Nagercoil Plum Cake

  Nagercoil Plum Cake. The reason I named this recipe Nagercoil plum cake or more accurately, Greatest Bakery Plum cake is because I had this in my place since my childhood and haven't had such a luscious tasting cake anywhere else. And I bet you won't find this anywhere else in the world. It brings a lot of sweet memories and nostalgia about so many recipes and flavors of my home town. To prove it wrong you should first taste this cake from my place. Do try out this recipe, but my native cake is much more rich and sophisticated than my recipe. I tried to find out the ingredients needed for this cake and read about this recipe from another blogger. I made changes and finally ended up here.

INGREDIENTS :

All Purpose Flour - 2 1/2 cups
Sugar             - 2 1/2 cups
Large Eggs        - 2
Butter            - 3/4 cup   
Baking Powder     - 2 Tsp
Cloves            - 10nos(slightly pounded)
Nutmeg Powder     - 1/4 Tsp
Shahjeera         - 1 Tsp (coarse powder)
Salt              -1/4 Tsp 
Orange Zest       -1/2 Tsp
Orange Juice Fresh - 1/2 Cup
Apple Cider        - 1/2 Cup  
Prunes or dried Plums -3 Cups

Black  Raisins     - 2 Cups
Cashew Nut Chopped  - 1 Cup

 

METHOD : 
  
The method needs some make ahead steps. You can even do them a week ahead and refrigerate.
The first step is soaking the dry fruits. Soak the raisins in half cup orange juice and half cup water along with a quarter cup apple cider. You can leave them overnight at room temperature or until ready to use, in the refrigerator. Drain excess liquid when adding to the cake batter.
    Next make the caramel syrup. In a pan over medium heat mix 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tablespoon water and mix until sugar dissolves. Give it a gentle stir and let it caramelize to a deep golden color. When completely caramelized, add half more cup of water and make a brown syrup out of this mixture.      
    The last make ahead thing is the plum puree. Chop 2 cups of prunes and mix with 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup apple cider and cook on medium flame until the prunes are soft. Cool down the mixture and puree them. To this add the other cup of finely chopped prunes and keep aside.
    Pre-heat oven to 325 F. Use a 2lb bread loaf pan or a bundt pan. These pans help the heat to get through well because the batter is kind of thick. Grease and dust the pan and keep aside.

    In a mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, salt, the pounded cloves and shahjeera and mix them well.
    Cream the remaining 2 cups of sugar and butter. It's always better to have room temperature butter and eggs. To the sugar-butter mix, add the eggs, one at a time and the orange zest and continue creaming while still adding the caramel syrup. To this start adding the flour and the raisin puree alternately. When done, fold in the soaked raisins and the chopped cashew nuts with a spatula. 
     Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour and 15 minutes. Test by poking a toothpick into the cake. It should come out clean. If not, bake for another ten to fifteen minutes. The outside can be dark and that is perfectly fine. Remove from oven and let it cool down completely. The longer it sits in the pantry, the more heavenly it tastes. If you love baking and cakes, this recipe is a must-try.

  

Puli Inji

  Puli Inji. I came to know about this from a friend who always talks about having this with Biryani at another friend's place whenever I serve Biryani. Finally we got a chance to taste her Puli Inji and my fellas fell in love with the taste, a perfect blend of sweet and sour with a hint of heat. So this recipe is a courtesy from my dear friend Sameera. She served with her awesome Malabari Biryani, the rich, flavorful dish with very few ingredients. Haven't gotten it right yet, In shaa Allah will post it someday.

INGREDIENTS :

Ginger    - 1/2 Cup (finely chopped)
Green Chilly - 2 (finely chopped)
Tamarind Paste - 1 Tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Jaggery - 2 Tblsp
Flour - 1 Tsp
Salt - To taste
Oil - 2 Tblsp

Garnish :
Oil - 1 Tsp
Mustard - 1/4 Tsp
Curry Leaves - few
Dried Red Chilly - 1

METHOD :

   Finely chop ginger and green chillies. Heat a pan along with oil over medium flame and fry the chopped ginger and green chillies until the raw smell is gone. Move to a plate lined with paper towel and drain the extra oil. Then cook this ginger and green chillies in a little water along with red chilly powder and salt. Once it becomes soft, add the tamarind paste and jaggery, bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the flour in little water, add to this simmering mix and let it thicken.
 Finally heat oil in another pan, season with the ingredients under garnish and add to this. This step is optional.
 Puli Inji is served as part of Sadhya, the Onam meal and has many variations too. I'll post the recipe for another variety of Puli Inji that is common in my household, soon.
 It makes a fantastic side dish for fish biryani.

Basil Tomato Quiche

      Quiche is a simple yet rich egg dish baked over a puff pastry or pie pastry. If you are making it for breakfast, its preferred to make with puff pastry and if you are making it for brunch, go for pie pastry because the pastry itself is pretty filling. The filling can be anything you would like to have with eggs. The more vegetables you add, the healthier it is. Today, I preferred to make it with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella to bring in those Italian flavors. Try it out, its pretty easy and simple even for beginner cooks. My family enjoys this a lot and hope yours would do too.

INGREDIENTS :

Puff Pastry Sheet - 1
Eggs                     - 6
Heavy Cream       - 2 tblsp
Mozzarella Cheese - 1/4 cup (grated)
Parmesan Cheese    - 1/4 cup (grated)
Plum Tomatoes       - 1 cup (halved)
Basil Leaves           - 10 (chiffonade)
Pepper Powder       - 1/2 tsp
Salt                         - 1/4 tsp 

METHOD :
Thaw the puff pastry sheet. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9" pie dish.
In a bowl break the eggs and whisk them well along with the heavy cream, salt and pepper. Check for salt and add more if needed.
Layer the pastry sheet in the pie dish. Arranged the halved plum tomatoes as a layer above the pastry.Then above that sprinkle the basil leaves. On top of that, add both the cheeses. Above this add the whisked egg mixture.
Bake in the oven for about 35 to 45 mins. The time varies with the oven. So you might want to set the timer for 35mins at first, check and set more time if needed. The egg should settle well and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. If you like firmer eggs, then let it bake for few more minutes.