Bake an easy cake!

As I have mentioned before, baking is my hobby. I enjoy baking goodies like cakes, biscuits etc. This time, I made a really easy cake because I wanted to surprise my daughter who was coming from Bangalore. Naturally, everyone loved it at home. Hope you do too!

Almond Nutella Cake

175gms butter,softened
175gms brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
200gms maida
2tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp milk
4 tbsp nutella
50gms chopped almonds

Method:

1. Preheat the oven in 170 degrees. Line the base of  the baking tray with butter and keep it aside.
2. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, maida, baking powder, cinnamon and milk into a bowl. Beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add the chopped almonds and mix them into the batter.
4. Pour the mixture into the baking tray. Make sure you level the mixture with a spatula so it's even.
5. Put the tray in the oven and bake for 45 mins at 170 degrees. You could also check if it's ready by inserting a knife into the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is done.
6. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool for 10 to 15 mins. 

7. If you want, you can spread a generous amount of nutella on top of the cake. This serves as a sort of icing. 

Ganpati Bapa Moriya!

I love Lord Ganesha! Who doesn't? His power is beyond words and he fulfills all your wishes. For Ganesh Chathurthi, I made three Kozhakattais(you could call them dumplings of some sort). I am a bit late in posting the recipes but better late than never! Besides, these recipes can be enjoyed at any time of the year!

To make the dough, you will need:

3 cups of good rice flour

2 cups of water

A pinch of salt

One spoon of til oil

Method:

Boil the water in a Kadai. Add salt, oil and stir till it comes to a boil. Then, add the rice flour little by little till you get a consistent dough without lumps. Keep it aside to cool. 

I made two kinds of dumplings, sweet and spicy. 

To make the Poornam(sweet stuffing), you will need:

2 cups of grated coconut

1 cup of jaggery

1 cup water

A pinch of elaichi powder

1 tbsp of ghee

Method:

In a Kadai, put water and add the jaggery. Stir till the jaggery turns into a golden colored liquid. Add elaichi powder. When it comes to a boil, mix in the coconut and keep mixing till it achieves a thick consistency. Finally, add the ghee. Cook till it comes to the point where the mixture "leaves" the sides of the vessel.

To make the spicy stuffing, you will need:

1 cup urad dal 

2 to 3 green chillies(roughly chopped)

1 tbsp Mustard seeds

2 tbsp Oil 

Salt to taste

Method:

Soak the dal for half an hour. Strain the dal and grind it with green chillies and salt till it acheives a coarse consistency. Steam the ground paste(I used an Idli vessel for this) for 10 to 15 mins and keep aside. Put oil in a kadai and add the mustard seeds. Add the steamed paste and cook till the stuffing is dry. Keep it aside.

Assembling the kozhakattais:

Make a ball(approx. a little more than an inch in diameter) with the rice flour dough and flatten it till you get a rough circle. Make small spheres of the sweet filling and place it in between the rice flour disc. Slowly, seal the rice flour disc to cover the filling. Repeat the same procedure with the spicy kozhakattais as well. Steam them in an Idli vessel. Once you take them out, let them cool for a few minutes. They're ready to serve!

Amni kozhakattais:

This is a great way to use up the remaining rice flour dough. What's more, it'a a big hit with everyone!

To make Amni kozhakattais, you will need:

Remaining rice flour dough

Red Chilli Powder(adjusted to your taste)

Salt to taste

Oil to shallow fry

1 tbsp Mustard seeds

Grated coconut(a handful)

Method: 

Mix all the above ingredients with the rice flour dough. Then make small spheres. Steam them in an Idli vessel. In a frying pan, add oil and mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add the kozhakattais and fry them. Finally, garnish with grated coconut and serve.

Eggless Cake

I have decided to blog about something close to my heart - baking! The following is one of our(my family and my) favourites - Eggless chocolate cake! It is quick, easy to make and practically requires no effort at all. And the icing on the cake is, it tastes absolutely gorgeous.

Eggless chocolate cake

Ingredients:-
1 cup maida
3/4cup sugar
1/2 oil or butter
1/2 cup curd
1/4tsp soda
1tsp baking powder
1tbsp heap of cocoa powder
3-4 chopped walnuts(optional)

Method:-

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add curd and whisk the mixture. Slowly add the flour mixture tablespoon after tablespoon, folding it in the mixture as you go. Lastly, add the walnuts and mix in. Grease a baking tray and pour the mixture in it. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 mins. Allow the cake to cool for 15-20 minutes. Cut into slices(I like them small and bite-sized) and serve with tea.

The Beginning

Hi all! My name is Aruna and I am a housewife living in Chennai. I grew up in Mumbai, got married and lived in Dubai for 25 years, after which I shifted base to India once again. I enjoy cooking and I could not imagine a life without it. Therefore, I have decided to pen down in this blog my own recipes that span various cuisines. I hope you find my food as colourful as my city Mumbai. Here's to Mumbai Masala!