Easy Eggless Chocolate Cake

Quite a few readers have written in asking me for a simple chocolate cake recipe (which is already there on my blog) but eggless! Some people don't eat eggs and others don't like the eggy smell in baked goods. So whatever be your reason, this is the perfect recipe for you. Not too tough to remember the ingredients either, once you've tried it a couple of times. All ingredients used in this cake are everyday baking ingredients easily found in your kitchen. So the next time your kid (or friend) says "I want a chocolate cake" - you don't have to look around in despair. So here's my sweet treat for you to end the year on a sweet note.

While this is a basic chocolate cake, there are several ways to dress it up. Cut it half and spread whipped cream between the two layers. Top with more whipped cream and scatter strawberries, for a sensational cake for special occasions. Or for that matter any seasonal fruit. You could pour a simple chocolate ganache over the top and then sprinkle the top with coloured sprinkles if you're baking this for a kid's birthday. As it is, it makes the perfect cake with tea or coffee. You can also use this recipe to make eggless chocolate cupcakes and then cover with icing of your choice.

Easy Eggless Chocolate Cake
Makes around 15 servings


Ingredients
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder (Cadbury's is fine. Don't use Drinking Chocolate though)
1 tsp instant coffee powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup yogurt (dahi/curds-not too sour)
1/2 - 3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp malt vinegar or regular vinegar

Directions
Ensure that all ingredients are at room temperature.
Butter and flour a 9" round baking tin or a loaf tin + 2-3 other smaller tins.
Preheat the oven at 180°C.
Over a large paper, sieve the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, instant coffee and salt until combined and airy.
In a large bowl, combined the melted butter and sugar by mixing together with a spatula. Whisk in the yogurt well. To this, add the flour in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition along with some of the milk to aid in mixing. At the end of this all the flour and milk should be incorporated into the batter.
Add vanilla extract and 1 tsp vinegar and give it a final mix with the spatula. Using the spatula scrape out the batter into the loaf tin plus two other smaller tins. The loaf will bake for 35-40 mins (until tester comes out clean) - reduce baking time for smaller cakes.
Remove on a cooling rack and after 5-10 minutes, unmould cakes and let them cool further before slicing or decorating.

2013 - The Year that was. A recap.

Over a slice of rum-soaked fruitcake and steaming hot chai, I realise that 2013 was a reasonably productive year for me. But memory fails me the details and I don't have a 'dear diary' to fall back on, so this is an attempt to capture all that I remember.

The year started with a surprise birthday party thrown well a week ahead of my birthday. I guess this was my first surprise birthday party ever and it was such a fun thing to happen. I often gloat over my very keen and sharp sixth sense and what not, but yes, this one took me completely by surprise.

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know how big a fan I've been of Masterchef Australia (well, who isn't?!). When I got to know Kate Bracks (the winner of season 3) was going to be in Bangalore, and I would get to meet her one on one, I was obviously over the moon. In fact, the interview with her that I wrote for Mint and later published on my blog is the most popular post of 2013. 

Check out the top 5 posts on Saffron Trail at the end of the post

2013 was the year of two big family weddings. My cousin got married in March in Mysore. At her wedding, the husband got friendly with the head caterer who would make sure we were the first to taste any food that came out of the kitchen. A few meals, tiffins, ghee dripping sweets later, I was starting to regret the friendship with the caterer. Everything was so good, that I'm pretty darn sure I put on a few kilos in those 3 days. And that wasn't a very good thing to happen, because I had to fit into the blouses and look good in the pics of my sister's wedding in May. Chennai wedding and peak summer, one might think our appetites wouldn't want to be awakened. But we were proven wrong once again. The caterers prepared some of the most delectable traditional tambrahm food. As a result I had to get back to the gym with a vengeance to atone for the multiple banana leaf meals and tiffins that were consumed over these couple of days.

