Ever since I started to upload my recipes into this blog I am going crazy preparing dishes and photographing them. Next time you bump into a person carrying a camera and taking pictures of food items it could be me. I was truly very happy when my sister called me and asked me to bake a birthday cake for her son on Thursday. I decided to make this black forest cake for him the next day. There are a lot of ways to make this cake, but I decided to make life easy for me and use the cake mix and try something new.

Gadgets:

Baking pans 2 9 inch
Electric hand held mixer
Spatula
Bowls - 2
Measuring cups
Cake stand
Off set spatula
Parchment paper - 2 circles
Grater

Ingredients:

Chocolate cake mix - 1
Heavy whipping cream - 1 pint
* NOTE: Please use whipping cream that has over 35% fat content for the frosting to stabilize and set well.
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cherry - 30
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Eggs - 3
Water - 1 1/4 cups
Oil - 1/3 cup
Chocolate bar any kind you prefer 1 bar.

Preparation:

1. Take a large bowl and add 2 whole eggs and 1 egg white, vanilla essence, water and oil and whisk it until they all mix well together.

2. Remove the cake mix from the box and tap it to remove all the clumps and then add to this liquid mix.

3. Beat this mixture for 1 minute on medium speed and to a higher speed for another 1 minute.

4. Prepare the pan as usual with parchment paper and divide the cake mixture into 2 equal portions and place it in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, remove all excess water from the cherries and save about 10 for decorating the cake and the rest chop them up into small pieces.

6. Add the whipping cream and sugar to the bowl and whip the cream so that it will leave the sides of the bowl and the cream is stiff. Put them in the freezer.

7. Once the cakes are baked allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes.then using a knife go around the cake.This helps in removing the cake nicely. Place your hand on top on the cake and invert the pan to remove the cake.

8. Put some whipping cream to the cake board and then place this cake on the top.Then add some whipped cream on top. Spread it out and add the cherries that are cut over it.

9. Place the second cake on top of this and add the remaining cream on top and spread it with an offset spatula all over the cake. Place the cake in the fridge for the cream to set.

10.Meanwhile take the chocolate bar and using the grater, grate the chocolate and keep them in a bowl.

11. Remove the cake from the fridge and start sprinkling the chocolate on top of the cake and using your hands stick the chocolate to the sides of the cake. It will be kind of sticky but keep doing it and the chocolate will stick fine.

12. Decorate the cake with cherries and keep it in the fridge. This cake is very moist and sets well when kept in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Here are some of the other versions of the black forest cake I had prepared for my nephews over the years.

I added this recipe to my blog because this is one delicious Poondu kolambu that our friend Kavitha used to make for us on demand and we loved to eat it with rice any time. It reminds me of the good times when we met for potlucks, celebrations and conversations in San Diego. Its very simple, delicious comes with good memories and hence makes me want to prepare it all the time.

Gadgets:

Wok/Kadai
Mixing Spoon
Cutting Board
Knife

Ingredients:

Garlic - 12
Onion small or big 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1
Curry leaves a few
Green Chillis - 2
Cilantro
Tamarind water - 2 cups
Asafoetida powder a few shakes
Chilli powder-1tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Sombu - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeks - 1/2 tsp
salt
oil- 1/4 cup

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in the wok and allow it to heat up. Yes you need some oil for this one because it makes all the difference.

2. Then add asafoetida powder, Sombu, fenugreek seeds,garlic and onion, salt and cook it until the onion and garlic get cooked and golden brown.

3. Add 1 tomato and cook for a minute.

4. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder,coriander powder and cook it until the masala flavor goes away for some time.

5. Add the tamarind juice and curry leaves and cilantro and cook.

6. The consistency that we are looking for is a sauce and not the watery kind. The oil will surface when it is done.

7. Serve it with hot rice and potato fry.Its simply "outstanding"

Over time I have been collecting recipes from people in my family. I have documented it and have been trying them out and also changing to suit my needs. One such recipe is the semiya idli that my aunt "Chukku Manni" as we affectionately call her gave me the last time I visited India. She gave me the onion less recipe but I love onions and I always add it to most things I cook. We had saymeya idli for dinner on Wednesday and I wanted to share this recipe.

Gadgets:

Wok
Bowl
Idli plates
Cutting Board
Knife
Plate
Rice cooker

Ingredients:

Makes 16 Idli's.

