Carrot Beetroot Chocolate Mini Muffins

Baking for little children is fun. I find instant approval or disapproval when a child tastes what I have made. No pretense, no niceties. I have rediscovered baking with butter in the past year and I find that the texture of the cakes is really nice. I have nothing against baking cakes with oil, just that once in a while, butter is better. And when I bake for children, I feel I must use butter.

I was on my way to meet a dear friend and remembered that I had promised her daughter chocolate muffins. So I made these very quickly. But then I had just grated some carrots to make parathas for A, so I decided to sneak some in to these muffins as well. Then I thought beets would also make a good addition.

The best part about this entire recipe is that one cannot even taste the carrot or beetroot in the final product. They just seem to make the muffins super moist. I know this one is a keeper.

3/4 cup Flour

1 1/2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 cup Sugar

a Pinch Salt

1/4 cup Butter

1 Eggs

1/4 cup Grated  Carrot

1/4 cup Grated Beetroot

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350F/180 C. Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder along with the salt.

Cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and beat again. Add the sugar and vanilla and

beat well together. Fold the flour cocoa mixture into this.

Prepare the mini muffin pans by lining them with paper muffin cases or spraying them with baking spray.

Stir the grated carrot and beetroot into the batter and pour into the prepared muffin cases. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Little A polished off two of these almost as soon as they were out of the oven. The batter makes 16 mini muffins. I packed some in a box and took them to meet some old friends and their children. Gone in sixty seconds may be a better title for this recipe!

Semolina and Vegetable Cutlets

I always quite liked the idea of making food appealing for children. And in doing so, I hope to also let A appreciate a wide variety. To that end, I am quite particular about not making him a paruppu saadam tayir saadam child. (No offense meant to anyone. I just don't believe that food has to be rice and roti.) I would like him to learn that these dishes are food as are many others. By and large, he eats what we eat and I don't have to cook separately for him. From the age of 1, A has wanted to feed himself. I try to give him things that he can hold in his hands and eat. But since he does not want to be fed, I have to ensure that these foods are not mere snacks.

Cutlets are one such item. I remember eating a semolina and vegetable cutlet many years ago at Adyar Bakery's Shakes & Creams. I thought that it would make a good meal for A.

1/4 cup Semolina

2 tbsp Carrots, finely chopped

2 tbsp Beans, finely chopped

2 tbsp Butter Beans, cooked and finely chopped

2 tbsp Onions, finely chopped

1 tbsp Oil

1/4 tsp Turmeric

1/4 tsp Paprika

a pinch Garam Masala

Salt to taste

¼ cup Bread Crumbs
2 tbsp Flour
Oil for frying (deep or shallow)

Steam the carrot and beans until tender. You could place them in a microwave safe bowl and add a little water and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.

Heat the oil. Fry the onions and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the semolina and roast for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrot and beans along with the butter beans. Add the paprika, salt and turmeric. Add 1/2 cup of water and cover and cook on a slow flame for 3-4 minutes. Add the garam masala and stir well. Turn off the flame and allow the mixture to cool.

Meanwhile, mix the flour with a little water to make a batter. Place the bread crumbs on a plate. Heat the oil for frying.

Make small balls of the mixture and flatten them. Coat them with the flour batter and then roll them in the bread crumbs until they are evenly covered.

I tried making these by deep frying as well as shallow frying and both methods work very well. To deep fry, slide each cutlet into the hot oil and fry on each side until brown. To shallow fry, place the cutlets on a greased pan and cook on both sides, adding a few drops of oil as necessary.

Drain on absorbent paper. Serve with tomato ketchup.

Now that I have made these, I think even left over vegetable upma would make very good cutlets.



Mixed Vegetable and Butter Bean Buns

The scars left by my "Fruit Bun" baking episode in 1986 have long disappeared. I have not forgotten the episode, but I have simply moved on. After all, in 5 years, Mr. Yeast and I have become fast friends. I now have access to good quality yeast that doesn't need freezing and thawing. Since baking the coriander cream cheese pinwheels, I made another batch of khara buns and cinnamon rolls. The recipe for the cinnamon rolls will come soon.

Little A loved the cinnamon rolls and that is when I realized that I could make a wide variety of buns, especially for him. He is at a stage where he wants to feed himself. So, I decided to make buns for him that could be considered a full meal. Carbohydrates, fats, proteins and vegetables. These buns were the result of my experiment. You could substitute half of the flour with whole wheat flour

as well.

