Ice Cream Cake

This recipe is a variation to our normal cake and ice cream combination, that we often serve as a desert. In this recipe I have used a chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream but you can experiment with various flavors of cake and ice cream both.

Chocolate Cake in Microwave:

Ingredients

1. 1 cup all purpose flour
2. Breakfast sugar - 1 cup
3. Unsalted butter/refined oil - i cup
4. Fresh cream or malai - 2-3 serving spoon
5. Chocolate powder - 1/2-3/4 cup depending on how dark you want your cake to be 
   
6. Eggs - 3/4
7. Vanilla essence - 1 tea spoon
8. Baking powder -  1 level tea spoon

Method

1. Mix flour and baking powder in a dish.
2. Add cocoa/chocolate powder to this dish and keep aside.
3. In cake beater or food processor add breakfast sugar and butter/oil. Give it a good beat for 2-3 mins.
4. One by one add the eggs and beat for 2 mins after every egg.
5. Add vanilla essence and beat for another 2 mins.
6. Now add malai/cream to this and beat for 1 mins.
7. Add the flour and coco powder mix to the processor 3-4 serving spoons at a time and beat for 1-2 mins after every addition.
8. If the cake mixture is too thick then add some milk and beat. The final mixture should fall in thick layer from your spoon  but not like thick drops.
9. Grease the baking dish and pour this mixture into it. Optionally you can add some chopped walnuts or almonds to this.
10. Set you microwave in convection mode and pre heat it to 220 degrees.
11. Once the oven reaches the designated temperature put the baking dish in convection mode for 10 mins.
12. After 10 mins put it for another 4 mins in microwave mode.
13. Check with a knife to see if the cake is done.
14. Let the cake cool.

The Ice Cream Cake

1. Keep the vanilla ice cream out of the fridge till it is completely soft.
2. Beat the ice cream with a beater and keep aside.
3. Take the cake on a chopping board and cut it in half from center horizontaly so that we have two layers of cake (top and bottom).
4. First take the botton layer and cover it completely with the beaten ice cream. You can experiment here by adding some tinned cherries or pineapples or some crunchy nuts.
5. Put the top half layer on this and place the cake in a deep dish.
6. Now coat the entire cake with remaining ice cream. We take this in deep dish because ice cream is molten and will drip from every where.
7. You can decorate the cake as you want. I have used some gems and chocolate sauce for marble effect.
8. Marble effect: Pour chocolate sauce on the cake and spread it with the help of a toot pick thus creating a marble pattern.
9. Now deep freeze this cake dish for 4-6 hours before serving. 

Curd Rice with a Twist

Curd Rice is famous recipe from southern parts of India and is normally consumed at the end of a meal. This recipe is authentically cooked sans any spices and hence is very light on stomach.

Here I am presenting a little twisted version of it and hope you will enjoy it as an option when you feel like eating light on stomach khichdi.

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 1 cup
   
2. 1 cup boiled american corns 
3. 2 capsicums finely chopped
4. curry leaves - 6-8
5. chana daal - 2 spoon
6. urad daal (white) - 2 spoons
7. Ginger finely chopped or grated - 1 spoon
8. 2 green chilies finely chopped
9. 2 cup curd
10. salt to taste
11. black pepper to taste
12. mustard seeds - 1 spoon

Serves : 2 people

Method:

1. Cook rice by boiling them in more that double the amount of water. We need rice to be a little over cooked for this recipe .
2. When rice is done, then drain them by removing access water and let them cool.
3. Heat a pan and add 1 spoon oil to it.
4. When oil is hot add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
5. Add urad daal and chana daal to this and let it cook for 2-3 mins.
6. Add green chilies, curry leaves and ginger to the pan and give a good stir for another 2 mins
7. Now add boiled corns and capsicum to the pan and stir well. Let this cook for 2 mins and then turn off the flame as we do not want the vegetables to over cook.
8. Whisk the curd and add it to the rice bowl. Stir well while mashing the rice with spoon.
9. Add some salt and pepper according to your taste to this and mix again.
10. Now add the prepared vegetable tampering to the bowl and give one final stir.
11. This can be consumed as it is or chilled with some chutney or home made pickle.

