Vegetable Korma

Vegetable Korma is a favored curry recipe in Southern India, and as all kind of cuisine gets global, people all over the country have started enjoying the taste of this delicious and nutritive coconut-based curry. It is indeed a wonderful way to savor a generous serving of mixed vegetables - loaded with potatoes, peas, beans, cauliflower, carrots, and flavored with a thick paste made from coconut, poppy seeds, tomatoes, onions and Indian spices, the Mix Vegetable Korma is a filling meal when served with Parathas and/or Jeera Rice.

Ingredients
Makes about 4 servings
1 cup finely chopped green or string beans
1 cup finely chopped carrots
2 potatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup shelled green peas
1 large tomato, chopped
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon ghee
A few bay leaves
1/2 bunch of coriander leaves (to garnish)

Wet Paste
1/2 cup coconut, grated
6-8 green chillies
1 small onion, chopped
A piece of fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 small bunch of coriander leaves
A little water

Dry Masala
1 tablespoon aniseed
A small piece of cinnamon bark
6 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
** you can use regular Garam masala instead of freshly ground spices

Method

Paste: Place the grated coconut, green chillies, chopped onion, ginger, ground turmeric and coriander leaves in an electric blender or food processor, adding only a little water. Blend ingredients to a fine paste. Set aside.

Masala: Place the aniseed, cinnamon bark, cloves, cardamom pods, and poppy seeds in a heavy saucepan. Dry-roast spices until they give off a strong aroma. Grind to a fine powder in an electric blender or food processor. Set aside.

Place the finely chopped green beans, carrots, and potatoes in a heavy saucepan. Add sufficient water to just cover the vegetables. Cover pan with a lid, and cook until the vegetables are tender. Now add the green peas, chopped tomato and salt to taste. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Add the paste. Stir thoroughly before sprinkling in the masala powder. Stir the korma thoroughly once more. Serve the hot Vegetable Korma with Naan or Parathas!

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Upside Down Cranberry Cake

Thanksgiving without a Cranberry Cake is almost incomplete, don't you think? Of course, you could bake a simple cake and drizzle it with cranberry sauce, or instead, you could bake this beautiful Upside-Down Cranberry Cake that will surely be the highlight of your Thanksgiving Dinner! With a touch of all-spice adding to the festive Fall mood, and a layer of slivered almonds & shredded coconut splashed on the sides of the cake to add the perfect crunch to the mushy cranberries, this traditional Cranberry Upside-Down Cake is a lovely addition to your holiday table! But use any fruit that you like, Pears, Plums, Apples, Peaches or Pineapples - this basic recipe for upside down cake can be used to bake any fruit cake that you please!

I'm sending this beautiful cake over to Susan who's collecting "Shiny & Glittery" desserts for this month's edition of Sugar High Fridays! And it also goes to my friend DK who's hosting AWED - American treats this month.

Ingredients
Makes an 8-9 inch cake

8 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 tspn allspice
2 cups cranberries
1 large egg
1 tspn vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tspn baking powder
1/4 tspn salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup white frosting (optional)
3/4 cup slivered almonds (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the center. Rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons butter.

In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar with the allspice. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over bottom of pan; arrange cranberries in a single layer on the top and spread them out.

With an electric mixer, cream remaining 6 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well combined.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, until well combined.

Spoon the batter over the cranberries in the pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Let it cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake, then invert onto a rimmed platter. If you would like to add some slivered almonds or shredded coconut on the sides, apply a real thin layer of frosting (crumb coat) on the sides and slap the toppings onto it.

Before serving, add some fresh cranberry sauce on the top of the cake to give it that fresh shine and glitter! Serve the delicious and ravishing red Cranberry Upside-Down Cake as the perfect dessert for your Thanksgiving dinner!

Wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, and may you have a great time with friends and family! Have a great holiday weekend!

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Spiced Upside-Down Plum Cake
Mini Pineappple Upside-Down Cake
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Festive Fruit Juice Cocktail

Its the season for fresh fruits, with Plums, Pomegranates, Apples, Cranberries and more filling up the stalls at the farmers' market! And one of the easiest ways to enjoy the flavor and health benefits of fruits is by juicing them and drinking them down. Though Cocktails are more preferred on festive occasions, fresh fruit mocktails have a charm of their own! Using some fresh POM pomegranates, plums, raspberries, cranberries and some pineapple, we enjoyed blending them all together to make this beautiful red Juice Cocktail. Pleasing to they eyes, you can even pass it off as a Wine cocktail! It had the perfect balance of sweet and tart, and the small dose of juicy pulp that you can only get from fresh fruits! Healthy, festive and fancy enough to be served at any Holiday Dinner, I might just have found the refreshing Thanksgiving drink recipe I was looking for!

Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
1 cup POM juice or 1 fresh Pomegranate
4 large plums - de-seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
sugar (optional, if needed)

Method
Remove the seeds if using fresh pomegranates. Blend them alone to extract juice, then pass through a strainer to get clear Pomegranate juice

Now mix all the other ingredients along with the POM juice and blend well to make a smooth Puree. Check for taste, and add the lemon juice and sugar if required. Add water as needed, but just enough to blend the fruits; don't make it too liquid!

Then strain the juice through a fine sieve, especially to remove pomegranate and raspberry seeds.

Pour the festive fall Juice Cocktail into serving glasses. Garnish with a lime wedge if you like, and enjoy!

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Layered Chocolate Cake with Fluffy White Frosting

When it comes to Layered Cakes, a beautiful layered Chocolate Cake enhanced with fluffy white frosting, and drizzled with some chocolate shavings on the top will never go out of style! Though I love original chocolate cakes with deep dark chocolate buttercream frosting, the white and brown in this recipe creates a wonderful contrast, both, in looks and in flavor. Whether you are celebrating a birthday, an anniversary, or a special occasion, Layered Cakes are the best ones ever! Showing off my recent coursework from my cake decoration class, here's a delicious and moist 3-Layered Chocolate Cake with luscious and fluffy White Cream Frosting.

You can use regular White Buttercream Frosting too, but I found this really nice fluffy frosting recipe from a friend that works much better, as it stays soft and fluffy. It compliments the chocolate cake quite well, which is a recipe I adapted from Martha Stewart Living. By using sour cream and hot water, you end up getting a really moist cake with firm texture. This goes to Lorraine for her Best Chocolate Cake challenge!

Ingredients
Good for 3 individual 9" cake layers

For the Cake
16 tbsp (2 sticks) butter , softened
3 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup cocoa powder , sifted
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising flour)
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups hot water

For the Fluffy White Icing
5 large egg whites
2 cups icing sugar
2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup packed chocolate shavings - to garnish the top

Method

Making the Cake
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans with butter; line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the paper.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar on medium speed, about 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine eggs and vanilla; add to brown sugar mixture in two batches, mixing on medium speed until incorporated. Scrape bowl thoroughly; beat 1 minute on high speed.

Sift together cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; add to brown sugar mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.

Sift flour. Add 1 cup to batter and beat on low speed until just combined. Add 3/4 cup sour cream to batter; beat on low speed until just combined. Alternate adding flour and sour cream to batter until there's none left. With mixer still running on low, slowly add hot water, beating until just combined.

Scrape bowl thoroughly; beat batter on low speed about 20 seconds. Scrape bowl thoroughly once more, then divide batter evenly among the three pans, about 3 cups per pan. Bake 30 to 33 minutes, or until cake pulls away from sides of pan. Remove from oven. Cool layers in pans about 30 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate up to one night before assembling.

Make the Frosting
In large deep bowl, combine egg whites, sugar, water, and cream of tartar. With hand-held mixer, beat until foamy at low speed, about 1 minute. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that bottom of bowl does not touch the water. Beat constantly at low speed until mixture reaches 160F, about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat, add vanilla, and beat frosting at high speed until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.

Assembling the Layered Chocolate Cake
To assemble the cake, level each cake layer by slicing off their tops. Place bottom layer on a serving platter cut side up. Spread 1/2 cup filling on top. Place middle layer cut side down on top of bottom layer. Spread remaining filling on top. Place top layer cut side down on top of middle layer. Spread top and sides of cake with frosting. Top with a few chocolate shavings, reserving half for later. You can even plaster some crushed peanuts or almonds to the side of the cake as I did. Allow to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the frosting sets well.

Transfer the layered Chocolate Cake onto a serving platter, then garnish with the reserved chocolate curls or shavings. Then just grab a fork, dig into the cake, pop it into your mouth, close your eyes and experience a taste of sensuous happiness that very few other things can provide!!:)

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