September onwards, Saturdays turned extremely busy as I started Saffron Trail Kitchen. My fond dream of teaching healthy cooking and baking finally grew wings and took off in Aug/Sep this year. All thanks to my neighbour and friend, who pushed me to take a couple of classes for a bunch of neighbours and herself, before she left for the US. It made me realise how much I enjoyed this and the kind of satisfaction and high it gave me after a class, not to mention bone aching tiredness was quite something. But the former always made up for the latter. As someone who is not used to talking so much, I'm still learning how to talk for 3-4 hours at a stretch while cooking / directing/baking simultaneously. I even picked the courage to conduct classes at two unfamiliar locations - one in Chennai at Ashvita Bistro and the other at a friend's place. So much of a learning experience this was! I've conducted 13 workshops in a span of 4 months and that makes me proud. This has set the tone for 2014 where I'll be doing a lot more culinary training and workshops.

In November, we started shooting for my Youtube channel that you'll see launching in 2014. This is for all of you, my readers and those who'd love to see me cook and learn from me, but cannot attend my workshops. From simple to (a little) complex, healthy to decadent, traditional Tambrahm to modern, I hope to cover a little bit of everything. I wish to have your support and encouragement in this venture. Of course I am nervous about putting myself in video, out there in the public domain, but I have a great team behind me who are keeping my confidence levels propped up higher than they would be left alone to myself.

It is a delight to close the year on a high, hoping that the same go-get-them spirit will continue into the new year and December pulled out all the stops for me. I conducted an off site Zesty Salads class, an Xmas special baking class and then on a whim (again prodded by a dear friend-gosh, this is getting repetitive), I took part in the Godrej Nature's Basket 'Celebrate Australia' contest and ended up being the winner from Bangalore. The prize is a trip to Australia - which includes a meal at one of my favourite Masterchef Australia people - Gary Mehigan. I haven't heard back on the details about this win, but fingers crossed I will be starting 2014 with a trip to the gorgeous AUSTRALIAAAA! 

December also had me shooting with a wonderfully talented and yet equally humble chef, Vikas Khanna for a food channel and series, that I shall announce shortly. I went into this hardly knowing much about him and coming back awed by his gentle personality and knowledge. Although, last year, I did a couple of episodes for Twist of Taste (Fox Traveller) with Chef Vineet Bhatia and a street food walk with Saransh Goila (Food Food), this studio, lights, action routine and actually cooking on the show with Chef Vikas Khanna was a memorable experience.

2014 - this year I pray sees me getting down to working on my first cookbook in earnest, something I have been dreaming, writing and again putting on the back burner for over 6 years. I'm praying that I just pick up this project and run with it and that publishers will do the same. While that happens, I have my youtube channel to look forward to. I've hardly traveled anywhere in 2013, so I hope the coming year rectifies that. I also look forward to nurturing my culinary workshops further in 2014. Meeting more inspiring chefs, doing pop-up cafes, having my own cooking show, there are a plenty of food dreams to pursue and I hope I have a fair bit to write about when 2014 ends.

I leave you with my most popular posts of 2013:

1. My interview with Kate Bracks
2. Recipe for basic whole wheat bread
3. Recipe for foxtail millet salad
4. Recipe for easy chocolate cake
5. Recipe for Mango Moar Kozhambu

{Eating out in Bangalore} Xmas lunch and dinner at Novotel, Bangalore

{this is a review / sharing of the Xmas brunch I was invited to at Novotel, Bangalore}
The chocolate Santa made using 50kg of dark chocolate was there to welcome us into the cafe. I liked the fact that this was a brown skinned Santa looking more like an Indian rishi than St. Nicholas :)

The lunch started with a glass of mulled wine, with cinnamon, citrus zest and other spices, hit the right notes.

The amuse-bouche was a round of smoked goat's cheese with a beet crisp and balsamic glaze. This was my favourite dish of the lunch session.

I do love pumpkin soup, but this one was made extra special by the addition of truffle oil. This soup is the perfect antidote for cold Bangalore days. Roasting the pumpkins does bring an additional dimension to the taste of this soup. The dark rye bread served in the bread platter made a delightful addition to dip into this hot soup.

I'm a salad-loving girl and everything about this salad hit the right notes - the blue cheese, the fresh lettuce and the poached pears on the side, except for the green beans which were somewhat stringy. 

  

A pineapple and black pepper sorbet was served in between courses as a palate cleanser. The portion size is just right without being over filling.

I went with the vegetarian main course of Mille feuille of crisp potato, cottage cheese & vegetables with herb cream sauce, which was indeed as good to taste as it was to look. There is a turkey option and a fillet mignon option, do check the complete menu link given at the end of the post.

