Eggless Orange Cake

Super soft Spongy Eggless Orange Cake

Cake whether it is eggless or with eggs when has fruits in it its nutritional value increases along with the taste, I always tell parents of school going children to order for the fruit cake rather that chocolate cake always. Reason for those children who shy away from taking fruits, it is the best way to incorporate fruits in their diet. If these cakes are made in whole wheat flour or multigrain flour then it is best as refined and bleached flour loses much of the nutrients. Whole wheat fruit cakes can be packed in the tiffin or given in breakfast with a cup of milk. What a delicious lunch box and breakfast it will make. So what stops just try it once and see how your family likes it.

Preparation Time: 20-30 min.

Baking Time: 30-35 min

Servings: Makes 300 gm. cake (Approx.)

Ingredients Required For Making Eggless Orange Cake:

• 150gm.+ 6-8 tsp. All purpose flour/Wheat flour
• 6 Oranges (I prefer at least one with green peeling)
• 75 gm. Sugar
• 50 gm. butter
• 3 Tbsp. Thick Curd
• 1 Tbsp. Vinegar (I prefer Apple cider as it is not synthetic vinegar)
• 1 Tsp. baking Powder
• 1/2Tsp. Baking soda (Cooking soda)

Direction For Making Eggless Orange Cake:

• Powder the sugar (You can take castor sugar also)
• Peel the oranges and remove the seeds and outer thin film from the oranges wedges of 4 oranges. Make pieces of the wedges.
• Sprinkle 4-5 tsp. flour on the pieces of orange wedges. After some time the flour will soak some juice from orange wedge pieces do not worry. Just do not handle it unnecessarily too much.
• Take out juice of 2 oranges.(It should be 150 ml.)
• Remove threads from inside of peel of orange with green peeling and grate it or shred it. Keep 1 teaspoon coat it with flour and keep it aside for. Discard rest. ( I prefer shredding) 
• Coat the rind pieces with the flour.

Cleaned Orange wedge pieces, rind and juice

• In a bowl take curd and whisk it to smoothness.
• Add vinegar and orange juice to curd and mix.
• Mix
• 150 gm. Flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Sieve the above mixture 4-5 times to make uniform mixture.
• Melt butter in a double boiler or microwave. Do not boil it.
• In a big deep bowl take sugar and melted butter and beat till it becomes creamy and fluffy.
• Add flour mixture to butter sugar mixture and mix till homogenous mixture is obtained.
• Add 1 teaspoon orange rind pieces coated with flour and mix.

Flour, butter, sugar and rind mixture

• Add curd + vinegar + orange juice mixture and mix with light (Fold and cut method), this should be done little faster else vinegar and baking soda and baking powder will react and cake will not rise properly.
• Add orange wedge pieces and mix with a swirl for even distribution.
• Cake batter should be pourable not too thick.

Batter for Eggless Orange Cake

Pourable Consistency of Cake Batter

• Pour the batter in the pan lined with butter paper. Tap it lightly to remove the trapped air bubbles and bake in a preheated oven at 165 ^o C for 30-35 minutes.
• After 10 min. you will see the cake rising and after 20-25 min the upper layer to become golden brown.
• Check the cake for the state of baking by poking a thin wooden/ metallic skewer from center in diagonal direction.

Eggless Orange Cake and Cupcakes Baking

• If the skewer comes out clean that means the cake is baked.
• If it has some material sticking to it then bake for some more time till it comes out clean.
• Baking time may differ from one oven to other by 5-10 min.

Cup cakes Baked After 20 minutes

Eggless Orange Cake

Tips:

• Make sure the oranges are not too sour best is  nice sweet oranges.
• If orange is little sour then decrease the amount of vinegar to 1/2teaspoon. 
• Sugar amount can be increased to 90 gm. but if you prefer too sweet cake. I prefer the cake to have a balanced sweetness so that the orange taste is not camouflaged.
• The number of oranges can be changed according to the pieces you want to put in the cake.
• Orange juice should be not less than 100 ml. 150 ml. is ideal.
• The skewer should be thin (1 mm. in diameter).
• Do not over mix or beat the mixture, mixing should be done fast with fold and cut action..
• If you find the upper crust becoming brown without the cake getting baked reduce the temperature by 10 degrees and cover the cake with foil or moist cloth without removing the cake from oven and then bake.
• Add the liquid mixture in three parts and if you find the batter becoming thin stop do not add more.
• Do not fill the container more than half with the batter, if the batter is more instead of pouring it in the cake baking container add little juice or water to make it little thin and put in cup cake moulds (oiled and flour dusted) and bake with the cake, They will bake in 20 min.

