~Spicy Mushroom Stir Fry~

Ingredients:

Mushrooms (2 cups) - torn or cut in thin strands

2 onions(medium sized) - chopped

1 tomato - chopped

a few curry leaves

2 green chillies - cut in thin strands

Chilli powder - 2 tsp (or as desired)

Salt - as desired

a pinch of turmeric powder

Oil - 3 tbsp

Method:

Heat oil in a cooking pan. Add onions, curry leaves, green chillies, salt and fry. Then add the mushrooms and stir fry for 3 mins. Now add chilli powder, turmeric powder, mix. Then add the tomatoes and mix well. Now add some water and let the mushrooms cook for 2 mins. Let the water evaporate. Your Spicy Mushroom Stir Fry is now ready to eat!!

(You can also add some soya sauce if you wish)

Tastes good with rice and rottis.

Butter Cake(with frosting) - Step by Step

Ingredients:

Butter - 250g
Sugar - 250g
Plain Flour - 250g
Eggs - 3
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Baking Powder - 1 tsp


Add baking powder to the flour and sift to spread the baking powder evenly~

Grind the sugar into powder form.

Beat the butter and powdered sugar together.

Beat well to a smooth and even texture

Add in the eggs and beat until you get a smooth creamy texture.

Add flour and mix with a long spoon until the texture becomes creamy and thick. Don't let lumps form in the mixture.

(Remember: Do not beat the mixture after adding flour or your cake may become hard)

This is the cake batter. You can pour this on the baking tray. I mixed some green food colouring here and there to get a marble cake look on the inside.

Place an oil paper on the baking tray. Do not grease it.

Now pour the cake batter and spread evenly!

In goes the baking tray. Bake uncovered at 250 degrees for 30-40 minutes. You can check if the cake is done by sticking a knife or the other end of a silver spoon on top of the cake. if nothing sticks on, that means the cake is baked enough and ready to be removed from the oven.

Remove the tray from the oven once the cake is baked and let it cool.

This is my frosting:
I simply mixed equal amounts of icing(confectioner's) sugar and butter and added colours of my choice. Would taste good on almost any cake.( including cup cakes)

Spread the frosting on the sake evenly using a spatula or flat knife.

Your cake will look like this once its covered completely with a layer of frosting.

Make it even by gently sliding a spatula on the cake.

You can decorate your cake using nozzles to get different designs. This is the final product I got :) Hope you guys liked it!!

~Masala Rotti~

This is a very simple, yet tasty dish.

Ingredients:

Plain Flour - 2 cups
Water - for kneading
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - as desired
Chilli powder - 1 tsp (or as desired)
a pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 onion - chopped
2 green chillies - chopped
a few curry leaves - chopped
chopped coriander(optional)
Maldive fish flakes - (optional)


Method:

Mix all ingredients together. Add water and knead to form a smooth dough. 

Take equal sized balls and roll them out evenly.

 Cook both sides on a non stick pan. Masala rotti is ready to eat. Serve with any curry of your choice.

Rolls

Ingredients: (for pancake batter)
1 egg
1 cup flour
½ cup coconut milk
water
Pinch of turmeric powder
pinch of salt

Method:
Whisk the egg and add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. If the batter is too thick add a little water.

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Ingredients: (for filling)
Chopped potatoes – 250g 
Salt-as desired
Minced beef – 200 g / 1 can of salmon fish
Pinch of turmeric powder
Pepper powder – as desired
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Chopped onions – 2
Chopped Green Chillies – 2
Curry leaves
Oil

Method:
Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves, salt, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, minced beef/salmon and sauté for a while. Then add in the chopped potatoes, pepper powder, some water, mix and let it cook for a while. Mix well and let it cool.

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Ingredients: ( for rolls)1 eggbread crumbscooking oil for deep frying

Method:Heat a non stick flat pan. Add 2 table spoons of the prepared batter and make a pancake. Toss on to a board and place a table spoon of the filling in the center. First bend the two sides and then roll up folding the two sides. Continue making the pancakes and rolls. It is important that you make the rolls while the pancake is warm so it would seal well. Now dip the rolls in whisked egg and toss in bread crumbs. Heat the cooking oil and deep fry the rolls. Serve with tomato sauce. :)

Potato Stir Fry

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes - cut in cube shapes
1 onion - chopped
1 tomato - choppes
2 green chillies- cut in thin strands
A few curry leaves
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp (or as desired)
Salt - as desired
a pinch of turmeric powder
Water - 1 cup
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Then add onions, green chillies, curry leaves, salt and saute well until the onions have turned translucent. Add in the potatoes and stir fry for 5 minutes. Now add tomatoes, chilli powder and turmeric powder and fry for a while. Add water, cover the pan and leave it on low flame until the potatoes have cooked and water has evaporated. Now add Maldive fish powder  (optional), mix well. Potato stir fry is ready.

