Muttayappam (with video illustration)

Muttayappam is again a Malabar special recipe. It's usually made by the Kannurians with slight variations in their respective regions. Some add eggs to this, some make this in kaara (unniyappam kadai) while we make in iron Kadai /chhenachatti/chinese wok.

This is usually a breakfast recipe; but could also be made for dinner as well. These are deep fried pancakes, usually savoured with meat or fish curries. The dough is to be ground to pouring consistency and is poured into oil to deepfry. These are then, puffed up into puri like appams.

Ingredients:

(Serves a family of four)

White rice/pachari 3 cups

Cooked parboiled rice 1 1/4 cups

Water 1 3/4 cups

Salt 2 1/2 tsp or to taste

Oil enough to deep fry

Method

Soak white rice in warm water for 2-3 hours or overnight.

Drain rice through a strainer. (You can avoid this step; I'm doing this just to give you the exact measurement of water to be used .)

Now blend or grind it along with cooked rice and minimal water (as prescribed).

Heat oil in an iron kadai. The temperature of oil should not be too high. Once the oil is hot, sprinkle 2-3 drops of water to it and then, when the sound of bubbling water stops, you can proceed to the next step.

Set the fire to low. Pour a laddle-ful of dough into the oil. Once you poured, increase the flame to medium-high.

When the appam puffs up and it is done on that side, you may turn it and fry on the other side too.

You may now take it and drain it ona tissue or strainer.

Macarons with Raspberry Filling

Happy New Year! I hope one can wish new year anytime in January ;) 

I know I'm always late. These celebrations bring in holidays with them and so it's really hard to find a gap for blogging. It was winter vacation for kids and Jab has got to finish off his pending leaves this year. So this holiday was completely packed with many stuffs. First week in AbuDhabi with parents, second week at home with guests' stayover.

I just wanted to go nowhere this new year, but had to,for the kids sake. The laser show and fireworks at Burj Khalifah are one of the major events happening here on new years since past few years. So we decided to go there and reached there by 5 pm. As there were 7 more hours to 12, we had to spend our time somewhere else. It was too crowded that we decided to have our dinner so early by 6 and did so; watched a movie after that 'Life of the Pi'. When left the theatre, we were shocked to see the rush outside. The exit door to the fountain area was closed and we were directed towards the Mall Exit. It was so conjusted there that we could hardly breathe in. The footpath outside the mall was full, the roads were closed. We sat there on the path with many others. Thank God that Burj Khalifah is visible from almost all parts of Dubai. :)

Warning : This is not for those who witnessed Trissur Pooram before ;)

 

DSF has arrived . The UAE people are not so excited about shopping festival these days other than a compulsory visit to the global village. I hardly remember those days when we got struck in traffic for hours and hours. But this time, as my sis-in law was here with her family, we took them to creek side park for the inaugural ceremony and yea, the function has changed for good by the passage of time. The programme, especially the musical fireworks and the dancing angels were awesome.

MY MAC STORY:

I've always been fascinated with macarons. I've been wanting to make macarons since I saw them in  Finla's but was afraid when I went through the failure attempts of many bloggers. Thats when  Shabs baked these small mouthful of heaven and it's she who motivated me to try it. She keeps on experimenting different flavours and has given a detailed article on Mac baking on her first post on Macarons.Her pictures are so captivating that tempts me always to try those recipes as soon as I could. Her macs are now famous and we friends call her 'The Mac Queen'. My Mac journey started here.

The ingredients are just four. If you see any youtube video, you won't see any easier recipe than this.. BUT to get it correct or perfect , is as tough as that. These have a smooth rounded outer shell and flat ruffled bottom with what’s called “feet". If you see the 'feet' in your macs, you are 80% nearer to perfection. But the best part is, however flop it comes out, it tastes awesome.

My first try on macarons.used my microwave convection oven for this. The base was sticky and not done perfectly, as the oven had inverter technology and so the macs was overbaked ontop. But I could see the Feet.. HURRAY!! And texture was good too..

Second try-coffee macs,when I used homemade almond flour. The flour was not finely ground. It did come out nicely, but my son  played with it when kept for cooling :(. He liked the crack sound .o. Third try-strawberry macs. Tried in my gas oven.Almond skin is seen :( Now, here is my Macarons Topped Cake

Recipe:

Adapted from Ottolenghi – The Cookbook

Eggwhites 60g

Almond Flour 60g

Icing sugar 110g

Caster Sugar 40g

Raspberry Jam for the filling

Method:

1. Line a baking tray with silicon sheet or baking sheet.

2. Age your egg-whites for atleast 24 hours at room temperature or upto 2 days in refrigerator, loosely covered. ie; to cover egg-whites in a clean bowl using cling film, prick that film with knife,just twice and then, keep them on your kitchen counter for a day or in refrigerator for 2 days.

