Cranberry, raisin and walnut loaf

November 5, 2013February 21, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

Hope you had a wonderful Diwali with lots of fun and great food. Yes! We did too.

Ah! Now it’s time for thanksgiving and Christmas. My little one is so excited and has already made her Christmas shopping list. This Christmas I have promised her that we will do lots of baking together. The two of us are so looking forward to it.

I have started off with my baking for the season. And if it’s Christmas it must be cranberries. This soft loaf with the crunchy walnuts, tangy bits of cranberries, the sweetness of raisins is scrumptious and so ideal to get baking for the season.

Recipe source – Simply recipes

You need –

All purpose flour -2 cups
Caster sugar – 3/4 cup
baking powder – 1.5 teaspoons
baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon
salt 1/2 teaspoon
walnuts – 3/4 cup, coarsely chopped
dried cranberries – 3/4 cup, roughly chopped
Raisins – 1/4 cup
orange juice – 3/4 cup
butter – 1/4 cup, melted
Egg – 1, beaten

How to –

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan.

In a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the walnuts, cranberries, raisins to flour mixture and mix well to coat. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, Add the melted butter, egg and orange juice. Beat will till well combined. Now slowly add the flour-cranberry mixtures to the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon till everything is just blend.

Spoon the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or till the toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the loaf.

Cool the loaf for 10 minutes in pan and then on a wire rack.

Storing – Wrap tightly and store in refrigerator once cooled completely.

Bread Gulab Jamun

November 1, 2013October 18, 2016 | Rekha Vengalil

The festival of lights is here and on this auspicious day may god bless you with happiness, prosperity and success. Wishing you a Happy Diwali!

It’s also the time to savor on some sweets/methai. On that note here’s a recipe of Gulab Jamun which is made from bread.

A recipe from Nithya’s Nalabagam, is delicious and quick to make too. I have not made any change to the recipe except for adding in Rose water to the sugar syrup.

You need –

Milk bread – 4 slices, edges trimmed
Milk – 2.5 tablespoons
Sugar – 1/2 cup
Water – 3/4 cup
Rose water – 1/4 teaspoon
Cardamom – 2 pods
Saffron – a good pinch, soaked in 1 tablespoon warm water.
Oil/ghee – to deep fry

How to –

In a food processor, crumble the bread slices. In bowl mix the crumbled bread and milk and knead with your palms to a soft dough. Make small equal sized balls. set aside.

In a sauce pan add the sugar, water, and cardamom. Bring to a rolling boil and turn off the heat. Add the rose water and stir well.

Heat a oil in frying pan/ skillet. Over a medium heat deep fry the bread balls till brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel.

Soak the fried balls in the sugar syrup for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Garnish with soaked saffron and serve.

Kadai Tofu

October 30, 2013February 22, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

You need –

Tofu – 150 grams, cut into thick strips
Bell peppers – 2 small, chopped into chunks (I used Green and yellow peppers)
Onions – 1 medium, sliced
Tomatoes – 1 large, finely chopped
ginger- garlic paste – 1.5 teaspoons
Paprika – 1 teaspoon
Dried fenugreek leaves – 2 teaspoons
Whole spices –
- Coriander seeds – 2 tablespoons
- Red dried chilies – 3-4 or to taste
- Cloves – 1
- Cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
- Peppercorn – 1/4 teaspoon.
- Cardamom – 1
- Cinnamon – 1 small stick
Fresh coriander leaves – to garnish
Oil – as required
Salt to taste

How to –

Blend to fine powder all the ingredients under “Whole spices”. Pan fry the Tofu slices till light golden on both side.

Heat the oil in a kadai/skillet, add the dry spice powder, paprika and sauté till fragrant.

Add the onions and cook till translucent. Add garlic-ginger, tomato and salt. cook for 3-4 minutes or till the oil start to separate.

Tip in the Tofu, fenugreek leaves. Turn the heat to high and mix well for about 3-4 minutes. Add about 1/4 cup of hot water.reduce the heat to medium-low for 4-5 minutes or till the gravy is thick stirring frequently.

Add bell pepper, coriander leaves and mix well to combine. Cook briefly.

Turn off the heat and serve hot with Indian flat bread or rice.

