Moist Orange Cake

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour: 2 cup
• Baking powder: 2½ Tsp
• Butter: 200 gm
• Powdered sugar: 1 cup
• Eggs: 4
• Luke warm water: 1 Tbsp
• Fresh orange juice: 1 cup
• Orange crush: 2 Tbsp
• Orange essence: 1½ Tsp

Sieve the flour and baking powder together couple of times and keep it aside. Cream the butter and powdered sugar till it turns creamy. Then add the eggs one by one into the butter and beat well after each addition. Put half of the flour along with 1 tbsp of luke warm water and mix. Pour ½ cup of orange juice into it and mix well. Then add the rest of the flour, juice, orange essence and orange crush into it and combine well. Pour it into the greased pan and bake it for 40 minutes at 180° C.

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Kozhukkatta

Ingredients:

• Roasted rice flour : 1 cup
• Grated coconut : 2 cup
• Jaggery : 1 cup
• Cardamom powder : 1 Tsp
• Boiling water : 1 cup
• Salt : as rqd
• Ghee : 1 Tsp

Mix salt and rice flour. Boil water and pour it into the flour little by little and mix it well with a wooden spoon. Cover and keep it aside for a few minutes. Then, grate the jaggery and combine it with cardamom powder and grated coconut. Add 1 tsp of ghee into the flour mixture and knead it to a soft consistency. Then, take small balls from the dough and slightly flatten it with your palm. Then, fill it with the coconut jaggery mixture and seal it well. Again, roll it into round balls or any other desired shapes and steam it well until it gets cooked.

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Cinnamon Tea Cake

Ingredients:

• Butter : 60 gm
• Castor sugar : 2/3 cup + 1Tbsp extra
• Egg : 1
• Self raising flour : 1 cup
• Milk : 1/3 cup
• Butter : 10 g (extra)
• Ground cinnamon : 1 Tsp
• Vanilla Essence : 1 Tsp

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Cream the butter and sugar well. Add one egg and vanilla essence into it and beat till it turns creamy. Then, slowly add the flour and milk alternately into the butter mix and combine well. Transfer the batter into a greased pan and bake it for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack. Then, brush the cake top with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon castor sugar mixture.

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Easy microwave mysore Pak

Ingredients:

• Besan flour : ½ cup
• Powdered sugar : 1 cup
• Melted ghee : ½ cup + 1 Tbsp
• Boiled milk : 2 Tsp

Sieve the besan flour well. Grease a square tray with little ghee and keep it aside. In a microwave safe bowl put the sieved besan flour and 1 tbsp of melted ghee. Stir it and heat it in high power for 1 minute. Then put the melted ghee, powdered sugar and the boiled milk into another microwave safe bowl. Mix and add the roasted besan into it. Stir all the ingredients withouts any lumps. Then heat the above mixture in high power for 1 minute. Remove it and mix it well. Again heat it for 1 minute. Now the mixture turns foamy. Pour it into the greased pan and level it with the back of a spoon. Keep it for few minutes and cut it into the desired shape before it cools down completely.

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Kadai Paneer

Ingredients:

• Paneer : 500g
• Capsicum : 1 big
• Coriander powder : 1 Tbsp
• Chilly powder : 2 Tsp
• Kasuri methi : ¾ Tsp
• Onion : 2 chopped
• Green chilly chopped : 2
• Ginger chopped : 2 Tsp
• Crushed garlic : 6 pods
• Tomato chopped : 4 small
• Ghee : 1 Tbsp
• Garam masala : 1 Tsp
• Salt : as rqd

Cut the paneer and capsicum into cubes and keep it aside. Heat ghee in a kadai and saute the chopped onion, crushed garlic, chopped garlic and ginger for few minutes. Stir it for a few more minutes and add coriander powder. Reduce the flame and saute it well. Then, add the chopped tomatoes and cook it. When oil starts to separate from the side, add kasuri methi and required amount of salt into this and combine well. Then, add the chopped capsicum and paneer pieces and mix it slowly. Finally, add the chopped coriander leaves. Stir it for a few more minutes and remove it from fire.

