Dhokla

Ingredients

Besan 1 cup
Sour curd 1 cup
Ginger paste 1 tsp
Green chilli paste 1 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Oil
Water 1 cup
Fruit salt (Eno) 1 tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Curry leaves 4-5
Green chillies-slit 2-3

Get Cooking!
1. Mix besan, ginger paste, chilli paste, salt, turmeric, sugar and oil (abt a tbsp) and beat in the curd. Beat till smooth.
2. Add water and mix well again.
3. Add fruit salt, stir gently.
4. Pour immediately into the greased tin and place in the steamer.
5. Place a thin cloth between the lid and the steamer and close tight. Steam for 20 minutes.
6. Remove tin from the steamer and keep aside.
7. Heat about a tbsp of oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies for seasoning.
8. Sauté till slightly colored, and add a large cup water.
9. Cut the dhokla into desired sized pieces and pour the seasoning over.
10. Garnish with coriander and coconut and serve.

Tips
You could add peanuts too.I prefer peanbut powder or crushed peanuts. To cook this in the microwave oven, after adding the fruit salt; pour this immediately into a greased microwaveable dish and cook at HI for 6-8 minutes taking care to rotate the dish at least once.

Saboot Masala Subz Pulao

Serves 4
Ingredients

Basmati Rice 1 cup washed & soaked
Oil 5 tbsp
Ginger paste 1 tsp
Garlic paste 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Potato 1 cut into 1/2″ pieces
Cauliflower small 1/2 of it cut into florets
Carrots 2 cut into 1/2″ pieces
Green peas 1 cup
Tomato 1 cut into 8 pieces
Green chillies 1-3 cut into thin strips
Mint leaves 1 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tsp
Cilantro

Spice Bag (crush together & tie in a piece of muslin cloth)
Black pepper corns 10
Fennel seeds 2 tsp
Green cardamom 3-4
Black cardamom 3-4
Cloves 4
Cinammon 2 sticks

Get Cooking!
1. In a braod dish, take oil, ginger & garlic paste, cauliflower, potato, carrots and peas. Microwave for 3 minutes.
2. Drain the soaked rice. Add the rice, 2 cups water, turmeric poweder, red chilli powder & salt. Mix well. Add the spice bag. Microwave covered for 6 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, mint, cilantro, green chillies, lemon juice. Stir gently with a fork. Microwave covered for 7 minutes.
4. Wait for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Remove spice bag.
5. Serve with raita.

Eggless Cake with Mocha icing

Microwave chocolate cake topped with yummy mocha icing.

Serves 6

Ingredients
Sweetened condensed milk 1/2 tin
Milk 1/2 cup
Butter 1/2 cup (75 gms)
Powdered sugar 1 1/2 tbsp
Plain flour 1 cup (100 gms)
Cocoa powder 1/4 cup
Soda bicard 3/4 level tsp
Baking powder 3/4 level tsp
Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Mocha glaze icing
Cocoa powder 4 tbsp
Butter 2 tbsp softened
Instant coffee 1tsp
Icing sugar 1 cup sifted
Nuts 2-3 tbsp chopped (preferably walnuts)
Water 4 tbsp

To soak
Cola (like Coke) 1/4 cup

Get Cooking!
1. Sift the flour with cocoa powder, soda bicarb & baking powder. Keep aside.
2. Mix sugar and butter. Beat till very fluffy.
3. Add condensed milk and beat well.
4. Add the milk, vanilla essence, maida. Beat well for 3-4 minutes till the mixture is smooth and light.
5. Transfer to a big, greased deep dish of 9″ diameter.
6. Microwave for 5 minutes and let it cool.
7. Cut the cake into 2 and soak with cola drink.
8. For the icing, microwave 4 tbsp water in a bowl for 1 minute. Add coffee and mix. Add the cocoa & butter, mix well. Return to microwave and microwave at 70% power for 1 minute or till butter melts. Gradually add the sifted icing sugar. Mix well.
9. Glaze the cake with the icing, making peaks with the spoon. Decorate with the nuts.
10. Refrigerate until glaze is set.

Tips
Serve with ice cream 🙂
I found that the butter melts without microwaving when making the icing. Less work 😉  I used chopped almonds which worked well enough 😀

Stick a tooth pick/knife and see if it comes clean after cooking the cake, if not microwave for a few more minutes till it does.

