LOVELETTER(kerala pancake)

Never gave a thought about how this delicious snack got its name as loveletter when i was a kid.But now i know why it is called so.Irresistible sweetness and love  filled inside which makes you fall in love with it;indeed a loveletter..It has other names like madakku saan,elanchi etc in different parts of kerala. But i feel loveletter is the best suitable one🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

This was an usual after school snacks during childhood. The moment i stepped into my home coming back from school my mom while making loveletters,the aroma of cardomom and coconut rush into my nose...aahhhh..nostslgic.My mom used to add egg and used only maida to make these loveletters,which would make it even more delicious

Adding egg is optional.But it adds taste.you either use whole wheat flour alone or all purpose flour or mix of both as i did here.Either ways its a yummy snack.

INGREDIENTS

Whole wheat flour - 1/2cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Baking soda - a pinch
Water - 1 cup
Egg -1 optional
Ghee - as required

FOR THE FILLING

grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Jaggery  - 1/2 cup
Cardamom  - 3 pods ,crushed

HOW TO MAKE

In a bowl add flour ,salt ,baking soda ,water and mix well.the batter should be loose

Grate jaggery and mix with grated coconut and crushed cardamom  and keep aside

Heat a pan..apply some ghee
Pour a big ladle of batter into the pan and spread thinly
Flip it once its cooked
Again flip it when the other side is cooked
Now take a spoon full of coconut Jaggery mixture and place in the middle of the pancake
Fold both sides of the pancake to the inside and cover the filling..
Loveletter is ready .
move to a serving plate

SIMPLE VANILLA CAKE

Heloo guys..i have been looooong absent again from  my fav space...now it's our short vacation time here and got some free time to bake and post...My little one has been planning even before her exams that we have to bake cakes and cookies and so much more during this holidays..Plus my husband also demanded some healthy cookies for his office snacks..so i started the baking marathon today with this simple yummy aromatic  -Vanilla Cake:) ..Will be posting cookies recip

These were the only pics i could take ..Before i could take any photo my daughter started gobbling the cake.I can't blame her because the aroma was soooo tempting and the cake was melting in the mouth.It reminded me of the vanilla sponge cake from Jayaram bakery near medical college, our uncle used to buy for us whenever he paid us a visit..

To the recipe...........

INGREDIENTS

1. all purpose flour - 2 cups
2. baking powder - 1 tsp
3. baking soda - 1/2 tsp
4. butter - 100 gm(1 stick)
5. sugar - 3/4 cup
6. egg - 1
7. vanilla essence - 1 tsp
8. milk - 1/2 cup

HOW TO MAKE

• preheat oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes
• in a bowl mix flour baking soda and baking powder and keep aside
• in another bowl mix butter and sugar well
• then add egg and mix
• now goes in vanilla essence
• mix well and add this into the flour mixture
• fold in everything
• now add milk little by little and mix well
• transfer this mixture into the greased baking mould
• bake at 180 degrees for about 20 - 30 minutes
• check wether the cake is done by poking the middle of the cake with a toothpick.
• if it comes out clean your cake is ready
• allow the cake to cool
• slice n enjoyyyyyy:)))))))))))00000

Chocolate cup cakes and my first frosting ever:))))))

chocolate cupcake

I am so excited to post this one.Finally I tried icing on the cake..that too on these wonderful looking and absolutely delicious chocolate cupcakes.My husband got me a brand new  blender few days back.I consider it my x'mas gift;).But the very first recipe i tried was not this icing but that of Mayonise....it came really well..Then i tried this frosting with butter and icing sugar.I even made orange juice with my blender..yaaa i looooooove my blender😙

Look at them!!!..aren't they real beauties?I love these many colours here.I  bought these lovely silicon cupcake moulds recently.I am on a baking spree since Christmas.i have baked some cookies, cupcakes, chicken and so on.

INGREDIENTS

All purpose flour -1 1/2 cup
Baking powder -3/4tsp
Baking soda -1/2tsp

Coco powder -1/2cup
Sugar -3/4 cup
Egg -1
Oil - 1/4 cup
Buttermilk - 3/4 cup(i mixed 1/2cup milk with 1/4cup curd)
Vanilla essence -  1tsp

For frosting

Butter -100gm
Icing sugar -200gm
Vanilla essence - few drops
Milk - 2 or 3 tbsp
food colour of your choice a pinch

