Chakka Pradhaman / Jackfruit Payasam | Thiruvonam Recipes

I am neither a Keralite nor a Malayali but the place I come from celebrates Onam to the core... Yeah I hail from Nagercoil which can be described as an extension of Kerala. Originally it was a part of Kerala and was ruled over by the Travancore Maharajas but then I am not sure of the exact year, the place was brought under Tamil Nadu. Can you believe that when we were in school, we were given a holiday for this happening??? Good Ol' schooldays...
Nagercoil is just as serenic as Kerala, experiences the showers of both Kerala and TN (i.e., South-west and North-east monsoons) and is a cultural mix of both the states. We celebrate Onam and we donot forget Pongal. So the traditional athapookalam and onam sadya is followed in most of the households. (Want to read more about the place: click here)

The huss opposes everytime I say that I am gonna make the traditional Onam Sadya recipes to celebrate Onam (..since marriage). But I just cant give up celebrating it. So here I am this time with the traditional Chakka Pradhaman... Made from the Jack fruit that was shipped "trained" over by Dad when Mom came down here. "Oh how I love eating the ripened cholas from the fruit of our very own tree"... The jack fruit back home is overly sweet by itself and hence I decreased the addition of jaggery but 1/4 cup by what I have given here is the correct quantity for normal fruits.
Traditionally Chakka Pradhaman is made from Chakka varatti ~ an halwa made out of mashed jackfruit and jaggery and ample amount of ghee... This is then thinned out using coconut milk and then used in the pradhaman. This varatti has a long shelf life and hence the Keralites prepare this when jack fruits are in abundance(..it being a seasonal fruit)... But the recipe given here is a fool-proof one with no chakka varatti and can be made with ripened cholas.

~*What U Need*~ Chakka chola / Ripe Jackfruit - 12 pieces Jaggery - 1/2 cup Thin coconut milk - 1/4 cup(optional) Thick Coconut milk - 3/4 cup Ghee - 3 tsp Cashewnuts - 3 tsp, broken Cardamom powder - a pinch / Crushed cardamom - 2 pods

How I Made it:
Pressure cook the jackfruit pieces with required water for 2 whistles or until soft. Cool, drain water and then grind to a fine paste. Set this aside. Heat ghee and fry cashews till golden brown.
Mix jaggery with 1/4 cup water, bring it to a boil so that the jaggery melts completely, cool and strain. In a pan, heat the remaining ghee, add the jackfruit paste to this and fry for 1 min. Add the jaggery syrup, mix well and heat till it comes to a boil. Cook till it becomes thick and then add coconut milk and give a quick stir. Add the fried cashews and cardamom and give it a stir. Switch off flame.

** My Notes:
** If you want it to be thin then add the thin coconut milk before adding the thicker one, allow it to boil and then add the thick coconut milk and give it a stir and then remove from flame. However this pradhaman is best when served thick.
** If you boil the mixture after adding the thick coconut milk, the mixture will curdle so be careful on this part.

Serve it warm or cold!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Vanilla Genoise with Chocolate Mascarpone frosting | A birthday cake for him

Ever since I started baking cakes SUCCESSFULLY... here I mean un-burnt, un-sunk and good-to-eat cakes. Don't imagine how my previous cakes were. Simply unthinkable. Now bake to the story, ever since I started baking (edible) cakes, I make it a point to make one for his birthday. However this time, I was in my hometown with minimal access to proper baking ingredients and so what I made was an elaborate lunch for him. Yesterday was his star birthday and I didn't have a second thought to bake a cake as I had missed the previous one... I just need a reason to bake and I had one.. So wat next, baking it is. I made a Vanilla genoise, sandwiched it with chocolate mascarpone whipped frosting and frosted it with whipped cream and decorated it with dark and milk chocolate shavings.

Nothing can beat baking a cake for loved ones on their special days... and when they return back a big smile for all the love that you have put in a cake, that makes the day. I took him by total surprise when I appeared before him with a fully frosted (yeah, I hear u saying how clumsy that looks but again on my part "I am a novice") cake after his evening nap. I knew he loved it and that made my day. So off to the recipe...