3.Place icing sugar and almond powder together in a bowl and set aside. If almond flour is not finely ground, then blend it in a food processor together with icing sugar.

4.Beat castor sugar and egg white on a bowl in medium-high speed until soft peaks form and then add the color. Continue to beat until egg white looks smooth and shiny. (and not dry)

5. Fold in the dry ingredients into this meringue in 3-4 batches . Do not overmix the batter. Just take a spoon of the mixture and drop on a plate and if no peaks are formed on top, the mixture is rightly folded. If peaks are formed, fold again. Folding should not exceed 50 strokes.

6. Spoon the batter into the piping bag and then pipe it onto the baking sheets in round shapes. You can use macaron templates for that. Check this link for pictures of using templates.

7. Let the macarons rest for 15-30 mts or until a dry layer is formed on top of macarons. When you touch them, u can feel the dry layer. Switching on the a/c at high will help them dry fast.

8. Preheat your oven at 140C. Bake a tray at a time for 15-20 mts.

9. Cool the tray on a wire rack and remove the macarons. If you find difficuilty in removing them, spray a little water on the sheet and then remove it. Don't leave it for so long after spraying water as it may turn macarons soggy.

7. Fill them with raspberry jam or any other jam or chocolate ganache and sandwich them. Keep in the fridge for atleast 3 days for better & chewy macarons. Serve at room temperature.

Linking this to Bookmarked Recipes Event

Bake fest originally hosted by Vardhini

All In One Holiday Bundt Cake

Merry Christmas!!
Christmas holidays is all about baking. This is the only season when we enjoy baking to the fullest. The three months of joy; of coldness and of coffee :) The aroma of hot hot cakes coming out of the oven is a stress-buster in itself. It helps relaxing one's mind and body after  the whole day's work.

This is a great cake and it's got all the ingredients and flavors you want for the season; pumpkin, cranberries,apples, pecans, cinnamon and nutmeg ,too. Add the icing and you'll get maple as well. I didn't do the icing as we couldn't wait for that. It was that delicious and irresistible. Its too soft for handling. I froze mine for about 1 1/2 weeks and this picture was clicked after thawing.



Ingredients:
Adapted from Baking With Dorie (CulinApp, 2011)

Time: 90 minutes, plus cooling time

Unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons)
All-purpose flour 2 cups
Baking powder 2 tsp
Baking soda 1/2tsp
Ground cinnamon 2tsp
Grated nutmeg 1/4tsp
Pinch salt
Grated fresh ginger (or 1 teaspoon ginger powder) 1 1/2tsp
Granulated sugar 1cup
Packed light brown sugar 1/2cup
Large eggs, at room temperature 2
Pure vanilla extract 1tsp
Canned unsweetened pumpkin purée 1 1/4 cup*
Apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped 1 large
Cranberries, halved or coarsely chopped 1 cup
Pecans, coarsely chopped 1 cup

Maple icing (optional)**

Method:

1. Heat oven to 170degrees celcius with a rack in the center. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ginger powder, if you’re using it instead of the grated ginger.

3. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the remaining butter and both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

4. Reduce the speed to low and add the pumpkin, apple and grated ginger, if using it. Don’t be concerned if the batter looks curdled. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. With a rubber spatula, stir in the cranberries and pecans. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

5. Bake directly on the oven rack for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool to room temperature on the rack. Serve in thick slices.

Yield: 12 or more servings.
*I made pumpkin puree at home. Scoop the seeds out of 1/4 of a pumpkin, roast it at 200C for about 1/2 an hour, cool it, peel it and make puree . Its easier if you can get the canned one.

**For maple icing, sift 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Add syrup little by little, until you have an icing that runs nicely off the tip of the spoon. Put the cooled cake on wax paper and drizzle the icing from the tip of the spoon over it. Let the icing set for a few minutes.

Note: Wrapped well, the cake will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days, at which point it’s good for toasting; or freeze for up to 2 months.

