Happy New Year !

Tomato soup savory cake

Since I started baking I wanted to put up some savory stuff say a savory muffin my dear father who is a diabetic. But never tried any till this date. When seeing a tamato soup cupcake at vanilagarlic I was naturally brought towards it but bit down to find it a sweet stuff. But that combination gave me the idea for the following cake which was turned to be really good. Afterall appa like it very much!

Ingredients:

For the thick tomato soup :
2 medium sized tomatoes
1/2 of a big onion
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt as required

Steam the above in a pressure cooker. Let it cool. Grind it in a mixie with salt to taste and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Use 1 cup of the ground pulp.
For the cake:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 egg slightly beaten
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of tomato soup
1 T chopped coriander leaves
1 T chopped mint leaves
2 T buttter melted

Sieve the flour and baking powder. Add the egg and the soup and mix until incorporated. Add the melted butter, chopped leaves and mix. Pour the mix into a buttered pan and bake till done in a preheated oven. Transfer it to a rack and let it cool. Serve them warm topped with butter and few mint leaves.

Variation:
This cake did not rise well as I  found it can be baked in a jelly roll pan too. In that case sprinkle the top with grated cheese and warm it in the oven just before serving for a richer taste.

From fellow bloggers

Weekend baking atleast for me is a great stress reliever. But as far as my kids are concerned I am happy that they snack on homemade goodies throughout the week.

When blog-hopping I found this excellent simple cake from CreampuffsinVenice. I love this site and am a regular reader.The fabulous pics and the luscious writing are very refreshing. How much ever cakes I make my younger one loves plain vannila stuff as she is yet to become big to munch on nuts or other additions. This cake was a big hit at home and since I baked it 3 weeks back I have made them 4 times till now! Real hit isn’t it ? Its a buttermilk cake but the variations I made are as below:

1. I skipped the syrup part and the following  *grated zest of an orange  *2 tbsp. Grand Marnier

2. And substituted canola oil with same amount of melted butter

3. Since I do not have cake flour substituted with the same amount of corn flour

This is a very moist and soft cake and tastes best with tea or coffee. Above all its a kids favorite. Then I baked some French butter cookies from JoyofBaking.

The variations I made are :

1. Added a cup full of powdered cashew. It brought the taste near to Nankhattai.

2. Added some chocolate chips to the second part of the dough for a variation.

And the “Brinjal Kunukku” from theyumblog turned out to be an excellent evening snack with a hot cup of tea. I could take pics of the cookies alone which I am posting here.

I CLICKed the Pistachios

How much I longed to participate in the CLICK event organized by Jai and Bee ? Really so much but not at all daring to. The first month, I thought this is not for me as I am very bad at clicking my recipes. Even the loveliest cake I baked looked under average when I clicked. I clicked a bunch of pasta for the previous month’s event but it turned to be too ugly. So missed it too. But this time from the start of the announcement was thinking hard about what nut I can shoot ? what should be the background ? how much I can manage the lighting with the simple accessories (just a 60 watt bulb as a table lamp he he!) I have etc. Finally I decided on the pistachios. I am not confident about the lighting accessories. Chose the rice flour as my background. Spread a cup of rice flour on a plate and arranged the pistas randomly. Took it to the terrace in the evening (only then I can get an yellow light from the sun) and started clicking. And hurray one particualr click turned out to be brilliant! yes I loved it. The yellow light had played well in such a magical moment that I could get the green and pink colors of the nut to be so attractive.

I am sending this to Jai and Bee and will be glad to see that in the roundup. Thanks for the inspiration it gave for me who have started learning the intricacies of the great art photography!

Kathirikkai-Mangai paruppu – JFI Toor dal

Toordal – the most relished lentil in south indian kitchens. No meal is complete without this lentil. Warm rice served with cooked toordal, little salt and ghee with a pickle is a staple meal in many homes. I cook 1/2 cup of toordal 1/2 cup of rice with little hing and turmeric powder, mix it with ghee and serve my kids for lunch or dinner. Its wholesome, filling, simple and yet nutritious.
Sambhar, pongal, kichdi so many staple diet I coudl think. But this particular dish is very common in Northern coastal regions of Tamilnadu. My father got some raw mangoes which is a surprise in this winter. Its perfect as I scared it might be too sour in this odd season of it. Here comes the recipe for “Maangai Kathirikai paruppu”.
Ingredients:
1 cup toor dal – washed
a pinch of turmeric
a pinch of hing / asafoetida
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1/2 cup chopped brinjal
1/2 cup chopped raw mango
2 green chillies chopped

For thaalipu:
1/4 spoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon peanut oil / ghee
2 pinch mustard seeds
a sprig of curry leaves

The one shown in the picture is a whole toor dal i.e., without splitting. They say this vareity is more nutritious than the split one.

How to make it ?
Mix all the ingredients in a container and add 4 cups of water. Add required salt. Cook it in a pressure cooker for 2-3 whistles. Once the pressure in the cooker is reduced open it and mash the cooked dal and veggies with a big spoon. Once it becomes mushy make the thaalipu / tadka with the ingredients for the same. Serve hot with rice / raagi muddha / rotis.

This goes for JFI Toor dal hosted by lovely Linda.

The bug called “Tender Potato Bread”

And yesterday night the “Potato Bread” bug bit me too. After a “viral fever” episode at home I was gaining energy and relaxing. It was irresistible when the “Daring Bakers” all around the food blog world talk about the “Tender Potato” bread. I was not so daring but still wanted to satisfy my urge to bake something after a long break. I made it finally.
I followed the recipe os lovely Tanna till the point when it came to kneading. Kneading ??? Anybody who said about how sticky the dough is and still continued kneading should be really daring I would say. Its just a sticky goey mass. My kid Siva sitting by my side constantly nagging me with questions about the bread I felt the dough is better But I loved kneading it as I added flour little by little (I started with just 4 cups) till I reached the 6 cup limit (my own limit), the dough became wonderfully elastic and quiet moist too. The mashed potato aroma was wonderful enough to suppress the yeast smell. I kneaded for almost 15 minutes.

I meant kneading here is mixing the dough with hands inside the contianer. I was not daring to take the dough out of it. Once I was satisfied I transformed it to an oiled container and left it to rise. Since the weather here was chill I left it overnight. After a good sleep in the morning when I opened the container the dough welcomed me with a wonderful rise. I shaped it as one focaccia and one medium loaf. Topped both of them with chopped coriander leaves and add few slices of green chillies to the focaccia alone. Brushed them liberally with butter and left for the second rise.

Both the focaccia and the loaf baked very well. They were soft with a nice crust and the taste was totally out of the world.

I made a simple tomato soup to dip them and the morning breakfast was a great hit at home. Both amma and appa enjoyed them well. My sis who is not a lover of such kind of food too enjoyed it! Thanks Tanna for the great recipe!