Pineapple cake

This cake was inspired by the Indian style pineapple pastries. It came pretty close to that and I was very happy with the outcome. It was light and yummy. I made this for my sister's birthday. I would have liked to use a proper sponge cake recipe for the cake layers but could not find a good reliable one and since I have never tried it before, I decided not to take a chance with a birthday cake. But I will try it some other time. I was also inspired by a video on youtube and even used the combing technique that he recommends. For the basic cake layers I doubled the recipe here and skipped the nuts in it to bake two 8 inch round cakes. If you have pineapple essence, add 1 tsp for each layer of the cake batter. I did not have it and had to skip and it didn't make much difference. This recipe is relatively easy and hassle free.

Ingredients:

1. Canned pineapple - 1 can
2. Whipped cream- 4 cups
3. Powdered sugar - 2 tsps
4. Sugar syrup - 1 cup (not very thick)
5. Maraschino cherries - 7/8 to decorate

Directions:

1. Drain the pineapples and save some for topping and chop the rest into fine pieces. Save the drained liquid and mix it with the sugar syrup.
2. Place one layer of cake on the cake stand. Slice it into half across if the layer is too thick. Sprinkle the cake with the syrup and pineapple preservative liquid mixture until it is moist. It takes about 3-4 tbsps.
3. Drop a blob of the whipped cream in the middle and spread evenly with a spatula or butter knife.
4. Layer with the crushed pineapples and place the next layer of cake on top. Conitnue this till the topmost layer and for that skip the crushed pineapple.
5. Spread the whipped cream evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Now take a small piece of cardboard and cut one side like the teeth of a comb and used that to finish the sides. Use something smoother to finish the top.
6. Take the remaining whipped cream in a ziploc bag and cut a piece in the corner to use as an icing bag. Or if you have a proper icicing bag, go with that. Decorate with the pineapple chunks and cherries as desired.
   

I would recommend making this cake a day in advance so that all the goodness soaks in to make it taste even better:).

Directions for whipped cream: Take 2 cups of heavy whipping cream in a mixer bowl and to it add 2 tsps of powdered sugar (more if you want it sweeter). Gradually increase whipping speed from 2 to 8 and stop when stiff peaks start forming. A little before that add 1 tsp of vanilla essence. Its as simple as that!!

Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Panini

Here comes yet another panini recipe. This was inspired by a goat cheese sandwich recipe I saw on Barefoot Contessa on food network. It does need a few special ingredients but the end result is really yummy.

Ingredients:

1. Ciabatta bread
2. Kalamata olive spread - 2 tsps
3. Red pepper - 1 sliced thin
4. Eggplant - 1 cup of small chopped cubes
5. Dried oregano - 1 tsp
6. Dried thyme - 1/2 tsp
7. Olive oil - 2tsp
8. Balsamic vinegar - 2 tsps
9. Mozzarella - 3 slices per panini
10. Salt
11. Pepper
    

Directions:

1. Mix the red peppers and eggplant with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and drizzle of olive oil and spread on a tray lined with aluminum foil. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 mins.
2. Slice the ciabatta bread through the middle and spead the kalamata olive spread on both the slices.
3. Layer on slice with the cheese, eggplant and red pepper. Sprinkle salt and black pepper and top with other slice. Heat in panini press until done.
4. Prepare a vinegarette with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Once the panini is done, open the sandwich slightly and drizzle with the balsamic vinegarette. Eat while it is hot and it lasts :)

Italian Pesto-Veggie Panini

My hubby got me a panini press for our anniversary and valentine's day and I have been obsessed with paninis ever since. I can now make a panini that tastes exactly like the ones they serve in those Italian bistros. This was the first one that I tried out of my most favorite Italian ingredients and its was super yummy! This panini press (the brand is Bella Cucina) is simply awesome and I look forward to trying out a lot many recipes. I already have a dessert panini recipe lined up alongside roasted eggplant panini. Yay!!!



