Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes ~ Happy Birthday To Me!

The post title announces that it is a special day! Well, one's birthday is indeed special and I do not mind announcing it myself to the world.

I am on my India visit now and I am not really doing any blogging these days. To tell you the truth, I really do not feel like sitting in front of the computer when there is so many other things to do, friends and relatives to meet, shopping and 101 little things that time seems like flying. How ever, today is an exception. So, today I am sharing a very easy cupcake recipe. I have tried it a couple of times and I can tell you this much, this recipe is a keeper. With simple ingredients, it is so easy to make.

The best thing about cupcakes is that every body gets an individual cake and not just a piece of cake. Here I attempted to do the icing with double cream. However, it is as good without the icing. This is a basic recipe and you can add your own variations by adding choco chips, dried fruits, glace cherries etc.

Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes:

3/4 cup plain milk

11/2 tsp white vinegar

1 1/4 cups AP Flour

1 tsp baking powder.

1/2 tsp baking soda

 1/4 tsp salt.

3/4 cup powdered sugar.

1/4 cup oil.

11/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Yields 12.

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vinegar and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine.

3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the milk mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until smooth.

4. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes. The cupcakes are ready when a tooth pick inserted at the centre comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

250 ml double cream.
1/4 cup icing sugar or more.
1 tsp vanilla extract
a few drops of food colour, optional.
Glace cherries, a few.

Process:

1. Add all the ingredients and whip it with a beater till it get stiff peaks.
2. Fill it in a icing bag and keep it in refrigerator for half an hour.
3. When the cupcakes have completely cooled, ice the cupcakes as you like. I used a star nozzle to make stars and swirls and with a few I made butterfly cupcakes.

These cupcakes were soft and moist. Try it once and I am sure you will make them again.

Thank you for stopping by. Cheers!

Micchami Dukkadam

“KHAAMEMI SAVVE JEEVA

SAVVE JEEVA KHAMANTU ME

METTI ME SAVVE BHUYESU

VAIRAM MAJHAM NA KENAI.”

“I grant forgiveness to all living beings,

All living beings grant me forgiveness.

My friendship is with all living beings,

My enmity is totally nonexistent.”

Today is the auspicious occasion of Jain Samvatsari. To tell you more about this holy Jain festival, I am quoting this information from Wikipedia.

Samvatsari is the last day of Paryushana —the eight or ten day festival of Jains. It is the holiest day of the Jain calendar. Most Jains observe a complete fast on this day. The whole day is spent in prayers and contemplation. A yearly, elaborate penitential retreat called Samvatsari pratikramana is performed on this day. After the pratikramana Jains seek forgiveness from all the creatures of the world whom they may have harmed knowingly or unknowingly by uttering the phrase— Micchami Dukkadam.

As a matter of ritual, we personally greet our friends and relatives Micchami Dukkadam.

On the auspicious occasion of Samvatsari, I ask for your forgiveness if I have hurt you knowingly or unknowingly by words or action, “Micchami Dukkadam”

Creamy Rabri/Basundi ~ For Blog Hop Wednesdays ~ From Enveetu KItchen!

For the 3rd edition of Blog Hop Wednesday I am assigned Priya's Blog- Enveetu Kitchen. She has an amazing collection of recipes. I just love her bakes. Despite that I have chosen her recipe of Basundi for today's post. I am sure some baking posts will follow soon.

To know more about it and participate check this. This event is the brain child of Radhika.

She had very lovingly prepared it for her grand mother's anniversary. Basundi is very much like Malai Rabri which I grew up eating. My mom's recipes is almost the same except she does not add saffron. Here, I have followed Priya's recipe to the T and loved it immensely.

