Yummy and Moist Carrot Cake

This is the third recipe from the given list for this month's Marathon. This recipe makes the most moist, delicious carrot cake you've ever tasted.   This is so easy to make.  We enjoyed this cake with a evening tea.

Ingredients
4 Eggs
2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar - powdered
3 Cups Carrots - finely shredded
¾ Cup Oil
½ CupWalnuts - finely chopped
2 Teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking soda

Method

Grease and dust with flour a round cake pan.

In a large bowl sieve and together flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda, keep aside.

Take another bowl, beat eggs till light and fluffy and the oil and beat again till well incorporated.  Then add the carrots, carrots and beat well.

Add egg mixture into flour mixture, and with a spatula mix until combined well then add the chopped walnuts and fold well.

Now pour batter into prepared pan and bake on 180 degree for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven, cool on wire rack.  When completely cut slices and have with a cuppa of tea or coffee.  Enjoy !! 


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#49

Labels: Cakes, Blogging Marathon, Carrot

Rasgulla

This is the second dessert recipe from the given list for this month's Marathon.

Loved by all, the traditional Bengali sweet, the Rasgulla. Soft and spongy balls made of fresh paneer and dipped in sugar syrup. You just cannot stop at having only one! My daughter love these soft spongy balls and regularly request me to prepare them. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
For The Chenna / Soft Paneer

5 Cups Full Cream Milk
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice

Other Ingredients for the Syrup

1 cup Sugar
5 Cups Water

Method

For the chenna

In a broad and deep  pan and bring the milk to a boil. Reduce the flame and wait for a minute, while stirring occasionally. Add the lemon juice gradually by take little of the milk in a curry spoon and mixing it, then add this to the remaining milk and keep stirring gently. Allow it to stand for a minute to curdle. Keep adding the lemon juice in the same way till it is completely curdled,i.e. when the chenna and the whey (greenish water) separate out.
Strain using a muslin cloth. Discard or store the whey.
Place the muslin cloth with the chenna in a bowl of fresh water and wash it 2 to 3 times.
Tie and hang for 30 minutes for the extra water to drain out.

How to proceed for the syrup
Put water in a a large deep vessel, add the sugar and bring to a boil, while stirring occasionally so that the sugar dissolves completely.

Meanwhile, squeeze the muslin cloth to drain any more water remaining.

Place the muslin cloth on a flat plate, open it and knead the chenna very well using your palms for 3 to 4 minutes or till the chenna is smooth and free of lumps.

Divide the chenna into equal portions and roll each portion into small balls between your palms using light pressure. Ensure that the balls are smooth and no cracks appears.

Bring the sugar syrup to rolling boil.

Put the balls into the sugar water, cover.

Steam on full flame for 7 to 8 minutes till all the Rasgullas start to float at the surface and double in size.

Switch off the flame and allow it to stand in it for 15 minutes.

Remove gently into a bowl along with the water enough for the balls to remain soft and spongy, refrigerate and serve chilled.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#49

Lables : Sweets & Desserts, Blogging Marathon

Badam Elachie Shrikand

This month marathon begins with desserts chosen from a given list. This list has so many desserts that it was really difficult to choose exactly what I wanted to do. I have already posted a Shrikand recipe Mango Shrikand/ Amarkand. But when this was there on list I instantly first choose this as this is my hubby's favorite.

Shrikand is classic Indian desert and also a part of the Gujarati thali. It is generally served with the puri or khajli. It is one of the prime sweet delicacies from the Gujarati and Maharastrian Cuisines. It's a semi solid softy Shrikand. Shrikand is eaten as a side-dish or as a dessert.

Made using whole milk hung curd, cream and sugar. Shrikand has a sweet flavour with a rich, creamy texture.

Ingredients

500 ML Full Cream Milk
1 Tablespoon Curds
1/2 Teaspoon Cardamon powder

A pinch of nutmeg powder
3 Tablespoons Sugar powdered
2 Tablespoons Badam/Almond -  finely chopped

Method

Heat the milk till just lightly warm. Remove from heat add the curds and mix well, keep this to set. When set take a cheese cloth, pour the curds into it and strain the curds. Keep this cloth in the fridge in a sieve for all the excess water to drain or else the curds will turn sour. You can keep it for 3 - 4 hours or even overnight.

