Paneer curry - the way I make it

Paneer is almost the king of dishes in a vegetarian cuisine. With it chewy mouthfeel, lovely texture and an ability to take on various flavours...maybe it deserves to be just that.
Be it a festival, a party or a wedding, paneer dishes are served everywhere in India. The best part is that it can be used without any cooking in salads too!
Here is a regular paneer dish that I usually make when I feel like making something nice for dinner.

Ingredients

• Paneer- 200 gm approximately ( I make at home, but you can use store bought ones)-cubed
• Onion- 1, chopped
• Garlic- 2, chopped
• Tomatoes- 1 big or 2 small ones
• Green chillies- 1 ( you can increase the amount
• Ginger- 1" piece
• Oil- 1 Tbsp ( you can use butter also)
• Milk-1/2 cup
• Haldi (turmeric powder)-1/4 tsp
• Dhaniya (coriander seed powder)-  1tsp
• Salt to taste
• Red chilli powder- 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Make puree of tomatoes, garlic, green chillies and ginger.
2. Heat oil in a Kadhai/ wok.
3. Add chopped onions and fry till they are browned at the edges.
4. Now add the tomato puree mix and stir in all the spices.
5. Cook till the oil leaves the sides.
6. Now add 1/2 cup of milk and keep mixing. If it dries up too much i.e. its ticking to the bottom then add 1 tbsp of water.
7. Add the cubed paneer and add 1/2 cup water. Mix well and simmer for a few minutes.
8. Serve hot with chapati,naan or bread even!

Serves 2

Gobhi Masala- Cauliflower gravy

This is a borrowed from a dear friend. I just went to her place for an impromptu lunch and voila! She comes up with this yummy recipe.  It was a pity that I could not see her in action or take pictures.
Anyways, I followed her recipe (with slight modifications) and though my cauliflower was not the same, it was good and hubby liked it.

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower- 1 head, washed , dried and cut into florets
• Onion- 1 medium, made into paste
• Bay leaf- 1
• Milk- 1/2 cup + Water - 1 cup
• Tomato - 2-3 , pureed
• Ginger and green chili paste- 1 tsp
• Haldi (turmeric powder)- 1/4 tsp
• Dhaniya powder (coriander seed powder)- 1 tsp
• Roasted Jeera powder (cumin seeds)- 1/2 tsp
• Tomato ketchup- 2 tsp
• Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves for garnishing (optional)
• Oil- 1Tbsp

To make:

1. Boil water and turn of flame. Add 1 spoon salt to it and soak the cauliflower florets. Cover and keep aside for use.
2. Heat oil in a pan or Kadhai.
3. Fry onion paste till oil leaves side. Add 1 bay leaf.
4. Add ginger and green chilli paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add milk and water mixture.
6. Cook till this mixture thickens (about 10-15 min.).
7. Add the pureed tomatoes. Add Haldi, Dhaniya powder, salt and Jeera powder.
8. Cook till oil leaves side.
9. Add Garam masala. Mix.
10. Drain the cauliflower florets. Add these to the cooked gravy. Turn them so the cooked mixture coats it well. Add Tomato ketcup.
11. Now add 1 cup water to this and cover it. Lower the flame and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. 
12. Make sure that the cauliflower florets are cooked thoroughly, but are not mushy. Add more water if required.
13. The water should reduce to half or more. Here you can decide on the consistency of the gravy. Adjust for salt.
14. Once done , remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Italian dinner Menu- Bruschetta, Pasta & Salad

Sometimes we don't want a party.
Sometimes we just want a little conversation.
Sometimes we just want to retell our stories.
Sometimes we are short of time.
Sometimes... a little time together is enough.

Hence we eat less and talk more...

Meeting with friends is very uncomplicated and, so we make what seems as the most fulfilling of meals, for an evening together.

Pasta and salad is one of those meals. You put in a starter just like that and, well dessert is there to sweeten the memories...

Menu for the evening
Starter- Bruschetta
Main course - Pasta and Salad
Dessert- Fruit custard (Ok! I know that is not Italian)
Coke, Sprite and Water to drink. (I'm a teetotaler!)

