Happy Birthday: Tutti Frutti Cake | Indian Plum Cake Recipe

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Five years ago, an angel was born. Words can't express how much happiness and joy she brought into our lives.

She is Shriya, my niece.

Shriya, during her trip to Alaska. Image Credit

It feels like yesterday when she was so tiny that she barely fit into both of my hands. Now, she can talk non-stop, make you really think and many at times, stump you with questions which we barely can answer. One Curious George this kid has grown into. ;-)

Sadly, this year I am not with her to celebrate and squeal for her birthday. Hence, gifts were sent with loads of love & kisses from her uncle and aunt along with this Tutti Frutti Cake, which I am sure she would have totally loved.

So here I am celebrating Shriya's birthday virtually atleast , with all of you. 

Love you baby. 

This is such a splendid recipe for a moist cake with just few tablespoons of butter. I made two loaves (doubling the original recipe). One was for my family here in Hyderabad and other for office colleagues in Bangalore. All of them loved it and went for seconds. Just perfect for any occasion and anybody, especially for kids.

Enjoy!

{Recipe} Tutti Frutti Cake | Indian Plum Cake

Makes two loaves - one for round 9 inch cake pan and another for 9 inch loaf pan. This recipe can be easily halved for just one cake.

Adapted from Sharmi

Ingredients:

4 cups all purpose flour/maida
2.5 cups granulated white sugar
1 cup tutti fruitti pieces (these are chopped, candied fruit pieces)
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 cups milk
4 eggs, at room temparature
2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder
6 tsp vanilla essence
few mixed nuts like cashews, walunts etc, to sprinkle on the top

Preparation:

1. Sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix tutti frutti pieces with little flour and keep aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix butter and sugar. Using at electric mixer or whisk, add one egg at a time and beat well until creamy. Add vanilla essence and milk. Mix well.

3. Add flour+baking powder+ baking soda mixuture one cup-at-a-time, mixing with spatula scraping through the edges each time. Fold in tutti frutti.

4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease the pan with butter and flour, tap to remove off excess.

5. Pour the batter in the pans and pat it on floor to ensure the batter is evenly distributed. Bake for 35-40 mins until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Once out of the oven, cool completely on a wire rack and then serve.

Just a few more days left to enter Quick Fix Indian Cookbook Giveaway. Try your luck today.. Last Date:  July 31st 2012.

[Update- August 7th 2012] - I made an eggless version of this cake for my little sister's and cousin brother's birthday by substituting 2 eggs with 200ml of sweetened condensed milk and reducing the sugar to 5 tbsp. Everybody loved the cake and were thrilled to know if was eggless, especially my aunts who are staunch vegetarians. Here is a pic from the celebrations. 

until next time,

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Chocolate Coffee Almond Blondies with a glass of milk!

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"The future, seems to me no unified dream but a mince pie, long in the baking, never quite done." 

~ Edward Young

Chocolate Coffee Almond Blondies served with a glass of milk!

When I published my last post, it was blistering hot outside and I was devouring greedily on juicy, pulpy mangoes, making all kinds of desserts with them. As I write this post, it is raining cats & dogs, a weather perfect for spicy pakoras with ketchup in one hand and hot chocolate in the other. Never thought this would be month-long break. As I said on my facebook page, I was just stuck in a cobweb of mundane activities which needed my attention, took most of my time and energy. Hence the lull in my blogging. Thanks for inquiring and writing to me. :-)

"Chocolate is not cheating! After a salty meal, you need a little bit of sweet. This is living, not cheating" ~ Ali Landry

...but I was reading a lot. It first started with breathtaking story of Mariam & Laila in A Thousand Splendid Suns, then got to know about workholic lawyer Samantha Sweeting as The Undomestic Goddess, then read how Lord Shiva took a human form and set out to destroy evil, uncovering deadly secrets along the way in very popular Shiva Triology (both The Immortals of Meluha and The Secret of Nagas), next came Day of Honey, a memoir of food, love and war - which opened up a whole new world of people, their cuisine, their culture in Middle East and most recently The Thirteen Tale, a tale of twins, Adeline and Emmeline. Till date, I never enjoyed reading such diverse set of authors who in their own right and might weaved magic through words portraying sublime emotions which will stay with you - forever!.

Chocolate, Coffee, Almonds, Brown Sugar - a divine combination of flavors!

