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When it comes to cooking for a special someone in your life,you want it to be nothing short of perfect,isn't it?It is with this thought in mind I set out to make something for my amma.Yes,it is Mother's day and I decided to post something I made exclusively keeping her taste palates in mind.
As I've mentioned many times before,she doesn't have any special favorites as such.Whatever we like,becomes special to her too.There would be days where she cooked as many as 4 curries and stir fries and sometimes,it wouldn't be her favorite at all.She'll take some rice,curd and pickle and rejoice in the wonderful meal and we'll not spare that too,demanding a taste from that!
I prepared this simple but delicious Dates Kheer today for her.It is mildly sweet,with no sugar added and a perfect after meal dessert.
Dates Kheer
Recipe minimally adapted from Mahanandi,Original recipe from Sukham Ayu
Ingredients
Dates - 10-12,chopped fine(I used Lion Seedless Dates)
Almonds - 10-12,powdered fine
Milk - 2 1/2 cups
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp(freshly crushed)
Method
In a thick bottomed kadai add ghee and saute dates and almond powder for 2-3 minutes.
Mix in the milk and let it boil,simmer now for 5-10 minutes or till the milk reduces and becomes thickish.
Add cardamom powder and serve hot or let it come to room temperature,chill and serve.
I pureed the kheer at this stage and served with chopped almonds on top.
Notes
- The kheer is mildly sweet so if you are looking for a sweet dessert,mix in some sugar,jaggery or honey while the milk boils.
- The original recipe calls for Nutmeg which I didn't add.I feel Cinnamon would go well too.
- You could puree the dates along with almonds and then cook it with milk.
It takes me less than an hour to cook breakfast and lunch for the day if I am in a good mood and I have the menu ready in my mind.I agree to every one who says it is the menu part which takes up all of the time.Which ozhichu curry(gravy)to make and what upperi(side-dish)will go with seems to be a daily issue.I try and decide it the previous night itself so that kitchen time is minimal.It is scorching summer here in Chennai and even the tadka heat becomes unbearable.
I rely on my Mallu friends when it comes to authentic malayali curries and this one is no different.My friend Ramya made this for lunch one day and I just couldn't guess what was it that made it different from the regular Kumbalanga pulisheri that I make.While sour curd is used for puli in pulisheri,in this curry the souring agent is raw mango.
We love pairing pulisheri with beetroot upperi and it went well with this pulingari too.
Kumbalanga-Muringakkya Pulingari
Ingredients
Kumbalanga/Ash gourd/Vella poosnikka - 1 cup,cubed
Muringakkya/Drumstick - 1,sliced into 2'pieces
Raw Mango - 1/2 cup,chopped
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
For the arappu/masala
Grated coconut - 4 tbsp
Green chilly - 1
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Haldi/Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
For the seasoning
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly - 1
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Method
Cook the toor dal in a pressure cooker with enough water till 2-3 whistles or till the dal becomes mushy.
Add in the chopped vegetables and the raw mango and cook for exactly 1 whistle.
Meanwhile,make the masala with the ingredients mentioned.Grind to a smooth paste.
Mix in the ground masala and salt to taste and bring the curry to a boil.Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Prepare seasoning in a pan with oil and splutter mustard seeds.Add red chilly and curry leaves and pour the tadka over the boiling curry.
Switch off flame and serve hot.
Beetroot Upperi
Ingredients
Beetroot - 1,chopped
Onion - 1,chopped
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Green chilly - 1,chopped
Salt to taste
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp
Method
In a thick bottomed kadai add oil and splutter mustard seeds and add green chilly followed by onion.
Saute onions till golden brown and mix in the chopped beetroot.Add around 1/4 cup of water and salt to taste,close with a lid and cook for 5-10 minutes or till the beetroot is cooked.Mix in the grated coconut.
Serve with rice and pulingari.
Chocolate and banana,sounds like an interesting combo,doesn't it?When whipped up into a cake with a smooth ganache on top,it definitely becomes a treat for the palates.I have quite a few Banana bakes in here,with Roasted Bananas flavored with Rum,Eggless Banana Muffins with Apples and a Plain fabulous Banana Cake but pairing it up with chocolate has never been tried before.
Despite me trying not to (over)bake with chocolate,I somehow end up with at least one chocolate post(if not more) every month.Anyone's complaining??
Just like this cake,this one's very easy to whip up too.Just two bowls,mixing dry ingredients into the wet and the batter is ready within minutes.I baked this for two kids at home now and they were relished with much gusto.Yes,the last crumb was polished off along with licking the ganache off the plate,what more could the happy baker in me want:).
Chocolate Banana Cake
Recipe source - Joy of Baking
Ingredients
All purpose flour/Maida - 1 3/4 cup
Cocoa powder - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 2 cups(I pulsed the sugar in my mixer jar for 5 seconds)
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 2
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Banana,mashed - 1 cup(I used 3 medium sized bananas)
Milk - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup
Warm water - 1 cup
Method
Preheat oven to 180C.Grease and line a 9/13 rectangular pan.(I used a 9/9 square baking dish and baked the rest into cupcakes).
In a big mixing bowl,mix together the dry ingredients starting with flour,cocoa powder,sugar,baking powder,baking soda and salt.Whisk together with wire whisk and keep aside.
In another mixing bowl,whisk together eggs,vanilla extract,banana puree,oil,milk and warm water.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together till you get a smooth,lump free batter.
Tip the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and finish cooling in a wire rack.
Chocolate Ganache
Semi sweet chocolate - 200gms
Cream - 200 ml
Butter - 1 tbsp
In a thick bottomed stainless steel pan,heat the cream until bubbles start appearing on the sides.
Mix in chopped chocolate and stir for a while.Switch off heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Whisk well till no chocolate lumps appear and the ganache becomes smooth and creamy.Mix in the butter.
Let it cool down to room temperature and use as required.
For finishing off-Pour chocolate ganache over the cake and smear on the sides too.Let it sit for a while till the ganache sets(you could refrigerate the cake too!).Serve chilled.
Notes
- The cake remains moist even after refrigeration because of the oil and the banana added into it.Makes for a perfect party cake.Bake it in a Borosil dish and serve it straight from the pan,makes for lesser cleaning up.
- The banana flavor is quite light but makes for a perfect pairing with chocolate.
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Another exciting news I've got to share with all my readers is that Easycooking was mentioned on Indulge(Indian Express)on May 4th,Chennai edition as one of the most followed food blogs in the city.
Thank YOU for your constant support and encouragement!
