Very easy eggless chocolate cake

I do not believe in posting recipes I haven't tried myself. This Sunday, I had the urge to bake a chocolate cake. But I had no eggs in the house. All I had was milkmaid. I tried this basic chocolate cake recipe and it worked wonderfully.

My First Eggless cake



Ingredients

For the cake

1 and 3/4 cup white flour (maida)
4 tbsp unsalted Melted Butter
1½ tbsp cocoa
¾  tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Soda- bi- Carbonate
½ tin Condensed Sweetened Milk
½ tsp Vanilla Essence
½ cup water/milk

For icing

2 cups of drinking cocoa powder as I was out the other stuff
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of condensed milk
Grated coconut 1/2 cup (Optional)

Method

1. Pre heat your OTG for ten minutes in 180 C
2. Melt the butter but dont boil it
3. In the meantime, Mix white flour, cocoa, Baking Powder and Soda- bi-Carbonate in a separate bowl.
4. In the condensed milk mixture, add (2) together with vanilla essence and mix well. Keep on adding water/milk until the mixture is light and fluffy.
5. After cooling the butter in room temperature, add the butter with condensed milk and mix well
5. Add all the dry mixture with the condensed milk mixture
5. Grease the oven tray, pour the mixture on it and bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 30 minutes or till it bakes.

For Icing

Since I did not have the proper ingredients, I made a basic chocolate icing and it worked for me.

1. Add all the icing mixture together

2. Ensure that its not too thin and should be little thick

3. Put in the freezer till the cake is baked

Once the cake is done (insert a tooth pick and check if it comes out clean), let the cake cool off or else the icing will melt. Should take you 20 minutes under the fan (Told ya, I mean quick business)

Once done, spread the icing and keep it in the fridge if you wish to or... Just grab some

Crisy Baby Corn (Must try)

I always loved pop corn but loathed baby corns or any form of corn which did not have Pop to it. Until I tried crispy baby corns. It is not the most original food but gosh!! Are they delicious if done well. So I tried some at home and loved it. Try this and tell me you don’t love it. I am pasting the recipe from a website which was the easiest and best I could find. (http://foodviva.com/chinese-recipes/baby-corn-manchurian/) – But I deleted few ingredients because I do NOT like capsicum

Time taken : 35 minutes

Ingredients:

·        10-15 Baby Corns

·        1/4 cup Corn Flour

·        2½ tablespoons All purpose flour (Maida)

·        1 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic Paste (or crushed)

·        1/2 teaspoon Soy Sauce (try Chings)

·        Salt to taste

·        1/4 cup Water

·        Oil

For Sticky Sauce:

·        1 teaspoon minced or crushed Ginger

·        1 teaspoon minced or crushed Garlic

·        1-2 Green Chillies, slit vertically and halved

·        1 medium Onion, finely chopped

·        1/4 cup finely chopped Spring Onion

·        1½ tablespoons Soy Sauce

·        1½ teaspoons Red Chilli Sauce or Green Chilli Sauce

·        2 tablespoons Tomato ketchup

·        1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder

·        1 teaspoon Corn Flour dissolved in 2 tablespoons Water

·        1 tablespoon Oil

·        Salt to taste

Directions for Making Fried Baby Corn:

·        Cut baby corns into half and chop other vegetables.

·        Mix corn flour, maida, ginger-garlic paste, soy sauce and salt with 1/4 cup water in a medium size bowl and prepare a batter. Make sure, that there are no lumps in the prepared batter. Add halved baby corn pieces in it and coat them evenly with batter.

·        Heat oil in a frying pan over medium flame. When it is medium hot, take one piece of batter coated baby corn and gently drop into the oil. Make a batch of 4-5 pieces at a time and deep-fry them until light golden brown and crispy. Transfer them using slotted spoon over oil absorbent paper in a plate. Deep-fry remaining pieces.

Directions for Sticky Sauce

·        Heat 1-tablespoon oil in a wok or wide mouthed pan over high flame. Add minced ginger, minced garlic, slit green chilli and chopped onion and sauté them for a minute.

·        Add spring onion, red chilli sauce, soy sauce, tomato ketchup and black pepper powder. Mix well and cook for 30-40 seconds.

·        Add dissolved corn flour, mix well and cook for a minute.

·        Add fried baby corn pieces.

·        Toss until all ingredients are mixed well and corns are coated well with sauce and cook for approx 2-minutes.

·        Baby Corn Manchurian is ready for serving. Serve it hot.

