Christmas Fruit Cake

Wishing you all a Merry and fun filled Christmas !
It's been 20 days since I posted,and as always I have a string of excuses :) Balancing my time between language classes and work at home I ended up neglecting my poor blog.Now that my exams are over I thought that it was high time I got my lazy self to post something.Christmas season is something that I wait for every year.The sight of the streets filled with decorated Christmas trees ,carols and smalls shops here in Germany fills my heart with joy and makes me feel like a child again.And luckily this year we've been blessed with a not so bad winter which has made it even more wonderful.Christmas isn't complete with a nut and fruit filled Fruit Cake.This cake is very close to my heart as this is one of the very first cakes that I ever baked.There are many versions of this,but this is a very simple but extremely flavorful version.I haven't visited your blogs in a long time,I'll soon catch up !

You'll Need:
For the Fruit Filling:
Candied Orange Peel - 100 g
Candied Lemon Peel - 100 g
Candied Cherries - 100 g
Raisins - 200 g
Dark Rum - 100 g
For the Cake:
Walnuts - 200 g
Unsalted Butter(softened) - 250 g
Brown Sugar - 200 g - 1 cup
Eggs - 3 large
All Purpose Flour - 200 g - 2 cups
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - a pinch
salt - 1/4 tsp



Method:
For the Fruit Filling:
-In a glass jar mix all the ingredients and mix well.Close the lid tightly and let it lay down on its side.
-Everyday just turn it a little so that all the fruits get evenly soaked with rum.
-Soak it at least one week ahead of when you plan to make the cake.You can soak the fruits even 1 - 3 months in advance.

For the Cake:
-Preheat the oven to 350 ° C.Spread the walnuts on a baking paper lined baking tray and bake for 7 minutes .Remove from the oven and break into smaller pieces.
-Sieve the Flour,baking powder,baking soda and salt well.
-Soften the butter,you can melt it and let it sit at room temperature for an hour or so.
-In a mixing bowl,beat the butter until its creamy and soft.Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
-Add the eggs one after the other.Beating for 30 seconds after each addition on medium speed.
-Add the flour mixture and beat until its well incorporated.
-Add the and soaked fruit mixture and neat for about one minute on low speed.
-Add the walnuts and mix well.
-Fill a loaf pan ( 25 cm  X 7.5 cm) or a 10 " round pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes in a preheated oven (175 ° C).Done !



Note:
-If you do not want to use rum,you could soak the fruits in apple juice.But the fruits can be soaked only before a week and the cake doesn't hold good for more than 4 - 5 days :)
-If making it with rum,the cake can be wrapped in air tight foil and it stays good for several weeks.Just wrap it airtight and once in 3 days brush it with a little rum.
-This cake tastes the  best when it sits for at least 24 hours after baking.

Banana Mug Cake - Sugarless dessert

Off late I've got this obsession for mug cakes ! I like them mainly because you don't have to get your beater out,all you  need to do is to mix and play around with the ingredients .The mug cakes also look real cute.But I never tried them out as they were mostly baked in the microwave oven.I'm one of those people who is strongly against using microwave ovens,I know that there are many people who cannot do without it and who would give me a long list of its benefits.But I'm not yet convinced :) If you're using a microwave this cake can be done in a minute or two.But with the good old convection oven it takes around 20 - 30 minutes.This cake has no flour or sugar and is almost of a mousse consistency.So off to the cute mug cake....

You'll Need:
Banana - 1 big
Peanut Butter - 1 tsp
Nutella - 1 tbsp
Almond Powder - 1 tbsp
Honey - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Egg - 1 medium
Baking soda - 1/8 tsp
Vanilla essence - a few drops
All purpose Flour or Whole wheat flour - 1 tbsp(optional) - I haven't added it,but for a more cake like texture you can add the flour.

Method:
-Peel,chop and mash the bananas with a fork in the mug.
-Add all the other ingredients to the mug and mix well.

-Preheat the oven to 350 ° F and bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Have a great day !