Ingredients:

1. Focassia bread (I had a herb focassia but any other baguette or ciabatta should also be just as good)
2. Pesto sauce - 3 tsps per panini
3. Grape tomatoes - 10 per panini
4. Fresh mozzarella cheese
5. Sun dried tomatoes (julienned) - 1 tbsp per panini
6. Fresh basil leaves - 3 per panini
   
7. Kalamata olives - 1 tbsp chopped per panini
   
8. Olive oil
   
9. Salt
10. Pepper

Directions:

1. Slice the focassia all the way through the center and spread the pesto on the cut side of both slices.
2. Sprinkle salt and pepper to garnish.
3. Layer one slice with the mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, sun dried tomatoes and basil leaves and top with the other slice.
4. Pre-heat the panini grill.
   
5. Brush the outer sides with olive oil and press using panini grill so that you have enough grill marks.
   

6. Cook the panini until done and slice into two pieces. Enjoy hot!!!

Hyderabadi Dum Ki Biryani

No one but a hyderabadi can appreciate this nawabi style biryani. We hyderabadis rant and rave about the flavors and aromas associated with this dish and could go on and about the biryani from Paradise or Hyderabad Biryani House and talk you to death about the layers of fluffy basmati rice and spiced veggies or meat. We are so much in love with this dish not only because it is yummy but bring back memories of good old days in Hyderabad. Everytime there is a new restaurant in the bay area that promises to serve up a good version of this dish, it becomes an instant hit with this audience. This recipe is one that I arrived at over the years and is totally infallible in pleasing crowds. I won't say this is simple or easy because it needs quite a few ingredients and is a little elaborate to assemble. I practiced and perfected this with Renuka during my Master's so a lot of credit goes to her. A funny incident I remember is when I had some friends over and one of them who wasn't familiar with the whole layered biryani concept, ended up mixing it all up before serving himself and boy I made him jump out of his skin when I screamed. The best accompaniments to this biryani are mirchi ka salan and raita. I made a boondi raita to go with this and it works well too. This recipe is for a veggie version but you can always use marinated meat with a similar recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Onions - 2 finely chopped
2. Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
3. Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
4. Cauliflower - 1 small head chopped into big chunks
5. Carrot - 2 chopped into small cubes or long slices
6. Beans - 12-15 chopped into small pieces
7. Green peas - 1 cup
8. Potatoes - 2 peeled and chopped
   
9. Cloves - 5
10. Green Elaichi - 3
11. Black Elaichi - 2
12. Shahi Jeera - 1 tsp
    
13. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
14. Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
15. Star anise - 1
16. Bay leaves - 2
17. Everest biryani/pulao - 2 tbsp
18. Jeera Dhania powder - 1 tsp
19. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
20. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
21. Yogurt - 1 cup
    
22. Basmati rice - 3 cups
23. Water
24. Salt
25. Saffron - 1/2 tsp
26. Milk - 1/2 cup
27. Lemon - 2
28. Mint - 10 leaves
29. Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp (You can use ghee for added flavor)
    
30. Cashewnuts - 10, fried in ghee
    

Directions:

1. Mix the basmati rice with about 6 cups of water and cook it.
   
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a thick bottomed pan and sautee the potatoes, cauliflower, carrot and beans one after another until they are semi cooked and start browning on the edges. I like them charred a bit and sautee them until crispy. Remove the vegetables onto a paper napkin to soak the oil out.
   
3. Heat the rest of the oil and to it add the cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardomom, shahi jeera, black pepper and bay leaves. Once you smell the aroma, add the onions and fry them until they are golden brown.
   
4. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir for 5 mins. Add in the vegetables and peas, biryani masala, salt, jeera dhania powder, red chilli powder, turmeric and mix it all up. Once the masalas are blended, add the yogurt and mix it in. Place the lid on the pan and cook the veggies until they soften a little. Do not cook them until they are mushy. We still want a little crunch to them.

5.Turn off the gas and add the chopped mint leaves to the veggies.

6. Microwave the saffron for 15 seconds and add the milk to it. Make sure the strands all dissolve in the milk to give it a nice yellow/orange color.