Alternate Suggestions:

• 1 Tsp. orange essence, pinch of orange color can be added to the batter. I prefer not to add any artificial additive.
• Orange rind pieces can be coated with caramel this will give cake a wonderful color.
• Oil can replace butter. If you are taking oil no need to heat it. As heating of butter is to just melt it.
• Instead of mixing baking soda to the flour it can added to the vinegar + curd + orange juice mixture and this can be added to the flour + butter + sugar + rind mixture only one has to be very quick as soda will react with the vinegar and bubbles will be formed rendering soda ineffective.

Happy baking

Multi Layered Bruschetta

Bruschetta

An amazing preparation with veg or non-veg topping on bread slices bruschetta is best for breakfast or snacks. My daughter in-law is an enthusiast cook and modifies each and every recipe according to our taste. This version of bruschetta is her creation. We love to have it in our weekend brunch menu. It is a variation keeping in mind our love for mushrooms.

Preparation Time: 20-30 min.

Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes

Servings: 10-12 Bruschetta

Ingredients Required For Making Bruschetta:

• 400 gm. Fresh Mushrooms
• Sliced Bread (Multigrain/Whole Wheat)
• 4-5 Leaves of Basil
• 100 ml. Thick Coconut milk/100 gm. Coconut milk Powder
• Salt to taste
• 10-15 gm. Walnuts
• 1 capsicum (small)
• 1 Tomato
• Pizza spread
• Butter

Direction For Making Fresh Coconut Milk:

• Grate fresh coconut after removing the kernel from the shell.
• Grind the grated coconut to fine paste by adding 100 ml. water in little amounts.
• Sieve the thick liquid from the paste.
• To the remaining solid add 50 ml. of water and grind again. Sieve the paste. This will give thinner liquid.
• Mix the two milky liquid obtained. Fresh coconut milk is ready.
• If you are using coconut milk powder then add the coconut milk powder to 100 ml. of luke warm water and stir till it dissolves. Heat for 1 min. on low flame with continuous stirring to ensure it dissolves completely.

Direction For Making Bruschetta:

• Wash the mushrooms nicely.
• Drain all water and pat dry them with a cloth.

Cleaned Mushrooms

• Cut the mushrooms to small pieces.

Chopped Mushrooms

• Remove seeds from capsicum and tomatoes and cut then to fine pieces and keep aside in separate bowl.

Finely chopped Capsicum

• Cut the walnut kernels to small pieces (size of pieces may vary as per liking).
• Put the chopped mushrooms in a thick bottom wok and cook on low flame. Mushrooms will start losing water and shrinking. Keep cooking with regular stirring.

Mushrooms cooking in thick bottom wok on low flame

• Once the water reduces considerably the total amount of material in the wok will reduce to half.

Mushrooms ready for Coconut milk to be added

• Add
• Coconut milk
• Salt to taste
• Shredded Basil leaves
• Cook on low flame with regular stirring till all liquid dries off and a thick mass of mushrooms is left. 

Mushrooms cooking in Coconut milk along with herb 

Mushrooms ready for Bruschetta

• Remove the mushroom cooked in coconut milk.

Mushrooms Cooked in Coconut milk

• Butter one side of bread slice and toast it on a pan till light brown repeat same on the other side also.

Crisp toasted slices  and coated with Pizza spread

• Apply pizza spread on one side and keep the slice of bread on hot pan/tawa with the side having pizza spread facing down.
• Toast for just one minute on low flame. Remove from pan and spread a liberal coat of cooked mushrooms above the pizza spread on the toasted bread slice.

Slice Toasted on Both Side 

Toasted Slice With Pizza Spread

Mushroom spread over toasted slice with Pizza spread

• Sprinkle
• 5-10 pieces of capsicum
• 5-10 pieces of tomato

  

  Capsicun and Tomatoes sprinkled over Mushrooms

• Sprinkle pieces of walnuts.
• Enjoy Hot, crisp juicy Bruschetta with tea/coffee/milk/fruit juices

Bruschetta

Tips:

Do not use butter too much slices are supposed to become crisp not full with butter.

Make sure the side with pizza spread should be cooked with care on low flame otherwise they will get burnt and the taste will get spoiled. It has happened with me so be doubly sure that the heat is on low while toasting the slice.

Burnt and blackned slices along with correctly cooked slices

• Basil should be always shredded not chopped with knife.
• Mushroom should not become dry and retain the moisture.
• Multigrain bread is best as the nutritive value as well as the taste gets enhanced.
• Fresh herb give the best flavor.