Upside down Pineapple cake (NOT for pregnant women)

Delicious Upside down Pineapple cake

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar - Pls make sure that its not more than this
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (If you want)

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 20-ounce can sliced pineapple,  - tinned

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180/200 degrees. 

Make the cake batter: Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, 1/2 stick butter, the oil, milk, eggs, vanilla and 2 tablespoons pineapple juice in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until well combined. (There will still be a few small lumps in the batter.) Set aside.

 

ALWAYS MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS FIRST

Melt the remaining 1/2 stick butter in a pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter, making sure it's evenly distributed-you want the entire surface of the butter to be covered in brown sugar. Do not stir. As soon as the sugar dissolves, remove from the heat and layer the pineapple slices over the top. 

Pour the batter evenly over the pineapple slices and gently spread to even out the top. Bake the cake 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Immediately run a knife around the edge of the cake, then put a plate upside down on top of the skillet. Carefully invert the skillet so the cake is turned onto the plate. It should come out pretty easily; if bits of cake stick to the skillet, use a small knife to patch it together. Let cool slightly before cutting into wedges. It's best served warm.

This recipe has been taken from Tarla Dalal and my good friend Ame Tayeng for the recipe and the picture

Very easy and simple Fish Chutney. Very Very delicious

           FISH CHUTNEY

So easy and yet so yummy

This is something my mother makes it quite often. Although it is not so much of unique recipe for people in north east because when it comes to making chutneys, trust me when I say this, “We are THE BEST”. Oh come on, rest of the country wins on other delicacies isn't it.

So take any fish. Does not matter if it has bones or not.

Ingredients

1.       Any small fish (because it is easier). You can use dry prawns. You need to pre soak them in the water for sometime so that it is little soft

2.       Chilies according to your taste

3.       Salt

4.       Loads of Coriander leaves (Dhaniya)

5.       Small ginger

6.       2-3 cloves of garlic

Method

In a tawa, without any oil, place the fish once it is little hot. In a low flame, let the fish cook. Like how you barbeque any meat.

Once done, in manual grinder, place all the ingredients and grind them well. You may use a mixer grinder but the taste may not be that good. If you are using one, make sure you don’t over grind it.

So there you go. Easy and delicious chutney. This can be eaten with simple dal rice and you see what difference it makes.

Baked fish recipe with the easiest ingredients

Ingredients

·         2 large fish

·         1 large onion  thickly sliced

·         2 large tomato thickly sliced

·         1 capsicum (if you like, Since I am not a big fan of capsicum, I did not add)

·         2 garlic cloves, crushed

·         1 tablespoon of oil

·         Mixed herbs

·         Few Dhaniya leafs

·         1 tablespoon of red chillie powder

·         1 tea spoon of salt to taste

·         1 tablespoon of cumin powder

·         3 tablespoons of white vinegar

·         4 tablespoon of butter

Preparation

1.       Cut and wash the fish into medium pieces and keep aside

2.       In a pan, melt the butter and once melted add cumin powder, chilly powder, salt

3.       Once mixed and please make sure its not burnt, rub the mixture on to the both side of the fish

4.       Add White vinegar

Cooking

1.       In a ovenproof dish, place sliced onions, tomatoes, few garlic and Dhaniya leafs

2.       Place the marinated fish and add few more Dhaniyas and Garlic cloves

3.       Oven bake the fish at 180 C for 20-30 minutes

In between check with a fork or knife to see if the fish is done.

Hope you enjoy this easy and delicious fish recipe

Easiest Pasta Salad

2 cups cooked macaroni, drained, rinsed, cooled .. I cook it for 10-12 mins.
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1/4 cup chopped celery (Does not make a lot of difference)
1/3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
pepper, to taste

Combine all macaroni salad recipe ingredients, using about 1/3 cup of mayonnaise and stir well. Add a little more mayonnaise, if necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover and chill for several hours before serving.

Before you gulp it down, add few drops of olive oil which makes a lot of difference, However, even if you do not, its fine because my cooking is all about the things that you can make and relish without being too complicated 

Stir fried Lettuce

Last night, I got the craving to eat “Lai Patta” or lettuce leafs. Stir fried lettuce is made by almost every local household in Arunachal Pradesh/ Nagaland/ Assam/ Mizoram/ Meghalaya. Now the lettuce leafs that you get in the North eastern states is lot different than you get outside

So what we need

One bunch of lettuce leafs – Please remember that once cooking is done, the quantity would look very less

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tbs of fine granulated sugar – means small fine almost powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil - NO mustard oil please

Preparation (15-20 minutes including the preparation time)

Wash the lettuce, drain and separate the leaves. It’s important to make sure the lettuce is dry. Combine the soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl and mix well.

