Search Chitra's Food Book

December 24, 2015

Pina Colada–Virgin Pina Colada Recipe

Pina colada recipe
Pina Colada is a sweet cocktail made with rum,coconut cream/coconut milk and pineapple juice.It is a spanish term and is considered as the national drink of Puerto Rico.Pina colada can be prepared with alcohol and without alcohol.Today i have shared a non-alcoholic Pina Colada recipe with coconut milk which is popularly known as “Virgin Pina Colada”.I have heard about this drink but was waiting for a chance to taste in a restaurant.Recently I had this drink in cable car,Jayanagar.It was so rich,creamy and lip smacking !! We loved it a lot.Actually Pina colada is a summer drinks recipe but i wanted to try and blog it now by keeping Christmas & New year celebrations in my mind.Its an apt dessert that can be served in parties.I used readymade coconut milk powder to make it quickly.You can replace it with homemade thick coconut milk or coconut cream.It tastes even more rich.Lets see how to make this easy,yummy cocktail recipe - Virgin Pina ColadaHappy
Pina colada recipe

Virgin Pina Colada Recipe


Virgin Pina Colada Recipe How to make pina colada recipe without alcohol
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Cocktail
Serves: Serves 2
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 5 Minutes
Total time: 15 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup = 200 ml
  • Pineapple pieces - 3/4 cup
  • Thick coconut milk – 1.5 cups
  • Sugar - 3-4 tbsp
  • Ice cubes - 3-4 ( adjust)
METHOD

  • Take the washed, cleaned pineapple and chop into pieces.Take them in a blender/mixer.Add sugar and thick coconut milk( I mixed 5-6 tbsp of readymade coconut milk powder in 1 cup of warm water to make thick coconut milk).
Pina colada recipe
Pina colada recipe
  • Grind it to a smooth paste. Add crushed ice cubes and grind again.Transfer it to a serving glass and serve immediately.Enjoy !
Virgin pina colada recipe


Note
  • You can replace coconut milk by thick coconut cream.
  • Adjust the quantity of sugar as per your taste.
  • If using fresh coconut,use 1/2 of big sized coconut to make thick coconut milk.
Easy,yummy Pina colada – Enjoy this cocktail at home !!
Virgin pina colada recipe
Continue Reading...


December 22, 2015

Eggless Plum Cake Recipe In Pressure Cooker | Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe

Eggless fruit cake in pressure cooker
Its my long time wish to try Christmas special Fruit cake / Plum cake recipe using pressure cooker. Last year I got few request to share some eggless cake recipe in cooker. So keeping that in mind, I tried this eggless fruit cake in pressure cooker using my plum cake convection oven recipe (dry fruits cake). I tried it twice by making some changes. It came out really well, soft n spongy equal to my convection oven & microwave methods. 

Friends, if you wish to make this Christmas special plum cake at home without oven, try this pressure cooker method. You can make a lovely cake and treat your family members. I wanted to post this recipe with video for beginners. So I have shared my eggless plum cake in pressure cooker video link below. Hope you will find it useful. Soon I will share a post on how to make cookies using cooker which was also requested by many. Now lets check how to make eggless plum cake recipe in pressure cooker with stepwise pictures.

P.S.The color of cake in the pictures are different as I used demerara sugar & refined sugar in equal quantity. In the first picture, both sugars are used whereas in the second picture, only demerara sugar is used.

Do refer my Microwave 3 minutes Eggless plum cake recipe & my fruit cake recipe using convection ovenHERE is my Full Christmas Recipes Collection.