The dessert was served on a two tiered platter and it was quite a spread -Slice of Christmas cake, gently warmed stollen, mince pie, plum pudding with brandy sauce & a scoop of vanilla bean gelato. My favourite here was the vanilla bean gelato and the plum pudding.

The brunch ends with a selection of cookies and your choice of tea / coffee. 

This is a good spread, with vegetarian options specially taken care of. Given that it's INR 999+taxes, I'd say it's reasonably VFM.

Complete details of the menu uploaded here 

Special Christmas 4 Course menu

To be served  for Lunch & Dinner on 25th Dec at The Square, Novotel, Price: Rs 999 + taxes (includes one glass of Mulled Wine

Ibis & Novotel Bengaluru Techpark, Opposite RMZ Ecospace Business Park, Marthahalli - Sarjapur Outer Ring Road, Bengaluru – 560103, Karnataka, India, 

Tel.: +91 (80) 66700600 - Mobile: +91 9538897341

The secrets to a super healthy pav bhaji

Pav Bhaji Galli - A glimpse

There's a whole street in the suburb where my parents live that's nicknamed 'pav bhaji galli'. Come evening and the street iron chefs pull out the huge iron tava (which i'm sure weighs a ton) loaded with mixed mashed vegetables around its circumference. There are packets of freshly baked bread (pao / pav) and of course several stacks of butter on the side. When customers start pouring in, they move a small quantity of the veggie pile to the center of the tava, add some spicy masala paste, some butter, bring this to a simmer and then load it on a plate. The square chunks of bread (pav) are sliced in half, smothered with butter and lightly toasted on the same tava until the butter has seeped into every bit of the spongy bread and served with the hot bhaji. A handful of finely chopped onions, a quick squeeze of lemon and a final garnish of coriander and this is possibly the most mouthwatering Mumbai street food there is. 

While it's perfectly okay to indulge in this street version of pav bhaji once in a while, let me tell you my secrets for making this healthier at home. The problem with this dish is that it's loaded with carbs and there's hardly any protein. There's too much potato in the mash plus it is served with white bread that's soaked in butter, the last bit of course can be easily remedied by using only as much butter as your conscience permits :)

It's winter now and the red carrots, cauliflower and fresh green peas have flooded the markets. Use them along with potatoes and not just potatoes as the main part of the mash, so you get a mix of seasonal vegetables. I like to use a beet as well for a brilliant red colour. The freshly prepared chili garlic paste adds a ton of flavour and contributes to the bright red colour too. In the mash, I use a healthy dose of mashed rehydrated soy chunks that adds considerable protein to the dish without altering the taste. Serve it with multigrain rolls or bread and you've cut out most of the refined flour as well. Here's my recipe, which if you try once, you'll realise comes very close to the street food version, despite being an extremely healthy dish.

Recipe for Healthy Pav Bhaji
Serves 6

Equipment required:
Stainless Steel masher 


Ingredients
70 g soya chunks (or roughly 1.5 cups)
8-12 dried red chillies (depending on how spicy the chilli is-I use a mix of Kashmiri & Bedgi))
8 cloves of garlic, peeled
½ cup hot water
4 medium potatoes
200 g cauliflower florets
400 ml tomato puree
1 medium beetroot
½ cup frozen or fresh peas, boiled and kept aside
2 tbsp oil
2 medium sized green capsicum, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp pav bhaji masala
2 tsp salt or to taste
Handful of chopped fresh coriander
Finely chopped onions, lemon wedges, pav or whole wheat bread to serve 