Honestly, Baking is not something that appeals to me greatly. I am no Rachel Ray, mind you who can't bake at all. It's just that baking asks for exact measurements, which puts me off, personally speaking. I bake only when I crave for something that's not available in the bakeries around me (sadly after moving to Hyderabad, I hardly get any delicious baked goodies I want, so don't be surprised if I start to bake regularly from on. ;-)).

I bake out of absolute necessity, with simple, not involving any fancy, hard-to-get ingredients. Like today's "Chocolate Coffee Almond Blondies", a one bowl recipe which is super easy to put together.

just out of the oven...

{Recipe} Chocolate Coffee Almond Blondies

Adapted from Seattle Times

Makes ~ 10 servings

Ingredients:


1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon instant coffee (I used Sunrise brand)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature (If you are using salted butter like Amul, omit adding salt below)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped milk chocolate bits (chop chocolate bar into small bits using a sharp knife)
1 cup almond bits (optionally use chopped/slivered almonds if desired)
1/4 cup chopped almonds (for topping - optional)


Preparation:

1. Heat the oven to 350 F or 180 C. Grease a 9 inch round or square baking pan with cooking spray or butter.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the water, instant coffee and vanilla extract. Stir until the coffee granules dissolve. Add the softened butter, brown sugar and salt (if using unsalted butter). Using an electric mixer or whisk (+ a lot of muscle power), beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating between additions and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Stir in the flour, then the chocolate and almond bits.

 3. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan with a spatula. Top with some chopped almonds. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (check after 25 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. Cool and Cut into 10 pieces. Serve as-is or with glass of milk on the side.!

Notes -

1. To make almond bits, just pulse them in a grinder for 3-4 seconds. Any kind of nuts - cashews, peanuts or walnuts work well with this recipe. May be you would like to add a bit of each.

2. Every oven works differently. So, I would suggest to check for doneness after 25 minute-mark.

3. If the batter is too dry, add few tablespoons of milk.

4. Sprinkle flaked sea salt, if desired before popping into the oven for a salty note.

5. These blondies taste great the next day as well. Cut and store in an air tight container.

infinitely adaptable, blondies are so easy to make. tastes best even the next day. perfect for potlucks, picnics etc.

 *********************************************************************************

...and here is a photograph I clicked while we were at Big Dosa here in Hyderabad. Sending it to Aparna for  Black and White Wednesday # 37, originally conceptualized by Susan. Click here to view my other B&W submissions.

taken at Big Dosa, Hyderabad

Have a splendid week ahead folks.

until next time, Bon Appetit,

Amma's Recipes: Hyderabadi Double ka Meetha ( Bread Pudding with Nuts and Raisins) - Revisited

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Amma's recipes is a column on this blog, which is very close to my heart. These are the recipes which my mother perfected over many many years and reflects how awesome a cook she is. It is also fun to just photograph once in a while, without thinking about what and how to make a recipe, worrying whether it would turn out well or not. She Cooks, I Photograph. That is the deal. :-) If you guys have any question, do drop in a line or comment on this post. My mom will be more than happy to answer all of them.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

Such is the case with photography too. You see the same vegetable, do the same chore, visit the same place, but every single time you will find something new, something unique to photograph - the same notion with which I did Project 365 last year. Though, I find little time these days to pick up my camera and click random shots, I do miss Project 365 terribly. That's when, I secretly admire all the lovely shots by fellow 2012 Project 365-ers - Sharmi, Smitha, Lubna, Nithya, Usha and many others. They are doing a splendid job by posting something new everyday. All the very best to all of them and Hope to see you till the very end. :-)

Hyderabadi Double Ka Meetha

Milk Bread from our nearby bakery

There is a certain charm in revisiting the classics. Isn't it. Especially today's recipe is quite old made new, history scrubbed of loads of nostalgia. Ask any Hyderabadi about their favorite dessert and guaranteed most of them will say - Double Ka Meetha. Such is its legacy and a gastronomic delight devoured by all, forgetting about counting calories for a moment.  Even today, no Hyderabadi dawat is complete without a generous serving of meetha at the very end.

Fresh Khoya

When in US, atleast in places where I stayed fresh khoya is a rarity, hence my previous version makes use of heavy cream. But, now that we are in India and almost every nook & corner has a doodhwala, my mom's version is rich, creamy and sinfully indulgent.