Bruschetta

• French bread- sliced into 20 pieces
• Tomatoes- 3 medium, chopped
• Olive oil-1tsp + 2 tbsp (for toasting the bread)
• Mozzarella cheese- grated, half cup
• Garlic- 2 halves
• Oregano- 1/4 tsp (dried)
• Black pepper- 1/4 tsp (crushed)
• Salt to taste

To make

Mix tomatoes, 1tsp olive oil, oregano, pepper and salt. Keep in refrigerator.

Heat a skillet and pour 1 tbsp olive oil on it. Keep as many slices as possible and toast it well.

Now rub the garlic halves on the toasted bread and top it up with a spoon of tomato mix.  

Spread some cheese over it.Serve.

Salad

• Cucumber- 2, chopped
• Onion- 1, chopped
• Tomatoes- 1 medium, chopped
• Capsicum- 1 medium, chopped small
• Feta - 30 gm, make cubes
• Olive oil- 1 tsp 
• Black pepper- 1/2 tsp
• Parsley- Chopped, 1 tbsp
• Kosher salt- to taste

To Make:

Mix the chopped vegetables. Add olive oil , pepper and salt.

Add feta cubes. Chill in the fridge and serve.

Pasta

• Penne Pasta- Cooked in hot water till al dante
• Onions- 1 medium,thinly sliced
• Mush rooms- 3-4, quartered or chopped ( you can put more if u like)
• Olive oil- 1 Tbsp
• Capsicum/bell pepper- 1, thinly sliced
• Broccoli- 2-3 large pieces which are chopped small( I used frozen florets)
• Parmesan cheese- about 2 Tbsp, grated
• White sauce (recipe below)
• Tomato and mint sauce (recipe below)

Tomato & Mint sauce

• Tomatoes- 4
• Mint-1/2 cup
• Whole red chili- 1
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper- 1/2 tsp
• Garlic- 4-6 cloves
• Olive oil- 1tbsp (optional)

Blend all the ingredients together. Keep aside for use.

White sauce

• Refined flour (maida)- 3 Tbsp
• Cold milk- 2 cups
• Salt to taste
• Black Pepper- 1/2 tsp
• Butter- 1.5 tsp (5-7 grams)

1. Mix refined flour in milk with a wire whisk. Add salt & pepper. Mix.
2. At this point you can refrigerate it to make the actual sauce later.
3. Melt the butter in a pan and add the milk mixture. Keep stirring till it thickens and forms a smooth paste.

To make Pasta

1. Heat live oil in a wok/Kadhai.
2. Add Onion, capsicum, broccoli and mushrooms in that order. Fry at medium flame for 4-5 minutes.
3. Add Tomato & mint sauce. Cook till the raw garlicky smell is gone. 
4. Add Penne pasta. Top this up with the white sauce.
5. Mix well till the pasta is coated with the sauce (both tomato and white one).
6. Adjust for salt and seasoning (you can add ready-made Italian seasoning if you want).
7. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Enjoy a relaxed evening!

Potato and onion curry (aloo-pyaz ki sabzi)

This dish transforms the everyday veggies like potatoes and onions into a delicacy. The spices are intense and completely blended. It has rich aroma which fills the house with warmth. This is an occasional indulgence as it is rather heavy. 

I don't know the origin of the recipe, but we used to eat this in winter weddings in our hometown. It was so tasty that we skipped the whole bouquet just to hog on this one.

I've made a few changes and reduced the use of oil. 
Serves 2 very hungry mortals :)
Recipe adapted from Supriya's blog
You will need: 

1. Potatoes - 1 large
2. Onions - 4 small onions+2 medium sized onions (since i did not have baby onions, i just removed the outer layers of normal sized potatoes and used them to blend for the gravy)
3. Tomatoes - 3
4. Garlic - 7 cloves (you can use less if you want less garlicky flavor)
5. Ginger - 1" piece
6. Green chillies - 1
7. Curd - 3/4 cup (preferably sour)
8. Black Cardamom (badi ilaichi) - 1
9. Cinnamon (Dalchini) - 1 stick
10. Peppercorns (kali mirch) - 2-3 corns
11. Cloves (laung) - 2
12. Salt - to taste
13. Red chilli powder - 1  tsp
14. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
15. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
16. Garam masala - 1 tsp
17. cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
18. Asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch
19. Oil to fry
20. Fresh coriander to garnish

How to:

1. Remove the peel of small onions and make a slit lengthwise
2. Boil the potatoes. Peel and cut them into big pieces.
3. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the small onions. Keep aside. 
4. Make fine paste of the medium onions, tomatoes, green chillies, garlic, and ginger in a mixer.
5. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds and temper
6. Add the tomato-onion paste. Cover and cook well for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and add water if needed
7. Tie the cardamom, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns and cloves in a muslin cloth and add to the pan
8. Mix the remaining spices in the curd. Add this to the pan and mix well.
9. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes till the oil leaves sides. Stir occasionally and add water when needed.
10. Remove the muslin cloth of spices.
11. Add the boiled potatoes and onions and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
12. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with rotis or laccha parantha.

