FISH FRY

INGREDIENTS :

Fish (i used promfret ) - 2 pieces
Red chilly powder - 1.5 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1.5 tsp (optional)
Lime juice - 2 tsp (optional)
Oil 
Salt to taste

LET'S COOK :

Clean and cut the fish into 5-6 pieces.Mix all the above ingredients along with the fish.Add 1-2 tbsp of water if the mixture is too dry.Keep the marinated fish for at least half an hour.Heat the oil and fry the fish until it is cooked and golden brown.
Serve the fish fry with rice along with some raw onions.

CROCHET BABY HATS

HONEY 'N PEPPER

VANILLA CAKE WITH CONFECTIONERS FROSTING

source : joyofbaking

INGREDIENTS:

VANILLA CAKE :

3 Cup all purpose flour
1 tbp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Unsalted butter (at room temp)
1 3/4 Granulated white sugar
4 Eggs (at room temp)
2 tspn Pure vanilla extract
1 cup Milk (at room temp)

CONFECTIONERS FROSTING:

4 cup Confectioner sugar (powdered sugar)
1 cup Unsalted butter (at room temp)
1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
2-4 tbsp Milk or Cream
Food colour of your choice (Optional)

Before starting let me tell you something, the above quantity of ingredients are for a 2 tire/layer cake and frosting.I made a single cake with half quantity of ingredients mentioned above.You can make 2 tire or single layer cake by adjusting the ingredients.
The instructions below are for a 2 tire/layer cake.

LET'S COOK:


VANILLA CAKE:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) with rack in center of oven. Butter or spray with a non-stick vegetable spray, two 9-inch x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) cake pans. Then line the bottoms of the pans with parchment or wax paper, then spray the paper.

In a bowl, sift or whisk together the flour,baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, (or with a hand mixer) beat the butter until soft and creamy (about 1-2 minutes). Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture (in three additions) and milk (in two additions), beginning and ending with the flour.  

Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Bake 27 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in center.  

Place the cakes on a wire rack to cool, in their pans, for about 10 minutes. Then invert the cakes onto a greased rack. Remove the parchment or wax paper and re-invert cakes so that tops are right side up. Cool completely before frosting

CONFECTIONERS FROSTING:

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar.Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add about 2 tablespoons of the milk and beat to combine. Then, on high speed, beat frosting until it is light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add more milk or powdered sugar, as needed, to get the right spreading consistency. If desired, color the frosting with food color.

Assemble:

 Place one cake layer (bottom side facing up) on your serving plate and spread with about 3/4 cup (180 ml) of frosting. Place the other cake layer (bottom side facing up) on top of the frosting and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Can place some of the frosting in a piping bag and pipe a decorative border around the top of the cake. Cake can be covered and stored at room temperature for several days.

CHICKEN CHILLY FRY

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken breast - 500 gm (cut into cubes)
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Pearl onions - 10-15
Dry red chillies / red chilly flakes - 1-2 tbsp 
Curry leaves - 2 strings
Coconut oil - for frying 
Salt to taste

LET'S COOK :

 Clean chicken and cut into cubes. Marinate the chicken cubes with red chilly powder, turmeric powder, curry leaves and salt. Keep the marinated chicken aside for at least an hour or if possible, keep it overnight.
Heat some oil in a deep pan and fry the chicken cubes until it turns golden brown. Make sure you don't burn them. Keep the fried chicken aside. Now crush the pearl onions and dry red chillies (adjust the quantity of red chilies according to the level of heat that you prefer) together. Heat some coconut oil in a pan and add the crushed mix, salt and some curry leaves. Fry them until it changes color and the raw smell of onion is gone. When oil starts to leave the sides of the pan add the fried chicken and mix well in low flame. If you like curry leaves, at this point add some more curry leaves and mix well. Switch off the flame and serve hot.

