Pistachio cake with Lemon Curd Filling

Pistachio cake with lemon curd filling has wonderful flavor of pistachio and lemon. It is nutty and has a beautiful light green color. I made this cake a few days back for my hubby's birthday. To give the green color, I added a box of pistachio pudding mix along with powdered pistachio. Try this sweet,nutty and tangy cake. You will surely love it.

Ingredients
Cake flour- 2 1/2 cup
Pistachio pudding mix- 1 box (3.4 oz./9 g)
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt-1/2 tsp
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Egg-2
Butter- 4 tbs (1/4 cup)
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
Milk- 1/2 cup
Pistachio crushed- 1/2 cup
( half for the cake and the rest for garnish)

Lemon curd filling ( recipe source: Joy of baking.com)
Eggs-2
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Lemon juice- 1/4 cup
Lemon zest- 1/2 tsp
Butter- 3 tsp

For the frosting
Confectionery sugar- 2 cup
Butter- 1/2 stick
Vanilla essence- 1/3 tsp
Lemon juice- a few drops
Whipping cream- 1- 2 tbs

To make the filling
Whisk together,egg,sugar,lemon juice and lemon zest. Using a double boiler method cook stirring continuously till it thickens. It will take about 7-8 minutes. Strain to remove lumps add butter and whisk till the butter melts and gets incorporated. Cover and chill till it is ready to use.

To make the frosting
Whisk sugar and butter,first in low speed and then increase the speed and beat for three minutes. Add vanilla and cream and beat for one more minute. Keep in fridge till it is ready to use.

To make the cake
Pre heat oven to 375 degree F
Whisk together, flour,pistachio pudding, baking powder and salt and set aside.
Whisk butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. Add egg one at a time and beat for three minutes till light and fluffy.
Mix in the flour mixture and the milk in little additions and gently fold in. Add half of the crushed pistachios and then transfer into prepared cake tins. Bake for 30 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then carefully insert the cake to a cooling rack and allow to col down completely. Cut the cake into two slices. Place one slice on the plate and gently pipe a outline with the frosting and then spread the lemon curd filling in the center. Place the second layer of the cake and spread the frosting. Garnish with the rest of the pistachios. Refrigerate for a hour before serving.

Try this
Hope you will all enjoy!

Stuffed Pomfret With Green Masala- A Guest Post at Cooking-Varieties

I am extremely delighted and honored to be a guest at Wan's Cooking Varieties. When she asked me for a guest post I was so excited.She is one of my favorite foodie friends .She is very warm and friendly person and I love her blog. There is always a healthy edge in her cooking which is really inspiring.It has beautiful write-ups about food, health benefits and healthy eating habits.She has always shown genuine appreciation for other culture and culinary traditions. I am honored to be in your esteemed space.

Thanks Wan for this opportunity.

Recipe is pomfret stuffed with a green masala and prawns filling...Hop over to Wan's place for the recipe..

Wan sent me this card with beautiful bouquet of roses,this made my day :)
so sweet of you Wan..really appreciate this:)

Once again thanks Wan for this opportunity
Hope you will all enjoy..
Have a great day!

Suja

Kerala Chicken Roast

Spicy Kerala Chicken Roast is another nadan recipe and a family favorite. It is a dry version and is great accompaniment with rice, chapathi or fried rice.The chicken in this recipe is usually deep fried or shallow fried, (some times whole stuffed chicken ) and then coated with the masala. Here I have shallow fried the chicken.It tasted delicious with fried rice. Give this recipe a try...

Ingredients
1)Chicken - 1 lb
Chilly powder -1 1/2
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Powdered Garam masala-
(Two tsp of fennel powder, 5-6 cloves,2 inch stick
cinnamon, a small piece of nutmeg, 2 cardamon )
Vinegar- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For the Masala
Thinly sliced Onion- 2 medium
Thinly sliced ginger- 3-4 tsp
Thinly sliced garlic- 3-4 tsp
Chopped green chilly- 2
( I used 2 Jalapeno pepper instead of green chilly)
Coriander powder- 3/4 tsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp(optional)
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Meat Masala- 1 tsp
Curry leaves
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
oil

Dry roast the ingredients under garam masala …

Mutton Fry

Mutton Fry (updated pic)

This is a recipe for delicious Kerala style mutton fried with a blend of exotic spices and regional flavors.It is simple and quick recipe and should admit that I loved this ever since I have tasted it. This is not deep fried as the name suggest,but is first cooked and then slightly pan fried.
Ingredients
Mutton 1 1/2 lb

1) Shallots- 1 cup chopped
Ginger paste- 1 1/2 tsp
Garlic paste- 1 tsp
Pepper powder- 3/4 tsp
Garam masala- 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
salt to taste

