Chocolate Gooey Pudding Cake (Eggless)

A rich chocolate moist cake, definitely for the chocolate lovers....fingerlicking good :)

Ingredients
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
4 tsps Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Cup Milk
2/3 Cup Melted Unsalted Butter
3 tsps Chocolate Essence

Topping
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
2 1/2 Cups Hot Water

Preparation
1. Preheat over to 350 C.
2. Sieve all purpose flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a bowl. Add granulated sugar & salt to the same and mix well.
3. Add all wet ingredients in the bowl & whisk well till all is incorporated. It will be thicker than usual cake batter.
4. Spread cake batter in a greased pan.
5. Now, whisk all dry ingredients of topping in a separate bowl and add hot water to it and mix well.
6. Pour this liquid on the cake batter and dont mix it, let the topping just be there.
7. Bake the cake for 45 minutes.
8. The top will set and you will see a brownie like crust.
9. Take it out and let it cool.

Moms World - Tengai Chadam (Coconut Rice)

Lovely with curries, this rice dish is from Tamil Nadu. It is a tasty dish and was a normal day affair during my growing up days. Try serving with Dum Aloo which makes it a perfect marriage of North & South Indian food...Simbly amazing :)

Serves 3

Ingredients
1/2 kg Basmati Rice
1/2 grated Coconut
Salt to taste
1 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida
Coriander leaves
2 dry Red Chillies
Oil

Preparation
1. Cook rice and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a kadai.
3. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chillies, coriander leaves and grated coconut to it.
4. Continuously stir till the coconut turns golden brown in colour.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Add cooked rice to the mixture and mix throughly.
7. Serve hot or cold according to liking.

Pasta Arrabiata

The main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its extreme simplicity, with many dishes having only 4 to 8 ingredients. Italian cooks rely mostly on the quality of the ingredients and flavour of the dish rather than elaborate preparation.

Pasta Arrabiata is a recipe with quite a bit of spice and if your family prefers milder flavour, then please omit the red chillies.

Traditionally, penne rigate pasta is used for this dish. Penne rigate are small ridged tubes of pasta cut diagonally at the ends. This dish is very easy and quick to make.

I loveeee this pasta and make it more often than regular Indian food....Spicy Spicy...

Serves 5

Ingredients
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Onion, finely chopped
2 dry Red Chilli, finely chopped
400g Tomatoes, chopped
600g Tomatoes, pureed
2 tsp Basil powder
1 tsp Oregano powder
1/2 tsp Thyme powder
1 tsp Parsley powder
Salt to taste
Freshly ground Black Pepper
500g Penne Rigate Pasta
Cheese

Preparation
1. Heat oil in large pan.
2. Add onion and chillies and cook on low heat until onion and chillies are softened, stirring occasionally.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and let it cook.
4. After 2 minutes add tomato puree, salt to taste, grounded black pepper, half of basil powder, thyme powder and oregano powder. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to packet instructions. Add oil while cooking the pasta so that they don't stick to each other. It should be al-dente.
6. Add boiled pasta to the hot sauce and gently toss it.
7. Add remaining basil powder and parsley powder. Stir on low heat for a few minutes.
8. Sprinkle cheese on top and serve hot.

Note: I used Cheddar cheese to sprinkle on the top. Usually, Parmesan cheese is used. 

Let the tomatoes cook well or they will leave raw taste in your mouth.

Keep cooked pasta aside in colander for 10-15 minutes before adding it to the sauce so that all the water has drained out properly.

Paneer Koftas

Paneer Koftas have always been my favourite. My eldest sister used to make it for me and I would not like it any other way. Tried it for the first time on my own and realised its not difficult at all and tastes delicious. The koftas are soft and the gravy filled with nice flavours. Try it and do let me know how it turned out for you. Good luck to you for putting your spoon down once you taste it.

Serves 4

Ingredients

250g Paneer

2 Onions

6 Tomatoes

1 tbsp Coriander Powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder

1/2 tbsp Dry Oregano

Salt to taste

1 bowl Milk

1/2 bowl Fresh Cream

Coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation

1. Mash paneer and add salt. 

2. Make small balls of paneer. 

3. Make a paste of besan with water like for bhajjia. Dip the paneer balls in the paste and deep fry in hot oil (this is so that the paneer balls dont crack while frying). You can avoid this step by putting the paneer balls in really hot hot oil but remember to remove faster or the paneer balls will go black.

4. Blend tomatoes in a mixer to make puree.

5. Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Saute for 2 minutes.

6. Add the tomato puree  and fry well for 2 minutes.

7. Now add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and coriander powder. Let it boil for 2 minutes. 

8. Add dry oregano and stir slightly.

9. Now add the milk and stir well so that all the spices mix well with it. 

10. Add fresh cream and let it cook for 2 minutes.

11. Add paneer balls and cover for 5 minutes. 

12. Remove the lid and garnish with coriander leaves.

13. Serve hot.