Double Chocolate Cake

     Life becomes so busy sometimes that you tend to run and in that race you usually forget/ignore stuffs that is important to you. "It can still wait" goes on until finally you totally forget about it and it remains in a corner unnoticed. Same is the case here...Its been real long time. Now there are a lot of things that I can say to support the absence but its best to move on...
   This was a chocolate cake done a little while back. A perefct chocolate lovers cake...Loaded with chocolate. The recipe is from here. Delicious cake with lovely texture.

 Bittersweet chocolate- 2ounce(chopped)
Vegetable oil-3/4 cup
Sugar-1 cup
Egg-1 large
All purpose flour-2 cups
Dutch-process Cocoa powder-1/2 cup
Baking Soda-1 tbsp
Salt-3/4 tsp
Coffee-1 cup
Buttermilk-1 cup
Semi Sweet Chocolate chips-1/2 cup

Method Of Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and dust a 8" pan and 4 cupcake liners or 9" pan or 12-cup bundt pan for baking.
2. Melt the chocoate in a pan/bowl on low heat/microwave. Transfer it to a large bowl and let it cool slightly. Then add the sugar and oil into it and whisk until smooth. Add egg and whisk again.
3.In another bowl mix all the dry ingredients and set aside.
4. Now add half the dry ingredients, 1/2 cup of coffee and 1/2 cup of buttermilk to the chocolate mixture and mix until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, liquids and mix smooth.
5. Add the chocolate chips and fold it lightly to the batter.
6. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs attached. Cool the cake in pan for 10 mins and then transfer it to cooling rack to cool completely.

For Icing:
Semi sweet chocolate-2 ounce
Unsalted Butter-5 tbsp(soft)

Method Of Preparation:
1. Melt the chocolate to smooth  in a microwave safe bowl. See that you dont burn up the chocolate. You can do it using the double boiler method.
2. Add butter 1 tbsp at a time to the melted chocolate and mix well.
3. In a large bowl take some chilled water.Place the chocolate butter bowl on top of chilled water and beat till it reaches the spreadable consistency.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture on top of cooled cake and spread it with the help of spatula.

 Notes:
1. Use good quality cocoa powder and chocolate.
2. The coffee was warm when i used it.
3. Chocolate chips can be omitted.

Baked Chickpeas

Snack is an unavoidable stuff in our house. Be it with tea or while watching late night movies we tend to munch on something which goes on as a repeated relay of actions form bowl/pack to mouth. Now I dont claim that we always snack on healthy stuffs..but once in a while I like to snack on them and these here make a perfect crispy, crunchy snack which is kindof healthy too..You will be surprised at how quickly the bowl gets empty...:)

Chickpeas-1 cup
Olive oil-2 to 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Cumin-1/4 tsp
Chilli powder-1/4 tsp(add more if you want it spicy)
Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
Lemon juice-1 tbsp

Method of Preparation:
1. Wash the chickpea and pressure cook it till its soft but not mushy. I pressure cooked it for 6 times on medium high heat. There was no pre soaking.
2. Drain the water and spread the chickpeas on tissue to dry. you can pat dry too.
3. Preheat oven at 400F.
4. In a bowl mix all other ingredients with the chickpeas and spread it on a baking sheet.
5. Bake them for about 30 to 40 minutes until light brown and crispy. See that they dont burn. Do shake the baking pan inbetween for even baking.
6. Serve hot or at room temperature.Stores well in an airtight container.

Molten Lava Cake

This was our valentines day treat...I know the day is gone long back and I had been planning for this post since then...and finally its here..A delicious molten lava cake. My search for something that was not too much of work, perfect for two and done in few minutes ended here.

Semi-sweet chocolate chip-1/4cup
Butter-2 tbsp
Powdered Sugar-1/2 cup
Egg-1
All purpose Flour-3 tbsp
Vanilla Extract-1 tsp
Raspberries, Ice cream,Powdered Sugar to indulge.

Method of Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Grease 2 ramekins with non stick spray/butter. Place the ramekins on baking sheet and set aside.
3. In a medium microwave safe bowl melt chocolate chips and butter for about 1 and 1/2 minutes  until smooth.Stir every 30 seconds to avoid burning.
4. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.Then add egg and whisk until smooth.
5. Stir in flour and vanilla extract and mix until no lumps remain.
6. Distribute the batter equally into two ramekins and bake them for 12 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let them rest in bowl for 1 more minute.
8. Then invert into a plate and dust with powdered sugar and serve with a dollop of ice cream.

Tomato Curry/Takkali curry

A simpe tomato curry with coconut perfect to go with flat breads and rice.

Tomato-2 nos(sliced long)
Onion-1 medium(sliced long and thin)
Green chilli-1 no(sliced to round)
Turmeric-1/4 tsp
Red chili powder-1/2 tsp
Coriander powder-1/2 tsp
Grated coconut-1/8 cup+ 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Coconut Oil-2 tsp
Mustard-1 tsp
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves-1 tsp(chopped)

Method of preparation:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Sputter mustards and then add curry leaves.
2. Then add the chopped onion along with green chilies and fry them till it is golden brown and transparent.
3. Add tomatoes and mix well. cook for 2 minutes and then add the powders along with salt.
4. Mix well and cook it till tomatoes are soft.
5. Grind the coconut along with little water to a smooth paste.
6. Mix the coconut paste to the tomato mixture along with water to make a curry.
7. Heat the curry till the coconut mixture boils. Check for salt and add accordingly. Turn off the heat and then add the coriander leaves and mix well.
8. Serve with rice or with flat breads.

