Onion Rings

Ingredients:

• Onion : 1 big
• Flour : 1¼ cup
• Baking powder : 1 Tsp
• Salt : 1 Tsp
• Egg : 1
• Milk : 1 cup
• Bread crumbs : 1 cup
• Salt
• Oil

Cut the onion into rings. Combine together flour, baking powder and salt. Then, put the onion rings in the dry mixture and coat the onion rings with it. Keep it aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg and milk well. Dip each onion rings in this egg mixture and roll it in bread crumbs. Fry it well.

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Mushroom Mezhukkupuratty

Ingredients:

• Mushroom : 15
• Onion : 1 big
• Garlic pods : 10
• Curry leaves : few
• Garam masala : 1 Tsp
• Pepper pdr : 1½ Tsp
• Turmeric Pdr : ¼ Tsp
• Mustard seeds : ½ Tsp
• Coriander leaves : 2 Tbsp
• Salt
• Oil

Clean and chop the mushrooms. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Put the sliced onion, curry leaves and crushed garlic into this. Saute till the onion become translucent. Reduce the heat and add turmeric pdr, garam masala, pepper pdr and required amount of salt. Saute it well and put the chopped mushrooms and stir it with the masala. Cover and cook it in low flame. When it is cooked, add the chopped coriander leaves and stir it for a couple of min. Serve it hot with rice or roti.

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Eggless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour : 1¼ cup
• Baking powder : 1½ Tsp
• Baking soda : 1½ Tsp
• Cocoa pdr : 4 Tbsp
• Powdered sugar : 1 cup
• Cofee pdr : 1 Tsp
• Honey : 2 Tbsp
• Vegetable oil : ¾ cup
• Milk : 1¼ cup

Sieve together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder twice. Keep it aside. Add milk, honey, coffee pdr and powdered sugar into a pan and heat it well. When the sugar melts completely, pour it into a mixing bowl and cool it. Then pour the vegetable oil into the cold mixture and stir it. Finally, add the dry ingredients and vanilla essence into it and combine well using a spatula or with a wooden spoon. Pour the batter into a greased 8 inch pan. Bake it for 40 mins at 180° C. It took 47 mins for me in an convectional microwave oven. 

Transfer it into a wire rack and cool it completely. Then garnish it with dark chocolate ganache and chocolate shards and fans.

For the Ganache :

• 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 pour it over the cake. 

[Recipe Courtesy: Lekshmi Nair]

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Ultra-moist Chocolate Cup Cake

Ingredients:

• Milk : 1 .5 cup
• Butter : 100 g
• Oil : ¼ cup
• Cocoa pdr : ½ cup
• Self raising flour : 1 cup
• Egg : 1 beaten
• Baking soda : ½ Tsp
• Sugar : 1 cup

Pre-heat the oven to 180° C. Heat together butter, oil, cocoa pdr and milk well. When the butter melts completely, remove it from fire and cool it. Then add flour, baking soda, sugar and beaten egg into the above  mixture and combine well. Pour it into the cupcake liners and bake it for 15 to 20 mins. 

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Kashmiri Chicken

Ingredients:

• Chicken : 1 med
• Chilly pdr : 1 Tbsp
• Coriander pdr : 1 Tbsp
• Ginger paste : 2 Tsp
• Garlic paste : 2 Tsp
• Turmeric pdr : ½ Tsp
• Garam masala : 1 Tsp
• Cumin pdr : ½ Tsp
• Salt : as rqd
• Egg : 1
• Oil : as rqd

Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. Marinate the chicken with ingredients from chilly pdr to egg. Keep it for 2 hrs. Then fry it well.

For Gravy:

• Onion : 3 big chopped
• Tomato : 3 small (paste)
• Ginger paste : 2 Tsp
• Garlic paste : 2 Tsp
• Kashmiri chilly pdr : 1½ Tbsp
• Coriander pdr : 1½ Tbsp
• Garam masala pdr : 1½ Tsp
• Cumin Pdr : ½ Tsp
• Grounded chilly : 6
• Cashew paste : 50 g
• Grounded kismis : 50 g
• Fried cashews and kismis : 25 gm
• Water : 2 cup
• Salt
• Oil

Heat oil in a kadai and saute the chopped onion till brown. Add ginger-garlic paste into this and again saute it. When it's void of its raw smell, add coriander pdr, chilly pdr and cumin pdr into this and roast it for a couple of mins. Then pour the grounded tomato into it. Stir it well. When gravy turns thick and oil starts to separate, add cashew paste, salt and water into this. Boil it well. When gravy starts to thicken, put fried chicken pieces and grounded kismis into this. Boil it for a few mins. Finally add the fried cashews and kismis. Mix well and remove it from fire.

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Vanilla Spritz Cookies

Ingredients:

• Flour : 2 cup
• Butter : 1 cup
• Granulated white sugar : ½ cup
• Vanilla essence : 1½ Tsp
• Egg yolk : 2 large
• Salt : ¼ Tsp

Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Beat the sugar and butter till it turns fluffy, for 2 to 3 min. Then add egg yolks and vanilla essence into this and mix it with the butter mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl in between. Then add the flour and salt into this and mix it well.

Transfer the dough into a cookie press. Then press out the cookies into a greased baking tray, spacing about 2 inches. If the dough is too soft, chill it for a few minutes and use it again. Decorate the cookies with nuts, sprinkles or colored sugar. Bake it for 12 to 15 mins or until the edges of the cookies turn lightly brown. Remove it from oven and cool it completely. Then store it in an air tight container.

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Kerala Fruit Cake

Ingredients:
For soaking:

• Mixed fruits : 3 cups
• Rum : 1½ cups

For Caramel :

• Sugar : ½ cup
• Water : 1 Tbsp
• Warm water : ¼ cup

For spice powder :

• Cloves : 2
• Cardamom : 2
• Cinnamon : small piece
• Nutmeg : small piece

For Cake :

• Flour : 2 cup
• Baking powder : 1¼ Tsp
• Baking soda : ½ Tsp
• Sugar : 1 cup + 2 Tbsp
• Butter : 250 g
• Egg : 4
• Vanilla : 2 Tsp
• Jam : 1 Tbsp

I used a mix of raisins, sultanas, dates, cashews, walnuts, almonds and candied orange peel for soaking. Roughly chop the dry fruits and dates. Then soak it in rum and keep it in an airtight container. I soaked it for 1 month. The longer you soak, the better. For the caramel syrup, heat the sugar and 1 tbsp of water in a pan. When it melts and turns to dark brown colour, remove it from fire and pour ¼ cup of warm water into this. Again, boil it for a few minutes. Then remove it from fire and cool it completely. For the spice powder, add all the ingredients into a grinder along with little sugar and powder it well. Keep it aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Grease the cake pan and keep it aside. Drain away the liquid from the soaked dry fruits. Take 4 tbsp of drained liquor and keep it aside. Toss the drained fruit in 3 tsp of flour. Sieve the flour with baking powder and baking soda twice. Then powder the sugar and keep it aside.

Next, separate the eggs and beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Then beat the egg yolks with softened butter till smooth and creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar into this and beat well. Then pour vanilla essence and cooled caramel syrup followed by spice powder. Again beat it and  add the flour in two batches and mix well. Add jam and combine all the ingredients well. Fold in the egg whites in two batches and slowly mix it with the flour till no streaks are visible. Finally, fold in the soaked fruits and 4 tbsp of liquor. Transfer the batter into cake tin and bake it for 40 to 45 mins.

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