Diet Cake (No Maida - No Butter)

Yes..the name sounds ironical but necessity is the mother of all inventions! Growing Fat (ok Plump!) day by day has its own side effects. One craves for food--which isn't too good for the growing belly :/

BUT BUT BUT the perks of loving cooking comes by when  you can customize the age old recipes to suit your taste (ahem and body :D)

So I made my own recipe of a "Diet" cake (with no maida and no oil). Here it goes..I am posting a simple "Cooker Cake" recipe so that everyone can try it

Ingredients:

• Flour (Aata) - 1 cup
• Milk - 1 Cup
• Eggs- 2
• Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Raisins
• Almonds
• Baking Powder- 1/2 tbsp
• Baking Soda- 1/4 tbsp

Method:

• Beat the eggs and sugar together until fluffy
• Add aata, sugar & milk and fold it lightly with a spatula
• Add baking powder and soda and mix gently a couple of times
• Take an aluminium bowl grease it and dust it with flour
• Place a baking sheet at the bottom of the bowl
• Prepare the cooker as an oven
• Remove the whistle
• Add 3 cups of salt on the base of the cooker
• Place the aluminium bowl in it (sprinkle the dry fruits on it at this stage) and close the lid. REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE WHISTLE
• Cook for 40 mins
• Pierce a knife & check if it comes out clean
• If it does, your cake is done.
• Enjoy it while still warm & fresh

Note: Since this has no oil/maida it is for immediate consumption. Avoid refrigerating it as it might make it rubbery

Diet Cake

Microwave Indian Milk Cake

Next in line is this recipe for making Indian Milk Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ricotta cheese or plain paneer
• 1 cup milk powder + (1/4 cup to keep aside as sometimes a little more is needed )
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• cardamom (elaichi) powder

Method:

• Melt the butter and grease the microwave safe container ( preferably glass )
• Take ricotta cheese,milk powder & sugar in container & Mix all the ingredients together. If it is too runny, add a little extra milk powder . It should be like cake batter consistency. Spread it out evenly to cover the entire dish.
• Microwave on high for 6 minutes, stirring it every 2 minutes in between. It fluffs up a little on the sides than the centre. Level the surface out each time you stir it.
• It will begin to look a bit crumbly and lumpy.
• Take it out, break it up with a fork a little. Microwave on full for further 1 1/2 minutes.
• The edges will begin to look a little golden colored.
• Microwave again for 1 min .
• Take it out, firm it gently and microwave for 1 minute. It should be completely set by now. If it is not, microwave for a further 1 minute. In the end, it must be set & the color in the bottom changes to dark brown. Garnish it with elaichi powder
• Allow to cool and then cut it into squares 

Milk Cake

Recipe Courtesy: Shailaja Tomar

Kesari and Milk Pedas #SaffronBites #MilkBites

Holi was round the corner and buying sweets from traditional sellers was a BIG no no due to the adulteration stories all around. BUT..everyone loves sweets and c'mon it was HOLI. So I tried a quick recipe for home made pedas and milk cake. This recipe is based on the one I found on another blog.

Ingredients:

• Instant Dry Milk (Milk Powder) – 2 cups (150gm)
• Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1, 14oz can (396gm)
• Unsalted Butter – 1, 4oz stick (113gm) or Desi Ghee
• Saffron
• Yellow Food Colour

Method:

• In a microwave safe dish, melt the butter.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Cook in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirring very well after every minute.
• After the 3 minutes, mix well again and leave aside for the mixture to cool down enough to handle.
• Once the mixture has cooled down, grease your hands and make balls.
• Gently press the balls and flatten them to shape…round and flat.
• Decorate them with colored sugar, almonds, cashews, pistachios or raisins.
• Let the pedas set and cool down.

Milk Pedas

Kesariya Pedas

Too easy to make but doesn't compromise on taste. Go ahead and try making some.
Recipe Courtesy: Show Me The Curry

Paperboat #Natural Drinks

So here I am with a review of 4 flavours of 'Natural' drinks from Paper Boat.

 I got it in 4 flavours – Kala Khatta, Aam Ras, Jaljeera and Aam Panna.

 Paper Boat claims that does not contain any junk but the pack clearly says that it has added natural and nature identical flavours. Just to clarify picking up an extract from their website:
 A. Natural Flavours: Flavours have the exact chemical composition as the fruit and are derived from natural sources.
B. Nature Identical Flavours: Flavours have the exact chemical composition as the fruit but are derived through a chemical process.
C. Artificial Flavours: Flavours don't have the exact chemical composition as the fruit and go for the closest tasting substitute regardless of chemical structure. Or your well-being in general. With nature and nature identical flavours, you get the closest there is to the real thing without putting your family's health at risk.

 The drinks come in a cute novel handy packaging though I was afraid to carry it around as I wasn't 100% sure that it won't burst or spill. The packaging is not biodegradable. But it does require a much lower carbon footprint than your average PET bottles or Tetra-Paks. Though the packaging doesn't mention it but found out through enquiry that once the seal is open, it should be consumed within 3 hours if unrefrigerated and 24 hours if refrigerated. (Well it sure must be Natural!)

