Author: Ruchi Garg

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Recipes

Breakfast savory muffins

Ingredients:

  • Semolina/suji, ½ cup
  • Chickpea flour/besan, ½ cup
  • Curd, ½ cup
  • Grated carrots, 2tbsp.
  • Chopped capsicum, 2tbsp.
  • Chopped coriander, 2tbsp.
  • Boiled peas, 1tbsp.
  • Cornflakes, 2tbsp.
  • Egg, 1
  • Oil, 3tbsp.
  • Red chilli powder, ½ tbsp.
  • Coriander powder, 1tbsp.
  • Cumin powder, ½ tsp.
  • Salt, to taste

Method:

  1. Sieve the semolina, chickpea flour, baking powder and baking soda together. Keep this aside.  
  2. In a sperate bowl, whisk the egg. Add curd to this and mix well.
  3. Add all the vegetables and oil, mix again.
  4. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and add the seasoning mentioned above.
  5. Transfer this batter to greased muffin molds and bake at 1800­ celsius for 10-12 minutes.

Notes:

  1. You can use any veggies of your choice.
  2. Check your oven before deciding on the baking time and temperature.
  3. If you’re feeling indulgent, add a bit of mozzarella in the centre.
Categories
Recipes

Fruit & Nut Rum Cake

We can all hear Christmas bells ringing which means lights, gifts and decorations, but another tradition that has always been a must is this alcohol soaked rum and fruit cake! Our celebrations remain incomplete without it.

Ingredients:

  • All-purpose flour, 275 gm
  • Brown sugar, 275 gm
  • Butter, 275 gm
  • Orange zest, 1 tbsp
  • Nutmeg and cinnamon powder, ½ tsp each
  • Powdered almonds, 100 gm
  • Chopped pistachios and cashews, ½ cup.
  • Soaked nuts*, 1 ½  cup
  • Baking soda, 1 tsp
  •  Flaky salt, ¼ tsp
  • Eggs, 4

Method:

  1. In a sieve in all-purpose flour, powdered almonds, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon powder. Keep it aside.
  2. Soften the butter until pale and fluffy.
  3. Add brown sugar and keep whisking until you get a light and fluffy texture.
  4. Add the eggs one by one to the mixture and keep mixing.
  5. Add in the orange zest, chopped nuts and the soaked nuts.*
  6. Fold in the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
  7. Transfer the cake batter to a well-greased cake tin lined with parchment sheet.
  8. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 1500 for 80-90 minutes

Notes:

  • Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature
  • These are mixed nuts, I have used blueberries, cranberries, tutti-frutti, cashews, prunes, almonds and dry apricots, soaked in rum for at least 3 weeks.
  • While adding the nuts be careful to drain out extra alcohol if any.
  • Don’t over mix the mixture as it leads to formation of gluten which in turn makes the cake chewy.
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Recipes

Spicy Hash Browns

Hashed brown potatoes were a popular breakfast dish in New York City in the 1890’s and were served in the finest hotels. And how about serving them from your kitchen?

Ingredients:

  • Potatoes, grated, 3.
  • Egg, 1 nos, beaten.
  • All-purpose flour, 4 tbsp.
  • Cheese, grated, 4 tbsp.
  • Coriander, chopped, 1 tbsp.
  • Red chili powder, ½ tsp.
  • Black pepper, ¼ tsp.
  • Onion, chopped, 1 whole.
  • Garlic, grated, 1tsp.
  • Salt, to taste.

Method:

  1. Rinse the grated potatoes in ice cold water, then strain and squeeze out all the excess water. Then transfer to a bowl.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well with the help of a spoon.
  3. Take a non-stick pan, put one ladle full of the mixture on it. Spread and shape it as desired. Cook well from both sides, covering if necessary and reducing the heat, depending on the thickness.
  4. Your spicy hash browns are ready to be relished.

Note:

  • You can use cheese of your own choice. I have used mozzarella but you can use Parmesan as well.

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Recipes Trending

Apple Cinnamon Cake

We all know that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so why not have it in a special way .

Ingredients:

  • Apples pureed, 1 cup
  • All-purpose flour, 1 cup
  • Wheat flour, 1 cup
  • Baking soda, 1/2 tsp
  • Baking powder, 2 tsp
  • Cinnamon powder, 1/2 tsp
  • Powdered sugar, 1 cup
  • Melted butter, 150 gm 
  • Oil, 1 tbsp.

Method:

  1. Sieve flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder. Keep it aside.
  2. In a separate bowl whisk together the butter, milk, and apple.
  3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet batter.
  4. Fold in well .
  5. Add the oil .
  6. Transfer the prepared batter to the baking tin.   
  7. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes at 1800 Celsius.

