Birthday Cake

Yesterday was my dearest hubby's birthday. I wanted to bake a cake from scratch. I dont have much experience in baking cakes and i have never prepared a frosting. In my previous Black Forest Cake i had used readymade frosting. Initially i was planning to make a pineapple cake but finally made Shilpa's Simple Egg Cake. For the Frosting i followed the Butter Cream Cheese Frosting recipe from Martha's Baking Favorites DVD.

For the Cake:
I followed Shilpa's recipe as it is and baked for nearly 50 min.

For the Butter Cream Cheese Frosting: The original recipe
Unsalted Butter - 1 stick (1/2 cup)
Cream Cheese - 8 oz
Confectioners Sugar - 1 lb
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Crushed Pecans - 1 cup

Take butter and cream cheese at room temp. (R.T.)
Add Vanilla essence and beat till soft and fluffy.
Add sugar and beat till smooth.
Then add pecans.
Chill in refrigerator.

I used half the quantities mentioned above and did not add pecans. I added 2-3 drops of yellow food colour.
I made the cake the previous day and cooled it in the refrigerator.
I cut the cake into 2 halves. Spread some butter cream mixture on one half of the cake. I added few pieces of pineapple murabba on top of it, placed the 2nd cake and spread the remaining mixture on the top and sides of the cake.


I decorated it with few chocolate coated peanuts and coloured sprinkes and added some Ready whipped cream just before cutting the cake.

The cake tastes great but has a slight smell of egg. I think i should have added 1 more teaspoon of vanilla essence to the cake batter. But the smell wasn't noticeable on refrigerating the cake.

Bread and butter pudding

Bread and butter pudding is a traditional dessert popular in British cuisine. It is the baked form of French toast. Read more about this on Wiki.
Few days back I was googling for a bread halwa recipe. My friend N had made this bread halwa and we liked it a lot. I wanted to use up a few slices of bread which were lying in my refrigerator since a week. But while searching for the halwa recipe the first site I landed upon had a Bread pudding recipe. I found it quite simple and I dropped the idea of making halwa and instead made this pudding. It is simple, easy to make and tastes great. Here's the original recipe.
I have changed the proportions slightly to make a smaller pudding.

Ingredients
Milk - 1 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1/3 rd cup (brown or white) (I used white) [Increase or decrease as per taste]
Eggs - 1 large
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Ground Nutmeg - pinch
Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp
Bread - 2 cups, torn into small pieces
Raisins - few (optional)

In a pan, heat milk just until a film forms on top. Add the butter and stir until butter melts and then cool to lukewarm.
Combine sugar, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 min. (I did this step with the help of my blender at the lowest speed possible). Slowly add the milk mixture.
Place bread in a lightly greased pan.
Sprinkle raisins. Pour the batter on top.
Bake at 350 deg F for 30-40 min or until set. Serve warm.


Note :
Depending on the type of pan used adjust the time of baking. Don't forget to grease the pan. I have tried this in a square pan as well as a loaf pan and prefer using a square pan as it bakes within 30 mins in it. This dessert tastes best when warm so while serving take the required amount and heat it in a microwave for 30 sec. Store the rest in the refrigerator. This recipe is good for using day old bread. I have also tried this using pieces of jam filled Danish pastry.

I am sending this along with Banana Walnut Loaf to Mansi's Vegetarian Thanksgiving event.


Update : I am sending this to Bread Mania event at Sindhura's blog.

Gobi Manchurian

Indo-Chinese cuisine has recently gained popularity in the last decade or so.
Gobi Manchurian is one such dish adapted from Chinese seasoning and modified to suit Indian taste buds. It is a favorite among both kids and adults. I have become a great fan of Indo- Chinese cuisine. I have cooked few dishes in this category and plan to try more.

Gobi Manchurian is a dish that I have cooked many a times after marriage. It so happened that once when me and mummy(mil) were going to the Mangalore store we bought a packet of Gobi Manchuri mix(yes it is called Manchuri in our native place). It contained a powder for the Gobi and also a recipe for manchurian. I followed the recipe with minor changes and it was a hit with everyone at home. My hubby who was initially skeptical was the one who enjoyed it the most. My fil who never eats Chinese also complimented my dish.

After that I never purchased the mix and started making it from scratch . I still have that piece of paper with the recipe and all the stains of soya sauce that i have decorated it with. I refer to it everytime i make it. Mummy always says that this dish which requires lots of efforts. But I feel once u keep all the ingredients handy it doesn't take more time than any other dish.

Ingredients:

Gobi(Cauliflower)cut into pieces - 2 cups
Maida/all purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Corn starch - 1/2 cup
Salt
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Garlic - 2 big, grated
Baking soda - pinch (optional)
Orange-red colour (optional)

Clean the gobi and keep aside. Mix all other ingredients with water and form a thick batter. Heat oil in a kadai. Dip the gobi florets in the batter and deep fry. Drain on kitchen towel. Set aside.

For the sauce:
Onions - 2 medium size, chopped
Capsicum - 1 small or half of the big one, chopped
Garlic - 2 chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, chopped or grated
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Green chillies - 1-2 finely chopped, depending on the hotness
Soya Sauce - 2 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 2-3 tbsp
Oil - 3tsp
Salt
Coriander leaves - for garnish
Lemon juice

Heat oil and fry onions, garlic, green chillies, ginger and finally capsicum. The capsicum should be crunchy. Then add soya sauce and tomato ketchup and salt. Few min before serving add the fried gobi. Mix it well with the sauces and sprinkle some water (1-2 tbsp) and mix well. Sprinkle lemon juice and mix. Garnish with coriander leaves.