Heat a wok on medium-high heat and add oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Stir-fry until aromatic (5 - 10 seconds) and add the lettuce. Stir-fry the lettuce, sprinkling with the salt, for 1 - 2 minutes, until the leaves begin to wilt.

Give the sauce a quick re-stir and swirl it into the wok. Stir-fry for 1 - 2 more minutes, until the lettuce turns dark green.

And its done

For Pork lovers

I do not eat pork but I know one thing for sure that this is a great recipe. I make it with Chicken. You can still follow this recipe.Something I found in a social networking website. Simply copy the link into a new address bar for details

http://pt-br.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=147637478608147

My favorite Sponge cake

Why a recipe for sponge cake? 

Because we all love a good tasty sponge cake yet not many can achieve to make the fluffiest cake. This is my tried and tested recipe and I love it any day. It will not take more than 1 hour to bake this.
Ingredients 

4 eggs
1 cup sugar (powdered)

1 cup of any light refine oil. I actually did not have good results when I used butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Method

1. Beat eggs in large mixing bowl with paddle attachment for 4 minutes.  Not in a mixture and make sure you do it religiously

2. Add sugar, and continue beating for another 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.  

3. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.  Add to eggs and sugar on low speed until just combined.

4. Pour into two greased and floured 8" round cake pans. 

5. Preheat the oven at 180/200 and than bake at 325 until the middle springs back when touched, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let stand in pans for 10 minutes. 
 Its done.

Before baking the mixture, I sprinkled lots of raisins on top as I love raisins. You can your choices of dry fruits.

New Green Chutney in town

I found the recipe for new chutney. My mother says it is made mostly by Bengalis and trust me, It’s awesome Not only it is extremely simple but healthy as well. Why I like it so much because you won’t be throwing away food:

What you need:-

1)      The green parts of the cauliflower

2)      The outer shell of Bottle Gourd which in North East, we call  Pani lao

3)      The outer shell of a potato (5-6 of them)

4)      Chilies for taste

5)      3-4 cloves of garlic

6)      Salt

   ~~Take all the vegetables except the garlic and the chilly together and boil them for 4-5 whistles
    ~~ Once done, in a mixer, add all the vegetables with very little water and chilly and grind it to a fine paste
   ~~Then, heat little oil in a pan, fry the finely sliced garlic cloves and after 30 seconds       add the mixture. Add salt according to taste

There you have a nice yummy chutney.

Healthiest Fish recipe ever known by man :)

Hey you like fish – healthy and delicious. Yeah Yeah I know. What you thinking but No. Not a pinch of oil...

So here it goes

The maker – The Momo making machine ..

½ Kg of any kind of fish – Try Bohu because that ‘s what I tried or any boneless fish or fish with less bones.. Actually it does not matter

The marinating process1) Take 2-3 pieces of garlic cloves (Mind you not too much. I smelt like garlic for 2 days when I made it for the 1st time)

2) Take 1 big piece of ginger . You would need more of ginger than garlic

3) Chillies based on your taste buds

4) A little salt

5) Lots of coriander leaves (Dhaniya patta

Once you have all the stuffs, Mix them in a mixer, or manual grinder. I like the latter and mix it with the fish. Here you can use little oil (Very little)

Now that you have keep it covered say for an hour. Please do not add Vinegar (it’s a request).

Now take an aluminium foil and place the fish in the centre and fold the four sides of the aluminum foil up to prevent the juice from flowing.Place the fish cupped in aluminum foil on the steamer tray.Steam the fish for 20 -30 minutes or till fully cooked. Use a fork to poke iknto center of the fish to check

Once done… enjoy with food or with your drinks. You may also add very thinly sliced Carrots, spring onions on top to garnish

To make the fish little crisper, what I tried what I took the fish out and grilled it. You do not need to go through all that. It works either way.

Now who said a girl who lived outside Arunachal for a decade can’t cook ;)

Its breakfast time - German potato pancakes

Looks can be deceptive. That’s what I thought when I made today's breakfast.

I always like heavy and fulfilling breakfast and did not want to spend too much time cooking. So I made German potatoes Pancakes

What is that 1st thing which comes to your mind when you think of pancakes

1)     Pretentious
2)  Never Heard of

I can vouch for that once you done cooking, those ideas will vanish from your head

What you need and I am sure you will have in the house

• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour – Maida
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder – Even if you do not add, its fine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and shredded
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Mix in potatoes and onion.Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. 

By using a big kitchen spoon which looks like 

 Put the batter in the oil to fry

Make sure you Press to flatten. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, until browned and crisp.

