Sunday, February 15, 2009

Tried & tasted ;)

I am always in constant search for new recipes. In this process I have reached several blogs, bookmarked several dishes and recreated a few in my lab successfully. I plan to note down the recipes here just in case the site becomes inaccessible to me. (A lot of sites that I used to visit before are not easily accessible these days) I prefer to try recipes from blogs as the picture gives us a clear idea about  how the final product will look likeand also over every recipe is tried and tested. The comments too gives a fair idea. Last week I made 2 dishes from  different blogs a snack and another a dessert. Both came out really good. 

Idli and Vada make a great pair. When I had made idli's last week hubby dear asked for Vada's. Now Vada was something we always had in hotels. I did not have the confidence to make them inspite of seeing them in so many blogs. I avoid deep fried food too. But when I saw neat vada's at Asha's blog I could not resist. The same day I made them and it came out perfect and crispy. I could not shape them as the mixie that I have here could not grind it into smooth paste without water. I added few more ingredients to make it more tasty. Please click here for the original recipe and drool worthy pics.
Here is what's needed:
1 cup Urad Dal
1 tbsp Rice (I used Basmati)
2 pinches of Baking soda
1 tbsp finely chopped Coconut
5-6 Curry leaves roughly chopped
small piece of Ginger finely chopped
1 Green chilli sliced into rings
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry
Procedure:
1) Wash and soak urad dal with rice. Keep it refridgerated. I soaked them for 6 hrs as I did not have much time. 
2) Grind it to a smooth paste. Avoid using water. I added more water hence could not shape them.
3) Add salt and soda. Add in the chopped chilli, curry leaves, ginger & coconut. Mix well.
4) Heat oil and pour a spoon full of batter into oil and fry on medium flame until crisp and golden.
Serve them dunked in Rasam or with Chutney of your choice. 
Next time I plan to add some finely chopped onions too to the batter. Thank you Asha for an easy and wonderful recipe. 


When I first saw this cake at Deeba's blog I was hooked on to it. I had bookmarked to try but having wanted to try Zebra cake first this was forgotten, The next time I saw it again in Divya's blog and finally decided to bake it. It came out really good. I did not make many changes to the recipe other than the amount of sugar and skipping out Coffee extract. I added 1/2 cup of sugar more than the recipe called for as the sugar that we get here is not at very sweet. In spite of the change in amount of sugar it tasted just right. Not too sweet. Thank you Deeba for a such a keeper recipe. Please click here for the original recipe.
I am noting the recipe here with the changes that I made.
Here is what's needed:
Flour - 1 1/2 cups
Wholewheat flour -1/2 cup
Cocoa - 2/3 cup
Instant Coffee - 2 tbsp
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Pinch of salt
Butter - 1/2 cup; at room temperature (I used a little more than 1/4th cup)
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup (Original recipe called for 1 cup)
Eggs - 2
Yogurt - 1 1/2 cups
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Coffee Extract - 1 tsp (I skipped this)
Procedure:
1) I did not have a bundt tin so used a greased disposable foil tin. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2) Sift the flours + baking powder + baking soda + cocoa. Keep aside.I sifted it twice.
3) Beat the butter & sugar. Add eggs & beat again. Add the vanilla extract, Instant coffee & beat.
4) Add the flour mix & yogurt alternatively and keep mixing it until well incorporated. Don't over mix.
5)Turn into prepared pan, level out & bake until skewer insterted comes out clean. For me it took 55 mins. I covered it loosely with aluminuim foil as the top was browning very soon. 
The only problem that I faced while baking was that after 7 mins of baking The batter started oozing out from sides. The top of the cake slided a bit downwards as if it was sinking. Was it that I had filled too much in my tin? Any suggestions are welcome. 
I am feeling much confident now in terms of baking. Thanks to all of you who took time to comment and give valuable suggestions when I last made Zebra cake. It actually helped me and I avoided doing the common mistakes like opening the oven door within 10 minutes of baking cake etc. There is still so much to learn.

23 comments:

Poonam said...

I have bookmarked this too..drooling pics as u said..now I should give this a try...

VG said...

Great job Uj. Cake looks perfect!

FH said...

Cool recipes to try, sweet and savory! :)
Vade sambhar looks yum, so do the cake. Enjoy, thanks for trying. Shape is tough for me too, but I bought a wet grinder last week, can't wait to try with that. I will post that details at Aroma this week on Friday! :)

Deeba PAB said...

Well done Uj...the cake looks great. And now you've got me eyeing those vadas. My son loved vadas & I want to try these very soon. This is what I love about blogging...the circle of friendship & the personal touch!! take care

Deeba PAB said...

Oooops sorry. Yes, I think it's the foil pan that led to the overflow; maybe it wasn't deep enough. Next time try & use a deeper pan, OR, use a larger foil tin, & insert a ring (made out of an empty can works well). This ensures the cake bakes easily & evenly.

lubnakarim06 said...

Vadas and cake......Are they still available Iam on my way....

Aps Kitchen said...

Hey uj vadas i tried but not vth sambar but dahi vada. nd same is my case shape :( nd cake loooks mouth waterig will try this when i start baking.

Aps Kitchen said...

Hey uj vadas i tried but not vth sambar but dahi vada. nd same is my case shape :( nd cake loooks mouth waterig will try this when i start baking.

Sunshinemom said...

Vadais are to die for and I love the dark color of the cake!

Ashwini said...

wow vada sambar looks yumm..Cake too looks good..Sweet and savory..nice combo..Try ..Try never give up:-)

Finla said...

DELICIOUS that cake.

Varsha Vipins said...

Both of them looks yum..But I want tat 1st one now..:D

Cham said...

Both are great one. Cake looks very moist and delicous.

Divya Kudua said...

Yummy treats Uj..you do prepare amazing experiments in your lab!!Love the Idli-vada combo and it looks quite tempting.Love Deeba's blog and the Choc-Yogurt cake is a winner.I've baked it 3 times already..yummy!!

Adlak's tiny world said...

pictures are colorful and tempting ujwal... now u cant view the pic of the cake.. he he he it is with me now.. (eduthundu odi vandhuttene)

Namrata Kini said...

Hey Ujwal when are you inviting me to your lab. both the vada and cake look perfect. I too have difficulty shaping vadas instead prefer making biscuit ambado. Inserting a can is a great tip from Deeba. will try that cake soon.

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

oh both dishes look lovely.. now i feel like having the zebra cake..

Manju said...

the vadas in the rasam look totally out of the world!! n i soo want a piece of that chocolate cake now!! lovely pics..

Red Chillies said...

Idli vadas and sambhar were the most frequent thing we had in Bangalore. Makes me so nostalgic and feel like home. Loved the cake, looks so moist and delicious. Thanks to everybody for the recipes.

Purva Desai said...

This combo is loved by my hubby.....cake too looks perfect...soft and fluffy

Deepthi Shankar said...

nice cake .. i would love to try this sometime

Usha said...

Vadas dunked in rasam look fabulous and the cake looks rich and delicious, great job :-)

Uj said...

Thank you all for your comments. I hope that you do try both the dishes.

Asha,
Thanks dear for a wonderful recipe. BTW I envy your ginder.. :(

Deeba,
Thank you. I have bought a pan this time. will try some cake and let you know how they come out. I completely agree with you dear..

Divya,
Thanks for pushing me towards trying them