Eggless Mawa Cake - Saffron and cardamon flavored eggless milk cakes

Dear All,

This post has been pending in my drafts from quite some time now and finally today I decided to go ahead and share it with all you wonderful people out there. Mawa cakes are plain simple cakes made out of khoya, these are perfect for tea time treats, very rich in flavor and fulfilling at the same time. I have grown up eating these yummy cakes from Parsi bakeries, I still remember my mom buying a packet of 6 small muffins and we kids would finish them in no time. I had bookmarked this recipe long time back and finally decided to give it a try few days back. I have added few saffron strands and some powdered cardamons to give it a rich and festive flavor. You can even try adding some cashews and currants, which I am planning to add next time :)

On a lighter note here's a sms which one of my friends messaged me...Once a beautiful woman was asked to describe Marriage..She said: "Sacrificing the admiration of many men for criticism of one man" ...I am not sure if you all will agree with this but I do find some truth in it :) Let me know your views

Original Recipe Source - Ravum's Recipe
The recipe yields close to 18/19 small muffins
Wet Ingredients:-
1 tin condensed milk (400 gms)
1/3 cup butter, Amul is fine
200 gms mawa or khoya
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup milk (this is to be used while mixing dry and wet ingredients if the batter is too thick)

Dry Ingredients:-
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (210 gms)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp freshly crushed cardamon powder
few strands of saffron
1/4 cup of finely chopped cashews (optional)


Procedure:-

• Grease and line 18 muffin cup cake moulds.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
• Mix all the wet ingredients together except 1/4 cup milk, heat this mixture until all the butter is melted and it becomes homogenous mixture. Cool it to room temperature.
• Sift all purpose flour and baking powder, add in saffron and cardamon powder.
• Mix the dry ingredients with the wet mixture, if the batter is too thick use 1/4 cup of milk, the batter should be similar to idli batter consistency.
• Fill in the muffin liners till 3/4 full and bake them at 175 degrees C for exactly 20 mins.
• These cakes get browned very fast so keep an eye on them if you are baking over 20 mins.
• Enjoy these with a warm glass of milk or during tea time.

Verdict:- I got approximately 19 muffins out the recipe, this recipe is very easy to make and extremely rich in taste. Adding dry fruits like cashews and currants would make a lovely combo of flavors! A must try for all mawa cake lovers! I made a batch for my office colleagues and it was a BIG hit with everyone :)

Eggless Fruit and Nut Cake

Dear All,

Finally I am back to blogging after a short break which felt like long and which was unplanned. This month has been too hectic for me, with heavy workload and health not supporting I couldnt do a lot of blog hopping but I am hoping that things will go back to normal soon. This whole month I have been neglecting my oven though I really wanted to bake few things but never came around but when my dad's birthday was around the corner I just had to bake a cake for him. Though my dad loves sweets but due to his health he is now refrained from having sweets so I am always on lookout for recipes which are low in sugar and fats especially for my parents. Fruit and Nut cake seemed perfect to celebrate his birthday, this cake studded with rich dry fruits, spices and caramel was enjoyed by everyone in the family. My dad even commented that he would love to have this cake with some wine but one look from my mom and poor dad swallowed his feeling :-) Looking at this scene I remembered something "Even though the man is said to be the head of the house but wife is the neck who can turn the head any direction she wants", so true isnt it? :D

Recipe adapted from Aayi's Recipe
Ingredients for Caramel:-
1/2 cup sugar (100 gms)
1/4 cup boiling water (60 ml)

Ingredients for Cake:-
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (175 gms)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter melted (100 gms), I used Amul
1/2 cup cranberry juice (125 ml)
1 whole cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 whole cardamon pods seeds
1 cup tuttu frutti (100 gms)
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (50 gms)
1/2 cup finely chopped cashews (50 gms)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (50 gms)
1/2 cup raisins

Procedure:-

• One day before making the cake, soap the dry fruits in cranberry juice along with whole spices.
• On the day of making the cake, first prepare the caramel. In heavy bottom pan heat the sugar on low heat.The sugar will start to melt, stir the melted sugar until all the sugar is melted and caramel is started to form. Slowly the melted sugar will become dark brown in color, make sugar that you donot burn the caramel or else it will spoil the taste of the cake, once whole sugar is metled and the mixture turns dark amber in color, remove from gas and put the vessel in sink. Now add in hot boiling water, about 1/4 cup, be extra careful here as the this will splutter a lot. Make sure you donot have children anywhere near you when you are doing this.
• Cool this mixture completely before using in the cake.
• Grease and flour a 6 or 7 inch cake pan. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.
• Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
• Remove the whole spices from the soaked dry fruits (You can also soak the whole spices alone in the juice initially for a day and then use this spiced juice to soak your dry fruits). Add in melted butter and 1/3 cup sugar and earlier prepared caramel syrup. Mix well.
• Now fold in the flour mixture in the dry fruits batter.
• Pour the batter in the cake pan and bake for 45 to 50 mins, until the cake is well browned and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Once done, remove the cake from oven and cool completely. Once cooled, wrap the cake in foil and store it in fridge overnight, this helps to intensify the flavors in the cake.
• Remove the cake from fridge before 1 hour of serving.

Verdict: This cake is perfect for celebrating any occasion, its moist and flavorful with rich dry fruits. Every bite has crunch of walnuts and almonds with flavors of cinnamon, cloves and cardamons. Have this cake with some wine after dinner or as a tea time cake, however you have it I am sure you will love it and want more.

Kanda Sev Tameta Nu Shaak - A Gujarati Speciality

Dear All,

I enjoy simple pleasure in life, from walking on sand without footwear to sipping filter coffee during rainy season, from reading a romantic novel to watching a kid playing with balloons and from having roadside pani puri to cook for someone special and watching them eat, I bet there is no site more satisfying.  My mom is blessed in having a daughter who is not at all fussy in eating, oh yeah I am talking about myself :-) Of course we all have choices but I dont remember being fussy about any food or not liking a vegetable...of course there are exceptions and karela is not a vegetable in my dictionary!

I too am blessed to have D who is not at all fussy in food habbits, poor guy majority of my experiments in switzerland were done on him and what choice he had?  Today's dish is one of his favorites and I still remember the expression on his face when I served this curry. Sev in curry? I am sure he must have thought I am nuts but after tasting..lets just say he chew on his own thoughts :) After Bharela Kanda (Cilantro stuffed onions) this is one of my favorite dishes as well, its quick and extremely  tasty! 

Serves 2
Kanda Sev Tameta Nu Shaak
Ingredients:-
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup Sev (increase or decrease acc to taste)
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander seeds powder
1 tsp cumin seeds powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Procedure:-

• Heat oil in a pan, add in asafoetida, mustard seeds and cumin seeds, as it starts to splutter add in chopped onions and tomatoes.
• Cook on slow gas for about 2 to 3 mins, add in 1 cup water and rest all masalas - turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, salt and sugar.
• Cover and cook for 10 mins, until onions and tomatoes are cooked properly.
• Finally just before serving add in sev and mix lightly, serve immediately with rotis or phulkas.
• Enjoy this delicious and tasty dish whenever you want, lunch or dinner, its perfect on both the occasions!

I love to make this during night time as I enjoy having this curry hot with some rotis, its perfect for a winter evening!  If you enjoy Gujarati cuisine then you will love this as well, try and let me know.

This dish is off to Flavors of Gujarat event by Nayna.

Until next time, take care and have a relaxing weekend!