Dream Cake

I tried out this cake after I completed the Wilton cake decorating class. I baked this cake for my friend's wedding anniversary party. The icing did not turn out very smooth as the cake was not completely cooled and there was crumbs in the icing. However, everyone loved this cake.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 cup cold water
1 package dream whip
1 small package of pudding & pie filling (not instant)
1 cake mix (any flavor other than choclate)

Icing:
Butter cream icing or Ready to use Wilton Decorator's icing

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
  
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

Materials Needed:
Wilton tiers display set
Wilton decorating tips

Method:
1. Bea t the eggs and add oil, water and the cake mix.
2. Add the dream whip and pudding filling
3. Pour the batter in 2 baking pans
4. Prepared the pan using a pastry brush or paper towel and solid vegetable shortening. For best results, do not use butter, margarine or liquid vegetable shortening. Cake release works well too.
5. Bake at 325 degrees and test after 40 minutes.
6. Cool the cake completely for icing.
7. Ice the cake smoothly set on the tiers so there are no crumbs
8. Use desired colors with the icing for the borders and use the tips for the shell design and the piping lines.

Tie Cake

Tie Cake for our friend Ajay's birthday.

I used a box cake mix and followed directions. I baked this cake in a square pan and cut the cake into the shapes I wanted and patched it with homemade buttercream icing and decorated with sprinkles and dried blueberries.

Recipe for Butter cream icing:

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
  
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

Chegodilu for Indian Cooking Challenge

The Indian cooking challenge for November is Chegodilu. This event is hosted by Srivalli of Spicing your life. I had never tasted this snack before. I looked for pictures on google and it looked similar to the South Indian Kodbele though the ingredients are different. I enjoyed trying out this snack. I followed Srivalli's recipe, I added a few spoons of more rice flour to the recipe to get the correct consistency. I shared this with my friends and they all loved it. Thanks Srivalli for introducing me to another tasty snack.



Chegodilu

Ingredients Needed:

Rice flour - 3/4 cup
All purpose flour/ Maida - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Ajwain - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric really a pinch
Salt as per taste
Oil to deep fry

Method:

1. Boil 1 cup water in a bowl, add salt to it.

2. When the water starts boiling, remove from stove, add ajwain, red chilli powder, turmeric and flours. Stir with a ladle to make sure it is mixed well. Pour ghee on it and cover.

3. Once it cools, knead it to form smooth dough.

4. Pinch out small balls of dough and roll them like threads between your palm, bring the ends together to form into small rings

5. Fry them in hot oil til they turn golden in colour.

Handbag Cake

Handbag Cake for my friend Anju's Birthday!

I used a Vanilla cake mix from Trader Joe and followed directions. I baked this cake in a square pan and cut the cake into the shapes I wanted and patched it with homemade buttercream icing mixed with food colors and decorated with M&M candies and dried blueberries.

Recipe for Butter cream icing:

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
  
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

Gulab Jamuns for Indian Cooking Challenge

I am excited to participate in this month's Indian Cooking Challenge to make homemade Gulab Jamuns from scratch. This event is hosted by Srivalli of Spice your Life. I used a combination of Alka's recipe, techniques from a cooking class from Mr. Somshekar in Bangalore, and well of my own flair to create the most mouthwatering Gulab Jamuns ever. I used 6 cups of milk and 2 cups of sugar for the syrup. The only change I made was after I fried the jamuns I soaked them in water for a minute before transferring them to the syrup so there would be no oil remains in the syrup. The jamuns came out beautifully and were a big hit among my family and friends.

For sugar syrup:

Ingredients:

Sugar - 500 gms (This can be reduced as per taste)
Water - 1 & 1/2 cup (bit more or less)
Cardamom - 2-3
One spoon of milk (optional)
Few threads of saffron (optional)
2-3 drops of rosewater (optional but highly recommended)


Method:

1. Mix about 500 gms of white sugar in one and half cup water and keep it for boiling.

2. Add a spoonful of milk to remove the impurities (impurities if any, will form a scum on surface)

3. Add 2-3 green cardamoms also in syrup for strong flavor, and a tad of saffron strings (optional)

4. Boil until you get just a tad sticky syrup. Gulab Jamun syrup is not very dense nor too dilute as in Rasgulla

5. Strain the syrup, add rosewater when syrup is slightly cooled.

Always remember two things while using rose water, do not add it while syrup is bubbling hot or on fire, and be particular about the quantity mentioned in every recipe, since even few drops of excess rosewater could lend a bitter taste to the final product.


