Dates Almond Cake

The easiest cake, I have ever made. Whenever I need to bake a cake in a jiffy, this is my option. Its damn good without any fillings or topping.

It was our anniversary and I did not have much time to invest, but wanted a cake made out of my kitchen. That's when I chose the base to be my easiest cake and tried out some fillings with some chocolate on the sides for my choco-holic hubby :)

Ingredients for the cake:

Seedless Dates      --   18 nos
Milk                           --   ¾ cup
Oil                              --   ½ cup, I ve tried with both olive oil and canola oil
Egg                            --   1, optional
All purpose flour --   1 cup
Sugar                        --   ¾ cup
Baking soda           --   1 tsp
Cashews / Sliced Almonds or any nuts -- a handful

Filling:

Heavy cream        --   1 cup
Powdered Sugar --   ¼ cup
Sliced almonds    --   ¼ cup
Vanilla Essence   --   1 tsp

Ganache:

Heavy cream        --   1 cup / 8 oz
Semi sweet chocolate --   12 oz

Preparation of the cake:

Soak the dates in milk overnight. Or you can soak the dates in boiling milk for half an hour or until the milk is cool enough.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 8 inch square pan. I have tried it in my round and heart pans as well.

In a mixer, grind the dates in milk, adding egg and sugar until you get a smooth mixture.

Sieve the flour and baking soda and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix the ground ingredients and oil until oil blends well into the mixture. I used a whisk and it was an easy job.

Mix in the flour in multiple batches until they are well combined with no lumps.

Add in the chopped nuts and mix it.

Pour it into the prepared pan and bake for 40 - 45 min, depending upon your oven, until a skewer comes out clean when pricked into the cake.

Let it cool to room temperature, before you assemble or freeze.

   

Filling:

Chill the mixing bowl and the whisk in the freezer for about 20 - 25 min. Add the cream and sugar and beat until soft peaks using your mixer. Add in the vanilla essence and mix it in using the whisk with you hand. 2 - 3 rounds should be enough for stiff peaks. Make sure you do not over beat your cream, it turns into butter.

Ganache:

Pour the cream and chopped chocolate into a heat proof bowl. Boil water in a wide pan. Simmer it and place the bowl over the water, until the cream just starts to boil. Take care that water does not come into your bowl.

Easy method is to microwave the cream and chocolate for few seconds (I do it for 40 seconds), until the cream just starts to boil.

Remove from heat and using a thick spoon, mix it well until well combined. Leave it at room temperature and it should harden to a required consistency for piping. If at all, it doesn't, leave it in the refrigerator and take care that you mix it every 10 mins until you get the required consistency.

Even during piping, if your hands are hot, the chocolate melts and it might distract your designs. Leave it in the refrigerator for few mins and continue.

Assembly:

Cut the cake horizontally into two (or more according to your wish). Lightly brush the inner section of both the halves with sugar syrup ( 2 -3 tbsp of sugar mixed in 1/4 cup of warm water).

Prepare you cake board and keep the first half on it. Spread 1/3 rd. of the whipped cream. Sprinkle some sliced almonds if you would like to. Sandwich it with the other half.

   

Spread the remaining cream on the top and also do a crumb coat on the sides.

Pipe your designs on the sides or decorate as per your ideas. I did a basket weave with the ganache.

   

I like to serve it a day later so that the cream gets into the cake and makes it more soft and moist.

 

Base cake recipe courtesy: Aayi’s Recipes

Pazham Porichathu (Banana Fritters)

Ingredients:

Ripe Banana/Plantains (Nenthra pazham)   --   2
All purpose flour/Wheat flour                             --    1 cup (I like wheat flour)
Sugar                                                                              --   2 - 3 tbsp, adjust according to your taste

Preparation of pazham pori:

Mix together the flour,sugar and water and make sure there are no lumps. Make a thick batter, in the consistency of idly batter/condensed milk.

You can adjust the sugar according to your taste. Also check the sweetness of the banana.

Slice the bananas vertically into thin pieces. I cut the banana into 3 horizontal pieces as well to fit it in my frying pan.

     

Heat oil in a deep pan. Dip the sliced banana in the batter and fry both sides until golden brown.

Drain oil in a paper towel and serve hot with tea.

Recipe Courtesy: Myself  

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients(Serves 4 -5):

Potatoes                     --   2 medium / 2 cups chopped
Cauliflower               --   ½ of a medium sized / 2 cups chopped
Frozen Green Peas --   1 cup
Carrots                        --   2 medium sized / ½ cup
Lauki/Squash           --  ½ of a medium one, chopped(optional)
Bell Pepper                --   1, chopped(optional)
Green Beans              --   a bunch, chopped(optional)
Brinjal                          --   2 medium, chopped (optional)
Turmeric                     --   ¼ tsp
Water                           --   2 cups
Butter                           --   2 tbsp + additional for pav
Cumin Seeds              --   ½ tsp
Asofoetida                 --   pinch
Onion                           --   1 medium
Garlic                           --   2 - 3 cloves
Ginger                          --   1 inch piece
Tomato                        --   2 medium
Red Chilly Powder  --   ¼ tsp
Pav Bhaji Masala    --   3 tsp
Coriander Powder  --   1 tsp
Lemon Juice              --   ½ tsp
Coriander leaves     --   5 - 6 springs
Salt                                --   to taste
Pav/Buns                    --   10 - 12

Preparation :

In a pressure cooker, add potatoes, cauliflower, green peas, carrots,squash, brinjal(and any other vegetable you'd like to), salt, turmeric powder and water. Pressure cook for 1 whistle and remove from the stove and let the pressure get released completely.

