Semolina Cake | Rava Cake

I have been doing baking for quite some time now. But almost always, something or the other is off. Most recipes that i refer do not mention if they have made it in a convection oven or the combination one that is the staple in most homes these days.

So its either a temperature issue- the top browning too quickly without the center cooking, or that the time taken varies, or finding that perfect substitute for eggs, or to measure exactly half of the 135 grams of flour that the original recipe calls for :). 

The rava cake is something that i have eaten  at a neighbor's party. The hostess gladly gave me the recipe. I religiously noted it down, only to find that most measures in the recipe are 3/4 cup measures. Since i wanted a smaller cake, i tried halving the quantity without much luck. The cake did not cook evenly, though it tasted great in parts that it had cooked. 

So after some more research for eggless versions of the Semolina Cake, i found the recipe on Bawarchi.

I halved the quantities, and got a decently good cake. So here goes my first "dessert baking" post.

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes

Baking Time: 25 Minutes

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup Rava/Semolina

1/4 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tbsp of dried coconut- chopped into small bits

1/2 cup powdered sugar 

2 pods cardamom, powdered

Wet Ingredients:

1/4 cup Yoghurt/curd

1/4 cup milk, additional if need be

1/4 cup neutral oil

Method:

In a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients. I did not really go through the drill of sieving, for want of time. 

Now whisk together the wet ingredients.

Start the oven and preheat it to 150 degrees. While it heats up, in a big bowl, add in the dry and wet ingredients little by little and whisk in one direction ( Don't ask me why, i saw Rachel Allen doing it :) ) 

Once they are completely mixed, adjust the consistency to pouring consistency by adding some extra milk if needed. Taste the batter and adjust the sugar. 

Grease and dust a 6" cake tin and pour. 

Bake for 20 minutes at 150. Check if done by inserting a toothpick. After 20 mins, crank up the heat to 160 and bake for another 5 mins. 

Remove and let it cool.

Transfer into a plate. 

Slice and serve, maybe with an icing sugar dusting if you like :)

Dessert Pizza

Ok. So this is another quickie. I had tasted it in Pizza Corner a long time ago. Did not really see it on their menu afterwards. A sweet pizza, with a generous amount of chocolate sauce and banana and pinapple topping. When i spotted the wheat pizza base at MK retail, i was suddenly reminded of the sweet pizza and wanted to try it out. After a couple of sms exchanges with my friend about a similar recipe made during her childhood, i set out to make this really simple dish.

Preparation Time: 10 Mins
Cooking Time: 10 Mins
Serves 2

Ingredients:

One medium pizza base, i used the wheat base
2 small bananas cut into rounds, i used elakki
2 tbsp raisins, i used the black color variety
2 tbsp roasted melon seeds
1 tsp unsalted butter

For the sauce:

1 tsp butter
4 tbsp milk
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder, i used cadbury
a large pinch of cinnamon powder

Method:

Mix together the ingredients meant for the sauce in a bowl.
Place the pizza base on a hot tava with a tsp of  butter on it. Let the bottom of the base crisp up and brown.

Now spread the sauce on the pizza. Arrange the toppings on the sauce. Drizzle with melon seeds. Brush with some melted butter. Grill it in the microwave for 8-10 mins.

Remove and serve hot with chocolate sauce. Drizzle some honey on top for extra sweetness.

Notes:

You could add pineapple chunks similarly.
Maybe some crushed peanuts?
And maybe some vanilla ice cream on the side :) 

Aloo Palak | Lunch Box Series

Lunch box normally comprises 3 rotis and a side dish and a box of curd rice. Side dish is a dal with veggies or some fried sprouts or a vegetables cooked with a gravy. Last week, i decided to take a short cut and cook palak with aloo. Adding potato to anything makes it instantly tasty! Its not really great for the stomach, but once in a way chaltaa hai :)
One more advantage of making a potato dish is that it cooks really easily and all the flavors are absorbed really well into it.
So here goes a really easy side dish for the lunch box. I decided to put together the lunch dabba dishes under the tag,  Lunch Box Series.

