Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup whole wheat flour/atta, levelled, 120 gms (you can use all purpose flour/maida also)
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• ¾ cup sugar, 150 gms
• 1 cup cold water, 250 ml
• ¼ cup oil or melted butter, 62.5 ml
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• ½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder

for the cocoa frosting:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp milk
• 4 tbsp sugar or add as required

INSTRUCTIONS

for the cake:

1. first grease a round baking pan of 7.5 inches diameter x 2 inches height with oil. preheat your
2. oven to 200 degrees celsius/392 degrees fahrenheit.
3. seive 1 cup whole wheat flour, 3 tbsp cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, ½ tsp baking soda in a plate. use good quality cocoa powder.
4. in another pan or bowl, take ¾ cup sugar.
5. add 1 cup cold water and stir so that the sugar dissolves.
6. now add ¼ cup oil or melted butter. i added oil. stir briskly so that everything is mixed well.
7. next add 1 tbsp lime juice. stir again.
8. now add ½ tsp vanilla extract or powder.
9. add the sieved dry ingredients to the wet mixture. using a wired whisk, mix everything well.
10. there should be no lumps in the cake batter. the batter is not thick but thin.
11. pour the cake batter in the prepared cake pan.
12. tap the sides of the cake pan so that the extra air bubbles are let out.
13. bake the cake in a preheated oven for 200 degrees celsius/392 degrees fahrenhiet for 35 to 40 mins. since temperatures vary from oven to oven, do keep a check. for baking in a convection mode of microwave oven, preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius/356 degrees fahrenheit for 15 minutes. then bake the cake at 180 degrees celsius /356 degree fahrenheit for the 30 to 35 minutes.
14. for doneness check the cake with a tooth pick. the tooth pick should come out clean. once the cake becomes warm or cools down, unmold and place it on a wired rack. if the tooth pick is sticky, then place the cake bake in the oven and continue to bake for some more minutes. before frosting let the cake cool completely.

for the frosting:

1. take 2 tbsp butter and 4 tbsp sugar in a saucepan.
2. heat and melt the butter. also the sugar should dissolve. once the sugar has dissolved switch off the stove top. the sugar should be just dissolved. we don't need to cook the sugar in its various stages.
3. next add 4 tbsp cocoa powder.
4. with a spatula stir so that the cocoa powder gets mixed evenly with the butter-sugar mixture.
5. add 3 tbsp milk. stir very well. to make a slightly thick frosting, you can also add 2 tbsp milk. the cocoa frosting is ready.
6. while still hot, spread the frosting on the cake as well as the sides with a spatula. you can also slice the cake in halve and spread frosting in the center and then on the top. usually i wrap a medium sized plate with aluminium foil and then keep the cake on it. this make the frosting work easier. this time i just kept the cake directly on the plate. keep the cake covered in the fridge for the frosting to set. you can use a dome shaped bowl to cover the cake. make sure the there is enough space between the cake and the bowl which you are using for covering the cake.
7. the frosting will set after some hours. i kept overnight.
8. next day, sieve some icing sugar and cocoa powder on the cake. this is optional.
9. slice and serve the the eggless chocolate cake.

Rava Idli

Ingredients

• 1 cup sooji/rava/semolina/cream of wheat
• ½ cup dahi/curd/yogurt, fresh or sour
• a pinch of baking soda * check notes
• 2.5 to 3 tbsp water or more - add accordingly & as required to get a medium consistency batter, which is neither thick nor thin.
• 1 green chili/hari mirch, chopped
• ½ inch ginger/adrak, finely chopped
• 10-12 cashews/kaju, chopped
• 2 to 3 tsp ghee or oil for roasting the rava
• 1 tsp oil for frying the cashews
• salt as required

Tempering:

• 1-2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
• 1 tsp chana dal/split and husked bengal gram
• 10-12 curry leaves/kadi patta, chopped
• a pinch of asafoetida/hing

INSTRUCTIONS

1. heat 2 tsp ghee or oil in a pan. add the rava/sooji and roast in the ghee or oil till they become aromatic and change color.
2. keep on stirring often when roasting them. remove the roasted rava in a mixing bowl and keep aside.
3. in the same pan, heat 1 tsp oil again and fry the cashews in the ghee.
4. remove and add the fried cashews to the rava in the mixing bowl.
5. in the same pan, add 1 tsp oil more and heat it.
6. splutter mustard seeds. then add chana dal, curry leaves & asafoetida. fry till the chana dal become golden.
7. then add this whole mixture to the roasted rava. add curd/yogurt along with chopped ginger, green chilies and salt.
8. add water as required and make a batter which is neither thin nor thick.
9. keep aside covered for 20-30 mins. after 20-30 minutes, if the batter looks thick, then add a few tablespoons of water to get a medium consistency. rava absorbs water and so the batter might thicken after 20 to 30 minutes.
10. heat water in a steamer, electric cooker or pressure cooker.
11. just before steaming, add baking soda in the batter and mix well.
12. pour the rava idli batter in greased idli moulds.
13. place the idli stand in the electric cooker, steamer or pressure cooker steam the rava idlis for 10-12 mins or more till a tooth pick inserted in the idlis come out clean.
14. remove the rava idlis from the mould and serve the steaming hot rava idlis hot with idli podi or with your favorite coconut chutney and sambar.

NOTES

you can easily add upto ¼ tsp of baking soda. since i don't like the soapy aroma of baking soda, i have added a generous pinch. you can also add eno or fruit salt in place of baking soda. add ½ to ¾ teaspoon of eno or fruit salt.