Khaman Dhokla for Indian Cooking Challenge

Dhokla reminds me of a very funny incident which happened few years back.My aunt Lm made the Dhokla once,keenly following a recipe from her favourite cookery show and gave it to my uncle when he came back from work.One bite into it and he said-Its very tasty but don’t make it again.Which pretty much sums up how it turned out.

Whenever someone talked about Dhokla,the first thing which came to my mind was this.I was very biased and couldn’t imagine eating Besan idlies,as I use to call them.While going through the long list prepared by Srivalli for choices for the Indian Cooking Challenge,I hoped no one would vote for it so that I’d be spared from making it.But no luck,imagine,my least favourite was everyone else’s most favourite.Hmm..!!

I kept postponing making it because I wondered who would volunteer to eat it as both of us have the same feeling towards it.Srivalli suggested making it in a small cup.I set about making it finally thinking let me try making it at least,if not eating.

The recipe is foolproof,I can assure.Every step is explained in detail and you really can’t go wrong if you follow the recipe.[Unless you are like me,who saw that grated coconut was required for the tadka,but forgot all about it and put all of the coconut into the chutney!!]Other than that,no problem at all.

To be honest,I was impressed with the soft and spongy Dhoklas.Stayed moist even after few hours.I refrigerated some and Microwaved it later,still good.So all in all,a good recipe though it will take me a while to actually looooove it:)

Khaman Dhokla

Recipe adapted from Srivalli for Indian Cooking Challenge

Ingredients

For Batter:

Bengal Gram flour / Besan - 250 gms (1 ½ cup)
Curd – ½ cup (not very sour)
Water – ½ cup
Cooking Soda – ½ tsp

For seasoning to be mixed to the batter (to be added just before cooking)

Oil - 1 tbsp
Turmeric a pinch
Green Chilli paste - 1 - 2 long (as per taste)-I added 1 finely chopped green chilly
Sugar - 1 tsp
Citric acid – ¼ tsp

Eno - 1 packet (green colour fruit lime) + sprinkle or dust few bits on the plate

For tempering

Sesame seeds
Mustard Seeds
Curry leaves
Grated coconut
Coriander leaves

Little water + Oil to be topped on dhoklas

Method to prepare:

Mix ½ cup curds with ½ cup water.

To this add the besan and mix well to get a lump-free batter, the consistency should be of idli batter, more of dropping not pouring consistency. Slowly add more water if needed else, add the soda.

Keep it aside to rise for 1 hour.

If you are using a pressure cooker, fill the pan with water, place a plate over which you will have use a plate for steaming the dhoklas. Thali plate can be used for steaming.[I used a regular steamer and used my 8’cake pan]

To the batter,mix in the citric acid, oil, salt, sugar, green chili paste and turmeric powder. Mix well. This has to be done just before pouring to the plate.

Meanwhile have the pan on stove, and let the water start boiling. When the water reaches the rolling stage, you can mix the eno to the batter (Save little of eno for dusting on the plate), mix gently, you will see bubbles coming out.

Dust or sprinkle the plate with eno. Then immediately pour the batter to the plate. Place the plate carefully inside the pressure pan and cover with lid. You need not use the whistle. After covering you will find steam coming out of the outlet, simmer and don't disturb for almost 5 -7 minutes.

After 5 -7 minutes, remove the lid and proof it using toothpick or knife. If the knife comes out clean and does not have any batter sticking, then its done. Cover back and let it remain on flame for 1 min and switch off the gas and allow it for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, mix 3 tsp of water along with a tsp of oil
Remove the plate from the pan, pour the water and oil mix over the top.

For seasoning, heat a pan with oil, add curry leaves, sesame seeds, mustard seeds and finely chopped green chilies. When mustard starts popping, remove and pour over the dhokla

The batter should be filled to only ½ as it will rise up. After adding eno the batter should not rest. Amount of sugar can be increased on preference.

If you want perfect shaped ones and not the crumbling, cut and handle gently

Dhokla can also be steamed in kadai filled with water and a plate tilted over it.

