Plain Cake

As a learner I faced few difficulties in making this simple cake and ended up with few disasters like hard cake or burned cake. Few reasons for the failure are, not beating the ingredients well, not pre-heating the oven, not choosing the right butter etc.


Now as an expert, I can suggest you few tips.

No matter whether you beat the ingredients with balloon whisk, fork, spatula or an electric blender, you need to make sure that you beat them well as per the required consistency which is the most important thing in making cake.

Always pre-heat the oven as advised.

Do not pour the batter into thick layer, as we will end up in having raw batter in the centre and burnt in the corners. Instead divide the dough into two and bake.

In India most of the people use home made butter so no question of quality. Where as in here there are loads and loads of varieties and we need to be very careful while choosing the butter.

I have given the minimum measurements to start with and when you gain enough experience you can increase the quantities. My mom’s and sister-in-law’s standard measurements are Maida, butter, sugar 250 gms each, 1 ½ tsp baking powder and 4 eggs. Those days when the technology was not available to the common man, my mom used to bake the cake using pressure pan half filled with sand and bake the cake on stove top.

Ingredients:
2 large or 3 medium eggs
Plain Flour – 150 gms
Sugar – 150 gms ground into fine powder.
Spreadable Butter – 150 gms (Room temperature)
Baking Powder – 1 tsp
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C/ Gas Mark 4 and place rack in centre of oven. Butter or spray with a non stick vegetable spray or line the bottom of a 7 inch cake pan with parchment paper.

Sugar, Plain Flour, Butter, eggs

Before preheating the oven keep all the ingredients measured, bowls and required tools to beat the ingredients.

Take a bowl and beat butter and sugar until forms a smooth paste like ice cream

Butter and sugar powder

Butter and sugar beaten into smooth cream

In a medium bowl combine the eggs and vanilla extract, beat until frothy.

Egg beaten until frothy 

In another bowl mix all the dry ingredients and incorporate the wet mixtures and blend them all until forms a smooth batter. If you are doing manually beat for about 10 -15 minutes. If you are using electric one beat for about 4-5 minutes. First mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened and slowly increase the speed. If the batter is not loose enough you can add 1 or 2 tblsp of milk

Mixing the dry ingredients with wet 

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. As a finishing bit pat the pan with both the hands, so that the batter spreads evenly. Bake for about 25 to 35 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

 

Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a lightly buttered wire rack.

cake that has a very moist, light, and velvety texture. Will keep well up to 5 days at room temperature.

 Plain Cake

Pulka / Roti

Pulka

PULKA - the name itself is so HALKA (means light ). Easy to digest. Best recipe for the diet planners as it contains no fat. This is simple, unpretentious home cooking but very satisfying, healthy and easy. Rotis are made from small balls of wheat dough that are rolled out and then partially cooked on a hot griddle and then finished directly over high heat. The high heat makes the rotis puff up into a ball.

INGREDIENTS
Whole Wheat flour - 2 cups.
Salt - 1/4 tsp. (Optional)
Water - 1 cup

PROCEDURE

Take a bowl ,add wheat flour ,salt, and mix 1 cup of water with it and make a dough by mixing well and cover it for 30 min. This will allow the flour to absorb water thoroughly and become soft which will leave an impression if you press as below.

Pulka dough

Now,pinch the dough with your fingers and make into balls by rolling in between your palms. Then take one ball ,press with all the four fingers till it becomes flate and circular,dip in dry wheat flour(both the sides of the circular plate).

Use a roti stick to make a circular thin rotis with it. Each ball has to be made into a circular chappathi with the roti stick (Penny thickness).

Heat the tava and put each circular chappathi on it for 15 seconds

After 15 - 20 sec slowly bubbles will appear like this

Bubbles appearing on the roti

Remove the roti from the tava and using a holder, hold the roti and show it to the stove flame (low flame) directly

Pulka started rising

when the roti bulges like a baloon ,turn it to the other side and immediately transfer it to the bowl.

Fluffy pulka

Serve hot with gravy or curry.

My son explained pulka as below.

Pull.......

Kaa...

NOTE:
Do not add oil or ghee to the tava.

Kandi pappu thalimpu (Toor daal curry)

This is another tasty yet simple recipe introduced to me by my Athamma (mother-in-law).

Kandi pappu thalimpu

Ingredients:

Toor Dal (Kandipappu) – ½ cup
Water - ¾ th cup
Onion – 1 Chopped into small pieces

For coconut powder
Dry Coconut grated or chopped - 1/4 cup
Corriander powder - 1 tsp
Garlic cloves - 3-4
Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Grind all the ingredients into fine powder.
For seasoning
Curry leaves
Oil – 2 tbsp
Mustard + Cumin seeds.

Method:

Soak the dal for 30 min and cook till just done. Most important thing for this recipe is, should not over cook the da1.

Drain the excess water if any.

Cooked daal

Never throw away the water in which veggies or dals are boiled as it contains water soluble nutrients. If you have to do so, then don’t discard the water, instead use the water in curries, soups or to mix chapatti dough.

