Oven Dried – Sun-dried Tomatoes

 

Hello my wonderful readers!

How have you all been? So this time I am back with a simple recipe and it is a super money saver. We absolutely love sun-dried tomatoes and they just go with everything! But buying the packages / bottled kind is super expensive and it honestly does not make sense when you have access to fresh ripe tomatoes right? So this post will help you make simple sun-dried tomatoes and trust me it is super easy.

Ingredients :-

1. Tomatoes – 1 kg ( try using ripe ones)
2. Salt – 1/2 tsp
3. Olive oil – 1 cup
4. Garlic – 4 cloves
5. Basil Leaves – 6

Instructions :-

1. Pre heat your oven to 100 c .  Line a baking sheet with foil and brush with oil . Set aside
2. Wash and pat dry the tomatoes
3. Cut the tomatoes into thin halves lengthwise . If you are using cherry tomatoes, then cutting them into two halves is sufficient . But if you are using regular tomatoes, cut them into thing slices, as they are the quicker to cook.
4. Spread the cut tomatoes out evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Make sure they are not touching each other and there is enough space between the pieces. This will ensure the hot air passes through each piece and it cooks / dries evenly. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes. Sprinkle a little salt too. Tuck the basil leaves underneath the tomatoes so they do not burn but they give off their flavour.
5. Make sure to spread olive oil on the basil leaves
6. Now turn the oven mode to the  continuously baking mode. I have a setting on my oven that allows me to leave the oven on till need be
7. Pop the baking sheet into the oven. Now balance a wooden spoon on the door in such a way that there is a little space for the moisture to escape from the oven. (Trust me this helps)
8. Now depending on how ripe and how thin the tomatoes are, this can take 6 – 7 hours
9. Every once in a while just give the tomatoes a mix and turn them over.
10. The smaller pieces will get done faster so you can take them out of the oven sooner.
11. You want to wait till the skin has a leathery feel and they look all de hydrated and small.
12. Once they all are done, let them sit and cool completely. Now you can have them just like that too.
13. If not you can add the rest of the olive oil into a clean glass jar, add the garlic and salt
14. Then add the dried tomatoes and store in a fridge. I have left them for 2 -3 months and they have been fine.
15. Your oven dried / sun dried tomatoes are ready! You can use them in pastas, sandwiches, pizza etc .

 

Caramel and Orange Upside Down Cake

 

Hello my wonderful readers!

How have you all been? I think I can finally say that we have settled into our new house after close to 6 months of moving in here. Its been crazy with the little one. When he was one people would say “Oh wait till the terrible twos” Now as he inches towards the 3 I wanna say ” wait till the horrible threes”!! lol.. But on the other hand he finally understands things. Like when I say that we will get to go to the play pen on a Friday, he finally gets it. He does not get when Friday is, but he understands that it will come soon. My little boy has also learned to eat with a fork. Now I was never ok with him holding a fork in his hand but every time we go to a restaurant he wants to eat like us. (At home we would refrain from using it cause he would want it too). So now he has decided to have his meals with a fork too. It impossible to have watery dal and rice with a fork so lunch is when I feed him. But otherwise he is learning. My little baby is growing so fast and its almost time to put him in school. Before we had him we had promised each other that no matter how hard it would get, we would not get a nanny and no day care. Simply cause I have trust issues. That being said, now my son is of an age where he can form sentences. And I encourage him to talk to me and recollect what happened every day. So that way  even if I am away I won’t be in the dark about what is happening in his life. There will come day when he is all grown up and doesn’t wanna talk to me, but till then I am going to take every minute that I get to listen and to be a part of his life. My boys are my world and when I say boys I mean my little one and my husband. In this house, age is just a number. Some times there is absolutely no difference between the two. They both can be equally stubborn about food and then they can melt my heart with just a smile. All it takes is one look and they have their way.

So you know how you go for a walk and you smell some one cooking some thing? Like when I am at the gym in the mornings and I can smell toasted bread with lots of butter! OH THAT SMELL! haha. Well yeah, and then I am on the mill and I am dreaming about buttered toast! lol! no wonder I don’t lose weight! haha. So thats how I have been feeling when I look into my Instagram app. OH BTW! If you do not follow me on Instagram, plz do. Its the same name as the blog. ACUPCAKEFORLOVE. All the orange upside down cakes that have made their way all over the internet got me wanting to make some myself. So here it is. Super super simple and goes deliciously well with a cup of tea.

