Valentine special Chocolate cake with sweetened coconut toppings & sprinkles

Roses are red, chocolate is divine and hearts are pure romance, all the essentials to the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert. What better way to celebrate Valentines Day than with lots of chocolate..I first made this lovely lightly textured cake for my husband for Valentine's day.. I've decorated the top with delicious chocolate icing , sweetened coconut flakes &  sprinkles..

Ingredients

1 cup Flour

1 cup powdered Sugar

3 Eggs

½ cup Butter

¼ cup Cocoa Powder

¼ tsp. Baking Soda

½ tsp. Vanilla Extract(or any other flavor)

Milk ½ cup

Method:

Start this Chocolate Cake Recipe by lining two greased 9-inch round baking pans using waxed paper. Grease and flour the paper; put aside.

Using a large bowl, whip the butter and sugar until finally light and fluffy.

Separate the egg white and add to the butter sugar mix.  whip atleast for 2 minutes ( till it becomes frothy )

Sieve the maida, cocoa powder and baking powder, and keep it aside. Mix milk .

 Mix it well see tat there are no lumps left.

Preheat the oven at  350° F for 25 minutes. Pour in to prepared cake mix to the baking tray. 
Bake  for 24 to 28 min’s or right until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake slides out clean. Let cool for 10 min’s before taking away from pans on to wire racks.

Place it on a plate and let it cool.

Top it with delicious chocolate icing & Sprinkle top and sides of cake with sweetened coconut flakes &  sprinkles and u r ready to surprise everybody in family with the chocoalte cake they would love ...

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Channadal paratha: without onion garlic

Ingredients:

For stuffing:

Channa dal- 1 cup boiled (should be cooked, but not mashed up. Drain water) 

Green chillies-1 chopped

Ginger 1 tsp grated

Hing, asafoetida- a pinch

Cumin seeds- ½ tsp

Salt as per the taste

Amchur powder ( if not available u can put few drops of lemon juice/ chat masala powder)

Red chilly powder- ½ tsp or as per your taste

Coriander leaves -1 tblsp finely chopped

1 tsp - Coriander powder

chilli flakes- ½ tsp

1/2 tsp - Red chili powder

For dough

2 cup - Whole wheat flour

1tbsp - Oil / Ghee

Water to knead the dough

Method

To make dough :

Mix flour, oil and salt. Then slowly add water . Knead and make a smooth dough. Rest the dough for 15 minutes. Cover with a damp muslin cloth or paper towel.

For filling:

Make a paste of boiled channa dal by using a blender without adding water.

Heat oil in a pan. Add hing & cumin seeds. Let it splutter. Then add grated ginger & green chillies. Sauté for 10-15 sec. Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, chilli flakes & coriander leaves. Sauté for 15 secs. Then add the channa dal paste, coriander powder, amchur powder and salt to taste. Mix in well for 1-2 min, no need to cook for a long time as we have boiled the channa dal before. keep the filling aside. Let it cool in room tempr.

 Again knead the dough to get a soft dough.

 Make lemon size balls from the dough.

Roll the dough into 3-inch diameter circles. Place the stuffings in the center with the help of a spoon.

Seal by pulling the edges of the rolled dough together to make a ball.

 Before rolling the paratha roll the filled ball in dry whole-wheat flour.

Lightly press the ball with your palms.

Roll the ball light handed in to 6-7 inch circle. Whenever the dough sticks to the rolling pin or rolling surface, lightly sprinkle dry whole-wheat flour on both sides of the semi-rolled paratha.

Heat the tawa on medium flame. Place the paratha over the tawa. About half a minute you will see the paratha changing in color lightly and puff different places.

Then flip the paratha over. You should see some light golden-brown spots on the topside. After a few seconds, spread 1 teaspoon of oil on the paratha. Again, flip the paratha and lightly press the puffed areas with a spatula that will help the paratha too puff from other sides.

Flip again and press with the spatula making sure the paratha is golden-brown on both sides.

Serve hot with curd & pickle.

Sweet and sour Butternut squash curry

Ingredients:

Butternut squash/ pumpkin - 1 lb cut in cubes

Ginger grated- 1tblsp

Green chill- 2 no. Chopped finely

Cumin & coriander powder ½ tsp eash

Hing a pinch

Salt as per the taste

Oil- 1tblsp

Dried Red chilly -2 nos

Haldi powder – ¼  tsp

Cumin seeds- ½ tsp

Dried Basil leaves & oregano- 1 tsp (optional)

Lemon juice- 1 tblsp or according to your taste

Sugar- ½ tsp

Method:

Take a small bowl. Add 1tblsp water in to it. Put coriander cumin powder, red chilly powder, haldi, basil & oregano & mix well to make a thin paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add red chillies & cumin seeds. Let the cumin seeds splutter. Add hing, grated ginger & green chillies. Sauté for 10 sec. Then add the previously done spice paste. Mix well. Now add the pumpkin cubes. Add salt & mix well. Sprinkle some water & cover the lid. Let it cook for 8-10 min till soft. Then add sugar & mix well. Switch off the flame. Then add the lemon juice & mix well. Serve  hot with rice & roti as a side dish.

