This is not a new dish or a recipe development! But for me, every time I make Dal Makhani, it is when I am missing home especially being in the region I grew up in. I am out & out North Indian & love my Paranthas, Pakoras, Sarson ka Saag, Palak Paneer & Dal Makhani with Naan. But being in Western India, a true Dal Makhani, Boondi Raita, Kadai Paneer, Malai Kofta are some dishes I miss the most. I have tried the bestest of best restaurants but when it comes to giving the real taste of North Indian dishes they fall way short. Whenever I crave for these delicacies, I make them myself.
Dal Makhani
Traditionally Dal Makhani, is cooked on slow fire for hours and even days together. But in this fast pace age, that’s a bit too much to achieve. Over the years I’ve learnt a simple secret to a great Dal Makhani, boil the dal & rajma a day in advance & keep it in refrigerator. On the day of serving, simply cook with gravy on slow for atleast 1/2 hour to 1 hour & allow it to thicken. And there you have the rich dal makhani with rich taste which has developed over the 24 hours you kept it in refrigerator.
I love this version, my family love it. Very sure you will love it too!
Dal Makhani
Dal Makhani
Ingredients –
1 Cup – Whole Urad (Whole Black Lentil)
1 Tbsp – Rajma (Kidney Beans)
2 Tbsps – Oil
3 – Tomatoes
2 – Onions
1/2″ – Ginger
2-3 – Green Chillies
1/4 Cup – Cream, I used home-made
1/2 tsp – Turmeric Powder
1 tsp – Coriander powder
Salt – to taste
1/2 – Bayleaf
2 – Cloves
1/2 stick – Cinnamon
2 – Cardamom
Method –
Soak urad & rajma overnight.
Drain the urad & rajma. Pressure cook them together using water, salt & turmeric.
In the meanwhile, grind tomatoes, onions, green chillies & ginger.
In a pan, heat oil. Add the bayleaf, cloves, cardamom & cinnamon. Once they are roasted & leave aroma, remove them from the pan using a slotted spoon and keep aside.
Now add tomato paste & fry it on slow. Once the gravy starts leaving sides of the pan, add the boiled urad & rajma. Cook on slow flame for atleast 15-20 mins. Allow the gravy and urad to mix well & thicken. You can add more water if required.
Once you feel a desired consistency is reached, add the cream & roasted whole spices. Mix them well. Garnish with some more cream, coriander leaves.
Serve hot with naan/ roti/ parantha/ flat bread.
As this is a traditional recipe it makes for perfect holi celebrations round-the-corner. Linking this to –
Our Xmas tree (fake) is moving from one place to another every single waking minute. Relax guys, it’s not spooked. My son is a handful at 4 and since morning when I tried putting up the Xmas tree for the season, it never stayed in one place. Earlier keeping something atop a table was enough to discourage him, now stools are his best friends – they take him everywhere. 🙂
I have a love & hate relationship with a Christmas Fruit Cake/ Rum Cake/ Plum Cake. Honestly speaking I do not know if they are same or different. I’m not THAT much pro who can discern subtle differences & google didn’t help AND one of the 3 is available in abundance in most shops during festive season. Well the point is I sometimes like it a lot or sometimes I do not.
Eggless Christmas Cake with soaked fruits
Last year due to pregnancy I did a quick version of Eggless Fruit Cake. But this time round, I wanted to really take my time and do it with lot of fan-fare. 😉 Most recipes online for an eggless version take you to boiled fruits recipe using caramelized sugar or jaggery. That’s not me.
After hours of search I came across a Vegan Cake on Suma, which does not boil fruits. It can be made with soaking fruits overnight or earlier, have 2 baking cycles like a true Christmas cake and it feeds the cake with brandy. Voila! You can’t imagine how thrilled I was on finally getting the perfect version of cake I wanted.
Eggless Christmas Cake with soaked fruits
I quickly de-veganized (for lack of proper word) the recipe i.e made it into a simple eggless recipe and not the vegan version, I skipped lemon zest as I do not have a microplane. I added walnuts & almonds (you can also use other nuts like hazelnuts, pecan, etc.).
