Plum Cake

We wish you and your family a very Happy new year!

And to celebrate the New Year, we have the homemade plum cake.

Ingredients:

Butter 100 gms
Sugar 100gms
All purpose flour 100 gms
Rum 3-4 tsps
Cashews A handful
Raisins A handful
Cocoa powder 1tbsp

Method:

Soak the cashews and raisins in rum for 3-4 hours.

Beat the butter. Add sugar and beat again till soft and fluffy.

Add the rum-dry fruits mix, cocoa powder and flour to the butter-sugar and beat hard to make cake dough without any lumps.

Dust the cake tin base with maida and oil.

Pour the dough onto an oiled cake tin.

Microwave in for around 30-35 minutes or till the centre tests done. If a microwave is unavailable, add water into the pressure cooker. Keep a dish overturned. Place the cake tin on top of this overturned dish, cover and cook for 30-35 minutes without the whistle.

Dress the cake with grated chocolate and Choco-dipped cherries and serve. Hope the whole year is a celebration for you and enjoy the beginning with the plum cake.

Apple gojju

Apples are probably the easiest of the available fruits. We make apple gojju at home especially during the festival season when there are so many apples that we receive as tambulams. Gojju is a sweet curry/chutney and a perfect way to cook apples.

Preparation time: 15-20mins

Serves: 2


Ingredients:

Red Apples 4
Red chillies 8
Bengal gram (chanadal/senaga bedalu) 2tsps
Black gram (urad dal/uddipappu) 3tsps
Mustard seeds 1tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera/jeelakarra) 1tsp
Fenugreek seeds 1tsp
Curry leaves 4-5
Dry coconut 2tsps
Tamarind/tamarind paste 1blob/1tbsp
Cumin powder (jeera powder) 1tsp
Jaggery(gud/bellam) 1 tbsp
Refined cooking oil 2tbsp
Salt to taste
Pinch of asafoetida
Pinch of turmeric

Fresh & chopped coriander to garnish

Method:

Soak a blob of tamarind in half a cup of water for 20 mins and squeeze for juice. If using tamarind paste, this is not necessary.

In a pan, heat a drop of oil and dry roast Bengal gram, 6 red chillies, pinch of asafoetida, 2tsp black gram and dry coconut (copra) together. Set aside to cool.

Once at room temperature, grind to a fine powder. Add 2 tsps water and grind once again to a thick paste.

Dice the apples into small cubes. Do not peel them. It is advisable not to dice them earlier on as apples turn brown too soon.

Heat 1tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds and as they splutter add 2 red chillies, cumin seeds, 1tsp black gram, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and a pinch of turmeric. A few peanuts can also be added for a crisp crackle.

Once the seasoning is done, add the diced apples, salt to taste & sauté till the apples are well seasoned. Add half to one cup water, cover and cook on simmer for around 10 mins till the apple peels turn brown and the apples get easily mashed.

Add the tamarind squeezed juice/tamarind paste as available. Add jaggery and cook on low heat for around 2 mins.

Add the above ground paste, a tsp each of red chilli powder and cumin powder (optional, depending on how spicy the gojju is preferred to be) and stir well. Cook another 5 mins.

Garnish with fresh and chopped coriander and serve with ghee topped plain rice, any Indian bread or flavored rice. Tangy, sweet and spicy, Apple gojju is sure to be a favorite this season, especially when a wide variety of apples are available. Include it in the New Year menu and surprise your connoisseurs.

Beijing corn cubes

Beijing corn cubes are an evening snack relished by children and not too spicy. A Chinese recipe and though the procedure is a bit long, Beijing corn cubes are worth the effort for their awesome taste.

Thank you Lalitha for the superb recipe.

Preparation time: 3-4 hours (including cooling time)

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Sweet corn cream 1 can
Corn flour 150gms
Sugar 15-20gms
Tempura corn flour 1 cup
Chopped Celery 4-5strands
Chopped green chillies 2
Chopped Ginger 2tsp
Chopped onion 1
Chilli paste 1tsp
Soya sauce 2tsp
Refined cooking oil 4-5tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Mix the sweet corn cream, corn flour, sugar and 3cups water and make a thin batter. Cook the mixture in a thick based pan/wok on low heat. Keep stirring till the mixture thickens and becomes gel like. Make sure that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Pour the mixture onto a flat tray/dish, cool to room temperature and place in the refrigerator for 3 and a half to 4 hours.

Cut the cooled mixture into small cubes.

Mix one cup tempura corn flour, salt and water to make a thin batter. (An alternate to tempura flour is ½ cup plain flour (Maida), ½ cup wheat flour (Atta) and ½ tbsp baking powder.)

Dip the cubes in tempura corn flour batter and shallow fry them till light brown in a few tsps of oil.

Heat 1tbsp oil in a wok and fry the chopped celery, green chillies, ginger and onion thoroughly.

Add chilli paste and soya sauce. Add the corn cubes and toss to evenly spice all the cubes. Add salt to taste. Serve hot.

Beijing corn cubes are a dry serving and tastes great as an evening snack or starter. A great idea for the Christmas and New Year celebrations as a welcome dish for all the vegans you plan to invite.

Kandi pappula podi

Podi are Andhra favorites and a compulsory part of every Andhra meal menu. Kandi pappula podi is a toor dal based mix lentils powder that is spicy and yummy.

Thank you Lalitha for this awesome recipe

Preparation time: 15-20 mins







Ingredients

Pigeon peas (Toor dal/kandipappu) 1 cup (200 gms)
Bengal gram (Chana dal/Senagabedalu) ¼ cup (50 gms)
Green gram (Moong dal/pesara pappu) ¼ cup (50 gms)
Black gram (Urad dal/ minapappu) 1/8 cup (25 gms)
Red chillies 6
Pinch of turmeric
Salt to taste

Method:

Dry roast: the pigeon peas, Bengal gram, green gram, black gram and red chillies and set aside to cool.

Grind to fine powder: pigeon peas, Bengal gram, green gram, black gram, red chilies, a pinch of turmeric and salt to taste.

Remove and serve with hot rice mixed with ghee/oil and a few papads to munch along. Spicy and tasty kandi pappula podi is done. If stored in an air tight container in a cool and dry place, it shall last for around a week.