Ginger coffee sponge cake

GINGER COFFEE SPONGE CAKE

225 grams of self raising flour

4 brown or white eggs

1/4 lemon or orange zested 

1 tsp vanilla extract (I used grated ginger so skipped vanilla extract) 

225 grams of softened butter/unsalted butter

225 grams of caster sugar /jaggery powder 

2 tbsp milk to splash

2 tbsp crushed almonds 

1/2 tsp baking powder (optional) 

Spices

A pinch cinnamon powder 

A pinch of clove powder 

A pinch of crushed elachi /green cardamom 

2 tsp coffee powder 

An inch of ginger grated 

For the filling (I have skipped this also) 

You can fill the slices with jam, cream or lemon curd before serving 

Icing sugar can be used for dusting 

Method

*Set the temperature of oven to 180 C, use butter or ghee for greasing the cake tin, dust it with a little flour, (I have done that) use a sieve to do it, or you can line the base with baking parchment paper. 

*Beat the butter and sugar or jaggery until its pale and fluffy or use an electric whisk( I used the whisk) 

* Break the eggs, all the four and whisk well, make sure you scrape the sides of the mixing bowl after each addition of ingredients. 

*Sieve the flour and baking powder. Add cinnamon, clove, elachi, coffee powder, grated ginger, flour and mix in. Further whisk until just combined. 

*Sprinkle crushed almonds on top of the batter and the cake is ready to bake. 

*Bake it for 25 to 30 minutes and do the skewer test, when you insert a skewer through the baked cake it should come clean. 

*After 10 minutes remove the cake, leave it in the wire rack, let it reach room temperature for you to do any filling. 

* The tin I am using is quite large so I baked the quantity in one go. 

*The cake will remain fresh for 3 days, I am sure nothing will be left, as my container is already half consumed, a few pieces are left! 

Happy baking! 

Lauki [bottle gourd) stuffed with paneer

Aru's lunch today is Lauki (bottle gourd) stuffed with paneer and spices, roasted on tawa, one carrot thinly sliced cooked in the bottle gourd juice and seasoned with thyme, black pepper and salt.

Recipe for this dish requires little bit of preparation, so start it half an hour before your kids come back from school or college.

Making our kids eat some of the vegetables is quite tricky, lauki is such a versatile vegetable which can be served with rice and phulkas as kootu, gravy or as subzi. But my daughter would almost eat any vegetable if I could come up with some ideas and not to serve it with rice or phulkas!

Today as I entered the kitchen for making evening snack for her, I stumbled upon a half piece lauki which was leftover from the kootu I made. 

Then the recipe automatically started flowing... One by one I kept on assembling the ingredients for paneer stuffing, chopping carrots and tada! 

The delicious dish is ready, total time taken for cooking is about 8 minutes. Isn't it interesting? 

Lauki stuffed with paneer 

Ingredients 

1/2 a piece of small lauki(bottle gourd peeled) cut into big slices, scoop out the seeds.

1 carrot peeled, sliced into thin stripes 

For the stuffing 

150 grams paneer crumbled

1 tsp jeera powder 

1 tsp coriander powder 

1/2 tsp red chilli powder 

1/4 tsp turmeric powder 

1 tsp chopped coriander leaves 

Salt as required 

2 tbsp Peanut oil/olive oil for shallow frying 

For the seasoning

A pinch of dry thyme 

A little crushed black pepper 

A little salt 

Method 

*Wash, peel and cut lauki into thick circular pieces, about 10 pieces you can cut half a lauki into. Scoop out the seeds, we need space to fill in the stuffings. 

*In a small bowl mix in crumbled paneer, jeera, coriander, turmeric, red chilli powder, chopped coriander, salt and mix in using a fork or clean hands. 

* Spread the bottle gourd circles and fill in the stuffings inside, use a flat spatula to press the Lauki slices so that the stuffing is well filled in. 

*In a preheated tawa pour oil and arrange lauki slices, make sure there is enough space for you to flip the lauki pieces. 

* Cook one side until golden brown, flip and cook the other side. Adjust the flame, allow lauki to evenly cook in medium flame until golden brown both sides. Off the stove. 

*In the same tawa/griddle add thinly sliced carrots, add thyme, freshly crushed black pepper and salt, mix in and cook it in the lauki's juice and other spices till tender. 

*Serve hot with hari chutney. I am sure you and your family is going to love this simple dish as a starter. 

Notes

*select fresh tender paneer. 

*Use soft lauki for this dish and its very important to enjoy the nutrients present in the freshly cut lauki, which otherwise gets overcooked in the traditional dishes. 

* Keep everything ready before you start heating the tawa. 

Rice rava upma

Making upma is the most tricky thing. If you don't roast the rava properly it will be gooy, sticky and makes the whole process into a sticky lump!

So trying with different grains, I many times have tried making upma with sooji rava, where the rava is roasted till mild golden brown before adding to hot water. 

Today I have made upma with rice idly rava. I generally use it for making kozhukattai. 

So here is the recipe 

Rice rava upma 

Ingredients 

1 cup rice rava/sooji rava/bansi rava roasted until light brownish or till it releases aroma

3 cups boiled water

One handful of shelled peas

1/2 onion chopped

1 green chilli chopped 

A small piece ginger chopped or grated

1/4 tsp turmeric 

1/2 tsp red chilli powder 

A few curry leaves 

Salt as required 

For the seasoning 

1 tbsp coconut oil / gingly oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds 

1/2 tsp broken urad dal

1/2 tsp chana dal

1/2 tsp jeera(optional) 

2 broken red chillies 

Method 

*In a preheated kadai pour oil, add all ingredients mentioned 'for the seasoning' 

Allow mustard to splutter. 

