Pista Icecream

Who doesn't like icecreams? Adults and kids alike eat it to beat the summer heat...
I love icecreams... Here is an easy recipe for pista icecream...

Ingredients

3 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
5tbsp corn flour (cornstarch)
Few drops vanilla essence
Few drops yellow and green color
1 cup cream
Crushed pista

Method

Boil milk and add cornstarch dissolved in little water. Cook till thick. Add sugar. Remove milk from gas and cool it. Add vanilla essence and colors in it. Beat it a lot and add cream in it. Keep it in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Beat it again. Then add crushed pista in it. Now cool it in a freezer.

Pazham Pori /Ripe Plantain Fritters – 2

Let me put down another recipe for making Pazham Pori.

Ripe plantains – 3
Egg – 1
Sugar – 2 tbsp
Black sesame seeds – 1 tsp
Salt – a pinch
Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp
All purpose flour – 1 cup

Cut the plantain in half, and make 3 slices from each piece. Set aside.

Whisk egg and sugar together until smooth. Add sugar and cardamom powder. Add flour and enough water to make a smooth batter. Stir in the sesame seeds. Dip the plantain slices in the batter.

Heat up oil in a non stick pan then deep fry / shallow fry until golden color.
Serve hot with tea.

So, which did you like?

Pazham Pori /Ripe Plantain Fritters – 1

Here is very popular snack from Kerala, which all keralites love to have with evening tea. Those non resident keralites like me always have these nostalgic memories of this snack wherever we are.

Ingredients:

3 - Ripe plantains
1 cup - Rice flour
3 tbsp - Maida / all purpose flour
3 tbsp - Sugar
A pinch or two - Turmeric powder
A pinch - salt
Oil to fry

Method:

Peel the skin off the ripe plantain(Riper the better) and cut into two parts. Then cut each part into 3- 4 slices, lengthwise. Mix rice powder, maida, sugar, turmeric powder and salt. Make a thick batter. Heat oil in a non stick frying pan. Dip the sliced plantains in the batter and deep fry or shallow fry till golden brown in colour.
Serve with evening tea.

Variation:

With the sliced ripe plantain.... Heat ghee or butter in a non-stick pan. Fry the slices on both side till light brown in colour. Drain and place on a serving plate. Sprinkle some sugar on the fried plantains and serve.

Isn’t it quick and easy to make?

Chocolate cake

I love baking and for a long time I wanted to bake a cake. My husband and sister are two sweet lovers and it’s a pleaseure to cook when somebody loves something you make.

Ingredients
Sift 3 cups of flour
6 tablespoon of cocoa powder
2 tsp of baking soda
½ tsp saltWhisk 2 cups of water
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp vinegar / half cup yogurt
½ cup oil.

For Icing:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar sifted
1 tbsp castor or granular sugar
2 1/2 tbsp. thin cream or wholefat milk
40 gms. white butter

Method
Sift the first 4 ingredients. Whisk 2 cups of water, 2 cups of sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp vinegar, ½ cup oil. Whisk until the sugar gets dissolved. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well with help of hand mixer. Pour the batter into a greased oven pan or parchment paper lined. Pre- heat the oven to 350 F and bake for 35 – 40 minutes. Keep checking once in a while, and insert a tooth pick into the cake, if the tooth pick comes out without sticky of cakes, you are all set. Take the pan from the oven. You can cool it and keep in the fridge. Serve it cold. Or you can cool the cake, complete the icing and then refrigerate it before serving.

For Icing:
Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Keep aside. Melt butter carefully in a pan. Add milk and bring to just below simmering point (71°C). Simultaneously, heat castor sugar in another pan. Pour into caramel, stir to dissolve. Pour over icing sugar, beat till thick and creamy. Make sure that the cake is completely cooled and then spread the icing over cake.