Butter Cake

The challenge given for this month's Baking eggless group is Butter Cake.I have used both Vinegar and Condensed milk as egg substitute and got a yummy cake with a nice crumb.I relished a piece of the cake after spreading the butter topping when still warm and it was so good.

Ingredients:

Flour	¾ cup
Sweetened condensed milk	¼ cup
Powdered sugar	3 tblsp
Butter melted	¼ cup(50 gm)
Baking powder	1 tsp
Baking soda	½ tsp
White vinegar	1 tsp
Milk	1/3 cup
Sultanas(Black raisins)	¼ cup
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
For the Topping:
Butter	25 gms
Brown sugar	1 tblsp
Cinnamon powder	¼ tsp

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 C.
• Sift Flour,Baking powder and Baking soda.
• Take a mixing bowl and add melted butter,condensed milk,vanilla essence and mix well with a whisk.Add Milk followed by Vinegar and mix well.
• Now add the flour little by little and mix with a whisk till there are no lumps and the batter is smooth.Add some more milk if the batter is very thick.
• Finally add the raisins and mix well.
• Pour in a greased cake pan and bake at 180 C for 20-25 mins or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Take the pan out of the oven.
• Mix the ingredients given for the topping and spread over the cake.
• Let the cake sit for few minutes before you take it out of the pan and serve.

Savoury Veg Loaf

I would like to share about a savoury loaf baked by my friend.Its very healthy and nutritious packed with the goodness of the dhals,veggies and greens.You can snack it anytime as its guilt free.Thanks a lot to my friend for this recipe.

Ingredients:

Green Moong dhal	¼ cup
Yellow moong dhal	¼ cup
Channa dhal	¼ cup
Toor dhal	¼ cup
Raw rice	¼ cup
Urad dhal	1/8 cup
Olive oil	¼ cup
Red chilli	As needed
Green chilli	As needed
Mustard	½ tsp
cumin	1 tsp
Saunf	1 tsp
Asafoetida	¼ tsp
Sesame seeds	2 tblsp

Method:

• Soak all the dhals and rice together for 2-3 hours.
• Grind them along with Red chillies,Green chillies and Ginger to a consistency slightly thicker than Adai batter.Use Yoghurt while grinding.Don't use water.Add required salt and allow to ferment for 2 hrs.
• Next comes the veggies .You can add any vegetable like grated carrot,Green peas,Corn and greens like chopped Spinach,Coriander,Parsley,methi etc.
• Add peanuts,nuts,dried cranberries etc of your choice too.These are all optional and You can add if you prefer.
• Heat olive oil,add mustard seeds and once they crackle add Saunf,Cumin seeds and Asafoetida powder and add it to the batter.
• Pour on a greased loaf pan.Sprinkle Sesame seeds on top and bake in a preheated oven at @ 200°C for 45 mins to 1 hr. keep checking after 30 mins and if a knife inserted comes clean its ready.

Black Channa Sundal

Its raining Sundal everywhere for Navarathri and I am posting this simple and healthy Black Channa sundal.

Ingredients:

Black channa	1 cup
Coconut grated	3 tblsp
Asafoetida	¼ tsp
Salt	As needed
Green chilli	1
Red chilli	1
Curry leaves	Few
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Lemon juice	½ tblsp
Oil	2 tsp

Method:

• Soak channa in water for 8 hours.
• Rinse well and transfer to a vessel and add water till the channa is fully immersed in water.
• Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.Once cooked,drain the water from the channa and keep aside.
• Heat a kadai,add oil followed by Mustard seeds.Once they start crackling add Asafoetida,slit green chilli and red chilli,curry leaves and add the cooked channa.
• Add the required salt,coconut grated,lemon juice and stir for 2-3 mins and the channa sundal is ready to serve.

Aval Puttu

I prepared Aval Puttu today for Navarathri and I was so happy with the result.This is a very quick recipe and tastes so good.Lets see how to prepare this puttu.

Ingredients:

Aval/Poha(Thick/Medium variety)	2 cups
Jaggery	1 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder	¼ tsp
Fresh coconut grated	4 tblsp
Cahewnut	As needed

Method:

• Fry cashews in ghee and keep aside.
• Grind Aval to a fine powder using a mixie and transfer to a wide bowl.
• Warm little water with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder.
• Now sprinkle this water little by little to the powdered aval till you get a consistency where if you press it holds shape and if you leave it crumble. Keep this aside for 5 Mins.
• Take a kadai,add jaggery and little water.Once the jaggery is fully dissolved strain to remove any impurities.
• Boil the jaggery till you get the following consistency.If you take a bowl of water and add little jaggery mixture You should form a ball easily and when you drop the ball on the bowl you should hear a sound.Now add the cardamom powder,grated coconut to this and immediately pour over the Aval powder.Mix well with a ladle,add the fried cashews and keep aside covered for 10 mins.Delicious Aval puttu is ready to serve. 

Note:

• The exact amount of jaggery needed depends on the quality of Jaggery you are using .so adjust the quantity accordingly.
• After adding the jaggery mixture to the Aval ,if you find it very wet you can powder some more Aval,sprinkle some water as mentioned in the procedure and add it to the puttu and mix well.