     

Heat butter in a non-stick pan. Add cumin seeds and allow it to sputter. Add asofoetida. Add onions, garlic and ginger. Saute well until the onions are translucent and oil starts to separate.Add tomatoes and cook until they are squishy and oils separates again.

Add red chilly powder, coriander powder and pav bhaji masala and mix well. Saute for a min.Add the cooked vegetables and mash slightly. Add lemon juice and do a quick salt test. Let it boil. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Toast the buns with butter on both sides, until each side is lightly brown. Serve with chopped onions, butter, coraiander leaves and a dash of lemon juice.

Recipe Courtesy: Partially from the recipe on MTR Pav Bhaji Masala packet.  

Sweet Corn Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

Chicken Stock/Vegetable Stock/Water  --   6 cups
Boneless Skinless chicken breast               --   250gm, finely chopped
Sweet corn kernels                                          --   half of a medium sized corn
Corn flour                                                            --   2 tbsp
Salt                                                                         --   to taste
White pepper powder                                    --   ½ tsp
Egg                                                                         --   1

Preparation of the soup:

In a deep vessel, combine the stock,corn kernels,salt and pepper powder. Let it boil.Add the finely chopped chicken pieces and let it cook well. Stir well so that the chicken pieces are broken into small pieces.

Make a paste with the corn flour and ½ a cup of water. Add this into the boiling soup and let it boil for a minute. Meanwhile beat the egg well. Simmer the flame and slowly add the egg in a thin stream. Keep stirring in one direction.

Serve hot.

Optional: Garnish with finely chopped spring onions. Serve with a dash of vinegar and soya sauce.

Recipe Courtesy: Partially from Pachakam.com 

Palada Pradhaman–Pressure Cooker version

Ingredients (Serves 10 – 15):

Rice Ada   --   1 cup (I prefer the brands Priya or Ambika – the smaller and sharper, the better taste)
Milk            --   6 - 7 cups
Sugar         --   1 ½ cups
Cashews   --   a handful
Ghee          --    1 tbsp
Butter        --   1 tbsp, preferably unsalted

Preparation of Pradhaman / Payasam:

Wash and drain the ada and keep it in a heat proof bowl. Boil 2 – 3 cups of water and pour it over the washed ada. Let it rest for 20 mins.

In a pressure cooker (5 ltr capacity), add the milk and sugar and let it start to boil. Add the ada in it and close with the lid of the cooker and keep the “weight” on the pressure cooker. Simmer the flame to low.

Let it cook for 45 minutes.

Keep an eye on it. Make sure that it does not whistle to release the pressure. If it tends to, then remove the cooker from the stove and keep it aside and keep it back once the pressure is reduced.

After 45 minutes, switch off the flame and let it cool down until the whole pressure is released.

If the payasam does not reach the required consistency and colour, stir it for few minutes on high flame. If the payasam is too thick for you, add some milk and boil.  This depends upon the pressure cooker and hence cannot be predicted. In most cases, you should get it right J.

Add the butter to the hot payasam and stir occasionally to avoid cream getting formed on the top.

Heat the ghee and fry the cashews until light brown .Add them to the payasam and serve hot.

I love the cold version as well  J

Recipe Courtesy:  Mummy(My father's sister - I call her Mummy :) 

Pathiri with Prawns Masala

I usually make my pathiris non-flavored, but last time I saw this recipe on net and thought should give a try. This sounds like neypathal without deep frying. All of us liked this very much and this has now become our way of making pathiris J. To pair with it, I have the yummy prawns masala. It is completely a coconut milk / oil based recipe and hence am sure that anyone from Kerala would love this. Others give it a try, may be you guys will fall for coconut oil with this ;). I was not able to get the step by step pics this time. I shall update the post with more pics when I make this next time.

Pathiri:
Ingredients for Pathiri (Serves 4):

          Rice flour             --   3 cups
          Water                    --   4½ cups
          Salt                         --   as required
          Grated coconut --   1 cup (optional)
          Shallots                --   2 (optional)
          Cumin seeds       --   2 tsp (optional)
          Oil                           --   1 tsp


Preparation of pathiris:

Grind the grated coconut, shallots and the cumin seeds to a coarsely - fine paste (something in between coarse and fine).

Boil the water with the required salt and oil. Once it comes to a boil,add the ground mixture.Let it stay for half a minute. Simmer the flame, and add the flour. Keep mixing while you add the flour.and switch off the stove.

Leave it to cool a bit. Knead well while it is still warm. Make smooth small balls from this dough, as we do for chappathis. Make round pathiris using a press pan/chapathi press/tortilla press.

