CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH GANACHE & NUTS

Chocolate cakes are just perfect for any occasion, either it is a birthday, anniversary or just a party. And yeah...nothing is better then making a cake all by yourself, that too a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and crunchy nuts on the top.

Here is the recipe:-

INGREDIENTS-

For the Cake:-

1 and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup yogurt (I used the 200 gms pack)

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup butter

½ tsp vanilla essence

¼ cup milk¼ cup chopped almonds

For the ganache:-

100 ml cream

150 gms dark cooking chocolate(I use MORDE’s Dark Compound)

METHOD-

For the cake:-

1. Sieve together all-purpose flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and baking soda in a bowl and keep aside.

2.In a large bowl, add yogurt, butter and sugar and mix well till it becomes creamy in texture.

3. Now add the dry ingredients and milk gradually (little at a time) and mix it well. Add vanilla essence and mix.

4. Bake in a preheated oven at 180*C for about 25-30 mins.

  For the ganache:-

1.Chop the chocolate in small pieces and heat it in a microwave for about 2-3 mins. You can also use    a double boiler for this.

2. Pour cream in a glass jar and heat it in microwave for 2 mins. Now pour this cream over the  chocolate and mix it slowly using cut and fold technique.

3. Let the ganache cool a little and then spread it over the cake.Make pattern over the cake using a  knife or spoon

4.Decorate with nuts and serve.

NOTE-

1.You can add nuts in the cake too.

2.Mix the chocolate and cream for the ganache lightly.

ITALIAN BRINJAL BAKE WITH INDIAN TADKA

Brinjals recipes are absolutely loved by adults but what about the kids.They simply hate it.So here is a dish which will be loved by your kids as well as yourself .Layers of brinjal and veggies are topped with mozzarella and baked in Italian style with Indian tadka.

INGREDIENTS :-
1 medium size brinjal
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp chopped curry leaves (optnl)
1 tsp each of green chilli, ginger and garlic chopped finely
50 gms paneer/cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
Oil for grilling and greasing
Oregano seasoning to sprinkle

METHOD:-
1. Slice the brinjal in wide rounds. Now spread oil on both sides of the brinjal and place all the pieces in an ovenproof tray. Grill them at about 200*C till light brown in color and soft in texture.
2.Now arrange the pieces in a baking dish.Spread a little salt and half amount of the black pepper over it and keep aside.
3.For the layering, heat oil in a pan add cumin seeds and curry leaves. Now add onions,green chilli,ginger and garlic and saute them till light brown in color.Add tomato puree,salt,red chilli powder,coriander powder,garam masala and black pepper and let it heat for 5-6 minutes. Remove from fire and add tomato ketchup.
4. Spread this mix over the layer of brinjal and level it.Now grate paneer over this on all sides. Top it with grated mozzarella.
5.Bake it in a preheated oven at about 200-220*C till the cheese melts well. To serve, spread a little oregano over it and serve it like that or with chapati or paranthas.

PALAK DHOKLA

Dhokla is a delicious steamed cake which is an all time Gujarati favorite snack. You can make this recipe using fresh lentils like Bengal gram dal or even a mixture of dals or you could alternatively make it really quick using gram flour that tastes just as delicious.Moreover here's is an easy way of increasing the nutrition value of this snack by adding some spinach to it.

INGREDIENTS:- 

For the batter:- 

1 cup sooji/rawa 

1/2 cup gram-flour/besan 

3/4 cup paalak puree 

1 & 1/2 tbsp sugar 

1/2 tbsp salt 

1/2 cup curd 

1 tsp Eno powder or fruit salt

For stir frying:-

 2 tbsp oil 

1 tsp mustard seeds/rai 

10-12 curry leaves 

2-3 finely chopped green chillies 

1 tsp chat masala 

1 tsp garam masala

METHOD:-   

1. Mix all the ingredients for the batter except eno powder and let the batter rest for about 15-20 mins.

2. Place the steamer on gas stove and add some water to it.

3. Grease the mould. Add Eno powder to the batter and mix it well. 

4. Pour the batter in the mould and steam it for about 8-10 mins.

5. Let it cool down and cut the dhokla in desired shapes and sprinkle garam masala and chat masala over it.

For stir frying:-

 1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When crackling sound begins,then add curry leaves and green chillies.

