2 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

(Instant Chocolate Cake, Quick Cake In Mug, Instant Microwave Cake, 2 minute cake)

Ingredients

·             All purpose flour (Maida) - 4 tbsp

·             Cocoa Powder - 2 tbsp

·             Sugar - 4 tbsp

·             Egg - 1 / or (4 tbsp of milk for egg-less option)

·             Extra Milk - 1 or 2 tbsp (if needed)

·             Vegetable Oil - 2 tbsp (You can use olive oil or melted butter too)

·             Vanilla extract - 2 drops (optional)

·             Salt - a tiny pinch

·             Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp

·             Microwavable safe ceramic / glass mug - 1

Optional Ingredients

·             Chocolate chips - 2 tbsp

·             Dry shredded coconut - 1 tbsp

·             Nutella / Peanut Butter - 1 tbsp

·             Carrot (grated) - 1 tbsp

Method

1.          You can mix the ingredients in the mug directly or in a separate bowl. Since I was making 2 mug cakes, I mixed in a separate bowl.

2.          Take the all purpose flour (maida), cocoa powder, salt and baking powder in the bowl and mix together. 

3.          Add the egg (if you are adding) and oil. If you are making it egg-less, add the 1/4 cup of milk instead of the egg along with the oil. Whisk it together so that the batter is formed without lumps. 

4.          Add vanilla extract and mix again nicely. If you feel the batter is thick, add the extra milk and whisk again. You should get a smooth batter. 

5.          Apply cooking spray in the coffee mug so that the cake wont stick.

6.          Pour the batter into the mug. You can also use small bowls or ramekins.

7.          To make the cake extra moist, top it with the chocolate chips. Sometimes I also love to add a tbsp of nutella or peanut butter on top. As the cake bakes, it seeps in and makes the cake gooey and moist.

8.          Place mug into the microwave and cook on high power for just 2 minutes. My microwave is 900 Watts and it took me 1.5 minutes on high power. Depending on your microwave capacity, the cooking time may vary. If it is a high power one, just microwave for 1 minute. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed.

9.          Allow to cool a bit. Tip out onto a plate and or enjoy from the mug itself.

Serving Instant Cake

·             Kids and adults can enjoy the chocolate mug cake along with a cup of milk. What better snack can you ask for?

Diet Recipes For Weight Loss

Oats Soup

(Oats Congee, Oats Porridge)

         Oats soup is one of the most easiest way of getting oats into your daily diet. It is simple to make with very few ingredients and can be served as a healthy meal with a slice of bread or as a satisfying appetizer. This soup is suited for people of all ages and for ailing patients.
 
Ingredients
Oats - 1 cup
Onion - 1/2 (finely chopped)
Green Chilly - 1 (finely chopped)
Garlic - 1 clove (minced)
Salt - to taste
Pepper powder - a pinch
Water- 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Oil - 2 tsp
Cilantro - for garnish

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan and saute the onions, green chilly and garlic till they begin to sweat. 
2. Now add the oats and fry along with it for 2 minutes.
3. Add salt and water and let it come to a boil. 
4. Now add the milk and pepper powder to it and bring to a boil. 
5. Garnish the rich and creamy oats soup with cilantro or green onions. Serve piping hot with a slice of bread.
 

    - You can add some finely chopped vegetables to the soup like carrots, green peas, etc.
    - You can also add a pinch of garam masala or cumin powder to make the soup more flavourful.

Semiya Idli

Ingredients

·             Thin Semiya (roasted & broken) - 2cups

·             Roasted Rava - 1 cup

·             Curd/yogurt - 2 cups

·             Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

·             Salt - to taste

For Tempering

·             Oil- 2 tsp

·             Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

·             channa dal - 1 tsp

·             Urad dal - 1 tsp

·             Curry Leaves- 4-5 (chopped)

·             Asafoetida - a pinch

Optional Ingredients

·             Grated Carrot

·             Grated Coconut

·             Grated Ginger

·             Green Chillies

·             Cilantro

·             Cashews

Tips

·             I usually buy roasted rava and roasted semiya. If you have the un-roasted one, then roast the rava and semiya till it turns slightly brown and gives a nice aroma. Break it into small pieces before you make the batter.

·             I have used thin semiya in this recipe. You can also substitute with thick semiya or pasta varieties (spaghetti, angel hair etc).

Method

1.          Mix together the dry ingredients - semiya, rava, baking soda and salt.

2.          Mix the curd with it to form a thick batter. It should be thicker than normal idli batter. You can add 1 or 2 spoons of water if needed.

3.          Heat oil in a separate pan and fry the mustard seeds, channa dal and urad dal.

4.          When the dals turn golden brown, add the curry leaves and asafoetida. 

5.          Add this tempering to the batter and mix well. You can also add any of the optional ingredients to the batter to make it more flavorful.

