Lemon Cake

One of our hiking tradition is to stop on the way at a Starbucks. Among other things we always pick up their lemon pound cake. On the hard hike up, we look forward to munch on those cakes high up in the mountains.

Cakes are in general heavy and is not something which I enjoy on hot days. However, I realized that I like the lemon cakes on the hot hikes because it has a refreshing flavor. So now in summer I generally favor baking these over other rich fruity cakes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup white granulated sugar + 1/4 cup
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon (Grated yellow skin of firm and plump lemon)

Procedure

Preheat oven at 350F and place the rack at the center of the oven. Butter a 9” cake pan and then line it with a wax paper.

In a bowl beat butter and sugar with an electric hand blender until they are light and fluffy.

Beat in the vanilla extract. Now add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the pan as needed.

In another bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and lemon zest. add the flour mixture in three batches alternating with lemon juice. Mix till you get a smooth batter.

Pour the batter in the prepared cake pan and bake for about 45 minutes. Insert a toothpick at the center and take it out. If it comes clean your cake is done. Let it cool and then invert it on a plate.

Grind 1/4th cup of sugar into a fine powder and sprinkle it through a strainer on top of the cake.

Its ready to be enjoyed with some nice light tea.

Medu Vada

Medu vada or vadai is a common South Indian snacks. Everyone seems to make them at home. However, really good quality medu vada simply stands out and is very hard to get even in the Southern parts of India. My husband is a vada fanatic. He hates waiting in line to get food, but would still queue up at Chutneys in Hyderabad at 3:30 waiting for their specific vada maker to come in at 4:00 and make scorching hot vadas. He judges a Southern café or restaurant just by their vada and most fails that test, some of the exceptions being Chutneys, Kamath, Saravana Bhavan and the likes.

Good vada has a super crunchy exterior contrasted by a soft yet well cooked interior. The vada has to be served right after making it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup urad dal whole or split (Black lentils without skin)
• 2 green chilies
• 1/2” ginger
• 5 – 6 pepper corns crushed
• 1/2tsp. asafetida (Hing)
• 1tsp. whole cumin seed
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Wash and soak urad dal in enough water for 5- 6 hours.

Drain and grind it into a coarse paste with green chilies and ginger. You might need to add very little water. Water should be just enough to make a soft but not watery dough – as its the consistency of the batter that determines the shape and softness of the vadas.

Transfer the paste in a bowl add add salt to it. Now beat it with your hand till the batter is light and fluffy. To make sure it’s right, run the following floating test. Take a cup of water and drop a little dough into it. If the dough immediately floats up, your dough is ready. If it sinks you need to beat it some more.

Add hing, cumin seeds and crushed pepper corn. Mix once more.

Heat oil in a kadai.

Wet your hand and take a portion of the mixture and start giving it the shape of vada by making a hole at the center with your thumb. When the oil is really hot upturn your hand and carefully slide the vada in oil.

Deep fry till both sides turn golden brown.

Note:

• Make the vadas as soon as the batter is ready as they will absorb too much oil if left for a long time.
• Add the vadas when the oil is really hot. It will make the outside of the vadas crispy while keeping the inside soft.

Remove and drain on an absorbent paper and serve with coconut chutney.

Coconut Chutney

The taste of a lot of South Indian snacks like Idli, Vada and Dosa is heavily dependent on the coconut chutney served with it. A lot of South Indian cafés are famous just for their chutneys. Some serve a rainbow of them varying from the milky white, brown, red, green varieties. This recipe is the rational white coconut chutney without peanut paste commonly served in places like Chennai.

Ingredients

• 1 cup grated chutney
• 1/3 cup roasted Bengal gram or puttana
• 3-4 green chilies
• 1/4” ginger
• For tempering
  • 1/4 tsp. mustard seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. urad dal
  • 1 pinch asafetida (Hing)
  • 2-3 dry red chilies torn into halves
  • 5-6 curry leaves

Procedure

In a grinder grind coconut with ginger, green chilies and Bengal gram and make a smooth paste of it. Keep it in a bowl.

Heat 2 tsp. oil in a pan and add mustard seeds,cumin seeds, hing and urad dal. Fry on medium heat till dal turns golden brown. Now add curry leaves and dry red chilies. Turn off the heat immediately to retain the colors of those two. Mix everything once again and add to the paste. Season with salt and give it a nice stir before you serve.

Tilottama Rui

Tilottama rui as the name suggests is made with til or white sesame seeds. This recipe was published in a recipe book by Sananda magazine. The photo of this dish was so tempting that I thought to give it a try. The original recipe calls for both ginger and garlic but keeping the aroma of til in mind I skipped the garlic. It turned out really good.

Ingredients

• 6 pieces rui or catla (any Carp) cut into steaks
• 3 tsp. white sesame seeds
• 1 tsp. yellow mustard paste
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 2 – 3 green chilies slit length wise
• 1/2 tsp. kalonji (nigella seeds)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil

Procedure

Rub fish steaks with one tsp. turmeric powder and salt and keep aside for 15 minutes.

In a pan dry roast sesame seeds on very low heat for a minute or two. Ensure that their color remains white. Then make a paste out of this roasted sesame seeds in a grinder. You can first grind it dry and then add little water to make the paste.

In a small bowl mix the mustard paste with a quarter cup of milk and keep it handy.

Heat oil in a wok and fry the marinated fish steaks till both sides turn golden brown. Remove and keep them on an absorbent paper.

