Chocolate cake with Butter cream decoration

Minni goes wild was the theme of the cake as a girl enters her wild teens... This is a chocolate cake with fresh cream and butter cream decoration on top.. 

Indonesian style Eggplant Sambal / Sambal Terong

Indonesian style Eggplant Sambal / Sambal Terong

 It has a tangy, sweet and spicy taste and is very delicious. It is very easy to make and it can be had with steamed rice. 

Ingredients

2 medium long  Eggplants cut into cubes 

10 Fresh Red Chillies chopped

6 Shallots chopped 

4 Garlic cloves 

1 tbsp Shrimp paste (Optional) 

1 tbsp  Palm Jaggery  grated 

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Tamarind paste 

1/4 cup Oil 

Method

Take a bowl and soak the tamarind paste in 2 cups of water. Keep it aside. Grind chillies, shallots, salt, shrimp paste, palm jaggery and garlic in a mortar and pestle or grind it in a grinder. Heat oil for frying in a wok, stir-fry the eggplant till light pink in colour. Remove from the wok and drain it on a paper towel. Add the paste.  Stir fry for 2 minutes, on medium heat.  Add tamarind water.  Let boil, for  10 minutes. Add the eggplants. Mix well and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve it with steamed rice.

Cauliflower Kootu

Cauliflower kootu

Kootu in Tamil means 'add'. Any Vegetable can be added with the lentils. Different types of Kootu are made with different spice flavour.  It is an South Indian dish. The gravy here is not very thin. 

---  Net source 

Here I have made Cauliflower Kootu. The flavour of the Kootu powder here with the vegetable and lentil has an awesome taste. It is eaten with hot steam rice. 

For the Kootu Powder

Ingredients 

3 Dry Red chillies

10 Black pepper corns 

1 tbsp Coriander seeds 

1 tbsp Chana dal 

1/4 cup Dry or Fresh coconut 

Method 

Take a pan, dry roast all the ingredients except coconut on low flame for 5 minutes. Add grated coconut and roast for 2 minutes more and turn off flame. Cool and grind the ingredients into a fine powder. Keep it aside.

 For making the Kootu

Ingredients 

2 cups of  Cauliflower florets cut into small pieces 

1 Potato peeled and cubed

1 Onions finely sliced 

1 Tomatoe chopped 

1/2 cup Tur dal washed and boiled with 3 cups of water 

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

Kootu Masala

1 tbsp Tamarind paste 

Salt to taste

For tempering

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds 

Few Curry leaves 

1/4 tsp Asafoetida 

2 tbsp Ghee

Method

Cook the Tur dal with 2 cups of water till done and keep it aside. Heat ghee in the vessel, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida, let it crackle. Add the  onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add turmeric powder, potato and the cauliflower, saute for 10 minutes on low medium flame. Add the tomato. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the boiled tur dal, ground kootu masala powder and salt, mix well. Add 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer till the vegetables are almost cooked. Add the tamarind paste, along with a cup of water and cook on low-medium flame with lid for another 10 minutes and the vegetables are fully cooked. Turn off the flame. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Egg Bafat Curry

Egg Bafat Curry

A Bafat is a hot spicy masala blend , use to make spicy hot tangy Mangalorean curries. Once the bafat masala powder is made, you can use it for many dishes like fish curry, fish fry, meat and many vegetarian dishes too. It can be stored in a clean and dry glass container.

For the Bafat Masala powder 

Ingredients 

5 Kashmiri red chillies

5 Dry Red chillies

1 tbsp Coriander seeds

1 tsp  Cumin seeds

4 cloves

1 piece Cinnamon

6 Pepper corns

1/2 tbsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp  Turmeric powder

Method 

Take a pan. Add the chillies and roast for 2 minutes. Remove the chillies from the pan. Put all the other ingredients on the pan except the turmeric powder and roast for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix all ingredients together and cool it. Grind the roasted ingredients in a grinder.  

P.S. Since I did not have the spicy Red Chillies, I have used the chilli powder.

 (The original Mangalorean recipe does not contain Kashmiri Chillies. Only Red spicy chillies to be added.)

Egg Bafat Curry 

Ingredients

6 hard boiled Eggs peeled 

2 Onions sliced 

1 big Tomatoe chopped 

1 tbsp Garlic Ginger and Chilli paste 

1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tbsp Bafat Masala powder 

4 tbsp Ghee 

1 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped

Method

Take a wok, add ghee and let it heat. Add the garlic ginger and chilli paste. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the onions and sauté it till pink in colour. Add the tomato and cook for 2 minutes till soft. Add all the turmeric  powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt. Stir it well and cook for a minute. Add 3 cups of water. Cover and cook for 10  minutes, add the Garam Masala powder and Bafat Masala. Cook for 10 minutes more.  Add the eggs, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the flame. Cover and let the  curry  stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves. Serve it with steamed rice.

Palak Ka Kapa

Palak Ka Kapa

It is a Kumauni style spinach preparation. It is easy to cook and in through sense a soul food.  It is eaten with hot steamed Rice.

Ingredients
1 Bunch Palak (Spinach) chopped
2 tbsp  Rice flour
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red chili powder
2  Whole Dry Red chillies broken into pieces
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
Pinch of Asafoetida
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Mustard oil

Method
Take oil in a wok and heat it on high flame till smoking hot. Lower the flame. Add cumin seeds and whole red chillies. As the cumin seeds crackles, add the rice flour and asafoetida. Sauté  it  until the color of rice flour becomes light brown in colour. Add the spinach, salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder. Mix the spinach well. Add 1 cup of water and cook approximately for 10 minutes on high flame or until done, stirring and mashing it occasionally with a ladle. Switch of the flame.  Cover and let it stand for 10 minutes. Serve with hot steamed rice.