6.          Let the batter rest for 15-20 minutes.

7.          Grease idli plates and fill 3/4 th of the molds with the batter.

8.          Steam in a idli cooker or pressure cooker for 15-20 minutes.

9.          Let the idlis rest for 5 minutes before you remove them from the molds.

Serving Suggestion

·             Serve with coconut chutney, pudhina chutney or sambar.

Kotthu Parotta

 

(Kothu Barotta, Chilly Parotta)

---

• Chicken Kothu Barotta- Add shredded chicken along with parotta pieces.
• Chilli(Kothu) Paratha - Substitute paratha for parotta.
• Chilli(Kothu) Chappatti - substitute chappatti instead of parotta.
• Chilli(Kothu) Bread - substitute sandwitch bread instead of parotta.

Ingredients

·    Parotta - 4

·    Onion - 2 big(sliced lengthwise) Tomato - 1 big/2 small (finely chopped)

·    Green chilly - 4

·    Garam masala/ Chicken Masala - 2 tsp

·    Eggs - 2-3

·    Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

·    Curry leaves - 5

·    Cilantro - handful

·    Mint leaves - 5-6 leaves

·    Oil - 2 tbsp

Method

1.   Shredthe porattas into small pieces and keep aside.

2.   Heat oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves.

3.   Fry onions and green chillies till they become golden brown.

4.   Add the tomatoes and saute for a while. Next add the garam masala, some chopped cilantro, curry leaves and very few mint leaves.

5.   Add the shredded parotta and mix everything together. Let it cook for 5 minutes.

6.   Add the eggs and keep mixing till the egg gets cooked.

7.   Garnish with cilantro and split green chillies. Kothu parotta is ready to be served.

   If you want a spicier version, add little chilly powder too.

Egg Pulav

 (Egg Pulao, Ande Ka Pulao, Muttai Sadam)

Ingredients

Basmati rice - 2 cups 
Eggs - 2 or 3
Ghee/ Butter/ Oil - 2 tblsp 
Cilantro – for garnish 
Onion - 1/4 (Sliced) 
Green Chillies - 5 (Slitted)
Tomato -1 small size (chopped)
Ginger Garlic Paste - (1 1/2 spoon) 
Whole garam masala - (1 bay leaf, 3 cloves, 2 inch cinnamon, 1 star anise) 
Salt - to taste 
Water - 3 cups

Method 

1. Heat the ghee in a pan and splutter the whole garam masala. 
2. Saute the onions with ginger garlic paste, tomato, green chilli’s and salt.
3. Break the eggs and sauté it along with the above mixture.
4. Scramble the eggs until it is cooked and now add the water.
5. Once the water begins to boil add the soaked rice and let it cook on low flame. You can also cook the rice with water, the above sauteed mixture and required salt in a rice cooker. 
5. Garnish with cilantro and serve with any curry. It is a very easy to make and its done in minutes. 

Tips
- Soak the Rice when you put the kadai on the stove for sautéing your ingredients. So that Rice will not break while cooking .  

SCALLION CAKE

For the cakes

·    3 ¹⁄₂ cups flour

·    2 tbsp. vegetable shortening

·    2 tsp. Asian sesame oil

·    1 ¹⁄₂ cups chopped scallions

·    1 tbsp. salt

·    1 tsp. freshly ground white pepper

·    Vegetable oil

 

For the Dipping Sauce

• ¹⁄₂ cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped scallions
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. Asian-style chile sauce

Instructions

For the cakes: Put flour in a bowl, and add 1 ¹⁄₄ cups boiling water, stirring with a fork until dough holds together. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth. Cover with plastic, and set aside for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 12 pieces, shape into balls, and cover with plastic. Working with 1 ball at a time, roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface into a 5'' round. Brush with a thin film of shortening. Sprinkle with a little sesame oil, some scallions, and salt and pepper. Roll dough into a cylinder, coil it into a circle, and tuck end underneath. Roll into a 5'' round. Repeat process with remaining dough.

Heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil in a medium skillet. Fry cakes, one at a time, until blistered and golden, about 2 minutes per side. Add more vegetable oil as needed. Drain on paper towels.

For the dipping sauce: Combine stock, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, and chile sauce in a small bowl. Cut cakes into quarters, and serve with dipping sauc

Lemony Arugula Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

Lemony Arugula Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

Some say love conquers all, but I say cacio e pepe does. It’s true, John and I fell for each other and got married in Lake Como, Italy, but it’s also where I became a slave to this pasta dish, which is super peppery and cheesy and is basically the boss of me whenever I make it. At first I was a little worried: Since I first tasted it when I was all gooey-romancey in Italia, would it weather the trip home? DID I HAVE PASTA GOGGLES ON? Thankfully, I adore it as much now as I did then — even more, actually.