Pineapple crumble

An experiment with dessert.


I took a risk when we had guests over for dinner.


But, hey life is about taking risks…even foolish ones…:p


 (psst... I had a backup plan, a tin of Rasgullas..;)


Thankfully, this Tarla Dalal recipe did not disappoint.


You need:
1. 1&1/2 cups chopped freash pineapple
2. 2tbsp sugar
3. 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
4. 1/2 cup rolled oats
5. 3/4 tsp  cinnamon powder
6. 3/4 tsp nutmeg powder
7. 2 Tbsp butter+ butter for greasing the baking tray
8. 1 Tbsp chopped mixed nuts (optional)


How to make:
1. Combine the chopped pineapple with 1Tbsp of sugar and mix well. Keep the pan on fire and cook on slow fire till the fruit becomes soft.
2. Combine the flour, oats, butter ,cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and remaining sugar and mix well using your fingers till the mix resembles bread crumbs.
3. Spread the pineapple in the greased oven proof tray. Sprinkle  the dry mixture evenly over this. Top with nuts.
4. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degree centigrade for 20-25 min. Till the topping is golden brown and serve hot.

Birthday cake...Again!!!

I know its a cake again...but one can never have enough cake recipes...right!?

Right. That's settled then.

It was my friend's birthday…that means i just had to bake a cake.

Plus women like chocolate , so I made a chocolate cake. (yippee!!)

Orange and chocolate is a winning combination, no second thoughts about it.

So I donned my apron and made this cake for her.

Orange chocolate eggless cake

Ingredients

1. Flour/maida/whole wheat flour (take any one)- 1 &1/2 cup
2. Cocoa powder- 1/3 cup
3. Baking soda- 1 tsp
4. Brown sugar- 3/4 cup
5. Salt- 1/2 tsp
6. Butter- 75 gm (you can use 5 Tbsp olive oil also…I used butter)
7. Orange marmalade- 1/4 cup
8. Orange juice- 1 cup
9. Orange extract- 1 tsp

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 150 degrees Centigrade. Prepare the pan by greasing it with butter and dusting with flour (you can use cocoa powder to dust it too).
2. Take all the dry ingredients and mix in a bowl.
3. Mix juice, marmalade and melted butter in another bowl.
4. Add 1/2 of the dry ingredient mix to the wet ingredients  and mix well. Add the rest of the dry ingredients , mix well.
5. Add orange extract and mix well.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and keep it in the oven for 40-45 min or until the toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool the cake before cutting. You can dust it with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Birthday and Fruit cake

I get excited about baking birthday cakes..... because you can be very elaborate with them. I take my time searching, bookmarking recipes, improvising, procuring stuff from the market, finding ways to dress it up....my whipping cream decorations are a far cry from perfection.

So, when I was thinking of making a devil's food cake with layers of creamy richness for my hubby's b'day....he threw a surprise at me....'no creamy stuff, no chocolate'

WHAT!

Did I hear well? no chocolate!!?? OMG . But all my bookmarked recipes have chocolate.

A quick survey of my fav blogs led me to this Orange cake by Soma of Ecurry.
Saved the day...:)

I've used a variety which is termed as "mausmi" in India...not the orange we generally use. I was not very sure of the results, but it came out a winner...yipeee

SERVES 10–12

INGREDIENTS

For cake 

1. 3 Mausmi
2. 2⅓ cups sugar
3. Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
4. 2½ cups flour, plus more for pan
5. 2 tsp. baking powder
6. 1 tsp. baking soda
7. 1 tsp. orange extract
8. 3 eggs
9. 6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

For glaze

1. ¼ cup fresh orange juice (I used packed juice)
2. ¼ cup confectioners' sugar

For garnish

1. 2 oranges, sliced in thin strips
2. 1/2 cup sugar
3. 1 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS

For cake 

1. Trim about ½" from the tops and bottoms of oranges; quarter oranges lengthwise. Bring 6 cups water to a boil and add oranges. Bring water back to a boil; drain. 