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Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour : 1½ cup
• Baking powder : ¾ Tsp
• Salt : ¼ Tsp
• Butter : 1 cup
• Sugar : 1 to 1¼ cup
• Egg : 4
• Vanilla extract : 2 Tsp
• Chocolate chips : ¾ cup

Pre-heat the oven to 325° F. Grease a 9 inch pan with butter and keep it aside. Sieve together flour, baking powder and salt twice. Beat the butter and sugar till it turns creamy. Then, add eggs one bye one and combine it well. Pour vanilla extract and mix. Then, add flour in 3 batches and combine it slowly. Add a little flour into chocolate the chips and mix. Finally, add this chocolate chips into batter and slowly mix. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake it for 55 to 60 minutes. 

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Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

• Flour : 1½ cup
• Instant yeast : ¾ Tbsp
• Milk : ¼ cup
• Water : ¼ cup
• Olive oil / melted butter : 3 Tbsp 
• Sesame seeds : 2 Tsp
• Sugar : 1.5 Tbsp
• Salt : 1 Tsp

For spread :

• Salted butter : 2 to 3 Tbsp
• Parmesan cheese : 2 Tbsp
• Grated garlic : 1 Tsp
• Fresh cilantro : 2 Tbsp

For the spread, mix together the salted butter, cheese, grated garlic and cilantro well. Keep it aside.

Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Lightly heat the milk and water and add it into the flour. Mix along with oil/ butter. Combine them all and knead it well till it turns soft. Cover it with a damp cloth and keep it aside for 1 hr or till it doubles in size. When it double's, punch down the dough and again knead it for a few minutes and shape it into a loaf. Transfer it into a baking tin and keep it for another 15 minutes. Brush the top portion of the loaf with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds. Pre-heat the oven to 180° C and bake it for 20 minutes. (It took 30 minutes for me). Then remove it from the oven. After 30 minutes, slice the bread and fill it with the cheese garlic spread. Then, preheat the oven to 200° C and bake it for 5 to 10 minutes.

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Almond Orange Cake with Orange glaze

Ingredients:

• Flour : 50 gm
• Baking powder : 1 Tsp
• Caster sugar : 225 gm
• Ground almond flour : 250 gm
• Butter : 250 gm
• Orange zest : 1 Tbsp
• Eggs : 4

For glaze :

• Fresh orange juice : 80 ml
• Brown sugar : 60 gm
• Toasted almond

Pre-heat the oven at 180° C. Sift flour, baking powder and caster sugar. Then, add almond flour into this and mix well. Whisk butter and zest until it turns pale, then add eggs one by one into this and beat well. Fold in the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Pour it into the greased pan and bake it for 45 minutes. Then, remove it from the oven and cool it completely. 

For the glaze, boil together the orange juice and brown sugar. Remove it from the fire and cool it. Then, prick the cooled cake and pour the glaze over it.

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Paneer Manchurian

Ingredients:

• Paneer : 300 gm
• Chopped onion : 2 big
• Chopped ginger : 1 Tbsp
• Chopped garlic : 1 Tbsp
• Chopped green chilly : 1 Tbsp
• Spring onion : ¼ cup
• Capsicum : 1
• Soy sauce : 2 Tbsp
• Chilli sauce : 1 Tbsp
• Pepper powder : 1 Tsp
• Cornflour : 2 Tbsp
• Water : 2½ cups
• Oil : as rqd
• Salt : to taste

Cut the paneer into small pieces and shallow fry it. Keep it aside. Heat oil in a kadai and add the chopped ginger, garlic and chilly. Saute it for a few minutes. Then, add the chopped onion and capsicum and saute it again for a couple of minutes. Pour soy and chilly sauce into it and combine it. Add the 2½ cups of water along with pepper powder and required amount of salt into this and boil it well. Next, add the shallow fried paneer and boil it for a few minutes. Mix cornflour in ¼ cup of water and pour it into the paneer. When the gravy starts to thicken, remove it from fire and sprinkle with chopped spring onion.