Which is a good thing to be able to say about pasta recipes as well as husbands.

Mango Rice

Mangai Sadam, Manga Sadam, Kairi Bath, Pacha Manga Choru, Maavinakayi Chitraanna, Manga Ogare)

Ingredients

1. Basmati rice - 1 cup (cooked)
2. Mango - 1 cup (Grated)
3. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
4. Urad Dal - 1 tsp
5. Channa Dal - 1 tsp
6. Ginger - small amount (chopped)
7. Red Chillies - 2
8. Green Chillies - 2
9. Curry leaves
10. Cilantro
11. Turmeric powder - a pinch
12. Salt - to taste
13. Oil -  2 tbsp

Method

1.          Heat oil in a pan, pop mustard seeds, Urad dal and Channa dal.

2.          Add Chopped ginger, Red chillies , Green chillies, Curry leaves and Turmeric powder.

3.          Add Grated Mango, Salt and saute well till mango is tender.

4.          Add Cooked rice and mix well.

5.          Garnish with Cilantro. Mango rice is ready to be served.

Add some grated coconut along with mango and you have another variety rice called coconut-mango rice (Thenga - Manga sadam).

Chicken Fried Rice

(Non-Vegetarian Fried Rice, Fried Rice with Chicken and Egg, Mixed Fried Rice, Indian-Chinese Fried Rice)

Ingredients

·             Rice – 2 cups uncooked (or use 4 cups of cooked leftover rice)

·             Mixed Vegetables – 1 cup (You can use any vegetables that you have on hand like onion, carrot, french beans, water chestnuts, green peas, cabbage, capsicum, mushrooms, celery, leeks, corn, baby corn etc. The list is endless.)

·             Meat – 1 cup (I usually use boneless skinless chicken breast cut into thin strips. You can also use turkey, pork, shrimp or a mix of different meat)

·             Eggs – 2 or 3

·             Garlic – 1 tbsp (minced)

·             Ginger – 1 tbsp (minced)

·             Scallions (Spring Onion) – 1 bunch (6-8 stems)

·             Soya Sauce – 2 tbsp

·             Salt – to taste

·             Freshly Ground Black Pepper – 1 tbsp

·             Sesame Oil – 2 tbsp (or use Olive Oil)

·             Chicken bouillon cubes - 1 cube (or use ¼ tsp of Ajinomoto) - If you are not comfortable using this, just skip it.

Preparation

Chop all the vegetables in uniform size and keep it ready. You can either dice it or julienne it. Similarly, chop the meat into uniform sized cubes or strips.

Method

1.          Cook the rice: Fried rice can be made with leftover rice taken straight from the refrigerator for best results. If you do not have left over rice, cook 2 cups of rice with 1 ¾ cups of water and spread it on a tray to cool down. If the rice is hot, it will start breaking while stir frying. You can use basmati rice or any regular rice to make this.

2.          Scramble the eggs: Break open the eggs in a small bowl. Heat little oil in a wok/kadai/pan and add the eggs. When it begins to get fried, stir-fry with a spoon to scramble it. Remove it and keep it aside.

3.          Prepare the meat: Take the diced chicken (or any other meat that you are using) and season with some salt and pepper. Heat little more oil in the same wok and add the meat. Stir fry over medium high heat will the meat is cooked through. Remove and keep it aside. If not, move it to the sides of the pan and make a space in the center.

4         Add the vegetables: Put few more drops of oil in the space created and add the mince garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for a minute. Now add the vegetables and cook for couple of minutes. Usually, I like to add vegetables like beans and carrot first. After a minute, I add the other vegetables and stir-fry for another minute or two.

5.          Add the sauce: Add the soy sauce, salt and the chicken cubes (or ajinomoto). Stir-fry the vegetables and the meat together for another minute. If you use dark soy sauce, it gives a deeper color whereas if you use the light soy sauce, it yields a lighter color. I have used dark soy here.

6         Mix the rice: Add the cooked and cooled rice. Stir-fry everything together till the sauce coats the rice, the vegetables and the meat are uniformly distributed.

7          Garnish and Serve: Finally top with the chopped spring onions and scrambled egg. Serve hot immediately.

Variations

·             You can add 1 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice along with the soy sauce if you prefer a tangy touch to the fried rice.

·             You can make fried rice with a single vegetables, mixed vegetables alone, eggs and vegetables, egg and meat skipping the vegetables, with mixed meat varieties etc. This procedure is a common one that you can follow to make your own variation of Indo-Chinese style fried rice.