Lamingtons

        I made these cute Lamingtons for the Baking Eggless Group by Gayathri for this month.She gave the option of either chocolate lamingtons or lemon lamingtons and I chose the chocolate one.This Australian delight is basically a small square of sponge cake that is dipped in a sweet chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut. 
        Though there are many versions of how it got its name, I find this one interesting.The maid for Lord Lamington (eighth governor of Queensland) accidently dropped a sponge cake in some melted chocolate. To avoid the sponge cake becoming messy, they added coconut.The result was this delicious new invention, named after Lord Lamington.
       Coming to the recipe the challenge is to make the eggless sponge cake. Though I have tried some versions of eggless cake using condensed milk,yoghurt etc , I wanted to try something different this time and I adapted my eggless sponge cake from here and I got a soft,spongy cake.I followed the recipe for chocolate icing from The joy of baking and I halved it as I made a small cake. I felt the dessicated coconut is the highlight of this cake which transforms this cake to a yummy treat.

Ingredients:

 Eggless sponge cake:

All Purpose flour	1 cup
Corn flour	1 tblsp
Powdered sugar	3/4 cup
Butter	50 gms
Milk/Evaporated milk	1/3 cup
Baking powder	3/4 tsp
Baking soda	1/4 tsp
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
Aerated soda (I used plain soda )	100 ml approximately
Egg replacer  :       1 tblsp water+1/2 tblsp oil+1/4 tsp baking powder

Chocolate icing:

Icing sugar	2 cups
Cocoa powder	1 ½ tblsp
Butter	1 1/2 tblsp
Milk	¼ cup

Coating:
1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut.

Method:

For the Cake:

• Preheat oven to 180 ºC.Grease a baking pan with butter and dust with flour.
• Sift Flour,baking powder,baking soda twice and keep aside.
• Cream butter and sugar well till light and fluffy.Add the evaporated milk or milk,vanilla essence and beat well with a whisk.Take the ingredients for the egg replacer in a small bowl and whisk well.Add this to the butter-sugar mixture and beat well.
• Add the flour and mix once.Now add the aerated soda little by little and mix with a whisk.No need to beat it vigorously.Just gentle mixing is enough.Add Soda till you get thick flowing consistency of the batter which forms ribbon like pattern when poured.
• Pour the batter in the greased pan and bake at 180 ºC for 20-25 mins or till toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.If You feel the top is browning fast ,cover loosely with an aluminium foil after 15 mins and bake.
• Once done cool in a rack ,cut into desired size squares.

For the icing:

• Place the icing sugar, cocoa powder, butter and milk in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir the mixture well till it becomes smooth and is of pouring consistency.Allow it to cool down to room temperature. I kept it in the fridge for some time to speed up the process.

Assembling the Cake:

• Take the dessicated coconut in a plate.   
• Take a piece of the cake ,dip it in the chocolate icing and shake once so that excess icing drips and immediately roll it in the dessicated coconut.
• Allow it to set for some time and enjoy.   

Note:

• I have only given the approximate amount of aerated soda used. 
• Increase or decrease the cocoa powder in the icing to your preference.
• The icing may thicken after some time. If it becomes very thick,again keep it on top of simmering water to get the right consistency.
• Allow the cake to cool completely before dipping it in the icing.If you feel the cake is not firm try refrigerating it for sometime before dipping.

Vegetable Pulao

This is a simple Vegetable pulao with mild spices that can be prepared very quickly.This also serves as a nice lunch box recipe.I prefer to cook this in a kadai or a pan rather than pressure cooking. 

Ingredients:

Basmati rice	1 cup
Water(adjust according to the rice you are using)	1 3/4 cups
Vegetables cut into small cubes(I have used carrots,beans and peas)	Handful each
Onion sliced finely	1
Green chilli	1 -2
Oil	3 tsp
Cashew,Kismis(golden raisins) fried in ghee ,chopped coriander leaves	As needed
Salt	As needed

Spices:

Cardamom	2
Cinnamon	1 small piece
Cloves	2
Bay leaf	1
Cumin seeds(Jeera)	½ tsp

 
Method:

• Take a kadai or pressure pan ,add oil and all the spices and fry them.Add the slit green chillies,onions and fry till onions turn slight golden in colour.Add the vegetables and fry for 2 mins.
• Wash the rice and add it followed by water and the salt. Keep in high flame and once it comes to a boil reduce the flame to the lowest,cover and cook for 15 mins.
• Check after 10 mins once and mix gently once so that it wont stick to the bottom and cook covered till done.Once done add the fried cashews and kismis and chopped coriander leaves and serve with raita or any vegetable gravy of your choice.