Chocolate Raspberry Sandwich Cookies

   Sometimes you just want to kill the evening when you have a super excited son and a completely drained mommy. Those are the times when I want him to sit with something instead of frog hopping or running. I offered him a lot of options like reading, painting and all he did was suggest me frog hopping and running...offcourse with a smile that I cant say No to..Then I finally decided to tell him I will give cookies if you go and play..oh come on you guys do that too...right... So after 5 minutes of playing he came running for the cookies. Now to fight with a 3 year old over cookies is something you rarely want to do...because they always win it...No matter what.:(..So finally there I was searching for a simple recipe with less work.

    That when I found this recipe and thought of keeping my son busy with it. So we started with the work. Mixing and rolling was done by me and half of the cutting as my son got quite bored after doing one set. He was much interested playing with all purpose flour as a powder.So at the end I had a completely white faced son..:), quite bit of white floor and these delicious cookies.

Raspberry Jam:

Raspberry-1 cup
Sugar-1 cup
Lemon juice-1/2 tsp

Method of preparation:
1. Wash the raspberries and pat them dry.
2. Add the sugar to raspberries and crush them little and set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Heat a pan and add this mixture to it. Mash the raspberries little more and cook the mixture till it boils and then add the lemon juice and mix till it becomes thick. It wont take much time.
4. Turn off the heat when its done and transfer it to a clean bottle.

Chocolate Cookies:

All Pourpose Flour -3/4 cup

Cocoa Powder-1/2 cup
Butter-6 tbsp(at room temp)
Salt a pinch
Brown Sugar-3/4 cup+ 1 tbsp
Egg-1 large
Vanilla-1 tsp

Method of Preparation:
1. In a bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.Beat in the egg and vanilla on low speed.
3. Add in the dry ingredients and mix well. Roll the dough into two balls and set aside in the refrigerator to chill for about 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Take a ball of dough and place it between two parcment papers. Now slightly press the dough and using a rolling pin roll it to 1/4 inch thick.
5. Using a cookie cutter cut out shapes. Do dip the cutter in flour to prevent sticking of the dough to cutter.
6. Place the cut out cookies on baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 mins. Let cool on a wire rack.
7. Once cooled transfer them to an airtight container. Five minutes before serving sandwich the jam between two cookies.

Notes:
1. When the dough becomes soft and difficult to handle keep it back in the refrigerator.

Rava Kesari

There was a time when we wanted to indulge in something sweet and dint have anything in hand. It was at that movement I realised about this sweet and rich dish. There was no second thought and I just whipped it up and we enjoyed it to the last spoon.
Rava kesari is a sweet made of rava, milk,sugar and ghee. Its very delicious and quite easy to prepare.

Rava- 1/2 cup
Milk-1 nd 1/2 cup
Sugar- 1 cup
Ghee-3 tbsp
Cardamom powder-a pinch
Cashews-2 tbsp
Raisins-2 tbsp
Orange food color-a pinch(optional)

Method of preparation:
1. Heat a pan on low and add about 1 and 1/2 tbsp of ghee into it.Add the cashews and raisins and fry them till golden brown. Drain and set aside.
2.  Now add the rava into it and roast it till it gives a nice aroma and has light golden color to it.
3. Heat the milk in another pan and once it gets boiled pour it into the rava and give a nice mix. Let the rava get cooked in the milk.
4. Once the rava is cooked add the sugar into it and mix well. This will end up into a runny mixture. Continue cooking and mixing and slowly the mixture starts to thicken.
5. Add the food color(if using) and give a good stir so that it mixes up well.
6. Then add the remaining ghee little at a time and mix to form almost a lump. The mixture shouldn't stick to bottom.
7. Now add the cardamom powder along with fried cashews and raisins and mix. Turn off the heat and serve warm.

Notes:
1. Cook on low flame to reduce the risk of burning milk or kesari.
2. Add sugar only after the rava is cooked completely.
3. You can add any nuts in there, though traditionally its just cashews and raisins.

Egg Cooked With Kasuri Methi

Simple spicy and quick side for rice.

Eggs-4 no(hard boiled)

Onion-1 medium(thinly sliced)

Green chili-1 no(slit)

Capsicum-1/4 piece(cut to cubes)

Tomato-1 no(thinly sliced)

Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp

Red chili powder-1/2 tsp

Biryani Masala-1 tsp

Salt to taste

kasuri methi-2 tsp

Oil-1 tbsp

Method of Preparation:

1.Heat oil add garlic paste and fry onions.When they turn soft and light brown add tomatoes and cook till mushy.

2. Then add the spice powders and mix. Cook the capsicum in this mixture till its soft and has crunch.

3. Add the kasuri methi and then half cut egg into it and mix well and softly.

4. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes and serve as side with rice.

