Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter : 1 cup
• Granulated sugar : 1 cup
• Vanilla essence : 1 Tsp
• Eggs : 4
• Zest of one large lemon
• All purpose flour : 2 cups
• Baking powder : 2 Tsp
• Salt : ¼ Tsp
• Fresh lemon juice : ¼ cup

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt twice. Beat the butter and sugar till it turns creamy and pale in colour. Then, add eggs one by one into this and beat well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla essence and lemon zest. Next, add the flour mixture and lemon juice alternatively into the egg mixture by 3 batches. Mix it till it turns creamy. Transfer the batter into a greased cake tin and bake it for 40 to 45 mins. Remove it from the oven and cool it completely.

For Frosting :

• Sifted icing sugar : 1 cup
• Fresh lemon juice : 2 to 4 Tbsp

For the frosting, mix the lemon juice with the sifted icing sugar. Pour this lemon glaze over the cooled cake and allow it to set properly.

(Note: I felt that the lemon glaze in the recipe was a bit tangy for our taste. So, add the lemon juice for the frosting according to your taste.)

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Fish Curry with Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

• Fish : ½ kg
• Onion : 1 
• Garlic : 2 Tbsp
• Ginger : 1 Tbsp
• Green chilly : 5
• Curry leaves 
• Chilly powder : 2 Tsp
• Turmeric pdr : ½ Tsp
• Coriander powder : ½ Tsp
• Thick coconut milk : 1 cup
• Semi-thick coconut milk : 1½ cup
• Kudampuli (Malabar tamarind, fish tamarind) : 2 pieces
• Dry chilly : 3
• Mustard seeds : 1 Tsp
• Fenugreek seeds : ¼ Tsp
• Shallots : few
• Coconut oil : 3 Tbsp
• Salt

Clean and cut the fish into medium pieces. Soak kudampuli in a little water and keep it aside. Put the fish into a chatti (clay pot) along with sliced onion, garlic, green chilly, curry leaves, chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, 1 tbsp of oil and salt. Combine all the ingredients well and keep it aside for 15 minutes. Then, add the soaked kudampuli and semi-thick coconut milk and mix it. Cover and cook it in medium flame. Then, reduce the flame and pour the thick coconut milk. Heat it for a couple of minutes and remove it from fire. Heat coconut oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. When it splutters, add sliced shallots, curry leaves and dry chilly. Saute it for a few minutes and pour it over the fish curry. Serve it with hot rice.

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Kadachakka (bread fruit) Thoran

Ingredients:

• Kadachakka : 1 
• Grated coconut : 1 cup
• Shallots : 4
• Green chilly : 4
• Curry leaves : few
• Turmeric powder : 1/2 Tsp
• Salt : as rqd
• Mustard : 1/4 Tsp
• Water : 1/4 cup
• Coconut oil : 1 Tbsp

Clean and cut the kadachakka (bread fruit) into small pieces. Keep it aside. Crush together coconut, shallots, green chilly and turmeric powder. Heat the coconut oil in a kadai and put mustard seeds into it. When it splutters, add curry leaves and one sliced shallot into it. Then,  add the crushed coconut mixture and salt. Saute it for a few seconds and add the sliced kadachakka pieces into it. Combine it with the coconut mix. Sprinkle a little water over it. Cover and cook it well.

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Spicy Mushroom Masala

Ingredients:

• Mushroom : 250 gms
• Onion chopped : 1 big
• Crushed ginger : 1 Tsp
• Crushed garlic : 1 Tsp
• Curry leaves : few
• Coriander leaves : few
• Chopped tomato : 1
• Green chilly : 2
• Chilly powder : 2 Tsp
• Coriander powder : 1 Tsp
• Turmeric powder : ½ Tsp
• Cumin powder : ½ Tsp
• Garam masala : ½ Tsp
• Tomato sauce : 1 Tsp
• Fresh cream : 1 Tbsp
• Vegetable oil : As required
• Cardamom : 2
• Cinnamon : 1 piece
• Cumin : ¼ Tsp
• Water : As required
• Salt : As required

Clean and cut the mushroom into pieces. Heat oil in a pan and put the whole spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cumin) into it. Saute it for a few seconds and add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chilly. Saute till the onion turns golden colour. Reduce the flame and add all the masala powders into the onion and roast it till it's void of its raw smell. Next, put the chopped tomato and combine it with the masala. Add a little water and cook it well. Then, add the tomato sauce, salt and mushroom. Cover and cook for a few minutes. At this time, add required  amount of water and cook it for another 5 to 10 minutes. Finally, add the chopped coriander leaves and fresh cream. Mix and remove it from fire.

Recipe Courtesy : youtube

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Inji Chammanthi (Ginger Chutney)

Ingredients:

• Ginger : 2 big pieces
• Shallots : 4
• Dry chilly : 4
• Coconut oil : 2 Tbsp
• Salt to taste

Peel off the ginger skin and cut it into small pieces. Crush it well using a mortar and pestle. Then keep it for some time and squeeze it well to remove the extract. (The extract is usually used for treating stomach ailments. So, we usually prepare this chutney with the leftover ginger, after we take the extract.) Keep it aside. Then roast the dry chilly in little oil. Put the crushed ginger, dry chilly, shallots and salt into a grinder and crush it well. Transfer it into a bowl and pour required amount of oil and mix well.

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Kadachakka Mezhukkupuratty

Ingredients :

• Kadachakka (Bread fruit) : 1
• Crushed shallots : 10
• Crushed garlic : 10
• Crushed dry chilly : 6
• Turmeric powder : ¼ Tsp
• Curry leaves : few
• Mustard seeds : ¼ Tsp
• Oil : 1 Tbsp
• Salt : as rqd

Clean and cut the bread fruit into thin slices. Keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add curry leaves, crushed garlic, shallots and required amount of salt. Saute it well. When it turns light brown, add the crushed dry chilly and turmeric powder into it. Combine all the ingredients well. Finally, add the sliced bread fruit. Sprinkle a little water over it. Cover and cook well.

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Swiss Roll

Ingredients :

• Plain flour : 85 gm
• Cornflour : 1 tbsp
• Baking powder : 1½ tsp
• Egg white : 4
• Salt : a pinch
• Caster sugar : 160 gm
• Egg yolks : 4
• Cold water : 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice : 1 tsp

Pre-heat the oven to 180° C. Then, grease a Swiss Roll tin and keep it aside. Sift the flour with baking powder. Then, beat the egg whites and salt until it turns stiff. Gradually, add 3 tbsp sugar and beat it again. Fold-in one more tbsp sugar. Beat the egg yolks, gradually adding the water, lemon juice and remaining sugar until the mixture drops from the spoon in an unbroken pale yellow ribbon. Carefully, fold-in the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture. Then, fold-in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the greased tin and bake it for 12 mins.

Sprinkle a sheet of grease-proof paper with caster sugar. When the Swiss roll is baked, turn the tin upside down onto the sugar sprinkled paper. Remove the  lining paper as quickly as possible. Remove the crisp edges of the roll with a sharp knife. Then, spread the semi thick warm jam on the roll. Roll tightly and keep it aside. Cut it into pieces.

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