Chocolate cupcakes

It’s about a week, am away from blogger. Was I busy? Hmm… NO !!! I was addicted.. Yeah.. addicted to ‘Spider Solitare’  and Still I am. J J J J J   Now my days starts and ends winning a game. I patiently wait to win a game before breakfast and the same before I go to bed. I believe you understand that I win only 1 out of 10 - 15 games. Am I going crazy?? Hope not !!!!!!!!!!!!

And now I thought of updating my space with an easy recipe, with less work on pics. Here I have the recipe of chocolate cupcakes from Collaborative curry. Nami had this in her drafts when I checked with her for the recipe and posted it very soon. Thanks Nami J .

I lost the step by step pics from my system. I deleted them accidently. So friends, I ll be updating those when I prepare this next time.

Friends…. .Sorry that I did not visit most of your posts and did not leave any comments. I will be back soon with all lost enthusiasm.

Ingredients:
         Flour                                     --   1 ½ cup
         Baking powder                 --   1  ½ tsp 
         Cocoa Powder                  --   ½ cup
         Boiling wate r                   --   1 cup
         Salted Butter                     --   ½ cup
         Eggs                                      --   2
         Pure Vanilla Extract      --   2 tsp
         Sugar                           --    1 cup
 
Preparation of cup cakes:
Whisk the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Preheat the oven at 375 degree F.Grease muffin pans with butter or line with paper liners.
Mix the boiling water and cocoa, mix well till there is no lumps.Let it cool.
Beat the butter and sugar until smooth.Add the eggs ,one at a time and beat well to mix in. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
Now beat in cooled cocoa mix into this and mix everything.Fold in the flour mixture into this and spoon out into the muffin pan.
Bake for about 15-16 minutes or until atoothpick inserted comes out clean.This yields about 18 – 20 cupcakes.

Gulab Jamun

Ingredients:

             Milk powder          --   1 cup
             All purpose flour --   ½ cup
             Baking soda          --   ¼ tsp
             Ghee                         --   2-3 tsp
             Milk                          --   as required to make the dough
             Oil / Ghee               --   to fry

             Sugar                      --   1 cup
             Water                     --   2 cup
             Cardamom           --   2 – 3 
             Rose  essence       --   1 tsp

Preparation of Gulab Jamun:

For the sugar syrup:
               Mix sugar and water in a large vessel and keep on a low flame. Once the sugar is completely melted add the cardamom powder and rose essence and keep on a low flame. Prepare this after you roll the jamun balls and leave this on a low flame until all the balls are fried.

For the balls:
              Mix milk powder, all purpose flour and baking soda.  Make a dough by gradually adding milk. Knead to get a smooth dough. Make sure you do not knead it very hard, in that case the jamuns will be hard in the center.

               Grease your hands with ghee and make small lemon sized balls from the dough. The ball will increase in size while frying.  Avoid any cracks on the balls.

   

                Heat oil/ghee in a pan. When the oil is hot enough, fry the balls in the oil. Make sure you fry in medium heat because if the oil is too hot, the jamuns get browned easily and will not be cooked inside. At right temperature, the ball will rest in the bottom for 5 mts and slowly will rise up.

 

                When the balls turn brown, transfer it on to a kitchen towel. Add these into the sugar syrup when they are cool. There are chances of breaking the balls if you add them into the syrup when still hot. Let it remain on the stove at a low flame for 10-15 minutes.

   

                Remove from the heat and leave the gulab jamun balls in the sugar syrup and refrigerate it when cool. I love cool jamuns :)

Triple Chocolate Brownie

This fudgy brownies are for real chocolate lovers – a piece of brownie with a dollop of vanilla icecream….. really delicious you know...  And this one is from the Cusinart Recipe Booklet – The credit goes to them.

Ingredients:

         All purpose flour                 --   ¾ cup
         Baking soda                           --   1 tsp
         Unsalted Butter                    --   1 cup
         Unsweetened Chocolate  --   6 oz
         Bittersweet Chocolate       --   2 oz
         Cocoa Powder                      --   1 tbsp
         Large Eggs                             --   4
         Egg Yolk                                  --   1
         Granulated Sugar                --   2 cups
         Brown Sugar                          --   1 cup packed
         Instant Expresso Powder --   2 tsp
         Vanilla Extract                      --   2 tsp
         Table salt                                 --   1 tsp
         Bittersweet Chocolate chips --   ¾ cup
        Chopped Almonds                 --   ½ cup

 

Preparation of the brownie:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat a 13x9 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray/butter. Line with parchment paper/Aluminum foil. Reserve.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Add the butter and chocolates (other than the choco chips & cocoa powder)to a heat proof bowl and place over a pot of simmering water.

