Nobitaaaaattoooooo!!!

Got more than a dozen of free Nobita and friends tattoos for some candies. I've seen kids buying candies just to get their favorite characters' tattoos. But my son differs from this.  Don't know why... He does not like them.

Now, what to do with these??? So, in order to encourage him, I decided to go for a tattoo 😜. Done👍,  I bear a tattoo on my left wrist 😆...

I kept showing my tattoo to him, now and then, thinking that he would ask for one...But nothing motivated him.

Whatever,  I'm with a "Nobita" tattoo, in my mid-thirties😂... It's fun. 

Little Angels

Cute little Angels from my Mom's garden 🏡 

I'm at my Mom's place for my son's mid-term vacation. Yesterday morning, these cute ones waved at me, dancing to the tune 🎶 of a gentle cold breeze. Awww!!! 

And so... here are my clicks 📷 ... 

This was planted by my brother-like  "V".  He takes care of everything at my Mom's absence and sometimes takes care of my Mom too. He's family😊.

Location: My Mom's garden, Pondicherry. 

Camera: Samsung Galaxy S5 

Another cake disaster😜

Wanted to bake a marble cake with swirl pattern, so browsed and browsed for a recipe to work my idea. Finally, I was so confident as I chose a recipe from a blogger 🌍 who takes baking class. 

Last night, I mixed the batter, poured it into the baking tray, made the swirl pattern and put it into my oven. All set. 

The cake raised, raised and raised😰, flooded all over my oven😕, the crust darkened,  and then suddenly the cake went flat. 😣 It took more than an hour to bake.

The cake was so oily... And soggy... Not firm. 

.  It was a mess. 😥

I was about to discard it, But my mom came to rescue. She asked me to layer the broken cake pieces with tissue papers to absorb the oil. I did as she told and left it overnight. 

This morning, I tasted the cake. To my surprise, the taste was manageable, it was not that bad as I thought😆. My mom's trick worked. 😅😊

Again a cake wreck -  rescue operation was a success 😄

Saviour, cast away the darkness...

It's Christmas season, but my title holds a different feeling ... 

My city, Chennai, was shattered last week by the cyclone, 'Vardah', which was quite devastating. In the recent years, Chennai has become a soft target or magnet of Nature's violent behavior. Like the Tsunami in December '04, Heavy heavy rainfall in November '15 and this year... 'Vardah'. The cyclone uprooted a lot of trees, electric poles n transformers. Its so sad to see a dry Chennai in a week's time.  

During this cyclone hit, we were left with powet-cut and no-water condition, as we require the electric motor to pump the water up to the tank. Water... people managed by using the old traditional way... Yes, using a bucket and a rope to get the water from the tank directly (our very own "Well" technology). So that was a relief. But, power... Yes, the name is apt for electricity... No Electricity, no power. 

The nights were drained in darkness. People had UPS but that too went off in a couple of days as there was no electricity to recharge... Some places are still experiencing power-cuts as I'm blogging this. Rented Gensets... again scarcity... So darkness...darkness...darkness.

I... neither have UPS nor rented genset. But my nights were lit brightly with minimal effort and almost at no-cost. Guess what?!  SOLAR LAMP, yes... a simple but powerful solution.

Solar Lamp

Solar Panel

 My father bought her almost more than 15 years back. Comparing the re-chargable electric lamps to my solar lamp, I've bought around 4-5 of the former.  They tend to stop working after sometime.  But, all these years, she keeps working fine with just a couple of minor repairs. She travelled with me to Bangalore after my marriage. And now to Chennai 3 years back. She became my husband's favorite emergency lamp. He keeps insisting to take care of her.  

Having an 8 year old boy (my son) and experiencing the power-cuts and darkness, trust me, it's very difficult.
My Solar Lamp with a shape of a light-house, sits in a corner of my sitting room so humbly and the solar panel on the terrace... She brightened my nights.  She was there working perfectly, when I needed her the most. She didn't let me down. This experience was an eye opener. Now, I have an extra dose of respect for my dear Saviour... Yes... She did cast the Darkness, away. 

Get a solar lamp, it's an one-time investment, a promising long n strong bond. Go for it and experience the difference. 