Chorizo & mushroom rice

October 28, 2013October 18, 2016 | Rekha Vengalil

You need –

Chorizo – 2
Long grain rice – 1 cup (I used Basmati)
Chicken stock – 1 & 3/4 cups
White button Mushrooms – 8-10, quartered
Bell pepper – 1 small, finely chopped. I used red.
Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped
Garlic cloves – 2, minced
Paprika – 1.5. teaspoons or as per taste
Olive oil – 2 tablespoons or as required
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

How to –

Wash and drain the rice well. Remove the chorizo from its casings and with a wooden spoon break the meat and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add the garlic and saute for a minute. Tip the chopped onions and continue to cook till golden, Now add the paprika and fry till the oil starts to separate.

Add the chorizo and cook for 5 minutes. Add rice, mix well and fry for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and mix well. Stir in the stock, salt to taste. Cover and cook till rice is done.

Once done, turn off the heat, Add the chopped bell pepper, cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes.Remove the lid, fluff the rice with a fork. Transfer to a serving dish.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with raitha.

Lemon glaze bundt cake

October 26, 2013February 22, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

I was quite excited about this cake, as it was my first time with the Bundt. The steps were followed religiously – batter done, poured into the cake pan, and finally placed in the oven; only to realize that I did not grease/buttered the pan before the batter went in. Almost gave up to the thought that the cake wouldn’t come off clean. The choice was made – if it does not come off clean, the recipe is not going up here 🙂

Once done, with bated breath I inverted the tin. The cake did slide off well, albeit a bit messy (definitely not as bad as I thought it would be). Poured the glaze over and yes the final outcome was worth the effort – light and fluffy, with the nice zing from the lemon zest and glaze.

Recipe courtesy: Taste of Home

You need

All purpose flour – 3 cups
Unsalted butter – 226 grams
Caster sugar – 2 cups
Low fat milk – 1 cup
Eggs – 4
Lemon essence – 1.5 teaspoons
Vanilla essence – 1.5 teaspoons
Baking powder – 2 teaspoons
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Zest of 2 lemons or 1 tablespoon

For the lemon glaze

Lemon Juice – 2 tablespoons
Icing sugar – 1.5 cups

How to –

Pre-heat the over to 180 C. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter till light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs one at a time. Beating well after each addition. Add the essence.

Now gradually add the flour and alternately with milk. Beat well after each addition. Finally stir the zest in.

Pour the batter into the greased and floured 10-inch bundt cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool the cake on wire rack completely.

Lemon glaze

In mixing bowl, add the lemon juice and the icing sugar and mix with a wooden spoon till smooth. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake and serve.

Sandesh–A Bengali sweet

October 22, 2013February 22, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

Like many of you there, I love this time of the year – the festive season in India! It’s time for family gatherings, friends, fun, and some great food. Good time to try out some homemade sweets!

Here’s my first recipe for the season. I am trying my hand in doing up a Bengali favorite – Sandesh. Made from fresh cottage cheese/paneer, it is indeed a delicious treat. One big plus of making sweets at home is that you are in complete control of the sugar that goes in.

You need –

Whole milk – 1 liter
Lime juice – 2 teaspoons
Powdered sugar – 1/3 cup or to your taste
Warm milk – 1 tablespoon
A good pinch of saffron
Few drops of Vanilla essence

How to –

Soak the saffron threads in the warm milk and set aside.

In a heavy bottom pan, bring the milk to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the lime juice. The milk will start to curdle and the whey will separate. As soon as you see the greenish water on top, turn off the heat.

Line a colander with cheesecloth and strain the chenna. Rinse the chenna under running tap water to remove the citric flavor. Now gather the corners of the cheesecloth, twist and squeeze to remove any excess water in the chenna. Hang the cheesecloth on the tap (as shown in the pic) or put it on a flat plate and weigh a heavy object on top to drain all excess water. Leave this for an hour.

Now remove the chenna from the cheese cloth and kneed with the your palm to a no lump and smooth ball (5-6 minutes). Now add the sugar (please add the sugar gradually to get the sweetness you desire), Vanilla essence and continue to kneed till chenna and sugar is well blend and smooth.