Vazhakkai Kuzhambu - Raw Banana Curry

Guess this time I've been away for real long ! Repair work at home and each of us falling sick one after the other ,so couldn't sit at my comp.I went without using the internet for a couple of days only to realize how addicted I've been :) I have a lot of catching up to do I guess.Coming to the recipe is a very simple curry.I sometimes  feel that planning for food for a party is easier that deciding on what to cook everyday.I always break my head on what to cook.It's hard to find something that isn't boring to cook,healthy,yummy and most important of all, not time consuming :) I try to find something that at least satisfies two of the above criteria.I had a few raw bananas and wanted to make a curry that would go well with chapati ,so decided to make this curry as its relatively easy to prepare and goes well with rice & chapati..

You'll Need:
Raw Banana/Vazhakkai - 2
Garlic - 3 -4 cloves
Onion - 1 small - medium (chopped)
Tomato - 1 small - medium(chopped)
Coriander leaves - 2 -3 sprigs (chopped)
oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
salt as needed
Tamarind juice from a small marble of Tamarind.
Coconut Milk - 1/4 - 1/2 cup.
For the Powder:
Toor dal - 1 tbsp
Whole Red Chilli - 2 -3
Coriander seeds - 2 tsp

Method:
-For the powder : Dry roast all the ingredients one after the other and grind together to a slightly coarse powder.
-For the curry - Clean the banana and scrap the skin .Chop it into pieces.
-Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes.Squeeze and strain to extract the juice.
-In a vessel add the chopped banana,tamarind juice,salt and turmeric powder and mix well.Let the mixture boil until the raw banana is  almost cooked.
-To a pan add oil,when it heats up splutter Curry leaves,mustard and cumin seeds.Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two.
-Add the onion,tomato and Coriander leaves and saute until the tomatoes turn soft.Add the ground powder and mix well.
-Add the cooked banana along with the water and mix well.Check for salt.Add water if needed.Cover with a lid and let the curry simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
-Remove the lid and add the coconut milk and mix well.Let the curry cook for a further 2 -3 minutes. Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !

Pfirsich,Äpfel & Quark Kuchen - Peach,Apple & Quark Cake - 100th post :)

         I really can't believe that this is my 100th post.Thanks to my laziness,I never thought I'll get here :) Blogging has been a wonderful experience.I still remember the first week of blogging ,my blog had just 15 visits and I was really thinking if it was a good idea to carry on when there were so many beautiful blogs out there.It was my hubby & sister who knew how passionate I was about cooking and eating :P, who told me 'Do it just because it makes you happy'.I initially thought that blogging was all about just posting good recipes,but only later did I realize that it was being a part of a community of passionate people. In this short span I've got to know so many beautiful people,learnt so many new dishes and developed a keen interest in photography.Well before blogging the moment I see the 'SALE' sign on any cloth shop I would be inside the shop no time, but now I am always on the hunt for props :) Thanks all of you for all the encouraging comments and stopping at my page ,it keeps me going. Doesn't this sound like some speech in a film award ceremony, I feel like Shah Rukh Khan in 'Om Shanti Om' with a whiskey bottle in his hand ,well not exactly a whisky bottle,might be a rolling pin or a ladle :P
         Coming to today's dish,It's a wonderful German cake.When I first tasted this cake before 5 years I really didn't appreciate it's flavour. Well my Indian taste bud was more adapted to hot and spicy stuff.But then slowly over the years I've started loving cheese and it's subtle taste.This cake is made of quark which is very nutritious and widely used in most European cuisines. Quark is a kind of hung curd,similar to what we use for preparing Shrikhand. You could also replace it with Greek Yogurt. So off to the cake....

