Microwave Mysore Pak

Ingredients

Besan Powder - Half Cup

Powdered Sugar - 1 Cup

Ghee - Half Cup

Milk - 2 Teaspoons



Microwave Mysore Pak

Preparation

1. In a bowl, melt ghee in a microwave for one minute on high. 

2. Now mix all the ingredients in the melted ghee. Mix well. 

3. Important Step: Microwave the mixture for three minutes. Remove the mixture in between and mix well. Do not forget to mix well in between. You can see bubbles forming on the mixture. This is the right consistency. Do not keep for any extra seconds. It will change the taste. When you see the bubbles, stop heating further more.

4. Now remove and mix nicely and pour over a greased plate. After 10 minutes cut into pieces. Remove after it cools completely.

Now, Microwave Mysore Pak is ready!!!

Fish Kuzhambu

Ingredients

Chopped Onions - 1

Chopped Tomato - 1

Fish - 1/2 to 1 kg

Coconut - 1/2 

Tamarind Juice - 1-1 1/2 Cups

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon

Chili Powder - 2 Tablespoons

Coriander Powder - 4 Tablespoons

Fenugreek Seeds - 1 Teaspoon

Curry Leaves

Sesame Oil - 3 Tablespoons
Salt



Fish Kuzhambu



Preparation

1. Marinade fish using turmeric powder and salt. 

2. Grind 3/4th of chopped onions, tomato, and coconut to a fine paste. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, and coriander powder. Grind again. 

3. Add tamarind juice to the onion tomato paste. 

4. In a pan, heat sesame oil. Add fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. When fenugreek seeds turns golden brown, add onions and saute till the raw smell of onions go off. 

5. Then add the ground paste with some water. Boil for at least 15-20 minutes. Add little water if the curry is thick. Cook the curry till the fish is cooked. 

Now, Fish Kuzhambu is ready!!! 

Stir Fried Shrimps

Ingredients

Shrimps - 600 gm

Butter - 75 gm

Chopped Onions - 2

Chopped Garlic Pods - 2

Ginger - 1 Piece

Soya Sauce - 2 1/2 Tablespoons

Vinegar - 1 1/2 Teaspoons

Sugar - 1 1/2 Teaspoons

Salt

Stir Fried Shrimps 

Preparation

1. In a pan, heat butter and add shrimps and fry for 5 minutes. Sim the fire.

2. Add ginger garlic paste, onions, soya sauce, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Fry well.

3.  When shrimps are cooked, switch off the stove.

Now, Stir Fried Shrimps is ready!!!

Egg Kothu Parotta

My family likes Kothu Parotta so much...Though it involves a lot of pounding...., I still feel it is worth the effort.  A perfect non-stick pan would even make this preparation easier.


We do not have good Indian restaurants nearby. So, I have to look for a recipe that matches the exact taste of our Indian TamilNadu style Kothu Parotta. My search did not go vain...Thanks a lot to Em Samayal Pakkam for posting a recipe that gives the perfect taste of Kothu Parotta. This recipe is definitely a BLOCKBUSTER hit in my kitchen.


When I have parathas and eggs at home, I make Egg Kothu Parotta. 


Ingredients

Cooked Parotta - 4

Chopped Onion - 1

Tomato - 1

Eggs - 3

Ginger Garlic Paste- 1 Teaspoon

Chalna - 1 Cup

Green Chillies - 1-2

Turmeric - 1/4 Teaspoon

Curry Leaves

Pattai - 1

Cloves - 2

Egg Kothu Parotta
Learned From En Samaiyal Pakkam

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add pattai and cloves. Now add onions and ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off.

2. Add green chillies, turmeric, and curry leaves. Add tomatoes and fry for some time.

3. Cut parotta into pieces. Then add parotta pieces and fry for few minutes. Now add eggs, salt, and pepper. 

4. When the eggs are almost done, add chalna. Now break the entire parotta into small pieces using ladles. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Egg Kothu Parotta is ready to serve!!!


