Super moist Chocolate Cake

Super moist Chocolate Cake

Banana and Nuts Cake

Banana And Nuts Cake (vegan)

This is such a strong flavorful cake that anyone who tastes a bite of this banana cake will definetly fall in love with it.
This is one of our family's favorite. The beauty of this cake is its  very light on your tongue and guilt free as its free of eggs and Heavy butter..This is a low sweet bread.....and hence you can go on eating this cake without any fear of calories.

This recipe can be improvised and made healthy by replacing the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour.


Ingredients

• 3/4 cup All purpose flour / Maida
• 3/4 cup Mashed Banana (about 2 Big, long ripe bananas)
• 6 tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 1/4 cup Oil
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Method:

• Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and sieve this together to ensure even mixing. Keep this aside.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degree C or 356 degree F.
• Grease an 7" round cake pan with oil and set aside.

• In a mixing bowl, whisk the mashed banana, sugar, oil and vanilla essence until combined.
• Slowly add the sifted flour to the banana mixture and gently fold the mixture until the batter shows no trace of flour. Don't overmix.
• Pour this batter into the prepared cake tin. 
• Bake in preheated oven at 180 degree C  or 356 degree F for 35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool down for 15 minutes and then invert.
• Let it cool completely and cut into pieces.
• Serve & enjoy!

Uppittu (Upma)

Uppittu is one of the top 5 breakfast dishes for any Bangalorean. One can never forget a hot plate of Uppittu with khara Boondhi next to a cup of steaming filter coffee served at any Sagar hotel. I share special memories with this "Upma and filter coffee"combo as my tea time snacks at "Hatti Kaapi" junction in Bangalore.

This might sound like very common and quick recipe. But believe me it's a nightmare for many kids (including me :P ) when their mom says "Tommorow's breakfast is Uppittu". It's got crazy nicknames in kids kingdom like Concrete... Cement.....

Making a perfect Uppittu is all about getting the right consistency and then the taste. Believe me, If you go slightly wrong ... This dish will end up in sticky paste which doesn't go down your mouth ..or a lumpy dish filled with uncooked Rava lumps all over... If you somehow get the consistency right, the next challenge is the taste. Uppittu can easily be so boring to eat that you wouldn't dare to make it for ages again...

Having said such scary stories, I must admit that Upma is one of the most comforting food at any time of day. When its raining outside or you are damn tired or bored to the core, this is a comfort food to make in minutes in your kitchen and relish it watching your fav movie. You can accessorize it with some crunchy mixture, crispy chips, spicy pickle or even plan yogurt.

So let's try and make your "Upma time" an unforgettable experience.

As am veggoholic... I add in a lots of veggies in my Upma to make it more tasty and interesting to eat.

Recipe Courtesy : Years of trial

This recipe serves 4 people

Ingredients

1. Semolina (Rava) :  2 cups, Medium coarse Rava 
2. Carrots  : 1 cup, finely chopped ( optional ).
3. Beans : 1 cup, finely chopped ( optional ).
4. Peas: 1/4 cup frozen peas ( optional ).
5. Capsicum : 1/2 cup ( optional )
6. Green Chillies : 5-6 chillies, finely chopped or just split into halves when serving it to kids.
7. Onion  : 2 cups, finely chopped.
8. Tomatoes : 2 cups, finely chopped.
9. Garlic : 3-4 large pods, finely chopped.
10. Butter (Ghee) :  2 tbsp
11. Grated coconut : 1 cup.
12. Coriander leaves : 1 cup.
13. Salt : to taste.
14. Curry leaves : 10-12 leaves.

