Eggless wheat cake with Jaggery

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 200 gms ( 1 1/2 cup)
Jaggery - 1 cup (grated and loosely filled)
Milk - 1 cup (plus a tablespoon if you feel the batter too thick before transferring to the pan)
Oil - 1/2 cup ( sunflower or rice bran oil)
Soda - 1/2 teaspoon
Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Whisk Wheat flour, soda and  baking powder  in a bowl. Add jaggery and combine gently. Add milk and the vanilla essence and combine gently.

lastly , add oil and combine well with  a spatula. Transfer the cake mixture to a tray greased with butter and dusted with wheat flour..

Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes with temperature set to 180 deg C or until done while the skewer inserted comes out clean.Once cool remove from tray and you get an excellent cake.

You can top the cake or have it just like that. I topped with white chocolate ganache as it was my mother in laws birthday. As she is a health freak I thought this was the best cake I could bake for her.....Enjoy......:)

Puliyodharai

Ingredients :

Cooked Rice - 4 cups , we can use ponni rice, Basmathi or Raw rice.
Sesame seeds ( black til, Ellu) - 4 tbsp
Gingelly Oil (Nallena) - 4 tbsp
Channa Dal / kadala paruppu- 3 tbsp
Urad dal / uzhunnum paruppu - 2 tbsp
Dry Red Chillies - 4 nos
Fenugreek Seeds(Venthyam, uluva) - 1 tsp
Peanuts - 1/2 glass
Cashew nuts - 1 tsp
Raisins - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Full dry red chilly - 3 nos
Garlic Pods - 4 nos
Powdered jaggery - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder- 1 tsp
Hing (Perungayam) - 1 tsp
Tamarind pulp - 1 glass ( Taken from 2 lemon size balls , soaked and strained from 1 glass water )
Salt - to taste

Method:

Cook rice in such a way that the grains are separate. For Ponni rice use can use 2 cups water for 1 cup of rice. Leave it to cool.

Dry roast black sesame seeds and coasely gring in a mixer and keep aside.

Add 1/2 cup water to tamarind, let it soak for 15mins. Now squeeze out thick tamarind pulp and keep aside.

Heat gingelly oil in a kadai on medium low heat and add the peanuts. Roast until slightly browned. Remove them to a plate and again roast channa dal, urad dal, cashew nut and raisins. Toast until they are browned evenly. Keep them aside in a plate.

In the same kadai, Add some more gingelly oil and splutter Mustard seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Dry Red chilly, crushed Garlic pods and curry leaves. Add the tamarind extract and allow it to boil for 10 - 15 mins. While boiling add turmeric powder, salt and red chilly powder. Check and add salt. 

Add jaggery  and asofoetida Powder and mix well. Boil the tamarind till it thickens (saucy consistency).Remove from flame. This tamarind paste or pulikachal can be stored in a bottle and refrigerated for a week. Mix it with rice when needed. Do not reduce oil if you are planning to store.

Take the cooked rice  and mix well with this tamarind paste without mushing up the rice. Add salt if required. Also add the roasted peanuts, channa dal, urad dal, nuts and raisins also. keep a portion of this roasted dals and nuts for garnishing.

 Now add the roasted and ground black sesame seeds / ellu / til powder and give a quick stir. Keep covered and allow it to rest atleast for 30mins before you serve. Garnish with the roasted cashew, raisins and nuts.

 Serve with Coconut chutney and any papad.  It tastes great after 2-3 hours of preparation......
 
Recipe Courtesy: Kavitha's Cheriamma

Basbousa / semolina cake / Nammoura

Ingredients: 
Coarse semolina / Rava - 1½ cups 
Fine semolina / Rava - ½ cup 
Sugar - 1 cup 
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking Soda - 1 tsp 
Desiccated coconut (Grated Coconut) - 1 cup 
Eggs - 2 Large
Unsalted butter (melted) - 1 cup 
Yogurt - 1 cup 
Vanilla extract – or essence - 2 tsp 

For Syrup:
Sugar - 2 cups 
Water - 2 cups
Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp 
Rose water - 2 tsp (optional)

Method:

Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice. Boil for 10 minutes.Add the rose water and stir well and keep aside.

Boil the almonds for 1 minute and then rinse with cold water. Slip the skins off. OR Soak almonds Overnight and peel skin and keep aside.

Combine Rava /Semolina, Egg, sugar, Baking soda , grated coconut, Baking Powder, egg and mix well with a whisk. Add curd and melted Ghee and mix again.

Transfer the batter to a 9″x13″ (23cm x 33cm) buttered baking pan. Level the batter then refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Score the basbousa into desired shapes. Place the blanched almonds on top of each square or diamond shape.

 
Bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes at 380°F/193°C. Pour the syrup on top of the hot basbousa then bake for another 15 minutes.

When cool cut along the score lines and let it cool completely before serving.

And there...... Yummy and easy Basbousa is ready to serve........:)

Recipe Courtesy: Sarah koshy

White chocolate ganache

White Forest cake

Rose butter icing

Bamboo Rice / Mula Ari Payasam

Ingredients:

Mula ari ( bamboo rice) - 1/4 Cup
Milk- 1/2 Liter
Jaggery -  1 Cup or to taste 
Water - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Nuts and Raisins - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

Clean the bamboo rice neatly  as there will be lot of stones in it.  Wash and soak the same for 3-4 hours or overnight.

Melt jaggery in 1 cup of water and make it into a syrup, strain and set it aside.

In a big pressure cooker add half liter of milk and  cleaned rice together. Keep cooker on high flame and when the steam starts coming out of the nozzle put weight. After the first whistle simmer the flame. After three whistles come in low flame switch off the flame.

When the pressure get released. Open the cooker and add melted Jaggery and cardamon powder. Once you add jaggery, you should not heat or boil the milk as there are chances of the milk curdling. Keep in mind whenever you make any jaggery based payasam, either the milk should be at room temperature or the jaggery should be at room temperature. Both should not be hot as there are chances of the milk curdling. Also use only fresh milk.

 

Heat a tsp of ghee in a pan and fry raisins and cashew nuts separately and add to the kheer. Keep some aside. Garnish with cashew nuts and raisin and serve hot or cold.