Vegetable Biryani - 2

It was weekend time and I was in mood to cook something special. For a long time I wanted to try Chef Sanjay Thumma's ( vahrevah.com ) version of vegetable biryani. It was definetly easier than the previous version I had tried and the end result was also really delicious and satisfying.

  

Though both the recipes are similar, this biryani had these changes : 

1. I got readymade biryani masala from Indian store and used 3/4th packet [ for 2 cups basmati rice and 2 and 1/2 cups of vegetables ].

2. Instead of baking for 45 mins I cooked it in double boiling method.

Also for garnishing , I used fried breads ( pan fried ) which really enhanced the taste further. 

The biryani turned out tasty and the vegetable and rice were cooked to perfection!

  

I definetly would want to do repeat this wholesome dish on more occasions.For the complete recipe click here.

Eggless Cherry Chocolate Cake ( Melted Chocolate )

Today 27th October is my inlaws' 30th Wedding Anniversary and we celebrated this special occasion with a decadant chocolate cake. Both D and me would like to convey our heartfelt wishes for a very Happy Wedding Anniversary. We wish many many more years of companionship, to you Amma and Appa.

Sometime back, I got a cherry chocalate cake (this was not eggless) from store. I liked this combination, but never got a chance to research on how this is made. Recently I went through some websites that suggested making cakes (not this particular one) using melted chocolate. So I came up with this recipe, an eggless one, made with melted dark chocolate and cherries. It turned out really rich, and I simply loved this chocolate-cherry combination. D's reaction to this cake was... Goooood!

 
Prep time - 30 mins
Baking time - 40 - 50 mins

Ingredients :

All purpose flour - 2 cups
Dark chocolate bar - 16 oz / 454 gms [ I used Hershey's dark chocolate ]
Maraschino Cherries - 16 oz / 454 gms
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Apple cider vinegar - 2 tbsp
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
Walnuts - 3 to 4 tbsp, roughly crushed
Butter - 1/3 cup [ recommended 1/2 cup ]
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup [ or as per taste ][ I used fine sugar]
Salt - 1/8 tsp
Milk - 1/4 cup

Procedure :   

Wash maraschino cherries in water thoroughly. De-seed them ( if required ) and break them into small pieces.

Mix all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix properly. Keep aside.

Melt butter and add in the sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla essence and mix properly. Keep aside.

At this stage break the dark chocolate into small pieces.

Transfer into a microwaveable bowl and microwave it at short intervals of 20 seconds, ( stirring every 20 second ). In exactly 1 minute I had the melted chocolate without any lumps.

 

Slowly mix this melted chocolate with the butter - sugar mixture and whisk / stir till the melted chocolate gets fully incorporated into the butter. Add this chocolate mix into the flour and mix properly without any lumps.

 

[ Do not use a hand mixer, just stir everything with a large spoon. Over mixing an eggless batter will cause the cake to deflate after it is baked ].

Add milk if you feel that your batter is too thick and mix properly. At this stage add in the cherries and walnuts and mix slowly and properly. [ Keep a few cherries aside for decoration ].

Pre heat the oven at 350 F and grease the baking pan with oil. Pour the batter into the baking pan and decorate with the remaining cherries.

Bake for 40 - 50 mins or till the tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

 

 

  

Flip the cake after 10 mins while the cake pan is still warm . The chocolate cherry cake is ready !

Happy Anniversary  to Amma and Appa!!!

Note - The cake was a bit crumbly, so I would suggest adding 1/2 cup or more butter instead of just 1/3 cup.

Gobi 65 with Peppered Rice

Here is a scrumptious dish that I cook every once in a while. Though it is an appetizer, we like to have it with buttered peppered rice.

Also, instead of deep frying the gobi, I pan fry it with little oil. Though it takes time to cook it this way, the end dish is less oily.