I had prepared this long time back, before coming to my India visit and today on seeing these pictures I am tempted to make them again soon. I have used half of the measures as given in the original recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Litres Full Fat Milk

1/4 +2tbsp Sugar

2 tbsp Almond Meal

2 tbsp Chopped Almonds

2 tbsp Chopped Pista

3 cardamom pod seeds crushed

a generous of Saffron, rubbed in 2 tbsp of milk

Method

1. In a Heavy-bottom non stick pan, boil Milk. keep the flame on medium and boil till  it reduces to 3/4 of the volume. 

2. Stir the Milk and Scrape the Pan-Side and return it to the boiling milk. When the Milk reduces to 3/4 of its quantity, add saffron Soaked Milk to this and Sugar. 

3. Keep Stirring often and scrape the sides and stir the malai in to the milk.

4. When Milk reduces to half its quantity, add the almond meal and Chopped nuts and Stir Well. Switch off the Stove and let it cool. When cool refrigerate it. Serve chillled

I enjoyed it very much. See what other bloggers are up with for Blog Hop Wednesday!

Thank you for stopping by. Cheers!

Orange Spritzer ~ Homemade Fanta ~ India Calling!

Finally the day is few hours away!

Some times back, I had mentioned in one of my post that I will be going to India soon and that is the day I am talking about. I am flying to India tomorrow! Yayy!

Days have been busy of late, as I had been preparing for this trip. Finishing reading books I had brought from library, returning unfinished books, shopping, preparing lists for India shopping, packing and preparing the home for DH as he will be making this trip 2 weeks later, cooking things to finish up vegetables from my pantry (and clicking them as well, watch out this space for recipes in coming days)! So, this space has been silent for a couple of days now. 

Today I have chosen to post this refreshing orange drink which I like to call Orange Spritzer, When, I served this to my DH, he said it is just like Fanta! To add a little here, we both love Fanta!

 

The recipe is very simple. You will need:

200ml of freshly squeezed orange juice.(About 3 oranges).

1 tbsp lemon juice.

6-8 ice cubes

3-4 tbsp sugar(as per your taste or the sweetness of the oranges)

120 ml or more chilled soda water.

Sprig of mint to decorate.

Serves 2

Process:

1. In a jar mix add orange juice,lemon juice and sugar. Stir well.
2. Add ice cubes to two tall glasses. Pour the prepared mixture.
3. Top it with chilled soda water and stir. Add a sprig of mint and serve immediately!Enjoy!

This drink is perfect for hot days. Perfect to beat the heat. Here is one glass for you!

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers. 

P.S. I will be back soon with posts from India. Till I write again, stay tuned!

Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair

Meet Akhilandeshwari aka Akhila. 45 years old, spinster, an income tax clerk, a daughter, a sister, the only provider for the family after her father died. She has played all the roles all her life but she has never been herself. One day, she decides to shed off all responsibilities and buys a one way ticket to Kanyakumari, the southern most part of India, to be away from all the people she had known all her life, to find the ‘Akhilandeshwari’ which was lost somewhere in the midst of duties and responsibilities.  She travels in an all female coupe where she meets five other women, each of whom has a story to tell. These stories changes the way Akhila thinks and that changes her life.

The stories are all an attempt to answer Akhila's problematic question: Can a woman stay single and be happy at the same time?

In this novel, Anita Nair has tried to dwell on the complex issue of women's freedom in a male dominated Indian society, her dreams, desires and her needs. Although, I could not bring myself to connect with all the stories the women in the coupe tells Akhila, I can very well understand the plight of women who suffers because society does not see them at par with their male counterparts and it is always them who has to compromise with their aspirations. I found the whole premise scary, in the sense that it was depressing at times - women suffering the brunt of the rigid society. The end of the novel was somewhat uplifting, when Akhila comes in terms with her life, she knows what she wants of her life. The confidence she radiated was exhilarating. To me, the author has left what happened there after to the reader's imagination. 

What I could not comprehend was, how someone could pour out their life story to a stranger in an over night train journey. One of them  telling about her life is possible but when all five of the fellow passengers are so forth coming with their life story, you know it is part of fiction. However, the book made me ponder over how so many times women consider living is mere existence. It made me realize that a great deal inner strength is needed to break free of the bonds of relationships be oneself and be in charge of one's life.

A full blown chick lit book that will take you on a ride of deep introspection.