Directions

1. In a bowl, place the dried red chillies and garlic-cover with ½ cup hot water and keep aside for 15 minutes. Once the chillies have rehydrated, grind them with the garlic to a fine paste, using some water. Keep aside.
2. Bring 4 cups water to boil with 1 tsp salt and the soy chunks. When the water is boiling, lower the flame and simmer for 5-7 minutes, until the soya chunks are cooked.  
3. Drain the water using a sieve, and press out all the extra water from the chunks using the back of a cup. Grind coarsely (use the pulse function so that you don't make it into a fine paste) and keep aside.
4. Peel and roughly chop the beet, potatoes. Wash and clean the cauliflower florets. Place them all together in a small pressure cooker with ½ tsp salt, 1 cup water and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Open when cool enough and mash with steel masher until you get a coarse puree. Keep aside.
5. In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the finely chopped onion and capsicum and sauté on medium flame for 7-8 mins until the onion are soft. Add the chilli-garlic paste, pav bhaji masala and sauté for 3-4 mins on low flame. Add the coarsely ground soya chunks, sauté until the seasonings are absorbed by this. Then add the mashed cooked vegetables, tomato puree, salt and bring to a simmer.
6. Garnish with fresh coriander- serve with toasted pav, with a sprinkling of finely chopped onions and a lemon wedge. Since we have made this so much healthier, you can go ahead and add a sprinkling of grated cheese to the bhaji before tucking in.

If you prefer this to be a smooth puree, then run all the mashed veggies and soya mash in a blender until smooth and then use in recipe. My recipe gives you a chunky bhaji. If you find that it's too dry, you can thin it down with some water and bring it to a simmer.
This bhaji can also be used to add a twist to a Masala Dosa by smearing the bhaji inside of a dosa and folding it over.

This dish is a perfect crowd pleaser, you can easily double the quantities and prepare this for a large party along with some other mumbai chaats like bhel puri, pani puri, added to the menu. 

Easy Strawberry-Blueberry Tea Cake

Yesterday, I had the 3rd edition of my bread baking workshop - Breaking Bread. We made a rocket-basil-yellow cherry tomato pizza from scratch. Fluffy golden Mumbai pav was served with bhaaji. The cinnamon rolls we made today were turned extra special by adding raisins and orange zest soaked in brandy to the cinnamon-sugar mix. To add to the party we also made a little pull apart loaf using the left over dough spread with chocolate paste- which came out all ooey, gooey and chocolatey and made all the ladies go OOOOH The last one in the bread party was a braided bread dressed with sesame seeds.

Facebook Album: Photos from Breaking Bread -2 

 The best part of the afternoon for me was one of the participants telling me that the pizza was as good as the Toscano pizza and I'm a big fan of Toscano, they serve the best pizza in Whitefield. Photos of Breaking Bread-3 After 4 hours of talking, kneading, baking and walking to and from the oven - I'm invariably wrung-out tired and want to retire into a cave and snooze the whole of Sunday. But rarely does that happen.

Today, I ended up waking earlier than usual. Early coffee, early breakfast, early lunch and suddenly the day loomed in front of me as though telling me 'do something useful now'. After 3 rounds of doing dishes, cleaning up the kitchen, crazy people like me add another chore to the routine like baking, messing up 3 bowls and adding to the washing up. But fact is, baking rarely feels like a chore. Strawberries are in season. And have I told you, I've found the perfect brand of frozen blueberries (see resource section in the end). And since the cake is mostly sweetened using organic powdered jaggery, I don't feel too guilty about my son coming to the kitchen for multiple servings as a Sunday treat.Try this while the strawberries are in season. If you don't find blueberries, use any other mushy fruit like figs, which are also very much in season. It makes the perfect little bite along with tea or coffee. Simple, rustic and  beautiful. 

And hello! December workshops at Saffron Trail Kitchen are going to be dedicated to a round of Xmas goodies, except for a Salad workshop for a bunch of salad-loving girls. Stay updated by following Saffron Trail on Facebook.

Recipe for Strawberry-Blueberry Tea Cake
Makes 8-10 servings


Ingredients
1/2 cup maida
1/2 cup whole wheat flour 
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 tbsp yogurt
2 tbsp cooking oil (neutral tasting like sunflower oil)
1/2 cup powdered jaggery
1/4 cup sugar
2 drops orange oil extract or 1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp milk
1 cup finely chopped strawberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Icing sugar to dust over the top (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven at 180°C. Line a 9X7" baking sheet (to make a sheet cake) or a 6" round tin with baking paper or grease well and keep aside.
Into a large bowl, sieve the dry ingredients. Keep aside.
In another bowl, whisk the egg, yogurt, oil, powdered jaggery and sugar for 3-4 minutes till well combined and frothy.
To this, slowly add the dry ingredients and combine with a whisk or fork. Add 3-4 tbsp of milk as it will be quite thick at this stage and whisk into the batter. Into this mix in gently the chopped strawberries and frozen blueberries.
Scrape out the batter into the lined baking tin. 
Bake for 20 mins in case of 9X7 tin or for 30 mins in case of 6" round tin, in both cases, testing with a skewer if it comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes after which you can cut as desired and serve hot with a dusting of icing sugar using a small sieve.
Refrigerate the leftovers - they make excellent reasonably healthy treats for kids' lunchboxes.

