Lemon Yoghurt Cake with Lemon Basil Syrup

Every time  a new year begins , I always wonder whether that year will be happy or crappy .Well so far, its been a teeny bit of happy and a bucket load of crappy and at the rate it's going it seems the bucket is going to overflow . The only way I find my worries melting is by baking cakes , which I haven't done lately .So to make up for my happy , I decided to make one .This is a simple lemon yoghurt cake with lemon basil syrup .It's a very moist and zest cake and I hope you guys like it , so here goes..............

INGREDIENTS

150 gms butter room temp
1 and 1/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 and 1/2 cup flour
1 and 3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup yoghurt
1/4 cup milk
zest and juice of a lemon

for the syrup 

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
zest and juice of a lemon
a handful of basil chopped

METHOD

Cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy .
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well .
Sift the dry ingredients together .
Mix the yoghurt and milk .
Now add the wet and dry ingredients to the batter ending with the dry .
Stir in the zest and juice of a lemon .
Grease and flour a bundt pan and add the batter in it .
Bake in a prehated 180 c oven for about 30-35 min .
For the syrup add all the ingrdients except for the basil in a saucepan and bring it to boil .
turn off the heat and add the basil .
Cool the cake and pour syurp over it and garnish with extra basil leaves .
Serve and enjoy .

Chicken Dum Biryani

Since it's the festive season I thought why not post a recipe of a biryani coz that is what we make for every occasion . Everyone has a different way of making them and this is one of my fav ways . Here the chicken is marinated in an array of aromatic spices and yoghurt is added to make the chicken more tender and  juicy . The aroma is itself to make you salivate and the process of cooking it in dum meaning slow-cooking  makes the rice so aromatic and you get to taste the flavour of each and every spice in the rice . Trust me it's soooooo good so here goes..................

INGREDIENTS

1 kg chicken cut into medium size pieces
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
3 large onion finely sliced
3 green chillies chopped
1 cup chopped fresh coriander
1 cup chopped fresh mint
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 cups yoghurt
half a lemon cut into wedges

dry grind
7 cloves
4 cardamom
1/2 inch pc cinnamon
2 tsp whole black peppercorns

1/2 kg basmati rice
8 and 1/2 glasses of water

for the bouquet garni
7 cloves
2 bay leaves
5 green cardamom
1/2 inch pc cinnamon

10 strands of saffron
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup oil
2 tbsp ghee

METHOD

Heat oil and fry the sliced onions till golden in a deep bottomed dish
Grind them and set aside
Rub the ginger and garlic paste all over the chicken .
Add the chilli powder , salt , half the mint and coriander, lemon , green chillies , ground spices and the ground  onions in the same pan with the oil .
Add the yoghurt and the chicken pieces and leave to marinate 4 hours or preferably overnight .
Soak the saffron in the milk and set it aside
Now bring the whole thing to boil and turn it down and simmer till the chicken is done .
Meanwhile bring the water to boil and add the spices for the bouquet garni and salt to taste.
Add the washed and drained basmati , bring it to boil till the rice is almost done .
Now strain the rice and set aside .
Remove the chicken with its juices in another bowl and add a tbsp of ghee inside the pan .
Add half the rice in the bottom and sprinkle with the safffron milk then add the chicken with all its gravy on the top of the rice  .
Add a little of the chopped coriander and mint on top .
Now add the rest of the rice , then the rest of the coriander and mint .
Now pour the rest of the saffron milk and the ghee .
Cover it tightly with a lid and cook on very low fire for about half an hour or till the aroma wafts around the house .
Serve it with pomegranate raita and enjoy :).

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 .

Blueberry Smoothie

Fruits to my hubby are like how chocolate is to me and frankly , is it for real ? I wonder about this mystery very often . Ok , I like fruits but not as  much as chocolate but my hubby is  addicted to fruits , he just loves it and I am bothered by it . Once we both went on a diet of just fruits and vegetables  and while I was struggling with it , he was so happy and cheerful that I wanted to throw the big watermelon I was cutting at him . He had such a great time doing that diet and rubbing my nose in it so  never again will I ever do that mistake of taking up that diet with him ever again , never ....never...ever...never.

Anyways this post is dedicated to him coz he loves all things which contain fruits . This smoothie is pretty easy to make and also even prettier to look at so here goes...........

INGREDIENTS

2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup skimmed yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup milk

METHOD

Blend the blueberries with 1 tbsp of sugar and lemon juice and divide between 2 tall glasses or 4 small glasses.
Blend the rest of the ingredients .
Pour this mixture over the blueberry juice and do not mix it , you will get the swirls as you pour the milk-yoghurt mix.
Serve immediately and enjoy.