Eggless Lemon Coconut Bread

For this month's Baking eggless group ,the recipe given was Lemon coconut bread .I have not tried any lemon flavoured cake in my baking and decided to make a small loaf cake.The flavour is quite interesting with the lemon and coconut combination.I have used condensed milk as egg replacer here and the cake turned out soft and moist.

Ingredients:

For the cake
All purpose flour	¾ cup+ 1 tblsp
Sweetened condensed milk	½ tin
Butter	50 gms
Powdered sugar	2 tblsp
Baking powder	1 tsp
Baking soda	1/2 tsp
Salt	A pinch
Lemon juice	1 tblsp
Lemon zest	½ tblsp
yoghurt	2 tblsp
Milk	½ cup
Vanilla essence	½ tsp
Dessicated coconut and almond flakes	As needed
For the filling
Cream cheese	40 gms
Dessicated coconut	¼ cup
Powdered sugar	4 tblsp
For the glaze
Powdered sugar	¼ cup
Milk or water	As needed

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients given for the filling and keep aside.
• Preheat oven to 170 °C.
• Sift Flour,baking powder,baking soda and salt.
• Take a mixing bowl and add the condensed milk,melted butter.Mix well with a whisk.
• Add the yoghurt,Milk,lemon juice,lemon zest,vanilla essence and mix well.
• Slowly add the flour and mix gently till there are no lumps.
• Take a greased loaf pan .Pour half of the batter.Spread the prepared cream cheese filling evenly and pour the remaining batter on top of it.Sprinkle some dessicated coconut and almond flakes on top and bake at 170 °C for 30-40 mins till the top turns golden in colour and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Allow to cool for 10 mins.Slowly take the loaf out of the pan.
• For the glaze,mix powdered sugar with little milk/water and pour on top of the cooled cake.
• Slice and serve.

Note:

• The original recipe uses sweetened coconut flakes.I have substituted it with dessicated coconut here.I also used almond flakes for topping. 

Sending this to Vardhini's Bake Fest hosted by Foodomania .

Potato sagu

I am posting a simple recipe made using potatoes.This is my mother's recipe and I have enjoyed it a lot during my childhood days.It goes well with Roti/chapathi.Try this simple gravy and am sure you will like it too.

Ingredients:

Potato	2
Onion	1
Tomato	1
Sambar powder	1 tsp
Salt	As needed
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Cumin seeds	½ tsp
Oil	2 tsp
Coriander leaves	To garnish

Method:

• Boil the potatoes and cut them into pieces.Chop the tomatoes.
• Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds,cumin seeds.Once they crackle add onions and fry them.
• Add the tomatoes and fry till they turn mushy. 
• Add sambar powder,salt and water(1 1/2 to 2 cups) and let it cook in low flame for 10 mins.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Note:

• I have used sambar powder in this recipe which brings out a nice flavour. you can add Red chilli powder instead of sambar powder if you prefer. 
• Don't over cook the potatoes as we are cooking it in the gravy too.

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon roll is one of my favourites and I love the aroma that fills the house when baking these rolls.Whenever I pass by "Cinnabon", I would stop by and watch them rolling and making the rolls.There are few variations like adding raisins,nuts etc but I tried the simple version.

Ingredients:

For the dough:
All purpose flour	1 cup
Sugar	3 tblsp
Instant  dry yeast	1/2 tsp
Butter melted	2 tblsp
Baking powder	A pinch
Salt	¼ tsp
Milk	½ cup
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
For the filling:
Brown sugar	2 tblsp
Cinnamon powder	1 ½ tsp
Melted butter	2 tblsp
For the glaze:
Icing sugar	½ cup
Melted butter	1 tblsp
Warm water/milk	As needed
Vanilla essence	½ tsp

Method:

For the Dough:

• Take the yeast in a bowl.Add warm milk and sugar.Mix well and keep it in a warm place. After 10 mins the yeast solution should appear frothy.

• Take All purpose flour,salt,sugar,baking powder,melted butter in a bowl.Add the yeast solution slowly and mix to get a sticky dough.

• Dust some flour on a clean counter, place the dough on it and knead well.Apply oil and keep it in a bowl covered with a wet kitchen towel.

• After 1 hr the dough would have doubled in size. Place it on a clean counter and punch down to remove air. knead for few minutes.

• Dust some flour on the counter and roll to a large rectangle of 1/4 inch thickness and brush some melted butter on the top.

• Mix brown sugar and cinnamon powder and spread this mixture evenly on the rolled dough.Roll it from the long end to form a log. Pinch the edges to seal well.

• Cut them into even sized rolls using a knife or a clean thread.

• Arrange it on a baking pan lined with parchment paper,cover and let it rise again for about 45 mins.

• Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Apply melted butter on top of the rolls and bake at 180 °C for 18-20 mins till the top turns slightly golden in colour.

For the glaze:

• Mix Icing sugar,melted butter,vanilla in a bowl.Add little warm water/milk and mix well to get pouring consistency.keep aside.
• Once the rolls are done,take the pan out of the oven and pour the glaze evenly on all the rolls and serve warm.