Adapted from PAB For the Vanilla Genoise ~*What U Need*~ Eggs - 4, large Sugar - 1 cup Flour - 1 cup Butter - 1/4 cup, melted and cooled Vanilla extract - 2 tsp

How I Made it:
Preheat oven to 190C. Butter and grease pan. I dusted it with flour for extra caution. Beat the eggs along with sugar over a bowl of simmering hot water till thick and mousse like. Remove from water and continue to beat till the mixture thickens and triples in size (~about 5-7 minutes). Add the vanilla extract and beat in again for a minute. Fold the flour through gently, lightly till it’s mixed through well. Fold in gently, donot release the beaten in air. Take a cup of this batter in another bowl, and mix the melted cooled butter through it. Now gently fold this back into the rest of the batter. Turn the batter into the prepared baking tin, and bake for 30 minutes, till a tester comes out clean.
**My Notes
If using salted butter like Amul, skip salt else add a pinch of salt.

Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting
~*What U Need*~
Mascarpone cream - 100 gm
Low fat cream(Amul) - 200 ml, chilled
Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup
Powdered sugar - 3-4 tbsps

How I Made it:
Whip all ingredients together until you get desired consistency. Cream should be thick and holds peaks.

Whipped cream
~*What U Need*~
Heavy / fresh cream - 200 ml
Powdered sugar - 2 tbsps

How I Made it:
Whip together until stiff peaks form. Frost the sides of the cake first, and then the top. Garnish as desired.

Soaking Syrup
~*What U Need*~
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Water - 1/4 cup

How I Made it:
Pour water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Dissolve sugar according to your taste. Let the liquid cool.

Assembling the cake:
Slice the cake into 3 and brush with soaking syrup. Sandwich with chocolate mascarpone frosting and frost the sides and top with whipped cream. Decorate with dark and milk chocolate shavings.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Cheesy Onion-Capsicum Mayo Sandwich

I love trying out new kinda sandwiches. I love putting this and that on top of the bread slices, toasting them with some butter and having them hot alongside a tall glass of banana smoothie or just cold milk for my morning breakfast. While I can eat bread for breakfast all seven days of the week, huss is just the opposite. He twitches his nose when I say it is sandwich for breakfast. And so to make him interested, I try varieties of sandwiches.

This sandwich was born out of inspiration. Inspiration from a local bakery at my hometown. Back there, they serve chopped onions and capsicum mixed with so fresh mayo over a loaf of pillowy soft dinner rolls. I am addicted to these and during my stay there, I had them twice a week. Coming back, I was craving for those buns and when I had some bread slices resting on the counter, I made them my way... Not that good, but good enough to stop my craving till I go back...

~*What U Need*~ Onion - 1, finely chopped Capsicum - 1/2 of medium, finely chopped Cheese chilli spread/ any s/w spread - 1 tbsp Mayonnaise - 2 tbsps Salt, pepper - to season Bread slices - 6 Butter - to toast

How I made it:
Mix every ingredients in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. U can add chopped chilli for spiciness. Spread the mixture on the bread slices, toast with some butter and serve warm...

Simple and yummy kid friendly sandwiches ready!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Can u believe he's 4 months already | Vanilla Pound cake with Orange Caramel Drizzle

Yesterday was pretty hectic. It was time to bake another cake and with no one around to help me with the kid, I was pretty sure that baking a cake was a big no-no. Added to that the kid is down with flu. Running nose and dry cough, he hardly sleeps. Poor thing finds it hard to breathe and its been sleepless nights for me holding him to sleep. God how I want the week to end... Not to worry, he is recovering great.
But I didn't want to break the ritual... A cake had to be made. I wanted to bake something new and I had the right recipe in mind with tangy touches. Also I wanted my bundt pan to be put in use... Its been a year since I got it and not a single bundt cake on the blog. But with the sudden onset of the flu in the family every plan took a backseat. Yes, the flu took the family as a ring ~ first the huss, then me and now the kid.

So when the kid took his paracatemol and was fast asleep by mid-day, it gave me ample amount of time to whip the cake batter and make the caramel. Since the huss is around this time, I made it a bit exotic by drizzling chocolate over the cake. A touch which was perfect with the vanilla. Sprinkled some sugar balls and a beautiful cake was ready for my sugarplum.

Buttery Vanilla cake with dark chocolate and tangy orange caramel drizzle and studded with sugar balls...

