Eggless Christmas Fruit Cake | Kerala Plum Cake Eggless

Every December I look forward to baking THE fruit cake of the year.I don't bake fruit cakes otherwise,only during Christmas time.That gives it a special charm no?I have been baking fruit cakes for the past few years and even though we do get good quality fruit cakes here and in Kerala,the joy of baking a home style fruit cake is something so special.Especially because we get to choose what to add in the cake and soak it according to our liking and then finally bake it and wait for it to mature a bit before consuming.Ah,the whole process is so fulfilling.

Personally we do not like the strong flavor of rum soaked fruits so I soak it for a shorter duration which gives me boozy fruits but not with the strong aftertaste.Last year I baked this cake and it was so good.Usually fruit cakes are slightly dense but the addition of beaten egg whites gives it the sponge texture.

I will be baking the same cake this year too,but wanted to post a new recipe here on the blog so zeroed in on this one as this recipe too is by Lekshmi Nair,whose recipe is what I followed last year.I liked the simplicity of this cake,minimal ingredients and tastes absolutely delicious.If you do not like soaking fruits in alcohol,you could do the same in orange juice or grape juice.Make sure to keep the soaked fruits refrigerated though.Plus soak it for maximum 24 hours not more than that.

Though you can consume the cake straight away once cooled,I would strongly recommend storing it overnight(or at least 6-8 hours) before cutting as it would help the flavors settle.

I really hope you try this recipe :)

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

Eggless Christmas Fruit Cake | Kerala Plum Cake Eggless

Ingredients

Maida - 1 1/4 cups

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Caramel syrup - 1/4 cup*

Milkmaid - 1/4 cup

Curd - 1/4 cup

Brown sugar - 1/4 cup

Oil - 1/4 cup

Soaked fruit and nuts - 1 1/4 cup**

Vanilla extract - a few drops

Almond/Orange extract - a few drops

Lemon juice - 1 1/2 tsp

*Caramel syrup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Hot water - 1/2 cup

Heat sugar in a pan till it caramelizes well.Add hot water and let it cook for 3-5 minutes on low flame till it thickens.Remove from the pan and let it cool down completely.

**Soaked fruits and nuts

You can use any combination of fruits and nuts.I have used

*Black Currants

*Sultanas

*Dates

*Tutty Frooti

*Cranberries

*Dried Pineapple

*Mixed dry fruits

*Cashewnuts and Almonds

Soak all this together(exclude nuts if you are soaking for a longer period) along with some honey,spice powders(a combination of cardamom,clove and cinnamon),Orange marmalade and Strawberry Jam(or any jam).Use as required.

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.Grease and line a 7" round pan.

In a mixing bowl add milkmaid,curd,brown sugar and oil.

Beat well till it comes together.

Sift in flour,baking powder,baking soda and salt.

Mix well and add the cooled caramel syrup.

Fold in the dried fruits and nuts and give a good mix.

Add the extracts and lemon juice and pour the batter into the lined tin.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool down completely.Cover it well using aluminium foil and let it rest for a few hours.

Slice and serve.

Step by Step Tutorial

Preheat oven to 180C.Grease and line a 7" round pan.

In a mixing bowl add milkmaid,curd,brown sugar and oil.

Beat well till it comes together.

Sift in flour,baking powder,baking soda and salt.

Mix well and 

add the cooled caramel syrup.

Fold in the dried fruits and nuts and give a good mix.

Add the extracts and 

lemon juice and 

pour the batter into the lined tin.

Top with some halved cashews or almonds or leave it plain.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool down completely.Cover it well using aluminium foil and let it rest for a few hours.

Slice and serve.

Tweet

Kadala Curry | Varutharacha Kadala Curry | Kerala Style Kadala Curry

Puttu and Kadala is a Sunday staple at home.I have posted a few kadala curry recipes here already but off late,this is the recipe I follow as it gives a great result and is quick as well.I personally feel kadala curry tastes best when it made with roasted coconut and spices.This gives it a great texture and no doubt,tastes great too.Pairs really well with Puttu,Appam and Idiyappam.