Vermicelli or semiya (roasted or unroasted) - 2 cups
Oil- 3 tbsp
Asafoetida powder a few shakes
ginger - 1 inch
Onion - 1/2
Peas and carrot mix from Vons(freezer section)- 1/2 cup
Cabbage - 1 cup ( must have cabbage)
Green Chillis - 2
Salt to taste
Cilantro
Cashews roasted a few
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Trader Jose butter milk - 3/4 cup or take curds and beat it to a Idli batter consistency.
Water for rice cooker

Preparation:

1. Heat the Wok or Kadaai on the stove and add 1 tbsp oil to it.

2. If you have unroasted semiya add 2 cups of it to the oil and roast on medium flame until they turn a little golden.Remove this and transfer to a plate and allow it to cool.

3.In the same Wok add 1 tbsp of oil and add asifotita,mustard seeds and when that pops add green chillis, curry leaves,ginger, onion and cook until the onions are half cooked. Add the remaining veggies and cook them a little. Add cashews and cilantro to the mix and transfer them to a bowl and allow them to cool.

4.When both the semiya and the veggies are cooled add the buttermilk/curd mix so that you have just enough to mix and then allow them to rest for 10 mins.

5.Then apply a little oil to the Idli plates and spoon in the mix and cook then. I usually cook them in a rice cooker by adding a little water to the base of the rice cooker and then placing the idli plates in it.

6. Cook this for about 7-10 mins and you have delicious semiya idli's.It can be served with ketchup, chutneys,sauces etc.

7. This one is a fool proof recipe.

My daughter and I decided to have an egg hunt in our back yard a week after Easter. We decided to call a couple of her friends and have some fun. Some of our friends brought some finger foods like cheetos, chocolate chip cookies, pop corn etc and I made some of the butter, nutella and jelly sandwiches, cilantro hummus to go with pita bread and Indian style pine apple cake. Let me tell you that even though I do know to decorate cakes, I did not want to use all sorts of ingredients in the preparation of the icing. I always liked whipped cream icing and decided to make a pineapple cake that used to be so delicious at J.M and Sons at Coimbatore.

Gadgets:

Mixing bowl
Spatula
Measuring cups
Bowl
Oven
Bowl for whipping cream
Hand mixer
Icing spatula
Baking pans 9 inch 2
Parchment paper
Cake stand
Cake board that is lined with wax paper found at micheals

Ingredients:

Cake Mix (yellow) any brand -1
Butter - 1 stick at room temperature or microwave butter for 12 secs
Eggs - 3 (2 whole eggs and 1 egg white)at room temperature
Pineapple chunks - 1 tin
sugar 2 tbsp
water- 1/2 cup
pineapple essence - 1 tsp
Heavy whipping cream - 1 pint
** Note: Please find a whipping cream with over 35% fat content for stiff peaks to form and also for frosting to set well)
sugar for the icing - 1/2 cup (can adjust if you want more sweet or less)

Preparation:

Turn on the oven at 375 degrees before you start doing anything.

1. Add 2 whole eggs,1 egg white and butter at room temperature to a bowl.

2. Drain the juice from the tin and add 2/3 cup juice to the liquid mix

3. Beat this mix for 2 minutes with an electric mixer.

4. Remove the cake mix(any brand as long as it is yellow)from the box and just pat so that all the balls that have been formed is broken up and you have a smooth mix.

5. Add cake mix to the bowl and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

6. Take 2 baking pans.I used 9 inch ones and using the parchment paper i made a circle to fit the lower level of the pan.

7. Added the batter evenly to the 2 pans and baked the cake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

8. In the meantime, I added the whipped cream to a bowl added sugar and started whipping with my electrical blender until they form stiff peaks.

7. I put this back into the freezer with a cover and waited for the cake to be baked.

8. When the cake is done. Allow the cake to rest for a few minutes before touching the cake.It will be very soft and moist and might break. Once the cake is cooled place the cake board on the cake stand.

9. Take 2 pieces of parchment paper and line it on the cake board so that you can remove it once the icing is done and to make the cake look decorative.

10. Take one cake out of the pan and put it on the parchment paper with the top of the cake facing down.

11. When the cake is cooled,mix some water and the remaining of the pine apple juice and sugar in a small bowl.

12. Take some of this juice in your hands and sprinkle it all over the cake so as to cover the entire surface of the cake.

13. Remove the whipped cream icing and start layering the top of the cake.When an even layer has been made add some pineapple chunks after squeezing out the juice from them. Then place the secound face down and repeat step 12.

14. Add the rest of the whipped cream and decorate the whole cake. Please put a lot of whipped cream on the top and then spread it out.This helps in not having to deal with the crumbs.

15. Add the remaining chunks of pine apple after removing the extra juice on top.You can also add cherries, I did not because I did not have time to do it.