Prep Time - 10 mins
Cooking time -  20 mins

Ingredients :

For Gobi 65:

Cauliflower - 1 large sized, cut into small florets
Bell pepper / Capsicum - 1 medium , cut into long thin strips
Onion - 1 medium , cut nto long thin strips
Oil - 4 tbsp
Corn flour - 3 tbsp
Chilli powder - 3/4 tsp or as per taste
Tomato sauce - 3 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp [ or as per taste ]
Chilli sauce - 1 tsp [ or 1/4 tsp of chilli powder ]
Salt as per taste

For rice :

Cooked rice - 2 cups
Pepper - 1 tsp or as per taste
Butter - 1 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Procedure :

For Gobi 65:

Wash the cauliflower florets and soak them in hot water for 5- 7 mins. Drain the water and transfer the florets into a big plate. Sprinkle the corn flour, red chilli powder and salt, mix them with your hands. [ To cover the cauliflower florets with the corn flour evenly, I also sprinkled some water ]

In a medium sized wok, heat oil on medium heat and add the florets and pan fry till they get golden brown in color. Take out the florets and keep aside. In the same oil pan fry the onions and bell peppers / capsicum till the onions turn transparent. Remove from heat and keep aside.

In the same pan add tomato sauce, soy sauce and chilli sauce ( or chilli powder ) and give a quick mix. Add the onions, bell peppers and florets and mix properly. Check for salt and serve with peppered rice.

For rice :

Heat a pan [ medium heat ] and melt butter. Fluff up the rice with a fork and add into the melted butter. Add salt and pepper and mix properly.

Serve hot.

Sundal - Navratri Special

Golu and Sundal are synonymous with each other. This year I managed to go all the way and make a different  one each day. Some were made following expert recommendations (meaning mom's) and a few were my own creations. In this post I will try to detail the recipes for these 8 tasty sundals.

I made sundal in three different ways-

Method 1 or M1: With ground masala (D's mom shared this method with me )

Method 2 or M2: With tenga- manga (coconut and raw mango)

Method 3 or M3: With regular seasoning and coconut.

Top Row:         White peas (M2), Kidney beans(M3), Peanuts(M2)

Middle Row:     Chana dal(M3), Lima beans(M1), Moong dal(M3)

Bottom Row:   Black eyed peas(M3), Chick peas(M3)

Inactive prep time - 8-9 hours
Active prep and cooking time - 5-10 mins

Note 1-

            All the pulses except moong dal,  chana dal and peanuts need to be pre-soaked in water for 8-9 hours. If you miss this step, you can also soak them for 4-5 hours in hot water.

           Also I cooked all my pulses except peanuts and chickpeas in microwave, as they might turn mushy sometimes when we pressure cook. By microwaving I had more control and I often checked and saw that they don't turn mushy.

Ingredients-

Pulse of your choice

Oil - 1-2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

For Sundal with ground masala(M1):

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Udat dal - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 4-5

Green chilli - 1, chopped (optional)

Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp

To grind  :

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp

Red chilli - 2 or as per taste

Coconut - 1 tbsp

For tenga-manga sundal ( coconut and raw mango )(M2):

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Udat dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5
Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp
Raw mango - 1 tbsp, grated

To grind:

Coconut - 1 -2 tbsp, grated

Green chilies - 2 or as per taste

For regular sundal(M3):

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Udat dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5
Red chillies - 2 or as per taste, broken into 2-3 pieces
Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp
Coconut - 1 tbsp, grated

Procedure :

Pressure cook or microwave and cook your pulses with salt and turmeric. Drain and keep aside.
 
For Sundal with ground masala

In a small pan roast ( on medium heat ) all the items under the "to grind" section until golden brown. Cool and grind into a coarse powder and keep aside.

In a medium sized pan heat oil ( on medium heat ). Once hot add in the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter, then add udal dal and asafoetida till udal dat becomes slight golden in color. Add curry leaves and green chillies ( if using ) and give a quick stir. At this stage turn the heat to low and add in the pulses and the ground masala. Mix slowly and properly.

Serve hot.

For tenga mangai sundal ( coconut and raw mango )

In a food processor blend coconut and green chillies to a fine paste and keep aside.

In a medium sized pan heat oil ( on medium heat ). Once hot add in the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter, then add udal dal and asafoetida till udal dat becomes slight golden in color. Add curry leaves  and  give a quick stir. At this stage turn the heat from medium to low and add in the pulses, ground chilli and coconut and mix slowly and properly. Sprinkle the grated raw mango and mix again.

