Smokey Tomato Cashew Idli

Smokey Tomato Cashew Idli

Smokey Tomato Cashew Idli

One of my favourite Breakfast menu is Idli with coconut chutney.I have always been more of an Idli lover than anything else.

There were times when I thought that maybe I was a South Indian in my previous birth simply because I love south Indian cuisine more than North Indian cuisine. Hence I keep experimenting with my idli's and dosa's batter. This time however I wanted to make something quick as well as appealing to my eyes.And after giving it a thought, I tried this super yum thing and Voila! Instant love :)

Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 5 Minutes

Serves -  16 Idli's approximately

Ingredients :

1 small tomato

handful of cashews

few curry leaves

1 tbsp Roasted Black Mustard seeds (also known as rai )

1 cup curd

1 cup semolina ( also known as sooji )

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Black pepper

1/4 eating soda

1 Finely chopped green chilly

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups water

Method:

Heat a small pan on medium flame and roast the black mustard seeds till slightly brown and let it cool. 

Using a mixer grinder, grind this into a coarse powder. 

Take a big bowl and add sooji, eating soda, curry leaves, finely chopped green chilly, chopped curry leaves, salt, black pepper and curd. 

Mix till its combined well into thick paste.

If the consistency is too thick then add a little water say 1/4 cup to make the batter into a semi thick paste.

Grease your Idli plates with olive oil and pour 1 tbsp batter into the mould and let it settle. Don't over fill the mould.

Add a slice of half tomato and 2-3 cashews on each idli mould.

Place a 5 litre cooker or a Big tumbler (depending on the size of your mould) On the stove and add 2 Cups of water. Make sure to remove the lid of cooker.

Add the complete Mould stand in it and cover the tumbler with lid. Do not seal the pressure cooker. Only cover it with a Lid.

Let it steam for 5-10 minutes. Insert knife in ti to check the doneness.

Place it on a skewer and let it cool.

Slowly remove these from the mould and serve hot with coconut chutney, Mint garlic chutney or Ketchup.

P.S - You can add whatever flavour you like and make it your own signature. Done forget to subscribe the blog.

Till then,

Keep cooking, Keep loving :)

Red Wine Nutty cup cakes

     

Red Wine Nutty cup cakes
I Absolutely hate the way they look.
It’s the first time I have ever tried my hands on Icing so its fine.Though the optimistic me then thought, so what!!! Even if they are messy, they taste even better than Messi.. wink!! 

And my husband said look, they even resemble a christmas tree and that made me happy.

Recently a friend told me, I enjoy cooking but can't even think about Baking. Well, So did I girls, whenever I used to look at these professional Bakers, I would always wonder will I ever ? And that made me try my hands on Baking. It's no science but a perfect combination of ingredients and quantity. I have tried and failed many times but I never gave up until finally I perfected them and gifted these babies to my sister for her House warming and she absolutely loved it and gave me order to make more, hehe :)

So here goes the recipe of Cupcakes from an amateur cook to all my future super star chefs :)

Cooking Time - 30 minutes
Preparation Time - 10 minutes
Serving - 6

Ingredients:

1 cup of self rising flour 1
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder 
¼ tsp baking soda 
2 room temperature eggs 
1 cup melted butter (approx 100 gas) 
50-100 gms brown sugar or regular sugar or palm sugar (cur) 
1 over ripe banana 
½ lemon juice 
1 tsp vanilla essence 
2 tsp curd handful of walnuts, raisin,Almonds - soaked in rum/red wine (for about two hours or overnight) 

For icing-

1-2 drops of yellow & green food colour

100 gas Icing sugar 

1 tsp vanilla essence 

100 gas Butter (I used salted ) 

Method:

In a pan on medium heat melt the butter until it turns slightly golden brown. 

Take a big bowl and whisk together sugar and butter. Slowly add vanilla essence and the eggs to it. Whisk. 

Now pour this mixture in a grinder and add banana, lemon juice and curd to it and grind it once on a normal pressure till its smooth. 

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder and keep it aside. 

Now slowly add the flour mixture into the wet mixture untill its smooth without lumps. Please don't over mix. 

Add the nuts to the mix and drink away the wine from the soak:) 

Line the cup cake baking tray with butter and sprinkle some dry flour on it so that the cupcakes/Muffins come off easy. 

Pour the mixture and cook in the oven at 175 degree celsius. Since i have a Micowave/convection so i bake mine in that.press pre-heat/microwave convection button, set temperature to 180 for about 25-30 minutes. 

Check after 25 mins for the doneness. Put a knife in it and if it comes out clean then viola! Its done. cool on a wire,unfold and enjoy as hot muffins or let them cool down and place them into the cupcake liners. 

For Icing:

Take a bowl and add 50-100 gms room temperature melted butte. Since I wanted mine to be salty, so I used Amul butter. 

Add the Icing sugar available in the market.Whisk till its smooth and fluffy. 

Add 1 drop of yellow and 1 drop of green food colour and vanilla essence to it.Whisk. 

Add this into a cone and decorate however you like. 

Sprinkle your favourite toppings like chic chips, starts,fresh fruits,tutty fruity or chopped almonds.

Freeze it if you like them cold like I did. 

Keep cooking, Keep Loving :)