Eggless chocklate cake

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour – 1 cup
• Baking Powder – ½ tsp
• Baking Soda – 1 tsp
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – 6 tbsp
• Granulated Sugar – ¾ cup
• Vegetable oil – ½ cup ( I used sunflower oil)
• Hot Coffee – ¼ cup (1 tsp of coffee in ¼cup hot water)
• Milk – ¼ cup, room temp
• Yogurt – ¼ cup, room temp
• Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

Chocolate Icing

• Unsalted Butter – 100 gms, room temp
• Cocoa powder – ⅓ cup
• Icing sugar – 2-2.5 cups
• Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
• Hot water – 2-3 tbsp

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C, 10 mins before baking. Lightly grease the cake tin and line with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl sift together the all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and sugar. Make a well.
3. Add all the wet ingredients one by one.
4. With an electric mixer, beat the mixture on low speed for 2-3 minutes until the dry and wet ingredients are well combined. Do not over beat it.
5. Pour the batter in the prepared pan. Tap the pan a couple of times so the batter is spread evenly and there are no air bubbles.
6. Bake for about 30 min. Check the cake with tooth pick. Toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake should come clean when the cake is ready.
7. Once out of the oven, transfer the pan to a wiring rack to cool. After about an hour remove the cake from the pan and let the cake cool completely before icing.
8. For icing – combine the softened butter and cocoa powder with a hand whisk or a wooden spoon. Add a little of hot water and mix well. Add 1 cup of icing sugar and vanilla essence. Mix well. Add a tbsp of hot water, if required, mix and add one more cup of icing sugar. Combine well. Do a taste test and add more sugar if required. Also, add more hot water to suit your required consistency.

Mutton roganjosh

Ingredients:

Mutton - 1 kg chops

Curd or Yoghurt (dahi) - 3 tbsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Fennel seeds (Mouri or Saunf) - 3 tsp, powdered in a coffeee grinder or mortar and pestle

Ginger - 1/2 tsp, grated

Black cardamom (Bodo elaichi) - 1

Green cardamom (elaichi) - 2

Cinammon (darchini) - 1 inch stick

Cloves (lobongo or lavang) -3

Asafoetida or Hing - 1 small pinch

Garam masala powder -1/2 tsp

Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash the mutton and drain the water.

Cooking procedure:

In a pressure cooker, add the oil and heat to smoking. Add the green and black cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon and the hing powder and fry until the spices sputter.

Add the mutton chops and fry for 4-5 minutes. Add 1 cup water, close the cooker and pressure cook on low flame for 25 minutes. Do not use high heat or mutton will be overcooked. If required, remove after 20 minutes and check the tenderness. The mutton should be almost done.

Remove the mutton and cool to room temperature.

In a bowl, add the curd, chilli powder, fennel powder, ginger, garam masala, and salt to taste, whisk in one direction for 1 minute till mixture is smooth.

To the almost cooked mutton, add the curd mixture on low heat. Stir frequently for 7-10 minutes until the oil starts to leave the masala.

Garnish with coriander leaves and sliced halves of a boiled egg. Serve hot.

gulab ki kheer

INGREDIENTS                                                                                     QUANTITY

fresh rose petals                                                                                            50 gm
milk                                                                                                               2 ltrs   
sugar                                                                                                             1 cup
milk powder                                                                                                  2 tbsp
khoya (grated)                                                                                               2 tbsp           

METHOD

Select any scented variety of roses – the desi roses work best. Pluck all the petals discarding the stigma (the central portion) and set aside.Boil the milk along with the rose petals (leave them whole), till it reduces to half. Ensure that the milk doesn’t burn – do it on a low flame in a heavy-bottom pan. Add one cup of sugar,milk powder and khoya and then  boil till its consistency is thick. Cool and then refrigerate for at least one hour before your serve. Garnish with some more rose petals.