Ginger Pear Upside Down Cake

I just so love the concept of upside down cakes. The beautiful swirls of fruit created at the bottom of the pan, baked golden and glossy become the top of a beautiful cake. The first time I came across an upside down cake was when my sis and bhabhi 'S' made it for my birthday. Oh those were some days - sis and I used to bake cakes for each and every family member's birthday or any other special occasion. Our whole family used to back us up and appreciate the end products, even daddy whose drink cabinet we would raid for our supply of rum or his finest cognac for our cake experiments :). Well the recipe I am now about to share is one with a very unusual (IMHO) combination ginger and pear. I wanted to try the recipe only for this combination and the verdict - both of us liked the flavor, it looked beautiful and tasted nice but we thought this was one cake which cannot be stored for very long, it was fab on day 1, mighty fine on day 2 but beyond that the difference in taste was quite noticeable. Since this is a big cake when I make it again I will halve the recipe if I am making for just two of us or bake it when we have company.

Ingredients
1 Cup Whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp Cinnamon Pdr
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 Cup Unsulphured Molasses
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
2" piece of Fresh Ginger Root peeled and grated
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Juice of 1/2 lime
3-4 slices of Pear mashed and added to cake *(Optional - I had some extra pieces ;))
2-3 Tbsp of Raisins
For Topping or should I say bottom layer ??
3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1&1/2 tsp Cinnamon Pdr
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 Big Bartlett Pears peeled and sliced

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a small microwave proof bowl, add the first four ingredients of the topping and mix till butter is melted, approx 2 mins.
3. Pour this mix in an 8"cake tin and move it around and let it coat the entire surface of the tin, then arrange pear slices all around in a circular fashion. If you are a raisin fan like me feel free to add a few on top of pears.
4. In a mixing bowl sift all dry ingredients and in another mix all wet ingredients.
5. Now mix all wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, throw in the raisins mix lightly, then pour it over the pear slices.
6. Bake for 20-25 mins or until the cake tester comes out clean. Let it cool just a little bit, slice and serve.

Applesauce + Cookies = Applesauce Cookies

So I made this big jar of applesauce a month ago when the whole blogosphere seemed to be posting apple related recipes. My confession is that I don't much like apples so for me to make something primarily with apple seemed like a waste of time, effort and materials. But then there are times when an idea just refuses to get out of your head despite all the practical reasons for not following through. So I had to had to make applesauce.  Since I have never tasted applesauce before - ya another confession ... I read a whole bunch of recipes, did not write any of them down. So in a minute I will tell you about how I made my applesauce, but for now just assume that I now have this whole bottle of applesauce in my fridge and I don't know what to do with. Well I went on a hunt for ways to use up applesauce and found this recipe for applesauce cookies on Tastes Better with Friends. I tweaked it a bit though not too much - the result floored us. I had halved the original recipe so the yield was around 20 cookies, and the two of us finished these in two days.

Well true to the spirit of the blog from where I picked up the recipe " Tastes better with friends", I am sending these cookies virtually to my dear friend 'S' and I really wish I was in India making these for her. For now enjoy these virtually 'S and you can pester 'R' to make it when her oven is not exploding ;)

Ingredients for Applesauce(Makes 450 gms or 16 Oz)
4 Apples peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Pdr
1/4 tsp All Spice
Juice of half lemon

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes over medium heat. Cool & mash with a potato masher. Store refrigerated in a glass bottle.

Applesauce Cookies
Ingredients
1/4 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 C Applesauce
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Raisins
1/4 Cup Crystallized Ginger Pieces chopped fine (instead of nuts in the original recipe)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

Method
1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Cream butter, sugar then add applesauce and blend it.
3. Sift flour with baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the above mixture and stir until smooth.
4. Add the raisins and ginger pieces and stir until combined. At this point, this mix was more like a thick muffin batter than a cookie dough.
5. Drop by tsp onto a greased baking sheet spacing 2 to 3 inches apart. Bake about 12 mins or lightly browned. I baked for 14 minutes.
6. At this point I should say cool completely before devouring but I love warm cookies and these were so cake like in texture I couldn't wait ....

So Ms S here they come your way ..

Bajari No Rotlo / Bajri Roti / Millet Flatbread

Bajari or Millet Flour as it is known in English is one more of the gluten-free flour variety. During winters, we used to have these bajari rotis or flatbreads along with a bit of jaggery. The reasoning behind this given to us as children was that bajari is heat inducing so helps the body's heat retention, I do not know the truth behind this one but another reason I suspect was also that the fresh green garlic shoots used for flavoring these flatbreads are mostly available in the winter months. Of course you can substitute garlic pods for fresh green garlic but the taste changes quite a bit.
Baingan Bharta or Ringan No Oro (in gujarati) along with Bajri Rotlo is commonly served in Gujarat and is generally a part of the Kathiawadi thali. I will be posting the Baingan Bharta recipe soon till then here is how to make these easy and tasty flatbreads.