   

Once both are completely melted, stir in the cocoa powder and set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and the yolk for about 30 sec. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until light and thickened. Add instant expresso and vanilla; beat until well combined.

     

Stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. Add the chocolate/flour mixture to the egg/sugars mixture and mix until they are just incorporated.

Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped almonds.

   

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 – 50 minutes or until the edges are dry.

Lemon Rice

This is another flavorful – easy to prepare – yummy rice. You can make this either with the left over rice or cook rice for this as such. This is one of my quick lunch box items / lunch for weekends.

Ingredients:

         Rice                             --   1 ½ cups (I used Sona Masoori)
         Turmeric powder --   ½ tsp
         Mustard seeds       --   ½ tsp
         Urad dal                   --   1 tbsp
         Dried red chili        --   2 – 3
         Peanuts                     --   ½ cup
         Asafetida                 --   a pinch
         Curry leaves           --   1 spring
        Ginger                        --   1 tsp
        Green Chillies          --   2 – 3
        Lemon juice             --   3 tbsp
        Oil                                 --   2 tbsp
        Salt                              --   to taste

Preparation of Lemon Rice:

Wash and soak the rice for about half an hour. Drain the water and cook the rice with salt and turmeric powder. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when its starts to splutter, add asafetida, red chillies and fry them for a minute.Add the urad dal and saute for few seconds till they turn light brown. If using left over rice, add the turmeric powder in the oil along with asafetida. This helps to give an even yellow colour while mixing the rice.

Toss in the peanuts and curry leaves. Stir fry for few seconds.

   

Now add the cooked rice and mix well with the spices. Add lemon juice and toss the rice again.

Vegetable Biriyani

This is an easy version of the vegetable biriyani. I prepare this in the rice cooker when I am lazy or short of time, otherwise in a wide vessel. This is one way to include a bunch of veggies in our meal.

Ingredients:

Rice:
         Basmati Rice              --   2 cups
         Water                            --   3 cups
         Ghee                               --   1 tbsp
         Cinnamon Stick         --   1
         Cloves                           --   2 – 3
         Cardamom                  --   1 – 2
         Whole pepper            --   4 – 5
         Cumin Seeds               --   1 tsp
         Bay leaves                   --   1
         Salt                                 --   To taste
         Fried Onions               --   ½ cup onions fried

Gravy:
         Onions                           --   1 medium size
         Tomato                         --   1 medium size
         Green Chillies             --   2 – 3
         Ginger garlic paste  --   1 ½ tsp
         Potatoes                       --   1 cup cubed
         Carrot                            --   ½ cup sliced
         Beans                             --   ½ cup sliced
         Soya chunks               --   ½ cup
         Turmeric Powder    --    ½ tsp
         Chilly Powder           --    1 tsp
         Garam Masala          --    1 tsp
         Mint leaves                 --   1 cup chopped
        Coriander leaves       --   1 cup chopped
        Oil                                     --   2 tbsp
Garnish:
         Cashews                       --   ¼ cup
         Raisins                          --   ¼ cup

Preparation of Biriyani:

                Heat  oil in a pan. Add the chopped onions, green chillies, ginger garlic paste and salt. Saute until the onions are translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry well. Then  add the masalas and fry until the raw smell goes off.

               Add the veggies (you can use any veggies as per your wish.) and fry for some time. Add required water to cook the veggies to 60%. Add the mint leaves and the coriander leaves and cook until the water is evaporated. Keep aside.

  

              Wash and soak the rice for half an hour. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and fry  the chopped onions. Remove it into another vessel when done. Now fry the cashews until golden brown. Keep it along with the fried onions. Then add in the raisins and fry until they puff up and keep it aside. Then fry the spices for the rice in the left over oil for few minutes.

              If using a rice cooker, add the fried spices, salt and drained rice into the cooker. Also add the prepared gravy and let it cook until done,adding required amount of water as per your rice cooker.

   

              If preparing in a wide vessel, add the drained rice to the fried condiments and fry for few minutes say 3 –5 minutes. Meanwhile boil 3 cups of water along with salt in another vessel. When the water starts boiling, add the prepared gravy to the rice and mix well. Add the boiling water and the fried onions to the rice and water. Close it with a tight lid and let it cook until done. Stir in between to make sure even cooking.

                 Instead of adding the gravy to the rice, you can also cook the rice separately and mix it. If doing it that way, make sure that the veggies in the gravy are completely cooked.

               Garnish with fried cashews and raisins. Serve Hot.

     

Submitting this to Food palette series Orange hosted by Akheela.