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes
Cooking Times:    10 Minutes

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes, cut into large pieces
2 bunches of palak, washed and clean
1 small onion cut into thin slices
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Jeera
1 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of hing
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp of red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Chat Masala to taste (optional)
1 tsp Lemon Juice (optional)

Method:

Place the chopped potatoes in a pressure cooker, with some salt and water and pressure cook until one whistle. While that is cooking, chop the greens and onions. In a pan, add the oil. Once it heats up, add mustard, jeera, turmeric powder and hing.

Once the jeera starts browning, add to it the sliced onions, garlic and ginger.

Once the onion turns pink, add to this the chopped spinach. Fry it until it just about wilts. Now add to this the cumin powder, coriander powder, salt and chilli powder.

Stir for 2-3 minutes. It doesn't need to be cooked for too long. All you need to do now is to add the cooked potatoes to this mixture!

Mix gently depending on how much your potatoes have cooked. Make sure that the palak leaves are not bunched up together but are mixed well with the potatoes. Sprinkle some water to this and cover and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. This will ensure that the masala that is in the palak will stick to the potatoes.
Turn off the heat. Add some lemon juice or chat masala on top as per your taste. Serve hot with rotis.

Carry it in your dabba, heat it up just before eating and enjoy hot aloo with rotis. 

Poha | Quick Breakfast

Not everyday do you get sufficient time to make dosa or rotis for breakfast. On days when you are in a rush or short of options, there are plenty of alternatives for breakfast. One of my most favorite options is the avil/ avalakki or poha. At home, we normally make it with a heavy lemon flavoring or a tamarind based like puliyodharai. Otherwise plain and simple with a tadka and lots of grated coconut. But i really like the maharashtrian way of making it- with potatoes.  I had some leftover corn kernels. So i decided to throw that in for a good measure along with the potatoes. Adding peanuts makes sure that you have a really crunchy poha.
What's more, if you try it the way i tried, it gets done fast, is great to taste and filling too.

Preparation Time: 5 Mins
Cooking Time : 10 Mins 

Ingredients:

1 cup of Beaten Rice , i used the thin variety
1 potato, chopped into thin pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp Mustard
1 tsp Jeera
A pinch of hing
A handful of corn kernels
3 green chillies, slit
3-4 curry leaves
A few sprigs of coriander, finely chopped
1 tsp channa dal
2 tbsp peanuts
Salt to taste
Lemon for extra zing
1 tbsp oil

Method:

Wash and slice the potatoes into small thin pieces. Add the corn kernels to it, some salt, sprinkle some water and microwave for 2 minutes.

In a pan, add some oil. Once it heats up, add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add the jeera, hing, channa dal, curry leaves and peanuts.

Once they start browning, add the chillies and the onions. Add some salt to taste. Allow it to fry.

At this point, depending on how thick your beaten rice is, you will have to wash or soak it. I use the thin variety- the paper avil.

So all i needed to do is to put it in a colander run it under the tap. If you are using the slightly thicker variety, do soak it for a couple of minutes before using. It takes some trial and error to figure out the optimum soaking or washing time for the beaten rice. I have ended up with white color lumps at times when i have over washed :)
Once the beaten rice is moist, add it along with the potatoes and corn into the skillet. I turn off the heat here and leave it to cool for a few minutes. Mixing the really wet beaten rice along with the hot aloo with make the poha mushy. Once it cools down, add some salt and toss it well so that all the ingredients get mixed well.
Top it with some lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. If you want some more flavor, add half a tsp of sugar to it and mix well.
Serve hot!

Foxtail Millet with Jaggery

I thought a while whether i could call the recipe a pongal. But it was not really a pongal. So i said i would just go with Foxtail Millet and jaggery, cause that is all this simple dish needs.

A friend got a small packet of foxtail millet for me from an organic food store. Unfortunately, it had the husk intact and i could not really make much out of it. I spotted the millets at an organic store in Mysore later and picked a packet up at once. When i got back home to proudly show the mother a new millet discovery, she stumped me by saying that it is called Korai/ korra biyyam and used to be used much in the olden days.
After doing some research, i saw that it was cooked a lot like rava or broken wheat. I was sure that i wanted to make a sweet dish out of it, cause it has the kind of mild sweetness that ragi has.
The recipe is really simple, needs minimum ingredients and gets done super easy.

