Banana Nutella Cranberry Cake

So, I had some overripe bananas, nutella and some cake flour. So, time for a Banana Nutella Cranberry Cake. I added the cranberries coz I had recently tasted a nice cranberry bread from target and they were great and some nuts coz I am nuts about nuts.

The recipe is adapted from here.

Warning, the cake will be big and good. How much you eat of it is your own problem.

I also wanted to use brown sugar, so was a great opportunity for that. I was able to bake a cake in a 13X9 inch glass pan.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups cake flour
1/4 cup/50 grams brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
1/4 cup peanut/other oil
3 tablespoon plain yogurt
2 ripe bananas mashed
2 eggs/2 tablespoon ground flax-seed
2 huge tablespoons Nutella, slightly melted over very low heat or more

I also used mixed in some cranberries and nuts at the end.

Preheat oven to 325°F, that’s what my cake flour said. Blend brown sugar and butter in a mixer. Scrape side of bowl. Separate the egg whites and whisk them till they froth. Add yogurt, banana, yellow of eggs and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture  from the box and blend until just combined. Make sure there are no lumps but do not overmix. There is a fine line here, my dear friend.

As an FYI, over-mixing causes the gluten to come out which off-course shouldn’t be a problem but what it does eventually is make the cake hard and not moist. Gently fold in the melted Nutella and stir just until a marbled pattern develops.(I was going for the marble pattern but that didn’t happen. It still tasted good though).

Pour the batter into a pan sprayed with cooking spray.. Bake 35-40 minutes at 325°F or until a toothpick comes out clean.

This also gave me an opportunity to click some snazzy pics with Instagram. Loving it lately. Another pic.

Pasta Salad with tomatoes, beans and more

I wanted to quickly upload this recipe that I accidentally made. It is so yummy. You won’t believe how much good stuff it has.

Usually bad tasting stuff = good for you and good stuff = calories. This has a lot of good going for it. So, I’ ll quickly list the recipe without going into a lot of details.

Ingredients: Just toss whatever you have with cooked leftover pasta or follow what I used.

Ingredients:

Cooked pasta(in marinara sauce)

Cooked pinto beans

Chopped parsley

Chopped onions and tomatoes

Chopped mini carrots

Hummus (that’s where the most taste is)

That’s it. Just mix them all together. Top with some hummus to make it yummier. Here are some more gorgeous pics.

Pasta Salad

Topped with Hummus

Paneer Butter Masala (Cottage Cheese Curry)

Many people live to eat and take life as it comes. They are usually a very happy-go-lucky lot. Like they used to say back in Hyderabad,India, ‘lite le yaar’ meaning take it easy, friend. Half their problems are solved by not worrying over them.

Check out these kids being blissfully unaware of their surrounding and enjoying their chocolate bar. The expression on the third girl’s face is hilarious.For the uninitiated, they are dressed for a dance show called Bharatanatyam.

Stuffed Capsicum

Bharwan Shimla Mirch or Stuffed Bell peppers is popular in North Indian cuisine. In India, bell peppers are known by another name, capsicum. I remember eating this at a restaurant called Shanbhag as a kid, I loved it. Off-course this does not taste as good, it is a work in progress. Usually, bell pepper is just an ingredient in most recipes but in this one, it is the star.  In part, I have adapted the recipe from this blog but I kept it simple instead of going the elaborate way.

Tangy Mango Chutney

 Mango season is here again and I am beginning to realize how much  I took that beautiful fruit for granted back home.  Just looking at the raw mango, I was dreaming of the delish chutney I can make with it. The word chutney originated in India and can be made with just about any vegetable(including lots of greens), some fruits,lentils and a number of seeds like mustard, flax , fenugreek. In South India, chutneys usually include coconut,toasted Chana dal(huri kadla), tamarind, jaggery, asafoetida,  salt, and green chillies.

Radish Kofta Curry

Radish curries seem to be the rage. It is searched on google pretty often. I think most people do not know what to do with radishes, like me. Hence,google to the rescue. This is probably the best dish that I have made with radishes so far. If you have come up with something better with radishes, leave a comment below.

I was browsing the net a while back and came across many kofta recipes. Usually koftas consist mainly of potatoes or paneer (cottage cheese) in them. I changed it up to use white radish in them. I also included them in the gravy of the dish. You could always omit radishes in the gravy.  This curry is great as a spread on bread too. I tried

Quick Eats: Cilantro Avocado Sauce over Enchiladas

   Cheese is something we eat very rarely and finding recipes without the use of cheese is always on my list. I used to spend hours watching the food network shows but I don’t do that anymore. I just switch the channel even if I see something drool worthy. I love Ina’s kitchen, all white and posh looking but I have never seen any recipe on her show that I can make. Reason – its either meat(psst – I am vegetarian!) or it involves so much butter and sugar that it makes me go “Oh Dear!”. Rachel Ray has a lot of veggie adaptable recipes but she cooks so fast, I miss most of her ingredients and also, I can not take her chattering. I like her but really I cannot for the love of God, take her chattering. So, I realized that I ought to check out food porn. Before you get any ideas,

Vegetable Korma

I have taken a lot of pictures of food lately, trying to improve the way a photo ought to be taken. I happened to see that there are multiple pictures of a lot of food I had made but had not shared it. So, here goes nothing. Expect a few more recipes coming your way.

First up, Vegetable Korma. It’s mainly a mixture of vegetables, coconut and poppy seeds(main ingredient).  It’s rather easy to make. Its best had with Chapatis, flat breads or rice.