MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Plain Cake

Plain Cake in Pressure Cooker

I bake cakes in pressure cooker as I don’t have an electric oven. It is quite easy to bake a cake in pressure cooker. My grandmother and mother used to bake their earlier cakes in an aluminum cake maker which could be directly placed on the gas stove and one needed to use sand in the separator of this cake utensil for uniform heating. The smell of a freshly baked cake is heavenly. Bake a birthday cake for your loved ones and you are going to be in their hearts forever.

For baking a cake in pressure cooker, you require a normal aluminum cooker, and you need to remove the rubber gasket and whistle while baking. One more important thing is that you need to use a separator to place the cake tin.

The plain cake used to be made by weight earlier and the basic recipe used to be 4 eggs and 250 gms each of flour, sugar and butter in addition to one and half teaspoon of baking powder and flavouring of your choice. The plain cake flavouring is that of vanilla essence, you may use cinnamon in addition if you like. Similarly, for citrus flavouring, one needs to use some juice of the citrus fruit (lemon or orange) along with its rind or zest. For chocolate flavouring, cocoa powder or drinking chocolate can be used. Many varieties of cakes are made using various fruits, dry fruits and vegetables too, for eg date and walnut, pineapple, carrot, banana etc.

I have an Inframatic Cuisinette, wherein the cake is baked within 8 minutes, but, I am not carrying it along with me during this tenure. This is the reason for baking cake in pressure cooker. I am sharing the basic plain cake recipe.

Cakes generally require exact measurements, so it is handy to keep a measurement glass or a weighing scale. 

Ingredients

Flour (Maida) – 125 gms

Sugar – 125 gms

Butter – 125 gms

Eggs – 2 nos

Baking Powder – ¾ th teaspoon

Vanilla Essence – ½ teaspoon

Milk – 1/4^th - 1/2 cup

Sal t- A small pinch

Method

Sieve the flour and baking powder together and set aside. Grease the cake tin/utensil with little butter and dust with little flour. Pre-heat the pressure cooker on low flame for about 8-10 minutes. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl till the mix is light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well, add flour to this mix, little quantity at a time and fold in well. Finally, add milk to the cake mix and pour it in the cake tin. Place the cake tin in the pre heated pressure cooker and cover with lid without the gasket and whistle. Baking time is 35-40 minutes. Check if the cake is baked by inserting a knife in the centre of the cake, if the knife comes out clean, means the cake is done. 

Note – The cake can be baked in an electric oven that is preheated at 180 degrees Centigrade for 5 minutes. Baking time of the cake is half hour.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Mushroom Capsicum Sandwiches

Mushroom Capsicum Sandwiches

The Mushroom Capsicum Sandwiches were a regular in my daughter’s tiffin during her school days. Her friends would just pounce on her tiffin the day she carried these. I generally made different kinds of sandwich fillings with different kinds of vegetables like sweet corn, carrot, capsicums, mushrooms, potatoes etc and these can be stored in the fridge for minimum week and you can make sandwiches or rolls using them as and when you wish. You can alternate the various fillings by adding cheese, mayo, toamato sauce, sour cream or any other chutneys and sauces of your liking. The sandwiches can be toasted or grilled, or you can opt to make an open sandwich (like a pizza). This recipe makes a good breakfast or you can supplement it as a cocktail snack too.

 Ingredients

Mushrooms (button variety) – 200 gms

Capsicum – 1 medium

Onion – 1 medium

Butter – 75 gms

Garlic – 10-12 cloves

Mixed Herbs – ½ teaspoon

Cheese (Optional) – 50 gms

Salt – To tatse

Tomato Sauce – 3 tablespoons

Red Chilly Powder/Flakes – ½ teaspoon

Bread (White/Brown) – 10 slices

Method

Wash and cut mushrooms. Heat little butter in a pan and sauté the mushrooms till all water dries up. Add crushed garlic and red chilly powder and stir for a minute and set aside. Slice the onion and capsicum. Heat little butter and sauté onions till they turn soft, then, add capsicum and stir for about 2-3 minutes. Add salt, mixed herbs and cooked mushrooms, stir for about 2 minutes and remove from fire. Now heat a non stick pan and toast the bread slices with little butter. Place a cheese slice, some of the mushroom capsicum filling on one bread slice and apply tomato sauce to one slice and make a sandwich. Toast this on low flame till the bread becomes crispy. Sandwiches are ready to be served.