2. Repeat boiling process twice more with fresh water. 

3. Put oranges, 1 cup sugar, and 4 cups water into a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves and orange rind can be easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. 

4. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature.

 5.Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9' round cake pan with butter and dust with flour; line pan bottom with parchment paper cut to fit. Set pan aside.

6. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.

7. Remove orange quarters from syrup, remove and discard any seeds, and put oranges into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until oranges form a chunky purée, 10 to 12 pulses.

8. Add sugar, reserved flour mixture, orange extract, and eggs and process until incorporated, about 2 minutes.
9. Add olive oil; process until combined. 

10. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes. 

For glaze

In a small bowl, whisk orange juice and confectioners' sugar to make a thin glaze. Remove cake from pan and transfer to a cake stand or plate. Using a pastry brush, brush orange glaze over top and sides of cake; let cool completely. 

For garnishing

Bring 3-4 cups water to a boil; add orange slices. Bring water back to a boil; drain. Repeat boiling process twice more with fresh water. Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1 cup water in the pan and add the orange slices to the pan. Simmer at low to medium heat for about 15-20 minutes or until the the slices softens and the solution gets thick, syrupy and sticky. Remove oranges and reserve to garnish.

Garnish cake with confectioners’ sugar and orange slices.

I did not use icing sugar though. Good for me because the cake came out a little too sweet for my liking. I believe a little less sugar in the batter would make the cake taste even better....I've not tried it out though. If you do, please let me know how was it?

 

Garlic bread- a trick recipe

Who is not fond of warm, fragrant garlic bread?? Add a little grated cheese and you have got a winner!!
 They are a perpetual accompaniment of the Italian dishes and we love them.


 I buy garlic bread from a local bakery but sometimes  they are out of stock.
Now what does a lazy foodie do?


Find a trick!


So here's what I do when I have to have garlic bread.
Make garlic butter, smear on ordinary bread and toast it and….eureka! 


Ingredients
1. Butter- melted, 1 tbsp
2. Garlic- 4-5 cloves, minced
3. Salt & pepper- to taste (the use is optional)
4. White bread-4 slices


Method
1. Mix garlic, salt and pepper in the butter
2. Apply this garlicky butter onto the bread. I spread about 1tsp of the mix onto the bread.
3. Place it on a non-stick skillet or tava. When one side it done, put the buttered side down and let it brown on a low flame.
4. Sprinkle shredded cheese and microwave it for melted cheesey and garlicky bread
5. Serve hot with your pasta or use it as a starter.

Naan/ White flour flatbread- Khana restaurant style

Let me admit it..I feel proud of myself that I could make this amazing restaurant staple at home..yipee!! And that too without oven…yes, I made it on stove top. Amazing, isn't it! I really have to thank recipe website by Nishamadhulika for this easy method, but I'll share my experience with you.

Naan- for the uninitiated, it’s a kind of soft, differently flavored  flatbread we associate with big wedding parties and restaurants in India. It's made in big clay ovens or "tandoor"  as we call it. These triangular naans go best with North Indian dishes like kadhai paneer, dal makhni, dal fry, butter chicken, mutton in rich gravy, palak paneer,dum aloo and the list goes on. Basically heavy (read, rich in fats and spices) gravies go well with naan.

Ingredients

White flour- 200gm

Curd- 100gm

Baking soda/soda bicarb/Khane ka soda- 1/4 tsp

Sugar-1/2 tsp

Salt-1/4th tsp

Oil- 2 tbsp

Lukewarm water- to make dough

Method

1. Take white flour/maida. Make a well in the centre.
2. Pour oil and curd in this well and also add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Mix thoroughly.
4. Add lukewarm water and knead till a soft, pliable dough is formed.
5. Keep covered for 2-3 hours in a warm place and let it rise. It should approximately double it's size.
6. Divide the dough into 8-10 portions. Keep a little white flour on the side in which you can roll the portions like we do to make chapati.
7. Roll one portion into a round. Apply butter on the edges and fold into a "D". Again apply butter onto the edges and fold to make a quarter of the circle. With a rolling pin extend this shape to make a triangular naan.
8. Heat a skillet/heavy tawa
9. Apply water on one side and place it on the skillet, water side down.
10. You will observe bubbles on the visible side…this indicates that its browning at the other side.
11. Remove from skillet and cook the other side (the bubbled one), on the flame directly.
12. Serve hot

Savory cheese pasta cups

Sometimes you need something new to add to your evening snack apart from cheese and crackers. These pasta cups were a perfect filler. Easy to make and tasty (its got cheese..right!). I would say a thumbs -up to it anytime.

