Celebrating Deepavali with Rava Ladoos

Deepavali, the festival of lights is celebrated today with tonnes of fervor and spirit. The festival is all about the triumph of good over evil. Lighting diyas/lamps signifies warding off ignorance. 

May the glow of diyas light your path towards progress in knowledge, enlightenment and continued success.

SHUBH DEEPAVALI TO ALL THE READERS

(Source:net)
No celebration is complete without sweets and this festival is no different.The one & only Rava Ladoo was my choice simply because it is a delicious treat that does not take much time to make and stores well. Besides, all the ingredients are staple pantry items and hence are easier to assemble.

My mother-in-law, who is holidaying with us is an expert at whipping them out and the credit for making these winsome beauties goes to her. 

What's in it :- 

(Prep Time: 15 mins, Making time: 10 to 15 mins) - Makes: 25

• Rava/Semolina - 1 cup (measuring 200 grams)
• Sugar - 1 cup (measuring 200 grams)
• Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp
• Ghee - ¼ to 1/2 cup (measuring up to 100 gms - as required)
• Cashew nuts -15 to 20 (roughly chopped)
• Raisins - 10 to 15

Here's How :-

Dry roast rava over a low flame till a pleasant aroma wafts over and turns golden brown. I used double roasted semolina and it did not take much time to turn a golden hue. 
Now grind the rava and the sugar to a fine powder. Roast the cashew nuts and raisins in 1 to 2 tbsp of ghee till golden brown.Add cardamom powder and the roasted nuts to the powdered rava and mix well.Heat the remaining ghee well and mix little by little to the rava & sugar mix and shape into balls. Ensure that the ghee remains in-between hot and warm. This helps in shaping and binding.

Cool it and store in an airtight container.

Linking it to Priya's 60 days to Christmas Event

Welcoming 2012 with Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake sizzling in a satiny choco glaze (Eggless & Dairy free)

May each day of the new year be vibrant & sparkling

Happy 2012

It feels just yesterday that a brand new day of year 2011 blossomed and within no time 2012 has barged in and is ready to dawn many a celebrations in our life. As we embark on this day let's wipe the slates clean and make a fresh start !

While 2011 was good enough and I thank God for all the big n small blessings bestowed on us, I really can't wait for 2012 to ROCK N ROLL

Also, a big shout-out to my dearest sister Suchitra , who played Santa and sent me a boxful of baking accessories - mini bundt pan tray, silicon muffin liners, cookie/cupcake decorating kit etc. 
To welcome 2012 with a bang , I made these mini bundt cakes that is eggless and dairy free and was literally devoured by us. 

What really caught my attention in this cake (that is also called as dump cake) was that, it is eggless and dairy free and is leavened by the chemical reaction of baking soda and vinegar. Interestingly, the recipe originated in war times when there was shortage of eggs,milk and butter but is dot on in terms of being light, moist and airy compared to the rich and dense chocolate cakes.The glaze or the frosting on the cake is not vegan and is based on hershey's Perfect Chocolate Frosting Recipe. 

Proof of our shameless indulgence 

What's in it :-

• All Purpose Flour - 280 grams
• Cocoa Powder - 60 grams
• Granulated Sugar - 200 grams
• Brown Sugar - 100 grams
• Baking Soda - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Water 235 ml
• Sunflower Oil - 120 to 125 ml
• Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 tbsp
• vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

For the glaze ( I eyeballed the ingredients, so the quantity is just approximation) 

• Butter - 75 grams
• Cocoa Powder - 50 grams
• Powdered Sugar - 150 grams - to taste
• Milk - as required
• Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

Useful Pointers before baking

1.	You can use white vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar
2.	In place of sunflower oil you can use any vegetable oil
3.	Pour the batter in to the pan/loaf/tin immediately without resting it ; also the cake rises very quickly after setting them in the pan/tray/tin/loaf, so take care to pour the batter in to an adequate tin and only pour a little more than half of what the container can hold
4.	The cake stays fresh even after refrigeration. Take care to place them in a well sealed box. I left 2 of the mini cakes with the glazing on, in a covered stainless steel container; it tasted as fresh as new the next day.

Here's How :-

Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C. Grease and flour a 9-inch bundt pan / mini bundt tray.
In a large bowl, sift together flour and cocoa powder. Whisk in sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Pour in water, oil, vanilla extract and vinegar, whisking thoroughly/beating on a low-medium speed, but quickly, until the batter comes together and is quite smooth.Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean and the cake springs back when gently pressed.Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cake as cooled, top with any glaze.

To make the glaze , melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and  milk as required beating it to spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla. 

