Seero / Suji ka halwa

I'm not one of the biggest fans of Indian sweets. Sure there is an exception here and there...Like my mum's amazing 'gulab jamuns'- which are made out of mawa (khoya) which is a rich dairy product used in the best of indian sweet recipes!! You can tell why anyone who tastes them would go crazy..they are perfectly sweet (but not too sweet) and deep fried and then soaked in a sugar syrup with saffron and cardamom!!..mmMmm

Anyway that is a recipe for another day!!!

Unfortunately we don't get this Mawa in the UK, so we usually replace it with Milk powder- which pretty much does the job- but if you DO taste something with the original 'mawa' in it- you can totally taste the difference!!! 

Back home whenever there would be a 'happy occassion' at mosque, along with the main meal that would be served, we would also get either of these two dishes. 'Seero' (semolina/suji halwa) or 'Zarda' (a gorgeous, aromatic, sweet yellow rice with nuts and raisins).  Both of these dishes are extremely gorgeous and delicious in their own ways.

The Seero/Suji ka halwa, whose recipe I am going to post today is more of a soft, gooey, yummy sweet. Its perfect when eaten piping hot and is extremely delectable!

You could try making a low fat version of it, but I think that if you are going to indulge in something, you may as well have the best version of it!!! Anything else would be a waste of calories!! :-P

My sister in law always makes this when we go to her place, and it is gorgeous!! It was one of those things that I used to absolutely love eating, but never actually thought of making it. 

I once was having some guests over and it struck me that this would be a perfect ending to a meal!..I was amazed when she gave me the recipe..it was SO easy!!!

How can something that tastes so good be so easy to make??

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup ghee (clarified butter)- make sure you don't replace this with oil. This is the real stuff!!!

1 cup milk powder

1 cup semolina (suji)

1 can evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

Half a teaspoon cardamom powder (elaichi powder)

saffron

Crushed nuts for sprinkling on top (I use almonds and pistachios)

Method:

Firstly, blend together the evaporated milk, the sugar and milk powder.

Next, all you have to do is heat up the ghee in a pan, and then add in the semolina. Stir it continuously. You will see that the semolina has soaked up all the ghee. Don't worry about that and keep stirring for a couple of minutes.

Then pour in the blended mixture of the evaporated milk/sugar/milk powder.

The mixture will be quite runny. Keep stirring it. Add in the cardamom powder and the saffron and keep mixing.

The mixture will suddenly become quite thick.

Pour it in to a dishl and sprinkle it generously with crushed nuts.

Its so easy to make and is ready in just a couple of minutes. Totally worth it and perfect when you want to make your guests happy :-)

Happy cooking!!!

-S

Just cake!!! :-)

The first thing I ever baked was a plain vanilla cake.

Simple and Yummy.

My mum used to take cake orders a looong time ago and she always used this recipe. Everyone loved it. Sometimes when she would be busy baking in the kitchen I would go down and watch her. So did my siblings.

We always had an ulterior motive. As soon as she was done with the batter, the three of us kids used to fight over who gets to lick the remaining batter up! The spoons, the mixing bowl...

yes the good ol' days when calories was a word that I hadn't even heard of :-D

For me it was especially nice when mum would add some cocoa to the recipe (for marble or chocolate cake). That was when I would REALLY try and get the mixing bowl which had most of the batter in it!!!

Over the years, this simple recipe has been the most popular.

We sometimes ice it with buttercream or chocolate dropping, but I like it plain.

Plain cake with tea. My favourite :-)

So here I'm going to share the recipe with you.

It's ridiculously easy and NEVER goes wrong. Best of all, it takes a total of an hour maximum from when you enter the kitchen to make the batter to when it comes out of the oven.

Smells amazing, looks amazing and tastes delicious!!

Ingredients:

4 eggs

8oz self- raising flour

8oz caster sugar

8oz margarine

Vanilla essence

Mehod:

Preheat the oven at Gas mark 4

Beat the sugar and the margarine with a hand-held mixer until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs one at a time and carry on mixing it.

