Vegetables Seekh Kabab

A very healthy vegetarian starter - the aroma and taste of the freshly powdered garam masala is the main attraction of this dish. You can use your own variations for the vegetables - anything will do! Peas/beans/methi/corn/paneer can also be added- to make this a more versatile recipe


Ingredients( makes about 20 medium sized kababs)

For the dry masala powder
2 small elaichis
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon jeera
2-3 cloves
1/2 tablespoon dhanya powder
1 tablespoon khus khus

4 medium potatoes
3 small carrots,peeled
1 small cauliflower (use as small a flower as possible, else batter will be too wet)
2 green chillies finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
15-20 kishmish (raisins)
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon chaat masala
1 tablespoon mustard oil
3-4 tablespoons roasted besan
Cornflour (optional, if additional binding is needed)

Oil for greasing

1. Steam all the vegetable together in a cooker (see pic below). I place all the vegetables in the steamer basket , add 2 cups of water , give one whistle and let the cooker stay on a low flame for ten minutes. Then turn off the gas and open the lid when the steam is released
2. Dry roast all the masalas for the powder . Cool and grind
3. Peel the potatoes and mash all the vegetables. Add all the remaining ingredients and mash thoroughly. If the paste feels too soft/wet , add a little cornflour - else the kababs will fall off the skewers while cooking
 4.If using wooden skewers, soak the skewers 30 minutes prior to using them. This helps soften the wood and the kababs come off easily.
5. Grease the skewers with oil(I use regular sunflower cooking oil) . Grease your palms also lightly. Place the skewer on the palm, take a fist full of the batter and shape the kababs on the skewer- this might require some practice! I do not take too much batter on one skewer as it is easy to shape and does not break either .
6. Place the skewers on the grill/tandoor/oven tray and cook for 10-12 minutes till slightly charred. Grease the tops of the kababs lightly. You can turn the skewers over after 5 minutes. The time will vary on the cooking device being used. If using an oven, set the temperature to maximum.
7. Take the kababs off from the skewers when done and serve with chutney and lemon wedges

Tres Leches Cake - Three milk cake

Tres-leches means 3-milks literally, so this is a classic vanilla sponge cake soaked with a 3 milks mixture and served cold. I have friends who swear by the one available at Sancho's, Mumbai and I have been wanting to try this out for a while. This is originally a mexican recipe and there is a slight variation in what people use for the three milks pouring mixture. All recipes use condensed milk(milk no 1) and regular milk (milk no 2). For milk no. 3 most recipes use evaporated milk (which is unavailable in India) If you can source that then just use 1 cup of that for this recipe-. I used 2 cups of whole milk and then reduced it to 1 cup (evaporated the mik on my own :)
You can add a fruit topping or any other decoration - even the cream is optional..the highlight of the cake is the sweet and moist cake with the 3 milk mixture literally oozing out of the cake

For the cake
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1/2 can condensed milk
50 ml milk
50 gm butter
3/4 cup maida
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

The 3-milk mixture
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1/2 can condensed milk
1 cup milk
2 cups whole milk

2 cups whipped cream


1. Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees (this will be reduced later)
2. Beat the condensed milk and the butter for 4-5 minutes with an electric beater till light and creamy
3. Next, add in the milk and beat for a minute more
4. Sieve the flour,baking powder and baking soda together and add to the batter
5. Beat on high speed for 4-5 minutes.
6. Pour into a greased tray (I used roughly a 5 inch diameter one) and bake at 180 degrees (reduce the temperature) for about 30 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean
7. Cool the cake
8. For the milk mixture, place the whole milk in a pan and bring to a boil .Then let it sim for about half an hour till the quantity is reduced by half.
9. Cool the milk and mix with the condensed milk and 1 cup of regular milk. You can use a whisk or an electric beater to get a smooth consistency
10. To assemble, slice the cake into half. With a fork, prick the cake all over (carefully)
11. Keep one half on a tray (I usually place buttter paper pieces under the cake which I can remove later so that the tray does not get too messy .The paper should only slightly be under the cake so it is easy to pull out).
12. Pour the milk mixture (about 5-6 tablespoons) over the cake. Add some whipping cream and then place the second half on the cream. Again pour the milk mixture all over the top half - not too much, it might break with the weight and you need some for serving later. Again top with cream and leave the cake in the fridge
13. To serve, slice the cake and pour the remaining milk mixture around each slice. There should be enough liquid around the slice