Shopping guide:
Organic powdered jaggery: Namdhari's
Frozen blueberries: Delissh brand from Auchan (formerly Spar)

Hot breakfast in 5 minutes - I'm not kidding!

Hot breakfast in 5 minutes, and it's not cereal or toast or a fried egg! Or a smoothie for that matter. It's this amazing thing called 'dhideer sevai' or instant rice noodles which you absolutely must stock in your kitchen. Unlike Maggi or any other 2 minute noodles, you don't have to cook them. Immerse them for 2 minutes in hot water, drain and they are ready. These are the REAL 2 minute noodles. They make for the quickest lunchbox you can rustle up. Make a lemon sevai or mix with any ready pastes like Tomato pickle / thokku to make a tomato sevai. Add a tempering of curry leaves, mustard seeds, red chillies on the top and it's ready.

In my 5 minute recipe, there's no ready pastes involved. I quickly pulsed roasted peanuts, sesame seeds and black pepper in the mixer and that was the flavouring for this dish that went into my kid's lunchbox today.

For sneak peek into my kitchen and to get instant updates on my upcoming workshops - follow me on my Facebook Page

Photos from the Breaking Bread Workshop of 9 Nov in the Saffron Trail kitchen  

Tips

• When you buy peanuts/groundnuts, roast them on the stove top / microwave or oven and keep in airtight jar. You can add them to a variety of dishes like salads, raitas, bhel etc.
• When you buy a coconut, grate / scrape the whole coconut and keep it in a freezer safe box. Whenever you need a small bit of grated coconut, scrape it out using a sharp knife and use as required. 

Sesame-Peanut Instant Sevai (Rice Noodles)
serves 2

Ingredients
100-150 grams instant rice noodles (Dhideer Sevai)*
1 litre recently boiled water
3 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts
2 tbsp sesame seeds
8 black pepper corns
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh/frozen scraped coconut
2 tsp oil (I use cold pressed coconut oil)
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves 
1 dried red chilli broken into pieces

Directions
Immerse the noodles in the hot water, cover and keep aside for 2-3 minutes. In the meanwhile coarsely powder the roasted peanuts, sesame seeds and black pepper corns in a small jar of the mixer. 
Drain the noodles using a colander, shake off all excess water.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a non-stick kadai / pan. Splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves, dried red chilli and asafoetida, when the curry leaves crisp up, add the drained noodles, salt and coarse peanut-sesame powder. Toss well but gently until the noodles / sevai is well coated.
Garnish with fresh coconut.

You could use the same recipe for poha (beaten rice).
*I've used Anil brand Rice Sevai, 777 brand and found them to be good.

Last Minute Diwali Sweet Treat : Chocolate Burfi

This post brings you a Diwali (Deepavali) special recipe for my readers from my mom's kitchen, something that's ready in 30 minutes with easily available ingredients. So if you are like me, a totally last minute person, who is sometimes completely unprepared for the festivals that suddenly come up, this is the perfect recipe for you. 

In my usual style, last evening, I kept the pan on the flame and then called my mom, "How do you make your chocolate cake?". In my family, prior to my generation, the only cakes that were made at home were these kinda 'cakes' - or in culinary terms they would be better called 'squares' or 'fudge'. How soft or hard you want the burfi depends on how much time you allow this to be on heat. My recipe gives you an in between consistency, so it cuts into neat squares. If you want it more soft set, try to remove it from flame onto the baking sheet 5 minutes earlier. These burfis are pretty much trial and error, and are a little trickier than baking cakes, but they are fun experience with a fair bit of arm workout, which we all could do with, given how much we end up gorging on during the festive season. 

