Whole wheat sponge cake (Eggless)

This is a quick recipe to make a healthy snack for the hungry kids at home. I make it very often and my son loves it. I've made this cake as a tea snack for a few get togethers as well and its been a hit.
Here's the recipe. Enjoy !

What do I need??

1 and half cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 cup curd/buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Chopped almonds or walnuts (optional)
A pinch of salt

What are the steps??

1. First we need to preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius. 
2. Dust a baking tin with butter and flour or line it with butter paper and keep it ready. 
3. Mix curd and sugar well until sugar dissolves completely.
4. Now add oil and vanilla essence and mix it all well together
5. Sieve wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda to avoid lumps.
6. Now fold the flour into the wet mixture slowly. Add the chopped nuts to it as well.
7. Pour the batter into the baking tin.
8. Bake the cake on 180 degree celcius for 35-40 mins.

Any tips??

1. If the mixture becomes too thick, add some milk to get batter consistency.

Methi Rice

I'm very fond of methi or fenugreek leaves. Its a very versatile vegetable which can be used in a variety of dishes like curries, paratha, rice and dal. Methi rice is a great recipe I learnt from my mom.
Try it out.

What do I need??

3 tablespoon oil
1 cup basmati rice
1 cup methi (fenugreek) leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoon coriander leaves finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 bowl finely chopped onion
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grated dry coconut
1 tablespoon finely chopped green chillies
1 teaspoon khas khas or poppy seeds
1/4 teaspoon haldi or turmeric powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Ghee
10-12 cashews
2 cups of water
Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. First, wash and soak the rice.

2. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker.
3. Fry the cashews to a light brown colour and keep aside.
4.  Add mustard seeds in the oil. Once they pop, add finely chopped garlic, onion and green chillies. Saute till the onion is soft.
5. Add khas khas and dry coconut and saute for 30 seconds.
6. Now add the finely chopped coriander and methi leaves. Cook well till they are reduced to half.
7. Add turmeric powder and salt to taste.
8. Now add the soaked rice and mix well. Saute for about a minute and then add the water.
9. Close the lid of the cooker and switch the heat off after 3 whistles.
10. After the lid opens, squeeze lemon juice and gently mix. Be careful not to break the grains of rice.

Garnish with the fried cashew pieces and enjoy methi rice with papad and raita.

Any tips??

1. The main source of spice in the dish is green chillies. If you are used to very spicy food, either increase the amount of green chillies or add red chilly powder according to taste after adding turmeric powder.

Whole wheat banana cake (Eggless)

With a toddler at home, I am used to him being really fond of a food item one week and completely hating it another week. There are many days when I buy a bunch of bananas for him and they just get ignored and become over-ripe. So I thought of making a whole wheat banana cake, which is loved by everyone in the house.

Here's the recipe.

What do I need??

1 and half cup whole wheat flour
3 small over-ripe bananas
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
A pinch of salt

What are the steps??

1. First we need to preheat the oven at 180 degree Celcius.
2. Mash the bananas well so that they look like a smooth paste.
3. Add oil and sugar and mix well until sugar dissolves completely.
4. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.
5. Sieve wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda to avoid lumps.
6. Now fold the flour into the banana mixture slowly.
7. Dust a baking tin with butter and flour and pour the batter into it.
8. Bake the cake on 180 degree celcius for 45 mins.

Any tips??

1. If the mixture becomes too thick, add some milk to get batter consistency.
2. Add walnut or almonds to make the cake more interesting.

Masala Doodh for Kojagiri Poornima

Kojagiri Poornima or the full moon day in Ashwin month is celebrated as Kojagiri Poornima in Maharashtra. Traditionally people stay awake whole night on this day and get together to spend time in singing bhajans and other cultural programmes.

Being away from family, we don't celebrate this day in the traditional way anymore. But we do enjoy the main delicacy of this night, Masala doodh :) This is a sweet preparation of milk with lots of dry fruits and spices.

These ingredients are enough to prepare two cups of masala doodh.

                                    

What do I need??

Half a litre milk

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teapoon unsalted almonds

1 teaspoon unsalted pistachios

1/2 teaspoon unsalted cashews

1 teaspoon charoli (chironji)

A pinch of Cardamom powder

A pinch of nutmeg powder

A couple of strands of kesar (saffron) [optional]

What are the steps??