I halved the recipe and my biggest challenge was to adjust the baking time & temperature according to the new baking pan. Let me mention here that in blogosphere, I’ve come across very few bloggers who genuinely encourage a novice like me to bake/ cook. Most food bloggers ignore your queries on account of being busy. Since this was my first attempt I really wanted to confirm the adjustment in baking time & temp with some seasoned baker. Believe me when I say that I knocked on plenty of doors & no one responded (one even removed my query from the comment section, I was quite bewildered as it wasn’t spam & I didn’t know why she would do that). Except one – Jules from Butcher, Baker, she responded promptly and since she teaches baking and decorating, I was quite relieved to have her answer. Thank you Jules.
Eggless Christmas Cake with soaked fruits
It is best to make this cake well in advance by 3-4 weeks so it can be brushed with alcohol allowing the flavors to mingle and age. You can feed the cake, over time with alcohol (usually brandy, sometimes rum or fruit juice of your choice). I made this cake 3 weeks in advance & brushed it 1-2 times weekly with brandy. Also, you need to add another 3-4 weeks for soaking the fruits. I didn’t start that early and managed to soak for about 10 days. For best results, start 6-8 weeks before Christmas.
I didn’t want to frost the cake (read: reduce calories) so I used blanched almonds to decorate. My kitchen filled with the aroma of heavenly smelling cake. As usual I baked it when both hubby & kiddo were out. I even fed the cake on the sly as I didn’t want to see V making long face & coming up with numerous arguments on why the cake can be cut or eaten now rather than till Xmas Day. He also thought that I’ve lost it wasting precious mls of his brandy. While feeding the cake, one needs to ensure that it is not over-saturated or it will turn soggy. So before each feed, check if the cake is dry enough to receive more liqueur.
Eggless Christmas Cake with soaked fruits
The cake tasted moist & laden with brandy. Since I knew my son wouldn’t eat a fruit-filled cake, I used brandy. If you wish to give to kids, you can use fruit juice in place of brandy. It is one of the best cake I made or eaten this year.
The cake is perfect for a small gathering or family of 3-4. Though we are 4 in count here but it’s V & me who eats while kids look on. 🙂 So for someone like us this makes a better option than making a full size 8″ cake & then being tempted to finish all of it. 🙂
250 gms – Assorted dried fruits roughly chopped (I used currants, sultanas, raisins, glace cherries, mixed peel, tutti-fruity, dates)
1/4 Cup – Walnuts & Almonds, roughly chopped & lightly coated in flour
2 Tbsps – Ground Almonds
140 ml – Milk
35 gms – Unsalted Butter
1/2 tsp – Baking Soda
1/2 tsp – Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp – Grated Nutmeg
1/2 tsp – All Spice Powder/ Garam Masala
a pinch – Salt
Brandy (Optional)
Blanched Almonds for topping
Method –
Soak the chopped dried fruits (currants, sultanas, raisins, glace cherries, mixed peel, tutti-fruity, dates) in brandy/ rum/ fruit juice atleast 10 day prior to the cake making. For soaking, place the dried fruits in large air tight bowl & cover with your choice of alcohol or juice. Mix well. Seal the container in cool, dark & dry place. Allow the dried fruits to soak & develop flavor for as long as you can. Occasionally give the whole bowl a gentle shake to allow further mixing. This step can be carried out days/ weeks/ even 1-2 months in advance. I did it 10 days before the baking.
Pre-heat oven to 160 C. Lightly grease a 8 X 4.5 X 2.5 inch loaf pan. Line the bottom of the tin with 2 layers butter paper. Also line the sides of the pan with butter paper that extends 2″ above the top edge. (You can hold the strip with a paper clip while filling/ baking).
Drain the dried fruits. Reserve the alcohol, if any. You can add the same in the batter or use it to feed the cake after baking. Lightly coat the drained fruit with little flour to avoid sinking to the bottom of the pan.
Sift flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg & all spice into a large bowl. Rub in butter using your fingertips.
Stir in the sugar, soaked fruits, nuts & ground almonds using wooden spoon. Give it a good stir.
Add all but 2 Tbsps of milk & stir gently. Warm the remaining milk in microwave (it should not be boiling but warm to touch). Pour the warm milk on the baking soda and then stir it thoroughly into the mixture. Do not beat.
Pour into the prepared pan, slightly hollow out the center so that the cake doesn’t form a dome upon rising. Decorate the top with blanched almonds.
