PLUM PISTACHIO DESI DELIGHT- MY FIRST PRIZE WINNING DISH IN CONTEST

Hello everyone

It's too long I wrote in my blog. Having lots and lots of recipe in queue to write but somehow couldn't manage to draft them. Anyways, will try to return back in form again , very soon.

Till then , I have a very good news to share with you all near and dear ones, which made me to come back to my blog once again☺☺....

There was a time , I got scared of even thinking about cooking. But nothing is impossible if you have a loving and supportive family, friends and well wishers. And I am one of lucky fellow to have all these in my life. Thanks is not enough to show my gratitude towards my loving ones ☺☺. You all are treasure of my life and inspired me to such an extent that today I am here with an unexpected achievement, which I could never ever think off few years ago.

Earned first place among dessert category in cookery contest organized by ILA. So delighted to have one of my favorite master chef , Nikita Gandhi and Radio Mirchi RJ Tamanna Wahi as one of the judges.

Would like to thank all of the ILA members, judges and all my loving ones. A big thank you to all of you dear from bottom of my heart.

Here goes the recipe of my winning dish .

PLUM PISTACHIO DESI DELIGHT:

1.Pistachio sponge cake

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour-1 1/3 cups - 2 1/2 tbsp
2 1/2 tbsp corn flour
1/3 cup pistachio, toasted and ground to coarse powder
Granulated Sugar- 1/2 cup
Baking Powder-1/2 tsp
Baking Soda-1 tsp
Salt-a pinch
Milk-3/4 cup
Yogurt-1/2 cup
Oil-1/2 cup
Vanilla Essence-1 tsp

 Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Grease and line a 7″ round cake tin.
In a bowl shift together flour, corn flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda 2-3 times.

Now add ground pistachio to it and mix well . Keep aside for later use.

Take  yogurt and sugar in a bowl and whisk till sugar is dissolved.

Add oil and vanilla essence, mix well.

Now add milk and whisk together.
Now add flour in 2 batches and fold to form a smooth batter.
Pour it into the prepared cake tin.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
Rest it on the wire rack for 10 minutes.
Flip on the wire rack .
Cool it completely before wrapping in cling wrap.
Refrigerate until assembling.

2. Plum filled pistachio kalakand


Plum compote

Ingredients

10-12 medium to big plums, desseeded and chopped in even pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla essence


Method:


Add water and sugar in a pan and boil till sugar dissolve.
Now add chopped plums and cook on low flame till they become soft and mushy. Approx 20-25
mins.
Add vanilla essence and mix well.

Remove from flame and cool ,then chill till needed.

Pistachio Kalakand

Ingredients

400 grams soft and crumbled paneer
400 ml condensed milk
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup pistachio, toasted and coarsely powdered

Method :

Mix condensed milk, milk and paneer in a non stick pan and cook at low flame, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking to bottom.
When it starts leaving sides of pan add vanilla essence and pistachio powder.
Mix well and switch off the flame.

Layering:

Now spread half of the kalakand mixture in  a greased tray .
Now spread chilled plum compote all over it evenly, reserve some for final garnishing.
Finally spread remaining half kalakand mixture over compote , and spread evenly.
Let it chill till needed.

3. Creamy plum Custard

Ingredients

1/2 lt milk
25 gm custard powder
Sugar to taste
Fresh plum pieces for serving

Method:

Boil milk in a heavy bottom pan.
Make smooth paste of custard powder in little milk.
Pour prepared paste in milk, stirring constantly to avoid lump formation.
Cook till desired thickness .
Add sugar and cook for another 2-3 mins.
Switch off the flame and cool.
Chill till needed.

4. Pistachio Brittle

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup toasted pistachio

Method:

Take sugar, corn syrup and salt in a non stick pan. Cook on low flame till it turn amber colour .
Be careful not to burn it.
Take off the flame and immediately add pistachio, butter and soda. Quickly mix well and pour over greased foil.
Spread with help of greased spatula.
Make desired shapes using cookie cutter.
Let it cool completely and use when needed.

