Cake Flavoured with Cardamom and Lemon Juice

It was my Hubby's Birthday and I wanted to try something different from the usual vanilla sponge cake and Pineapple cup cakes.

Very simple, the taste of Green Cardamom is really good plus the essence of lemon in it.

This cake is light , fluffy and good  in Taste with less sugar in it.

Ingredients:
1. Maida                          1 cup
2. Corn Flour                   3 Tablespoon
3. Baking Powder            1 teaspoon
4. Baking Soda                 1/2 teaspoon
5. Coco Powder               1 teaspoon(optional)
6. Lemon Juice                 1 1/2 tsp
7. Green Cardamom Powder     1/2 tsp + a pinch
8. Milkmaid                                    1/2 tin
9. Water                                         1/4 cup
10. Butter                                       50gms
11. Sugar                                         1/4 cup (Less or more depends on your taste ) Powdered

Method:
Preheat the oven at 180c for 40 mins. 10 mins for preheating and 30 mins baking.

Please have a look at the mode whether the cake will be cooked from top and bottom, only from top or only from bottom.

For the first 10-15 mins the cake should be baked from both the ends and in the final 10-15 mins from bottom alone.
This will help you to get a cake which is not burnt from the top.

Grease a 7 inch tin with butter and sprinkle little maida .



1. Sieve the maida, cornflour , baking soda, baking powder and coco powder twice. Set aside.

                    
2. Now take butter in a bowl add in the powdered sugar. Using a electric blender , blend it until you get the creamy texture of the butter. Don't over beat.

3. Now add in the milkmaid, lemon juice and green cardamom powder. Beat it once so that all ingredients are mixed evenly.

4. Now add the dry ingredients( Maida, cornflour, baking....) little by little at a time. At a point the batter will become tight . After you add the dry ingredients fully add the 1/4 cup of water . You will
attain a batter of dropping consistency.




5. Add the batter to the tin. Tap the tin so that the batter is evenly distributed.

Place the tin in the oven . The time in the oven now is 30 mins.

After 10-15 mins turn the mode , so the cake is cooked from the bottom alone and set the temperature to 150c .

After 25 mins have a look at the cake . Take a tooth pick insert it at the center of the cake . If the stick comes out clean without any batter to it, your cake is ready.

Garnish it with cherries and dust powdered sugar if required.

If you feel the flavour of Green Cardamom is less you can adjust it according to your taste. Taste the batter  before you pour it into the tin. Adjust the sugar according to your taste.

How to Make Soft Chapati's/ Phulkas without Oil

I have been getting lots of request for making soft chapati's without oil and here is the technique.

Trust me I never made chapati at home before marriage , Where it was a must to make chapati's daily as we are Marwaris and there is no day without chapati.

But after marriage as we were in Mumbai, My husband used to take chapati daily for lunch and my practise began from there.

Now everyone at home loves the chapati's I make ........ The first request of my family and relatives is:::::: Kajal will you make chapati's tonight for dinner.....  And how can I say Nooo

Here it is with pictures:

Ingredients:

1. Wheat Flour              1 cup

2. Salt                             a pinch

3. Normal Water          1/4 cup or less depends on the flour

Method:

1. Take a bowl add in the flour and salt . Knead it into a soft dough using water.

2. When ever you knead the dough be careful while you add water. Add water little by little. Dont make the dough too sticky. Knead the dough 15 mins before you want to make them. Once you have the dough ready sprinkle few drops of water on the dough and cover it with a plate. Leave it aside for 15-20 mins.

3. Now as usual take a small part of the dough roll it into a round chapati.( sorry I dont have the pictures of the dough). Use less dry wheat flour when you make the chapati.

4. Heat the tava. See to it , it is hot enough. Place the Chapati on the tava . So the top side which you can see is the first side. Given below is the picture...( Flame high)

5. Turn the chapati to the other side when it is half cooked like this:( Flame High)

This is your second side

6. Now the other side is half cooked like this , flip it to the other side lower ( Flame Low) , take a clean cloth gently press the corners of the chapati . If everything is perfectly done at this stage your chapati will raise like a puri...

7. Take it out and apply oil or ghee as required.

Matar Paneer/ Peas and Paneer Gravy

Matar or Patani is a easy to cook vegetable which tastes good in gravy or rice. I am a very big fan of Paneer and my son to loves it... So after trying Paneer wrap, Veg Kadai , I prefered a rich dish with a creamy texture .............

This dish is very easy to make , takes less effort and the outcome is perfect...

I had some Gravy left over in the morning . I added little water made it little runny and had it for puri.... My son loved it ..........

Hope you and your family will like it ..............

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Paneer                                   1 cup

2. Green Peas/ Matar              1 cup

3. Onion                                     1 Medium

4. Tomato                                 3-4 (medium sized pureed)

5. Red Chilli Powder                1/2 tsp

6. Coriander Powder               1/2 tsp

7. Turmeric Powder                 a pinch

8. Salt

9. Butter                                    1/2 tsp+ 1 tsp oil

10. Coriander Leaves                to garnish

To Grind:

1. Onion                            2 Medium

2. Garlic                                     6-7 pods

3. Ginger                                    1 inch piece

4. Green Chilli                           1 no

5. Dry Red Chilli                        1 no

6. Black Peppercorns                1/2 tsp

7. Green Cardamom                 2 no

8. Cinnamon                          1 small piece

9. Jeera                                   1/2 tsp

10. Cashew Nuts                     10-12

Method:

1. Gather all ingredients under To grind and Grind them into a fine paste by adding little water. This paste gives you a very nice aroma and taste to your gravy. See to it there are no pieces of cashew left over.

2. Boil Green Peas separately. Cook until they turn soft .

3. Now take a kadai add butter and oil. Be careful so that the butter does not turn brown.

4. Slice the onion length wise into thin stripes. Add onion to the butter , saute until they turn pink.

5. Now add the grounded onion paste. Cook until the raw smell leaves. It usually takes 4-5 mins.

6. Now add in the spices( red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder). Add a cup of water and mix it nicely . When it comes to boil add in the boiled peas .

7. Cook for a min and then add the tomato puree. Cook for 5 mins until the raw smell is gone. 

8. Cut the paneer as you wish. I kept it as long pieces you can also cut them into cubes.

9. Add the paneer mix it gently. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

10. To give a more nice texture to the gravy, Take 2 pieces of paneer and scrap them inside the gravy.

11. This Gravy goes well with Chapati and Rice too....

Enjoy.................