Bake at 160 C for 45 mins without opening the door. Then reduce the temp to 150 C & bake for another 30 mins or till a skewer inserted near the center comes out clean with just few moist bits.
Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. De-mold & remove the butter paper.
Marinate a cheesecloth in brandy, allow it to soak well. Gently squeeze the cloth to remove excess brandy, the cloth should be moist enough. The cheesecloth should be able to go round the cake 2-3 times.
Using a skewer or tooth pick, poke holes on the underside of the cake. Brush with drained brandy (step 3). Cover the cake completely in cheesecloth going round 2-3 times. Then wrap tightly in aluminum foil and place in an air-tight container. The foil should not come in contact with the cake directly. Do not refrigerate this cake while feeding.
After 4-5 days, remove the foil & lightly brush the cake with more brandy through the cheesecloth. Through the old foil & wrap in new foil. Repeat the process till you are ready to eat. This cake keeps well for several weeks.
2 weeks ago, I traveled to my mom’s place after a year.
Updating my scheduled post – I didn’t go. My younger developed a bad case of cough & cold a day before traveling. 😦 Since I made these biscottis for my mom & sis, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to them & am leaving the post unchanged from here on –
Since my mom is an exceptional cook & both my sis’s also take after her, I (am the black sheep of cooking) usually show-off with little baking that I manage. 😉 But this time I realized that I can’t dazzle them with lot of baked goods as my mom’s both ovens (cooking gas range & electric) have conked off together & my mom is in no hurry to have them repaired or replaced. 😦
Eggless Cappuccino Biscotti
So I decided to bake one and carry from Pune only. You see, how could I let go a chance!
I was going to reach her place atleast after 3 days from starting date, this made me zero onto a biscotti. Biscottis keep well & can be stored in an air-tight container for weeks. Also, since I was visiting at the onset of winter, hot tea & coffee would be made by liters and it would make a perfect accompaniment. I’ve earlier made a reasonable attempt at biscotti & felt I could handle it.
Eggless Cappuccino Biscotti
I chose a recipe from Joy of Baking and made some small changes as per availability of ingredients or taste. I replaced hazelnuts with blanched almonds, I added almonds essence to it. I replaced egg with flax-seed powder. I skipped ground cloves as didn’t have them on me. I added another 1 Tbsp of coffee decoction as the dough didn’t come together well. I adjusted the width & length of dough-logs as per my baking sheet.
Eggless Cappuccino Biscotti
The biscottis are perfect & crisp for dunking in and enjoying a moist bite. Though I felt them a bit too sweet and would prefer using 3/4 cup sugar next time.
Note –If you like little soft chewy biscotti & don’t want to dunk them in coffee/ tea, then reduce last baking time slightly, else bake as per given time for crisp biscotti. They store well in air-tight container for few weeks & make for a wonderful treat for near & dear ones staying far away and whom you wish to remember during this festive season.
I stored & took them in an air-tight tupperware container with butter paper/ parchment paper placed in between each layer.
Ingredients – 1 egg = 1 Tbsp Powdered Flax Seed mixed in 3 Tbsp warm water
3/4 Cup – Almonds
2 Cups – APF
1 Cup – Sugar, granulated
1/2 tsp – Baking Soda
1/2 tsp – Baking Powder
1/2 tsp – Salt
1/2 tsp – Cinnamon, ground
1/4 Cup – Espresso or strong coffee, cooled (add extra, if reqd)
1 Tbsp – Milk
1 Tbsp – Flax seed
3 Tbsps – Warm water
1 tsp – Vanilla
1 tsp – Almond Essence
1/2 Cup – Chocolate Chips
Method –
To blanch almonds, place them in boiling water for about 1 min. Drain & immediately place them in ice-cold water to stop further cooking. Peel the almonds.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Toast almonds for 8-10 mins or until golden brown & fragrant. Allow them to cool & chop coarsely. Set aside.
Mix flax seed powder & warm water. Mix well & allow to stand for 5-10 mins.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or butter paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together, espresso, milk, flax seed-egg, almond essence & vanilla.
In a large bowl, beat flour, baking powder, soda, sugar, salt & spices until combined.
Gradually add the espresso mixture & beat until dough forms. Adding nuts & chocolate chips about halfway through.
With floured hands, divide the dough into half.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each into a log 10″ long & 2″ wide. Transfer them onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3″ apart to allow for logs to spread.
