Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

Flour - 1 cup
Cocoa Powder - 1/2 cup
Egg - 4
Sugar - 1 cup
Vanilla Essence - 1tsp
Melted Butter - 1/2 cup

For syrup
Fresh cherries(stoned and halved) - 250 gm
Cherry brandy - 100ml(optional)
Water - 100 ml(Take 200 ml water if you are not adding cherry brandy)
Sugar - 5 tbs


For Layering and Decoration
Whipping cream - 300 ml
Icing sugar - according to your sweetness
Glaced cherries
Fresh cherries
Dark Chocolate

Preparation

Place the fresh cherries in a saucepan adding cherry brandy,water and sugar.when it starts to boil simmer it for 5 minutes.

Melt the butter and keep it aside.

Whip the cream with little icing sugar and keep it aside

In a mixing bowl sift flour and cocoa powder.

Place the eggs in a heatproof bowl.Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.Beat the eggs with sugar for about 6 minutes until it is thick.Remove from heat and fold in the flour mixture and melted butter to it.Pour the batter into a cake tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree centigrade for about 40 minutes.Allow the cake to cool down.

Cut the cake horizontally into 2 slices and spread the sugar syrup to both the slices.Spread the whipped cream and arrange the glaced cherries on the first layer.Place the second slice of cake above it and cover the whole cake with cream and grate some chocolate on the top.Decorate the cake with Fresh cherries and glaced cherries.

Recipe courtsey

Marks and Spencers Easy Desserts

Baked Sweet Potato

Hello my dear friends..

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Newyear !!
I am sure you all will be busy today making all the preparations for Christmas.Even I am planning to bake a black forest cake and make a good lunch tomorrow.Me being the last minute person ordered for an icing bag and set of nozzles online just this week and luckily I got it delivered today so I am all set to bake and try my decorating skills tomorrow ! Wsh me luck :)

These days I dont update my blogs regularly and as we all know Christmas is all about sharing here I am to share the only recipe that I have in my draft.

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 220 degree centigrade and bake the Sweet potatoes to 60 -75 minutes.
Remove the skin and Enjoy !

Baked Fish fingers

Ingredients

Fish fillet - 1 medium fish
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Egg -1
Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup
Redchilly powder - 1/4 tsp
Limejuice
Salt
Pepper

Preparation

Clean and cut the fish fillet into small pieces.Marinate the fish with salt,pepper and limejuice and keep it aside for half an hour.
In a plate add the rice flour and redchilly powder and mix.Dust the fish in this flour and dip in egg and coat the fish with breadcrumbs.Place them in a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degree centigrade for 20 - 25 minutes.

Chakka Puzhukku

The weather here in London is worse since last week,its very windy and rainy all the time.Cant go out really, yesterday I had to go out for a music session for my little one and the wind nearly blew me away, so today me and my little one stayed inside and I decided to make my time useful by visiting my friends blogs and refreshing my blog too. After my holidays I am still not in a mood to do some serious cooking,So I dont have anything fresh to post today. This chakka puzhukku is my moms special which we had during our holidays..

Here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Raw Jackfruit - 1/2 of the fruit
Grated coconut- 1/4 cup
Shallots - 10
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic crushed - 1 tbs
Redchilly powder - 1 tbs
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Mustard seeds
Whole redchilly
Curry eaves
Oil

Preparation

Cook the jackfruit with redchilly powder,turmeric powder and salt by adding water till it is cooked and mushy.
Grind coconut ,shallots,cumin seeds into a coarse paste.Add this paste to the cooked jackfruit along with crushed garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.Finally in a pan take some oil and sputter mustard seeds followed by whole redchillies and curry leaves and add to the chakka puzhukku.

Cottage pie( English meat pie)

Ingredients

Minced Beef - 250 gm
Potatoes - 5 -7 medium size
Milk - 1/4 cup
Butter - 1 tbs
Carrot(chopped) - 3
Chicken stock - 1/2 cup
Worcestershire sauce - 1 1/2 tbs
Onion - 2
Garlic chopped- 1 tbs
Cheese - 75 gm
Pepper powder
Salt

Preparation

Boil potatoes and mash well by adding little milk,salt,pepper (optional) and butter.
In a pan fry the minced meat until its brown in colour.
In a saucepan saute onions,garlic for few minutes. Add chopped carrots,meat and chicken stock.Add salt,pepper and worcesteshire sauce and cook it covered for half an hour.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200 degree centigrade.In an ovenproof dish spread the meat mixure.Cover it with mashed potatoes and place it in the oven.After 20 minutes sprinkle the cheese on the top of the pie and bake for another 10 minutes.Serve warm !!
If we use minced lamb instead of beef they call it SHEPERD'S PIE.

Chakka Ada( Vacation special)

Hi friends,
I am back after my holidays.It took me a while to get adjusted with cold weather and empty home which welcomed us back. The vacation was so wonderful,we enjoyed each and every moment and on the way back we stopped in Dubai to visit my sister there.I have never been to Dubai before,so It was like a wonderland to me with the huge buildings and constuctions everywhere.The view from Burj khalifa,the world tallest building was so amazing.Palm island which is a man made island in the middle of sea was another wonder,but weather wise I am happy with London's weather,atleast we can go out wearing layers of clothes.It was too hot in Dubai,outdoor activities is not possible in the hot sun,winter is the best time to visit Dubai.I am sharing some Dubai pictures below.

BURJ KHALIFA








The recipe that I am going to post today is one of the delicacies that my mom cooked for me while we were in India.The jackfruit season in kerala is usually during the months of april,may but my mom reserved few for me in the tree itself.My mom never thought that it would stay in the tree till september,but luckily it didnt ripe and nor did the birds pecked it.So I had the luck to eat jackfruit in all forms both ripen and as a chakka puzhukku with raw jackfruit.

Here goes the recipe.

Jackfruit ripen - 1/4 of the fruit
Rice flour - 1 1/4 cup
jagerry - according to your sweetness
Cardamom powder -pinch
Banana leaf



Preparation

In a saucepan cook the jackfruit with melted jaggery.Allow it to cool down and blend it into a smooth paste. Melt some more jaggery with little water and keep it aside.In a mixing bowl take the rice flour and add the jackfruit paste to it and add the melted jaggery too.Finally add a pinch of cardamom powder.Mix well.Roast the banana leaf in the flame so that it wont tear.Take a spoonfull of the mixture into small banana leaves,press it gently with hands and fold it.Steam the leaves in a steamer for about 30 to 45 minutes. Enjoy with cup of tea !!

Mathi molishan/ spicy sardines and a blogging break

I am all ready to go for an exciting 4 weeks holidays to India and a short Dubai visit on my return.I am now in the phase of clearing out my fridge and pantry.Cooking is just for namesake these days,and I wonder how long will it take for my kitchen to be back on full swing even when I am back.Anyway coming to todays recipe..

Ingredients

Sardines - 3
Shallots - 10 -15
Tomato -1
Redchilly powder - 1 tbs
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Green chillies - 1 or 2
Curry leaves - few
Salt
Tamarind water - (small piece of tamarind soaked in 1/4 cup water)
Ginger -1/2 tbs
Garlic crushed - 1/2 tbs
Coconut oil

Preparation

Cut and clean sardines.In a chatty(earthern pot)/ saucepan add all the ingredients with fish adding little water .Cook till the fish is done and drizzle some coconut oil.
Serve hot with steamed rice.