31 Jan 2014

Coriander Chutney Recipe | Kothamalli Chutney Recipe | Easy Chutney Recipes

Coriander / Cilantro Chutney is a very tasty and flavorful chutney. A good change from the coconut chutney we make so often. And this is a healthy dish too! This is a versatile chutney, you can have this wth idlis, dosai or any chaat items or snacks or even breads.




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30 Jan 2014

Elaneer Souffle Recipe / Tender Coconut Pudding

I am so mesmerized as I write this...what I just ate is simply too good! Oh the simply pleasures of life! I can't believe something as simple as a tender coconut can be transformed into such a luscious treat! 
Ever since my husband and I tasted elaneer soufflé in Crimson Chakra, I have been looking to re-create this dish in my kitchen but never got the recipe. But when Mubeen Sultana shared this recipe, I was only too eager to try it out! This is not exactly as what you get in restaurants but close enough. If you want restaurant styled soufflé, check notes. 
You can call this tender coconut pudding also, this isn't exactly a soufflé.

Elaneer Souffle

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29 Jan 2014

Homemade Chocolate Sauce Recipe / How to make Chocolate Sauce

I love chocolate! I have said that many times here! So I always have chocolate sauce in my kitchen to use it on desserts. Chocolate sauce definitely makes the dessert taste more good. It makes a sinful dessert even more sinful! I used to buy Hershey's all the time but when I made this sauce for the first time, I never went back to store bought chocolate sauce again. 




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28 Jan 2014

Carrot Cake Recipe

I love Carrot Cake! Next to chocolate cake, this is my most favorite cake. And unlike chocolate cake, I can eat this without feeling guilty! The day after I bake a carrot cake, I wake up with a smile on my face! Knowing that I can have a slice of this cake, brightens up my day! 
Carrot Cake




I have baked many carrot cakes but this recipe stands out as my most favorite. It is absolutely delicious and moist. The carrots and the spices gives it a wonderful flavor. The taste and flavor of this cake deepens after 24 hours as the spices blends together but I cannot wait for 24 hours to cut this cake! I usually end up burning my tongue eating a slice as soon as it's out of the oven!

This time, I baked it for my sister in law's birthday and we enjoyed it thoroughly! 

Check out the other carrot bakes here - Eggless Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins, Instant Microwave Carrot cake - both are no eggs, no butter recipes!

CARROT CAKE
Preparation time 20 mins | Cooking time 40 minutes | Serves - 8 to 10 slices
Recipe Category - Dessert | Recipe Cuisine - World | Recipe Source - Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients
  • Brown Sugar (200 gms) - 1 cup packed (light or dark brown)
  • Vegetable Oil (180ml) - 3/4th cup 
  • Yogurt (60 gms) - 1/4th cup
  • Eggs - 3 large
  • Flour / maida(250 gms) - 2 cups
  • Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp
  • Baking Soda - 1 tsp
  • Cinnamon powder - 2 tsp
  • Nutmeg powder - 1/4th tsp
  • Salt - 1/2 tsp
  • Carrots (260 gms) - 2 cups (finely grated)
  • Walnuts - 2/3rd cup, chopped
  • Raisins - 2/3rd cup

Carrot Cake



Method
Preparation - Pre heat the oven to 180 degree C. Line and grease a 8 or 9 inch pan. Wash and grate the carrots. From the 2 cups of flour, take 1 tbsp and coat the carrots and another 1 tbsp for the walnuts and raisins. Set aside.  

1. In a large bowl combine the brown sugar and oil. 
2. Beat in the yogurt until fully combined. Mixture will be gritty and thick. 



3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Set aside.
4. Sift in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Or pre sift and add in small batches.



5. With a spatula, manually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, do not overmix. 



6. Fold in the carrots, walnuts and raisins. 
7. Pour into prepared pan.



8. Bake cake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake, which will dry out cake.

This cake can be stored in refrigerator for 5 days.

Enjoy the cake!