For the dough:

1 1/2 cups Bread Flour/All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tbsp Oil
1 1/2 tbsp Yeast
1 1/2 tbsp Sugar

3/4 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Boiling water

1/4 cup Milk

2 tbsp Spinach, chopped

2 tbsp Carrot, grated

2 tbsp Beetroot, grated

10 Butterbeans, cooked, peeled and chopped finely

2 tsp Coriander Leaves, chopped

1 Green Chilli, deseeded and chopped finely

1" piece of ginger

2 tsp Sesame Seeds

 

Place the spinach, carrot and beetroot in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle a little water. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Take a huge mixing bowl and place the oil, salt and sugar in it. Add boiling water and mix until the sugar dissolves. Add the milk now to bring the mixture to room temperature. Add the yeast and mix well. Add the mixed vegetables, butter beans, coriander, chilli and ginger. Add the flour and knead into a dough. Place the dough in a greased vessel and cover it with a damp muslin cloth. Allow to rise until double in size (roughly 45-50 minutes).

 

Divide the dough into 16 balls. Place in a buttered baking tin. (I used two 8" cake tins and placed 8 balls of dough in each.) Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and allow to rise for another hour.

 

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.

Bake the buns for 12-15 minutes. Brush with a little butter or oil if you like when the buns come out from the oven.





I did really make these for A. But given that they were so tempting, we quickly ate two each ourselves. Soft and full of flavour. These buns, while not spicy like Khara Buns, have a similar flavour. The butter beans and the vegetables up nutrition content. And that little A ate two of these, quite simply, made my day.



Vegetable Biryani

 

I used to go snack heavy at parties and stick to one main dish. Five years ago, if I made more than two items at dinner for a party, I didn't have to cook for the next few days. By the time people reached the dinner table, they would have snacked enough. Nowadays, I try to stick to a snack or two and go for a larger spread for the main meal. This biryani works well in both settings.

For the longest time, I couldn't tell the difference between a pulao and a biryani. Now, I have a vague idea. I have had many bloggers tell me the difference and Amma also makes a mean vegetable biryani, which is cooked very differently from her pulaos. This is a recipe that comes very close in taste to some good biryanis that I have had, but is cooked like a pulao. I make this very often, and in the rice cooker. So I use parboiled vegetables. If you are cooking it in a pressure cooker, feel free to use raw vegetables and decrease the water by 1/2 cup.

1 1/2 cups Basmati Rice

3 cups Mixed Vegtetables (Beans, Carrots, Cauliflower, Peas and Potatoes)

1/2 cup Onions, sliced

1/2 cup Curd

2 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

3 pods Cardamom

4 Cloves

2 sticks Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

2 tsp Chilli Powder

1 tbsp Shahi Biryani Masala (I use Everest)

Salt to taste

Grind to a paste:

2 Onions, roughly chopped

2 Tomatoes, roughly chopped

3 cloves Garlic

1" piece Ginger

2 Green Chillies, roughly chopped

Place the vegetables in a microwave safe bowl with enough water. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes. Drain.

Wash the rice and drain.

Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Add the onions and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato-onion paste and fry for a few minutes. Add the salt, turmeric, chilli powder and biryani masala. Fry until the oil separates from the mixture. Add the curd and mix well. Add the vegetables and mix until the vegetables are coated with the mixture.

Add the rice and cook the mixture for a minute. Transfer to the rice cooker and add 3 cups of water. Cook until done.

I usually serve this with some mixed raita and chips/salad. This dish has been as much a hit at weekend lunches as it has been at parties.

Chocolate and Zucchini Cake

About a couple of years ago, a couple decided to go on an impromptu vacation for a couple of weeks and visit a couple of places. They'd known this other couple in one of the places they intended to visit and had met them before a couple of times. The other couple invited this couple to stay with them. Most everything about the stay is a blur today. The only thing I can remember about my dear namesake and her hubby visiting us was that we had loads of fun. Sometimes the best laid plans go to waste and the best times happen when you put in the least amount of planning. This was one such.

Arundati gifted me this book, Deep Dark Chocolate, during that trip in 2009. I've gone through it a few times but never really tried anything. We had an old friend come over for lunch today and I decided to make this cake. It has a whole host of ingredients and today was one of those days when I had just about everything. I modified the recipe in the book to get this beautiful dark chocolatey cake.