Final assembling:

Put spoonful plum compote in a dessert glass . Round cut cake slice and place over it . Pour a little custard over it.
Now place round kalakand piece.
Pour more custard over it with some fresh plum pieces, followed by spoonful of plum compote.
Spri
nkle some roasted pistachio and top with pistachio brittle.

Enjoy and happy cooking☺☺☺☺☺

EGGLESS CHOCO VANILLA ZEBRA CAKE WITH COLORFUL PATTERN

Hello everyone

Yesterday I got a note I my kids diary that next day they have to bring some food item for sharing with their classmates. As their 9 days long vacations are going to start from this weekends. Suddenly baking a cake idea stuck to my mind but thought why not to bake some different than usual but attractive cake for kids so that they will like it even more. My kid like chocolate and vanilla flavour most. So to use it , tried my old tried and tasted recipe of zebra cake but with some more colours to make it even more presentable and eye catching and it turned out so soft, moist and yummy that no one can resist eating another serving. My kids loved it a lot and finished nearly 1/3rd of cake at home only😀.Best part of it is , that it's eggless too. Easiest recipe with handful of ingredients and result is awesome delicious beautiful stripped cake.

Stepwise recipe is given below. Do try and don't forget to share your experience with me.

EGGLESS  CHOCO VANILLA ZEBRA CAKE WITH COLORFUL PATTERN

Serves: 10-15 ( depend on serving size)

Time: 50-55 mins

Ingredients 

3 3/4 cup all purpose flour/ chapatti flour ( I made big cake , you can make it half or 1/3 easily)

2 1/2 cup yogurt ( curd), beaten 

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla Essence 

1 1/2 cup sugar ( you can add more as per taste, I kept mild)

3/4 cup oil

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Few drops of orange and blue edible colours

Method:

First preheat the oven at 180°c.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together, keep aside for later use.

Add baking soda to beaten yogurt and give a quick stir and keep it aside for 8-10 mins or till it become nice frothy.

Now mix  vanilla essence, sugar and oil together till sugar dissolves and mixture become smooth and fluffy. Don't over mix otherwise all the bubbles will sink.

Mix dry and wet mixtures together and fold to get lumpless smooth batter . 

*** Batter should neither too thin nor too thick. If needed add some milk/water , little at a time to get proper consistency.

Now divide the batter in four equal parts ,add cocoa powder to one , orange and blue colour to other two and leave fourth one as it is. Mix well but don't over do.

*Add some milk/water in Cocoa batter to get same consistency of all the batters. 

In a greased baking pan , lined with butter paper , pour one big spoon of one batter and tap the pan to spread .then pour  one big spoon of other batter over it and again tap the pan and do it alternatively till batter finished. 

**Now using a knife or skewer make 6-8 lines on cake starting from center of cake towards edge, at equal distance and cleaning knife/skewer every time. 

Now again makes lines, in between these lines but in reverse direction, from edge of cake towards center. This will give a nice pattern on the cake. This step is completely optional, you can skip it without getting any change in final product.

Then bake it for 50-55 mins. But keep an eye after 40 mins on it as baking time may vary oven to oven.
I baked on convection mode for 55 mins.

Check it with knife or skewer by inserting in middle of cake ,for doneness. If knife/skewer comes out clean then cake Is done otherwise bake for some more minutes.

Let it sit for 5-10 mins then invert on wire rack and let it cool completely.

Its so soft and moist cake that you cannot have just one piece.

*You can also use half or 1/3 the quantity as I made bigger cake for kids sharing day.