Bread slices, shallow fried in ghee

the Ensemble - bread, milk, fried dry fruits, sugar syrup and milk with khoya

{ Recipe} Hyderabadi Double ka Meetha ( Bread Pudding with Nuts and Raisins)

Ingredients:

1 loaf milk bread
ghee - for shallow frying
3 cups milk
1/2 cup khoya
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
a pinch of cardamom powder
saffron strands or orange food color (as I was out of saffron)
1/2 cup or more dry fruits and raisins - I used cashews, raisins and almonds

Preparation:

1. Slice bread into thick pieces.

2. Heat ghee in a wide pan and shallow fry bread pieces until slight golden brown. Drain them on paper towels. In rest of ghee (add more if needed), fry the dry fruits.

3. In a sauce pan, boil milk and add khoya. On a low heat, reduce it to half. Add saffron (or food color) and cardamom powder.

4. In another sauce pan, add water and sugar. Boil for 12-15 mins to make sugar syrup.

5. In a wide bowl, arrange the bread slices, sprinkle dry fruits, pour sugar syrup and reduced milk. With hand gently break the bread into small pieces while mixing everything. Make sure its not too mushy.

Serve warm or chilled with vanilla ice cream.

Note: Refrigerate if any leftovers. On the next day, heat up some milk, add the meetha and then serve.

until next time,

Basic Home-made Granola Mix

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It is a well-known fact that 'High Fructose Corn Syrup'(HFCS), commonly used in processed foods has negative effects on our body. Though eaten in moderation, it wouldn't pose any immediate threat...its pre-dominancy in almost every packaged product these days is a matter of concern to me. I always check the label of any product to make sure that it doesn't have any high amounts of HFCS. I was surprised to see that even my favorite brand of granola bar had large amounts HFCS..

...that is when my rummage for a fool-proof granola mix began.. I wanted to try a basic version first and then try to tweak the recipe...my hunt ended at one of my favorite blogger - Nupur's post and was pleasantly thrilled at the sheer simplicity of the recipe. I made this today, in an hour at most - from start to finish, with the minimal natural ingredients I had in my pantry today and guess what, I am ready for a second batch.. It was that good. I packed them in air-tight containers, ready to be gifted to my friends..:) Happy Holidays everyone..!!!

Basic Home-made Granola mix

Ingredients:

3 cups instant rolled oats

1 cup raw mixed nuts, chopped [I used cashews, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts & walnuts]

1 cup dried raisins and dried cranberries (together)

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates

1/4 cup cane sugar

3 tbsp water

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven for 325 F

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl - mix oats and nuts.

3. In a microwave safe bowl, mix cane sugar with 3 tbsp of water and MW for 50-60 seconds. (make sure sugar is completely dissolved and it has syrupy-consistency)

4. Add the sugar syrup to oats& nuts and stir well so that they are evenly coated.

5. Pour the oats & nuts mixture on a (lightly greased) baking sheet and bake for 25 mins, stirring 2-3 times in regular intervals. Then add raisins, chopped dates and cranberries & bake for 5 more mins.

6. Cool the mixture and then store in an air-tight container.

Serve with yogurt and fruit :)) Yummy! 

Thanks Nupur for such a lovely recipe and am ready now to make a variety of versions of it - with different fruit based syrup, honey-sugar syrup, dark mollases-honey-sugar syrup (just like Nupur's recipe asked for) etc etc.. I have so many ideas..and I wish to do them all..:))).

Today is Day Four of our recipe countdown to New Year..browse through the side-bar to see what everyone else is cooking.

until tomorrow,

Sooji Halwa

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This is the yummiest of all Indian desserts and its so simple to make. When refrigerated properly, it stays fresh for atleast 3-4 days.

Enjoi..:)


Sooji Halwa

Ingredients:

2 cups Sooji (Cream of wheat)
2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Nuts, finely chopped (I used cashews, raisins and almonds)
8 cups of water
1 tsp Ghee

Preparation:

Step 1: Heat a tsp of ghee and roast the nuts, until golden brown. Set aside.

Step 2: In a sauce pan, bring water to boil and add sugar. Stir well. On a medium-low flame, slowly add sooji, while stirring it constantly so that it doesn't form lumps.

Step 3: Cook for 4-5 minutes and now add half of the roasted nuts. Mix well.

Step 4: Take a flat bottom bowl and evenly spread rest of the nuts at its bottom. Spread the halwa on them and press. Turn it upside down on the serving plate. It looks so beautiful topped with raisins and is in the shape of a cake..:)

This is how I served for Diwali potluck party at my work place.

