Flavour Diary: August 2016

Easy Couscous Salad Recipe | Healthy Recipes | Vegetarian Vegan | Flavour Diary

Todays recipe is no cook recipe with no hassle and needs no expereince to make it perfect. Its Couscous Salad which is best when you want something light and healthy for tummy or even for a lazy supper.Couscous is a staple food from North Africa and these are small semolina pearls served with cooked veggies and non veg in main course.
Couscous Salad is easy and quick to make with no expert skills required. This is fabulous for light lunch/supper or for packed lunch.Couscous is lightly flavoured with cumin to give an indian touch.
One of my all time favourite salad is Russian Salad which i can have anytime of the day...it's simply mouthwatering with veggies and fruits going in. So do give it a try too.

Level: easy
Total time: 20mins

serves:2-4

1 cup:250 ml
1 tablespoon: 15ml
1 teaspoon:5ml

Ingredients

Couscous: 100gm
Hot boiling water: 200ml
Cumin Powder: 1/8th teaspoon
Salt: 1/4th teaspoon
Chilli Powder: 1/8 teaspoon
Vegetables:(as desired)
Chopped Tomatoes: 1/2 cup
Chopped Cucumber: 1/4 cup
Chopped Onion: 1/4 cup
Sweet Corn: 1/2 cup(i used frozen corn which is thawed)
Coriander as desired

lemon/lime juice to taste

Directions

In a bowl add couscous, salt, cumin powder and boiling water. Stir the mixture and keep it a side covered for 10mins.
Chop up all your desired vegetables and keep it a side.
Once the couscous absorbs all water then with help of fork, fluff it up.Let it cool
In a big bowl add all veggies, couscous and mix well, then add 1/2 lemon/lime juice and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve.

Tips

Increase and decrease the quantities of veggies and spice according to your taste.
If you like uncooked Bell peppers then finely chop the peppers and add to couscous.
You can use vegetable/chicken stock instead of boiling water

Couscous Salad is going to be part of 55 #foodiemonday #Salads #bloghop recipes

Random yummies

Chocolate Cake with Ganache and Fresh Cream

Dosa Batter Instant Jalebi

Paneer Korma

Palak Moong Dal Fry (Spinach and lentil Fry)

Madeira Loaf Cake

Beetroot Dosa

Madgane (Lentils Dessert)

Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan

Vegetable Spring Roll

chocolate cake fresh cream ganache flavour diary

Today's recipe is one of my usual butter cake recipe which i bake now and then for small cakes. This cake recipe easy to remember, as everything is equivalent to weight of the eggs, like flour+cocoa, sugar and butter all weigh same as eggs. Ratio of flour to cocoa powder is 3:1 of weight of eggs.You can use up this recipe for vanilla sponge by replacing cocoa with flour.
If you are looking for butter less chocolate cake try my Oil based Chocolate cake, which is spongy and moist too.
Enjoy Baking

Serves: 12
Level: Moderate

Prep time: 35 mins + decoration time
Cooking time: 35 min + cooling time

Ingredients

For Cake.....

Eggs - 200gm (3 eggs)
Self Raising flour - 150gm

Sugar - 200gm
Butter - 200gm

Unsweetened cocoa powder - 50gm

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Coffee - 1/2 cup

Fresh Cream Frosting.....

Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon

Heavy whipping cream - 700 ml

Confectioners' sugar -40 g (to taste)

Chocolate Ganache.....

Chocolate - 100gm

Heavy whipping cream - 100 ml

Directions

Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C .Grease and flour two 8 inch, round, cake pans; cover bottoms with waxed paper.

Sift together the dry ingredients ;flour, cocoa powder and salt and set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until smooth and then add eggs one by one and scrape the bowl and beat.

Add Dry and coffee ingredients alternatively to the Egg mixture and beat until well incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in Center comes out clean. Cool pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Loosen edges, and remove cakes to cool completely.

Fresh Cream Filling Cake

Combine whipping cream,vanilla extract and confectioner's sugar in a chilled medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form.

Ganache:

In a micro safe bowl add cream and chopped chocolate and microwave for 10 secs interval. In each interval mix the mixture. Once the chocolate is completely melted keep it a side.