Green chutney

Green chilli - 4-5 no
Coconut - 4- 5 pieces
Coriander - bunch
Few mint leaves
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Lime -1 big
Salt to taste

Take all the ingredients except coriander in a food processor. Grind to a smooth paste.

Then add the coriander and again grind. Remove to a bowl, add the remaining lime and serve with Dhoklas.

Loshney Pitti Chutney~Garlic Dry Chutney/Powder

At my place in Ernakulam,Garlic was[still is] never used in cooking.I remember when we were small and fell ill[stomach-related],garlic pods were mashed lightly,mixed in ghee,packed in a small piece of muslin cloth and kept inside our belly button,which miraculously cured the never ending stomach aches.So for a long time,I believed that Garlic was a medicine and not edible:).

I started cooking with garlic as hubby is quite fond of it.He wouldn’t mind if I made a garlic stir fry too I guess.For curries which require a garlic garnish,I keep aside some for me and then follow the recipe.Though I don’t mind the hidden taste in many of the curries,putting a whole garlic and using it for seasoning etc is not my cup of tea.I find the strong smell quite pungent.

Whenever I made the karibeva chutney,hubby demanded I make the garlic version of it.I was apprehensive because peeling whole lot of garlic and smelling of garlic for the rest of the day is quite ..hmm..you know.But he’s been asking it for so long that I gave in[to make garlic chutney,that is:)]It was a trouble alright,peeling 3 pods of garlic,but well worth the effort when he claimed it as “the best”.

Loshney Pitti Chutney ~ Garlic Dry Chutney

Ingredients

Dry copra – 1,grated

Or

Dessicated Coconut – 1 packet[200 gms]

Garlic pods – 3 medium,peeled

Red chillies – 15

Tamarind – a small lump

Salt to taste

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Method

In a thick bottomed kadai,add ghee and roast garlic in a slow flame till it becomes golden in colour.

Add the grated copra/dessicated coconut and red chillies.

Roast it on a low flame till it evenly browns-keep stirring to avoid burning.*

Add tamarind and salt to taste and mix well.

Powder in a mixer—Do not run the mixer for long or else the oil will ooze out(which will not affect the taste in any way)

Let it cool and then store in an air-tight container.

Tastes great with rice and dal.

*If you find the mix turning brown too fast,transfer the entire contents into a MW safe bowl and MW on high power for 2-3 minutes stirring every 30 seconds.

Sending this across to Sia who is hosting this month's RCI-Udupi Manglorean Cuisine an event originally started by Lakshmi.How could I miss it Sia??

Also to eh..umm Click-Bi-Colour.Does this one qualify..:)??

Dates and Dry Fruits Laddu

Anything which says-‘weight watchers special’,or ‘good to snack on while on a diet’ or better still ‘tasty and low-fat’ catches my immediate attention.Sadly,most of the recipes I come across use items which are not easily available in India.So the next option is to carefully choose such recipes which you can easily recreate with items which are readily available.

I had some really soft,the melt in the mouth types of Dates so I was frantically searching for recipes using the same.Of course the first choice was Dates cake,but I am on a no-baking mode these days,God knows why.Some time back,I bought a Dry fruits Laddu from Adyar Ananda bhavan for a friend.It was tasty and great and all that,but it had less of dry fruits and more of Coconut and Dates.

So that gave me the idea.Got lots of recipes while I searched for Dates Laddu and finally I chose Sailaja's Dates Burfi with Nuts.Mainly because it uses very little amount of ghee[just 1 tbsp]and then there’s no added sugar,which makes it almost fat-free.

Dates and Dry fruits Laddu

Recipe adapted from Sailaja's Khajoor Laddu

Ingredients

Dates – 1 cup,deseeded and chopped

Dry fruits-Nuts – ½ cup[I used Cashewnuts,Almonds,Figs and Raisins]

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Dessicated coconut* – 2-3 tbsps[Optional]

Method

In a thick bottomed kadai,add the ghee and roast the dry fruits-nuts on a slow flame for 2-3 minutes.

Remove from the kadai and keep aside.

In the same pan,add the dates and keep stirring till the dates start to melt**.

