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!

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Strawberry, Thyme and Caramel Brioche Sticky Buns

 

 

Hello my dear wonderful readers!

Is it Thursday already???? Some times I cannot believe how the days go by. My little monkey a.k.a my son 🙂 is also growing up so fast. Let me tell you why I say that. My little boy has a cold and till yesterday what comes so easily to us, was the hardest thing for him. What is that one thing that we often do when we have a cold? we blow our nose! But my little 2 year had no clue how to blow his nose. All he would do is a “kaaaarrkkkkkkkk” sound into a tissue if I ask him blow his nose. Yesterday some how, I asked him to do the same and guess what?? it worked!!! He actually blew his nose!! Now I know you are thinking OMG what is this woman talking about! So here is something, parenting is such a roller coaster, that every single minute you learn and you grow. You do not have to be a parent to a human, it could be a cute little pup or cat or any animal you want to appreciate what i am saying. When they are tiny they are so fragile that once they start showing signs of growing up, every step calls for a celebration. At least I do. Your child is a celebration of your life. The joys I have found as a mum are unparalleled and can never be forgotten.

Now coming back to this recipe. It was actually a test recipe but given that I made quite a few yesterday and only 4 remain, I think it would be apt to share the recipe with you all. So I asked my dear husband to buy some fresh thyme for a dinner I was making and he got this huge packet of thyme so needless to say, you might see a lot of “Thyme” based recipes coming your way 🙂

Strawberries and thyme are a match made in heaven. So if you wanna make a fun snack with fresh strawberry jam or even store bought organic jam then this is just the one. When I was a little girl my mum would always make me have a jam sandwich and a tall glass of milk on the table just before I went out to play. This recipe reminds me so much of those days.

The bread is not just any bread. It is the most fluffiest, softest, tastiest bread ever. Because of the addition of butter and eggs this bread is just delicious just by itself too. The little thyme adds a certain mystical, lemony smell and taste. Winter mornings with a cup of tea and these buns are the perfect breakfast in bed option too.

Ingredients for the bread :-

1. Flour – 2 cups
2. Sugar – 5 tbsp
3. Yeast – 2 tsp
4. Salt – 1/4 tsp
5. Milk – 2/3 cup (warm)
6. Water – 1/3 cup
7. Eggs – 2 (lightly beaten)
8. Butter – 105 gms (softened and at room temp)

Instructions :-

1. In a bowl combine milk, sugar and yeast. Set aside till frothy and bubbly
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the flour and butter. With the hook attachment mix till a bread crumb consistency is achieved
3. Then add the eggs and mix well
4. Next add the yeast mixture and milk in a steady stream with the mixer on low
5. Once you are done, add the salt and let the dough mix for 10 – 12 mins on medium speed
6. Mean while oil a glass bowl with 1/2 tsp of oilve oil and set aside
7. Now you will notice that the dough is quite wet but that’s ok, continue mixing till the dough is nice and elastic
8. Finally tip the elastic dough into the prepared bowl
9. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm place till the dough doubles in size ( 1 – 3 hrs)
10. During that time. Lets assemble the ingredients for the filling

Ingredients :-

1. Strawberry Jam – 2 cups ( depends on how thin you roll out the dough)
2. Fresh Thyme – 4 tbsp
3. Caramel – 3 tbsp ( or as required)
4. Egg – 1 (whisked well)
5. Butter for greasing

Instructions  :-

1. Pre Heat your oven to 200 C and grease a cupcake tray with butter. Set aside
2. Flour your work counter with flour and dump the flour into the counter. Make sure to deflate the dough in the bowl first
3. Slowly knead for 1 min till it forms a ball. Divide the ball into 2 equal halves
4. Then using a rolling pin, roll out a rectangle 40 cm x 20 cm
5. The using a pastry brush, evenly spread the jam over the rolled out dough ( if it very thick pop it into the microwave for 30 sec)
6. Once you are done with the strawberry layer, sprinkle the thyme leaves
7. Then drizzle the caramel over it
8. Now slowly starting from the longer side roll inwards. Flour your hands, if you find the dough is sticky
9. Once you have a nice long roll, cut into equal circles. I used a thread for this. Slip a thread under the log, come around it from both side, make a tiny knot just once and pull tight through
10. As you make the circles place it in the prepared cupcake tray
11. Once you are done with all of the dough in the same manner, using a pastry brush, lightly coat the tops of the rolls, with the eggs wash
12. Pop into the oven for 30 Mins or till golden brown. Once done, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack
13. Allow to cool till warm to touch, then pop them out of the cupcake molds and place on a cooling rack to cool completely
14. Serve with hot milk or tea

