Colours and Shades

Colours and Shades... 

Isn't it so pleasant to see... When simple drawings turn vibrant with colours and appropriate shading... 

Credits: Colour combination...guided by my Mom 😊

Spicy Chicken Gravy

 Spicy Chicken Gravy

Adapted from Solaiachi's Kitchen

Ingredients:

List 1:

Chicken - 500 gms

Tomatoes-2 (medium-sized, chopped finely) 

Gingelly / coconut oil - 5 tbsp

Salt to taste 

List 2:

Turmeric powder -  1 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

List 3:

Ginger - ½ inch piece

Onion - 2 (medium sized) 

Garlic - 10 pods

Green chillies - 1 (2 inch) 

Chillie powder-1 tsp

Coriander powder-3 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

List 4:

Coconut grated - 5 tbsp / coconut milk powder - 3 tbsp

Cashew nut - 5 / kasa Kasa - 2 tsp

List 5: 

Cinnamon - 2 pieces

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Clove - 3

Cardamom - 2

Kalpaasi - A small piece 

Birinji leaf - half leaf

Curry leaf - 15 leaves

Mint leaves - 10 (optional) 

Method:

1. Clean the chicken and marinate with the ingredients in list 2. 

2. Grind the ingredients in list 3 and keep it aside (paste 1).

3. Grind the ingredients in list 4 and keep it aside (paste 2) . 

4. Heat a Kadai and add oil. 

5. Add the ingredients in list 5. 

6. Now add the ground paste 1 and salt. Cook well till the oil separates. 

7. Add the marinated chicken. Cook for 3-5 mins at high flame stirring occasionally and then cover and cook at low flame for 5-7 mins. 

8. Once the chicken is almost done, add the finely chopped tomatoes. Cook till the oil separates. 

9. Finally add the ground paste 2 and cook for 5 mins. 

10. Again cook till the oil separates. 

11. Add water, If you need a watery gravy. 

 Note:
1. As the chicken is marinated with salt, so while cooking please take care of salt level when adding extra.
2. At each stage wait patiently and cook till the oil separates.

Eggless Vanilla Cake

Eggless Vanilla Cake

Adapted from Jeyashri's Kitchen

A simple, butterless, eggless cake, and it was porous and spongy too. 

The original recipe called for 160°c... But I raised it to 180°c. 

The cake's crust was bit dry... Not sure if it was due to the temperature I baked it at.

So I just trimmed the outer crust and frosted the cake with simple chocolate butter icing. 

It was so yummy 😋. 

My hubby (not much of a cake lover) and son gobbled all the slices... 😊

Recipe follows... 

For the cake... 

Ingredients:

Maida - 1 cup

Fresh cream - 1/2 cup

Milk Powder - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Baking Soda - A pinch

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp 

Hot water - 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Sieve together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Sieve milk powder separately. 

2. Beat the fresh cream, milk powder and sugar . Add the vanilla essence and hot water. Whisk well. 

3. Now add the flour mixture little by little and fold gently. Mix this evenly.

4. Bake this in a greased and floured 6 inch round baking tray in a preheated oven at 160°c for 20 to 25 minutes or till done. 

For the Chocolate Butter icing... 

Ingredients :

Icing sugar - 3 cups

Butter (@ room temperature, softened)  - 1 cup

Cocoa - 2 tbsp 

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Fresh cream - optional

Method:

1. Sieve icing sugar and cocoa powder. 

2.Whisk the sieved mixture and butter together. 

3. Add the essence and cream well. 

4. If the buttercream is not in a spreadable consistency, add fresh cream and mix well. 

5. Simple chocolate butter icing is ready. 

Note:

1. The cake was not too sweet, but the Frosting balanced it. 

2. If you are not frosting, then add sugar (a couple of tablespoons extra). 

3. For this cake, my 1 cup measures 240 ml. 

4. Update : when I baked this cake once again on another occasion, I baked it @160 c. And this time, the cake was perfect. 

Perfect Rava Kesari

Perfect Rava Kesari 

Adapted from Rakskitchen

Ingredients:
Rava - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Water - 1 & 1/2 cup
Ghee - 4 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Cashew nuts - 7-8 nos
Raisins - 10
Kesari colour - A pinch

Method
1. In a non-stick Kadai, roast the cashews and raisins in 1 tbsn ghee. Drain the cashews (when turns light brown)  and raisins (when it gets puffed up)  and keep it aside. 
2. In the same Kadai, now add the remaining ghee and rava. Roast rava by stirring constantly until it turns light brown.Transfer the mixture to a plate and set aside. 
3. Add the water to the kadai and bring to boil. Add the fried rava little by little to the boiling water and keep stirring simultaneously.Take care no lumps are formed, stir well. Cook it covered for 3-4 minutes or until the rava gets cooked. 
4. Add the sugar,kesari colour and Cardamom powder.  Stir well for 4-5 minutes or untill the kesari forms as a whole mass (doesn't stick to the pan).
5. Grease a plate with ghee. Transfer the Kesari to the plate and spread it. After cooling down, cut it into diamond shapes. 

