Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• Sugar : 2 cup
• All purpose flour : 1¾ cup
• Cocoa pdr : ¾ cup
• Baking powder : 1 Tsp
• Baking soda : 2 Tsp
• Salt : 1 Tsp
• Buttermilk : 1 cup
• Hot coffee : 1 cup
• Vegetable oil : ½ cup
• Vanilla essence : 1 Tsp
• Egg : 2

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Grease two 8 inch cake pans and keep it aside. Sieve flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla essence. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry one and mix well. Then, pour the hot coffee and mix. Transfer the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake it for 35 to 40 mins. Transfer it to a wire rack and cool it well before decoration.

For the whipped cream layer:

• Bluebird whipped cream : 1 packet
• Vanilla essence : 1 Tsp
• Cold water : 90 ml
• Pwd sugar 1 Tbsp
• Cocoa pdr 2 Tsp

Chill the mixing bowl and whipping blade for 15 mins. Then pour the cold water into the cream mix and beat it at low to medium speed for few mins. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat till it reaches thick. Cover and chill it for 15 mins. Layer the cooled cake and fill it with this cream. Then refrigerate it for 1/2 hr.

For the ganache topping:

• Baking chocolate (at room temp) : 200 gm
• Fresh cream : 200 ml

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Heat the fresh cream till it starts to boil and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Mix it well until it melts completely. Cool it to the room temperature and refrigerate it for 10 mins.

Recipe Courtesy: foodnetwork.com

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Gobi Manchurian

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower : 1 big
• Maida : ½ cup
• Cornflour : ¼ cup + 1 Tbsp
• Kashmiri chilly pdr : 1 Tsp
• Chopped ginger : 1 Tbsp
• Chopped garlic : 1 Tbsp
• Onion cubed : 2 med
• Capsicum cubed : 1 big
• Tomato sauce : 2 Tbsp
• Chilly sauce : 1 Tbsp
• Soy sauce : 1½ Tbsp
• Sugar : ¼ Tsp
• Water
• Salt
• Oil

Clean and cut the cauliflower into medium pieces and dip it in salt water for ½ an hr. Then, drain it and keep it aside. Mix water with cornflour and keep it aside. Combine maida, cornflour, chilly pdr and a little salt. Make a thick paste out of this using a little water. Dip the drained cauliflower pieces in the above prepared batter and deep fry it. Transfer it into a bowl. Heat oil in another pan and saute the ginger, garlic and onion for 3 mins. Then, add the cubed capsicum and saute it. Pour the sauces into it and mix. Heat it for a few mins and pour the cornflour mix into this. When it thickens, add  the fried cauliflower and combine it with the sauces. Sprinkle a little salt and sugar and stir it. Remove it from fire.

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Palappam

Ingredients:

• Raw rice : 1 cup
• Grated coconut : ½ to ¾ cup
• Cooked rice : ½ cup
• Instant yeast : ¼ Tsp
• Sugar : 3 Tbsp
• Water
• Salt

Soak rice for 2 to 5 hrs. Then grind it with grated coconut and the cooked rice using required amount of water. The batter consistency should be thinner than the dosa batter. Add yeast into the batter and mix well. Keep it  overnight  in a warm place to ferment.

Once it is fermented, add the required amount of sugar and salt into the batter and stir it well. Then keep it unstirred  for ½ hr. Next, heat the appa chatti and pour a big round spoon (thavi) full of batter into it. Then spread the batter by rotating the appa chatti. Cover and cook it for 2 to 3 mins. When the edges turn brown, remove it from the pan and serve it hot with veg or non-veg curry.

Some curries which may go with palappam are Vegetable Stew, Creamy Cashew Chicken, Nadan Chicken Curry, Traditional Chicken Roast, Beef Curry, Fish Molly or Egg Roast.

An alternate method of preparation of Palappam is also given here.

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Strawberry Juice

Ingredients:

• Fresh strawberry : 1 cup
• Lemon juice : 2 Tsp
• Sugar : 2 Tbsp
• Cold water : ½ cup
• Ice cubes : 4 to 5

Blend the chopped strawberries with sugar until it turns smooth. Then, boil the blended strawberry mixture and cool it well. For preparing the juice, mix ½ cup of cold water with 2 tbsp of the strawberry mixture along with lemon juice. You can increase the level of sugar depending on your taste.

