Stir Fried Noodles and My 100th Post !!!!

Woohoooo!!!!! I am on my 100th post and all thanks to my mom for instilling in me this passion for cooking . Watching her cook so passionately and effortlessly for family and friends is what  inspired me and I want to dedicate this post to her .

The dish I am posting today is quite popular among my family and friends . In school whenver I had to bring something from home my friends always requested for this particular dish .Though I have many favourites of my Mom's , this ranks on top and the best part is there's nothing fancy shmancy about it , it is rather a simple recipe , so without further ado here goes.............

INGREDIENTS

5 pckts of instant curry flavoured noodles ( I use Koka brand )
350 gms of beef cut into small cubes
250 gms green beans cut into 1 inch pc
1 large carrot cut into thin 1 inch pc
1 large green capsicum cut into long strips
1 stock chicken cube
1 tbsp soy sauce + more to sprinkle
pepper to taste
2 tbsp peanut oil or vegetable oil

METHOD

Bring  a large pot of water to boil
Add the instant noodles and cook for 3 - 4 min and strain plus put cold water on it to stop the cooking process . Set this aside
In a pan , heat 2 tbsp oil and add the beef , stock cubes and soy sauce and stir fry it till the beef becomes crisp .
Add half of the capsicum and stir fry it till it becomes soft .
Now add the rest of the vegetables and cook till done ( the veggies should have a bite to it ).
Now add half the cooked noodles , pepper to taste , soy sauce and the curry seasoning and toss it all together .
Add the rest of the noodles and repeat the same process .
Toss everything together and if seems a bit dry , add a little oil more oil if needed .
Enjoy it while it's hot .

NOTE

You can substitute beef with sausages or chicken strips .

I have been fortunate enough to receive an award from a fellow blogger and friend Ambreen from Simply Sweet'n Savoury and I would like to thank her for honouring me with this award .

The word 'Liebster' is a German word that essentially means 'dear' and is derived from the verb 'lieber' which means 'to love'. This award has been conceived with the idea to bright to light fledgling and upcoming blogs which have a follower count less than 200. 
Here are the rules for this award:
1. Thank the giver who gave the award and link back to his / her blog.
2. Choose 5 blogs whom you would like to give this award and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Hope that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers as well.
5. Thank all who read your blog and wish to follow you and of course - have fun!

I would love to share this award with these wonderful blogger friends of mine . Please have a look at their sites
Jay of Tasty Appetite
Shruthi of A Spoonfull Of Yum
Rajdeep of Rajdeep's cookery
Charissa of http://www.colourfulpalate.com/

Caramel , Apple and Pecan Nut Cake

This recipe came about when I was craving for something sweet  and  had only an apple and not even a handful of pecan nuts  in my house so decided to make do with them in the unhealthiest way possible ; p , if I hadn't made something then the apple would have been thrown out the next day and didn't want to do that . Surprisingly the cake came out really good and it was also simple to make , so here goes.........

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp water
1 apple
1/2 cup toasted pecan nuts chopped
50 gms butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup all-purpose-flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk

METHOD

In a saucepan , add the sugar and the water , mix it up and put on low heat till it just starts to turn burgundy .
Turn off the heat and pour the caramel in a 6 inch baking tin , spread it in the tin evenly .
Add the toasted pecans on it and set aside .
Cream the butter and sugar till pale .
Add the egg and vanilla and beat again .
Sift all the dry ingredients together and add it to the creamed butter alternating with the milk .
Slice the apples very thinly and arrange on top of the toasted pecans .
Pour the batter over it and bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 20-25 min or till done .
Cool it in the tin for a while so that the apple topping sets and it will easily come out .
This cake best tastes while it is warm .

Red Velvet Cake and Trifle

Now this is the most favourite cake in my household now .I used to wonder what all the fuss was about the red velvet , sure it is the prettiest looking cake and has a rather sexy name but didn't still think it was so great that is until I tasted the frosting and Oh My !!! what a frosting that is , I got the recipe from Joy of Baking , it is the yummiest frosting I have ever tasted . I tried a few different recipes of  red velvet cake a couple of times but found it a bit dry to my liking so I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it more moist , I am not bragging here ;p ,but this cake is so moist and light , it just melts in your mouth , even if it is just out of the fridge it is still moist and the frosting is simply the best so here goes..........

