Recipe world

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

These days, we were totally busy with trips and attending functions at native. I was thinking of baking something special this time, since it was a long time ago I used my oven. I searched for some cake recipes and finally, decided to prepare my own Black Forest Cake! Also, there was some occasion to celebrate..we were expecting my dear sister for the dinner and the next day was her B'day! So, the celebration went on and all of us enjoyed home made Black Forest Cake :)
As I read in Wikipedia, this cake was originated in Germany. For the traditional Black Forest Cake, they use a liquor prepared using Cherry fruits for flavoring. This liquor is famous in Black Forest Hills region of Germany, hence the name Black Forest Cake! This chocolate cake tastes heavenly with the layers of whipped cream and chopped cherries. Butter cream icing was my favorite earlier and after trying this whipped cream icing, I fell in love with this icing deeply :)
Before I finalize on the procedure, I watched Vah Chef video for Black Forest cake. Also, I checked Easy Cooking, Passionate About Baking, Paritha's World and many other spaces and came up with my own recipe :) This cake is bit time consuming, but worth preparing due to its divine taste..

Preparation Time: 1 hour
Baking Time: 60 - 70 minutes (30 - 35 minutes for each cake) (See tips below)
Servings: 10 - 12

Ingredients:

- For the Cake:

All purpose flour / Maida - 225 gm
Cocoa powder - 25 gm
Condensed milk - 400 gm (1 tin)
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Unsalted butter - 125 gm
Coke / Pepsi - 200 ml

- For Icing:

1 cup heavy whipping cream (See Tips below)
Dark chocolate - 60 gm
Cherries - 100 gm

- For Sugar Syrup:

Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar 4 - 5 tsp

Method:

Sieve together all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda together.

Melt the butter in a bowl and allow to cool completely. Then, add condensed milk and beat it well till its combined nicely.

Add the flour little by little to this mixture and mix well. Divide the dough into two equal parts.

Take one part of the dough and add 100 ml of coke little by little. Consistency should be the same as regular dosa batter.

Grease the baking pan with butter or oil. Better way is to use butter paper for the base so that cake won't stick to the base.

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. Transfer the dough to the baking pan and bake it for 30 - 35 minutes or till done. After baking it for 30 minutes, insert a knife into the cake. If the batter won't stick to the knife, its the indication that the cake is done!

Once the cake is cooked, take it out from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Now, take the remaining batter and mix it with 100 ml of coke. Transfer it to baking pan and bake it for 30 - 35 minutes at 170°C.

Do the icing once both the cakes are completely cool.

For the sugar syrup, take 1/2 cup of water and mix it with 4 - 5 tsp of sugar. Allow to boil till all the sugar is dissolved. That's all, sugar syrup is ready!

Decorating the cake:

Cut both the cakes horizontally into 2 equal slices. Or, if you have prepared only one cake just cut it horizontally into 2 or 3 layers.

Place one layer of cake on the base or on a plate. Sprinkle 3 - 4 tsp of sugar syrup on this layer and apply one layer of whipping cream. Top it with chopped cherries.

Now, place the second layer of cake on the first layer and repeat the same procedure. Do the same procedures with all the layers.

Place the top most layer and now, cover the top and sides of the cake with whipping cream. Then, decorate the cake with chocolate curls and cherries as you like.

I have used grated chocolate and halved cherries for decoration. Strawberry or any other berry fruits will also goes well with this cake.

Chill the cake for at-least 2 - 3 hours before serving. Super delicious Black Forest Cake is ready to enjoy!

Tips:

Here, I have prepared two cakes to get more layers. Also my baking pan was bit small in size. If you are using a wide pan, just mix all the batter at a time and can go ahead with baking one single cake.
If you won't get ready whipping cream, you can prepare your own whipping cream at home using fresh cream. Beat together 300 ml fresh cream, 5 tsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla essence till it forms soft peaks. If you have a electric beater, it will ease the process; else, just use the egg beater like I did! Keep it refrigerated till use.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

As always we do, this time also we brought some home grown 'organic' vegetables and leafy vegetables with us while coming from native. Many of these leafy vegetables have medicinal values and also we can prepare tasty dishes from them. This time I tasted Lemon Grass Tambli in my native place and brought some lemon grass with me. It has a nice citrus flavor and is used in many dishes like soups. Especially for Thai cooking, lemon grass is a common ingredient.

Look-wise, lemon grass is nothing but a variety of grass. If you like it for regular cooking, it can be grown easily in your backyard or in a pot! Below is the recipe of Lemon Grass Tambli which will be best for this summer.

Preparation time : 20 minutes

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

Lemon grass - 2 strings ( finely chopped lemon grass - 1/4 cup)

Black pepper - 2

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1/4 tsp
Grated coconut - 3/4 cup

Butter milk - 3/4 cup

Water - 2 cups approx.

Salt to taste

For seasoning: butter (or oil) - 1 tsp, cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp, mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Finely chop the lemon grass. Grind it with little water and filter it. Add some more water to the crushed lemon grass and collect at-least 1 cup of juice.

Fry black pepper and cumin seeds in 1/2 tsp of oil. Grind the fried items along with coconut shredding into fine paste. Use the filtered lemon grass while grinding.

Add buttermilk and salt to this paste and mix well. The consistency should not be very thick, so you can add water accordingly.

This recipe is complete after seasoning with butter (or oil), mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Serve with hot rice.

Tambli is a main side dish in Havyaka lunch. Havyaka lunch starts with Tambli and after having this, they will prefer sambar or any other hot curry.

