Bake 't Cake

Fennel Spring Onion Rice

2011-08-20T14:21:00.001-07:00

I see this heavy leafy vegetable very common here in Belgium. I know it is called “venkel” in Dutch. But never bothered to translate to know what it is. Neither did I ever thought of buying it. Same goes for “Witloof” (chicory) or “Asperges” (yes, that you guessed it right ). Very recently, someone mentioned that it is good for cramps and then I took a moment translate it. Believe me or not, until that day, I never knew a “vegetable” form of Fennel existed!! I dared to buy this strange thing and experiment.

When it comes to experiments, I’m a bit under trouble. The result should turn really good to get the first appreciation from my husband (it was easier for me to clear my chemistry paper instead!!). I got two of those and was completely out of idea for their usage. Most of the internet searches went on to soup or some form of salad. But I was looking more for a main dish. With a little frustration of “dry mind”, I prepared sambar with one of those. Hmm… turned out good. But sambar was not really an option for fennel.

In one of the next days, I was under the compulsion to put to use the other one (else he was going to spoil his other friends in the fridge). But I had no time for googling. A quick look at the fridge showed spring onions on top. I finally ended up with an “under 15 minutes” recipe as below.

Ingredients
1 fennel stem
2 or 3 bulbs of spring onions
Green chillies, as per taste
Salt, as per taste
1 cup rice (preferably basmati)
Cumin seeds
Whole garam masala

Method
Wash the rice and drain the water.
Cut the fennel, leaving out the stalks and hard base.
Chop the spring onions and green chillies.
Heat a pan and add oil.
Add in jeera and whole garam masala items.
When jeera and others splutter, add green chillies. Then add fennel and spring onions.
Sauté for few minutes and add salt as per taste. Do no over cook fennel or spring onions.
Add drained rice and mix to just combine everything. Make sure not to break the rice.
Add 2 cups of water and cook the above mixed rice in rice cooker until done.
Optionally you can garnish with coriander leaves.

I was not expecting a good outcome of this self made lazy girl’s recipe. So, didn’t even bother to shoot a picture of it. But honestly, it was too good to be easy. The fusion of fennel with spring onion was great and fresh. This got into my list of quick dinner ideas. I promise to take a picture of the rice when I do it the next time.

Easy Pineapple Cake

2011-07-31T12:52:00.001-07:00

For people who saw my pervious post, knows why this one comes in. My experiment on a very easy pineapple cake was highly successful. I’m a beginner at baking and was looking for various recipes of pineapple cake. Having run through some common ones like the Pineapple Cheese Cake and Upside Down Pineapple Cake, I ended up with a simpler recipe from Nicko.

Here goes the easiest recipe for new bakers.

Ingredients
2 Cups of self raising flour (or plain flour + 1 tsp baking powder)
1 Cup of Sugar
About 500 gms of crushed pineapple

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.
Combine all the ingredients and fold in to make a smooth mixture. Do no whisk it hard.
Pour the mixture into a greased tray and bake for about 20 to 25 min (or till an inserted knife or tooth pick comes clean).
Let it cool in the oven for 5 min and then on a rack.

I had more of pineapple and hence reduced the amount of sugar to about 3/4th. I also added one tsp of baking powder on top of the self raising flour. I liked it served with fresh cream.

Try for it yourself and let me know your reactions.

Pineapple Melon Cocktail

2011-07-28T03:55:00.001-07:00

Call it a cocktail or an appetizer, this easy to do shake was surprisingly tasty. I didn’t refer to any site for this; perhaps there exists a recipe already somewhere. But the story of this drink came unexpectedly.

I had at home melon for dessert and pineapple for a cake trial (that one coming up sooner). When I was cutting the fruits for storage I felt that it was quite too much and both of us don’t have a sweet tooth either. I will be doing injustice to myself if I had to consume both in a couple of days. So, while cutting the fruits, I quickly took few pieces of them to blend. Poured the cocktail in a glass and added a pinch of pepper powder. And this awful heavenly drink was born.

Try it out yourself and let me know your outcome. All you must keep in mind is to have a good equal proportion of both the fruits. Make sure that it is neither too “melony” nor too “pineapply”.

