Red Velvet cake

This became one of my favorite cake after coming to US. When i was in India i haven't heard about this. I once got a chance to taste a small piece of this cake. Wow what a tasty cake. Look at the color. Hmm who wont like this???.. First time i didn't have this red color and cocoa powder in my pantry, so i tried with orange color and just omited the cocoa powder. But didn't get the taste like the one that i sampled earlier. Next time got these ingredients and tried this for our First Wedding Anniversary. Wow!!! No words to express the unique taste of this cake. I simply applied vanilla frosting to make my work easier. Can try with homemade icing too. That will be delicious.

You will need:

For the cake:

• 2½ cups sifted cake flour
  
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2½ ounces red food colouring
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• ½ cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 pound confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Preparation method:

For The Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

2. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans.

In a medium bowl...

1. sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt

2. set aside.

In a large bowl...

1. Cream together sugar and butter.

2. Beat in eggs one at a time.

3. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk.

4. Beat in food coloring and vinegar, then add vanilla.

Spread the batter evenly in the pans.

1. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

2. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

For The Frosting:

1. In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter.

2. Beat in confectioners' sugar until fluffy.

3. Beat in vanilla. Stir in pecans.

4. Use frosting to fill and ice cake.

5. Slice and serve on individual plates.

Besan dosa/ gram flour omelete

After marriage i was making kara bajji's using potatoes and onions. Sometimes with eggs too. But whenever i make something with gram flour my hubby simply liked it. So thought of trying some varieties of dishes with gram flour. Once i heard from my friend that North Indian people have some dosa recipes using gram flour. So i just gave a try to make this dosa. Simple superb and perfect for gram flour lovers. It smells like omelet. I tried it without eggs but we can smell egg in that dosa. You can give a try for breakfast or as simple dinner.

Description:

This dosa is fully made with gram flour. So those who like gram flour can try this dosa. I mean those who like bonda, kara bajji, kara boondhi will surely love this recipe. It will smell like omelete.

You will need:

• 1 cup Besan / gram flour
• 2 tbsp Onion ( finely chopped) use food chopper or very finely chop using knife
• 2 tbsp Tomato (finely crushed or chopped)
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 green chilli (finely chopped)
• ¼ tsp chilli powder
• ½ cup coriander leaves
• pinch of asofoetida
• ¼ tsp ajwain seeds(omam)
• 1 egg (optional)
  
• salt to taste
• water to mix (just to get dosa batter consistency)
• oil for making dosa

Procedure:

Mix all the ingredients with water to form like a dosa batter except oil. Please don't forget to add ginger garlic paste and also to chop all the ingredients finely. Heat griddle/tawa/ nonstick pan pour a ladle of batter and roll it around to spread it evenly. Cook one side pour some oil around and turn other side to cook .When done remove and serve


You can top one side of the dosa with sliced panner or cheese to get cheese omlete.

Enjoy you besan omelete. One good thing about this dosa is , it doesn't need any side dish. Hope this makes you happy!!!!!

Strawberry cake eggless

You will need:

• 1¼ cup All purpose flour
• 3½ tbsp butter(room temp)
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• ½ tsp strawberry essence
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ cup milk
• 1 cup strawberries chopped (fresh or frozen) if frozen thaw it before mixing it
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
  

Step 1:

Preheat the oven:

Preheat the oven to 375 degree F.(190 degree Celsius)

Step 2:

Preparing strawberries:

Mix 1 tsp sugar and lemon juice on freshly chopped strawberries and keep it aside. This will make the strawberry juicy and soft.

Hint:

If using frozen you can skip step 2.

Step 3:

Mixing dry ingredients:

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and sift it with a sifter.

Step 4:

Mixing wet ingredients:

Cream butter and powdered sugar using electric mixer. Then add milk to it.

Step 5:

Mixing dry and wet ingredients:

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients little by little till you get all ingredients mixed together.

Step 6:

Mixing strawberries:

Using the spatula fold in the chopped strawberries with the above mixture.

Step 7:

Bake:

Prepare the baking pan by buttering it nicely just to avoid sticking. Then pour the mixture into the baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Same old technique to check whether the cake is baked. Just insert a tooth pick in the middle. If it comes out clean its done. Allow it to cool for 5 to 7 minutes.. Before serving dust it with some powdered sugar.

Additionol decoration: To make layer strawberry cake.

Cut the cake into 2 pieces. exactly half. and place the bottom piece in a cake stand. Then apply whipped cream all over the cake. Then put the top piece on top of the whipped cream. Then cover the full cake with whipped cream or vanilla frosting. On top of the whipped cream cut the strawberries and decorated in your own way. I'm not good in decorating. So i did my own style of decoration.

Handy Hint: Before covering the top of the cake with cream you can cut the cake into your own desired shape. like heart shape, tree shape. I prefer round shape. But occasionally will go for heart shapes too.