Note - You can use cheese spread or slices or grated hard cheese. You may use red and yellow bell peppers too in place of capsicum.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Palak Kebab

Palak(Spinach) Kebab

Palak Kebab is one of my own recipes that I happened to experiment and make. It is an easy to make, nutritious, tasty finger snack. They were a hit when I used to make them for parties. It has been long time since I have been entertaining on large scale, so I just stopped making them till I was reminded by a friend of mine “ Mrs Jadhav, aapke banaye hue Palak Kebab kitne badhiya lagte the”. So friends, here is the recipe for you all.

Ingredients

Palak(Spinach) Puree - 1 large cup

Boiled Potatoes – 2 medium sized

Bread Slices – 3 nos

Ginger Garlic Green Chilly Paste – 1 teaspoon

Garam Masala – ½ to ¾ teaspoon

Salt – As per Taste

Oil- For Frying

Method

For Palak Puree- Wash half a bunch of spinach leaves, cut them and boil in water for about 5 minutes. Strain the water and allow to cool, afterwards, make a paste in mixer to form a smooth puree. Make coarse powder of bread slices in the mixer and peel and mash the potatoes well. Mix spinach puree, mashed potatoes, bread crumbs, ginger+garlic+green chilly paste, garam masala and salt well to form smooth dough. Make small kebabs of this mixture and shallow fry with little oil in a non stick pan. Turn alternate sides and the kebabs will become brown and crispy. Remove, put on a tissue to remove excess oil and serve hot with sauce/chutney of your choice. 

Note – You can deep fry these kebabs. Whether you shallow fry or deep fry, they do not soak in much oil. For variation, you may puree green peas too and add to the mixture.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Kadhi

Kadhi(Dahiwali)

Kadhi is an unassuming recipe, and forms a part of majority Indian cuisines like the Rajasthani, Gujarati, Punjabi, Maharashtrian and Sindhi. All cuisines have their different methods for making kadhi, some may use buttermilk, some use curds and the Sindhi Kadhi is made of gram flour, Punjabi Kadhi has pakodas in it and so on. The tempering ingredients differ for different types of Kadhi and some may have a sweet sour taste or plain spicy taste. I make my Kadhi with curds and I like the sweet sour flavouring.

Kadhi is easy to make and quick fix when you are tired of eating daily daals. It tastes best with plain rice and Moong Daal Khichdi.

Ingredients

Curds – 300 Gms

Gram Flour – 2 tablespoons

Water – 3 cups

Oil – 2 tablespoons

Curry Leaves – 10-12

Cinnamon – 1 stick

Fenugreek seeds (Methi) – 10-12

Cloves – 3-4

Black Pepper – 3-4

Cumin – ½ teaspoon

Mustard - ½ teaspoon

Coriander seeds – 7-8

Ginger Garlic Paste – ½ teaspoon

Turmeric Powder – ¼ teaspoon

Red Chillies – 2 -3 whole

Asafoetida – A pinch (generous)

Sugar – 1 teaspoon

Salt – To taste

Method

Mix curds, gram flour, water, salt, sugar, turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste well to form a smooth, homogenized mixture. Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan on a medium flame and add fenugreek seeds, cloves, black pepper and cinnamon. Once these ingredients crackle, then add coriander seeds, mustard, cumin, asafoetida, red chillies and curry leaves. Now add the curd mixture and cover the utensil for about a minute so that all the flavour of the tempering is retained. One very important tip is to keep stirring the mixture continuously so that the curd and water do not separate. It takes about 5-6 minutes to Kadhi to come to a boil. Also, take care not to burn the ingredients while tempering. Boil for about 3- 4 minutes and Kadhi(Dahiwali) is ready to be savoured. Kadhi tatstes good when served hot. 

