Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake

I picked up a copy of Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa At Home from the library a few months back. One of the first recipes I promptly tried out from the book was the lemon yogurt cake. I watch Ina’s show on television and have made a few of her recipes before with excellent results. This one too turned out to be fantastic.

Ina uses vegetable oil and yogurt instead of butter in this cake. I followed her recipe totally but used low-fat yogurt instead of whole-milk yogurt. I skipped the lemon glaze altogether and used just the lemon syrup, and the cake still had a nice lemony flavor.

Ingredients:

· 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

· 1½ tsp baking powder

· ½ tsp salt

· 1 cup plain yogurt (I used low-fat)

· 1 cup sugar

· 3 eggs

· 2 tsp grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

· 1 tsp vanilla extract

· ½ cup vegetable oil

· 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the lemon-sugar solution:

· 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

· 2 Tbsp sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5- inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients and mix well.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Stir together the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves.

While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar solution all over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool, slice and serve.

This cake is flavorful, light, moist and absolutely delicious, and it has now become one of my favorites. The recipe is a keeper for sure!

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

Last year, I made jam for the very first time. The process was pretty simple and straightforward and not as daunting as I had thought it would be. Yesterday, after a very long time, I made another batch of the same jam. I used my original recipe but made a couple of changes. This time I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to the strawberries while they were cooking. I also substituted the cloves with some nutmeg. Both balsamic vinegar and nutmeg turned out to be fantastic additions to the recipe and the resulting jam had the most wonderful taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz. pack of strawberries, hulled and chopped
• ½ - ¾ cup sugar (I used ½ cup- adjust according to your taste and sweetness of the strawberries)
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Juice of half a lime
• 1/4 tsp or a large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• A pinch of salt

Method:
Place the chopped strawberries in a saucepan and cook, stirring frequently until the juices are released. Crush the larger pieces of fruit.

When it starts to boil, add the sugar, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, nutmeg powder and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (it took me about 25-30 minutes).

Allow the jam to cool and transfer it to a clean jar. Store in the refrigerator. It will keep for at least a week.

Besan Laddoo

Although I love Indian sweets, I usually wait for a festive occasion to make them make at home- preparing sweets seems far too time-consuming and labor-intensive to do so otherwise.

These besan laddoos made in the microwave are an exception, though, and take less than 15 minutes to make, from start to finish. I first noticed the recipe on Tee's blog, Bhaatukli, a few years back and I’ve been following her method ever since. Since this is such a fuss-free recipe, I make these laddoos every now and then without even waiting for a special occasion.

Please refer to Tee's post for detailed instructions on making these laddoos.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
• ¾ cup + 2 tsp sugar
• 8-10 Tbsp ghee
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder
• A handful of raisins

Method:
In a microwave-safe bowl, mix together the besan and ghee. Cook the mixture in the microwave for 6-8 minutes stirring and mixing every 45 seconds or so. As the besan roasts, it turns a darker shade of yellow and becomes fragrant.

When the besan is cooked and while the mixture is still hot, add the sugar, cardamom powder and a handful of raisins and mix well. Shape into small balls. Store in an airtight container.

Poha

This is a breakfast dish that comes together very quickly using simple pantry and kitchen staples.

Ingredients:

(For 3-4 servings)

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 4 green chillies, minced
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• A pinch of turmeric
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 2 ½ cups thick poha (beaten rice)
• ½ cup coriander leaves
• 3 tsp sugar
• Juice of a lemon
• Salt to taste

Method:

Rinse the flattened rice flakes and drain off the excess water. Place in a bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes. The rice flakes will absorb the water and swell. Make sure you're using the thick variety of poha here- the thin kind will just fall apart. Fluff with a fork and set aside

Heat oil in a large pan and add the mustard seeds, asafoetida, chillies, curry leaves and turmeric followed by the onions. When the onions turn soft, add the potatoes and cover and cook till they're done.

Stir in the rice flakes and mix. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the chopped coriander leaves and sugar. Take the pan off the heat and add the lemon juice. Serve hot.