar...I was thinking of other options for dinner...but nothing came to my mind. I could have atleast spent that time browsing or reading a nice book rather than pondering over what to cook??? I drag myself to the kitchen to make dinner and finally decide to make roti and dhal...when I open the shelf  tada...I find the condensed milk sitting right there behind my wheat flour...so I finish making the dough for the roti...cook the dhal...and set out to make this yummy condensed milk cake...

It was rich and delicious..and  tasted similar to the famous plum cake that we regularly get to eat from the bakery back in India. I always love to eat the deserts as soon as I finish making it ..hot hot hot ....and could not wait to eat it..I let it cool down and turned it on a plate..it just came off without sticking at the bottom of the pan..I was so happy..I rejoiced the moment  and then cut a piece and took a bite....it was soft, moist (warm too) and nutty in the middle and was crispy (from the edges) on the sides.....everyone must enjoy baking this cake some time or the other...Before I forget...this recipe is also one from the book that my Perima gave...This does not call for too much butter or sugar so in a way that is goooodddddddd.....

Ingredients for making it -

1/2 Tin Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
3/4th Cup Chopped nuts - Raisins, Pecan, Walnuts and Almonds
1/2 Stick Butter (50 gms)
1 Tsp Cocoa Powder
2 TBSP Sugar
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Pinch Salt
1/2 Cup Water

Sift the Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Cocoa Powder and Baking soda.
Rub in the butter and sugar and mix well.

Roast the nuts in the microwave (except raisins) for about 2 min in total (microwave them for 30 min and then stir it up repeat the process). After they are roasted toss it with the all purpose flour.
(Note: Whenever you are adding nuts or fruits always remember to toss it in little flour before adding it to the mix. That way these nuts do not settle at the bottom while baking.)

Add the condensed milk, water and the nuts and mix well.
Grease the pan. You need a 9 inch cake pan for baking this cake.
(Note before pouring the cake mix into the pan - Always sprinkle little flour on the greased pan and turn it upside down to get the excess flour out. This helps in preventing the cake to stick at the bottom and come off easily when getting the cake out of the pan).

Pre-heat the oven for 350 degree.
Pour the mixture in the cake pan. Bake the cake for 25 minutes or until the fork comes clean when immersed in the cake.
This cake is good to be served as is since it has lot of nuts in it. You may top it with whip cream just before serving.

Malai Kofta

I wanted to make malai kofta and have been thinking about it for a long time. I once made it ..if my memories serve me right.... I made it at my perima's house soon after I graduated....it seems sooooooo long as though in my previous birth. But at that time I was not sure how it had to be made and it was a flop show although everyone managed to eat it without telling me that it was not all that great! They were just being polite at not telling me as to how bad it was....!!

I always order this whenever I go to the restaurant. I love this...this time it turned out great....I will be making it again sooonnnnn...............

During my shopping saga last week end...I got all the veggies needed for making the kofta curry.

Things needed the Koftas:

2 Large Potatoes

2 Carrots

10 strands of Beans

1 Cup Tofu

All purpse flour

1/2 tsp fennel powder

1/2 tsp Red Chilly Powder

1/2 Tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 Tsp Cumin Powder
Chopped nuts 1/2 Cup
Oil for frying the koftas

For the Gravy:

1 Tsp Zeera
 Inch piece cinnamon stick

1 Bay Leaf

1 Green Chilly

1 Tsp Ginger cut finely
1/2 tsp Red Chilly Powder
1/2 Tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 Tsp Cumin Powder
1 cup onion cut finely
5 Tomatoes
10 Whole Cashews
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Cream
Salt
 
I always use microwave for boiling the veggies. You may do that the way you are comfortable with.

Microwave the Potatoes without cutting them (the whole ones).

Cut the carrots and beans to small cubes and also microwave them but make sure they are not tender and take it when they are three-fourths done. Drain the water completely. You may use a clean kitchen towel to take the excess water from the veggies. Reserve the water from the veggies for adding it to the gravy.

Mash the potatoes and add the chopped nuts (you generally find the nuts in the koftas you are order in the restaurants....they give a nice crunchy taste to the koftas!), carrots and beans without any water. Add the tofu by making it into fine crumbs. I am using tofu (you can resort to panneer not necessarily stick with tofu). As mentioned in my previous posts I am substituting tofu for panneer as much as possible in my cooking.

