Bday Chocolate Cake

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I was always fascinated by chocolate icings these bakers have. I always fancied to become as good with it as they are.. And my impression about this was its some art. But actually if you have little patience and know a knack it can be very easy too :) and that's what I found out when I tried this cake. Check this out.

PS: Now I had written this in January when I baked this for my mom but due to busy schedule with moving etc I just couldn't post it. So here it comes.. More on their way :)


Ingredients
7 Spoon Butter
1 Cup Castor Sugar
3 Eggs
Salt to taste
1/2 Cup Maida
300g Chocolate
8 Spoon Coco Powder

Method

• Boil water in a small pot and keep a glass bowl over it. Add 100g of chocolate and melt it completely. Add 4 Spoon coco powder and keep aside
• In another bowl mix 6 spoon butter and 1/2 cup of castor sugar till its fluffy
• Add the melted chocolate and beat.
• Separate the egg whites and egg yolks
• Add egg yolks one at a time into the choco-butter mixture and beat well.
• Sieve Maida and keep aside
• Beat the egg whites with salt to taste separately till it is stiff
• In earlier choco mixture add a spoonful for egg white and spoonful of maida, fold in well. Repeat till all maida and egg whites are accommodated in the choco mixture.
• Preheat oven at 180C/350F
• Grease the cake tin and pour the above mixture into it
• Bake the cake at 180C/350F for 45 min
• Keep aside for cooling overnight
• Next day, Heat water in a pot and keep a glass bowl over it. Melt remaining butter and chocolate together in it and keep aside.
• In a pan, add remaining sugar and 1/2 cup of water and bring it to boil.
• Bring the heat to lowest possible and mix in the chocolate-butter mixture as well as remaining coco powder and cook.
• Take out a drop of mixture and test if it thickens after cooling. If so icing is ready
• Pour the chocolate icing in the center of the cake and spread it across the cake to cover it fully.
• Decorate with white butter icing and choco chips/flakes

Notes
Yes you read it right this doesn't need baking soda or powder :)
I had my mom by my side when I tried this so with her patience and suggestions I needed 4 spoon of coca for 200gm chocolate so I guess that should help but if you still seem to run into issues like the mixture isn't thickening then add some more coca or if it thickens too fast and is too hard add little more warm water. The mixture after cooling should be of icing consistency and should not flow or thicken more than that.

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Garam Masala

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

First of all this is not my experiment but its my mom's expertee. When everybody asks me about garam masala I use to tell that its my mom's speciality. So now that I am in pune I actually got the chance to see how this is prepared and wrote the recipe. Obviously this needs more patience than what one thinks of and quite lengthy process but the result i guarantee to be awesome :) So here is the recipe for for all interested parties :)


Ingredients
500g Corriander Seeds
50g Cumin Seeds
50g Fennel Seeds or Saunf
40g Poppy Seeds
20g Bay Leaves
10g Star Anise
10g Black Cardamom
10g Mace or Jayapatri
10g Naak Kesar
10g Cinnamon
10g Black Pepper
10g Cloves
5g Turmeric Stick
1/2 Nutmeg
1cm Asafoetida Block
20g Stone Flower or Dagad Phool
20g Caraway Seeds or Shahi Jeera
Oil

Method

• Heat Pan and add 1/2 Spoon of oil. Roast Jayapatri in this oil on low flame till reddish in color. Transfer to the mixie.
• In same pan add 2 drops of oil and Naak Kesar. Roast it for around 3 min on low flame till it becomes little bigger. Transfer to mixie.
• In same pan add 2 drops of oil and roast Stone Flower in it on low flame for around 3 minutes. Transfer it to the mixie
• Add 2 drops on oil in the same pan and roast Cloves on low flame for 3-4 minutes till they get little bigger. Transfer to the mixie.
• Add 2 drops of oil in same pan and roast black pepper on low flame for around 4 minutes. Transfer to the mixie
• In same pan add 2 more drops of oil and roast cinnamons on low flame till they turn dark brown in colour. Transfer to the mixie
• Add 2 drops of oil and roast Saunf on low flame till it becomes light brown in color. Transfer to the mixie.
• Break nutmeg into small pieces and roast it on low flame for 2 minutes in same pan with 1 drop of oil. Transfer it to the mixie
• Break Asafoetida block into small pieces and roast it on low flame in the same pan with 1 drop of oil till it turns white in color. Transfer it to the mixie
• Break Turmeric stick into the small pieces and roast it on low flame in 1 drop of oil till reddish in color. Transfer to the mixie.
• In same pan roast the bay leaves on low flame in 2 drop oil for 3 minutes. Transfer the contents to the mixie
• Roast Star Anise on low flame with 2 drop of oil for 2 minutes and transfer to the mixie.
• Roast Black Cardamom with 2 drop of oil on low flame till it turns little bigger and dark brown in color. Transfer to the mixe.
• In same pan roast the Jeera with 1 drop of oil on medium flame till it turns brown in color. Transfer the contents to the mixie.
• Roast Shahi Jeera on low flame with 1 drop of oil for around 2 minutes. Transfer it to the mixie
• Roast the Poppy Seeds with 1 drop of oil for 1 minute on low flame. Transfer to the mixie
• Grind all the contents transferred till now to fine powder.
• Sieve the powder and transfer the non so fine powder to the mixie
• Grind again and sieve the contents. transfer the contents which didnot pass through sieve into mixie.
• Roast half of the Corriander seeds with 2 spoon of oil on medium flame. When the seeds start spluttering turn the flame to low and roast for another minute. Transfer the half of them to mixie and Grind
• Sieve the masala again and transfer the not so fine contents to the mixie.
• Add remaining of roasted corriander seeds to mixie and again grind.
• Sieve the contents through and again grind the not so fine contents. Sieve again. Transfer the contents that did not get sieved into the mixie
• Roast remaining corriander seeds in 2 drops of oil on medium flame till they splutter. Turn the flame to low and roast for another minute. Transfer half of them to the mixie and Grind.
• Sieve the masala again and transfer the not so fine contents to the mixie.
• Add remaining of roasted corriander seeds to mixie and again grind.
• Sieve the contents through and again grind the not so fine contents. Sieve again.
• Mix well all the sieved contents and masala is ready.

Notes
Use exact given qunatities of oil for the best results as if you exceed oil quantity it becomes difficult to grind the spices.
Also Fry the spices in same order for the best results as this is the oder that maximises the aroma and will retain it in the masala.
You can use the Not sieved through contents in the non veg gravies or when you would be grinding masala with wet contents.
The above ingredients make around 3/4Kg of masala

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Chutney For Medu Wada

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I read about this special chutney for the medu wada in the cookery book that I have and tried this. It tastes amazing with the wada obviously not as nice as sambar (wada sambar being my favourite). But I was in kind of wrapping up mode that time and hence didnt want to prepare sambar so this chutney made nice alternative.


Ingredients
1/2 Coconut
1/4 Cup Chana Daal
6 Green Chillies
1 Bunch Corriander
1/2 Cup Curd
1/2 Spoon Mustard
1/2 Spoon Udid Daal
A pinch of Asafoetida
1 Spoon of Oil
Salt to taste

Method

• Grate coconut and grind it in mixie with green chillies, corriander leaves, chana daal(one used in chivadas) and salt.
• In this mixture mix curd
• In a small pan heat the oil and let mustard and udid daal splutter in it. Also add Asafoetida.
• Mix this oil into the chutney and serve.

Notes
I used coconut water itself while grinding coconut so that it tastes nice and i dont need to add sugar.
You can also add Red Chillies into the oil for even better taste but i didnt have it so had to skip that.

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