2 Medium Zucchini, grated

2 Carrots, grated

1 1/4 cup Flour

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder

3/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

6 tbsp Oil

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Orange Zest

1/2 cup Raisins

3/4 cup Chocolate, roughly chopped

Icing Sugar for Decoration

Grease and line a 9-inch cake tin.

Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.

Sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt over the zucchini and carrots and set aside for 30 minutes. Wash well and squeeze dry.

In a bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, mix the oil, sugar and brown sugar and beat well. Add the eggs and beat again for a couple of minutes. Fold in the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Add the zucchini-carrot mixture, raisins, orange zest and chocolate bits.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

 

Allow to cool. Dust the icing sugar all over the cake. Cut into wedges and enjoy with a cup of coffee or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This is a great way to get anyone to eat their vegetables. I knew there was zucchini in the cake because I put it in. But quite like my chocolate beetroot mini muffins, nobody else could even make it out. This would have to be one of the most moist and chewy chocolate cakes I've baked.
I thought of you, Arundati, the entire time I baked this cake and would like to share a slice with you and with everyone who has been a part of this blog.
The Singing Chef turns 4 today! And I couldn't have done it without all of you. Thank you for your continued support.

Pav Bhaji Buns

I have resumed baking and suddenly there's no stopping me. I was going through the recipes on this blog and decided to make some stuffed buns since Amma had been mentioning them for a while. I couldn't decide which kind of buns to make.

I remembered that S once ate Vada Pav at the Bombay airport and he told me the vada had been baked inside the pav. I thought that was a great idea. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that Pav Bhaji would be as good a candidate for something like this as Vada Pav was. The idea took shape in my head and soon the buns were taking shape in my hands.

We enjoyed this mess free "pav bhaji" for dinner tonight.

For the dough:

3 cups Bread Flour

3 tbsp Oil

3 tbsp Fresh Yeast/1 Envelope Active Dry Yeast

3 tbsp Sugar

11/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Boiling water

1/2 cup Milk

1/4 cup Coriander Leaves, chopped

For the filling:

 

1 large Potato, washed and chopped finely

1 Onion, finely chopped

1/2 Capsicum, finely chopped

1/4 cup Cauliflower, finely chopped

2 tbsp Carrot, finely chopped

2 tbsp Beans, finely chopped

2 tbsp Peas

1 tbsp Tomato paste

1 tbsp Oil

1/4 tsp Garlic Paste

1 tsp Chilli Powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Cumin-Coriander Powder

1 tsp Pav Bhaji Masala

Salt to taste

Take a huge mixing bowl and place the oil, salt and sugar in it. Add boiling water and mix until the sugar dissolves. Add the milk now to bring the mixture to room temperature. Add the yeast and mix well. Add the flour, coriander leaves, onion-garlic mixture and knead into a dough. Place the dough in a greased vessel and cover it with a damp muslin cloth. Allow to rise until double in size (roughly 45-50 minutes).

 

Knead the dough for a minute and then divide into 16 equal portions.

For the filling:

Pressure cook the peas along with the chopped carrots, beans, cauliflower and potato. Drain.

Heat the oil and add the onions and garlic paste. After a few minutes, add the capsicum and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato pasteand fry for a few minutes. Add the other vegetables, salt, chilli, turmeric and cumin-coriander powders. Add the pav bhaji masala and fry for 2-3 minutes. Cover and cook the mixture for 4-5 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until the mixture is dry.

To Proceed:

 

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Take a portion of the dough and spread it on to your palm. Place some stuffing in the centre and bring the edges and seal. Place on a greased baking sheet or tray. Repeat with the other portions.

Allow to rise for 50-60 minutes and then bake for 12-15 minutes.

Cut the buns in half and spread a little butter on them. Enjoy them hot.

This turned out to be the easiest way to eat "Pav Bhaji" sans the mess. I suppose one could mix chopped onions and coriander along with the bhaji and then stuff it into the dough for a more authentic street side experience.

Carrot-Chayote Squash Kootu

As you've all noticed, I've gone traditional. I am enjoying picking Amma's brains of dishes that she used to make when we (my brother and I) were children. I'm enjoying recreating those dishes at home. I find that when I grind a masala for a dish that Amma's just finished telling me about on the phone, the aroma that hits my nose as soon as I open the mixer jar transports me right back to my childhood. When I get ready to eat, if my dish tastes just like what Amma used to make, then I'm all set for a trip down memory lane all through my meal.

