Orange and Almond cake

It was Aswin's birthday couple of weeks ago and that's usually when I search for a new cake recipe.

When I saw this orange and almond cake recipe, I was intrigued. Whole oranges with rind and all... really. And no flour, how will almond flour hold up to the baking? These questions were swirling in my mind. But curiosity got the better of me and I decided to give it a try.

And I'm happy that I tried. It had a delicate orange flavor, mild sweetness and the softness of the cake floored me. We took the cake to the restaurant where we dined. After dinner, we enjoyed the cake with our friends with some vanilla ice-cream.

I had some extra batter and I made a couple of small ones which are in the picture.

Orange and almond cake (serves 6-8)
(from Fig and Cherry)

Ingredients:
2 medium naval oranges
3 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup flour
1 tspoon baking powder

For the topping
1/2 orange juice
3-4 tbspoon honey
10-12 almonds - crushed

Method:

Preheat the oven to 335F. Grease the cake pan and set it aside.

Cut the oranges in half. Place the oranges in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring it to boil and cook for 15-20 minutes. Drain (to reduce bitterness) and repeat. Coarse chop and remove seeds. It is important that the oranges are soft.

Place the chopped oranges in a blender with a splash of water (if needed) and pulse until smooth (It should make about 12 oz).

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until thick and pale. Add the orange, almond flour, flour and baking powder and fold to combine.Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Set aside to cool while you make the syrup.

Zest little of the half orange and then juice it. Add the honey to the orange juice and cook on low heat stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes until it becomes syrupy. Gently poke holes all over the top of the cake with a skewer and then spoon over the syrup. Garnish with crushed almonds.

Serve warm or at room temperature with some ice-cream.

Here are the previous birthday cakes:
Spiced Applesauce cake
Black Forest cake
Chocolate cake with whipped cream

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Mulor Ghanto (Dry Radish Mix)

This is a easy to make. It came about when I told my parents that I had picked some fresh radishes from the Farmer's market. They suggested that I try making mulo'r ghanto and even gave me the recipe. I didn't know it was so quick and easy.

Mostly the prep time is for grating the radishes. After that it comes together quickly. It is a great accompaniment with some hot rice and dal.

Ingredients: (serves 2-4)
2-3 radishes (grated)
2 green chillies
1 dry red chilli
1/2 tspoon cumin seeds
1/2 tspoon nigella seeds
1/2 tspoon turmeric powder
1/2 tspoon coriander powder
pinch of sugar
1 tbspoon oil
salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and temper it with cumin seeds, nigella seeds, dry red chilli, green chilli.

Then add in the grated radish, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and sugar and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add in 1/2 cup water if you need to and let it cook for another 6-7 minutes closed lid till the radish is cooked and the water disappears.

Serve warm with rice.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Do you have days when you want something just simple and hearty? I was in that mood this week. When we were at the Farmer's Market this weekend we picked up some butternut squash and I decided to roast it with maple syrup and chilli powder.

It was so good - sweet, meaty, salty and hot- all at the same time. The best part, it's simple to make and is a satisfying meal. We had ours as a first course followed by chicken curry and rotis. Yummy.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash - cut in rounds
1 tbspoon maple syrup
1/4 tspoon red chilli powder
1/4 tspoon coriander powder
1/4 tspoon fresh black pepper
1 1/2 tbspoon olive oil
salt to taste

Method:
Mix all the spices with oil and syrup and coat it over the butternut squash pieces.

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Roast the squash for 40-50 min till the squash is cooked and tender.

Serve warm.

Apple Dal

I don't know where my day goes nowadays. I don't find enough time to post more regularly. Friends are beginning to comment, requests are piling up, so are the recipes and pictures. Here is a recipe that has been waiting it's turn for a year.

When my mother-in-law was here last year, she brought a bunch of Tamil food magazines. In one of them was this apple dal recipe. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out when we made this for the first time. But it was such a simple recipe and the slight tart and sweet taste of apples really enhanced the lentils. It really captured the fall :)

Ingredients:

1-2 green apple (choose slightly tart ones)
1 cup cooked toor dal
1 medium onion - chopped
2 green chilies

1/2 tspoon each of mustard & cumin seeds

1/2 tspoon turmeric powder
1/2 tspoon red chilli powder
1/2 tspoon cumin seed powder
1/2 tspoon coriander seed powder
pinch of asaefotida
1/2 tspoon lemon juice
2-3 curry leaves
bunch of cilantro - chopped to garnish

Method:

Peel and dice the apples into medium cubes and mix it with lemon juice. Set it aside for 10-15 mins. Heat oil and temper it with asafoetida, mustard and cumin seeds. Then add in the green chiles, curry leaves and the onions.

Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, and red chilli powder. Then add in the apples and let it simmer for 4-5 minutes. Then add in the toor dal, 1 - 1 1/2 cup water and let it cook till the apples turns soft.

