Carrot Cake

The cake is super moist and you don't even have to beat it a lot, unlike other cakes ! I would say the only hard work you gotta do to make this cake is to grate those carrots. But hey, you get a super awesome end product, so it's totally worth it :)

Ingredients

For the cake :

2 cups grated carrots

2 cups self-rising flour

4 eggs – room temperature

¾ cup oil

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp water

¼ tsp salt

½ cup chopped pecans

For cream cheese frosting

16 oz cream cheese

¼  cup butter

1 ½ cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions :

1) Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch round pans. (You could also make one big cake and slice it into two halves).

2) In a large mixing bowl beat carrots with all the wet ingredients. Stir well.

3) Mix in all the dry ingredients very slowly. Stir till just combined. Do not over stir this mixture. 

4) Pour the batter evenly in both the pans.

5) Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

6) Let the cakes cool before you apply the frosting on both the layers. Sprinkle pecans on top.

For the frosting just beat all the ingredients till smooth. Try not to taste it, because then you might end up eating half of it before you get a chance to put it on the cake :P .

Peanut Butter - Banana Quesadillas

Ingredients : Tortilla, Peanut Butter, Banana, Chocolate Chips, Butter

Directions :

Ahemm, no you don't need directions for this one ! 

Moong Dal Kachori

Ingredients:

for dough:

1 cup All purpose flour (Maida)

1/4 tsp Salt

2 tbsp Oil

1/2 cup chilled water to knead (approx)

Oil, to deep fry

for filling:

1/4 cup soaked moong dal (2-3 hrs), drain, lightly dry and coarsely ground

1 tsp Coriander seeds (coarsely ground)

1 tsp fennel seeds (coarsely ground)

1/4 tsp grated Ginger

1 Green chillies,finely chopped

1/2 tsp Red chili powder

3/4 tsp Amchur powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala

2 pinches Asafoetida(Hing)

1/4 tsp Salt, approx

1 tbsp Ghee

Method:

to prepare dough:

• Mix flour, salt and oil till it appears like bread crumbs.
• Knead well with chilled water to get a soft and pliable dough.
• Keep it aside for half an hour.

to prepare filling:

• While the dough is resting we can prepare the filling. Heat a vessel, add ghee, fennel seeds, coriander seeds and asafetida, stir for 30 seconds. 
• Add ginger and green chillies and remaining spices. 
• Stir in the coarsely ground dal, saute for 3-4 minutes and turn off heat.

putting together the kachori 

• Take the dough and knead it for a few minutes to make it soft and smooth. Divide the dough in ten equal parts.
• Roll each ball with the rolling pin into a slightly thick puri, try to make the edges thin and leave the centre a little thicker. Place a tablespoon of the filling in the centre of the puri.
• Enclose the filling by gathering the outer edge of the puri to form a pocket. Pinch off extra dough and shape into a flat ball by gently pressing your thumb in the center. Using the base of your palm, flatten them a little more without tearing the outer layering.
• Heat enough oil in a kadhai to deep fry the kachori. Make sure the flame is medium because they need to be fried slowly.
• Fry the kachoris on medium-low heat. Now that you have come so far you have to be patient at this step, if you fry on high heat, the kachoris will become soft and will not be “khasta” anymore.

Mini Pot Pie Bites

Ingredients

2 cups of mixed vegetables

½ cup of shredded cheese

1 tbsp butter
2 heaping tbsps flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp grated garlic
salt and white pepper to taste

A can of refrigerated biscuits

Directions

1. Add vegetables to a saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a soft boil and cook until the veggies are softened. When cooked, drain all the water.

2. Whisk in the flour, milk and keep it aside. 

3. Heat the butter in a pan and sauté the garlic for a few seconds.

4. Pour in the milk and flour mixture and cook on medium-low heat till thickened. Add salt and pepper.

5. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and flatten the biscuit into the bottom and sides of the tin. Spoon about 2 tbsp of the filling into the center of each biscuit. Top it with some shredded cheese.

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown.

Here I have sprinkled some dry parsley on top and drizzled the pot pies with some Sriracha hot sauce. This is completely optional.