Once the mixture is blended in together, add in the flour in additions.

keep mixing it.

Finally, add a few drops of vanilla essence in to the mixture. Mix it a little more and then pour it in to a greased tin. (I usually also line it with Baking parchment).

You can simply add some cocoa to the batter once its all ready to make it chocolatey. Or you could add cocoa to half the mixture and make it into a marble cake.

You choose. :-)

To prevent the cake from being dry, make sure not to over bake it.

Place it in the centre of the oven and let it bake for about 40 minutes. To check when the cake is ready, pierce it with a skewer. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready :-)

This cake is always a winner and everybody enjoys it. Its perfect for birthday cakes or for any occasion!!

Just enjoy :-)

-S

Black Magic cake

Last week we were in dire need of some baked goods. Seriously, there was NOTHING in the house- and the Taste tester and I don't really like having ready made stuff anymore. I guess its nice to know exactly what goes in to your food and who makes it. (Thats just a personal preference).

Anyway, since I've started studying again, alongside the freelancing work that I do, things have been crazy crazy!!

I was finally free for an hour and really wanted to bake something quick that I could finish in an hour, so that I could fit in a trip to the gym before the Taste tester got home.

I spent about 10 minutes searching the internet for the quickest recipe I could find and ended up in the Hershey's Kitchen website.

You've probably noticed that many times the recipes I choose to try out are just that, quick and easy.

Every now and again I like to try something complicated or a bit more time consuming- but right now I just didn't have any time for that!

The Black Magic cake is a simple, dark, light, fluffy, gorgeous, coffee-ish, chocolatey cake.

Yumminess :-)

The recipe was ridiculously easy and I had it in the oven in just about 10 minutes- and it spent just about 40 minutes inside. Brilliant.

I wanted a light frosting- something sweet but not heavy and with a hit of coffee in it.

You really need something extra coffee flavoured in the frosting because the cake just by itself is not very sweet and the chocolateyness somewhat overpowers the coffee.

It was worth a try. The Taste tester and his friends were very happy with it...

and that made me happy :-)

p.s excuse the hideous photographs

The texture was almost exactly like that of the
'Perfectly Chocolate'
cake that I made cupcakes out of-
so it would work well as cupcakes too!!

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup Hersheys cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup strong black coffee or 2 tsps powdered instant coffee plus one cup boiling water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk/ sourmilk*

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Method:

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. 

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (Batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick 
inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool 
completely. Frost as desired. Yields 10 to 12 servings

* To sour milk: Use 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup.

For the Frosting, I simply whipped up some double cream with sugar (according to taste), some cocoa powder and ground coffee.

It was perfect :-)

You could use buttercream or any frosting you like. Its totally up to you :-)

I didn't have much time so I just cut the cake in to half, filled the centre with some cream and then covered the whole thing with it after placing the top half on top of the bottom half. No time to be neat but that's how I like it anyway!!

For such a quick recipe, the results were totally worth it!!!

-S

Banana fritters...and a dedication :-)

I've never understood the concept of a secret ingredient.

Sure, in a large scale production when there is competition between businesses- well that's business!- but in every day home cooking and baking?
One of the nicest, warmest feelings is when you decide to follow a recipe for something that you've really been wanting to make and the final result is a success.
That's why I love NIgella Lawson's recipes, her recipes never fail me!! The results are exactly what you see in the recipe book and what you imagine them to be like.

Anyway, this post is not about Nigellas recipes, its about someone else.


This is dedicated to a very very special cook. Someone who comes up with the most delectable recipes and is so willing to share them to the rest of the world. Helping people become better in the kitchen. Never holding back ANY advise and sharing even the tiniest details, that make such a big difference to us novices in the kitchen.

From the traditional African cuisine that I grew up with, to the modern dishes that you always wished you knew how to make, she has all the perfect recipes!

The other day I came across her recipe (among a million of her other methods) for banana fritters.

Yes, something so simple that is so easy to whip up in the kitchen.