Carrot Cake


Notes
1. Coating the carrots, walnuts and raisins with flour, will prevent it from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
2. Use thick yogurt. 
3. Any flavorless vegetable oil can be used. I used sunflower oil.
4. The cake tastes best after 8-12 hours when the spice flavors have all seeped in.


Until next time,




\

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Easy Brownies

Brownies are my favorite! I am willing to try out any number of brownie recipe. Each time I make brownies, I try different recipes and save all the good recipes. This recipe is very simple and easy to make. It does not require a great effort to make this brownie and tastes so good! This recipe is for those days when you need a quick fix brownies.




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27 Jan 2014

Shakshuka Recipe / How to make Shakshuka (Indian Version)

Shakshuka is a North African dish and quite famous in Israel as well. Wikipedia says Shakshuka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chilli peppers, and onions, often spices such as cumin. It is believed to have a North African origin and quite famous in Israel as well.




I made the Indian version of this dish and it turned out really well. I have not added anything to make this spicy because my daughter won't eat it. Do add red chilli powder or garam masala to make it more spicy. Do try it out it tastes delicious!


Ingredients


  • Eggs - 3
  • Oil - 1 tbsp
  • Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
  • Cinnamon stick - 1 one inch stick
  • Bay leaf - 1
  • Onion - 2 medium
  • Tomato - 3 medium
  • Capsicum - 1/2 chopped
  • Ginger garilc paste - 2 tsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
  • Coriander powder - 1 tsp
  • Salt - to taste





Method
1. Blend the onion and tomato to a paste.
2. In a pan, add oil. Wait till the oil heats up. Add cumin seeds. Wait for it to splutter. Add the cinnamon stick and bay leaf.



3. Add the onion and tomato paste. Saute for 3-4 mins.
4. Add the capsium and mix well. Let the capsicum retain it's crunch.



5. Add the ginger and garlic paste. Saute for another 3 mins.
6. Add the turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix well and half a cup of water and allow it to cook for a few minutes.



7. Break open the eggs into the gravy. Do not stir. Close the lid and allow the eggs to cook.
8. Once the eggs are completely cooked add coriander leaves, switch off and serve.

Goes well with dosai or roti.




Notes
1. You can make it more spicy by adding garam masala powder.


Until next time





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22 Jan 2014

Tomato Rice Recipe / Thakkali Sadam Recipe

I make tomato rice on lazy days! It is so easy and simple to make and great for lunch boxes too. It can also be made with left over rice or can be made with basmati rice.



Today I made this for my daughter so I made with regular boiled rice and I have made without adding any spices. She will not eat if her food is even mildly spicy! Even with less spice, this tasted so good! But you can add more masalas and make it even more tasty.
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Peas Pulao / Matar Pulao / Pattani Sadam Recipe

Peas Pulao is one of the easiest to make, takes very little time to make and also one of the most delicious and flavorful and most sought after in rice variety, a great lunch box recipe too and also a party favorite. We make this very often in our home and no one complains! This goes well with any non veg or veg gravy or even with plain raita
Today we had it with Paneer Butter Masala.  



The taste of this pulao can be enriched by adding coconut milk or even plain milk. If you don't prefer milk, you can add water. Use fresh peas, if not frozen peas. This can also be made as a one pot meal.
If you want to make this in a pressure cooker, check out this pressure cooker peas pulao.

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21 Jan 2014

Hedgehog Slice Recipe (Eggless) | Easy No Bake Recipes

Have you heard of the Hedgehog slice? I was first introduced to this delicious slice by my dear friend Nicole from Australia. These are no bake biscuit brownies that are delicious with lots of chocolate and coconut and it is very famous in Australia, probably originated there.


Hedgehog Slice

My friend Nicole is an awesome woman - strong, kind hearted, Godly and multi talented. She is more like a sister to me and easily one of the few relationships that I treasure in life. She is one amazing mum and an exceptional cook and even better baker with many many more talents. She has a facebook page The Salmela Family Kitchen and her new blog is called Mum, Pastor, Cook and Asperger's-Just an Ordinary Life. I will be updating this blog with many of her recipes.