Add all the spices to the veggie mix and add salt. I am avoiding adding green chillies to the veggie mix since my son is too small and I do not want him to accidentally bite the chiilies in the veggies. You may add it if you want. Instead, I am using the green chillies in the gravy.

If you feel the veggies are kind of soggy do not worry just toss in  bread crumbs and this will take care of the extra moisture in the veggies (but do not toss them on tava adding bread crumbs is a better option).

Now the koftas are ready to be rolled out as balls. You may shape it the way you want it and coat it well with the all purpose flour before frying them in oil. Fry the koftas and keep them aside. I got some 12 koftas with these.

Now coming to the gravy - Take some olive oil or any other oil you use and temper it with zeera (after it splutters), bay leaf, cinnamon and add the ginger and green chillies. Add the onions and saute till it is light brown.

Add the tomatoes and cook it. You may add the water which you reserved it while squeezing the veggies.

Add the spices mentioned above in the ingredients needed for the gravy. Also add the salt.

Run the cashews in the blender and add it to the gravy (you may make a paste and add it to...I leave it to your preference) Make sure you have enough gravy while making this dish...otherwise the koftas absorb all of them!! Add the cashew powder and allow it to boil.

Now add the cream and boil for few more minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the cinnamon stick before adding the koftas.

Take extra care while adding the koftas to the gravy and do not keep mixing it after adding them ...otherwise it will break. Some people suggest adding the koftas just before serving. They tell you to heat them separately and add the koftas to the gravy before serving....but I feel this way the koftas do not get the taste of the gravy. I want my koftas nicely soaked in the gravy and get the taste from the gravy too...hence transfer the gravy to the serving dish and arrange the koftas in them. Incase you are worried that the koftas will absorb the gravy in entirety,,,,make a little extra gravy and reserve it. You may add the extra gravy just before serving....

Serve this yummy malai kofta with roti/nan or ghee rice...........

Oven baked veggie spread (for the bread)

I love bruschetta and we always order this whenever we go to Italian Restaurants (and I would say...we end up going to Italian Restaurants all the time...since I am safe about eating my food there....being a strict vegetarian ...I get lot of veggie options and they quite understand the term "vegetarian")...so this veggie spread is a product of /or was born out of our love for bruschetta...

Tomato Basil Bread or any other bread of your choice
4 Tomatoes
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 of Green Bell Pepper
3 Asparagus

1/2 Cup Onion cut 1 inch sized

1 Yellow Zucchini

1/2 Tsp Fennel Powder

1/2 Tsp Corainder Cumin Powder

1/2 Tsp Pepper Powder

2 Tsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1/2 tsp Dried Parsley
Salt to taste

3 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese or any other cheese of your choice (but when you are planning to bake it along with the veggies....this cheese by far tastes the best)

Cut the vegetables to 1 inch cubes. You can do this as you pre-heat the oven to 350 degree.

Take the cut vegetables in a mixing bowl and add all the ingredients (the spices) except the parmesan cheese.

Mix them well so as to get the spices coated evenly on the veggies.

Pour them on a greased baking sheet and bake them for about 15 minutes. When you open the oven you can smell the flavours from the spices...wow it smells delicious ....it kind of kindles your taste buds and feel like eating it right away...but hold on...add the parmesan cheese and bake it for 20 to 30 more minutes. Take it out of the oven.

Take the Tawa and toast the bread.  I had cooked northern beans so tossed it with the veggies to make it more filling for my afternoon lunch since the vegetables I have used are lighter ones and beans will make me filling and willl keep me from having a snack soon after the lunch (But I am not a person interested in karuku murukku (savouries)).

It was very easy to make ...all it takes is the time for baking and all you need to do is cut and toss the veggies in the oven....does it not sound simple and easy. Not a whole of dishes to wash too!! The result is yummy and delicious veggie to go with any kind of bread.

If you are planning to add feta cheese/goat cheese...I would suggest adding them at last before serving.

The veggies were good  for serving on 6 slices of bread. You may try these as a side for plain rice too ...it will taste as delicious as you can think it could be....Enjoy!!