Procedure 

• Let's start to dry roast the semolina in a pan on low to medium heat. Stir it regularly to avoid burning and even roasting of Rava. Set it aside.
• The first key for a nonstick and aromatic Uppittu is well roasted Rava. The Rava doesn't stick when it is roasted well and turns whitish in color once roasted.
• In a wide pan, add generous amount around 5-6 tbsp of oil and heat it on low to medium flame.
• Once oil is slightly hot,  first add 2-3 tbsp of peanuts and fry them for few seconds. then add in the mustard seeds, jeera, Chana Dal, urad dal, garlic, green chillies, curry leaves and fry them well for a while. Fry until the green chillies are fried very well and starts turning white in color.
• The second key for tasty Uppittu is to get the flavors of the veggies in the oil. Specially chillies.  We are trying to make chilli garlic oil in this step which is sole taste maker as no other spice powder is used in this recipe.
• Add in onions, peas and sauté until onions turn translucent. Now add the veggies and sauté them well. 
• Add in the tomatoes, salt and sauté this well until tomatoes turn mushy. 
• Add 4 and 1/4 cups of water, fresh grated coconut and let it boil well. Add butter or Ghee into the water.
• The third key is to boil the water well so that the flavors of all the veggies should get into the water  which makes the Upma tasty and all the oils should start floating on top of water which makes the Upma nonsticky. Never hurry up in this step.
• Once the water is boiling well for a while, add coriander leaves and reduce the heat to low. Wait for few seconds until the water stops boiling and temperature is reduced, then start adding the roasted Rava slowly into the water in one hand and continuously keep stirring in another hand. Break any lumps by stirring the Upma well.
• The fourth key is to reduce the temperature of boiling water first and then add Rava slowly and stir continuously. Never try to add Rava into boiling water, it will quickly thicken the Rava causing lumps all over .you cannot stand the high heat in the pan and continuously stir well, that again causes lumps. In no time, all the water will be absorbed by Rava and Upma will start burning in the bottom.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup of water on Upma if you feel it is too thick, dry and uncooked. Close a tight lid to the pan and let it simmer on low flame for 5-10 mins. Turn off the heat.
•  Give another 10 mins of sitting time and then serve.
• The fifth key is to let the Upma simmer well after it is done. That will make the Rava granules fluffy and perfectly cooked. 
• You will feel it was proud to have cooked nonsticky, no lumps, tasty Upma ready to be served.

Sweetcorn Veg Soup

When we talk about Soups in India, Tomato soup and Sweetcorn soup are all time favorites. It was always a luxury affair to visit a restaurant and order these fancy soups. We would be early waiting with mouth wide open to look at these soups and dig into it. 

Now it feels so good to cook such fancy soups at home and enjoy a health meal with the family anytime. There are no limits for the wide range of veggies we can access and the types of soups we can cook at home in no time.

Let me share this simple Sweetcorn Veg soup recipe which is a comfort food anytime. It is a quick and tasty soup loved by all age groups. It's low in calories and loaded with nutritious veggies.

Recipe Courtesy : Online recipe with a zing 

This recipe serves 4 people

Ingredients

1. Sweetcorn cobs: 2 medium sized cobs.
2. Carrots  : 1 cup, finely chopped.
3. Beans : 1 cup, finely chopped.
4. Peas: 1/4 cup frozen peas.
5. Capsicum : 1/2 cup ( optional )
6. Cabbage : 1/2 cup ( optional )
7. Onion  : 1/2 cup, finely chopped.
8. Garlic : 3-4 large pods, finely chopped.
9. Butter : 2 tbsp
10. Corn starch : 2 tbsp, mixed in cold water.
11. Black pepper powder : to taste.
12. Salt : to taste.
13. Sugar : 2 Tbsp.

Procedure 

• Using a knife, scrape all the kernels from the sweet corn cobs. Keep aside a cup of kernels and roughly chop them and set aside.
• Take the rest of kernels in a blender and blend it to a smooth paste using very little water.
• In a sauce pan, add butter and heat it on medium heat, add garlic, onions and sauté it for a minute, add the carrots, beans, peas, corn kernels, other veggies and sauté for couple of minutes.
• Add 3 cups of water to veggies and bring it to boil. Now add the blended corn and let it boil for 5 minutes.
• Mix the cornstarch in cold water and add into soup, add sugar, salt, pepper powder as per taste. Stir the soup and adjust water for required consistency.
• Let the soup boil for 10 mins on medium heat. check if the veggies are cooked but a little crunchy to bite.
• Add more cornstarch if you want to make the soup more creamy.
• Serve it hot and enjoy this mild and creamy soup with your family.