You can make this for your friends or guests when you have them over for breakfast… add some other fancy stuffs as side dishes and its all good

Would like to add that the picture of pancake is taken from Google as my camera battery died before I took a picture however that picture is the closest to what I made looks like

Tips for cocktails

A cocktail tip!!!

Always keep in my mind before making a cocktail is "cranberry juice' which is not very popular is however plays a big part in making any cocktail.80% of cocktails requires the use of cranberry juice

Malai Chicken which I made for dad

Adding this recipe for malai chicken as this dish holds a special place in my heart. I am not a big fan of malai chicken as I am on a diet but I made this for my father after 6 years. So this recipe is dedicated to my father who loved it when he came for dinner.

Before I start I would like to add that, do not be worried with the list of ingredients. All of them are easily available (See I keep mentioning this because lot of things are not easily available in Arunachal.)

• 1 kilogram of Chicken which is cut into pieces
• 1 medium Onion  - chop chop chopped
• 1 Red Chilli (Lal Mirch) (more or less may be used depending on taste preferance.)
• 2 Cloves (Loung)
• 2 Cardamom Pods (Choti Ilaichi)
• 1 (½" piece) of Cinnamon Stick (Dal Cheeni)
• 1 Bay Leaf (Tezz Patta)
• A bunch of coriander  (Hara Dhania) (chopped)
• 1 tsp. Coriander Powder  - Dhaniya powder
• ½ tsp. Cumin Powder  - Zeera powder
• 1 tsp. Garam masala powder
• 1 ¼ tsp. Red Chilli Powder
• ½ tsp. Turmeric Powder
• 3 small tomatoes which I pureed
• 1 carton of Light Whipping Cream (Kindly do not use any other but the Amul one. I tried once with a different one and honey.. It was baddddd)
• 1 tsp. Ginger Paste
• 1 tsp. Garlic Paste
• Salt (to taste)
• Cooking Oil

Now how do I cook this

1. Heat oil in a pot on medium heat. Add the red chilli, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Fry until the bay leaf turns golden brown. 
2. Add chopped onion; fry for a few minutes. Add ginger paste and garlic paste; fry for another 4 to 6 minutes. Kindly ensure that it is fried in low heat because you don't want to burn them
3. Add chicken pieces and fry for another 5 minutes or so. Sprinkle on top the salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and turmeric powder; mix
4. Add 1 glass of water; mix and cover on low heat; cook for about 20 minutes or until chicken is almost done.
5. Add can of tomato paste; mix and continue cooking on low heat until chicken is well done.

Finally add the whipping cream and cook for another few minutes. Add garam masala and coriander leaves; cook for another couple minutes and remove from heat.

Kindly ignore the messiness, as it was done without any hope of getting a cook book deal :) . May be with time, when I have more time, I will add pictures which are taken more carefully :)

This is the reason why I love cooking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIdbroOLvhw

Sex on the beach - Cocktail

Sex on the beach - Not that easy if you do not have all the ingredients. Sex on the beach is my 2nd favorite cocktail after Mojitos. But hey do not get an alternate ingredient because it will not be the same.

Ingredients and the process to get on the beach ;)

• 1 shot of vodka -Thats a picture of what one shot means ok and thats not THE drink


• 1 shot of peach schnapps – Use Archers because its easily available – FYI – Schnapps is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage


• 200 ml of orange and cranberry juice


• 2 shots of raspberry juice

1^st mix orange, cranberry and raspberry juice in a glass and mix well.Than take a high filled glass, add ice to the glass, pour the vodka shots and mix the juices and enjoy ....

Hey weekend will be here soon. Invite your friends... Mojitos is one cool cocktail but lots of ladies prefer "sex on the beach" too :)

Healthy breakfast snack

This one tried, when I wanted a snack, nothing too heavy, leftovers not be wasted.

I had made some Chole one night and when I saw my fridge the next day, I knew I was not in for another round of Chole-Rice or did not want to fry those pooris again.

I made a quick snack with whatever I could find in my kitchen.

I made 3 big chapattis – Atta and not maida ok

• First I washed the cooked Chole in water (Mind you, here I am talking about the Chole masala that I had cooked the day before).
• some onions (You can use depending on your taste)
• one half cucumber
• one small raw tomato (Fine!!! I did not. I just wrote that to make the recipe sound good okay..but you know, you should add tomatoes. I don’t eat raw tomatoes but I have been told that it tastes good)
• 2 green chilies
• One big sized potato (Boiled and cut in small cubes)

I made some pudina chutney by mixing pudina, one clove of garlic, little salt, little sugar and mix them in the mixer with very little water.