Enjoy this scrumptious Cake and do share your experience with me. Your valuable comments and suggestions are always welcomed, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS BANANA CHOCO COFFEE CAKE

Hello everyone

My son is too fond of bananas. This is one of the very few things he like to eat, but sometimes he start doing nakhrey in eating these too. And as a result I end up with some over ripe bananas in hand. Generally I use these bananas in baking banana breads. This time tried to add some more flavours to make it more interesting and flavour full. As everyone in my family is fan of coffee flavor snacks. So made banana choco coffee cake , it turned out so soft, moist and yummy that no one can resist eating another serving. Best part of it is , that it's eggless too. You can make it any time you have over ripe bananas in hand , and don't want to throw it. It's vegan too, if you don't add milk yogurt and replace with soya yogurt. Easiest recipe with handful of ingredients and result is awesome delicious beautiful stripped cake.

Stepwise recipe is given below. Do try and don't forget to share your experience with me.

EGGLESS BANANA CHOCO COFFEE CAKE

Serves: 4-5 

Time: 50 mins

Ingredients 

2 cup all purpose flour/ chapatti flour 

2 big bananas, over ripe

1/4 cup thick yogurt 

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water

1/4 cup unsweetened  cocoa powder

Method:

First preheat the oven at 180°c.

Mix flour, baking powder  and salt together, keep aside for later use.

Add baking soda to yogurt water mix and give a quick stir. Keep it aside for 5-10 minutes.

Now mix mashed banana, vanilla essence, sugar and oil together till sugar dissolves and mixture become smooth and fluffy.

Now add yogurt mix to it and fold gently.

Mix dry and wet mixtures together and fold to get lumpless  batter for cakes. It will be little thicker but add water after dividing it . As coffee mix is already going to dilute it.

 

Now divide the batter in three equal parts and add cocoa powder to one, coffee mix in another and  third one plain.

* Add some water in Cocoa and plain  batter to get same consistency of all the batters. 

* Consistency of batter should be like idli batter.

In a greased and dusted baking loaf pan , pour one big spoon of one batter length wise and tap the pan to spread .then pour  one big spoon of other batter over it and again tap the pan and do it alternatively till batter finished. 

Then bake it for 35- 40 mins. But keep an eye after 30 mins on it as baking time may vary oven to oven.
I baked on convection mode for 42 mins.

Check it with knife or skewer by inserting in middle of cake ,for doneness. If knife/skewer comes out clean then cake Is done otherwise bake for some more minutes.

Let it sit for 5-10 mins then invert on wire rack and let it cool completely.

* You can add more sugar if like. As I kept mild but try it first, it's perfect for tea time snacks with perfect sweetness.

Its so soft and moist cake that you cannot have just one piece.

* You can easily double or half the ingredients as per your requirement and availability.

Enjoy this scrumptious Cake and do share your experience with me. Your valuable comments and suggestions are always welcomed, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS PATTERNED BANANA SWISS ROLL WITH NUTELLA FILLING

Hello everyone

Being a sweet tooth fellow I used to experiment with different dish dishes in different ways. I had a banana lying on my dining table for long and got over ripe, no one is now going to even touch it. So thought to make cake out out it but making cake with only one banana in hands seems lil funny. Again idea struck to give a try to Swiss roll with banana. So here is my version of patterned banana Swiss roll with Nutella filling. It's turned out so soft and moist that got vanished in seconds. 

Do try this eggless version of Swiss roll and don't forget to tell me your experience.

Stepwise recipe is given below.

EGGLESS PATTERNED BANANA SWISS ROLL WITH NUTELLA FILLING

Serves: 2-3

Time: 20 mins ( leaving refrigerating time)

Ingredients 

1/2 cup all purpose flour / chapatti flour 

1 big over ripe banana

2 tbsp yogurt mixed with 1/2 tbsp water

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 pinch of salt

1 tbsp sugar ( you can use more)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Few drops edible red colour

Method:

First of all add salt and baking powder in flour and mix well. Keep aside for later use. Now add baking soda to yogurt mix and give a quick stir. Keep aside.

Now mash banana with a fork. Add vanilla essence, sugar and oil. Mix well till sugar is dissolved.