Quilling - Ganesha 🙏

My Mom has a huge collection of Lord Ganesha's figurines. I must say...Quite a lot. 

Each one of them, unique in its own kind... Be it with what it is made of or the posture.

It has become a habit for us, like wherever we go, either my brother or my sis-in-law or me,  

We shop for her a Ganesha. 

So, how can I miss to make her a Quilling Ganesha!!! 

As I'm a beginner in quilling, I was browsing a lot for a simple method. Finally, this creation caught my eyes. 

And, here I am with my "Oh... So cute Ganesha" 

Materials required and method :

7 to 8 - 5mm for body
2 -  3mm for head
2 - 3mm for crown

*Stick head to the crown.

1 - 3mm  for each ear, slightly loosened and shaped into traingle

*Stick to the sides of the head.

1 - 3mm for left hand
1 - 3mm for right hand
1 - 3mm for trunk

*All 3 loosened to 2cm circle and shaped appropriately.

1 - 3mm for left palm
1 - 3mm for right palm

*Stick palm to hands.
*Stick the head and hands to the body.
*Decorate as u wish.

Mini Apple Pies (Eggless)

Mini Apple Pies 

Recipe adapted from Padhuskitchen

Ingredients:

For short crust pastry:

Maida - 1/2 cup 

Unsalted butter (ice cold and cubed) - 45 grams

Ice water - 2 tablespoons

Salt - a pinch 

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

For the Filling:

Apples - 1 (small, firm textured apple)

Lemon juice - 1/4 tsp (a few drops) 

Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup

Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp

Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Maida -1/2 tbsp

Butter - 1/2 tsp

Method:

For the short crust pastry:

1. In a chilled bowl add maida, salt and sugar and whisk well. 2. Add chilled butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using your finger tips, rub or squash each cube of butter into the flour. Take a butter cube and a little flour and squash it. Repeat the same until all the butter is broken into fine pieces and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3. Make a well in the center, add 1 tbsp of ice cold water. Use your hand as a whisk and mix the flour. Add another tbsp of cold water and mix well. Stop adding water if the dough clumps together. The dough should just hold together. 

4. Dust the working space with a little flour and knead the dough gently to make it smooth. Do not overdo.

5. Divide the dough into two portions (3/4 and 1/4), flatten it a bit and wrap it in a cling film and refrigerate it for few minutes.

The basic short crust pastry dough for the pie is ready. 

For the Filling:

1. Peel, core and cut the apples to small cubes. 

2. Add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice and mix well. 

3. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, flour to the chopped apples and mix until well combined. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

4. Strain and collect the juice oozed out of the apple mixture.

5. Heat butter and add the juice. Stir on medium flame until it gets caramelized and slightly thick. 

6. Add it to the apple mixture and mix it well.

Our pie filling is ready.

For Apple pies:
1.Grease 2 small pie moulds well. 
Take 3/4 of the dough from the refrigerator.
Dust the working space with little flour and slightly Knead the dough. 
***Method 1
--Divide it into 2 equal balls. 
--In one pie mould, press one ball gently to the bottom and sides evenly to form the tart shape. The base should be 1/2 cm thick. Repeat the same for the other pie mould.
***Method 2
--After taking the dough from the fridge and kneading it, gently roll it to 1/2 cm thick slab using a rolling pin. 
--Using a cup larger than the size of the pie mould, cut out circles from the dough.
--Place it in the mould and press it gently with your fingers so that it sits well inside the cup. Remove any excess dough on the top edges neatly. Repeat the same for the other pie mould.
2. Then fill each mould with 3 - 4 tspns of apple pie filling. 
3. Preheat the oven at 180 C.
4. Take the remaining 1/4 of the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out thinly (1/4 cm thick).
5. Cut 1/2 cm width strips and length of the pie mould's diameter. Use the strips to create a hash pattern like weave. (2-3 strips horizontally and cross it with 2-3 strips vertically)
6. Tuck the ends neatly with the the bottom crust.  Instead of the hash pattern, you can also cover the pie with a smaller circle (with a cross slit in the center for the steam to escape) and tuck it with a fork joining the edges with the bottom crust. Repeat the same process for second mould. 
7. Brush the top with milk and butter mixture. 
8. Bake the pies for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is light brown. 
9. Remove the moulds from the oven, leave it to cool for 10-15 mins.
10. Finally remove the pies from the moulds. Cute Mini apple Pies are ready. 