If you think your cake is very crispy outside(meaning over baked by mistake) just cut the outer edges slightly using knife.Then cover the cake with whipped cream.

Chilli chicken/ Chicken-65

You will need:

• 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
• 2 egg
• 1 tsp corn flour
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 8 green chillies (chopped lengthwise)
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 10 curry leaves
  
• ½ cup onion (cutting lengthwise)
• pinch of ajinomoto
• ½ tsp red colour
• oil for deep frying
• 2 tbsp oil
• ¼ cup water
• 1 lemon
• chopped cilantro for garnish
  
• salt to taste

Step 1:

Mixing ingredients with chicken.

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and dry it using paper towel. Mix corn flour to it. After that add eggs and mix it very well. Since its a binding agent it should coat the chicken very well. Then add ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp chilli powder, pepper powder, salt and ajinomotto.

Hint: You can allow the chicken to marinate few hours to get better taste.
Step 2:

Deep fry the chicken:

After few hours of marination, deep fry the chicken till it becomes golden brown colour. As you know chicken cooks very fast. So don't over crowd the pan with more chicken. Little by little fry and keep it in a paper towel to absorb the oil content.

Step 3:

Saute all the other ingredients:

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and allow it to splutter. Then add onion, green chilli, curry leaves and saute for 3 mins till the onion turn translucent. Now add minced garlic and ginger. Saute it for 2 more mins. Add cumin powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, water, salt and red colour. Then add the fried chicken pieces to it and saute it continuously till you get the desired texture. Now add lemon juice on top.

I like dry chilli chicken, so i saute it till the water evaporates and get a very dry form.



Chilli chicken is ready. Just garnish with chopped cilantro, sliced onion and sliced lemon.

Sambhar recipe

You will need:

• 1 onion(chopped)
• 2 tomatoes(chopped)
• 3 green chillies(chopped)
• 3 carrots(chopped)
• 1 potato(chopped)
• 1 cup green peas
• 2 cup baby spinach
• 1 cup lady's finger (okra)
• 1 cup eggplant(chopped)
  
• 1½ tsp tamarind paste (You can add more or less according to your taste)
• 7 garlic pods
• 1 cup toor dal
• ½ cup channa dal/moong dal
• 4 cups of water
• salt to taste

Hint:

You can add whatever vegetables you have in your refrigerator. This is the nice way to empty your refrigerator.

For tempering:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
• ½ tsp urad dal
• 3 dry red chillies
• some curry leaves
• some coriander leaves(chopped)
• 3 tbsp sambhar powder
• ½ tsp asafoetida powder(hing, perungaayam)

Step 1:

Microwave chopped vegetables:

Microwave chopped carrots and potatoes for 6 minutes.

Step 2:

In rice cooker:

In a rice cooker add toor dal, channa dal/moong dal, garlic, tomatoes and add 4 cups of water and allow it to cook.

Step 3:

Stir fry okra, eggplant and spinach

Take a non stick pan and add 1 tbsp oil. Add the chopped okra and fry it for few mins. Then add chopped onions, eggplant and spinach along with the okra and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 4:

Mix veggies with dal

When the dal is half cooked add okra, eggplant, onions,spinach, carrot, potato, peas, tamarind paste, salt with the dal mixture. At this point if you need more water add some. Then allow the dal and veggies to cook till your rice cooker automatically turns to warm position.

Step 5:

Tempering:

For tempering heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and urad dal. When it splutters add asafoetida powder, sambhar powder, curry leaves, coriander leaves. Then add this mixture to the veggie dal mixture and enjoy your sambhar with rice, idli, dosa.

Handy Hint:

If you dont like thick sambhar add some more water and sambhar powder.

Sambhar rice/ Bisi bele bath recipe

You will need:

• 1 onion(chopped)
• 2 tomatoes(chopped)
• 3 green chillies(chopped)
• 3 carrots(chopped)
• 1 potato(chopped)
• 1 cup green peas
• 2 cup baby spinach
• 1 cup lady's finger (okra)
• 1 cup eggplant(chopped)
  
• 1½ tsp tamarind paste (You can add more or less according to your taste)
• 7 garlic pods
• ¾ cup toor dal
• ¼ cup moong dal/channa dal
• 1 cup rice
• 5 cups of water
• salt to taste

Hint:

You can add whatever vegetables you have in your refrigerator. This is the nice way to empty your refrigerator.

For tempering:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
• ½ tsp urad dal
• 3 dry red chillies
• some curry leaves
• some coriander leaves(chopped)
• 3 tbsp sambhar powder
• ½ tsp asafoetida powder(hing, perungaayam)

Step 1:

Microwave chopped vegetables:

Microwave chopped carrots and potatoes for 6 minutes.

Step 2:

In rice cooker:

In a rice cooker add toor dal, channa dal/moong dal, rice, garlic, tomatoes and add 4 cups of water and allow it to cook.