Pumpkin Khao Soi with sweet sticky Pork and Egg noodles – (soup)

Hello my dear wonderful readers!!

How are you all doing today? I cannot believe its already November and the year is coming to an end. The air is a little chilly and I pulled out my baby’s jackets and I realized I have to buy him new ones 🙂 . How time flies.

Anyways, so this time I am back with a lovely creamy, bold soup. Now traditionally it is made without the pumpkin and usually it goes with chicken. But this time I decided to make the soup creamy and thick and give it a new dimension.  Hence the pumpkin.Trust me this soup is a meal in itself. You can make it completely vegan my omitting the pork but I wanted that little extra protein and so the addition of pork.

We absolutely love noodles at home. May it be rice, buckwheat, whole wheat, egg any sort, is always welcome. So the recipe calls of egg noddles but if you cannot get a hold of them then go ahead and use any noodle that you like. Just make sure that you add them just before you serve them in a bowl, or else they tend to absorb all the moisture from the soup and then just turn mushy. No one wants a mushy bowl of noodle soup right? This is not your typical noodle in a broth.

 

Preparing the Pork :-
Ingredients

1. Pork – 400 gms ( lean fillet)
2. Oil – 1 tsp
3. Garlic – 1 tbsp ( choppped)
4. Oyster Sauce – 1 tbsp
5. Soya Sauce – 1 tsp 
6. Brown Sugar / Palm Sugar – 3 tsp 
7. Salt – to taste ( 1.2 tsp)
8.  Pepper – 1.2 tsp 

Instructions :-

1.  In a non stick pan, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook till soft
2. Then add the rest of the ingredients and cook on high for 2 min
3. Then cover and cook for 5 min on medium heat
4. Finally open the lid and cook till all the moisture is out 
5. Remove the cooked pork from the pan and toss out any excess fat on the pan

To Prepare the Pumpkin

 

Ingredients :-

1. Pumpkin – 4 cups (skin peeled, innards removed and chopped)
2. Potato – 1 cup ( chopped)
3. Ginger – 1 tbsp ( choppped)
4. Salt – 1 tsp
5. Water – 4 cups

Instructions :-

 

1. In a large pot, combine all the ingredients and place on medium heat
2. Cook till the pumpkin and potatoes are soft
3. Once they are soft, spoon them out, into a blender
4. Make a fine paste and set aside

To make the Khao Soi Paste :-

1.  Dried Red chilies – 25
2. Water – 1/2 cup
3.  Garlic – 20
4. Ginger – 2 tbp ( chopped fine)
5. Cilantro leaves and steam – 1 cup ( packed)
6. Shallots – 13 
7. Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
8.  Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
9. Garam Masala Powder – 1/2 tsp 

Instructions :-

1.  Heat water till boiling point
2.  Place all the dried chillies into the boiling hot water and let them soak for 30 mins
3. Later in the bowl of a blender add all the ingredients along with the soaked red chillies and the water and blend to make a fine thick paste
4. Set aside ( you can use as much as you want for this recipe and freeze the rest for later use)

Making and Assembling the soup 

Ingredients for the soup :-

1.  Egg noodles – 250 gms 
2. Oil – 2 tbsp
3. Yellow Bell Pepper – 1/2 cup ( finely sliced)
4. Red Bell Pepper – 1/2 cup ( finely sliced)
5. Chicken Broth – 2 cups
6. Basil Leaves – hand full 
7. Lime Juice – 3 tbs
8. Coconut Milk – 1 can 
9. Coriander and lime for the final garnish 

