Lemon Yogurt Cake

It has been a while since I posted a recipe here in this blog thanks to my laziness! I wanted to post some baked item since it has been a really long time I posted one. I have been baking once in a while, but it has mostly been the regular banana bread, cookies and puffs. I made this lemon yogurt cake last week when I saw Ria's recipe. The cake turned out really moist and perfectly sweet with a little tanginess from the lemon and the freshness of the lemon zest. I made these with lemons I had grabbed from a neighbor's garden. Yes we are fortunate to have lemon and orange trees here in Southern California!

This recipe is a keeper and I definitely will be making this again..

Ingredients

Recipe Source: Ria's Collection
Unsalted butter, softened - 180 grams or 12 tablespoons
Sugar - 1 1/4 cups
Eggs - 3 whole and 1 egg yolk
Juice and zest from 1 lemon/lime
All purpose flour/Maida - 1 cup
Whole wheat flour - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
Baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon
Yogurt - 5 tablespoon
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C or 350F.
2. Butter and flour a 9 inch baking tin.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients - the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In another mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, for about 2 minutes.
5. Add the eggs one by one and continue beating.
6. Add the lemon juice and the zest and combine.
7. Then add the prepared flour mix and beat together well until mixed thoroughly.
8. Finally add the yogurt and beat for a minute. The batter is now ready.
9. Pour the prepared batter into the prepared tin and bake for about 60 minutes. A toothpick or skewer inserted should come out clean.
10. Allow the cake to cool down before removing from the pan and slicing.

Enjoy!

Whole-grain Quinoa Adai/Crepe

Are you someone like me who hoards whole grains and other healthy ingredients in your pantry? I often get grains like steel cut oats, wheat bran, wheat berries and quinoa with an enthusiasm to cook healthy wholesome meals. But after using the ingredients in a recipe or two, the bag lies somewhere behind in my pantry, begging to be looked upon again! When I saw this adai recipe, I knew I can use up all those lurking ingredients in my pantry to make up a wholesome adai.

This adai is wholly made of wholesome ingredients and would make a great addition to a diet. It is very filling and can be had for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ingredients
Recipe Source: Veg Inspirations

Brown Rice - 1/2 cup
Pearl Barley - 1/2 cup
Steel Cut Oats - 1/2 cup (can be replaced by rolled oats)
Quinoa - 1/2 cup
Urad dal(whole black gram dal) - 1/3 cup
Toor dal (split pigeon peas) - 1/3 cup
Mung Dal (Green gram dal) - 1/3 cup

Green chillies - 4
Dry red chillies - 4
Asafoetida/Hing - 1 pinch
Sesame oil / Any vegetable oil - to cook the adai
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Soak the first seven ingredients in enough water for about 3 to 4 hours. Then drain the water.
2. Grind together the soaked grains with the green chillies, red chillies, asafoetida and salt in a mixie/blender into a smooth batter adding a little water if required. The batter should be in a consistency similar to the regular dosa batter.
3. In a tawa or griddle, pour a ladle full of the batter in the center and slowly spread the batter in circles.
4. Drizzle some oil around the adai and allow it to cook for about 2 minutes until it gets golden brown in color.
5. Flip with the help of a spatula and cook on the other side as well.
6. Serve warm with a chutney or podi of your choice.

Raw banana(plantain) fry/ Vazhakkai poriyal

I always pick up raw plantain during our trip to the Indian store. Our favorite way to have this raw banana is in the form of banana chips or as bajji. I occasionally make this stir fry with simple spices and this makes a great accompaniment to dal and rice and also with rotis and chapatis as a dry curry.

Ingredients
Raw plantain / Vazhakkai - 1
Onion - 1/2 medium sized
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
All-Purpose curry powder/Sambar powder/Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dahl - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt to taste

Directions
Peel the raw plantain and chop the plantain into small cubes.
In a wide saucepan, heat the oil and do the tempering with mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
Once everything starts spluttering, add the chopped onions and saute until it turns translucent.
Then add the chopped raw plantain and the spice powder (all-purpose curry powder/chilli powder/sambar powder), turmeric powder and salt.
Mix everything together and add half a cup of water. Cover and cook for about two minutes.
Remove the lid and stir everything together again. Allow the plantain to roast and turn crispy and golden brown for about five minutes.
Remove from heat and serve warm with rice and any curry or dal.

Savory Bombay French Toast

I like to have eggs for breakfast. It is healthy and nutritious to have a wholesome and filling breakfast. Eggs are filled with protein and vitamins and make a great start to the day!