Assembling Cake

With long serrated knife, split each cake layer horizontally in half.(if you have baked in two pans then you will have 4 pieces, if you have baked in one pan then divide in 3 layers).

To assemble,place one cake layer on cake plate. Spread cream frosting; Top with second cake layer; repeat layer of cream frosting. Top with third cake layer. repeat for 4th layer if you have and then crumb coat and keep it in fridge for an hour.

After an hour Frost the cake.

Now pour the cooled ganache on the cake and then Spoon reserved frosting into pastry bag fitted with star decorator tip. Pipe the design onto the cake.tadaaaa your cake is done , keep it in fridge and serve cool.

You might be interested in other Cake treats, here are few to list.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Custard Powder Lava Cake

Orange Cake

Mango Mousse Cake

Healthy Ragi Chocolate Cake

Random yummies

Paneer Butter Masala

Kaddu Ki Puri

yogurt chocolate chip muffins

Ambada Gosht / Gongura Mamasam

Caramel Custard

Basbousa - semolina cake

Russian Salad

I am a core hard fan of Jalebi, these makes me ravenous even though i am full. I love to experiment these with various flavours and methods. If you have some yeast at home and want to make jalebi's , then try my Instant Jalebi's using yeast.
Today's recipe is one of the easiest way to make Jalebi at home using leftover Dosa Batter...yes you read it right...this Dosa batter Instant Jalebi's are simply a replica of roadside jalebi with same crunch outside and juicy inside. So next time when ever you feel to have jalebi's and mix up some dosa batter and plain flour/maida and make jalebi's instantly...you will be surprised with the output.
Science behind the successful jalebi is rice in dosa batter gives the crispness and perfectly fermented batter gives the batter right consistency to puff up and maida/plain flour gives the binding to the jalebi batter.

Level: Moderate
Cook time: 30mins
Prep and rest time: 10mins

serves:2-4

1 cup:250 ml
1 tablespoon: 15ml
1 teaspoon:5ml

Ingredients

Dosa Batter: 1/2 cup
Plain Flour/Maida: 1/2 cup
Cardamom Powder: a pinch
Baking Soda/khaney ka Soda: one big pinch
Oil : 1 teaspoon
Oil for frying
water as required
Orange food colour (optional)

Sugar Syrup:
Sugar: 1 cup
Water: 1 cup
Lemon Juice: 1/2 teaspoon
Cardamom Powder: 1/2 teaspoon

Directions

In a bowl mix all the ingredients and make smooth slow flowing smooth batter.Make sure to add water little by little.(Consistency of the must not be too running or too thick ).Rest the batter for 10mins.
While the batter is resting, make the sugar syrup. In a pan add sugar, water, and cardamon powder and cook for 15 mins on medium heat until one string consistency. Add lemon juice.
Heat oil in a pan for frying jalebi. Mix the batter well and pour it in ketchup bottle or a ziplock bag with small hole.
Oil should be on medium heat, When you drop little batter it should slowly float up. Pour the batter in spiral motion and a line in between .You should be able to see the shape while you pour the batter once done, jalebi should float up. That is the right temperature to fry.
Fry on both sides until bubbles surrounding jalebi's goes down and they become bit hard. Directly dip in the sugar and press a bit and then flip and dip and remove.Serve hot.

Tips

If oil is too hot then the jalebi's will splatter away while dropping the batter in the oil and if oil is cool then the jalebi's will not float to top and absorbs lot of oil.
Sugar syrup should be warm or little hot.