Step 3:

Stir fry okra and spinach

Take a non stick pan and add 1 tbsp oil. Add the chopped okra and fry it for few mins. Then add chopped onions, eggplant and spinach along with the okra.

Step 4:

Mix veggies with dal

When the dal-rice is half cooked add okra, eggplant, onions,spinach, carrot, potato, peas, tamarind paste, salt with the dal mixture. At this point if you need more water add some. Then allow the dal and veggies to cook till your rice cooker automatically turns to warm position.

Step 5:

Tempering:

For tempering heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and urad dal. When it splutters add asafoetida powder, sambhar powder, curry leaves, coriander leaves. Then add this mixture to the veggie dal rice mixture. Now your sambhar rice is ready to serve.

Enjoy your sambhar rice with pickle, pappad, chicken fry, fish fry, egg bhurjee.

Pongal/ ven pongal Recipe

You will need

• 1 cup Basmathi rice/ sona masoori rice
  
• 1 cup moong dal
• 6 cups water
• 3 green chillies
• ¼ inch ginger
• 1 tsp whole black pepper/ 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ghee
• asafoetida a pinch
• 10 - 15 cashew nuts
• salt as reqd
  
• some curry leaves

Step 1:

In a rice cooker add rice, moong dal, water and cook until its over cooked. Stir occasionally. If need add more water.

Step 2:

Stir fry:

Cut the green chillies and ginger into fine pieces.

Take 2 tsp ghee in a frying pan and add whole peppers, cumin seeds, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida. Add cashew nuts and remove the pan from heat when the cashews are roasted.

Step 3:

Mixing:

Add the above mixture to the cooked rice and dal. Stir in some salt and mix well. Serve with sambhar and kadala chutney. Enjoy!!!!!!

Asparagus poriyal/ Stir fry

You will need:

• 1 bunch Asparagus
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 2 green chillies
• 5 curry leaves
• ½ cup onion
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• ¼ cup dessicated coconut
• 1 tbsp oil
  
• salt as reqd
  

Step 1:

Finely chop:

Remove the stems of the asparagus. Finely chop asparagus , onions, green chillies and garlic.

Step 2:

Start frying:

Put a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Add mustard, cumin, urad dal and curry leaves. Then add chopped onions and 2 green chillies to the pan, and fry for about 3 minutes.

Now add asparagus and salt. Then close the lid for 3 mins. When its cooked add coconut and continuously stir for few more mins. Check for salt.. When they are ready turn the heat off.

Enjoy with chapathi, or as side dish for rice.

Banana nut cake recipe

You will need:

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• ½ cup melted butter ( 1 stick)
  
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1½ cup of bread flour (can substitute with All purpose flour)
• 2 tbsp chopped nuts (silvered alomonds, cashews)
• ¼ cup raisins

Step 1:

Preheat the oven:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Step 2:

Making cake dough:

With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last and mix. Mix in chopped nuts and raisins.

Pour mixture into a buttered pan. Bake for 45 mins. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Trip to Luray Caverns, Washington D.C, Amish county etc

Boli

You will need

• 1 cup Bengal Gram (Kadalaparuppu)
• 1 cup Sugar ( I added 1¼ cup sugar because i love sweets)
  
• ¼ cup Gingelly Oil(Nallenna)
• 1 cup All Purpose Flour(Maida)
• Water - As reqd to form a dough
• ¼ tsp Nutmeg(Jathikka) powder
• ¼ tsp Cardamom(Elakka)powder
• A pinch of Golden Yellow Food color (Optional)
• Rice Flour or maida flour - to spread on the board,to prevent it from sticking
• ¼ cup Ghee

Step 1:

Preparing dough

Mix the maida flour and food color together .Add enough water and make it into a soft dough.Pour gingelly oil into it and knead it well until the dough become very soft.Keep it aside for 1 hour to make it more soft.

Step 2:

Making filling

Boil gram with plenty of water until it is cooked soft.Strain it well.Again add some more water,boil it and drain.Add sugar and 3 tsp of ghee into the cooked gram,allow it to cook in medium heat.

Stir continuously until the mixture becomes semi solid.Be careful,it should not become too hard.Now stir in cardamom powder and nutmeg powder into it.Mix well together and grind it using a mixer when its hot. If it becomes cold,the mixture can harden and makes grinding difficult.

STEP 3:

Rolling Boli

Now make equal number of lemon sized balls with both gram mixture and with the dough.Take a ball made of flour,roll out a little on a floured surface( rice flour is spread on the surface).Keep the gram ball in centre of the rolled dough.Cover the gram completely with the dough as shown in the picture.
Now using hand ,press it evenly and make it very smooth. Again roll it out as thin as possible.

Step 4:




Frying Boli

Heat a griddle and cook the bolis just like we do for chappathis.Apply little ghee on both sides.Keep it in an air tight container and keep it in the refrigeretor when it is cooled.Thus, it can be stored for a week.

Handy Hint:..