Spicy Peanut Chutney

When i talk about chutney, I must start with my personal favorite and my speciality, Spicy peanut chutney. This chutney is my first choice to cook for Idli, Dosa, Paddu, Akki rotti, Ragi Rotti, Rava Rotti in my kitchen. It goes well with a sandwich as well.

Whenever we wanted to have a quick meal, My mom would make this yummy, lip smacking, spicy chutney in almost 10 mins alongside Ragi muddhe or even hot steaming rice and we would be happy souls digging into it.

This is a basic peanut chutney recipe and we can enhance the flavors by blending various new ingredients into this recipe. Generally peanut chutney stays fresh and tasty for longer time and hence its a good choice for advance cooking and storing.

Recipe Courtesy : Amma

This recipe serves 4 people

Ingredients

1. Peanuts : 2 cups.
2. Green chillies  : 5-6 chillies.
3. Garlic : 6-8 large pods.
4. Coriander leaves: 1 cup, washed and cut into large sized pieces.
5. Tamarind : 1 small lemon sized.
6. Salt : to taste.

For seasoning

1. Oil : 2 tsp.
2. Mustard seeds : 1 tsp.
3. Cumin seeds : 1 tsp.
4. Curry leaves : 10 leaves.
5. Red chillies : 2 dry red chillies.

Procedure 

• Let's start by dry roasting the peanuts on medium flame. Make sure the peanuts are roasted well from within without getting darker from outside quickly. 
• Once the peanuts are roasted well and start to spilt, take them out into a plate to let it cool. In the same hot pan, put in the garlic pods, green chillies and roast them with a drop of oil, once the chillies get slightly roasted, take them out into a plate.
• In a blender, add the peanuts, roasted garlic and chillies,tamarind, salt, coriander leaves and blend them well using water. Since peanuts tend to thicken,  add water according to the required consistency.
• In a small pan, add 2 tsp of oil on a medium flame, when the oil is hot reduce the flame and add mustard, Jeera, curry leaves and red chillies. Let everything splutter slowly. Add this to the peanut chutney and mix well.
• I prefer to make this really spicy like mom would cook. You can adjust the spice level by adding more chillies, tamarind and garlic. 
• I love to add lots of coriander leaves to get fresh zing in heavy and creamy peanut base.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

These days my grocery shopping is mainly influenced by my little two years old daughter Chutki's diet. I try to introduce as many healthy greens in her diet as possible in this early age. This in turn improves family's eating habits as well. One such veggie which is a nutrition package for kids is "Broccoli".

Broccoli is Easy to cook veggie and hence its a star in infant meal. Since it gets soggy soon, it's hard to use it in Indian cooking. It tastes best when grilled crunchy or baked in a cheesy dish.I must admit, Broccoli tastes really yummy in a soup. 

I was a bit concerned when I cooked this creamy broccoli soup at home for the first time and surprisingly I was pleased that my family liked the soup very much and now it's a proud addition to my favorites list. Make this quick and easy soup anytime  and enjoy it with your family.

Recipe Courtesy : Online recipe with a zing 

This recipe serves 4 people

Ingredients

1. Broccoli florets  : 2 cups.
2. Onion  : 1 cup, cut into small pieces.
3. Garlic : 3-4 large pods, cut into small pieces.
4. Butter : 2-3 Tbsp.
5. Milk : 1 cup.
6. Corn starch : 1 Tbsp, mixed in cold water.
7. Black pepper powder : to taste.
8. Salt : to taste.
9. Italian seasoning : to taste.

