CHOCOLATE CAKE

My neighbour here in Brussels bakes the most excellent cakes and pasteries in the world. This attempt was just to learn her way of baking before leaving this place. Thanks Ashima for teaching me :) Here goes the recipe. A simple one.

Ingredients Required :

Maida - 1 cup
Grounded sugar - 1 cup
Eggs - 3 to 4
Vanilla essence or Cinnamon Sticks - little (can be 6 to 7 cm in length)
Baking powder - 1 spoon
Melted chocolate - as per taste (usually one whole bar. Tastes best when used dark chocolate)
Chocolate for decoration - 1 piece

Procedure :

• Pre-heat the oven on 100 degrees for 10 minutes (Before starting second step switch on the oven. By the time you get your batter ready the oven would be ready for baking)
• Take your big mixer jar
• In this add the ground sugar and eggs ( use only the inside portion of the eggs) and beat well
• To this add the cinnamon stick bit and melted chocolate and beat well
• To this add baking powder and maida and beat just once till everything mixes well.Make sure while beating this you don't do it too much as the cake would become hard (You can mix it with hand to avoid confusion)
• Butter the mould in which you are planning to bake the cake
• Pour the batter in the mould smoothly
• Bake it for 20 minutes. Continuously monitor the cake
• The cake would rise after a while and you would be able to see cracks on the top. This means the cake is almost ready
• Poke a knife or fork till the bottom of the cake to find out the consistency
• If nothing sticks to the fork your cake is ready
• Take the mould out and immediately start grating the chocolate piece on top of the cake. The grated chocolate will melt on the top to give it a flavour

Alternate option for the decoration : 

Option 1 :

You can melt half a bar of dark chocolate and mix it will little ground sugar and butter and use it as icing. If you wish for a layered cake you can cut the cake into two horizontally and use the same icing in between too.

Option 2 : 

You can decorate it with chocolate chips or Gems or flat M&Ms which children would love.

Hope you all enjoyed preparing this cake. Please try this out and send in your valuable suggestions.

Thanks Guys !!! 

Rice Flour Chapathi or Pachi Pindi Rottai

One of my favourite breakfast recipes :) We made them yesterday at our place and we enjoyed it a lot :) Best cominations with this would be Groundnut Chutney or Mint Chutney(Pudina Chutney)

Ingredients Required :

Rice Flour - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Cumin Seeds - 3 to 4 spoons ( Make sure you get few in every piece that you eat )
Oil - 2 spoons
Salt - as reqd
Coconut or Desicated coconut (Grated) - 2 spoons

Procedure : 

• Add oil, cumin seeds,salt and coconut to the water and bring it to a boil.
• Once it is boiling add the rice flour and cook while stirring for 3 to 4 minutes
• Switch off the gas and leave till for a while so that it gets the dough like consistency as shown in the picture below

• Mix well and make it into small pieces just as you make for chapathis

• Press these into thin spheres just as shown in the below image

• Fry it in a non-stick tawa as you do for chapathis and serve hot 

Groundnut Chutney Preparation : 

• Fry groundnuts and red chillis with very little oil and keep aside till it cools down.
• Grind groundnuts and red chillis along with little tamarind and water.

Your Groundnut Chutney is ready :)

Hope you liked the recipe. Its very easy to prepare and also tastes very good  :) 

Try it and let me know your valuable comments :)

Thanks a lot Friends :)

Thavila Billa

This is a typical our side breakfast or dinner item. It tastes really well. Best combination for this would be Onion chutney or Paruppu thogayal also known as pappu pachadi.

Ingredients Required : 

Rice - 1 and 1/2 cup

Toor Dal Powder - 1 ladle (heap full) 

Water - as reqd

Coconut - 5 pieces

Oil - 2 spoons

Procedure : 

• Soak the rice for 30 mintues in water.
• Dry it totally and dry grind it in a mixer
• Measure exactly 1 cup of this ground rice 
• Mix this ground rice and the toor dal powder together
• Boil 2 and 1/2 cups water along with little salt
• Mix the grated coconut in this water
• Add one spoon oil to this water and allow it to boil
• When the water comes to a boil add the rice and toor dal mixture to this and stir well
• Cook this in simmer for 3-4 minutes
• Make this into small balls and flatten them 
• Take a frying pan and fry it like dosas but with little extra oil so that it becomes crispy just as it looks in the picture above
• Serve hot with paruppu thogayal or pappu pachadi :) 

Thanks friends... Will get back with more interesting recipes :) 

Take care and have a nice weekend :)

Javairisi Upma or Sabhiyam Upindi

One of the best breakfast menus ever tasted is Javarisi upma. Let me go directly to the recipe.