Mix the roasted nuts and dry fruits with the melted dates and mix well.

When it is still warm,make small laddus and roll them in dessicated coconut.

*I found the laddus lot less sweet for my standards:),so I mixed some powdered sugar along with the dessicated coconut and then rolled the laddus in them.

**While I was stirring the dates,they started burning slightly,so I immediately removed the dates from the kadai and Microwaved the dates on high power for 1 minute.That solved the problem and the dates were melted perfectly.

Adsara Undi for Nag Panchami

Nagarpanchami or Nag Panchami as it is commonly called is a festival celebrated exclusively for Snake Gods.In the Krishna temple near our house,there is a residing deity of Snake God and every year on this day many Poojas and Abhishekams are made to please the Naga devathas.Being literally a wall away from a temple,any festival was a reason to celebrate.

The main offering was that of milk.The abhishekam was of tender coconut water.Hundreds of coconuts were readied-all the green part taken of,it used to be all white.Just a cut and it was ready to be poured for the abhishekam.

Strange-when I searched for Trivia on Nagapanchami,instead of finding anything useful,I came across this link.Honestly,if we look down upon our own festivals,how can we expect others to respect it..??Beats me.Nithya of 4th Sense Samayal has a beautiful article on Naga Panchami.Click here to check it out!!

It is a common belief that anything which requires the use of a sharp knife/spatula is to be avoided on this day-Eg-Dosa,Appey etc.Amma always made Adsara undi-Dumpling made of rice and coconut and it used to be served with Dali thoy.As with everything else,I disliked it while I was young and now that Nagar panchami is here,I can’t wait to make it!!

Adsara Undi

[Dumpling made of Rice & Coconut]

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1 cup-soaked for 4 hours or overnight[I used half and half of raw rice and Payasam rice-Puzhukkalari]

Freshly grated coconut - 1 cup

Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Method

Grind the grated coconut to a smooth paste in the mixer.

Drain the soaked rice and grind it along with coconut to a coarse paste-almost the consistency of sooji/semolina.

Add the jeera and salt to taste.

Make small balls out of the paste[size of a lime] and steam in a steamer or an idli cooker for about half an hour or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean-You could also cook the batter,as in Undi which would make the batter stiff and pliable.This way,it is easier to make into round balls and then steam them.Follow whichever method you are comfortable with.

Serve hot with delicious Dali thoy.

Macaroni Alfredo

The only time I ever tasted Pasta was from a friend’s plate when we ordered it in a Continental[Duh..where else] restaurant.I dared not order a whole plate for myself since I wasn’t so sure I would like it after I threw away the whole lot of the famous S pasta treat when I made it at home.I instantly disliked it[the readymade one].My friends told me I tried out the wrong one and I should try having pasta at an Italian restaurant and I will love it etc etc.

I’ll be honest-anything dunked in cheesy,creamy white sauce would taste good,really.All you pasta lovers out there-Don’t start throwing your pasta at me..;).

I wanted to make it at home after seeing a very simple recipe in my Microwave cookbook.After all,how difficult can it be..and as they say,anything home-made ought to taste better.So I donned my apron and went about making Pasta yesterday.

It is a super simple recipe.I added extra veggies just in case the pasta doesn’t come out good,at least we could munch on the veggies..lol.Well,guess what,we liked the Macaroni Alfredo-not my creation,that’s the dish name.Not actually loooved it,but yes,it tasted good.The best part is,it can be made in the Microwave.No checking for lumps in the white sauce-there wouldn’t be any,if you follow the exact procedure.Now let me not waste anymore time of yours.Here’s the recipe.

Macaroni Alfredo

Recipe adapted from Nita Mehta’s IFB Microwave Cookbook

Ingredients

Uncooked Macaroni – 1 cup
Mixed Vegetables – about 2 cups-I used Broccoli,Cauliflower,Carrot,Corn&Capsicum
Butter – 2 tbsp
Oregano – 1 tsp
Onion – 1,chopped
Maida/Flour – 2 ½ tbsp
Milk – 1 ¾ cups
Salt to taste
Pepper – ½ tsp
Red chilly Flakes – ½ tsp
Mozarella cheese -100 grams,grated[I used about 4 tbsp]
Cream – ½ cup[I did not add]

Method

Put 1 ½ cups of water & 1 tsp oil in a deep microproof bowl.Microwave uncovered for 3 minutes.

