Zebra Cake

This is one interesting cake to bake.....love the stripes and believe me its not difficult as it may look. You actually don't have to make two separate batters! just make one with vanilla and equally divide it in separate bowls. Add dark cocoa powder to the second bowl and alternatively spoon the batter in the baking dish......and here you go, you have nice Zebra pattern.

This my entry to the Click event

Ingredients:

All purpose flour [Maida]- 2 cups
Dark Cocoa powder - 2 Tbsp [I used dutch processed Hershey's cocoa powder]
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp [or more, depends on your vanilla. Mine isn't strong, I end up adding more]
White sugar - 1 cup
Canola oil - 1 cup
Eggs - 3 [room temperature]
Whole Milk - 1 cup [room temperature][low fat should work too]
Baking powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Sift All purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and keep it aside

Grease bottom and sides of 8x8 inch pan [you may want to line the pan with greased parchment paper ]

Pre heat oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit

In a large bowl mix sugar and eggs until they are creamy [I prefer using glass bowl for mixing eggs. Egg ingredients tend to react with plastic bowls]

Add milk, oil and vanilla essence and mix it nicely

Now gently add flour to the wet ingredients and gently beat the mixture to mix the ingredients [Don't over mix]

Divide the batter into two equal portions in separate bowls. To one of the bowls add dark cocoa powder and mix well with a ladle

Assembling the cake:

Pour 2-3 tbsp Vanilla batter in the center and and let it spread it on its own. Now put 2-3 tbsp cocoa batter on top of vanilla, it will push the vanilla batter.

Continue this step by alternating the batter until you finish them.

Do not disturb the batter and gently place it in the oven

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is light golden and the tooth pick inserted comes out clean

Cool the cake in the pan for 15-20 minutes. Run a knife around the pan to loosen the sides of the cake and invert onto a baking rack. Invert the cake and let it completely cool before slicing





Recipe source: Farida's Cookbook and Baking Bites

Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi [Fried Okra in Yogurt Gravy]

I have been trying to make Dahi Bhindi for so long and when I found this recipe here, I was so thrilled to try it out ASAP. This recipe is a keeper....everyone at home enjoyed it a lot..lets see if you like it too...give it a try !

Ingredients:
Bhindi/Okra - 2.5 cups
Onion[large] finely chopped - 1
Tomatoes [large], finely chopped- 1
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - pinch
Yougurt - 3/4 cup
Grated coconut - 1tbsp
Cashew nuts - 5-6
Kasuri methi/ dried Feenugreek leaves - 1/2 tbsp
Kitchen King Masala - 1 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - to taste
Turmeric Powder-½ tsp
Amchur/Dry Mango Powder-½ -1 tsp
Coriander Powder - ½ tsp
Oil - 2-3 tbsp
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera/Cumin Seeds-½ tsp
Hing/Asafoetida - A Pinch
Curry Leaves - 8-10 leaves
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Cut okra [bhindi/ ladies finger] in to 1 cm thick pieces and sprinkle salt and mix well. Keep it aside for half an hour. This step will reduce the slimness and makes it easy to fry [This is an optional step]

Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan and fry okra pieces continuously on high flame till they are just cooked. It takes about 7-10mins.Make sure you retain the green color of okras. Transfer the cooked okras to a plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Soak cashew nuts and grated coconut in water [or milk] and grind it to make smooth paste and keep it aside for later use [Coconut and cashew imparts creaminess to the gravy]

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, let it splutter. Then add cumin seeds , hing and curry leaves.

Now add onions and fry till they turn golden. Now add ginger-garlic paste and fry till it is cooked [raw smell should disappear].

Add all the dry spices [kitchen king masala or garam masala, red chillie powder, coriander powder and amchur powder] along with Kasuri methi. I add water to the dry masala before adding to the curry. This protects the spices from getting burned.

Add chopped tomatoes and sauté till they release their juice [maybe 2 minutes].

Add coconut-cashew paste and mix it nicely. Cook for a minute on medium heat.

Add well beaten curd/yogurt and a pinch of sugar and mix nicely

Now add salt and depending on the consistency of the gravy add 1/2 to 1 cup of water and cook for 5 minutes.

Mix in fried okra [bhindi] and adjust for seasoning and consistency of gravy. Add more water if you think the gravy is thick. Simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes.

Serve it with Roti [Chapati] or Paratha [Indian flat bread]

Healthy Moong Dal Dosa [Mung beans Crepe]

Moong beans are also known as mung beans, green beans, moong daal, green soy , golden gram etc. Mung beans are very rich sources of proteins, therefore makes it ideal for kids, pregnant and lactating mothers. They are easy to digest and do not create abdominal bloating .

Ingredients for dosa:

Split green moong beans - 1 cup
Green chillies - 1 big
Ginger - 1 inch
Cumin seeds [zeera] - 1/4 tsp
Asfoetedia [heeng] - few dashes
Salt to taste


Ingredients for stuffing:

Potato (boiled) - 2 big
Onions - 1.5 medium size
Curry leaves - 7-8 in number
Green chillies - 1.5 tbsp chopped
Turmeric (haldi) - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1tsp
Salt - according to taste
Canola Oil - 2 tbsp
Rai [black mustard seeds] 1.5 tsp

Method for Potato filling

1. Cut the potatoes into small cubes and keep it aside
2. Coarsely chop onions [red onions taste better over yellow and white]
3. Heat oil add rai seeds followed by 7-8 curry leaves [be careful, the mustard seeds splutter and may pop out of the pan]
4. Add onions and cook till they turn pink [add some salt to avoid them from burning, as salt causes onions to sweat]
5. Now add green chillies
6. Now add all the powdered spices and immediately add chopped boiled potatoes
7. Give a nice stir to the mixture and let it cook covered on low heat for sometime with occasional stirring [cooking covered helps to develop some moisture which helps in infusing the flavors of spices into the potatoes]
8. Once the potatoes are cooked, leave to mixture to cool and proceed to make Dosas!


Method for Dosa

1. Soak moong daal for 4 hours in water
   
2. Drain water and make a smooth paste with minimum water along with green chillies, ginger and cumin seeds
3. Adjust the consistency of the batter [not too thick]
4. Add salt and heeng and adjust the taste
   
5. Heat the griddle [tawa], to check if the griddle has reached desired temperature, sprinkle few drops of water, it should immediately roll and evaporate [I only use non-stick griddle]
   
6. Lightly grease the griddle and pour one big scoop of the batter in the center like you make pancake and spread the batter in a circular motion to increase the size
7. In the event of spreading the batter you will see tiny holes which is very normal
8. Drizzle few drops of oil on the surface of the dosa
   
9. When the surface looks no more runny, flip the dosa and cook for maybe a minute
10. Flip the dosa back and spread the potato filling and fold the dosa and cook for few seconds and they are ready to serve
11. Eat it with chutney!!

This is my entry for the following events:

1. Sunday Snacks-Spill the beans
2. Dosa Corner