*Now add green chillies, ginger, turmeric, onion and peas. Cook for a while, 

*Its time to add roasted rava and mix in, add curry leaves and further roast for 2 minutes. 

*Add boiled water, mix well, add salt. Mix well, reduce flame. Close the upma with lid. 

*Allow it to cook for about 10 minutes. Gently stir in between so that upma won't get stick to the bottom of the pan. 

* Once well cooked the upma with resemble like florets, without sticking and you can serve it from the pan. Hot steaming delicious upma with curd, pickle or eat it as it is. 

Notes

Measurements are very important for good upma, if you add less water the upma will be very dry and uncooked. 

*Roasting the rava is very important. 

*Keep every single ingredient ready before you start making upma. 

Papaya and tomatoes smoothie

A smoothie with papaya, tomatoes, chat masala, tabasco sauce and black salt. The blending of different flavours gives the brilliant colour, taste and flavour.

I love those tiny chunks of papaya while enjoying the smoothie. 😋

Recipe for the smoothie 

Ingredients 

1 cup cubed  ripe papaya 

2 red ripe tomatoes cut into four pieces 

A few drops of tabasco sauce, adjust it according to your spicy levels 

A pinch of black salt 

A pinch of chaat masala 

1 cup water

Method 

*In the juicer jar add all ingredients, blend to a smoothie. 

Notes

Use well ripe papayas and tomatoes. 

I have not added sugar as the papaya was too sweet

*Make this smoothie just before serving. 

Pumpkin, brinjal mixed vegetables subzi

The invention of this subzi seems to be to utilise maximum vegetables leftover in the refrigerator!

I think of this dish  when we have a small piece of pumpkin, a few bhindis, potatoes, brinjal, beans, tomatoes, onions and random vegetables leftover!

So here is the recipe for this mind-blowing subzi, I name it pumpkin, brinjal as these two ate the stars of the dish, rest any leftover veggies can be added, so you can explore this subzi with all those tiny pieces of veggies hiding in your refrigerator! 

A little bit of freshly ground spices, green chillies, ginger and panchphoran you are done with it. 

Pumpkin, brinjal and mixed vegetables subzi 

Ingredients

150 grams pumpkin with skin, cut into cubes

2 small stripped brinjal, I used purple ones, cut into 8 pieces 

1 large potato, peeled and cubed

1 large carrot, peeled and cubed

1 onion, peel and cut into cubes

2 large tomatoes, slit into 8 pieces 

1 capsicum, cut into 8 pieces 

1 small piece ginger, pell and grate

2 green chillies, thinly sliced 

10 to 15 french beans, trim the edges and cut into four pieces 

7 to 8 hyacinth beans (avarakkai), trim edges and cut into halves

Chopped vegetables 

The brinjal hardly have any seeds. 

For the seasoning 

2 tbsp Gingely oil 

1 tsp red chilli powder 

1 tsp coriander powder 

1 tsp jeera powder 

1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

1/2 garam masala 

For the tadka 

1/2 panchphoran 

A little saunf 

A little ajwain 

1 red chilli broken 

1/2 tsp mustard seeds 

A pinch of heeng powder 

For garnish 

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves 

Method 

*In a preheated kadai pour oil, add panchphoran, mustard seeds, saunf, ajwain and broken red chillies, mustard seeds will start to splutter and rest of the seasoning will  release aroma. 

* Now we will add onion, ginger, green chillies and saute, in a few minutes add cubed potatoes brinjal, carrots and mix in. 

*Add turmeric and salt at this stage. 

*You can now add rest of the chopped vegetables like pumpkin, beans, avarakkai, green chillies and mix well. 

* Close the lid and reduce flame, let the subzi cook for a while. As each vegetable takes the time to get slowly cooked in their own juice. You will notice potatoes and pumpkin are turning into brownish and soft. 

*Open the lid and check whether potatoes are cooked well, do a test, take out one piece of potato and gently press it, if it's soft and tender, well cooked that means we can add the dry masalas. 

*Add tomatoes and green peppers towards the end, for better flavour and we don't want tomatoes to become mushy. 

*Add coriander, jeera, red chilli and garam masala powder, adjust salt, mix well. Close the lid for 1 minute, open and mix the vegetables. 

*Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with phulkas. 

Notes

*Try to cook the subzi in low to medium heat.

*Tomatoes and capsicum should be added towards the end. 

Rose petals tea

I experiment with different homemade fruit peels, flowers and leaves for making tea.

Like orange peels, lemon rinds, mint leaves, cinnamon stick, whole clove, turmeric, coriander, lemon grass, lemon and so on. 

I had dried pink fragrant rose petals a few weeks ago and they were lovely. 

To make the tea we just require few ingredients 

Let's start making the tea

Ingredients 

1/4 tsp tea leaves, green tea/regular tea leaves /tea powder 

A pinch of cinnamon powder 

A pinch of clove powder 

1/2 tsp dried rose petals 

A few mint leaves for garnish 

A few fresh rose petals for garnish 

Method 

*In a cup add tea powder,  cinnamon powder, clove powder, dried rose petals, pour a cup of hot water. 

* Let the flavours slowly release in the hot water. 

* Pour the tea in a another serving cup, garnish with mint and rose petals. 

Notes

*Use mild tea leaves /powder 

*Fresh mint leaves add zing to your tea

*Make fresh tea, do not boil the tea leaves 

http://jayanthisindianrecipes.blogspot.com/2014/10/pooran-poliboli-with-coconut-and-almonds.html