Ingredients
1 Cup Bajari / Millet Flour
2-3 Tbsp Fresh Green Garlic and Fresh Coriander(Cilantro) leaves ground to a paste with very little water
2-3 Thai Green chillies ground to a paste
Salt to taste
Method
1. In a mixing bowl, take bajari flour, add salt, chili paste, green garlic and coriander paste and knead into a smooth dough.
2. Make 4-5 equal portions of the dough. Take a Ziploc bag, slit two sides and make it into a rectangle. Apply some ghee or butter or oil, sprinkle some dry bajari flour.
3. Now take a portion of the dough and put it on the Ziploc, flatten with your hands similar to Sorghum Flatbread
4. Gently ease it out of the Ziploc bag and slide it onto a hot griddle. Cook on both sides on medium high heat till brown spots appear. Apply some ghee and serve hot with baingan bharta or a piece of jaggery or with plain yogurt.

Hubby's Aloo Matar / Potatoes and Peas

My dear hubby is a good cook. He is not a fancy schmancy chef but he certainly has a few signature dishes which in his words "..are a repeatable process". You can see he has been in the IT industry for far too long ..sigh!! On days when I feel rather bored to cook something or when I am not in a mood for eating my own food(oh how I wish mom would be here on such days) my sweet hubby offers to make something for us. This time he made his signature aloo matar which is very very different from what I make but it is mighty simple and finger licking good.

Ingredients
4 Small - Medium Boiled Potatoes
3/4 C Peas / Matar
1 Tbsp Hunts Tomato Paste
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Corriander Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder / Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Method
1. Peel the potatoes and cut them lengthwise.
2. In a saute pan, heat oil, add cumin and let the seeds sizzle and give out a good aroma. Add the potatoes and stir till well coated with the oil cumin mixture.
3. Now add peas, salt, turmeric, corriander powder, red chilli powder and mix well. Stir well and cook for a few minutes till the peas are nearly done.
4. Now add a tablespoon of the hunts tomato paste and cook for a few more minutes till tomato paste is well mixed. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5.Serve hot and gloat ;)

My Favourite Breakfast

I am not too much of a breakfast person - all I prefer in the mornings is a good big cuppa chai and a couple of my favourite Parle-G biscuits. That said, I still do have some favourite breakfast items and almost on top of my list is a delicacy which I have been extremely fond of since my childhood days. The white steaming fluffy white cloud like idlis in my opinion are one of the best things we can have for breakfast. There are enough and more recipes for Idlis in the blogosphere so I am not going to put a recipe for this one. This will just be a simple photo post with Idli, Molgapodhi, Sambhar and Tomato Onion Chutney a feast for breakfast.

Baingan Bharta / Ringan No Oro / Smoked Eggplant with Onions, Tomatoes and Fresh Garlic

Ages ago when we were children growing up in an India when cable television and cartoon network were not so prolific and Doordarshan channel was our only source of entertainment there was a children's program called "Baingan Raja" where the eggplant being the king's favourite veggie was elected as the king of the vegetable kingdom. I have much forgotten the story but what lingers on in my memory is that how as a child I could not relate to Eggplant being the king of any kingdom as it along with bitter gourd was one of the least of my favorites. Now the roles are reversed and if not baingan then karela surely should be treated as a king of vegetables ;). My hubby is already grinding his teeth ...grr...he dislikes both these veggies, but this is my blog and sometimes it is about my favorites. So yes today I am going to share one of my favorite eggplant recipe and one that is common to western as well as northern parts of India and is known by various names - Baingan Bharta, Ringan No Oro which translates in English as Smoked Eggplant with Onions, Tomatoes and Fresh Garlic.