DK, Valli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii, Anu, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya, Lakshmi, Raaga, Lakshmi Venkatesh, Sripriya, Karuna, Roochi,Kamalika, Pavani, Viji

Cheers,
Siri

Dussehra Sambaralu....

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Dussehra is a festival of triumph of good over evil. There are numerous legendary stories associated with this festival. Here is one such interesting story from the epic Ramayana.

STORY:

When Ravana, the king of Lanka abducted Lord Rama’s wife Sita, and held her hostage in Lanka, a fierce battle ensued. Although there were huge casualties on both sides, Ravana could not be defeated. So Rama decided to seek the blessings of Shakti or Goddess Durga in order to defeat the 10-headed demon.

But Rama needed 108 blue lotuses for the worship of the Divine Mother, while Rama had managed to procure only 107. He was on the verge of laying one of his eyes that was lotus-shaped and blue in color at the Goddess’s feet when Shakti, satisfied with the measure of his devotion, granted her blessings. And the righteous eventually triumphed.

Another well-know story is the defeat of the demon, Mahishasura at the hands of Goddess Durga.

All stories have the same moral of - "Victory of Good over Evil". It teaches us to destroy the 10 ugly faces of - deceitful, hypocritic, treacherous, malign tendencies and march forward in the path of righteousness and morality.

WHAT'S COOKING

Ok, with no further delay, Let me show what I did I cook on such an auspicious day: Aloo Pulao, Palak-Methi Paneer with Carrot Halwa.


Aloo Pulao: Its one such savory mostly cooked, when one observes fasting on Navratri.

Ingredients:

2 cups of Basmati rice
3 potatoes peeled,diced and boiled
1 bunch pudina leaves
1 bunch methi leaves
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp Dhania powder
1 tsp Jeera
1 Onion - thinly sliced
Salt - to taste
Oil/Ghee - 2 tbsp


Preparation:

1. Cook rice with 3 cups of water. Try not to overcook. Keep aside.
2. In a pan, heat some oil/ghee, Saute jeera and onions until brown.
3. Now add potato, pudina & methi leaves, salt, garam masala and dhania powder. Mix well and let it cook for few minutes.
4. Then add rice, mixx well. Cook the contents on low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
5. Garnish and Serve hot.

Palak-Methi Paneer:

Ingredients:

2 cup Palak/Spinach
1 cup Methi/Fenugreek leaves
1 Onion-finely chopped
2 Finely chopped Green Chillies
1 cup Paneer pieces
3 tbsp Oil/Ghee
1/2 tbsp turmeric
1 cup cream (or milk)
Salt - to taste

For Ground Masala:

1/2 medium onion
1 tomato- pureed
1/2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tbsp chilli powder


Preparation:

1. Cook palak and methi leaves with some salt and water till wilted, on low flame. Cool it down and then puree. Keep aside.
2. Grind all the ingredients listed for 'Ground Masala" with some water/milk.
3. Take some oil/ghee in a skillet, saute onions untill brown, add green chillies and ground masala. Cook for 2-3 mins.
4. Add pureed palak and methi leaves; Mix well. Cook for 2 minutes.
5. Then add salt, turmeric and cream. Stir the contents well and let it simmer on low heat for 5-6 minutes. Finally add paneer cubes. Cook for 3-4 mins so that they are finely coated and soaked in the masala..:)
Not: Adding 1 tbp of corn flour to thicken the gravy.
6. Garnish with cream or coconut milk. Serve hot.

Carrot Halwa: This simple and quick carrot halwa would be an awesome dessert after cooking an elaborate spread.

Ingredients:

2 cans of sweeteneed condensed milk
2 cups of milk (to thin it out)
1 lb grated carrots
Nuts and Raisins

Note: Sugar is not needed as condensed milk already has it..:D


Preparation:

1. Boil condensed milk and milk together until its little thinned in consistency.
2. Add grated carrot. Stir the contents well.
3. Cook for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Fry some nuts and raisins, also some cardamom powder.Add to the halwa for nice flavor.

This is my entry to JFS:Dussehra event hosted by dear Vee of Past,Present and Me and also Viji's RCI: Tamil Festivals.