We were planning to go visit a friend, and even though we had decided with such short notice, I really wanted to take a sweet snack for them, and so I chose this recipe.

I have tried making banana fritters before from various other recipes that people have shared with me, but none gave results like this one did.

Light, fluffy and perfectly balanced in sweetness and in flavour, this fritters were amazing!!!

The batter was so simple to put together and I loved the fact that it had to be shallow fried rather than the whole deep frying mess.

I know this is simple and straightforward, but its just one of her many many recipes I have followed that has come up with awesome results.

I have mentioned her on this blog before, but I will once again.

Thankyou Fauzia, in all sincerity...from all of your Page followers who love dabbling in the kitchen. You've taught us a lot..and we're really grateful for that!! 

So here goes the simple and straightforward recipe with yummy results :-)

Ingredients:

3 medium ripe bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork then drizzled with lemon juice to prevent discolouration

A quarter cup sugar (more if you like them sweeter but I find this just the right amount coz ripe bananas are already sweet enough and you might drizzle or sprinkle something over them when serving!)

1 egg, lightly whisked

2 level cups flour

1 level tbsp baking powder

2 tbsp rice flour (optional: gives an extra crunch)

quarter tsp salt

half tsp cinnamon powder

half tsp vanilla essence

quarter cup milk

Method:

Beat the sugar, egg, vanilla and cinnamon until very nice and frothy. Add the mashed bananas and mix until well incorporated

Whisk the flour with the salt and baking powder, then gently add it into the mixture and stir. Add your milk a little at a time, until the mixture is of a consistency whereby you can pick and shape into balls using a spoon. If you need more than a quarter cup, it's ok...go ahead and add. Don't let the batter get too watery though! :)

Heat some oil in a pan, then gently using two spoons, pick a small amount of batter and ease it into the hot oil. Keep the heat on low coz they get brown very quickly. Try getting the fritters small so that they get done nicely. Once the underside is brown, gently turn them over.

Enjoy these yummy delights..with icecream, fruit, custard..or the way I love it- just as it is!!!

Perfect for breakfast or a yummy evening treat!!!

Check out Fauzia's amazing facebook page here

or check out her brand new blog here- its at its early stages but I am sure it will soon become bigger and successful as ever!!!

Try out her recipes..I guarantee you won't go wrong!!

Enjoy yourselves :-)

-S

Apple Traybake

Towards the end of Shahr Ramadhan every year, our mosque holds an auction to raise money for various causes. Its a fun time, when everyone bakes different cakes and make desserts to sell.

This year, I wasn't sure if I was going to go. I spent the entire day working on my designs and finishing my chores and by 4pm I was finally free.

I honestly didn't want to miss the auction and I really really wanted to bake something- even if it was simple.

I've mentioned the Good Food baking application on my iPod before. It has so many recipes..some which turn out good while the others..not so good. But hey, its fun to try baking the different things!!

Anyway, I have professed my love for cooked apple before, and I really thought about making something with it.

Apple pie? Apple Crumble? Apple Dappy?

I had seen a recipe for an Apple Traybake and thought I would give it a go.

The recipe was quick and simple enough for it to be ready in an hour or so.

It looked great and smelled lovely, but truthfully, I didn't get a chance to taste it. I cut most of it up for the auction and gave the rest to a friend who always loves to taste the results of my random baking sprees. There wasn't much point leaving any for home because since it was summer, we mostly lived on cold drinks rather than eating anything after breaking our fasts.

It did receive some good feedback though and the friend who isn't a fan of cooked apple also loved it.

Anyway, I thought I may as well share the recipe.

After looking at it, I think that the next time I bake it I might add some mixed spice or cinnamon to give it a flavour boost.

It was way too simple!!!

Ingredients:

450 grams cooking apple (such as Bramley)

juice of 1/2 lemon

225g butter, softened

280g golden caster sugar

4 eggs

2tsp vanilla extract

350g self raising flour

2tsp baking powder

demerara sugar, to sprinkle

Method:

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a rectangular baking tin (approx 27cm x 20cm) with parchment paper. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples then squeeze the lemon juice over. Set to one side.