ALOO METHI / POTATO WITH FENUGREEK LEAVES

INGREDIENTS:

1 Small onion chopped
1 Tomato chopped
2 Potato cut into cubes (1 potato if its large)
1 cup Methi / Fenugreek leaves (I used frozen methi leaves)
1-2 Green chillies chopped
1 tsp Red chilly flakes
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Red chilly powder
3/4 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

LET'S COOK:

Heat oil in a pan. Add green chillies, onion, ginger garlic paste and saute until onion turns transparent.
Now add tomato and cook until its soft. Once tomato gets cooked add all the masalas and saute for 1 min.
At this time if you feel its too dry add 2-3 tbsp water. Add potato, salt to taste and mix well. Cook the potato by covering the pan. When the potato is half way done add the methi leaves and mix well. Cook the methi & potato by covering the pan once more. It may take 3-5 mins for this mixture to cook. The color of the methi leaves will change from green to brownish green once its cooked.

UZHUNNU VADA/MEDU VADA

INGREDIENTS:

Urad dal / Uzhunnu - 2 cups
Green Chillies - 5-6 finely chopped
Ginger - 1 small piece finely chopped
Pearl Onions - 3-4 finely chopped (optional)
Curry Leaves - 1-2 strands finely chopped
Peppercorns - 10-15 nos
Oil - for frying
Salt - to taste
Water

LET'S COOK:

• Soak the urad dal/uzhunnu for 4 - 5 hours and grind to a thick batter adding only a small amount of water.
• Add green chillies, ginger, pearl onion, curry leaves, peppercorns and salt to the thick batter and mix well.
• Keep the batter aside for an hour.
• Heat oil in a deep dish pan. Drop a pinch of batter in the oil and if it rises as soon as it is dropped that means the oil is hot enough to make the vada.
• Wet your hand with some cold water and take a medium size serving of batter. Role the batter into a ball and make a hole in the center with your finger and drop it in the oil immediately after. The stove should be on medium flame otherwise the vada will get burned without getting cooked.
• Fry the vada until it turns golden brown and serve hot with coconut or coriander chutney.

TAPIOCA MASALA/KAPPA PUZHUKE

INGREDIENTS:

Raw Tapioca/Kappa - 1kg
Coconut - 1.5 cup
Green Chilies - 5-6
Garlic - 1 big piece
Pearl onions - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard - 1tbsp
Dry red chilies - 3
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Water 
Salt to taste

LET'S COOK:

• Cook tapioca in boiling water with salt. This will take 15-25 min. Once its cooked, drain the water.
• Grind coconut, garlic, green chilies, pearl onions and turmeric powder with little water into a fine paste.
• Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and add mustard. When it sputters, add dry red chilies and curry leaves.
• Now add the coconut paste and saute them for 2-3 min until the raw smell is gone.
• Add the cooked tapioca/kappa and mix well. Add some water if you don't want the final product to be dry.
• Once everything is mixed well switch off the heat and serve hot.
• The final product should be a festival for your senses!

PAZHAM PORI / BANANA FRY

INGREDIENTS:

Rice Flour 3-4 tbsp
Ripe Banana(Ethapazham) - 2
Sesame seed - 1 tsp
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - required to make a thick flowing batter
Oil for frying

LET'S COOK:

• Mix all the above ingredients except oil into a thick flowing batter.
• Cut the banana into 4 pieces.
• Heat the oil in a pan.
• Dip each banana pieces in the batter and fry them until it changes the colour into light brown.
• Serve them with hot tea.

UNNIAPPAM (with chakavaratiyathe / jackfruit jam)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Maida

1 cup Fine Rava (not roasted)

1 Ball Jaggery 

1 Pack Jackfruit Jam or 1-2 cup homemade jackfruit jam 

1-2 Banana

1 tbsp Sesame seeds

1/2 cup Coconut slices

Oil for frying

LET'S COOK:

1. Melt the jaggery with little water and set aside to cool.

2. Smash the banana into a fine paste.

3. Mix all the ingredients except the oil to a fine batter.You can either mix with your hand or use a blender to avoid any lumps.

4. Adjust the sweetness by adding more jaggery or jackfruit jam.
5. Leave the batter overnight or at least 5 hours before making unniappam. 
6. Heat the oil in an unniappam maker. Pour a small quantity of  batter into each slot and fry them flipping the sides until golden brown.

TIPS:

1. Keeping the batter overnight makes the unniappam very soft.
2. Once the batter is poured into the slot wait for small bubbles to pop above the unniappam before flipping it over. This shows that the unniappam is cooked from inside.
3. Make sure that you add the melted jaggery syrup to the batter only after it is completely cooled down. 

