Coconut cupcakes

Back again after a short break. My brother-in-law is an entrepreneur and launched his product in March. You can click on the below link for more information. http://www.automatic.com/. We were all excited about the launch and I wanted to treat him with something special. So came up with this coconut cupcake idea and baked it. This was just a starter for him We had a wonderful dinner afterwards.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup  - all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp -baking powder

1/4 tsp- salt

1 tsp- lemon zest

1/2 cup -unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 cup- granulated white sugar

2- large eggs

1 1/2 tsp – pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

Cream cheese frosting:

2 1/2 cup – confectionary sugar

4 tbsp- unsalted butter (room temperature)

4 ounce- cream cheese (room temperature)

1/2 tsp- pure vanilla extract

Garnish:

2 cups- roasted unsweetened shredded coconut flakes

Preparation:

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line up 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Beat the butter in your electric mixer or stand mixer for two minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Mix in vanilla extract until soft and fluffy. Add flour and milk alternatively (starting and ending with flour) and mix everything until well incorporated.

Evenly fill all the liners.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Do not over the cupcakes.

Allow it to cool on a wire rack. Smear the frosting on the cupcake using a spatula and garnish with roasted shredded coconut flakes on top. (Dip the frosted side of the cake in a bowl containing coconut flakes).

Frosting:

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth (2-3 minutes). Add vanilla extract and beat for a minute. Mix sugar in small portions at a time and  beat well until it forms stiff peaks. Add a tablespoon of milk if too thick or add little sugar if the mixture is thin.

 

Heerekai (Ridge Gourd) soup

A great recipe from Tarladalal’s recipe book! Never had I thought of this combination which is simply delicious and filling. Made some variations from the original recipe, I havent added heavy cream, wanted to keep it simple and healthy.

Ingredients:

Peeled and chopped ridge gourd- 2 cups

Dill leaves- 3/4 cup

milk- 1/4 cup

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Add ridge gourd, dill leaves and 3/4 cup of water in a pan, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes. Once cooled, blend everything together in a blender to form a smooth purée. Add milk and bring to boil and serve hot with salt and pepper!

Simple peanut noodles

I have always seen my mom cooking with lentils, vegetables and curry powder until I left India 8 years back. Even though she used to cook varieties of food from different parts of India it was never with chinese food, Italian pasta or Singapore noodles. I bet during the time we were growing we weren’t having so many international markets, restaurants as we do today in India. Being in the US for all these years I have enjoyed myself cooking not only Indian food but also different cuisines from the world. This is one type of food which I learnt after coming here and love making it often. Peanut sauce is always available in the grocery store, but I am pretty sure you wont be disappointed by trying this simple peanut sauce made freshly at home!

Ingredients:

2 cups- Broccoli

1 cup- shredded cabbage

1 cup- sliced carrots

8oz- linguine or spaghetti

For sauce:

3 Tbsp- peanut butter

2 tbsp- soy sauce

1 tbsp- lime juice

1 tbsp- sesame oil

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

Crushed red chili flakes, according to your spice level

Cilantro and bean sprouts for garnishing

Preparation:

Bring 4-6 quarts of water to boil adding little salt. Once it starts boiling, In a colander, add the chopped veggies and immerse in water and cook it for a minute or two.

They have to be little tender yet a bit crispy. Remove the colander from water, drain all the water and keep aside. Add the linguine or spaghetti to the water and cook according to the instructions on the packet.

Meanwhile place all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well by adding 3-4 tbsp of water. Adjust the spiciness according to your taste.

Once the pasta is cooked. In a large wok, add them with veggies and give it a quick stir. Add the sauce all over the pasta and mix well. Add 1 tbsp of soy sauce and salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro and bean sprouts and serve hot!

Pani puri (Bangalore style)

Wondering if I am on a pani puri fever? Yes, I am Its usually weekends that I get to make all these wonderful chaats so I can completely  enjoy it with my family. The addition of onions sev( fried chickpea noodles) and cilantro with hot and sweet pani tantalizes your taste buds.

Ingredients:

Puris- store bought (50 pieces)

Potatoes- 3 large

Dry green peas- 1 1/2cup

Onions- 1 finely chopped

Sev (0 size)- 1/2 cup

Cilantro- 1/4 cup chopped

For making pani:

Cilantro- 25 gms

Mint leaves- 25 gms

Green chilli- 1

Ginger- 1 inch

black salt- 1 tbsp

Amchur powder (dry mango powder)-1tsp

cloves- 1

cardamom- 1

lime juice- 1 tbsp

Grind all the above ingredients except salt, amchur powder and lime juice until smooth. Sieve the mixture with 1 cup of water, making sure to squeeze everything from the ground mixture. Add four more cups of water to the liquid extract and mix black salt, amchur powder and lime juice to it. Adjust the flavor according to your taste buds. Refrigerate at least for 2 hours before serving for best results.