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Ragda Patties

Ragda Patties – Chaat Special

Chaat is the Indian street food and each and every one of us have enjoyed it once in a while and some of us do it on daily basis. There is a wide variety of chaats like the Bhel Puri, Paani Puri, Papdi Chaat, Aloo Tikki Chaat, Dahi Bhalla, SPDP, Wada Paav, Misal, Paav Bhaji,Ragda Patties, Kachchi Dabeli and so on. Chaats are loved for their eclectic tastes – mix of sweet, sour, spicy, tangy flavours(chatpata swaad) that tickle the taste buds. Chaat recipes satiate totally and completely. People love the ambience that goes with the roadside chaat stalls…the cool breeze, vehicles plying up and down the streets, laughter and chatter of people around.

During my childhood, I used to enjoy eating Bhelpuri and what I loved more was to see the Bhelpuriwala go about making the bhel. Such a methodical process- firstly he would take the clean stainless steel utensil and add each ingredient one by one and then mix it with a spoon by making a particular music with the utensil and spoon. Afterwards, he would add a dash of the green and tamarind chutneys and again a musical mix.  I was so impressed with the Bhelpuriwala that I always wanted to become one when I grew up. What aspirations….!

Most of the chaats have some essential ingredients that include some crispy element like murmura, papdi or bhujia, green chutney, sweet sour chutney, some potato, curd, fresh onions, tomatoes, coriander to name a few.

Homemade chaat has its unique advantages – it will be more hygienic and you can enjoy good family and friends’ time within the comforts of home. It is quite exciting to go about assembling a Chaat Dish.

Ragda Patties is one easy chaat recipe to make. Ragda meaning a homogenous mixture and it is essentially made of dried peas. The patties are made of potato.

Ingredients

Dried Yellow Peas – 200 gms

Potatoes – 5-6 medium sized

Onions – 3 nos

Tomatoes – 2 nos

Bread Slices – 2 nos

Cumin Powder- 1 teaspoon

Coriander Powder – 1 teaspoon

Ginger garlic paste – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder – 1 teaspoon

Garam Masala – ½ teaspoon

Red Chilly Powder – ½ teaspoon

Fresh Coriander – 6-7 sprigs

Oil – 4-5 tablespoons

Water – 1 and ½ litre

Salt – To Taste

Tamarind Chutney – 1 cup (Boil 50 gms tamarind pulp and 50 gms jaggery in one and half cup water. Add more jaggery if required.)

Method

Soak the dried yellow peas for about 5-6 hours. Cook them in a pressure cooker with about 1/2 to 3/4th litre water, ½ teaspoon each of turmeric, cumin and coriander powders along with salt. Cook till the peas are cooked well and soft. Make a paste of 2 onions and 1 tomato. Heat oil in a pan and add the onion tomato paste along with ginger garlic paste and fry well till oil separates. Add garam masala, red chilly powder, little salt and the cooked peas and bring to a boil. Add some water and cook on low flame to allow a nice homogenous ragda to be formed.

Boil the potatoes, cool , peel and mash well. Add ½ teaspoon each of turmeric, cumin and coriander powders along with salt and two bread slices (ground to a coarse mixture in the mixer) to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Then form patties (cutlets) with your hand and shallow fry till golden brown.

Chop one onion and tomato very fine. Chop the coriander leaves. For serving the Ragda Patties, place the patties at the base of the plate and pour the ragda on over it. Add some tamarind chutney and top with chopped onion, tomato and coriander. Ragda Patties is ready to be served and relished.