Roasted Gram Dhal Ladu/Maa Ladu

Today is the first day of Navarathri and I prepared this yummy Roasted Gram dhal Ladu which is called as Maa Ladu.This is a simple recipe which you can make it so quickly.

Ingredients:

Roasted gram dhal	1 cup
Sugar	1 cup
Ghee	½ cup
Cashew cut into small bits	As needed
Cardamom	4-5

Method:

• Grind Roasted gram dhal/Potukadalai to a fine powder in a mixie.
• Grind sugar along with cardamom seeds to a fine powder.
• Roast cashewnut bits in little ghee till golden and keep aside.
• Heat ghee in a pan and keep aside.
• In a wide bowl,take the Roasted gram dhal powder,sugar powder and  mix well.Add the cashews.
• Now add the ghee slowly to this powder and mix well with a ladle.
• When it is easy enough to handle with your hands mix well with your  hands.
• Take a small portion of this mixture and press to make balls.If it holds shape then this is the right consistency.If it is not holding shape add little ghee and try again.
• Make the ladus and arrange on a plate.Once cooled completely store in an air-tight container.

Sending this to Vardhini's Diwali Bash.

Eggless Strawberry Cupcakes

I enjoyed making these cute strawberry cupcakes with Strawberry Butter cream icing.The cake turned out so soft,fluffy and irresistible bursting with strawberry flavour,a nice change to the vanilla and chocolate flavours which I usually make.I am sure it will be a great hit especially with kids and adults as well.

Ingredients:

Strawberry Cupcake:

All purpose flour	¾ cup
Sweetened condensed milk	½ tin
Butter melted	50 gms(1/4 cup)
Milk(at room temperature)	100 ml approximately
Powdered sugar	3 tblsp
Baking powder	1 tsp
Baking soda	½ tsp
Strawberry essence	1 tsp
Pink food colour	Few drops
Vanilla essence	½ tsp

Strawberry Buttercream icing:

Butter	50 gms(1/4 cup)
Icing sugar	1 ¼ cup
Strawberry essence	½ tsp
Pink food colour	Few drops
Puree made from 2 strawberry
Fresh strawberries cut into halves (for decoration)	as needed

Method:

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 160 °C.
• Sift flour,baking powder,baking soda and keep aside.
• Take a mixing bowl,add condensed milk,melted butter,powdered sugar and beat well with a whisk for 2 mins.Add the strawberry and vanilla essence,food colour and mix well.
• Now add  the milk and mix.Add the sifted flour and mix well till there are no lumps and you get a smooth batter.
• Divide the batter evenly on the cupcake pan lined with liners and bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for 20-25 mins.
• keep an eye on the cake after 20 mins.The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 5 mins.Take the cupcakes out of the pan and keep in a cooling rack till its cooled completely.Now the cupcake is ready for icing.

For the icing:

• Take the butter in a bowl and beat well.Add the icing sugar and beat well till its fluffy.Add the strawberry essence,pink food colour at the end and beat well.
• Finally add the strawberry puree( put 2 strawberries in a mixie and blend well) and beat well. Now check the consistency of the icing,if its not very thick add few more tablespoons of powdered sugar and beat well.
• Store the icing in an airtight box in the refrigerator for 15-30 mins before decorating if you feel the consistency is not very thick enough for piping.
• Decorate the cupcakes with the icing as you wish and enjoy .
• I have simply applied some icing on the top of each cake and decorated with halved strawberry.

Note:

• For the icing,adding fresh strawberry puree is optional,but I personally like to give a fresh touch to it.Don't go overboard on using the strawberry puree,if you add more ,the icing texture might turn grainy and the consistency will also become runny.

Sending this to Kid's delight Potluck party  by Srivalli and Vardhini's Bake fest#12 hosted at Funandfoodcafe this month.

Sabudana Khichdi

Sabudhana khichdi is a simple khichdi made using Pearlsago/sabudana/Javarisi and I learnt this recipe from a youtube video.Though there are other ways you can make it,I have read this version is usually made during fasting as it has no onions.Though I don't make it frequently I would like to have it once in a while as a light tiffin/snack.

Ingredients:

Sago (sabudhana)	1 cup
Potato	1
Peanut	¼ cup
Ginger finely chopped	½ tblsp
Green chilli finely chopped	as needed
Coriander leaves chopped	as needed
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Oil	1 tblsp
Ghee	1 tsp

Method:

• Wash sabudana well and take it in a bowl and add water till the sabudana is just immersed.you should not add more water as you do for soaking rice/dhal.Cover it and keep aside for 6-8 hrs.
• Boil potato and chop it roughly.
• Roast peanuts,remove the outer skin and powder it and keep aside.
• When you press a soaked sabudana between your fingers it should mash easily.Now its ready for making khichdi.
• Add the peanut powder and salt needed to the sabudana and mix well.
• Take a kadai,add oil,ghee and add Cumin seeds first followed by chopped ginger and green chilli.Add the potato and fry for a minute.
• Add the sabudana mixed with peanut powder and mix gently.
• Keep the flame in low and cook for 5-6 mins stirring gently in between.Don't cover the khichdi while cooking as it may turn sticky
• You know that its ready when the sago turns from white to translucent.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.