 Instructions :-

1.  In a large pot, heat oil 
2.  Then add Khao Soi Paste and cook till the oil separates from the mixture
3. Then add the pumpkin and potato mixture
4.  Cook and combine for 2 mins .Then Bell Pepper and chicken broth
5. As the mixture begin to simmer add the coconut milk. Again mix well 
6. Mix well and bring to a boil again ( on medium heat)
7. Once the mixture boils, add the basil leaves, lime juice and salt according to taste
8. Cover and cook for another 5 mins and you are ready!
9. While serving, first add the soup into a bowl, then add the noodles, the pork and finally garnish with some fresh corinader , lime and basil leaves! Yummm!!   

Dark Chocolate covered Chocolate Cookie hearts

Hello my dear wonderful readers!!

Its been so long and there has been so much happening, I do not know where to begin! We finally moved to our own place and I am so excited cause there is so much sun light and space in the form of big balconies! lol. So to start our sweet journey at the new place, I decided to make these simple yet decadent cookies. Hey you know what I discovered, if you want to get rid of the smell of paint in a new place, all you need to do is bake some thing nice! I made these cookies and the paint smell reduced considerably. The next day I made some biryani and that sealed the deal.  hahahahaha…

These cookies are super easy to make and are perfect if you want to make chocolate cut out cookies.

Ingredients :-
1. Flour – 2 cup
2. Baking Powder  – 1/4 tsp
3. Cocoa Powder – 4 tbsp
4. Demerara Sugar – 1 cup
5. Butter – 100 gms
6. Milk – 4 tbsp
7. Salt – one pinch

 Instructions :-

1. Pre Heat your oven to 180 C – Using your baking paper or silpat mat, line your cookie baking tray
2. In a bowl combine butter and sugar. Beat well for 2 – 3 mins
3. Then add the baking powder, salt, flour, cocoa powder. Then slowly add the milk to flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon and once the dough comes together use your hands and bring it all together
4. Finally you will reach a nice thick doughy consistency
5. Lay a baking paper over your kitchen counter and place the cocoa dough in the centre
6. Then place another piece of paper over the dough ( the same size as the paper underneath (40 cm x 40cm)
7. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a nice thin size
8. Then remove the paper over the dough and using the cookie cutter, cut out the desired shape
9. Slowly place the cookies over the prepared baking sheet. These cookies do not expand so its ok to not leave too much space between the cookies 
10. Bake for 20 – 25 mins ( do not wait for the cookies to turn dark brown)
11. Once they are ready , place them on a cooling rack and they are ready for their dressing 🙂

For the glaze
1. Micro wave, 50 gms of dark chocolate in spurts of 30 seconds each. Make sure to put out the bowl every 30 seconds and mix with a spatula. This will help prevent the chocolate from burning
2. Dip the cooled chocolate cookies in the melted chocolate and place over a wire rack to let the excess drip down
3. Sprinkle with your favorite kind of topping / sprinkle!!

White Chocolate Persimmon Tartlets

 

 

 

 

Hello Wonderful readers!

It’s persimmon season and I just can’t get enough of this lovely fruit. If you follow me on Instagram you will see what I mean when I say ” I LOVE PERSIMMON” 🙂

So, we have been trying to stay healthy for three weeks now and I must tell you that it is not an easy task! Every time a “cake idea” strikes me, I have to remind myself how we have decided not to have too much butter and sugar. Yes, I know there are alternatives, but cake is best with eggs and butter and sugar and milk! Maybe it’s because we have been conditioned to like cake that way from the age of 1 (like on your first birthday).

Given the above circumstances, I made a batch of these amazing tarts and I had one! just one! So that I did not eat anymore I made sure they were left home (by home, i mean my parents home) that evening! Oh, how I cried the next day just for a little bit of that yummy filling and that soft crumbly crust 😦

Anyway, the fact is, its not easy to stay healthy with all those distractions in the super market. But you just got to try. So for me, weekends’ mean we can have pizza and biriyani. (in moderation). Yippee.