Note:

• Once cut into rolls,it is preferable to keep covered till it doubles in size(atleast 45 mins to 1 hr) but I let them rise only for 30 mins this time as I had to bake them immediately.

Coconut Tutti Frutti bun

After the failed attempts in making Garlic rolls,I decided to try something sweet.First I thought of making Tutti frutti buns then decided to make these Stuffed sweet buns.I din't want to experiment much as I was making it for the first time so made these buns with all purpose flour.I followed the recipe from here with few changes.I was very happy with the results.. soft tasty buns and now have the confidence to try more varieties.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
All purpose flour	1 cup
Active dry yeast	¾ tsp
Milk	¼ cup
Water	3-4 tblspoon
Sugar	¾ tblsp
Salt	¼ tsp
Baking powder	A pinch
Butter	1 tblsp
For the stuffing:
Coconut grated	½ cup
Sugar	¼ cup
Milk	2 tblspoon
Tutti frutti	2 tblspoon
Almonds sliced	2 tblspoon
Cardamom powder	A pinch
Butter	1 tblspoon

Method:

For the Dough:

• Take the yeast in a bowl. Add warm water(not hot water),sugar and milk.Mix well and Keep it in a warm place. After 10 mins the yeast solution should appear frothy.
• Take All purpose flour,salt,baking powder,butter in a bowl. Add the yeast solution slowly and mix to get a sticky dough.
• Dust some flour on a clean counter, place the dough on it and knead . Apply oil and keep in a bowl covered with a wet kitchen towel.

For the Stuffing:

• Heat a pan and add butter followed by coconut,sugar,tutti frutti and milk.
• Mix well till everything comes together.Add cardamom powder and switch off the flame.

Making the buns:

    

• After 1 hour  the dough would have doubled in size. Punch it down to remove the air.Place it in a clean counter,apply little oil to your hands and knead the dough for 3-4 mins. Divide them into equal sized balls. 
• Take a ball and flatten it slightly with your hands. Place the required amount of the stuffing in the center and cover by bringing the edges to the center. Gently roll between the palms to get a smooth bun.Follow the same step for the remaining balls.Keep them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper,cover and let it rise for 30 mins.
• After 30 mins,brush the tops of the buns with milk and bake in a preheated oven at 180 º C for 20 -25 mins till the top turns golden in colour.
• Once done remove from the oven and immediately apply some butter .

Note:

• The amount of water used in making the dough depends on the flour you are using. So dont use all the yeast solution at once. Add little by little till you get a slightly sticky dough.
• I got 4 buns for the above quantity.

Poondu Podi (Garlic spice mix for rice)

Podi Varieties comes handy when you are in no mood to cook or if you want to have a change from the usual sambar/rasam varieties.This podi can be made in minutes if you have all the ingredients. It tastes great when mixed with hot steaming rice + ghee/gingelly oil accompanied by papad/vadam/chips. 

Ingredients:

Roasted gram dhal(pottukadalai)	1 cup
Garlic cloves	4-5
Red chilli	3-4
Salt	as needed

Method:

• Peel the garlic cloves.
• Take all the ingredients in a mixer and grind to a powder.
• Cool and store in an air-tight container.

Note:

• If the pottukadalai is not crisp ,heat a pan,add pottukadalai and fry in low flame for 1 or 2 mins.Don't roast it or allow to change colour. Cool and proceed grinding. 
• If using fresh Pottukadalai, no need for the above step.
• Adjust the spice level to your taste.
• I prefer to make this in small quantities and not in bulk as it tastes best fresh. 

Baingan Bhartha

Baingan Bhartha is a famous North Indian dish which is prepared by roasting the brinjal in direct flame and cooking it with spices.I like this dish for its simplicity ,no grinding of masalas etc.. still a tasteful dish to accompany your roti. I have followed Tarla dalal's recipe and made few changes to suit my taste.

Ingredients:

Brinjal big variety	1
Onion chopped	1
Tomato chopped	1
Chilli powder,salt	As needed
Coriander powder	2 tsp
Cumin powder	1 tsp
Garam masala powder	½ tsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Ginger,garlic finely chopped	½ tsp each
Oil	2-3 tsp

Method:

• Wash the brinjal and pat it dry. Apply little oil over it and roast in direct flame till the outer skin starts to peel off and the brinjal is cooked well from inside. Allow it to cool for some time. 
• Remove the outer skin ,take the brinjal pulp,mash and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan,add cumin seeds followed by chopped ginger and garlic and fry for 1 min. Add the chopped onions and fry till onions turn light brown.
• Add the chopped tomatoes,salt and cook for 2 mins till the tomato becomes mashy.
• Add all the masala powders given in the ingredients list and fry them well till the raw smell of the powders goes off. If needed sprinkle some water to avoid the masala from being burnt.
• Add the mashed brinjal ,add required water to get desired consistency of the gravy ,mix well and cook in slow flame till the masalas are blended well with the brinjal.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.