Note:

• You can add 1/2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste after frying the spices.
• You can use frozen vegetables instead of fresh ones .
• Add little green chilli paste in place of slit green chilli or try it with little chilli powder instead of green chilli especially when preparing for kids.

Aloo Palak Paratha

I usually make Aloo paratha and this time I had some spinach leaves(Palak) and made Aloo palak Paratha.The Parathas came out tasty with the added nutrition of spinach. I like stuffed parathas as there is no need to prepare side dish .All you need is a simple raitha or pickle.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour	1 ½ cups
Salt	As needed
Water	As needed
Oil	2 tsp + for frying the parathas
For the stuffing
Spinach leaves chopped finely	1 cup
Potato boiled and mashed	2 nos
Cumin seeds	½ tsp
Chilli powder	As needed
Garam masala powder	½ tsp
Salt	As needed

Method:

                       

• Take Whole wheat flour,salt in a bowl.Add water as needed to prepare a soft dough similar to chapathi/roti dough.Smear 2 tsp oil ,cover and keep aside for 15-30 mins.
• For the filling ,heat 2 tsp oil in a pan.Add cumin seeds followed by the chopped spinach.Add a pinch of salt and sugar and cook for 2 mins till the leaves wilt and reduce in volume.
• Add the mashed potatoes,Chilli powder,Garam masala powder,salt and mix well.Cook in medium flame for 3-4 mins till everything is mixed well.Allow to cool.
• Take a big lime sized ball of the dough and roll to a small circle.keep the stuffing inside and cover all the sides as shown in the picture above and roll to a circle.
• Heat a tawa and cook the paratha on both sides using oil till golden spots appear on both the sides.Serve with Raitha /Yoghurt or Pickle of your choice.

No Bake Choco Oats bars

These No-bake Oats bars are so easy to prepare .Once all the ingredients are ready it takes less than 10 minutes to finish and put it in the fridge for setting.The recipe uses Peanut butter and next time I would like to try it with Nutella.

Ingredients:

Oats(Quick cooking)	1 ¼ cup
Sugar(see notes below)	¾ cup
Cocoa powder	2 tblsp
Butter	2 tblsp
Peanut butter(I used creamy one)	4 tblsp( ¼ cup)
Milk	¼ cup
Vanilla essence	½ tsp

Method:

• Grease a baking dish/tray with butter.
• Take a Saucepan and melt the butter.Add the Sugar,Cocoa powder and Milk.
• Keep it in medium flame and stir till the Sugar is dissolved completely .Let it boil well for 2-3 mins till bubbles start coming up(Refer picture above). Now switch off the flame.
• Add the vanilla essence and Peanut butter and mix well. Add the Oats and mix till everything is combined well.
• Spread this mixture evenly on the greased dish. Level the top using a flat object greased with butter or with your hands.Cover and refrigerate for 30 mins - 1 hour till its well set.
• Cut into squares and store in an air-tight container.

Note:

• I have tried once without Peanut butter and it came out well too.Add extra 1 tblsp butter if you don't add peanut butter.
• You can decrease the sugar to 1/2 cup if you find it too sweet but don't try to reduce more.The minimum quantity needed for this measure is 1/2 cup.

Dosa Batter Pakoda - Dosa Batter Fritters

I am posting a quick snack which is prepared using Dosa batter. If you have some dosa batter(preferably 1 day old batter) you can easily make this snack and am sure it will be relished by kids and elders as well. It is a nice change to the usual idlis and dosas for the evening tiffin/snack.

Ingredients:

Dosa batter	1 cup
Gram flour(Besan)	2 tblsp
Rava(sooji)	1 tblsp
Onion finely chopped	1
Chopped curry and coriander leaves	as needed
Green chilli finely chopped(see Note below)	as needed
Chilli powder	½ tsp
Salt	as needed
Oil	for deep frying

Method:

• Take a bowl and add dosa batter first followed by the chopped onions,coriander and curry leaves,chilli powder,salt .Now add besan and rava to it and mix well with your hands.Adjust the quantity of besan depending on the consistency of your dosa batter but don't add more.
• The final consistency will be little looser than pakoda batter.Heat oil in a kadai and drop small portions of batter in it and fry in medium flame till light golden in colour and serve.