If you don't have cocoa powder or if you don't prefer chocolate flavour, [wondering if there are such people in the universe;)] you can avoid the cocoa and add powdered cardamom or a few saffron strands towards the end to get plain milk burfi.

So this special recipe from my mom's kitchen, especially for you! Your last minute, go-to Diwali treat recipe :) Happy Diwali from the Saffron Trail Kitchen to you and your loved ones.

For latest updates from my kitchen and to know about the workshops lined up from the Saffron Trail Kitchen, LIKE my facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/saffrontrail

Recipe for Chocolate Burfi (cake)
30 minutes
Makes 16-20 pieces, depending on the size

Ingredients
500 ml milk (3% cow's milk)
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tbsp rava (semolina, fine is better)
2 tbsp cocoa powder + 3-4 tbsp warm milk

Directions

1. Line a deep dish or a baking tray with a parchment paper or grease with a few drops of ghee and keep aside. A size of 8x4" will do, but if you have a bigger thaali / dish, make sure you don't spread over the entire surface or the burfis will be very thin and fragile.
2. In a heavy bottomed pan, place the milk, sugar, ghee and rava. Bring to boil on a high flame with constant monitoring and stirring. Once it comes to a boil, reduce flame and allow to simmer with reasonably constant stirring to make sure the milk does not burn or catch at the bottom of the pan, or doesn't boil over.
3. After stirring and simmering for around 20 minutes, the milk will turn much thicker, roughly the consistency of dosa / pancake batter. Whisk the cocoa powder in warm milk and pour into the thickening milk with constant stirring.
4. In another 5-8 minutes (continue stirring), the mixture will turn much thicker leaving the sides of the pan. At this point switch off flame, because it will continue to thicken in the residual heat.
5. Pour / transfer the mixture over the greased parchment, taking care to spread over a smaller area if you want thicker burfis.
6. Let this cool for 15 minutes after which you can cut into squares / rectangular bars with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.
7. Store in airtight container and consume in 3-4 days. Keeping them in the fridge makes them too hard and I personally don't like them cold.

They make excellent homemade gifts on Diwali on any other festival. You could easily double the recipe, using 1 litre of milk. That will take around 45 mins-1 hour to thicken and prepare into burfis.

More Diwali treats from the archives:

Okkarai
Teratti Paal - Milk fudge
Dudhi Halva - bottle gourd fudge
Baked Karanji
5 minute microwaved besan laddoo
Eggless mawa cake
Khaja

Zesty Salads Workshop travels to Chennai - 15 November

My popular Zesty Salads workshop travels to Chennai in November. Details given in the poster. Please contact +919791088189 for more details. Limited seats only and pre-registration is required.

Please share the word with family & friends who might be interested!

Link to Facebook events and registration: https://www.facebook.com/events/762051450478333/

Follow http://www.facebook.com/saffrontrail and http://www.facebook.com/ashvitabistro for updates.

Healthy Baking : Savoury Rosemary Coconut Cookies

After this healthy Ragi-Ginger cookie, I've been wanting to try out a savoury version using my favourite herb, rosemary. Rosemary features in one of my all time favourite cookies, the Rosemary Shortbread, but that's very heavy on butter. This is my attempt to feature rosemary in a healthier cookie. I've used black pepper and lemon zest to give a flavour boost. Desiccated coconut along with rice flour gives these a nice light texture. These are perfect for those who are trying to avoid sugar, or as holiday gifts for people who don't have a sweet tooth, or simply because you are fed up of too much sugar in the holiday season. Try this healthy cookie and let me know how you find it!

Recipe for Savoury Rosemary Coconut Cookies
Makes 24
Time taken - Under 30 minutes


Ingredients
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup ragi flour
1/4 cup rice flour
2 tbsp milk powder
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp ground black pepper
Zest of one lemon
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
3-4 tbsp cold milk
1 tbsp crystal sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 180° C.
2. Keep a baking tray ready, lined with silicone mat or a greased tin foil or parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except butter and milk, until well combined.
4. Add the butter pieces and with finger tips rub the mixture together until it feels like bread crumbs
5. Add milk 1 tbsp at a time and knead gently till it comes together like a dough. 
6. Divide into 24 equal balls, rolling each between lightly greased palms.
7. Lightly press into a disc and place on the lined baking tray, leaving some space between each disc so that there's place for cookie to expand.
8. Sprinkle a few crystals of sugar on top of each cookie. This is optional. You could stick a rosemary leaflet on each cookie instead.
9. Bake for 12 mins or until the tops turn lightly golden. Remove on a wire rack and cool. The cookies will crisp up on cooling. Save in airtight container.

