Carrot cake

Carrot cake-A simple and easy cake made from carrots.Quick, simple and delicious with a cup of tea.

Ingredients:

1 small bowl self raising flour

1 small bowl sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups grated carrot

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 small bowl cooking oil

1/2 small bowl water

Method:

1. Pre heat the oven to 350F

2.Grease a cake tin 9x13 inches and keep aside

3. In a bowl sieve the flour and baking powder

4. Add the cinnamon and salt and sugar

5. Add the carrots and mix throughly

6. In a separate bowl add the oil, water ,eggs and vanilla and mix.

7. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold gently.Do not over mix.

8. Pour mixture into greased baking tin and bake for 45 minutes.

9. Leave to cool .

10.Once cooled you can add orange icing or just dust with icing sugar.

Cut into slices and serve with tea.

Masala Dosa

Masala Dosa-A traditionally South Indian dish.Crispy indian pancake filled with a delicious spicy potato filling served with chutneys and Sambhar.
Potato masala (There are many variations , this is just one of them.)

Ingredients.

4 medium potatoes finely diced
2 oz sweet corn kernels
4-5 green chillies finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white urad dall
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon whole jeera
3-4 curry leave
½ teaspoon clove powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon cooking boil
1 tablespoon fresh chopped coriander


Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the jeera, urad dall and curry leaves
2. Add the diced potatoes and sweet corn kernels
3. Add the salt and green chillies
4. Add the lemon juice
5. Cover and cook on low heat till potatoes tender
6. Add the clove and cinnamon powder and mix thoroughly
7. Add the chopped coriander .Mix keep aside.

**************************************************
For Dosa.Ingredients:


3 cups idli rice
1 cup skinless split urad daal (skinless black gram)
3/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
Salt to tasteVegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil for cooking dosas


Method:


1. Wash the rice and urad daal well. Add the fenugreek seeds to the mix and soak overnight.
2. The next morning, drain all the water from the rice and urad daal. Now put some in a food processor and grind - adding very little water if necessary - to a smooth paste .
3. When all the rice-daal mix is ground like this, put it into a large mixing bowl and add enough water to make a batter.
The consistency of the batter should be such that it thickly coats a spoon dipped in it.
4. Now add salt to taste and keep the dosa batter aside in a warm, dark spot, covered, for 6-8 hours.
After this fermentation, stir the batter well. It is now ready to make dosas.


Making the dosas:


1. Put some cooking oil in a small bowl and keep ready. You will also need a bowl of ice cold water, a large, flat non stick pan,
2 sheets of paper towel, a ladle, a spatula and a basting brush.
2. Fold one sheet of paper towel into a wad and dip lightly into the bowl of cooking oil. Squeeze out any excess and then rub the paper towel all over the surface of the pan to grease. The correct amount of oil is such that it is barely visible on the pan. Now turn on the heat/ flame at medium high.
3. Fill the ladle up to the 3/4 level with dosa batter.
4. Gently pour this batter onto the centre of the pan - just as you would for a pancake - till the ladle is empty.
5 .Now begin to spread the batter in sweeping circular motions to form a pancake of roughly 8" diameter.
6.As soon as you have finished spreading the batter out on the pan, dip the basting brush in cooking oil and drizzle the oil all over the surface of the dosa and also around its edges.
7. When the upper surface begins to look cooked (it will no longer look soft or runny), flip the dosa.
8. The surface that was underneath should be light golden in color. Allow to cook for 1 minute after flipping. The dosa is done.
9. Either serve the dosa with coconut chutney and sambhar or spread the potato masala on the dosa and fold in half.

NB before making the next dosa dip the second wad of kitchen paper in iced water and wipe clean the pan to cool it, repeat steps 2-8 again.

Chilli Paneer

Chilli paneer-An Indian and chinese fusion of flavours are excitingly used in this paneer (Indian cheese) dish made from whole milk. Succulent pieces of paneer grilled to give it a crunch on biting, marinaded and stir fried in a wonderful spicy hot chilli sauce accompanied by onions and capsicums.

Ingredients:

250 grams paneer (diced into small 1 cm cubes)

1 medium red onion (sliced thinly)

1 green capsicum (sliced in thin strips)

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-4 green chillies cut in to slits (seeds removed)

2 tablespoons soya sauce

2 tablespoons chilli sauce

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon sundried tomato paste or tomato puree

2 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 spring onions ,finely chopped

Method:

1.Place the paneer in a bowl and drizzle 1 tablespoon oil.Toss and coat the paneer cubes in oil.

2.Place the paneer on a baking try and grill ,turning occasionally to brown all sides.(Dont over cook , paneer just needs to take golden colour, otherwise paneer will go chewy)

3.Remove paneer cubes from grill and keep aside.

4.Heat 1 table spoon of oil in a pan add the garlic /ginger paste.

5.Add the onions and capsicums and sliced chillies, cook till slightly soft.

6.Add the soya sauce, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup and the sundried tomato paste.

7.Stir and add the salt and cook till a thick sauce forms.

8.Turn off heat and add the grilled paneer. Toss and coat all paneer pieces thoroughly with sauce.

9.Transfer to serving dish, garnish with finely chopped spring onion.

Serve warm.

You may like:

Stir fried noodles with baby corn and carrots.

Tomato and Onion Salad

Ingredients:

1 firm ripe tomato
1 red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
2 green chillies finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

1.Slice the tomato
2.Slice the red onion
3.Place the tomato and onion in a dish.
4.Sprinkle with lemon juice, add the coriander and chillies
5.Add the red chilli powder and salt.
6.Toss and serve immediately.

Naan Indian bread

Naan -A leavened flatbread made with strong white flour, baked in a tandoor, fluffy, soft and awoderful accompaniment to all Indian sabjis and dhals.

Ingredients:

1.5 lb or 350 g strong white flour
5 tablespoons yoghurt
5 tablespoons warm water
½ teaspoon active dry yeast
½ teaspoon salt
pinch of sugar
ghee or butter

Method:

1. Mix together warm water, sugar and yeast and leave for the yeast to dissolve for few minutes.
2. Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre.
3. Add yeast mixture and yogurt and make into soft dough adding about 150 ml of water.
4. Put dough into oiled bowl and leave it covered with a cloth for at least 3 hours. It will rise and double in size.
5. Punch out the air from risen dough and divide in about 4-6 pieces. Roll out to 6-8 inch ovals.
6. Cook for three minutes on each side under a preheated griddle or pan at the highest setting until it has brown spots.
7 .Serve hot with ghee or butter with any curry or dhal .

Serve with:
 Black  chickpeas and potato curry