Strawberry & Lemon Loaf Cake with no sugar & no white flour

What more can we ask for than a healthy snack or goodie during this holiday season. Kids feel more hungrier during holidays and they keeps on demanding snacks or goodies every now and then. Atleast my kids do. And we mums are worried about the whites in the ingredients in all those bakes. This post offers you one such recipe which you can serve your kid with no such worries. Neither sugar nor white flour is used here. The one thing you should take care is that to choose sweet berries, atleast no-sour ones. You can use any berries,peaches,nectarines etc. for this cake. Agave syrup is in the original recipe, but I used maple syrup as I didnt have the former. I think, you can use honey either. 

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour 1 1/2 cups

Salt 1/2 tsp

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Baking soda 1/2 tsp

Baking powder 1/2 tsp
Butter 75g
Agave syrup/Maple syrup 2/3 cup
Lemon Zest,finely grated 1 tbsp
Vanilla Essence 1 tsp
Egg 1
Buttermilk 3/4 cup
Strawberries 1-1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries,sweet
Sugar 1tbsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C. Grease a  loaf tin.

Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix butter and agave/maple with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest, vanilla extract and egg and mix until well combined. Now stir in the buttermilk. Add the flour mixture in several batches and stir until just combined. 

Pour the batter into the cake tin, leveling the top. Scatter the strawberries evenly over the top and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean of the center of the cake. Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Linkin this to Kids Delight originally hosted by Srivalli

Chocolate Cake-The Best (Cakes & Cakes only)

Its time for something chocolatyy... I've always been lazy to type cakes. Its time consuming and needs lots of patience, which is now impossible with my toddler roaming around. But the demand for simple and not-so-complicated chocolate cakes have been accumulating in my inbox since months. Its only then that I realised that I haven't posted any simple chocolate cake recipe yet. So here it goes...  Its simple and delicious. I've been researching on chocolate cakes since 2 months for THE BEST recipe and I found it here. I'm sure you are gonna love this. It is buttercream frosting in the original recipe, but I've frosted it with whipped cream to make it simple.

Its time for something chocolatyy... I've always been lazy to type cakes. Its time consuming and needs lots of patience, which is now impossible with my toddler roaming around. But the demand for simple and not-so-complicated chocolate cakes have been accumulating in my inbox since months. Its only then that I realised that I haven't post any simple chocolate cake recipe yet. So here it goes...  Its simple and delicious. I've been researching on chocolate cakes since 2 months for THE BEST recipe and I found it here. I'm sure you are gonna love this. Its buttercream frosting in the original recipe, but I've frosted it with whipped cream to make it simple.

Ingredients:

Unsalted Butter 1/2 cup

Sugar  2 cups

Eggs. 2

Vanilla Essence 2 tsp

Buttermilk*1 3/4 cup

Cake Flour** 1 3/4 cup

Cocoa Powder 1 cup

Baking Soda 2 tsp

Salt 1/2 tsp

Strong Brewed Coffee 1/4 cup

For Whipped Frosting

Whipping Cream 2cups

Caster sugar 1/2 cup or more (adjust to your taste)

Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp

Cocoa Powder 3-4 tbsp

Whip cream to soft peaks.Add sugar and other ingredients qnd beat again to stiff peaks.

**Its really hard to whip up your cream in a place where room temperature is too high. What I do in my place is that unpack cream into the whipping bowl and refrigerate it for about an hr or more before whipping.

I refrigerate my beaters also.

Or else, you can keep the whipping bowl on a big bowl of ice while whipping.

Method

1. Preheat your oven at 170c. Grease your baking pan.

2. Sift cake flour, cocoa powder,baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add the sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture well after each addition.

4.Add the flour mixture. 

5. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and coffee. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until just combined. Pour the batter in the prepared pans.

6.Bake in a 170c oven for 40-50minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean.

7.Cool cakes on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from the pans. Cool thoroughly on wire racks before frosting. (If you like, wrap unfrosted cake layers individually in plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for up to 2 days before using. Double-wrap if layers are to be frozen for later use.)

8. To assemble, place one cake layer on a serving plate. With a thin metal spatula, spread the frosting.Place second cake layer on top of first layer. Frost top and sides with the whipped frosting.Chill in refrigerator for atleast 1 hr before serving.Makes 16 servings.

*Buttermilk - Remove 1 1/2 tbsp from 1 cup of full-cream milk and add 1 1/2 tbsp of vinegar to it. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Do not stir in between .This makes 1 cup of buttermilk.

**Cake flour- measure 1 3/4 cup of all purpose flour, take 3 tbsp of flour from the measure and add 3 tbsp of cornflour to it.

I