2) Onion finely chopped- 1/2 cup
Thinly sliced ginger- 1 tsp
Green chilly-1
Curry leaves- a few
Crushed dry red chilly- 1 tsp
Crushed fennel seeds- 3/4 tsp

Clean mutton and marinate it with all the ingredients listed under one (1) and keep aside for half an hour.Pressure cook the mutton with half cup of water in medium flame till four whistles and if there is excess gravy after you open the lid of the pressure cooker,continue cooking till all the water evaporates…

Nadan Vaala Meen Curry/BeltFish Curry

Nadan Vaala Meen Curry
This is a nadan style fish curry. It is my grandmothers recipe. When ever she gets vaala meen/ribbon fish/belt fish she makes a similar curry . This is a varutharacha meen curry/roasted coconut gravy. You can also make it without roasting the masala. But the roasting gives a distinct aroma and enhances the taste of the curry. You can add regular tamarind as souring agent or fish tamarind/kudampuli. Try this you will surely love it.

Ingredients Vaala meen- 1 kg
Pearl onion- 2 cup (roughly chopped)
Dry Kashmiri red chilly-12-15
Coconut grated- 1 cup
Thondan mulaku/banana peppers-2
Ginger- 1/2 inch thick
Muringakka/drumstick- 10-12 pieces
Kudampuli/Malabar Tamarind- 3 pieces
(or tamarind lemon sized ball)
Turmeric powder-a pinch
Mustard- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds- 1/3 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 spring
oil and salt to taste

Clean the fish, sprinkle salt on a broad and a rub the fish with salt. Rinse and cut into small pieces. Soak kudam puli/ Malabar tamarind in 1/2 cup wa…

Chemeen Masala Varattiyathu/ Pan roasted Prawns

Chemeen Varattiyathu is a popular sea food delicacy of Kerala. It is not fried prawns but gravy with is almost semi-dry. It is a great side dish for rice. It has the enticing flavors of garam masala and coconut oil and curry leaves. It is spicy, peppery and a bit tangy due to the use of Kukum or kudampuli. You can instead add tomatoes or lemon juice. You can also add coconut pieces in the recipes and it gives a crunchy bites along with the prawns.

Ingredients
Prawns- 1 lb
Shallots chopped- 1 cup
Ginger and garlic paste- 2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/3 tsp
Garam masala- 3/4 tsp
fenugreek powder- 1/3 tsp
Kukum- 2-3 pieces
Fennel powder- 1/2 tsp (optional)
curry leaves
Coconut pieces( Optional)
Coconut oil

Clean and marinate prawns with salt, turmeric, pepper and fennel powder and keep it aside for fifteen minutes.
In a pan heat oil and saute shallots till lightly golden brown. Add in ginger garlic paste, curry leaves and saute for …

36 comments

Read more

Nadan Mutton Curry

April 18, 2011

Nadan Mutton curry
If you wish for some spicy non vegetarian recipes here is one to relish on...nadan mutton curry made with authentic Kerala spices. What makes this dish flavorful and inviting is the flavor of fresh ground masala, coconut oil and the fresh taste of curry leaves.In this recipe I have also added mint. I love adding fried mint in my home made mutton curry just like my mom( but it is optional). It is spicy and delicious and is a great combo with rice, ghee rice or appam

Ingredients

Mutton - 1 kg
Shallots sliced- 2 cups
Onion- 1 small
Coconut slices- a few
Green chilly-5-6
Ginger and garlic minced- 4-5 tsp
Chilly powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 3 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala- 1 1/3 tsp
Fennel powder- 1/2 tsp
pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
clove - 2
cinnamon stick- 1 small
Curry leaves- 1 spring
Mint leaves-a few
oil
salt to taste

Cut mutton pieces into small cubes and marinate with pepper powder,salt, turmeric powder, fennel powder and a few curry leaves and set aside for h…

40 comments

Read more

Stuffed Fish Fry

February 14, 2011

This is a delicious stuffed fish fry which is tangy and spicy.I was fascinated when I saw a stuffed Pomfret recipe. Usually there are different types of stuffing like sauteed prawns or crab meat. But here I used a tangy tomato and onion masala very similar to the Karimeen pollichathu, that I posted earlier. You can use two fish fillets and make a sandwich or slit through the fish very close to its bone and fill in the stuffing. Give this recipe a try,you will surely love this.

Fish - 2
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/3 tsp

Lemon juice- 1 tsp
Salt- to taste

For the masala gravy
Onion diced - 1
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Green chilly - 2
Curry leaves chopped- 2 springs
Ginger- garlic paste- 2-3 tsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder- a pinch
Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp
Vinegar - a few drops( optional)
Coriander leaves
salt to taste
oil

In order to prepare the masala heat oil in a pan and saute green chilly, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves till its raw flavor disappears. Add onions a…

43 comments

Read more