While rolling with gram mixture it will be sticky. So use lots of flour for rolling. And clean the tava with paper towel after making each boli. The end result will be mouth watering.

Meal Maker Cutlet

You will need

• 1 cup meal maker
• 1 potato
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• ½ cup green peas (optional)
• 3 green chillies (finely chopped)
• 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tbsp aniseed(sombu, perinjeerakam)
• 1 tbsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
  
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
  
• some curry leaves (finely chopped)
• coriander leaves (finely chopped)
• salt as reqd
• oil for frying
• 1 egg
• 1 cup bread crumbs

Step 1:

Boil potatoes

Boil potatoes in microwave for 5 mins, then mash it using potato masher and keep it aside.

Step 2:

Soak and grind the meal maker

Soak the meal maker in lukewarm water for 15 mins. Drain them and squeeze them nicely. Then coarsely grind them using blender and keep it aside.

Step 3:

Saute the onions

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds,curry leaves and cumin seeds. Saute the onions and green chillies till it become transparent. Add green peas and stir it for 2 mins. Then add ginger garlic paste, garam masala powder, turmeric powder and aniseed and stir continuously for 2 mins.

Step 4:

Add the mashed potato and ground meal maker

Add mashed potatoes into the mixture and stir it for 2 mins and then add ground meal maker.Mix it nicely for 1 min and turn off the heat. Let it cool for some time.

Step 5:

Prepare egg and bread crumbs

Beat one egg into a bowl . keep bread crumbs in another bowl.

Step 6:

Dip it and fry

Heat oil in a pan for deep fry.I prefer low heat since everything is already cooked. Now make the mixture into small balls. Dip the balls first in the egg and then into the bread crumbs. Now deep fry it for 2 to 4 mins. Enjoy with mint chutney.

This cutlet tastes good with fried rice, and also as a snack.

Vegetable samosa/ Vegetable patties

You will need:

FOR CRUST:

• 1 cup all purpose flour(Maida)
• 1 tbsp sooji
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oil/Butter
• ½ tsp Ajawin(Omam) You can substitute ajwain with dried oregano also.
  
• ¼ cup luke warm water(as reqd to form a dough)

FOR FILLING

• 2 large potatoes
• ½ cup green peas
• 1 onion( finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 green chillies(finely chopped)
• ½ tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
  
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• salt as reqd
• coriander leaves chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons oil

Step 1:

For the pastry

1. Sift the flour, add the salt, oregano and work in the oil.
2. Add in half the water and mix to make a soft dough. Add the rest if you need to.
3. Knead the dough until it is soft and pliable.
4. Roll out the dough to about a ¼ inch and cut out in circles.

Step 2:

Boil the potatoes

Boil the potatoes in microwave high for 6 mins and then mash it with potato masher to get mashed potatoes.

Step 3:

Preparing filling:

Heat the oil in a skillet or fry pan. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds and fry until they splutter. Add the onions and cook until transparent. Add garlic, ginger paste and garam masala, coriander powder and chilli powder. Cook for about 3 mins. Add green peas and stir it for 2 mins. Then add the mashed potatoes and stir continuously for 2 mins. Add coriander leaves and salt. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.

Step 4:

Start stuffing:

Cut the pastry circle in semi circle shape. Now take one semi circle,moisten the edges with water and fold it like a cone. Place a spoon of filling in the cone and seal the third side using a drop of water. Press the edges with fork as shown in pic to make sure that the edges are closed.
Step 5:

For deep frying:

Heat oil to 350 F and cook the samosas until golden brown.

For baking:

Brush samosa with oil. Poke it with fork in the pastry for the steam to escape. By doing like this you can avoid the filling popping out. Place the samosas on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 400F for about 10 minutes, then turn it and bake for 10 mins or until golden brown. If you bake, the texture of the outside will not be as crispy as it should. I prefer baking since its good for health.

Handy Hint:

Serve it hot with mint chutney.

Whole Baked Chicken Indian recipe

You will need:

• 1 whole chicken (5 lbs)
  
• 1 cup yogurt
• 2 tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp paprika (or a pinch of red colour)
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp salt

Step 1:

Wash the Chicken

Wash the chicken with some turmeric powder and with salt.(Removing skin is optional, but i like with skin). Make slots with knife in the chicken, so that the masala will go inside of the chicken also.

Step 2:

Marinate the Chicken

Rub the ingredients onto the chicken and let it marinate for atleast 8 hours. I prefer overnight in a refrigerator.

Step 3:
Bake

Preheat the oven to 350F. Take the marinated chicken out from the refrigerator and let it to come room temp. Then rub the chicken with some more garam masala powder. Transfer the chicken to Aluminum foil or to a baking tray, cover it with a aluminum foil and bake it for 1.5 hours.

Then transfer the chicken to another tray. (Becoz we will get so much of fat. so better scoop out of that fat ot transfer chicken to another tray.