For Gulab Jamun:

Ingredients:

Unsweetened Maawa* - 250 gms
All purpose flour - 1 & 1/2 - 2 tsp
Cornflour - 1 tsp
Green cardamom - 1-2 crushed
Oil for shallow frying

* (khoya-the condensed milk thickened till it turns into moist dough, preferably made from cow’s milk, also known as Hariyali mawa)


Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a wide mixing bowl until soft textured dough is obtained (keep mixing until it is really soft)

2. Make very small sized balls (bit larger than pebbles) as they swell up after frying and soaking in syrup

3. Make sure that the surface of dough balls is really smooth without any cracks. In case the cracks refuse to go away, slightly wet your palms with water and roll the flour till absolutely smooth.

4. Now take little oil for frying in preferably flat bottomed pan, and heat the oil. But gulab jamuns are to be fried on LOW FLAME or else the surface will be browned while the core will remain uncooked. Some prefer to place an unsalted pistachio in the center of every gulab jamun while making balls, that way the core of gulab jamun is not left uncooked .

5. Fry one or 2 gulab jamuns at a time and always remember to STIR THE OIL with slotted spoon AND NOT TO TOUCH GULABJAMUNS, which means keep swirling the oil without tossing or turning gulab jamun.

6. Fry till light brown in colour, remove on tissue paper and repeat the procedure with rest of dough.

7. Now soak these in COOL syrup for few hours. They will surely swell up

Vegetable Saagu

Veggie Platter is hosting the "Microwave Easy Cooking Event" popularly known as the MEC Event for this month and decided to celebrate the "Fresh Produce". This event was started by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all Seasons. I would like to share my recipe of the popular South Indian "Vegetable Saagu" for this event.

Ingredients:

Fresh vegetables :
Peas, chopped carrots, beans, potatoes, chayote squash - 3 cups
Cilantro leaves - 1/2 cup
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Green chillies - 2 to 3 (as per taste)
Cashews - a handful
Coconut milk - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Microwave the mixed vegetables for about 7 to 8 minutes with half cup of water and set aside.
2. Blend cilantro, ginger, green chillies and cashews.
3. Add the blend mixture to the the mixed vegetables add salt and microwave for another 5 to 6 minutes.
4. Add coconut milk at the end and mix it
5. Garnish with some chopped cilantro

Doll Cake

I made this cake sometime ago for my friend's bridal shower. I used the classic wonder mold to bake the cake. I gave an Indian touch to the bridal doll by dressing in a Chaniya Choli for the doll cake. I used the dream cake recipe and butter cream icing with simple mango motifs on the dress. I used purple fondant for the blouse and a piece of decorative golden ribbon for the chuni.

Mango Thokku

Red chillies are one of the main ingredients of the Indian cuisine. This pickle or thokku is a spicy accompaniment for a South Indian meal. It wakes up your senses and tastebuds. Lakshmi of Kitchen Chronicles is hosting "Think Spice -Think Red Chillies" which was started by Sunita of Sunita's World.


Ingredients:

Raw Mango grated - 1
Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
Methi - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 4 tbsp -5 tbsp to saute

Seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - 2 strings
Turmeric powder -1 tsp
Red chillies - 3 broken into halves

Method:
1. Peel and grate the raw mango
2. Roast the methi and powder it
3. Heat the oil and make a seasoning of mustard seeds, red chillies, asafoetida, turmeric powder and curry leaves
4. Add the grated mango and mix it
5. Keep stirring it in between and cook till the oil separates for about half an hour
6. Add the powdered methi, red chilli powder and salt
7. Cool it and store in airtight container

Almond Roca

My daughters Samantha and Nikita love anything with chocolates. Almond Roca is their all time favorite. This recipe was given by my friend Jamie. It is her family recipe. This dessert is absolutely dangerously delicious and addictive.