Choco-licious Cake (Eggless)

Choco-licious Cake (Eggless) 

This is a sinful Choco-licious cake.😈 A recipe for all the choco-addicts out there... Like me. 😊

It's an easy-peasy cake with not so expensive ingredients but the best ever chocolate cake👌. 

My brother is a crazy fan of the movie 🎥 "Premam" and he always wanted me to try the 'rosettes' that appear on Cafè Agapè Cakes 😊

So here it is... Tried out the Rosettes for my one n only sweet brother👫. 

My dear brother... This is for u😊. Hope I did a decent job😉😜... “Doubt undengil parayanam!”😆😉

Ingredients:

For cake:

Maida – 1 cup

Baking Powder – ½ tsp

Baking Soda – 1 tsp

Cocoa Powder – 6 tbsp

Powdered Sugar – ¾ cup

Vegetable oil – ½ cup

Hot Coffee – ¼ cup (1 tsp of coffee in ¼ cup hot water)

Milk – ¼ cup

Yogurt – ¼ cup

Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

Sugar syrup - 1/2 cup

For chocolate ganache (recipe adapted from Yummytummyaarthi ):

Dark Chocolate – 250 grams 

Unsalted Butter –  4.5 tbsp

Milk – 90 ml

Vanilla / rum essence - 1/2 tsp

Icing sugar (optional) - 3 tbsp

Method:

For ganache:

Take milk and butter in a sauce pan and heat it up. 

Bring this to a boil so that the butter melts.

Once the butter is melted switch off the flame. 

Add in chocolate, icing sugar and the essence. 

Using a whisk mix this slowly so that the chocolate melts.

Let the mix cool down. Use as desired.

For cake:

Preheat the oven to 180 C. 

Grease a 6 inch round cake tin and line with parchment paper.

In a bowl sift together all the dry ingredients. 

Then add all the wet ingredients one by one.

Whisk the mixture gently until the dry and wet ingredients are well combined. 

Pour the batter in the prepared cake tin. 

Bake for about 30 min or until done.

Remove from oven and let it cool for few minutes. 

Then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely before Frosting. 

For Frosting:

Trim the top and sides of the cake. 

Slice the cake into 2 layers horizontally. 

Sprinkle sugar syrup on top of one layer. Top it with chocolate ganache. 

Then place the second later on top and sprinkle sugar syrup. 

Smear and smooth the ganache on top and sides of the cake and decorate it as u like.

Note:

For this recipe, my 1 cup measures 240 ml. 

Modern Avvaiyaar

My son has been so obsessed with Avvaiyaar and her Aathichudi since he's been taught that in school. 

One day, I was sitting on the floor watching TV. He started dragging and pulling me saying "Mummy... Avvai pannu... Mummy... Avvai pannu". I didn't get what he was trying to say.  I just stood up so as to see what he was up to. Immediately he took my rajasthani-hand embroidered jhola bag and hung it on my left shoulder and stuffed a pen in my right hand. And jumped in joy, crying out "Avvaiyaar... Avvaiyaar" 

And there.... I was standing as Modern Avvaiyaar...  amazed by my son's gesture. 

Pretty Ladies from my Mom's garden 😊

Spent my son's vacation at Pondicherry, during the last week of September🚃. 

Now... How can I return without capturing the beauties from my Mom's garden🏡? ... That would definitely be an incomplete vacation... 😊 

So here comes the pretty ladies... 

They were all so cute 😍... Couldn't let it go with just one pic...  😊

All so lovely 😙... Aren't they?! 😊

Location: My Mom's garden, Pondicherry. 

Camera: Samsung Galaxy s5 

Blogger Vs Grammar

Frankly, I'm not a master in English language and at the same time... not bad too.  I try my best to give all my posts with proper grammar. I take it seriously. 😇.  "Perfection is not a skill; it's a compulsion." 