Coming down to assessment of flavours –

 aam panna was my fav without doubt! Just the right amount of sweetness and the first sip n gives you a hit of nostalgia!

 I didn't like the mango one and can suitably call it a substitute for slice etc – just with an upper edge of being 'close' to natural.

 Jamun – was actually a surprise flavor! Going by its deep purple colour I was expecting it to be more on the lines of blackcurrant (as I didn’t read the label first) and Whoa! Took me a moment to realize how Jamun tastes and YES Nostalgia again (I hardly see Jamun fruit in local market these days). It surealy was a pleasant surprise.

 Jaljeera was neutral to me as long as it taste goes. I was OK with it. Not too good, not too bad. A sure substitute if you are a Golgappa Addict :P

Ingredients

Hamper

Steamy Hot Chocolate Parathas

So with an annual shutdown ahead of me..I have loads of time to cook the stuff I've been wanting for a long time now. The first in line is my favourite - CHOCOLATE PARATHAS. The mere thought of steamy parathas with melted chocolate inside is to die for. A very easily delicacy to make, go ahead enjoy one in this suppeeerrrr cold weather!

Ingredients:

• Hot Chocolate (the canned ones in market)
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• Powdered White Sugar
• Butter
• Dough

Recipe:

• Roll the dough in a small sized thick roti
• Mix hot chocolate podwer, cocoa powder and powdered sugar and add some oil to it
• Fill it in the thick roti and make a round ball
• Roll the ball to make a paratha
• Cook it with butter

Tada!! Steamy Hot Chocolate Paratha is ready to eat - enjoy the blast of liquid chocolate!

Red Velvet Cake (With Cheese icing)

A cloudy winter day calls for some delectable delicacy..and what better than cakes - any cakes, Mug Cakes, Cup Cakes, Huge Cakes, I know we all love all of them ;)


So today i decided to make some yum RED VELVET CAKE.Let me set the context for you. there are two very prominent myths about Red Velvet Cake:During the Great Depression, families were using less food colorings and extracts. They were just one more unnecessary expense that could be cut out. While the savings was good news for penny-pinchers, it was not-so-great news for the Adams Extract company. To counter slumping sales, folks at the company came up with the Adams Red Velvet Cake recipe, a concoction that used red food coloring and butter extract instead of the traditional ingredients. Before food coloring become the popular way to make the cake scarlet, the hue was much more subtle and was caused by the way vinegar, cocoa, and buttermilk reacted together. Adams’ ploy worked. The new brilliantly-colored cake was a hit with households across the country, and the fact that the recipe was offered on free recipe cards at grocery stores everywhere didn’t hurt either. So, there you have it: the popularity of red velvet cake is the result of a clever marketing ploy. And who can resist that tagline of a bygone era: "The cake of a wife time."

One (and I don not know which one is incorrect) take on the invention of the red velvet cake is that the Waldorf Astoria Hotel created it in the 1920s and graciously provided the recipe when a customer asked. She later received a bill in the mail for $350, prompting her to distribute the recipe to anyone who would take it.Anyway, the myths will always be, lets Bake and Relish. To begin with it is important to know that the “velvet” comes not from the color of crushed velvet, but from the smooth texture of fine cake crumb. This is a 'MICROWAVE' version of the cake and can usually be baked in a 'MUG'.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon liquid red food coloring
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cider, white, white wine, or rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cheese cubes
• 1 cup Icing Sugar

PREPARATION - Cake

• In a large mug, whisk together the egg and oil.
• Stir in the food coloring, buttermilk, vanilla, and sugar
• Add the cocoa, flour, salt, and vinegar. Beat the batter until smooth
• Grease and flour two mugs, preferably transparent to enjoy the deep red colour of the cake
• Microwave for 4 minutes

PREPARATION - Frosting

• Melt 3 cheese cubes in the microwave for 30 seconds
• Keep Whisking and add dome warm milk (to give enough heat to the cheese to keep it melted)
• Add 1 cup of icing sugar
• Add vanilla essence to it and keep whisking until the desired consistency is achieved
  

Discover food like never before with Opera

Along the “discover” theme, Opera Software organized a #DiscoverWithOpera food bloggers meet-up, inviting some of Delhi’s top food bloggers at Ahoy! Asia.

Just like Opera users setting out to discover content on the web,we were given the opportunity to embark on a journey of Oriental food discovery. At the event, bloggers introduced themselves in a unique way by talking about their food-related discoveries. The afternoon was well spent, with bloggers passing the test of identifying various cuisines including Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Malaysian. Along with an afternoon of fun-filled activities, wes were also quizzed on Asian cuisine some popular myths often associated with the cuisine were busted.

We troed out some of popular Oriental dishes including Chuanr Lamb Kebab from Uyghur, Thai Tofu & Bell Pepper Satay, Uyghur DaPanJi (chicken stew), Zhua Fan Lamb Pulao and Banana Spring Rolls with a vanilla ice-cream scoop & caramel sauce.

Malaysian Lamb Murtabak

Vietnamese Chicken Banhmi Sandwich

All in all it was a great day and we all learnt a great deal about our first love - FOOD!