Eggless chocolate cake in microwave.

I promised my daughter a chocolate cake for Valentine day .I baked this on the eve of Valentine's day.The recipe is  from  http://www.egglesscooking.com/2009/03/23/eggless-chocolate-cake-yogurt/

I have made some changes to the recipe & here it follows.....

Ingredients : 1 cup whole wheat flour,1/2 tsp baking powder,1 tsp baking soda,4-5 heaped tsp s Bournvita powder( in place of cocoa powder ),1/2 cup sugar,2tbsp oil,1/4 cup coffee ( mixed 1 tsp Bru coffee powder in 1/4 cup warm water ),1/2 cup buttermilk,1 tsp vanilla essence.

Method :Line the microwaveable vessel with butter paper.I arranged some Cadbury gems in a circle on the butter paper.

Mix  all the dry ingredients : whole wheat flour,baking soda ,baking powder,sugar,Bournvita powder nicely. in a bowl.Keep aside.

Then mix all the wet ingredients : buttermilk,oil,vanilla essence& coffee in another bowl.Now make a well in the dry mix bowl.Slowly pour the wet mix into the well.Mix so that no lumps remain.Pour this mix into the microwaveable vessel .Microwave for 7-8 minutes.Let it stand for 10 minutes in the microwave.Then take out the cake.If a tooth pik inserted in the cake ,comes out clean,cake is done.Otherwise bake it for 1-2 minutes.

Remove the vessel out of the microwave to cool it. after 20-30 minutes,turn the vessel upside down on to plate.Cut the cake into desirable shapes & serve.

Gems should not have been used at the bottom as they turned brown .Next time around ,I am going to press the gems on the cake as soon as it is removed from the microwave.

Buttermilk quantity may have to be adjusted -less or more than 1/2 cup can be used.For baking in microwave,consistency has to be slightly more watery than drop down consistency.

My kid took the cake to school & all her friends relished it !

Bisibele bhaath

This dish from my home state Karnataka , is a complete meal in itself.A very popular dish -my hubby loves this & so do I.

Ingredients :1 cup rice,3/4 cup tur dal,1/2 cup carrots -diced into 1/2 " pieces,1/2 cup beans -diced into 1/2 " pieces,1/2 cup peas( optional ),1 tbsp peanuts,2tsp rasam powder,2 tsp sambhar powder,1-2 byadgi mirch ( dry red chillies ), 1-2 green chillies( optional ),2 sprigs curry leaves,1 tsp urad dal ,1tsp mustard seeds,1tsp hing,,1tsp haldi,2 tbsp oil,salt to taste,1 lemom ball sized tamaraind soaked in 1 cup water.

Method : Pressure cook rice & tur dal  - in different vessel s for 2 whistles.After the second whistle ,slow down the gas & pressure cook on low flame for 5-10 minutes.Put off the gas.

In a kadhai,warm the oil.When it has heated up ,add mustard seeds .After the mustard seeds have popped up add urad dal & peanuts.After the peanuts & urad dal have changed colur add byadgi mirchi. followed by the curry leaves.Put off the gas..Then add hing & turmeric.This is the vagar.Keep aside.

Now  ,in another vessel, add 1 tsp oil ,add the diced carrots& beans, peas,vertically split green chillies & stir fry on a low flame.Add 1/4 cup water   to the veggies till they get tender.Add some salt & turmeric to the veggies.Squeeze the soaked tamrind into the water & strain it.Add the filtered tamarind water to the vessel.One can again soak the same tamarind in water & squeeze to get more pulp & again add the pulp after filtering it to the vessel..Then the remanants can be discarded.Boil the mixture.


Mash the cooked tur dal with spoon to get an even paste.Add this mashed tur dal paste to the vessel.Mix nicely.Now add the bisi bale bhaath  powder.I used  Madhavi Home Foods Kamaal Karnataka Masala ( Bisi Bele Bhaath masala ) .Mix nicely with the dal .Let it boil.Add salt & then add rice.Mix nicely.The bisi bele bhaath is ready .Take vagar set aside earlier & top the vagar on the bisi bele bhaath.

The consistency has to be watery.As the day progresses ,this bisi bele bhaath becomes semi solid & by night ,it is like a solid lump.As the day progresses ,the bisi bele bhaath gets more tasty as well.

Serve bisi bele bhatth with banana chips/potato chips or fried papads or any fried vegetable like aloo fry,bhindi fry etc.In the alternative ,a raita can be served as an accompaniment.

I think the taste of Madhavi Home Foods Kamaal Karnataka Masala is so authentic that it is simply SUPERB !

Tips : Instead of putting peanuts in the oil after the mustard seeds,they can be added to the tur dal & pressure cooked.

One can put the chopped veggies ...carrots , beans & even peas in tur dal & pressure cook veggies & tur dal together.