Serve: Chicken Salna

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

Pineapple - 7 Slices

Butter - 1/4 Cup

Brown Sugar or Normal Sugar - 2/3 Cup (I used normal sugar)

Self Rising Flour - 1 Cup

Sugar - 3/4 Cup 

Shortening - 1/4 Cup 

Egg - 1

Milk - 1/2 Cup

Apple Upside Down Cake

Apple Upside Down Cake

Preparation

1. Heat Oven to 350°F degrees. Apply butter on the cake pan. Drain pineapple (reserve 2 tablespoons syrup). 

2. Melt butter over low heat and add brown sugar. Keep stirring until sugar melts and remove from heat. Arrange pineapple as desired in the cake pan. Now, pour the brown sugar on top of the pineapples. 

3. In a medium bowl, mix flour with sugar. Add shortening and milk. 

4. Mix at medium speed 2 minutes. Add egg, milk and pineapple syrup. Beat for three more minutes.

5. Pour cake batter over pineapples in the cake pan, spreading evenly.

6. Bake 40-45 minutes and use a toothpick to check if the cake is done.

Note. Do not check the cake in between by opening the oven for the first 20 minutes.

Now, Pineapple Upside Down Cake is ready!!!

Rainbow Cake

Ingredients

Flour/Maida - 2 Cups

Baking Soda - 1/4 Teaspoon

Baking Powder - 1/4 Teaspoon 

Condensed Milk (400 grams) - 1 Tin 

Butter - 1/2 Cup

Oil - 2 Tablespoons 

Vanilla Essence (Optional) - 1/4 Teaspoon 

Milk - 3/4 Cup 

Edible Colors of Your Choice

Floral Effect 

A Slice Of Rainbow Cake

Another Slice Of Rainbow Cake

Side View Of The Decorated Rainbow Cake

Decorated Rainbow Cake

Preparation

1. Beat butter, oil and condensed milk till the mixture becomes smooth. Add vanilla essence and mix once.

2. In a separate bowl, sieve maida, baking soda and baking powder.

3. Add a tbsp of flour and mix, alternating with a tbsp of milk. Repeat the process till the flour blends well with the wet ingredients. If the batter is too thick, you can add more milk.

4. Take 6 small bowls. Pour 2 heaped tablespoons of plain batter into each of the 6 bowls. I used 6 colors. Add few drops of each of the edible colors in each bowl. Mix well.

Note: You can use how many ever colors you want. Even using three colors will come out well.

5. Preheat the oven to 200 C. Apply butter on the baking pan. The most important part is assembling the cake batter in a baking pan. It is fun too.

6. Pour 1/2 tbsp of plain white batter in center of the baking pan. Allow it to spread a little. Pour a tsp of one of the colored batter (First Bowl) on top of it and allow to spread a little. Again pour a little less than 1/2 tbsp of plain batter on top of it. Next add a tsp of another colored batter (Second Bowl) on top of it and pour less than 1/2 tbsp of plain batter on it. Next add a tsp of another colored batter (Third Bowl) and on top of it add less than 1/2 tbsp of plain batter. Keep repeating this process till the batter is complete.

7. Remember to pause for a while for each of the colors to spread before adding the next layer. You can also run a toothpick on top to create a floral effect.  You can see the floral effect in my picture.

8. Bake for 10 minutes at 200 C and reduce temp to 175 C and bake for another 40-45 minutes. 

Note. Do not check the cake in between by opening the oven for the first 20 minutes.

Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and it should come out clean. Remove from the oven. Leave aside for 30 mins and invert the cake onto a cooling rack. Turn the cake back over and cool further.

Now, Rainbow Cake is ready!!!

First Place In Recipe Competition

Shrimp Tomato Masala

Ingredients

Chopped Big Onions - 2
Shrimp - 1lb

Chopped Tomatoes - 3

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1-2 Teaspoon

Curry Leaves - 1 Strand

Cumin Powder - 1-2 Teaspoon

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon

Chili Powder - 2 Teaspoons

Coriander Powder - 3-4 Teaspoon

Slitted Green Chillies - 3

Garam Masala - 1 Teaspoon

Chopped Coriander Leaves - A Handful

Salt

Oil

Shrimp Tomato Masala

Preparation

1. Clean the shrimp by cutting off its head and tail. Devein it.

2. In a pan, heat oil. Add onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute till the raw smell goes off. 

3. Add green chillies, tomatoes, and curry leaves. Cook till the oil seperates.

4. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, and salt. Fry for 4 mins.

