Malabar Curry

You Need
2 cups boiled mixed vegetables (french beans, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, peas)
1 cup freshly grated coconut
½ cup chopped onion
2 curry leaves (kadi patta)
¼ teaspoon turmeric (haldi) powder
½ cup chopped tomato
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Salt to taste

For the paste

½ cup freshly grated coconut or 25 grams desiccated coconut
3 to 4 curry leaves (kadi patta)
1 tablespoon cooked rice
1 teaspoon chopped green chillies
4 cloves garlic
1 stick cinnamon (dalchini)
1 cloves (laung)
2 nos. black peppercorns (kali mirch)
1 whole dry red chilli, broken into pieces


Method For the paste
1. Dry roast the coconut, curry leaves and rice and on a tava on a slow flame, stirring continuously, until the mixture is light pink.
2. Add the green chillies, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and red chilli. Remove from flame, cool and blend to a smooth paste in a blender using very little water. Keep aside.
3. Add 2 cups of water to the grated coconut and blend in a blender. Strain through a muslin cloth and squeeze out the coconut milk.
4. Add the paste, all the vegetables (except the tomato), onion, curry leaves and turmeric powder and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
5. Add the chopped tomato and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add the lemon juice and salt.
7. Serve hot.

Spinach Cheese Swirls

1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1/2 cup shredded Muenster cheese or Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 green onion, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 pkg. (about 10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained


Directions
1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.
2. Stir the Muenster cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion and garlic powder in a medium bowl.
3. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Brush the pastry sheet with the egg mixture. Top with the cheese mixture and spinach. Starting with a short side, roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into 20 (1/2-inch) slices. Place the slices, cut-side down, onto baking sheets. Brush the slices with the egg mixture.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.

Tip: Make sure to remove as much liquid as you can from the spinach before adding it to the pastry. If it's too wet, it may make the pastry soggy.

Sweet Corn Soup

butter melted – 1 Tbsp
Garlic – 1 tsp (finely minced)
Ginger – 1 tsp (grated)
Onion – 1 small (finely chopped)
Frozen Peas – 1/4 cup
1 carrot coarsely grated
Green Beans – 1/4 cup (finely chopped)
Cream Style Corn – 1 can or 1 cup corn (coarsely grind half of corn)
Salt – to taste
Black Pepper – to taste
Water – 1.5 cup
Corn Starch – 2 tsp (mixed with a little water)
Sugar – 1 tsp (optional)
Green Onions – 2 (chopped diagonally, for garnishing)

Method:

1. In a medium pot, add Oil, Ginger and Garlic. Allow it to sizzle.
2. Add Onions and saute for 30 seconds.
3. Add Peas & Carrots, Green Beans. Saute for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add can of Cream Stlye Corn, Salt and Pepper. Mix well.
5. Add Water. Mix and Bring to a boil.
6. Allow veggies to cook without overcooking them.
7. Mix a little water with the Corn Starch and add it to the soup.
8. Add sugar and adjust salt if necessary.
9. Garnish with Spring (Green) Onions and serve Hot!

Rava Idly

Brunch time..
2 cups of rava
2 small aloo finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
peas (optional)
1 tsp finely minced or grated ginger
1/2 cup dahi
2 tsp rye (mustard seeds)
2 tsp urad dal
2 tsp channa dal
some dhania finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
salt to taste
Oil

Use a couple of tbsp of oil to the rava and mix well. When you take a handful of the mixture in your hand and squeeze them, you should be able to hold the shape of the rava some what. If not, add a little bit more oil. This makes the idly’s come out soft. Keep it aside for about 10 -15 minutes.
Add some water to the dahi and make it a butter milk.
Heat 1 tbsp oil and add rye, let it splutter. Then add the urad dal, channa dal and until the color turns golden brown.
Add this to the rava mixture. Add all the vegetables, ginger, chili and dahi as well and mix it well to get a little thicker than a pouring consistency.
Pour into idli plates and steam it for about 15 – 20 minutes until cooked. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Handvo

Handvo (or Handwa) is an all time favorite gujarati snack — perfect for tea time, brunch, anytime! Savory inside with a nutty Sesame Seed crust…just one word — YUM!