It has become a habit that even after days of publishing, I go back and read my old posts and find out something odd. Again, I try to correct or add in some more and update. 😓
Is this experience same with all other bloggers or only me?😯

English grammar... Fine😞... But Tehnology Grammar is a bit complicated😨...like is it 'in my blog' or 'on my blog'? Recently learnt that it's 'on my blog'. Still a lot more to learn. As I've mentioned in my first post, I am new to the blog world. Taking baby steps... 😊 👍 

Hotel style tiffin sambhar

Recipe adapted from Rakskitchen

Ingredients:

Moong dal - 1/3 cup

Onion - 1/2 cup (chopped) 

Tomato - 1 (chopped) 

Carrot (any vegetable(s) of ur choice)  - 1 (small, chopped)

Tamarind extract - 1 tblsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp

Jaggery - 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves,chopped - 2 tblsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt - to taste 

Sambar powder: 

Channa dal - 1 ½ tbsp

Coriander seeds - 1 ½ tbsp

Red chilli -  4 

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

Coconut - ½ tbsp

** Roast in 1/2 tsp oil and powder coarsely. 

To Temper

Ghee - 3 tsp

Mustard - ¾ tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig 

Red Chilli - 1

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Heat a pressure cooker and add 2 tbsp of oil and generous pinch of asafoetida.
Saute chopped onions with a pinch of salt for 2-3 mins. Add tomatoes and carrot and stir well.
Add turmeric and the sambhar powder. Cook till the oil separates.
Add dal and 2 ½ cups of water. Let it boil.
Close the pressure and cook the dal. Keep aside.
Heat a Kadai with ghee and temper.
Add cooked dal, tamarind extract, jaggery and salt. Mix well.
Add required quantity of water to get sambhar consistency and let it boil.
Finally add the curry leaves and coriander leaves.

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

Simple Vanilla Cake

 My son's vacation has started and he's at home. Do I need any other special reason to bake a cake? 😊

So I decided to make a plain n simple cake with his favourite whipped cream frosting. 

 I'm a beginner in baking... Yeah, I know. The cake's icing exposes that😜.. Please excuse 😆 

Ingredients:

Butter - ½ cup

Sugar - ¾ cup

Eggs - 2

Maida - 1 ¼ cup

Baking Powder - ¾ tsp

Hot Milk - 3-4 tbsp 

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Method:

1.Preheat oven at 180 C. 

2.Sieve maida and baking powder together. 

3.Beat butter, sugar, vanilla essence and salt, till it's creamy. 

4.Add eggs one at a time. Whisk well for 3 mins. 

5.Fold in the maida gently, adding little by little. 

6.Add milk (as required to get a pouring consistency) and mix gently. 

7.Pour the batter in a greased and lined deep rectangular baking tray (7 * 5 * 2 inch) .  

8. Bake it for 30 to 40 minutes. 

Notes:

1. The ingredients must be in room temperature. 

2. My cake was done in 35 mins. 

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

Rich Plum Cake (Eggless)

RICH PLUM CAKE (EGGLESS) 

Recipe adapted from Marias Menu

INGREDIENTS:

Maida –½ cup + 2 tbsp

Baking Soda – ¼ tsp

Baking Powder – ¼ tsp

All Spice powder (cloves+cardamoms+cinnamon +nutmeg) - 1 tsp

Brown Sugar – ½ cup (loosely packed)

Butter – 3 tbsp 

Whisked thick curd – ¼ cup

Hot Milk – 2 tbsp

Dates syrup - 1 tsp or caramel - refer notes

Vanilla Essence – ½ tsp

Cardamom essence - ¼ tsp (optional) 

Cashews + Almonds - ¼ cup (chopped) 

Cherries - 5 (halved) 

Candied orange peel (chopped finely) - 1 tbsp

Dates (chopped) + raisins - ½ cup 

Apple Juice - ½ cup

METHOD:

1. Soak dates and raisins overnight in Apple juice. Before making the cake, drain the dry fruits and mix it with Cherries, candied orange peel, cashews and almonds. Toss it with a tbsp of maida to coat and keep aside 

2. Mix maida, baking powder, baking soda and all spice powder together and keep aside. 

3. Now whisk butter with brown sugar till light & fluffy. 

Add hot milk, curd, dates syrup (or caramel), Cardamom essence & vanilla essence and mix well. 

