Carrot cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I never had the guts to try any other type of cakes other than basic chocolate. And now that I did, I’m wondering why on earth did I not try this before. Must Must try for all dessert lovers. If you have never tried it before, then go for this; a totally different world of flavours awaits you.

Note:

I don’t use ginger powder for any recipes, so I dint bother to buy. I needed ½ tsp ginger powder for this recipe, so I did a bit of poking around and found out how to make ginger powder at home. I sliced the fresh ginger root super thin, and popped into a preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes till they had completely dried out. (Microwave works fine too). Then they went into my grinder and brmm brmmm (Just used 3-4 slices). Along with this I also popped my cinnamon sticks into the oven and ground them finely. If you have ready powders, good for you. And the nutmeg, just grate it with a grater.

This recipe serves 8 slices. Each serving provides 225 calories approximately.

For the Cake:

Here is what you’ll need:

1 cup all purpose flour (Maida)

1 ½ cup finely grated carrots

2 eggs

1 cup sugar (3/4 cup sugar if you don’t like it sweet)

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup oil

½ cup nuts (almonds/ walnuts/pecans)

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ginger powder

½ tsp cinnamon powder

¼ tsp nutmeg powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Grease a 10 inch baking pan and dust it with flour.
3. Wash, peel and grate the carrots finely.
4. Chop the nuts roughly and roast it on low heat till light golden and aromatic. In 1 tbsp of all purpose flour toss the roasted nuts and keep it aside.
5. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon powder, ginger powder and nutmeg powder. Keep it aside.
6. In a large whipping bowl, beat the eggs till frothy for few minutes, and add the sugar. The egg sugar mixture should froth well and thicken.
7. Add the oil, butter and vanilla extract and keep whisking.
8.  Slowly add the flour mixture into the whisking bowl and gently fold in till completely mixed. Do not over beat.
9. Gently fold in the grated carrots and nuts.
10. Pour the batter into the greased pan and pop it into the oven for 30 minutes or till the toothpick comes out clean.
11.  Let the cake completely cool before frosting.

For the cream cheese frosting:

Here is what you’ll need:

1 cup cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla essence

2 cup whipped cream

Method:

1. Whip up cream as per packet instructions and keep it aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the cream cheese till softened and add the powdered sugar and vanilla essence.
3. Gently fold in the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and your frosting is ready to go.

Frost your cake the way you want and Enjoy!

Recipe by Zohra Sada

Ras Malai - Yummy Creamyy Indian Sweet

Spongy soft balls cooked and served in thick sweet milk garnished with nuts and cardamom flavour is the king of Indian desserts in terms of richness.

This is a no fail recipe. I've been making ras malai since my teenage years and I've never gone wrong with this one and never have I bothered to try any other way.

This recipe makes 18-20 pieces of ras malai and each piece provides 140 Calories approximately.

Here is what you’ll need:

1 cup full fat milk powder

1 tsp all purpose flour

¾ tsp baking powder

1 tsp ghee

1 egg

4 cups full fat milk

1 ¼ cup sugar

2 cardamom

Almonds/pistachios for garnish

Method:

1. Mix the full fat milk powder with all purpose flour (maida) and baking powder. 
2. Crack in an egg and start mixing.
3. Once the mixture starts binding together, add the ghee and if required another 2 tbsp milk powder.
4. Knead to a soft dough.
5. Pinch off small balls and start rolling into a ball. This should make 18-20 balls. Divide accordingly.
6. In a large pot, bring 4 cups of milk to a boil with the sugar and cardamom.
7. Once the milk comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat and start adding the rolled out balls into the milk.
8. Close the lid and let the milk simmer for 7-8 minutes on a very low heat.
9. After 7 minutes, open and check one piece if it’s cooked through the centre.
10. If not, simmer for another 2 minutes and then switch off the flame.
11. Serve cooled garnished with nuts.

Few things to remember:

• Use FULL FAT milk powder. I always used Nido milk, though full fat Anchor would work well too. 
• If your eggs are large you may need to use a couple more tbsp of milk powder while kneading.
• The rolled out balls should have a smooth exterior. This is a proof that your dough is soft and good to go ahead.
• Let the milk come to a rolling boil before adding the balls and then keep the flame on low while adding the balls. If the milk is boiling while adding the balls, it will cook immediately from outside and remain uncooked inside or it may all fall apart.
• Try using a wide mouth vessel for boiling the milk as the balls will expand double its size.

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Recipe by Zohra Sada

Prawns Stir Fry

Quick. Simple. Easy. Keep your ingredients all ready and turn on the heat.

This recipe serves 3 people and provides approximately 120 calories per serving.