Serve hot.

For regular sundal :

In a medium sized pan heat oil ( on medium heat ). Once hot add in the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter, then add udal dal and asafoetida till udal dat becomes slight golden in color. Add curry leave, red chillies and give a quick stir. At this stage turn the heat from medium to low and add in the pulses and coconut. Mix slowly and mix properly.

Serve hot.
 
Note 2-
             You can also use other pulses like soy beans, pigeon peas , split green gram and even green peas. You can choose from any of the three methods and make your sundal.

Ellorai

Ellorai is usually made on the auspicious day of purattasi sanikazhamai for Lord Vishnu. It can be made in minutes and definitely tops my list of comfort foods.

Prep time - 5 mins
Cooking time - 5- 10 mins

Ingredients :

For ellu podi :

Sesame seeds (ellu ) - 1/4 cup
Udat dal - 1 cup
Dry red chillies - 5 to 6 or as per taste
Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp
Salt as per taste

Cooked rice - 2 cups ( I used regular rice )
Oil - 1 -2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 5 to 6 leaves

Procedure :

In a small pan on medium heat dry roast sesame till it turns golden in color. Do not burn them and step back while roasting sesame seeds as they pop up everywhere .Keep aside.

In the same pan heat 1 tsp oil on medium heat. Add all the items under the "to grind" section except salt and roast properly till they turn golden brown and you get a nice aroma from udat dal. [ Do not burn them and also make sure that the udat dal do not remain raw ]. Once they turn golden brown turn off the heat, cool and grind with salt into semi coarse powder. The ellu podi is ready and can be stored for 4-5 days in an air tight container.

Now for ellorai, take a medium ssized wok on medium heat. Add mustad seeds and let them splutter, add curry leaves and give it a quick stir. Add cooked rice. [ Make sure you separate each grain and fluff up the rice before adding ]. Add in the required podi. I added about 4-5 tbsp of podi . Check for salt.

Serve with chips/ papad/ vattal.

Creamy Pesto Pasta

This is a super simple recipe, I made it last night. This was really good and very useful for those nights when you really don't have a clue as to what to make !

I made my own pesto sauce. You could also use the store bought sauce, I have tried both and I prefer the home made one because the store bought one has preservatives.

The recipe is as follows :

Prep Time - 5 mins
Cooking time - 20 mins

Ingredients :

For pesto sauce :

Fresh basil - 1 cup
Pine nuts - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 4 medium sized pods
Asiago cheese - 1/2 cup, grated , ( I bought 6 months aged cheese )
Extra virgin olive oil - 1/4 cup
Ground black pepper - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste

For alfredo sauce :

Butter - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup + ( optional )1/4 cup
All purpose flour - 1 tbsp
Asiago cheese - 1/2 cup, shredded

Pasta - I used ribbed penne , you can also use capellini or farfalle
Carrot - 1 medium sized, shredded length wise

Procedure :

Cook your pasta al dente and keep aside.

Also Asiago cheese can be replaced by parmesan cheese , as the aged asiago cheese tastes similar to parmesan. But next time I would prefer using fresher asiago cheese over the aged one ( due to its pungent odor ).

Pesto sauce :

In a food processor, blend together basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, and cheese into a fine paste. Pour in oil slowly while still mixing. Add salt and pepper and stir.

Alfredo sauce :

In a medium sized pan melt butter on medium heat. Add in the flour and stir with a whisk to prevent lumps from forming. Slowly add milk , whisking constantly and cook till it starts too thicken (Let the sauce thicken to your liking, I cooked it till it had the consistency of say condensed milk). Add cheese and mix properly and now your alfredo sauce is done.

Turn the heat to low and add in the required amount of pesto sauce. I added about 4-5 tbsp of pesto sauce. Mix properly.

 

Pour this sauce over hot pasta, add the shredded carrots and mix. Serve with Italian bread or French baguette.

Eggless Blueberry Coffee Cake

Today 19th October, is my mom's birthday and we are celebrating her birthday with a blueberry coffee cake, wish we were with her to share the cake. Happy Birthday Amma - from D and me. Thank you for your endless affection and I cherish the very special bond we have.

