Dark Chocolate Truffles

February a month of love...Love is in the air ~ that's what people say :)
Well for us its a month of Birthdays, anniversaries and ofcourse Love ...... I'm a BIG fan of chocolates - i simply love them and can eat them almost anytime, but since last few years have been gaining control over them to check my weight..... I know there are many of you who will say ... "Richa you don't need to loose weight"...and when i say "I was fat once" there are many who will say "You are joking".... Well my old friends who have seen me they will agree that yeah i was fat once :) :)

Anyways coming back to the topic of truffles - i simply love them, they are creamy and heavenly in taste and as a matter of fact they are very easy to make so here goes the recipe for the yummiest truffles.... which you can make on Valentines Day for your loved ones....I'm thinking of making few around Valentines Day for my friends....




Ingredients:
for filling-
1 cup - Bitter-sweet chocolate chips
6 tbspn - Heavy Whipped cream
1 tspn - Butter or shortening

for coating-
1/4 cup - Bitter-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup - Heavy whipped cream
1 tspn - Confectioner's sugar

Method:
Filling
1] In a bowl put chocolate chips and keep aside. In a pan bring heavy whipped cream to boil. Add butter. Mix well and sieve in the bowl of chocolate chips.
2] Mix with a fork and let the chocolate melt till you get a smooth paste. Dont whisk too much. Stir and refrigerate overnight.

Coating
1] In a bowl put chocolate chips and keep aside. In a pan bring heavy whipped cream to boil. Add butter. Mix well and sieve in the bowl of chocolate chips.
2] Mix with a fork and let the chocolate melt till you get a smooth paste. Dont whisk too much.

Final Step
1] Take a cookie sheet and place parchment paper (butter paper) on it.
2] Take out the filling from refrigerator and make small balls with hand.
3] Dip the balls into the coating mixture and pick them with a pair of fork. Place on the cookie sheet. Repeat the steps till filling mixture lasts.
4] Refrigerate the truffles for 15 mins. Take them out and decorate the way you want and refrigerate again. Take them out just before serving.

I decorated my truffles with Pink buttercream as i had one and chocolate shavings which again i had tried at home. They looked good and tasted even better ... Yumm Yumm Yumm !!!! So next time you want truffles you know whom to call :P :P
I loved them from the bottom of my heart :) :)
Enjoy !!!

Chocolate-Orange Ganache sandwich cake

Ganache ~ creamy, chocolaty, lustrous thick liquid when comes in front of your eyes - one is bound to say Yummmm!!!! I have been reading a lot about Ganache lately and wanted to bake a cake in which i can use it as well as add some extra variety to it...

Its been a crazy week lately, I'm down with severe headache since last 7 days, my lil one and hubby are down with flu.... its very depressing to see your lil one sick and not smiling.... Finally today i thought of baking a cake which is my recipe (based on my experience now in baking cakes have reached a level of mixing ingredients i like and creating a new one) ... This cake came out really well - Light, chocolaty with hint of orange and not very rich in calories :) I used the Ganache in between two layers and not as icing on the cake, but you can use it the way you want....



Ingredients:
for Cake:
1 cup - All-purpose flour
1/2 cup - Sugar
1/2 cup - Butter
1 tspn - Baking powder
1 tspn - Baking Soda
2 tbspn - Cocoa powder
2 oranges - peeled and pureed (Take the zest and keep it aside)
2 Large eggs
1 tspn - Vanilla extract

for Ganache:
1/2 cup - Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup - Heavy whipped cream
1 tspn - butter
2 tbpsn - Orange Zest (Use the orange zest for Ganache and orange pulp for cake)

Method:
1] In a container, put chocolate chips and keep aside. In a pan, add heavy whipped cream and bring it to boil. Add butter and mix it well. Sieve it in the chocolate chips and mix till chocolate melts completely. Let it cool. Add Orange Zest and keep it aside. Your chocolate-orange Ganache is ready.
2] In a food processor, whip the eggs and keep them aside.
3] In a food processor, mix butter and sugar and whip it. To this add all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, orange puree, vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Mix it nicely till you get a light and fluffy mixture.
4] Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F and pour the batter in a baking pan. Bake it for 40 mins or till the skewer comes out clean.
5] Once the cake is cooled, cut it in two parts horizontally. Spread the Ganache in between. Add nuts if you like and put the top layer on this.

