Cake House

Phirni is an Indian rice pudding made by cooking ground rice with milk. It's usually flavored with saffron, but I love this Mango variation a lot. I have used canned mango puree to make this phirni. If mangoes are in season, you can use fresh puree as well. Here is the recipe. All you need is Full cream milk - 1 lt Rice - 1\4 cup Ghee - 1 tsp Saffron - a pinch Sugar - 3\4 cup Rose water - 1\2 tsp Mango puree - 1 and 1\2 cup Dry fruits for garnishing Method of preparation Wash and soak rice for an hour. Drain the water and blend the rice in a blender to make a coarse powder. Add very little water if required. In a heavy bottom pan, add ghee. When the ghee is hot, add the milk. Let the milk come to a boil. Add the rice and saffron to the milk. Simmer the heat and cook till the milk is reduced to 1\2 and phirni has reached the desired consistency. Keep in mind that it will further thicken on cooling. Add sugar and rose water. Cook for a minute. Switch off the heat and add mango puree....

F irst time I heard about this dish around 2 yrs ago in a cookery program.The name sounded unique and  I found it interesting. At that time I didn’t try but during Ramzan fasting I thought of trying this out. This is a traditional malabar snack. This is basically an egg stuffed puri inside another minced chicken stuffed puri. We can make as many layers as we like.  The filling can be of egg / meat or sweet coconut, even though the name sounds like an out and out meat dish. I am sure children will go crazy over this delicacy.  Just try this… Ingredients: Chicken Mince- 1 Cup Onions- 1no Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp Green chillies- 2nos Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp Coriander powder- 1 tbsp Turmeric powder- ½ tbsp Garam Masala- 1tsp Cumin Powder- 1 tsp Curry Leaves- few Salt- as required Egg- 2 nos For the dough: Wheat Flour- 2 Cups Salt- as per taste Water- to knead Oil- for deep frying Method: Pour 1 tbsp of oil in a kadai. Add the chopped onions, green chillies and curry leav...

Meethe chawal or Zarda pulao is a sweet rice preparation. My mom has been making this recipe, year after year on the Diwali day. Laden with ghee and dry fruits and full of flavors from saffron and rose water, this is one of my favorites dishes. Here is the easy and simple recipe to make this delicious pulao. Do give it a try. All you need is Rice - 1 cup Sugar - 1 cup Saffron - 2 pinch Yellow food color - 1 pinch Cardamom - 4-5 ( crushed ) Black cardamom - 2 ( crushed ) Cloves - 8-10 Milk - 1 cup Rose water - 1\2 tsp Ghee - 2 tbsp Chironji - 2 tbsp Almonds - 10-12 ( chopped ) Cashew nuts - 10-12 ( chopped ) Raisins - 2 tbsp Method of preparation Gently wash the rice and soak in water for 1 hour. Strain. Mix milk, yellow food color, saffron, rose water and sugar in a bowl Heat 4-5 cups water in a pan. When it comes to a boil, add the soaked rice. Cook till the rice is 80 % done. Strain in a sieve and mix a tsp of ghee in the rice. Keep aside. Heat the remaining ghee in a pan. Add almond...

Aloo bhujia is dry snack made with chickpea flour and potatoes. It can be enjoyed as evening snack with a hot cup of tea. Here is an easy recipe to make aloo bhujia at home. Do give it a try. All you need is Potato - 1\2 cup ( Boiled, peeled and grated ) Besan - 1 cup Oil - 1 tbsp and for frying Salt - 1 tsp Chaat masala - 1\2 tsp and 1\2 tsp for sprinkling on top. Red chili powder - 1\2 tsp Heeng - 1\4 tsp Baking soda - a pinch Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Dry pudina powder - 1\2 tsp Method of preparation Mix besan, grated potato and oil in a pan. Mix together nicely. Add salt, 1\2 tsp chaat masala, red chili powder, heeng, baking soda and lemon juice. Mix nicely. Add very little water and knead to make a tight dough. Cover and keep the dough for 10 minutes. Heat oil in a pan. Divide the dough in 4 parts. Fill one part in the sev press fitted with fine net. Press the sev press over the hot oil. Simmer the heat. Fry till golden brown from both the sides. Remove from oil on a kitchen tissue lin...

Rasmalai is an Indian sweet made with Milk. The milk is curdled and the cheese is collected and drained of any whey. It is then made into small balls and cooked. These balls are then soaked in reduced milk flavored with cardamom and saffron. You will definitely fall in love with this sweet in first bite. It is also very easy to make at home and the result is wonderful. Do give it a try. Here is the recipe. All you need is Full cream milk - 3 lt ( preferably cow's milk ) Lemon juice - 3 tsp Arrowroot powder - 4 tsp Baking soda - a pinch Sugar - 1 and 1\2 cups and 1\4 cup Water - 4 cups Cardamom - 2-3  ( crushed ) Cashew nut - 2 tbsp Cardamom powder - 1 tsp Saffron - a good pinch Rose water - 1\2 tsp Yellow food color - a small pinch Dry fruits slivers for garnishing Method of preparation Heat 2 lt milk in a pan. Switch off the heat when it comes to a boil. Add lemon juice. The milk will curdle immediately. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Drain the curdled milk in a cheese cloth. Wash the...