Coffee cake need not contain coffee. This term can also be used in connotation to cakes served with coffee/ tea. These are usually flavoured with fruits, nuts and cinnamon.

This cake definitely has a place in my list of favorites.The cake is really light and soft and is quite rich in its flavors ( of cinnamon and blueberries). Enhanced with the crunchiness of baked almonds, we ended up eating half of the cake within couple of hours.
 I used about 3/4 cup of sugar and with the blueberries the sweetness was just perfect. You can go upto 1 cup of sugar if you want more sweetness.

The recipe is as follows :

Prep time : 10 mins
Baking time : 50 mins


Ingredients :

All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups

Blueberries - 1 cup [ I used frozen and didn't thaw ]

Sugar ( white ) - 3/4 cup [ or one cup as per taste ], [ I used fine sugar, if not available use powdered sugar ]

Melted butter - 1/3 cup

Almonds - 1 cup, sliced

Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp

Baking powder - 1.5 tsp

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Milk - 1 cup + 1/4 cup ( additional, if required )

Apple cider vinegar - 1 tbsp

Vanilla essence - 1 tbsp

Brown sugar - 1.5 tbsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Procedure :

In a small bowl mix almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon and keep it aside.

In a bowl mix butter, sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla essence , milk and stir properly.

In a big bowl mix all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda properly and add in the wet ingredients (the butter - sugar- milk  mix ) and mix properly without any lumps. Don't use a hand mixer, just stir everything with a large spoon. Over mixing an eggless batter will cause the cake to deflate after it is baked.

Add more milk if the batter is too thick ( I added 1/4 cup of additional milk ) .

Once you get a smooth batter add in half of the blueberries. [ If using fresh blueberries just wash and add them, if using frozen - do not thaw them as the water from blueberries might change the color. Even though I did not thaw the frozen blueberries, they still let out water and changed the batter color, which is totally okay as it did not affect the final result.]

Preheat the oven at 350 F and grease the baking pan.

Pour the batter over the greased pan and top with the remaining blueberries .

Sprinkle the almond  mix over the cake and make sure that the almonds and blueberries stick to the batter.

Bake for 40 - 50 mins or untill the tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Even though the cake is very light, it doesn't rise much. I will probably add more vinegar next time.
Flip the cake after 10 mins when warm . Refrigerate while storing.

Serve with coffee / tea.

Happy Bday Amma !!

Mysore Rasam

Here is a flavourful, spicy and sweet smelling rasam. Whenever I plan to cook something special , mysore rasam is on the list. D's mom shared this recipe with me.

Prep time - 3 to 4 mins
Cooking time - 20 -25 mins

Ingredients :

Tomato - 1 medium , chopped
Tamarind*  - rolled into a size of grape or as per taste
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Water - 2 to 4 cups
Jaggery - 1/2 inch piece
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 2 to 3 sprigs
Curry leaves - 5 to 6
Tuvar dal - 4 tbsp
Oil - 2 tsp

To grind :

Tuvar dal - 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1 and 1/2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Dried red chillies - 6
Coconut - 1 tbsp

Procedure :

Pressure cook tuvar dal untill mushy.

In a medium sized bowl add about 1.5 cups of water, chopped tomatoes, tamarind, asafoetida and salt . Cook on medium heat till the tomatoes are cooked ( they should become soft and mushy ).

Meanwhile in a small skillet , heat a tsp of oil and roast all the ingredients under the " to grind " section except coconut till they turn golden in color. Keep stirring continously and me sure you dont burn while roasting. Cool and grind along with coconut.

Add this ground mixture to the cooked tomatoes and add another 1.5 cups of water as the water added before would have reduced. Let the water come to boil and now add the cooked tuvar dal , mix and cook for a min. Turn off the heat and add the jaggery piece.  Wash and add the curry leaves and cilantro.

In a small skillet heat oil , once hot add the mustard seeds  and let them splutter. Turn of the heat and pour the oil and mustard seeds over the rasam.

Serve hot with rice.