Your cake is ready.... Its easy and tastes great with anything... You can enjoy this with tea/coffee as its very light or as a simple light dessert... It is a perfect dessert when you want to eat something nice but not very rich and creamy..... We simply loved the cake.... and i'm gonna make it again :) :) what about you???

Yoghurt with Berries and Cereal

It was 10:30 in the night and as usual i was hungry... generally i go to kitchen and get a big bowl of cereal for myself. Today i felt like having something nice yet healthy so i can go off to sleep without guilt.... i get those guilts when i indulge myself into a rich dessert and i skip desserts for next 10 days :D
i took a good look into my refrigerator and i saw fresh Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries waiting for me ..... and i got an idea to use all of them with Yoghurt and cereal... I know this is a very common recipe but guys what if someone who is unaware of comes and read this blog - i will help one soul satisfy his hunger in a better way - so here it goes.....



Ingredients:
Handful of Strawberries (chopped), Blueberries and Blackberries
2 tbspn - Plain Yoghurt ( i had Low fat - that made me feel good)
handful of your fav cereal ( i had Kelloggs oat & honey)

Method:
1] Mix all the berries in a bowl.
2] Add Yoghurt on top of it.
3] Sprinkle your fav cereal

That's it - Enjoy your guilt-free, healthy and yet Yummy dessert...
I simply enjoyed it and wanted more and more :)

Handmade fresh Pizza - right from scratch

Today was one of those days when i was motivated to bake something different and which i have never tried - trust me the list is big enough.... But i had this urge of making Pizza base at home and it came out really well... So guys next time you want to eat pizza you know whom to call for it :) trust me its easy....



Ingredients:

Pizza base- (this proportion makes one pizza base)
1/4 tspn - Active Dry yeast
1/8 tspn - Sugar
1/8 tspn - Salt
3/4 tspn - Olive Oil
3 tbspn - Warm Water
1/4 cup - Whole Wheat flour ( or All-purpose flour)

Pizza Sauce-
1 - ripe tomato
1 tspn - dried Oregano
1 tspn - dried Basil
Salt as per taste
1 - Garlic bud (finely chopped)

Toppings-
Capsicum - chopped
Olives - sliced
Onions - chopped
Cheese - as per requirement
(you can add as many toppings you want)

Method:
Pizza base-
1] In a medium size bowl, dissolve dry yeast and sugar in warm water. Set aside for 10 mins.
2] Into this add salt and olive oil.
3] Add flour to this mixture and start making a dough out of it. Knead till the dough is not sticky.
4] Apply some oil on a separate bowl on the sides and place the dough in that. Cover the bowl with a cloth. Keep aside for 1 hr atleast untouched.
5] After 1 hr, you should see the dough doubles in size. Take the dough and roll it with rolling pin and give a desired shape (generally round or square).
Your Pizza base is ready :)

Pizza Sauce-
1] Make tomato puree (simply churn tomato in a mixer and take it out in a bowl).
2] Add Oregano, basil, salt and Garlic.
3] Spread it on the pizza base evenly.

Final Assembly-
1] Add all the desired toppings on the pizza base having sauce on it.
2] Pre-heat the oven at 425 degrees F. Put the pizza base on the pizza pan / cookie sheet / flat baking pan and Bake for 8-10 mins. You will see the base is cooked.
3] Broil/grill the pizza for 1-2 mins or till the cheese becomes slightly brown.

Your Hot Pizza is ready to eat.
We loved this pizza and have decided to make it again with different toppings.
I made it of whole wheat and didn't add too much of oil or cheese - so its Healthy yet delicious....
So guys next time you want to eat Pizza you know where to call ;)
Enjoy!!!

Blueberry Cake

This weekend was full of birthdays and some parties so i was most of the time in kitchen preparing something for those occassions.... Took chicken tikka to one of the birthday party, took Marble cake and tilgul (sesame seed and jaggery sweet) to one of the party and made a Blueberry cake for one of my friends birthday.....
She loved blueberries and i thought why not make a cake using them.... and when the final product came out i was happy... All the time when i was baking and decorating this cake i was thinking - is this a special cake? if somebody gifts me this cake on my birthday will i like it? i worked hard on this cake keeping these things in mind till the time i got answer as "Yes"....