Pros and Cons of pressure cooker cake
  1. Pressure cooker do a great job in baking a cake. So anyone can bake a cake without worrying about convection oven. I am sure you can bake crispy cookies as well.
  2. The softness & the flavor of cake would be almost equal to the oven cake. No compensation.
  3. Baking is done fastly in a cooker than oven based on the flame.
  4. You can either use the powdered salt/sand or in empty cooker for baking the cake. As I don’t want to heat my cooker empty,i used salt here.You can use the same salt for repeated baking. No need to change it everytime.
  5. Actually water is not suggested to use inside pressure cooker by baking experts. But I have baked a cake adding water & got good results HERE. If you buy a readymade pressure cooker cake mix,water is sugessted for baking. So i am not sure about this point.
  6. You should be very careful with the baking time when you use pressure cooker because it varies as per the cooker metal,size & the flame. If you use indolium cooker,heat may vary.I used steel cooker here.So you should stay nearby and keep checking every 10 minutes else cake will burn very quickly.Baking is done fastly in cooker than oven.You can easily identify the correct baking with the smell of cake.It wafts through your house nicely.
  7. DO NOT use your cooker for baking the cake very often because cooker will lose its shine and life. DO NOT use gasket. It may burn due to over heat.
  8. The most important thing which I felt bad is the stain marks of cooker. The color of cooker changes to dark brown after heating for 30-40 minutes continuously. So you have to wash it atleast for 10 minutes to remove its stains.
Eggless plum cake in pressure cooker

Eggless Plum cake in pressure cooker


Eggless Plum cake in pressure cooker How to make Eggless Plum cake in pressure cooker with stepwise pictures & a video!!
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Cakes
Serves: 10 pieces
Prep time: 20 Minutes
Cook time: 30 Minutes
Total time: 50 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup = 240ml , 1 tsp = 5 ml , 1 tbsp = 15ml
  • Maida/all purpose flour - 1 cup
  • Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
  • Cooking soda - 1/8 tsp
For fruit mixture
  • Dry fruits & nuts - 1/2 cup ( I used tutti frutti,cherries,dried cranberries.dry grapes,cashews,badam and pista)
  • Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup ( approx 100gms) at room temperature
  • Water - 1/2 cup
  • Dates syrup or maple syrup or golden syrup - 1/2 tbsp
  • Sugar or demerara sugar - 1/2 cup  ( I used bluebird brand)
  • Cooking soda - 1/2 tsp
  • Curd/yogurt - 3 tbsp
  • Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
  • All spice powder - 1 tsp (Crush 1 clove,1 small piece cinnamon & a small piece of nutmeg)
  • Mashed potato - 1/2 cup ( cook 2 medium sized potatoes)
  • Grated orange zest or orange peel – 1 tbsp (optional)
For pressure cooking
  • Powdered salt - 1/2 kg
  • Pressure cooker plate - 1 no
  • Aluminium Baking pan – Small size to suit cooker
  • Butter paper - to line the pan
  • Butter or oil - to grease the pan
HOW TO MAKE PLUM CAKE IN COOKER - METHOD

  • Choose a right baking pan for your cooker and set aside.
  • In a wide bowl, sieve maida, cooking soda & baking powder. Set aside. Grease a baking pan with butter and line it with butter paper. Keep aside.
Eggless fruit cake in pressure cooker
  • Chop the dry fruits and nuts.Mash the boiled potato ( pressure cook 2 medium potato & peel the skin, mash it) and set aside. Keep the orange zest/peel & all spice powder ready.
  • In a kadai,take the chopped dry fruits (Do not add nuts now). Add water, butter at room temperature, sugar or demarara sugar ( I used both in equal quantity). Mix well and boil the mixture in low flame for 15 minutes. Dry fruits will be cooked well & soft and the mixture thickens. Switch off the flame and immediately add 1/2 tsp of cooking soda. Mix well. Mixture will become foamy.
Eggless fruit cake in pressure cooker
  • After the fruit sauce is completely cool, add vanilla essence, orange peel, all spice powder, mashed potato & yogurt. Mix well.
Eggless fruit cake in pressure cooker