Today being a Friday, I plan on making pizza for dinner. I have the dough resting and my chicken marinating. I will share that recipe with you next week. Just to make it healthier I made the pizza dough in whole wheat flour :p. Yes an oxymoron! Healthy Pizza! Whaaaatttt r u saying????!!!

Ingredients for the tart shell

1. Flour – 500 gms
2. Butter – 250 gms ( cold)
3. Sugar – 5 tbsp ( powdered)
4. Cold water – a few tsps ( enough to bring the dough together)

Instructions :-

1. In a bowl of a food processor, combine cold butter and flour
2. Process on slow till the mixture resembles bread crumbs
3. Then add sugar and slowly add one tsp of water at a time while the mixture is on at a low speed
4. Stop adding water as soon as the dough comes together
5. Tip out the contents of the bowl onto a cling wrap sheet and ball up the dough with the cling wrap
6. Store the tart dough in the fridge till required

Ingredients for the filling :-

1. White Chocolate – 250 gm
2. Cream – 200 ml
3. Eggs – 2 egg yolks
4. Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Instructions :-

 

• In a microwavable bowl, combine cream and white chocolate
• Heat at medium power pausing at one minute intervals to mix the ingredients
• Once the chocolate cream mixture has melted and combined take it out of the microwave and cool to room temperature

 

1. Then add the vanilla and eggs. Whisk well with a fork ( do not over whisk as it will curdle)

Assembling the tart :-

1. Roll out the cooled tart dough to the size of your tart pans.Butter your tart pan liberally and then line the tart pans with the rolled out dough
2. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 – 15 mins at 180 C
3. Once they are ready, take them out of the oven and let them cool down
4. Now slowly pour the white chocolate cream mixture into the tart shells
5. Bake for another 20 mins at 180 C. You will see the mixture start to rise a little and bubble. Once the sides of the tart shell are slightly golden, take them out of the oven and set aside to cool
6. Serve with fresh cut persimmon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thai Red Chicken Curry

 

 

 

Hello world!

We have some exciting news! You can now follow my recipes at Theurbanspice  !!

The Urban Spice is an online lifestyle magazine that show cases wonderful recipes, travel write ups and interviews. Do give it a look at try out the wonderful recipes they have on the site. My recipe for a Thai Red Chicken Curry is up on the site and I would love it if you would give it a try

The recipe is at :- http://www.theurbanspice.com/thai-red-chicken-curry-recipe/  

 

How I wash vegetables!!

 

Ok, so this post in not a recipe one but it does involve food and mostly vegetables and fruits. We live in a world where everything is genetically altered, sprayed and doused in fertilisers and chemicals that are not just harmful to you and me but to our planet as a whole!

Have you ever wondered why certain mixtures or compounds where never found on this planet? Why it took “MAN”s intelligence to make them and how all these diverse new “inventions” have only lead to the depletion of that one element that we got for free? Our wonderful planet. I believe that there was a reason why god put fossil fuels so deep into the ground. I believe there is a reason why we breath in oxygen and plants do the opposite. There is a reason why we live and we die. There is a reason why fruits are seasonal and why rice grows in such big quantities! The reason is “Balance”. Balance in every aspect is so critical!

Like the chair you are sitting in today. If that chair wasn’t manufactured or made with the balance your weight out correctly then the purpose of that chair is defeated. Like that little honey bee gathering honey and in turn help with more fruits and flower. If we didn’t have bees we wouldn’t have fruits and in turn no flowers and therefor no bees! If you did not know how to balance then you would never walk. If you did not have a job or a hobby then life would seem like a constant train of mundane activities that happen much like a robot taught to do specific deeds at set instructions. Life is a very delicate balance. And the faster we realise it, the better we can teach our children and the more they will learn to respect what they have.

While we could try and save what is left of the planet and as a foodie I try my best to do so. Some times I buy fruits and vegetable from local famers and I know they use a lot of pesticides and insecticides and fertilisers. So this is how I wash my vegetable and fruits.