16. Put this cake back in the fridge until it is ready to be searved.

A few years ago my sister gave me this recipe that had ice cream added to it. I have changed this a bit and come up with what I call a fruit punch.It can be made with orange, pine apple, strawberry, mango or any other fruit you can get creative with. It is a crowd pleaser, my nephew and my niece love it and ask for it at the mention of the word "party".This is what I would call kicking up your soda a notch.

Gadgets:

Punch Bowl or a Huge mixing bowl
Mixing spoon or ladle
Measuring cups

Ingredients:The example fruit used is orange.

Fruit - 2 cups (tinned or fresh)
Fruit Juice - 2 cups (orange)
Fruit Soda - 1/2 bottle (Orange soda else use 7 up).
Fruit Sorbet - 1 pint (orange)
Regular Soda - 1/2 bottle
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Preparation:

1. Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl and serve.

Reading Harvey Comics was something I enjoyed as a child. Little Lotta, little Dot and Richie Rich were fun. In these comics they always had pictures of Lotta enjoying food or thinking of food all the time. Last Saturday I was trying to make a simple sandwich. I did not think about Lotta then but when I plated it and took pictures of it I was reminded of her sandwich pictures.



Gadgets:

Cutting Board
Knife
Toaster

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Bread - 4 slices
Avocado - 1 big
Tomatoes - 2 (Roma)
Shallots - 1 sliced thinly
Pepper
Salt

Preparation:

1. Toast the bread in a toaster.

2. Remove the skin on the Avocado and the seed and slice them.

3. Slice the tomatoes and the shallots.

4. When the bread is toasted place the avocado about 4 slices and add salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and the onions and add salt and pepper.

5. Place one slice of bread on top and again start building another set of sandwich.

6. Place one sandwich on top of the other and there you have a huge sandwich like the one Lotta used to enjoy.

I have been making this paneer dish since 2004 and every time it has been served people love it and think its a very difficult dish to prepare.Please do not get intimidated by the list of ingredients. Its with ingredients from you pantry and super easy.My friends are really crazy about this dish and some of them modify it by frying the paneer while some others want it the exact way I make it.Another reason that I am adding this to my blog is because my husband's aunt wanted me to share the recipe with her and I decided to add it here for easy access any time.

Gadgets:

Wok
Cutting Board
Knife
Mixing Spoon
Plate
Lid for the Wok

Ingredients:

Paneer - 1 block that you can find in the Indian store. I always use non-nanak brand that I find in the Indian Store Ker in San Diego because the paneer is fresh and is able to absorbe the flovors well.If you can find only Nanak its ok to use it.

Bell Pepper -1 of (Red, Green, Yellow, Orange.If you do not have all the colors use what you can find it just the same. Its more for the color that I use than for anything else.

Garlic - 5 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch
Onion- 1 chopped
Tomato- 2
Green Chillis - 3 (slit lengthwise each into 4 peices)
Note:If you want to control the level of spice remove the seeds from the chillis and then use.
Cashew Nut - as much as you like (optional)
Cilantro - 1/4 cup chopped
Kasturi methi - for garnish 1 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Pepper- 1/8th tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (for more spice add more if u want)
Cumin powder- 1 tbsp
Corriander powder - 1tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Milk or fesh cream - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 tbsp



Preparation:

1. Heat the wok and add some ghee in it.When they are heated add the cashew nuts and roast them a little and remove them and keep them in a plate for later.
OPTION: You can add roasted cahews too if you have. Skip this step and then follow the recipe.

2. In the same wok add 1 tbsp oil and the green chillis to it and fry for 1 minute.Remove it and keep in the plate with the cashews.

3. Add the remaining oil to the Wok. When that heats up add freshly chopped ginger garlic or the paste, onions and cook with little salt until the onions are well cooked.

4. Add tomatoes to it and cook well until the tomatos are mushy.

5. Add the spices, cumin powder, corriander powder, chilli powder, pepper, tuemeric powder and cook well for 2 minutes.

6. Add the bell peppers that are been julliened and cook a little until you feel the rawness has gone. You dont want to over cook them and make them lose the crunch.

7. Add milk/cream and sugar to it and mix well.

8. Add the chopped paneer (either into cubes or long strips) and mixx it well with the above veggies.

9. Turn off the heat and cover the wok with the lid allowing the paneer to get cooked in the heat.

10. Open after 3 minutes and add cilantro and kasthuri methi to it and mix well. Check to see if it has enough salt.

11. Garnish with cashew nuts and green chillis.

12. Serve it with hot chapathi's or wonderful Naan(For those who want Naan try Trader Joe's Naan from the freezer section, they are pretty good)