Corn cake

Ingredients:

Refined flour     -1 ½ cups

Baking powder     - 2 tsps

Fresh corn kernels        - 1 cup

Ghee    - 1 cup

Sugar   - 1¼ cups

Salt      - ¼ tsp

Eggs     - 3

Milk cream       - ½ cup

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Cashew nuts and raisins

Method:

-         Pre- heat the oven to 175 degrees

-         Cook the fresh corn kernels with just enough water and grind it. If the water still remains after it is cooked, just leave it on slow flame for some time to evaporate it

-         Sieve the refined flour with baking powder and salt.

-         Mix the ghee and sugar well.

-         Add the eggs one by one to the ghee sugar mix and beat well

-         Add the refined flour in spoonfuls and mix in

-         Stir the milk cream into the ground corn and add spoonfuls of this to the batter and stir well, add the vanilla essence

-         Mix some dry refined flour with the cashews and raisins and fold this into the batter

-         Smear oil onto the sides and bottom of a baking dish. Put baking paper and pour in the batter

-         Bake for about 40 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

-         Take the cake out along with the baking paper and keep over a wire rack to cool

I baked this for the first time and a day later (23rd Feb 2015), we had a guest from Romania. He ate it and said, 'My mother bakes the same cake with corn and milk and I love it."
On the next day, He told,' I called up my mom and told I had corn cake here and it was better than what she bakes. She has asked me to find out any secret ingredient that you have used.'
I told that there was no secret ingredient, but I had used milk cream and the cooked corn was ground manually on a grinding stone that I had specially brought from Kerala.
But it was the best compliment I had ever got for my culinary skill!

Corn snack

Got some fresh juicy corn cobs from a friend and I wanted to use it fast. I thought of making some thing new and came up with a corn snack and  corn cake.

Ingredients:

Fresh corn kernels        - 1 cup, grind in food processor

Rice flour          - ½ cup

Semolina          - ½ cup

Baking soda     - a pinch

Salt to taste

Sugar   - 1 ½ tsp

Turmeric powder          - ¼ tsp

Red chilli powder          - ½ tsp

Yoghurt            - ½ cup

Coconut scrapings (optional)     - 2 tbsp

Water   -

Method:

-         Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, sugar to the ground corn kernels and mix well.

-         Mix in rice flour, semolina, baking soda, yoghurt and add sufficient water to make into a thick batter.

-         Steam in a container smeared with oil for 15 minutes.

-         Take out, separate from the sides and invert onto a plate. Cut into sections.

-         Serve with tomato sauce or green chutney.

Methi Laddu

Here's a guest post from Dr. Anisha Goel. These laddus are awesome especially when taken for breakfast during winter. It helps to keep the body warm, apart from giving the health benefits of methi.

Ingredients:

500 g whole wheat flour (or less if using other flours eg. mung/urad dal, ragi etc) 

500 g ghee        

300 g jaggery in small pieces   

125 g raisins    

125 g slivered almonds   

1/2 dried coconut grated (or broken into fine pieces)        

8 pieces kharak (dried dates) broken into pieces (or finely ground)

50 g gondh (gum tree resin) ground coarsely    

50 g methi powder (or more depending on how bitter/sweet you want the laddu to be)

Method:

1. Melt ghee in a thick bottomed pan on medium heat.

2. Once the ghee is hot (check by sprinkling a pinch of flour. If it bubbles its ready) add the flour and mix well. The consistency should be like dosa batter . If needed add a little ghee.

3. Roast the mixture on medium heat until the flour is fragrant. The colour should be yellowish brown After this stage, keep the heat low and be quick so that the flour is not overdone.

4. Add gondh, mix well - it will bubble with a spluttering sound. 

5. Add jaggery and mix well till it is all melted.

6. Mix in raisins, almond pieces, dried date pieces and coconut pieces one after another, mixing well in between. Finally mix in the methi powder and take it off the heat. 

7. Make laddus while the mixture is still hot (otherwise laddu's will not bind).

Enjoy as it is or with a glass of warm milk! You can also have it like a porridge by crushing it into some milk and heating it.

Making awesome coffee

I love coffee, especially in winters. I can make good coffee with instant coffee powder and also decent filter coffee. Recently we were in Coorg and our host made awesome coffee for us. I asked her to give me a demonstration and she obliged. Here it goes…

Ingredients:

Pure coffee powder (without chicory)    - ½ tsp. You can vary it according to the strength you want in your coffee

Sugar according to your taste

Milk – 1 cup. You can replace part of the milk with water too

Method:

-         The secret of making is in the stage at which you add the sugar and coffee powder, which is when it is just short of boiling, when the bubbles start appearing along the side of the vessel.

-         First add sugar, stir, and add the coffee powder and stir.

-         Let it come to boil and switch off the gas.

-         Leave for a few seconds for the coffee grind to settle down.

-         Pour the coffee through a sieve into the cup and enjoy!

Carrot beetroot pickle

This pickle has got awesome fragrance when you prepare it, and it makes your mouth water. Even when you open the bottle in which it is stored, it gives out its flavor.

Ingredients:

Carrots - 3

Beetroot           - 1 medium size

Oil        - 2 tbsps

Salt      - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder   - 1 tsp

Red chilli  powder         - 1 tsp

Nirapara pickle powder  - 1 ¼ tsp

Curry leaves     -  a few

Garlic   - 5 cut into small pieces

Method:

-         Peel, wash and cut carrots and beet root into small pieces. Spread on a plate and leave for some time to dry.

-         Heat oil in a pan. Reduce the flame and add the cut garlic and curry leaves.

-         When the garlic slightly browns, add all the masala powders and salt.

-         Stir and mix in the carrot and beet root.

-         Increase the flame and stir for about three to four minutes. Remove from the fire.

-         It can be eaten immediately.

-         Cool and store in a bottle. Refrigerate from second day.

Beet root sabzi

Beetroot contains folic acid which is essential for normal tissue growth. Folic acid is crucial to the development of a baby’s spinal cord during the first three months of pregnancy. Beetroot also contains iron so is very good for mums-to-be suffering from fatigue during pregnancy. Expectant mums must remember that cooked beetroot has lower levels of folic acid than raw beetroot.

A recent study by Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA has shown that the high content of nitrates in beetroot may also help fight the progression of dementia, as nitric oxide in the blood (produced by the nitrates in beetroot) also helps increase blood flow to the brain. Beetroot’s folic acid may also play a part as studies suggest it can help protect against Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Ingredients:

Beet root          - washed, peeled and grated 2 cups

Onion               - 1 sliced thin

Oil                    - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds  - ½ tsp

Garlic flakes     - 4 peeld and crushed

Chilli powder    - ½ tsp

Garam masala powder  - ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Grated coconut (optional)         - ¼ cup

Method:

-         Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the crushed garlic and then the grated beet root.

-         Stir for some time and add the salt, chilli powder and garam masala powder

-         Cover and cook for about three minutes when the beetroot is somewhat cooked.

-         Now add the sliced onion. Mix well, cover and cook for two minutes. 

-     The specific flavor of this sabzi is dependent on the half cooked onion that gives crunchiness. Take care that the onion is NOT cooked till they become transparent and pliable.

-         Add the grated coconut, mix well and remove from the fire.

Other beet root preparations: beet root sabzi, beet root raita, carrot beet root pickle.