4. Fold in the flour mixture in two batches.

5. Add the dry fruits and nuts mixture. 

6. Pour the cake batter into a greased and lined round baking tray (6 inch) . 

7. Bake it in a preheated oven @ 180 °C FOR 45 mins or till done. 

Notes:

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

2. I used store bought tetra pack Apple juice for this recipe. 

3. Coating the dry fruits and nuts in maida prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the baking tray.

4. Caramel recipe :Heat 4 tbsp of white sugar & ½ tbsp water and let the sugar melt. When the color  becomes dark brown, carefully (to avoid hot splashes and burns) pour 2 tbsp of warm water immediately and stir well. Remove from flame and let it cool completely.

A cake wreck rescue operation 😆

An eggless cake, with overwhelming milk-powder taste 😔...it was an 'Okay' cake...but still... I was not satisfied😕

Didn't want to leave it just like that... 

So,  I sliced the cake and sandwiched it with mango buttercream icing 🍰. A total saver💃✌

My son liked only blackforest cake, but after I started baking... He eats anything that comes out of my oven😀... Ha ha😊... 

And that goes for this cake too... He loved it... What else do I need? I'll definitely keep baking... For him👦😚. 

Butterscotch Swirl Cake

Butterscotch-swirl-cake

This recipe was bit complicated for a beginner like me, but luckily the cake was perfect. All you need is a little patience and planning. And you end-up with a delicious n yummy cake 😊.

Recipe adapted from Marias Menu and Leave room for dessert...

Ingredients:
For cake:
Butter - ½ cup
Sugar - ¾ cup
Eggs - 2
Maida - 1 ¼ cup
Baking Powder - ¾tsp
Milk - ¼ cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch

For Butterscotch Swirl:
Brown sugar - ½ cup
Custard powder - 2 tbsp
Milk - ½ cup
Unsalted butter- 2 tsp

Egg - 1

Method:

1.Preheat oven at 180 C. 

2. First prepare the buttscotch sauce:

- Combine brown sugar,  custard powder and milk in a saucepan. 

- Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens (ketchup consistency) 

- Stir in butter and remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. 

- Stir in egg. Use while warm.

3. For the Cake

- Sieve maida and baking powder together. 

- Beat butter, sugar and salt, till it's creamy. 

- Add eggs one at a time. Whisk well for 3 mins. 

- Fold in the maida gently, adding little by little. 

- Add milk and vanilla essence and mix gently. 

4. Grease and flour a 20 cm (8 inch) bunt pan or 20 cm round pan. 

5. Spread ⅔ of  the cake batter into the pan. 

6. Pour butterscotch sauce evenly over mixture. 

7. Finally top it with remaining cake batter and spread it with the help of a fork swirling it slightly.

8. Bake it for 30 to 40 minutes. 

9. Butterscotch Swirl cake is ready to serve. 

Notes:

1. The ingredients must be in room temperature. 

2. Use a Whisk to prepare the butterscotch sauce to avoid lumps.  

3. The sauce should be thick, ketchup/sauce consistency. 

4. Pour 2/3rd of the cake batter into the base of the pan to avoid the butterscotch sauce from sinking to the bottom. 

5. Use a fork to swirl the top cake batter layer. 

6. My cake was done in 30 mins. 

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

Quilling - My First Project

It's my first quilling work, so kept it simple. 

I start anything and end up doing it awesome...  It's all because of my Mom's excruciating pressure... 

Ha ha... I owe it all to her... Only her... 

She keeps pushing me to my limits... And gets the best out of me. 

This project is one such thing. 

Framing it in a ferrero rocher box was her idea. It's cool... Isn't it? ... 😊 

Coral Hibiscus - My Click - Chennai

Japanese Lantern 

Camera : Samsung Galaxy s5 

Location : Kilpauk, Chennai. 

From Wikipedia:
Hibiscus schizopetalus is a species of Hibiscus, native to tropical eastern Africa in Kenya,Tanzania and Mozambique. Its common names include fringed rosemallow, Japanese lantern, coral hibiscus, and spider hibiscus.
For more:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus_schizopetalus 

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...😊