Ezee Fruit Cake/Non Alcoholic Fruit Cake - Merry Christmas Wishes

Wishing all my Friends & Readers a Very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

I would like to take a moment this Holiday season to Thank all my wonderful readers and fellow bloggers, who has always been very encouraging and very supportive through out. 

Anyone prepping up for a last minute Christmas Fruit cake bake? Do not worry if you do not have dry fruits soaked in alcohol. I promise you can still bake a great fruit cake - A non alcoholic, ezee breezy one. I've a traditional Kerala Plum Cake recipe here, posted some time back if you would like to make it the authentic way. 

So let's proceed with the making of this Non-alcoholic Fruit Cake.

Ingredients:

1.      All-purpose flour - 1 ½ cups + 1 tbsp to coat the dry fruits

2.      Baking powder – 1 tsp

3.      Salt – a pinch

4.      Pumpkin Pie Spice – 1 tsp (or Ground cinnamon – ½ tsp +Ground cloves – ½ tsp.)

5.      Ground ginger - 1 tsp(optional)

6.    Butter – ½ cup (diced)

7.       Light brown sugar - ½ cup to caramelize + ¾ cup for cake

8.       Eggs – 2 

9.       Water - 1 cup

10.   Pure vanilla extract - 1tsp

11.   Raisins - ½ cup

12.   Dates chopped – ½ cup

13.   Tutti frutti – ½ tsp

14.   Add more dry fruits like cashews, glazed cherries etc. if you have them handy.

 How I made It: - 

• Preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
• Take a baking pan and butter them or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray and set aside.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, ground ginger and salt into a bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside
• Add all the dry fruits to a wide bowl, add 1 tbsp. of flour over. Blend the dry fruits with flour using a spoon (This is done so that the dry fruits do not sink in the bottom of the batter)
• To make Black Caramel: Boil water in a pan and set aside. Heat up a thick bottom pan and add ½ cup sugar to it. Keep the stove heat between medium-high heat and stir the sugar. As you keep stirring, you can see first it start to stick, and then they caramelize to brown sauce. Gradually it will start to get black. When they turn black, slowly add boiled water and mix well. Switch off the stove. Stir well till the black caramel is melted and set aside.(Please be cautious when you pour hot water in to the caramelize sugar)
• In a bowl, add butter and beat well with a hand mixer or wire whisk till it becomes creamy. Add rest ¾ cup of sugar and beat well. 
• Add eggs one at a time and beat well till it becomes creamy. 
• Slowly pour the black caramel little by little and run the hand mixer to get a thin batter
• Fold in the flour mix, add vanilla extract and dry fruits and combine everything well. 
• Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. 
• Enjoy with a cup of coffee or Tea !

Vattayappam - Steamed Rice Cake

Is there anyone out there who don't like Vattayappam??Vattayam also follows the similar process of other Appam that is made by fermenting the rice batter.  It is Keralites favorite breakfast/snack, can be eaten as it is or can be served with spicy Chicken/Egg Curry. So let us go the process of making the simple yet delicious Vattayappam. Try it out at home for sure and see the smiles of your friends and family. Enjoy !!

Ingredients:-

1. Long Grain Rice or Raw rice (pachari) - 2 cups 
2. Grated coconut - ½ cup (or coconut milk - ½ Cup)
3. Parboiled rice cooked - ½ cup
4. Salt - a pinch
5. Sugar - Cup
6. Yeast - ½ tsp
7. Cashews and Raisins ghee fried - A handful

Preparation Method:-

• Wash the rice twice and drain the water.
• Soak the rice in water for four-six hours. Grind the soaked rice along with cooked rice, grated coconut, salt and sugar by adding water.
• The batter should of the  consistency of Idli batter. Pour the batter into a wide bowl.
• Add yeast to the batter and mix well. Check for the sugar and salt and adjust.
• Let it ferment overnight or for six-eight hours.

• Grease a round plate or cake pan, pour the fermented batter in the plate. Top it with ghee fried cashews and raisins.
• Steam it for about seven-ten minutes or a till a sharp knife or tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Slice it and serve warm as it is or with some spicy Egg Masala/Chicken Curry

Koyikkal Aka Kozhikkal - Tapioca/Yuca Fritters

So are you checking out for some Chicken Legs/Kozhikkal. Do not get fooled by the name. Even though in Malayalam Kozhikkal means Checken Legs, there is no Chicken or any meat in this recipe. This is Malabar’s own snack known as Kozhikkal or Tapioca/Yuca Fritters .

So here is the Recipe for this delicious Malabar Snack, Koyikkal Aka Kozhikkal aka Tapioca/Yuca Fritters, Enjoy!!