Tips:

Tambli won't last for long time since we add buttermilk and raw coconut; if using later, preserve it in fridge to retain freshness.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Girmit is a special snack variety of North Karnataka region. It looks bit similar to churumuri, but the ingredients used here are totally different. For Girmit, we use split peas (called as Putani in Kannada) powder which will give a unique taste to this snack. Whenever we travel to native by train, we would love to have Girmit / Churumuri which will be sold by Chaatwalas during the journey.

I hope, this yummy snacks with a cup of hot tea will make a perfect evening for you n your family :)

Preparation time: 10 - 15 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Puffed rice / Kadlepuri / Mandakki - 1 1/2 bowl

Oil - 3 tsp

Groundnut - 4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves 8 - 10

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Green chilli paste - 1 tsp or to taste

Onion - half

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Lime juice - 2 tsp or to taste

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander leaves (optional) - 2 tsp

Split peas (Putani) powder - 1 1/2 tsp or more

Ingredients:

Chop the onion thinly. Heat the puffed rice on low flame for 4 - 5 minutes or till crispy.

Heat oil in a pan; roast the groundnuts and then, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, curry leaves and green chilli paste. Then add chopped onion, saute for two more minutes and switch off the flame.

Add salt, sugar and lime juice according to your taste.

Now, add the puffed rice to the seasoning and mix it nicely with your hands. Check and adjust the taste.

Finally, add the chopped coriander and split peas (putani) powder and mix it well. Transfer it to the serving bowl and serve immediately!

Tips:

If you have added more salt or lime juice to the Girmit, try adding little more split peas powder in order to adjust the taste.
If you are serving the Girmit sometime after preparation, keep the seasoning ready and mix it with puffed rice just before serving.
Try to finish it off quickly after mixing. Else, the mixture will loose its crispiness and won't taste that good.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

I always think that there are many similarities between Kerala kitchen and Karnataka Havyaka's kitchen. Because Kerala people use coconut and coconut oil generously in their cooking. The same way, we Havyakas in Karnataka also love to use coconut and coconut oil in our cooking. These days, due to cholesterol fear, people started using more of sunflower oil and other varieties of oils. But to get the real taste of traditional Havyaka recipes, one must use grated coconut and coconut oil generously in cooking.

Why I am talking about Kerala Kitchen today is, I am going to share a Kerala cuisine recipe today. This looks bit similar to one of the famous Havyaka recipe Paladya, but both taste differently! Like Paladya, Pulisheri also tastes better when we use coconut generously. ;) With the nice aroma of cumin seeds and green chillies, this curry tastes very good with rice.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Servings: 3 - 4

Ingredients:
Half of a medium size cucumber
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Green chillies - 2 (adjust according to taste)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Thick buttermilk or curd - 1 cup
Curry leaves 10 - 12
Salt to taste
For seasoning: oil - 2 tsp, fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp, dry red chilli - 2 pieces, mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Peel the cucumber and cut into medium size cubes.
Add enough water (2 cups approx.), slit green chillies and a big pinch of turmeric and cook it till soft. Once its half-way done, add salt to taste.
Grind the coconut, cumin seeds and remaining turmeric into fine paste.
Once the cucumber pieces are cooked, add the ground paste and boil it nicely for 2 - 3 minutes. Finally, add curry leaves and switch off the flame.
Do the seasoning with fenugreek seeds, red chilli pieces and mustard seeds and add it to the Pulisheri prepared.
When the Pulisheri is warm, add buttermilk / curd according to taste and serve with rice.

Tips:

If you are preserving Pulisheri for the night or next day, keep it without adding buttermilk. Heat it before serving and mix with buttermilk.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

I am one of the great fans of sweet bread from my childhood. Never I will get bored of eating bread slices roasted with ghee :) During our stay in Australia, I was missing sweet bread very much and later, got a bread mould for preparing bread at home. But I couldn't use it much and it was sitting idle.

My bread baking adventure was started very recently. The reason is that we won't have a good bakery nearby. If I need bread anytime, I have to wait till we go for groceries! So, just thought of preparing bread at home :) My first experiment was not good, but I got very good results in my later experiments. These days, we started loving home made bread than what we get from the shop!

Preparation time: 35 - 40 minutes

Baking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

All purpose flour / maida - 3 cups

Warm milk - 1 1/2 cup

Active dry yeast - 1 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 7 1/2 tsp (2 1/2 tsp for each cup of maida)

Salt to taste

Melted butter or oil 6 - 7 tsp

Method:

Dilute sugar in warm milk. Pour the yeast into the milk and mix it. Keep it closed in a warm place for 10 minutes or till the yeast grows.

Mix salt and all purpose flour in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour the yeast mixture. Mix it nicely and knead the dough for at-least 10 to 15 minutes. Keep in mind that kneading the dough well is very much important to give a nice texture to the bread!

Add 5 - 6 tsp of oil or melted butter to the dough and mix it lightly. Keep it closed with a damp cloth for 1 hour. By that time, the dough will get doubled in quantity.

After an hour, take out the dough and knead it lightly to remove the air in the dough. Transfer the dough to a greased bread mould and keep covered with a damp cloth for 30 minutes.

Pre heat the oven to 180°C. Keep the baking pan on lower rack and bake it for 30 minutes. Once done, take the bread pan out and allow to cool. Cut it into slices once it is completely cool.

This bread tastes better the day after preparation and not immediately. Or use it after 4 - 5 hours of preparation.