Now again bake the chicken uncovered for 15 mins. Turn the chicken and again bake it for 20 mins to get nice brown crispy skin outside.

Handy Hint:

Eat with mint chutney, lemon slices , sliced onion and tomato.

Homemade Pizza

Making the Pizza Dough

Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
• 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (check the expiration date on the package)
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour (can use all-purpose but bread flour will give you a crisper crust)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Step 1:

In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

Step 2:
Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand.

Step 3:

Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you don't have a warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Place the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise.

At this point, if you want to make ahead, you can freeze the dough in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Preparing the Pizzas

Ingredients

Olive oil
Cornmeal (to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone)
Toppings such as
Tomato sauce
Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, shredded
Bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, thinly sliced
Chopped basil (I used dried basil)
Ground Turkey cooked (Can use chicken, beef,mushroom)
Onions, thinly sliced
Coriander leaves chopped

Handy Hint:

Saute the onions and the coriander leaves for few seconds, if you dont like the raw onion smell.

1. Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.

2. Remove the plastic cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in half. Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker.

4. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Use your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest another 5 minutes.

Repeat with the second ball of dough.

5. Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared flattened dough to the pizza peel. If the dough has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it to the desired dimensions.

6. Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and place your desired toppings on the pizza. (About a third a cup each of tomato sauce and cheese would be sufficient for one pizza. )

7. Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven (watch your hands, the oven is hot!). Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the peel and on to the baking stone in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.

Fish Biryani

For Rice:

• 2 tbsp Ghee
  
• 4 Cardamom(Elakka)
  
• 4 sticks - cinnamon(Karugapatta)
  
• 4 Cloves(Grambu)
• 1 tsp Pepper powder
  
• ½ cup Onion(sliced)
• 1½ cups Basmati rice
• 3 cups Boiled water
  
• 2 tsp Salt
  

For fish masala:

• ½ kg King fish (neimeen in Nagercoil, Vangiram in Tamil)
• 1 tbsp Chilly powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• Oil as reqd
  
• 2 Onion(sliced)
• 2 tbsp Ginger-garlic-green chillies paste
• 1 Tomato(chopped)
• 1 tsp Garam masala powder
• 1 tsp Biriyani masala powder
  
• 1 tbsp Curd
  
• 1 cup Coriander leaves(chopped)
• 2tbsp Mint leaves(chopped)
• 2 tbsp Ghee

For garnishing:

• Cashew nuts(roasted)
• Raisins(roasted)

For preparing rice:

1) Heat ghee in a pan.

2) Add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Stir them.

3) Add onions and fry for 5 min.

4) Add rice and stir for 5 min.

5) Pour boiled water along with salt and cook till it's done.

For making fish masala:

1) Marinate fish pieces with chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt
for 1 hour.

2) Fry the marinated fish pieces in oil.

3) Heat the same oil used to fry the fish in a pan.

4) Add sliced onions and fry on a low flame, till it becomes slightly brown.

5) On medium flame, add ginger-garlic-green chilly paste and tomato.

6) Stir it for 6 min.

7) Add garam masala powder, biriyani masala powder, curd, coriander leaves and salt and stir it for 5 min.

8) Add fried fish pieces and reduce the flame.

9) Cook till it starts to boil.

For making fish biryani:

1) Take a deep bottom vessel and layer fish masala rice.

2) Pour 2 tbsp of ghee and tightly cover with a lid.

3) Keep it on a very low flame for 10 min.

4) Garnish with roasted nuts and raisins.

Handy Hint:

Pour 2tsp of pineapple essence or some small pieces of pineapple before putting the lid on.it will give a very nice smell
:-You can use prawns or chicken instead of fish

Doughnut recipe

You will need:

• 4 cups All purpose flour (Maida)
  
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Step 1:

Whisk the eggs and the sugar

Start your doughnuts by putting the 2 eggs and sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk them briskly until their appearance becomes very pale and fluffy.

Step 2:

Add the milk, vanilla, salt and butter

Next, you will need to introduce the milk, vanilla, salt and melted butter to the dough and mix it all together briefly.

Step 3:

Mix dry ingredients and allow it to chill.

You can now add the baking powder to the bowl of flour and mix them together a little bit. Next, add this dry mix to the egg mixture and combine them thoroughly. The dough will be sticky. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

Be careful not to over-mix the dough or the resulting doughnuts will turn out tough.

Step 4:

Roll the dough out and cut it

Begin forming the doughnuts by sprinkling some flour upon the work surface and then dusting your hands with a little more flour. Now roll the dough out to a thickness of about half of a centimetre. Next, use the large cutter(you can use coffee mug also) to cut out the doughnuts. You can then use the small cutter (i used cola bottle cap :) ) to cut out their centres.

Set the doughnuts aside and combine the leftover dough with some new dough.
Roll it out again and repeat the process until all the dough is used.

