Gulab Jamun

I have always made gulab jamun from the ready mix and this time South vs. North Challenge has made me do it from scratch!!! It was little intimidating for me but a big learning.. Now no more ready mix Jamuns in my house. This one is so good, so delicious and so perfect!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making it.

Eggless Molten Lava Cake

My 100th post - yay!!!!.. I wanted to share a sweet or desert for my 100th post and so happy to share this yummy and delicious molten lava cake. What is a lava cake – well it looks like a normal cake, but when cut, chocolate lava flows from inside.. yummy!!! Chocolaty!!! I have tried this once before but the lava inside was very little gooey but not overflowing. I searched a lot on the web for an eggless version of this recipe and my first one was not as as lava oozing.. When Gayathri accepted my suggestion for this month’s Eggless Baking Group challenge, I was so happy and excited. I got this recipe from Master chef 2 made a few changes and the results were awesome!!! The chocolate lava was so drool worthy and yummy!! I got 2 4” inch cakes and a small 2 inch cake out of this batter. I made in a spring form pan.

 

 

Idli

Idli is a very popular breakfast from TamilNadu. It is best when served hot with chutney and sambar. You can also serve idli with gothsu, milagai podi. Recipes of all these will follow (hopefully soon). I was browsing through my blog posts and realized one thing that my blog has very few (very very few) Tamil recipes. I immediately decided to make this idli post and publish it. I think the reason for not having many Tamil recipes is that I do not take pictures of everyday food or food that are common to our house… And the reason for that is that I do not write down the recipes of these everyday food nor do I bookmark them.. But now I have decided to take pictures of everyday food also that are common in my house also and post the recipes that are tested and rectified and approved in my house ‘n’ number of times… Now this will help my blog have a variety of dishes and cuisines!!! On to the recipe!!
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Ingredients
Idli Rice / Parboiled Rice - 4 cups
Ulutham Parupu / Urad Dal - 1 1/2 cups
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
Oil - 1 tea spoon (preferably sesame oil or gingerly oil)
Salt - 1 3/4 tea spoons
Water - to soak and grind

Method
Wash well and soak the dal (with fenugreek seeds) and rice separately in water for around 6 hours or overnight
With the help of a grinder, grind the urad dal first and then the rice into smooth paste
Add salt and mix both these batters well and keep them covered in a vessel and allow it to ferment for around 4 to 8 hours
Make sure you have filled the container only half as the dough may (WILL) rise while fermenting
Refrigerate the batter until use
When going to make the idlis, grease the idli molds with few drops of oil and pour the idli batter
Steam the idlis until done. Should take around 12 - 18 minutes.


Couple of things that can help in making the idlis best are:
1. Just before pouring the batter into the mold, make sure that the water inside the steamer or cooker is hot
2. Do not overfill the mold
3. Check if done with toothpick method (insert a toothpick / wooden skewer or the backside of a spoon to test doneness). It should not stick
4. After the stove is switched off, leave it for sometime before opening it
5. After opening it from the steamer or cooker, allow the idli plates to rest on the counter for 2 to 3 minutes before scooping them out
6. You can also show the idli plates through running water just before scooping them out
7. Do not make the batter too thick before fermenting, the batter needs to be correct consistency to ferment better
8. People living in colder areas - you will need to ferment for longer time. You will know that the batter is ferment when it has lot of pores and also increased quite a bit in volume. You need to keep in a warmer place for better fermentation. Places I used are oven with the light on, near a warm area or closet in the house. Sandhya has mentioned that she keeps it in a warm closet in her dining room
9. Please add more points if you know and I will update the post accordingly..


Sending this to SIC#3, Anu's page, Quick and Easy, Favourite Rice Recipes, Siri’s Anniversary Event, CWS - Urad Dal, Priya's page,

Milk Masala Powder

Some recipes are bookmarked and are on the “to-do” forever and some get done in a few weeks. Very rarely do I get to make something the day I bookmark it. This is one such recipe where I am doing it on the same day I am bookmarking it. Simple, quick, healthy, tasty – all in one and I had all the ingredients on hand and could not postpone this. The flavor and aroma was fantastic and it was fun doing. Just my thought about – “how much home made food is better than the store bought” kept coming to my mind. This lasted about 3 days and it got over, so not sure how long is its shelf life!!!. I got this one from here and it is surely a keeper

Ingredients
Almonds - 2 table spoons
Cashew - 2 table spoons
Pistachio - 1 table spoon
Cardamom - 6
Raw Sugar - 4 table spoons
Saffron - 1/8 tea spoon
Nutmeg - 1/4
Turmeric Powder - 1/8 tea spoon

Method
In a pan on very low heat, dry roast almonds, cashew, pistachio for around 4 to 5 minutes. A nice aroma will start to come. You need to keep stirring it to ensure that it does not burn. Come on only 5 minutes:)
Around 4 minutes, add the cardamom, nutmeg and continue to stir and roast
At the end add saffron and remove from heat after a minute
Allow it to cool completely
Transfer to a blender, add sugar and pulse until it becomes a powder. Leave time gap between few pulses to ensure that it does not become a paste. The nuts contain a lot of oil and if they are processed continuously, oil may be released and you will get a paste and not powder.
Mix in the turmeric powder and store in an airtight container.
To serve - add 2 spoons in 1/4 cup warm milk and mix well to avoid any lumps. Add more milk to serve!

