Beetroot Chocolate Cake by Ross Burden

Super MOIST chocolate cake.

Ross Burden - Model, Celebrity Chef and once voted the most eligible bachelor of UK!

But he is no more. He passed away on 17 July 2014.

This is my tribute to the Master Chef from New Zealand.

Imagine a chocolate cake with Beetroot...Crazy. But trust me, it is AMAZING!!

Notes:

*This recipe uses beetroot puree. I found that if I used 300 gms of sugar as the original recipe needed, the cake is very sweet, especially as it has a ganache on top. So, I used only 100 gms.

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 2 large

Sugar (powdered) - 100 to 150 gms*

Eggs - 3

Maida / all purpose flour - 200 gms

Cocoa powder -30 gms

Baking soda - 1 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Vegetable oil / butter - 240 ml

Dark chocolate - 85 gms

Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

Ganache:

Heavy cream + milk - 200 ml

Cooking dark chocolate - 200 gms, broken

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C for 10 minutes.

2. Grease a 10 inch cake tin and keep aside. If you wish, line it too. Mine is non-stick with removable bottom.

3. Peel and cube the beetroot. Cook in a covered vessel with just enough water. Keep adding more water, as required. Once it gets well cooked, cool the beetroot and puree.

 Use only 300 gms of this Beetroot puree.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Keep aside.

5. Melt the 85 gms of cooking chocolate on a double boiler or microwave high in 15 second pulses while stirring often till melted.

Method:

Beat the sugar and oil / butter until sugar melts.

Adds egg one at a time and beat well.

Add in the beetroot puree, melted chocolate and vanilla.

Mix well.

Now fold in the sieved flour mixture. Do not over-beat.

Pour into the prepared tray.

Bake for 30 minutes and check with a skewer to see if the insides are cooked. (It should come out clean.)

If not done, cook for 5 more minutes.

Once done, cool in tray for 10 minutes and then unmould.

Preparing ganache:

Heat the cream and milk until it nearly boils.

Pour over the broken cooking chocolates. Stir until the chocolate melts.

Pour this ganache over the warm cake. 

Coconut Burfi

My tryst with Coconut Burfi started years ago. In 2011, my attempt to make 'burfi' was a disaster, but a very tasty disaster. I called it - Not Raffaello!
While watching TLC on television, "Food Safari" by Maeve O'Meara was showcasing Indian food and in this particular episode an Indian woman "Rene Singh" showed her aunt's recipe of making 'coconut burfi'.
Find the link of that part of the said episode here.
As usual, I have NOT followed the recipe completely. I have used fresh coconut in my recipe and have NOT used water to help make balls. I feel that Ghee is better.

Ingredients:
Fresh dessicated Coconut - 200 gms
Dessicated dry coconut - 50 gms
Milkmaid / sweetened condensed milk / Mithai Mate - 375 gms (1 tin)
Cardamom - 2 , pounded
Almonds / cashew / pistachio - 2 tbsp , pounded
Ghee / clarified butter - 1 tbsp

Method:
Mix the fresh dessicated coconut, milkmaid, cardamom and pounded nuts together in a heavy bottomed vessel.
Heat this mixture on low flame till it starts coming together.

Now grease your hands with little ghee.
Make small balls of the heated mixture.
Roll in the dessicated coconut.
Cool to room temperature.
Store refridgerated.

Colorful bell pepper fry with dry coconut-peanut-til powder / capsicum dry fry

Such a eye-pleasing dish.
Crunchy Capsicum / bell pepper with a dusting of crunchy nutty spicy powder.
I still remember seeing these colorful capsicums at the market and just wanting to buy them.
I have made some other curries using these beauties like Vegetable Jalfrieze and Italian Pasta with grilled vegetables, but this is a very easy side dish to make.Hardly takes time.

Ingredients:

Capsicum / bell pepper in all 3 colors - 1/2 of each
Onion - 1 large
Peanut - 1 tbsp
Til seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry Red chilly - 2
Dry Coconut / copra - 4 slivers
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Cut the onion and capsicum into 1 inch squares. Try to separate the onion into individual layers.

Dry fry peanut, til seeds, coriander seeds and red chilly separately.
Heat the oil, fry the dry conut until golden. remove using a slotted spoon and add to the rest of the fried ingredients.
Cool and powder coarsely. Keep aside.

In the rest of the oil, splutter the mustard and add the onions and capsicum together.
Keep the flame high. Keep stirring the vegetables.

Fry till you hear the popping sound from the skin of the capsicum.
Now add the powdered spices and salt. Mix well.

Turn off flame and serve hot.
You can add a little lemon juice, if you so wish.

Paneer Makhani

Paneer Makhani is YUM!
Rich buttery tomato gravy with chunks of paneer and capsicum.
Fantabulous!!

If you have the base ready, then the curry gets ready in a jiffy.
This is Makhani curry, the amount of butter used HAS to be high!

Ingredients:
Makhani gravy - 1 cup
Butter - 75 gms
Milk - 1/3 cup
Onion - 2 medium
Capsicum / bell pepper - 1/2 large
Paneer - 100 gms
Kasuri methi - 1 tsp / healthy pinch
Salt to taste
Jeera - 1 tsp

Method:
Cut the onion, capsicum and paneer into slightly big cubes. Keep aside.
Heat the butter in a thick bottomed pan and add the onion.
Reduce flame and once the onion starts becoming translucent, make a well in the middle and add the jeera in.

Next add the cubed paneer. Fry for 1 minute and add the capsicum.

Increase flame and fry for 1 minute.
Now add the tomato gravy, followed by the kasuri methi, milk and salt.

Cook covered on low flame for 5 minutes.
Serve hot with chapathy or nan.

Makhani Gravy

Paneer makhani, peas makhani, vegetable makhani and even Chicken Tikka in makhani gravy are very famous.
The one thing common is Makhani gravy.
So, if you can make and keep this gravy in advance, then when you are running short of time or suddenly guests arrive, you can feel relaxed.
This is my version of makhani gravy and it tastes a bit like tomato shorba. All the spices are cooked with the tomato in a pressure cooker, then ground, strained and cooked till thick.
The recipe is so easy that I would advice all to have a stock of this frozen in the freezer.
I have made this gravy with 1 kg of Tomato. This will yield makhani gravy for 12 people.
You will notice that, even though the gravy is called Makhani, there is no Makkhan (butter) added to it.
That part comes when you make the curry.
Do not be deterred with the scandalous amount of butter used in making the curry!!

Note: There is no salt added to the gravy, you add it to the curry.
          Similarly, remember cloves add a lot of heat / spiciness.

Ingredients:
Tomato - 1 kg
Ginger - 4 inch
Garlic - 4 to 6 large pods
Green Chilly -5
Red Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Cloves - 10
Cardamom - 8
Pepper - 1 tsp, optional

Method:
Quarter the tomatoes and add all the above mentioned ingredients into a pressure cooker with 1/4 cup water.
Cook for 2 whistles.

Now cook and grind into a smooth paste.

Strain to remove all 'thari' pieces, skin of tomato etc.

Keep this for boiling on a low flame.

Cook till the gravy thickens and you can draw a line on the spatula and it holds.

Cool and store in 4 small batches.
Freeze 3 batches.
Find the recipe of Paneer makhani here.