Hot Milk Cake

Ingredients :

• Eggs - 4
• Sugar - 2 cups
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• All purpose flour(maida) - 2 1/4 cups
• Baking Powder - 2 1/4 tsp
• Milk - 1 1/4 cups
• Butter - 10 tbsp, cubed

Method :

1. In a large bowl, beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to batter; beat at low speed until smooth.
2. In a pan, heat milk and butter just until butter is melted. Gradually add to batter; beat just until combined.
3. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 12-16 servings.

 

Tomato Rasam

Ingredients :

• Tomato - 2 
• Pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic - 3 pods
• Red Chillies - 2 to 3
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing) - a pinch
• Onion - 1 tsp (one inch piece, chopped)
• Curry leaves - 2 strands
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander leaves - for garnishing
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Salt

Method :

1. In a mixie grind the pepper, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, garlic, red chillies and tomatoes to a fine paste. 
2. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. Then add little pieces of onion, grinded paste, asafoetida and 2 cups of water (add water for your required consistency).
3. Then add turmeric powder, required salt and make to boil until raw smell goes. It takes only 5 to 10 minutes. 
4. Garnish with coriander leaves  and serve hot with  rice.

Tips : 

• At last add a teaspoon of ghee to tamato rasam after switch off the flame. It gives extra taste and smell to tomato rasam.

Suraikai Koottu/ Bottle gourd koottu

In south India we use toor and moong dal a lot. I think almost we use every day in our cooking specially for koottus, dal's and sambars.One more important ingredient in this kootu is bottle gourd. Bottle gourd is very good for health,it makes your body cool and reduces weight because it has lot of water content.I like to serve this with rice and pappad,also with chapathis.

Ingredients :

• Bottle gourd - 1 medium size (chopped)
• Toor dal - 1/2 cup
• Moong dal - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1/2 medium size (chopped)
• Tomato - 1/2 (chopped)
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - 1 strand
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• salt

For Grinding :

• Coconut - 1/4 cup (grated)
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Green chillies - 3 to 4

Method :

1. Peel and chop the bottle gourd into cubes.Wash the moon dal and toor dal together.
2. Add onions, tomatoes, turmeric powder with the dal and cook it with some water.
3. When the dal was half cooked add the bottle gourd pieces and let it cook till soft. Let this keep aside.
4. Mean while grind the coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies to a smooth paste with little water.
5. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds let it splutter then add urad dal, asafoetida, curry leaves. Then add the cooked dal and bottle gourd mix, then add the grinded paste,required salt and make to boil for few minutes and switch off the flame.
6. Suraikai koottu is now ready to serve !!!  Serve hot with rice or chapathi .