I usually make anaheim scramble, desi omelette, veggie egg scramble, egg salsa dosai or egg cheese sandwich. When I saw these spicy bombay toast at Siri's place, I new I had to make it. I made this french toast when I had to make breakfast just for myself. Cooking for one can be monotonous and boring. I made this toast with one slice of bread and one egg and accompanied it with a mug of chamomile tea making it a great start to the day!!

Ingredients
Bread - 1 slice
Egg - 1
Milk - 1 tablespoon
Onion - 1 tablespoon finely chopped
Hot sauce - 1/2 teaspoon
Cilantro/Parsley - 1 teaspoon chopped
Salt to taste

Instructions
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, chopped onions, hot sauce, cilantro and salt.

Also, cut the bread into two halves.

Heat a saucepan and drizzle with some oil. Dip the cut bread into the egg mixture so that it coats well on both sides.

Allow the bread to cook on both sides until it browns evenly.

Serve warm with ketchup or hot sauce or just by itself!

Check out my new hobby and my first project!

Crispy Fried Moong Dal Snack - Haldiram Style!

I was always a big fan of the Haldiram's Moong Dal Namkeen. A bag of those crispy fried moong dal to munch on and a book to read was all I wanted to relax on weekends! I wanted to replicate the snack at home and I almost dished out crispy moong dal that almost tasted like those of Haldiram's but mine looked a little more golden brown in color.

Ingredients
Split Yellow Moong Dal - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. Soak the moong dal overnight or atleast for 4 to 5 hours.
2. Drain the water and pat the dal dry with a paper towel or a dry kitchen towel.
3. In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat oil until it is piping hot.
4. Once the oil reaches its smoking point, drop in a moong dal to see if it sizzles immediately. If it sizzles immediately, then the oil is ready for deep frying.
5. Take care the oil is ready. If the oil is not at the right temperature, the dal absorbs a lot of oil. So take care the oil is at the right temperature.
6. Deep fry the moong dal in batches and remove them once they turn crispy and golden brown. It took around 20 to 30 seconds to get them done. 
7. Drain the dal in paper towels. Sprinkle salt to taste and mix well.
8. Store in airtight containers.

Note: To make things easier, I used a strain to deep fry the moong dal. I took a batch of the dal and once the oil gets hot, just dip the strain into the oil. Once the dal gets fried just lift the strain from the oil and drain the moong dal in paper towels.

This is my entry for day 7 in the 7 day blogging marathon! Check out the Blogging marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#12.

Whole green gram dal fry

This is another simple and wholesome dal recipe and another variation from the regular dal. The whole moong dal packs more nutrients. A wholesome protein source and this accompanies well with rice or rotis.

Ingredients
To pressure cook
Whole green gram/green moong dal - 1 cup
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Green chillies - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Onion - 1/2 finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Garam masala - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 spoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dal - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Coriander leaves/cilantro - for garnish
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Soak the whole green moong dal for about 1 to 2 hours.
2. Pressure cook the dal, green chillies, turmeric powder and tomatoes with enough water for about 4 to 5 whistles.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the oil and do the tempering with the mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
4. Once everything starts spluttering, add the chopped onions. Saute till the onions turn translucent.
5. Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes away.
6. Add the red chilli powder and garama masala and mix well.
7. Finally add the cooked moong dal and enough water (approximately 1 cup) and bring it to a boil.
8. Simmer until the required consistency is obtained.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Note: The green moong dal thickens once the dal cools down. If planning to serve after a while, stir in some hot water or add some water and heat before serving.

This is my entry for day 6 in the 7 day blogging marathon! Check out the Blogging marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#12.

Paruppu Thuvaiyal / Lentil Chutney or Dip

This is a spicy south indian chutney made with toor dal. It is so so easy to make in a matter of minutes and pairs very well with rice and a dollop of ghee or a drizzle of sesame oil. You can make it with minimal ingredients and as spicy as you like. Just enjoy!

Have you checked out the raffle for the fund drive I am supporting?

Ingredients
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Red chillies - 3
Garlic pods - 3
Grated coconut - 2 tablespoons
Oil - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, heat the oil and add the toor dal and red chillies.
2. Roast for about 2 to 3 minutes until the dal turns fragrant and golden brown.
3. Grind together the roasted dal, red chillies, garlic, coconut and salt into a coarse paste sprinkling a teaspoon of water while grinding.
4. Serve over rice and a dollop of ghee or a drizzle of sesame oil.

This is my entry for day 5 in the 7 day blogging marathon! Check out the Blogging marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#12.

This is my entry to My Legume Love Affair #43 started by Susan and hosted this time at Chez Cayenne and Love for Lentils hosted by Sudha