Eggless chocolate cake

I never miss out an opportunity to bake a cake and when I got to meet a friend of mine who was pregnant I baked her this super delicious and simple eggless chocolate cake with Nutella as a frosting .

When I searched my recipe diary , I got this easy recipe which I had written 4 years back.

As soon as I opened my diary and saw the recipe, it brought me old memories of my days in Bangalore when my son was a 7 months baby .He used to sleep a lot during daytime(don't ask me about nights! I had sleepless nights  as my kid will be awake at that time!) and I had some time to bake or cook few new recipes.I used to browse a lot and even referred a lot of magazines to try new stuff.And I started writing those recipes in my diary. I had no convection oven at that time and I used to bake my cakes in my microwave using trial and error method.After few bad outcomes I understood my microwave and finally arrived at the correct time for baking cakes.The results are not as you get in a convection oven but they were pretty decent and no one guessed that I used a microwave for baking the cake they ate!

Now that I have the convection,I tried this cake nearly after 4 years and the outcome was as usual a lovely moist and yummy eggless chocolate cake !

Preparation time:45 mins

Serves:4

Ingredients:

All purpose flour/maida-1 and 1/2 cups

Sugar-1 cup

salt-1/4 tsp

Oil-1/4 cup

Cocoa powder-4 tsp

Vanilla extract-1/2 tsp

Baking powder-1 tsp

water-1/2 cup

For topping:

Nutella-100 gms

Procedure:

1.Sift together flour,cocoa powder,salt and baking powder together.

2.Mix water,sugar,oil and vanilla extract till sugar dissolves completely.

3.Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture one tablespoon at a time.Mix well to form a uniform cake dough.

4.Grease a baking dish and pour the batter in to it and bake for atleast 30-35 min at 350F.

5.Let it cool and then top it with Nutella evenly and then serve.

Tips:

*You can replace water with milk if you are not vegan.

*Similarly oil can be replaced by equivalent amount of butter.But oil gives best results for this cake.

*If using microwave then bake it at high power for about 4 to 4 and a 1/2 mins.Time changes with different models.Check for a toothpick to come out clean if correctly baked.

*You can also use 

Quinoa dates cookies/Thinai dates cookies/Foxtail Millet and Dates Cookies

Millet cookies which are available at our local supermarkets in Chennai never fail to attract us and my son likes the taste of these cookies too.As I didn't have an oven before I never even had an idea to give it a try but after buying an oven and having tried few other cookies I wanted to try millet cookies at home and few months back, my blogger friend Jayanthi Sindhiya posted a recipe on millet cookies which kindled my curiosity to bake these cookies.Finally I got millet flour from the shop and baked these goodies.The outcome was soft (cake like)quinoa or foxtail millet cookies which we all relished a lot.As I added dates purée the cookies were soft but very tasty and definitely worth a try.Kids who detest dates too will love these cookies and these cookies are gluten free and could be made as vegan too by adding oil instead of butter .

Ingredients:

Organic quinoa flour/Thinai flour/foxtail millet flour-1 and 1/2 cups

Dates-10 to 12 no

Sugar-8 tbsp

Butter-5 tbsp

Baking soda-1/2 tsp

Coarsely powdered almonds/almond meal-1/4 cup

Vanilla extract-1 tsp

Few almonds-for garnish

Procedure :

1.Soak the dates in hot water and grind it to a coarse paste adding as little water as possible. .

2.In a bowl sieve together the Foxtail millet flour(Thinai Mavu ) and baking soda .

3. In another bowl add butter,powdered sugar and dates paste.

4,To this date mixture add vanilla extract also and mix well .

5.To this wet mixture add the millet flour and powdered almonds or almond meal.

6.Bring them together to form a cookie dough and make small balls.Flatten them a little on the greased baking cookie tray ,decorate it with an almond in middle and bake them at 200 C for 20-25 mins .

7.After baking ,cool them for few minutes and transfer them to an airtight container.It can be stored for up to a week.Yummy and delicous Quinoa Dates Cookies are ready.Enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee.

Tips:

*For more firm or crisp cookies add more butter.

*Increase the quantity of sugar if you have a sweet tooth.But keep in mind that even dates are sweeter.