Note  - In case yellow dried peas are unavailable, dried green peas can be substituted in their place.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja- Caramel Custard Pudding

Caramel Custard

Dessert Time!!! Caramel Custard it is, delicious and most easy to make. This classic pudding recipe has minimum ingredients and the cooking time is also quite less. It is loved by all for its mouthwatering taste. I am sharing the recipe of caramel custard cooked in pressure cooker.

Ingredients

Milk – Half Litre

Eggs – 3 nos

Sugar – ½ cup for the custard + 4 teaspoon for the caramel

Vanilla Essence – ½ teaspoon

Method

Heat milk and dissolve sugar and set aside to cool. Take the bowl in which you are making the caramel custard and add the 4 teaspoons of sugar in it. Now hold this utensil on medium gas flame and keep moving it till the sugar caramelizes and spreads evenly on the base of the bowl. Keep it aside. Now whisk eggs well and add to the milk and sugar mixture. Add vanilla essence and mix well. Pour this mixture into the bowl with caramelized sugar. Heat water in pressure cooker and place the bowl on a separator. Cover the lid of the cooker without the whistle and allow to cook for about 12-15 minutes. Turn off the gas, remove the bowl and allow to cool. Place it in the fridge and upturn it while serving. Enjoy this delicious dessert.

Note- You may use full cream or toned milk. You can increase the number of eggs if you wish. Vanilla pods can also be used to enhance the aroma.
Variation - I have flavoured caramel custard with cardamoms and saffron and it does taste good too.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Papdi Chaat

Papdi Chaat

Papdi chaat is one of my most favourite of all the Chaat preparations. It needs a bit of organizing and planning and would do well if you plan and prepare a day earlier.

I generally keep my tamarind chutney (homemade) ready in the fridge. Readymade papdi from the market has made it easier to make this dish nowadays. Earlier, I used to make the papdi also at home. I will share the recipe of papdi also sometime in the future. For now, I am using the readymade papdi.

Ingredients

Papdi – 1 packet of 200-250 gms

Potatoes – 3 large

Curds – 400 gms

Chickpeas (Chole) – 100 gms

Green Chutney – Mix of mint+coriander leaves+green chilllies+salt + water

Tamarind Chutney – Mixture of tamarind pulp boiled with jaggery and water

Chaat Masala – ½ teaspoon

Cumin Powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander Powder – 1 teaspoon

Red Chilly Powder – ½ teaspoon

Salt – To taste

Sugar – Aprrox 3 teaspoons

Plain Sev(Bhujia) – 100 gms

Method

Soak chickpeas overnight and pressure cook well along with water, salt, cumin and coriander powder. Boil potatoes, peel, cut into small cubes and sprinkle lightly with salt, cumin and coriander powders. Flavour the curds lightly with sugar and salt. For the green chutney, grind mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies and salt along with little water. While arranging the Papdi Chaat, place the papdi as lowermost layer, then on top add potatoes and chickpeas. On top of this pour curds and then add some green chutney as well as tamarind chutney. Sprinkle chaat masala, cumin, red chilly and coriander powders. Top the papdi chaat lightly with plain sev/bhujia and the lip smacking dish is ready to be served.

Note -  This quantity is enough for about 4- 5 people.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Masalewali Moong Daal Khichdi

Masalewali Moong Daal Khichdi

Masalewali Moong Daal Khichdi is a welcome change from the routine roti subji daal chawal menu. It is one of my favourite dishes and I like to relish it with ghee, lemon pickle, groundnut chutney and kadhi. I think it is the favourite of many of you who are redaing this recipe as well. Generally, it is said that people who are lazy, tend to cook this one dish meal, but, let me tell you that it is so flavourful that you feel like having it over and over again. It is a wholesome, nutritious recipe with a good mix of all-carbohydrates, proteins, vegetables and all. You can enjoy it when you are recuperating from a bout of flu and it helps tremendously to satiate your nauseated taste buds. The growing toddlers can also benefit from this tasty, nutritious khichdi minus the masala.