Procedure 

• In a pan boil 2 cups of water. Add broccoli florets in water and boil it for 4-5 minutes. Drain the water and reserve it for later use. Keep the drained broccoli florets aside.
• Take another pan and heat the butter. Add chopped onions, garlic and sauté for few minutes until translucent. Add the drained broccoli florets to onions and cook till the broccoli is tender. Let it cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, heat the milk and keep it aside. 
• Blend broccoli mixture to a smooth paste using the reserved water and keep it again to simmer on medium flame.
• Add the remaining reserved water, milk, corn starch mixed in cold water, salt, pepper powder, Italian seasoning  and let it simmer for couple of minutes.
• Adjust water and seasoning for required consistency and taste.
• Garnish the soup with broccoli florets and serve it immediately. As we add milk in the soup, It's preferred to serve this soup immediately without reheating. Do not store it for later use.

Bisi Bele Bhath

Bangalore is best known for its local delicacy Bisi Bele Bhath. I bet you can't find the authentic BBB elsewhere. Be it summer or the chilled winter, a hot plate of BBB along with Khara Boondi or potato Chips is a delight forever.

Even though it's a very simple one pot meal, You can end up with a boring rice sambhar mixture if you dont play tough with the amount of spices and veggies that go in the BBB powder. Don't ever use sambhar powder instead of BBB powder and cook BBB. That would be unforgivable insult for the great dish.

Once you have a great BBB powder in hand and follow the below procedure, I bet you will have BBB in the top of "the most comforting food in the world" list.

This Bisi Bele Bhath recipe of my mom was a huge hit in my lunchbox in school, college and at office. I shall post the BBB powder recipe soon.

Recipe Courtesy : Amma

This recipe serves 4 people

Ingredients

1. Onion : 2 large onion cut into Julienne. You can use sambhar onions/shallots if available.
2. Tomatoes : 3 medium sized tomatoes cut into medium sized pieces.
3. Carrots : 1 cup, peel and cut them into medium sized wheels.
4. Beans : 1 cup, cut into medium sized pieces.
5. Potatoes : 1 cup, peel and cut into medium sized pieces.
6. Capsicum : 1 cup, cut into medium sized pieces.
7. Cauliflower : 1 cup, cut into big chunks.
8. Peas : 1 cup frozen peas.
9. Peanuts : 3-4 tbsp.
10. Coriander leaves : 1 cup.
11. Dry grated coconut : 1 /2 cup.
12. Bisi Bele Bath powder : 3-4 tbsp, use MTR powder if you don't have home made BBB powder.
13. Tamarind : one big lemon sized, soak in water and get the pulp.
14. Jaggery : one small lemon sized.
15. Cashews : a handful.
16. Dry red chillies : 5-6 broken into 2 pieces.
17. Curry leaves : around 10-15 leaves.
18. Salt : to taste.
19. Rice : 2 Measuring cups sona masoori rice.
20. Yellow gram dal  : 1 cup.

Procedure 

• In a pressure cooker, add washed rice, Dal, carrots, beans, potatoes, peas, peanuts and any other veggies of your choice. Add almost 8 cups of water and pressure cook this for 4 whistle. We want the rice n veggies to be well cooked as the final BBB should not be grainy, so add water generously according to your rice quality.
• Do make sure the cooker is big enough to cook all the rice, dal, veggies together After adding the measured amount of water.
• In a big pan, add 3-4 tbsp of oil and heat on medium flame . Add in the mustard and jeera seeds, a pinch of hing, curry leaves, cashews, dry red chillies and stir for a minute.
• Then add onions and fry them, put in capsicum, cauliflower and stir for few seconds, add the chopped tomatoes and close the lid and cook it for minute.
• In a bowl, add tamarind pulp, salt, jaggery, BBB powder and make a thin paste using water. Add this paste to the onion tomatoes mixture and stir it.
• Now add the cooked rice and veggies mixture to the pan and mix everything together well. Add some water if the Bhath is too thick, we want the Bhath to be a bit watery in consistency.
• Close the lid and cook this mixture in very low flame for 5-10 minutes so that the spices get mixed well.
• Now add in the dry grated coconut, coriander leaves and a big spoonful of ghee, stir everything and add some water if the Bhath is thickening.
• Simmer it on low flame of another 5 mins and turn off the flame.
• The BBB should be a bit watery, tangy, not too spicy but fully aromatic dish.
• Serve it hot with crunchy khara Boondi or potato chips and enjoy the compliments. 