Poosanikai Pomegranate Thayir Pachadi(Ash gourd pomegranate Raita)

With mercury on the rise ,I am trying to include fruits and vegetables in my diet that are ideal for this season.One such delicious recipe is this raita made with ash gourd and pomegranate .Usually we make raita with ash gourd but to make it colourful,healthy and appealing I added carrot and pomegranate along with it.The pomegranate gives a mild sweetness to this raita and a cup of this raita when made with low fat yogurt is so healthy and makes it suitable for diabetics and weight watchers too.It goes well with Sambar or kuzhambhu and plain rice .

Preparation time :15 mins

Serves:2

Ingredients:

Grated ash gourd-3 tbsp

Grated carrot-3 tbsp

Pomegranate -2 tbsp

Low fat yogurt or regular plain yogurt(curd)-1 and 1/2 cups

Hing /asafetida -1/2 tsp

Salt-to taste

Oil-1 tbsp

To be grind to a paste:

Grated coconut-2 tbsp

Green chillies-1

To temper:

Mustard seeds -1 tsp

Jeera/cumin seeds-1 tsp

Curry leaves-few 

Procedure:

1.Grind green chilli and coconut to a fine paste .

2.Beat the yogurt to a uniform consistency.add salt and hing to it.

3.Add the grated ash gourd ,carrot and pomegranate to the yogurt . Add the ground paste also to it and mix well.

4.Heat oil in a wok and add the tempering ingredients and once the mustard splutters ,add it to the raita.

5.Serve the Raita chilled along with hot plain rice and sambar or vatha kuzhambhu .

Murungakkai Porichakootu (Drumstick Dal)

 Drumstick has a unique aroma which makes any dish to which it is added very scrumptious and flavorful .We have a drumstick tree at my mom's place and every trip of mine to Coimbatore ensures a big bundle of drumsticks parceled back to Chennai.So the following fortnight in my house has a lot of dishes which includes drumsticks .One such delectable and succulent dish is this murungaikai porichakootu or drumstick dal. There are two versions of this recipe and the one here is my mother in law's version and it is my hubby's favourite too.

It is very simple yet delicious and goes well with a bowl of hot plain rice and a spoon of ghee.Soon I will give my mom's version too.

Preparation time:30 mins

Serves:4

Ingredients:

Drumsticks cut to 2 inch pieces -3 nos

Cooked Toor dal or pigeon peas -1 cup

Turmeric powder-1 tsp

Hing or asafetida-1/2 tsp

Salt -to taste

Oil(coconut oil or sesame oil)-1 tbsp

Fresh coriander leaves-few to garnish 

To be grind to a fine paste:

Grated coconut-5 tbsp

Red chillies-3(increase or decrease according to your spice level)

Green chillies-1(optional)

Jeera or cumin -1 tsp

To temper :

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Jeera or cumin-1/2 tsp

Urad dal -1 tsp

Curry leaves-few

Procedure:

1.Grind the items given above for grinding to a fine paste.

2.Boil the drumsticks in a wok with 2 cups of water along with hing,turmeric powder and salt.

3.Once the drumsticks are soft and succulent add the cooked and mashed toor dal and the ground coconut paste.

4.Keep the fame low and let the kootu boil for 8-10 mins.Then switch off the flame and add the ingredients given for tempering in oil .After the mustard splutter add it to the murungaikai porichakootu or drumstick dal.

5.Serve hot with plain rice and papad or it tastes good even with rotis.

Tips:

*Do not cook the drumsticks in pressure cooker as it looses texture.

*You can add snake gourd(pudalangai) or avaraikkai(Lima beans) to this poricha kootu along with drumstick.
*You can increase or decrease the red chillies based on your spice level and as they are the only source  which gives some heat to this dish.

Falafel

I have never had falafel until I had it in the cream centre restaurant.Cream centre remains our family's favourite and I have almost tried their every item on their menu and that was when I had falafel with pita bread and hummus.yum!!! I could still think how delicious it was !! As a food blogger the next primary concern was to replicate it at home and went through several blogs and got the recipe from here and here.If you make the hummus and the pita bread dough a day ahead then it is very easy to assemble and makes a complete meal.Nothing can beat the taste of fresh falafels prepared at home with pita bread ,hummus and a salad.It serves as a delicious snack and can work wonders with the guests if you are going to host a party.My kiddo loved it just like that and had it like a cutlet.The recipe for pita bread and hummus will be posted shortly.So here goes the falafel recipe !

