Eggless Marble Cake

Pretty swirls, rich flavours and deliciously moist-an all time favourite marble cake. It's like getting best of both the worlds- vanilla & chocolate with a an accent of coffee. Perfect with tea or coffee, this cake is lightly sweet. I, for some reason, had not baked this humble but delicious cake till recently. And then I made couple more as it was a hit at my place and at clients' similarly.
So, get that spatula ready, throw your apron on and get baking this gem!

This recipe is adapted from sailusfood.com

Ingredients:
Maida / All purpose flour- 2 cups
Baking Powder - 1+1/4 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt -  1/2 tsp
Oil- 1/2 cup
Caster sugar- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp
Yogurt -  1/2 cup
Lukewarm milk - 1 cup
Apple cider vinegar / white vinegar / lemon juice - 3/4 tbsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Cocoa Powder - 1/3 cup
Instant coffee powder - 1 tbsp
Hot water - 1/4 cup

 Method:

1. Sieve maida, baking powder,  baking soda and salt in a bowl. Sieve at least 3 times so everything is uniformly mixed and helps aeration too. Pre heat the oven at 160 C. for 10 minutes. 

2. Add vinegar to lukewarm water and give it a stir. Keep aside. 
This is the buttermilk we will use for baking. 

3. Add cocoa powder, 2 tbsp sugar and instant coffee powder in another bowl. Add hot water to the mix and stir until everything is mixed and no lumps remain.

4. Grease, dust and line your bundt cake tin or rectangular bread tin.You can use regular cake tins too.

5.In a third bowl, add oil and sugar. Mix well with a whisk. Add the prepared buttermilk, yogurt and vanilla essence to this mixture, Mix thoroughly, but gently, till no lumps remain.

6. Now add the maida mixture to the mixture above in 4 parts. The vanilla cake batter is ready.

7. Add a little less than half the batter into the chocolate mixture and stir well.

8. Now spoon the two batters side by side - vanilla-chocolate-vanilla-chocolate, continuing the 
same way as you move to the top. Fill the tin 3/4 th.  Now with a toothpick, make swirls, not touching the sides.  

9. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Check after 40 minutes. Once done, cool on the wire rack. 

10. Slice the cake and eat it with a cup of earl grey or drizzle it with home made chocolate sauce and eat it with vanilla ice cream. This cake is versatile- you can eat it the way you like it!

Home made Chocolate Sauce
Ingrdients:
Dark chocolate, chopped - 1 cup
Fresh cream- 1/4 cup
Full cream milk- 1/4 cup
butter- 1 tbsp

Method:
1. Mix dark chocolate and butter in  a bowl and heat in a microwave till melted and smooth. Do this in the spurts of 30 seconds. Mix in between with the help of a spatula.
2. In the meantime, mix fresh cream and milk and heat over gas, stirring continuously so as not to burn the mixture. Once it  starts boiling, add it to dark chocolate- butter mix. Mix well with spatula to get silky, smooth, delicious chocolate sauce.
3. Pour it over the cake and dig in!

Note:
How to grease your tin-
1. With help pf a pastry brush, grease the tin with oil / butter. Now dust the tin with maida, tapping along all the sides so the flour is evenly coated.
2. Once coated, turn it upside down and tap it to remove any excess flour.
3. If baking in a rectangle or regular tin, line the bottom dusted area with baking paper, cut to size.
4. Your tin is ready to use for baking.

Eggless Caramel Custard

I am posting after ages. I guess i have my fingers in too many pies.
When I was studying commerce at Sydenham College, my friend and I use to often visit this quaint eating joint called Sanman, mostly filled with office going people. They served one of the best biryanis I have ever eaten; and one of the creamiest and most delicious caramel custard I have eaten till date. I have been meaning to make this absolutely fulfilling and can't stop eating it dessert since a long time. Finally got off my butt to make it. And wow! It transported me back in time; it could very well be named time machine custard :) All thanks to the wonderful recipe by Gayathri- http://gayathriscookspot.com/2015/04/eggless-creme-caramel/

I am listing the recipe here for easy reference with some really tempting custard pictures that will surely make you crave for it.

 Ingredients:
Caramel:
sugar- 1/2 cup
water- 1/4 cup
butter to grease ramekins / you can use aluminum cupcake moulds

Custard:
milk- 2+1/2 cup
sugar- 2/3 cup
veg gelatin- 1 tsp (original recipe has agar agar listed as an option. You can try it if you want)
corn flour- 2 tbsp
vanilla essence- 1 tsp


 Method:

1. Place the ramekins/moulds on a deep tray ( you can use square aluminum cake tin also) inside a hot oven to warm them up. You can pre heat the oven for 10 minutes and when it's done, place the tray to warm up the ramekins.

2. In a deep pan mix sugar and water. Do not stir with a spoon. Let the mixture come to a boil. Keep swirling the mix by rotating the pan till sugar dissolves.