Ingredients:-

• Tapioca/Yuca – 2 lbs

For Batter:-

• Gram flour/Besan – ¾ Cup 
• Rice Flour – ¼ up
• Garlic crushed – 6 to 8 cloves 
• Red chili powder - 3 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – ½  Tsp
• Green chilly finely chopped - 4
• Asafoetida - a pinch 
• Salt - to taste
• Curry Leaves chopped - 3 Sprigs

Preparation Method:-

1. Peel the skin of tapioca. Cut into half first. From the first half slit them into thin strips. Repeat for the rest of the tapioca
2. Pour water in a bowl and add tapioca strips. Wash it once and drain in a colander
3. Mix all the items under 'For the batter', by adding water to a consistency of dosa batter.
4. Heat oil for deep frying, keep it in medium flame.
5. Add a palm full of tapioca strips to the batter. Take less than a handful of the mixture, shape it in the form of chicken legs, and deep-fry it in oil.
6. Drain the kozhikkal/tapioca fritters to a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
7. Serve immediately with a Cup of Chai/tea!

Rava Ladoo | Rava Laddu | Happy Diwali Wishes !!

     

Cook-Ezee Wishes all the Fellow Indians around the globe a Very Happy Diwali !! Hope everyone is having a great time celebrating Diwali with Family and friends :-)
Here I'm with a very simple, yet delicious sweet for you to cook up for any occasion. So what are you guys waiting for, make them for your loved ones and Enjoy !!

Ingredients:- 
Yields ~ 20 to 22 Ladoos

1. Coarse Rava / sooji / semolina - 1 ½ Cup
2. Raisins, cashew nuts or chopped almonds - A handful
3. Grated coconut - ½ Cup ((optional)
4. Milk - ¼ Cup 
5. Sugar - ¾ Cup 
6. Cardamom powder  - 1 tsp(grind 4 cardamom pode with 1 tbsp sugar)
7. Ghee - 1 tbsp

How to Make Rava Ladoo:-

• Dry roast the Rava until golden color(just like roasting for rava upma). Move to a plate and keep aside
• Heat ghee in a pan and add the cashew nuts(or raisins or almonds) and roast till golden brown. Keep aside
• Add the coconut to the same ghee and roast for two minutes or till raw smell goes off.  
• Add the roased rava and stir, stir for two-three minutes. 
• Add sugar and stir well till sugar is well combined with the Rava. Add cardamom powder and stir again for another one minute. Turn off the flame.
• Pour the milk slowly stiring continuously as you do so. Continue to mix until the ladoo mixture comes together. Add roasted cashews and stir to mix
• When the ladoo mixture is warm enough to handle, make into lemon-sized balls and gently set aside.
• Soft, smooth and melt in mouth Rava Ladoo is Ready to Serve !! 

Kerala Egg Masala ~ Restaurant Style

Wondering where had I been lost? I myself is not sure ;-).  Had been lost in the woods? No, not in the woods thoughJ. We were on summer vacation for a month and half to my very own hometown - Kannur, Kerala. Had an awesome trip this time, with family and friends, good food and lots of travelling.  Time passed so fast, but the memories remain freshJ.

 

It had been a while we are back to US and everyone had adjusted back to the daily routine. It took me a while to restart my blogging episodes, as I was Indulge in our Association Onam programs. Had sleepless nights with arrangement of the programs, but again as I always believe your hard work will never go in vain. The results were amazing with 25 + programs and 200 + kids and adults participating in the program. I was so happy at the end of the program since everything went as scheduled in a very organized way.  Every single program turned out great, with lots of appreciation from everyone around.

So coming back to today’s recipe, I am posting one from the archives, which had been sitting there for long. Kerala Style Egg Masala ~ Typical Restaurant style. It pairs very well with Appam, Chappathi, Fulkas, Naan, Puttu, Dosa and even boiled Rice. Definitely give it a try and please let me know the results. Enjoy with your loved ones J

 

Ingredients:-

1. Hard Boiled eggs - 4(slice into halves or make slit on all sides)

2. Finely sliced onions - 3(~3 Cups)

3. Finely Sliced Tomato -2(~1 ½ Cups

4. Green chilies -4 split into halves

5. Fresh Ginger finely chopped ~ 1 tbsp.

6. Fresh Garlic finely chopped ~ 1 tbsp. (or use 2 tbsp. freshly ground ginger-garlic paste or crushed ginger-garlic)

7. Turmeric powder- ¾ tsp

8. Chili powder - 1 tsp

9. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp (optional, I prefer pepper instead of chili powder)

10. Coriander powder -1 tsp

11. Chicken masala - 2 tsp

12. Thin Coconut Milk – 1 Cup

13. Thick Coconut milk - 3 tbsp. (If using canned milk, add 1/4 cup water and mix well)

14. Oil- 2tbsp

15. Mustard seeds - 2 tsp

16. Chopped Coriander leaves few

17. Curry leaves few

 Preparation Method:-

•Heat up a kadai or pan, pour oil, splutter mustard seeds, add ginger-garlic and saute for a minute or till raw smell is gone.

•Add green chillies, onion, curry leaves and stir till onion is translucent (don't get it to dark brown), add tomatoes and stir well till tomatoes starts to break and release the juice.

•Add in masala powders and stir in med flame for 1 min and mix everything well.

•Add in the boiled eggs and stir gently to mix.

•Add the thick coconut milk and let it cook for another min. Bring it close to boil. Switch off the stove. 

•Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves and leave it covered for 30 minutes.

•Serve warm with Chappathi/Appams/Rice or anything of your choice.