The cake was super soft with a mild hit of orange tang to the palate counteracted beautifully by the dark chocolate. A winner...
And to those who have no idea why the name pound cake, here is the fact... Pound cake refers to a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Hence, any cake made with a 1:1:1:1 ratio of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar is called a pound cake.

~*What U Need*~ All purpose flour - 1 cup Butter - 100 gms Sugar - 3/4 cup Eggs - 2 Vanilla extract - 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder - 1 tsp Baking soda - a pinch Salt - a pinch (optional) Milk - 2 tbsp (if the mix is thick) For the orange caramel drizzle (Inspired from Pain Perdu by Philippe Mouchel - Masterclass) Sugar - 1/4 cup Water - 2 tbsp Orange juice - 3/4 cup Melted dark chocolate, sugar sprinkles

How I made it:
Lets make the orange drizzle first. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet, add sugar and water and allow to caramelize. Once the mixture turns to amber, add the orange juice and mix well. Reduce to a syrup of pouring consistency. Set aside and allow to cool.

Sieve flour, baking soda and baking powder thrice. Set aside. Beat eggs untill light and fluffy. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.

Add milk to eggs if using. Add this to the creamed butter and mix well. Add vanilla essence and mix.

Add flour mix in batches and combine well. Preheat oven to 175C. Grease the pan with butter. Pour the batter into the pan and bake the cake for 35-40mins or until the top turns golden brown (inserted tooth pick will come out clean). Cool for 10mins and then unmould.

Cool down completely and then drizzle melted dark chocolate followed by orange caramel evenly. Decorate with sugar balls.

Slice and enjoy.

** My Notes:
** Always use butter at room temperature.
** Skip salt if using salted butter like Amul.
** I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup as I had the orange caramel drizzle over the cake. Increase to 1 cup if making the cake plain.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Maa Laddoo / Roasted gram/Pottukadalai laddoo | Gokulashtami Recipes

Maa laddoo stands second inline among my favorite laddoo varieties. First is the ever green rava laddoo... or do I like Maaladdoo the most??? I don't want to be partial here. Both are my favorites.
Believe me, I hate bhoondhi laddoo. Don't look at me like that. I have already got cold stares from near and dear for the same reason. However I like the Mothi laddoo that we get at Adyar ananda bhavan or the ones from Thirumala. Who wouldn't...

Powdered roasted gram sweetened with sugar and bound by ghee...

I still remember the first time I made this laddoo. I was as stingy as I could be with the amount of ghee and the result was that the laddoo crumbled to the slightest touch.. shall I be precise and tell feather touch here???
So this time when I decided to make these, the first promise that I made to myself was "Just add the amount of ghee that the recipe calls for". With closed eyes, I did it and I am really happy with what I did. The aroma that filled the house was heavenly and the laddoo just melted in the mouth. After this experiment, I have come to one strong decision.. "Add in what the recipe calls for and if calorie laden, restrict to a bite or two"... Ahhhh doesn't this principle sound great...

Makes - 8 medium sized laddoos ~*What U Need*~ Roasted gram/Pottukadalai - 3/4 cup Sugar - 1/4 cup Ghee - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - a big pinch Cashews - 1 tbsp, broken Raisins - 1 tbsp

How I made it:
Dry roast the gram for 1-2 mins and grind to a fine powder. In the same mixie, add sugar and cardamom powder and grind to fine powder. Set aside.

In a non stick pan, heat ghee, fry the cashew pieces till brown and raisins till puffed up. Add the roasted gram powder and roast for another 2 minutes. The mixture will start clumping up but keep stirring. Remove pan from heat.

Add the powdered sugar to the mixture and mix till combined. The heat from the ghee will melt the powdered sugar a bit enabling you to form balls. Form small-medium sized balls. Do this when the mixture is warm.

Ghee laden yummy laddoos ready!!! Pop one into ur mouth whenever you cross the dabba...

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Rice kheer / Arisi Payasam | Gokulashtami Recipes

Rice kheer or phirni is a popular Indian festive sweet... It take many forms across the country and each state has it own way of making it. It is very rich and is usually served as an after-meal dessert or as an offering to God on special occasions or festivals. It is made by stewing ground rice in milk till cooked and thickened. The outcome is a rich, delicious and creamy dessert. You can add any flavors like mango pulp, saffron, badam paste or rose syrup but what I have here is the basic recipe with no added flavorings .