Add macaroni.Mix & Microwave uncovered for 5 minutes.

Let it stand in hot water for 5 more minutes,drain and wash well with cold water.

In another microproof flat dish,microwave butter for 30 seconds.

Add oregano,onion and vegetables.Microwave uncovered for 5 minutes.

Add flour,microwave for 30 seconds.

Add milk,salt,pepper,red chilly flakes.Mix well and microwave uncovered for 6 minutes stirring once every 2 minutes.[It would be quite thick and creamy at this stage]

Add cooked macaroni,cream[I added ¼ cup milk] and half of grated cheese.Mix well.

Sprinkle the other half on top and microwave for 2 minutes.[I grilled the same for 5 minutes for that crispy layer on top].

Microwave Besan laddoo

There’s a saying in Malayalam-Muttathe mullayku manamilla which translates to mean,we don’t value the stuff which is readily available to us.Only when we don’t get it do we realize how important they were.I can so identify with that saying.Each and everything which I didn’t want to have or didn’t like,I yearn to have now.

One among many such things is a simple besan laddoo.It was not a grand one compared to its pretty cousin Motichoor laddoo,but still it has its place among the sweets that we or rather my amma,frequently used to make.Besan laddoo was lovingly called Kongini[the way Konkani is pronounced in Malayalam] laddoo by my friends.Come any festival,any occasion,all that they would ask me to bring was kongini laddoo.My aunt even took offense to it saying they should call it by its name and not this odd name:).

I of course,never even tried to recreate it myself.One-the effort involved,the besan needed to be roasted on low flame under constant supervision,two-my hubby doesn’t fancy sweets much so I’ll end up finishing the whole batch and three-the most important-fear of failure.But I saw many recipes doing the rounds of blogosphere where these laddoos could be made in Microwave.Wait a minute-did you say Microwave..??:)

I tried it out and needless to say it came out excellent.Ok,let me be honest here-it can’t be compared to its original version but it is a great alternative for lazy bums like me:).Pardon the not-so-round shape,it'll take me eons to make perfect round laddoos;)

Microwave Besan Laddoo

Recipe adapted from Tarla Dalal's Book-Indian Microwave Cooking

Ingredients

Bengal gram flour/Besan – 1 cup
Ghee – ½ cup
Powdered sugar – ¾ cup
Cardamom/Elaichi powder – ½ teaspoon
Nuts roasted in ghee – a handful

Method

In a microwave safe bowl,add besan and ghee and mix well.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes,stirring after every 1 minute.
Mix well and microwave again for 2 minutes in 30 second intervals.
Remove and let the mixture cool completely.
Add the cardamom powder and sugar and mix well.
Add the roasted nuts and divide into 8 equal portions.
Grease your palm and shape into laddoos.

Eggless Black Forest Cake

It was during one of those after-college evenings when me and my friend M went to Hot Breads,hungry enough to eat the whole shop.We didn’t have much cash with us but still wanted a Black forest Pastry each.I remember it cost about 20 bucks and we just had 50rs/- with us.We bought 2 of them,paid the lone fifty rupee note and waited to collect the balance.The shopkeeper gave us 60 rs back thinking we gave a 100 rupee note.*Ok,I’m not so proud of this but still sharing it with you all*.We just glanced at each other and ran from there-literally,holding our pastry and the unexpected extra cash..hah those were the good ol’ days..;).

I never expected in my wildest dreams that I would be baking my own Blackforest cake some day.Leave alone BF cake,I didn’t even think I could cook a proper regular meal..:).I guess with each passing day,we learn.
I’ve seen indefinite number of recipes for Blackforest cake but every time I zero in on one,I get jittery and then I drop the whole plan.But today I had to make one,I work well under pressure,I guess.My dearest ma-in-law is celebrating her 60th birthday and the least I could do is make something for her.Thats why the eggless cake.

