Alfredo Sauce Pasta

Alfredo sauce is from Italian origin; white creamy sauce got by mixing melted cheese, butter and flour; this is used to coat the cooked pasta along with some spices. Though this sauce is simple to make, it is also available in processed ready-to-eat forms that can be bought, mixed with cooked pasta and consumed. They are yummy but dairy rich and high in calories though.

Ingredients:

1. Pasta - 2 cups
2. Butter - 2 tbsp
3. Corn flour - 1 tbsp
4. Milk - 1 cup
5. Parmesan cheese - 3 tbsp
6. Salt and pepper
7. Garlic - 3 cloves

Method:

Step 1: Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the cover with some salt. Drain the excess water and toss with a few drops of oil.

Step 2: Melt butter over low heat in wide sauce pan and saute peeled and grated garlic in it.

Step 3: Stir in flour and mix with a ladle until blended.

Step 4: Slowly add milk to pan, keep stirring to avoid lumps.
Step 5: When the ingredients got mixed well, increase heat and reduce for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.
Step 6: Adjust consistency, if sauce is too thick, add more milk; if it is too thin, add more diluted flour.
Step 7: Add the pasta, and cover with grated cheese.

Step 8: Adjust salt and sprinkle pepper as per taste.

• Serve immediately.

Vanila/ Chocolate Eggless Cake

I have seen Urmila aunty preparing eggless cakes at home for birthdays but this is not the exact version of her's. I got this from a cookery show and tried it; this surprisingly turned out great at the very first go. It is such a straight forward recipe.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup maida (all-purpose flour)
2. ½ can condensed milk (I used Nestle Milkmaid)
3. ¼ cup ghee (unsalted butter)
4. 1 tsp vanilla essence or 4 spoons of cocoa powder
5. 2 tblsp baking powder
6. ½ cup milk
7. Edible food colors (optional)
8. Candied cherries (Tutti-frutti optional)

Method:

• Sieve flour with baking powder and cocoa powder (In case you want chjocolate flavour)
• Mix condensed milk and butter seperately.
• Roll the flour in the butter mix. Add milk to make the batter thin.
• Mix the cherries and vanilla essence. Put three teaspoonfuls of the coloring on the batter and give it one single swirl with the rolling pin.
• Heat the pressure cooker for 5 mins. Grease and dust the baking dish. Pour the batter in it and place the baking dish in the cooker. Keep the cooker on low flame (sim).
• Insert a toothpick in the cake after half an hour to check if it is done. If the toothpick comes out clean, take out the cake. Cool on a wire rack before serving. The cake should be spongy and spring back on pressing.
* Decorate with icing or nuts or gems as per your imagination and resource availability

TIPS:

* Keep all necessary ingredients handy and then prepare the cake mix immediately; because baking powder would lose its effect after it gets moist
* Let the cake cool a bit before taking it out; hot cake top would stick to the vessel when toppled

1 2 3 4 . . .

Lemme start it sweet. 1 2 3 4... yeah, the sweet's name is 1234 Cake. This is one of the easiest sweets one can prepare as a learner and I learnt this recipe from my sister, Viju. The name of the sweet explains the portions of ingredients that go in it.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Ghee - 1 Cup
2. Coconut - 2 Cups
3. Sugar - 3 Cups
4. Milk - 4 Cups

METHOD:


• Take all the four ingredients in a deep pan and mix well
• Place it on the stove and close with a lid to avoid spluttering out
• Occasionally take off the lid and stir until the consistency is thick. This will take quite some time say, an hour
• Then take out the lid and stir continuously until the ghee seeps out and the sweet leaves pan
• Take a tray and grease with ghee and pour over the sweet
• Garnish with nuts/ saffron/ rake as required
• Cut into squares/ diamonds once it cools a bit.

TIPS:

* There is no particular order for adding the ingredients. Mix them all at once.
* Keep lid closed until sweet solidifies; else it will splutter on hands and around pan
* Be patient; the moisture in the mixture should completely evaporate to get required consistency
* Cut after few minutes of pouring in the tray when warm, but separate the pieces from tray after it cools down completely