Ingredients Required : 

Sagu - 1 Cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Mustard - for seasoning
Urid Dal - for seasoning
Turmeric - as reqd
Channa Dal - for seasoning
Cashews - 8 or 9
Curry leaves - few
Chilli - 1 big
Salt - as reqd

Procedure : 

• Soak the sagu in water for 5 hours before making the upma
• Cook the moong dal (3 Whistles in pressure cooker should do)
• Take a frying pan
• Add some oil
• Saute the mustard seeds, channa dal, urid dal ,cashews,chilli and curry leaves
• Drain the water completely from the sagu
• Add this sagu in the frying pan
• Add little turmeric powder
• Add the cooked moong dal
• Add salt as much as required and mix well for 2 minutes
• Remove from pan when it feels dry and serve

Tip : 

You can add a pinch of lemon if required.

Hope you liked the recipe. Do let me know your comments :) 

Thanks for all your support :)

Noona Vankkai (or) Ennai Kathrikkai Special Sambhar

Am not sure if you are already aware of this recipe. Just gave it a shot yesterday and it came out very well . Thought I would share it with you :)

Ingredients Required : 

Brinjal - 4

Urid Dal - 2 big spoons

Channa Dal - 2 big spoons

Red Chillis - 3 or 4 (depending on the size)

Dhaniya or corriander seeds - 1 small spoon

Onions - 2 small

Garlic - 3 pieces

Mustard seeds - 1 small spoon

Tamarind water - 3/4 cup (little more than the usual quantity you use for normal sambhar or pulusu) 

Salt - as reqd

Turmeric - as reqd

Hing - as reqd

Procedure : 

• Take a frying pan. 
• Pour 2 spoons of oil.
• Fry urid dal, channa dal ,red chillis and dhaniya until it starts to turn into golden brown.
• Remove this from the pan and allow it to cool for some time.
• Once it cools down grind it into a fine powder.
• Dilute this powder in some water.Make this into a dropping consistency mixture just by adding water.
• Chop onions and garlic.
• Cut the brinjal into just 4 pieces (preferably long pieces)
• Take the vessel in which you are going to make the sambhar and pour 3-4 spoons oil.
• Saute mustard seeds,onion and garlic.
• Add the tamarind water,salt, turmeric and hing.(add as much as water along with this so that you get the required quantity). Make sure you still have a pinch of tamarind taste in it.
• Add the brinjals and leave it till it is fully cooked.
• Once the tamarind water comes to a boil add the water-dal mixture.Make sure you keep stiring while adding the mixture as it would turn into lumps if not stirred properly.
• Allow this to boil.
• Switch off once done and serve.

Tip : 

It can be added with steaming hot rice. It makes the best combination when had as side-dish with dal rice. (paruppu sadham or pappu annam)

Hope you liked the recipe. Do send me your comments as those would encourage me to try new recipies :) 

Thanks a lot friends !!!

KANCHIPURAM IDLIS

As many of you may know that I am basically from Kanchipuram, I thought I should share THE MOST FAMOUS SPECIALITY of my place and its none other than KANCHIPURAM IDLIS. It is a very simple dish but the most yummy of all tiffin items since it has the flavour of cumin and pepper :) The best combination for this would be onion chutney for which the recipe is also mentioned below. Now lets move on to the preparation.

Ingrediants Required :

Rice - 1 cup
Urid dal - little more than 3/4 glass
Fenugreek - 1 spoon
Salt - as reqd
Curd - as reqd
Hing - 1/4 spoon
Ground Pepper - as reqd
Cumin seeds - as reqd
Oil and Ghee - as reqd

Preparation Method :

Pre-process :

1. Soak rice for 20 minutes and dry it well. Once it is totally dry, dry grind the rice as fine crystals.
2. Soak the urid dal and the fenugreek together for 30 mintues(mix the fenugreek well with urid dal while soaking)

Batter Preparation :

• Grind half of the fenugreek-urid dal mixture NICELY (add water while grinding just like you do for normal idlis)
• Grind the other half of the fenugreek-urid dal mixture COARSELY (add water and grind)
• Mix the rice and fenugreek-urid dal mixture in a vessel and mix well
• Add curd to this and mix well (add as much as curd is required to make this mixture a dropping-consistency mixture)
• Add 1/4 spoon hing 
• Add as much as salt required and mix well
• Close this and leave it for the night
• In the morning take a kadai and add 6 spoons oil and 3 spoons ghee and boil it
• Pour this oil-ghee mixture in the batter
• Add cumin seeds as much required so that you get a couple of seeds in every piece
• Add grounded pepper (make sure it has the flavor of pepper.So add pepper accordingly)
• Mix the batter well and leave it for 15 minutes before you make idlis with this
• Cook like normal idlis

Onion Chutney : 

• Grind 2 onions, 3 big red chillis, little tamarind and salt with very little water
• Garnish with mustard seeds and curry leaves

Enjoy your breakfast and do let me know how it came out :)

Your valuable comments will surely help me.