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Mulaku Bajji

Ingredients:

• Banana Chilly : 5
• Besan flour : 1 cup
• Chilly pdr : 1 Tsp
• Turmeric pdr : ¼ Tsp
• Asafoetida : ¼ Tsp
• Baking soda : a pinch
• Water : as rqd
• Salt : as rqd
• Oil

Mix all the ingredients into a thick batter, except the chilly and oil. Keep it aside. Then make a length wise slit on each chilly and slowly remove the seeds from it. Heat oil a kadai. Then dip each chilly in the above thick batter and fry well. 

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Moist Eggless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• Flour : 1 cup
• Baking powder : ½ Tsp
• Baking soda : 1 Tsp
• Cocoa pdr : 6 Tbsp
• Granulated sugar : ¾ cup
• Vegetable oil : ½ cup
• Coffee : ¼ cup (1 tsp coffee pdr in ¼ cup hot water)
• Milk : ¼ cup
• Yogurt : ¼ cup
• Vanilla essence : 1 Tsp

Pre-heat the oven to 180° C. Grease the cake pan and keep it aside. Sieve all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients one by one into it. Beat it for a couple of minutes. Do not over beat it. Then, pour it into the prepared cake pan and bake it for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove it from the oven and cool it. 

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Caramel Dry Fruit Tart

Ingredients:

For Tart :

• Flour : 1.5 cup
• Powdered sugar : ¼ cup
• Baking powder : ¼ Tsp
• Milk powder : ½ Tsp
• Salt : a pinch
• Cold water : 3 Tsp
• Butter : 100 gm
• Vanilla essence : ½ Tsp

Sieve together flour, baking pdr, salt and milk powder. Keep it aside. Beat the butter and powdered sugar well. Add the flour mix along with vanilla essence and cold water into the butter and knead it into a soft dough. Refrigerate it for 20 minutes. Then, make lemon sized balls from the dough and place it into the tart mould. Then, prick the base with fork and bake it for 15 to 20 mins at 180° C. Remove it from the oven and cool it well.

For the Caramel Filling :

• Milk : 1 cup
• Cornflour : 2 Tbsp
• Sugar : ¼ cup
• Cashew nuts : 20 gm
• Almonds : 20 gm
• Kismis : 10 gm
• Condensed milk : ¼ cup
• Butter : 1 Tbsp

Mix cornflour in milk and keep it aside. Melt sugar in a pan. When it turns dark, add butter into it and melt it. Then add chopped dry fruits into it and stir it for a few minutes. Pour milk into this and mix. When it starts to thicken, pour the condensed milk. Stir it well, remove it from fire and allow it to cool. Fill the tart with this filling.

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Devil's Food Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake :

• Sifted cocoa powder : 50 gm
• Dark brown muscovado sugar : 100 gm
• Boiling water : 250 ml
• Soft unsalted butter : 125 gm
• Caster sugar : 150 gm
• Plain flour : 225 gm
• Baking powder : ½ Tsp
• Baking soda : ½ Tsp
• Vanilla extract : 2 Tsp
• Egg : 2

Pre-heat the oven to 180° C. Grease two 8 inch cake pans and keep it aside. Sieve flour, baking soda and baking powder twice. Keep it aside. Combine cocoa powder and muscovado sugar. Pour boiling water into this and mix well. Beat the butter and castor sugar till it turns fluffy and pale. Then add eggs one bye one into butter and beat well. Pour vanilla essence and mix it. Then add the dry ingredients into it and mix it slowly. Finally fold in the cocoa mixture and combine well. Pour the batter into greased pans and bake it for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and cool it well.