Sending this to Ammaji's Quick and Easy recipes, Siri’s Anniversary Event

Eggless Banana Bread

Banana Bread is quick and easy bread that can also be served as a cake.  This can be served for breakfast or as a snack. This tastes best when served warm or on room temperature. No toppings or accompaniments are necessary.  This is very soft and moist bread. Slice the bread just before serving as unsliced bread lasts longer. Store unsliced bread wrapped in plastic. This bread can be done in an hour.

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour – ¾ cup
Whole Wheat Flour – ¾ cup
Baking Soda – 1 teaspoon
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Sugar – ½ cup
Ripe Bananas – 3 large
Applesauce – ¼ cup or 3 table spoons milk and 1 table spoon oil
Butter (Melted) – 4 tablespoons
Vanilla Extract – ¼ teaspoon
Chocolate Chips – 1 table spoon (optional)
Chopped Walnuts – ¼ cup (optional)
Tutti Frutti – ¼ cup

Method
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C
Mix all the dry ingredients (both flours, baking soda, salt and sugar) together in a large mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas well.
Stir the butter or margarine, vanilla extract and applesauce into the bananas.
Add the banana mixture into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.
Mix gently by hand, just enough to form a thick, clumpy batter. If the mixture seems too dry, add more mashed banana or applesauce to adjust the consistency.
Fold in chocolate chips and/or walnuts, if using.
Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until the bread is a deep golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.


Sending this to my own Guest Host event - Eggless Bakes and Treats, Surabhi's page, CWF - Whole Wheat Flour, Kiran's page, CEDD - Bananas, Raven's Page, Bake Fest #13, Vardhini's page, Let's cook - Potluck, Healthy Baking, Indrani's page, Know your Flour, Jagruti's page, Christmas Food Fair, Siri’s Anniversary Event

Cream of Tomato Soup (தக்காளி சூப்)

Think about soup and first that comes to many people’s mind is tomato soup. It tastes heavenly when served hot and the croutons add lot of taste and texture to the soup. Using a hand blender made the blending so easy, but a regular blender would do just fine. Please remember to not add all the liquid while grinding as it can make it frothy and the color will be orange. I used the canned tomatoes that worked like a charm as it is riper than the tomatoes we get in the supermarket and their skin is already peeled off making the process much easier. If you cannot find the tomato paste, add ½ cup of the juice from the can. It will be little less in flavor but not huge.

Ingredients
Tomato (canned) – 1 can (28 oz.)
Brown Sugar – 1 ½ table spoon (regular sugar does not work well)
Onion (minced fine) – ¼ cup (You can also use Shallots)
Butter – 4 table spoons
Tomato Paste – 1 table spoon
Cloves – 2
Cinnamon Stick – 1
Bay Leaf – 1
All-Purpose Flour – 2 table spoons
Stock – 1 ¾ cup
Cream – ½ cup
Salt – 1 tea spoon
Chili Powder / Cayenne Pepper – ¼ tea spoon

Method
Strain the tomatoes and keep the water aside.
Cover a baking sheet with foil (this step is a must or else it will be very difficult to get the tomatoes out of there).
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F on convention mode (450 F if using baking mode).
Cut open the tomatoes and remove as many seeds as possible.
Line the deseeded tomatoes in a rimmed baking sheet with cut side down.
Sprinkle brown sugar on the tomatoes and roast them in the oven for 25 minutes.
Remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow it cool.
Once cooled, remove them from the baking sheet and set aside.
Melt butter in a pan until foaming and add the onions and sauté them well.
Add the cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaf and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add the tomato paste and mix well and reduce the heat and cook until they are all tender.
Add salt and chili and 2 table spoons of flour and mix well to ensure no lumps and cook for 30 seconds
Add vegetable stock or more tomato juice from can and whisk well to ensure that there are no lumps.
Add 3 cups more of the tomato juice from the can and whisk well to combine and bring it to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
Pick and remove the cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaf and discard
Now strain the solids and blend them with about 1/3 of the liquid until smooth
Put the mixture and the remaining liquid back in the pan, add cream and serve hot with croutons on top!!

Sending this to Siri’s Anniversary Event

Pooshanikkai Mor Kootu

How much ever we eat outside, the best food we enjoy when we are sick or back from a long journey or when we have eaten many times outside is homemade simple food. These simple foods taste just out of the world and are never boring.. This kootu is one such recipe.. Simple, homey, comforting and so much healthy.

Ingredients
Pooshanikkai / White Pumpkin – 3 cups (cubed 1 inch big)
Green chili – 8
Turmeric – A pinch
Salt – 1 ¼ tea spoons
Oil – ½ tea spoon
Cumin Seeds – 1 ½ tea spoons
Curd – 1 cup
Rice – 1 tea spoon
Asafetida – ¼ tea spoon
Curry Leaves – 10
Mustard Seeds – ½ tea spoon
Ulutham Parupu / Urad Dal – 1 tea spoon
Red Chili – 1
Coconut - 1/4 cup

Method
Soak rice for 30 minutes..
Grind coconut, cumin, green chili, rice (soaked) to a paste
Boil the pooshanikkai with turmeric in microwave for 5 minutes. Add very little water.
Mix curd with the grinded mixture, boiled pumpkin and add salt and asafetida well and bring this to a boil
Heat a small pan and add oil and when hot add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, add the ulutham parupu and when the parupu turn golden, add curry leaves and red chili and sauté for 10 seconds and add it to the kootu
Now the pooshanikkai mor kootu is ready to be served..

Sending this to Serve it - original recipes, Simple and in Season, EP - Asafetida and Fennel Seeds, Julie's page, Dish Name starts with P, SIC#3, Anu's page, Herbs on Saturday, Serve it, Denny's page, Siri’s Anniversary Event, CWS - Urad Dal, Priya's page,