What you will need:-

1. Water – 4 lts
2. Veggys / Fruits – 2 kgs ( in this case I used ladies fingers and 4 tomatoes)
3. Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
4. Rock Salt – 1 tsp

Method :-

1. First wash the vegetable in running water for close to 5 min ( first flush with tap open high for 60 secs and then low)
2. Now collect 4 lts water in a large vessel like the one in the photo
3. Add turmeric powder and mix into the water
4. Now add your vegetable and immerse them in the water and let them remain in there for 1 – 2 hours
5. Later drain the water out, rub rock salt over the vegetable and wash vigirously in running water
6. Finally drain all the water and set aside to dry or pat dry

 

Melted Marshmallow Frosting on Chocolate Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Morning!

So yesterday I posted my favourite go to chocolate cupcake recipe. Now this is what I did to dress those lovely little cakes up. Remember how I made those yummy marshmallows. So I used the same thing and added a swirl of whipped cream and they are ready!

So to assemble your cupcakes, you need:

Ingredients :-

1. Cupcakes – 12
2. Marshmallows – 12
3. Whipping Cream – 1 cup
4. Icing sugar – 3 tbsp
5. Vanilla Extract – 1 tbsp

Instructions :-

1. Before you start to whip the cream, place your bowl and whisk attachment into the freezer for 15 mins;
2. Take them out of the freezer just when you want to whisk;
3. Pour cream into the cold bowl and whisk on medium till the cream thickens;
4. Once you see soft peaks form, add the sugar one spoon at a time;
5. After all the sugar has been added, crank up the speed and give it another 2 – 3 mins;
6. When you see that the cream is thick enough to hold stiff peaks quickly add in the vanilla extract;
7. Give a nice whisk again and set aside;
8. Now in a microwavable plate set 6 cupcakes. Slowly place 1 marshmallow on top of each cupcake. If your marshmallow is too big then cut them into  6 cm cubes;
9. Now place then in to microwave and set the timer for exactly 30 sec;
10. At the 30 sec you will see the marshmallow is gooey but not runny. That’s ok. That is the texture we want ( Some times the power may differ in different microwaves so just wait till you see that the marshmallow is gooey but not runny!, also if you are using store-bought marshmallows then it might take a few seconds longer but again just look out for when the marshmallow turns gooey and not runny);
11. Once the marshmallow has reached that stage, take the plate of cupcakes out of the microwave and with a butter knife or a spoon slowly spread the marshmallow around the crown of the cupcake (Similar to how you would spread butter on a piece of toast);
12. After you have finished all of them, place them on a cooling rack ( for 10 mins);
13. During that time, prepare your icing bag with the required nozzle and fill it up with the whipping cream that we made earlier; and
14. Once the cupcakes have cooled down to room temperature, slowly pipe the fresh cream onto the cupcakes however you like.

Easy No Fail Chocolate Cupcake

 

 

 

We all have our quick and no fail cupcake recipe right? This is mine. It’s really simple and all you really have to worry about it making sure your ingredients are at room temperature and the quality of coco powder is the best. I used the all too famous Hershey’s coco powder. But you could use which ever brand you like.  For me the perfect cupcake has … to

• Taste good. Not too sweet
• Should not be sticky, when I peel the cupcake liner off I don not want the cake sticking to it
• It shouldn’t be hard nor too soft (it’s not a chiffon cake)
• When I take a bite the rest of the cupcake should stay together and not just crumble
• The cake should just melt in my mouth when I take a bite
• Chocolate cupcakes should have that nice shine but shouldn’t be oily

Ok too much to ask huh…

No not really. This recipe is my go to recipe for cupcake and trust me if you do not get it right then it can only be that your flour is old, your temperature is off or you over worked the batter. Ok no more cupcake science. Lets get to the recipe huh