Now take 1/2-1/2 tsp of yogurt mix and banana mix in a separate bowl. Add 1 tbsp of flour mix and red colour, stir  to make a lumpless smooth batter. If needed , add few drops of water to get nice smooth batter. 

Transfer this to a piping bag and make desired pattern on a rectangular/square baking tray lined with butter paper. Keep it in freezer for atleast 6 mins and maximum 10 mins.

** You can make pattern on only half the tray as only this will be visible. I had extra batter in hand so made on full tray.

** Don't decrease the freezing time otherwise pattern will not be so clean. I removed earlier that's why my pattern got smudged a little.

Now take the patterned tray out . Now add yogurt mix in banana mix followed by flour. Mix everything together to get smooth lumpless batter. If needed add some water to get nice cake like batter.

Now pour this batter on patterned baking tray. Spread it evenly and tap to release any bubble trapped.

Now bake for 8-10 mins at 180 degree C in a preheated oven. 

** Always keep checking for doneness by tapping on its top. If it feels spongy and non sticky then it's done. Over baked rolls get cracks while rolling.

Remove from oven and carefully invert on a kitchen towel dusted with powdered sugar to avoid sticking.

Now reinvent it carefully on dusted towel to get patterned side downwards.

Roll it carefully along will towel and make a log. Refrigerate for 1/2 - 1 hr.

Now open the roll carefully and spread Nutella all over it. Again roll to make log. 

Now cut in desired thickness roll and enjoy these beauties with family and friends.

** You can make any filling of your choice like cream, jam, hung curd etc.

These are not only yummy but also an eye treat for everyone. 

Do try this easy yet super tempting eggless delight and don't forget to share how's it turned out for you.

Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot....

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS KIWI CAKE

Hello everyone

Cakes....this name brings water in mouth of every sweet tooth fellow like me. Though I am not a huge fan of too much calorie laden, ganache or cream laden cakes , so used to bake simple naked caked to hog on , with different flavours. Today I saw three kiwis sitting in my fridge and as they are little sour to eat as it is, so I thought why not to bake some cake out of it . And viola it turned out so distinctly yummy that you can't stop at only one slice. Little tangy and crispness of its seeds lead this cake to another level. This is really so easy to bake with handful of ingredients and is super delicious to eat. 

Step wise recipe is given below, do try and don't forget to tell me how's it turned out for you.

EGGLESS KIWI CAKE

Serves: 4-5

Time: 45 mins

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour/ chapatti flour

3 kiwis peeled ( two pureed, one round sliced )

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla essence 

3 tbsp yogurt mixed with 1 tbsp water

1 pinch of salt

Few drops of edible green colour ( optional)

Method: 

First of all add flour, baking powder and salt together and mix well. Keep aside for later use.

Now add baking soda in yogurt mix and give a quick stir. Let it rest for 5-10 min or till it become nice frothy.

Grease and dust a bundt pan. Arrange kiwi slices in the base as per your choice. Keep aside for later use.

Add sugar, water, oil, vanilla essence and food colour together. Stir till sugar is dissolved. Now add yogurt and give a quick stir, don't over mix.

Now add dry ingredients in wet ingredients in two or three batches and keep folding to get a nice lumpless batter. 

If it looks too dry , you can add some more water to get idli type consistency batter. Don't over mix after adding wet and dry ingredients together, just cut and fold to get perfect batter. 

Pour into baking pan and tap to release any air bubble trapped into batter.

Bake it at 180 degree C in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or till knife or skewer inserted in its middle , comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let it sit for 10-15 minutes then invert on a wire rack, to cool completely.

Your super yum beautiful kiwi cake is ready to relish on.

* you can increase or decrease sugar as per your taste.

* If not having bundt pan then use any baking pan of your choice.

Not only its taste but also its look will tempt you to try this simple yet droolicious cake.

Perfect for evening tea / kids tiffin/ picnic snacks or whenever you want a slice of cake without much guilt.

Hope you will definitely try this tempting cake and do share your experience with me. Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....