Another Chocolate Cake (non-egg)

This is a "hopefully" healthier version of the cake recipe I posted earlier.

Ingredients:
1 katori flour (normal atta)
1/2 katori cocoa powder
1 banana
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1 katori milk
3/4 katori sugar (u can put equivalent sugar free as well)

Method:
1. Seive together the 3 dry ingredients.
2. In a mixer, mic banana and sugar so that the banana is thoroughky mashed.
3. Now add the milk to the banana mixture, and mix for a few seconds.
4. Add this banana mixture into the dry ingredients and mix properly. Do not beat.
5. Pour this in a pre-greased microwave dish.
6. Microwave on 100% power for 5 mins.
7. Cool and eat.

Tips:
1. This cake tastes better the next day (if you have leftovers)
2. If you want, you can add chopped walnuts to the mix.
3. To make other flavors, replace coco powder with other flavors like vanilla essence, strawberries etc.

Recipe - Peanuts and Chana chutney

Hi again - Today I am giving u the recipe for a chutney I made on Sunday. It was not from a specific recipe - and I had never made it earlier - still I decided to go ahead with my gut feel.

Ingredients:
Shelled Peanuts - 1/2 cup
Roasted Chana (Bengal Gram) - 1/2 cup
Whole red chillies - 3
Green chillies - 2
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Jaggery (Gur) - size of a ping-pong ball
Tamarind - size of a ping-pong ball - soaked in water
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Vegetable oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water

Method:
In a non stick pan - dry roast the peanuts on a low flame - till the aroma fills the air. Now in the same pan roast the chanas till golden in color. Follow this by dry roasting the red chillies (after breaking them into pieces)
Now put all this in a mixie, add salt, chopped green chillies and ginger. Also add the water extracted from tamarind paste. Process it till the chutney becomes very fine. If it is a bit dry - u can add a bit of water.
In a small kadhai, take the vegetable oil, add the mustard seeds till they start splattering. Now add the processed chutney and jaggery - and cook for 5 minutes or until the jaggery melts completely. If at any point of time u find that the chutney is dry - add more water.
The chutney is now ready - keep it in the refrigerator after it cools down.
The taste of this chutney is best the day after as masalas get some time to get absorbed.

PS: You can also add a tomato to ths chutney while grinding. In case u want the chutney to be a bit more sour - add 1/2 tsp on amchoor to it.

Aaloo Mutter

This is a simple recipe for potato+peas.

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes - washed and cut into squares
1 cup fresh peas - washed and shelled (u can used frozen thawed peas as well)
3 medium tomatoes - pureed
2 green chillies - chopped finely (optional)
1/2 inch ginger root - chopped finely
2 cups water
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 pinch asaefotedia
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp dhania (coriander) powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp haldi (turmeric) powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

Coriander leaves - chopped finely for garnish

Method:
In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and add asaefotedia. After 2-3 seconds, add cumin seeds. When they start spluttering, add the green chillies, ginger and tomato puree. Along with that, add all the dry spices (except garam masala and amchoor). Now roast this a bit on low heat - till it starts leaving oil. Now add the cut potatoes and the peas along with the water. Put the lid on the pressure cooker, and cook it for abt 3 whistles (~10 minutes)
When the cooker cools a bit, open it up, mash 2-3 pieces of potatoes , add the garam masala and the amchoor powder.
Garnish with the coriander leaves when serving with rotis.

PS: the quantities of red and green chillies are variable - based on how spicy u want the subzi to be

Recipe - Shahi Paneer

Since mine is a joint household, I stay with my in-laws.
My MIL doesnt eat oniios - hence most of the dishes i make dont generally have onions in them.
This recipe is for Shahi Paneer - without onions. this is especially for my friend Sudeshna, who used to love it.

Ingredients:
250 gm paneer - cubed
5 tomotoes
2 green chillies (optional)
1/2 inch ginger
1 cup milk (hot)
Water - abt 2 cups
Salt - to taste
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch asoefitedia
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder (adjustable)
2 pinches garam masala
1/2 tbsp sugar
little oil - for tempering

For garnish -

handful of nuts (cashews and raisins)

Method:
Roast the nuts a bit (can be done in a microwave)
Puree tomatoes, green chillies and ginger.
Heat oil in a kadhai , add asoefitedia and cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle - add the tomato puree. Cook it for some time till it starts leaving sides. Now add the hot milk slowly and keep on stirring the mixture. The milk needs to be hot - otherwose it will curdle. Also - do this step on low flame (or remove the kadhai from the fire).
Now cook this for abt 4-5 mins. add all the dry spices and cook for another 2 mins.
Now add the water and sugar and bring it to a boil. The amount of water will depend on the consistency you want.
Once water boils - add the cubed paneer pieces and cook for just 2 minutes more. Do not over cook - as the paneer pieces might break.
Garnish with coriander and nuts and serve hot.

Tip: Around Diwali - there are a lot of leftover sweets. 1 pc of Barfi can be used in this. To use the barfi, crush it and add when you add milk and drop the sugar out of the recipe.
PS: Onion lovers can add 2 onions - and grind it with tomatoes in the second step.

Recipe

Yesterday - i was alone at home - so decided to do some experimentational cooking
So I made "Moong Ki Dal Ka Halwa" - something i had never made.

Ingredients:
1 katori moong dal - soaked in water for 2 hrs
1 katori sugar
1 katori ghee
2 1/2 katori milk
Dry Fruits - to garnisk

Method:
Put the soaked dal in a colander for 10-15 minutes - so that extra water is drained out. Now grind this dal coarsely (it should have minimum water). Take a thick bottomed kadhai. Add ghee to it. When the ghee melts - add the ground dal. Start stirring the mixture. This constant stirring will need to be done for at least 10 minutes. The dal will tend to stick to the bottom of the kadhaai initially - so keep on stirring. Keep on stirring till the dal starts leaving ghee - and is almost pinkish/brown in colur. It will also become much easier to handle when it is roasted properly.
Now add the milk to this mixture - and also add the sugar. Stir it again for some time.
This mixture started to stick to the kadhai as well - so i innovated at this point of time. I put this entire mixture into a microwave bowl - and put this in microwave - for 7-8 minutes. (I kept stirring it every minute)
The timing of microwave will differ according to what stage you put it in the microwave.
The halwa is ready when it starts oozing out the ghee (you can actually collect the ghee with spoon if you want to)
Now add roasted cashews and almods to the halwa - and serve HOT.

PS: Next time i plan to try doing the entire cooking in the microwave. Lets see how that turns out.