3. Now, let the syrup boil undisturbed till it starts changing colour. Once it reaches the perfect amber (caramel) colour, remove from the stove.

4. Pour this mixture equally into the ramekins and allow to cool completely. Caramel will harden.

5. Grease sides of the ramekins and keep aside.

6. In another deep pan, add 2 cups of milk and sugar.

 7. Add corn flour and veg gelatin to the remaining milk and stir till everything dissolves.

8. Add this to the sugar and milk mixture along with vanilla essence. Heat the mixture and keep stirring until it starts thickening. Do not let it boil.

9. Remove from the heat and pour into the ramekins.

10. Fill ramekin tray with some water, just enough to create steam. Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.

11. The custard will be wobbly at this stage. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

12. Place the tray in the refrigerator for 2 hours minimum.

13. To serve, run a knife along the edges of a ramekin. Place the dessert plate on the top and flip.
Carefully remove the ramekin and serve immediately.

Tada, heaven on a plate, I meant it!

Paneer Bhurji

It was a rainy Sunday and I had relatives over. We were going to have aamras and the paraphernalia like dhoklas, moong dal, etc. I decided to make chatpata paneer bhurji to go with the meal. I must say, it was heavenly. I made it with Rasoi Magic Masala for Paneer Bhurji. The spices complimented paneer so well.
If you don't want to use that masala, you can use garam masala also. I used it for an uncle who doesnt eat onions and it turned out fab as well.

Recipe:Serves 6

Ingredients:
Paneer- 500g (I used Malai Paneer)
1 medium sized tomato, finely chopped
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 medium sized green capsicum, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp oil
Rasoi Magic Masala, 1 pack mixed in 1/2 cup milk or 1 tbsp garam masala
If not using rasoi magic masala, you may want to add 1 tsp red chilli powder,
1/2 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp dhania-jeera powder. Also you can add cashew powder to garam masala.
2-3 tbsp water
Salt to taste.(if required)
2 tbsp Finely chopped coriander

Method:
1. Crush paneer with clean hands till it crumbles. Do not press to hard if it's malai paneer or it will
become like a paste.
2. Take oil in a pan and fry the onions till light pink. Now add chopped capsicum and tomato.
Cook for about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the masala paste and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Now add crushed paneer and mix till masala nicely coats paneer.
5. Add chopped coriander and give a stir. Switch off the gas.
6. Serve hot with soft chapatis or paratha and some garden fresh salad on the side.

It melts in your mouth and the flavour oozes out with each bite. And it is really simple to make!

And yes, it tastes heavenly with aamras :)

Dubkiwale Aloo

It is a fascinating name, a little weird, but nonetheless a name that stays with you. I came across this dish on Facebook and became very curious about "Mathura ke Dubkiwale Aloo". After a good hunt, I came across a simple and yet promising recipe. I have followed the basic recipe but made some adjustments with spices and few ingredients. So, take a plunge and start cooking dubkiwale aloo :)
Original recipe at: http://www.mytaste.in/

Ingredients:
4-5 boiled potatoes, peeled
1 tsp hing
1/2 tbsp aamchur/dry mango powder
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander chopped
2-3 cups water
3 tbsp oil

For fresh-roasted dry masala
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1whole red chilli
1 cinnamon stick, small
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 black cardamom
2 green cardamom
3-4 cloves

Dry roast all the spices and grind them into fine powder in a mixer grinder. Keep aside.

Method:
1. Heat oil in a kadai.

2. Add hing. Then add turmeric powder, aamchur and grounded masalas. saute for 10-12 minutes on a low flame till the spices give out nice aroma and flavour. You can add onions and tomatoes at this stage if you like. It was not mentioned in the original recipe but I added and liked the flavour.

3. Roughly mash the potatoes with your hands and add them to the masala. Mix well.

4. Now add water, fresh coriander and mix. Cover the kadai and cook on low to medium flame for 12-15 minutes.

5. Dubkiwale aloo is ready to be served. Ideally it is eaten with dal pyaaz ki kachoris like they have it in Mathura. But I had the aloo with whole wheat lachha parathas and it tasted yummmm! You can serve it with hot puris too. 

Vegetarian Dhan Shaak

Dhaan Shaak is one of those rare preparations which have the most mundane ingredients, but they concoct something really delicious. It is healthy, flavourful and make for a hearty meal. Best eaten with rice or bread. It is one of our favourite meals now at home. My husband simply loves it and so do I.

I have adapted the recipe from the blog called vegrecipesofindia.com. It is an excellent recipe.

Ingredients for the paste:
8-10 garlic cloves
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 green chillies

1" piece of ginger, chopped
2 tsp red chilli powder
1" piece of cinnamon
2-3 cloves
Grind all the ingredients in a mixer with 3-4 tbsp water. I will give you a coarse paste.