Chocolate Spice Bread

2011-07-28T02:44:00.001-07:00

Having named my blog after baking, so far I didn’t manage to do even a single bake-recipe. To make a justification for the title and for the appetite, I was searching for some different taste of bread. It was then that I came across The ModerN Baker book. Topped with various baking dishes, tips and tricks, this is a very good book for a beginner at baking. Running through it, I found this Chocolate Spice Bread interesting and more easier.

Another quick reason that prompted me to do this was that I had all the ingredients ready in my pantry., didn’t have to go for shopping and get my dear hubby’s scolding. And there it goes… the Chocolate Spice Bread recipe.

Ingredients
- 1- cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup, alkalized (Dutch process) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- teaspoon salt
- teaspoon ground cinnamon
- teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 large eggs
- cup granulated sugar
- B/d cup dark brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- C/d cup sour cream

Method
1. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 180ºC.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and spices in a mixing bowl; stir well
to combine.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs to break them up, then whisk in the granulated sugar
and brown sugar. Continue whisking for a minute, or until the mixture lightens.
Whisk in the butter and sour cream.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture all at once and gently whisk until smooth.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the bread until it is
well risen and a toothpick or a narrow-bladed knife inserted into the center of the
bread emerges clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
6. Cool the bread in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold it and cool it completely on a rack. Transfer the bread to a platter or cutting board before serving.

Having given the recipe as it was in the book, I did just one change. I didn’t add ginger. As I thought with cinnamon and nutmeg, it will already be enough “spicy”.
This is a rather easy bread to do. But unfortunately doesn’t last long enough in your shelf . Goes best with tea time.

Wheat Savory Biscuits

2011-05-23T11:32:00.001-07:00

The other day, I was browsing through recipes to make a savory bread. Came across many of them that included broccoli cakes, bell pepper cakes. Most of them having very less shelf time. Somehow, the search went to savory biscuits. I finally ended up with this Whole Wheat Biscuits. Thought of giving it a try.

Did some slight changes to the recipe in order to not make it fluffy. Believe me or not. It turned up very yummy. Here is my recipe. I was expecting to have some shelf time on this. But ended up leaving just one to be bottled :).

Add to a blender 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well. If you want a spicy flavor, just add basil, thyme and parsley. I didn’t have these in hand immediately. So, simply added the ready to use Italian spices that you use in pizza or pasta.

Mix in 2 tablespoons of butter and about 1/2 cup of milk. The recipe calls for skimmed milk. I just used the regular half fat milk. Blend well to make a smooth dough.

Knead the dough further on a floured surface. Roll to your desired thickness. I made it a bit thinner so that it came out like biscuits. May be this is why it didn’t fluff up for me as in the original recipe.

Cut the cookies and arrange in greased cookie tray and cook in the oven at 200 C for about 10 – 15 minutes. Best to check the color on them. They should just start to get a light brown on the top.

It didn’t take me more than 20 minutes to get my hands on the biscuit from the time I thought of preparing it. An additional good to know is that this is perfectly suitable for diabetes people. Try this quickie out and let me know your reactions.

Veggies on Curry leaves

2011-05-22T07:05:00.001-07:00

I’m a curry leaves freak. I luv their yummy smell. Especially when ground with little coconut and other spices. I tend to add more of them in all my chicken dishes. They give a very unique and a perfect authentic taste to the food. Ever since I had curry leaves chicken at Ponnuswamy’s (Chennai), I had always wished to prepare a vegetarian version of that. This quickie is an attempt towards that.

Half cook any vegetables of your choice. I had potatoes, beans, carrots, peas, broad beans (avaraikkaai), etc., waiting to be emptied from my fridge. I kept the cut veggies along with the rice in the rice cooker (not pressure cooker; you don’t want them to be smashed completely).

While this is going on, heat oil on a kadai and roast the following:
mustard, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, toor dhaal, gram dhaal, urad dhaal, red chilies and little fenugreek seeds. While the dhaals become half red, add curry leaves as much as it pleases you. I added more than 3 handfuls. When it is time to remove the ingredients from the stove, add coconut and roast for about a minute or two. Leave them to cool down and grid to a paste.

Now, heat oil in the kadai and sauté onions. Add little turmeric powder and wait till the onions are translucent. Then add the ground mixture, cut tomatoes and salt. Keep mixing till the oil separates out. I added red chilies to the ground mixture only. If you feel like you need more spices, go ahead and add powders at this stage.

