Red Velvet Cake

• Cake flour : 2½ cups
• Salt : ½ Tsp
• Cocoa pdr : 2 Tbsp
• Butter : ½ cup
• Sugar : 1½ cups
• Egg : 2
• Vanilla extract : 1 Tsp
• Buttermilk : 1 cup ( 240 ml )
• Food colour : 2 Tbsp
• Vinegar : 1 Tsp
• Baking soda : 1Tsp

Cake flour : For 1 cup of cake flour, mix 2 table spoon of cornflour with ¾ cup of all purpose flour. Sieve it well. Sift the flour, salt and cocoa powder together twice. Beat the butter and sugar till it turns light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one into the butter and beat well after each addition. Scrape the side of the bowl. Add vanilla and mix. Whisk the buttermilk with colour and keep it aside. Then, alternately add the flour and buttermilk mix into the butter (begining and ending with flour) and combine well. Combine vinegar and baking soda into a small cup and allow it to fizz. Then, quickly add it into the batter and mix well. Pour it into the greased pan and bake it for 25 to 30 minutes.

Carrot cake

• Walnut : 1 cup
• Carrot : 2½ cup grated
• Flour : 2 cup
• Baking soda : 1 Tsp
• Baking powder : 1½ Tsp
• Salt : ½ Tsp
• Ground cinnamon : 1½ Tsp
• Egg : 4
• Sugar : 1½ cup
• Vegetable oil : 1 cup
• Vanilla : 2 Tsp

Toast the walnut for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool and chop it. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon twice. Then beat the eggs one by one for a few minutes. Add sugar into it and again beat it until it turns thick and light creamy.  Pour oil and vanilla essence into it and mix well. Slowly add flour into it in three batches. Then fold in the grated carrot and toasted nuts. Combine all the ingredients properly. Pour it into a greased cake pan and bake it for 25 to 30 minutes at 180° C.

No Butter Banana Cake

Ingredients:

• Flour : 1 cup
• Oil : 1/3 cup
• Powdered sugar : ¾ cup
• Egg : 2
• Baking powder : 1 Tsp
• Baking soda : ½ Tsp
• Salt : ¼ Tsp
• Vanilla : 1 Tbsp
• Banana : 2 large

Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt twice. Keep it aside. Mash the ripe banana and combine with sugar and egg well. Add oil, essence, salt and the flour mix into the above mixture. Mix all the ingredients and pour it into the baking pan and bake it for 30 to 35 min at 180° C.

Chicken Pulav

Ingredients:

• Maggi chicken cubes : 3
• Ghee : 3 Tbsp
• Cinnamon : 1 small piece
• Clove : 8
• Onion : 2 big sliced
• Crushed green chilly : 1 Tbsp
• Ginger paste : 1 Tsp
• Garlic paste : 1 Tsp
• Chopped tomatoes : 2
• Chicken : 500 gm
• Soaked rice : 2 cup
• Water :  4 cup
• Salt
• Fried onion
• Fried cashews

Heat ghee in a kadai or in a biriyani pot. Then roast the spices in ghee for a few minutes. Add the crushed green chilly, ginger paste and garlic paste into it and saute till it's void of its raw smell. Put the chopped tomatoes and stir it for 10 miutes. Finally, add the chicken cubes, chicken pieces, rice and water into the above sauted masala and mix it well. Add required amount of salt. Cover and cook it. Garnish it with fried onions and cashews. Serve it hot.

Butter Cake

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour : 100 gm (¾ cup)
• Baking powder : 1 Tsp
• Sugar : 100 gm
• Salt : ¼ Tsp
• Unsalted butter : 125 gm
• Egg : 2
• Milk : 2 Tbsp
• Vanilla : ½ Tsp

Pre-heat the oven for 10 mins. Grease a loaf pan and keep it aside. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder twice. Beat the sugar and butter until it turns pale. Add eggs one by one and beat well after each addition. Then, add vanilla extract and mix well. Add flour and milk alternatively into the egg mixture and mix well. Then pour it into the cake pan. Bake it for 30 to 35 mins. Remove it from the oven and keep it aside.