7. Now start layering the rice and veggies in either a rice cooked or an oven friendly tray - alternate one layer of rice with a layer of the veggie gravy and top each rice layer with a couple of spoons of the saffron milk. This is a painstaking but very rewarding step. Shown in the pic below -




8. If using a rice cooker just set the rice to cook again and since it is already warm it will finish up in 10-15 mins. If using the oven, cover the tray/dish with aluminum foil and steam for 20 mins at 300.



9. Before serving, squeeze the lemon juice over the top and garnish with some chopped mint and the fried cashews. This dish tastes even better the next day.

Venn Pongal, Chakkarai Pongal and Ullunda Vadai

Image Credit: Sriram (my hubby)

Sankranthi was one of my favorite festivals as a kid and I spent hours and hours many days prior to and after the festival flying and chasing kites. I have very fond memories of this festival and wish I can go back to Hyderabad for one Sankranthi to relive the excitement. The Sankranthis I celebrate here have been reduced to cooking and eating festive fare. Typical maharashtrian fare for Sankranthi is the Tila Chi Vadi that I have blogged about previously. My husband and sister both enjoy this immensely and it does not survive very long in my pantry when I make it. Typical tamilian food is venn pongal which is a savoury pongal, chakkarai pongal which is a sweet version and ullunda vadai. The credit for these recipes goes to my in laws and the lovely Meenakshi Ammal cookbook that they gifted me. I am sending these recipes to three events -

1. Venn pongal, chakkarai pongal and ullunda vadai to Festive Food: Makara Sankranthi hosted by Indian Khana

2. Venn Pongal and Chakkarai pongal to Harvest: The Festival of Rice hosted by Bengali Cuisine

3. Venn pongal and vadai to FIC Yellow event hosted by TumYumTreats




Thanks to Asha of foodieshope for pointing me to all these fun events that I could participate in:)



Venn Pongal:

Ingredients

1. Rice - 1 cup
2. Moong dal - 1 cup
3. Ghee - 1 tbsp
4. Green chillies - 4 finely chopped
5. Curry leaves - 10
6. Cumin/jeera - 1 tsp
7. Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
8. Ginger - 1 inch piece finely chopped
9. Water - 5 cups
   
10. Salt
    

Directions

1. Boil the rice and moong dal with 4 cups of water in pressure cooker until it is soft.
   
2. Heat the ghee and add the ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, cumin and black pepper and roast until you can smell all the flavours.
3. Add the cooked rice and dal and salt and more water (depending on the consistency of the cooked rice and dal) and mix thoroughly.
4. Allow the mixture to steam and top off with a little more ghee if you like. Enjoy hot with sambhar or gotsu or just as is.

Chakkarai Pongal:

Ingredients

1. Rice - 1 cup
2. Moong dal - 1 cup
3. Jaggery - 1 cup grated
4. Elaichi powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Milk - 1 cup
6. Cashews - 10-15
7. Ghee - 2 tbsps
8. Raisins - 10

Directions

1. Boil the rice and moon dal in the pressure cooker.
2. Heat a pan and boil the cooked rice and moong dal with the milk and some water if required until soft.
3. Add the jaggery and 1 tbsp ghee and allow it to melt.
4. Fry the cashews and raisins in ghee and add to the mixture above. Chakkari pongal is ready to be devoured with the vada.

Ullunda Vadai:

Ingredients

1. Split urad dal - 2 cups
2. Green chillies - 2 finely chopped
3. Dried red chillies - 3 finely chopped
4. Ginger - 1 inch piece finely chopped
5. Curry leaves - 10 finely chopped
6. Coconut slivers - 1/2 cup
7. Salt
8. Black pepper - 1 tbsp roughly crushed
9. Oil for deep frying

Directions

1. Soak the urad dal with water for 2 hours and then grind it with very little water and salt to taste.
2. Add the green chillies, red chillies, ginger, curry leaves, coconut slivers, black pepper to the urad dal batter and mix well.
3. Wet your palms and place a tbsp of batter on the palm. Use wet hands to pat it flat and make a hole in the center.
4. Heat oil and drop the vada and deep fry until golden brown. Enjoy hot!!!
   

