Akki Rotti with a difference

I have been cooking for my in-laws who are a li'l aged and have chewing problems but have great taste for delicacies.

Akki Rotti is one of their favorite! They love the taste but can't handle the texture coz it get hard and crispy after cooking on the griddle!

One of my aunts gave this brilliant idea for soft yet crispy Akki Rotti.. As usual I added my twists to it and here is the result:

Ingredients:

• Akki hittu (Rice Flour) - 1 cup
• Onion: 2 big (Chopped finely)
• Coconut gratings: 1/2 cup
• Green chillies: 3-4
• Chopped Corriander leaves: 1/4 cup
• Chopped curry leaves: 2 Tbsp
• Asafoetida (hing): 1 pinch
• Oil: 3 tbsp
• Jeera (Cumin): 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Water: 2 cups

These are the base ingredients.. 
Fortification can be done using Grated carrots, chopped capsicum, chopped spinach, grated cucumber, cooked peas, sweet corn.
Instead of Rice flour, you can use Ragi flour, a combination of rice flour, ragi flour and corn flour. When using corn flour.. add about 1/4 cup of xtra water.

Method:

• Dry grind green chillies and coconut coarsely.
• In a thick bottomed vessel add heat oil add jeera, add onions and fry for 2 mins until onion changes colour and add the ground mixture
• add the choice of vegetable fortification and roast it for 3-4 mins
• Add curry leaves, corriander leaves and asafoetida.
• Bring water to a boil in another vessel and add it to the roasting mixture and let it come to a full boil.
• Now add the flour and stir it continuously till its homogeneously mixed without any lumps.. sprinkle some water and then close a lid and simmer it for 3 mins.
• Turn off the heat. Let the mixture sit for a few mins to cool off

Take a butter paper or plastic coated sheet (I use book wrapping sheet - Brown paper), make a ball sized of an orange and pat it on the sheet, heat a grindle, add oil on the grindle and transfer the patted cake on it. add another spoon of oil.. (This is an oil intense recipe). let it cook to a golden brown, if the cake doesn't come off the grindle when moved then it is not cooked fully.. if you try to force turn it.. it will tear. But once its cooked completely say for about 4 mins on medium heat it is ready to turn.. and will take another 4 mins on the other side.

Serve it will a pickle or curds or any chutney of your choice.

No Sweat Corn Cake

I was thinking how to use corn flour made of yellow corn to bake.. I used broken corn in Uppma with broken rice and it tasted yummy.... Then I thought why not to bake.

Thanks to http://www.dishesfrommykitchen.com/2012/11/EgglessVanillaCake.html I found this great recipe.. My previous cake was not like by all and I had to change the recipe. Not that it was a bad cake.. it was more physiological more than the actual taste itself.

So I used this recipe as a base to mine and made a few changes.. It says replace 2 table spoons of all  purpose floor with corn flour, I used half cup of corn flour and half cup of all purpose flour (APF). I used more milk..

Here is my version

Ingredients

Dry:

1/2 cup corn flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

4 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

Wet:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

1/4 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Mix wet and dry ingredient separately in bowls, when mixing dry ingredients make sure there are no lumps of APF and corn flour..use hands to remove lumps.. (In my baking experience hand is the best mixing tool.. heat of the body gives the recipe a good texture and personal touch!)

Mix wet and dry ingredients and beat well.. the mixture will have air holes from the baking soda and powder mixed with vinegar..  transfer it to a 8 inch baking pan and bake at 175 C for 25 minutes.. 28 to 30 minutes if you want it crustier. 

 Next time I omitted the cocoa powder and added chocolate chips..

It tasted as yummy as it looks!

It is a no fail recipe and has no side effects.. My next experiment would be to replace corn flour with Ragi flour and another one will be to replace APF with whole wheat flour.. will post them soon

Mentya Gojju (Fenugreek seeds in tamarind gravy)

Ingredients:

• Fenugreek Seeds - Mentya : 4 Tbsp
• Channa dal : 1 tbsp
• Urad dal : 1 tbsp
• Byadagi Chilli : 5-6
• Red Chilli : 3-4
• Tamarind : size of a lemon
• Jaggery: 3 tbsp
• Oil 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds -1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida : 1 Pinch
• Curry leaves: 10 - 12
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Soak Fenugreek seeds in water for about an hour.
• Roast Channa dal, Urad dal, both chillies with a little oil and grind it to a smooth paste.
• Heat oil add mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and add the soaked fenugreek seeds and fry till good aroma arises
• Add water and cook till fenugreek is soft
• Add tamarind extract, jaggary and salt to taste boil for 3 mins.
• Finally add the ground masala and boil for a minute
• Serve hot with Chapathis or mix with rice

Paneer Tikka (Oven baked Flavoured Cottage Chese)

Ingredients

• 30, 2" cubes of paneer (cottage cheese)
• 3 1/2 tbsps Tandoori Masala (see recipe below)
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 large onions cut into 1" square pieces
• 1 Capsicum cut into 1" square pieces
• 5-6 Button mashrooms
  
• 5-6 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
• 2 tbsps Chaat Masala - available at most Indian grocery stores
• Lemon wedges to garnish

Preparation:

• Mix 2 1/2 tbsps of Tandoori Masala with the yogurt, 2 tbsps cooking oil and salt to taste and make a smooth paste.
• Put the paneer chunks in a bowl and pour the above Tandoori paste on to it. Mix gently to coat all the paneer well. Cover and keep in the refrigerator to marinate for two hours.
• Mix the remaining 1/2 tbsp of Tandoori Masala with the onion pieces to coat them well.
• Thread the marinated paneer and onion pieces onto bamboo skewers in a combination of your choice.
• Preheat your grill on medium. Put the paneer skewers on it and brush with a little cooking oil. Grill till paneer is light golden and the onions soft. Do not overcook or the paneer will become rubbery.
• Remove onto a plate and sprinkle with Chaat Masala. Squeeze some lemon juice over the paneer skewers, garnish with lemon wedges and serve piping hot!

Tandoori Masala

• 5 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2tbsp ginger powder
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 star anees
• 1 tbsp saunf
• 3 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp of Kasmiri chilli powder

• Dry roast the cumin, coriander seeds, cloves and cinnamon sticks in a pan on a low flame, till they begin to release their aroma. Remove from fire and allow to cool.
• Grind all the ingredients (including the powder made from the Kashmiri Red Chillies if you are using them instead of the food coloring and red chilli powder) together in a coffee grinder to make a smooth powder.
• Store in an air-tight container for upto 6-8 weeks.

Eggless Pound Cake ( Vanilla cake)

These days I have this feeling of not eating egg but want to eat some good cake. After a lot of experimentation came up with this great sure shot vanilla cake recipe. 

Ingredients: 

3 cups Maida (All Purpose flour) 

2 cup curd/yogurt

1 1/2 cup sugar 

1 cup refined oil 

1 tsp baking soda 

1 1/4 tsps baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence 

2 tbsp Orange marmalade / Mixed fruit Jam (optional) 

Pre-Heat the oven at 200 degrees for 10 mins. 

Mix wet ingredients together and add sugar to it. Once the sugar dissolves, add baking soda and powder. Slowly add the maida and mix well without lumps. Beat the jam or marmalade and mix it into the batter. (this will give additional flavors to the cake) 

Grease and dust an 8" pan, Pour the batter and bake for about an hour or till done. (you can know the cake is done when a bamboo stick comes out clean when dipped in the middle of the cake.)