Bake for about 35 mins or till firm to touch. Remove & cool on a wire rack for 10 mins.
Reduce the oven temp to 150 C.
On a chopping board, cut the logs crosswise on the diagonal into 3/4″ slices.
Arrange the slices on the baking sheet & bake for 5 mins on each side or until they are pale golden.
Remove from oven & allow to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.
Weaning a baby is fun & frustrating at the same time. In between cooking dal & rice purée, ever-changing sleep schedules, I find myself holding a remarkable food photography contest. Crazy me!! I’m dreaming, sleeping, walking, talking brownie these days. Thanks to all the wonderful entries so far! I thought why not eat a brownie too so I made one just to enjoy the fun of the contest.
I chose a recipe from Bakin’ without Eggs by Rosemarie Emro. I’ve earlier baked delightful Blackforest Cake & superwhite Silver White Cake from the same book. This time I adapted the recipe quite a bit & changed it to suit my need. I replaced vinegar with apple cider vinegar. I also made unsweetened apple sauce in place of sweetened apple sauce. I added a little bit of ground cinnamon to highlight & compliment the apple flavour. I also halved the recipe & replaced APF with 3/4 cup multigrain flour & 1/4 cup of quick cooking oats. I skipped light corn syrup.
Eggless Moist Applesauce Chocolate Brownie
In my first attempt I made the same recipe in full measure using my 11 x 7 x 1 1/2 inch Pyrex dish, but the baking time increased by double & I ended up caramelizing the sides & to make matter worse sliced it using a serrated knife. If this wasn’t enough I sliced them warm too 😦 I braced myself & gave them a second shot with half recipe as the taste was very good first time even in the caramelized state.
Eggless Moist Applesauce Chocolate Brownie
The brownies were very rich, delicious, chewy and loads of moistness, just as a nice brownie should be. It rose beautifully & uniformly. They were beautifully fudgy. I baked at night & allowed it to cool & firm up till morning. I ate with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and a drizzle of yummy chocolate sauce. The umpteenth benefit of working in peace & doing some food photography, you get to eat the dish all by yourself! 😉
Eggless Moist Applesauce Chocolate Brownie
This brownie is to celebrate the spirit of fantastic eggless brownie contest. This is not an entry to the contest. For more details on the Eggless Robert Brownie, Jr. Contest, please visit here.
Eggless Moist Applesauce Chocolate Brownie
Eggless Applesauce Brownie – for a more cake like Brownie use 1/3 Cup Apple Sauce
1/2 Cup – Unsweetened Apple Sauce (Recipe follows)
3/4 Cup – Whole Wheat Flour (I used Whole Wheat Multigrain Ashirwaad)
1/4 Cup – Quick Cooking Oats
1 Cup – Sugar
1/2 tsp – Baking Powder
1/2 tsp – Baking Soda
1/4 Cup – Semi-sweet Choco Chips
1/2 Cup – Chopped Walnuts
1/4 tsp – Ground Cinnamon
Method –
Pre-heat oven at 180 C. Lightly grease only the bottom of a square pan. DO NOT grease the sides or the batter won’t rise. I lined with butter paper with overhang on 2 sides so that brownie can be removed easily later on.
Microwave butter & chocolate together on High for 1 minute or till melted. Remove & stir in oil, water, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract & apple sauce. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & cinnamon, using a wooden spoon.
Pour in melted chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips & nuts.
Spread batter into prepared pan & bake for 25 – 30 mins. To check use a toothpick about 2″ from the side, if it comes out clean then remove. Rest of the brownie will firm up while cooling. Mine was done in about 34 mins.
Completely cool in the pan on wire rack. Wait for 3-4 hours before cutting. Use a plastic knife or a table knife to cut. Do not use a sharp serrated knife. Serve as you please. 🙂
Another of Chocolate Rasoi Recipe. Though there are just 6 recipes, I feel that I’ve been writing only workshop posts… illusion!
We did basic Choco-chip & marble cookies in various shapes during the workshop. However, I didn’t want to do the same again, so I replaced 60 gms flour with oats, reduced chocolate chips by 20 gms, added 60 gm brown sugar, 1/2 tsp baking soda & 1 tsp cinnamon powder.