Ingredients:
1 cup - All purpose flour
1/2 cup - Sugar
1/2 cup - Butter
3 - Eggs
2 tspn - Baking powder
1/2 tspn - Baking soda
1/2 cup - Fresh Blueberries
1/4 cup - Milk
1 tspn - Vanilla extract
a pinch of Salt

Method:
1] In a mixer/beater, beat the eggs and keep aside.
2] Beat sugar and butter and keep aside.
3] Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and add to the sugar-butter mixture. Beat it nicely. Add milk and beat again till the mixture is smooth.
4] Add beaten eggs and vanilla extract to the above mixture and beat till it becomes light.
5] Take a baking cake pan. Butter it and sprinkle flour on it. Spread blueberries evenly on the pan and pour the batter on top of them.
6] Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees F. Bake the cake for 40-45 mins or till the skewer comes out clean.

Decorate it with your favorite icing / frosting or can simply be enjoyed the way it is. I had made simple buttercream icing with a Pink food color.

Enjoy this yummy cake anytime you want !!!
I loved baking this cake and decorating it too :)

Chicken Tikka

It was Friday (not the 13th) but 14th Jan :) and i was invited for my friend cum neighbor Rhonda's birthday party. Everyone who was invited was getting something to eat and as Rhonda loves Indian cuisine i thought of making chicken tikka and believe me everyone just loved it..... There was lots of food including Apple pie, wheat salad, crackers, pumpkin pie, lentils & kielbasa stew, chips and not to forget the birthday cake... and ofcourse my chicken tikka :)


Ingredients:
Chicken Marinade-
1.5 lbs - Chicken (make medium size pieces)
3 tbspns - Dahi (plain yoghurt)
2 tspns - Ginger-Garlic paste
1 tspn - Red chilli powder (can add more if you are a spicy eater)
salt - as per taste
1 tspn - turmeric powder
1-2 tspns - Tandoori Chicken masala (can add more if you are a spicy eater)

Other-
8-10 wooden skewers (dip them in water atleast 1 hour before grilling)
Flat pan for grilling / baking

Method:
1] In a container, mix all the ingredients mentioned under Chicken marinade and set aside for 3-4 hrs.
2] Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F
3] Arrange marinated chicken pieces on the skewers and place them on the Flat baking pan. Bake for 12-15 mins or till the chicken is tender and turns golden brown.
4] Broil for 3-5 mins. Turn the skewers so all sides of chicken are broiled.
5] Enjoy these tikkas with Mint chutney/dip

Mint chutney recipe:
Ingredients:
4-5 tbspns - Plain Yoghurt (Dahi)
2-3 tspns - Mint concentrate (easily available in Indian stores)
Salt - as per taste
1 tspn - Sugar
1/2 tspn - Chat masala

Method:
1] Mix all the ingredients in a container and your Mint Chutney / Dip is ready

Enjoy this recipe as appetizer or hog them and skip a meal.

Mum's Chicken curry

I haven't seen anyone who doesn't like his mom's food... we are brought up with those aromas and learn to love them with a dash of mum's love.... My mom is a very good cook though if told to her she will not acknowledge.... but according to me she certainly is and her best dish is Chicken curry... me and my brother use to hog when mum use to make this dish. It use to be planned well in advance and generally on Sundays. My mom is a doctor but a teacher in medical college and use to be very busy on weekdays.... So sunday use to be our feast and we were never bored of her chicken curry... i miss those sundays but she still makes it for my brother and dad and i'm so jealous of that fact....Even if Gordon ramsay cooks chicken curry for me - that won't be special the way my mom's chicken curry is to me.. nobody on this earth can match it.... That's the bonding i guess but i truly believe in this :)

I still remember when i was studying Engineering i had few friends from Delhi who use to be home-sick and use to crave for home-made food....so i use to request my mom to cook some extra chicken for them.... I use to take a big container of chicken for my dear friends... it use to be fun watching them fight over it... they use to bunk classes to eat it as if it stays in the classroom everyone will be after it .... One of my very good friend Jaspal use to take it to hostel giving a reason that he is just dumping the box and coming back...but infact he use to go and finish it off completely :D :D and my other friend Vishnu always use to be the one who use to satisfy his craving by licking the sides of the container as he never use to bunk..... Ahhh !!! i miss them :)
and i miss my mum's chicken curry so i try to make it whenever i can ... but i can't match her taste to be frank ... but here is the recipe which she keeps telling me....
I made this for the New year potluck party this time and many liked it ...
Here goes the recipe -


Ingredients:
Chicken marinade-
2 lbs - Chicken
2 tbspn - Plain Yoghurt
1 tspn - Ginger-Garlic paste
1 tspn - Turmeric powder
2 tspn - Tandoori chicken masala
1/2 tspn - salt