Cheese Pasta Cups
Please serve freshly made ones, reheating makes them lose flavor.  
Adapted from eCurry

Ingredients:

1. 1 Cup Cooked Pasta: Boil the pasta as per instructions.( I used macroni..u can use shell or any other small sized pasta)
2. 1 Cup Grated/Shredded Cheese (Any Cheese or any combination of 2 or 3 cheeses – cheddar, parmesean, amul or britannia cheese cubes will also do) I used grated paneer alongwith cheese cubes.
3. 2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour
4. Salt to taste
5. Black Pepper to taste
6. Herbs (optional- any herbs you want to use…. I used dried Parsely and a mix of Italian seasoning)
7. Garlic -3-4 cloves minced or grated

Preparation:

• Lightly grease muffin pans/cup cake liners or silicon cups.
• Combine all the ingredients above & spoon it into muffins pan or cup cake liners.
• Bake at 375 Degree F for about 15-20 minutes or till the cheese melts & start to brown on the top.
• Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes.
• Carefully take out the Pasta cups. Serve Warm.

Pumpkin pie- an eggless dessert

When you throw a ladies party last in the chain, you have to really rack your brains to come up with a great dessert. Thankfully, I was all armed with this amazing eggless pumpkin pie recipe by Anushruti of Divinetaste.

My friend help me serve it, and by the time I came out of the kitchen..all was gone except a teeny-tiny piece for me. And with all the kudos came numerous requests for the recipe. I know I'm a wee bit late in posting this, but here's to all my friends here.

Pumpkin pie
from Anushruti of Divinetaste
Ingredients:

For the crust:
○ 140 gm (1 cup) plain flour
○ 1/3 cup cold butter
○ 1/2 teaspoon salt
○ 5-7 tablespoons cold water

For the filling
○ 2 cups (500 ml) Pumpkin puree
○ 400g, sweetened condensed milk
○ 2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
○ 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
○ 3/4 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
○ 1/2 tsp ground cloves
○ 1/2 tsp ginger powder
○ 1/2 teaspoon salt

Prepare the crust:

1. Mix the flour and the salt and cut the butter into the flour with your fingers until you get coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Alternatively, combine the flour, butter and salt in a food processor and process with short bursts until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
3. Add the cold water and form into a soft dough. Do not handle the dough more than required at this stage.
4. Gather the dough into a ball and chill well for an hour or so.
5. Place the dough on a floured surface. Roll out the dough to a circle, to line a 9-inch pie dish or cake pan with removable bottom. Prepare the edges and chill till you are ready with the filling.

Prepare the filling:
For the pumpkin puree:

1. Cut the pumpkin into wedges.
2. Scoop out the seeds, pith and fibre with the help of a spoon.
3. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
4. Place the pumpkin wedges cut side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a knife.
5. Scoop flesh out of the skins and puree with a hand blender or mash well by hand.

To make the pie:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C.
2. In a bowl, mix in the pumpkin puree, condensed milk,  cornflour, spices and salt and beat until there are no lumps.
3. Spoon or pour the filling into the chilled crust and level with the help of a palette knife.
4. Bake for about 60 minutes (the original recipe says 40 minutes, but i got better results in a longer period of time) or until the filling is set and the top crust is a nice golden brown.
5. Allow to cool, cut into wedges and serve. (I did not follow the cooling step well, couldn't keep everyone waiting!)

Tamatar ka salan (Blanched tomatoes in creamy cashew gravy)

When you are bored stiff of cooking the same things again and again..and again..what do you do?


I try a new recipe!


Fortunately, this one came out to be very tasty and for the keeps. The aroma of the curry cooking on the stove was mouth watering.