Place the butter, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour and baking powder into a large bowl and mix well until smooth. Spread half the mixture into the prepared tin. Arrange half the apples over the top of the mixture, then repeat the layers. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar. 3 Bake for 45-50 mins until golden and springy to the touch. Leave to cool for 10 mins, then turn out of tin and remove paper. Cut into bars or squares.

Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream or custard and enjoy!! :-)

-S

'Perfectly Chocolate' chocolate cake :-)

There are so many different types of chocolate cakes. When I was young, My mum used to make chocolate fudge cake that made us kids go crazy.

It was so moist and gooey and chocolatey that I remember sitting on the table and moulding my slice of cake into a basket or any other thing like it was play dough.

And then eating it :-/

Hey, I was a kid and it was fun!!!!

I have made fudge cake again, many times and never get tired of it. I once wanted to bake it again for my parents anniversary but didn't have any yogurt at home, which is one of the main ingredients in the cake. I could have waited till I went out to buy some but I really really wanted to bake at that moment, and I only wanted it to be a yummy, moist chocolate cake.

Anyway, I set about searching the internet for a good recipe and came across the Hershey's website which has the most gorgeous recipes!!! One of the recipes was for a 'Perfectly Chocolate' chocolate cake. The recipe was too simple only required the basic ingredients that everyone keeps at home.

After doing my excited jig, I ran down to the kitchen and quickly began baking.

About an hour later, the cake was ready. It was so quick and easy that I was a bit skeptical about what it would taste like.

After making a ganache and whipping it up into a mousse, I iced the cake and it was ready to be served!!

The cake was fantastic. 

I can't describe how soft and moist and chocolatey it turned out and I would totally recommend anyone to bake it. The great thing is, it isn't dense and doesn't feel very heavy, which is why its great. You don't need to worry about the frosting making it too sweet.

I haven't made fudge cake ever since I found this recipe :-/

They do taste different, this cake is light while the fudge cake is dense.

I usually choose to bake this cake, not only because of the results but also because you don't need to worry about it going off to quickly (because of the yogurt) in the summer- unless of course you use the mousse or ganache frosting- you should probably then store it in the fridge.

Just a couple of weeks ago I used the same recipe for tiny cupcakes that I made for Eid. This time I reduced the baking time from around 30-35 minutes to 20 minutes.

I was really really pleased with the results and so was my taste tester :-)

This is what it looks like on the inside!!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa ( I used the normal Bourneville cocoa)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Method:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or just one pan if you don't want it to be sandwiched.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean. 
4. I got the recipe from here
5. You can use any kind of Frosting that you want. Here are the two types that I use;
6. Ganache/ Mousse:
7. 175 ml Double cream
8. 10 ounces Dark cooking chocolate
9. Method:
10. -Chop the chocolate up into small pieces and place them in a heat resistant bowl.
11. - Separately, in a pan, heat the double cream on a medium heat till it reaches a boil.
12. -Pour the cream on to the chocolate and leave it to stand for 2-3 minutes.
13. -Stir it till it becomes a smooth mixture.
14. The more chocolate you add, the firmer the ganache will be.
15. You can pour this on to the cake as it is.
16. OR
17. Leave the mixture until it is completely cool and then beat it with a hand mixture until it becomes thick and fluffy. You can then pipe it on to your cake.
18. 
    
19. Frosting for the cupcakes: (Enough for around 30 cupcakes)
20. 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
21. 14 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
22. 2 and a half tablespoons milk
23. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
24. 5 cups icing sugar
25. Beat butter until smooth. Add chocolate until combined. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and confectioners sugar and beat until combined on medium speed. Don't over mix!
26. When making this frosting, once you pipe it on to your cupcakes, make sure you immediately decorate it (IF you are) with sprinkles, chocolate shavings etc. because the frosting creates a thin outer shell quite quickly and loses its stickiness.
27. Happy Baking :-)
28. -S