Sweet chutney:

Tamarind extract-1/2 cup (remove extract from tamarind by adding 1/2 cup of luke warm water to a orange size tamarind or use 2 to 3 tbsp tamarind paste and dilute with water)

Jaggery- 3/4 cup

Roasted cumin seeds and fennel seeds- 1tsp each (powdered)

Heat the tamarind mixture and jaggery in a heat proof bowl and boil it for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes thick (pouring consistency). Mix the powdered mixture to the chutney. Cool it before serving.

Preparation:

Soak the dry green peas in water for 8 hours. Cook potatoes and soaked green peas in a pressure cooker or microwave until they are soft adding a teaspoon of black salt.

Keep all the ingredients handy. Mash the potatoes well.

Make a hole in the center of the puri making sure not to break the sides or the bottom. Add 1 or 2 tsp of cooked green peas, 1 tsp of mashed potato.

Then fill it pani and add a tsp of sweet chutney leaving just a little space for garnishing. More the pani, better the taste of pani puri

Add 1/2 tsp of chopped onions.

Garnish with sev and cilantro. Best way to have this is to make it individually and have it immediately. ( I made these together just for the pictures!)

Pani Puri (Mumbai style)

My aunt and uncle had visited us last december to take care of my son and to spend some time with us. She is living in Mumbai for more than 25 years. The first thing I asked her to make was pani puri which she is very good at. I got to taste the authentic mumbai style pani puri from her and loved it.

Ingredients:

Puris- store bought (50 pieces)

Potatoes- 3 large

Black channa- 1 cup

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

For making pani:

Cilantro- 25 gms

Mint leaves- 25 gms

Green chilli- 1

Ginger- 1 inch

black salt- 1 tbsp

Amchur powder (dry mango powder)-1tsp

cloves- 1

cardamom- 1

lime juice- 1 tbsp

Grind all the above ingredients except salt, amchur powder and lime juice until smooth. Sieve the mixture with 1 cup of water, making sure to squeeze everything from the ground mixture. Add four more cups of water to the liquid extract and mix black salt, amchur powder and lime juice to it. Adjust the flavor according to your taste buds. Refrigerate at least for 2 hours before serving for best results.

Sweet chutney:

Tamarind extract-1/2 cup (remove extract from tamarind by adding 1/2 cup of luke warm water to a orange size tamarind or use 2 to 3 tbsp tamarind paste and dilute with water)

Jaggery- 3/4 cup

Roasted cumin seeds and fennel seeds- 1tsp each (powdered)

Heat the tamarind mixture and jaggery in a heat proof bowl and boil it for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes thick (pouring consistency). Mix the powdered mixture to the chutney. Cool it before serving.

Preparation:

Cook potatoes and black channa in a pressure cooker or microwave until they are soft adding a teaspoon of black salt.

Mash the potatoes, add 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder, mix and keep aside.

Arrange all the puris, make a hole in the center to add the ingredients.

Add a tsp of mashed potato and cooked channa.

Fill it with pani and add a tsp of sweet chutney and gulp it immediately!

Bok choy mushroom soup

By default, I know my husband will shop for bok choy if he goes to the Asian market. Recently he went shopping to the chinese market and I for sure knew I would find bok choy in the shopping bag, and I was right. Thankfully he had not missed on tofu or mushrooms which made my life easier . Quickly I took out all the ingredients and made the soup in no time. It’s such a simple and healthy soup that anyone would fall in love with the flavor, aroma and its taste.

Ingredients:

Bok choy- 3 cups, coarsely chopped

Canned white mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms (8 oz)-1 can

Tofu-1 cup cubed

Vegetable broth- 3 cups

Water- 1 cup

Soy sauce- 1 tbsp

Ginger- 2 tsp finely minced

Lime juice -2 tsp

Cilantro- 1/4 cup

Salt- to taste

Pepper- 1 tsp

Preparation:

Heat vegetable broth mixed with water in a pot, add in tofu, bok choy and mushrooms, salt, pepper, ginger and soy sauce.

Cover the pot and boil for 10 minutes. Add cilantro and lime juice just before serving! Enjoy

Dark chocolate chip cookies

Seeing my history of using dark chocolate, I don’t really have to explain how obsessed I am with dark chocolates. I always feel so good about making a fresh batch of cookies. Well these cookies are very similar to the one printed on the bag of Nestle’s Chocolate Chips. I prefer the cookies to be a bit chewy with caramelized edges and hence make use of both brown and white sugar.

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter- 1 cup

Granulated white sugar- 3/4 cup

Light brown sugar- 3/4 cup packed

Pure vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tsp

Large eggs- 2

Salt-1/4 tsp

Baking soda- 1tsp

All purpose flour- 2 1/4 cup

dark chocolate chips- 1 1/2 cup

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl,  using an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add white and brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time making sure you beat well after each addition. Add in the vanilla extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the mixture slowly to the liquid mixture and mix well until no lumps are visible. Add in the chocolate chips and give it a nice stir. If the dough is very soft, refrigerate for an hour.

Using two spoons drop about two tbsp of dough onto the baking sheet. Make sure there is enough spacing between the dough to rise and flatten. Bake for 12- 14 minutes and cool it completely on a wire rack before tasting!