Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

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Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil             -         2 Tbsp. 
Cherry tomatoes                    -         15 
Oregano, dried                       -         1 Tbsp.
garlic, minced                        -         3  cloves
plain bread crumbs                 -        ¼ cup 
Salt & Pepper according to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Drizzle 1 tsp of the olive oil in the bottom of a 9-inch standard glass dish. 
2. Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally (not through the stem end).
3. Combine the oregano, garlic, bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a separate bowl.
4. Place half of the cherry tomato halves, split side up, into the dish. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the bread crumb mixture. Place the remaining tomato halves, rounded side up, to look like whole tomatoes again. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the tomatoes.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Cashew Nut Chicken Curry

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Ingredients                                
Chicken                          -     1 Kg 
Oil                                  -    3 Tbsp.
Cashew nuts                   -    1 Cup
Onion, Chopped             -    2 large
Ginger-Garlic paste        -   1 ½ Tbsp.
Chilly powder                 -   1 Tbsp.
Coriander Powder           -   2  Tbsp.
Turmeric powder            -   ½ tsp.
Garam Masala Powder    -   ½  Tbsp.
Tomato, chopped            -    1 large
Cream                              -     ¼ Cup
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat Oil in a deep pan on medium heat and fry the Cashew nuts until golden brown. Set it aside until cool, grind it to a smooth paste.(just about ½ a cup) 
2. Saute the chopped Onion in the remaining oil until light brown, add Ginger Garlic paste and continue sauteing till the raw smell is gone.
3. Now add the Chilly powder, Coriander powder, Turmeric powder and Garam-Masala powder, salt and saute for a minute or two.(do not burn the powders)
4. Add the chopped Tomato and the ground Cashew paste and saute till the oil oozes out(will take time 8 mins. approx. Saute on medium heat).
5. Dilute the gravy by adding just enough water (about 2 cups) and add the cut & cleaned Chicken pieces and mix and let it boil on high heat.
6. Once boiled, lower the heat, close the pan and continue cooking till the Chicken is well cooked. The gravy will become almost thick.
7. Add Cream and mix well, turn off the heat, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Notes:

• You can use a combination of peanut and cashew nut (½ cup each)

Red Velvet Cake

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                                     I wanted to make a red velvet cake for a very long time. Well finally I made it for our wedding anniversary. The cake is super moist and dense. The red color of the cake is from the red food coloring. I heard about a healthier version using beets from a friend off mine, the recipe worked for some did not work for others. Since I don't have the time to experiment I made the one using food color. This cake is perfect for a valentines day, got the whole idea from another blog, sprinkle-bakes.

Ingredients:

all purpose flour       -       2 ½ cups 
salt                            -       1 teaspoon
sugar                         -       2 cups
butter, softened         -      1 cup 
eggs                          -       2 
cocoa powder           -      1 tablespoon  
Red food coloring    -       2  tablespoons
buttermilk                -       1 cup 
vanilla extract         -       1 teaspoon
baking soda             -       ½ teaspoon
White vinegar           -       1 tablespoon

Cream cheese frosting:

cream cheese, at room temp.      -     2 ounces 
butter, softened                           -     1 cup
vanilla extract                             -     2 teaspoons
confectioners sugar                     -     2 cups


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease and lightly flour 2  round 9" cake pans.
2. Sift  the flour and salt together a couple of times , set aside.  In a bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix well after each addition.
3. Add the flour mixture to the bowl alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Blend in vanilla.
4. In a small bowl, mix the red food coloring and the cocoa powder until a paste forms. Add this to the sugar and butter batter and combine  well.
5.  In another small bowl stir together the baking soda and the vinegar add it to the batter immediately and combine well on medium speed setting until it has a smooth consistency.
6. Pour the batter evenly into the floured pans, level  the top of  the batter and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake comes clean. Turn out on wire racks and cool completely.
7. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Gradually add the confectioners sugar and beat until light and fluffy(add little milk if too thick & add sugar if too thin)
8. If your carving the cake and coating it with crumbs, be sure to put the crumbs on when the icing is fresh.
9. For a heart shaped cake as shown, first cut the baked cakes in the shape of a heart(for perfect shape, carve out the heart making use of a  paper cut out in the shape of a heart and use it as reference. First draw a circle using the 9 inch  round pan used for baking the cake on a piece of paper, draw a heart inside the circle).
10. Place the heart shaped paper on the baked cake and cut out the shape. Crumble the cut off pieces and keep aside.
11. Apply the frosting evenly on the topside of the cake, place the other cake on top and apply the frosting on top and the sides of the cake.
12. Now press the crumbled mixture all over the cake(This is not a pretty job you can clean up later).(Place the cake on the serving dish before decorating)

Notes:

• I made this cake on day one and made and applied the frosting the next day.
• Freeze the cake, if your planning to make a heart shaped one with the crumbled topping. It will be easy to cut.
• Adjust the quantity of the frosting according to your requirement. I ended up with so much left over frosting.
• The cake is delicious as such without the frosting. 
• The topping on my cake as you can see is in crumbled form, whereas if you see the original recipe by heather it had a powdery texture.

Macaroni Salad

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Ingredients:

uncooked elbow macaroni      -    250 g.
carrots, shredded                     -    2
red onion, chopped                 -     1 medium
green bell pepper, seeded and chopped   -  ½
red bell pepper, seeded and chopped       -   ½
celery, chopped                      -     ½ cup
mayonnaise                            -     1 cup
sweetened condensed milk    -     ½ can.
white vinegar                         -     1 tsp.
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1.  Bring a  pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni, and cook until tender(8 mins). Rinse under cold water, and drain and set it aside until needed.
2. In another bowl, combine the shredded carrots, red onion, green pepper, red pepper and the celery. Mix in the mayonnaise, condensed milk(amount depends on your desired level of sweetness), vinegar, salt and pepper. Finally add the cooked macaroni and toss gently, check the taste, cover and refrigerate(at least 3hrs.) until serving time.