Carrot Cake

               

Red carrots are seasonal and more nutritious than the regular orange carrot that we get year round.. It has got its own kind of sweetness, moistness and flavour which makes it a better choice than regular carrots.. Whenever the season of red carrots commence, in my home everybody starts raving for the dishes made out of red carrot, be it fresh carrot juice, gajar ki sabji, our traditional gajar ka halwa or carrot cake..

                Generally everybody makes carrot cake with regular orange carrot and i seldom see people making it with red carrots.. If it has to be a carrot cake in my home, it has to be made with red carrots.. And so its a treat for us making this cake in winters when the red carrots are available in market..

                Now when we are so particular about the red carrots, then dont you think I should try making it a bit healthier than regular cake.. And so below is my attempt to making this carrot cake healthy without compromising on taste factor.. My family or friends who tasted this cake, didnt know it was made of wheat flour till the time it was told by me.. It had the same softness and moistness as other regular cakes.. Infact it was better than other cakes, as red carrots had their own moistness and sweetness.. This cake is just not heavy on the palette and you can have it guilt free (though having some guilt is always good for your health.. ;) ) Hope you all enjoy this cake..

Ingredients:

1 cup + 3tbsp whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1tsp baking powder

1 cup brown sugar

1.5 cups grated carrots

1/2 tsp salt

1tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp clove powder

5tbsp olive oil

1tbsp white vinegar

1 cup cold water

Method: Preheat oven at 180c.. Seive whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder and clove powder together in a bowl.. In another bowl, mix water, vinegar and olive oil.. Add in grated carrots and brown sugar.. Mix well and add the seive flour in this.. Whisk it well till no lumps remain.. Pour it in a greased baking tray and bake at 180c for around 35mins till the skewer comes out clean..

Note: You can play around with the spices of your choice in the cake.. Instead of clove use nutmeg powder.. Or just add cinnamon powder and not any other spice.. It depends on your taste bud completely.. Just be sure you donot add lot of spices to the cake, otherwise it would dominate the cake and not let the flavour of carrot come out..

You can even add walnuts in the cake batter for a nutty taste in between..

                       

 Mix whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder and clove powder

                                  Mix water, vinegar and oil

                                               Add in grated carrots and brown sugar.. Mix well..

                                   Add in the flour mixture..

                                       Pour in a greased tray and bake in preheated oven at 180c

                                         Straight out of the oven..

Dark Chocolate and Orange Tart

Everybody at my home loves dark chocolate.. We just don't need a reason to have it any time we like.. And if you really need one,, what reason would you find better than that a piece of dark chocolate everyday is good for your heart.. We can just never get bored of dark chocolate..

                Now orange is another thing which i love the most.. I can substitute water for orange juice and have it my whole life.. The fragrance of oranges makes me feel fresh and actually reduce my stress levels too.. Orange and chocolate is also supposed to be an amazinf combination.. The flavour of orange zest makes dark chocolate even more sinful... This dessert is a blisssss...

                Ok.. In this recipe, for the tart, in which generally butter is added to the biscuit mixture, i have replace it with melted chocolate, as the buttery taste of tart doesn't appeal to my taste buds.. And it also imparts a more chocolaty taste to the tart.. You can also take any biscuit of your choice for the tart base ie mariegold / oreo / digestive or any other that you love..

                The filling is nothing but a chocolate ganache with orange flavour in it.. You can feel free to add any flavour of your choice ie mint / lemon / or even red chillies.. Yeah.. This would be my next dish with chocolate..

                With the same thing you can even make a chocolate fruit tart.. Put a layer of any fruit like strawberry / mango / plum / or your favourite fruit slices on the tart and then top it with chocolate ganache.. And then allow it to set..

Ingredients:

For the tart:

8-10 bourbon biscuits

3-4tbsp melted dark chocolate

For the filling:

1/2 cup cream

1 cup dark chocolate chopped

2tsp orange zest

Method: Grease a 5 inch pie dish with butter and keep it aside.. Finely grind the bourbon biscuits and mix the melted chocolate in it.. Mix as much chocolate in it so that it binds into a dough.. Now take the pie dish and arrange the bourbon mixture in it covering the base and sides.. Press firmly.. Leave in fridge for 20mins to set.. Till then make the filling..

 Heat cream in a microwave bowl for 1 min.. Stir once in between.. Add this cream in the bowl of dark chocolate and let it sit for few minutes undisturbed.. This will allow the chocolate to melt.. Whisk gently.. Incase any chocolate lumps are still there, microwave it again for 30secs... (this is chocolate ganache)..  Once it is mixed well, add in orange zest.. Mix again.. Pour this in the pie tin over the bourbon tart.. Leave in fridge for minimum 2hrs to set.. Remove and garnish with little more orange zest... Cut in wedges and serve..

                                             Grinded bourbon biscuits with melted chocolate

                                              Mix both well so that it resembles a dough

                                           Grease a 5inch pie tin

                                      Add the biscuit crumble and press firmly against the bottom and sides giving the shape of pie tin

                                      Pour heated cream in chopped dark chocolate

                                          Mix well till you get a thick ganache

                                        Fill in the filling and garnish with orange zest.. Cool

                                        Cut in wedges

                                               Serve..

Apple Rosettes

The best rose ever eaten.. Making these beautiful apple rosettes have been on my list for long... I was bit apprehensive if I would be able to make it or no.. It looked simple but then it needs a bit of patience to make these rosettes.. My first 2 rosettes were not so perfect, but then with hands on experience it turned out beautiful..