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Zebra Cake

INGREDIENTS:


4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (8 oz / 250 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (8 fl oz / 250 ml) milk, at room temperature
1 cup (8 fl oz / 250 ml) oil (corn, vegetable or canola is fine)2 cups (10 oz / 300 g) all-purpose flour (maid)
1/3 teaspoon vanilla powder or essence
1 tablespoon (equals 3 teaspoons) baking powder
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder 


LET'S COOK :


Preheat the oven at 350 F.


1. In a bowl mix egg and sugar until it becomes soft and somewhat creamy.Now add the remaining wet ingredients i.e milk,oil and vanilla essence and mix well.


2. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients i.e all purpose flour and baking powder.Add this mix to the wet ingredients in batches and mix well until all the ingredients comes together to form a yellow creamy batter. 


IMPORTANT : Do not over beat the batter.if you do so it will create air pockets and when you bake your cake it will have holes when u cut throught. This is applicable for all cake batter.


3.Divide the mixture into two equal portions.add the cocoa poder to one of the portion and mix well.


4. Now comes the assembling part.Sorry guys i couldn't take any photos.I know it would have been a great help for you if i have taken some pics.Anyway i will try my best to explain it well.Let me know if you want any help.


5.Lightly grease the baking pan with oil or butter.pour 3 tbps of the plain/yellow batter into the middle of the baking pan.Now pour 3 tbps of the cocoa batter above the plain/yellow batter into the center.next add the plain/yellow batter aobe the coco batter into the center.like this pour the batter into the center alternatively.


NOTE: Do not tilt or tap your baking pan to help them spread or dont even wait after pouring each batter to spread.it will spread by its own when you pour the batter alternatively.


6.Keep on pouring the batter until the batter is finished. At this stage you can find alternate colour rings formed.


7.Bake the batter for 40-45 min, until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

CHAKKA ADA / JACKFRUIT STEAM CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

Rice Flour - 2 cup

Jackfruit preserve/chakka varitiyathe -1 -1 1/2 cup

Coconut slices - 1/2 cup

Cardamon powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Banana leaves

LET'S COOK:

1. Heat the ghee and roast the coconut slices until light brown.

2.Mix all other ingredients except banana leaves to make it a dough (just like chapathi dough).

3. Adjust the sweetness by adding more or less jackfruit preserve/chakka varatiyathe.

4. Take small balls of the dough and wrap the ball in banana leaves and lightly press them to make them little flat.

5. Steam cook the ada for 20-25 min or u can use pressure cooker without the weight knob.

Vanilla cookies/ Jam cookies

INGREDIENTS :


Unsalted Butter(room temp) - 1/2 cup (113 gms)
White Sugar - 1/4 cup (50 gms)
Egg - 1 (separated)
Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp
All Purpose Flour (Maida) - 1 cup (130 gm)
Salt - 1/8 tsp
Jam (of your choice)


LET'S COOK:

1. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). 
2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter and beat just until combined.
4.  If the batter is too soft to roll into balls, refrigerate for about 30-60 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Take small balls of the batter and place on the prepared baking sheet spacing about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. 
7. Using your thumb or end of a wooden spoon, make a indentation into the center of each cookie and fill with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
8. Bake for about 12 -15 minutes, or until cookies are set.Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. 
9. If you dont have jam or dont like jam, you can make it in to any shape like i have done(heart) and  bake it.And can drizzle chocolate or maple syrup on top.

YOU CAN USE COOKIE CUTTERS FOR DIFFERENT SHAPES.ITS FUN. TRY IT OUT.

COOK BOOKS

CROCHET KINGSTON HAT

CROCHET CENTER PIECE

CROCHET MOBILE POUCH

I made this mobile pouch for my sister and she loved it :)

UNNIAPPAM/PANIYARAM NON-STICK PAN

BEST WET GRINDER

JUST A REVIEW:

My mom have been using this wet grinder for the past 4-5 yrs.The best thing is that it has timer.Just set the time and it will do the job.

JAPANESE TEA SET

BANANA WALNUT BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 ripe large bananas mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

LET'S COOK:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) . Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

2. Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

  

3. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.)

4. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until bread is golden brown and a  toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to60 minutes.

5. Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread can be frozen.