Gravy -
3 - White Onions - large size ( If you are in India then you might require 6-7 onions as size is comparatively small) - cut into large pieces
1 - Tomato - cut into large pieces
Fenugreek leaves ("Methi") - handful
Coriander leaves - handful
5 tbspn - Oil
1 tspn - Ginger-garlic paste
1 tspn - turmeric powder
2 tspn - Tandoori chicken masala
2 tspn - Red chilli powder
Salt as per taste
1/4 cup - milk cream or butter

Garam Masala mixture-
1 tspn - Coriander seeds
2-3 - Black pepper
1-2 - Bay leaves
1-2 - Star anise
1-2 - Cloves
1-2 - Cinnamon
1-2 - Elaichi
1 tspn - Cumin seeds

Method:
Chicken Marinade-
1] In a container, Add chicken pieces, yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, tandoori chicken masala and salt.
2] Mix well and keep it aside for atleast 3 hrs. You can also keep it overnight in refrigerator.

Gravy-
1] In a mixer, add onions, fenugreek leaves and coriander leaves. Chop them fine like a paste by adding very less water. This will look slightly green.
2] In a pan add oil. Add Garam masala mixture and saute for half a min. To this add the Ginger-Garlic paste and Onion paste. Cook the onions till it starts leaving oil. This may take lot of time but believe me its worth the taste.
3] Make tomato puree in mixer and add to the pan. Let it cook for 10 mins. You will see the paste and oil is separated nicely. This is a indication of cooked paste.
4] Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and tandoori chicken masala and saute for a min.
5] Add marinated chicken to this. Close the lid and let it cook for 10 mins. You will notice chicken starts leaving water and becomes tender. Don't add water it spoils the taste. Let it cook in masala till chicken is soft and tender.
6] Add milk cream or butter and let it simmer for another 5 mins. If you think gravy is too thick then add some Hot water. Taste it. Add extra salt or red chilli powder if you are a spicy eater.
7] Let this simmer for 10 mins and your chicken curry is ready. Garnish with Coriander leaves.

Enjoy this with hot parathas or rotis or rice.

Spinach Quesadillas

My family loves Mexican food ... we had been to one of our fav Mexican joint here "Sol Azteca" .... and my fav is Spinach Quesadillas ...

I have this habit of analysing the ingredients while eating..... i'm not a food critic but i like guessing ingredients while eating - that helps me in not referring to the recipes when i cook.... So last time when i was enjoying my Spinach Quesadillas my mind was working on what all has gone inside .. i opened it couple of times to see what's in there - thats stupid to do i know but i desperately wanted to know what am i eating..... so i can cook at home.... and i was successful ... its easy !!!

Every 2 weeks we have started visiting Farmers market in Raleigh with one of our friends... I love going there as it gives me a feeling of "sabji-mandi" in India... except you get different variety of vegetables and the ones which are common between India and US - sizes here are larger.... Farmers market has all the organic vegetables and fruits at a reasonable price which kind of attracts me....So when we went there this time .... i couldn't go and buy the vegetables as my lil one was in deep sleep in his car seat... kids look so sweet when they sleep and i didn't want to wake him up... so asked Aditya to go and buy..... When he was back he happily showed me 3lbs of Spinach... and i was wondering what am i gonna do with so much Spinach... we love spinach but 3 lbs is way too extra.... but i figured out a way to store them fresh in my freezer so they last long.... that gives me a chance of having a Spinach week... So i made my fav Spinach Quesadillas.... and we loved it....



Ingredients:
2 cups - Spinach leaves - chopped
1/2 cup - Corn kernels (frozen)
1/4 cup - Onions - chopped
1 tspn - Oil
1 tspn - Chilli flakes
Salt as per taste
1/2 cup - Mozarella cheese ( less or more, the way u want)
2 - Soft Tacos - readily available in market, i generally buy whole wheat ( if you are unable to find these, just make thin whole wheat chapatis)

Method:
1] In a pan add oil. To this add Onion and let it cook. Add Spinach leaves and corn.
Close the lid and let the Spinach cook.
2] Add salt, chilli flakes to the mixture and let it cook without lid so the water in the Spinach is evaporated. Once cooked keep aside.
3] Take a pan and let one side of taco cook. Turn it and now place the above Spinach mixture in one half of it. Sprinkle some cheese.Then fold the Taco as shown in the pic above.
4] Let the Taco cook and be crispy. Turn the side of the Taco and let it become Crispy.