INGREDIENTS

100 gms butter softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
2 cups of all-purpose-flour
1/4 salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 yoghurt
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp liquid red food colour

for the frosting

200 gms cream cheese
250 mascarapone cheese
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 cup liquid whipping cream

METHOD

Cream the butter and sugars till pale and fluffy
Beat in the vanilla and eggs till mixed well.
Meanwhile sift the dry ingredients together
Mix all the wet ingredients together
Now add the dry ingredients in batches to creamed butter alternating with the wet ingredients.
Grease two 8 " inch sandwich tins and pour the batter in it .
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 25-30 min or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean .
To make the frosting , in a large bowl add the two cheese and beat it till it softens .
Add the icing sugar to it and beat it again till mixed .
Now add the whipping cream slowly and beat it till stiff  .
To assemble the cake , cut each cake half .
Place a layer on the serving plate and add the frosting , add the next layer and repeat .
Frost the cake all over and chill for at least 2 hours .
Now serve and enjoy :D .

Now , I had made this in a small tin , so I had one more layer leftover and a little frosting too , so decided to make a trifle out of it and what do you know , it was really delish , with a layer of the cake , strawberry sauce (strawberries and icing sugar blended together) and fresh strawberries topped with the heavenly frosting . It was really pretty to look at ( I think strawberries make everything look good ) and heavenly to taste .

Kerala Style Spicy Beef Fry

I think almost all keralites would agree when I say this that fried beef is the favourtite dish among us .Who can resist the succulent beef coated in nice aromatic spices and then fried in coconut oil to bring out their flavour and the best thing to eat it with is soft delicious appams or a nice , crispy , flaky Kerala paratha .The aroma itself is enough to make you drool . Mmmmm !!! Just telling you guys about it is making me crave to have it . One thing I can guarantee is there will be no leftovers at all . It is finished as soon as it is served . Ok enough of my babbling ( also getting very hungry ) , without further ado here goes..........

INGREDIENTS

1 kg beef cut into cubes 

6-8 garlic cloves minced

1 inch pc of ginger minced

3 tsp red chilli powder

2 and 1/2 tbsp coriander powder

1/4 -1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp fennel seed powder

1 tsp or more coarsely ground black pepper

4-6 green chillies 

1 medium onion finely chopped 

1 cup water

coconut oil 

10-20 curry leaves

4-5 dried red chillies 

1-2 tbsp freshly grated coconut 

1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)

METHOD

In a saucepan add the beef , spices , ginger , garlic, onions , green chillies and 1 cup water.

Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer till the beef is done . If more water is needed add in , the beef should be just done . If using a pressure cooker , only add half cup water and switch off with 3-4 whistles .

In another pan , heat coconut oil to shallow fry the cooked beef cubes.

Don't overcrowd the pan , fry the beef cubes till it is crisp and set aside .

Add a little more coconut oil and add in the dried red chillies , curry leaves and the grated coconut  and fry them for a few seconds.

Now add in the liquid the beef was cooked in and keep on high heat till the gravy thickens .

Now add the fried beef cubes and mix them in the gravy till it coats the beef cubes and sprinkle the garam masala.

This may take about 5 min . Garnish with curry leaves and red chillies and serve hot .

Pomegranate Raita

Raita is the perfect accompaniment to really spicy dishes . Everyone has a different version of it , this particular one is a family favourite , it is a perfect balance of sweet, tangy and tart with a little hint of spice , it goes particularly well with a spicy biryani and also it is a pretty looking raita so here goes.........

INGREDIENTS

1 pomegranate
500 gms yoghurt
a pinch of chilli powder
a pinch of cumin powder
salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Cut the pomegranate in half and remove the seeds
Add the spices to the yoghurt and whip it well
Add the pomegranate seeds and mix it well .
Now serve and enjoy .

Fondant Ribbon Rose Cake and Red Heart Cake

I have been so lazy to post anything this week , I have to get going , really lazy to do anything . Blogging is one hard job , especially the photographs , I am really bad at it ( thank god for the picnik application ) if it weren't for the online photoshop I don't know what I would do . As I was going through the photographs , I realized that this cake was not posted . I had made this one for my cousin's anniversary , she wanted a small and simple cake so I decided to make this ribbon roses which are really easy , just cut the fondant into long and uneven strips and roll it up and that's it (quite easy right ) . Again the cake here is chocolate with ganache .

The next cake is also an anniversary cake for my cousin . I made this one a long time back , the cake is covered with marzipan and the bow is made out of fondant .

Baby Spinach Salad With Pomegranate Dressing

I have been posting so many calorie laden stuff that for a change I thought to post something healthy and also equally tasty .This salad is my hubby's fav ,the spinach is so soft , tender and wonderfully fresh and the pomegranate seeds provide a crunchy texture and the sweet ,sour and tart  dressing holds it all together so here goes........

INGREDIENTS

2 cups packed baby spinach washed and dried
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

for the dressing 

1 tbsp pomegranate syrup
juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp honey
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

Combine the ingredients for the dressing together and mix it up .
Toss the baby spinach and pomegranate seeds together and pour the dressing all over it and serve immediately .