Seven-cups… Oooops!!! Six!! ;)

Yet another sweet that mom made during our hols. Come to think of it, she juggled all the work at home, the bank & still stuffed us with home-made goodies!! I remember mom telling me that it was called 7-cups 'coz 7 cups of ingredients go into making this. Try as I might, I couldn't recollect the 7th cup. Mom couldn't too! ;) So just went ahead with 6cups-of-guessed-ingredients for a quick Diwali treat. They ended up tasting just like the 7-cups. I'm still at times tormented with thoughts of "what-was-the-7th-cup"… Pushing them away for now! Herez how I made my 6-cups…:)
You need:
1 cup ghee
2 cups sugar (I used a little more than 1.5 cups.Taste & alter as you go along)
1 cup freshly grated coconut
1 cup milk
1 cup besan
a pinch of powdered cardamom (optional)
How to:
Melt the ghee on a low flame in a wide mouthed kadai/wok. Add the sugar and stir (I use powdered sugar – so I don’t really have to slave over the flame ;)). Now add the coconut and the milk. You could add in a pinch of powdered cardamom (optional). Add the besan, pouring steadily and stirring all the while. Make sure no lumps are formed. You need to keep stirring constantly to avoid burning. After about 10-15 minutes of arm-workout, the mixture starts leaving the edges and forming a lump as you turn it over. Spread this out on a plate smeared lightly with ghee. Allow it to cool for a few minutes and cut into desired pieces/shapes while it is still warm. You can pop them out of the plate after they cool completely.
Pointers:
If you find it difficult to handle spreading the mixture onto a plate, you could pat it down with our hand, alternately dipping your hand in cold water. Work quickly so that you don’t burn your fingers. :)

Jilebi - instant mix...

Tried making Jilebis... Haven't ventured into making them from the scratch. This was using the instant-mix, the easy way out! ;) Planning to make the batter on my own the next time... :)

Choco Mocha Cake...

Was making a chocolate cake for 'T's B'day & wondered if a dash of coffee would give it that extra kick. Well, it always does, right? At least for a hardcore coffee fan, YES!! !:D Rich, moist n ooooh so tempting! Drizzled some choco sauce & sprinkled crispies n choco chips. Threw in some gems & a couple of cappuccino twisters... :)

You need:
1 cup each of...
-plain flour/maida
-hung curd (hung for 5 min should do)
-sugar powdered
3/4 cup vegetable oil/cooking oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp instant coffee powder (more if you like)
4 heaped tbsp of powdered Bournvita
2-3 drops of orange essence
a bunch of cherries,raisins,coarsely broken down nuts - cashews & almonds soaked in rum overnight or atleast an hour
How to:
Get all the ingredients ready. Grease the cake tin with butter & dust with flour. Preheat the oven at 180 deg C for 10min.
Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder & baking soda together and transfer them to a deep bowl. To this, add the sugar, coffee powder & the Bournvita. Lightly mix them together. Add the curd and mix well. Now add the oil and beat well enough for it to incorporate. You should end up with a thick batter which falls down ribbon-like when spooned. If your mixture has no 'flow', you could add a little milk to it. Add the drunken nuts/cherries in the batter and mix lightly. You could add the rum with some cooking chocolate & use it for icing the cake when done or use them to make some choco-rum-bombs or just drink up! ;)
Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake at 180 deg C for 30-40 min or till done. A skewer/knife inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack & garnish with ... well, pretty much anything chocolate-y that you can find in your kitchen! ;) :D Indulge!! :)

Mashed Potatoes...

Herez how:
Microwave 3 medium-sized potatoes in salted water till done (about 15-20min).Drain out the water & run through cold water (makes for easier handling). Passing the boiled potatoes through a metallic sieve (plastic ones are clumsier!) gives you creamy potatoes with amazing texture. Add in 2tbsp of butter and stir in, gradually adding 1/4 cup cold milk(or more) - stirring all the while. Throw in some herbs for flavor. I used oregano & some chilly flakes.
Bowl- scraping goooood!! :)

Sausage Wraps - SuNdAy BrUnCh :)

A dash of fried onion flakes, minced Jalapeños, a grilled sausage, a dollop of mustard sauce - laid on a flattened & trimmed slice of bread, spread with some ketchup. Roll up as in the pik & secure with a toothpick, an olive pierced through. Grill till done and serve hot. Njoy!! :)

Little Coffee Hearts... :)

For V's B'day - yet another InDulGence that 'T' & me devoured!! :)
A tin of milkmaid + same measure of milk + 3-4tsps of instant coffee + 3 well beaten eggs - steamed for about 20min. MaGiC!!! :D
Used cookie cutters & dusted them with cocoa... Yummm!!! :)

Carrot Cake... :)

Celebrating V's B'day!...Made this since its his favorite cake! :)
You need:
1 cup grated carrot - tightly packed(use red carrots if in season)
1 egg
1 cup self raising flour**
1 cup sugar - powdered
1 tsp condensed milk (optional)
1/2 tsp finely powdered cinnamon
3/4 cup oil
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 drops of vanilla essence (optional - not really required since cinnamon is added)
**If u are using all purpose flour, use 1 tsp baking powder & 1/2 tsp baking soda. The rest of the ingredients remain the same.
How to:
Sieve together the flour, baking soda & baking powder and keep aside. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven for 10min at 150 deg C.
Beat the egg in a plastic/glass bowl till frothy. Add the cinnamon powder, sugar, condensed milk & beat well till light & frothy. Add the sieved dry ingredients, stirring slowly. You could alternate with the oil & dry ingredients for easy mixing. Once this is mixed well, add in the grated carrot & mix.
Pour this into a well buttered & dusted(with flour) tin and bake at 160 deg C for 30-45min or till an inserted skewer comes out clean. Tastes yummm... n tastes better the next day! :)