Vegetarian Fish Curry

[ This dish does not use fish or any of its byproducts at any time of preparation and is a pure vegetarian dish. In this recipe, the traditional fish curry preparation methodology in the mid and south Kerala is used, except that raw bananas (vazhakka) are used instead of fish. ]

Ingredients:

• Raw banana (vazhakka) : 5
• Shallots (small onion) : 3 Tbsp
• Crushed garlic : 3 Tbsp
• Crushed ginger : 2 Tbsp
• Curry leaves
• Mustard seeds : 1 Tsp
• Fenugreek seeds : 1 Tsp
• Coconut oil : 3 Tbsp
• Kashmiri chilly powder : 1Tbsp
• Spicy chilly powder : 1 Tbsp
• Turmeric powder : ½ Tsp
• Tamarind (kudam puli) : 2 big piece

Peel off the banana skin and cut it into big square pieces. Put it in turmeric water and keep it aside. Soak the tamarind in little water and keep it aside. Add little hot water into the chilly and turmeric powder and make it into a thick paste. Heat the coconut oil in a kadai and add mustard and fenugreek seeds. Allow it to splutter and add crushed ginger, garlic, shallots and curry leaves. Add salt and saute till it turns light brown. Then reduce the flame and add the masala paste into it and roast it well. When it's void of its raw smell and oil starts to separate from the masala, add the tamarind along with the water into it and mix. Boil it and put the raw banana pieces. Cover and cook it well. 

Coffee Cake with Crunchy Topping

Ingredients:

• Soft butter : 250 gm
• Caster sugar : 250 gm
• Coffee powder : 1 Tsp dissolve in 2 Tbsp hot water
• Egg : 4
• Self raising flour : 250 gm
• Milk : 2 Tbsp
• Chopped walnuts : ¼ cup
• Chocolate chips : ¼ cup

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Beat butter and castor sugar till creamy and fluffy. Pour the coffee syrup and combine well. Add eggs one by one into the butter and beat well after each addition. Slowly fold in the flour with the butter and add the milk into it. Combine together walnuts and chocolate chips and keep it aside. Pour batter into the greased cake pans and add the walnut chocolate chips mixture onto the top of the batter and slightly press it with the back of a spoon. Bake it for 25 to 30 minutes.

Keema Biriyani

For rice:

• Rice : 2 cups
• Water : 4 cup
• Ghee : 2 Tbsp
• Whole Cardamom : 2
• Whole Clove : 3
• Whole Cinnamon : 2 piece
• Lemon juice : 1 Tbsp
• Salt : as rqd

For Beef :

• Beef : 400 gm
• Onion : 3 big
• Tomato : 2 small
• Crushed ginger : 1 Tbsp
• Crushed green chilly : 1½ Tbsp
• Chilly powder : 2 Tsp
• Turmeric powder : ½ Tsp
• Garam masala : 1 Tsp
• Biriyani masala : 1 Tsp
• Coriander leaves : ¼ cup
• Curry leaves
• Mint leaves : ¼ cup
• Curd : 2 Tbsp
• Salt : as rqd
• Ghee 1 Tbsp
• Vegetable oil : 2 Tbsp

For garnishing:

• Fried onion : 1 big
• Fried cashews : ¼ cup
• Fried kismis : ¼ cup
• Chopped corriander leaves
• Chopped mint leaves

Clean and soak the rice for 20 minutes. Then, drain off the excess water and keep it aside. Heat ghee in a biriyani pot and add the crushed spices and saute till the aroma comes. Then, add the drained rice into it and slowly fry it. In another vessel, boil 4 cups of water along with required amount of salt and lemon juice. When the rice started to crackle, pour the boiling water into the rice and cook it. Keep it aside.

Mince the beef and keep it aside. Add ghee and vegetable oil into a pressure cooker followed by sliced onion and salt. Whe the onion become light golden colour, add the crushed green chilly, ginger, garlic and few curry leaves into it. Saute it well. When it is void of its raw smell, reduce the heat and add the turmeric powder, chilly powder, garam masala and biriyani masala. Roast it. When the oil starts to separate, add the chopped tomatoes and cook it. Finally, add the minced beef along with curd, chopped coriander and mint leaves. Combine all the ingredients and cook till it turns soft. If the gravy is too watery, remove the lid and make it a little thick and not dry.

To layer the biriyani, pour little ghee into the biriyani pot and add the half portion of the cooked keema masala. Then, arrange a layer of cooked rice and spread it evenly. Garnish it with fried onion, cashews, kismis, chopped coriander leaves , mint leaves and little ghee. Repeat the process and arrange the layers. Then, cover it and cook it in low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve it hot with pappad, salad and pickle.