Serves:4

Preparation time:30 minutes 

Ingredients:

Boiled chickpeas-2 cups

Finely chopped onion-1 no

Chilli powder-1 tsp

Crushed garlic -4 pods

Chopped fresh coriander leaves or parsley -1/4 cup

Cumin powder-1 tsp

Coriander powder-1 tsp

Freshly ground pepper powder-1 tsp

All purpose flour/Maida-3 tbsp

Salt -to taste

Oil-for deep frying 

Procedure:

1.In a bowl add the boiled chickpeas,onion,coriander powder,cumin powder,chilli powder,pepper powder and coriander leaves.

2.Mash the chickpeas well with the powders and make a dough to form patties or falafel.

Add 2 tbsp of all purpose flour to this dough.In a small bowl make a thick paste of 1 tbsp all purpose flour or maida.Make round patties of the falafel dough and dip them in this maida paste and deep fry them in medium flame till they are golden brown .

 3.Hot and crispy falafels are ready to be served with pita bread and hummus.It tastes delicious even with a simple tomato ketchup.

Tips:

*The addition of all purpose flour or maida helps as a binding agent and the

 paste helps in keeping the falafel together while frying in oil.

* Make sure the chickpeas is cooked till soft otherwise it will be tough to mash them .

Cucumber Canapes/Cucumber Chat/Cucumber Discs

Back after a nice vacation with family and friends at Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.We had  great fun and got an opportunity to see few wild animals in its natural habitat.Its been a while since I posted on my blog and finally here I am.Summer calls for vegetables like cucumber and onion.I usually make raita or salad with cucumber.So this time I wanted to make something different and after a lot of browsing and reading I got an idea to make canapes which can be a perfect starter or snack in any party.The use of hung curd and fresh mint makes it more suitable for this summer. You can add fried sev or mixture to the topping when serving for kids and they will love it.These cucumber canapes can also be prepared in a jiffy if you have hung curd or cream cheese ready in your house.

Preparation time:10 minutes

Serves:2

Ingredients:

Hing curd-1/2 cup

Roundly sliced (1 inch thickness)cucumber-1 no

Finely chopped onion-1 small

Red chilli powder -1 tsp

Cumin powder-1 /2 tsp

Chat masala- 1 tsp 

Mint leaves-10 approximately

Sev or mixture (optional)-for topping

Salt-to taste

Procedure:

1.In a bowl add the hung curd(or cream cheese),salt,red chilli powder,cumin powder and chat masala and mix well.

2.Take the cucumber slices and top it with hung curd and sprinkle chopped onion and a mint leaf.You can also add sev or mixture.

3.serve immediately as a snack or starter.Yummy cucumber canapes are ready.

Tips:

*You can also add grated carrot or pomegranate as a topping along with onion.

*Optionally you can get creative and add sweet chutney or green chutney as toppings.Then add sev on top to make cucumber chat.

Mango Yogurt

Mangoes are in town and I am going crazy over mangoes.To my surprise my son who doesn't like most of the fruits showed a liking towards mangoes and I am so happy now because I have got a company to buy and eat more of them.

We also like to eat mango yogurt and other such fruit yogurts which we buy from the super markets.For a long time I wanted to try these yogurts at home and finally got my hands on to make these delicious mango yogurt.They are super easy to make and very delicious that you won't even prefer store brought ones which contains artificial colours and flavours.

Preparation time:10 mins + setting time(min 6 hours )

Serves:4

Ingredients:

Alphonso mango pulps(sweet ones)-from 2 mangoes

Evaporated milk or milk powder-5 tbsp

Sugar-1/4 cup(or less)

Milk-2 cups

Yogurt culture-few tsp

Procedure:

1.In a blender add the mango pulp,sugar and milk powder and beat them till they become a smooth paste.

2.Add this paste to the boiled and cooled down milk and mix well.

3.Pour this mango flavored milk in to dessert cups and add a tsp of yogurt culture to each of these cups and keep them at room temperature (preferably warm) for a minimum of 6 hours for them to set.

4.Once they are set,place them in refrigerator and serve chilled as a dessert.

Tips:

* You can adjust the sugar quantity based on your sweet index.

* As I used skimmed milk ,I added milk powder or evaporated milk to add thickness and creaminess.

* If you like cardamom flavor ,you can add a tsp of cardamom powder to the pulp before beating to a paste.

* You can add few small pieces of mango to the yogurt (in addition to the one which is ground to a paste) to add a fruity texture.