Enjoy !
Linking it to Nancy's YBR-Jan'12

Merry Christmas & Winners of the giveaway

Let the spirit of Christmas bring eternal joy in your life

Wishing all readers a very merry Christmas !

Pic Courtesy : Graphics18.com


Christmas is here bringing good cheer and for 2 lucky winners a book too ! By random selection, the winners of the first giveaway in my blog  are

Uma & Fahad Khan 

Congratulations ! Hope you both enjoy the Book The Ultimate Gift and cherish it as much as I do. You will receive the book in a few days !


Cheers !

Celebrating the Spirit of Independence with Baked Tricolour Strips

A very touching video on you-tube celebrating the spirit of Independence Day had me hooked - while the video is 4 years old, the message evergreen ! 

Happy Independence Day

As India celebrates her 65th year of Independence let's pledge to value INDEPENDENCE & FREEDOM in its truest sense - 

• Courage in face of adversity
• Not to take freedom for granted
• Peace all around
• To be sensitive to the feelings of fellow humans &
• Truth to guide & show the way

The patriotic fervor is all around and my hearth was no exception.Hubby dearest had an idea of making these strips and put in efforts to give shape to his idea. What resulted was this baked Naan type of flatbread with colours of our flag; the bread was further cut in to strips and enjoyed with chutney & sauce--- daughter went bonkers seeing Indian Flag on the dish !!

What's in it :-


For the Saffron colour :-

• Tomato - 3
• Orange Colour - a pinch or two !

For the Green Colour :-

• Mint & Coriander leaves - a fistful
• Green Chillis - 3 to 4 - to taste

For the flat bread :-

• All Purpose Flour - 3 small cups
• Baking Powder -1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste - for the 3 doughs
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp

How :-

Blanch the tomatoes and remove the skin. Puree it finely and set aside. Puree the greens & chillis to a fine paste adding very little water if necesary and set aside.

Knead the 3 doughs separately. 

• For the saffron/orange colored dough add the flour, the tomato puree, baking powder, salt & sugar, oil & knead a fine dough.
• For the green coloured dough add the flour, the green paste, baking powder, salt & sugar, oil & knead a fine dough.
• For the white dough add the flour, baking powder, salt & sugar, oil & knead a fine dough.

Preheat the oven to 170 C .Take a small ball of each of the dough ,and place it together ; spread across as a flat bread . Bake them for 10 minutes or till it is cooked.

Cut in to strips and serve with chutney/sauce.Enjoy !

Double Decker Parathas & Remembering a Good Soul

Food evokes memories - mostly pleasant, sometimes heart tugging but always welcome! A good meal enjoyed with family or an outing with friends with loads of fun, food n frolic or simply cooking a favourite dish for near & dear stays with us for a long time and gently tugs us as delightful memories. I have so many recollections of the past associated with food, that promises to stay fresh always. 


The parathas made today evoked a soulful recollection of a person who has managed to stay in our hearts forever. This gentle & humble soul whom we fondly called as  Naseema ji had in her own ways made a difference to our lives. She joined us as a housemaid 4 years back while we were in Mumbai. Always smiling & cheerful, never having  a bad word for any body and sticking to her work without unnecessary gossip & banter were just a few traits which I admired in her. That she had problems with her spouse was something I came to know after one year of her working --- such was her grace that she did not like self-pity talks. 


When my son who was born under stressful conditions, was very sick & on the verge of not making it any further, she used to pep me up by saying that God tests the bravest the most and to have unconditional faith in HIM. She added that my boy is a mighty warrior and will go places and that her prayers will always have my son's name.


Now when I see my son who has almost become normal, those words that are still etched in my heart, gives me courage to carry on whenever I am down & out.


One fine day after finishing her work as usual she left with a cheerful smile. Unusually she refused to have breakfast and little did I know, that was the last I would ever see her. I got a phone call later in the day saying that she died because of an electrical shock when she was ironing the family's clothes. We went to pay our last respects and I sincerely prayed that her soul Rests in Peace!


Coming back to this holy month of RAMADAN , I remember she telling me that she loved to break her fasts with fried stuff and parathas which were her favourite.


We have moved away from Mumbai, but the fond memories of that gentle soul still lingers.


In her memory........

I made these parathas that got a thunderous reception . The recipe is adapted from Tarla Dalal. The fillings have been tweaked to suit our taste-buds and you are welcome to give it any make over by going in for more peppy ingredients! I enjoyed the parathas with little pickle, a dash of Tomato sauce and a bowl of curd and one paratha is enough to keep you fired up in the morning !