Idli

Idlis with sambar and chutney is a traditional breakfast that you will find in  south Indian houses. They are made by steaming a batter of fermented  rice and urad dal.

Idli rice-1 cup
Whole Urud dal -1/2 cup(without skin)
Fenugreek Seeds-1/2 tsp
Water as required
Salt as required

Method of Preparation:

1. Wash the rice and urud.
2. Soak the rice with fenugreek and urud in different vessels with sufficient water over night or for min 4 hours.
3. Grind the urud first with the little soaked water to smooth paste.Add more water if needed. The end product should be a thick. So add water only if really needed. Transfer it to a big vessel.
4. Drain the water from the rice. Grind the rice and fenugreek using the water from the soaked urad dal. You can use plain water too.
5. Grind it to smooth but slightly coarse paste with minimal water.
6. Mix this with the urad paste. Add salt and mix it with clean hands for some time. The batter should be medium thick.
7. Set it on a warm place to ferment overnight. When the batter is fermented it will rise by the next day morning.

To make idlis:
1. Mix the batter nicely with the ladle. If batter is too thick add little water. Check for salt.
2. Pour water into the steamer and keep it to steam. Oil the idli tray.I prefer using coconut oil. Pour about 3/4 full of batter into the tray and keep it on heat and steam it for 10 minutes on medium heat.
3. By this time the idlis will be done.To check them insert a stick/back of spoon and if it comes out clean, remove the tray from heat. Using a spoon remove the idlis from the idli tray.  Pour more batter into the vessel and steam if making more idlis.Serve with chutney powder/chuney or sambar.

Chapathi Rolls With Potato Masala

Deliciously prepared spicy potato masala stuffed in soft warm chapathis perfect for weekend dinner.

For Potato masala:
Potatoes-3 nos
Onion-1 medium(Chopped finely)
Tomatoes-2 nos(Chopped lengthwise)
Capsicum-1 small(Chopped in strips)
Bay leaves-1 leaf
Ginger-garlic paste-11/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tbsp
Kashmiri chili powder-1 tbsp
Coriander Powder-1 tbsp
Garam Masala-2 tsp
Pepper Powder-1/2 tsp
Chat Masala- 1/2 tsp
Amchoor- 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Coriander seeds-1/2 tsp
Vegetable Oil-1 tbsp approx.
Salt to taste
Kasuri Methi leaves-a generous pinch
Coriander leaves for garnish

Method of preparation:
1. Clean the potatoes,peel them and cut to cubes of medium size. Boil water and cook the potatoes till they are fork tender.Drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin,bay leaf and coriander seeds and fry for a second. Add ginger garlic paste and onions and fry till it turns translucent.
3. Add turmeric powder, chili powder and coriander powder and mix well for few minutes.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, pepper and salt and cook till it turns soft and holds the shape.
5. Add the chopped capsicum and mix well and cook for few minutes. Then add the potatoes and mix well. Cook closed for few minutes say 4 to 5 minutes. Add about 3 to 4 tbsp of water if the mixture is too dry and starts sticking to pan. Cook till the flavors mix. Check for spices and salt in the recipe.
6. Once done add the methi leaves and cook for a minute. See that there is no water in the mixture. Add the chaat masala, amchoor powder and coriander leaves and mix well.
7. Serve warm rolled in chapathi, tortilla, naan or as a side.

Carrot Onion Coleslaw:
Baby cut Carrots-4 nos(sliced to thin strips)
Onion-1/4 of 1(sliced to thin strips)
Green chili-1 no(sliced to thin strips)
Salt a pinch
Lemon juice-1 to 2 tsp

1. Mix all the ingerdients and set aside.

Mint Yogurt:
Mint Leaves:2 to 3 stems
Yogurt thick: 3 to 4 tbsp
Salt a pinch.

1. Chop the mint leaves very fine and mix with yogurt and salt.

Chapathis:
Wheat flour-2 cups
Salt-1/2 tsp
Olive oil/ghee/vegetable oil-1 tsp
Warm Water-1/4 to 1/2 cup(use more if needed)

1. In a bowl mix wheat flour, salt, olive oil, and water little by little by hand  to form a pliable dough.
2. Keep the dough closed with a lid for 5 minutes.
3. Make the dough to small lemon sized balls.Dust the balls in all purpose flour or wheat flour to avoid sticking to the rolling pin.
4. Roll the dough using a rolling pin to a circle of 7 to 8 cm. Dust in between if necessary.
5. Heat a griddle on medium heat and then add the rolled chapathis and cook on both sides by turning it till you see small brown spots on both sides.
6. You can apply little ghee/oil while taking it off the heat. You can completely skip this too.
7. Keep the chapathis in a casserol or hot pot lined with aluminium foil. Once done completely with cooking wrap the chapathis completely with foil and then close the casserol. This keeps the  chapathis soft for long time.

To make rolls:
1. Take a warm chapathi and keep little potato masala on the center.
2. Add little coleslaw on top of it and then add little mint yogurt on top.
3. Roll the chapathis and enjoy.