Best to try with bread, rottis, chappatis or even rice.

Bread Biriyani

Ingredients:

10 slices of bread - torn into small pieces
2 Eggs
1 Onion - chopped
1 tomato - chopped
a few curry leaves
Pepper Powder - 2 tsp (or as desired)
a pinch of turmeric powder
Salt - to taste
Biriyani masala - 2 tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
2 green chillies (chopped)


Method:

Heat Oil in a cooking pan. Add green chillies, curry leaves, onions and fry for sometime. Then add salt, turmeric powder and mix. Break in the eggs and cook while stirring. Now add pepper powder, Biriyani masala and fry. Add in the bread pieces, mix well and sprinkle some water. Mix well until the bread gets covered with the eggs and spices. Keep on low flame for a while (until you see steam coming out). Spicy Bread Biriyani is ready to eat. Serve hot with omlettes ;)

Biscuit Pudding

INGREDIENTS

200gm tea-biscuits
500ml whole milk
6 tbsp. sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla essence
2 tsp. instant coffee mixed in half cup warm water
3 level tbsp. corn flour/cornstarch
3 level tbsp. cocoa powder

INSTRUCTIONS

First, prepare the coffee mixture. Let it cool to room temperature. Now remove half the biscuits from the packet (100gm) and proceed to dip each one on both sides then lay them out in a dish. Set aside.

Start preparing the pudding. Mix the corn flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl, add a few tbsp. of milk and stir together until you have a smooth paste without any lumps. If you add too much liquid at once, you won’t be able to mix these well so go slow and add only enough milk to get the mixture into a paste.

Pour the rest of the milk into a pot and add the sugar n salt. Bring to the boil then lower the heat and add the vanilla. Then add the cocoa+cornflour paste and keep stirring. The pudding will start to thicken very quickly. Once it is of the consistency of custard…not too thin but not too thick, turn the heat off and take the pot off the stove.

Pour half the hot pudding onto the layered biscuits. You can sprinkle some nuts over this if you want. Now continue dipping the remaining half packet of the biscuits in the coffee as you did before and make another layer over the pudding. Finally pour the remaining pudding over the soaked biscuits and garnish with some nuts of your choice.

Let the biscuit pudding come to room temperature then cover and refrigerate until well-chilled. You can have it as it is, or serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

TIP: If you want a coffee-free version, dip the biscuits in some milk instead of coffee and proceed with the remainder of the recipe as directed.

Plain Jaggery Pudding

[A Very Simple and easy to make dish]

Ingredients:

Jaggery ( 300 g) - Grated
Gelatin - 4 tbsp mixed in water.
Water - 3 cups

Method:

Heat water and add the grated jaggery and mix well until it melts. Then bring it to a boil and add the gelatin mixture and stir well. Let it cool, refrigerate and serve.
{You can also add a little bit of coconut milk if you wish}

Nargisi Kabab

Ingredients:

3 eggs, hard boiled
500 grams mince meat
50 grams channa dal
2 tsp green chilli paste
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
Whole spices, 2 to 3 of each
3 cups water
1 egg, beaten
Oil for deep frying
Salt


Method:

1. Soak the channa dal for an hour.

2. In a vessel, add the mince meat and the channa dal. Add enough water to cover the meat.

3. Add in the green chilli paste, ginger-garlic paste, whole spices, and salt. Cook the meat and lentils till the water has dried out.

4. When the water has dried, grind the meat mixture in a grinder till a dough-like consistency is obtained.

5. Slice the eggs half, length-wise. Slightly oil your palms, and flatten a small amount of the meat mixture on it. Cover each half of the eggs with the meat mixture.