Eggless Strawberry upside down cake

I had brought some strawberries & thought about making a strawberry cake .I wanted to make use of strawberry milk which was lying in the refrigerator.I came across this eggless version @http://www.funandfoodcafe.com/2010/05/buttermilk-cake-easy-recipe.html

I made some changes & here's my recipe :

Ingredients :1/2 cup multigrain flour(I used Pillsbury),1/4 cup sugar,1heaped tsp unsalted butter,1/4 tsp baking powder,1/4 tsp baking soda,a pinch of salt,1/4 tsp vanilla essence,4-5tsp dahi (curds),strawberry milk (optional),1 cup frsesh strawberries cut lengthwise( they can also be cut in other shapes depending on preference & liking )

In the original recipe ,1/2 cup curds is used.I used 4-5 tsp as I wanted to make use of leftover strawberry milk.I also reduced amount of sugar as strawberry milk has sugar-it had  too much sugar.

Method : Take a microwaveable vessel & line bottom with butter paper.Now spread the chopped strawberries on to the bottom -above the butter paper in any  pattern.My daughter did this for me.She covered the bottom fully with chopped strawberries.

Mix sugar & butter till it becomes fluffy.Keep aside.

In a bowl ,sieve flour,baking soda & baking powder together.In another bowl ,mix curds,vanilla essence & 1/4 cup strawberry milk.

Mix butter sugar mixture with flour ,baking soda,baking powder .Now make a well in the centre of this mixture & pour the strawberry milk-curd-vanilla essence mixture.Mix lightly.If you feel that batter has yet to attain drop down consistency,add more strawberry milk or  diluted curds.

Pour the batter into microwaveable vessel.I added some strawberries on the top of the cake batter .As the cake rose ,the fruit pieces got scattered.One can add some pieces into the flour batter.Better ,one can puree some strawberries along with buttermilk & use that instead of plain buttermilk or curds.

Bake in microwave for 4-5 minutes.After microwave is put off,let the cake remain inside for 5-10 minutes.Then prick the cake with toothpik.If it comes out clean, cake is done.Otherwise ,bake for 1 more minute.

After cake is removed from microwave,keep it to cool for 20-30 minutes.Then turn it upside down on to a plate.Cut into desired shapes & serve.

Beet root sabzi

Beetroot is a good source of calcium.This is a very simple recipe .I like the sweet taste of beetroot.

Ingredients : 2-3 medium beetroots,1tsp mustard seeds,1 -2 bydagi chilly ( a dry red chilli variety ) ,1tbsp oil,1/2 tsp urad dal,1/4 tsp hing,1 sprig of kadipatta leaves,1 tbsp fresh grated coconut ,salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook the beet roots for 3-4 whistles or more.beetroot is a hard  vegetable & hence pressure  cooked in cooker ).After the cooker has cooled,remove the beetroots .Peel them with bare hands after washing them in tap water to cool them.

Chop them into roughly into cubes.Keep aside.In a pan heat oil.Add mustard seeds.When they splutter add urad dal.Let the urad dal turn golden brown.Add broken byadgi mirchi pieces & kadipatta.Saute them both in the oil.Now add the chopped beetroot & saute them for 1-2 minutes.Cook covered with a lid for 5 minutes.If the veggies is still hard -check by a knife by trying to poke into the veggie ) ,add a little water & cook for some more time.Add salt & mix nicely.In the end add fresh coconut & cook for 2 minutes.Put off the gas.Serve with chappatis or rice.

Vegan Chikoo / Sapota cake

I had been trying to search for  a chikoo cake recipe on the net .I did get some & they needed 
ingredients like gelatin ,etc  which I did not have.Hence, ,based on my  limited baking experience & having learnt from other  bakers who had blogged various cake recipes,I baked 
this cake.It turned out great ! 


Dry ingredients : 1/2 cup maida,1/4 cup sugar,1/2 tsp baking soda.

Wet ingredients : 1/2 cup chikoo puree ( peel the chikoos & remove seeds -make puree in 
mixer),3 tsp oil,2.5 tsp white vinegar,1/4 tsp vanilla essence,water to adjust consistency. 

Mix dry ingredients nicely.Mix wet ingredients separately.Make a well in the dry mix.Pour 
the wet mix into the well.Mix dry & wet ingredients.Add water till it gets   drop down
 consistency.


Grease a microwaveable vessel with oil or line it with butter paper.Pour the mix into this
vessel.Microwave on medium for 5 min.Wait for 10 min.Pierce cake with toothpik.If it 
comes out clean,cake is ready.

Take out cake from microwave.Let it cool outside for 30 minutes.Cut into desired shapes &
serve.

Patudi -Uttarakhand recipe.

I have joined Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, who is a food blogger par excellence on facebook.I read about this recipe from a link she had shared @ http://www.livemint.com/2011/09/09220318/Uttarakhand--Patudi.html#.TyFl9f3mVeA.facebook

As I am petrified of frying ,this recipe is a boon for me ! I used ajwain instead of garlic as we do not use garlic at home.

Ingredients :1 bunch palak or methi leaves,1 green chilly,2 tsp ajwain ( carrom seeds),3-4 tbsps besan , oil to shallow fry ,salt to taste.

Method : Clean & wash the leafy bunch & green chilly.Finely chop the green leafy veggie & the green chilly.Now add salt.Mix.Now add besan & ajwain  to this mixture.Apply little oil on palms & shape this besan -leafy mix into flat patties.Take a tawa or flat pan & spread some oil on that.Now gently drop the patties on to the tawa.Cook on slow to medium flame till the edges start turning golden brown.Flip them & cook on the other sides.Take them off the tawa when the edges turn golden brown.Serve them with achar or sauce .