How food connects!

I came in contact with an old acquaintance after ages. And what did we talk about? Food!!! Here is one of the recipes he shared:

pinapple sauce kai liayai you'll need a can of pineapple chunks...you know.."malee" waghaira..a chunk of ginger 4 cloves of garlic a lil starch and mollasses and soy sauce

you can use honey instead of the mollasses

red pepper flakes is an optional

blend all the ingredients WITH the juice from the can

and then simmer it until it gets a lil thick over medium heat

I can't wait to try it out!! =D

Sponge Cake

4 Eggs
1/2 cup sifted, grounded white sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder

Separate the Eggs, beating the egg whites in a small bowl until absolutely stiff.

Add the yolks and beat to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, sift together the rest of the ingredients atleast five times to aerate and mix well.

Fold the dry ingredients into the eggs, until a thick batter is formed.

Pour into a greased tin that has been lined with paper (the cake is very soft). Bake at 180 for about 20 minutes or until done (skewer inserted in the center comes out dry).

To Assemble:

Split from the middle.

Drizzle juice from a fruit tin (pineapple or mixed fruit, or even peaches) over the bottom half. Spread whipped cream in a thin layer, and then sprinkle with fruit bits.

Put the top layer on, and drizzle juice on that as well. Then cover the complete cake with whipped cream, and decorate with fruit!

Gulab Jaman

2.5 cups sugar
6 cups water
6 cardamoms

1 cup tea whitener [Everyday]
1 cup dry milk [Nido]
2 Tbsp Oil
2 Tbsp Flour
2 Tsp Baking powder

2 beaten eggs
Oil for deep frying

1. In a wide deep pan, mix the sugar, water and cardamoms, and leave to boil.
2. In a bowl, mix the two milks, add the baking powder and flour, and mix with a whisk.
3. Rub in the oil.
4. Slowly add the egg, only enough to form a sticky dough, kneading.
5. Set the oil to heat.
6. Make small balls from the dough [they will swell when let into the sugar syrup], and deep fry until brown.
7. Take each out and add it to the sugar syrup. Let it cook for a little while, before turning off the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Let cool slightly before dishing out.
   

Serve warm!

Chicken Nuggets and Chicken Cheese Balls

[Recipe courtesy Naila Aunty]
So this recipe relies a lot on your own taste, for the seasoning at least...

1 cup day-old boiled rice
1 1/2 cups boneless chicken
Roughly, a 3.5 inch piece of ginger
6 green chillies
1-2 eggs

Seasoning:
Chinese salt
Salt
Black pepper
Vinegar [very little]

Options: [use sparingly because of the strong taste]
Coriander
Parsley
Oregano
Basil

1. In a food processor, grind the rice. Remove and set aside.

2. Process the chicken until it forms a paste.

3. Next, grind together the ginger and chillies.

4. Mix everything together in a bowl. Add seasonings to taste.

5. Knead with some egg, adding enough to form a sticky dough. Sprinkle lightly with corn flour/flour and knead well.

6. Keep in the refrigerator for half an hour [because of this heat!], before forming required shape.

You can make cheese balls by setting a small cube of cheddar or mozzarella in the middle of a ball of dough.

Dip in beaten egg, and coat in bread crumbs before deep frying. They may also be frozen in a single layer, after breading.

This is the size of the piece of ginger:


This is how the chillies and ginger would look:



The chicken and rice mixture would look like this:

Ayeshaji's chocolate cake topping

1 tbsp Butter
2 Egg Yolks
1 cup Icing Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/2 cup Coco Powder
Milk

• Melt the butter, and cool slightly before whipping in the egg yolks.
  

• Add the icing sugar, coco, and vanilla essence, mixing well.

• Slowly add milk, until desired consistency is achieved.

This topping may be cooked as well. The recipe will remain the same, except, instead of a bowl, it will be mixed in a sauce pan over a low flame.

Ayeshaji's amazing cake soak =D

• 1 cup Honey
• 1 cup hot Water
• 1 tsp Coffee [instant]
• 1 tsp Brown Sugar

Mix all the ingredients together. Use this to drizzle on a cake before icing, dabbing with a pastry brush or spoon. It permeates the cake, making it very soft and moist!

Ayeshaji's "home made Kitchen Cuisine cupcake brownie" Chocolate Cake!

1 3/4 cups plain white flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda OR 3 level tsp Baking Powder

1 3/4 cups finely ground white sugar

2/3 cups sifted coco powder

2 eggs

1/2 cups oil

3 tbsp yogurt mixed in 1 cup water

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

• Sieve together the first two ingredients, atleast four times, to ensure even mixing and aeration.

