Eggless Sponge cake

Ingredients :

2 cups All purpose flour (maida)

3 tsp Nestle milk powder

1 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3 spoons Ghee

3 spoons Cream

1 Cup sugar

1 Cup milk

3 drops of vanilla essence

2 drops of lemon juice

Method :

* Sieve the flour,milk powder, baking powder and baking soda together.

(repeat the process 3 times so that the ingredients are mixed thoroughly)

* In a separate bowl heat milk and sugar (DO NOT boil) keep stirring till the sugar dissolves completely !

* Mix Ghee with cream

* Now add the ghee+cream paste to the sieved flour and mixx well.

* "Gradually"(NOT at one go) add sweetened milk to the above mixture and keep stirring.

* Add 3 drops of vanilla essence and 2 drops of lemon juice

* Pour the mixture into a greased and dusted** tin.

**Dusted means ~ after greasing the tin just sprinkle little bit of maida on all corners/base of the tin..it prevents cake from sticking.

Preheat the oven to 200 degree C

Bake in a hot oven at 200 degree c for 10 minutes. Then reduce the tempreture to 150 degree C and bake for a further 10 minutes.

The cake is ready when it leaves the sides of the tin and is springy to touch.

When ready, take out from the oven and leave for 1 minute.

Invert the tin over a flat surface.

Let it cool...then tap to remove the cake from the tin !

Decorate with sprinklers or icing !

Handy tip:

If incase u dont have an oven/microwave u can put the tin as it is in a pressure cooker (without the whistle)

With a stand below to avoid direct contact with the surface of the cooker.

And let it cook for 50 mins and the cake will be ready ! :)

Fruitella Pudding

One of the MOST amazing looking dessert ! i have made it soo many times that i can now even make it with my eyes closed !

ohk now thats a sheer exaggeration ;)

Ingredients :

1 sponge cake

vanilla Custard

Fruits

Ice cream

Method :

To make thick custard :

* Boil 1 lt milk with 6 teaspoons of sugar (or as per taste)

* keep 5-6 spoons of milk aside and mix atleast 4 heaped teaspoons of vanilla custard (preferably brown & polson's)

* Remove the milk from heat and add the above paste and boil again for 2 minutes,stirring it continuously to avoide burning !

* let it cool then refridgerate it .

Preparing the Pudding:

* Take a deep & wide glass bowl.

* Cut the cake horizontally in 3 separate layers.

* Place one layer at the bottom of the bowl.Pour a little

custard...enough to cover the layer of cake ! Then again put a layer

of cake and repeat the process until you reach the rim of the bowl

* Give a final layering of vanilla ice cream.

* Decorate with as many seasonal fruits as possible !

And in a way which would make your dish as desirable as possible :)

n Voila your mouth watering pudding is ready to be served and win hearts ;)

Timepass no. 2

Ohk this i made on childrens' day !

just assembled everythin i could lay my hands on in my kitchen to make a face so totally edible :D

Timepass

ohk i know it doesnt belong to "Cook-O-Logy" but didnt know where else it could fit ;)

these are the curtains i made..

with glass straws,plastic mirrors,roses made with ribbons and beads :)

Sabudaana Pakodi / Fritters

Ingredients:

1 cup sago ( sabudaana ) soaked for min 3-4 hours

2 Boiled potatoes

1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder

1/2 tsp Chat masala

salt as per taste

1 tsp lemon juice

oil to fry

Method :

* Boil potato with the skin. Discard the skin and mash potato finely..

* Add red chilli powder,salt,Chat masala n lemon juice with soaked sabudaana.Mix till it becomes dough then make a small dumplings like vada.

* Heat oil and deep fry on very slow flame till they turn golden brown in colour.

Garnish with Cilantro/coriander !

Serve hot with corainder chutney or ketchup ! :)

Lasagne

Recipe : Coming soon !