Eggless Choco-chip & Oats Cookies
Eggless Choco-chip & Oats Cookies –
Recipe Source – Loosely adapted from Chocolate Rasoi Workshop
Ingredients –
140 gm – All Purpose Flour
60 gms – Rolled Oats (Instant Cook type)
120 gm – Unsalted Butter
60 g – Castor Sugar
60 g – Brown Sugar
1 tsp – Vanilla Essence
1 tsp – Baking Powder
1/2 tsp – Baking Soda
4 Tbsp – Fine Semolina
100 gm – Chocolate Chips
1 tsp – Cinnamon Powder
1 Tbsp – Milk (optional, if required)
Eggless Choco-chip & Oats Cookies
Method –
Sieve together flour, semolina, baking powder, baking soda & cinnamon powder.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, castor sugar & brown sugar till light & fluffy. Add vanilla essence. Beat for couple of minutes.
Add dry mixture & oats to wet mixture slowly with your finger tips till it resembles bread crumbs. Slowly knead a soft dough with your hands. I had to add 1 Tbsp milk as my dough was too crumbly.
Wrap the prepared dough in cling film & place it in fridge for 1/2 hour.
Eggless Choco-chip & Oats Cookies
In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Grease the baking tray.
Remove the dough from fridge, roll in chocolate chips slowly kneading it again.
Break the dough into small balls and gently press them into discs.
Place these discs onto the prepared tray 1 inch apart from sides & each other.
With the help of a fork, make small indentations on the upper layer of cookies. If desired, add some chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 18-20 minutes till golden brown or done.
Cool on a wire rack & allow to cool. Store them in an air-tight container.
Eggless Choco-chip & Oats Cookies
With so many changes, I was having nightmares about the final verdict for the cookies. I guess my wait will be longer.. psst… a new recipe from these very cookies 😉 I’m carrying these cookies along with Tutti-Fruity Cake for my aunt in Mumbai.
On Sunday I had V’s friends coming over for breakfast after their respective yoga class and I was wracking my brains to figure out what to serve. 1 hour of Yoga leaves one quite hungry. I wanted to prepare something filling and yet at the same time not the usual poha, idli stuff, then I remembered an eggless treacle scone recipe by Sarah of Baking and Life which I had shortlisted just last week.
Scone is a small English quick bread of Scottish origin served with tea. Since I have not been able to buy my loaf tin yet, I jumped at the option of baking anything other than a cake. 🙂 I made many changes in the original recipe to suit my needs & ingredients. The result was quite good & different. I would love to try them again with some more variation.
Strawberry Scones – Ready to eat
Strawberry Scones –
Recipe Source – Loosely adapted from Sarah of Baking and Life
Ingredients –
2 cups – Self Raising Flour*
1/2 tsp – Baking Powder
55 g – Softened Butter
30 g – Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp – Ground Cinnamon
2 Tbsp – Strawberry Crush
100 ml – Milk to make a dough
Method –
Strawberry Scones – Dough
Sift the flour & baking powder together 2-3 times in a bowl.
Rub in the butter.
Mix in sugar & cinnamon powder.
Add the strawberry syrup & milk to knead the dough.
Roll onto a floured surface and knead gently. Dough should be quite moist. (Add milk as per requirement)
Roll the dough about 2.5 inch thick & using a pastry cutter, cut into small rounds.
Place on a greased baking sheet and brush with a little milk. Bake at 220 C for
10-15 minutes until golden, then cool on a wire rack. Serve split in half and buttered.
Strawberry Scones – Straight out of Oven
The scones were really good and something new for all of us. I loved making it as much as they loved eating it. 🙂
I have never tasted treacle syrup, so do not know how sweet it is, we all like our sugar on the lighter side & felt it to be perfect. So if you are one of those with real sweet tooth & do not have access to treacle syrup then you surely would need to increase the sugar to atleast 50 g.
* Self Raising Flour – Since it is an ingredient not commonly available in India, I googled a substitute for it and came up with option of making it myself on Chef in You. DK has given an exhaustive list with proportions for 1 cup flour, since I was using 2 cups I happily doubled it. Even when I was doing it, I felt there is something wrong here, I cant double salt in this. But I guess being a fool I am, I happily went ahead and doubled it, which made the scones slightly more on the salty side. Next time I would surely not double the salt blindly.
Lemon in Ginger 