Step 5:

Fry

It is now time to fry your doughnuts. Place a saucepan with the oil over a medium heat. While waiting for the oil to heat up, you can prepare a tray by lining it with some paper towel. Now place the doughnuts into the hot oil a few at a time. Let them cook for about one minute until golden brown and turn them over. Cook the other side and place them on the tray. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Step 6:

Powdered doughnut:

Place your doughnuts on a plate and liberally dust them with powdered sugar. Your doughnuts are now ready to serve!

Glazed doughnut:

Drain the doughnut with paper towel briefly and then dip into the bowl of hot glaze.Dip in a vanilla glaze (recipe below)and drain on a wire rack set inside of a baking sheet.

They can be glazed with strawberry, chocolate, or raspberry sauces. Enjoy !!!

Vanilla Glaze:

• 3 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
• ¼ to ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon strawberry extract

In a medium mixing bowl big enough to dip your doughnuts, stir together all glaze ingredients until there are no lumps. Set aside until ready to dip the hot doughnuts.

Parotta - Tamil Nadu style

You will need

• 4 cups maida flour
• ¾ cup yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• oil as reqd(more oil gives more taste)
• water as reqd
  

Step 1:

Mix together maida, salt, baking powder and sugar in a vessel. Beat egg separately and add with the flour mixture. Add oil, yogurt and water to make a soft dough. Make sure to knead the dough hard on a clean surface to make it soft.

Cover the dough with a wet cloth for atleast 4 hrs.

Step 2:

Take the dough and knead it once again. Make small balls.. Take each balls and spread it lengthwise then curl it(as shown below) and keep it aside for 30 minutes.


Step 3:

Heat the thava in medium flame. Pat the curl gently to flatten (to the size of parotta) and place in thava till the parotta is ready.

Step 4:

Once done pat sides of the parotta to get the layers. Happy cooking.. Need more patience and some skill to make this.:)

Serve with favourite non-veg curries.. Enjoy!!!!

Myself and my hubby had fun making these parottas on Columbus day holiday.. It was fun to do something together.And we got good result too..

Masala Biscuits/cookies

You will need

• 2 cups all-purpose flour(Maida), plus more for rolling
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 ½ tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• ¾ cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing

Step 1:

Preheat the oven

We need to set the oven 375°F before beginning to make the cookies.

Step 2:

Slice the butter

Using a knife, cut in the butter until it is the size of small peas.


Step 3:

Preparing dough

In a medium bowl, whisk 2 cups of flour with the sugar, garam masala, baking powder and salt. Combine the ‚butter into the flour mixture. Then add buttermilk and stir until it turns into a dough.

Step 4:

Roll

Roll the dough on a floured surface until it is about half a cm thick. Select a pastry cutter, and starting at the edge of the dough, cut out the biscuits. Have some fun with the variety of shapes you can make. Place the biscuits straight onto the baking tray.Brush the tops with buttermilk.

Step 5:

Bake

Place the baking tray into the oven and cook until golden brown. This should take around 16 minutes, but watch carefully to make sure they don't burn.

Step 6:

Cool and serve

Take the tray out of the oven and leave it to cool. Then transfer them to a wire rack to become nice and crisp. Serve with a cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy!!!!

Potato and Spinach recipe

Step 1:

You will need

• 2 potatoes
  
• 1 bunch of spinach
  
• 1 medium onions
• 2 medium tomatoes/ 2Tbsp tomato paste
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 green chillies
  
• 1 Tbsp ginger garlic paste
• some salt
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp sambhar powder
  
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• ½ bunch of coriander leaves for garnish

Step 2:

Chop and Boil

Peel and finely chop onion, then 4 tomatoes and 2 green chillies.

Then peel and chop potatoes and also spinach.

Boil the potatoes in the microwave for 4 minutes or boil with water for 5 mins.

HANDY HINT
Use a scissor to cut chillies or dip your fingers in oil before you do this to stop the chilli juices from stinging your fingers.

Step 3:

Start frying

Put a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add
3 tablespoons of olive oil

Add the chopped onion and 2 green chillies to the pan, and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onions turn light golden brown. Stir frequently to stop the onions burning.

Step 4:

Ginger and garlic

Now add 2 tbsp of ginger and garlic paste. Stir well for a couple of minutes.


Step 5:

Spices

Add
½ a tsp of turmeric powder,
1 tsp of sambhar powder,

1 tsp of garam masala powder,
and fry for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently.

Step 6:

Tomatoes

Add the finely chopped tomatoes followed by 2 tsp of cumin powder fry for 2 minutes.

Step 7:

Spinach and potatoes

Add chopped spinach and stir for 2 mins and then add the potatoes. After adding the potatoes stir in some salt, then close the lid and allow it to boil. If it is very dry, add some water and allow the potatoes to cook through.When the potatoes become soft, turn off the heat.


Step 8:

Garnish and Serve

When its warm mix 1 tsp of lemon juice. Then finely chop the coriander leaves onto the curry and serve


Serve with Chapathi, Kulcha or with rice.