METHOD
Preheat oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes
In a bowl mix flour baking powder baking soda and coco powder and keep aside
In another bowl mix sugar and oil well
Add in egg and whisk
Now add vanilla essence followed by buttermilk and mix everything well
Add the wet mixture into the flour mixture and fold gently
Grease the muffin tray or mould and pour in the batter only till 3/4th of the mould
Bake for about 15-20 minutes
 Check whether the cake is done by inserting a toothpick or knife at the center .if it comes out clean your cake is done
while the cake is getting baked we can make the frosting
in a bowl add butter and blend at high speed for 5minutes
add icing sugar little by little and beat
finally add the vanilla essence and milk and beat again
your icing is ready
Allow the cake to cool once baked and apply the icing on the cake
Serve and enjoyyy...:)

PLUM CAKE/X'MAS CAKE

Helloooo folks....MERRY CHRISTMAS to one and all.....Christmas has always been a wonderful time since childhood. Lot of fond memories are associated with Christmas. Of course it was always about  holidays that comes after looong tiring  exams and the last day of examination we used to have x'mas celebrations ...Once i became  Virgin Mary for the nativity scene with a real 7 month old baby in my hands as the baby Jesus:)...i still remember how the baby looked at me in my hands.May be he din't like all those make up in me . He showed his dislike by crying sooo loud..All the guests and audience were surprised to see a real baby .never before or after i have seen a real baby for a nativity scene:)))

Coming to present...I decided to give it a  try on  x'mas cake this time.I hated plum cake or x'mas cake right from childhood ..It was the black raisins i hated the most.It used to give a burnt taste which spoiled my taste buds.But this time i wanted to try a plum cake for x'mas sake  or for "blog" sake:)))....AND i am glad i tried:))))...I loved every bit of this cake....The original recipe called for black raisins..But i was very careful .I used the normal brown raisins.I added more nuts and tutti fruties and cherries than raisins.Plus i skipped  the traditional soaking the dry fruits in rum or so .The color the texture and the taste...everything was perfect with this yummy cake

INGREDIENTS

1. all purpose flour -1 cup
2. butter - 2/3 cup  
3. sugar - 3/4 cup
4.   eggs - 3
5. chopped cashews - 1/4 cup
6. raisins - 1/3 cup
7. chopped dates ,cherries,tutti fruty ,orange peels etc - 1/4 cup
8. cinnamon powder -1/2 tsp
9. clove powder - 1/2 tsp
10. baking powder - 1tsp
11. vanilla extract - 1tsp
12. sugar - 2/3 cup
13. a pinch of salt

for the caramel syrup

1. sugar - 1/2 cup
2. water - 1/4 cup

METHOD

• in a pan melt the sugar slowly in medium heat
• it will first melt and then turn into a dark brown goop.keep stirring and let it turn a deep dark caramel colour
• turn off heat and add about 1/4 cup water
• turn the heat back on and slowly heat the caramel mixture until sugar dissolves
• let this cool aside
• pre heat oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes
• mix the dry fruits and nuts with around 2 tbsp flour and coat it completely.this is to avoid the dry fruits n nuts to sink to the bottom of the batter 
• in a bowl mix the flour baking powder spices and salt and mix well
• in another bowl mix butter and sugar until fluffy
• add vanilla essence and mix
• next add one egg and beat.now add the flour mixture little and mix. likewise alternatively add egg and flour mixture and mix well
• add the cooled caramel and the dry fruit and nuts and gently fold in
• pour the batter into a well greased pan
• bake for about 30-35 minutes or when a skewer inserted comes out clean
• allow the cake to cool completely 
• slice and enjoy

GHEE CAKE

HELLOOO  one and all.......WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY KERALAPIRAVI :)))))))...Let's celeberate this Kerala Piravi with  a delicious Ghee cake.It's raining cats and dogs here and what better way to enjoy the rain holidays other than this wonderful cake.

This aromatic melting yummy cake was made for my mom who came here for a visit...On a casual conversation she mentioned about the Azad bakery ghee cake which my sister used to buy and send to my mom.Then i remembered trying ghee cake looooong back...I wanted to make that again and surprise my mom...