Heat a non stick pan over low heat and cook the chenna stirring continuously for 3-4 minutes or till it starts to leave the sides of the pan.

Turn off the heat and while still warm shape the chenna into desired shapes.

Garnish with the soaked saffron threads and drizzle little milk over the sandesh. You can also use some dried fruits or nuts to garnish.

Note :

Shape your sandesh while the chenna is still warm else the the chenna will harden and they will not hold the shape.

Potato stir-fry

October 20, 2013October 18, 2016 | Rekha Vengalil

A long pending post! I make this very often, but never made into this space. One of my favorite from childhood, indeed the first recipe I learnt from my mom. An easy and uncomplicated recipe, we normally savor this with Rice, sambar/Rasam.

You need –

Potato – 2 nos, cut into bite size cubes
Onion – 1 small, finely chopped
Garlic – 1 small clove, minced
Chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon or per taste
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
Dried Kasoori Methi– 1 teaspoon
Garam masala – 1/4 teaspoon
Oil – 1 tablespoon or as required
salt to taste
Coriander leaves – to garnish

How to –

In a pot boil the potatoes with turmeric powder till done. Make sure not to over cook and mushy. Drain the water and set potatoes aside.

Heat oil in pan, add the cumin seeds. Once they start to pop, add the chili powder and fry for a minute. Add the onion and garlic and saute till the raw smell of garlic is gone and onions are soft and start to brown.

Add the cooked potatoes salt and mix will. Sauté for 2 minutes. Now add the Kasoori Methi, garam masala and stir fry for a minute.

Turn off the heat and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice and curry.

Kerala restaurant style egg curry

October 19, 2013October 18, 2016 | Rekha Vengalil

You need –

Hard boiled eggs – 4
Onion – 3 medium, thinly sliced
Coriander powder – 2 tablespoons
Chili powder – 3 teaspoons
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Fennel powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Vinegar – 1 teaspoon
Coconut milk (thick) – 1/4 cup
Curry leaves – 2 twigs
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon
Bay leave – 1 small
Cardamom pod – 1, crushed
Cinnamon stick – 1’inch piece

How to –

Heat oil in heavy bottom pan. Add the whole spices and cook till fragrant. Add the mustard seeds and allow to crackle. Add one twig of curry leaves followed by the onions and saute till they turn golden brown.

Add the coriander, chili, turmeric, fennel powders and saute till the oil start to separate. Add the 1/2 cup water, salt to taste and mix well, Add the boiled egg, remaining curry leaves, cover and cook till the gravy is thick.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a gentle simmer.

Turn off the heat; add the and serve hot with rice, appam, roti or idiyappam

Gongura Mamasam / mutton / lamb

October 15, 2013February 22, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

The Gongura/Sorrel leaves are popular in India especially in Andhra, a southern state of India. It is a very vital part of Telugu cuisine. The leaves are used for various preparations like pickle, pachadi, Dal (Lentils) curry, meat and seafood.

The recipe I share today is a spicy, hot and tangy lamb/mutton curry with a very unique flavor, which of course comes from Gongura/Sorrel leaves. Like said this is a very spicy, hot curry. So please adjust the heat to suit your taste.

You need –

Lamb/Mutton – 500 grams, cut into bite size pieces
Gongura– 150 grams, roughly chopped
Ginger-garlic paste – 1.5 tablespoons
Chili powder – 3 teaspoons or to taste
Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 1 tablespoon
Garam masala – 1/2 teaspoon
onion – 1 large, grind to a paste
salt to taste
oil – as required

How to –

Wash and clean the mutton well. Drain the water completely. In a large bowl, put the mutton ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt, 2 teaspoon of oil and Mix well. Marinate the meat for 15-20 mins.

Heat oil in pressure cooker pan, add the onion paste and cook till the oil start to separate. Tip in the marinated mutton and sauté for a few minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water, cover and pressure cook till the meat is done.

In sauce pan add the sorrel/gongura leaves with 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or till the leaves are mushy.

Once the mutton is done, uncover the pressure cooker and add the sorrel/gongura leaves. Add the garam masala and mix well. Cook till the gravy is thick or adjust the consistency of the gravy as per your choice.