Sponge Cake

Ingredients

Self raising flour - 100g
Eggs - 2 (almost 120 gm)
Butter -100g

Powdered sugar -100g

Oil - 1 tbsp

Vanilla essence -1tsp

Method
Egg and butter must be at room temperature.
Butter should be soft.
Butter a cake pan and then dust it with flour. Set aside.

1. Take butter in a mixing bowl. Beat it till creamy.
2. Then add powdered sugar. Beat it until it is smooth and creamy.
3. Add vanilla extract and then add eggs, one at a time. Mix only till it just blends.
4. Preheat oven to 150°C (Fan).
5. Add flour to the batter. Mix only till it well blends. (Please don’t over mix it).

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, level the top with a spatula.
7. Bake about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Place on a wire rack to cool, and then gently remove the cake from the pan.
Note: Store the cake in an air tight container or cover it with foil for 2 days before you cut it.

Masala Dosa

Ingredients

Basmathi rice /long grain rice/പച്ചരി -3 cup
Urid or urad dal/ഉഴുന്ന് – 1 cup
Cooked rice – 1 cup
Salt
Oil or Ghee

Method
1.Soak rice(I used basmathi rice) and urid or urad dal for 4-5 hrs.
2. First grind urid dal into a smooth batter by adding enough water. Pour into a bowl.
3. Then grind rice and cooked rice together. That too make to a smooth batter by adding enough water. Then pour that into urid dal batter.
4. Add enough salt and mix all nicely. Keep in room temperature over night.(During winter as its cold could take a day or more for the batter to ferment.)
5. Before you make dosa, mix the batter well with spoon.
6. Heat a non stick pan .Grease it with oil or ghee.
7. Reduce heat to low.
8. Pour one ladle full batter over the pan and spread it from centre.
9. Make it as big as u can, by moving the ladle in clockwise or anti clockwise direction.
10. Increase heat to low-medium.
11. Drizzle oil or ghee over dosa.
12. When it becomes light brown you can spread the filling.
13. Fold it like in the picture. Turn it carefully.
14. Now you can take the masala dosa from the pan...13. Serve hot with Coconut chutney and/or Sambar.

Masala Dosa filling / Sabzi for poori

Ingredients

Potatoes - 3 medium
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Onion chopped - 1 medium
Curry leaves - 6
Finely chopped Green chillies - 3 (or depends on the spice level you required)
Finely chopped Ginger - 1 tsp
Finely chopped Garlic - 1/4 tbsp
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Chopped coriander leaves. (Optional)
Oil
Salt as required

Method
1. Boil potatoes and drain water once potatoes are well cooked. After it cooled down remove the potato skin and mash it. No need to mash it very well. There should be some small and medium sized pieces (Can use a fork for this work instead of a masher).

2. Heat oil in a pan, when oil is hot splutter mustard seeds. Now add the chopped onions and curry leaves. When it starts getting light brown color add green chillies, curry leaves, ginger, garlic & turmeric powder and fry for 2 minutes(in low flame).

3. After that add mashed potatoes and salt and mix well. Keep flame in low and mix everything together. When u feel all turmeric and salt spread every where can switch off the flame.

4. If you are using coriander leaves add at this stage. The potato filling is ready. This same sabzi I’m using with poori as well.

Ethakka (Plantain) Appam

Ingredients


Plantain (ഏത്തക്ക ) - 1 ripe
All- purpose flour -3/4-1 cup
Sugar -½ cup
Egg-1
Baking powder –a Pinch
Salt - Pinch
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cardamon powder - 1/8 tsp
Milk (use skimmed milk)- Approximately ¾ to 1 cup (Enough to get pancake batter /dosa batter consistency)
Oil to deep fry

Method
1. Peel plantains, cut it into two halves. Then slice each half into four or more slices, depending on size of the plantain.
2. Beat eggs and sugar. Then add flour, salt.
3. To the above mix, keep adding milk in small quantities (do not add all at once) and mix to make a medium smooth batter. Add cumin seeds and cardamom powder into the batter.
4. For deep frying, heat enough oil
5. Dip plantain slices in batter and fry till golden brown. Drain and serve it.

Aviyal

Ingredients
Yam(ചേന) sliced, raw bananas, Padavalanga, Vellarikka thinly into 1” length pieces - ½ cup each
Carrot, Long runner-beans sliced into 1″ length pieces - ¼ cup:
Drumstick cut into 1 ½ ” length pieces - 2
Tomato – 2 medium
Grated coconut - ½ cup
Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Green chillies - 5 no
Curry leaves
Coconut oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method

1. Coarsely grind the coconut, garlic and cumin seeds. Keep it aside.
2. Clean the vegetables, cut it and keep aside.
3. Cook vegetables except drumstick, green chillies, little turmeric and salt by adding ½ cup water.
4. Cook drumstick separately till it is done.
5. When the vegetable is done, add grind coconut and drumstick .Mix it well.
6. Cook for another 3-4 mts under medium-low flame.
7. Mix coconut oil and curry leaves in the avail.8. Remove from fire.

Semiya Payasam

Ingredients
Vermicelli - 1 cup

Milk - 5 cup

Sugar - 3/4 cup - 1 cup(depends on taste)

Cashew nuts – ¼ cup

Raisins - ¼ cup

Cardamom - 2-3 pods(powder it)Water - 1 cup

Method

1. Fry the cashew nuts and Raisins in ghee and keep aside. Then fry the vermicelli till light brown.

2. Mix water and milk together and boil.

3. Add the vermicelli to boiling milk and cover it. Reduce flame and stirring occasionally.

4. Once the vermicelli becomes soft add sugar and stir.

5. Add cardamom Powder,Cashew nuts and Raisins.

6. Mix well and boil for about two minutes.And server hot or cold.

Broccoli Thoran

Ingredients

Broccoli - 500gm
Onion(medium) - 1
Garlic pods(small) - 2 nos
Chopped Ginger-1tsp
Green chillies(chopped) - 3 - 4 nos or as reqd
Turmeric powder - A pinch
Salt - As reqd
Grated coconut-3/4 cup
Curry leaves - A few
Mustard seeds - A pinch
Oil - A little

Method

1. Mix grated coconut,crushed garlic,ginger,curry leaves,turmeric and little water with hand or with arakallu..
2. Clean broccoli and cut it into small size
3. Heat oil in a non-stick or thick bottomed pan.
4. Splutter mustard seeds.
5. Add onion and saute.
6. Add green chillies and coconut mix and saute for some time.
7. Add salt and stir well.
8. Add broccoli and stir well.
9. Close the pan and cook well on a low flame for 8 mts.
10. Stir in between and check the level of salt.
11. After 8 mts if there is water, increase the flame to high and saute continuously still water disappear..