Dahiwala Bharta

A different eggplant deliccacy from Suvir Saran’s Indian Home Cooking cookbook ,which tastes like an Indian baba ghanoush.This smoky and mushed eggplant when combined with yogurt can be served as a vegetable side dish or even as  raita.

Ingredients:-

Eggplant – 1 large
Red onion chopped – 1 medium sized
Plain yogurt – 2 cups
Fresh grated ginger – 1 tbsp
Hot green chilly chopped – 1
Coriander leaves chopped – 2 tsps
Garam masala – 1/4 tsp
salt – to taste
Oil – 3 tbsps

Method:-

Roast the eggplant directly on the burner of a gas stove over medium heat,turning often until the skin is completely blackened and the flesh is softened,about 10 minutes.Or roast eggplant on a cookie sheet in the oven at 500F,until blackened,about 20 minutes.Once cooked,allow it to cool enough to handle,and then peel off the skin using your fingers,rinsing your hands under running water as your work.Cut off the stem and discard it.Put the eggplant in a bowl and mash it to a puree,you can use wooden spoons or potato masher for this.

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat and add onion and salt into it.Saute it till onion turns translucent.Add mashed eggplant and cook it until dry,stirring in between.Remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool.

Whisk the yogurt until smooth in a bowl.Add grated ginger,green chilly,coriander leaves and garam masala into the whisked yogurt and mix well.Pour this yogurt mixture into the cooled eggplant,stir well.Chill it and serve cold.

Orotti

I’ve been thinking of posting this for a long time and finally i made it today..:)
Orotti,which falls under traditional Kerala breakfasts category is a variety of thick roti made using rice flour and grated coconut.Some add jaggery,mashed banana,mashed jackfruits etc into the dough to make sweet orottis,but in my home we always prefer it to be plain and is often taken with spicy chutneys or gravies.

Ingredients :-

Rice Flour – 2 cups
Grated coconut – 3/4 cup
Salt,Water – as needed
Ghee or Oil – for greasing the pan.

Method:-

Take a bowl, add rice flour and grated coconut into it,mix them together.Boil water in a pan,adding required amount of salt into it.Pour the boiled water little by little to the rice flour,stirring in between,until it is ready to make into a smooth dough.Allow it to cool for a while.When it is half cooled,knead it with your hands into a smooth dough.Divide the dough into 4-5 equal sized balls.

Heat the griddle and apply little ghee onto it.Take a ball and spread it like a thick roti onto the griddle using wet hands.Or else you can shape it into a roti on a banana leaf,a parchment paper,foil etc and transfer it into a greased griddle.Cook for about 1 minute on high heat,then simmer it for 3-4 minutes.Now turn the roti,and cook the other side the same way.Apply little ghee on top and serve hot.

This can also be prepared on a banana leaf,spread the dough into the shape of a roti on a greased banana leaf and cover it with another piece of greased banana leaf,and then cook it over a hot tawa.

White chocolate cake

Click on the images to enlarge

Here’s a cake which i decorated recently.It is a white moist cake frosted with Wilton buttercream icing and decorated with grated white chocolate and Indian cherries.

Wilton Buttercream Icing(Stif consistency)

This is the recipe taught to us in Wilton Cake decorating class.

Ingredients :-

Solid white vegetable shortening – 1 cup
Wilton flavour(Vanilla,Almond or Butter) – 1 tsp
Milk or water – 2 tbsp
Pure cane confectioners’ sugar – 1 lb (approx 4 cups)
Wilton Meringue Powder – 1 tbsp
salt – a pinch (optional)

Method:-

Cream shortening,flavoring and water.Then add all the other ingredients and mix on medium speed until all the ingredientsnhave been thoroughly mixed together.Blend an additional minute or so,until creamy.

This stiff consistency recipe is used for decorations such as flowers with upright petals like roses and sweet peas.

Medium consistency:- Add 1 tsp water to each cup of stiff consistency icing(one additional tbsp of water when using the full recipe).Mix until well blended.Medium consistency is used to create stems,figure piping,borders and flowers with petals that lie flat.

Thin consistency :- Add 2 tsps of water to each cup of stiff consistency icing(two tbsps of additional liquid when using the full recipe).Mix until well blended.Thin consistency icing is used for writing,making stems,leaves and frosting a cake.

Tomato Bhath

I was supposed to post this for JFI- Tomato,but somehow i missed it.I have so many excuses for that..easter celebrations,my son’s ear infection, my amma’s return trip….Anyways better late than never,and so here i’m with my favorite crowd pleaser recipe.I’ve first tasted Tomato Bhath in a potluck party,and fell in love with it instantly.Since then i’ve tried different recipes from different sources,and finally got stuck with this one from Pachakam.com.Its a simple recipe and can be prepared easily.

Ingredients:-

Rice – 1 cup
Big tomatoes chopped – 2
Onion sliced – 1
Garlic pods chopped – 2
Green chillies cut lengthwise – 4-5
Garam masala powder – 3/4 tsp
Grated Coconut – 1/4 cup
Coriander leaves chopped – 1/4 cup
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Sugar – a pinch
Lime juice – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – 3 tsp or as needed

For Seasoning :-
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Bengal gram dal(Kadalaparippu) – 1 tsp
Black gram dal(Uzhunnu parippu) – 1 tsp
Cloves(Grambu) – 3
Cinnamon(Karuvapatta) – a small piece
Cardamom(Elakka) -1
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Method:-

Cook rice slowly,spread it on flat surface ,mix little ghee and lime juice and allow it to cool.Heat oil and ghee in a pan,add all the ingredients for seasoning and fry for a while.Now add green chillies,garlic and onion and fry until onion turns translucent.Add tomatoes and cook till it becomes soft.Stir in salt,sugar and masala powder.Add cooled rice into this and mix together.Finally add grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves.Mix well and serve hot.

Recipe Source : Pachakam.com by Sonali.S