What's in it :-


Filling no 1 :- (Carrot & Green Peas)

• Carrots - 2 - grated
• Green peas - a fistful
• Green Chillis - 2 to 3 - chopped finely - to taste
• Olive Oil - 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - a few sprigs - finely chopped
• Splash of lemon juice - to taste
• Salt & pepper Powder - to taste

Filling no 2 :-(Cheesy Potatoes)

• Potato - 2 - boiled & mashed
• Onion - 1/2 - finely chopped
• Green Chillis - 2 - finely chopped - to taste
• Coriander leaves - a few sprigs - finely chopped
• Cheese - 1 chiplet - grated - as required - optional
• Salt & Pepper Powder - to taste

For the flatbread/ rotis :-

• Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Water - as required
• Oli - little
• Ghee/Olive oil - for cooking the parathas - as required

How :-

Knead the flour with required water and add little oil for a smooth pliable dough. Set aside.

In a small pan, add oil and as it warms up let the cumin seeds crackle. Drop the green chillis and the green peas and saute for a few minutes. Add the grated carrots and let it cook for a few minutes before seasoning it with salt & pepper. Take off flame and lemon juice to taste . Garnish with greens. Filling No 1 is ready. 


Mix the ingredients for Filling No 2 in a bowl and adjust the seasoning. Set aside.


Take a small ball of dough and spread it across thinly for the flat bread. Make 3 of them for one double decker paratha. Take a heaped spoon of the carrot-peas filling and spread on one chapatti and cover with another chapatti. On top of it again spread a spoonful of the cheesy potato filling and place another chapatti on the top and press firmly to seal the edges.

Cook the double decker parathas on a tava (griddle) on both sides, using a little oil/butter/ghee . Repeat the process for more parathas. Serve hot.

RAMADAN KAREEM TO ALL MY READERS ! Sending my Ramadan Musings to Lubna's Joys from fasting to Feasting - IV and also to Jabeen's Iftar Nights
 

Galette Du Pont with Nutella Frosting, for my Blog Baby has turned 1

It's  party time folks - My blog baby has turned     and am a proud parent of a happy, growing blog ! 

As I write this post am doing a happy   and my heartfelt thanks to all of you who made it possible- your sweet comments and heaps of appreciation has spurred me to do better and special thanks to my family, friends & well-wishers who have showered me with utmost love and encouraged to keep up the good work. This blog happened at a time when I was on an emotional roller-coaster ride and life was not all bright and sunny. Even though I discovered the joys of penning my thoughts in a blog that was strictly for my eyes only, blogging about my kitchen adventures came in to reality when my sister pestered me repeatedly; thanks to her the start of a very lovely journey began !

I don't want to bore you with data showing my growth as a blogger but it warms my heart immensely that I have evolved as a cook - it is no secret that I did not enjoy cooking and anything to do with kitchen was secondary, though marriage changed that a lot. But it is after I became a food blogger, I appreciated the finer nuances of putting a dish on the plate. And after almost 8 years of cooking, food blogging gave me the courage to venture in to baking and it is one happy ride.

<:-P

As I was going through my very earlier posts I noted how they are not great in terms of pictures & content, but the slow and steady understanding of food styling and placement has resulted in much better clicks and even my write-up has improved several notches! 
And finally happy hoots to my hubby who has been my inspiration to cook and supported me  immensely in my experiments (mostly by being the guinea pig !!) and for being by my side as always >:D<
For the celebrations I made this very soft & delicious sponge like pastry that carries such an exotic name but is very simple to make and it tastes very elegant and yum. Recipe courtesy from here , thanks Rosa.I halved the measurements for the cake  and made a few slight modifications but otherwise followed her recipe.

What's in it :-

• All-purpose flour - 250 gm
• Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Fine salt - 1/4 tsp
• Unsalted butter - 60 gms
• Castor sugar - 125 gms
• Peanut oil (or any other neutral oil) - 1 tbsp (I used sunflower oil)
• Vanilla extract - 1 1/4 tsp
• Eggs (large) - 2  at room temperature
• Full fat milk (or enough to obtain a smooth and spreadable cake batter) - 9 to 10 tbsp
  Decorations :- Nutella & Sprinkles

Here's How :-

Preheat oven to 180° C /350° F and  grease a cake tin. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder,salt and set aside. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy. I used a handmixer to do the same. Add the sunflower oil and vanilla and continue beating till fully mixed. Add the 2 eggs, one at a time, beating/mixing all the while until well incorporated. Now blend in the dry ingredients and the milk, alternating between the two, while mixing well, until the batter is homogenous.Pour into the pan and spread evenly.
Bake for about 25-30minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack, covered with a towel (it keeps it damp).

