Zesty Orange Cake - A surprise Christmas Tree Cake

Ingredients

Butter 225gms
Caster Sugar 350gms
Salt 1/2 tsp
Egg 4
Plain Flour 375gms
Baking soda 1/2 tsp
Milk 240ml
Orange juice 2 tbsp
Orange zest 2tbsp

Method 

Sift the flour & baking soda & keep aside.
In a free stand mixer or using hand mixer beat butter, salt & sugar until light & fluffy. Add the zest & juice of the orange. Now add the eggs one at a time & combine until mixed well. If the eggs mixture curdles add a little bit of flour. Now add the sifted flour & the milk beginning & ending with flour until combined. Do not over mix. In a bowl mix 1/4th of the cake batter with green colour & bake in a sheet pan. Cool the cake & cut out shapes as desired. In another loaf tin greased & dusted with flour pour some batter at the bottom & place the cake pieces in the centre & pour the remaining batter on over it. Bake at 160 deg for about 45mins. While the cake is still warm brush the top with some orange juice. Cool the cake for 10mins in the cake tin & glaze with orange glaze & garnish with chopped nuts & orange zest!!

Orange zest & juice can be replaced with lemon zest & juice.

Marble Cake

Ingredients

Butter                                  300 gms

Caster Sugar                         300 gms

Salt                                      1/4 tsp

Eggs                                     5

Vanilla essence                     1/2 tsp

All purpose flour                   375 gms

Baking powder                      4 tsp

Milk                                      4 tbsp

Cocoa powder                       20 gms

Method

Pre heat the oven at 180 degrees for 10mins. Grease & line a cake tin with parchment paper or grease & dust with flour. 

Lightly beat the eggs with vanilla essence. Keep aside. Sift together the flour & baking powder & set aside. 

In a another bowl whisk together butter, sugar & salt for about 5 to 7 mins until smooth & fluffy. Add the eggs & vanilla to the butter & sugar & beat until combined. Do not over beat. Add the flour & milk alternatively beginning & ending with flour. Mix well. 

Divide the batter into 2 portions. In one add the cocoa powder & mix. Pour the vanilla batter into the prepared cake tin. Pour spoonful of batter onto the vanilla batter & swirl to create a marbled pattern.

Bake for 60mins or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Instant Rava Dhokla

Ingredients:
For the Batter
1katori Rava
11/2spoon besan (I use the spoon used while making curry)
Salt
sugar
(Kindly put according to ur taste)
Little turmeric
1/2 a lime (extract juice) or u can use 1 tablespoon of dahi ( please do jot use both anyone)
1 spoon hot oil (I used the same spoon I used for measuring the besan)
1packet of Lemon ENO

Method:
Mix all the above ingredients  for the batter with water and make a thick consistency like u make the idli batter  add the hot oil and mix well keep aside for around 15 - 20mins
just before putting the batter in the vessel add the packet of ENO and mix well

Meanwhile grease a vessel with oil(I use the rice vessel used in the pressure cooker )add the batter do not add till the brim there should be sufficient place for the batter to rise while cooking .

Now in a pressure cooker add water below and place a stand or invert another vessel and put this vessel with the batter on it close the pressure cooker cover
*Note do not put the whistle of the cooker and cook for around 20mins (pleaee note time when u place the batter)
To check if cooked insert a knife and check if the knife comes out clean it is done if not keept for another 5min .
remove and  cool

For Tempering

Little mustard seeds (rai)
Little jeera
A pinch of Hing (asafoetida)
Green chillies slit and chopped into 3 pieces
curry leaves two sprigs
little sugar
Oil for frying

Take a vessel add oil once oil hot add mustard seed slet it splutter add jeera and hung fry then add sugar and green chillies and fry till chillies turn a little brown add curry leaves put off the gas and add this tempering to the dhokla

add chopped fresh coriander and grated coconut cut into desired shape ans serve with sauce or coriander chutney

Fatafat Potato Bhaji

We all have those days, when we wake up late and have to scurry around to fix that lunchbox! Here is my quick recipe of making masala Potato Bhaji
(Prep time :20mins)
Potatotes-4 (medium sized) (Finely chopped)
Onion-1 (medium sized- finely chopped)
Red chilly powder (I tsp)
Coriander powder (1/2 tsp)
Turmeric (1/2 tsp)
Oil (1tbsp)
Salt to taste

Heat some oil in a kadhai (pref non stick), then add the finely chopped onions to the oil, saute it till they turn really nice and  crisp, (almost carmelized). Add the masalas, and mix properly add salt
and then finally the chopped potatoes. Mix poperly, turn the gas to  sim, and cover the kadhai with a lid. Keep checking to see if the  potatoes are cooked and keep mixing it. Masala potato is ready:) If
you are an egg eater, you can break some eggs after the potatoes are  cooked, this will then turn it into egg-potato bhurji.:)


You can use this bhaji in a chapatti roll and add a slice of cheese to make things really interesting for your tiny tots!

Parsi Omlet..

Its a very simple Omlet..

Take Onions , Some coriander leaves, Chillies, Ginger garlic Paste, Little Turmeric Powder, Little bit of Chilli Powder, Little bit of Dhaniya powder , Salt as per taste .

Take all this in a bowl and add eggs to it . Mix Well.

Take some oil in a fry pan and make your delicious omlets.

Payasam with a Twist!!!Carrot Payasam

Carrot payasam

250gms carrot (scraped.and.cut into rounds
100gms cashewnuts
Around 15-20 badam
Around 2 tablespoons of kishmish
500gm milk
Elaichi powder according to ur taste
Suagr according to ur taste
Pieces of coconut

Clean carrots and cut into round pieces big pieces
Put the carrot and the cashews into the pressure cooker and cook add water

Once done make puree
Boil milk along side
Take a vessel add ghee around 2 tablespoons (depends on u)
Crush all the badam and add kismis and coconut pieces and fry once ksimsi becums fluffy add boiled milk and mix then add sugar and the puree mix well keep stirring till the paste gets dissolved in the milk once u see bubbles or it start boiling put off the gas and ur Carrot
Payasam is  ready

Enjoi

Bhappa Doi cheesecake – Steamed yogurt cheesecake!!

When life brings friends from your past together, it must be marked by something sweet! 

To everyone who has made this journey from little girls in pinafore's to  beautiful,gorgeous women so memorably captivating, starting with dessert would be epic :).

Here is an east meets west sweet something.

I used low fat versions of all the ingredients.

Ingredients

1 cup thick yogurt ( Greek works great)

1 cup condensed milk ( I reduced this to 3/4 cup because I did not want it to be too sweet)

1/2 cup evaporated milk

A pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tbsp of milk

1 tsp cardamom powder

For the crust

9 graham crackers or digestive biscuits crushed

2 tbsp of melted butter

Mix butter and crushed graham crackers. Pack it at the bottom of a single serve bowl or a cake pan or a spring form pan. Bake for 10 mins at 400 degrees.

In the meanwhile mix all

Ingredients for the custard. Remove the pan with the crust from the oven and leg it cool for a bit. Pour custard in it. Now place this pan in an oven safe bowl, fill with hot water half way and bake at 400 degrees. The cheesecake is ready when the center is still a little wobbly but a knife comes out clean. Remove from oven and chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.