You can substitute rosemary with fresh or dried thyme for a different flavour.

The secret to making a glammed up eggplant curry

Eggplant is one vegetable that you can either hate or love but never ignore. For all my childhood, I was an eggplant hater, may be even allergic to some varieties. Nothing life threatening, just this crazy itching in my mouth when I ate some types of eggplant. Then for years I was a fence sitter. Okay, "this is made for lunch so I will eat the tiniest bit, just to keep you happy" kinda fence sitter. And then I discovered cooking this versatile vegetable and while I wont call myself an eggplant lover, I am now a fan. 

Baingan Bharta, Vangi baath, Baba Gannoush, stuffed eggplant, gosh I have quite a list of favourite recipes with this vegetable. This recipe is an easier variation of the stuffed eggplant. You still have to roast the spices and grind them, but no painstaking stuffing involved. This is the smarter way to enjoy the tastes of a stuffed eggplant. This dry curry goes well with rotis and great with rice and sambar. I have used the large round eggplant for this recipe, which is the kind I prefer because it has fewer seeds and cooks faster. But it should work well with any kind of eggplant. Make sure the pieces are uniformly chopped so they cook evenly. This coarsely ground spice powder is the secret to glamming up any boring vegetable or any vegetable you don't know what to do with.


Recipe for Spicy Eggplant Curry
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 large globe eggplant cut into wedges or thick batons, soaked in water
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp amchoor powder or 1 tsp tamarind paste

Ingredients to grind for the spice mix:
3 large dried red chillies
2 tbsp chana dal
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp udad dal
1 sprig curry leaves
1 bay leaf

Directions

In a large wok / kadai, dry roast all the spices together, until the chana dal and udad dal turn golden brown. Remove, cool and grind to a coarse powder.
In the same wok, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add the asafoetida and then drain and squeeze out all the water from the eggplant pieces and add them to the oil.
Add salt and turmeric and stir the eggplant till well coated. Lower the flame, add a little water at a time, around 1/4th cup, cover and cook the eggplant till nearly done. Don't cook to a mush.
Add the coarse spice powder, amchoor and coat the nearly cooked eggplant with the spices by stirring well. Cover for another 5 minutes with a sprinkle of water if required and let the eggplants cook completely while soaking up the flavours of the spices. The coarsely powdered dals give the vegetable a nice crunchy texture.
Serve hot with rotis or with dal & rice.

Note:
If you don't find a big eggplant, use 8-12 smaller sized eggplants for this, cutting each into wedges. This spice mix works for other vegetables like bottle gourd, snake gourd, capsicum, potato, sweet potato etc. Follow the same method of sauteeing the vegetable until nearly done, adding the spice mix, stirring to coat well and then cover and cook for 5 mins till vegetable is fully cooked and infused with spice flavours.

9 ideas on what to gift a food lover

Festive season is upon us and it's that time of the year when everyone goes crazy thinking about what to gift their loved ones. Dryfruit dabbas filled with raisins, cashews and almonds are passé and probably the most unimaginative gifts around. Chocolates are done to death. Laddoos, erm... the less said about them, the better. Unless you want to send a gift to Chhota Bheem. 

“The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value.” ― Charles Dudley Warner

While I don't have much of a clue on what everybody likes, I think I have a fair idea on what's a good gift for a food-lover. Most of my finds are online, for everyone's convenience of course. This post is not sponsored by any stores / brands, just a collection of things I've found beautiful and useful.