For me 1 big apple was enough to make around 5 rosettes

Ingredients:

1 big apple cored and cut in thin horizontal strips

1tsp lemon juice

1 puff pastry thawed

4-5tbsp apricot preserve or any other preserve or crush available to you

Method: Put the apple strips in a bowl of water and lemon juice and microwave for 2mins.. Remove from the water and spread it on a towel to dry out the water..This would make the apples soft and pliable.. Mix around 1tbsp of water in the preserve and mix it.. It should be thin enough to spread.. Take the puff pastry and spread it out to thin sheet.. You need to do this so that the centre of the rose bakes well.. Cut it in 1 1/2 inch strips.. Take a strip and apply the preserve in between.. Then start layering the apple strips on it.. half apple strip should be on the pastry sheet and half outside.. Fold it in half and roll it.. Rolling it is the trickiest part.. If the apples are very moist it starts slipping out of the pastry sheet while rolling.. So it is important to dry it out on a towel before using... While rolling, with the help of one finger keep the apples intact and roll it tightly.. Place it in silicon mould and bake in a preheated oven at 170c for 35-40mins till the puff pastry is light brown in color.. Dust with powdered sugar and serve it by itself or with icecream..
Note - if you dont have any preserve or spread you can even substitute it for butter and sprinkle cinammon powder on it..

                                          Slice apples thinly and soak in water with lemon juice

                                          Heat for 2mins in microwave and dry it out

                                          Cut thin strips of puff pastry and spread out the preserve

                                          Layer the apple strips on it

                                          Fold the puff pastry strip.. And then roll it

                                         Bake in a preheated oven at 180c for 35-40mins

                                                   Dust powdered sugar and serve warm..

Alu Tikka

Come winters.. And you always crave to eat something hot and spicy..

Potato has always been a favourite vegetable among all age groups alike.. And baby potatoes has been associated with making a dish fancy..  So why not make alu tikka with baby potatoes and enjoy the winters with this warm potato snack..

Generally the base of any kind of marination is that of curd.. For alu tikka i have made a marination of tomato as base with all our indian spices.. It is tangy and the taste lingers on our taste buds for long..

Ingredients:

10-12 baby potato boiled with skin and flattened slightly with hand

For marination

1tsp jeera

4-5 green chillies

1 tomato chopped

Salt to taste

1tsp Dhaniya powder

1/2 tsp Red chilli powder

1/4 tsp Hing powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

1tsp ginger chopped

For tadka

2tsp ghee

1tsp jeera

Method: For marination: heat pan and dry roast jeera and green chillies. Grind in mixi with all other ingredients. Remove in a bowl and add in baby potatoes.. Mix with light hands and rest this for an hour.. Then put potato in skewers. For tadka : Now in same pan heat  ghee. Add jeera. Put potato skewers in it and cook from both sides till crisp... Apply more marination on top of potatoes while roasting in ghee... Remove in a plate and serve hot with onion and lemon.

Note: Incase you find it too tangy you can add in 1/2tsp sugar in the marination to tone down the flavour.. But i like it this way only, without sugar..

                                          Put the ingredients of marination in a mixer jar

                                          Boil baby potatoes and press slightly with hand                                          

                                          Grind marination to a smooth paste

                                           Add in potatoes and mix lightly and leave for an hr

                                           Put in skewers..

Heat ghee and add jeera.. Put potato skewers and roast well till crisp on both sides..

Serve warm with onion and lemon..

Cornmeal Upma

Cornmeal is a great alternative to semolina.. I love semolina, but at times even the same thing gets boring.. And so the cornmeal comes to rescue.. It is very rustic in texture.. And takes a bit long to cook than semolina.. But the result is amazing.. The flavour is very enlivening..

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal

2tbsp oil

2 onions chopped

3/4 cup of mixed veggies (carrot, beans, capsicum) chopped

Salt to taste

1/4tsp haldi powder

2 green chillies

2.5 cup water warm

1 cup milk warm

Method: Heat oil in a pan.. Add in onion and saute till translucent.. Add in green chillies, veggies, salt and haldi.. Cover and saute the vegetables till they are cooked.. Add in cornmeal and cook for 2mins.. Then add in water and milk.. Cover and leave on sim till all the liquid is absorbed.. It is important to cover it and cook, so that the cornmeal becomes soft.. Incase you find it too thick, add in more warm water.. Garnish with coriander and serve hot..

Note: The above quantity of water is enough for the consistency of upma to be eaten immediately.. Incase you want to serve it later, add in little more water as it would get thick over time..

                                          Heat oil and saute onions

                                       

                                     Add in veggies, green chilli, salt and haldi and cook for 5-7mins

                                          Add in cornmeal and stir for 2mins..

                                          Add in water and milk and cover and cook..

                                           Garnish and serve hot..

Moongdal Salad

A delightful combination of lentils, carrot and coconut.. It makes for a wonderful dish.. Serve it as a salad or as an evening snack.. It is full of proteins, healthy and tastes delicious..

Ingredients:

1 cup moongdal

1 carrot grated

1 big piece of coconut grated ( donot grate the black skin)

Salt

1 green chilli chopped

1 lemon juice

Method: Soak moongdal in water for 2hrs and drain.. See to it that all the water is removed.. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well.. Serve..

Note: Can add in grated ginger also..

Incase you want to serve it as snack, add in chopped onion, tomato and cucumber and serve it as moongdal bhel..