Hedgehog Slice

Coming back to this recipe, since the name Hedgehog Slice was new to me, I instantly googled it and found so many variations. I decided to try one which had even more chocolate in it! 
The Slice tasted delicious! My parents who don't go anywhere near chocolate, enjoyed eating these little slices!
This recipe called for dessicated  coconut but I skipped that since I did not have at the time.


Hedgehog Slice


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20 Jan 2014

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

This is another easy to make drink and very delicious and healthy. I make this for my husband and myself when we feel like having a drink! This tastes really good and you don't feel guilty having this drink!
While making this smoothie, do not add sour curd. That changes the taste of the smoothie. I love that this drink tastes awesome and there's nothing unhealthy in this drink!

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

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18 Jan 2014

Cake Balls Recipe

Cake balls are simple and easy to make and it looks so colorful, festive and cute! It is definitely a crowd pleaser and is most loved by kids. Cake balls are the easier version of cake pops. So far I haven't had the patience to make cake pops but I make a lot of cake balls since it's much easier to put this together!

I made these cute little cake balls since one of the cakes I made did not make it out of the pan! So I crumbled it and made these. I baked the cake to take it with me to a friend's house and finally I ended up making the cake balls and I should say this became very popular among all who had it, young and old!! 


Cake Balls


For the frosting, I had some left over chocolate fudge frosting and used that. You can use any frosting you like or use store bought ready made frosting too. If you don't have any frosting, then you can do what I have done with the vanilla cake (scroll down for that recipe). Or simply use a chocolate sauce or store bought hershey's chocolate sauce or nutella. The choices are endless!
You can also use left over cakes or store bought cakes for this recipe.

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17 Jan 2014

Chicken Biryani Recipe / Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe

Chicken biriyani is a delightful dish! Weekends are never complete without this dish! So flavorful and aromatic! Everybody has their own way of making this dish and this is the way my family does it. It is easy to make and tastes delicious! This can be made as a one pot dish - in a pressure cooker but we cook the chicken in a pressure cooker and then transfer to an electric cooker. The list might seem long but it's actually very simple to make. This is not one of those complicated method of making biryani!


Chicken Biryani


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How to make raita for biriyani / Pachadi Recipe / Mixed Vegetable Raita

Raita is a kind of salad in thick yogurt. It is more commonly eaten with briyani and other rice varieties but can also be had with paratha or rotis. I cannot imagine my briyani without a good raita!

Raita

We made this raita for about 5 people, you can change the quantities of each ingredients as per your requirements.
There is no specific measure for this recipe. You can add how much ever you want of the given vegetables. Use thick curd for best tasting raitas.


Raita


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16 Jan 2014

Prawn Masala Recipe

This is a killer recipe! My mom's speciality. This prawn masala tastes awesome and disappears quickly once it's made! This is a spicy masala so you need to adjust the spice level according to your preference. This can be made as a thick gravy or semi dry or dry masala. We always make the semi dry version.




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14 Jan 2014

No Bake Biscuit Brownie Recipe (Eggless) - My Guest Post

I am new to the world of blogging, only a few weeks old! As I was wondering how to connect with the other bloggers and how to reach out, I saw a friend request from Aara Shaikh! She blogs at Sweets & Spices, a wonderful blog with easy and unique recipes. I was already familiar with her blog and have tried out her recipes vanilla ice cream and chocolate ice cream.  I was pleasantly surprised to see her message. She is the such a sweet person and volunteered to help me and clear all my doubts. I am glad to have met her.



And then suddenly one day she asked me if I will write a guest post in her blog! I was excited about it and I thank her for giving me this opportunity.

Hop over to Aara's wonderful blog.
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13 Jan 2014

Strawberry Flavored Yogurt

We love flavored yogurt. Every time we go grocery shopping, this is one of the first items we pick and this is the first that gets over too. Strawberry is my husband's favorite and I prefer Mango. Yogurt flavored with a fruit is absolutely delicious. When I came across a recipe for flavored yogurt, I was thrilled! Who wants to buy store bought stuff when you can make such tasty ones at home! And it's super easy to make!


