Fruit Cake

Ingredients:

• 225g plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2tsp of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice (optional garam masala powder)
• 200g  butter
• 200g dark brown sugar (optional red jaggery)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 300g mixed dried fruit & chopped mixed peel
• 50g glazed cherries, halved & blanched almonds, chopped
• 100 ml of orange juice

Method:

Dip the dried fruit, mixed peel, glazed cherries and almonds in luke warm orange juice & keep it covered in warm place for 24 hrs.

Next day you can see that almost whole juice is absorbed by the dry fruits. Heat the oven to 180 C. Grease a cake tin/container and line the bottom and sides with baking paper or give a coat of flour on greased tin.

Sift the flour, salt, mixed spice & baking powder into a bowl.

Cream the butter and the brown sugar/jaggery in a large mixing bowl and then mix vanilla extract until light and fluffy.

Mix the eggs one at a time into the mixture. Fold in the flour mixture until well mixed and then mix the dried fruit, mixed peel, cherries and almonds.

Turn the mixture into the prepared tin or container and decorate top with few nuts or cherries.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour in 180C and then test with a skewer. If the skewer doesn't come out clean, bake for up to another 10 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes.

Turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.

Tiger Cake

Few days back I watched Zebra cake in a Pakistani cooking channel.  That day onwards I was thinking to make it as well as worried if it will come well or not. Somehow I managed it. But, (hehe) zebra became tiger (because my 2nd portion of batter liquefied more). As this is the first time I know I messed it a bit. Please bear with me. Next time definitely I will serve a gorgeous Zebraaaaa.

Ingradients:

• 2 cups plain/all purpose  flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

Pre heat the oven at 180 degree C.

 Lightly grease a cake pan or line it with parchment paper /baking paper.

In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder.

For wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar until the mixture is creamy. Add milk, oil and vanilla essence, and beat until well blended.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat just until the batter is smooth and the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

 Divide the mixture into 2 equal portions. Keep one portion plain & add cocoa powder to another and mix well

 Pour 2 ladle of plain batter into the middle of the baking pan. Then pour 2 ladle of cocoa batter in the center on top of the plain batter. THIS IS IMPORTANT PART OF THE CAKE. Do not stop and wait until the previous batter spreads It will spread by itself..

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.

Then leave the cake for another 10 minutes in the oven.

 Do not open the oven door to avoid shrinking of cake. To check if the cake is ready, insert a toothpick into the centre.

 It should come out clean when ready. Remove from the oven. Let it cool.

Then cut it & serve. Enjoy the yummy sounds of your family members.

Corn Palak Rice in Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

• ½ cup corn,
• 1cup spinach (finely chopped)
• 1 onion (chopped in small size),
• 1cup basmati rice
• 5-6 black pepper corns,1-2 cardamom,3-4 green chilli,1/2tsp of jeera/shahajeera,
• 1-2 tsp oil & salt to taste
• 2 cups of water

 Method

 In pressure cooker pour oil.

 Add cardamom, onion, jeera, greenchilli, peppercorns.

 Fry for sometime till onion gets translucent.

Put corn & rice. Fry for 5-6 minutes. When rice gets sticky with each other & its colour become white, pour water.

 Put spinach, salt &( sugar1/4 tsp .totally optional bcoz this is my twist). Stir & cover it.

 In medium heat only 1 whistle is enough.

After that keep it out of oven. Let all vapour settle down.

Open it & transfer it to serving bowl immediately.

Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 cauliflower,
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 4-5 green chillies
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp of garam masala pwd
• 2 tsp- 1 tbsp amchoor (preferably)/ lemon juice

Directions

Cut only the main stem of cauliflower about ½ inch.

Put the whole cauliflower straight into a container with boiling water wait for 3-5 min .

Take out from water & pat it with tissue to dry.

Make a paste of garlic, ginger and green chillies with curd. Keep aside.

Add in spices- coriander powder, turmeric, cumin powder, garam masala pwd,oil and salt, to the paste. Mix well.

Add in the amchoor/ lemon juice.

Marinade cauliflower with that paste & keep for 30 min into the fridge.

Preheat oven to 35o F.

Transfer the cauliflower into an oven proof dish.

