Simple cake sponge using ragi flour

Hello All,

And I am back, with yet another relatively healthy recipe :) As my son is fond of cakes I bake, I try to eliminate as as possible of harmful chemicals and incorporate healthier ingredients. None of my cakes use maida (refined wheat flour) or butter. I have been using multigrain flour for the cakes and trying them with healthier flours was the natural next step......

So, here is my recipe for a healthy ragi flour cake.

Ingredients:

4 medium size eggs
150 gms sugar (I add them using my 75 g measuring spoon), powdered to facilitate easy mixing
75 g multigrain flour
75 g ragi flour (finger millet)
25 ml cooking oil
1 tsp flavour (optional). You can use vanilla/almond/pista, I used butterscotch
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt

Preparation

Take the sugar in a mixer jar

Grind the sugar until it reaches a fine powder consistency. Alternatively, you can use powdered sugar or very fine grain castor sugar

Break the eggs in a bowl. The bowl should be about 3 times the volume your cake batter will become, for easy mixing

Whip the eggs with a blender until it looks uniform

Add the powdered sugar in small lots

Mix the sugar in until the mixture begins to become a smooth white paste

On pulling the blender blades out, you'll see such 'threads' forming.

Add the cooking oil to the batter

Add a small pinch of salt

Beat until a smooth batter results

In a vessel, take 75 g multigrain flour

Add 75 g ragi flour to the multigrain flour

1 tbsp of baking powder (I use Weikfield Baking Powder)

And then, a tsp of baking soda

Add the butterscotch essence to the batter

Add the 'flour mix' in small lots to the batter and blend

This is how the batter starts appearing. At this stage, start the over heating. I set mine to 180 degrees celsius

Grease your baking vessel (I am using the silicone mould but you can grease whatever baking vessel you have)

Ad tutti frutti (optional) or chopped cashews or almonds to the batter and fold them in

Pour the batter into the baking vessel and allow to bake until a skewer in the center comes off clean

Your healthy and tasty ragi cake is ready to be dug into :)

Padma chutney - the capsicum dip :)

Hello All,

I once heard, nothing ages better than daadi ma's recipes :) And I now know what that saying meant :)

My husband's cousin grandmother makes this super yummy capsicum chutney. Once I tasted it at her place, I so knew that I would  make it once home. I did and here is my take on the chutney (her version was less spicy than mine) :)

Not only is this chutney yummy as a dip but also a great way of using up veggies that are too small in quantity to make a full fledged curry with food. And it is so versatile! You can use it mixed with rice, as a side dish with stuffed parathas, dip for pakodas and even for those tortillas! This would go beautifully with many things :) So, here is the recipe :)

Ingredients  

1 - 2 medium sized Capsicum
1 onion
1 tomato
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 medium sized green chilli (you can substitute it with red chilli powder)
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate (you can use fresh tamarind juice, according to taste)
Salt to taste

Tempering:

1 pinch asafoetida (heeng)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp chana dal (kadalai parappu/split bengal gram)

Preparation:

The ingredients

Coarsely chopped ingredients. You need not chop them very fine as they will be ground eventually

Heat oil in a small pan

Add heeng to the hot oil

A teaspoon of mustard seeds (they should crackle)

Bengal gram (chana dal) to the hot oil

Roast until light brown in colour

Add the chopped garlic and coarsely cut green chilli

Once the edges of garlic get brown, add onions and roast

Add tomatoes and roast till tomatoes soften up

Add salt to taste

Add turmeric (turmeric, when cooked slightly, leads to better taste and colour)

Now add capsicum to the pan

Add a teaspoon of tamarind concentrate (i prefer this as I don't like to get my hands messy with extracting tamarind juice)

Cover the pan and allow to cook until the capsicum becomes soft

It'd look like this after cooking

Grind to a smooth paste in the mixer jar

Add a zest of lemon if you like your chutney tangier. Sprinkle fresh chopped coriander from top and lo! It's ready to eat! :)

 Happy Cooking! Feedback welcome :) And ya, thanks Padma paati :)

Pritesh