Apple Nut Muffins Recipe

Step 1:

You will need

• ½ cup butter room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large apples
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cashewnut (chopped)
• 2 tbsp almonds
  

Step 2:

Preheat the oven

We need to set the oven to 400°F before beginning to make the muffins.

Step 3:

Mashed apples

Peel the apples and cut into small cubes. Then boil it in the hot water till it become soft and then mashes it with a spoon or with the blender.

Step 4:

Preparing dough

Cream butter and sugar with an electric hand-held mixer until light and fluffy.Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add apples and vanilla and beat until smooth. Along with this mixture, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened then gently stir in chopped nuts.

Step 5:

Bake

Now put some of the batter into each of the muffin moulds using the spoon. Only fill them to about 2/3 of their capacity since the batter will rise while baking. Place the muffins onto a baking tray and put them into the oven. Allow to bake for about 15 -20 minutes.

Step 6:

Remove from oven

Once the muffins are done, take them out of the oven and let them cool a little before removing them from the moulds. Place them on a serving tray.

Step 7:

Serve

If you like, you can sprinkle the muffins with a little icing sugar. They taste best if you eat them while still warm. Enjoy!


Hint:

You can replace apple with your favorite fruit like bananas, strawberries. No need to boil it. Just mash it or grind it and add along with the mixture.

Niagara falls

Spent a day down in Niagara, was awestruck at the size of the falls. Got a view of them from the water, on the Maid of the Mist boat ride and also from cave of the winds tour. Passengers on the falls-seeing Maid of the Mist boats, are all kitted out in blue raincoats while visitors to the walkways of the Cave of the Winds are all in yellow.

We first joined the blue raincoat brigade. Tourists on the deck of the Maid of the Mist get wetter the closer the boat reaches to the Horseshoe Falls. There’s a cold wind blowing.Me and my hubby loved the Maid of the Mist trip especially the point where it takes you to the center Of the Horseshoe shaped falls and the water seems to be falling all around. It is a lifetime experience. Loved the feel of the chilled water and the mist all around ..and the boat which wobbled with the waves.

Later we joined the yellow raincoat brigade which takes you down by elevator to the base of the American Falls and then follows a wooden walkway from lookout deck to hurricane deck. It culminates in the Hurricane Deck where you stand virtually under the falls. Its more ridiculous to stand under a 180 ft high waterfall in a yellow raincoat. Every second hundred gallons of water arrives on your head at 75 mph on the Hurricane Deck

Chicken nuggets recipe

You Will Need

• 2 chicken thighs/breasts
• 5 oz ready made breadcrumbs or 6 slices of cut bread
• 2 eggs
• 3 fl oz vegetable oil
• 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 2 tsp pepper powder
• 1 oz plain flour
  
• salt as required

Step 1:

Trim the chicken

Take the chicken breast and cut off all excess skin, fat and bones.

Step 2:

Chunk the chicken

Cut the chicken into small chunks so they will fit into the blender.

Step 3:

Dry the bread

To make your own breadcrumbs the bread you use needs to be dry. This means stale bread. If you only have fresh bread, then place the slices in the oven at 200 F for one hour until they are dried – not toasted.

Step 4:

Make the breadcrumbs

Once the bread is dried, break it up into pieces and place it in your blender. Put the lid on and switch it on to the appropriate setting to make your breadcrumbs. Add any seasoning. Once the seasoning is nicely mixed pour the breadcrumbs into one of the bowls.

Step 5:

Blend the chicken

Wipe out the blender with some kitchen paper and add the chicken breasts. Pulse the chicken until roughly chopped. Now add ginger garlic paste,garam masala powder, pepper and salt and switch on the blender again, making sure everything blended well with the chicken. Once that is done, pour the mixture into one of the bowls.

Step 6:

Beat the eggs

Take the 2 eggs, crack them into a bowl and beat them together.

Step 7:

Prepare the coating

Line up the chicken mix, the flour, the eggs and the breadcrumbs in the four bowls.

Step 8:

Shape the nuggets

Rub your hands with some flour to avoid them becoming too sticky! Then take some chicken mixture and roll it in the palm of your hands to create a smooth ball shape about the size of a golf ball.

Step 9:

Coat the nuggets

Now take the nugget and roll it in the flour. When totally covered, roll it in the egg. Next, roll the nugget in the breadcrumbs and place it on a plate. Gently press down on it with the flat side of a knife to form the perfect nugget shape.

Step 10:

Fry the nuggets

Take your frying pan and put the vegetable oil into it. Heat the pan to medium so that the oil is hot but not smoking. Place the nuggets into the pan and cook gently on low heat for about 5 minutes turning them every few minutes so they don't burn.

Step 11:

Serve and enjoy!

Once cooked place the nuggets on kitchen paper to drain any excess oil.

Serve as snack or with salads. Enjoy!!!!