Ingredients
1 Big Eggplant
1 Big Red Onion, finely chopped
1 Bunch Scallions / Spring Onions, white and green parts separated and finely chopped
2 Tomatoes, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Green Chilli, Ginger and Fresh Green Garlic paste
1/2 Cup Green Peas boiled, if using frozen thawed and microwaved for 3-4 mins
1/8 tsp Hing / Asafoetida
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Amchur Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1-2 tsp Corriander Powder
1-2 tsp Red Chilli Powder * Adjust to taste
1/4 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp Oil
1 Sprig Curry Leaves
Method
1. Wash and wipe the eggplant. Now coat it with some oil, place it in a baking tray and broil till the skin turns black and starts to peel. Time to remove the eggplant from the oven and switch of the oven. I prefer doing this on a gas flame but since I have an electric stove I have to use the oven.
2. Place an inverted baking tray, remove the eggplant with tongs and place it on this. Now place a baking tray on top of the eggplant and press it down with some heavy weight object. This will remove the juices from the eggplant. As per traditional Indian cuisine, the juices of the eggplant are supposed to be heat intensive and by removing the juices and seeds the supposed heat is removed from the eggplant. Peel the eggplant and separate the pulp.
3. In a heavy bottomed pan, add a Tbsp of oil, let it heat then add mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. Now add the onions and white part of spring onion saute till they change color to pinkish brown, Now add the pounded green chilli, ginger and garlic paste, saute for a couple of minutes before adding the eggplant pulp. Saute for additional 3-4 minutes till nicely mixed.
4. Add all the spices and then add tomatoes. Allow to cook till tomatoes are cooked through and the whole looks like a homogenous mass.
5. Now add green peas and cook for additional 3-4 minutes. By now the bharta should start leaving the sides of the kadhai. Garnish with the green parts of spring onions. Optionally add a little lemon juice and serve with Bajri No Rotlo or phulkas.

Collard Greens with Mung Beans

My world view of the greens was limited to Spinach, Fenugreek and Mustard leaves (sarson) and may be a couple of others. All of which I happen to love. The greens here in the grocery store always caught my eye and beckoned to me but I was always reluctant or hesitant as to what will I make with them? This time the collard greens looked so fresh that I just couldn't stop myself from reaching out and plonking them in my shopping cart much to the consternation of my hubby whose mute question was "What in the world are you going to do with that?" I ignored it and brought these home. Next began a war for space in my usually packed refrigerator. The bunch of collard greens was occupying a third of my veggie drawer and after a couple of days of jostling for space with other veggies, my husband finally asked me "What are you going to make with that broom?" Broom did I just hear you say broom to such beautiful greens, well it is blasphemy and so went the war of words. Finally I got to thinking of what I would make with these, the internet search was not too helpful as most of these were relegating the greens to a secondary side dish whereas wanted them to be a star. Finally I decided to try and use collard greens instead of spinach in the traditional manner in which our very famous Sindhi Sai Bhaji is made. Well this seemed like a win-win since hubby likes Sai Bhaji ok not just likes "loves". Trust me this turned out to be so beautiful. The only thing I changed from the traditional recipe was instead of chana dal (split chickpeas) I used mung dal since it is quicker cooking. For more on lentils see Food Subs. Do not be daunted by the list of ingredients, this dish has just a unique flavor and surprisingly with not as many spices as one expects from an Indian main course dish.

Ingredients
1 Bunch Collard Greens *It actually had 4 separate bunches so it was really a big one

1/4 Cup Yellow Mung Dal
1 Small Potato peeled and cubed
1 Small Onion peeled and diced small
1/2 Zucchini or any other squash, cubed same size as potatoes
1 Carrot peeled and cubed
4 Medium Tomatoes small diced
1 - 2" piece Ginger Root chopped fine
6-7 Thai Green Chillies * Adjust heat according to your own taste buds
a pinch of Asafoetida
1/2 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste
2-3 Tbsp Kasuri Methi Dried or a handful if using fresh leaves
1 Tbsp Oil
Method
1. Wash and soak mung dal in water for 15-20 minutes till you finish all the prep work. Wash and chop the collard greens.
2. In a pressure cooker, add a tablespoon of oil let it heat then add the ginger, green chillies and asafoetida. Stir for 30 seconds, then add the onions, potato, squash and carrot. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
3. Now add half of the collard greens, then add the mung dal follow with the rest of the collard greens.
4. Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric and kasuri methi do NOT mix.
5. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 2-3 whistles.
6. Switch of the gas and allow to cool completely before opening the pressure cooker. If you are in a hurry you can use the cold water treatment but be very careful.
7. After you open the pressure cooker, take a whisk or a handheld immersion blender and mash the veges. At this point it is very very easy to mash them. Add salt and switch on the heat and reheat till it starts bubbling.
8. Enjoy with soft warm rotis or with Garlic Rice or Plain Rice.

Notes:
1. You can use Chana Dal instead of Mung Dal. It requires a longer soaking time than the mung dal
2. You can also use a small bunch of dill leaves, it takes the taste to the next level
3. Some people also enjoy adding a tempering of almost browned garlic on top of the cooked greens.