 Sprinkle oil in between baking on cauliflower. Bake for 20 minutes, till cauliflower is tender & brown.

Clear Vegetable Soup with Poached Egg

As it was off day for both of us got up from bed  at 10am,. It was too late to have any heavy meal as breakfast.

So we decided to have clear vegetable soup….& it was superb.

Ingredients;-

• Carrot ,cucumber, green beans, cauliflower, potato or sweet potato, lettuce or spinach ,sweet corn,  celery stalk, capsicum, pumpkin, peas, coriander leaves & tomato (I wrote all what we can use. But it is up to your choice & availability)
• Salt , lemon juice & black pepper powder  as per taste.
• ½ tsp grated garlic & green chilli
• ¼ tsp of butter for each bowl of soup.(optional but in that case mix 1 tsp of butter during boiling the soup.)
• 1 egg for each bowl of soup.

At first cut the vegetables in cubes or as per your choice. Don’t grate it.

Pour maximum water in a big container & put all vegetables with garlic & chilli paste, except  pumpkin & tomatoes. Add little salt to it.

When the veggies are half done add both, pumpkin& tomatoes.

Allow them to boil till it is done. Serve into the soup bowl. Put ¼ tsp of butter/margarine to each bowl.

Then boil water for poach in a separate bowl. When the water is boiling slowly break a egg into it. Within 2-3 minute it will be done.

Slowly take out from water with the help of spatula & keep on top of the veggies inside the soup bowl.

I sway it will make you full but you can have your next meal happily.

Nasigoreng (Malay fried rice)

Ingredients:-

• 1 cup rice (soak it for 30 min)
• 1 egg
• 1 sausage (sliced)/boiled sliced boneless chicken
• Very thinly sliced carrot, capsicum, green beans
• 4-5 prawns
• Green onion (piyaz sak/piyaz koli) 1-2 bunch
• ½ medium size onion
• 2-3 garlic pods
• Red chilli
• 2-3 tsp of Sweet soya sauce (if you don’t have, mix little sugar syrup with normal soya sauce)
• 1tsp crushed black pepper
• 1-2tablespoon of oil

 In a big pot, boil water & then put all rice with l/2 tsp of salt. Remember that in pot enough water should be present that rice could boil freely. Drain water when it is done approximately 90%. Try to make it cool. It is always good to use left over rice or boiled rice kept in fridge.

In a mixer grinder make a paste of onion, garlic & chillies. Add ½ tsp of oil to make the paste smooth.

In a wok pour oil to fry sausage & 1-2 red dry chillies. Take out sausages from wok & keep aside.

Now put the puree into the oil & fry nicely till the raw smell of onion goes off.

Add vegetables, prawn, chicken and green onion to it. Stir for a while. Then add rice,sausages & soya sauce to it.

Stir it nicely in a medium to high flame. Add salt & black pepper as per the taste.

Make an egg poach….. Definitely oil fried.

Garnish nasigoreng on a plate garnishing with green onion & poached egg.

Believe me you can have it with fried prawn papad/ soya papad/any papad……it is quick but awesome recipe.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:-

• 1 cup pasta (any type, except spaghetti)
• 1 ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2cups boiled mixed vegetables like carrot, peas, potato, broccoli, sweet corn, and bell pepper/capsicum
• 1 boiled egg or 50 gram boiled boneless chicken (optional). You can add both.
• ½ tsp sugar                                                             
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tsp olive oil/melted butter/margarine
• Crushed black pepper
• Water for boiling pasta & vegetables.

Boiling pasta is the main part of this recipe. So do it carefully.

How to do!!! Here the way.

In a big container pour more water during boiling, so that pasta can move freely  inside the pot.

Now let the water boil. Add salt to it. Then put pasta.

After adding pasta you can see that intensity of boiling get slow for few minutes. Within 5-7 minutes again it starts to boil. Wait for 2-3 minutes like that & drain all water. Thoroughly wash the pasta with normal water. Keep the pasta into a sieve that all water can drain out.

In a big bowl put all vegetables & pasta.

Mix & stir mayonnaise, sugar, 2 pinches of salt, Olive oil & pepper in a bowl.

Then pour this mixture into the pasta & vegetables.

If you wish you can add little dry / fresh basil or parsley leaves. It gives it a different  touch which we both like.