Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes

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Fifteen years ago, today, I sat at home, in the middle of the week, with an unexpected midweek holiday at a job I had just started two days prior. On a whim, I decided to start my cooking blog: The Singing Chef.

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I haven’t blogged over at the blog in recent times, and every year I hope to change that. Maybe this will be the year.

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Whether I’ve blogged regularly or not, I continue to remain grateful for everything this space has given me. The blog itself and the linked Facebook page as well as the @instagram page have brought me numerous friendships, a stream of opportunities and endless joy.

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Here’s a quick and easy recipe to celebrate these 15 years.

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1 cup Flour

2 1/2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Instant Coffee Powder

1/2 cup Sugar

a Pinch Salt

1/4 cup Butter

1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese

1/4 cup Milk

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Butterscotch Chips

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Line a cupcake tin with liners. Alternatively, prepare a 10" ring or 8" round cake tin by greasing and flouring it. 

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Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

Beat the Ricotta, Butter, Milk, Sugar and Vanilla together. Sift the remaining dry ingredients together and add them to the liquid mixture. Fold in the Butterscotch Chips.

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Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 15 minutes for the cupcakes and  30 minutes for the cake or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

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I hope you try this recipe out. I’d love to see your creations.

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Once again, happy birthday to the Singing Chef. Thank you for everything you’ve come to be.

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#raaga #thesingingchefraaga #happybirthday #egglesscakerecipe #egglesschocolatecake #blogversary 

Happy Birthday, The Singing Chef

14 years ago, today, I sat at home on an unexpected mid week holiday and started this blog. It was completely on a whim. I thought I had so much to share and so much to document. I was browsing through several blogs and thought to myself, “I can do this!” I’d had the other blog for a year at the time and had intended to run both simultaneously. Little did I realize that afternoon that The Singing Chef would take over everything.

Over the years, the blog has only grown. Quite like those gardens which require a good deal of tending to in the initial stages and then just become gifts that keep on giving, this space that I had given a lot of my time and attention to over a decade ago, still bears me gifts.

Gifts in the form of friendships, in the form of new ways of doing things, in the form of new horizons. When I started off, I merely documented everything we ate. And we ate rather simply. I didn’t put all that much thought into what we were eating, into food combinations.

Today, a lot of the cooking I do is focused on preserving age old traditions while also making our own. A lot of it has to do with reducing food wastage, creatively using up leftovers and ensuring that we eat a variety of foods in every way.

Had it not been for this space and everything it has given me, I might have well remained the cook I was 14 years ago. Limited in every sense of the word. Family and friends, especially S, have been great critics and fans. But I truly have this blog and all it’s related spaces (Facebook and Instagram) to thank for the direction my cooking journey has taken and who it has brought into my life with it.

Happy birthday, The Singing Chef! I baked a Banana Nut Loaf when you turned 1. Here are 14 Banana Almond Muffins to celebrate this birthday!

Happy Birthday, The Singing Chef

We are in unprecedented times. We are doing the best we can, and this is an opportunity for us to see how little we need. I have been cooking more than ever. But I have not been blogging here.

13 years ago, today, I started this blog on a whim. And whether it is active on this medium or not, it is alive and thriving, and still inspires me to cook. And that is thanks to all of you.

I am ever thankful to what this blog has come to mean to me and what it has given me. Happy 13th Birthday, The Singing Chef.

Pal Poli to celebrate 8 years

8 years ago, today, I sat at the computer and toyed with the idea of starting another blog. I loved cooking and I enjoyed writing. I wasn't quite sure of my reasons. But I was addicted to reading food blogs at the time. And I felt that, given how varied my cooking was, and how much friends enjoyed my food, people would enjoy the blog too. And they did. 

Over the years, I've gotten busier with other things. And this blog, like the other, got neglected. I've been cooking a lot. And I've been cooking newer things too. And most of the time I do remember to take pictures. But I find that it is the sitting myself down in front of a computer and typing out these stories that I am unable to do.

Can I find a list of excuses? My laptop conked out. The computer is in my son's room and I can't go in there when I'm done for the day because he's sleeping there. My photographs aren't good enough. And I can find many more such. But I suppose where there's a will, there should be a way. Just that in my case, there seems to be a won't. This blog has seen fewer posts in the last two years than it did on that one day in July 2007. How is that for statistics?