Preparation Time  10 Mins
Cooking Time       20 Mins

Ingredients

Foxtail Millet/ Korra Biyyam     1/2 cup
Ghee                                        1 1/2 tbsp
Grated Jaggery                         1/4th cup, increase as per taste.
Dry coconut/ kopra                  1/4 cup, chopped into tooth size bits

Method:

I just added the millet into the rice cooker and poured twice the amount of water and allowed it to cook.
Once done, transfer into a microwave safe bowl, add to it the jaggery shavings and a tbsp of ghee.

Microwave on high for two mins. That is about how long it takes for the jaggery to melt. Mix well so that the liquid jaggery comes together well with the millet and also lends it its color. Fry the dry coconut in the remaining ghee and add it to the mixture.

It makes for a good 11 o clock snack or a light after meal snack when you crave for "something sweet". Pack it in a dabba and carry it as a sureshot solution for that odd timing hunger pang.

I thought i could also try a slightly richer version with some more ghee, cardamom and nuts and make it as a prasadam for any festival. Light, flavorful, easy to make, healthy and a welcome change from the regular grains!

PuLi Inji

One of my favoritestest traditional side dishes is PuLi Inji - literally translated to Tamarind Ginger. I have refrained from trying such a dish till date because these traditional recipes call for very minimum ingredients and one needs to get the mix and balance of all the flavors spot on for the dish to turn out well. The past week, i tasted it twice, first at New Krishna Bhavan then next when a friend made it.
And then the recipe came up as a suggestion when i was reading Chinmayie's latest post. It seemed like a sign and yours truly decided to make the PuLi Inji.
The recipe is adapted from here . I followed the same measurements.

Just that, i made a tadka with mustard, hing and curry leaves first. Added ginger and chilli next.

To it, i added the tamarind pulp and melted jaggery and brought it to a boil.

Then stir it well and let it simmer for a while.Adjust salt and jaggery and tamarind. Easier said than done. Each time you add one item, the other starts appearing to be less. So it will take you a couple of additions to get the right proportions that suit your palette best.  The consistency that you are looking for is gooey and thick. There will be a slight glaze on the surface of the syrup.

At this point, turn off the heat. Transfer to a box or a bottle. This can be stored for a while. But when the quantity is just a cup, be sure for it to be licked clean sooner!

Serve with Pongal/Khichdi, or with plain rice and a big dollop of ghee. Or better still, make it a perfect accompaniment for curd rice!

Strawberry Sauce | A quickie

If you go grocery shopping to the supermarket, you can't miss the strawberries these days. Not just the big stores, even the local fruit vendors are selling the ubiquitous boxes of the pretty red fruits. But it always so happens to me that if the fruit is sweet, a couple of them in the box turn out to be bad. Sometimes it so happens that the fruits look nice and plump but are sour on the inside.

When they are sweet, i can't think of a better way to eat them than by dipping them in chocolate sauce. Heaven is right there. When i was faced with the prospect of finishing some not-so-sweet strawberries lest they went bad, i thought of turning it into a sauce.
To me, any sauce or chutney should be a good balance of uppu-puLi-kaaram-inippu (salt, sourness, heat and sweet, in that order ). So this simple sauce had the sugar for the sweetness, pepper lending heat, ginger adding a tang and the strawberry itself a little sour.
No measurements actually. Just take a ramekin. Go chop chop and add the strawberries upto 3/4th the cup. Add a spoonful of sugar or more according to your preference, some salt and pepper to taste, dry ginger powder and maybe some unsalted butter on top. Well, all you need to do now is to microwave this for a minute and a half.
Ta-da! Your sauce is ready!

You could make it overtly sweet, like a jam. Or keep it light and make it a nice mix of different fresh flavors. Maybe even try it with some mint. Serve it for breakfast with toasted bread or pancakes.