Strawberry Froyo

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Strawberry Mousse (eggless)

Strawberries are a delicious fruit and anything you make with them turns out delicious too!  The pink color is so pleasant and lovely to look at, it's almost therapeutic! This is an absolute favorite, it is so soft, smooth and creamy, you can't go wrong with this dessert. Since this is an eggless version, it is extremely easy to put together. You can serve this at dinner parties and this can be made well in advance and kept in the fridge.

Check my Egg free Strawberry Mousse Cake recipe if you want to layer a cake with mousse. I also made strawberry mousse to add it to my edible chocolate cups.

Eggless Strawberry Mousse


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8 Jan 2014

Coriander Thogayal Recipe / Kothamalli Thovaiyal Recipe

Coriander thovayal is a hot favorite in our home. Actually any thovaiyal is okay for us. There is never a day when we run out of thovayal since this is very healthy and tastes great with rice. This is very easy and simple to make. 
Check out the pudina thuvaiyal and karuveppilai thuvaiyal.




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Murungai Keerai Poriyal / Drumstick leaves Stir Fry

Drumstick leaves are so rich in iron and calcium that it is very healthy to have it often. It also tastes good too. This is my mum's favorite and since we have a drumstick tree in our house, this is made very often. Removing the leaves from the stalk is quite a tiresome job but to make it easy, roll the drumstick leaves in a newspaper and leave it in the fridge overnight. You will find that the leaves shed by themselves and beyond that it is easy to clean. 


Murungai Keerai Poriyal


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7 Jan 2014

Vendakkai Poriyal Recipe / Lady's Finger (Okra / Bhindi )Stir fry Recipe

Ladies finger / vendakkai is a healthy vegetable . It is high in fibre and low in calories and has a truck load of health benefits. This is a favorite in our home and gets done many times a week, in different forms. This recipe is the simplest way of making okra. many don't make this vegetable sInce they feel it gets very sticky, but if you cook right then there is no stickiness.


Vendakkai Poriyal


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Liebster Award

I am new to the blogging world and when I was thinking how to connect with the other bloggers, Aara from Sweets and Spices chose me for this award! And within 2 days Tanya from easy and simple foods gave me this award. 

Libster award is a kind of E-award given by one blogger to another. As a token of love, appreciation, affection.




I am happy to receive this award and get connected with all the other lovely bloggers!

As the name suggests this award helps discover new blogs and connect with others. Also this award is given for those blogs with less than 300 members. 


I thank Aara and Tanya for choosing me!



What do u need to do when u receive the award?
  1. Pass the award to others by nominating about 5-10 new bloggers who has less than 300 followers.
  2. Add the award logo in your blog post.
  3. Thank the blogger who nominated you for the award.
  4. Answer the questions asked by the blogger.
  5. Frame 10 questions for your nominees.  
  6. Notify your nominees by sending them a comment.

So my questions were :

1) What did u understand with the concept of blogging?
Blog is actually a truncation of web log. It is an online journal where one's thoughts, ideas are recorded.

2) What are the things that changed after you started blogging?
My already hectic life became more hectic!

3) If you are a food blogger do ur family and friends support your efforts?
Oh yes, my husband and my parents are extremely supportive.

4) How is your blog different from other blogs you came across?
I aspire to make my blog more simple to navigate.

5) Do you have virtual friends? How does it feel when u interact with them?
I have only 1 friend so far. That's you Aara! It's lovely interacting with you.

6) What is your new year resolutions and why?
I never make new year resolution since i hardly keep them!

7) One thing you can change about yourself?
Be less of a perfectionist. 

8) One thing you always fantasy about u can have?
So far i am satisfied with what i have.

9) 5 things you love the most
  • Jesus
  • My husband
  • My children
  • My parents
  • Driving and blogging

10) Blogging is a different World!! What if u were not a blogger? and what if u have to quit blogging anytime???
If I were not a blogger, i would continue my life as a wife and mum.