• In a bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients until well combined.

• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing well.

• Pour into a greased cake tin, which should be 2/3 full.
  

• Bake in an over preheated to 180-190 C, for about 30 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

• Let sit in the pan for at least 20 minutes, to cool, other wise the cake will break while turning out.

• To serve: Brush with "Ayeshaji's amazing cake soak =D" [if making a sandwich cake, you can brush the insides too], and top with "Ayeshaji's chocolate cake topping". For a sandwich cake, you can put whipped cream in between the layers.

Cupcakes!

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 1 1/3 cups sugar

• 3 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup shortening

• 1 cup milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  

• 2 large eggs

Easy Cupcake Recipe Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape side of bowl with a spatula.

• Add eggs to the mixture. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape bowl again. Beat on high speed for 1 minute 30 seconds until well mixed.

• Spoon cupcake batter into paper liners until 1/2 to 2/3 full.

• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

• Cool 5 minutes in pans then remove and place on wire racks to cool completely.

• Once cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with your favorite frosting recipe or decorate as you desire.

Edit:

To make it even easier, blend all the wet ingredients with the sugar in a blender. Sieve together all dry ingredients. Mix the two in a bowl and get baking! =D

Chocolate glaze: Pirated version

I use this recipe because white butter is usually not available at my place, but cream always is!

1 packet [250 ml] cream
3 tablespoons [or more] coco powder
3 tablespoons [or according to taste] sugar

1. Pour cream into a nonstick sauce pan over a medium flame. Stir over heat with a wooden spoon.

2. Add the coco powder, stirring until well mixed.

3. Add the sugar, mixing until dissolved.

4. Cook, constantly stirring, until the sauce thickens and darkens. It will start to become slightly slippery, leaving the sides of the pan.

5. Pour out, or over cake, to glaze.

Tooba Baji's Chocolate Glaze

This chocolate glaze has no specific measurements for the ingredients, because I never saw Tooba Baji measure anything.

This is how it goes:

Place some white butter in a nonstick sauce pan over a medium flame on the stove. Without letting it melt, throw in some coco powder and sugar, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Cook until it forms a thick glaze. You can regulate the amount of sugar by adding it in small quantities and tasting between additions.

Gianna's Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake

I got this recipe from the "Country Living" website, and have made it twice so far.

1 and 3/4 cups flour
2 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups coco powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup oil
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and maintain.

2. Combine the flour, 2 cups granulated sugar, 3/4 cup cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. [Sift all of these except sugar, together, beforehand]

3. Beat in the oil, milk, eggs, vanilla using a mixer set on medium speed for 2 minutes.

4. Reduce mixer speed to low and add 1 cup of the boiling water.

5. Divide the batter between two greased and floured pans and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean -- about 35 minutes.

6. Cool the cakes in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

7. Un-mold the cakes and return to the wire rack until completely cool.

Whipped Cream Filling and Topping:

Whip cooled cream until stiff. Add powdered sugar, mixing well. Also add about two tablespoons of coco powder.

Use this to sandwich the two cakes. Also spread this on the top and sides of the cake. You can create a design using a fork on this cream. You can also decorate with chocolate chips or sprinkles.

Tooba Baji's Chocolate Cake

The quickest, easiest, no-fail microwave cake ever!

1 cup plain white Flour
4 heaped table spoons Coco Powder
3 level tea spoons Baking Powder
1 packet [250 ml] Cream
3 Eggs
1 cup granulated white Sugar

1. Sift together the flour, coco powder and baking powder, at least 6 times. This will ensure proper mixing, as well as aerate the mixture so that it rises better.
2. In a blender, pour the cream, adding the sugar and eggs. Blend well until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Put the flour mixture in a mixing bowl, and add the cream mixture, mixing with a wooden spoon until no lumps remain.
4. Pour mixture into a greased, microwave safe pan.
5. Bake in the microwave for around 4 minutes at a moderate temperature, or until cake is springy to the touch, coming away from the sides, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool in the pan for a little while, before turning out to cool completely.

Notes:

Cake may be frosted using "Tooba Baji's chocolate glaze", or "Chocolate glaze: Pirated version", or plain whipped cream. It can be served un-glazed as well.

Cake will harden if kept a day or two, it will soften when warmed in the microwave.

Warmed cake may be served with ice cream for a delicious dessert! It can also be used as a base of a trifle.