6. Dilute the beaten egg with two teaspoons of water. Heat oil in a pan. Dip the kababs in the beaten egg, and fry.

Your nargisi kababs are ready! :)

~ Spicy Beef Curry ~

Ingredients:

Beef(cut into cube shapes) - 500g

Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tsp

Big onions (chopped) - 2

Tomatoes (Chopped) - 2

Green chillies(cut into thin strands) - 1

Salt - to taste

turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 2 tsp (or as desired)

Oil - 2tbsp

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Curry leaves

Water - 1 cup

Method:

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add little cardamom, cinnamon stick, a little bit of onions and fry well. Then add in the ginger garlic paste, curry leaves, green chillies, fry well. Add beef and fry in the oil for 3 minutes.

      Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, tomatoes and mix well. Now add the remaining onions and fry for 5 mins. Add 1 cup of water. Cover and pressure cook for 20 minutes(until beef is cooked). Open the lid and let gravy simmer to a thick consistency. Spicy beef curry is ready to serve. 

Tastes great with rice, rottis and chappatis!! :)

~Deviled Chicken~

Ingredients:
For marinating:
Chicken pieces
Salt
Chili powder
Turmeric powder

For the gravy:
Onions- cut into round slices – 2
Chopped leeks- ½ cup
Soya sauce- 4 tbsp
Tomato Sauce – 3 tbsp
Capsicum- cut into thin slices
Chopped tomatoes- ½ cup
Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tsp
Salt
Chili powder- 2 tsp
Oil
Ajinomoto – 1 tsp

Method:
First, add chili powder, a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to the chicken and marinade it. After 5 mins, fry the chicken in hot oil. Don’t over fry them.
Then heat some oil in a pan, add a few onions, ginger garlic paste, leeks and sauté for a while. Then add in the tomatoes, the remaining onion, capsicum ajinomoto, salt, Chili powder and fry well for some time. Now, add the soya sauce and tomato sauce. You can add some water. Let it cook to a creamy texture.
Now, add the fried chicken pieces into the mixture, mix well. Cover the pan and let it cook in the gravy.
Deviled Chicken is now ready to serve. Tastes good when served with Fried Rice. Enjoy! :)

~Doughnuts~

( This Is one of my Favourites ♥ )

INGREDIENTS4 cups all purpose/plain flour
1 tbsp. instant yeast
2 tbsp. powdered milk
1 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. oil
egg 1 (plus 1 for glazing)
1 tsp. castor/grinded sugar

INSTRUCTIONS
In a bowl mix the following ingredients together: 4 cups flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. castor sugar, 2 tbsp. milk powder, 1 tbsp. yeast, 4 tbsp. oil and 1 egg, knead to a medium soft dough with slightly warm water, leave to rise for 2 1/2 hours.

Make medium sized balls and roll them out . It should be thick. Fry them in oil and let them cool.

For the Glaze:
Ingredients: 
Icing Sugar
Cocoa Powder
Food Colouring (colours of your choice)
Butter
Warm Water

INSTRUCTIONS:For the Brown coating, mix 1 tbsp of cocoa powder, 4 tbsp of icing sugar, a little bit of butter with slightly warm water. Mix to get a thick texture. Glaze the fried dough nut with the brown coating.

For the Coloured glazing, add 3 tbsp of icing sugar with a 2tsp of butter. Add few drops of warm water and food colouring and mix to get a creamy thick texture.

Decorate the brown glazed doughnuts as you wish with different colours. I used icing cones for this purpose.

Doughnuts are now ready to serve :)

~Home Made Egg Kottu Rotti~ Simple Yet Tasty...

Ingredients:

3 Rottis/Chappatis- thinly cut

1 onion - chopped 

1 tomato - chpped

1 green chilli - thinly cut

Salt - to taste

a pinch of  turmeric powder

2 eggs

Pepper powder - 2 tsp (or as desired)

curry leaves

Oil - 2 tbsp

Butter - 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves ( if desired)[I did not use]

Method:

Heat oil and butter in a Cooking pan. Add green chiili, curry leaves, onions , salt and fry well.

Break open the egss into the pan  Add turmeric powder and mix well until the eggs are half cooked.

Then add in the rottis and mix well adding pepper powder little by little. Mix thoroughly, Cover the pan and keep it on medium flame until you can see steam coming up.