Garnish with cilantro and serve warm with rice.

Happy & Prosperous Diwali!

This Diwali, I made my comfort dessert - payesh. Recipe coming soon!

Have a safe and joyous Diwali!
Wishing you sparkly days filled with happy memories.

Two Bean Chili with Turkey Meatballs

It's supposed to be fall right? Just checking, because the temperatures have dipped below freezing at night and Aswin mentioned that there may be flurries this weekend. With everything around me pointing to winter instead of fall, it was time for me to bring out my slow cooker.

Well, my slow cooker is ancient. I bought it second hand several years ago when I was a student at a garage sale. And it has traveled with me everywhere. Instead of fancy settings, this cooker has only two settings - high and low. I have thought about getting a new one several times, but hesitate, because I am attached to this old one which has shared so many of my adventures.

I was going to make three-bean and realized that I had only two. So I made two bean chili and added some pre-cooked turkey meatballs at the end when it was simmering. It turned out awesome. Just what we needed to drive the chill away and pretend that it's still fall.

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into small cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into small cubes
2 carrots small cubes
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tspoon ginger grated
2 bay leaves
1 dry red chilli
1/2 tspoon red chilli powder
1 tspoon cumin powder
1 tspoon coriander powder
1 tspoon fresh oregano
1/2 tspoon dried parsley
1 can diced tomato
1 can tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2-3 cups water or broth
2 tbspoon oil
6-7 turkey meatballs cut in halves or quarters
chopped fresh cilantro leaves
lemon wedges for serving

Method:
I start this in a suacepan and end it there, but all the cooking happens in the slow cooker.

Heat oil and temper it with bay leaves and dried chilli. Add in the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute. Add in the onions and cook it for a couple of minutes till the raw smell goes away. Add all the spices and mix it together.

Now put this spice mixture in the slow cooker. Add in the vegetables, tomato puree, diced tomatoes, beans, and broth on top. Mix well and let it cook together. Alternately, you can cook it on stove top for 30-45 minutes on low heat till the vegetables are cooked and mixed well together.

I made a big batch of chili. So for dinner, I took out some, added pre-cooked turkey meatballs and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Serve it warm with lemon and cilantro. Enjoy.

This is going to MLLA: 16th Helping hosted by Cook Sister. This was started by Susan of Well Seasoned Cook.

Doodh Pitla (with Butternut Squash)

We had friends over for dinner a few weeks back, and it was one of the few days this past summer that actually felt like summer. I wanted to avoid making anything spicy, and decided to try my luck with a dish that I enjoyed as a kid. This is another tanjore marathi staple (and I'm sure there are variants out there in Tamil cuisine) typically made with pumpkins, with the milk serving to cut the spice levels.

Ingredients:
1/2 -1 cup Milk
1 small Butternut squash or pumpkin
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro to garnish

To roast and grind:
1 tspoon cumin seeds: 1 tsp
6-8 Black pepper
2 dry red chillies
1 green chilli
1" Ginger - grated
1 tbspoon Chana dal
1.5 tbspoons Toor dal
1/2 cup Coconut - shredded

To temper:
1/2 tspoon Mustard seeds
1/4 tspon Asafoetida
1 tspoon Urad dal

Method:

Chop and boil the squash and set it aside. Roast and grind the ingredients.

In a thick-bottomed pan, mix the paste with the boiled squash along with some water (as needed). Add salt and let this cook for 8-10 minutes on medium-low heat.

Temper with mustard seeds, urad dal, and asafoetida. Take this off the stove and slowly add 1/2 cup of milk (or more if desired) and mix well.

Add chopped cilantro and serve with hot rice.

This treasured recipe pic is going to Heirloom:Click hosted by Jai and Bee at Jugalbandi.

Pujo season with Peanut Butter & Raspberry muffins

It's Durga Pujo season! And that means that it doesn't matter how busy I am, I always try to make something sweet during this time. When my parents were here last year, my mom made special meals to celebrate different festivals and painstakingly made narkeler nadu, sandesh and payesh for pujo and Diwali. Even though I wanted to do all that, the busy week left me with little time and energy. But, I had to make something sweet!

We had some extra raspberries in the freezer and I combined it with peanut butter to make peanut butter and raspberry muffins. How I came up with the combination? It was what was available at home and just a feeling that this would work. And it tasted great!

There's the sweetness of the muffins, the tartness of the raspberries and the lingering creaminess of the peanut butter.

Ingredients: (Makes 6-8)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 tbspoon peanut butter
1/4 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/2 tspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tspoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups flour ( I used a combination of whole wheat & all-purpose)
1/4 tspoon baking powder
1/4 tspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup fresh raspberries
Cooking spray for muffin cups

Method:
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Mix the sugar and peanut butter together and mix. Then add in the butter and whisk till it's well blended. Add the egg next and whisk. Add buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix until it combines smoothly.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gently add in the buttermilk mixture and mix till it becomes smooth. Fold in raspberries and let the batter stand for 5-10 minutes.

