Coffee Cake

Recipe Courtesy - Joy Of Baking
Recipe - Here

Ingredients

Coffee Cake Topping

Almond Flakes - 1 cup  (100 grams)
Light Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup (50 grams)   
Mini Chocolate Chips - 1/3 cup (50 grams)
Ground Cinnamon  - 3/4 teaspoon
All Purpose Flour  - 1 tablespoon (15 grams)

Coffee Cake

Sifted Cake Flour  - 2 cups (200 grams) 

Baking Powder  - 3/4 teaspoon 

Baking Soda  - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt  - 1/4 teaspoon 

Unsalted Butter, room temperature  - 10 tablespoons (140 grams) 

Granulated White Sugar  - 3/4 cup (150 grams) 

Eggs  - 2 large 

Pure Vanilla Extract  - 1 teaspoon 

Sour Cream or Plain Yoghurt  - 2/3 cup (160 ml) 

Coffee Cake Topping: Slowly roast the almond flakes in a pan. In a small bowl stir together the sugar, almond flakes, chocolate chips, ground cinnamon and flour. Set aside.

Coffee Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. 

Butter and flour a 9-inch (23 cm) spring form pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until softened (about 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and sour cream (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined.

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Sprinkle about half of the nut topping on top of the batter. Cover with the remaining batter and then sprinkle with the remaining nut topping. 

Bake for about 40 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before releasing the sides of the pan.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Thin Pizza Crust

Ingredients

All purpose flour   -  250 grams
Instant dry yeast  -  1/2 packet (2.5 grams)
Olive Oil  - 3 table spoon
Warm water  - around 150 millilitre
Salt

Method

In a bowl, mix well the flour, yeast and salt. Next add the olive oil and mix well. Add water little by little and knead for about 5 minutes, adding additional drops of water as needed till the dough is smooth.  Knead it into a ball.

Keep it aside for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 210 C. 

Place dough on a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza base.(between 32 to 36 cm in diameter)

Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings.

 Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, for about 20-25 minutes

 

Chickpeas Biriyani

Ingredients

1. Basmati Rice  - 1 cup
2. Chickpeas - 1 cup, cooked
3. Ghee - 1 tea spoon
4. Cardamom - 2
5. Cloves - 3
6. Cinnamon Stick - 1 (1" piece)
7. Onion - 1 large, chopped
8. Green Chilli - 1 or 2
9. Garlic - 4 flakes, chopped
10. Ginger - a 1 inch piece, chopped
11. Tomato - 1 large, cubed
12. Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
13. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
14. Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
15. Coriander Leaves
16. Mint Leaves
17. Salt -as required
18. Water - 2 cups
19. Oil

For Garnishing

Cashew Nuts
Raisins
Coriander Leaves
Mint Leaves

Method

1. Soak the rice in water for half an hour. Drain water and keep aside.  Heat ghee in a pan. Fry the rice in the ghee. Add 2 cups of water and enough salt and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-12 mins with the lid on. Once cooked, spread it to cool.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Fry cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. Once the oil is perfumed, add chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chilli and sauté for 3 minutes. Then add all the powders and saute until the raw smell goes. Add tomato and sauté for 1 minute. Finally add the cooked chickpeas, mint leaves and coriander leaves and mix well.

3. Mix the cooked rice with chickpeas.

4. Garnish with cashew nuts, raisins and coriander leaves.

5. Serve with raita, pickle, pappads etc.

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Mini Tofu Cakes

A pleasant way to enjoy the virtues of soya, which will seduce the non-vegetarians too...

Ingredients

1. Tofu - 200g, medium firm

2. Leak - 30 g, minced

3. Carrot - 30 g, minced

4. Green Onion - 20 g, minced

5. Parsley Leaves - 1 tbsp, minced

6. Egg - 1

7. All Purpose Flour - 50 g

8. Salt & Pepper
9. Vegetable Oil

Sauce

1. Capsicum (Red/Green/Yellow) - 100g

2. Onion - 30 g

3. Olive Oil - 1-2 table spoon

4. White Wine Vinegar - 2 table spoon

5. Vegetable Cube - 1

6. Persil - 1 tbsp, minced
7. Warm Water - 2-3 table spoon

Method

Prepare the sauce first.