This is a very very soft but not moist cake.Ghee is the highlight of this recipe.I used pure homemade ghee which my husband's grandmother made.There is nothing that can compete with homemade stuffs.While the cake was getting baked, our house was filled with the heavenly aroma.My mom said it tasted the same like Azad ghee cake:)..My father n little one made sure that it got over within an hour.....Now to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1. All purpose flour(maida)-1cup
2. Baking powder-1/2tsp
3. Baking soda-1/4tsp
4. Sugar-3/4cup
5. Eggs-2
6. Milk -1/2cup
7. Ghee -1/2cup
8. Vanilla essence-1tsp
9. sugar - 1tbsp

METHOD

• Preheat oven at  180 degrees for 10 minutes.
• Mix the flour with baking soda and baking powder and keep aside.
• Separate egg whites and yolks
• In a mixer add sugar and powder it.
• Then add ghee and blend well.
• Add in egg yolks one by one and blend.
• Now add the flour and milk little by little alternatively and blend.
• Now in another mixie jar ,beat the egg whites ,vanilla essence and a tablespoon of sugar and beat well till frothy.
• Add this mixture to the flour batter and fold gently.do not overmix at this stage.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. 
• Bake for about 30 -40minutes.
• Allow to cool and transfer the cake to a plate and enjoyyyyyyyyyyyyyy:))

APPLE JAM

Anything homemade is really exciting and greaaaat!!!..if it's jam ,bread ,cookies anything..i have made strawberry jam loong back..and this time its apple jam😊...
This is one among the many recipes that was being suffocated in my drafts..🤕

And i cannot forget the day i made this jam..It was the day cyclone hit our city..Obviously there was no power anywhere.We had no idea when the power will be resumed..forget the power..it was a mess everywhere.I do not want to go into the details..it was such a terrible day..so these apples were  lying in the fridge and i was afraid it will get spoiled.not only apples..there was fish too in the freezer..i made them into pickle😋😋.recipe on the way.(hopefully..bcz dn know when i will again disappear from blogging😯😑)..

My husband and little one loved this jam.He does not like jam or particularly anything sweet, but this was home made:)....To the recipe...........

Ingredients
apple - 5 nos chopped
sugar - 1/2 cup
lemon juice - 1tbsp

Method
wash and peel apples.
chop them and cover and cook  with little water till the apples are cooked
switch off the stove and mash the cooked apples
now take a pan or kadai and transfer the mashed apples to it and saute on medium heat
add sugar and mix well
cook till the mixture gets thick and starts leaving from the sides of the pan
add lemon juice  mix well and switch off flame
let it cool completely
transfer to a container or jar and use

PUPPY FACED COOKIES

                                                        

These cute looking cookies were made purely upon my little one's request.Nowadays she is making many such requests like..."mama ,i want you to make  me pizza" "please will you make some cupcakes for me!"oh!i love cookies..why don't you make some?"..it goes on..And that's how i resumed my baking.I was damn lazy to try anything new.Thanks to my daughter's continous pleads.                                          

I saw this puppy faced cookies in mummy ka magic by amrita raichand..this one is surely a kid pleaser and very simple recipe too..

Ingredients

1.maida-1 cup
2.baking powder -1/2tsp
3.sugar-1/4 cup
4.butter-1/2cup
5.egg-1
6.vanilla essence-1tsp
7.chocolate chips,chocolate vermicelli and chocos -as required

Method

Preheat your oven at 180degrees for 10min

1.Take butter sugar egg and vanilla essence together in a bowl and mix well

2.Add flour and baking powder to this mixture and form a soft dough

3.form small balls out of the dough and keep

4.fix two chocos on either side as to form the puppy's ears

5.next keep two chocolate vermicelli as the eyes for each balls

6.finally take one chocolate chip and keep it as the nose
And you r done

7.arrange them in a baking tray and bake for 10-12minutes at 180degrees
allow the cookie to cool completely. 

Bread Caramel Pudding

  I was 12 when i fell in love with puddings.I clearly remember having pudding as dessert for my relative's wedding and that was the first time i ever had this delicious dessert.I didn't know the name of the dessert served then.All i know was i was served with something heavenly:)))

Though i love puddings very much i started making them only after my marriage.I have tried many puddings like dates pudding,coffee pudding,rava coconut pudding etc.But among all i have tried, this bread caramel pudding is my favourite.Its very simple and easy to make but tastes great.we all loved this pudding very much.

i was a little busy while making this so couldn't take step by step pictures.To the recipe

recipe for bread caramel pudding
ingredients

1. bread slices - 2
2. egg - 2
3. milk - 1 cup
4. sugar - 1/2 cup
5. vanilla essence - 3/4 tsp

for caramalising
sugar - 2tbsp

how to make

• soak bread pieces in milk and keep aside.
• next we will make the caramel.heat 2tbsp sugar in the pudding mould.when it turns into nice amber colour switch off the flame and swirl and spread the caramel syrup all around the mould and keep aside.
• now in a mixer,add eggs, sugar,vanilla essence and blend well.
• to this add soaked bread milk mixture and blend briefly.
• pour this mixture into the caramelised pudding mould.
• cover the mould with an alluminium foil and prick on top of the foil all over to allow steam to escape
• put the mould in a pressure cooker or steamer
• simmer the flame and steam for about 20-25 minutes
• switch off the flame and allow to cool
• then keep refrigerated for about 2-3 hours or more 
• then take from refrigerator and run a knife around the edges of the pudding to loosen it.
• demould it by inverting into the serving plate.
• enjoy this super delicious dessert:)