Enjoy it !!!!
Its very easy to make and tastes amazing.

Veggies in manchurian sauce

Chinese bole to manchurian !!! I had been to "Around the world market" (indian store here) where i picked up Ching's Manchurian sauce and luckily i had most of the vegetables needed for it.. so thought of giving it a try and came out pretty well.. This dish compliments very well with steamed rice...


Ingredients:
2-3 tbspn - Ching's Manchurian sauce (can be found easily in any indian store)
1/2 cup - water
1 - capsicum - chopped
2 - carrots - chopped
1 cup - Cabbage - finely chopped
1 tbspn - Ginger - peeled and chopped
1/4 cup - corn kernels
1 cup - Spring onions (green onions) - chopped
salt as per taste
1 tspn - Olive oil

Method:
1] In a pan, add Olive oil. To this add all the veggies. Saute them nicely for a min.
2] Add Manchurian sauce and water to this. Add salt.
3] Close the lid and let it cook for 5 mins or till the veggies are cooked. If needed, add more water.

Enjoy this with hot steamed rice.. it tastes amazing!!!

Sandwich French toast

I was going through Meeta's food blog and saw a very nice recipe for breakfast. As i finished reading it i knew Aditya will love it as he is a big fan of Eggs. I didn't make the exact recipe but i added some personal touch to it by adding different ingredients. But i would deeply thank Meeta for inspiring me :)

Weekend mornings are always the lazy ones in my family. We all start our day by 10am in the morning... my lil one will also co-operate on getting up late on weekends ... thank god !!! So i generally try to make something heavy for breakfast (well i should rather call it Brunch) so i can take a break from making lunch :D
So here it goes Sandwich french toast....

Ingredients:
4 - slices of bread
2 - Eggs
Any Bread spread ( i had my Cranberry marmalade and Nutella)
a pinch of salt or sugar
1 tbspn butter

Method:
1] Apply your fav spread on the bread and make sandwich. Cut them diagonally so you get 4 triangles.
2] Beat the eggs. Add sugar if your spread is sweet or Add salt if your spread is not-sweet. Beat the eggs nicely.
3] Take a shallow dish and keep 4 triangles on them. Pour the egg mixture so the bread is thinly covered with egg mixture. Keep them for half an hour.
4] Later, take a pan and add roll the butter evenly onto it. Place the triangle and let it cook. Turn the triangle and let the other side cook properly. Repeat this for all the 4 triangles and your breakfast is ready.

This is a very very simple dish and can be made as per your creativity. So go ahead add whatever you want in between the bread and make french toast. Aditya (my hubby) just loved them.....It is a heavy breakfast so your family won't bother you for 2-3 hrs :) :)
try it out!!!

Jam filled chocolate cookies

When i was a kid me and my brother use to love Jim-Jam cookies .. i think all kids love those cookies.... Recently i had made Cranberry marmalade and i thought of trying my hands on Jim-Jam cookies using it. For the recipe of Cranberry marmalade click here


Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup - All purpose flour / Wheat flour ( i used wheat flour to give healthy touch)
1/2 cup - melted butter ( you can use more butter instead of milk)
1/2 cup - Sugar
2 tbspn - cocoa powder
2-3 tbspn - Cranberry marmalade (check the link for recipe above)
2 tbspn - cold milk
a pinch of salt
2 - Egg yolks beaten
1 tspn - baking powder
1 tbspn - powdered sugar

Method:
1] Separate the egg yolks, add sugar and butter. Beat and Keep aside.
2] Mix All-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt in a container. Add egg mixture to this and start kneading. Add milk as required to make a soft dough.
3] Knead till dough becomes soft and make small balls from it.
4] Make a well in each ball with your finger and add Cranberry marmalade in that with a small spoon.
5] Arrange the cookies at a distance of 1-2 inch on a cookie sheet or any flat baking pan.
6] Pre-heat the oven at 375 degree F and bake the cookies for 10-12 mins. Cookies are done if the botton becomes brown.
7] Once out of the oven, sprinkle powdered sugar on them. They look lovely !

Enjoy these cookies with a Jam in it :)
We are enjoying these cookies with Tea/Coffee or just like that....