I cried out loud or rather twittered aloud for help regarding the cake and my dear friends Ria,Aparna and Deeba gave me the necessary push and encouraged me to go for it.Thanks to you guys or else I would have taken the nearest escape route ahead and made something much much simpler.

I chose this recipe from Vanitha magazine amongst an array of dishes using Milkmaid.I’ve seen a similar recipe at Srivalli’s and Renuka’s place.A simple eggless chocolate cake which can be whipped up in no time.

Eggless Black Forest Cake


Ingredients-For the cake

Condensed milk-Milkmaid – 400 grams(1 can)
Butter – 125 grams
Maida/Flour – 225 grams
Cocoa powder – 3-4 tablespoons
Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
Aerated cola – 200ml(I used Pepsi)

Method

Grease and line an 8’ round baking tin
Preheat oven to 150C.

Melt butter-Microwave for 1 minute on high.Let it cool.
Add milkmaid and beat well.
Sift together maida,cocoa powder,baking powder and baking soda.
Add maida mix to the milkmaid-butter mixture alternating with cola till maida and cola are finished.
Pour into the greased baking tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients –For the Sugar syrup

Sugar – ½ cup
Water – ½ cup

In a thick bottom pan,mix the sugar and water and boil till the sugar melts.Keep aside to cool.

Ingredients –For the cream

Fresh cream – 300 ml
Powdered sugar – 4-5 tablespoons
Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon

Keep cream and the beater blades in the freezer for about half an hour.
Add sugar and essence to the chilled cream.
Beat well till the cream is thick and forms soft peaks.
Keep refrigerated till use.

Ingredients for filling and garnish

A cup of cherries chopped fine-I used glazed cherries-reserve a few for garnishing on top.
A bar of milk chocolate – Make chocolate shavings out of the bar and keep refrigerated till use.
Few edible silver beads

For assembling the cake

Cut the cake into 3-4 layers horizontally[I cut it into 3 layers].
Keep one layer of the cake on the serving plate.
Sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of sugar syrup on it.
Now spread 2-3 tablespoons of whipped cream on top of the cake.
Add the chopped cherries on top.
Repeat with other layers.
Cover the cake completely with whipped cream on all sides and the top.
Level the top and sides with a broad spatula dipped in chilled water.
Decorate the top with chocolate shavings,halved cherries and silver beads.
Keep chilled in the fridge till use.
Happy Birthday Amma..:)

Cherry Almond Loaf Cake

My cookbooks adorn a prime space on our bedside table.Hubby sometimes finds it funny that I read cookbooks and that too so enthusiastically.Since I never stop buying cookbooks and never intend to do so,I have truckloads of new recipes to read always.I glance through each of them and keep ticking away those which I want to try ASAP.Bookmarking so many recipes from blogs too,I am confused as to where to start.

Nita Mehta’s Cakes and Cookies was one of my first Baking cookbooks.I took baby steps in baking following her recipes.Simple beginner recipes which yields perfect results.Some of the recipes I tried are here,here and here.

While clearing my fridge to search for something,I came across this small unopened bottle of Almond essence.I tried hard to remember why I bought that one.There are a few recipes which require almond essence but I had bought it long back specifically to make this tea-cake.Put my act through fast and made this yummy tea cake.Moist,with just the right sweetness,crunchy nuts and sweet cherries to bite this one’s won our hearts.:)

Cherry Almond Loaf Cake

Ingredients

Flour/Maida – 1 cup

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Glace cherries – ½ cup(50 grams)-cut into round slices

Almond – ½ cup(40 grams)-chopped roughly

Powdered Sugar – ¾ cup

Eggs – 2

Oil – ½ cup

Almond essence – 2-3 drops

Method

Grease and line a 8’- 4’ loaf tin.

Preheat oven to 150 C/300 F.

Sift together flour and baking powder and keep aside.

Keep aside a few cherries and almonds for the topping and mix the rest with the sifted flour.

Beat together powdered sugar and eggs till frothy.