Here’s what you’ll need:

15-20 medium sized prawns

½ cup carrot julienned

¼ cup capsicum sliced

1 spring onion with leaves chopped

1 tbsp garlic finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger finely chopped

2 tbsp butter/oil

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp red chilli sauce

Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Heat up the wok and melt the butter.
2. Fry the chopped ginger and garlic on high heat till light golden.
3. Add the chopped spring onions and fry till softened.
4. Add the cleaned deveined prawns and toss till cooked.
5. Season the prawns with soy sauce, red chilli sauce, salt and pepper.
6. Toss in the carrot and capsicum.
7. Garnish with spring onion leaves.
8. Serve with noodles or rice

Recipe by Zohra Sada

Garma garam Poori/Puri

And there are times, however healthy you try to eat, you want a heavy greasy breakfast. It may feel absolutely sinful but a couple kilometers run will help you get over that feeling. Poori accompanied with any curry of your choice. Bhaji, kala chana, chole vegetable korma or even halwa; best weekend breakfast. Easy, simple and straightforward.

This recipe serves 2 people and makes 6 pooris. Each puri gives approximately 107 calories.

Here is what you’ll need:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp oil

½ tsp salt

Water as required

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Sieve the flour and add salt and oil to it.
2. Mix together and slowly start adding lukewarm water forming stiff dough.
3. Knead well for 5 minutes and rest the dough covered for 20 minutes.
4. Make small portions out of the dough and roll it out into 4 inch diameter.
5. Heat the oil and test with a small portion of dough if the oil is well heated.
6. The dough should bubble and rise, Once the oil is heated, fry each puri at a time.
7. Slowly lower the rolled out puri into the oil and immediately splashing oil on top and pressing gently with the back of a spoon.
8. Once the poori puffs up, turn the other side.
9. Once it turns golden brown both ways, remove it out on a kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.
10. Serve hot or keep it in a casserole.

NOTE:

• While kneading, make sure the dough is stiff unlike regular chapatti.
• While rolling do not use more flour to dust it. A good dough does need flour for dusting. If required use little oil to help roll.
• Fry, only when the oil is well heated. The heat should be medium high.

 Also try Potato Masala in The Kitchen Counter column.

Recipe by Zohra Sada

Carrot - The root for health!

Sweet, delicious and healthy. A root vegetable that adds crunch, colour and fibre to the diet. Eaten fresh or cooked, this nutritious food is exceptionally rich in Vitamins providing very low calories and almost no fat.

Although we get to see mostly orange carrots in the markets, purple, red, yellow and white varieties do exist. Most of the health benefits of carrots are attributed because of its high beta carotene and fibre value. Carrots are also a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B8, pantothenic acid, potassium, folate, iron, copper and manganese.

According to ayurvedic sources carrot's cool nature and mild bitter taste purifies the blood. Carrot has a cool and relaxing effect on the eyes. Beta-carotene, which gives carrots their bright orange color, is metabolized into vitamin A in the presence of bile salts in the small intestine. Vitamin A nourishes the liver, and purifies the blood. These actions improve vision, complexion of the skin, and generally reduce inflammation. Carrot helps make the skin noticeably softer, smoother, and firmer. Carrots increase the quality of the breast milk. During pregnancy, carrots reduce the risk of jaundice and enhance baby's complexion. 

Health benefits:

1. Improves Eyesight: Deficiency of Vitamin A causes night blindness or the inability to see in dim light. Carrots being a rich source of beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin prevent these conditions including cataract.
2. Digestion: Carrots like most other vegetables give good amount of fibre to the diet which bulks the stool and acts as a laxative. It stimulates peristaltic movement and secretion of gastric juices.
3. Diabetes: Despite its sweetness and natural sugars, carrots stabilize blood sugar because of the presence of carotenoids. Carotenoids inversely affect insulin resistance and help lower blood sugar. 
4. Cancer: Antioxidants and beta carotene present in carrots play a role in cancer prevention.
5. Carrots have numerous other benefits associated with it like;  prevention of heart diseases, reducing blood pressure, lowering risk of stroke, preventing cancer, boosting the immune system, increasing the rate of fertility, nourishing the skin and the pregnant lady.

Keep in mind the nutritional values of vegetables change if eaten raw or cooked and also depend on the different methods of cooking. For example, boiling the carrot and draining the water may cause loss of vitamin C and folate while on the other hand research has shown that cooked carrots have more amounts of antioxidants compared to raw.

A bowl of warm carrot soup, a plate of fresh carrot salad, carrot into vegetable curries, carrot halwa or pickled carrots – blend in your diet the way you want - or freshly extracted carrot juice which can do wonders on the liver. Most diseases can be cured by improving the functioning of the liver. Fresh carrot juice is often compared to blood detoxification.

How would you use up your bag of carrot??

Also Read: Carrot Pudding/ Gajar ka Halwa, Carrot Cake and Carrot Pickle in The Kitchen Counter column.

Post by Zohra Sada