Venn Pongal, Kathrikai Gotsu and Coconut Milk Payasam

With the beginning of the Adi month, I receive email reminders from my in-laws about the different auspicious dates and food associated with each. This definitely brings some spice to the daily routine and prompts me to break away from my regular menu. I recently made pongal, gotsu and coconut milk payasam and it was really yummy. I heard my hubby thank his dad profusely for sending these emails which lead to my culinary presentations before the god and finally end up in his tummy:D. On the first day of Adi you are support to make coconut milk payasam and feed your husband, which I did. To add to the festive spirit I made the classic combination of venn pongal and kathrikai gotsu and it was all very satisfying and yummy. Here go the recipes -

I had previously posted the recipe for Venn Pongal here.

Gotsu :

Ingredients:

1. Onion - 1 large finely chopped
2. Tomatoes - 2 chopped
3. Brinjal - 6/7 small ones chopped
4. Tamarind pulp - 1 cup
5. Oil - 1 tsp
6. Mustard - 1 tsp
7. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
8. Hing - 1/4 tsp
9. Curry leaves - 10
10. Red chillies - 4
11. Sambhar powder - 1/2 tsp
    
12. Salt
    

Directions:

1. Heat oil and temper the mustard, curry leaves, turmeric, sambhar powder and red chillies and add hing to it.
2. Add the onions and saute till golden brown. Then add tomatoes and cook till soft.
3. Add the brinjal and cook for 10 mins.
   
4. Add some water and the tamarind, salt and cook till the brinjal is soft. Serve hot with pongal.

Coconut payasam:

Ingredients:

1. Coconut milk - 1 can
2. Fresh or frozen shredded coconut - 1 cup
3. Jaggery - 1 cup
4. Elaichi powder - 1 tsp
5. Ghee - 1 tsp
6. Cashews - 2 tsps
7. Kismis - 2 tsps

Directions:

1. Bring the coconut milk to a boil and add the coconut and jaggery to it. Heat till they all blend well and turn off the gas.
2. Add elachi powder.
3. Fry the cashews and kismis in the ghee and add to the payasam. Enjoy steaming hot!
   

Chocolate Cake With Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Ganache Icing

This cake I made for my darling hubby's birthday who is slowly getting converted to a choc-a-holic...Well good for me and it only works in my favor to push him over the edge on this one into chocolate bliss, being a chocolate lover myself. Many thanks to Nupur of OneHotStove for this recipe. I followed it closely except I had to add 1/2 a cup less of water and all her other directions were perfect:) This chocolate cake recipe is definitely a keeper and I hope to make it many many more times.
I kep some of the raspberry filling aside before it thickened , it use it as a side sauce for the cake and its tarness matched the chocolate perfectly. Fresh raspberries only make the deal sweeter:)

Almond Cake With Strawberry Filling and Almond Flavored Whipped Icing

I made this cake for my friend Vindhya's birthday following my yearly ritual. The cake layer could have definitely been software and more moist and I am on the look out for the perfect sponge cake recipe that I can hack at for birthday cake. For this cake, I pretty much used the standard vanialla cake recipe and added almond essence to the cake as well as the whipped cream. The filling was fresh strawberries. Hopefully I will find the recipe I am looking for soon:) For decoration, I topped the cake with slivered almonds and strawberries.