1. Dry roast the almonds, pistachios and cashews. Add a few drops of pure ghee for taste while roasting the dry fruits.

2. Once done, keep a few dry fruits away for garnishing. Grind the rest in a coarse powder.

3. Dry roast the charoli (chironji) in a similar way. There is no need to grind it.

4. Keep the milk for boiling and once its reduced to around three fourth its original quantity, add the sugar, dry fruits powder, charoli, cardamom and nutmeg powder. Add the kesar too. Keep stirring it so that it does not spill over.
5. Continue boiling the milk until it is half the original quantity.

Garnish with chopped dry fruits and its ready to be enjoyed under the cool light of the Kojagiri full moon

Cheesy corn and spinach grilled sandwich

When I started my first job after graduation,  me and my friends used to hang out in coffee shops often. The ones like Cafe coffee day and Barista. We used to have coffee, smoothies and tasty sandwiches. I always ordered the corn and spinach sandwich which had a cheesy and creamy stuffing!

Some time back I realised how much I miss those days and thought I could bring back at least some of those memories by trying out my favourite sandwich :)

So here it is:

What do I need??

1 small onion, finely chopped,
1 bowl of spinach, washed and finely chopped
1/2 bowl of frozen corn kernels
1 teaspoon grated garlic
1 teaspoon Butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour (maida)
1 tablespoon grated cheese
1/2 cup warm milk
4 slices of bread

Mixed Italian herbs seasoning
Chilli flakes
Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Heat butter in a pan. Add the garlic and onion and saute till the onion is soft.
2. Add the spinach and corn and add some salt to season the vegetables.
3. Once the spinach is reduced and about cooked, add the flour and mix well together.
4. Now, add the milk and beat everything together nicely so that it gets a creamy texture, like white sauce.
5. Add cheese, chilli flakes and herbs for seasoning and turn off the heat.
6. Spread the mixture between two slices of bread. Spread a little butter on the outside of the sandwich and grill in a toaster/grill or on a pan.

Enjoy the cheesy corn and spinach sandwiches with ketchup !!

Any Tips??

* Chilli flakes can be replaced with black pepper if unavailable.
* The dish can be made healthier by using whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour.

   

Tangy Apple and Spinach Salad with almonds

Lately, I'm developing an interest in trying out a variety of salads. I especially like my salads to be tangy and spicy. I'm sharing the recipe of the Tangy apple and spinach salad recipe which I tried out in a Cooking Without Fire competition at work along with Green olive and jalapeno topping on crackers.

Here's the recipe:

What do I need??

1 medium apple

2 tbsp grated onion

1 bowl of fresh finely chopped spinach

2 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

Paprika or red chilly flakes to taste

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp chopped almonds

Pinch of sugar

Salt to taste

 

What are the steps??

1. Roast the almonds with half a tsp of ghee or butter, once roasted, sprinkle a pinch of sugar or salt (depending on your taste). Switch off the heat once the almonds are coated with the seasoning.

2. Mix the grated onion, olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, sesame seeds and paprika together. Add salt to to taste. Let the mixture stand for 10-15 mins so that the onions are marinated.

3. Peel the apples and cut them in bite size pieces. Add the apple, spinach and roasted almonds to the mix and let it stand for a some time before serving.

Serve this delicious salad in your next get together and gather lots of praise :)

Any Tips??

* If you don't have almonds, you can also add roasted-salted peanuts. 
 

   

Green olive and jalapeno topping on crackers

I recently took part in a Cooking Without Fire competition at work. I planned to make an Tangy Apple and Spinach Salad with almonds. But then I thought is this too less? Should I have another appetizer to go with the salad? And that's when I thought of this dish.  I just carried these ingredients randomly and came up with this recipe on the spot. Believe me, it sold like hot cakes :)

Check it out !!

What do I need??

A Box of salted Crackers (Or biscuits of a similar variety like Brittania 50-50)
1/2 bowl marinated green olives.
1-2 marinated jalapenos
2 tbsp grated cheese
1/2 tsp Oregano or mixed herbs seasoning

What are the steps??

1. Chop the olives and jalapenos into very small pieces. Choose the number of jalapenos based on how spicy you want the topping to be.
2. Add the grated cheese and seasoning to the chopped olives and jalapenos and mixed well.

Your topping is ready. Spice up your crackers with this topping and impress your guests :)