No-Fail Sponge Cake

This is a sponge cake recipe even beginners can't fail with !! So, go ahead, start impressing :)

Ingredients:

• 1 and half cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 and half cup plain flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• half tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 65 gm butter (if you are using salted butter then use jus two pinches of salt)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

• Beat eggs + sugar until thick and till it turns to a pale yellow color.
• Now, heat the milk + butter + vanilla essence to boiling point and then cook for 2mins.
• Add all the dry ingredients and hot milk slowly and mix till batter is smooth.
• Bake @ 180 C for 45 mins or till a toothpick/knife cums out clean.
• Now, if you want to bake a chocolate cake, then use only 1 cup of plain flour and add 3/4th cup of cocoa and proceed the same way.

This sponge cake comes out to be really tasty and soft. Very ideal for making cupcakes and swiss rolls.

Happy Eating :)

Egg Salad

INGREDIENTS:

6 hard boiled eggs, chopped roughly
1/4th cup mayo
1/4th cup green onions (regular onions will also be just fine)
1 1/2 tsp mustard sauce
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all the above ingredients except the eggs.
Once everything is mixed well, add eggs + spring onions + salt + pepper 
Serve it on iceberg lettuce as starter for a meal or also its great as a breakfast on bread toasts.

Happy Eating :)

Naan -- Flat bread

Ingredients:
500gm flour
1 tsp salt
3tsp sugar
1 pkt instant dry yeast (app. 10-11gms)
125 gm butter
1 egg

Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients.
Melt the butter and add it to the dry ingredients.. Rub well to form bread crumbs.
Add egg and knead well by adding enough water to bring the dough together.
Cover and allow to rise for an hour.
Bake and serve with a generous serving of butter on top.

Happy Eating :)

Buttery Creamy Chicken

Chicken Marination Ingredients:

1 kg boneless chicken (small pieces)
2 tbsps ghee (melted) 
2 tbsp yogurt
4 tbsps fresh cream 
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
Few drops of yellow food colour
1 tbsp aamchoor (I did not have amchoor so I used chaat masala)
Salt (according to taste)
1 tsp red chilli powder (or to taste)
1 tsp paprika powder (you can skip this ingredient if you wish to)
1 tsp kasoori methi
1tsp each- whole spices: zeera, dhania, 1 large elaichi, 3 green elachis, 1 piece darchini, a few strands of mace, a few scrapes of nutmeg, 1 small starnanise. (Dry roast and grind) - USE 1 FULL TBSP.

Gravy Ingredients:

Upto 1/4 cup oil
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 can / pack of tomato puree
1 onion (pureed)
Salt to taste
2 fresh green chillis, slit..
1/2 cup fresh cream 
some butter (to be used while baking - sum small cubes of butter)

Directions: 

Step one:

Mix all ingredients for the marination and let it marinade either overnight or an hour if in a rush..

Step two:
Heat oil. Add ginger garlic paste on low heat, add chicken..fry.. once golden remove chicken.

In the same pan, add onion puree. Cook the onion paste till it dries out a bit. Add tomato puree and the remaining marination. Cook and add slit chillies + chicken. Cook on low heat. When almost done, add cream. Mix in well and let it cook for one minute. Close heat. Cover and bake in preheated oven of 200 C for 5mins. Uncover and chop butter, spread on top and bake for a few more mins.

As soon as the top of chicken turns to a beautiful baked golden color, its done. 

Garnish with Coriander leaves...and serve with hot naans :)

P.S: You can totally skip the oven baking part with the butter , it still tastes yummy :)

Happy Eating :)

Basbousa

Basbousa is an egyptian semolina cake which is really moist and light. Making it was just like a piece of cake ;)

So here is the recipe !

Ingredients :

• 1 n 1/4th  cup semolina
• half cup flour
• 1 and half cups of unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup milk
• three forth cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp almond extract or vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 8 tbsp butter

For the syrup -

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• half tbsp rose water

Method :

Cake-

• Mix together semolina + flour + coconut + sugar + baking powder.
• Melt butter. Beat egg and keep aside. Add the milk and egg and melted butter and the extract to the dry mixture and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Grease the baking pan. Pour mixture. Using a sharp knife, cut basbousa into diamond shapes.
• Bake for 30-40 mins or till golden brown.
• After baking, retrace the cuts.

Syrup-

• Bring the water and the sugar and lemon juice to a boiling point.
• Once it boils reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5-6 mins.
• After it thickens add rose water and let it simmer for another 1-2 mins. Cool.
• Pour the syrup all over the basbousa.

Tip: You can garnish the basbousa with shredded coconut or simply with almond slices before serving or you can also place almonds and apple slices on the top of basbousa before putting it in the oven.

Bon Apetite :)