Here is an easy to make and healthy recipe for a breakfast smoothie. Cucumber and melon are both rich in minerals and vitamins and pair very well in this delicious drink. Here is the recipe. All you need is Cucumber - 2 cups ( peeled and cut into small pieces ) Musk melon - 2 cups ( Skin and seeds removed and cut into small pieces ) Thick yogurt - 1 cup Mint leaves - 5-6 Sugar - 4 tsp Ice cubes - optional Method of preparation Blend cucumber, melon and mint in a blender to make a smooth paste. Add yogurt and sugar and blend well.Pour in glasses. Add ice cubes if you want. Garnish with melon and cucumber balls threaded in a skewer or a tooth pick.

Got bored of the regular gravies and looking for something different to make? These tomatoes stuffed with paneer, potatoes and dry fruits in a creamy gravy are a very good option. I made these for a few guests who were visiting us and everyone just loved it. Do give it a try. here is the recipe. All you need is Tomatoes - 6 ( try to choose tomatoes that are broad and have a flat base for this recipe ) Oil - 1 tsp Salt - 1\2 tsp For the filling Potato - 1\2 cup ( Boiled, peeled and grated ) Paneer - 1 cup ( Grated ) Cheese - 2 tbsp ( Grated. I used 2 cheese slices broken into small pieces ) Salt to taste Raisins - 8-10 Cashew nuts - 4-5 ( Broken ) Coriander - 2 tbsp ( Chopped ) Green chili - 1 ( Chopped ) Garam masala powder - 1\2 tsp For the gravy Ghee - 2 tbsp Oil - 2 tbsp Black peppercorn - 4-5 Cloves - 4-5 Black cardamom - 2 Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece Bay leaf - 1 Onion - 1 and 1\2 cup ( chopped ) Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp Green chili - 2 - 3 ( slit into halves ) Coriander powd...

Malpua is a traditional Indian sweet. It is basically a fried pancake dunked in sugar syrup. On our many visits to Jaipur, we used to relish this sweet and at that time, I never thought to make this at home. It's the first time, I have tried this and trust me, it came out wonderful. The recipe is very simple and requires no skills. Just mix the batter and pour it in hot ghee. That's all you have to do to make this wonderful sweet at home. Do give it a try. Here is the recipe. All you need is Milk - 1 and 1\2 cup ( warm, not hot ) Khoya - 1\2 cup ( grated ) Maida - 1 cup Saunf- 1 tsp ( coarsely grounded ) Sugar - 2 tsp Salt - a pinch Baking powder - a small pinch Ghee for frying For the sugar syrup Sugar - 1 cup Water - 1\4 cup Cardamom - 2-3 ( grounded ) Saffron - 8-10 strands Method of preparation Add sugar, cardamom, saffron and water in a pan. Cook till the syrup is of one string consistency. Keep aside Mix half of the warm milk and khoya in a bowl. Mix till khoya is combine...

I ignored my blog during these dussera vacations as I am enjoying the vacations in Kerala. Getting pampered by my parents and in- laws and becoming lazier day by day, feeling guilty. I really missed my space and so today I am here with a post. This is a special dish prepared by my mom using prawns which we all like the most. This is a hot and spicy dish which can be prepared within minutes. This is in fact an Andhra style preparation with slight improvisations by my mom which made the dish amazing. This dish has the tangyness of tamarind and the prawns are well blended with the gravy. Just try this mouth watering dish and let me know… Ingredients: Prawns- 250 gms Onions- 4 nos Green Chillies- 3 nos Ginger and garlic paste- 1 tbsp Red chilli Powder- 2 tbsp Coriander powder- 1 tbsp Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp Garam masala powder- 1 tsp salt- as required Tamarind Extract- ¼ Cup Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp Curry Leaves- few Coriander Leaves- ½ a bunch Method: In a kadai heat oil and splutter mustard ...

Crispy and crunchy namakpare are a great snack to enjoy with a cup of hot ginger tea. This snack takes me back to my childhood. There always used to be a box full of namakpare in the house and every evening with tea, my nani used to  keep these with other dry snacks in huge plates for all of us to munch on. I too always make namakpare for Diwali and Holi, though in a very small amount. The trick to make crunchy namakpare is to knead the dough, as tight as you can and fry them on very low heat. Here is the recipe. All you need is All purpose flour \ Maida - 1 cup Semolina \ Fine sooji - 2 tbsp Salt - 3\4 tsp Carom seeds \ ajwain - 1\2 tsp Clarified butter \ ghee - 2 tbsp Lukewarm water - to knead Oil for frying Method of preparation Mix maida, sooji, salt, ajwain and ghee in a bowl. Mix nicely. Add a tbsp of lukewarm water at a time and mix to make a tight dough. Cover and keep the dough for 10-15 minutes. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Divide the dough in 2 parts and roll each in ...

ingredients: 200 gr tofu mashed 100 grams of minced chicken 3 tbsp sago 1 leek, finely chopped 1 egg Salt, pepper to taste Cooking oil to taste Sweet and sour sauce: 2 tablespoons butter Bh ½ onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 6 tbsp tomato sauce 2 tablespoons chili sauce 50 ml of water Salt, sugar, pepper powder to taste 100 gr peas How to Make Ball-Ball Recipes Sweet Sour Tofu: Mixed know, minced chicken, corn, green onion, egg, salt, pepper powder. Take one teaspoon of dough, round it off. Fried balls out until cooked. Remove and drain. Sweet and sour sauce: heat the butter. Saute onion, garlic until fragrant. Enter the tomato sauce, chili sauce, water, salt, sugar, pepper. Cook until done. Enter the peas, stir well. Lift. Put the Sweet & Sour Tofu Ball Ball in a serving dish, pour the sweet and sour sauce.