Serving Suggestions (by Rosa)

This cake is best eaten on the same day you bake it and is delicious when served alone.It is also perfect when frosted or sliced in the middle and filled with buttercream, cream and strawberry jam, Nutella, pastry cream, etc., or just simply topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. 

Enjoy !


Linking it to Pari's Only Baked event, guest hosted by Harini

Eggless Golden Cake with Creamy Chocolate Icing & Happy Father's Day

My Daddy Strongest - The Dhara Commercial pretty much sums up almost every child's hero - DAD ! I once read that - Any man can be a father, but it takes a special person to be DAD. Their selfless love & unflinching support has not only helped us become independent and good human beings  but also better parents ourselves! The other day I was watching  The Pursuit of Happyness (for the umpteenth time !!) and was thoroughly moved by Will Smith's portrayal of Chris Gardner - The movie shows his love & dedication to his son and all his pursuits in making it large and in the process discover true happiness ! It imparts an important lesson that Dads are not perfect and are mostly flawed just like every one else but their attempts in bringing a better life to their children makes them special. 
Of course it goes without saying that we don't need any particular day to show what He means to us , but this day is perfect to verbalize our love & heartfelt gratitude to the person who helped shape us !! Fathers have evolved from being the "bread winners" to friend, philosopher & guide and in this process has indulged, influenced & involved us in many ways than can be counted . 

A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again.  ~Enid Bagnold. This is so true and to this date I am this little girl craving for my dad's love & attention ! 
On this note I dedicate this post to 2 special people in my life- My Dad & My Kid's Dad  


Dad --- Thank you for instilling love & values in me that has made me the person I am & for being the rock & pillar of my life and Sree thank you for being the greatest dad to Samyu & Sreeni !

I made these very tempting & addictive eggless golden cake, recipe courtesy from Anushruti @ Divinetaste. Her recipe was merrily followed except that I dressed up the cake dandily, smearing it with creamy chocolate Icing. Hubby dearest had bought 2 tins of Pillsbury Ready-to-use Icing and they played to the hilt in making the cake look very grand as well as tasting heavenly !

What's in it :-

• Milk - 250 ml
• Granulated sugar - 170 gms
• Plain flour - 210 gms
• Vanilla custard powder -65 gms
• Baking powder - 2 tsp
• Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Butter - 100 gms

For the Icing :-

• Creamy Chocolate Icing - as required ( I used Pillsbury ready- to-use icing tins)

Here's how :-

Heat the oven to 160 C. 

Prepare a 7” cake tin by greasing it well with oil or butter and lightly dusting it with plain flour. 

In the meanwhile heat the milk in a pan and stir in the sugar, after it melts completely set it aside and let it cool to room temperature. Now add the custard powder and whisk well. Tip in the butter and mix again.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and mix with a whisk. Add in the prepared milk mixture along with the vanilla extract and mix well until there are no lumps. Use an electric hand mixer/beater if you opt like I did.

Scrape in the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 55 minutes to 60 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

Enjoy it as such or give the cake a hot makeover with creamy icing. Let the cake cool completely before working on it - my cake got a sharp jab in its stomach and one half of it was smeared with the creamy chocolate icing.

Thereafter the remaining half joined the icing merrily and the whole cake got slushed in the chocolate creamy mix !!

Enjoy !

Linking this to FSF - Father's Day hosted by Sonia as well as her other event Celebrate Sweets- Cake, event announcement by Nivedita

  

HAPPY TAMIL NEW YEAR /இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்

14th April marks the beginning of the first month (chithirai) of the Tamil Year (கர வருடம்) and is celebrated as Tamil New Year (Varusha Pirappu /Chithirai Vishu). The day is begun by looking at auspicious things (arranged overnight) that signifies prosperity and bounty like Gold, Silver, Fruits, Vegetables, raw Rice, Lentils, Coconut!
We had an auspicious start to the day and the offerings (neivedhyam) to God were Semiya Payasam & Medhu Vadai! 

Wishing all a very Happy n Prosperous Tamil New Year; எல்லோருக்கும் என் மனமார்ந்த தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்

Happy Republic Day

As India celebrates her 62nd Republic Day today, do watch this inspirational silent Indian National Anthem

The message it conveys that Patriotism knows no language---

Being A Republic Nation

You have…
Freedom in Mind,
..
Faith in Words,
..
Pride in our Heart,
..
Memories in our Souls.
..
Lets Salute the Nation on
The REPUBLIC DAY 2011 !

My daughter made a Tri -coloured salad to show her spirit!

Jai Hind !