Thanks a lot :)

RAVA IDLIS

Rava Idlis are South-Indian speciality. People say Saravana Bhavan or Vasantha Bhavan are the best places to taste them. I bet they are wrong and am sure you would say that once you try making them at your place :)
Try it and let me know how it tastes :) :)

Ingredients Required : 


Rava - 1 cup
Curd - 1 and 1/2 cups
Green chilli - 2
Ginger - one small piece
Coriander Leaves - for taste
Mustard - 3 spoons
Urid dal - 2 or 3 big spoons
Channa dal - 2 or 3 big  spoons
Cashews - 3 spoons
Salt - as reqd
Oil and Ghee - as reqd

Procedure : 

• Finely chop coriander and chillis
• Fry the rava till it is little hot and keep aside
• Pour the curd in a vessel 
• Add salt and mix well
• Take a frying pan and add 7 to 8 spoons oil and 2 spoons ghee
• Fry mustard,urid dal,channa dal,cashews,chilli and ginger
• Add coriander in the last and fry it just for 30 seconds
• Switch of the stove
• Add rava in the above mixture and mix well
• Add this rava mixture in the curd, mix it well and allow it to soak for 15 minutes
• Cook this as idlis and enjoy your meal

Please post in your valuable comments so that I can make this blog even more interesting

China Grass Sweet (or) Palakasu

This is the simplest speciality sweet prepared for occasions like birthdays and wedding anniversaries in my Mom's side. The way mom makes it is so good. You do not feel like stopping with 1 piece. She is the best !!! One good aspect about this sweet is that it tastes good even with less sugar. People who do not like sweets will absolutely love this. Try it and please do post your comments for sure :) :)

Ingredients Required : 


China Grass : 1 cup
Milk : 4 and 1/2 cups
Sugar : 1 cup

Preparation Method :

• Slice the china grass using a scissors into very small pieces(make it as small as possible). 
• Now measure one cup of this sliced china grass and keep it aside. 
• Boil 4 and 1/2 cups of milk measured in the same size cup as the china grass.
• Once it comes to a boil add the china grass. 
• Boil in simmer till all the china grass added gets dissolved totally. 
• Once it dissolves add sugar and keep boiling. 
• Once this comes to a boil pour this mixture in a buttered flat vessel. 
• Allow it to cool for 30 minutes and your yummy palakasu is ready. 
• Cut it into pieces and serve as in the above image  :) :)

Please do post in your comments :) :)

Stuffed Pavakkai (or) Kakarkkai Potta Chilchi Karam

This recipe was created by my Mother- in law who is an excellent cook. She enjoys cooking and am starting to learn from her :) Thanks a lot athamma for teaching me good good recipes :) :)

Ingredients Required :


Pavakkai - 2
Garlic - 1 Piece
Onion - 1/2
Red Chillis - 1 big or 2 small
Chutney paruppu - 1 small cup
Dhaniya - 1/4 spoon
Coconut - 3 or 4 small pieces
Oil - 2 spoons
Salt to Taste
Tamarind water

Procedure :


Pavakkai Fry:

• Slice the Pavakkai into 3 pieces each. 
• We do not need the stuffing inside pavakkai so remove it. 
• Take one big cup of tamarind water in a pressure cooker. 
• Add salt to this water. 
• Place the pavakkai in this water.
• Make sure that all the pavakkai pieces are totally immersed in this water. 
• Make sure it cooks as long as 6 whistles from the pressure cooker is released. 
• The reason why we do this is that this removes the sourness from the vegetable. 
• Once the pressure is released poke the pavakkai with a fork and check if it has softened. 
• Once done remove the water totally from the pavakkai. 
• Take a kadai and add some oil. 
• Fry the pavakkai in this oil till it turns brown. 
• Keep the oil aside.

Stuffing:

• Grind the red chilli,chutney dal, salt,coconut, dhaniya and garlic little coarsely. 
• Then add the onion to this powder and slightly grind it once. 
• Once this is done add this powder in the oil that you used for frying pavakkai and mix it well. 
• Stuff this whole mixture inside the pavakkai and enjoy it with steaming hot ghee rice.

Please send in your valuable comments.