You Need
Long Grain Rice – 1 cup (200 gms)
Channa Daal – 1/4 cup (50 gms)
Toor Daal – 1/4 cup (50 gms)
Urad Daal – 1 heaping Tbsp
Yogurt – 1/2 cup (150 gms)
Green Chilies – 2 – 3 or to taste, finely chopped or ground
Ginger Paste – 2 tsp
Garlic Paste- 2 tsp (approx 3 large cloves)
Opo/Bottlegourd/Doodhi/Lauki – 1.5 cup, shredded and packed ( approx 12 oz)
Salt – 2 tsp or to taste
Ajwain – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
Eno Fruit Salt – 1 tsp
Sesame Seeds – 2 Tbsp
Oil – 3 Tbsp (divided)
Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
Asafoetida (Hing) – 1/4 tsp
Red Chili Powder – 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves – few

1. Wash Rice and all Daals and soak them for at least 4-6 hours.
2. Drain water from Rice/Daal and coarsely grind them with Yogurt (if possible, do not add any additional water while grinding). Food processor or blender may be used.
3. In a medium size mixing bowl, add batter from above and mix in the following: Ginger, Garlic, Green Chilies, Salt, Sugar, Ajwain, Turmeric Powder and Doodhi/Lauki. Mix well.
4. In a small skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of Oil slightly. Add Curry Leaves and Red Chili Powder. Add this Oil mixture to the above batter and mix well.
5. Cover and let this batter rest for 6-7 hours or overnight (no need to refrigerate).
6. Add Eno Fruit Salt and mix well to make the batter foamy.
7. Divide batter into greased muffin pan or pour int a greased cake pan.
8. Sprinkle Sesame Seeds over the top of the batter.
9. In a small skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp Oil.
10. Add Mustard Seeds and let them pop. Switch off stove.
11. Add Asafoetida to the oil.
12. Drizzle this oil seasoning over the top of the sesame seeds.
13. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350F (180C) for 40 minutes.
14. Remove foil and broil on High for approx 10 minutes until a light golden crust forms.
15. Let the handvo rest for 10-15 minutes before eating.

Triple Chocolate Icecream Cake

I had doubled the quantity of the below recipe to prepare the cake in a huge caserole which turned out as shown in the picture. There was so much leftover that I prepared another one in a loaf pan. Also, I used coffee icecream instead of chocolate to get the mocha flavor.

1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream
12 ounces (1 package) semisweet chocolate chips - herseys
1 12-ounce marble pound cake
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
20 chocolate wafers, such as Nabisco brand, plus 4 crushed wafers
1 pint chocolate/coffee ice cream, softened
vanilla extract
eggs, sugar, milk
parchment paper

1. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil over medium-high heat. Put the chocolate chips in a heatproof medium bowl and pour the boiling cream over the chocolate. Let sit until the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Stir the mixture with a fork for about 2 minutes, until the ganache is smooth.
2. Line a nonstick 9 x 5 x 3¾-inch loaf pan with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap, allowing a 4-inch overhang on all sides.
3. Pour half of the ganache (1 cup) evenly into the lined pan and spread to cover the base. Cover the ganache with a single layer of tightly packed cake slices; be sure the layer is flat and even. Working quickly, spread the vanilla ice cream evenly over the pound cake. Cover the ice cream with a layer made of half of the chocolate wafers. Spread the remaining ganache evenly over the wafers, then top the ganache with another layer, using all of the remaining wafers, and place the cake in the freezer for about 30 minutes to chill and firm up.
4. Remove the cake from the freezer and spread the chocolate ice cream over the wafers. Top with another flat, single layer of tightly packed slices of pound cake, trimming 1 or 2 slices to fill in the gaps (there will be a few slices left over). The cake may be slightly higher than the pan. Cover the cake completely with the plastic overhang and freeze until firm, at least 5 hours or overnight.
5. To loosen the ice cream cake from the pan, open the plastic wrap and invert the pan over a flat serving platter. Remove the plastic wrap. Scatter the crushed chocolate wafers over the ice cream cake, then slice and serve immediately.

Marble Pound Cake

1.5 cups white sugar
3/4th cup butter, softened
2 heaped cups cake flour
3/4th cup milk
1 heaped teaspoons baking powder
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
a pinch teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

In a large bowl, with electric mixer at low speed, beat sugar and butter or margarine until blended. Increase speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy. vanilla, salt, and eggs; beat at medium speed until well mixed.
Mix flour and baking powder separate.
Add flour and milk alternatively in parts.Beat at medium speed for a minute.Increase speed to high, and beat batter 4 minutes longer.
Remove about 2 cups batter to a medium bowl. With a wire whisk or fork, beat cocoa into batter in medium bowl until well blended.
Grease a 10 inch tube pan or a loaf pan. Alternately spoon vanilla and chocolate layers into prepared pan. With a large spoon, cut and twist through batters to obtain marbled effect.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan, and on a wire rack, for 10 minutes.
Remove cake from pan, and cool completely.