Tomato Bhath

Being a proud Bangalorean ..am proud of the rice bhath recipes I have learnt from my mom. Growing up in Bangalore, I have seen people enjoying unlimited varieties of rice bhaths anytime at home or in a restaurant. Be it a quick breakfast,lunch box or family dinner, this one pot rice bhath is an easy bet of any kitchen owner.

Tomato bhath is a quick and tangy one pot meal which is filled with strong flavors. I love it when my mom cooks it, she makes it really spicy n tangy and adds only tomatoes.. Each bite would be a splash of flavors in your mouth. My version is a bit mild to suit my family and kids. I add some more veggies along with tomatoes to add some crunch.

Recipe Courtesy : Amma

This recipe serves 4 people

Ingredients

1. Cinnamon : 2 small sticks
2. Cloves : 3-4 pieces
3. Bay leaves : 2 leaves
4. Star anise : 2 pieces
5. Cardamom : 2 pieces
6. Onion : 2 large onion cut in julienne 
7. Tomatoes : 5-6 medium sized red apple or Roma tomatoes .cut 2 tomatoes into medium sized pieces and use rest for making tomato purée.
8. Carrots : 1 cup, peel and cut them into medium sized wheels (optional)
9. Potatoes : 1 cup, peel and cut into medium sized pieces (optional)
10. Capsicum : 1 cup, cut into medium sized pieces (optional)
11. Cauliflower : 1 cup, cut into big chunks (optional)
12. Peas : 1 cup frozen
13. Coriander leaves : 2 cups
14. Ginger : 2 inches piece,  you can add more as well...it will make the dish more spicy.
15. Green chillies : 3-4 green chillies
16. Garlic : 8-10 large garlic pods 
17. Fresh grated coconut : 1 cup or more
18. Red chilli powder : 2 Tbsp 
19. Coriander powder : 2-3 Tbsp
20. Salt : to taste
21. Rice : 3 Measuring cups - I generally use sona masoori  rice and pressure cook the Tomato bhath as my family prefers it a bit mushy.  You can use basmati rice and cook it in a pan for grainy rice bhath using 6 cups of water.

Procedure

• Let's make the tomato masala purée and then start cooking. 
• For the masala purée add cinnamon sticks, cloves, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves, grated coconut, green chillies,few onion pieces, tomatoes in a blender and grind it to a smooth purée. Make sure you grind only cinnamon and cloves and not other dry spices mentioned in the ingredients list.
• In a pressure cooker, On medium heat, add 3-4 Tbsp of oil and put in the whole bay leaves, cardamom and star anise. Give it few seconds to fry in oil.
•  Then add onions, frozen peas and stir it for few seconds and then add tomato masala purée, let it cook for a minute.
• Put in the veggies, tomatoes and stir everything together for few seconds.
• Add coriander powder, red chilli powder (since we have added green chilli to make the purée, carefully add the red chilli powder accordingly).
• Add the washed rice and stir it with veggies.
• Add 6 cups of water , salt to taste and close the cooker and let it whistle.
• After two whistles turn off the heat. Now your home will be filled with aroma of spices.
• Serve it hot and enjoy the compliments. 

Veg Pulav

When I turn the pages of my childhood memories.....I can still smell that strong aroma of Veg Pulav lingering from my mom's kitchen. Since years, this Pulav is the most comforting one pot meal to have either on a lazy weekend or in lunch box.

This Pulav recipe of mine is a huge hit in my family and friends and i passionately cook it whenever hubby wants to eat a spicy rice dish..

