Monthly Archives: January 2012

Cheese Cake

Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cream cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit. They may be baked or unbaked.

This rich dessert will not go missed among the list of favorite dessert of many. My friends and family are a great fan of this creamy dessert and so are my all relatives to whomsoever i had served this. Try it for yourself and i am sure it will become a favorite in your home too :-)

Ingredients

  • Biscuits – 250 g, crumbled
  • Butter – 100 g, melted
  • Cream cheese – 200 g
  • Sweetened Condensed Milk – 397 g
  • Cream – 170 g
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon gelatine powder -10 g, dissolved in 60 ml of hot water.
Method
  • Combine biscuit and butter. Press mixture into a bottom loose cake tin. Place in fridge for 10 minutes.
  • Using a food processor, beat cream cheese,Sweetened Condensed Milk ,Cream , vanilla powder and lemon juice until smooth.
  • Stir the melted gelatin into the cream cheese mixture and spoon over the biscuit then place in fridge for 2-3 hours until completely set.

Puttu – A Keralite’s Ecstatic Breakfast

Puttu  is a South Indian and Sri Lankan breakfast dish of steamed cylinders (or coconut shells) of ground rice layered with coconut. It is popular in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as in areas of Sri Lanka, where it is also known as pittu. Puttu is served with side dishes such as chickpea curry or banana. Apart from this, our traditional way of serving puttu includes steamed green gram and fried papads.

You could use either the readymade puttu powder (available in all supermarkets) or you can make the powder at home as below.


Ingredients

* 2 cups of raw rice
* 1 cup of grated coconut
* salt to taste

Method:

Soak the rice for 2- 3 hours and drain the water. Spread the rice in a paper and allow it to dry for 3-4 minutes see that it is a little wet and not fully dry. Grind the dried raw rice to a fine powder in a mixie.

Fry the rice flour in a pan, stir it continuously until you get the aroma of the rice, remove the flour, bring down to cool. Mix salt in water and sprinke water little by little to the rice flour and mix it throughly. The rice flour should be wet enough, keep stirring it with your fingers as it should remain in a powdered form and do not mould it in to a dough.

If you are using a puttu maker, then add 1 ½ cup of water in the puttu pot and bring it to boil. Now take the cylindrical vessel and add a handful of coconut, then 3- 4 handfuls of rice flour, repeat it until you fill the puttu vessel. Now fit the cylilndrical vessel on the pot. Steam cook it for 4-5 minutes.

Remove the cylinder, use a spatula to push out the puttu to a plate. Serve as desired

Note:I have used a coconut shell type puttu maker and i steamed it on top of a pressure cooker without putting on the whistle for 10 mts.

Carrot Cake Recipe




Ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 cups plain flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar ground
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 cup walnuts chopped
  • 2 cups grated carrot
  • 3/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla essence

Method

1. Grease a 9” square or rectangular cake tin, dust liberally with flour.
2. Sift baking powder, cocoa and soda with flour.
3. Add flour, sugars, and beat till well blended.
4. Fold in walnuts, carrot, etc., pour into a prepared tin.
5. Bake in preheat oven at 200C for 10 minutes.
6. Reduce to 160C for further 25-30 minutes, till done.
7. Check if done by inserting a skewer. It should come out clean.
8. Remove allow to cool for 10 minutes.
9. Invert and tap out gently.
10. Let it cool and serve