Hot Hot Egg Kottu Rotti is ready to eat :)

Easy to Make Pasta

Ingredients:
Boiled Pasta – 2 cups
Chopped Onions- ½ cup
Chopped tomatoes – ½ cup
Egg – 1
Chopped Green chilies – 2
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp
Beans- cut into thin strands
Curry leaves
A little bit of cheese
Pepper powder – as desired
Salt – as desired
Oil

Method:Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions, curry leaves, green chilies, beans salt and sauté. Then add the ginger garlic paste and mix well. Now add a pinch of turmeric powder, pepper powder, tomatoes and sauté for a while. Then add I egg and mix well. Add the boiled pasta to this, mix well and let in cook on low flame. Finally, add some cheese and let it melt. Easy to Cook Paste is ready to serve.

~Dal Vada~

Ingredients:Dry mysore/red dhal( soaked in water for ½ hr)
2 green chillies, chopped2 tbsp red chili powder
Chopped onion-1
2 tbsp salt
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves, chopped
1 tbsp Maldive fish (optional)

Method:Take 1/2 cup of Dhal separately. Grind the remaining portion coarsely without adding water.
Mix the ground dough with the remaining dhal. Then add chili powder, chopped green chilies,chopped onion, curry leaves, salt, Maldive fish and mix it well.
Heat oil in a pan , make small round balls out of the dough and flatten them a little using your fingers. Fry until golden and crispy.
Serve with sauce or Chutney.

Hoppers(Aappa)

~Yet another famous delicacy on the Sri Lankan Breakfast menu~

Ingredients:Raw rice – 500g
1 slice of bread
Water of 1 coconut
Milk from 1 coconut
A pinch of sugar
15 g/1/2 oz fresh compressed yeast
or 1 teaspoon dried yeast
Sugar- a pinch
Salt- as desired


Method:Grind the raw rice into a powder. Add 200 g of wheat flour and mix. Soak the slice of bread in coconut water. Add that to the flour and mix well. Add 15 g/1/2 oz fresh compressed yeast
or 1 teaspoon dried yeast, sugar and salt and mix thoroughly. Then add this to the coconut milk and mix well. Keep it overnight for the mixture to rise.
Add a little coconut milk to this mixture and bring it to a semi liquid consistency( as that of pancake batter). Heat a nonstick hopper pan (Wok) on medium. When hot, rub the pan thoroughly with the oiled-cloth. Add about 1/4 cup of the batter to the pan and turn the pan in a circular motion so that the batter sticks to the sides of the pan.
Cover and cook for about a minute under low-medium heat. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the hopper and serve hot.


Tips to remember:• It is best to keep this pan solely for the purposes of making hoppers.
•If the batter does not stick to the pan when turning the pan, the pan is too hot. Reduce the heat.
•If the edges of the hopper are not crispy, add another tsp of sugar.
•If the hoppers are not thin enough add a little more lukewarm water.

~Easy Sandwich~

Ingredients:Sliced Bread
Sliced Onions
Sliced Tomato
Sliced Capsicum
Butter
Mayonnaise
Pepper
Salt

Method:Apply butter and mayonnaise on the slices of bread. Then place a slice of onion, tomato and capsicum on one slice. Sprinkle pepper and salt. Place another slice of bread on top, cut into half and serve. Repeat the process for making more.

Enjoy your sandwich! 

~Chicken Shawarma~ 

Ingredients:
To Make the curry:
Boneless Chicken (Chopped)- 1 cup
Crushed Garlic- 2 tsp
Chopped onions- 1 cup
Chopped tomatoes- 1/2 cup
Curry leaves
Salt- to taste
A pinch of turmeric powder
Chilli powder- as desired
tomato sauce- 1 tbsp
Oil and butter

To make the wraps:
Wheat flour- 1 cup
Salt- 1 tsp
Oil- 1 tsp
Water- to knead


Method:

Curry: Heat some oil and butter in a dish. Add 1/2 cup of chopped onions, curry leaves and fry for some time. then add crushed garlic, salt and fry them well. Now add in the chicken and mix well. Add more oil if necessary. Fry and let the chicken cook in its own juice. Then add in the remaining onions, Chilli powder, turmeric powder, tomatoes and mix well. After the chicken is cooked, Add tomato sauce, mix and keep aside.

Wraps: Add oil and salt to the flour and knead to a smooth dough adding water. Take equal sized balls, roll them out into a round shape and cook them on medium flame on a non-stick pan.

Now apply some butter on the wraps, place some curry in a line and roll them tightly. Stick in a toothpick to keep it in tact. Hot and Tasty Home made Chicken Shawarma is ready to eat!! :)

You can have this with any ketchup of your choice.

PS: I made this in a hurry yesterday. Next time, i'll take pictures of the curry and post them for U :)