Sunday Special - Fourth edition

Recipes send for the fourth edition of Sunday Special

Rava Kesari / Sooji Ka Halwa

the recipe


Rava / Semolina - 1 cup
Water – 2 cup + 2 tbsp
Turmeric – 2 pinch (I used this instead of food color)
Sugar – 1 ½ cup
Cardmom – 4 (powder it with some sugar)
Cashewnuts, Almonds and raisins – as required (fried in ghee)
Ghee – 2 – 3 tbsp

the method

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pan and lightly sauté the semolina and turn off heat. Heat water in another pan with turmeric. When it come to boil, turn to low heat and add the rava slowly into the water and stir in circular motion briskly. The heat is turned to low to avoid formation of lumps. Keep stirring till the semolina is almost cooked. Add the sugar 1 or 2 tbsp at a time and keep stirring. Add the cardamom powder and fried nuts. Add one more tablespoon ghee on top and mix well.

Pour the kesari into a greased tray or plate. Cut it into diamond shapes and serve it hot or cold. I used some saffron strands just to give an appeal for the photograph.

the recipe goes to sinful delights by Vardhini

Sunday Special - Third Edition

This is the third edition of Sunday Special. If you are interested in participating in this event please go through the details in the event page.



A big thanks to the participants….

...continue reading by clicking the title

Coconut Cake with Custard Apple & Cream

 

I have been wanting to prepare a Coconut Cake for a long time. I was in doubt whether I should use fresh coconut or desiccated ones. Finally I decided to prepare homemade desiccated coconut and the cake thus happened. The idea of custard apple and cream is from Chef Vicky Ratnani. I saw it in a program called ‘Do it Sweet’ aired on NDTV Good Times.

ingredients for the Coconut Cake

Flour (maida) – 3 cups

Eggs – 3 large or 4

Caster Sugar – 2 ¼ cup

Veg oil – 1 ¼ cup

Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Dessicated coconut – 6 tbsp (Check ‘Basics’ page for method)

ingredients for the Custard Apple Cream

Custard Apple – 3 (just ripe fruit)

Sugar – 3 tbsp

Whipping Cream Powder – ¾ cup

Chilled water – 40 ml

If you are using fresh cream you might require 300-400ml medium fat cream

 

Method to prepare the cake

Preheat Over at 180 C.

Sieve the flour and baking powder three times.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs one by one: Place one egg in the bowl and place the electric mixer on the yolk and start fluffing up the yolk and white until they are combined well. Continue with the other eggs. Once all the eggs are added continue for one more minute.

Add the caster sugar little by little in speed 1 or 2. When all the sugar is added switch to high speed and continue beating for about 5 minutes till the mix has doubled in volume. Add the vanilla extract and oil and mix together for a minute.

While adding the flour, use a spatula to mix the batter. Add the flour little by little until fully used up. Add the dessicated coconut and mix well. Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 180C for 40 minutes (Keep checking after 35 minutes because oven temperatures vary). Let it cool in the pan for ten minutes.

Take the cake out of the pan and let it cool for a day (Keep it wrapped in an aluminium foil in a refrigerator).

Method to prepare custard apple cream

Deseed the Custard Apple. Grind it coarsely along with 3 tbsp sugar.

Place the whipping cream powder in a bowl and gradually add the cold water and whip it into cream. Add 2 tbsp cream into the custard apple and blend for a second. Transfer the custard apple mix into the whipped cream and gently fold in.

Assembling the cake

Cut the cake into two horizontally. Place a layer of the custard apple cream on one layer of the cake. Place the other half of the cake over it. Place the whipped cream in the middle of the cake and spread it to the sides evenly. Decorate the cake with custard apple seeds (not to be eaten – take care while serving the cake to kids).

Enjoy!!

Beef & Potato Roast (Kerala Style)

Roast in the Kerala perspective means a preparation with thick gravy. Hence we have the varieties like chicken roast, egg roast, beef roast, duck roast and mutton roast. Well it is really hard to find a vegetable roast and i dunno if there are any...Anyway the roast gravy is usually made of lots of onion and tomato. Since beef is an inevitable part in a Christian home in Kerala there are many beef recipes indeed. Beef in coconut milk, Beef curry with coconut chunks, Beef chops, Beef Ularthiyathu and the list goes on. The standard beef curry which my mother prepares is a beef and potato curry with coconut milk. When I got married, the beef preparation and generally all the meat preparation was totally different at my in-laws. There was no coconut milk in any meat preparation other than for the stew. 

This is is a recipe which is my husband's favorite and needless to say this is the way my mother in law prepares beef on Sundays. 

Usually fresh garam masala is prepared for the beef curry. The recipe for garam masala is as follows:

to prepare the garam masala

cloves - 6

cinnamon - 1 inch piece

cardamom - 6 medium

fennel seeds - 1 heaped tsp or 1 1/2 tsp

poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp

pepper corns  -  1 1/2 tsp

Blade of mace - 1/2 (optional)

nutmeg - 1/2 cm piece (optional)

Lightly heat the above (other than the poppy seeds) and grind it to a fine powder.

ingredients to boil the beef

beef - 1 kg

potato, (peeled and immersed in water for 15 mins) - 3 medium

small onions, crushed - 10
green chillies, crushed - 4 or less (adjust to taste)
ginger, crushed - 3/4 inch piece
garlic, crushed - 12
tomatoes cubed - 2 medium
curry leaves - 3 sprigs

chilly powder - 2 tsp
turmeric - 1/2 tsp
coconut oil - 1tbsp
garam masala - use half of the garam masala from the above mentioned quantity.
salt - to taste

method to boil beef

Heat a pressure cooker in medium flame and add the coconut oil. Immediately add the crushed onion, green chilly, ginger, garlic and curry leaves. Stir for one minute. Add the chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt. Stir for few seconds. Add the washed and cubed meat. Stir well. Add the tomatoes and whole potatoes. Stir and put the lid on and cook till done (8 whistle for the usual pressure cooker).Open the lid and cut the potatoes into four or eight. Keep it aside.

This recipe requires double tempering.

ingredients for the tempering

coconut oil - 2-3 tbsp
garlic - 6 cloves, finely chopped
ginger - 1/2 inch piece, finely chopped
onion, sliced - 3 medium sized
curry leaves - 1 sprig
garam masala - the other half of the 1/2 of the above quantity
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
chilly powder - 1 - 1 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
pepper powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Heat a clay pot or a wide pan and add the coconut oil. Add the garlic till golden brown. In medium heat, add the onion and salt and saute till golden brown. Add the ginger and curry leaf and stir for few seconds. Add the turmeric, chilly powder and garam masala. Saute till the raw aroma is gone. Add the cooked meat and potatoes. Stir well and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. Serve hot with rice, appam, peshawari naan, meat puttu or even a stuffed paratha or kashmiri paratha. Enjoy!

Click here for other beef recipe in this blog