Notes

be careful not to overheat sugar caramel syrup.once it turns nice brown/amber colour switch off the flame or it will taste bitter

Cornflour Halwa

Cornflour halwa is also known as karachi halwa.During diwali,from my husband's office we get sweet boxes every year.I love those orange coloured halwa pieces in them.I was under the misconception that making halwa involves the addition of large amount of ghee.But in this halwa we add only 1 tbsp of ghee just to get that glossy  texture.still it tastes so good.

Cornflour halwa is available in different colours like orange,red,yellow and even green.I used yellow colour.Feel free to use your own colour preference:)

Recipe for cornflour halwa

ingredients

1. cornflour - 1/2 cup
2. sugar - 1 1/2 cup
3. ghee - 1tbsp
4. water - 2 1/2 cup
5. cashewnut - 1tbsp
6. cardomom powder - 1/4 tsp
7. yellow/orange foodcolour - a pinch

Method

• in a pan roast the cashewnuts in a teaspoon of ghee
• take a bowl and mix cornflour with 1 1/2 cup water and foodcolour
• mix well without any lumps
• in a nonstick pan add sugar and 1 cup water and bring to boil
• when the sugar gets dissolved ,reduce the flame to medium and add the cornflour mixture into it. 
• stir continously
• add 1 tbsp of ghee and stir continously withou forming lumps
• now add roasted cashewnuts and cardomom powder into it and mix well
• when the halwa starts leaving from the sides of the pan swith off the flame
• transfer the halwa into a greased plate which is kept ready
• cool down for about 2 hrs and cut into pieces or serve it in a bowl as such and enjoyy

Dry fruit laddoos

A week ago my husband told me that he has to go to Bangalore for an official meeting coming friday.It was actually a one day trip but yesterday night suddenly he told me he will be visiting his mom and sister who is staying there.So i thought i would pack something for them.But it was already 9.30 pm and i had to quickly decide and start making whatever i wanted to because he has to leave at 4.00 in the morning.First thing that came to my mind was dry fruit laddoos.But when i searched my pantry there weren't any dry fruits:(..then i pleaded my husband to buy some dry fruits from the nearby shop which he happily agreed.By the time he got the dry fruits i started making Ghee cake.Luckily i had all the required ingredients. . I will be posting ghee cake recipe later by the way:).

My husband helped me click the pictures:).Since i had to pack the laddoos and the cake then itself i didn't get the chance to click the pictures in the daylight.And walnuts and pistachios weren't available in the shop he went.So i had to be satisfied with cashewnuts and almonds.I am definitely going to make them again using walnuts, pistachios and all.They were so delicious even without walnuts and pistachios.i had eaten these dry fruit laddoos from Sri Rami Reddy sweet shop here.They are absolutely healthy and tasty with no amount of sugar too.So try making these lovely laddoos and enjoyyyyyyyy:).

Recipe for dry fruit laddoos(got 17 laddoos)

Ingredients

1. dates - 1/2 cup
2. anjeer/dried fig - 1/2 cup
3. mixed nuts - 1/2 cup(any nuts of your choice like cashew nuts,almonds,walnuts,pistachios etc)
4. ghee - 1 tbsp
5. honey - 1 tbsp(optional)
6. dessicated coconut(optional) - to roll the laddoos

Method

• deseed the dates and chop dates and fig and keep aside.

• roast all the nuts in low flame without getting it burnt.

• when cooled coarsely grind the nuts in a mixer.should not be too powdery.just pulse it
• in a nonstick pan add ghee and add  dates and figs and cook until you get a sticky mixture.be careful not to burn the mixture.

• then add the powdered nuts into this dates mixture and mix well

• switch off the flame
• add honey (if you are using)and grease your hands and roll the mixture into laddoos of small ball shape
• roll the laddoos in dessicated coconut.

Notes

• i didn't have any walnuts or pistachios or pumpkin seeds.you can use any nuts of your choice
• you can roll the laddoos in sesame seeds or powdered sugar also, though dessicated coconut is my personal preference.