Gorgeous Cake Stand

Source: Zansaar.com

Whether you like baking or whether you like buying cute cupcakes, this two tiered Price Kensington vintage looking cake stand is the perfect way to display cupcakes, muffins or cake slices. It's fun to serve sandwiches or even dried fruits to visitors on this stand. Anyone who loves to bake is going to be super thrilled to get this as a gift. INR 1295. Check out some of the small kitchen appliances, such as milk frother, hand mixers etc. on this website, Severin brand from Germany, brilliant designs at reasonable prices, you're sure to find a gift in your budget.
Where: zansaar.com

Utilitarian- Chic Mason Jars

Source: Urbandazzle.com

If there's one thing in my kitchen that I guard fiercely from breakage, it's my set of 12 mason jars in which I store spices, lentils etc. It's the classiest kitchen storage ever. It's also turning very fashionable to serve drinks in these bottles with a straw tucked in. Whether it's for storing preserves, pickles or anything else you fancy, these are a much welcome addition to any kitchen. A perfect gift for a kitchen proud person. At INR1480 for six 500 ml bottles, it's pretty reasonable too! 
Where: urbandazzle.com

Luxury Tea Hampers
I find a lot of people who are serious tea connoisseurs. They wouldn't take a sip of a tea whose origins / flush / estate they don't have knowledge of. If you have friends like these, there is a potential to wow/ woo them with specialty tea hampers. The online gourmet foods site, Gourmet Company has a tea crate containing 3 kinds of gourmet teas, honey, cookies and more. At INR 3500, I do find it a bit steep, but you can check the website and make your own hampers too. 
Godrej Nature's Basket also has a tea hamper that contains an assortment of gourmet teas, honey, biscuits and snacks at INR 2997. 
A lot of other gourmet foodstores like Foodhall, Nature's Basket have put together interesting hampers. You could choose from them depending on the cuisine your friends like. 
Where: Gourmetco.in | Godrej Nature's Basket

Oil Mister for the healthy cook

Source: Fabfurnish.com

If you are looking for a gift for a health food freak, take a look at this oil dispenser. You can fill in any oil of your choice and spray on the pan before cooking / baking for greasing the pan with minimal oil. At INR 417, it is a healthy deal.
Where: Fabfurnish.com

Curvy Whiskey Decanter

Source: urbandazzle.com

Have a friend who loves her/his scotch? This elegant looking decanter is just what you are looking for. The Italian brand Luigi Bormioli Spirits Decander with a capacity of 700ml (INR 990) is sure to make that expensive single malt look even better. My personal favourite on this site which I intend to gift myself are these very vintage oilers.

Where: Urbandazzle.com

Wine Gift Box

Image source: IWL

The good fellows at Indian Wine List have put together an exclusive box of 3 wines - an Italian bubbly from Veneto, a small production of Rose from Piedmont (Italy) specially made for the Indian market and a rich, smooth Syrah from Languedoc-Roussilion, France. All this for just INR 4199 for delivery in Mumbai & INR 4700 for delivery in Bangalore & Delhi, I must say it is an irresistible offer. There are only 20 boxes up for grabs, so needless to say, you gotta hurry!

Where: Indian Wine List

Breakfast in Bed

Source: Urbanladder.com

This elegant mahogany breakfast tray is the perfect way to start a lazy morning. It's a long lasting gift and the receiver will remember you fondly each time he has his morning tea and newspaper served on this tray. That it's someone else's responsibility to fill up that tray each morning, is a concern, but that shouldn't worry you. This is one gift that will be truly appreciated. At INR 2499, it's real VFM. 
Where: Urbanladder.com

Cooking Lessons

For those who love to cook, check out the websites of cooking classes, cooking studios in your city, and see if you can gift them a cooking class or an experience. Or you could allow your friend to choose a class of their choice, which is prepaid for. Classes are usually priced INR 1500 upwards.
Where: Studio Fifteen, Mumbai  | APB Cook Studio, Mumbai | Something's Cooking, Bangalore

Homemade Gourmet Gifts
What do you give someone who has everything? Put together a handmade hamper. Your special spice mix, a selection of dried herbs from your garden, a bottle of homemade pesto, 
home baked biscottis, homemade vanilla extract, liquors or preserves, a little bottle of each makes a pretty package and shows the time and effort you have gone through to put together something special. Something that comes close to homemade are these FoodTribe Binge Boxes. Put together your own Food Tribe box for INR 299/399/499.

So, what's your favourite kind of gift to receive? Spotted any interesting food related gift online? Do share!