Somehow varutharacha curry sounds difficult and time consuming for many.Believe me,it isn't.Even though the original version requires roasting of coconut along with red chillies and coriander,here we take a small detour by roasting coconut and then adding spice powders which quickens the process without compromising on the taste one bit,that's win-win right?

Varutharacha Kadala Curry

Ingredients

Brown Channa/Kadala/Chickpeas - 1 cup,washed well and soaked for 8-10 hours and then drained

Salt to taste

For roasting

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Shallots - 4-5,sliced

Garlic - 1 clove

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Pepper - 1/4 tsp,crushed

Turmeric powder/Haldi - 1/4 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Red chilly powder - 3/4 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

For Tadka

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Shallots - 3-4,sliced

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Red chillies - 2-3,broken

Method

Pressure cook the channa/kadala adding enough water for 10-15 minutes or until well cooked.Add salt to taste and keep aside.

In a thick bottom pan(I use cast iron) add the ingredients for roasting - coconut,shallots,garlic,curry leaves and crushed pepper.

Saute on medium flame till everything heats up.Lower the flame and roast the ingredients till the coconut starts changing colour to a golden brown.

Once the coconut is evenly browned add in the masala powders - haldi,garam masala,chilly and coriander powder.Saute on low flame for a minute or two until the raw smell of the masala leaves.

Switch off the flame and let it cool down a little.

Grind to a smooth paste in the mixie-first grind without adding water.Once everything is powdered add enough water and grind to a smooth paste.

Into a pan add coconut oil and give tadka with mustard seeds,curry leaves,red chillies and shallots.Once the shallots starts changing colour add the ground paste and give it a boil.

Mix in the cooked channa along with the water and let it come to a boil.Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve hot with Puttu:)

Step by Step Pictorial

Pressure cook the channa/kadala adding enough water for 10-15 minutes or until well cooked.Add salt to taste and keep aside.

In a thick bottom pan(I use cast iron) add the ingredients for roasting - coconut,shallots,garlic,curry leaves and crushed pepper.

Saute on medium flame till everything heats up.Lower the flame and roast the ingredients till the coconut starts changing colour to a golden brown.

Once the coconut is evenly browned add in the masala powders - haldi,garam masala,chilly and coriander powder.Saute on low flame for a minute or two until the raw smell of the masala leaves.

Switch off the flame and let it cool down a little.

Grind to a smooth paste in the mixie-first grind without adding water.Once everything is powdered add enough water and grind to a smooth paste.

Into a pan add coconut oil and give tadka with mustard seeds,curry leaves,red chillies and shallots.Once the shallots starts changing colour add the ground paste and give it a boil.

Mix in the cooked channa along with the water and let it come to a boil.Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve hot with Puttu:)

The consistency of the gravy depends on how much water we add.When serving with Puttu I make it slightly of thin consistency whereas while serving with appam,I make it slightly thickish.

Tweet

Ragi Dosa | Finger Millet Dosa

For the longest time I was apprehensive about introducing millets to our diets.Long back I tried making dosa with Sama/Barnyard Millet and it turned out to be a bad experiment.Maybe that is what kept me from trying out anything new but I kept hearing about its health benefits and wanted to try it out again.

Saw this video on YouTube(where else!)and it looked very simple and too good that I immediately purchased some Ragi and soaked it to try making Ragi dosa the very next day.The process is indeed simple and very similar to how we would soak and grind for regular idli/dosa.The batter fermented really well and the dosa too came out wonderful,light and crispy.

Paired with a coconut chutney it made for a delicious breakfast.I have also tried making Ragi Masala Dosa and that's just taking it a level up in taste department.Do try out this recipe and enjoy the health benefits of Ragi!

Ragi Dosa | Finger Millet Dosa

Recipe Courtesy - Skinny Recipes

Ingredients

Ragi(Whole)/Finger Millet - 1 cup

Urad dal - 1/4 cup

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Cooked rice - 2 tbsp

Method

Wash the ragi,urad dal and methi till the water runs clear.

Soak for 2-3 hours.