5.  Add shrimp. Cook till the water evaporates. Shrimp should blend nicely with the masala. Do not cook for more than 10 mins otherwise shrimp will become rubbery.

6. Garnish the shrimp tomato masala using coriander leaves.

Now, Shrimp Tomato Masala is ready!!!

Rock Sugar Candy (Kalkandu) Rice

Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1 Cup

Milk - 1 Cup

Kalkandu - 1 Cup

Cardamom - 4

Saffron - A Pinch

Ghee - 3 Tablespoons

Cashew Nuts - 15

Dry Grapes - 15



Rock Sugar Candy (Kalkandu) Rice

Preparation

1. Cook rice with 2 cups of water and 1 cup of milk. Add saffron, cardamom, and ghee.

2. Now, add rock sugar candy. Fry cashew nuts and dry grapes in 1 tablespoon of ghee. Add it to the rice.

Note. The rice would become watery after you add sugar candy. Keep boiling the rice if you do not want the rice to be watery. 

3. Switch off the stove when you get the desired consistency.

Now, Rock Sugar Candy Rice is ready!!

Chicken Salna

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 lb

Chili Powder - 1 Teaspoon

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon

Lemon Juice - A Pinch

Salt - As Required

Dry Roast & Grind

Fennel Seeds (Sombu)- 1 Teaspoon

Jeera- 1 Teaspoon

Peppercorns - 1 Teaspoon

Red chillies - 4

Pattai - 1/2"

Masala

Chop, roast and grind the following ingredients  in 2 tsp oil.

Onion- 1

Garlic - 5 Pods

Ginger - 1/2"

Tomato - 1

Coconut - 1/4 to 1/2 Cup

Chicken Salna
Learned From En Samaiyal Pakkam

Preparation

1. Marinade chicken using turmeric powder, chilli powder, lemon juice and salt for 30 minutes.

2. Heat oil in cooker and fry chicken for 2- 3 mins. Then add all the masalas under part 1 and part 2. 

3. Add salt. Mix well and pressure cook for 2 whistles. 

Finally, add corriander leaves. 

Now, Chicken Salna is ready!!!

Serve: Hot Rice, Chappathi, Idly, and Parathas. 

Eggless Black Forest Cake

I am die hard fan of this cake. When I was young, I used to have Black Forest atleast 4 times a week. After moving to US, I found it difficult to find it in stores. I was literally craving for this cake. Not many recipes matched the exact taste. 


Finally, I tried this recipe from Divyascookbook. Voila...it came out very well. Thanks a million Divyascookbook. 


These days, Black Forest Cake seems to be costly too. I learned that a piece of cake costs about Rs.40 in India. My friends kids' just love this cake and whenever they come home, all they ask me to make is Black Forest Cake. 
This cake is definitely a BIG HIT in my kitchen.


Ingredients

Cake
Condensed Milk - 400 gms (1 Can)
Maida - 225 gms
Aerated Cola - 200 ml (I use Coke/Pepsi)
Butter - 125 gms
Cocoa Powder - 3-4 Tablespoons
Baking Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Baking soda - 1 Teaspoon
Sugar Syrup
Sugar - 1/2 Cup
Water - 1/2 Cup



Cream
Fresh cream/cool whip - 300 ml
Powdered Sugar - 4-5 Tablespoons
Vanilla Essence - 1 Teaspoon

Decoration
Cherries - As required
Hersheys Milk Chocolate Giant Bar - 1

Eggless Black Forest Cake
Learned From Divyas Cookbook

Preparation

Cake

1. Put melted butter and condensed milk in a big bowl and beat well. 

2. Sift together maida,cocoa powder,baking powder and baking soda.

3. Add the maida mixture to the condensed milk mixture little by little by adding aerated cola in between. Repeat it until maida and cola are over.