Recipe Courtesy : Amma

This recipe serves 4 people

Ingredients

1. Cinnamon : 2 small sticks
2. Cloves : 3-4 pieces
3. Bay leaves : 2 leaves
4. Star anise : 2 pieces
5. Cardamom : 2 pieces
6. Onion : 1 large onion cut into medium sized pieces
7. Tomatoes : 2 medium sized tomatoes cut into medium sized pieces
8. Carrots : 1 cup peel and cut them into medium sized wheels
9. Beans : 1 cup beans cut into medium sized pieces
10. Potatoes : 1 cup peel and cut into medium sized pieces
11. Capsicum : 1 cup cut into medium sized pieces 
12. Cauliflower : 2 cups cut into big chunks
13. Peas : 1 cup frozen peas
14. Pudina : 2 cups Pudina leaves, you can add more as well...it will enhance the flavor.
15. Coriander leaves : 1 cup
16. Ginger : 2 inches piece,  you can add more as well...it will make the Pulav more spicy.
17. Green chillies : 5-6 chillies
18. Garlic : 8-10 large garlic pods 
19. Fresh grated coconut : 1 cup - optional
20. Salt : to taste
21. Rice : 3 Measuring cups - I generally use sona masoori  rice and pressure cook the Pulav as my family prefers it a bit mushy.  You can use basmati rice and cook it in a pan for grainy Pulav using 6 cups of water.

Procedure

• Let's make the green masala puree and then start cooking. 
• For the green masala, add garlic, ginger, Pudina leaves, coriander leaves, grated coconut, green chillies in a blender and grind it to a smooth purée, use some water if needed to grind it.
• In a pressure cooker, On medium heat, add 3-4 Tbsp of oil and put in the whole cinnamon sticks, cloves, bay leaves, cardamom and star anise. Give it few seconds to fry in oil.
•  Then add onions, frozen peas and stir it for few seconds and then add green masala purée, let it cook for a minute.
• Put in all the veggies, tomatoes and stir everything together for few seconds.
• Add the washed rice and stir it with veggies.
• Add 6 cups of water , salt to taste and close the cooker and let it whistle.
• After two whistles turn off the heat. Now your home will be filled with aroma of spices.
• Serve it hot and enjoy the compliments. 

Tomato n Carrot Soup

During my vacation in India this time...it was beautiful and gloomy typical Bangalore weather.It rained almost every evening making the weather chill ..what else can be more comforting than a big bowl of hot tomato soup to Sip and Slurrp.......

 This Tomato n Carrot Soup recipe of mine was a huge hit and i served it whenever I had guests at home...

Recipe Courtesy : Web recipe with personal twist

This recipe serves 4-5 people

Ingredients

1. Cinnamon : 2 small sticks
2. Cloves : 3 pieces
3. Garlic : 6-8 large garlic pods crushed
4. Onion : 1 small onion cut into medium sized pieces
5. Tomatoes : 5-6 medium sized Apple or Roma tomatoes. Cut them into halves.The sweet ones are best for the soup.
6. Carrots : 2-3 medium sized , peel and cut them into medium sized pieces
7. Corn starch : 2 Tbsp. Mix it with some cold water in a bowl without any lumps.
8. Sugar  : 2 Tbsp
9. Salt : to taste
10. Black pepper : to taste

Procedure

• In a pressure cooker, On medium heat, add 1-2 Tbsp of oil and put in the whole cinnamon sticks and cloves. Give it few seconds.
•  Then add onion pieces, crushed garlic pods and stir it for few seconds to get slight brown color on onion.
• Put in the carrot pieces and tomato halves and stir everything together for a minute.
• Add two glasses of water and close the cooker and let it whistle.
• After three whistles turn off the heat and allow it to cool.
• Now find all the cinnamon n clove pieces and remove them without fail. Peel the skin of the tomatoes.since we have cut them into halves, it's easy to peel the skin. 
• Transfer the tomato mixture into a mixer and reserve the liquid for later use.blend the tomato mixture to a smooth puree.Now strain the puree to remove any tomato seeds or skin.
• In a soup pan add the reserved liquid to the tomato purée and bring it to boil.
• Add some more water, sugar, cornstarch water, salt and pepper as per taste and Boil it for 5 minutes. Add water as per your required consistency. If the soup looks very watery.. Add some more cornstarch to thicken it. 
• Finally taste the soup for salt and pepper. Add some more sugar if it tastes tangy.
•  If you want to impress kids or guests , then add a big spoon of Ghee or Butter and turn of the heat.
• Serve it hot and enjoy the compliments.