Once oil separates out , add very little water and add the cooked vegetables. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the vegetables are nice and tender. Again, don’t smash them all together.

Finally garnish with coriander and curry leaves and remove from the stove.

Try the recipe and let me know your reactions.

Chicken 65

2009-07-21T00:13:00.000-07:00

It was in my task list for long time. Ganesh wanted me to prepare Chicken 65 for his team mates. Not that I’m the best in it, but it’s been quite a few times that I prepared it. And it indeed, comes out good, these days.

I followed the recipe from the Vahchef.
I’m actually afraid to cook for others. (No.. :) not in that sense). I cook good. But I always want to ensure that I do the best, when I do it for others. Especially for people at work and for friends. I hate getting comments like “yeah.. it’s good.” , “ok”, “it could be like this” etc. If I do something, I want people to remember that. Else I don’t do it. I made this a promise to myself. Mainly because of this, I try to stick to small crowd and the best “preparation” of mine. And luckily, Chicken 65, is in my “comfort list” for non-vegetarians.

It had become one of my favorites and I know the variations that I have to do to prepare it for non-Indians. It’s one of those difficult tasks to prepare spicy dishes for them. Especially, here in Europe (definitely in Belgium :) ), I sometimes fear if they had completely forgotten what “chilies” or “spicy” or “hotness” means.!!!

The first time when I prepared for my colleagues, I was really holding my right hand tightly. “No more chili; no more pepper; no more of any spices” was my slogan for about a day: before and after, the THE day. I still remember the dialogues that I by-hearted to tell to others if it accidentally turned out spicy for them. “you know what? this should be made with at least this much of spices. else it doesn’t taste good” .. and blah blah.. But, to my great luck, everybody liked it. I didn’t believed it till the end of the day. In fact, I pinged them that evening to check if they were still in sound health ;).

It was THAT successful try that gave me confidence to prepare for more people. Last week I did it again for Ganesh’s cricket team. He was captaining the team for the first time that day. And I was telling to myself “Priya... you are not spoiling his day with this”.. And guess what? He came home that day with a wide smile! :) They all liked it.

And so I prepared it again, for his colleagues at work. And he says that “It’s really gr8. Last week கூட இப்படி வரலே”.
:)

Thanks to Vahchef.

Chicken Chettinad

2009-02-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

Well... I really don't know if this is what is the authentic Chicken Chettinad.. But what I do know is that ... this was yummy and quickie. I'm so comfortable with this method that I always end up making this one when it comes to Chicken.

What you will need?
Medium sized pieces of chicken, curry leaves (big), medium onion(s) chopped, large tomato(es) chopped, teaspoon(s) each of red chilli and turmeric powders, teaspoon(s) lemon juice, oil, water, salt and finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

For Paste: poppy seeds (khus khus), whole red chillies, grated coconut (optional), 1 tsp of coriander, cumin and fennel seeds, broken cinnamon stick, cloves and green cardamoms each, chopped ginger and garlic

How to do?
In a little hot oil roast all the ingredients for the paste except for ginger and garlic. Allow to cool and grind to a paste along with ginger and garlic.
1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium level till hot and fry the chopped onions till they are golden brown. Add the curry leaves, the ground paste , turmeric and red chilli powders. Fry for some more time. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for about 2 minute(s) or till the oil leaves the sides of the pan.
2. Add the chicken and mix well. Cook on medium level for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the lemon juice and water. Sprinkle salt to taste. Mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes or till the chicken is fully tenderized.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

My variations: After having had Curry leaves chicken at Ponnuswamy's, I add more curry leaves when I make the paste; keeping rest of the recipe untouched. Try it. And it tastes heaven.

Beetroot Halwa

2009-02-01T04:36:00.000-08:00

My first ever post on cooking. And my first ever try on sweets. I'm not really a fan of too much of sweets. Beetroot halwa is a great rich dish that you can easily prepare even if you are beginner.

Peel two medium sized beetroot and shred them. Do not make them very thin. Heat a non-stick bottom. Add ghee to it. When the ghee melts add the shredded beetroot. Fry it in the ghee for some time. Now add milk and cook the beetroot nicely in it. When the beetroot begins to soften, add the sugar and mix thoroughly.

Take it from flame when the ghee starts to leave the pan.

Fry cashews separately in ghee and add to the halwa.

Always begin with one or two beets and increase the quantity of the recipe with experience.