If you do not have a press pan, you can either roll it out as we do for chapathis or use a flat plate and a zip lock to make a press pan.  Cut the zip lock into 2 plastic sheets. Grease the inner sides well. Keep a pathiri ball on one sheet and cover with the other. Using a flat plate / tiffin box press on top of it. Make sure you do not apply too much pressure to tear your pathiris.

Cook the pathiris on a flat pan on a medium flame until they puff up slightly.

Prawns Masala:

Ingredients for Prawns Masala (Serves 4):
       To marinate: 

           Shrimp/Prawns    --   1 lb / ½ kg 
          Chilly Powder         --   3/4 tsp
          Turmeric Powder  --   ¼ tsp
          Salt                              --   to taste
          Lemon juice             --   1 tsp

     For the masala:

          Garlic                          --   4 -5 cloves, chopped fine
          Ginger                         --   2 inch piece, chopped fine
          Green chillies           --   4 - 5, slit
          Onion                          --   2 medium size, sliced thin 
         Tomato                       --   1 large, chopped
         Turmeric Powder   --   ½ tsp
         Chilly Powder          --   2 tsp
         Coriander Powder --   2 tsp
         Cumin Powder        --   1 tsp
         Black Pepper Powder --   1½ tsp 
        Coconut pieces       --   as required
        Kokum / Kudam puli   --   1 big piece 
        Coconut milk            --   1 cup, medium thick consistency
        Coconut oil               --   2 tbsp / as required
       Curry leaves             --   2 - 3 springs
        Salt                               --   as required

Preparation of Prawns Masala:

Clean and devein the prawns. Marinate it with turmeric powder, chilly powder, salt and lemon juice. If keeping for more than half an hour, refrigerate it.

Soak the kudam puli in half a cup of water.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the chopped ginger, garlic and slit green chillies.Saute until they are light brown ( 1 - 2 minutes). Add sliced onions and saute until they are golden brown.Now add the chopped tomato. Once the tomatoes is cooked and becomes mushy, add turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and pepper powder.Saute well until the raw smell goes off. Add the kudam puli with the water, coconut slices and mix well. Add the coconut milk and mix. Let it boil and let the gravy reduce to half. At this stage add the marinated prawns and cook. Make sure to stir in-between and it does not burn in the bottom of the pan. Let the whole gravy get evaporated and you get a thick masala. Switch off the stove.

Optionally add a tsp of coconut oil and garnish with curry leaves.

Pathiri Recipe Courtesy: Internet, Sorry I do not remember where I read this.
Prawns Masala Recipe Courtesy: Amma 

Mutton Varattiyathu

Ingredients:

To pressure cook:
Mutton                --   1 lb (½ kg)
Green Chillies   --   4 - 5
Ginger                 --   2 inch piece
Garlic                  --   4 - 5 medium cloves
Onion                  --   1 medium size
Salt                      --   to taste

To saute:
Shallots / Pearl Onions --   ¾ cup finely sliced
Green Chillies                    --   2 - 3
Curry leaves                      --   2 springs
Coconut Slices                  --   as required
Turmeric Powder           --   ¼ tsp
Chilly Powder                  --   2 tsp
Coriander Powder         --   4 tsp
Salt                                       --   to taste
Coconut Oil                       --   2 ½ tbsp

Masala powder:
Fennel seeds                    --   1 tbsp
Cinnamon sticks            --   5 -6, 1 inch piece
Cardamom                       --  1
Cloves                                --  2
Whole Black Pepper    --  ½ tbsp

Preparation:

Cut and clean the meat well. Marinate it with the slit green chillies, finely chopped ginger, finely chopped garlic, chopped onions and salt. Keep it aside for 15 - 20 min. Pressure cook until done.

Meanwhile, grind the whole spices to make the masala powder.

In a thick bottomed pan, heat oil and saute the sliced shallots and green chillies until the onions are translucent. Add the coconut slices and the curry leaves, leaving a few curry leaves to garnish at the end. Saute for a minute or two. Now add the turmeric powder, chilly powder and coriander powder. Saute on low flame until the powders are roasted well with the onions. Make sure that you do not burn the powders.

       

Now add the masala powder, leaving a pinch for final garnish. Mix it well with others on low flame.

Now add the cooked meat to this masala along with the water obtained on cooking.If there is no water, add a little water along with the meat. Coat the meat well with the masala. Cook covered until it comes to a boil on a medium flame. Adjust the salt level at this stage.

    

I love to cook the dish until this stage and then leave it in the refrigerator and do the rest the next day. This helps the masala to blend well into the meat. Also at times, I remove the extra fat that forms on the top of the gravy on cooling. Just trying to eat healthy ;)

Then let it be on a low flame and roast the meat, stirring occasionally until it is dried as required. Few minutes before switching off the flame, add the remaining curry leaves and masala powder. Optionally add a tbsp of coconut oil and mix well. The final garnishing leave a nice aroma.

Serve hot with rice or appam or pathiri.

Receipe Courtesy: Mishmash