Vada Pav

Vada Pav, a bombay roadside delicacy that is the most favourite snack of my mum's. There are several variants of the vada itself and this recipe is of course what my mom makes. Pair a hot vada with a well toasted pav, mint and tamarind chutney and the chilli-garlic powder and trust me it can beat any pizza or pasta. To me the chilli-garlic chutney (kandya lasnachi chutney) is an essential ingredient and my folks got it for me from India. Vada pav isn't the same without this:D:D

Ingredients:

For chilli chutney that goes in the vada filling

1. Green chillies - 10
2. Corriander leaves - 1 bunch
3. Ginger - 1 inch
4. Garlic - 3/4 pods
5. Salt

For filling

1. Potatoes - 3/4 big, boiled and mashed
2. Onions - 1, finely chopped
3. Chilli chutney - 3 tbsps
4. Salt
   

For batter

1. Besan - 1 1/2 cup
2. Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
3. Salt
4. Water

For frying

1. A frying pan full of vegetable oil

For final assembly

1. Pav - slit into half and toasted with a little butter
2. Mint chutney
3. Tamarind chutney
4. Chilli-garlic powder

Directions:

1. Grind all the ingredients for the green chilli chutney together

2. Mix the ingredients for the filling together and make into small balls

3. Mix the ingredients for the batter together and dip the potato ball in it and then deep fry until golden brown

4. Put the fried vada in between the slit pav along with the chutneys and eat hot!!

Masala Macaroni

I call this the desi version of mac and cheese. Typical to desi food it has a lot of spices and just a little cheese to retain the Italian effect. The cheese again is Amul cheese which is as desi as cheese can get:). I used to make this a lot when I was in India and I think the origin was something similar that my friend used to bring for lunch. My mom likes this much better than the authentic versions and I love making this for her:) This is also an easy way to feed veggies to kids as they have an inexplicable bond with mac'n'cheese.



Ingredients:

1. Elbow macaroni - 1 packet
2. Carrots - 2 chopped into small pieces
3. Beans - ~25 chopped into small pieces
4. Onion - 1 big sliced
   
5. Peas - 1 cup
6. Ginger - 1 inch piece chopped fine
7. Garlic - 3 pods chopped fine
8. Amul cheese slices - 3 or 4 chopped into small pieces
   
9. Garam masala - 1/4th tsp
10. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
11. Dried red chillies - 2
12. Curry leaves - 8
13. Lemon
    
14. Oil - 1 tsp
    
15. Salt

Directions:

1. Boil the elbow macaroni in hot water until it is a little underdone. Drain and keep aside.
   
2. Heat oil and add the curry leaves, dried chillies, ginger and garlic and let it cook for 1 min.
   
3. Add the sliced onion and cook until golden brown.
4. Add the rest of the veggies and cook until a little soft.
5. Add the garam masala, salt and chilli powder and the cooked macaroni. Mix well and place a lid and let it cook for 2 mins.
6. Turn off the gas and add half the cheese and mix in. Squeeze some lemon juice and mix in. Use the rest as a garnish before serving and enjoy hot!

Note: If you want this dish healthier, you can skip the cheese altogether and this dish would still taste yummy. You can also use a whole wheat version of the macaroni.

Paneer Capsicum

The inspiration for this dish came from a paneer tikka recipe that I have used previously. It is pretty simple to make if you have the mint chutney. I usually buy it frozen and use and it comes out really well. Good to ear with hot rotis.

Ingredients:

1. Slab of paneer cut into cubes
2. Mint chutney - 1 cup
   
3. Yogurt - 1cup
4. Ginger paste - 1 tsp
5. Garlic paste - 1tsp
   
6. Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp
7. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Salt
9. Capsicum - 2/3 chopped
10. Oil - 1tbsp
11. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
12. Jeera - 1tsp
13. Haldi - 1/4th tsp
14. Curry leaves - 8
15. Green Chillies - 4 slit lengthwise

Directions:

1. Mix the yogurt, mint chutney, tandoori masala, ginger paste, garlic paste, chilli powder and salt and marinate the paneer cubes in it for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. Overnight is even better.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add murtard seeds, jeera, turmeric and let it sputter.
3. Add the green chillies and curry leaves and sautee for some time.
4. Add the marinated paneer cubes after draining away the liquid and stir fry until they brown around the edges. Save the marinade.
5. Add the capsicum and stir until they are a little cook. They do not need to be soft and fully cooked so that there is some crunch to the dish.
6. Add the left over marinade and cook on high heat for 2 mins and turn off the gas. Enjoy with rotis or just by itself. Trust me its yummy!
   