My hubby had 3 second helpings ;P
And now you know why I dont have pics of this one. I'll click them next time...promise.


Tamatar ka salan 
For blanching tomatoes
Take 2 firm tomatoes and immerse them in boiling water. Remove from flame when the skin cracks. Drain water and remove the skin. Let it cool a bit. Keeping them joint at the base, make 2 cuts crossing each other.


For the gravy
You'll need:
1. Tomato-1
2. Cashews- 1 Tbsp, Steeped in water for 30 min.
3. Green chillies- 1
4. Ginger- 1" piece
5. Whole white pepper (Safed mirch)-5-6
6. Cloves (Lavang/laung)-2
7. Cinnamon (dalchini)- 1/2" piece
8. Black cardamom (badi elaichi)- 1
9. Musturd seeds (rai) -1/4 tsp
10. Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/4 tsp
11.Asafoetida (Heeng)- 1 pinch
12. Red chilli (Lal mirch) powder-1/4 tsp
13. Coriander (dhaniya) powder- 1/2 tsp
14. Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
15. Salt- 1/2 tsp or as per taste
16. Oil- 1 Tbsp
17. Milk (I used full cream)- 1 Tbsp


Let's start cooking:

1. Cut tomatoes, green chillies and ginger and grind it to a paste in a blender.
2. Take a wok/kadhai and dry roast white pepper,rai, jeera, cinnamon and cloves.
3. Drain the cashews, mix them with the roasted spice mix and black cardamom. Blend them with about 1 spoon of water.
4. Pour oil/ghee in the wok/kadhai. Add Heeng and jeera. When jeera crackles and rises, stir in the tomato paste and cook in moderate flame for about a minute. Lower the flame a little and cook till the oil seperates on the sides.
5. Now add the cashew spice mix and milk. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add water (as per your preferance) to adjust for the consistancy of the gravy and let it boil.
6. Now add the blanched tomatoes and let it cook for 1 min. Don't overcook as they might become soggy. Just let the flavors seep in.
7. Serve hot with roti, rice or any favorite bread.

You can use black pepper instead of the white ones. 
Makes for 2 hungry people.
 Tasty tips
1. Instead of using blanched tomatoes, you can use boiled potatoes, paneer or even tofu !
2. For a richer gravy, use cream instead of milk.
3. Perfect for a party, people will be marvelling at your cooking for days.

Milky Vanilla cupcakes- easy eggless recipe

A friend of mine was faced with a dilemma. Her son was asked to get "cupcakes" for the cristmas party which they were having at their school. Not really into baking; she wondered what to do as they had to get home made stuff.

That's when I came into picture. She knew my relations with the oven were good :-) and asked me to make cupcakes for her son. Always looking for an excuse to bake something new, I jumped at the suggestions and soon was busy digging into all the recipes I've got and searching the internet for more.

As per her suggestion, I decided not to frost them as they might get spoiled on the way, but could not help myself from sprinkling some chocolate on it.

Here's the recipe. (Adapted/modified from divinetaste)
Makes 12 big muffins

You'll need:
1. 210 gm (1 1/2 cups) plain flour/maida/All purpose flour
2. 1 tsp baking powder
3. 1 tsp baking soda
4. 100 gm (3/4 cup) milk powder (full fat)
5. 100 gm (3/4 cup) fine sugar
6. 100 gm (1/2 cup) butter, melted
7. 250 ml milk (I've used low fat)
8. 1 tsp vanilla extract
9. Chocolate drops- to decorate (You can use chocolate chips also)
 
Method:
1) Line your muffin tray with cupcake or muffin liners. Or grease and dust them with flour if you don’t want to use the liners.
2) Preheat the oven to 180 C/350F.
3) In another large bowl, put in the flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix well with a fork.
4) Put in the milk powder and the sugar into the flour and mix well.
5) Stir in the melted butter, vanilla extract and the milk and mix gently with the whisk. Do not over mix.
6) With the help of a spoon fill the prepared moulds with the batter (till 3/4 of the cup) and sprinkle some chocolate drops on them.
7) Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean.

I tasted it as soon as it was done. It was warm, fluffy, moist and a delight to look at. Just the right amount of suger for me, but some people may want to reduce it to 1/2 cup if they are using suger procured in India (I find that sugar much sweeter than what we get here).

Now there is only one question - Will the kids like it?