This kootu featured rather regularly on Amma's weekly menu. While I didn't think much of it then, I'm sort of hooked now and I must say, this features quite regularly in my kitchen too.

1/2 cup Chayote Squash, peeled and diced

1/2 cup Carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 cup Moong Dal
2 tsp Sambar Powder
2 tbsp Coconut, scraped
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
1-2 Green chillies, slit
1 tsp Oil
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
Salt to taste




For the Tempering:


1/2 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
7-8 Curry Leaves

Pressure cook the diced carrot and chayote squash along with the moong dal and the sambar powder.

Heat the oil in a frying ladle and add the urad dal. Fry till the dal turns golden brown. Add the slit green chillies. Grind this along with the cumin seeds and the coconut. Add this paste to the chowchow-carrot-moong dal mixture along with the salt. Add the asafoetida and mix well.

For the tempering, heat the oil in the frying ladle and add the urad dal and curry leaves. Add this to the dish and serve hot with steamed rice.

A very traditional dish to celebrate a festival. Wishing all of you a very happy new year. Iniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal.

Purple Carrot Thuvayal

There’s this woman we all know in the blogosphere. She’s more of a temptress, really. She’s made me crave so many things that I’ve sometimes wanted to dash across the city and insist that she feed me. She even obliged one time and brought me some home made Goda Masala so I could make her Spicy Nutty Cluster Beans. I remember looking at her Kadhi Pakoda and feeling hungry all over again. I think that was the dish that got me hooked to Anita’s blog. A year ago, on this very day, she posted Black/Purple Carrot Kanji. I wanted some because it looked pretty and I had heard so much about it. Fortunately, I didn’t have to make it myself. My colleague’s mother sent me enough, coincidentally the very next day!

This year, I bought the purple carrots with the sole intention of making Kanji. I did everything but that. I waited for the purple carrots to appear, I had bookmarked Anita’s recipe anyway, and was all set to make kanji. But fate intervened. I used one carrot in this dish and made a thuvayal with the others. I will be making this again and again, whenever these beauties are in season. Hopefully, I shall also make kanji!

4 Purple Carrots, peeled and diced


2 tsp Oil


1/s tsp Mustard Seeds


3-4 Red Chillies


2 tsp Urad Dal


1/2 tbsp Tamarind paste


Salt to taste






For the tempering:


1 tsp Oil


1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds


1/2 tsp Urad Dal


1/4 tsp Asafoetida


1 Red Chilli, broken








Heat one teaspoon of oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, red chillies and the urad dal. When the mustard splutters, add the diced vegetable. Saute for a couple of minutes and cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. Allow it to cool. Grind this along with the tamarind paste and salt.




In a frying ladle, heat the oil for the tempering. Add the urad dal and mustard. When the mustard splutters, add the asafoetida and red chilli. Add this to the ground paste.




Mix this thuvayal with some hot rice and add a little bit of ghee. Mix well and enjoy the purple sensation.

Spiced "Fruit" Cake

This has been one long overdue post. I baked this “healthy” cake for Amma’s birthday in December. I cut it myself while wishing her over the phone and we promptly ate it. I took the cake to work the next day and it was gone in no time. I played around with this cake because I have seen a lot of people blindly bring ingredients together and bake a cake. I have always wanted to stick to a recipe. This time, I tried that and wasn’t in the least disappointed with this cake.

1 cup Flour

¾ cup Wheat Flour


2 tsp Baking Powder


¼ tsp Baking Soda


1 tsp Salt


¾ cup Jaggery, grated


1/3 cup Carrots, grated


1/3 cup Beetroot, grated


3 Bananas (overripe), peeled


1/4 cup Applesauce


¼ tsp Cinnamon


¼ tsp Allspice


2-3 tbsp Oil


2 Eggs


Oil and Flour to dust the tin
Icing Sugar to dust the cake

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and dust a loaf tin.

Sift the dry ingredients together.


Combine the bananas, eggs, applesauce, oil and jaggery in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend all these to a rough paste. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and add the grated carrot and beetroot. Mix well and pour into the prepared cake tin.


Bake for 35-40 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean). Cool on a rack for a few minutes and dust with icing sugar.