Note:
1.The entire recipe was cooked in slow flame.
2. For this recipe, my 1 cup measures 240 ml.  

*You can read my first exciting experience making this recipe... Here...😊

Crispy Custard Powder Cookies - Eggless

Custard Powder Cookies (Eggless)

Adapted from Yummytummyaarthi's

INGREDIENTS:

Butter - 1/2 cup

Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup

Maida - 1 cup

Custard Powder - 1/4 cup

Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp

Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp

Cold Milk - as required

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180°c . Grease a baking tray with oil/butter and line it with butter paper and again brush slightly with oil.

2. Take maida, custard powder, powdered sugar, baking soda, baking powder in a bowl and mix well.

3.Add in butter and vanilla and mix well to form a dough. Add milk, if required, to form a dough.

4. Divide the dough into small lemon-sized portions and roll it into balls, press gently to flatten it and arrange it in the baking tray.

5. Prick it with a toothpick or fork.

6. Bake it in oven for 15 to 17 mins. Remove it from oven and let it cool for 5 mins.

7. Now remove the cookies to a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

8. Crispy Custard Powder Cookies are ready.

NOTES:

1. For this recipe, my 1 cup measures 240 ml. 

2. I used vanilla flavoured custard powder. 

Coconut Cookies (Eggless)

Coconut Cookies (Eggless)  

Adapted from Ruchiskitchen 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Maida
1/4 tsp Baking soda/eno fruit salt 
1/4 tsp Baking powder
1 cup Unsweetend desiccated Coconut / shredded and toasted fresh coconut 
1/2 cup Butter
10 tbsp Powdered Sugar
3-5 tsp Milk
Few drops of  Vanilla essence

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven at 180° c. 
2. Sieve maida with baking powder and baking soda. 
3. In a bowl, mix sugar and butter. Add the coconut. 
4. Add vanilla essence and milk. 
5. Now slowly add in the maida mixture little by little to form a dough.
6. Divide the dough into 20 portions and roll it to balls and flatten them slightly (1 cm thick). 
7. Place it on a greased and floured baking tray and bake it for 15-20 mins or till golden brown on top. 

MY TIPS:

1. For this recipe, my 1 cup measures 240 ml
2. I used shredded and toasted fresh coconut and eno fruit salt. 
3. You can make the cookies in different shapes using a cookie cutter. 

Update (12th Feb, 2017):

Made the cookies again today, tried a change in shaping the cookie. After rolling the dough into balls, flatten it slightly and make a finger impression at the centre gently, just half-way through and then bake it.  The cookies came out baked in almost perfect round shape. 

Flirting with baking...

Flirting with baking 😍... 

Feeling very active and refreshed... 

My days are filled with so much fun and excitement... 😊

Baking Mentor 💃

Stepping into the baking world 🍱🍪 🍞 🍩🍕🍰🎂, with an expert guidance... 😊

Realized today that we need a master to excel in any art form. 🎼🎻🎵🎸🎶🎹🎨

Self-learning might help, but still.. To know the knack of the art, you definitely need a Mentor. 

Grabbed the opportunity...Got my Mentor today.  🌝👍

Pencil Shaves

Pencil Shaves 

Last night, sharpened my son's pencil ✏ .

The Shaves were so pretty... Couldn't let it go without taking a pic😜😊

And, wanted to try a pencil shave drawing 😜

Got some ideas from Google images and chose this one... 

Drew this 😊

Orange Cake

Orange Cake 

Adapted from: Nisa Homey's Orange Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Butter: 2½ tbspn

Sugar: ⅓ cup

Flour: ⅔ cups

Egg:1

Orange Juice**: half of ⅓ cup (I used readymade tetra pack) 

Salt: a pinch

Baking powder: ½ tspn + 1 small pinch

Orange rind: 1 tspn

Orange essence: ½ tspn (optional) 

METHOD:

--Preheat oven to 180 degree C (350) and grease and flour a standard baking tray. I used aluminum foil container.

--Cream butter and sugar, I used granulated sugar. Beat for a min.

--Add in the egg and beat again, for about 2 mins or until fluffy and creamy.

--Add in the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt. If you are using salted butter, omit the salt.

**The batter should be fluffy and not loose. So when you add orange juice, add accordingly until you get the consistency... maybe you might need a little more or little less. 

--Now add in the orange juice (and orange essence if using) and whisk or fold lightly. 

--Finally fold in the orange rind.

--Pour the batter in a greased and floured loaf tray and bake it in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 30-45 mins or until done.

MY TIPS:

Keep the ingredients ready before starting the process. 

All the ingredients must be in room temperature. 

For this cake, My 1 cup measures 200 ml

Adrenaline Rush

These 2 Quotes shared by my friends... Coincidentally, started and concluded my day... Hitting the right chord of my experience and emotions today. 😊☺