Mince capsicum, onion and parsley leaves. Soak the vegetable cube in warm water. Heat oil in a pan. Sauté the onion and capsicum pieces. Deglaze it with wine vinegar and vegetable soup and remove from fire. Now add the minced parsley, salt and pepper and keep it aside to cool.

Crush the tofu with a fork. Mince carrot, leak, green onion and parsley leaves. Mix these with tofu.  Beat the egg and add it along with the flour to the mixture. Add enough salt and pepper. Knead the mixture by hand to get a homogeneous dough. If it is too soft, add little more flour.

Make around 16 croquettes from the dough. Heat oil in a pan. Shallow fry each  croquette in a medium flame for about 2-3 minutes each side.

Murukku

Ingredients

1. Rice Flour - 3 cups ( around 450 grams)
2. Gram Flour -  1 cup (around 225 grams)
3. Ghee - 3 tbsp
4. White sesame seeds‌ -   2 tbsp
5. Asafoetida -  1/2 tsp
6. Baking Soda - 2 pinch
7. Salt - to taste
8. Oil - to fry

Method

1. Mix together rice flour, gram flour and ghee. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Add water little by little to form a soft dough and knead it into a ball.

2. Prepare the idiyappam/murukku press with the star shaped disc. Fill the idiyappam maker with some dough. Squeeze  out the dough on to a butter paper in the form of a tight spiral(4-5 loops)  as shown below. Pat the spiral gently so that it will maintain its shape while frying.

3. Fry the murukks in hot oil until it is light golden brown.

Note: 

Can add 2 tbsp of cumin seeds.

Rice & Fruit Salad

Ingredients

1. Wild Rice  -  225 gm (8 oz./1 cup)
2. Yellow Capsicum - 1 no.
    Onion - 1
    Apple Granny Smith - 2
    Dried Apricots - 175 gm (6 oz./ 3/4 cup)
    Tomato - 1 big
3. Celery - 3 branches
4. Raisins - 125 gm (4 oz./ 2/3 cup)
5. Apple Juice - 30 ml / 2 Table Spoon
    Porto wine - 30 ml / 2 Table Spoon
    Soya Sauce - 30 ml/ 2 Table Spoon
    Fresh Parsley Leaves - 2 Table Spoon
    Fresh Rosemary Leaves - 2 Table Spoon
    Tabasco, Salt and Pepper - To taste

Method

1.  Cook the rice in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water for about 30 minutes, until it is tender (or as indicated on the package). Rinse and drain so that it cools quickly.

 

2.  Cut capsicum, onion, tomato, apples and apricots into cubes. Cut celery into thin bits. Mix these with the cooked rice in a serving bowl.

3.  In another bowl, mix apple juice, Porto wine, soya sauce, Tabasco and herbs. Add enough salt and pepper.

 

4.  Add the sauce to the rice salad and mix well. Serve immediately, or cover and put it in the refrigerator until serving time.
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Note : Wild Rice can be substituted with long grained rice.

Parippu Vada

Ingredients (for 18 nos)

Gram Dal  - 250 grams
Shallots - 10, chopped
Ginger  - 1 big size finely chopped
Green Chilli  - 3-4 chopped
Curry leaves - 3 stems crushed
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Salt - To taste
Oil - To deep fry



Method

Soak dal for 2 hours. Drain and dry it with a paper towel. In a grinder or food processor grind the dal without water to a texture that will allow you to make small balls.

Add chopped ginger, green chillies and shallots to the ground dal. Add chopped curry leaves, salt and a pinch of turmeric powder. Mix well.

Make small balls from the mixture. Flatten them a little in the palm of your hand. Deep fry in oil until brown. Serve with banana or chutney or ketchup.


Tips 

1. It is important to drain the dal completely. If the dal is wet, the vada will break. 
2. Reserve some of the soaked dal and add it to the mixture to give the vada a crunch.