Rainbow Pulao

Pulaos are my go-to dish. It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is or what time of the day it is. I love the fact that a one dish meal (the fill it, shut it, forget it kind) can be so tasty, so colourful and so nutritious. If all I’m serving along with this meal is a raita, I make sure I add soya chunks to for the protein element. I usually add all vegetables that I can find and there are times when the outcome is a complete hash. There are of course others when the resultant dish is a beautiful medley of colours. This pulao is one such.

I tend to use any spice that catches my fancy and do not have a fixed rule about which spices to add in which dish. As a result of this, it is rare that a pulao I make on one day will taste like the pulao made on another day. But when it turns out great, I always make a note of what went in. This time around, I used a tablespoonful of Tortilla soup seasoning (Southwest Spice Blend) that my friend, D, sent me from the US. When she sent it, I had no idea what tortilla soup was or how the seasoning is to be used. (It is a different thing that such knowledge is as far from you as you are from the nearest internet PC.) The spice mix has cumin and paprika among other things, so it works very well in Indian dishes.

1 cup Basmati Rice, washed and drained

1 Onion, sliced

2 Carrots, peeled and cut into 2” pieces

1 Capsicum, sliced lengthwise and cut into 2” pieces

2 Potatoes, peeled and cut into 2” pieces

15-20 Beans, strung and cut into 2” pieces

1 Beetroot, peeled and cut into 2” pieces

A small head of Cauliflower, broken into florets

½ cup Peas, shelled

½ cup Soya Chunks, prepared according to instructions on the pack

2 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

3 1” sticks of Cinnamon

3-4 Cloves

1 tbsp Tortilla Soup Seasoning (Southwest Spice Blend)

½ tsp Turmeric Powder

½ tsp Chilli Powder

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a pressure pan and add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the cinnamon and cloves along with the sliced onion. Fry this mixture for 2-3 minutes. Add the other vegetables, salt, turmeric and chilli powders along with the tortilla soup seasoning (southwest spice blend). Add the soya chunks and fry the entire mixture for another 5 minutes. Add the rice and 2 cups water and mix well. Cover the pressure pan and cook for 2 whistles. When the pressure is released, open the pan and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve with a raita or plan curd.

We had this with some onion raita and lady’s finger chips from Ananda Bhavan.

I’m also very happy to be a part of the Great Vega’n Vegetarian Project that Cynthia has started. My first post came up yesterday and I hope to be a regular contributor on the blog. Tried & Tasted event event is also currently on and The Singing Chef is the chosen blog for March 2010.

Winter Vegetable Sukke

I make a lot of mixed vegetable dishes, especially in winter. I’ve gone on endlessly about how I like a colourful plate. I found a whole bunch of vegetables that needed to be used up, and quickly. It was time for my weekly vegetable purchasing spree and I had just 1-2 pieces of each vegetable left in the crisper. I made this dish for lunch and used one vegetable of every variety I had on hand. I ended up using seven vegetables. Feel free to use any combination of vegetables for this dish. I’ve found that winter vegetables lend themselves very well to this preparation.

1 Radish, peeled
1 Beetroot, peeled

1 Red Carrot, peeled

1 Purple Carrot, peeled

1 Turnip, peeled
1Potato, peeled and quartered
1Onion, quartered
1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1/2 tsp Coriander Seeds

1/2 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Oil
1/4 cup Coconut
3-4 Red Chillies
1 tbsp Tamarind Paste
1/4 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste

For the tempering:
1 tsp Oil
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
7-8 Curry Leaves

Cut the radish, carrots, turnip and beetroot into 2" long pieces. Pressure cook all the vegetables with a little salt for 1-2 whistles.

Heat the oil and fry the fenugreek seeds, urad dal and the coriander seeds for a minute. Grind this along with the turmeric, tamarind, coconut and red chillies to a somewhat fine paste. Add this paste to the cooked vegetables and add salt to taste. Cook for 4-5 minutes.

Heat the teaspoon of oil for the tempering in a frying ladle. Add the mustard and the asafoetida. When the mustard splutters, add the curry leaves. Add this tempering to the vegetable mixture. Serve hot with rice and dali-saar or with chapatis.