Ingredients :-

1. Flour – 2 cups
2. Powdered Sugar – 1/2 cup
3. Demerara Sugar – 1/2 cup ( I use the powdered kind)
4. Baking powder – 1 + 1/2 tsp
5. Baking soda – 1 + 1/2 tsp
6. Salt – 1/2 tsp
7. Coco Powder – 100 gms
8. Oil – 1/2 cup
9. Milk – 1 cup
10. Vanilla Extract – 1 tbsp
11. Eggs – 2 eggs at room temp
12. Coffee Powder – 1tsp
13. Boiling hot water – 1 cup

Instructions :-

1. Preheat your oven to 180 and line your cupcake tray with liners. Set aside
2. In a bowl mix flour + baking soda + baking powder + salt + sugar + demerara sugar + coco powder. Use a whisk to mix well. If there are any lumps run your fingers through the dry ingredients to powder it all
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer add milk + oil
4. Use your paddle attachment and mix on low
5. Now add coffee powder and hot boiling water. Mix for 2 mins
6. Finally add your eggs and mix at medium speed. Next add vanilla extract to the mixture
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients mixture in batches ( I usually do 5). When I get to the fourth batch I stop to scrap down the bowl. Then add the last batch and mix for another 30 sec. The batter will look runny and unlike cake batter but trust me it works!
8. Finally scoop out the batter into you lined cupcake moulds and bake for 20 to 25 mins. Make sure you fill them only 2/3rd of the cup or else you will have flat cupcakes that spill out of the cupcake liner
9. Once the timer goes off take the cupcakes out of the oven and let them rest of 10 mins. Then slowly take them out of the cupcake tray and set them to cool down on a cooling rack
10. My next post will tell you what I did to dress them up 😛

Lepakshi – Arise Oh Bird!

 

 

 

 

 

On a rock, the shape of a tortoise, there stood 5 separate Lingams. Each bearing its own story of how they came into existence. A pious king decided to bring them together under the guard of one stone wall and honour each lingam with its own sanctum sanatorium. Sanctioned by the kings of the Vijayanagara empire in the 1500s the two brother Viruppanna and Veeranna began building this temple to specialy honour the god Veerbhadra. The temple in itself consists of the inner temple, a dancing hall, a marriage hall that depicts the wedding of Lord Shive to Godess Parvathy, and a court yard with pillars, no two similar to each other.

The dancing hall inside the temple is held up by 70 pillars carved from the same stone that this beautiful temple sits on. Each pillar has a different designed carved into it and the main pillars show a beautiful maiden dancing under the guidance of her guru. It is in this mantapa that you will find the famous hanging pillar. 69 pillars of this hall rest on the ground, yet this one pillar remains hanging. It is said that this pillar is the key to holding the entire roof of the hall up! But sadly curiosity got the better of the Britisher who tried to move the pillar and in turn caused a chain reaction therefore ruining all the 69 pillars of the hall. The damage can be seen in every pillar, either bent, broken or crooked.

The temple is an unfinished piece of artificial magnificence. It is said that the king Achutaray had accused Viruppana for embezzling funds from the state treasury and Virupanna was to be blinded for his wrong doing. In his rage, it is said that Virupanna blinded himself and threw his eye balls on the walls of the enclosure behind the main idol of the temple. Even today there remain two holes on the wall with what appears to be a reddish blotch around it and it said to have been tested positive for human blood.

 

 

Like many other temples made during this time, this temple is also filled with stories from hindu mythology. It is said that the temple was built by Agasthya muni and he created the magestic statues of lord Ganesha, Shiva and Parvathy.

 

It is said that during the time the temple was made, the average person measured 8 feet and goddess Sita Devi was considered short.  It believed that the goddess left her foot print on the face of the rock when the great bird Jatayu sacrificed its life trying to save her from Ravana.

The carving on the rock is said to be the platter in which the architects of the building would have their meals.

 

 

This temple is a beautiful piece of history that is situated 100kms from the bustling city of Bangalore and is surrounded by farms and rocky landscape. The temple stand as a reminder that no matter how big we aspire to become or how much we dream to create, every step of the way, we must aim for greatness. Greatness not measured by another appreciation but a greatness that we know is different, unique and unparalleled to what we thought was the best!