CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa power
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp espresso powder
1 cup milk,buttermilk,or coconut milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil, canola oil or melted coconut oil
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
frosting

Method

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Prepare cake pan by spraying with baking spray or buttering.
Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powdr, baking soda, salt, espresso powder to a large owl. Combine well all dry ingredients.
Add milk, oil, eggs and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together until well combined.
Add boiling water to cake batter until well combined.
Pour cake batter into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow it to cool .
Remove from pan and frost the cake.
Enjoy !!!!!

SWISS CHARD SABZI

Ingredients

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped ginger

3-4 cloves garlic

3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 bunch swiss chard stems, chopped into 1/2 " pieces

1 bunch chard leaves, rolled into cigars and cut into strips

1 1/2 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 pinch chili powder

Method

Heat oil or ghee in a pan. Add onion, saute well.

Add ginger and garlic ans saute well.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, spice mixture. Cover and let it simmer until tomatoes break apart easily with spoon and begin to look like sauce for 5-10 minutes. 

Add chard stems and simmer , until tender.

Add chard leaves, cover and let it simmer until leaves wilt.

Add salt to taste.

MATAR PANEER

Ingredients 

To make a paste

1 cup chopped onions
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cup ripe tomatoes
8 to 10 cashew nuts or skinned almonds (use 5 to 6 more to skip cream)
1 green chili(optional)

other ingredient for gravy

1 to 1.5 tbsp butter or oil
1 ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
½ cup green peas
1 ½ cups paneer/ indian cottage cheese
2 green cardamoms
½ tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
half inch cinnamon stick
2 cloves
½ to ¾ tsp kashmiri red chili powder
¾ to 1 tsp garam masala
salt as needed
¼ tsp kasuri methi
few coriander leaves chopped finely

¼ cup cream(substitute with 5 to 6 cashews)

Method

Make a fine paste of onions, tomatoes, chili, cashews. You can also blanch onions and use them here. Refer step by step instructions for details.
Optional step. Saute paneer in little oil and immerse them in hot water until used.
Saute cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf in oil for 1 to 2 minutes. Fry ginger garlic paste until the raw smell goes off.
Add the ground paste and fry until it leaves the sides of the pan.
Also the raw smell must disappear. Add chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder and salt. saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add peas and 1.5 cups water. Cook until the gravy thickens. When the gravy turns thick, you will also see some oil on top of the gravy. There is not much oil used in the recipe so you can see very little oil on top.
To the thick gravy, add paneer and kasuri methi. Cook for just 2 to 3 minutes.
Using cream is optional. Pour cream to a bowl, add little gravy and mix well. Stir this in to the pan.
Switch off the stove and add finely coriander leaves.
Serve matar paneer with roti or rice.

TOMATO CORIANDER CHUTNEY

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes, sliced

1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

12-15 mint leaves

1 tsp urad dal

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 green chilies

1 tbsp oil

salt to taste

For tempering

1 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 dry chili

pinch asafoetida

8-10 curry leaves

Method

Heat oil in nonstick pan. Add cumin seeds , urad dal, let it splutter .

Add green chilies and saute for few seconds. Now add coriander and mint leaves, saute for 2 minutes.

Remove and keep aside.

In the same pan, add remaining oil, add chopped tomatoes and saute till mushy.Remove and cool.

Grind cumin mixture and them add tomato mixture, salt. grind to coarse paste adding 2-3 tbsp water. Remove into a bowl.

Hat oil in pan, add mustard seeds, after it pops, add dry chili , curry leaves, and fry for few seconds. Now add asafoetida and add the seasoning to the ground mixture.

Serve with dosas and idli.

Cajun Honey Lime Chicken

Ingredients

3 pounds chicken wings
1/3 cup Cajun seasoning
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
1 fresh lime

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheets with cooking spray.Place chicken wings on baking sheet in a single layer, without crowding. Sprinkle each wing liberally with Cajun seasoning.
Bake on middle rack of the 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. ( you can also place the chicken in BBQ grill)
While the chicken is baking begin preparing the basting sauce.While uncut, zest the lime until you have 1 tbsp of zest. Cut the lime in half and juice 1/2 of the lime, reserving juice and setting aside the other lime 1/2 for later.
Add the BBQ Sauce, Honey, Sriracha and the juice from 1/2 of the lime to a small bowl. Stir until blended. Set aside.
After 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and baste with 1/2 of the prepared sauce using a basting brush. 
Return the chicken to the oven  for 10 minutes.Remove the chicken from the oven oand baste again with the remaining 1/2 of the basting sauce. 
Return to the oven  for a final 10 minutes to complete cooking and to caramelize the basting sauce on the wings.
Remove the chicken onto a serving tray. Squeeze the juice from remaining 1/2 of lime over the wings and sprinkle the wings with the lime zest. 
Serve hot!

OAT BARLEY ADAI

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice

1/2 cup moong dal

1/2 cup pearl bar;ey

1/2 cup cooking oats

6-7 green chili , according to your taste

7-8 curry leaves

3-4 dry red chili

1 tsp chopped ginger

asafoetida pinch

salt to taste

tsp sesame oil

Method

In a large bowl mix first four items. Wash and drain these four grains together.

Soak the grains in sufficient water for 3 hours .

Drain water and grind these in blender with curry leaves, ginger, green chili, red chili ,oats along with water.

This does not have to be ground very smooth, the grains could be texture of rava.

The batter should be of pouring consistency but not too thin and runny. Add salt to taste.

Heat a tawa on medium high heat.

When tawa is hot, pout ladle full of batter abd spread quickly and evenly to create thin circle.

Pour sesame oil on the side facing uo.

When lower side is browned, flip it over ans cook other sides for few seconds.

Serve with chutney.

Capsicum Rice

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of cooked rice
2 cups of capsicum, cut into small cubes (any colour or mixed)
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

For tempering:
2-3 tbsp of oil
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
1 tsp of split urad dal
1 tsp of chana dal
2 dry red chillies
A few curry leaves
2 tbsp of roasted peanuts

For masala powder:
3 dry red chllies
A small piece of cinnamon
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 tsp of split urad dal
1 tsp of chana dal

Method

Fry the ingredients for Masala powder in 1 tsp oil until golden brown.

Cool, grind to powder and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add all ingredients for seasoning. Fry until dal turns golden brown.

Add capsicum , salt, turmeric powder. Reduce heat and cook until capsicum turns softer but still retains its shape. Don't cook to a mush. 

Add cooked rice to this and mix well. Heat through.

Finally add masala powder and lemon juice and salt.

Mix well and let it sit for 10 minutes for the flavours to mingle. 

Serve warm with raits or papad.

Note

Make sue to adjust all spices to your taste.

Take care not to burn spices and dal in masala powder or the rice will taste bitter.