You can prepare soft, yummy pancakes in just two simple steps:
Combine all the dry ingredients: Flour, Baking Powder, Salt and Sugar. Add melted butter, milk and beaten egg and mix well to form a batter-like consistency.
Heat a oiled pan on medium heat. Ladle out some batter on the pan. Flip the pancake when you see holes forming on the top layer. Cook it until brown on both sides.
Pancakes are traditionally had with Maple syrup drizzled on top.
It’s now time to add the paste we prepared by blanching the palak.
Add Red chilly powder and salt as per your taste and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Finally add the king of the dish – the Paneer, cut into cubes. Cook for not more than 5 minutes to prevent the Paneer from becoming rubbery/hard. You can garnish with some fresh cream if your desire. Tastes best with a few drops of lemon juice squeezed on top of it. It goes well as an accompaniment with Chapati/Roti or Nan.
Here’s what you will need to prepare a delicious moist chocolate cake.
Dry Ingredients:
All purpose flour/Maida – 100grams
Cocoa powder – 30grams
Baking powder – 1 and 1/2 tablespoon
Baking soda – 1/4 teaspoon
salt – a pinch
Sugar – 90grams
Wet ingredients:
Eggs – 5
Oil – 1cup
Milk – 1/4 cup
vanilla essence – 1/2 teaspoon
For the chocolate ganache:
Fresh cream
Dark Chocolate
Preparation
Pass all the dry ingredients (Flour, Cocoa powder, Baking Powder, Baking soda and Salt) through a sieve and mix them together.
Whisk the eggs well and add sugar followed by Oil, Milk and vanilla essence and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients into the above wet ingredients in 3 batches and fold it in. Make a smooth homogenous mixture
Smear a baking tray with Butter/Oil. You can optionally use a butter paper.
Add the above mixture to the baking tray.
Pre-heat the microwave. Place the tray and bake at 180 degree centigrade for 25 min and your cake is ready.
Chocolate Ganache
For chocolate ganache we will need Dark chocolate and Fresh Cream. The ratio will be 2 parts chocolate and 1 part fresh cream. We will need a double boiler, that is, a heat resistant bowl to melt the chocolate and an outer vessel to hold boiling water.
First, we will bring the water to boil. Place the heat resistant bowl and add dark chocolate pieces. Keep stirring until the chocolate melts.
Stop the heating process. Add fresh cream and continue stirring.
Let it cool. Spread on the cake evenly.
To Decorating the cake you will need whipped cream and icing sugar. Whip the cream until it is frothy. Add icing sugar in parts and continue whipping until a thick consistency is acquired. Decorate the cake as required. Enjoy your moist chocolate cake…
Here’s what you will need to make a soft Wheat bread at home:
Wheat Flour – 3 cups
Butter – 2 cubes
Milk – 1 cup
Sugar – 15 grams
Dry yeast – 6 grams
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Oil – 1 tablespoon
Step 1: Activating the Yeast
Add 2 cubes of melted butter, 1 cup of warm milk, 15 grams or approximately 1 tablespoon of sugar and 6 grams or 1/2 tablespoon of dry yeast into a bowl. Mix it well for the yeast to activate. There is no need to rest the mixture. Too much waiting at this stage can make the dough too sour. You can move on to step 2 immediately.
Step 2: Preparing the Dough
Add 3 cups of Wheat flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoons of oil. Add the activated yeast mixture. Additionally you can add 1/4 cup of water to make the dough. Dough making is a very crucial step. Keep kneading the dough for about 15 min, until the dough becomes glutenous. You must be able to stretch the dough into a thin layer. This is important for the dough to have enough room for the gas released while the dough is rising.
Step 3: Resting
Add some oil to the bowl before placing the dough back. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap or a wet towel. Make sure you choose a big enough bowl that can hold double the size of the dough. Set aside for 2 hours after which the dough would have doubled in size.
Step 3: Proofing
After 2 hours, knead the dough again into a cylindrical shape. It should be such that it fits into your baking pan. Grease the pan with some butter or oil. Place the dough now into the baking pan. Cover it with a wet towel or cling wrap and rest for 30 minutes. The dough should rise an inch above the pan.