For the frosting :

• Water : 125 ml
• Muscovado sugar : 30gm
• Unsalted butter : 175 gm
• Dark chocolate chopped : 300 gm

Add water, sugar and butter into a pan and melt it slowly over low heat. When it starts to bubble, remove it from the fire and add the chopped chocolate into it and swirl the pan well. Keep it aside for a couple of minutes and whisk it till it becomes glossy and smooth. Cool it well and keep it refrigerated for 1 hr. Then take it out and whisk it. Now decorate the cooled cake with this frosting.

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Carrot Halwa

Ingredients:

• Carrot : 2 big grated
• Ghee : 2 Tbsp
• Cardamom : 2
• Boiled milk : ¾ ltr
• Sugar : 5 Tbsp
• Condensed milk : 3 Tbsp
• Fried cashewnut : 2 Tbsp
• Fried kismis : 2 Tbsp

Add the grated carrot and crushed cardamom into the hot ghee and saute well. When the colour of the carrot starts to change, pour the milk into it and cook well. Then, add  sugar and condensed milk into it and combine well. Stir it for a few minutes. When the mixture starts to separate from the sides of the pan, add the fried cashews and kismis and mix. Transfer it into a bowl and serve it hot or cold.

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Fish Roll

For the filling :

• Fish : ½ kg 
• Shallots: ¼ cup
• Ginger : 3 Tbsp
• Garlic : 3 Tbsp
• Onion : 2 big
• Green chilly : 2 Tbsp
• Curry leaves : few
• Coriander pdr : ½ Tsp
• Pepper pdr : 1 Tsp
• Tomato sauce : 1 Tbsp
• Salt : little
• Oil

Clean and cut the fish into medium pieces and cook it with 1 tbsp of chopped shallots, ginger, garlic, green chillies, few curry leaves, salt and a pinch of pepper pdr. Cook and make it dry. Allow it to cool and remove the bones from it. Then mince the cooked fish using a fork. Keep it aside.

Heat oil in a frying pan and add the rest of the chopped chilly, garlic, ginger, onions curry leaves and little salt. Saute it well. When it turns translucent, add pepper pdr, coriander pdr and tomato sauce. Stir it well and add the minced fish into it and make it dry. Allow it to cool

For the outer cover:

• Maida : ½ kg
• Egg : 3
• Pepper pdr : 1 Tsp
• Salt : as rqd
• Water : as rqd
• Bread crumbs : as rqd
• Maida : 2 cup
• Water : as rqd

Mix maida, salt, pepper pdr,  egg and little water to make a thick batter. Heat a tawa and pour one round spoon full of batter and make a thin pancake. Don't flip it. Cook one side and transfer it to a plate. Immediately put 1 to 1½ tbsp of filling to one side of the above prepared pancake and tightly roll it once then fold it from both sides towards the centre. Then, roll it fully and seal the end portion with maida batter. Repeat the process. Keep it aside.

Mix 2 cup of maida with enough water to make a thin batter. Add little salt and mix well. Dip each roll in this thin maida batter and roll it in bread crumbs. Fry it and serve it hot. 

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Idiyappam Ulathiyathu

Ingredients:

• Idiyappam 5
• Chopped onion 1 big
• Chopped ginger 1 Tsp
• Dry chilly 2 to 5
• Mustard seeds
• Curry leaves
• Ghee 1 Tbsp
• Urud dal
• Water
• Salt
• Oil

Tear the cooked idiyappam apart into small pieces using hand and keep it aside. Heat ghee in a kadai and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add urud dal, curry leaves, chopped onion, ginger and salt. Saute till it turns brown and add splitted dry chilly. Stir it for a few minutes and add the cooked idiyappam. Sprinkle little water and cover it for five mins. Mix well and remove it from fire.