So here are my nominees -

Jeni from Cook N Munch  -- http://gifjen.blogspot.in/
Shree from Kitchen in a window
Uma from 100 recipes
Rani from Rani's Gourmet
Vidya from Vidya's Indian Kitchen
Nimmy from Nimmy's Kitchen
Bhawna from Welcome to my Rasoi
Sruthy from Foodaura

So here are my questions for my nominees - 

1. Which is your favorite dish?
2. How did you start blogging?
3. What was your motivation to start blogging?
4. Who inspires you, in terms of cooking?
5. Which food can you never give up?
6. Who is your best critic?
7. Do you prefer cooking or baking?
8. Which is your favorite cookery show?
9. What is the one ingredient in baking that you always have at hand?
10. When did you start cooking?

Thanks again Aara and Tanya for choosing me. Spread the love!

If any of my nominees are not interested in this, please let me know.



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5 Jan 2014

Peerkangai Kootu Recipe / Ridge Gourd Kootu Recipe

This is a vegetable that I have mostly ignored my whole life! But I have lately come to find out that this is a very healthy vegetable with loads of health benefits. Do google it if your interested. 
It is also easy to make and tastes great with rice. Today we made it n our house and I'm sharing it with you all.
You can make this kootu with kadalai paruppu or moong dal. My mum makes it with kadalai paruppu but I prefer to use moong dal.

Peerkangai Kootu

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Avarakkai Masala / Broad Beans Masala

Today we made avarakkai in our home. This is a healthy vegetable which goes well as a side dish with rice. It is very easy  and different to make. We make a ground paste of  onion, tomato, pepper, garlic and ginger and add it as a masala. If you want, you can add more of this paste so get a more rich and deep flavour. We also make a simple avarakkai poriyal which tastes great with rasam rice.

Avarakkai Masala

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3 Jan 2014

Idli Upma Recipe

Idli Upma is a simple and easy breakfast dish, usually made using left over idli's or idli that have turned out hard. It makes the boring idli interesting and desirable! I am not a fan of idli, only because I've had so much of it so any day I would prefer the idli upma over plain idli, whether it's made of fresh idli or left over hard idli's.




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2 Jan 2014

Banana Cake

I am fond of banana cakes. So is everybody else in my family. It s extremely easy to put together and makes use of over ripe bananas. This is one recipe that gets done very frequently by me, mostly to use up bananas that no one wants to eat, since it's become all black. But those over ripe black skin bananas are the ones that make a banana bake extremely delicious! There are plenty of things to bake with over ripe banana. And I keep trying different recipes of banana cakes, muffins, banana breads etc. Check out the other banana recipes too.


Banana Cake

For this cake, there was a request for banana cake from my family. It was my father's birthday and since my parent's don't prefer cream cake, they wanted this one. I was only too glad to oblige since I love banana cakes! This time there were no over ripe bananas at home so I went hunting for them. I am sure the fruit vendor thought I was some weird woman to pick up black skinned, over ripe bananas when he was giving me some good looking bananas! But who cares what he thinks, I got to eat a delicious banana cake out of those 'bad looking' bananas! My family loved it too and it got over that same night.

I always add walnuts to my cakes. It makes the cake taste more good and crunchy also it helps to sneak some nuts into my daughter! You can leave it out ans still get a delicious cake. The only addition I made to the original recipe is I added a tsp of cinnamon powder which took the flavor to a whole new level. I also didn't do the topping.


Banana Cake


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How to make Ganache

Ganache is the silky soft chocolate cream you find on cakes as a filling or as a frosting. It is what makes a chocolate cake more sinful and delicious, making you want to lick it off!

It is basically made by mixing cream with chocolate. It is very simple to make once you know the basics and ratio of chocolate to cream. Generally, the higher the cocoa butter in the chocolate ( the darker it is), the less cream you will need. So for dark chocolate ganache the ratio will be 2:1 - twice as much chocolate to cream. For milk chocolate - 2.5:1 (chocolate to cream), for white chocolate 3.5:1 ratio is used. It also depends on the type of chocolate you are using. Generally ganache is made with dark / semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate but you can make it with milk chocolate too. 


Dark Chocolate Ganache

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