Note: Add red chilli powder or chilli sauce for more spicy flavour. I have used Ching's Dark Soy Sauce in this. This dish gets a nice orange-red colour from the tomato sauce even when food coloring is not used.

Churma Undo (Atta laddoo)

Churma Undo is very popular in Konkani cuisine. It is common sweet made by women especially during the festival of Diwali. It is very easy to make and requires minimal ingredients. I am not very fond of laddoos but this one is an exception and it has to be home made. The store brought variety don't have the same taste. Only thing is that these are quite delicate and should be handled with care or else they easily break.

Ingredients:

Atta/Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Powdered Sugar- a little more than a cup
Ghee - 6-8 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Heat 4 tsp of ghee in a pan. And fry the flour on a medium to low flame till it is aromatic and slighty brown in colour. This may take around 10 min. Switch off the flame and mix in 1 cup of sugar and the cardamom powder. Check the taste and add sugar if necessary. Heat the remaining in a seperate pan and add to the mixture. Grease palms with ghee and try to form balls from the mixture. Store in airtight container.

Note: If laddoos tend to break while forming balls, heat some more ghee and add to the laddoo mixture until u can form balls. In India powdered sugar is used for this but i used granulated sugar which gives a little coarse texture to the laddoos and thus prevents it from sticking to the palatte while eating. I have used Pillsbury Whole wheat flour so mine appear light brown but authentic ones are off white in colour.

Dabeli

Dabeli or Kutchi Dabeli is a Gujrati food but commonly found on the streets of Mumbai. I can say it is a quite popular street food in Mumbai. It looks similar to a burger and has a potato filling inside the bun.

Ingredients:

For Masala:
Potatoes - 3 boiled, peeled and mashed
Garlic(Lasun) Chutney - a small ball of 2 cm diameter
Imli - size of a table tennis ball
Jaggery - 2-3 tbsp
Dabeli masala/Garam masala - 1 tsp
Salt
Oil

For garnish:
Onion - 1 small chopped
Sev
Coriander leaves
Pomogranate(Anardana)
Grapes preferably black
Peanuts - a handful
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Powdered sugar

Burger buns - 6

Soak imli and jaggery in half a cup of warm water for 20 mins. Blend it to a paste. Alternatively you can use any imli and gur chutney of your choice.
Heat oil in a pan and add lasun chutney. When it starts sizzling add dabeli masala. Fry for few seconds and then add imli and jaggery paste. Then add mashed potatoes and salt. Mix all well and check the taste. It should be sweet as well as spicy. (Add sugar or chilli powder accordingly.)
In another pan heat some more oil and deep fry the peanuts until crisp. Remove and add chilli powder, salt and sugar to the peanuts and mix.
Spread the potato mixture on a plate and garnish with the masala peanuts, anardaana, grapes, coriander leaves and sev.

For making a dabeli, slit a burger bun. Spread the above mixture and add few chopped onions. Fry it on a hot tava applying oil or ghee on both sides. Serve hot.

Karate Kismuri (Bitter gourd Fry)

My hubby S has an aversion to bitter gourd except for this kismuri. But for me it is one of my favorite veggies. Karate is the Konkani word for bitter gourd/bitter melon.

Ingredients
Bitter gourd - 1 chopped finely
Dessicated coconut - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely
Dry Red Chillies - 2
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Tamarind(Imli) - 1/2 inch piece
Salt

Add little salt to the chopped bitter gourd and keep aside for about half an hour. Squeeze as much water as possible from the bitter gourd and discard the water. Now in a pan heat some oil
and add bitter gourd pieces. Fry on a medium to low flame till it becomes crispy. This may take about half an hour. Till then chop onions and make coconut paste.
In a blender, blend together coconut, red chilles, imli and coriander seeds to a smooth paste adding water only as needed. This is a dry side-dish so dont add too much water.
Just before serving mix the fried bitter gourd, coconut paste and chopped onions(raw). Taste and add salt only if necessary as the bittergourd already has enough salt. Serve as a side-dish with dal and rice.

Corn Chivda

A very easy and comparatively healthier version of Corn Chivda is here.

Ingredients:
Corn Flakes(Plain variety) - 3 cups
Peanuts - a handful
Dalia(Roasted Gram dal) - 2 tbsp
Curry Leaves - 2-3 sprigs
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cashew pieces - 2 tbsp (optional)
Fennel seeds(Saunf) - 1 tbsp
Raisins - 1 tbsp
Salt
Powdered Sugar - 1 tsp
Oil - 4-5 tsp

Heat oil in a kadhai. Add peanuts and fry. When they are half done add dalia and fry both till crisp. Now add fennel seeds and curry leaves and fry till curry leaves become crispy. Add cashews pieces and fry for some more time. Now add raisins and fry till they swell. But dont let the raisins burn. Add all the other powders. Bring heat to lowest setting and add corn flakes. Mix everything properly. Switch off flame. Check taste and adjust spices. Enjoy with a cup of tea.

Note: i have used roasted peanuts and cashews. Also i have used dried curry leaves. So i have fried these only for a minute or so. But if using ordinary peanuts, cashews and fresh curry leaves I suggest frying all these over a low flame till crisp.