Pizza

Serving size 2-3

Ingredients:

1 pizza base

1 Finely chopped Capsicum

1 Finely chopped onion

2 Finely chopped tomatoes

corn kernels

pineapple (if not fresh even the tinned one will do)

Cottage cheese (paneer)

salt

black pepper

tomato ketchup

chilli sauce

mozarella cheese

Method for preparing the Pizza sauce

* In a saucepan/kadhai heat a little oil

* Add all the finely chopped vegetables (capsicum,tomatoes,onions)

* Add black pepper and salt

* Once the vegetables become a little soft add tomato ketchup and chilli sauce to it...mix well to form a thick sauce.

* Spread this sauce on the pizza base.

* Add the toppings-->corn kernels,diced pineapple and cottage cheese.

* Grate mozarella cheese well on it.

* Preheat the over to 250° C

* Bake the Pizza for 20 - 25 minutes or until the crust is brown !

The toppings i chose are my personal favourites but you can always replace it wid anything you like...For eg :Mushrooms,Broccoli,Eggplant or any other edible crap !

Garnish it with chilli flakes and oregano !

Handy tip :

If incase you dont have an oven...dont be disheartened !

My sister in law taught me to bake a pizza on a gas stove ! yes you can do that too...

* Heat a pan and Put a little butter on it place the base with all the toppping..cheese etc...

* cover it with a lid ..

* Let it bake for 15 mins (approx)

Though the cheese will not turn brown but the base will become amazingly crisp and it'l be equally good in taste :)

Manicotti

This is by far the easiest recipe for manicotti a famous itlaian dish !

Infact i'd better address it as the "Desi Manicotti" ;)

Ingredients:

Manicotti shells

Cottage Cheese

finely chopped onions

Spinach

Pasta sauce

mozarella cheese

Method:

*Boil the manicotti shells and keep them aside

Preparing the filling:

* Boil spinach.

* Then mix it well with cottage cheese (paneer) and finely chopped onions.

* Add a little salt + pepper to it.

Put this filling in the boiled manicotti shells.Place the shells in a baking dish.

Top them with pasta sauce and then grate lots of mozarella cheese on it !

Preheat the oven at 350 degree (for roughly 10 minutes)

Once done place the baking dish in it and bake for another 15 minutes.

(cheese should melt and turn brown)

Manicotti is an excellent dish to prepare when you are expecting company. A salad and a loaf of Italian bread completes this easy meal.

Cold Coffee

One of the MOST common and MOST refreshing recipe for summers !

serving size : 1

Ingredients :

3/4 tsp Coffee

1 glass chilled milk

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

sugar (as per taste) ~ i suggest 2 spoons !

ice cubes

Optional:

hershey's chocolate syrup and drinking chocolate for decorating the glass coz a man first eats with his eyes...so if a drink/dish is well presented ie looks tasty...more than half the battle is won my friend !

Method:

* Blend coffee + milk + sugar + Icecream + ice cubes in a mixer grinder till it turns foamy !

* Pour hershey's chocolate syrup on the wall of the glass which will be used for serving .

* Then pour the cold coffee in it...sprinkle little drinking chocolate on it or even grated dairy milk would do :)

MangOLaa

Ingredients:

Mango

Vanilla Icecream

Mirinda

Method :

* Make mango pulp by simply grinding small pieces of mango to form a pulp.

* In a glass put little pulp + a scoop of Vanilla icecream + little mirinda !

* n TADA a three layered mango drink is ready ! Not just it looks tempting... it indeed is one of the most delicious/easiest drinks i have ever tried !

Strawberry Shake

Ingredients:

1 cup strawberries

4 cups Milk

sugar (according to taste)

Ice cubes

Method:

* Wash strawberries properly and remove the stems.

* Blend strawberries with Milk and ice in a mixer grinder until properly crushed !

Extra Gyaan :

u can always add a little sprite to the shake it adds to the taste and freshness !

Handy Tip :

If incase u DONT have strawberries...then replace it with strawberry ice cream....

following the same process...and trust me it tastes equally GooooD :)

Crispy Noodles

My personal favourite ! Cant explain in words how much i LOVE this dish...not just because its very easy to prepare..but because it tastes Yumm and my mouth waters as i write all this !! aaargghh back to business !

Serving size 1 or may 2 (depending on whether you want to share or not)

Ingredients :

2 packets of maggi masala noodles

oil for frying

Sauce Ingredients:

2 tomatoes (for puree)

soya sauce

Method :

* 1st prepare maggi (without tastemaker as in the masala found inside the packet :| )

all we need is boiled white maggi noodles for frying !