The basic ingredients for the masalewali moong daal khichdi are the same as that of the plain moong daal khichdi and that is rice and moong daal, in addition to a variety of vegetables and spices. The vegetables that generally go well are green peas, potato, onions, tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower, French beans, brinjals. You may add other vegetables of your choice too.

Ingredients

Rice – 1 and ½ cup

Moong Daal – ½ cup

Onion – 1 medium

Tomato – 1 medium

Potato – 1 medium

Cauliflower – 50 gms

French Beans – 50 gms

Green Peas – 50 gms

Carrots – 50 gms

Ginger garlic coriander paste – 1 and ½ teaspoon

Curry leaves – 10-12 nos

Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon

Cumin Seeds – ½ teaspoon

Turmeric Powder – ½ teaspoon

Garam Masala Powder – ½ teaspoon

Red Chilly Powder – ½ teaspoon

Ghee/ Oil – 3-4 tablespoons

Water – 6-7 cups

Salt – To taste

Method

Wash rice and daal and strain water and set aside. Chop all vegetables. Heat oil or ghee in a thick bottomed pan and add tempering of curry leaves, mustard and cumin seeds. Add onions and sauté for a minute and add rest of the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes. Add washed rice and daal and stir for a minute and add ginger garlic coriander paste and stir well. Add turmeric, red chilly and garam masala powders and salt and stir well for a minute and then add hot water to the mixture and bring to a boil. Cover with lid and let it cook well for about 20 minutes. In pressure cooker, it may take about 10-12 minutes or 3-4 whistles. Masalewali Moong Daal Khichdi is ready to be served and enjoyed.

Note

In the accompanying photographs you may not see the vegetables I have mentioned in the recipe. There are no hard and fast rules in my kitchen, I generally make do with ingredients that are readily available at that moment within the house. Khichdi is one such dish that accommodates anything and everything.

You can add a mix of different daals like arhar, masoor, urad as well in addition to moong daal. For spice, I add Kanda Lasun Masala or Sambhar Masala in place of garam masala and red chilly powder.

Khichdi has to live up to its name, meaning a mix of many things and you can vary the ingredients as per your tastes, likes and availability of ingredients.

Mostly people enjoy khichdi with Urad papad. I am not much fan of papad so you may not see it here in my pictures. Go ahead and enjoy the khichdi with accompaniments of your liking. Don’t forget to watch the fun filled movie Khichdi while eating your khichdi.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Prawns Masala

Prawns Masala

Actually prawns (shrimps) taste best with least masala(spices). Prawns can be made in so many ways- fried, sautéed, baked, curried, pickled and so on. The prawns masala recipe that I am sharing tastes good with roti, chapattis and rice as well.

Ingredients

Prawns – 200 gms

Onions- 2 medium sized

Tomatoes – 2 medium sized

Garlic- 8-10 cloves

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Corinader – 4-5 sprigs

Fresh grated coconut – 2 tablespoons

Oil- 2-3 tablespoons

Turmeric – ½ teaspoon

Red chilly Powder – 1 teaspoon

Cumin Powder – ½ teaspoon

Coriander Powder – ½ teaspoon

 Water – 2 cups

Salt – To Taste

Method

Clean prawns by removing shells and deveining. Wash and set aside. Cut onions and tomatoes and grind them with garlic, ginger, coriander and fresh coconut to form a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and add the masala paste and fry well till oil nearly separates. Now add cleaned prawns, turmeric powder, salt, red chilly powder, cumin and coriander powder and stir well for about 2 minutes. Add 2 cups water and allow the prawns to cook for about 8-10 minutes. Prawns Masala is done and ready to be served.

Note

Prawns are cooked very fast. Take care not to overcook prawns.

Also some individuals have severe shellfish allergies, so please be aware.