Off I am to lofty Smokies this weekend... see ya next week with loads of beautiful pictures and the adventures I did..:DD

Vegetable Pot Pie for Vegeterian Awareness Month Event

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'Vegetable Pot Pie' is a meal in itself. It becomes a beauty when its savory aroma tempts a hungry family to the table with all its luscious taste and flavors. I make this all the time; hence, I can assure this as a well-tested-successful recipe.
I added Paneer in my potpie instead of mozzarella/cheddar cheese which is optional of course if you are concerned about excessive calories.


Preparation time: :20 minutes
Cook time: :20 minutes
Bake time: :45 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Eggplant - 1 small
2. Broccoli - 2 tbsp
3. Pastry Puff sheets - 1 sheet
4. Onions - 1
5. Red Capsicum - 1
6. Green Bell Pepper - 1
7. Sweet Potato - 1 ( or normal potato)
8. Carrots - 1
9. All purpose-flour - 2 tbsp
10. Milk - 1.5 cups
11. Paneer - 1/2 cup ( instead of Parmesan/Feta cheese)
12. Butter - 3 tbsp
13. Nuts - 2 tbsp
14. Egg - 1
15. Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
16. Salt & Pepper - to taste
17. Bay leaf - 1

How to make:

1. Heat some olive oil in a pan, add all the chopped vegetables one by one and cook properly. Season with salt and pepper.
2. I made a classic cream sauce (Rue sauce) for this pie. For that, melt some butter in a pan and add bay leaf. Now, add flour over medium high heat. Mix until the mixture looks like dough - "RUE". Slowly add milk stirring rapidly until the desired consistency. Finally add the nuts and cook for 2 mins and keep aside.
3. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add to the vegetable mixture over medium-low heat.
4. Now, add the rue sauce and mashed paneer to the vegetable mixture and cook for few minutes.
5. Brush the round pie dish with melted butter or oil and then spread the vegetable mixture evenly in it.
6. Cover the pie dish with the long strips of pastry puff sheets ( roll it with a belan if needed) and press the edges to seal.
7. Coat the top of pastry sheet with egg mixture for nice texture.



8. Cut out shapes from pastry top to allow steam to escape or simply punch small holes in the pastry sheet.



9. Bake for 35-40 mins or until the pastry is golden brown and puffed.



10. Cut into pizza like pieces and serves hot. I served with some baked sweet potato fries..:D



Spring, Summer or Winter - 'Vegetable PotPie' is a mouthwatering meal.. Enjoi..:D


October being a 'Vegetarian Awareness Month' - this is my entry to VAM event hosted by dear Coffee and Vanilla. For details of the event - Click here.

- Shriya

UPDATE: One can use Phyllo dough instead of pastry puff sheets, but remember to use a bunch of them (phyllo dough sheets) with a brush of butter between them..:)

Its Dessert Time folks!!! - Mango Jello and Shrikhand..

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Do you like desserts?.. I can hear most of you saying 'Yes Yes !!', so thought why not make some lovely, simple recipes for you all. and I am not a kind of a person
" who will hang curd in a thin cloth, wait till all the water gets drained of....... then make Shrikhand"...
I like things to be easy and fast.. and these are two such recipes.. Hope you all will like them..:D



Mango Jello

Ingredients:

Mango pulp 1 can
Sour cream 8 oz or 200 gms approx
Sugar (optional)
Unflavored Gelatin 1 packet



How to make:

1. In a pie pan, Pour 3/4th can of mango pulp, add sour cream and heat in MW for about 3 minutes. Add sugar if desired.
2. Take the remaining 1/4th of mango pulp in a bowl and add a packet of unflavored gelatin. Beat the contents well and make sure there are so lumps formed.
3. Mix both the contents well in the pie pan and refrigerate for about 45 mins.
This time may vary, so check it from time to time till it get a jelly type texture.
4. I drizzled some choclate syrup over it and garnished with some sour cream and choclate chips.

Shrikhand:

Traditional way: The yogurt is tied in a thin cloth and hung until all the water has drained off to get a thick and creamy yogurt. Add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron. If you mix 'mango' to Shrikhand, its called - "Amrakhand".

Ingredients:

Sourcream 16 oz
1 canned fruit/ fresh fruits
Confectionary Sugar - 1 cup ( adjust depending on our taste)
Elaichi powder
Saffron Strands - few
Nuts



To make Shrikhand: Drain the canned fruits. Mix all the ingredients and garnish with nuts and saffron strands. Serve chilled..:D

Another view....