Orange Cupcakes & Vanilla Sponge Cake

In spite of my trying real hard, I have not been able to post as frequently as I'd like to.

The days stay busy, with a thousand chores
awaiting.
And I need more time than usual to finish a job now.

In the midst of all this I cook.
But of late cooking has mostly been on the spur.
Decide, prepare, cut/chop, cook, serve.
With almost no time to arrange a plate and click snaps.

But it does nag at the back of my mind when I prepare something good enough to share
with you all.
So no matter how quick I have to be, I try to manage a few clicks.

I've been craving for some good old fashioned Vanilla cake for a while now.
With eggs.
So baked one last weekend.


With winter gone and the weather turning dry and hot,
it is the evenings that are so endearing now.
A heavy breeze blows that takes me back to summery evenings back home.
Our garden had a grapefruit tree.
And the only thing I loved about it was the flowers.
Or rather their smell.

Citrusy, fragrant and so so sweet.
The evening air would be heavy with a mix of their smell and the smell of wet earth from the
just watered garden.
The elders would be sitting down to a cup of lemon tea
accompanied with something baked ...
either cakes or bakery biscuits.

I baked this cake just around evening, heart heavy with memories.

Just as I set about pouring the batter into the baking bowl,
I spied some beautiful oranges sitting on the table.
Immediately kept some batter aside
and added some orange zest to it.
Baked some cupcakes out of that batter.
Ok ... not some, exactly 5 cupcakes.


The zest gave such a wonderfully warm golden and light sunshine colour
to the cupcakes that
it almost hurt to eat them.
And the aroma of orange coming out of a warm cake is just so heady!

I threw in some choco chips that promptly sank to the bottom.
But it was fun to break open a cupcake and discover the chips in them.

The cake was perfect.
Brown and slightly crusty top.
Very soft and fluffy inside.
Melt in the mouth perfect sweetness.
Am so happy with it that I'm going to write the recipe here.
If not for anybody else,
then for my own self ... lest I forget.

By the time the cupcakes came out, we had finished half of the sponge cake ...
warm and just out of the oven.
So just the other half for a click.


Need :

1 cup maida / refined or all purpose flour
2 eggs
a little milk ( I use it only to make the batter thin )
vanilla essence - 3 big drops
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of baking soda
a little less than 1 cup sugar
3 tbsp cooking oil

Around 1 tbsp orange zest to be added for the cupcakes.


How I made them :

Set oven to 160 degrees C to pre heat.

Grind the sugar into a powder.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and oil in a bowl.

Add the sugar and mix well.

Beat the eggs for a while and mix in.

Add milk ( I needed just about a quarter cup or less ).

Add the vanilla essence.

Stir well till there are no lumps in the batter.

The batter should be of easily flowing yet slightly heavy consistency.

Brush a baking bowl with butter or cooking oil.

Dust it with some maida / apf.

Pour in the batter and bake at 160 degrees for around 15 minutes.

Switch off oven. Do not take the cake out immediately.

After around 10 mins remove and cool.


The Cupcakes

Just add the orange zest to the above batter.

If you want add some choco chips too.

Oil a muffin tray, pour in the batter and bake at 150 degrees for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, cool and serve.


All golden in colour,
soft as sponge, sweet, with a bite of chocolate, these cupcakes were beautiful!

We enjoyed them with some light and flavourful
Darjeeling leaf tea.

And I kept smelling my fingers where the wonderful fragrance of
the orange zest lingered ...
long after every crumb was gone. :-)

Other Cakes with eggs on Kichu Khon

Rum Cake with Fruit & Nuts
Coffee Cake
( Yep ... just two!! All others are eggless! )

Patishapta / Rice crepes with coconut filling

Patishapta! ... the most made Pithe in Bengali homes I guess.

Traditional Patishapta is made with a rice flour batter
and fresh coconuts and jaggery .... all harvested products.
But due to the fast paced life of recent times, it is no longer possible to actually go
through the whole process of cleaning, washing, soaking and grinding rice to make a fresh powder.
And then use that powder to make a batter.
So, many people make it with a batter of maida and sooji ,
a quicker version of the original, traditional way.

I usually do not make this frequently ... my favourite pithe is the Poda pithe.
But come winter, every Bengali has to taste the Patishapta once.

When made or had with fresh date palm jaggery, the Patishapta
evokes wonderful memories of childhood
in every Bengali.

With visions of our grandmothers making it on a chulha on cold winter evenings
and us children sitting around it,
savouring the soft, hot patishapta with jaggery oozing out of it,in the warmth of the hot unoon,
knocking on our hearts,
we try to recreate the same taste and memories in our own kitchens
with inept hands.

I am still not into complex cooking yet and would not have made this right now either ...

was happy just watching this wonderful sweet
all over Bong blogosphere ...
but for a reader who requested me for the recipe.

So went ahead and made it.
Thanks to esskay we did get to enjoy the patishapta this winter.

I made it the traditional way ... but added some lentils (urid dal) to
the batter to give the crepes a little softness ...
I have noticed that the only rice batter
tends to make the crepes
slightly dryish.

I have also added a very,very, very small pinch of salt
to the batter ...
to complement the sweet filling.

One tip I'd like to share ...
the first and second crepes will turn out slightly thicker and not very perfect.
But as you keep making them, they will turn out better and better.
And keep the batter thin ... helps in spreading.
And also brings out crisp sides.

