Easy Cream cheese pound cake (box recipe)

The original recipe is from Duncan Hines website. It is a keeper of a cake recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Duncan Hines Butter Cake mix

Cream cheese- 8 oz

Eggs - 4

Canola oil - 1/2 cup

Hot water - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Butter - 2 tbsp

Vanilla - 1 tbsp

Method

Heat oven to 325ºF.
Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, butter, oil and vanilla in a large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each until blended. Gradually beat in flour and hot water on low speed until blended.  

Pour the batter into a greased bundt pan.

Bake for about an hour at 350, until it is light brown and starts to pull away from the sides.

Enjoy!

Mango Pound cake

It's summer and mangoes are abundant. If you like mangoes, then you will definitely like this cake.  It's hard to believe that finely chopped mangoes can give a homemade pound cake this much flavor. The cake was delicious!

Ingredients

All-purpose Flour (Maida) - 2 cups
Baking powder - 11/2 tsp
PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese - 8 oz 
Butter - 3/4 cup (11/2 stick) 
Sugar - 2 cups
Eggs - 4 
Vanilla - 1 tbsp 
Mangoes - 2

Method
 

Heat oven to 325ºF.

Beat cream cheese, butter, granulated sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each until blended. Gradually beat in flour and baking powder on low speed until blended.
 
Pour 1/3 of the cake batter into 12-cup tube pan sprayed with cooking spray. Toss mangoes with remaining flour; stir into remaining cake batter. Pour over batter in pan.

Bake for an 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in the pan for 10 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan with knife. Invert cake onto wire rack; gently remove pan. 

Enjoy!

Chilli Parotta

Chilli Parotta is a popular dish served in restaurants in Tamil Nadu, India.  You can use the leftover Parottas and turn it into a scrumptious dish. Chilli Parotta is usually served with raitha in restaurants.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

Parathas (Frozen) - 4

Onion - 1 big

Green chillies - 3-4

Tomato - 1 

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 3/4 tsp

Salt

Curry leaves

Cilantro leaves

 

Method

Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a pan and add some mustard seeds and urad dhal. When mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves.  When the onion become translucent, add ginger and garlic paste and fry for 3 minutes.  Add the chopped tomatoes and the spices and salt and saute the mixture till the onion and tomato blend well with the spices.

Cook the parathas and cut into bite size pieces.  Add the paratha pieces  to the onion - tomato mixture. Mix the ingredients until the parathas are well coated with the spices.

Garnish the chilli parotta with Cilantro. Enjoy!

Optional : You can add an egg towards the end.

Masala Vadai (Lentil Fritters)

Masala Vadai (Lentil Fritters) is a popular South Indian snack.  It is available in all the hotels and road side shops in TamilNadu, India. Here is a simple recipe for a crispy and crunchy masala vadai. Masala vadai is served with coconut chutney and a cup of masala chai. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Bengal gram (Channa dhal) - 2 cups
Onion - 1
Curry leaves
Mint leaves
Cilantro leaves
Salt

 To grind

Green Chillies - 4-5
Fennel seeds - 11/2 tsp
Garlic - 5 pods
Ginger

Method

Soak the Bengal gram (Channa dhal) for 3-4 hours.  Grind the green chillies, fennel seeds, garlic and ginger and keep it aside.  

Drain the water completely from the Channa dhal and grind them coarsely. You can leave some whole channa dhal in the mixture. Add the chopped onions, cilantro leaves, curry leaves and the ground chilli mixture to the ground dhal.  

Make small balls and shape the balls as small patties and fry them in the oil and let the Vadai cooks on medium heat.

Drain the Vadais using a paper towel and serve the Vadais with coconut chutney. Enjoy!

Note : Soak the dhal for at least 3-4 hours. You don't need to add any water. If you feel that the dough is watery, you can add a teaspoon of rice flour.