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Dark Chocolate Mud Cake

Ingredients:

• Granulated sugar : 1½ cup
• Boiling water : ¾ cup
• Coffee pdr : ¾ Tbsp
• Vanilla essence : 2 Tsp
• Butter : 250 g
• Grated dark chocolate : 250 g
• Flour : 2 cup
• Cocoa pdr : ½ cup
• Baking soda : 1 Tsp
• Egg : 3

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Add granulated sugar into boiling water. Then put the coffee pdr into this and stir it well. Keep it aside. Melt grated chocolate and butter in a pan. Pour this over the prepared coffee mixture in a mixing bowl. Mix it. Add vanilla essence and allow it to cool. Sieve together flour, cocoa pdr, and baking soda twice. Slowly mix the flour with the wet ingredients. Finally, add vanilla essence and eggs one by one and beat well. Pour batter into a greased pan and bake it for 45 to 50 mins. 

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Paneer Bhurji

Ingredients:

• Paneer : 250 g
• Onion : 2  chopped
• Green chilly : 2
• Toamto : 1
• Capcicum : 1
• Ginger : 1 Tbsp
• Turmeric pdr : ½ Tsp
• Garam masala : ½ Tsp
• Chilly pdr : 1 Tsp
• Cumin : ½ Tsp
• Coriander leaves
• Lime juice : 1 Tsp
• Salt : 
• Oil

Crumble the paneer well and keep it aside. Heat oil in pan and add cumin seeds. Allow it to splutter and add chopped onion, green chilly, tomato, ginger and required amount of salt. Saute till the onion turns translucent. Put turmeric pdr, garam masala and chilly pdr into it. Stir it well and add the capsicum. Saute it for a couple of minutes and add the crumbled paneer and mix it well. Finally, add the chopped coriander leaves and lime juice. Combine all well and stir it for a few minutes and remove it from fire. Serve it hot with rice or roti.

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Mango Mousse Cake

Ingredients:

For the genoise:

• Clarified butter : 3 Tbsp
• All purpose flour : ⅔ cup + 2 Tbsp
• Eggs : 4
• Sugar : ⅔ cup

Soaking syrup :

• Sugar : 1 Tbsp
• Water : 1 Tbsp
• Kahlua : 1 Tbsp

For the mango mousse :

• Mango puree : 250 gm
• Whipped cream : 250 gm
• Sugar : 4 Tbsp
• Gelatin : 2.5 Tsp
• Water : 4 Tbsp

For the mango glaze :

• Mango puree : 250 gm
• Sugar : 2 Tbsp
• Gelatin : 1 Tbsp
• Water : 3 Tbsp

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl, then keep it over the pan of simmering water and whisk it continuously till it becomes warm. Then remove it from fire and beat it well till it doubles in volume. Fold the ⅓rd of the flour into the egg mixture. Slowly combine it and fold in the rest of the flour. Add the butter into it and slowly mix it. Then pour it into the cake tin and bake it for 20 mins. 

To prepare the soaking syrup, mix all the 3 ingredients well and keep it aside.

For the mango mousse, soak gelatin in water and keep it aside. Lightly heat  the mango puree and sugar. Double boil the gelatin and pour it into the mango puree. Keep it aside. Then whip the cream till you can make soft peaks from the cream. Slowly fold in the mango puree into the whipped cream.

For the mango glaze, soak the gelatin in water for a few minutes and double boil it. Heat mango puree and sugar till it becomes warm and pour the gelatin into it and mix well. Allow it to cool.

Arrange the genoise on the base of the spring form pan. Then sprinkle the soaking syrup over it. Then pour the prepared mango mousse over it. Evenly spread it with a spoon and refrigerate it well. Once it is set, pour the mango glaze over it and again refrigerate it for 2 to 3 hrs. Then remove it from the spring form pan and serve it.

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Palappam Ver 2.0

Ingredients:

• Soaked rice (Masoori) : 2 cup
• Grated coconut : 1 cup
• Cooked rice : 1 cup
• Yeast : ½ Tsp
• Sugar : 4 Tbsp
• Salt : to taste

Clean and soak the rice for about 5 to 6 hrs. Then grind it along with grated coconut and cooked rice. The batter consistency should be thin. Then add required amount of salt, sugar and yeast into it and stir well. Cover  and keep it overnight for fermentation. After fermentation, stir it well. At this point, we can check the salt and sugar. Again keep it unstirred for half an hour. Then heat the appachatty in medium flame and pour one big spoon full of batter and rotate the appachatty in clockwise/counter clockwise direction so that a thin film of batter sticks to the top of the appachatty and the major portion stays at the bottom of it. Cover and cook. When the outer portion of the appam turns crispy and golden in colour, remove it. The crispiness and the colour of the outer portion of the appam depends on the amount of sugar in the batter. The more the sugar, the more golden the colour. Serve the hot appam with  veg and non veg side dishes.