Mushroom Masala with Soya chunks

Ingredients:

         Mushroom                   --   200gm
         Soya chunks               --   15 - 20 chunks
         Onion                             --   1 medium size 
         Green Chillies             --   2 –3
         Tomato                         --   1 medium size
         Ginger                           --   1 inch piece 
         Garlic                            --   3 -4 cloves  
         Turmeric Powder    --   1/4 tsp 
         Chilly Powder            --   1 tsp 
         Coriander Powder   --   2 tsp
         Garam Masala          --   1 tsp 
         Shredded coconut   --   1 cup
         Curry leaves              --   1 spring
         Coriander leaves     --   few
         Shallots                        --   1 small
         Red chillies                 --   1 –2
         Mustard seeds           --   1 tsp 
        Oil                                    --   2 tbsp
        Salt                                  --   to taste

Preparation of Mushroom masala:

           Boil a cup of water and leave the soya chunks in the boiling water for 10 – 15 minutes. Once it cools, squeeze it well and clean until it stops foaming. Cut the chunks into small pieces. Clean and cut the mushrooms into small pieces.

     

            Fry the coconut until brown and grind it into a fine paste.

           Add chopped onions, slit green chillies, chopped tomatoes, minced ginger, minced garlic, turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder, garam masala and curry leaves to the mushrooms and soya chunks. Marinate and keep it aside for 10 – 15 minutes.

            Cook this on a low flame and add water as required for the gravy. Remember that water comes out of mushroom while cooking. When the mushrooms are almost cooked, add the ground coconut paste. Let it boil and then garnish with coriander leaves.

          Heat oil in a small pan. Splutter the mustard seeds, add the red chillies and fry the chopped shallots. Add this to the cooked curry.

         Serve hot.

Kuttanadan Chicken Curry

This  recipe is borrowed from Sarah’s Vazhayila. Thanks to Sarah for this wonderful recipe. I have made slight changes and here it is.

Ingredients:          Chicken                               --   1/2 kg
         Onion                                   --   1 medium size
         Green chili                         --   2 –3
         Ginger chopped              --   1 tsp
         Garlic chopped                --   3-4 cloves
         Crushed peppercorns   --   2 tsp
         Coconut milk                    --   1 cup
         Garam masala                 --   1 tsp
         Bay leaves                         --   1
         Cinnamon stick               --   1
         Cloves                                 --   1
         Star anise                          --   1
         Curry leaves                    --   1 Spring
         Oil                                         --   2tbsp
         Salt                                       --   to taste
Preparation of Kuttanadan Chicken curry
Clean and cut the chicken into medium size pieces.
Heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves,ginger,garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise.Saute it for a minute. Add chopped onions and green chillies and saute until they are translucent.
    
Add Garam masala and crushed peppercorns and fry for half a minute. Add the chicken pieces and mix it well.
    
Let the chicken cook. Add required amount of water depending on the amount of water coming out of the chicken. When the chicken is 95% cooked, add the coconut milk and simmer for another 10 minutes .
     
Serve hot. This pairs well with appam, idyappam, ghee rice etc..

Ginger Chicken

During my younger days, I remember seeing battoora and ginger chicken for almost every party, be it wedding reception or an engagement or a house warming…  But I do not know why or where this dish has disappeared nowadays. May be that was a seasonal trend :)

In those days, we had a chef – Velayuthettan, who used to some home almost every Sunday.  Whenever he comes home, he prepares one of his special dishes – either cutlet or fried rice or ginger chicken. My mom learned the recipe and techniques from him and she used to prepare this for us. At times, she also used cauliflower instead of chicken and prepared the veggie version.

Ingredients:
          Chicken                          --    ½ kg
          Chopped Onions         --    2 medium size 
          Garlic                              --    1 pod  
          Ginger                             --    1 inch piece
          Green chilies                --    2 or 3
          Corn Flour                    --    2 tsp
          Turmeric powder      --   ½ tsp
          Tomato Sauce             --   3 tbsp
          Soya Sauce                   --   1 tbsp
          Chilly Sauce                 --   1 tbsp
          Coriander leaves       --   a bunch
          Oil                                     --   as required
          Salt                                  --   to taste
Preparation of Ginger Chicken:

Marinate the chicken with soya sauce, salt, corn flour and ground green chillies for half an hour. Deep fry / grill in oven and keep aside. If you do not want to fry the chicken, you don’t need to add corn flour. Cook the marinated chicken, add water when required only if it gets too dry to get cooked. I fried it in my oven

    

Fry the chopped onions, ginger and garlic without oil. Let it cool and then grind the mix.

   

Heat oil in a pan and fry the ground mixture until golden brown. Add the tomato sauce and chilly sauce.

Add the fried / cooked chicken. Also add water as per the gravy required. Boil the mix until the sauces sticks on to the chicken.

    

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

This is the best with battoora or poori. Also goes well with fried rice, noodles, chapathi etc.