Ingredients to pressure cook
1/2 cup pumpkin, chopped
2 small brinjals, chopped
1 medium sized potato
1/4 cup bottle gourd (lauki), chopped
1/4 cup tur dal

1tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp black urad
1 tbsp green moong
2 tbsp masoor dal
1/2 tbsp kasuri methi
Pressure cook them (4-5 whistles) with enough water. Put aside.

Other ingredients:
Onions- 2 chopped in juliennes, 1 finely chopped
1 medium sized tomato, finely chopped
2-3 tsp tamarind paste (I used store-bought one)
1-2 tsp oil or enough oil to fry
2-3 tbsp ghee


Once the pressure cooker is cool, open it carefully. Now, with a hand blender churn the cooked vegetables and dals into a thick paste like mixture. Keep aside.

Now, you can either fry the onion juliennes or you can make them crisp in a microwave. Rub onion juliennes in 1-2 tsp oil and put them in the microwave for 10-15 minutes on medium to high speed. Get crisp onions without excess oil!

Now heat ghee in a deep pan. Fry the coarse paste on slow to medium heat for about 5 minutes. You will know once it starts giving out wonderful aroma of spices. Then add finely chopped onions and cook till they become translucent. Now add chopped tomatoes and cook till the entire mixture becomes like a coarse paste.Add tamarind paste, cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the churned mixture of veggies and dals and mix well.
Add water if you find it too thick. Simmer for 8-10 minutes on medium heat and stir frequently.
Your vegetarian dhaan shaak is ready. Serve with bread/pav/steamed rice. You can serve the crisp onions on side or use them as garnish.

Chalo Jamva!

Dahi wada / Dahi bhallas

Melt in the mouth. Loaded with crunchy cashews and golden raisins. Covered in rich thick dahi and sweet and tangy date-tamarind chutney. Sprinkled with red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder and rock salt. Garnished with fresh coriander. And very healthy. Dahi wada is a unique dish that can be served as both, snack or light dinner. It is a delicious combination of sweet, tangy and spicy all concocted together.

 It has been a fairly popular dish at my place. My mom makes it every 2-3 months. But it is only recently that I dabbled into making the dahi wadas. After having them at Natraj, at Chandani Chowk, I was also wanting to stuff them with some dry fruits. And I was thrilled with the results. I have to admit that the past credit goes to my KitchenAid handmixer that whipped the batter so well that the wadas were as soft as cotton.

Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup Urad dal
2 cup split green moon dal 
salt to taste
1-2 tsp green chillies (crushed into paste)
Oil for frying
Hot water in a big deep pan
Dry roasted, roughly chopped cashews
Golden raisins
Dahi / Curd

Red chilli powder
Roasted cumin powder
Rock salt

Garnish
Fresh coriander leaves

1. Mix and soak both the dals overnight with enough water.

2. Remove all the water and grind the dals in a mixer-grinder with salt and green chilli paste.

3.  You now have fairly smooth batter. Whip the batter with a hand/stand mixer or in  a food processor till fluffy and light.

4. Heat oil in a deep pan. Grease your palm with oil if required. Take a spoonful of batter in your palm. Now stuff chopped cashews and raisins in the spoonful and top with some more batter. Gently slide in the hot oil.You can fry at least 4-5 at a time.

5. Slide wadas in the hot water as soon as you remove them from the oil after frying.

6. Leave the wadas in the water for half an hour. They will have soaked the water and become bigger in size.

  
7. One by one, squeeze the wadas gently by flattening them and put aside.
Now assemble just before serving.

8. Plate 2-3 wadas in a deep bowl. Spread enough dahi / curd. Spread a spponful of chutney on the top. Sprinkle red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder and rock salt according to taste. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve.

It will melt in your mouth, with just crunch of cashews and soft bite of raisins.

Eggless Swiss Tarts

Some things take you back in the time. Food does that more than anything. It reminds you of places and people. Recently, I had made Swiss Tarts and a friend said that it took her back in time when she had them in Switzerland.

Swiss Tarts are melt in the mouth buttery tarts with center filled with jam or preserve or nutella, whatever you fancy! I like mine with a sweet & salty with a tangy preserve to cut through the sweetness of tarts. So, get your aprons and ovens ready because these are one of the yummiest tarts. 

Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 120 gms

Castor sugar- 50 gms

Butter- 120 gms

Vanilla essence- a few drops

Orange Preserve- 55 gms

Paper cups-7

Method:

1.       Cream butter & sugar together till creamy.

2.       Add vanilla essence.

3.       Fold in the flour till well mixed.

4.       Using the star nozzle, pipe into paper cups leaving a hole in the centre.

5.       Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20-25 mins.

6.       Fill in the hole with orange preserve or any of your choice.

7.       Enjoy with a cup of earl grey & get transported to the Swiss Alps!