Avial

I have extremely fond memories of Avial from childhood. Every year I would get invited twice to my friend Vimi's home for Onam and Vishu. They would have elaborate n course meals on banana leaf and I would eat until I could eat no more. The dishes I remember the most are the Avial, Kootu Curry, Payasam and Sambhar. We would eat the entire meal and then take a break of a couple of hours before her mom gave us piping hot payasam or pradhavan to fill the very small gap created in our tummies from an hour of activity. Those days of high metabolism were sheer bliss when I could eat without bothering about the weight I would put on ;). Sigh....:)...The credit for this recipe goes to my MIL and FIL who sent me elaborate emails on the process of this dish. Part of the credit also goes to my friend's mom who explained the recipe to me several times when I was a kid:D:D

Ingredients:

1. White pumpkin - 8 inch piece
   
2. Yellow pumpkin - 8 inch piece
3. Raw banana - 3
4. Beans - 15-20
5. Carrot - 2 medium sized ones
6. Peas - 1 cup
7. Drum sticks - 2/3
8. Potato - 1 big
9. Brinjal
10. Fresh grated coconut - 1.5 cup
11. Coconut milk - 1 cup
    
12. Jeera - 4 tbsps
13. Green chillies - 7/8 (or as spicy as you like)
14. Curry leaves - 7/8
15. Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
16. Yogurt - 2 cups
17. Salt
    

Directions:

1. Cut each of the veggies the length of a matchstick and width of ~ .3 inch (hehe)
2. Boil them in water until they are a little under done. The veggies that have similar cooking times can be cooked together but I just cooked each of them separately.
3. Grind the green chillies, jeera and cucunot together into a fine paste.
4. Heat the coconut oil and add the curry leaves to it.
5. Add the cooked veggies, salt and the paste and mix together well. Once it is all blended together take it off the gas.
6. Add the beaten yogurt (as much as required) and mix everything together. Enjoy with hot rice!!!
   

Navarathri Golu 2008 - My 3rd year:)

This is my 3rd Navarathri Golu, as I have already gushed about before, and I am so in love with it. Since I had more time this year to focus on peripheral development I did a lot of stuff besides the main padis. We reused the padis from last year and my in-laws brought me a lot of more dolls. I also discovered this amazing Japanese store in Mountain View where everything sells for $1.50 and bought loads of dolls and stuff for gifts. Here are the pics -


This is the mail golu with the kalash and marapachi on the 5th step. Priya mentioned that the traditional dolls, kalash and marapachi can also be kept on the second step and we will probably do that next year. This year my second and third step had the international dolls and the 5th step had the new wedding set and chettiar set. The 4th step was dedicated to Astalakshmi and Dasavathar sets.


This is the national park I made with a felt bloth for the base and fake grass that my in-laws got from India. The animals were from Michaels and for the fun of it I called it "Jim Corbett National Park".


This is Rampur village with a pen containing pigs, geese and hens, a bullock cart, a well and few huts.

This "piece of art" is called pebble beach - the logic being that pebble beach is surrounded by golf courses and that explains the grass:D:D. The sea is simulated by using blue times at the bottom of a plastic box and water and there is some frogs dressed for a day at the beach.


This is my bedroom set with a lady looking into the miniature dresser and a guy sleeping on the bed with a pillow and comforter which I made out of paper napkin and gift wrapping paper.


I am already thinking of ideas for my next one and excited about it. Cannot wait until then:) I also made truck loads of food the last two days for all the families that came home for the haldi-kumkum. The menu was curd rice, puliodarai, sundal and kesari. I think I missed taking pictures of all of these. But it was yummy and I am bored of it already:D. Anyways, thats until next Navarathri. Looking forward to all the Diwali goodies now.