Ingredients :-

For the orange layer – 

1. Oranges – 2 ( medium size) + 2 (large)
2. Sugar – 1 cup
3. Water – 1/4 cup
4. Butter – 2 tbsp
5. Vanilla extract – 1 tbsp
6. Salt – 1 pinch

For the cake layer – ( all at room temperature)

1. Caster sugar – 1 + 1.2 cup
2. Flour – 2 cups + 4 tsp
3. Eggs – 4 medium size
4. Milk – 1 cup
5. Apple cider vinegar – 1 tsp
6. Baking powder – 1 tsp
7. Baking soda – 1/2 tsp
8. Orange Zest – 1 tbsp
9. Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
10. Salt – 1/4 tsp
11. Orange Juice – 3 tbsp
12. Butter – 150 grms

• Pre heat your oven to 180 C and butter a cake pan heavenly. Set aside

Instructions for the orange layer 

1. First cut the orange into thin round slices . Make sure to take out all the seeds
2. Layer the oranges in the prepared cake tin pan
3. In a sauce pan, add the sugar and water. Let it come to a boil. Do not whisk till it comes to a boil. You can move the pan around a few times if need be
4. Once the sugar mixture becomes amber colour, take it off the heat and add the butter and whisk well. Then add the vanilla and salt. Give it a good mix and then pour the mixture over the top of the layer oranges
5. There is alway a change of the mixture burning your hand when you add the butter so be very careful. Always wear mitten while making caramel
6. Set aside to cook

 

For the Cake layer 

1. In a large bowl combine al the dry ingredients – flour + baking powder + baking soda + salt
2. In another bowl combine milk + vinegar
3. In a mixing bowl combine butter and sugar and whisk till the butter turns pale and yellow
4. Then add the eggs. After the eggs add the vanilla extract
5. Now alternate between the milk and the flour mixture and add to the sugar butter mixture
6. Continue till all of it is incorporated
7. Then using a spatula add the juice and orange zest
8. Pour the batter on top of the orange caramel mixture
9. Once done level the batter and pop into the oven for 45 – 50 mins or till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean
10. Now once you pull the cake out of the oven, use a butter knife and run it along the sides of the cake ( make sure you have you mitten on for this)
11. Then place plate on top and turn the cake upside down
12. Slowly remove the cake pan and your cake is ready! Serve right away!

Nadan Chicken Cutlet – Kerala style Chicken Croquettes

 

Hello my Dear Wonderful People!

How are you all doing? Happy Valentines day! A day for love, a day to be loved and a day for love to be loved! Yup.. Its one whole day when we get to show our special people that they matter to us. And unlike many people, I absolutely love the idea of having this day. No it doesn’t not mean that we can’t show love on other days, and if you see it like that then I feel sorry for you. If you giving me another chance to show you how much you mean to me and you make it mandatory on the 14th of every Feb then I am taking it! Cause you know what? no matter how hard I try, some days, I forget to tell you how much you mean to me. Somedays I try but I might not be able to get to you cause you were having a bad day. But today I am going to take that day. Also maybe 20 years from now, this day might not mean as much as it does today but so what? Today is what matters right?

So on this special day, I decided to make my husband his favourite deep fried snack. These cutlets. I do not make them often, infact the last time I made them was close to a year ago. Simply cause they are deep fried and they involve quite a few steps. But once you make them, you could make a large batch and freeze them and use them as and when you want. That is what I did this time 🙂 This recipe is from my grandmother and her cutlets are out of this world. These little bites of heaven are perfect for a evening snack or a great side for dinner time. There are many variations to these cutlets, some people add cashews to the meat and some others fry the meat and add rice flour. My recipe is quite straightforward. Boil / cook each part of the recipe. Combine , dip , coat and fry! FINISH!