Add oil gradually and keep beating.

Add the flour-mix to the egg batter,beat well.

Then add the essence-scrape the bowl and mix well again.[the batter is quite thick].

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for an hour[or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean].

If the top is browning too quickly,loosely cover the top with a foil.

Remove from oven,let it cool for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack.

Slice and serve.

A medley of dishes!!

A medley of dishes with sweet memories!!

Yup,I had been to Kerala-Ernakulam precisely,for a week and just cant stop talking about it.Even though its just an overnight journey from Chennai,for me it would always be far..and I so much look forward to going there.This time it was a sudden trip with RaC tickets which got confirmed at the last moment..thank God for small mercies;).

Cooking was obviously the last thing on my mind and the last thing I did while I was at home with amma.By the time I got up and came down,breakfast and prep work for lunch would be over.All I did was eat,sleep and have fun with Pluto.It was raining non-stop daily while I was there and I enjoyed every bit of it.Had those long long chatting sessions with amma..how I missed that;).Amma cooked up every favorite dish of mine and I have put on at least a couple of kilos in a matter of few days..;).

Here are a few dishes which amma cooked especially for my blog since I had asked her for some long-forgotten Konkani dishes.

Ponsa Gharya Upkari – Ripe Jackfruit stir fry.

There are a few dishes which usually gets cooked during the jackfruit season and at amma’s place,this was a regular since after a while people did get tired of the overtly sweet jackfruit.Of course,nowadays this has become a rare dish since people buy cut fruit and it is enough for a tasting session and not more.A simple upkari which can be had as a snack as well as with lunch.

Ripe jackfruit pieces-salt to taste-jaggery-seasoning-red chillies
In a kadai splutter mustard seeds and add red chilly.Add the cut jackfruit pieces,jaggery to taste[only a little bit] and salt.Stir well till the jaggery melts.

Kellya Sassam – Ripe banana raita

Very similar to fruit raita.Another one of my favorites after Banana muffins.One of the fruits I rarely eat,banana has become a regular in my cooking.Easy to whip up and tasty too.

Ripe banana[rastali]-thick curds – seasoning
Chop banana into small cubes.Prepare seasoning in a kadai-splutter mustard seeds,add curry leaves and green chilly bits.Whisk the curds and add a pinch of salt.Mix everything together while serving.Serve chilled.

Quick Bhatoora
One of the recipes we saw in the latest edition of Vanitha.Oh yeah,I remember-I did cook breakfast one day..had tempted amma so much about my Poori-Aamras combo.While making this,we prepared this quick bhatoora too.An easy version which does not require any resting time.

All purpose flour 1 cup-mashed potatoes ¾ cup-salt to taste-oil to deep fry
Cook potatoes till mushy.Mash till no visible lumps remain.Mix in maida-do not add water.Make a smooth batter.Roll out pooris/bhatooras and deep fry in hot oil.Serve hot with channa.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Living bang opposite a bakery,I was a big fan of cakes,pastries and cupcakes.Many a times,I came back from school hoping to hear the golden words..”theres no snack here,get anything from the bakery”[even though it was very rare].I used to throw the schoolbag around and literally run to the bakery;).Last time I went home,I made a trip there and found that I am no longer intrigued by the stuff displayed there.Does that mean the child in me has grown old? Or have I grown old..huh,maybe I have.Of course now that we also have to look for the calorie tag,many things don’t look that exciting anymore..!!

I skipped the cakes section and came back home buying a bag of cupcakes[about a dozen].Me and my brothers happily munched it reminiscing about the good old school days.I always wondered back then why amma and appa didn’t have those sweet treats.I always asked her-“you can’t see the egg no,then why can’t you have it”??Now I understand and with the limited baking prowess that I have,I bake her eggless baked stuff.

I made these Chocolate Cupcakes using Nags’ recipe.I skipped the frosting and we had it plain.Absolutely loved it.They have been packed neatly and are off to my hubby’s friends tomorrow:).

Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Nags,original recipe source Joy of Baking

Ingredients

Cocoa powder - ½ cup(50 gms)

Boiling hot water - 1 cup(240 ml)

All purpose flour - 1 1/3 cups(175 gm

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Salt - ½ tsp

Unsalted butter at room temperature - ½ cup(113 gms)

White sugar, powdered - 1 cup(200 gms)

Eggs - 2

Vanilla extract - 2 tsp

Method

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth.

Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated.

Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C.

Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and munch away to glory:)

From your blogs # 7..and mine too!!

What do you do when you are back from a week-long holiday/vacation and don’t feel like cooking anything new??Ahem..I decided to blog:).Well,I haven’t made anything new,just the daily stuff,so I dug up my drafts folder and found few pictures of the stuff I tried out from other blogs.I am bookmarking so many recipes daily,and I am happy that I am trying out at least a few..:).

So without further ado,let me present you the dishes I tried out from other blogs[in random order:)]

DK’s Vegetable Hyderabadi Biryani

I have heard so much about Hyderabadi Biryani from my hubby and friends.Every time they talk about it,they rave and rave about the distinct flavor and pity me since I am missing out on the fantastic taste[since I’m a veg].While doing the Recipe Marathon,DK posted this yummy recipe with step by step pics[like all her recipes] and I was tempted to try it out.As usual,after a while I forgot about it.Once we had Veg Biryani at a friends place,we liked it so much that I had to recreate it at home.I chose DK’s recipe and fell in love with it.Lipsmackingly delicious,even my staunch non-veg loving hubby gave his thumbs-up!!

Raaga’s Sheera
They say its one of the easiest sweets ever..Strange that I never got it right the first few times I made it.Once I wrote down step by step recipe while ma-in-law was making it.It came out alright for a while and then again I lost the plot.When I saw Raaga’s recipe I liked the proportions she gave.Easier to remember and gets done pretty fast.Last week when I had guests at home,I made this Sheera and served it with Upma[which was our breakfast that day],it was a super duper hit!!

Nirmala’s Banana Buns
I came across this recipe while searching for something else.The recipe sounded very simple and I was madly baking with yeast those days so I literally jumped out from my seat and made this.A mildly sweet bun which had us asking for more.Even though I played havoc with some steps[due to which the dough didn’t rise much]it came out excellent!!

Divya’s & DK’s Dates Biscuit
We love dates and it often is our after-food dessert.Sometimes,I insert a cashew inside the dates and it disappears as and when I am making it;).I have not much experimented with cooking with those except for this Superb Dates cake.It had been long since I made cookies so I decided on this one.It smelled divine inside the oven.Once again,a mildly sweet biscuit,perfect for snack-munching!!

Bharathy’s Onion Thokku

One of the first people who commented on my blog and one of those firsts to encourage me to do better,Bharathy is a sweetheart.Though she took a long-ish break when I started regular blogging,she comes out with such amazing recipes after each break:).I have tried out her Spicy Baby potatoes which Nags had also posted.I’ve been meaning to make the Chocolate Cake too,if only the two sisters gave me cup measures:).I made the Onion thokku a while back and it literally disappeared from the bottle.We had it with Dosa,Idli,Rice and Chapathi too and Bang,it was over..yummm!!!
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I feel nice when people tell me that they like my blog and they try out the recipes.I think that’s the biggest joy blogging gives me.I remember reading somewhere,how food blogs are different from cooking websites.They have an edge over websites coz you know the recipes come from another bloggers kitchen and they have been through the acid test to make your job easy.

But still there are some people or anonymous commenters or sometimes even friends who tell..’hey,I tried out that recipe of yours..didnt come out so good’…!!Initially I didn’t know how to deal with them,but I think now I do.We bloggers give our time and energy to each and every post of ours and when people just rub it aside,my blood boils!!So to cool it down,here are some recipes from my blog which dear Purnima tried out.I haven’t come across someone like her.Every time a recipe appeals to her,she tries it out,gives feedback and sends me pictures too..such a darling!!Clockwise from top-Eggless Chocolate Cake with Mocha Icing,Methi Chole,Malai Cookies,Karibeva Chutney and Eggless Banana nut Muffins.