Carrot Kheer

Carrots. I can't seem to get enough of them ever. Especially the lovely red carrots that make an appearance at this time of the year. I tend to put them in everything from salads to pulaos to casseroles to cakes and desserts. I had eaten carrot kheer only once. A classmate of mine invited me to her place for lunch almost a decade ago, and she served this for dessert. Ever since, I've wanted to make it. But considering I'm not the biggest fan of kheer, this always took a backseat. Last weekend, I wanted to make something for dessert after lunch and I made this. We enjoyed this for a couple of days and I'm actually itching to make it again.

2 cups Carrot, grated

1/2 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (Milkmaid/Mithai Mate)

2-3 cups Milk

a pinch Saffron, dissolved in some milk

1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder

1 tbsp Kesari Milk Masala

Microwave the grated carrots (with a little water) on high for 2-3 minutes.

Bring the milk to a boil in a large vessel and add the condensed milk to it. Keep stirring until the mixture is even (else you'll have burnt condensed milk). Add the grated carrots and the saffron paste and simmer the mixture for about 10-15 minutes. It will begin to thicken nicely. Add the milk masala powder and take off the flame after a couple of minutes.

While you could enjoy it warm, I found that it tastes best the next day after it has sat for a night in the fridge. The colour seems to intensify and the flavours are just so... well, why should I tell you. You should try for yourself.

Off this goes to the JFI: Saffron event being hosted by my erstwhile fellow marathoner, DK.

Carrot and Raisin Cake

At the very last minute, my friend asked me to bring some cake for her birthday party. It was a weeknight and I had very little time. So, I relied on my time tested recipe and modified it. Carrots are in season and I love putting them to use in every way I can. I had some rum soaked raisins at hand, and they added a wonderful flavour to the cake. The cake came together very quickly and was gone just as fast at the party.

1 cup Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup Milk

1/4 cup Oil
1/2 tsp Orange Essence
1 Egg, beaten

1/2 cup Carrot, grated

1/4 cup Raisins, soaked in rum for 24 hours

Preheat the oven to 400F (200 C).

Prepare an 8 inch cake tin by greasing it and dusting it with flour.

Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a mixing bowl, add the egg, milk, sugar, oil, and orange essence. Beat well together. Add the flour mixture to this and blend well. Fold in the grated carrot and raisins. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife/skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean.

Serve warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Savoury Bread Pudding

A few weeks ago, I had almost lost all my enthusiasm to cook. I was excited about being in a new house with a slightly bigger kitchen. But because my kitchen wasn't yet organized, I didn't seem to care that much about cooking. Also, thanks to some new cab routing issues, I was also getting home about an hour later than I used to earlier. So dinner was usually something I tried to "get over with" and lunch was anything that came together in 15 minutes or less.

Then came the end of November. And dear Nupur came up with her 40 recipes in 40 days schedule. She is to blame for a lot of things on this blog. Her series A-Z of Indian Vegetables is probably the very first blog event I ever participated in. Then, she very innocently put up this post about Eating Out While Eating In and that resulted in an entire series on my blog. So, I end this year with a mini 7-day marathon that Nupur is organizing.

Through Nupur's blog, I landed at Alanna's blog and bookmarked this recipe. Soon after, Nupur made this dish. I made it one winter afternoon, with several modifications, when I didn't feel like making a big lunch. It was a hit!

1 Onion, chopped

1 cup Spinach, chopped

1 tsp Olive Oil

1 Egg

3/4 cup Milk

2 tbsp Cream

1 tsp Mixed Herbs

1 tsp Chilli Flakes

2 tbsp Mustard (Dijon)

5 slices Bread, diced

1 cup Mixed Vegetables (Carrot, Beans, Peas, Corn), diced and cooked

1/4 cup Cheese, grated

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Butter to grease the baking dish

Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onion for a minute. Add the spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the salt, stir well and keep aside. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

In a bowl, beat the egg well. Add the milk and cream along with the mustard. Add the chilli flakes and mixed herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Blend in the spinach onion mixture.

In the greased baking dish, place the bread and the mixed vegetables. Pour the egg-spinach mixture. Cover with grated cheese, season with salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes.

I thought bread puddings only tasted great sweet, but this recipe is a keeper. Thanks Nupur and Alanna.

Beetroot Patties

I have a colleague and cabmate, S, who has a colleague and best friend, D. D's mother is, like my colleague P's mother, an excellent cook. Since I leave for work very early, and since I cook our breakfast and lunch in the morning before leaving for work, I end up eating breakfast at work because there just isn't any time. Very often, S and D have their breakfast at the same time in the office cafeteria. Every once in a while, I taste D's breakfast and I must say that her mother makes the most unusual dishes.