Take a kadai, heat it with oil. Check the heat and add mustard, cumin seeds and curry leaves.

When they start splatter, add onion, salt and fry until the onion becomes translucent.

Add the boiled dal and fry for 2 more minutes until it looses the moisture. Finally sprinkle the coconut powder and remove from the fire.

Serve with roti or rice.

Kobbari podi (Coconut powder)

This is a simple spicy powder with minimal ingredients. We use this powder is most of the stir fries (Thalimpulu)

Ingredients:

Dry coconut grated - 1 cup (Or chop the dry coconut into thin slices)
Red Chilli powder - 1 tblsp
Garlic cloves - 6 - 8
Salt

Chilli powder, coconut, garlic

Grind them all together to fine powder and store in a bottle and occasionally use in the recipes.

Coconut powder ready to go into the bottle

Note: Do not remove the skin from the garlic cloves as it enhances the aroma further.

Ponganaalu

This is another traditional element of South Indian cooking. In Rayalaseema, we call them as Ponganalu / Guntha ponganalu. Also this is a popular breakfast dish from the Konkan regions in the west coast with a different name 'Appe' with slight variations in ingredients.

How I plan my breakfasts is first day dosa and second day ponganam with the same batter.

You can also prepare the batter just for this purpose.

Ingredients goes like this

For the batter
1/2 cup Urad daal (Black gram)
2 cups - Rice

For mixing:
2 Onions - finely chopped
4 -5 green chilli finely chopped
Corriander - fist full
Curry leaves - fist full
Channa daal (Bengal gram) - roasted and soaked in water for 10 min
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt
Oil

Method:

Soak them together for 6 hours, grind it into fine paste and allow to ferment for 8 - 10 hours. For the ponganam, you need to have a special pan like this

Ponganala penamu

Mix all the above mentioned ingredients except oil

Batter, Chilli, onion, corriander, curry leaves, cumin and channa daal

Heat the mould with few drops of oil in each pit and pour the batter carefully into each pit and cook it till the outer surface becomes golden colour.

Turn each ponganam upside down using a fork or spoonso as to cook on the other side.

 

Repeat with the remaining batter to make more ponganalu. Serve hot with kobbari podi.

Ponganaalu with Kobbari podi

Paala kova (Khoya / Doodh peda)

I still remember the great taste of paalakova made by the street vendors at the famous Y.V.street in kadapa. When I was a child when ever we go Y.V. street we don't enjoy the divine taste of this paalakova, given in banana leaf. It tasteseven  great when you lick it. That taste has inspired me to make paalakova for my kids. But most of it was eaten by my hubby dear (as he is crazy about paala kova).

Paala kova going straight into my hubby's mouth

I was thinking that this is the recipe done only by the great chefs (Mom & Athamma) only, but not. Any beginner can do this. Trust me.


Ingredients
2 litres of whole milk
¾th cup of sugar (You can add more if you like)

Cooking time : 3 hours



Preparation:

Gold top milk

In a Non- stick pan (This is the easy method and we can avoid the sticky sessions), bring the milk to a boil.
Keep the heat on medium high and boil/simmer the milk for about 2 hours, stirring in between.

                                                     After one hour milk looks like this

After 2 hours milk becomes like this

By the end of two and half hours, the milk reduces in volume, becomes quite thick and changes the form and colour. This will turns to cream / sandal wood colour

Beautiful sandalwood colour

Add sugar to the thickened milk. Continuously stirring on medium heat, cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. By the end of this time, the milk-sugar paste further thickens and the texture looks like rava upma . Remove the pan from the heat.

Paala koova (Koya)

I scooped the kova into paper cups and decorated with almonds.

Paala Kova with Almond

Vankaya Pappu (Daal with eggplant)

Daals are an integral part of South Indian cuisine. You can prepare simple daal by not adding any other ingredients except daal like Mudha pappu, or you can add various vegitables to enhance the taste. One variety among the daals is Vankaya pappu.

Ingredients

Toor Daal - 1 cup
Egg plants - 2 (Indian variety)
Tomato - 1 large cut into big chuncks
Onion - 1 small cut into big chunks
Green chilli - 5 - 7
Tamarind - 1/2 lemon size
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Toor Dar, egg plant, tomato, onion, chilli, tamarind

Method:

Wash and soak Daal for about 30 min. Wash and cut the egg plants. Heat a deep pan or pressure cooker and add tsp of oil. When it is hot add egg plant pieces and fry for a minute to get rid of the raw taste and also it enhances the veggie taste. Gradually add onion, chilli, tomato, toor dal, and turmeric. Add 2 cups of water and drop the tamarind at the end so that it remains on top and pressure cook for 3 whistles. If you are not using the pressure cooker, do not add tamarind until the daal has cooked well.

Allow the pressure to go and mash the daal by adding salt while it is still warm.
For seasoning, heat a kadai (small pan) add 1 tblsp of oil and when it is hot add crushed garlic, red chillie, curry leaves, mustard seeds and cumin. Add the hot seasoning to the daal and mix.
Enjoy with hot rice.

Vankaya pappu with Annam (Rice)