You'll Need :
For the base:
All Purpose Flour - 175 g
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Sugar - 100 g
Vanilla essence -a few drops
Salt - a pinch
Egg - 1 big
Butter - 100 g
For the Filling
Apple- 3 - 4 big ones
Sugar - 100 g
Quark /Curd Cheese - 500 g
Vanilla essence -a few drops
Eggs - 3 medium
Weizengrieß - Semolina - 25 g
Whipping Cream - 2 tbsp
For the Topping :
Peaches - 3 tins or 500g or 6 - 7 peaches.
Sugar - 20 g
Fruit juice - 250 ml ( i used orange juice ) if using any berries use apple juice
Tortenguss rot/Fruit tort Jelly  - 1 pack or Check here

Method:
For the Base:
-Melt the butter first and then let it cool to room temperature.
-Sieve the flour and the baking powder well in a big mixing bowl.
-Add all the other ingredients to the flour.With a beater fitted with a dough hook beat the mixture on medium speed until all the ingredients are mixed well.
-Then increase the speed and beat until the dough starts sticking together.Remove it from the bowl and knead it until for 3 - 4 minutes.
-Cover it with a plastic wrap or place it an airtight container and keep it in the freezer for 10 - 15 minutes.
-In a 26 cm springform pan,butter the springform and dust it with flour.Line the bottom with baking paper and remove it from the sides.
-After 15 minutes,Remove it from the freezer.Take 2/3 rd of the batter and roll it into a thin disc of 26 cm diameter.Place the remaining 1/3 rd portion in the refrigerator.For better results.place the dough on the middle of the bottom of the springform(removed from the sides) and slowly roll the dough until it covers the base.You can also use your fingers to flatten it so that it covers the base.
-Now with a fork pierce small holes on the rolled out dough.Attach the sides to the pan and bake in a pre heated oven for 15 minutes at 200 ° C.
-After 15 minutes remove from the oven and let it cool.
-Roll the remaining 1/ 3 portion into thin strips of 3 cms height and place them around the sides of the baked base.So that you get a nice shell with no gaps.

For the filling:
-Clean the apples,remove the core and the skin.Chop them into big pieces.Spread these pieces on the prepared base (shell) in the springform.
-Beat all the other filling ingredients with the beater fitted with a whipping hook for 2 - 3 minutes ,until everything is well mixed.
-Spread it on the apples and spread it uniformly.
-Bake in the oven(not preheated) at 175 ° C for 45 minutes.
-Let the cake cool completely then remove it from the pan.
For the Topping:
-Cut the peaches into thin strips and place them on the baked cake,so that they cover the whole surface.
-Mix the tortenguss with sugar and the juice .Heat the mixture and keep stirring continuously until it starts slightly thickening.Then pour it uniformly over the topping(the peaches).It hardens after cooling. Done !
-If using gelatin please follow this method .

Note:
You can replace the Peaches with any berry of your choice :)

Pasta with roasted vegetable sauce

Being a woman is a real challenge isn't it ? No matter how you feel ,sick,tired,bored or frustrated,there is this instinct within you which makes you cook and take care of your family.All the three of us have a bad cold and the last thing I wanted to do was to stand near the stove and saute stuff  :)That was when this pasta came to my rescue :P Pasta is a real blessing on days when you don't feel like standing near the stove for a long time.This recipes's adapted from one of Sanjeev Kapoor's  recipes.It's a real yummy dish and healthy too.I used spelt flour pasta which makes it even more healthier.So off to the recipe ......

Serves 2 - 3

You'll Need :

Capsicum - 1(chopped into big pieces)

Onion - 1 big (chopped)

Carrot - 1(chopped)

Garlic - 2 cloves (grated)