Note:

• Omit green chillies when preparing for kids. 
• If you want to add both Green chilli and chilli powder reduce the chilli powder quantity. 

Sending this to Srivalli's Kids Delight event  hosted by Vardhini

Tabbouleh Salad

Tabbouleh  also called Tabouleh is a popular Arabic salad which is made of Bulgur wheat, finely chopped parsley,mint,dressed with lemon juice and olive oil mixture. It is very easy to prepare.As bulgur wheat is already parboiled  just soaking it in hot water is enough. 
Bulgur also contains more fibre and protein and has a lower glycemic index compared to white rice. So if you are looking for a healthy salad with lots of greens then try this salad.

Ingredients:

Bulgur wheat	½ cup
Water	1 ½ cups(approx)
Mint leaves finely chopped	¼ cup
Parsley finely chopped	½ cup
Tomato deseeded and chopped	1
Onion finely chopped	1
For the dressing
Lemon juice	2 tblsp
Extra virgin olive oil	3 tblsp
Pepper crushed finely	½  tsp
Salt	As needed

Method:

• Boil 11/2 cups of water in a saucepan.When it comes to a boil add the bulgur wheat and switch off the flame. Cover and keep it for about 15-20 mins. 
• Now rinse it once and drain in a colander.Squeeze extra water if any from the soaked bulgur.
• In a small bowl take all the ingredients for the dressing and mix well. keep aside.
• Take the chopped tomatoes,onions,parsley and mint in another bowl and add the soaked bulgur.Add the dressing and mix well.Adjust the seasonings to your preference.Refrigerate for atleast 30 mins before serving so that the flavours blend well.

Note:

• The original recipe uses Scallions(spring onions) but I have used onion here.

Sending this to 'Dish name starts with T ' event.

Eggless Black forest cake

I prepared this Eggless Black Forest Cake for my friends son's birthday.This being my first attempt in making a black forest cake , I am happy with the results.I partially adapted this recipe from Nestles kitchen. The only thing I would like to try next time is to make it more moist. I wanted to pipe some borders but couldn't get the required stiffness for piping.Here comes the recipe...

Ingredients:

-      Cake  -
All purpose flour(Maida)	1 cup
Sweetened condensed milk	½ tin(200 gms)
Butter	60 gms
Powdered sugar	2 tblsp
Cocoa powder	2 tblsp
Baking powder	1 tsp
Baking soda	½ tsp
Aerated cola(I used pepsi)	150 ml approximately
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
-  Sugar Syrup  -
Sugar	¼ cup
Water	¼ cup
-      Icing  -
Heavy whipping cream	200 ml
Icing sugar	3-4 tblsp
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
-      Decoration  -
Glazed cherry cut into small pieces for filling and few whole cherries for garnishing	As needed
Chocolate shavings	As needed

Method:

• Preheat oven to 160°C.
• Sieve Flour,cocoa,baking powder,baking soda.
• Melt the butter. After it comes to room temperature add the condensed milk, powdered sugar and beat well.
• Add the flour mixture in parts to the butter mixture alternating with cola mixing well after each addition.You can use a whisk to do this .No need for electric beaters here.
• Do this till all the flour is added up and the desired consistency is reached.
• Pour this to a greased baking pan ( I used a 7 inch round pan here).
• Bake in a preheated oven at 160 °C for 30-35 mins till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow it to cool well.
• For the sugar syrup, heat the sugar and water in a saucepan together. Once the sugar dissolves completely and starts to boil switch off the flame and allow to cool.
• For the icing whip the heavy cream ,once soft peaks are formed add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat till stiff peaks are formed. Keep it in the refrigerator till further use.
• Once the cake is cooled completely,slice it horizontally into 2 halves.
• Apply the sugar syrup liberally on the entire cake surface.Spread some icing and add the chopped cherries and chocolate shavings on top of it.
• Cover it with the other layer. Spread sugar syrup for the top layer too and apply a thin coat of icing all over the cake and let it sit in the refrigerator for 15-20 mins. 
• Now apply the final coat of icing with a spatula. Decorate with chocolate shavings and cherries . Allow the cake to sit for 1 or 2 hrs before serving. 

Note:

• Add cola till you get dropping consistency of the batter. You may not need the entire 150ml.
• Keep checking the cake after 25 mins.