Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and here goes my cake recipe which I prepared on Xmas.I used half wheat flour and half all purpose flour so that the cake gets a bit more healthy.I tried to include bananas so that my fussy kid can get the fruit through the cake..just a medium to feed fruits.A simple and yummy home made cake which am sure all of you will like.
Method- Beat the eggs together.Add sugar to the eggs and mix well. You can also blend the egg-sugar mixture. While blending chop the bananas and add to this mixture and blend. Mix the atta, maida,baking soda and baking powder. Start adding butter little by little and knead the dough simultaneously. Now add this dough to the egg-sugar-banana mix. Sprinkle some drops of vanilla and mix well so that the batter is consistent and smooth. Preheat the oven. Grease a baking dish and bake it in microwave(convection option) for 40min. If you are using a cake pan,grease the pan and bake it for around 40min. Yummy banana cake is ready :)
Dum aloo is a potato based dish which is a part of Kashmiri cuisine.In Bengal it is typically known as Aloor Dum and served as a hot accompaniment with pooris or luchis as they are called in bengali .The recipe I have posted below is obviously the bengali version which has certain differences with the kashmiri one.So please do give it a try..
Ingredients- potatoes onion ginger garlic tomato green chillies red chilly powder turmeric powder coriander powder cumin powder garam masala powder salt coriander leaves water oil
Method - Cut the potatoes into medium size cubes. Chop the onions,ginger,garlic,green chillies,tomatoes roughly. To prepare the garam masala, dry roast the following ingredients and then make a paste out of it - dhaniya,jeera,sukhi laal mirch,elaichi(choti and badi),dalchini,laung,kaali mirch,khuskhus.This powder remains good for many days or months when kept in an air-tight container. To reiterate the masala names in english - coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chilly,cardamom,cinnamon,cloves,black pepper,poppy seeds. Now heat oil in a non-stick pan/kadhai. Put in the potato cubes and chopped onion and fry till light brown. Make a paste of the ginger and garlic which you chopped. Add the paste and fry. After 5min add the chopped tomatoes and gren chillies. Let it cook until the raw smell of ginger-garlic goes away. It will take about 5-7min on medium flame. Now add the salt,red chilly powder,haldi powder,dhaniya jeera powder. Let all the masalas cook for another 2-3min. Now add water and let the potatoes get cooked well. You can adjust the amount of water as per the amount of gravy you require. Once the potatoes are cooked, add finely chopped coriander leaves and the garam masala powder which we just prepared. Thats it..the garam masala aroma will make the magic:) Serve delicious aloo dum with phulkas/parathas/pooris.
This is a very famous breakfast/snack dish from South India.It is healthy no doubt as it contains the dals plus the fermentation process.Nowadays you get the ready made batter mix in the market but the taste of home made fermented batter has no match!So go ahead for these delicious home made uttapams..
Ingredients- rice(2cups) urad dal(1cup) chana dal(2tbspn) fenugreek seeds/methi(1tbspn) salt oil/ghee baking soda water for soaking,grinding veggies - onion,tomatoes,green chillies,coriander leaves.
Method - Wash and soak the rice and dals for 6-7hours. Grind the mixture to a fine paste by adding little water at a time. Keep the batter covered outside the fridge overnight for fermentation. Next day morning add salt and baking soda and mix well. Chop the onions,tomatoes,chillies and coriander leaves finely. Heat a non-stick tava. Drizzle one tspn of oil or ghee. Pour a laddle full of batter and let it spread(on its own). Add some chopped veggies over it and salt as per taste. Cover and cook. Serve hot uttapam with sambar and chutney of your choice :)
Coconut/nariyal as in hindi/narkel as in bengali/naal as in konkani is a fruit/nut which is used in every Indian and typical Goan homes in some form or the other.It has a lot of medicinal benefits but today I shall not go into those details and restrict my post to coconut ladoos.These ladoos are a hot favourite in our home and they just disappear in no time.A very good alternative to sweet if you dont want to have those ready-made sweets/mithais.These are a must-have ladoos in every bengali home during Durga Puja.They are called as "narkel narus" in bengali.We love to have it in any season..:)So here goes the recipe..
Method - Grate the coconut. Adjust the amount of sweet as per your preference.Typically same amount of sugar/jaggery as the amount of grated coconut. Generally we use half sugar and half jaggery. This is how we love it in our house. You can use only sugar or only jaggery. Mix the mixture of coconut,sugar and jaggery with your hand well. You can also add some mashed sweets like kalakand or sandesh if you wish.This is optional. Now transfer this mixture into a kadai and put it on sim flame. Stir it continuously till a whole lump is formed. Remember this step is really important so that you can make perfect ladoos. Once done, remove the mixture from flame and make round ladoos. Thats it..lovely delicious ladoos are ready to be had anytime:)