Dosa Batter Jalebi is going to be part of 54 #foodiemonday #Janamashtami #indiansweets #bloghop recipes

Random yummies

Madeira Loaf Cake

Beetroot Dosa

Madgane (Lentils Dessert)

Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan

Badusha

Vegetable Spring Roll

Happy Sweet Seventy Independence Day to all my friends and family from India. On this day 70 years back India got independence from british with lot of struggles, sacrifices and hurdles. In Spite of having different region,religions, cultures being together makes India great and being Indian feels us proud.
Indian National Flag is Known as Tiranga means Tricoloured. Horizontal strips of Orange(saffron) on top,then white and green at the bottom.On white band a navy blue wheel with 24 spokes is placed in the middle called dharma chakra(wheel of law).Each colour on the flag has its own significance, Safforn for courage and sacrifice, White for peace and purity and Finally green for faith and chivalry.
Our foodie monday team has decided to share each colour among ourself and share some indian recipe with that colour. And i got green colour to share.Without much thinking i decided to make halwa out of green peas. I love making halwas with different veggies and fruits like tomato(tamatar ka halwa), Sweet Corn, Dry Apricot (Khubani Ka Meetha) and on on.
Enjoy the video for little help

Level: Easy

Total time: 40-50 mins
serves:2

1 cup:250 ml
1 tablespoon: 15ml
1 teaspoon:5ml

Ingredients

Frozen/Fresh Peas: 1 1/2 cup ( i used frozen peas)
Dessicated Coconut: 1/2 cup
Milk: 1 cup
Sugar:1/4th cup (to taste)
Ghee/Butter: 1 tablespoon
Cardamom powder: 1 generous pinch
Cashews chopped : 1/8th cup (optional)

Directions

In a pan add peas and 1/2 cup water and cook covered until peas are cooked. (for frozen peas approx takes 5mins and fresh approx 10mins).
Drain the water and let it cool and blend it to smooth paste.
In a wide pan add ghee and peas paste and fry until it all water is absorbed.
Now add milk to peas mixture and cook until milk becomes 1/3rd.
Now add sugar, dessicated coconut and chopped cashews and cook until desired consistency. Enjoy it hot or cold

Tips

You can use any dairy free milk instead of full fat milk to make it dairy free version.

Peas Coconut Halwa is going to be part of 53 #foodiemonday #tricolourteamrecipes #indiansweets #bloghop recipes

Random yummies

Coconut Moong Dal Halwa

Madgane (Lentils Dessert)

Kashmiri cuisine has its own flavours and taste compared to other regional indian cuisine. The use of mustard oil and fennel powder makes it different from others. Kashmiri cuisine is famous for its meat recipes but for today i am sharing one of the famous vegetarian recipe called Dum Aloo boiled/steamed potatoes). Kashmiri Dum Aloo is a simple recipe where baby potatoes are boiled, fried and cooked in yogurt sauce.
There are many variations in preparation of dum aloo like useage of onion , tomatoes and few exclude one or both...but for today's recipes it's No Onion No Garlic and No Tomato recipe.So this can be enjoyed during fasting (vrat) too.

Level: Easy

Total time: 30-40 mins
serves: 2-3

1 cup:250 ml
1 tablespoon: 15ml
1 teaspoon:5ml

Ingredients

Baby Potatoes: 300gms
Yogurt: 1 - 1 1/2 cup(alway use fresh no sour yogurt)

Oil for frying
Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder: 1 teaspoon (to taste)
Fennel Powder: 2 teaspoon
Cumin Powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Garam Masala Powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard Oil:2 tablespoons
Cardamom/Elaichi: 1 or 2
Cinnamon/Dalchini: 1/2 inch

Cloves/Laung: 2
Salt to taste
Chopped Coriander to garnish

Directions

Boil and peel the potatoes.With the help of fork, prick the potatoes randomly.

In a pan add 1/4th cup of oil and fry potatoes, till it turns golden brown or deep fry the potatoes.

In a small bowl add red chilli powder,fennel powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder,turmeric powder and water(1/4th cup).

In another pan add mustard oil, let it heat up until smoky and then add cloves, cinnamon and cardamom.

Add chilli powder water to it and turn to off the heat.Stir once.

Now add whisked yogurt and stir vigorously and turn the heat one and stir continuously and bring it to boil.

Now add fried potatoes,salt,water (1/2 - 3/4 cup) and stir once and turn the heat to medium and close the lid and let it cook for 8-10 minutes. Stir in between to avoid burns at bottom.Check the consistency and then off the heat and garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve it with any flavoured rice or roti or flatbread.

Tips
If you add yogurt in hot oil it will breaks, so you have to add when the oil is at medium heat and stir it continuously to prevent from breaks in yogurt.