Phirni

Serves 4
Ingredients
Milk -3½ cups
Rice – ¼cup
Powdered sugar – ¼ cup or to taste
Rose water – 1 tsp (optional)
Cardamom – 2 or 3
Pistas – 5 or 6 sliced thinly
Almonds – 2 sliced into long thin pieces

Get Cooking!
1. Soak the rice in a little water for 2-3 hours. Grind this into a very fine paste.
2. Mix in the ground rice and milk in a microwave safe bowl.
3. Microwave this uncovered for 6 minutes. Stir with a wisk every minute to avoid lumps. Break the if any are formed.
4. Add sugar. Mix well. Microwave uncovered for 3 minutes, stirring in-between.
5. Mix well. Cool and add roase water and cardamom powder.
6. Pour into individual bowls.
7. Decorate with nuts and serve chilled after 2 or 3 hours.

Mysore Pak (in a jiffy)

Ingredients

Besan 1 cup
Maida 1 tsp
Ghee or clarified butter 1 cup
Sugar 2 cups
Milk 3 tbsp

Get Cooking!

1. Heat 1 cup ghee in microwave oven for 1 minute.
2. Add the besan and maida. Mix it in well and cook in the microwave oven for 1 more minute.
3. Add the sugar, milk . Mix them in and cook in the microwave oven for 1.5 mins
4. Stir well and cook in the microwave oven further for 1.5 mins..
5. Pour the mixture in to a greased plate.
6. Cut into pieces after a while into desired shapes.

Tips

I felt the amount of ghee was on the high side when I tried this recipe out for the first time, reduced the amount to ¾ , the mysore pak came out pretty well. If you feel the mysore pak is hard, more milk can be added while cooking it.

Carrot Halwa (in a jiffy)

A mouth-watering dessert made of carrots, milk and sugar. Given below is the microwave recipe.

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

Milk ¼ cup
Carrots grated 1 cup
Sugar ½ cup
Khoa
Ghee (clarified butter) 1 tbsp

Get Cooking!

1. Microwave milk and the grated carrot on high for 4 minutes in a closed container
2. Add sugar, stir well, microwave on high for 5 minutes open
3. Add the crumbled khoa, mix and microwave for 2 or 3 minutes
4. When it becomes thick, add 1tbsp ghee, mix well, microwave for 2 minutes open
5. Allow 2 mins standing time.
6. Garnish with nuts after transferring to serving dish

Tips

If using cashew nuts, roast them and garnish. Almonds can be blanched and shredded. You could add raisins too. Green cardamom powder can be added.

Dahiwala Gobhi

This is a microwave recipe

Ingredients

500 gm cauliflower
1 tbsp ghee
2 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
¼ cup yogurt
1 tbsp ginger-finely chopped
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp salt
½ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp garam masala
1 tbsp green chillies-chopped fine
2 tsp cumin seeds-roasted and powdered
2 tsp coriander leaves

Get Cooking!

1. Mix the ghee, cumin and asafoetida together and cook covered at Hi for 2 minutes.
2. Add ginger and yogurt, mix well so that no lumps remain. Cook covered at 70% for 2 minutes.
3. Add the coriander, salt, turmeric, garam masala and green chillies. Mix well and add in the cauliflower. Cook covered at 70% for 12 minutes, stirring once. You may cook it longer if you want it softer.
4. Serve hot with rice /roti, garnished with cumin powder and coriander leaves.

Round Vazhakai Curry

Vazhakai curry variant

Ingredients

Raw Banana peeled and cut into round shape
Coriander seeds
Tuvar Dal
Jeera
Salt
Mustard seeds
Asafoetida
Red chillies
Black pepper seeds
Turmeric powder
Oil

Get Cooking!

1. Soak the coriander seeds, tuvar dal, jeera and a couple of black pepper seeds in water for a while.
2. Drain the water and grind the above into a kind of coarse paste.
3. Coat the cut raw banana with salt, asafortida powder, turmeric powder and the paste.
4. In a little oil, add the mustard seeds and when they crackle, add the coated raw banana.
5. Roast until it is cooked. Cook it more on a low flame if u want it crisp, stirring occasionally.

Tips

I tried cooking the above in a microwave oven, it came out pretty well.

Paruppu Usili in a jiffy!

Ingredients
Beans -¼ kg finely chopped
Toor Dal ¼ cup
Chenna Dal 1 tbsp
Red chillies 4
Salt
Turmeric powder
Oil 2 tsp

Get Cooking!
1. Soak the toor and chenna dal together for about half an hour.
2. Sprinkle some water on the beans and microwave closed on high for 6 minutes.
3. Grind the soaked dals, red chillies, salt and turmeric powder coarsely
4. Add this to the beans, mix well and microwave in an open bowl on high for 3 minutes.
5. Mix in the oil and microwave on high in an open bowl for about 2 minutes