Eggless Dates Banana Cake

During my initial baking days, I tried a banana cake using a recipe from a blog. The cake came out well in terms of texture and taste. But the flavor of banana was so overpowering that I could hardly finish a slice. Things have changed now. I have tried pairing banana with dates or chocolate powder to mask it flavor. In this cake, I have pureed the dates and added it to the batter. I used only 1/3 cup of brown sugar. The cake is mildly sweet. I did frost the cake so that took care of the lack of sweetness. In case you are not frosting and would like your cake to be sweet, increase the sugar to 1/2 cup.

You need

• Wheat flour/Atta- 1 cup
• All purpose flour/maida- 1/2 cup
• Deseeded dates - 15 to 20 nos 
• Mashed banana- 1/2 cup
• Brown sugar - 1/3 cup
• Curd - 1/3 cup
• Oil - 1/3 cup
• Baking powder -1 tspn
• Baking soda- 1 tspn

Method

Sieve together wheat flour, maida, baking soda and baking powder.

Soak seeded and chopped dates in half cup of warm water for an hour or till it turns soft. Alternatively you can microwave the dates in water for 2 minutes and it turns soft. No soaking required. Grind the dates to a smooth paste. Add in  mashed banana, curd, oil and sugar to the mixer jar. Pulse to blend.

Transfer the wet mix to a bowl. Fold the dry ingredients to the wet mix, with mixing after each addition. Pour the batter to a greased and dusted tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 30 minutes.


For icing

Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Corn flour - 2 tspn
Butter -1 tblspn.

Whisk all the ingredients till smooth and light. Cool the cake. Spread the icing on the cake. If you find it difficult to spread the frosting, add few drops of milk  to make it easier to spread. To the remaining icing, I added a teaspoon of cocoa powder and did a swirl on top of each piece.

Pirandai Thogayal/Veldt Grape Chutney

The Humble Pirandai, Known as Veldt Grape or Devil's Backbone, Has been used as a medicinal plant since antiquity. The Ayurveda mentions it as a tonic and analgesic, and prescribes its use to help heal broken bones, thus its name asthisamharaka (that which prevents the destruction of bones). Has also been used to treat osteoporosis,asthma, cough, hemorrhoids, and gonorrhea.

Picture from My Brother's In-Laws Garden

It contains a rich source of carotenoids, triterpenoids and ascorbic acid. Compounds that act as receptor antagonists of glucocorticoids have reduced the healing time of broken bones 30 to 50 percent in clinical trials. It has also been used to treat obesity and associated oxidative stress.[1] Its bactericidal effects on Helicobacter pylori hold promise as an effective treatment of gastric ulcers and preventative of stomach cancer

Info Source : WIKIPEDIA : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cissus_quadrangularis
http://www.a1tamilnadu.com/htmlfiles/238_Pirandai_(_Veldt_Grape).html

Pirandai Thogayal/Chutney is a tasty Condiment, made especially during Devasam/Pithru Devasam/Sraadham. The Feast prepared on these days will be heavy, So, to ease the process of digestion, Pirandai thogayal/Veldt Grape Chuntey is made.

Ingredients

3 Links of Pirandai/Veldt Grape (Cut into 1 inch piece)
1/4 cup Urad dal
4 tsp Gram dal
2 tsp White sesame seeds
6nos Red Chillie
1 small Tomato
Ginger a small piece
one tight fist Curry leaves
A small ball of Tamarind
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp Jaggery (Depending on your taste)

Hing a pinch

Method

Roast All the above ingredients separately with little oil, except Tamarind, salt and jaggery. Grind all the ingredients, except pirandai/Veldt Grape to a coarse mixture then add pirandai/Veldt grape and grind them to fine paste with little water.

Makes a Wonderful Combo with any Heavy Meal. Sending this MLLA-26, hosted by Briciole, Event started by Susan

Monsoon Munches - Dhool Pakodas - Spicy Savoury Fragments prepared with Instant Semolina Idly Mix

MONSOON MUNCHES

DHOOL PAKODA

I saw my sister prepare Dhool Pakodas ( literally meaning fragments or particles of pakodas) in a jiffy using instant MTR Rava Idly Mix. I thought this would fit in appropriately in the Monsoon Munches series. I tried out the recipe which my sister willingly shared with me and the end product was ' DHOOL!', meaning ' awesome' in this context!
The instant rava idly mix already contains the required amount of seasoning and spice, including bits of cashew nuts ready for making Dhool Pakodas. If more spice is needed, chopped green chillies, green coriander leaves and more cashew bits can be added while preparing the pakoda dough. A little more of salt may also be added in this case.

INGREDIENTS


Instant Rava Idly Mix - 2 cups
Finely chopped onions - 1 cup
Chopped green chillies - 1 tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsps
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Oil - for frying

METHOD

1. Mix all ingredients with a few sprinkles of water into a stiff dough.
2. Heat oil in a kadai.
3. Pinch very small fragments ( Dhool) from the prepared dough and fry them on medium flame. Since the pakodas are very small fragments - the size of peanuts - they cook very fast.
4. Carefully remove when the Dhool Pakodas turn golden brown in colour and drain them on a paper towel.

Enjoy the flavoursome, crispy Dhool Pakodas in between sips of hot coffee. .