Spoon batter into pre-coated muffin cups. Bake at 375° for 17-18 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.

Happy Durga Pujo everyone.

Keema Matar

This is another of Madhur Jaffrey's recipe from Quick & Easy Indian Cooking that I made recently with great success. I did make a couple of changes to bring down the heat and marinated the ground chicken for an hour.

I don't usually get ground meat. In fact, I've always hesitated about making keema (ground meat) as I don't know the source of my ground meat. But when I was at our Whole Foods, they mentioned that they'll do it using my choice of cuts. That was all I needed to hear. So, I chose a mix of chicken breasts and thighs.

While browsing for recipes, I came across Madhur Jaffrey's recipe and it sounded easy and delicious. So I decided to give it a go.

Ingredients:
(adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's recipe in Quick and Easy Indian Cooking)

1 1/4 lbs ground chicken (you can substitute it with any other meat, but remember to change the cooking time too)
1 medium onion - chopped
2" fresh ginger -grated
4-6 garlic cloves - grated
1 tspoon coriander powder
1 tspoon cumin powder
1/2 tspoon ground turmeric powder
1/2 tspoon red chilli powder
2 tspoons garam masala
2-3 tbspoon vegetable oil
1/2 tspoon cumin seeds
2 dry red chilles
2 dry bay leaves
1-2 medium tomato - chopped
1 c peas, fresh or frozen
1/4 c plain yogurt
salt to taste
2 tspoons fresh lemon juice
cilantro for garnish

Method:
Put onion, ginger, and garlic in food processor for a coarse past. Heat oil in a wide nonstick pan and temper it with cumin seeds, bay leaves and red chillies. Then add in the onion, ginger and garlic mixture. Stir and fry until it is somewhat brown.

Then add in red chilli, cumin, coriander and turmeric powder. Stir and mix the spices together. Then add in the tomato and yogurt at low heat and stir. Cook with closed lid until the tomato is soft and it looks like a good gravy.

Put in meat, salt and garam masala. Stir, breaking up any lumps, for 2-3 minutes.

Then add in 1 cup water stir and bring to low heat. Cover and cook on low heat for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked.

Add in lemon juice, and peas. Cover and cook on low heat for another 7-10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve warm.

Tastes great with naan, chapati, parathas or rice.

Mango Soup (Aamras)

It seems like every time I post, I am explaining my long absence. This time I have none. I have lazed around, reading, traveling, making the most of the last few weeks of summer before the semester starts and our life goes back to the busy routine.

When I was at my sister-in-law's place, she made this delicious Aamras from Madhur Jaffrey's recipe book "From Curries to Kebabs" and it was absolutely fantastic! We had it with pooris and it made my day. Since then, I have already made it a couple of times for friends and it's been a success each time.

When you take the first bite, you taste the sweetness of the mango. Next, you get the tartness of yogurt and then the spices hit you subtly at the base of the throat. It's so delicious you can't wait to take the next bite and taste it all over again!

In my preparation, I increased the yogurt to one cup and omitted the curry leaves and green chillies.

Ingredients:
(From Curries to Kebabs by Madhur Jaffrey)

2 tbspoons chickpea flour
1/8 tspoon ground turmeric
3/4 tspoon cumin powder
3/4 tspoon coriander powder
1 cup plain yogurt
3 cups mango pulp (sweetened) from a can
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 tspoons salt
1/2 tspoon sugar, or to taste
1 tbspoon oil
A generous pinch of ground asafetida
1/2 tspoon whole brown mustard seeds
1/2 tspoon whole cumin seeds
2 whole hot dried red chilies
1/8 tspoon whole fenugreek seeds

Method:
Mix chickpea flour, turmeric, cumin, and coriander in a medium bowl. Then add very slowly, 1/2 cup of water, mixing with vigorously till there are no lumps left. Add yogurt, mixing it in with a whisk. Pour in the mango pulp and an additional 1-2 cups of water. Add the salt and sugar. Mix well.

Heat the oil in a thick, lidded pan and temper it with asafetida first and then, in quick succession, the mustard seeds, the cumin seeds, the chilies, and the fenugreek seeds. Take the pan off the heat.

Stir the mango mixture and quickly pour it into the pan. Stir. Put the pan over low heat and simmer over very low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring regularly with a whisk or spoon as you do so. Take the pan off the heat, cover, and leave for at least 30 minutes to allow the spices to release all their flavors.

Strain it through a coarse strainer. Spoon out some of the smaller seeds — the mustard and cumin — from the strainer and stir them back into the soup to add some colorful flecks.

Serve it heated or chilled. I have been serving it chilled.