Instant Dhokla [:)]

Being a working women, there are some days in my life when my refrigerator is completely empty!!![:(] and Mr. Dhokla is always at my rescue [:D]. Me and my husband being foodie, love all kinds of chaat, and what can be more great that healthy tasty Dhokla!!

So when I don't have many ingredients and not much time to buy them, I make Dhoklas following way

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup besan

1/2 cup curd

1/2 cup water

2-3 tbs semolina

1 tbs oil

1 tbs mustard seeds

1tbs asafoetida

1 tbs turmeric

salt

3 -4 tbs sugar

lemon juice

1 tbs gingerpaste

1 -2 tbs baking soda

1/2 tbs baking powder (not must)

1 tbs eno fruit salt

2-3 finely chopped chilies

Step 1:

Mix besan and dahi , water , sugar and semolina

Heat it for 30 secs in microwave (Just to make it luke warm) and keep it aside for around 1-2 hrs.

Step 2:

Then add salt, mirchi , turmeric, ginger(if needed) to taste.

Step 3 and 4:

Add some water in pressure cooker, and heat it for few mins.

Add baking powder and eno in the mixture and mix it well.

Remember: add baking powder /baking soda and eno just before when you are going to cook them.

When the water in pressure cooker reaches boiling temperature , pour the mixture in a vessel and keep the vessel inside the cooker and close it.

Remove the whistle and cook for 20 -25 mins.

Tip: grease the vessel with oil from all sides.

After the when the cooker is cold, remove the lid and TADAAA Dhokla is all done.

No but we can't eat it yet.

We need to garnish it.

Take a small kadai (Wok)

add 1-3 tbs of oil.

heat it.

Then add some asafoetida and cilantro (kothimbir)

Pour this mixture on our baked fluffy Dhoklas and serve with chutney!!!!!

The Rosy Way!!!

So, it was my hubby's bday...and I wanted to do something special..

I have never tried my hand at exquisite cooking...so i thought..if way to the man's heart is through his stomach..then why not try something in that area.

Determined to cook something special, I didn't want it to be just a cake, as with most of the surprises he is very sharp to guess it.

This time I wanted the ball in my court. Something which is very different but yet linked to birthday[:)]/

So what can be more different but yet birthday like than a tower of delicious cupcakes [:)]

An idea struck me, why not do it SPRINKLES (the famous cup cake company in Standford area) way.

Having a tower of birthday cakes with different flavors.

I wanted tropical flavors rather than regular peanut butter and white choclate types ,so I decided to do a mix an match of flavors like

1)Rose Cupcake

2)Pineapple Cupcake

3)Mango Cupcake

4) And our very own chocolate cup cake

And all of them in eggless flavors as some of my friends are allergic to eggs [:)]

Here is a brief recipes of them for ppl who want to try their hand at baking.

Rose cup cake was a hit of the day

General eggless muffin recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

Dahi 1cup

Sugar 1 cup

Oil (half of dahi)- 1/2 cup -1/4 cups,

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda mix

Maida 1.5 cups

Little vanilla essence

Mix dahi, sugar, oil, baking powder and baking soda and leave it aside for 20 mins. Then add maida(all purpose flour) and vanilla essence and mix well in one direction, till the batter is smooth.

You can get paper cups and cup cake pan. Place the paper cups in pan and pour batter into the cups [:)]

Bake at 350 degrees for around 20-25 mins

To check whether the cake is ready or not, place a toothpick in the center of the cake and remove it .

If there is no batter around the toothpick your cup cakes are ready.

For rose essence:

EXTRA INGRIDENT:

1 bottle of Gulkand 250 gms (Rose petal jam) [You can get this in any of the indian grocerry stores]

(Since Gulkand is already sweet, you can reduce the sugar level in "GENERAL Recipe" .)

2 tsp of rose water/ rose essence

For Pineapple cup cakes:

EXTRA INGREDIENTS:

1 cup pineapple cubes

1/4 cup crushed pineapple

For Mango Cup cake:

EXTRA INGRDIENTS:

1/4cup Mango Pulp

1/4 cup mango cubes - if available

Add the EXTRA INGREDIENTS to the above mentioned general cup cake recipe to get which ever cup cake flavor you want to bake [:)]