Eggless fruit cake in pressure cooker
  • Now add the sieved maida mixture, chopped nuts and make the batter. The consistency of batter should be thick and spoonable. Transfer the batter to the lined baking pan. Decorate it with cashews or badam.
Eggless fruit cake in pressure cooker
Eggless fruit cake in pressure cooker
  • Take your pressure cooker & a slotted plate. Any plate would do. I used my 5 liter steel cooker. Now spread 1/2 kg of powdered salt ( or sand ) in the bottom of cooker. Put the plate inside and preheat the cooker in high flame for 10 minutes. No need to put gasket & weight valve (whistle).
Eggless plum cake in pressure cooker
Eggless plum cake in pressure cooker
  • Open the cooker after 10 minutes and place the baking pan inside the cooker. Close it with the lid and keep the flame medium. Let the cake cook for 25-30 minutes. Open it once in the middle after 15 minutes and check whether it is cooked. The cooking time may vary as per the size & cooker type. You will get a nice cake smell. Keep an eye after 25 minutes because the bottom & sides of cake will burn quickly. I experienced this problem when i tried for the first time.  So please be careful.
Eggless plum cake in pressure cooker
  • Open the cooker after 25 minutes and insert the back of a long spoon or skewer in the middle of cake. If it comes out clean, cake is baked properly. Take out the pan and allow the cake to cool down completely. Invert the cake over a plate and remove the butter paper carefully. Slice and serve !! It tastes the best next day will full of flavors. This cake stays good for a week if stored properly in an air tight box. No refrigeration is needed.

Note
    1. Cake batter should be thick and spoonable as shown in the video.
    2. Baking time varies as per the flame. So its better to keep it low to medium if you are a beginner. Please keep an eye after 20 minutes else cake may burn at the bottom and sides.
    3.The color of cake depends on the sugar you use. If you use brown sugar or demerara sugar, the color of cake will be dark brown whereas if you use normal crystal sugar,color of the cake will be light brown.In the above recipe, I used demerara & refined sugar in equal quantity.
    4. Mashed potato, butter and yogurt gives the softness to the cake. So do not skip any ingredient.
    5. Adding orange peel/zest is optional but it gives a nice flavor. So add it along with yogurt.
    6. Most important point : You should remove the cake only after it cools down completely else it may break into pieces. This cake needs a standing time of 1-2 hours for all the taste to blend well.
    I hope you can follow the same in a idli pot instead of cooker but I have not tried it though.

Try this eggless plum cake recipe using pressure cooker and enjoy this Christmas festival!!

Eggless plum cake in pressure cooker 
Continue Reading...


December 20, 2015

Indian Christmas Recipes - Indian Christmas Sweets, Snacks, Cakes and Cookies Recipes

Indian Christmas recipes

In this post, I have shared all the Indian Christmas recipes under one page for quick reference. Here you can find some eggless cake recipes in convection oven and pressure cooker, cupcakes, muffins, eggless cookies, Christmas sweets, desserts and some snacks recipes that are loved by kids and adults as well. 

You can also find some traditional Indian Christmas sweets recipes like Kerala Achappam, Fruit cake & Goan special Kulkuls. Most of these cake and cookies recipes are easy baking recipes for beginners. I have also shared few microwave cake recipes like mug cakes and Christmas special plum cake cake recipes which can be done in few minutes. Friends, do try these easy, yummy Christmas recipes and have a great celebration. I will be updating this page as and when I share more recipes for Christmas. Lets see the collection of Christmas recipes below.

The picture above is my daughter's Christmas toy tree ;) 

Check out 15+ Easy Sweets Recipes  you can make for Christmas.


Click HERE to check more snacks recipes.

Merry Christmas !!

Eggless Cakes Recipes


Eggless Orange cake without condensed milk Eggless walnut banana muffin Eggless vanilla cupcake

Eggless vanilla cupcake



Easy Cake Recipes using Microwave


Cookies/Biscuits & Snacks Recipes

Eggless shortbread cookies



Dessert Recipes



View more dessert recipes

Check out 15+ Easy Sweets Recipes  you can make for Christmas.

Click HERE to check more snacks recipes.

Continue Reading...