Do use a well seasoned, cast iron tawa.
If you want to use a non stick tawa, make sure you add just a few drops of oil and smear it well all over.
Use a wet cloth to smear the oil.
And heat the tawa well ... but on a low flame.
Patience is the key here.

Also, I never try to make it at one go ... or in one day.
A little preparation done earlier helps hugely here.
For example ... I make the coconut filling on one day and store it in the fridge.
I soak the rice and dal overnight ( do not keep it in the fridge ).
And grind it on the next day.
Then keep it in the fridge till I need it ... that way it soaks well.
And all I need to do is heat the tawa and make the pithes whenever I want to.


Need :

For the pur / filling

Freshly grated coconut - 1 cup
Jaggery (I used granules) - around 1 cup
Elaichi / Green cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Water - ½ cup


For the Crepes

Rice - 1 and ½ cup
Urid dal - a little less than ¼ cup
Enough water to make a thin batter


How to make :

The Pur / filling

In a deep pan, put the water and the jaggery together and let it come to a boil.
When the jaggery melts completely, remove and strain it to remove any impurities.
Put it back into the pan and add the coconut.
Keep stirring.
Add the elaichi powder and keep stirring till the mixture turns dryish.

The crepes :

Soak the rice and dal together for around 2 hours ...  the more, the better.
Grind into a smooth batter, adding water if needed.
Add water to make a very thin,
free flowing batter.
( If you let the batter sit for a day, the crepes turn out even better. )

Heat a little oil on a non stick tawa / griddle.
If using a cast iron tawa, heat it well first.
Then smear a good amount of oil on it and heat it again.
Now wipe off the oil with a wet cloth.
Add a little oil again and smear it well and then wipe it off again, with a wet cloth.

Now pour a ladleful of batter on the tawa and spread it to make a thin round.
I cannot do it with the ladle ...
so pick up and turn the tawa in a circle ...
works for me. :-)
Let it cook for a while.

(This was the first one ... so is slightly thick.)

It should leave the bottom of the tawa easily when done.

Place some of the filling in the middle of the crepe.

Roll the crepe on the filling from both sides to cover it.

Remove from the tawa.

See the fluffy soft crepes? The texture was perfect!

A closer look.

I have noticed that if you use maida, it does turn a little tough when cool.

But the rice flour ones stay soft enough
to be easily cut with a spoon.

Make sure to smear the tawa with a little oil and heat it well before adding another spoonful of batter.

These fluffy white blankets of sweet are best served with some

date palm jaggery or Nolen gur
poured over them.
Or sweet, thickened milk.

I'm not so lucky .... so enjoyed them as is.

Enjoy !!

Some wonderful varities of the Patishapta on blogosphere

Sandeepa's Patishapta ...
using Maida, Khoya & Semolina ...
and a beautiful write ...
miss ya Bong mom ... come back soon.

Jaya's Patishapta ...
she has 3 different ways of making the batter and a huge info on the sweet.

Sayantani's Patishapta ...
using maida, semolina & khoya too ...
and has a wonderful writeup on Poush Parbon.

Other Pithes on Kichu Khon

Arisa Pithe

Poda Pithe

Puli Pithe

Monda Pitha

Bharwa Karela / Stuffed and stir fried Bitter Gourd

Karela or the Bitter gourd is almost always
hated by people.
But is needed in your diet due to its immense benefits to your health.
So there is no dearth of recipes to make it palatable.

While it can be fried or made into curries in numerous ways, the most popular way is to fill it with a stuffing of your choice.
I love to use the insides of the karela ( use them only if the karela is fresh
and the seeds still very soft ) for this stuffing,
but you can go ahead and experiment.

While vegetarians can use the versatile potato, paneer, chana
or the Posto / khus khus in different ways,
non vegetarians can use Chicken kheema
or the Fish kheema as a filling too.

Need :

Fresh Karelas / Bitter gourd
Chopped onions
Jeera / Cumin seeds
Garam masala powder
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Haldi / Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder
Dhania / Coriander powder
Amchur / Dried mango powder - to taste
Besan / Gram flour
Salt - to taste

How to :

Wash the karelas and cut into half.
Some prefer to scrape off the outer skin ... I do not.

Core the karela.

Apply a little salt to the cored karelas.
Steam them (remember to cover the steamer ... I opened it to take the snap. )

While they steam ( will take around 15 minutes), prepare the stuffing.

To make the stuffing :

Heat oil in a pan.

Add jeera, hing, chopped onions and fry till the onions' edges are slightly brown.

Add the cored karela, haldi, mirchi, dhania powder, a pinch of garam masala and salt.
Fry well.

Now add the amchur.

Then add a little besan and fry well till properly cooked and browned.

Remove and keep aside to cool.

After the karelas are cooked ( check by inserting a knife, it should cut in easily ),
remove them and cool.

With a small spoon or your fingers, fill the steamed karelas with this mixture carefully.

Gently push in the stuffing to reach the ends.

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry them.


Arrange them with the stuffing side down first. After the side browns, turn them carefully to brown all sides.

If you want you can add a little turmeric, red chilli powder and salt ...
or any other spices of your choice
while frying them.

Serve hot.

Goes great on the side with rotis and dal.

Enjoy !!

Other stuffed vegetables on Kichu Khon

Bharwa Mirchi

Potoler Chop

Other recipes using Karela on Kichu Khon

Dahi Karela
Shukto