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Whole Wheat Banana Nut Loaf

Ingredients:

• Egg 2
• Butter ½ cup
• Caster sugar ½ cup
• All purpose flour 1 cup
• Whole wheat flour ½ cup
• Baking soda 1 tsp
• Ground cinnamon 1 Tsp
• Banana 3 large
• Vanilla essence 1 Tsp
• Chopped walnuts ¼ cup
• Pine nuts ¼ cup
• Salt ¼ Tsp

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Cream the butter and sugar well. Add the eggs and vanilla essence into it and mix well. Mix the dry ingredients with the above one. Put the mashed banana and nuts into it. Combine well and transfer it to a greased loaf tin. Bake it  for 50 to 60 mins.

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Kappa Kadala Puzhukku

Ingredients:

For Tapioca:

• Tapioca : 1/2 kg
• Salt
• Water

For Kadala:

• Black chickpea (kadala) : 2 cups
• Onion : 1 big
• Ginger : 1 Tbsp
• Garlic : 1 Tbsp
• Grated coconut : 2 cups
• Shallots : ¼ cup
• Green chilly : 2
• Chilly pdr : 3 Tsp
• Coriander pdr : 2 Tbsp
• Turmeric pdr : ½ Tsp
• Garam masala : 2 Tsp
• Dry chilly : 3
• Mustard seeds 
• Curry leaves
• Water
• Salt
• Oil

Cut the tapioca into small pieces. Boil water in a pot and put the tapioca into this. When it is fully cooked, add salt and boil for a couple of mins. Remove it from fire and drain it. Keep it aside.

Dry roast the chilly pdr, coriander pdr and turmeric powder in low heat until the aroma comes. Soak the chickpeas overnight and cook it with chopped onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, little salt and roasted spice pdrs using water as required. Meanwhile, grind the coconut, green chilly and half of the shallots. Add this coconut mix and cooked chickpeas into the cooked tapioca. Cover and heat it for a few minutes. Then combine all the ingredients with a big spoon. Finally, season it with mustard seeds, rest of the shallots, curry leaves and the split dry chilly. Keep it aside for 10 mins and serve hot with any of your favourite pickles.

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Chettinad Chicken

Ingredients:

For marinating:

• Skinned chicken :  1 kg
• Lemon juice : 1 Tbsp
• Chilly pdr : Tsp
• Salt : 1 Tsp

For roasting :

• White poppy seeds : 1½ Tsp
• Fennel seeds : 1 Tsp
• Coriander seeds : 2 Tsp
• Cumin seeds : 1½ Tsp
• Cloves : 5 nos
• Dry red chilly : 10 to 12 nos
• Whole green cardamom : 4 nos
• Grated coconut : ½ cup
• Water : ¼ cup

For the sauce:

• Vegetable oil : 4 Tbsp
• Shallots : ½ cup
• Cinnamon : 2" stick
• Star anise : 2
• Grated ginger : 2 Tbsp
• Grated garlic : 2 Tbsp 
• Chilly pdr : 1½ Tsp
• Turmeric pdr : 1½ Tsp
• Chopped tomato : 1 cup
• Thai green chilly : 3 to 5 nos
• Lemon juice : 1 Tbsp
• Grated coconut for garnish
• Cilantro for garnish
• Curry leaves
• Salt

Marinate the chicken pieces with lemon juice, salt and chilly pdr for 20 mins. In a kadai or pan, roast all the ingredients except coconut for 2 mins. Then add the grated coconut and roast it until it changed to light brown colour. Remove it from fire and cool it. Grind it using ¼ cup of water. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and saute the shallots till it turns transluscent. Then add the cinnamon and star anise. Continue sauting for 20 secs. Then put the grated ginger, garlic, curry leaves, grounded masala, turmeric pdr and chilly pdr. Stir it in low heat for 2 mins. Add the chopped tomato into it and cook it for 15 to 20 mins. When the oil starts to separate, add the marinated chicken along with green chilly and required amount of salt. Combine all the ingredients and cook it in high flame for a few mins. Then cover and cook it for 12 to 15 mins in low flame. When it is fully cooked, remove it from fire and pour the lemon juice. Keep it aside for few mins. Garnish it with cilantro and grated coconut.

[Recipe Courtesy: SinfullySpicy.com]

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