Paneer Laal Masala

My mom in law read some recipe like this in the newspaper or saw it in a cookery show.. can't remember.. But it was really nice.. proof - the gravy got devoured by the time I took the pic above :)

Ingredients:
200 gms paneer cubes
2 medium onions - paste
2 medium tomatoes - paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp meat masala or any garam masala
1 tbsp fresh cream
1/2 tsp jeera
Salt to taste

The red masala:
4-5 red chillies soaked for an hour (the non spicy ones, may be kashmiri laal mirch)
6-8 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece ginger

Heat some oil and add jeera. When it spluters, add onion paste and cook till light brown, and keep aside.
Then heat 1 tsp oil and cook the red chilli paste till oil seperates.

Add to it the cooked onion paste, the tomato paste and the remaining spices.
Cook till oil seperates. Then add enough water for gravy, salt to taste and bring to boil.
Finally add the paneer pieces, simmer for 5 mintues and serve hot with rotis..
-Naina

Ribbon Cake

Came across this Zebra Cake at EasyCooking, and tried out the layering technique with my Eggless milkmaid cake

Made the batter for the cake, then divided it into 2 parts. Added 2 tsp of cocoa powder to one part.

The key is the assembling.. as she says (I'm reproducing it for my easy reference..):
"Scoop 3 heaped tbsps of plain batter into the middle of the baking pan.
Then scoop 3 tbsps of cocoa batter and pour it in the center on top of the plain batter.
Continue this way until both the batters are finished.
Do not spread the batter or tilt the pan to distribute the mixture. It will spread by itself and fill the pan gradually."



This is a great technique.. and though my cake didn't turn as attractive as hers, it looked nice..




Will try it with 'With Egg' version next time..
-Naina

What to do when your cake flops..

... make some 'Cake & Milk Pudding'















I really wanted to try out Madhuram's Low Fat Vegan Cupcakes.. with vinegar..but I guess I overbaked it.
I used 1/2 the quantities given in the recipe, and probably baked it an extra 5 mintues. I turned really funny and hard.. Some corners were like biscuit..Now what.. I didn't feel like throwing it away.. (Won't reproduce the recipe here, as it flopped!!)

















Then, I got inspired by the several pudding recipes on Priya's Recipe blog.
Made some quick and simple milk pudding
You need:
300 ml milk (I actually used dairy whitener... and water)
4-5 tsp china grass / agar agar powder
2-3 tbsp cocoa powder
1-2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp condensed milk (you can do without it also)

Add the condensed milk and sugar to the milk and bring to boil. Stir in the agar agar / chinagrass powder till dissolved. Remove from the fire and add the cocoa powder and mix well..
Let it set in a dish.. Cool and serve.

Now, what I did is, added the edible bite sized pieces to this pudding..





Then, for the inedible hard cake, I ran it in a mixie into a coarse powder.. and layered in on my pudding




And here was a nice dessert ready to celebrate our saree day in office..
-Naina

Emerald City -Easy Mocktail

No it has nothing to do with the wizard of oz..its just a welcome drink offered to all

Ingredients

Kiwi Crush
Tender Coconut water
Some tnder coconut cream
Ice cubes
Sprite
Lime juice
Cherry/Lime Wedge/Mint leaves for Decoration:)



Mix the Kiwi crush with Tender Coconut water in a blending jar.Add ice cubes and shake well.Now add Sprite and a spoonful of lime juice.
Put some coconut cream on top

Now add the whole drink in a martini glass and top up with a cherry/lime wedge/mint leaves for the decoration..
Enjoy!!

Ash:)

An offering

- The complete offering









- A magnified view









We have a ritual of making an offering to the crows on Sarva Pitra Amavas, thats just before Navratri starts..
We have an eloborate menu.. this year it was Poori, white peas vegetable, medu wada, Chana dal wada, rice, dal, sevai kheer, and some fish fry and prawns gravy..











Very nice :)
-Naina

Made Beetroot soup too

Plain










With roasted bread










I made Monica's beetroot soup.
Was an instant hit with my mom in law :) She always loves everything...

-Naina

Suzie's Bday last week

It was Suzie's bday last week, and we celebrated in office :) We couldn't bake a cake (I was a bit unwell) so Monica bought one..
We had a great time :)