Vegan Whole Wheat Orange Cake

Eggless Whole Wheat Orange Cake

On my way back home, I'm was sitting in the bus craving for warm home-made cake. So why delay it? I had oranges and apples at home and after much thinking I decided to bake an Orange cake! I was skeptical of how it would turn out as I had never baked an Orange cake before, but trust me it turned out so wonderful that it got over in no time!!

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes

Eggless Orange Cake

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour/AllPurpose Flour	1 Cup
Baking Powder	1/2 Tsp
Baking Soda	1/2 Tsp
Salt	a pinch
Orange Juice	3/4 Cup
Brown Sugar/Regular Sugar	1/2 Cup
Any Oil	1/4 Cup
Orange Zest	1 Tsp
Walnuts or any nuts	1/4 Cup

Method:

1. Pre heat the oven to 180 degree C or 350 degree F
2. Sieve the whole wheat flour with salt, baking soda and baking powder
3. Add Sugar and Oil in a bowl and mix them well until incorporated.
4. Now add Orange Juice and Orange zest to the mixture.
5. Mix in sieved flour to the wet ingredients along with Walnuts or any nut of your choice.
6. Pour the batter to a container of your choice. (round tin, bread tin, square tin)
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes. Insert a fork in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, then the cake is completely baked :)
8. Serve warm with tea or coffee 

Notes:

1. I used orange juice that I pureed from fresh oranges. You can also use store bought orange juice.
2. Same can be baked as muffins as well. But reduce the baking time to 20-25 minutes. 

Muthia (Steamed Dumplings)

Muthia (Steamed Dumplings)

Muthiyas are savory dumplings traditionally made from Gram flour and bottle gourd. I am sharing my way of making muthiyas. They are good as a snack with tea or as a quick and healthy dinner.

Prep Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 15 mins

Ingredients
1/2 cup Coarse Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Chick Pea Flour
1/4 cup Rice Flour/leftover cooked rice/ leftover Khichdi
1 cup grated bottle gourd and/or zucchini and/or carrots, and/or cabbage
1/4 cup yogurt 
1 Tbsp Oil
1 tsp minced Ginger
1 tsp crushed green chilies.
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste

For Tempering
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida 
1 dried red chili
1 Tbsp Coarsely ground peanuts
1 Tsp Sesame seeds

Mix all the ingredients and form into a soft dough. Make cylindrical rolls. Place the rolls on a greased steamer plate and put them in the steamer. Steam them for around 20 minutes. Apply the tooth pick rule to check whether the muthiyas are cooked or not.

Remove the muthias from the steamer and allow them to cool.  Cut the muthias into small round pieces.  Prepare for tempering. Take  oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, once they start crackling, add asafoetida and red chili. Add peanuts and saute for a minute. Add sesame seeds and chopped muthias. Stir fry the muthias for 2 -3 minutes. Enjoy the delicious Muthias with Tea or Ketchup.

I love to be adventures with Muthiyas. Blanched Spinach and Khichdi makes very soft and delicious muthiyas.
Note : If you are using Khichdi/Rice, skip adding Rice Flour.  

Vegetarian Lasagna

One of the best Italian dishes. So, lets start right away.

Vegetarian Lasagna

Prep. Time 20 mins
Cooking Time 40-45 mins

Ingredients
1 pk Lasagna Noodles
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup
Mozzarella Cheese

Sauce 1
Your choice of Pasta Sauce
1/2 cup grated cabbage
1/2 cup chopped multi colored Bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/4 cup frozen corn & peas (optional)

Sauce 2
1 cup Ricotta cheese or Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup chopped and blanched spinach

Cook Lasagna Noodles as per the instructions on the packet. I used oven ready pasta which doesn't need too much cooking. 

Preheat the oven at 350F.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan, add cabbage, peppers, zucchini and saute them for a minute. Add pasta sauce and mix well. Allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes then, turnoff the gas and set them aside. Make sure your sauce is not too watery.

Mix Ricotta cheese with blanched spinach and set aside. If you are using store brought alfredo sauce, then, cook the sauce for a minute before adding spinach.

Now comes the best part. Layer 1/3 of the cooked noodles, pasta sauce, ricotta/Alfredo sauce, in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Top it with Mozzarella cheese, if you wish. Repeat the layers twice. Top it with grated Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. 