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Peanut sundal

There is an extremely irresistible and finger-licking sundal made by boiled peanuts and tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves and coconut but I always add the chat masala which used to make it different spicy and more tasty...this is a without onion garlic recipe which u can have during your vrat days also...:) I just love salty boiled peanuts..I can have this anytime...even without the tempering I would finish off a whole bowl. One of the easiest & healthy snacks for an lazy evening ..:)

Ingredients

1 cup raw peanuts

A pinch of turmeric

1 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp urad dal

2 dry red chillies

Asafoetida a pinch

4-5 curry leaves

2 tbsp coconut fresh

1/4 cup chopped raw mango (Optional)

Method

Soak the peanuts for 45 min to 1 hour in water.

Pressure cook it with turmeric for 1 -2 whistles until soft. Drain the peanuts well and set aside.

Heat oil and add mustard seeds. Pop the mustard seeds. Then add in the urad dal along with dried chilli and asafoetida. saute for 1-2 min.

Then add the boiled peanuts. Add salt & coconut. Give it a quick mix until well combined. Stir gently for another 1-2 min.

Finally, add the raw mango and turn off. Do not sauté for more than a min after adding the mango..

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Healthy vegetables soup

 Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

2onion thinly sliced

100gm French beans, cut into half

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

1 stalk of celery, thinly sliced

½ cup olives sliced

½ cups  cooked dried navy beans

½ cup boiled chickpeas & green peas

1 cup of spinach, coarsely chopped

100gm lima beans cut in to half

1 small zucchini, chopped (you can add or replace any vegetables)
1/2 cup leftover cooked white rice ( optional)

100 g tomatoes

 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

  2 tbsp. tomato puree

  1 green chilli chopped

Vegetable stock 4 cups

 1 cup pasta uncooked ( I have used penne pasta)

 1 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped

 1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tbsp. dried Basil leaves

 salt as per the taste

black pepper

butter cubes (optional)

Method:

Cook the pasta & drain.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil.  Add garlic cloves & sauté for 1 min. Then Add  onion, carrot, beans, lima beans, olives, celery and sauté until until the vegetables are just tender.

In the mean time heat water in a pot. Add  the tomatoes in boiling water for 1 min, cool & then peel the skins and chop them in to big size pieces.

Now add the vegetable stock  , tomato puree, green chilies, salt and peeled tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the cooked cheak peas, navy beans, green peas,  spinach, zucchini, basil and oregano and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.

Add paste & leftover rice to the soup. Cook for another few minutes.

Season with pepper. Sprinkle each bowl with 1 cube butter & garnish with coriander to serve.

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Spaghetti

Spaghetti is a long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin. Spaghetti is made of semolina or flour and water. Italian dried spaghetti is made from durum wheat semolina, but outside of Italy it may be made with other kinds of flour.. spaghetti is cooked in a large pot of salted, boiling water then drained in a colander ..In Italy, spaghetti is generally cooked al dente (Italian for to the tooth), just fully cooked and still firm. Outside Italy, spaghetti is sometimes cooked to a much softer consistency. Spaghettoni is a thicker spaghetti which takes more time to cook. Spaghettini and vermicelli are very thin spaghetti (both of which may be called angel hair spaghetti in English) which take less time to cook. 

OMG i just loved it.. I put this recipe in my Once a Month Cooking file.  I made this for 1st time in new year & This turned out very good.I might try adding mushrooms next batch...

It Tastes very good & very easy to make also..so friends without much ado let’s start the recipe...

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small green bell pepper, sliced

1/2 yellow carrots, finely sliced

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 pound chicken, cooked and chopped into bite-size pieces (Optional I didnt add chicken in to my recipe)

1 lb spaghetti

1 cup tomato paste

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon onion powder

parmesan cheese

red chilly flakes , Oregano & dry basil leaves ( 1tsp each ) or u can sprinkle as per your taste

1 tsp black pepper power

Directions

fill a large pot with water and bring to boil. Add salt and add spaghetti. Cook until done about 10 minutes, and drain.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute the pepper , carrots and onion until softened, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in the garlic salt. Add the tomato puree & all ingredients except spaghetti and bring to a boil.

 Reduce the heat to a low simmer , add the chopped chicken (optional). Mix well. Then add the spaghetti & Toss with sauce & sprinkle parmesan cheese.

Serve with machurian , sausage or meat balls.

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