Kichda

For those of you who aren't familiar, this is just like haleem, except with a mixture of all different kinds of daal. This recipe made enough for 2-4 people.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of the following:

barley

chana daal

whole or split masoor daal

moong daal

tuvar/toor daal

urud/maash ki daal

1/2 lb beef cubes or chicken

1 onion, thinly sliced

pinch of haldi

1/2 tsp mirchi powder

1 1/2 tsp dhanya/zeera powder

1 tbsp shaan haleem masala (opional)

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste

1 tbsp mint leaves (dry or fresh)

salt to taste

Rinse and soak the daals together. I only soaked for about a half hour.

Fry half the onion, add whole garam masala, ginger garlic paste, and salt. Add the meat, fry for a minute or two, then add water and cook until tender. (I pressure cooked the meat)

Cook the daals together with a pinch of haldi and some salt. (I pressure cooked the daal also) Shred the meat and add to the cooked daals. Add dhanya-zeera powder, mirchi powder, garam masala powder, and haleem masala. In another pot, fry the rest of the onions until golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and mint and fry another minute. Add to the daal mixture and mix well. Garnish with hara dhanya, fresh mint leaves, ginger slices, and fried onions.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

The BEST rich chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream ever!! 

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 cups white sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water OR 1 cup brewed coffee 

Buttercream:

3/4 cup butter (room temperature)

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

5 1/3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cake pans generously with cooking spray. Don't use butter or the cakes will stick.

Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the milk, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract and beat with electric mixer on medium for 3 minutes. Add the cup of boiling water slowly while beating with the electric mixer for another couple minutes until smooth. The batter will be very liquidy and soupy. Pour the batter evenly into the pans about 2/3 full. Don't over fill or the batter may overflow in the oven! Bake for 30 minutes, and test with a toothpick to see if they're done.

In another bowl, cream the butter with the electric mixer until it's light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract and beat with electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Cover if not using immediately.

Let the cake cool completely before taking them out of the pans. They are extremely soft so they will break if you don't let them cool enough. Turn the cakes out onto a plate and then frost when completely cool.