Eggless Coconut Cake

Hello Guys. Thanks for sticking around. Hope 2018 is going great for you. I have been trying my best to get back to blogging but the girls keep me extremely occupied. I hope to be more regular but I really appreciate each one of yours effort to stay connected. Thanks a bunch 🙂

Today I am sharing a delicious coconut cake I baked a few days ago. It turned out much better than expected. Extremely soft and oh so flavorful. And when I shared a video of my Mid Night Baking on Facebook, I received so many requests for the recipe. So here I am again, back to writing. Frankly I owe it to you guys for keeping me motivated. Thanks for all the requests and appreciations, this cake is especially for you guys.

So Lets get onto the recipe.

Ingredients:

Freshly grated coconut or Dry desiccated coconut – 1 cup

All purpose flour – 1 cup

Semolina or Rava Sooji – 1 cup

Sugar – 1.5 cup

Thick Yogurt – 1 cup

Milk – 1 cup  (you might need more or less depending on the thickness of your curd)

Oil – 1/2 cup

Baking Powder – 1 tsp

Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp

Sliced Almonds and Pistachios – for Garnish

Procedure:

• Preheat your oven to 350F and grease an 8 inch cake pan well with nonstick spray.
• Mix together flour, semolina, coconut, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
• Add in the wet ingredients – Yogurt, Oil and Milk. Note that the quantity of milk used will vary based on how thick your yogurt is. We are looking for the consistency of a fairly thick but flowing batter (not runny). Just how a regular cake batter should be.
• Mix everything until well combined. Pour the batter in the greased pan and lightly tap it on the kitchen counter to release the air bubbles. Garnish the cake batter with sliced almonds and pistachios.
• Finally bake it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Since all ovens work differently, its best to check after 25 minutes. If your cake starts to brown but is still uncooked at the center, cover it with an aluminum foil and continue cooking till the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Once done, take it out from the oven and let it rest on the kitchen counter for at least 20 minutes before unmolding it. Slice and enjoy this delicious cake.

So that’s how I made this delightful cake. Do let me know if you give this a try.

I hope to see you again soon.

Love, Ritu. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Oats Dhokla..A healthy delight

A big hello to all of you. I am so excited the spring will be here soon. With the New England weather, you can’t really predict much but at least with all the Easter stuff floating around, it makes both me and my daughter very happy. She is looking forward to all the egg hunting and I can’t wait for some warmer days and outdoor activities. We have been lucky enough to have a reasonably warm winter this year and are really looking forward to a  gorgeous summer ahead. How is the weather like at your end..?

Healthy is my favorite kind of food. I do enjoy eating all the junk and the not so good for you desserts but they make me so guilty afterwards. Dang. So not worth it. 😦 I am therefore always on the lookout for healthy recipes – oats, quinoa, kale, chia seeds are some of the most frequent ingredients used in my kitchen. I have been cooking with oats a lot off lately and this dhokla or steamed cake recipe was as healthy as it was delicious. 🙂

Without wasting any more time, lets make this yummy treat..

Ingredients:

Oats – 3/4 cup, dry roast and make a powder – will yield 1/2 cup oats flour

Sooji or Semolina – 1/2 cup

Yogurt – 1/2 cup

Ginger and  green chilly paste – 1/2 tsp

Chopped Spinach or grated carrots – 1/2 cup (Use your choice of veggies)

Salt to taste

Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp.

Sugar – 1 tbsp.

Eno Fruit Salt – 1 tsp

Water – 1/4 cup, use as needed

Oil – 1 tbsp.

Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves – a few

Chopped Cilantro for garnish

Method:

1. In a bowl mix together the oats flour, sooji, yogurt, salt, lemon juice, sugar, ginger and green chilly paste. Add water as needed to make a smooth batter of pouring consistency. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
2. Now mix in the spinach and give it a good stir. Add some more water if needed. The batter should be of pouring consistency but not too thick or thin.
3. Get your steamer ready or boil some water in a large pot or cooker. If steaming in the cooker, do not use the whistle.
4. Grease a 7 inch dish and keep it ready.
5. Once the water comes to boil, add in the eno fruit salt to the dhokla mix and give it a gentle mix, making sure not to over mix.
6. Pour the dhokla mix in the greased dish and let it steam on medium flame for at least 15 – 20 minutes till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. While the dhokla is steaming, we can prepare our tempering.
8. Heat oil in a pan and add in the mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter. Throw in the curry leaves and once they crackle, switch off the flame.
9. Once the dhokla is ready, pour this tempering over it and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
10. Finally, cut your dhokla pieces and serve with your favorite chutney. Enjoy this healthy snack.

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So here is how I made this healthy and delicious dhokla. Do let me know if you try this out.

Thanks for stopping by. See you soon.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