Salt to Taste has announced the event Cooking for Kids hosted by Hema. This event was started by Sharmi of Neivedyam. I would like to share this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 tblsp karo syrup
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
8 oz slithered almonds
8 oz mini kisses baking chocolate chips

Method
1. In a pan take the water, karo syrup, sugar, butter and slithered almonds.
2. Cook in medium heat and keep stirring with a wooden spoon.
3. Simultaneously spray a pan and keep in ready
4. Cook the almond mixture for about 20-25 minutes till frothy and slightly dark color
5. Pour on the sprayed pan
6. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave and spread on top on the almond roca
7. Set it in the fridge till set for a couple of hours
8. Break to pieces to serve

Awards

Received from Chaitra of Aathidhyam

Thanks Simply Food!

February 12, 2011

Today on visiting my blog I found the amazing "Stylish Blogger Award" passed to me by Chandrani Banerjee of  Cuisine Delights. Thanks Chandrani.

March 5, 2011
Meera Rao of "Art by Meera"  passed on the "Stylish Blogger Award" today.  Thanks Meera for this honor.

Cucumber Guliappa

This was my favorite snack when I was growing up. The credit for this recipe goes to my mom who is an excellent cook.

This is my entry for the event hosted by Aathidhyam

Cucumber Guliappa

Ingredients:
1 cucumber medium size
1 cup long grain rice
3 tbsp poha
3 tbsp brown sugar or jaggery
3 tbsp coconut grated (fresh or dessicated coconut powder)
3 cardamom pods
A pinch of salt

Method:

1. Dry roast rice lightly and soak with poha for 5-6 hours.
2. Grate half the cucumber and set aside.
3. Blend the other half cucumber with the soaked rice, poha, brown sugar, coconut, cardamom and salt.
4. Do not add water for blending.
5. Squeeze the grated cucumber and add for blending if necessary.
6. Mix the grated cucumber.
7. Heat the guliappa pan and add a few drops of oil in each hole and cook the guliappa in low flame.

Masala Bread

During my childhood days in India I used to love eating at the VB Bakery in Vishweshpuram, Bangalore. To recreate one of my favorites, I have used a bread machine to put a modern twist on the VB Bakery classic masala bread.

Masala Bread

Ingredients:
Skim milk – 1 cup
Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar – 3 tsp
Bread Flour – 3 cups
Yeast – 3 tsp

To be added during during the mixed bread cycle when the machine beeps
Chopped Onion -1/2 sauted
Dill leaves - 1/2 cup chopped and sauted
Green chillies -2
Corriander leaves choppped - 2 tsp
Curry leaves chopped - 2 tsp
Ginger grated - 1/2 inch

Method:
1. Add all the ingredients in the bread machine
2. Set the setting to mix bread and light crust
3. Start the bread machine
4. Make sure the dough is soft elastic ball, if necessary add a tsp of oil if the dough is tight or a tsp of flour if the dough is sticky
5. When the machine beeps add the sauted onions, dill leaves, corriander leaves, curry leaves, grated ginger
6. Cool completely when done and slice to pieces

Peanut Butter Murku

Cook's Hideout's August Event celebrates the peanut and has asked readers to submit recipes highlighting this illustrious nut. You'll find the announcement here as well Indira's site here.

My submission, Peanut Butter Murku, combines the nutty flavor of peanut butter with the traditional crunch of Murku to blend two textures in perfect harmony. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Murku

Ingredients:
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Peanut butter creamy - 2 tblsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method:
1. Take rice flour in a bowl and add the chilli powder, sesame seeds, salt and peanut butter
2. Mix with warm water to make a soft pliable dough
3. Use the star hole of the murku maker and press it directly in the oil.
4. Deep fry on high heat
5. Fry till golden brown and drain and transfer on a paper towel
6. Store in airtight container