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.