Bhindi Masala

Ingredients:

1. Bhindi or Okra - 1/2 Kg

2. Medium size onions - 4

3. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbl spoon

4. Coriander powder - 2 tbl spoon

5. Amchoor/dry mango powder - 1/2 tbl spoon

6. Chatt masala - 1/2 tbl spoon

7. Chana masala - 1 tbl spoon

8. Salt to taste
9. Mustard oil - 3 spoon

Serves - 3-4 people

Method:

1. Wash bhindi/okra and dry it properly with a cloth. It should be dried very properly otherwise it secrets a transparent sticky material.

2. Chop dried bhindi in round psc.

3. Chop 4 onions roughly in thick psc.

4. Heat a flat botton pan and add mustard oil to it. Let the oil burn for 3-4 mins or till the time it releases its smell.

5. Add Onions to the oil and cook for 2-3 mins on slow flame.
6. Add bhindi tho this and let it cook on slow flame for 10-12 mins. Keep stirring in between.
7. Once the bhindi is a little tender add all the dry spices except salt and mix well. Let it cook for another 3-5 mins.

8. Add salt and cook for 2-3 mins on slow flame. Then serve hot with chapatis.

Tips to cook okra :

1. Do not put water in okra.

3. Dry it properly before chopping.

4. Okra is not good for people with kidney stones.

Okra Nutrition (half-cup cooked okra)

• Calories = 25
• Dietary Fiber = 2 grams
• Protein = 1.5 grams
• Carbohydrates = 5.8 grams
• Vitamin A = 460 IU
• Vitamin C = 13 mg
• Folic acid = 36.5 micrograms
• Calcium = 50 mg
• Iron = 0.4 mg
• Potassium = 256 mg  
• Magnesium = 46 mg

Microwave Eggs in Cup

What better way to start a day with a filling breakfast of eggs and toast. Egg is a major source of protein and a quick and easy choice for those who have a busy and hectic lifestyle.

Eggs can be consumed in multiple ways boiled, half cooked, scrambled, microwaved etc.

Ingredients:

1. Eggs - 4
2. Small size Onion - 1
3. Medium size tomato - 1
4. 1 small capsicum
5. Button mushrooms - 4-5
6. Coriander leaves
7. Salt - 1/4  tbl spoon or to taste
8. Black pepper - 1/4 tbl spoon
9. Oregano - 1/4 tbl spoon
10. Grated processed cheese - 2 spoons
11. 1 spoon oil to cook

Serves: 4 people

Method:

1. Chop all the vegetables onions, tomatoes, capsicum and mushrooms finely.
2. Take a pan and heat some oil in it.
3. Once oil is hot add chopped onions and saute for 1 min on low flame.
4. Once onions have turned translucent add half of the capsicum and all mushrooms to it and cook for another 2 mins.
5. Add chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for 2 mins while stirring.
6. Switch off the flame and add oregano and fresh chopped coriander to the pan. Mix well.
7. Take 4 small bowls and add 1-2 spoons of this mixture to each.
8. Break one egg each on every bowl.
9. Add the remaining capsicum and some chopped tomatoes on top of eggs in each bowl..
10. Sprinkle some cheese in every bowl.
11. Microwave each for 1 min 30 seconds. (More if you like your egg completely cooked)
12. Take out and serve hot with Garlic bread.

Shahi Paneer

Cottage cheese is the most favorite option for vegetarians in India as it is rich in protein and serves as a substitute for chicken or fish. A good Indian meal is never complete without a preparation of paneer.

Paneer is cooked in various forms as starter, main course or dessert, with gravy or as a dry dish. It is also used to garnish Indian biryanis and as a stuffing in famous Indian breads.

Shahi paneer can be cooked in various different ways. The method described below is the simplest of them all and can be used by any amateur to cook a great dish. The cooking time of paneer is negligible which also makes it a popular choice among most people.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer/Cottage Cheese - 1/2 KG
2. Medium size onions - 3
3. Medium size tomatoes - 4
4. Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
5. Garlic - 5-6 cloves
6. Green chilly - 1-2 depending on the amount of spice you want
7. Cream/Full cream milk - 1 cup
8. Salt - to taste
9. Red chilly powder - 1/2 spoon
10. Indian garam masala - 1/2 spoon
11. Kasoori Methi/dry fenugreek leaves - 1 spoon
12. salt - 1 tbl spoon or to taste
13. Oil - 2 spoon to cook.