Rice kernels cooked in milk, reduced and sweetened with condensed milk

I generally make semiya payasam for any festivals or occasions but then for this Gokulashtami wanted to make something different and special at the same time easy to prepare. I stumbled upon this recipe at Rak's kitchen. I made my own changes to the recipe and hence I can say that this is minimally adapted from her blog with added elements from my side. She calls for pressure cooker method but I simply boiled till the rice cooked. Also I didn't have basmati rice at hand and hence I replaced it with raw rice. Am not sure of the taste differences that this alteration will make as I haven't tried the kheer with basmati.

The payasam was not overly sweet and had a creamy texture. My MIL for whom I sent a cup of the payasam, called me up and praised me on how delicious the kheer was ~ an act she doesn't do easily and a praise that I have got for the first time in all three years of marriage. :)

~*What U Need*~ Milk - 3 cups Raw rice - 2 tbsp Ghee - 1 tbsp Cashews - 1 tbsp, broken Raisins - 1 tbsp, broken Condensed milk - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - a big pinch Pachai karpooram - a pinch Grated coconut - 1 tbsp

How I Made it:
Heat ghee in a pan, roast the cashew and raisins and set aside. In the same pan, roast rice and break it into a corase powder by giving few pulses in the mixie.

Heat ghee, roast the coconut. Now add in the milk and bring to boil. Add the powdered rice kernels and cook till soft. By the time the rice cooks, the mixture would have reduced by quantity.

Once done, add the condensed milk and mix well. You will get a thick consistency. Add the cardamom powder and pachai karpooram and mix well.

Serve warm or chilled!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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He turned 3 months.... | Chunky Whole wheat apple walnut cake

Regular readers of my blog would have got used to the monthly birthday celebrations that I do for the kid and the cake baking and cutting sessions. I love baking the monthly cakes for him as this is a pretext for me to bake. Yes, I totally love baking cakes , any kinda bakes and when it comes to bake for the kid, I am adoring it. I am late in posting this, its time for another bake but with all the crashed system and doomed motherboard, not to forget the motherly responsibilities, I am in loss of time. But as the saying goes, better late than never, here I am with the recipe for Aaryan's 3rd month birthday cake.

Not to forget, Happy delayed Janmashtami wishes to all my sweet readers. I still remember this day, a year back, when I got a cute little toddler Krishnar, gave him some butter (..a small speck) as per the ritual, drew krishnar paadams, made sweets, did a small pooja, all the time praying to him to come to me, to bless us with a bundle of joy and after a year, here I am typing about my kid as he lays innocently across my bosom. No words are there to describe all the seconds that I am experiencing now and the toddler Krishnar will always be a part of my family for all the years to come.

Gokulashtami will be one festival which I will not miss to celebrate in my lifetime and so is today... Made some maa laddoos and arisi payasam for the Naivedyam. Will post the recipes when I find time and am not sure when that will be but sometime in the near future...

Thanks to all my readers who sent out all their love and wishes to us. We love 'U' all...

Now though its to celebrate his day, the cake finds its way into our tummies. Aaryan gets only a fake mouthful and that too for the photoshoot. So I didn't go for any calorie-laden chocolate cake or butter-cream frosting but stopped with a whole wheat cake throwing in apples and walnuts for the fancy part. (...oh they are fancy when it comes to health). The apples got cooked and gave a beautiful flavor to the cake. It being whole wheat, the father was allowed to take 2 pieces extra to his regular share.

Adapted heavily from Smitten Kitchen
~*What U Need*~
Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Butter - 50 gm
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1
Buttermilk - 1/2 cup
Apple - 1, peeled, cored and chopped
Walnuts - 1/4 cup, chopped

How I Made it:
Preheat oven to 230C. Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda thrice. Cream butter and sugar and beat till fluffy. Add egg and mix till pale. Gently fold in the buttermilk.

Add the flour mixture and fold together. Thrown in the apple chunks and walnuts and give a stir. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 mins. Reduce the temperature to 200C and bake for another 15 mins or till done.

Slice and serve!!!

**My Notes
**Use butter, buttermilk and egg in room temperature.
**Overmixing the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle so just fold in.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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