In the last one year, I've cooked and baked with my son, who seems to enjoy cooking more than eating. I wanted to see if there was truth in the fact that when children help make something, they are more eager to try it. I think there is some truth to this. But the day I decide that it should probably work is most likely the day that it doesn't. 

However, in all this time that I haven't blogged, I have actually used this blog for its original intended purpose: my personal recipe book. I've gone back countless number of times to check if I have the ingredients right, if I'm missing a step. And often, reading the recipes and the stories behind them makes me nostalgic. I was feeling especially nostalgic one day and thought about the Pal Poli that Amma used to make. For a week, I made it in my head, over and over. It was so simple. And I could almost taste it. Finally, about 3 weeks after I'd made it 12 times a day in my head and I was just dying to taste it, I actually made it.

For the Poli:

1 cup Maida

2 tbsp Semolina

1 tsp Ghee

A pinch of Salt

Oil for frying

Mix the ingredients except the oil into a hard dough using as little water as necessary. Divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll them out using a little bit of oil into 4-6 inch discs. Keep these covered with a cloth until all the pieces have been rolled out.

Heat the oil and drop the rolled out polis into the oil. Deep fry them like pooris.

For the Masala Milk:

1 Litre (4 cups) Milk

1 400g tin Sweetened Condensed Milk (I used Milkmaid)

A pinch Saffron

1/4 tsp Cardamom, powdered

1 tbsp Milk Masala Powder (I used Everest)

Bring the milk to a slow boil and add the condensed milk, stirring all the while to make sure the condensed milk doesn't stick to the bottom of the vessel. Add the saffron, cardamom and the Milk Masala powder.

Arrange the polis in a dish and pour the masala milk over them. Let the polis soak in the milk.

Enjoy this dish warm or chilled. I was surprised at how easy this dish actually was and it got me thinking about the mental fatigue I seem to associate with so many of my childhood favourites.

I make no promises of what the 9th year holds for The Singing Chef. I shall endeavour to come here as often as I can and blog as much as I can. But for the time being, to those of you who have always been there for me, I want to share a little piece of sweetness, a little piece of my childhood, and say thank you for helping The Singing Chef become what it has. Thank you for being an integral part of my life. 

Cointreau Pound Cake

Another year gone by. Another broken promise. I attempted to post 40 recipes in 2014. I ended up posting 9. It was a lot more than I'd managed the year before, but nowhere close to what I'd have liked. It wasn't for want of time. The blog was more a victim of circumstances. When I had the time, my computer didn't work. By the time I replaced my computer, I'd also changed jobs. A new job means new teams, new flight schedules and everything else that comes with the territory. And then suddenly, it was the end of the year.

I don't want to sum up 2014 or what it meant to me. As with every year, it had its ups and downs. However, 2014 gave me more than just a fair share of bad news. But I don't wish to dwell on that. I wish to acknowledge the not so good, but focus on the good. I was able to spend time with family and friends. I was able to embrace many good things that this city has to offer. And that is my plan for 2015 as well. To spend my time with family, friends and work. To do as many things as possible that make me happier and healthier.

Baking always makes me happy. Blogging makes me happy too. And blogging about baking should be bang on target. So here's a simple recipe to usher in 2015.

1 1/2 cups Cake Flour/Plain Flour
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups Ricotta Cheese
1 1/2 cups Sugar
3 Eggs
1 teaspoon Orange Essence
2-3 tbsp Cointreau
Butter and Flour for preparing the cake tin  

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Prepare a 10" round tin. (I used a spring form ring mould.) 

Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. Cream the butter with the sugar and ricotta until the mixture is fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the orange essence and Cointreau and beat well. 

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the batter, adding a little at a time. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool a little and cut into pieces.

Enjoy and have a Happy New Year!

7 cups to Heaven - 7-cup Barfi for Janmashtami

For the longest time, I stayed away from even attempting to make Indian sweets. I even stayed away from thinking about making them. When it came to celebrating festivals, I always made my own rules. Why might Krishna only want uppu seedai and vella seedai for Janmashtami. Why not chocolate cookies? Or buns? Why make Indian sweets and savouries for Deepavali. Why not cookies and cakes again? You get the drift, don't you? I simply didn't want to move out of my comfort zone. So, I found every excuse not to.