 

Ingredients :-

1. Chicken – 500 gms ( boneless)
2. Potatoes – 4 large
3. Onions – 3 cups ( chopped fine )
4. Green Chillies – 10 ( adjust to taste)
5. Ginger – 4 inch knob
6. Garlic – 14 cloves
7. Turmeric Powder – 2 tsp + 1 tsp
8. Coriander Powder – 4 tsp + 1 tsp
9. Garam Masala Powder – 3 tsp
10. Pepper Powder – 2 tsp
11. Fresh Coriander Leaves – 1 cup ( chopped)
12. Mint leaves – 1 cup (chopped)
13. Salt – 1 tsp + 2 tsp + 1 tsp ( adjust to taste)
14. Oil – 2 tbsp + more for deep frying
15. Eggs – 2 ( beaten )
16. Bread Crumbs – 1 cup ( more according to shape of cutlet)

Instructions :-

1. Peel potatoes and boil till soft. Set aside
2. In a pressure cooker add the chicken pieces. Then add 1 tsp turmeric powder + pepper powder (2 tsp) + Coriander powder 1 tsp + 1 tsp salt. Pressure cook the chicken for 3 whistles. ( If you do not have a cooker, just use a pot and boil the chicken till cooked well.)
3. Once the chicken is cooked, open the cooker and look for water. If there is excess water, cook the chicken on high flame till all the water has evaporated. Same for when cooking in a pot. Once all the water has evaporated, set aside to cool down
4. Then in a blender, blend the chicken to form a coarse paste. Make sure not to grind it too much. You want some chucks of chicken to remain
5. In a large flat bottom pot, add 2 tbsp of oil. Once the oil is hot. add the onions and fry till golden brown. During this time in a mortar and pestle add the ginger + garlic and green chillies. Crush to form a nice coarse paste
6. Add the ginger paste to the onions and fry till the garlic looses its raw smell
7. Then add the rest of the turmeric powder + coriander powder + garam masala powder. Give it a good mix and fry till the masala has cooked well into the onion mixture
8. Set aside to cool. During this time lets get our assembly line ready 🙂
9. In one plate add the boiled potatoes + the onions spice mixture. Add the fresh mint and coriander
10. Mix with your hand to evenly distribute all the ingredients. Then add the ground chicken
11. after you have mixed the chicken with the rest of the spiced potato mixture, make small patties of equal size and set on a large cookie sheet or plate
12. Now with one hand dunk the patties into the light beaten egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs to coat evenly
13. Set aside in a large plate ready for frying!
14. In a large wok or Khadai, heat oil
15. Once the oil is hot ( on medium heat) fry the patties till golden brown
16. Reserve on kitchen paper to drain excess oil
17. Serve right away with ketchup!

Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Brusstels Sprouts

 

Hello my wonderful readers,

How are you all doing today? So today I am here with a simple no fuss snack thats is easy on the waist line and doesn’t feel like a salad at all. So every Friday my husband likes to unwind with a glass of scotch and he insists that I make some thing to go along with the drink. Inevitably I end up making something deep fried. So to change things up and keep it healthy, I decided to make these roasted Brussels sprouts and potatoes and they were a HIT!  They take close to no time to prep and once they are in the oven all you have to do is give them a toss in the half way through the baking time just to make sure they crisp up evenly.

The garlic and the rosemary boost the taste and flavour of the veggies.

 

Ingredients :-

1. Brussel Sprouts – 500 Gms
2. Onions – 2 large ( sliced)
3. Garlic – 10 cloves
4. Rosemary – 4 to 5 sprigs
5. Potato – 2 ( cut to wedges ) (cut them thin so they take the same time to cook as the rest of the ingredients )
6. Pepper – 1/2 tsp
7. Himalayan Pink Salt to taste ( use regular if not available )
8. Olive oil for a generous drizzle

 

Instructions :-

1. Pre heat your oven to 200C
2. Clean and cut the Brussels sprouts. Prep the onions, potatoes and rosemary
3. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients listed above
4. Arrange the same onto a baking tray
5. Drizzle olive oil and pop the tray into the oven. Bake for 40 mins or till the Brussels sprouts are crisp on the outside and the potatoes are cooked well
6. Make sure to turn the veggies around, half way through the bake, to ensure that they cook evenly
7. Once done, serve right away . We like it a little crisp and brown on the outside.
8. You could also grate some cheese on top of the roasted veggies