Step 4: Baking
Brush some milk on the dough. This gives a good brown color. Place the baking pan in a pre-heated oven on a low rack. Bake at 180 degree Celsius for 40 minutes.
Enjoy the aroma of the baking bread spread around your kitchen and home 🙂
Allow the bread to cool and then cut them into slices.
Here’s a healthy version of cake. No maida, no sugar and no guilt!!
Dry ingredients:
Quick Oats – 3 cups
Cocoa Powder – 1 cup
Baking Powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Baking soda – 1/4 teaspoon
Cinnamon powder – 1/4 teaspoon
I used Quick Oats. Rolled Oats would work as well. The cinnamon powder is optional. Mix the above dry ingredients evenly.
Wet Ingredients:
Melted butter (unsalted) – 2 cubes
Honey – 1/2 cup or as sweet as you prefer
Egg – 1 (whisked)
Milk – 1 cup
Vanilla extract – 1/4 teaspoon
Mix the above wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and combine to form a homogenous mixture.
Smear the cake pan with butter. Dust with Oats powder. Another easier way to avoid preparing oats powder is to just save some dry ingredient that we just prepared and sprinkle the same onto the cake pan. Remove the excess.
Transfer the mixed batter into a cake pan. Tap it a few times. Place it on low rack.
Pre heat microwave at 180 degree Centigrade. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown or until it is completely cooked. Insert a toothpick and it should come out clear without any batter sticking to it.
Make sure to cool it on the rack for about 15 minutes before serving.
Pani Puri has been almost everyone’s all-time favorite. I have missed it since almost a year. Today, I finally tried preparing it myself which was my long time desire! I used ready made puris. Making them myself will be an experiment for another day…
Here’s is my version of Pani Puri, real quick and easy. It turned out clean and hygienic and somewhat tasty. It however couldn’t beat the taste of the one sold on road-side. It missed the smell, dust and perspiration!! 🙂
Step 1: Ingredients for PreparingPani.
Coriander leaves – 1 cup
Mint leaves – 1/2 cup
Green chilly – 3
Ginger – 1 inch
Tamarind juice- 1/4 cup
Lemon juice – half lemon
Spices: Red Chilly powder, cumin, pepper powder, chaat masala
Make a paste with coriander, mint, chilly and ginger. You can either use a mixer or a food processor. Add tamarind juice and lemon to the mixture. Dilute it with 2-3 glasses of water. Pass the diluted mixture through a sieve/filter. Add the dry spices – red chilly powder, cumin powder , chaat masala and pepper powder. Add some salt.
Soak white peas for about 5 hours or overnight. Boil it in a pressure cooker for about 5 min or until mashable/soft. You can boil potatoes and mash them. The stuffing is equally tasty even if potatoes are avoided. Add chopped onions and coriander. Add all the spice powders: Red chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, chaat masala and pepper powder and mix it well. Serve them with onions.
Medu vada or Uddin vada is made from lentils (urad dal) and is a fond breakfast item in South India. Chopped onions, coriander, curry leaves and green chilly is added to the lentil batter and is deep fried in oil until brown and crisp.
Step 1:Choose a Mug of appropriate size. Keep in mind the amount you would be preparing and also account for the additional 1-2 inches for the cake to rise in the microwave.
Step 2: Always add all the dry ingredients first & mix them well and then add the wet ingredients. Add the following dry ingredients and mix them homogeneously with a fork or a spoon. The measurements stated below is only an approximate. Adjust them according to your cup size and the amount you wish to make.
Maida or all purpose flour (3 tablespoon)
Cocoa powder (1 tablespoon)
Sugar (2 table spoon) – Can be powdered or normal crystal sugar
Baking powder (1/4 tea spoon)
Baking soda ( a pinch)
Step 3: Now add the below wet ingredients and mix well. If you are not using powdered sugar, do give a good mix at this step to partially dissolve the sugar.
Milk (3 tablespoon)
Oil (1 teaspoon)
Finally: Pop the cup into the microwave for exactly 1 minute and see your cake rise.