Alternative Suggestions:

• Sautee one medium size finely cut 100 gm. onion in olive oil till they turn transparent. Add finely chopped 150 gm. tomatoes till they get cooked completely and the mixture become mushy. Add salt to taste. Cook till the liquid start drying and the mixture starts leaving the edge of pan. Add one teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (or to taste), 1 teaspoon soy sauce and one teaspoon ginger-garlic powder. Cook for just one minute. Cool the cooked mixture and make a fine paste.
• Walnuts can be replaced with Almonds or 1:1 ratio of walnuts and almonds.
• Red bell pepper/yellow bell pepper can be chopped and mixed with capsicum for toppings.
• Basil can be replaced with fresh parsley/celery for change of taste.
• Each slice can be cut to four pieces before making bruschetta. It makes very good appetizer.
• Walnuts can be roasted before adding to toppings.

Pan-Fried Aloo Vada For Vada Pav (Indian Pan Fried Potato Patties)

Pan-Fried Aloo-Vada with Chutney

Vada-Pav is the fast food of Maharashtra. Piping hot Aloo-vada, soft pav with hot spicy chutney and finely cut onion, cilantro brings water to every body’s mouth. Being fried it is nightmare for weight watchers. Difficult choice has to be made indulge or control. My daughter in-law overcame this problem by making pan-fried vada with hardly any oil in them. God bless her for this. Delicious least oily these vadas can be had with pav/bread for breakfast/brunch or with chutney/sauce for snack.

Preparation Time: 30-40-min.

Cooking Time: 10 minutes/Vada

Servings: 12 Vadas of Medium Size

Ingredients Required For making Pan-Fried Vada For Vada-Pav:

For Filling:

• 750 gm. Potatoes 
• 1 Inch piece Ginger
• 10-12 Cloves of Garlic
• 5-6 Green Chilies
• 5-6 Sprigs of Cilantro
• 1Teaspoon Olive oil/any cooking oil
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• 1 Teaspoon Amchur Powder
• 8-10 curry leafs (Kadi patta)
• Salt to taste

For Batter:

• 250 gm. Besan
• 1/2Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1 Pinch of eating Soda
• Salt to taste

Ingredients For Batter

• Water

• 2 ml. oil for cooking the vadas

Directions For Making Pan-Fried Aloo Vada For Vada-Pav:

• Boil the potatoes.
• Peel and mash the boiled potatoes.

Boiled and Mashed Potatoes

• Cut garlic, green chilies, and cilantro fine.
• Grate ginger.
• In a wok heat 1 ml oil.
• When the oil is smoking hot add
• Mustard seeds
• Cumin seeds
• When the seeds have crackled and spluttered then add
• Kadi patta
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Green chilies
• Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Seasoning Ready For Potatoes

• Add
• Mashed potatoes

Mashed Potatoes in Seasoning

• Turmeric
• Salt and mix nicely.
• Cook for 4-5 min. with continuous stirring.
• Filling (Masala) of Aloo-vada is ready.

Filling For Vada

• Take the filling in a bowl and allow it to cool without covering the bowl.

For Batter:

• In a bowl take
• Besan
• Salt
• Turmeric
• Garam masala
• Red chili powder
• Salt and pinch of eating soda
• Mix all ingredients nicely and start adding water slowly with continuous beating.
• Add water till thick but pourable batter is formed.

Batter of Besan and Spices

For Pan Fried Vada:

• Heat a thick pan with edges.
• When the pan is hot sprinkle 4-5 drops of oil on it and spread the oil with spatula.
• Reduce the flame.
• Divide the filling masala to 12 parts.
• Make round balls and then flatten them by gently pressing then between your palms.

Flattened Filling Ball

• Dip one flattened ball of filling at one time to the batter and coat it nicely with batter.
• Gently place it on the hot oiled pan.

Filling Coated with Batter and Placed on Hot Oiled Pan

• Repeat and place them at 2-3 cm. distances from each other for easy handling while turning over.
• Let the vada cook for 3-4 min. on low flame.
• The lower surface will become golden brown and the upper surface will change the color to darker yellow.

Different Stages of Vadas

• Turn over the Vada and allow it to cook on low flame till the color of the flipped side also becomes golden brown.
• Keep shifting the vadas so that they touch the edge of pan. This will make sure the vada is cooked from all sides
• Vadas are ready.

Pan-Fried Vada with Chutney

• Repeat till all are cooked.
• Cut the Pav (Unleavened bread) / Burger bun to half.
• Apply coriander-mint chutney on one side and place hot Vada on it.
• Sprinkle some finely cut onions, cilantro and place the other half on it.
• Healthy Vada –pav is ready.Or simply sandwich it between two slices of bread lined with sauce/chutney and enjoy with tea/coffee.

