Mango Pulisherri

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This is one of my favourite comfort foods. My Thati is an expert in making 'mor-kootaans' and this recipe is precisely one of the best dishes I have ever tasted. This is acually like mango 'mor- kootan', but a combination of sweet-sour-tangy tastes. I was invariably a bit nervous as to what it will turn out to be ...(I mean the recipe), but this, however came out surprisingly good!

This recipe serves 2 persons

So for the recipe you will need:

Ripe sweet mango : 1 nos
Sour yogurt (sour curds) : 1 cup

Turmeric pwd : 1/2 tsp

Salt : to taste

Green chillies : 3-4 nos (to taste)

Fenugreek seeds : 1 tsp

Mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp

Asaphoetida pwd : 1/8 tsp (1 pinch)

Curry leaves : 1 tsp

Black pepper : 1/4 tsp

Coconut (freshly grated) : 1/2 cup

Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp

Whole red chillies : 1 nos

Water : 1/2 cup

Oil (I used Coconut oil) : 1tsp

Procedure:

Wash, peel and chop the mango into small pieces. Boil the mango along with some water, turmeric pwd, salt and Black pepper and cook it for some time. Grind coconut with green chillies and cumin seeds to a thick paste, adding sour curds instead of water. Keep this paste aside. Add the ground paste to the cooked mango when the mango is soft and pulpy. Bring this mixture to boil on simmer. Turn off the heat and mix in the sour curds and taste the pulisherri to check salt and spice and mix well. Now for tempering, heat some oil in a pan. When oil is hot, add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, asaphoetida, whole red chillies, and curry leaves. (try not to burn the fenugreek seeds). When the mustard seeds crackle, mix the tempering with the mango mixture immediately and stir.

Serve hot with rice. I served my 'pulisherri' with rice and 'podi kathhrikkai' . 'Podi Kathhrikkai recipe is coming soon!

BLACK FOREST !!!!

Happy Birthday to my Sweetheart!!


For the basic chocolate cake recipe you need:

All pupose flour : 1.5 cups
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder : 1/2 cup
Powdered Sugar : 1 cup
Baking pwd : 1.5 tsp
Baking soda : 1 tsp
Salt : 1/2 tsp
Instant coffee pwd : 1 tbsp
Eggs : 2
Milk : 1/2 cup
Oil : 1/2 cup (I used Canola oil)
Vanilla essence : 1 tsp
Boiling water : 3/4 cup

For filling and frosting:

Maraschino Cherries : 1 small can
Jello instant pudding mix (vanilla flavour) : 1 small packet
Cool Whip (plain or vanilla flavour) : 8 oz tub
Instant Coffee pwd : 1tsp
Chocolate curls : 1/2 cup ( Scrape Dairy milk chocolate using a vegetable peeler)
Milk : 1/2 cup


Method:

Pre- heat the oven at 350 F for 15 minutes. Sift All pupose flour, Cocoa pwd, Baking powder, Baking soda, Salt and sugar together and set aside. Beat eggs lightly and add milk, oil, vanilla essence to the eggs. Stir in the coffe pwd in the boiling water. Combine wet and dry ingredients together, and mix. Pour the coffee mixed in water into the cake batter. The batter will be slightly thin and water, but avoid adding too much water. Bake in a greased and floured cake pan for 30- 40 minuteso until done. Keep an eye on the cake while cooking, because baking temperatures in ovens may differ.

When the cake is done check by inserting a clean toothpick, if it comes out clean- the cake is done. Set the cake aside and cool before frosting. I left the cake for a couple of hours to cool down completely.

Mix pudding mix with the milk and the stir in the Cool whip and keep aside. Drain the cherries but do not thrown away the cherry syrup. Chop the cherries and set aside. Now mix the coffee pwd with the cherry syrup and set that aside as well.

Now cut the cake into two slices horizontally for a two layered cake. Place strips of kitchen tissue paper in the shape of 'suns rays' and place the bottom layer of the cake. I did this to keep the serving tray clean. After the frosting is done, you can simply pull the kitchen paper out carefully and Voila!! you get a clean tray!

Begin with drizzling the bottom cake layer with the coffee mixed with cherry syrup to moisten it a bit. Now slather Cool whip and pudding mixture generously and spread it evenly using a flat spatulla. Sprinkle the chopped cherries over the Cool whip layer. Repeat this procedure after placing the second layer of cake over the first cake layer(i.e. drizzling with cherry syrup, then cool whip layer and then the cherries). Finally place the last cake layer and cover the entire cake evenly with the cool whip. Sprinkle the chocolate shavings over the entire cake, pressing them gently so that they stick on the cake well. Place the cake in the refrigerator overnight and serve. Gently pull out the kitchen paper to achieve a clean serving tray.

Serves 10- 12