Chocolate Sauce/Spread

Ingredients:

Cooking Chocolate (Milk) - 150 gm

Cocoa Powder - 1/2 tbsp

Brown Sugar - 15 gm

Icing Sugar - 1 tbsp

Butter - 50 gm

Oil - 40 gm

Water - 60 mL

Salt - a pinch


Method:

Grate or finely chop the milk chocolate.  I used the pure chocolate (couverture) and not the compound.

Whisk together all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Double boil them (i.e. place your chocolate bowl over a vessel of hot water) and stir well until the chocolate melts and forms a smooth paste.  Do not overheat.

Take off the heat and mix well.

Pour when warm into airtight containers and store.

When warm, it is like a thick sauce and solidifies to a spread when cooled.  If you want it saucy, mildly heat while using.  Else, this serves a very good spread for bread, pancakes, rotis, dosas etc. etc.  This is a chocolate lover's delight and easy to make too.

Replace dark chocolate for milk chocolate if you like the bitterness of it.  Alternatively, equal quantities of dark chocolate and milk chocolate can also be used.  Adjust according to your taste and preference.

Stays good in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Fruit and Nut Cake

Recipe Source:

Tupperware Booklet


Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 5 tsp
Powdered sugar - 4 tsp
Cooking oil - 4 tsp
Milk - 4 tsp
Raisins - 1 tsp
Milk Powder - 2 tsp
Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp
Cooking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Tutti Frutti - 2 tsp
Salt -  a pinch
Kiwi - 1
Orange - 1
Grapes - 12 to 15
Strawberries - 12 to 15
Raspberries - 12 to 15


Method:

Mix together all-purpose flour, sugar, raisins, cooking soda and salt.

Add oil, vanilla essence and milk to it and whisk well until it becomes a smooth batter. Finally add tutti frutti and mix again.

Bake the cake batter for 8 to 10 minutes.  Check it out after 10 minutes, and if the cake still looks wet, go ahead with another 2 to 3 minutes.

The cake would initially look puffed up but would drop down once cooled.

Heat honey with brown sugar for 2 minutes and add cut fruits (kiwi, orange, grapes, strawberries and raspberries) and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes.

Serve tuttifrutti cake with sugar coated fruits topping.

Orange and Ginger Cake

Recipe Credits:

Tupperware Brochure


Ingredients:

Eggs - 4
Sugar - 1-1/2  cups
Refined flour - 2 cups
Salt - a pinch
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Oranges - 2
Butter (melted) - 1 cup


Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and flour a loaf pan.

Separate the egg whites

In a bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks with half of the sugar.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and the other half of the sugar until thick and pale in color.

Grate the zest of one orange.

Squeeze out the juice.

Slice the remaining orange into round slices for topping and keep aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, zest and baking powder together.

Fold the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture (it will have a sandy texture). Then, pour in the melted and cooled butter and the orange juice stirring gently until the butter is just incorporated into the mix.  Finally, carefully fold in the egg whites.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, top with orange slices and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the point of a knife comes out clean when inserted in the center.

Nutritive value:

Cholesterol - 96.5 kcal
Protein - 10.9 gm
Fat - 26 gm

Puzhi Nellikkaai (Amla Pickle)

Recipe Credits:
Mrs. Mallika Badrinath (Pickle Varieties)

Ingredients:

Big Nellikkaai (Amla/Gooseberry) - 1/2 kg
Tamarind - 1/4 kg
Salt - 1/2 cup
Chilli Powder - 3/4 cup
Fenugreek Powder - 25 gm
Mustard Powder - 25 gm
Garlic Pods - 4 or 5 (crush coarsely)
Gingelly Oil - 1/4 kg

For Tempering:

Mustard - 1 tsp
Fenugreek - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Clean tamarind and soak in hot water until just immersed.

Wash and wipe the gooseberries and allow to dry on a clean, dry towel.

Make small cuts/slits here and there on the gooseberries with the help of a knife.

In a heavy bottomed pan, pour half of the oil and heat.  When hot enough, add the gooseberries and close with a lid and cook on a low flame.

Turn them with a ladle now and then.

When the gooseberries are slightly soft, remove the lid and fry them for a few more minutes and switch off the flame.

Transfer the gooseberries alone to a plate.

Grind the tamarind to a thick paste along with salt and chilli powder.

Transfer the tamarind mixture to a dry, clean bowl and add mustard powder, fenugreek powder, crushed garlic, and the gooseberries and mix well.