In a mixer jar add the saoked and drained ragi,urad dal,methi along with rice and grind to a smooth batter adding enough water.

Ferment the batter overnight or for 8-10 hours.

Add salt to taste and loosen the batter if required with water to make dosa.

Heat a cast iron pan and make dosa with ghee.Don't skip the ghee as it helps to absorbs nutrients in the millets.

Step by Step Pictorial

Wash the ragi,urad dal and methi till the water runs clear.

Soak for 2-3 hours.

In a mixer jar add the saoked and drained ragi,urad dal,methi along with rice and grind to a smooth batter adding enough water.

Ferment the batter overnight or for 8-10 hours.

Add salt to taste and loosen the batter if required with water to make dosa.

Heat a cast iron pan and make dosa with ghee.Don't skip the ghee as it helps to absorbs nutrients in the millets.

Tweet

Instant Unniyappam using Rice flour | Easy Snack Recipes

I have posted an Unniyappam recipe recently,then why another one,is that what you are thinking? Well,that one is a traditional recipe which uses soaked and ground rice and takes a while to prepare(not active cooking time)but this one gets done in a jiffy.All of us are looking for something tasty and healthy to feed our family during these trying times when anything store bought is partially or completely avoided.

I have seen many recipes which use rice flour instead of ground rice to make this Unniyappam and this is my take on it.I just substituted the regular recipe with some rice flour along with maida/apf for the softness,most other ingredients are the same.

For flavoring the Unniyappam the prime ingredient is banana,the small variety named Palayankodan/Rasakadali.But these days any fruit puree is added instead of banana and it sounds delicious isn't it?Imagine a Mango Unniyappam using mango puree..it definitely is on my to-do list!Here I have added a bit of Chakka varatty/Jackfruit preserve along with banana,but you can completely skip it if you don't have it or want to add it.

Instant Unniyappam using Rice Flour

Ingredient

Rice flour - 1 cup (you can use readymade Idiyappam/Pathiri/Appam flour)
Maida/APF - 1/2 cup(you can substitute with WWF/Atta)
Jaggery - 1 cup,grated
Banana - 2 small
Chakka Varatty/Jackfruit Preserve - 1 tbsp
Cardamom - 1
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
A pinch of salt
Ghee- 1 tbsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp(you can use sliced coconut as well)
Black sesame seeds/Til - 1 tsp
Coconut oil to make the Unniyappams

Method

Add the grated jaggery and 1/4 cup water to a pan and let it boil.When the jaggery is completely dissolved and the syrup starts boiling,simmer for 2-3 minutes and then switch off the flame and strain it through a metal strainer.We need about 3/4 cup of jaggery syrup for the recipe.
Into a mixer jar add the rice flour,maida,jaggery syrup,chakka varatty,cardamom,salt and baking soda and banana.Grind to a smooth paste.
Remove the batter into a container.
In a pan,heat ghee and saute the coconut till golden.Mix in til.Add this to the Unniyappam batter and mix well.Rest the batter for 30 minutes.
In a paniyaram pan/Unniyappa chatti add coconut oil,enough to fill the pan.Pour the batter using a ladle and cook in medium flame till the unniyappam turns golden brown.Flip and cook the other side.
Make sure the flame is medium for even cooking.

Step by Step Pictorial

Add the grated jaggery and 1/4 cup water to a pan and let it boil.When the jaggery is completely dissolved and the syrup starts boiling,simmer for 2-3 minutes and then switch off the flame and strain it through a metal strainer.

Into a mixer jar add the rice flour,

maida,

jaggery syrup,

chakka varatty,

cardamom,

salt and baking soda and 

banana.Grind to a smooth paste.
Remove the batter into a container.

In a pan,heat ghee and saute the coconut till golden.Mix in til.Add this to the Unniyappam batter and mix well.Rest the batter for 30 minutes.

In a paniyaram pan/Unniyappa chatti add coconut oil,enough to fill the pan.

Pour the batter using a ladle and cook in medium flame till the unniyappam turns golden brown.

Flip and cook the other side.

Make sure the flame is medium for even cooking.

Enjoy :)

Tweet