4. Apply butter to the cake pan and pour the cake mixture. Bake for 30-40 mins or check using a toothpick if the cake is done. Cool down the cake.

Note. Do not check the cake in between by opening the oven for the first 20 minutes.

Sugar Syrup

In a pan, put sugar and water and boil till the sugar turns golden brown. You can also use the syrup in tinned cherries.

Cream

Mix the ingredients found under cream and beat well.Keep refrigerated till use otherwise it will start becoming soggy.

Note: If you are concerned about high calories and don't like vanilla essence, you can use the cream directly without adding powdered sugar.


Black Forest Cake is very easy to decorate too...you don't need buttercream icing or royal icing or colors.....all you need is just the cream and a chocolate bar. You can also be very creative in decorating this cake. 

Decoration

Grate the chocolate bar or get chocolate curls using a peeler.

Assemble The Cake

1. Cut the cake into 3-4 layers.

2. In the serving tray, keep one layer of the cake and sprinkle 3-4 tbsp sugar syrup or you can use the syrup found in the cherries tin.

3. Spread 2-3 tbsp of whipped cream on top of the cake.

4. Repeat the same with the other layers. Now, cover the topmost cake layer and also the sides of the cake with the cream. 

5. Then decorate the cake with the chocolate curls or grated chocolate and cherries.

6. Keep refrigerated. 

Now, the Eggless Black Forest Cake is ready!!!

Kung Pau Potatoes

Kung Pau Potatoes is a Chinese dish, but I like to eat it in an Indian way...yes, with curd rice. This recipe goes well with Chinese or Thai Fried Rice. I have made this for my friends and they loved it. My family likes this dish so much. Quite easy to make too...

Ingredients

Baby Potatoes - 1/2 Kg

Chopped Onion - 1

Chopped Celery - 2 stems

Chopped Leeks - A Handful (optional)

Corn Flour - 2 Tablespoons

Pepper Powder - 1 Tablespoon

Lemon Juice - 2 Teaspoons

Minced Ginger - 1 Tablespoon

Minced Garlic - 1 Tablespoon

Soya Sauce - 1 Tablespoon

Chilli Sauce - 1 Tablespoon

Ajinomotto - A Pinch (optional)

Spring Onion - For Garnishing

Oil

Salt

Kung Pau Potatoes
Learned From Chef Menu Rani Chellam

Preparation

1. Using fork, put small holes in the potatoes. Marinade potatoes using salt, lemon juice, pepper powder and corn flour for atlas an hour. 

2. Deep fry potatoes.

3. In a pan, heat oil. Add garlic, ginger, onion, celery, leeks, pepper, ajinomotto, chilli sauce, soya sauce and salt. 

4. Add little water to corn flour and make it a smooth paste. Now, add the corn flour paste, potaoes, and tomato sauce to the pan.If required, add little water.

5. Garnish with spring onion.

Now, Kung Pau Potatoes is ready!!!

Masala Capsicum

Whenever I have lot of work to do, I consider this Masala Capsicum recipe to be a blessing.I make masala capsicum in batches and store it in an airtight container.


If I have bread at home, then bread sandwich is ready! It also goes well with parathas, chappathi, and even with hot rice.


If you are a lover of tomato ketchup and you happen to add tomato ketchup more than required, then this recipe would turn out to be very sweet . Be careful...


Ingredients

Chopped Capsicum - 3

Chopped Onion - 2

Chopped Tomato - 3

Garlic - 5 Pods

Red Chillies - 2

Coriander Leaves - A Handful

Tomato Ketchup - 2 Tablespoons

Salt

Oil 

Masala Capsicum

Preparation

1. Boil red chillies in hot water for few minutes. Then, grind garlic pods and red chillies into a smooth paste.

2. In a pan, heat oil. Add the paste and fry for sometime. Then add onion, little salt, tomato, coriander leaves, and tomato ketchup. Finally add capsicum. Fry well.

Now, Masala Capsicum is ready!!!

Note. You can used this recipe as a sidedish, stuffing, and also have it along with rice.

Serve: Bread, Rotis, Chappathi, and hot rice etc.