Add the remaining oil in the same kadai and heat.  Splutter mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and asafoetida and pour on the mixed gooseberries to form the pickle.

When completely cool, transfer to a dry jar or bottle.



Notes:

This pickle stays good for at least 1 year if stored carefully.

Whenever using pickles, transfer a small quantity to another jar and use from out of this jar and also make sure to use clean, dry spoons to serve them.

Red Onion Chutney

Adapted From

Mrs. Mallika Badrinath (Tiffin Varieties)

Ingredients:

Onions - 2 (big)

Red Chillies - 12

Tamarind Extract - 1 tbsp

Rock Salt - 3/4 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp (for tampering)

Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Chop onions into bigger pieces (say 1 inch square pieces).

Soak red chillies in water for 10 to 15 minutes.

Squeeze out the chillies alone and grind them along with salt and sugar.

Add onions and tamarind extract and grind coarsely.

Heat oil and tamper the mustard seeds in it and pour on top of the chutney.

This chutney goes well with any tiffin variety, viz., idli, dosa, kozhukattais, paniyarams, adai, etc.  Store this in an airtight container in the fridge for a longer shelf life.

Pistachio Sponge Cake (Eggless)

Source:

Neha Divakar, HBG

Ingredients:

Milk - 100 mL
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Castor Sugar - 70 gm
Flour - 75 gm
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Pistachios - 30 gm (powdered)
Oil - 4 tbsp
Milk - 1 to 2 tsp
Green Color/Pista Essence - 1 drop (optional)

Procedure:

1.  Mix 100 mL milk and vinegar in a bowl and keep aside for 10 minutes.  it would have curdled in 10 minutes.

2.  Preheat oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes.

3.  Grease the bottom and sides of a 6 inch round pan with oil and line the base with parchment paper.

4.  Sieve together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

5.  Mix in the pistachio powder to the sifted flour.

6.  Add sugar to the milk-vinegar mixture and whisk well until the sugar dissolves.

7.  Add oil to this and whisk well.  Add the green color or the pista essence and mix.

8.  Fold in the dry ingredients (the flour mixture) into this.  Add 1 to 2 tsp milk if needed.

9.  Pour the cake batter into the lined baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

10.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.  Turn the cake tin upside down after running a knife around the edges to loosen from the tin onto a wire rack and allow to cool.  Serve or cling wrap and store in freezer until use.

Notes:

I made this pista cake and filled and frosted with mango mousse and whipping cream and mango jelly drip along with pista praline.

Bisibele Bhath

Adapted From

100 Rice Delights by Mallika Badhrinath

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Thuar Dhal - 1/2 cup

Tamarind - 1 big lime sized

Mixed Vegetables (chopped) - 1 cup

Green Peas - 1/4 cup

Small Onions - 1/2 cup (peeled)

Salt - 1 tbsp (or as per taste)

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Cashewnuts - 1 tbsp

For Masala Powder:

Red Chillies - 10

Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp

Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp

Urad Dhal - 1 tsp

Bengal Gram Dhal - 1 tsp

Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

Cloves - 2

Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp

Fry all the above ingredients in half a teaspoon of oil until light brown.  Powder them.

Method:

1.  Pressure cook peas and chopped vegetables in just enough water until 3/4th cooked.  I used brinjals, cabbage, drumstick, and carrots.  The original recipe calls for just potatoes instead.  Use vegetables of your choice.

2.   Wash and pressure cook dhal with rice in 6 cups of water for 10 minutes in medium flame until soft.

3.   Soak tamarind and extract thick juice from it.

4.  Heat oil in a kadai and fry the peeled onions for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the tamarind extract and bring to boil.  Cook until the raw flavor goes from it.

5.  Add salt, asafoetida, cooked peas and vegetables, and the powdered spices.

6.  Pour this to the cooked rice mixture as soon as it is removed from the pressure cooker.  Mix well to incorporate them all together.

7.  Heat ghee, fry the cashewnuts and garnish.  Add curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves if desired.

8.  Serve hot with chips or pappad or fried vadams or onion raitha.

Notes:

I used a big onion sliced lengthwise and fried until golden and crisp in hot oil.  I used these fried onions to garnish the bisibele bhath.  They gave a real flavor to the dish.

If desired, add a teaspoon of idli chilli powder to increase the spiciness of the rice.  This is purely optional.