Tips:

• Pan with edges is must to make sure batter from the edges of vada is cooked.
• Do not overcook the potatoes while boiling otherwise the filling will not be firm and vadas will not come out nice.
• Mash the potatoes nicely but do not make paste of them.
• While making batter add water in little proportions to avoid the batter from becoming thin.
• Beating of batter should be done continuous to avoid lump formation.
• Do not leave the filling flattened balls in the batter, just dip and then cover rest of the surface with batter using spoon.
• Do not cook the vadas on high flame otherwise the batter will remain uncooked from inside and brittle and hard from outside.

Alternate Suggestions:

• Finely cut onions can be added to the spluttered seeds and cooked till transparent before adding garlic etc.
• One teaspoon oil can be added to besan mixture before adding water.
• If you wish 2-3 drops of oil can be sprinkled over the vadas while they are being cooked.

Veg Cutlets(Cutlets of leftover vegetables)

Clearance Cutlets

Clearance sale is most sort after by ladies because they can shop to their heart content without husbands cribbing too much. One day I was talking to my daughter-in –laws mother and she told she has made clearance dosa. I was intrigued by such name for the dosa and wanted to learn it from her. She laughed and said Mrs. Pant this name is given by me only and I call it so because whatever dals are left at the end of month I add to the remaining boiled rice and make dosa from it thus clearance before bringing groceries takes place and so Clearance Dosa!. I got the idea for naming these cutlets from her and thus came the name Clearance Cutlets. As the name suggests whatever vegetables are left in fridge and the old bread all is used in these cutlets. Wonderful use for the vegetables which we do not want to repeat again in next meal is converting them to Clearance Cutlets. I make it for breakfast with burger buns, for snacks I serve them with onion rings and chutney.

Preparation Time:5-10 min.

Cooking Time: 30 min

Servings: 6-8 Clearance Cutlets

Ingredients Required For Making Clearance Cutlets:

• 2-3 Large serving of Left over vegetables

• 4-5 Bread pieces

• 1 Teaspoon Garam masala

• 1-2 Green chilies

• 1-2 cm. Ginger Piece

• 2-3 Sprigs of Fresh Coriander leafs (Cilantro)

• Salt to taste

• 2 ml. Olive oil / cooking oil (optional)

Direction For Making Clearance Cutlets:

• Wash drain and cut Coriander sprigs.

• Grate ginger.

• Remove seeds from green chilies and cut fine.

• Dry all the liquid of the vegetables if they have curry.

• Mash the left over vegetables nicely.

Left Over Vegetables

Mashed Left Over Vegetables

• Crush the bread slices and make nice crumbs from it.

Bread Crumbs

• In a bowl Take

• Mashed Vegetable

• Bread crumbs

• Finely cut chilies

• Grated ginger

• Finely cut coriander (Cilantro)

• Garam masala

• Salt

• Mix nicely to make uniform mixture for cutlets

Mixture for Clearance Cutlets

• Divide the mixture to 6-8 parts.

• Make round ball from each ball and flatten by pressing between your palms.

• Heat a Tawa (Iron plate) / Pan and place the flattened balls on the tawa/pan.

Clearance cutlets on the Tawa

• Cook till the side touching the tawa gets golden brown color.

• 

Cutlets Cooked On One Side

• Turn upside down and cook the other side also till it becomes brown.

Clearance Cutlets

• 
  If you want 1 ml oil can be sprinkled on each side and shallow fried for 1 min. on each side. (Optional)

• Serve hot with chutney and onion rings for snack.

Clearance Cutlets Served With Coriander-Mint Chutney and Onion Rings

• Cut a burger bun apply chutney on one side of the bun, Apply butter on the other side of the bun. Place salad leaf on the side with chutney, place the cutlet on the salad leaf, spread some tomato sauce and place one salad leaf on the top of sauce. Put the butter side bun on the top of all and hold them by a long tooth pick. Vegetarian, healthy, least oily Burger is ready.

Tips:

• Since salt is there in vegetables, therefore taste before adding salt to the cutlet mixture.

• Vegetables with gravy / Rajma /Chole also can be used, but only after their gravy has been dried completely.Mashed rajma, chole (Chick peas), kala chana (Black gram taste wonderful in these cutlets.

• Oil is not required at all to make these cutlets as oil of cooked vegetables is sufficient.

• The tawa / Pan which is used should be thick otherwise cutlets will burn and not get cooked nicely.

• Always use non-stick vessels for cooking oil requirement reduces many folds.

Suggested Variations:

• If bread is not there but vegetables are left in fridge / from previous meal then do not rush to get bread. Wash 1 tea cup (150 ml.) poha crush nicely and use instead of bread. You will have to knead nicely.

• Corn flour / Rice flour can be used instead of bread.

• Finely cut celery / parsley can be added instead of coriander.

• One medium size finely cut onion can be added to the cutlet mixture. (3/4 Teacup cut onion).