* keep the tastemaker aside...we'l be needing it later !

* Once boiled maggi is ready, heat oil in a saucepan/kadhai den add "small portions" of these noodles and fry them til golden brown.

* Meanwhile boil 2 tomatoes then Using a mixer grinder make its puree.

Preparing the sauce:

* Heat a saucepan/kadhai add tomato puree to it...bring to boil.

* Add 2 teaspoons of soya sauce.

* the maggi tastemaker which we saved while preparing the 1st pct of maggi.

Once all the above mentioned things are done...prepare maggi as one would normally do..

with no added vegetables.

[just 1 cup water + maggi noodles + tastemaker n 2 mins by the clock !]

Now how to serve :

On a plate serve maggi, top it with the sauce we prepared and then crush the fried maggi in the way shown in the attached photo !

Trust me it tastes just W-O-W !

Coconut Barfi

Ingredients:

2 cups frehsly grated coconut

1 cup sugar

2 tspn Milk

1 tbsp ghee

1-1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Method :

* Heat a pan , then add the grated coconut and fry over medium heat.

* When the coconut milk moisture is somewhat lessened, remove it from heat.

* In another vessel boil water

* Once the water reaches the boiling point add sugar, keep stirring till the sugar dissolves.

* Add milk to the boiling sugar syrup.

* When the sugar syrup reaches a thick syrupy stage, add the fried grated coconut.

* Stir continuously till they are well blended !

* Then add ghee and cardamom powder

* Keep stirring till the mixture becomes thick.

* remove from heat and pour into a ghee-smeared plate and flatten it.

* Once it cools down...give the desired shape..[round shape being the easiest :) ]

Garnish it wid shredded coconut and any odd dry fruit ! n there an amazingly delicious sweet is ready :)

Aloo Tikki Chaat

Serving size--2

Ingredients:

2 big or 4 small potatoes

chilli powder

lemon juice

tamarind-date sauce

sweet curd/yoghurt

coriander sauce or bole toh chutney ;)

salt

fr garnishing u can use...pomergranate/coriander/grapes..

Method :

* Boil potato with the skin. Discard the skin and mash potato finely..

* Add red chilli powder,salt n lemon juice

* Now take a small portion of potato dough, make a ball, then flatten it.

* Heat a flat pan/tawa with little oil. Place the tikki in the oil and shallow fry on both sides till it turns golden brown in color.

* Similarly make tikki's with rest of the potato dough.

* Serve with Tamarind-date chutney, green chutney and sweetened yogurt/curd.

n later garnish with "little" salt n red chilli powder and also pomergranate/coriander/grapes :)

this was the simple version !

to add to the taste and to make it heavy...u can add chholey chaat to it....chholey as in chick peas !

To make chholey chaat for 2 people

Ingredients :

handful of chickpeas (soaked overnight)

finely chopped tomotoes n onions

chhola masala (prefarably Catch)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (or as per taste)

1/4 tsp haldi/turmeric powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

lemon juice

n ofcourse salt !

for seasoning bole toh chaunk --

little oil

cumin seeds

hing/Asafoetida powder

Method:

1)add water and boil the chickpeas /chholey in a pressure cooker till they r ready !

how one knows its ready...simple...after 4-5 whistles just take out one chickpea n press and see...if its easily mashed...tada its ready :)

keep the chholas and discard the water.

2)Heat oil in a kadhai/saucepan

add cumin seeds...hing..let the spices give out the aroma..add chopped onions...fry till they turn golden brown...

3)Add red chilli powder,chholey masala,garam masala fry for 5 seconds and then add chopped tomatoes and cook on low heat till tomatoes are well cooked .

4)Add the cooked chickpeas/chholey little water (2cups) add salt...stir well...and boil it for 5-7minutes..turn off the stove and add little lemon juice...

Now the chholey is ready to be served with the tikkis ! :)

u can use these same chholey with bhaturas/puris as well...but if i write all the recipes in one page what will i do with the remaining blog ?? LOL :D