Tomatoes - 2 medium - big

Oregano - 1 tsp

Thyme - 1/2 tsp

salt - as needed

Pepper - 1/2 tsp or as needed

Cream or whole milk - 4 - 5 tbsp

Cheese(grated)- 4 -5 tbsp

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Pasta - 125 g

Broccoli - 10 florets - broken into small pieces

Butter - 2 tbsp

Method:
-Boil the pasta with a tsp of olive oil and salt until it's cooked.
-In a baking tray spread the chopped Capsicum,onion and carrot pieces.Sprinkle olive oil or with a brush apply some olive oil on the pieces
-Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 10 minutes.
-Then let the vegetables cool,grind them to a fine paste with sufficient water.
-Add the tomatoes to very hot water and after 2 minutes remove them from the water and peel the skin.Grind them to a fine paste.
-In a pan add the olive oil and when it heats up add the grated garlic,saute for a  minute or two.
-Then add the ground capsicum,onion and carrot paste and saute for 2 minutes.
-Add the tomato paste,thyme and oregano and mix well.Add salt as needed and mix well.
-Cover with the lid and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes.Keep stirring occasionally.
-Add the cream and mix well and let it simmer for another 4 minutes.
-Add pepper as needed and mix well.The sauce is done !
-To a pan add the butter and when it heats up add the broccoli and a salt as needed.Saute on a low flame for 5 -8 minutes until the florets are slightly crisp .
Assembly:
-Add the sauce to the cooked pasta and mix well.Sprinkle the cheese.Add the butter fried broccoli and mix well.
-You could also sprinkle chopped fresh basil leaves.Enjoy :)
 

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !

Mid-life 'crisis' :) - Colour Me Orange

'Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,

Snowflakes that stray on my nose and eyelashes,

Silver white winters that melt into springs,

These are a few of my favorite things`

This song from the legendary movie 'Sound of Music' is stuck in my head.My brain's been playing this in repeat mode for the past few weeks.This used to be my favorite song as a kid and now my daughter loves it  as well.
Well music never ages !

The song has tempted me to write out a few of my favorite things too :)

 'Bright yellow capsicums and red orange chillies,

Smell of old books and the fur of little kitties,

Scenic oil paintings drying in spring,

These are a few of my favorite things'

I had  a bunch of chillies lying in my fridge for some time,they had turned into this beautiful orange shade.

I call this middle age as they are neither young & green nor ripe red & old :)

If your'e wondering what the crisis is all about ,Well it's not the chillis who have a crisis,but it's me who doesn't know what to do with these chillies !

Here's one middle aged Chilli "reflecting" :P

One of these clicks go to the event 'Colour Me Orange' happening at Priya's space 'The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen'

Thanks for stopping by ! Have a great day !

Lemon Rice

Have you ever felt that your taste in food changes a lot as you grow older.I still don't like spinach and bitter gourd though :P But I've generally noticed that I've started preferring hot,spicy and tangy things to sweet goodies. Lemon rice is one thing that I used to hate till before a few years ,but I've suddenly developed a liking to it's humble tangy flavour. Besides it's also pretty easy to prepare,exactly what a lazy person like me would love :)When paired up with a hot spicy side dish it can make a real scrumptious meal.I guess everybody has their own way of making it,one of my friend adds about 2 tbsp of curd while tempering and it does give it a nice flavour.So off to my way of making it....

You'll Need:
Rice(Uncooked) - 1 cup - 150 g
Lemon Juice - 50 g - 1/3 of a cup
Green Chillies -2
Whole Red Chilli - 2
Peanuts (skinless) - 4 to 5 tbsp
Channa Dal - 2 tbsp
Urad Dal - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Hing -  a pinch
Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs
Ginger - 1/2 tsp(grated)
salt - as needed
oil & ghee - 2 tbsp(together)

Method:
-Cook the raw rice with salt and 1 tsp of oil until it's well cooked but firm.
-To a pan add the oil & ghee,when it heats up add the hing,ginger,curry leaves whole red chilli,cumin and mustard seeds.
-Then add the green chilli ,chana dal and peanuts .Saute until the peanuts and channa dal are slightly browned.Now add the urad dal and the turmeric and saute until the urad dal is browned.
-Switch off the stove ,add the lemon juice and salt and mix well.
-Add the tempered lemon juice mixture to the cooked rice and mix well.Check for salt and add more if needed.Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !

Sending this to Cook with White happening at Merry Tummy

Sending this to Walk through memory lane happening at My Healthy Happy Kitchen and Gayathri's Cookspot

Sending this to 'Only Traditional Recipes' Guest hosted at 'Jiya's Delicacies' and  Pari's space...