Last week, D brought these beetroot patties for breakfast. I had one bite and found that I couldn't stop myself from taking the second... and the third. S gave me the recipe on the way back home that evening and I was all set to try it out this weekend. All I can say is that I will make these again and again, all through this winter.

1/2 cup Beetroot, grated

1/2 cup Carrot, grated

2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts

1 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Ginger Paste

1 tsp Garlic Paste

1 tsp Green Chilli Paste

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

1/2 tsp Amchur (Dry Mango Powder)

1 tsp Cumin-Coriander Powder

1/4 tsp Garam Masala

2-3 slices of Bread

Salt to taste

Cornflour to coat the patties

Oil for frying

Heat the tablespoon of oil and fry the ginger, garlic and green chilli pastes for a minute. Add the beetroot and carrot and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the peanuts along with the salt, chilli powder, amchur, cumin-coriander powder and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the garam masala. Crumble the bread slices into the beetroot mixture and mix well. Take off the flame and allow to cool.

Form small balls of this mixture and flatten them slightly. Coat them in the cornflour and shallow fry on a pan until crisp on both sides. Serve with a salad on the side (or some tomato ketchup).

Please do remember that there are only two days left for the Tried and Tasted event. Do hop over to Sunshinemom's blog and pick a recipe that you've always wanted to try and send it over to me.

If you miss the train I'm on...

... you will know that I am gone. You can hear the whistle blow a 100 miles.

I'm sure you're all wondering what these lines have to do with my food blog. Agreed that this is the blog of The Singing Chef and that music has to be a part of this journey. Read on till the end if you want to unravel this little mystery. This is a long post.

I have always talked about why blogs and cookbooks will co-exist. Each fixes a different problem, a different need. There is a certain joy in going through a cookbook, getting inspired by it, cooking something from it and enjoying it. There is a different joy in blog hopping, finding a recipe, cooking it, letting the blogger know (or even seeking inputs where necessary) and then telling the whole world what a nice recipe that blogger put up. Overall, it fosters a sense of camaraderie. This post is my way of saying thanks to my fellow bloggers for putting up some delicious recipes that have added much needed variety to our dinner table. Some of the recipes that I tried (and we loved) are:

Pumpkin Erissheri from the Jugalbandits.

Tomato Spinach Pulao from Nags' Edible Garden.

Indian Style Baked Tofu from Madhuram's Eggless Cooking.

Pasta the forgotten way from Arundati's Escapades.

Mushroom Stroganoff from Aarti's Life Goes On.

Baby Carrots and Thyme from Nandita's Saffron Trail.

Chukku Kaapi from Mishmash

I have told you all that I didn't intend for this blog to become what it has. All this is a bonus. I only hoped to create a repository of recipes that I can access easily. Today, there are so many people who write back and let me know they tried something from my blog. I feel thrilled. When my "forced-to-be-bachelors-for-a-week" friends write in and tell me they cooked a simple meal from my blog which spared them another night of Maggi, I feel honoured. Then there are some folks out there who would make it seem like I am a celebrity (one even said as much!) and have nominated this blog in the Best Baking Blog category in the FoodBuzz 2009 Food Blog Awards!

This post is as much one to thank each and everyone of you who has visited this blog, encouraged me to continue blogging (especially at those times when I felt like giving up). I want to acknowledge the friends who have come into my life through this very medium. I want you all to know that I am deeply grateful for your presence in my life today. To all of you, I say:

I'm on the top of the world lookin down on creation

And the only explanation I can find

Is the love that I've found ever since youve been around

Your love's put me at the top of the world

But why am I singing the song by Carpenters, when I started with that beautiful song by Peter, Paul and Mary?

If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles,

A hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles,

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.

Lord I'm one, lord I'm two, lord I'm three, lord I'm four,

Lord I'm 500 miles from my home.

500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles

Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home.

Because Lord I'm one, lord I'm two, lord I'm three, lord I'm four, Lord I'm 500 posts from my home. And to reach this wonderful milestone on the day that S and I celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary makes both the celebrations that much sweeter! Happy Anniversary Sachin. You've made the last three years so memorable and I look forward to all the memories we will create together.