To Bake or not to Bake ( Coconut Cake)

Hello friends....yeah i m back with a new post... not been able to post frequently this month...well its just that i m too busy with the lil one....well better late than never :)...B loves coconut...be it coconut chutney..coconut rice...coconut burfi...he just loves coconut so much...to please his obsession i thought why not make some coconut cake...

A likes snack y salty savories more than sweetly creamy cakes....she is choosy about sweets and cakes...unless its real good she wouldn't try..after her second birthday this changed..she liked her b day cake so much that she is asking me to make different fruit flavor cakes...today she asked me to make some muffins...she got this sudden spark from this nursery rhyme " Do you know the muffin man ....the muffin man....who lives on Durey laneno"...to yield to her quick demand i made a cake as i didnot have muffin tray......baking is something i would like to do often..... i m exploring to  find what healthier mode we can adapt to make life simpler...."make life simple" tats what my hubby says as far as cooking is concerned...his profound principles have made me  look for more healthier alternatives which calls for less usage of oil and butter and other fatty stuffs... i have been experimenting with cooking like  i always do ...eat healthier and keep things simple tats the new mantra.....i am loving the way my experiments are turning up...ok for now i m ready to share  a delicious cake which is super spongy and flavorful.

Dry Ingredients

All purpose flour--                   11/2 cup

Sugar--                                   3/4 cup

Baking powder--                     1 Tbsp

Baking Soda--                         1 tsp

Sweetened Coconut shreds      1/4 cup

salt--                                      1/2 tsp 

Wet Ingredients

Unsalted Butter (at room temp)     1/4 cup

coconut milk--                             3/4 cup

Vanilla extract--                          1/2 tsp

Condensed milk or applesauce     1/4 cup

White vinegar--                             1 tsp

Frosting

it can be made in couple of ways...the best way to frost is beat all these into a creamy frost

Unsalted butter -- 1/4 cup

sugar --                3/4 cup

coconut milk        1/4 cup

the other way would need whipping cream n sugar...2:1 ratio

Method 

Preheat oven at 350 deg F..Grease baking tray with butter n coat it with dry flour

Mix sugar and butter add vanilla extract..beat it smooth adding coconut milk n condensed milk

Sieve flour ,baking powder,soda and salt and the add sweetened coconut shreds to this

Now mix the Butter sugar mix with the flour mix...beat it for a min or two till all ingredients blend well.

Last add vinegar and give it a mix before pouring into the greased tray

Bake for about 30 minutes.

Cool it completely and garnish it with frosting of you liking and some sweetened coconut shreds

Note : I have just creamed 1 TBSP of butter and  2 TBSP of sugar to make a light frosting...for a rich creamy effect the best way to frost is suggested above.And baking time for muffins will be 20- 25 mins appx.

Bye for now:)

Condiments of life (Pickles)!!!

Summer has started ...high time i do something about my patio garden...still taking time...i started making my own compost from kitchen wastes..it has really come up well...now that i m ready with my soil...i need to start sowing seeds...hope that some day (hopefully end of this year) i have my own patio garden...this my new found interest :)...California is bright and sunny now...good weather to make some good pickle...good sun helps to mature mangoes and other seasonal vegetables ...a good pickle needs decent  sunlight  to infuse taste of spices into the pickled vegetables...i always use fresh raw ingredients and spices to make pickle...i never cook them on stove tops for quick results..sun cooked pickle stays longer and tastes better with time....last year i made a whole lot of pickle about 6 kilos...3 kilos of mango pickle (Avakkai) South Indian style...and about 2 kilos of Punjabi pickle and about a kg of mixed vegetable pickles and distributed to all near and dear folks!!...i m a pickle lover...pickles are great condiments of life i would say...these add a whole lot of life to the dish served ...show me the pickle, i would jump for a second round of meal anytime:) 

 Avakkai, Garlic, Gongura, Pachranga Achar ,Mixed veg pickle, green chilli and lemon pickle are some of my favorites ....on my to do list i have a whole lot of pickles yet to make...this time i made pachranga...i have eaten lot of this store-bought, but making this for the first time....these are so good with parathas.. also i found good amount of lotus stem (kamal kakdi) easily available here which is one of the prime ingredient of this pickle..Pachranga achaar is a famous punjabi pickle which is made using mustard oil.  I drool over this pickle!..  Pachranga achaar as its name suggests is made using five main ingredients - raw mangoes, chick peas, lotus stem, karonda and amlas or limes, pickled with whole spices. In this recipe, i have used a combination of raw mangoes, lotus stem,   ginger omitting karonda(Conker berry of Bush Plum ), amlas(gooseberry) and chickpea but you can add more vegetables too if you like. Serve this achaar with parathas, to tantalize your taste buds.

Ok now for some life...here i go with the recipe :)

Top most is pachranga/ Left is mix veg(carrots,radish,turnip n Gobi)/ Right is lemon n  green chilies

Ingredients

3 large mangoes diced in cubes

3 medium size lotus stems sliced

3 inch of Ginger cut finely

4 Tbsp of Kalonji(onion seeds)

2 Tbsp of fennel(Sauf)
1/2 Tbsp of carrom seeds(Ajwain)

1 Tbsp of fenugreek seeds (methi)

3 Tbsp of red chilli powder

1 Tbsp of coriander seeds (Dhaniya)

1 1/2 cup of Mustard oil

Method
-- Cut mangoes and put it on boiling water for a min and pat it dry on a muslin cloth 

--Place the mango pieces on a large sieve. Cover the sieve with a clean muslin cloth and place it under the   sun for 4 to 6 hours.

--Combine the nigella seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric powder, fennel seeds, ajwain, fenugreek seeds, chilli powder, mustard oil and salt and mix well.

--Add the mango pieces,ginger and lotus stems and toss well.
--Bottle the pickle in a sterilized glass jar.
--Press the ingredients in the jar using the back of a spoon so that all the pickle ingredients are immersed in oil.
--Keep the jar in the sun for 4 to 5 days, tossing the ingredients in the jar occasionally. This pickle is then ready to serve. This can be stored for up to 1 year.