[* Alternatively, if you dont want tamarind pieces in your rasam, you can soak tamarind in a cup of hot water for 4-5 mins and squeeze out the pulp and cook along with the tomatoes.]

Aval Puttu / Poha Puttu

Navratri can never be complete without Puttu which is considered to be a very auspicious sweet dish and is served along with sundal.
Though I have tasted rice puttu , I found aval puttu interesting as it seemed quite easy to make ( as compared to rice puttu ofcourse!). Also it did not require the puttu maker . So the recipe for aval puttu is as follows:

Inactive prep time - 30 mins

Active prep time - 5 mins

Cooking time - 30 mins

Ingredients :

Aval / poha - 1 cup, thick

Jaggery- 1/2 cup , roughly crushed

Coconut - 1/4 cup, shredded

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Cashew nuts - 1-2 tbsp

Raisins - 1 tbsp

Salt - a pinch

Other things required:

A clean cotton cloth or a clean men's handkerchief

Procedure :

Soak the jaggery in 1/4 cup of water half an hour prior to cooking.

Take a big wok and dry roast the aval / poha on medium to high heat, stirring constantly till it turns golden brown. Make sure that you don't burn it.

Once they change color , transfer into a big plate and cool. Once cool transfer it into the blender and grind it coarsely (rava-like). 

Transfer into the same plate and add a pinch of salt. Simultaneously bring about 1/4 cup of water to boil.

Take a tea spoon and add about 2-3 measures of water into the powdered coarse aval/poha and mix with your finger tips. Repeat this process till the powdered aval/poha resembles bread crumbs (refer the picture above). At this stage you should be able to make a ball with the aval in your palms. And it should seperate and fall loosely when you try to disintegrate it. [ i.e your poha should not stay lumpy but should have just enough moisture to be able to hold it in a ball initially. It took me 9-10 tsp of water to get the desired texture].

Keep this aval/poha-water  mix covered for about 5-10 mins . Transfer it into a clean cloth and steam it for 15 mins approx. [ I steamed it in a pressure cooker ]

Now once cooked transfer it into a plate. Add cardomom powder and coconut to the poha and mix with your finger tips properly.[ I used frozen coconut, so I thawed before adding to the poha . Alternatively ( and to enhance the taste ) pan fry coconut in a tsp of ghee till it slightly changes color and then add to the poha ]

Filter the jaggery along with the water in a tea strainer and remove all the impurities. In a wok heat the jaggery till it thickens. [Keep a small bowl with cold water next to you to test the thickness]. Once the jaggery comes into boil start testing the thickness by dropping a tsp of jaggery into cold water.If it forms a lump without disintegrating then the syrup or paagu is ready. [ If it disintegrates then you need to boil it more ].

Turn of the heat once you get the right syrup, pour it over the aval - coconut mixture and mix properly with your fingers without any lumps.

In a wok heat ghee. Add in the cashews and fry. Once they turn golden brown add in the raisins and fry till the raisins puff up.  At ths stage add in the puttu / aval- coconut -jaggery mix and toss it for few seconds and serve.
 [ If you feel that your puttu has lot of moisture toss it in ghee for few more mins ]. The color of puttu depends on the jaggery used.

Carrot Halwa / Gajar ka Halwa

It is Navratri time and with the leaves changing their colors and winter around the corner, I couldn't resist making some nice warm carrot halwa. 

Prep Time - 20 mins
Cooking time - 40 mins

Ingredients :

Carrot -  5 cups, grated,
Milk - 3 cups approx
Paneer - 1/2 cup, roughly grated
Dry fruits ( almonds, cashews and raisins) - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1-2 tsp
Sugar - 1 cup [ or as per taste ]
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedure :

In a big wok , melt the butter ( on medium heat ) .  Add in the dry fruits and stir till the raisins puff up. [ do not worry about frying the almonds and cashews as it will get cooked later ]

Now add in the carrot and mix . Add in the milk and cook till the carrots gets cooked and the milk is fully absorbed. [ Alternatively you could also cook in a pressure cooker to cook the carrots faster ]
At this point add in the sugar and again cook till the butter starts to ooze out of the carrot.

Add in the paneer and stir. Sprinkle cardamom powder. Mix and serve warm.