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Pesaha Appam and Palu

This is a special traditional food made by Kerala Christians only on Maundy Thursday (pesaha vyazham). So, it is prepared with much reverence and care. The eldest member of the family prays, cuts the appam or the bread and distributes it to the rest of the family members.

Ingredients:
For Appam:
Rice flour 1 cup
Urud dal 2 Tbsp
Coconut 3/4 to 1 cup
Garlic pods 5 to 10
Cumin seeds 1/2 Tsp
Water 1 cup
Salt as required 

Soak urud dal for 20 mins. Pour boiling water and rqd amount of salt into the rice flour and mix well using a big spoon. Allow it to cool and keep it aside. First grind the dal, then grind the garlic pods, cumin and grated coconut (don't grind coconut into a paste). Add this grounded ingredients and cumin seeds into the rice flour mix and combine well using hand. Prepare the batter using little water (like idli batter). Pour it into a lightly greased pan (round pan) and put the cross made from palm leaf in the middle of the batter and steam it well using an idli steamer.

For Palu:
Thick coconut milk 1 cup
Semi thick coconut milk 2 cup
Melted jaggery 1 to 1 1/2 cup
Grounded cumin seeds 2 Tsp

Add the melted jaggery and grounded cumin into the semi thick coconut milk and mix well. Stir it continously till it starts to boil. Then pour the thick coconut milk and heat it in low flame for few mins. Do not boil the milk.

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Varutharacha Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• Chicken : 1 kg
• Onion : 2 big
• Chopped ginger : 1 Tsp
• Chopped garlic : 1 Tsp
• Kashmiri Chilly powder : 2 Tsp
• Crushed Pepper : 1 Tbsp
• Coriander powder : 3 Tsp
• Turmeric powder : ½ Tsp
• Garam masala : 1 to 2 Tsp
• Grated coconut : 1 cup
• Mustard seeds : 1 Tsp
• Curry leaves 
• Water
• Salt
• Oil

Clean and marinate the chicken pieces with little salt, chilly powder and turmeric powder for 1 hour. Roast the grated coconut in low heat till it turns golden brown colour. Then reduce the flame and add the coriander powder and kashmiri chilly powder into it and stir it well. Remove it from fire and cool it. Grind it into a fine paste. Keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add curry leaves, chopped onions, ginger and garlic. Saute it till it turns transcluscent and void of its raw smell, add the crushed pepper, garam masala, and grounded coconut paste and salt. Saute it for a couple of minutes and put the marinated chicken pieces in it. Combine it with the masala and pour little water and cook.  Remove it from fire and serve it with rice, appam and bread.

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Eggless Vanilla Cupcake

Ingredients:

• Cake flour : 120 gm
• Sugar : 60 gm
• Baking powder : ½ Tsp
• Baking soda : ¼ Tsp
• Salt : ¼ Tsp
• Vegetable oil : ¼ cup
• Vanilla : 2½  Tsp
• Milk : ½ cup
• Vinegar : ½ Tbsp

How to prepare Cake flour :
For 1 cup of  flour, remove 2 tbsp of flour from it and replace it with 2 tbsp of cornflour. Then sieve it 3 to 4 times. Now the cake flour is ready.

Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix sugar with it. Pour vinegar into milk, stir it and keep it aside. Then make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Combine all the ingredients well without lumps. Then pour it into the cupcake liners. Bake it for 15 to 17 mins at 180° C. It took 25 mins for me. 

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