My cabbage was good to be thrown but I took out the outer rotten leaves and was left with very small tiny cabbage which helped

NOTE – you can add any kind of vegetables that you want. I just don’t like to add too many as it confuses my taste buds.

After I got all the ingredients chopped, I was ready.

Now that I have it all, I mixed it all together, took one chapatti, put the mixture in between, spread some pudina chutney.rolled it, ducked the chappati from behind and awesome…. Healthy snack ever. No oil, No masala, no leftovers.. yeeehhh

I wont say try with bread because.. than you loose the authenticity of it.You can also use the chapattis that you made the night. It is nice to eat even if the chapattis are crispy – Just like Tacos ;)

I saw this on TV once. Some Indian street food vendor was making it in South Africa… Can you beat it… It’s a hit in that country

Easiest and quickest Spaghetti and something extra

There are 1000s ways to cook spaghetti and on the internet you will find plenty of recipes. My recipe is no different. I just have a tip on how you can make spaghetti easily and very quickly.If you think, early morning, you need a quick bite and do not have the time to cook, on a weekend, prepare the sauce and keep it refrigerated. The sauce is the life of spaghetti ( 4 people)

Now without much complication, make the sauce.You would need -

1) 8-10 ripe tomatoes

2) 4-5 onions

3) 4 cloves of garlic

4) Use basil/ tulsi leaves if you have but even if you do not have, don’t fret on it.

5) Salt and sugar

Now boil the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes. Than take the tomatoes and keep it aside in a small bucket of iced water. Remember even if you dont have that, it is absolutely fine because it is done to retain the color of the sauce. So like I said "dont fret on it".. Oh by the way peel the skin off. In the meantime, slice the onions thinly and fry them in little oil till they are little brownish, add chopped garlic, red chilly powder, salt based on taste and 2 teaspoon of sugar. Fry for 4-5 minutes and in low flame and keep aside

Boil 1 cup of water in another pan, crush the tomatoes and add into the water. Also add the fried onions and the rest of the mixture. Once all the ingredients are little soft, please take out the basil leaf and mix them all together to make a puree in a mixer.

OK, every household has a mixer, however keeping in mind that my recipes are written based on the idea that “I can cook without getting it complicated”, you can crush the puree in a manual grinder as well. It really does not matter.

And guess what – that’s your sauce. That’s the basic thing that you need to make spaghetti

Now in a pan, Add 8-10 cups of water and once the water starts boiling, add the spaghetti and cook for 8-10 minutes. Boil till they are not crunchy and its ok to for the noodles to be little hard in the centre. Once it is cooked, take it out, wash it under cold water and in another pan, add the noodles and the sauce and cook for another 5-6 minutes and it is done my friend

I made this in the morning :)

Here is another tip – if you do not have spaghetti – do you have Maggie – Yes my friend!!! In a pan, boil the Maggie with little water and DO NOT add the masala. Once the Maggie is about to be cooked, add the sauce and let is cook for 1 minute or so that you made and see the wonder

Mix vegetables with Tinned fish - Its healthy and its yummy

If you like Tinned fish, you will like this too

All you need (if you are cooking for say 4 people)

1)      vermicelli –White ones (Sewai) . So when you go to a store, ask for sewai which is not fried.One packet is enough

2)      Two medium size potatoes

3)      2-3 capsicums

4)      Green chilies

5)      1 small Cauliflower

6)      1 mooli – I seriously don’t know the English name

7)      2 tomatoes  - Not too raw

Oil, Salt and water

Basically, you can add other vegetables that you like. I have mentioned the above because they go well with Tinned fish

The process

·        Cut all the vegetables in small cubes and set it aside. In a Pan/Karahi, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the potatoes, mooli and cauliflowers.

·        After 5-7 minutes, check if they have softened little bit.

·        Once they are, add the other vegetables and add little water and cook for another 5 minutes. Let the vegetables soak the water completely. Mind you, don’t get too greedy with water as the cauliflower is going to break its water ..Ha ha Here comes the baby cauliflower…

·        While they are being cooked, boil 4 cups of water in a different utensil  and add the vermicelli and bring it boil. Once the vermicelli is done, set is aside by throwing the extra water.

Now check your vegetables, add the tinned fish, fry in low flame for 2 minutes, Add salt and than add the vermicelli and cook for another 5 minutes in low flame

  

If you prefer gravy, you can add extra water

And if you add something extra… Please go on food lovers. If you love food, "EXPERIMENT"