Spicy Bread Masala Recipe

Step 1:

You will need

• 6 Bread slices
• 3 eggs (optional) u can replace egg with some vegetables too
  
• ½ onion (finely chopped)
  
• 2 tomatoes (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
  
• 10 cashew nuts
• 10 raisins
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp Ghee/Butter
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• Pinch of turmeric powder
• salt as required
• few coriander leaves for garnish

Step 2:

Fry bread separately

Cut the bread slices into small pieces.



Fry it with 2 tbsp of butter for 10 mins and keep it aside.

Step 3:

Start frying the rest

Put a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Add the chopped onions along with the cashews and the raisins to the pan, and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onions turn light golden brown. Stir frequently to stop the onions burning.

Step 4:

Ginger and garlic

Now add 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste. Stir well for a couple of minutes.

Step 5:

Spices

Add
½ a tsp of turmeric powder,
1 tsp of red chilli powder,
and fry for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently.

Step 6:

Tomatoes

Add the finely chopped tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes.

Step 7:

Add eggs

Turn the heat low and add 3 eggs along with bread slices and start stirring . Stir in some salt. Stir continuously till you get scrambled egg like form. When they are ready, turn the heat off.

Step 8:

Garnish and Serve

Finely chop the coriander leaves onto the bread masala and serve.

My husband and I love this recipe. But as you know its very rich. But no other bread recipes can replace its taste. And its very simple to do specially after shopping nights. Enjoy!!!!!

Soya Wadi/Chunks and green peas masala recipe

Step 1:

You will need

• 1 cup soya chunks
• 2 cups green peas
• 1 onion
• 2 tomatoes
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
  
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
  
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 2 tsp chicken masala powder
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• few strings of curry leaves
• 1tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ½ bunch of coriander leaves for garnish
• salt as required

Step 2:

Marinating soya chunks

Soak soya chunks in warm water for 10 mins. Drain the water, squeeze the water out of chunks. Then add 1 tsp chilli powder,1 tsp lemon juice and some salt alond with the chunks and allow it to marinate for minimum 1 hour.

Step 3:

Chop:

Peel and finely chop 1 onion, then 2 tomatoes.

Step 4:

Start frying

Put a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Add the chopped onion to the pan, and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onions turn light golden brown. Stir frequently to stop the onions burning.

Step 5:

Ginger and garlic

Now add 1 tsp of ginger and garlic paste. Stir well for a couple of minutes.

Step 6:

Spices

Add
½ a tsp of turmeric powder,
1 tsp of red chilli powder,
2 tsp of chicken masala powder,
1 tsp of garam masala powder
and fry for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently.

Step 7:

Tomatoes

Add the finely chopped tomatoes followed by 1 tbsp of cumin powder fry for 2 minutes.

Step 8:

Add the marinated soya chunks

Turn the heat to medium high and add the marinated soya chunks. Then stir in some salt.Then put the lid on and bring the heat down. Then add 2 cups of green peas. Leave for about 10 minutes or until the soya chunks are cooked. check occasionally. When they are ready, turn the heat off.

Step 9:

Garnish and Serve

When its warm mix 1 tsp of lemon juice. Then finely chop the coriander leaves onto the curry and serve


Serve with Chapathi, Kulcha or with naan

Chicken Biryani Recipe

Step 1:

You will need:

• Basmati rice - 2 cups
• Chicken - 1 lb (chopped into medium size pieces)
• Garlic pods - 12 nos
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Green chillies - 8 nos
• Onions(medium) - 4 nos
• Tomatoes - 2 nos
  
• Cinnamon(Karugapatta) - 1 small stick
• Cloves(Grambu) - 5 nos
• Garam masala - 2 tbsp
• Biriyani masala - 2 tbsp
  
• Salt - As reqd
• some cashews and raisins
  
• oil or ghee 3 tbsp
  

For marinade:-

• Black pepper - 1 tsp
• Chilly powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Ginger(minced) - 1 tsp
  
• Garlic pods(big) - 7 nos
• Vineger - 2 tbsp

Step 2:

Marinate

Mix together the ingredients for marination along with chicken in a bowl. Refrigerate it for 6 hours.

Soak the rice in water and keep aside for 2 hours.

Step 3:

Start frying

Put a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of ghee or vegetable oil.


Step 4:

Chop

Peel and finely chop onions, then tomatoes.

Step 5:

Grind

Grind together the rest of garlic,ginger and green chillies and keep it aside.

Step 6:

Get started

Heat a tbsp of oil in a pressure cooker and saute the onions. When its half done add cloves and cinnamon to it and continue to saute. Then add ground mixture of ginger, garlic and green chillies. After that add chopped tomatoes and cover with a lid for 2 mins. Then add marinated chicken and saute it for 5 mins.

step 7:

Add the ingredients

Add garam masala and biriyani masala and saute it for 3 mins then add 4 cups of water and add rice to it and pressure cook it for 2 whistles.

Step 8:

Garnishing

Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves,fried cashews and fried raisins.