Place this in a blender with the sugar and pulse it 3 times add the elachie and nutmeg powder and again pulse it 3 times. Remove it in a serving bowl, add the badam/ almond pieces and keep to it the fridge till cold ( 3 hours). Serve chilled and enjoy !!!.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#49


Labels: Sweets & Desserts, Blogging Marathon 

You might also like

Mango Shrikand/ Amarkand

Kacche Mutton Dum Biryani - Bangalore Style

This biryani does not have much spices, just chopprized green masala and rest is prepared in a breeze. My guest were surprised to know that this does not have spices which is a must for biryani. This biryani has an awesome taste and is ready in flat 30 minutes.

Ingredients

750 Grams Mutton - biryani cut
1 Tablespoon Papaya paste or Meat Tenderizer
1 Tablespoon + 2 Tablespoon Ginger-Garlic paste
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 Cup Coriander leaves - chopprized
8-10 Green chilies - chopprized
Mint leaves / Podina a handful - chopprized
500 Grams Yogurt
1 Cup Milk
¼ Teaspoon Saffron
½ Cup Oil
1 Cup Fried Onions
4 Nos Potatoes - Chopped into fours
A pinch Turmeric
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg powder
1 Tablespoon Roasted Cumin powder

Juice of a lemon
500 Grams Basmati Rice - washed and soaked
Whole Spices:

6 Cloves
2 sticks Cinnamon
2 Badi Elachie / Brown Cardamon
2 Green Cardamon
8 Peppercorns

Method

Marinate mutton with a tablespoon ginger garlic, 2 tablespoons curd, salt and papaya, mix well,  leave it over night in fridge.

Soak rice for 30 minutes, then boil rice with salt, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamons and badi elachie till half (50%) done and keep aside.
Heat oil,  fry potatoes and keep aside.

Heat oil in thick bottomed vessel and add marinated mutton, chopprized  green masala and garam masala, remaining ginger garlic and yogurt with haldi and cumin powder, and bring it to a slight boil, stir lightly. Sprinkle on top, ½ fried onions and arrange the fried potatoes ( see that this point you to do stir the mixture ).  Cover with a lid and leave it on high flame for 5 minutes.  Then without stirring gently place on the top boiled rice.   Sprinkle milk with saffron, juice of lemon, nutmeg powder and the remaining fried onions, chopped coriander and mint leaves on top.

Seal with aluminium foil and keep it on a heated griddle / tawa.  Leave it on high flame for 10 minutes and then put it on dum / low flame for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes your biryani is ready.

This is my entry for the BM #48, theme Biryani.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#48


Labels: Biryani, Blogging Marathon, Rice

Making Crispy Deep-Fried Onions / Birista

If you are familiar with Indian food, you have eaten their birista (bah-REES-tah): thinly-sliced crispy, golden, deep-fried onions. They are eaten as a snack and used as an additive to, or a topper for, delectable dishes like biryani, curries, steamed rice, mashed potato filling, soups, salads, sandwiches, grilled meats, meat patties and savory breads.
These onions are full of flavor and enhance the dish to a great extent.   So lets make it ......

Ingredients

4 Large Onions - peeled

Oil for deep frying

Method

Cut onions into thin slices, and keep them to dry spread on a sheet for an hour at least.  Then using your fingertips just separate them.

After an hour,  heat oil  deep fry pan or kadai, heat it on medium flame, place a handful of them at a time in it.

Using your fingertips, sprinkle a little, don't dump all at once the sliced onions into the hot oil.

Using a long-handled fork,  give the onions a quick stir to make sure they are separated.

After three minutes, during the cooking process, they will look like this, just beginning to show signs of browning.

Give the onions another quick stir with the fork to, once again, make sure they are staying separated.

Continue to fry, another 3 minutes.  They will look like this photo: golden brown with white centers.

Stir onions one last time and when you find this light golden brown color remove them with a slotted spoon on to a absorbent paper ( do wait till they are very dark brown or else they will have a burnt taste). Repeat the process until all onions are deep-fried. 

Cool at least 1 hour before serving.

They stay good if kept in the deep freezer for months.

Labels : Rice, Vegetarian, Onion, Fried Onions, Biryani, Birista