2. Add dhokla pieces to it and toss them well. Let it simmer for 2-3 mins keeping the pan covered.

3. Serve hot with coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

KHASTA VEG ACHARI POORIS

Poori is popular indian fried flat bread that is liked by both young ones and adults.It is generally prepared on special occasions.It goes great with everything, be it potatoes, chole or anything else.
Here's is a perfect way of giving our desi indian pooris a nutritious twist. Presenting Vegetable achari pooris which are equally crispy and delicious in taste.

Serves-15-16 pooris

INGREDIENTS:-

2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cup very finely chopped vegetables (carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, peas, etc) 1 tbsp mango pickle masala 
1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 cup gram flour

1 tsp garam masala 
1 tsp saunf powder 
1 tsp ajwain 
2 tsp salt or to taste  A pinch of turmeric powder 
1 tbsp chopped fenugreek leaves (methi)

METHOD:-

1. Mix all the ingredients well. Now keep the mixture aside for 1/2 hour. 

2.Take little oil in your palms and make dough with the mixture. Add 1-2 tbsp water if    required. 
3.Now roll out a little thick pooris with the dough and fry them till golden brown. Serve with any subzi or chutney. 

NOTES:-
1- Chop the vegetables very finely for the pooris to puff properly.
2-There is no need to add water as the vegetables already leave their water in the flour.

SHAAM SAVERA

The unique name is given to this dish by masterchef "Sanjeev Kapoor" as its his signature dish. It consists of spinach balls stuffed with paneer cooked in a shahi gravy. Here is my version of 'SHAAM SAVERA'

INGREDIENTS:-

Makes 8 koftas
For making koftas:-
150 gms paneer1 cup blanched and squeezed spinach
3-4 tbsp roasted gram-flour/besan
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cumin seeds
Oil for frying

For making gravy:-
2 large onions
1/2 cup tomato puree
2 green chilies
1 inch ginger piece
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp coriander -chopped
100 gms cream
1/ 2 cup milk
Salt to taste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp oil

METHOD:-
For koftas:-
1- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. When seeds start crackling, add spinach to it. Stir the mixture for about 5-7 mins so as to remove moisture.Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper to it. Let it cool and then add gram-flour to it. Now divide the mixture in 8 parts.
2. Crumble paneer in a plate and add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper to it. Divide the mixture in 8 parts and make balls of them.
3. Now flatten a part of spinach in your hand and place a paneer ball in it and cover the ball completely with spinach mixture. Make all koftas using the same method and deep fry them.

For the gravy:-
1.In the grinder, add onions, garlic, ginger and chilies and grind them well. 2.Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds to it. When seeds start cracking, add grind onion paste to it. Stir it well till oil starts separating out.
3. Add tomato puree and all other spices to it.Stir it for 5-6 mins. Now add cream and milk to it. Adjust consistency by adding water.
4.For serving, pour gravy in a bowl and add koftas pieces cut in half to it. Spread coriander over it.

MUSHROOM PLEATED BREAD

My craze for mushrooms keeps on growing day by day- so as the craze for discovering new recipes grows. So here is something different you can do with your mushrooms.

INGREDIENTS:-

To make two breads:

For the dough:-

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup butter

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 salt

1/2 tsp ajwain

1/2 cup milk

For the filling:-

200 gms mushrooms-sliced finely

2 onions-finely chopped

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp amchoor

1 tbsp chopped coriander

1 tbsp butter

METHOD:-

1.For the bread, sieve flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Cut butter in small cubes and rub it gently into the flour mixture with your fingers till the texture is like breadcrumbs. Now add milk and knead the mixture to form a dough.Cover it and keep aside.

2. For the filling,heat butter in a pan,add onions, mushrooms and salt to it and stir for about 5-6 mins on medium heat till light brown and dry. Add rest of the ingredients. Keep aside to cool.

3. Roll out the dough into a rectangle of 10"*8". Mark length-wise into three equal parts. Leaving the center intact,cut the outer parts diagonally in small equal strips. Place the filling in center part and lift the strips from both sides alternately and place them on the top of filling.

4. Brush the top with milk and bake in a pre-heated oven at 200*C for about 30-40 mins or till top is well browned and crispy. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

NOTES:-

1. You can make this bread with different filling other than this one.

2. If you want to make one piece of bread, reduce the ingredients to half and proceed using the same method.