Serves: 4-5 people

Method:

1. Peel the onions and roughly slice them.
2. Take a deep pan and heat some oil in it.
3. When oil is hot add onions to it.
4. Add whole garlic cloves, green chillies and roughly chopped ginger to the pan and let this cook on slow flame, while stirring in between.
5. Once onions have turned golden brown add red chilly powder and stir for 1-2 mins.
6. Roughly chop tomatoes in large pieces and add to the pan.
7. Add salt to this, cover and let it cook for 8-10 mins or till the time tomatoes are done.
8. Switch off the flame and let this mixture cool down for 5 mins.
9. Put the above mixture in a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Add 1/2 cup cream or full cream milk (whichever is available) and blend again.
10. Switch on the flame again and add the paste to it.
11. Add the remaining milk in the pan while stirring it continuously on high flame.
12. Switch the flame to low after first boil and add garam masala to it.
13. Dry roast the kasoori methi in a pan and crush it to powder. Add this powder to the paneer gravy.
14. Cut the paneer pieces in square and add to the gravy.
15. Adjust the consistency of gravy as per your taste by adding either some milk or water.
16. Take out the paneer in a bowl and garnish it with fresh cream before serving.
17. This can be enjoyed with any Indian bread or rice.

Tips:

1. Make sure you stir gravy continually on high flame while adding mil or cream it is being added to tomato gravy which is sour and can react with milk to cause its curdling.
2. Once paneer is added to gravy it should not be cooked for more than 2-3 mins as it will make paneer hard and stretchy.

Vegetable Suji Pizza

Suji Pizza is a pan cake made of suji (semolina) with various vegetables and is a very healthy breakfast option. It gives you the carbs and vitamins required for head start of a good day.  

It is also a very good option for mothers trying to feed their kids something healthy as it can be presented as PIZZA, which is the most famous food choice for kids. You can ensure to feed some wholesome vegetables to your children using this recipe. 

Ingredients:

1. Suji (Semolina) - 1 cup
2. Curd - 1 Cup
3. 1 Capsicum  - chopped finely

4. 1 Onion - chopped finely
5. 2 Carrots - chopped finely/grated
6. 3-4 button mushrooms - chopped finely
7. Salt - to taste
8. Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbl spoon
9. Mustard seeds - 1 spoon
10. Oil - to cook
11. Baking soda/Eno - 1 large spoon

Serves: 2-3 people

Method:

1. Mix suji and curd together.
2. Add some water to make a thick consistency batter.
3. Add salt, red chilly powder and baking soda/eno to this batter and leave for 15 mins.
4. Add all the vegetables to the batter and mix well.
5. Take a medium size, non stick flat bottom deep pan or a wok and heat 1 spoon oil in it.
6. When oil is medium hot add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
7. Put 2 large spoons of suji mixture in the pan and spread out evenly in the pan. This should be a thick layer.
8. Cover it with a lid and let it cook on slow flame for about 5-7 mins.
9. Check if semolina is cooked and the pan cake is crisp from bottom. If so take it out by keeping a plate on the pan and flipping the pan upside down.
10. This can be cut into slices like a pizza and served with tomato sauce.

Note: Pic to follow.

Lemon Rice

Ingredients:

1. Boiled/Precooked plain rice - 2 katoris
2. 2 medium size Onion
3. 2-4 Green chillies
5. Kari patta - 9-10 leaves
6. Lemon juice of 3 medium size lemons
7. Mustard seeds -  1 spoon
8. Bengal gram/Chana daal - 1/2 katori
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbl spoon
10. Sambhar Masala - 2 tbl spoon
11. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbl spoon
12. Salt to taste
13. Refined oil to cook - 2 spoons
14. Peanuts - 10-15

Serves: 2-3 people

Method:

1. Soak Bengal gram overnight in normal water or for 1/2 hour in hot water.
2. Heat oil in wok and add oil.
3. Once oil is hot add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
4. Add slitted green chilies and let them fry for 30 seconds on slow flame.
5. Add kari patta leaves.
6. Now drain water from chana daal and add it in wok. Let it cook while stirring for 3-4 mins.
7. Thinly slice the onions and add them to wok. Cook for another 3-4 mins or till the time onions turn golden brown.
8. Put turmeric powder, red chilly powder, sambhar masala powder and salt. Mix well.
9. Add pre cooked/boiled rice to the above and 2 spoon water. Mix well and cook for 2-3 mins.
10. Add lemon juice and stir. Turn off the flame.
11. Stir fry peanuts in 1 spoon oil till done and add on top of the rice.
11. Serve hot with curd and chutney.

Tips:

1. Do not cook rice after adding lemon juice as it may turn bitter.
2. This is an authentic lemon rice recipe. You can add vegetables like carrots, capsicum etc for variation and more taste.