Cook uncovered for 40 minutes. If you are using Oven ready pasta, then cook covered for around 45-50 minutes and then uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Take out from oven and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes. 

Easy Pav Buns or Dinner Rolls in 30 minutes!!

Who doesn't enjoy street food! especially hot Pav-Bhaji. Normally in Indian house holds, bhaji[gravy] is prepared fresh at home and the Pav [ bun] is bought from store. 

Does the idea of eating Bhaji with fresh homemade warm Pav sound mouth watery?? 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

 

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All purpose Flour	1 and 3/4 cup
Rapid Rising Yeast	1 tsp
Warm Water	1/2 cup and 1 Tbsp
Oil (Any)	2 Tbsp
Salt	To taste
Sesame seeds	1 Tbsp
Milk	1 Tbsp

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degree F / 200 degree C.
2. In a bowl, combine water, oil, yeast and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
3. After 15 minutes, add salt and All Purpose Flour (maida) to the above mixture and knead the dough until all the ingredients are well incorporated into a soft and smooth dough.
4. Make 6 equal sized balls, brush them with milk and place them on a greased pan and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. At the end of 15 minutes, the balls would be risen by a considerable amount.
5. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the balls and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Hot Pavs just out of the oven

  Serve warm these Pavs with hot Bhaji sprinkled with lemon juice and garnished with fresh coriander and raw onions. 

Notes:

1. Can add grated garlic or chilli flakes or any other spice of your choice (like basil, oregano) while kneading the dough for variations in taste.
2. While the dough is resting or getting baked, in parallel Bhaji can be made so that at the end of 45 minutes, both pav and bhaji are ready :)

Lapsi Rava Shira

Lapsi Rava Shira

All festivals and celebrations in India start and end with Sweets. And this sweet makes for a  delicious desert.

Prep. Time : 2 mins
Cooking Time : 30 mins

Do not see the time, its a very simple and easy recipe.  Its worth waiting 30 minutes!!

Ingredients

1 cup Fada (cracked wheat)
3/4th cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Ghee or Clarified Butter
1 cup Milk
2 cups Water
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp raisins
few chopped almonds & Cashews

Mix Milk and water in a pan & allow it to boil. You can do so in Microwave as well.
Take Ghee in a separate pan & put it on medium heat.  Add cracked wheat. Saute them, until they turn pinkish brown. Add sugar and cardamom. Mix well. Now add 1 cup mixture of boiled hot water and Milk. Partly cover it and allow to cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once all the water is evaporated, add rest of water and allow to cook. Add raisins and half of chopped nuts. Lapsi is ready when the ghee starts seperating. Garnish with almonds and cashews. Serve it hot or cool.

Rava Dhokla or Semolina Dumplings

Rava Dhokla or Semolina Dumplings, a famous Gujarati Snack (its not sweet though!!), is one of my favorite dinner option.

Rava Dhokla or Semolina Dumplings

Prep. Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins

Ingredients
1 cup Sooji/Rava or Semolina
1/2 cup Yogurt
1 tsp cut green chilies
1 tsp minced ginger
Salt to taste
1 tsp baking soda or ENO
Oil for greasing

For Tempering
1 Tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp chopped Green Chilies
4 -5 curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida

Mix Semolina, Yogurt , chopped green chillies, ginger and salt. Add water and mix well to form a smooth, lump-free batter. Allow the batter to rest for around 30 minutes. For steaming add around 500 ml water in a large pot and put it on medium heat to boil. Grease the dhokla tray or dumpling tray (thalis). After 30 minutes add Baking Soda or ENO to the batter and mix. Immediately, pour the batter in the greased tray and arrange in the steamer. Steam them for 10 minutes. Make sure the bottom of the tray does not touch the water. You can check Dhokla by inserting a toothpick in the center. It will come out clean if the dhokla is done. Turn off the heat and immediately remove the trays from the steamer and let them cool.
 

Cut dhokla in diagonal or square shape using a small knife. Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds. When they start popping add asafoetida, green chilies and curry leaves. Add sesame seeds. Add the cut dhoklas in the pan. Mix them. Turn off the heat. Serve them with Green Chutney or as it is. :)