A few years ago, I was a visiting with a friend and she had made a snack with beaten rice and a sweet. I asked her if she'd brought the sweet from India or if one of her family members had visited. She told me that she'd made it herself. I immediately asked her for the recipe and made it soon after. Three years later, it remains the only Indian elbow greasy sweet I can make confidently. 

1 cup Ghee
1 cup Besan
1 cup Milk
1 cup Almond Meal/ Dessicated Coconut (or a combination of the two)
3 cups Sugar
Cardamom and Saffron to taste
1 tbsp Ghee for greasing the plate/cake tin

Grease a large thali or plate and keep aside. (I've even used cake tins when I didn't own a thali.)

Heat 1/2 cup ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the besan and fry it until the raw smell of besan goes and you are left with the wonderful aroma. To this, add the milk carefully. Add all the other ingredients, including the remaining 1/2 cup ghee. Keep stirring until the mixture comes together and begins to leave the sides of the pan.

Transfer to the greased thali/plate and smooth the mixture down carefully. Cool it a little. Cut it into diamond shapes with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter. When fully cool, store the pieces in an air tight container.

Be sure to share this with your friends and family. You may want to hand out recipe cards with this as people are bound to ask you for the recipe. Especially if you're like me and no one associates any traditional sweets with you, they're probably thinking - if she can make it, why not I?

On that happy note, let me sign off while wishing all of you a Happy Janmashtami.

Check out some other not so traditional Janmashtami recipes on the blog here.

Apple Cinnamon Cake

Mindless TV viewing for me has to be food related. I'll admit it - being a food blogger, the shows can't make for too much mindless viewing for me. One of the things that surprise me is that, often, people in contests forget basic recipes. It must be the intense pressure of getting it all done in that short amount of time. How else can one forget how to bake a basic sponge cake?

I haven't been in a pressure situation like that when it comes to cooking gourmet food. But for the most part of our stay in Gurgaon, my everyday cooking was done under pressure. Will the vegetable be done in time, will the dal be cooked, will the rice be done, etc. Fortunately, I didn't have to refer to recipes for my everyday meals. 

I also could make one basic cake from memory. Over the years, I have modified the same recipe to yield a variety of cakes. And not one has disappointed. I'm not a big fan of apples, except in apple pie/crumble. I have taken the essence of an apple pie and made it into a cake. The cake was gone in no time at all. And I think it is simply because this has the best of both worlds: You can have your cake and eat your pie too!

1 cup Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Butter

1/2 cup Milk

1 Egg

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

A pinch of Salt

1 Apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1/2 tsp Cinnamon Powder

2 tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tsp Icing Sugar

Heat the oven to 180C/350F.

Grease an 8" cake tin with butter. Arrange the apple slices on the base to form a pattern. 

Mix the cinnamon powder with the brown sugar. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and the sugar. Add the egg and beat well. Add the milk and vanilla and beat again.

Sift the flour with the salt and baking powder. Add this to the sugar-egg mixture and mix until incorporated. Pour this over the apple slices. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. 

Transfer the cake to a cooling rack. Sprinkle the icing sugar over the cake.

I do hope you try this and I'll look forward to hearing from you when you do. After all, that is what makes a blogger happy. I started on this journey 7 years ago. My cooking has improved a great deal since. I've also made some amazing friends along the way. 4 years ago, my namesake started talking to me about this idea of holding a food bloggers' meet. There were lots of ideas, a lot of discussions between her, Aparna, and me, and a seed had been planted.

As I type this, the very first Indian Food Blogger's Meet is underway in Bangalore. While I am sitting rather far away and cannot claim to have anything at all to do with it, in many ways it feels like my baby. I've had so many whatsapp chats with Arundati over the past few months that I feel I'm a part of it. I came so close to attending the event myself and am feeling terrible at having missed it. But, nonetheless, I'm on cloud nine myself - to see a dream that I was once a part of, come true. Proud of you! This is a cake to celebrate the IFBM2014 organizers.

But, come August, we also start the celebrations in this household. With the exception of last year, I've always come with a cake to this blog in August. And this year should be no different. The beloved CTO (Chief Tasting Officer) of this blog turns a year older. Our celebrations are postponed to until he returns from this business trip. But let that not stop me from saying, Happy Birthday, Sachin!