Take fresh oil in a pan and heat it. Lower the heat and temper with kalonji seeds. Add mustard paste to it. Squeeze out ginger juice from grated ginger and add the juice. Sauté for a while and then add sesame seed paste. Fry everything on low heat till oil separates out.

Add rest of the milk, green chilies and fish steaks to it. Sprinkle salt and sugar and let it simmer for about 5 – 7 minutes on medium heat. Turn off the heat.

Serve with plain white rice.

Murgh / chicken Malai Tikka

Murgh Malai Tikka is a melt in the mouth starter which you will find in every tikka and kebab corners in India. It is different from other kebabs in its color and texture. The other specialty being that it is flavored with cardamom powder and is marinated with cheese and cream, making it soft and silky.

Ingredients

First Marinade

• 1lb. chicken breasts cut into medium sizes cubes
• 1tsp. white pepper powder
• 1/2tsp. cardamom powder
• 1/2tsp. meat tenderizer (optional).
  This is required to make the kebabs really melt in your mouth

Clean the chicken pieces and pat them dry. In a bowl take all the dry ingredients listed above and rub it on the meat pieces so that they are all coated with it. Let it stand for 30 minutes.

Second Marinade

• 2tbsp. thick yogurt
• 2tbsp. heavy cream
• 4tbsp.  grated cheese at room temperature (Cheddar or mozzarella works fine)
• 2tbsp. corn starch
• 1tbsp. ginger garlic paste (Squeeze out the extra water from the paste)
• 2tsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 – 2 green chilies 
• 2tbsp. butter
• Salt

Optional

• Green Bell pepper cut into cubes
• Red onion cut into cubes
  

Procedure

Roughly crush cilantro and green chilies in a grinder.

In a bowl take the softened cheese, ginger garlic paste, corn starch, yogurt, heavy cream and salt. Cheese already has salt so do not add much. Blend them well into a smooth paste with your hand. Add crushed cilantro and green chilies and mix once again.

After initial 30 minutes dip the chicken pieces into the second marinade. Make sure they are all well coated. Allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 3 – 4hrs.

Soak skewers in cold water for 20 minutes to prevent them from burning.

Skewer them alternatively with onion and green bell peppers and grill it in an oven at its highest temperature for about 20 minutes. Don’t forget to brush with butter and turn them around every 10 minutes. If your oven has the BROIL option keep the knob at it.

You can make it in your microwave using the micro grill combination mode. Don’t forget to brush oil in between.

Sprinkle chat masala and squirt some lemon juice over before you serve.

Indian Style Crispy Grilled Fish Sandwich

Many a times we do not have a traditional Indian dinner. Grilled sandwich is one of our common alternatives. I generally make it with leftovers fish chops, vegetable cutlet, keema cutlet and chicken cutlets. Grilled sandwich works as a nice filling dinner.

Ingredients

• 2 slices of sandwich breads
• Make fish chop as shown in http://www.bongcook.com/2011/08/fish-chop.html. Flatten it by pressing between your palms.
• 1 lettuce
• Few onion rings

Utensil

Griddle (Something like the one shown here).

Procedure

Heat and coat a griddle with butter. Place the fish patty and cook till one side is crispy and brown. Turn it over and cook the other side. Remove on a paper towel when done. Place the onion rings on the hot griddle and let it get caramelized a bit. Remove and keep aside. You are now ready to build up your sandwich.

Apply butter on one side of a sandwich bread. Keep the buttered side of the bread down and start stacking up the sandwich layers. Start with the patty, then a few caramelized onion rings and lettuce. Cover it up with another sandwich bread and apply butter on its top surface.

Heat your griddle and place the sandwich on it. Keep the temperature high and press the sandwich with the back of a flat spoon to spread the heat. Cook for about 1-2 minutes and then flip it. Cook the other side and then remove.

Cut the sandwich diagonally and serve.

NOTE: You can use any patty of your choice.

Fish Tikka with Rock-Fish

The latest result for my quest for finding local replacements for Indian food ingredients is rock-fish. I have been using rock-fish instead of bhetki with good success. Fish tikka with rock-fish worked really well. As my daughter puts it “rock fish really rocks”.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fish fillets cut into 2” by 2” squares (fish like bhetki,rock-fish or cod)
• 1 medium sized red onions cut into big cubes 
• 1 tsp. garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
• 3tbsp. thick plain yogurt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. chicken tandoori masala or garam masala
• 2 tbsp. besan (Chickpea flour)
• 1 tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• Mustard oil
• 1 tsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Marinate the fish with lime juice and salt for 15 minutes and then wash them thoroughly. Pat them dry.

Dry roast besan on low heat till the raw smell goes away. Be careful to not burn it.

In a bowl take yogurt and one by one add ginger garlic paste, dry roasted besan, tandoori masala, chopped cilantro, salt and sugar. Beat it with a hand blender till it is free of any lumps.

Now heat 1tbsp. mustard oil in a pan and add Kashmiri red chili powder to it. Immediately turn off the heat. Stir with a spoon till it releases its color in the oil.

Add this chili oil to the fish along with yogurt mixture. Keep it marinated for 2 – 3 hrs. This chili oil will give the tikka a nice color.

Skewer the fish cubes alternately with the onions and brush it with ghee. You can either grill it on micro grill combination mode in your microwave for 15 minutes or you can use your stove top skillet to grill it. It will take around 5 – 10 minutes on stove top. Once done you can increase the heat to give them a charred effect.

Sprinkle some chat masala and serve with green chutney.