Notes:

  • All the ingredients should be at room temperature.
  • The baking tin should be big enough to accommodate the batter until half.
  • Puree the apples as soon as you cut them or else they will turn black.
  • When you are mixing the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, make sure to use a wooden spatula and fold it in the same direction to avoid any lumps.
  • Grease and line the baking tin with a parchment sheet before transferring the batter.
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Featured Recipes

Dhokla Bruschetta

When the hubby is travelling on a Sunday, sonny boy has a mixed bag of sadness and the grumps together. How about serving him a dish that’s a combination of Gujarati and Italian cuisine? You heard that right! Here, I present Dhokla Bruschetta.

Ingredients:

  1. Besan / chickpea flour, 2 cups, sifted using a sieve
  2. Citric acid, 1 tsp
  3. Water, 1.5 cups, to be used in three batches
  4. Ginger and green chilli paste, 1 tsp
  5. Asafoetida / heeng, 2 pinches
  6. Turmeric powder / haldi, 1/2 teaspoon
  7. Baking soda, 1 tsp
  8. Powdered sugar, 4 tbsp
  9. Oil, 2 tbsp
  10. Salt, to taste

 Method:

  1. To the sifted besan add the citric acid, ginger green chili paste, heeng, haldi, salt and the powdered sugar
  2. Now add half cup of water to the besan mixture and whisk well making sure that there are no lumps remaining
  3. Add another half cup of water and once again whisk until the texture is smooth
  4. Finally, add another half cup of water and whisk vigorously in one direction for at least  3-4 minutes until the batter is light, pale and fluffy
  5. Add oil to the batter and mix well and then keep it aside for 10 minutes
  6. In the meanwhile, heat water in the pan in which you will place the dish containing the dhokla batter, and grease that dish too.
  7. Add baking soda to the batter; mix well
  8. Transfer the batter to the tin/dis, place it in the pan with boiling water, cover and steam for 20-25 minutes.
  9. Check using a toothpick; if a toothpick inserted comes out clean, your dhokla is ready.

Ingredients for the topping:

  1. Chopped bell peppers, all 3 colours, ½ cup
  2. Onion, ¼ cup, chopped
  3. Tomatoes, ¼ cup, chopped
  4. Olive oil, ½ tsp, chopped
  5. Garlic, 3 -4 pods, chopped
  6. Salt, to taste
  7. Mixed herbs, ½ tsp
  8. Oregano, ½ tsp

Method:

  1. In a pan add olive oil
  2. Immediately add the garlic, then add the onions, bell peppers and tomatoes, stirring for a minute before adding each ingredient
  3. Add all the seasonings and cook on high flame for a minute

Final Assembly:

  1. Slice the dhoklas and spread the toppings on them.
  2. Bake at 1600 Celsius for 8-10 minutes in a pre-heated oven using top heating rods only
  3. Serve hot.

Notes:

  • You’ll need a dish in which to steam the dhokla and a pan big enough to hold that dish and some water for the steam. Choose both carefully.
  • Optionally, mozzarella or other cheese can be added as a topping too.
Categories
Recipes

Fudgiest Brownies Ever

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." — Charles M. Schulz

I have a foodie in my house who is crazy about chocolates, and when it comes to chocolates, what better than fudgy chewy brownies to satiate the cravings of my chocolate dragon? Some people like their brownies to be cakey, but my choice are always the fudgy and chewy ones. So here is a recipe for you all for the fudgiest brownies ever.

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil, 5 tbsp
  • Butter, 3 tbsp
  • Chopped dark chocolate, 1/2 cup
  • Sugar, 1 cup
  • Eggs, 2 whole.
  • Vanilla essence, 1 tsp
  • Flour, 3/4th cup, sifted using a sieve
  • Cocoa powder, 1/4th cup
  • Chocolate chips, 1/4th cup

Method

  1. Heat oil, add butter and cook on low flame till the butter melts and mixes well with the oil.
  2. Remove the pan from the flame and add the chopped dark chocolate.
  3. Mix well till the chocolate is melted. Allow this to cool completely.
  4. Add sugar and mix well.
  5. Add the eggs one by one and then the vanilla essence.
  6. Now add the flour and the cocoa powder to the batter.
  7. Mix well and add the chocolate chips.
  8. Transfer the batter in a greased and lined 9 x 9 baking tin.
  9. Bake in a preheated oven at 190 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes.
  10. Allow cooling before you bite in; the centre may be much hotter than the outside.

Notes

  1. All the ingredients should be at room temperature.
  2. If you want to skip the eggs, add 1/2 cup curd/yogurt.