Roasted Banana Cake

Bananas are not really on top of everyone's favorite fruit list, but they are an excellent source of potassium and energy. Inundated with a surplus of bananas recently, i turned to my irresistible creation: the Roasted Banana Cake. It is a recipe developed over years of experimentation, and its temptingly perfect :) 

You will need:

Ing:

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 and 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup fine semolina
1 tsp baking pd
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1tsp vanilla extract
4 bananas
1/2 tsp cinnamon pd
1/2 tsp clove pd
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 tsp dark rum
1/2 cup hot water

Method: Slice bananas thickly and place on a square sheet of aluminium. sprinkle with the brown sugar, vanilla, rum and spices. wrap into a loose package and bake at 180 C for 15 minutes.

cool and mash roughly. beat together the butter, eggs and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the banana mix. sift the baking pd , flour and salt and fold into the batter alongwith the semolina. mix the baking soda with the hot water and add last to the batter. pour into a greased 6 egg cake tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 35-40 minutes.

Warm Potato and Egg Salad

Happy Independence Day, India! Its a holiday and Iam in no mood to cook! But my rumbling stomach demanded attention and i decided to toss up some tri-colour fun :) I adapted this recipe from the GoodFood India magazine, and gotta say it had my hubby literally lickin his fork clean!

To make the WARM POTATO AND EGG SALAD you need:

Boiled potatoes, 250gm (quartered)

Eggs, 4
Bacon, 70 gm
Olive oil, 2 tbsp
Red wine vinegar, 1 1/2 tbsp
Mustard powder, 1 1/2 tsp
Water, 3 tsp
Baby spinach, 50 gm

Method: Mix the mustard powder and water, and keep aside. (You could also substitute this with store bought Dijon Mustard). Ease the eggs into boiling water and cook for 7 minutes. Take off heat and immediately shift the eggs into a bowl of cold water.
Whisk together the mustard paste, olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and let it rest for a couple of minutes. In the meanwhile, cook the bacon till sizzlingly crisp.
In a bowl, toss together warm potatoes, bacon and spinach with the prepared dressing. Top with the shelled and quartered eggs and serve with a side of crusty bread.

Chocolate Doughnuts

The first shower of the season had me splashing away like a kid. After months of heat and humidity, the cool water refreshed everything around. Of course, all that rain dance had me craving for some strong coffee and hot chocolate doughnuts. This recipe belongs to my dear friend Sonal, and every bite reminds me of the icy Himalayan rains, made warmer by her love <3

So while i demolish yet another batch, you can roll out your own deep fried indulgence :-)

Ingredients for CHOCOLATE DOUGHNUTS:

Eggs - 2

Caster Sugar - 1/2 cup

Butter / Oil - 4 tbsp

Refined Flour - 2 1/4  cups

Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup

Baking powder - 2 tsp

salt - a pinch

Milk - as required

Icing Sugar - as required.

Method: Mix all the dry ingredients together, and slowly add the eggs and oil to form a soft dough. If the dough feels a little tight, incorporate a little milk. Do not knead the dough. Keep aside for for 45 minutes. Now place the rested dough between two layers of cling film and roll out with the help of a rolling pin. Do not roll too thin or thick. With the help of a biscuit cutter or a sturdy cap, cut out rounds and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Deep fry in hot oil till puffed, golden and crisp. Generously dust with icing sugar and serve up with some hot coffee!