Cranberry Sauce / chutney / marmalade

I always had this urge of buying fresh cranberries from market and i did it last week without knowing how they taste. First thing i did after dinner was to wash cranberries and taste them... and i had this big sour face :D i never thought they would be so sour. I realised i have always had sun-dried cranberries and they are sweet so that means it has loads and loads of sugar and that's against my eating habits.... I'm a person who hates sweet / extra sweet... i can only eat light sweet else everything is a poison for me ... i lack that sweet touth but that's just me... my hubby is exactly opposite - he loves anything which is sweet.. anyways back to cranberries... so once i tasted them i decided no one in the family will eat this sour...not even me..they exceeded my tolerance of eating sour too... so decided to make a Cranberry sauce /Chutney / marmalade and it came out pretty well... so here it goes... you can enjoy it with Bread as a "Spread" or with Chips as a "dip" or with a roti as a "jam"... try your own way of eating this... and enjoy the sweet n sour taste of it :)

Ingredients:
Fresh Cranberries - 1 small packet ( generally its a 1lb packet)
Apple - 1 - peeled, cored and chopped
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup
Cinnamom - 1 stick
Cloves - 1 or 2

Method:
1] In a pan, add water, sugar, cloves and cinnamom. bring it to boil.
2] Add Cranberries and apple and cover the pan with lid.
3] Let it boil for 10-15 mins and check if its cooked. If not, boil for some more time. The mixture should look like a paste, if it doesn't then try to mash apple cubes and cranberries with a spoon and let it cook for 5 mins.
4] Cool the mixture and pour in a jar / container. Refrigerate it once its cooled.

That's it - its simple... just assemble all the ingredients, mix them and boil them and u get a nice sweet n sour sauce which can be used in multiple ways. Well i have used it in various ways but will post about them here later... Till then Enjoy !!!!

Hara Bhara Chana

Since the time i landed in USA(its been 6 months now) i was craving for Methi (Fenugreek leaves) and recently saw them in one of the Indian stores.... I grabbed more than my hands could hold as if there is no tomorrow.....

Later i cleaned, washed and packed them in Ziploc and stored them in freezer so they stay fresh for longer period. Last 1-2 days i was bored of making a typical Indian Maharashtrian dinner and thought of trying something in my Laboratory (my kitchen). As i was going through my refrigerator and thinking what all i have and what can i cook which will add some variety to that monotonous dinner... there in freezer i saw my very fav Methi... i thought for a sec what should i add to this to make it special....Chhole (or Chana) came to my mind....Ok Richa time to give it a try.... So here it goes my very own, very very simple, healthy Hara Bhara Chana (its a Fancy name) if you want a simple one then "Methi-Chana" would work but i'm happy with Hara Bhara Chana (gives me a feeling that i cooked something which you can eat in restaurants :P ).... but that's me !!!

Well, this time i tried a different mode of my camera to capture the right shot but alas I'm bad at it and that's my new year resolution - to learn Food Photography....
till then try making this recipe and enjoy it with whatever you like...


Ingredients:
Chhole (Kabuli chana) - soaked overnight and boiled - 1 cup
Methi (Fenugreek leaves) - a bunch
Onions - finely chopped - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - pinch
Kokum - 1 or 2
Turmeric powder - 1 tspn
Red Chilli powder - as per taste
Garam Masala - as per taste
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 1 or 2 tspn

Method:
1] Add oil to the heated pan, add mustard seeds once oil is hot. Let them pop.
2] Add chopped onions and saute for 2 mins.
3] Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and salt to this. Saute it.
4] Add boiled Chhole (Kabuli Chana) and saute for 2-3 mins. Add Kokum and saute.
5] Add Methi (Fenugreek leaves) to this, saute and let it cook for 5 mins without putting the lid on the pan.

Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy this with roti / paratha.
It is a very light sabji which can be made in 5 mins and is healthy too. It has green veggies, less oil and less spices. We loved it and ended up eating it like a snack.

Enjoy !

Marble Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch round pan.

Place flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, butter or margarine, eggs, vanilla, and milk into mixing bowl. Beat slowly to moisten, then beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for about 2 minutes until smooth. Reserve 3/4 cup batter; pour the remainder into pan.

Stir cocoa into the 3/4 cup reserved batter. Drop by spoonfuls over top of white batter. Using a knife, swirl the cocoa batter into the white batter to incorporate it in a marble effect.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until an inserted wooden pick comes out clean.

Enjoy this cake with Tea/Coffee or as a light dessert :)

I had baked this cake for New year party so used the Christmas tree cake pan and decorated it with few M&M's

Have fun and Happy New Year