Corn on the Hob & some Cakes

The markets are filled with an abundance of sweet, fresh ears of corn and that too on sale that it is quite impossible to not bring home a bunch. That is what I've been doing the past few weeks and I'm quite happy just boiling them with some salt and eating. However, my husband is not a fan of this and keeps asking me to spice it up. So, in an effort to get him to eat the corn I tried this method that a friend suggested and he had 3 ears of corn that evening! It had a bit of charred taste and was lemony and spicy so quite irresistible. I call it 'corn on the hob' because I cooked it on a direct flame on our stove.

CORN ON THE HOB / CHARRED, SPICED CORN


Ingredients:

Fresh ears of corn (preferably in their husk) - 4, (I used sweet white)
Lemon/Lime - half
Salt & Chilli powder - to taste (mixed together)

Method:
1) Dehusk the corn and remove the silky threads. Skewer one end of it and place on a direct flame on the stove and keep turning it every once in a while and moving it so all areas of the corn are exposed to the heat. The corn will make a popping sound but there's nothing to worry... (it was a little bit like distant firecracker sounds on a Diwali night). In about 3 to 4 minutes when all of the corn is browned (some parts will be charred but that is okay), remove carefully.

2) Rub with the halved lemon/lime all over and when cooled a bit, rub the chilli powder and salt on the corn and bite in.

We had this with my curried egg salad sandwich for an easy and quick weeknight dinner.

I've been baking quite a few cakes the past few months and wanted to do a quick post about them.

The most recent one I made was this Chocolate Cherry Cake since I had some unsweetended baking chocolate and a big bunch of cherries to use and I am so very glad I made it after eyeing it for so long. Initially (when warm) I wasn't very impressed with it and found it too crumbly but after I refrigerated it overnight, it was so dense and for bitter chocolate lovers out there this is just perfect - I can't get enough of it now. I made a few changes - used almost double the sugar the recipe calls for and added in a tsp of instant coffee powder for a more intense taste. My husband loved it with some good vanilla ice cream and i love it plain. Once refrigerated it held its shape well. here's a picture.

The last one was Praline Sponge Gateau that I tried from here and not sure if I messed up something but again the cake itself wasn't too soft but I was quite amazed at it's texture for a cake with no butter. I'll probably use the cake recipe to make a pineapple cake and soak it to make it more moist the next time. I know the picture and decorations are far from good but this was done in a hurry.

I also made Black Forest cake using this recipe & this has to be the most time consuming cake I've made so far and though it was good, there are a few changes I'll probably make the next time... and soak the layers in syrup a bit more to make it more moist and also avoid maraschino cherries since I do not like them at all and substitute with something else.

Thank you fellow bloggers for these delicious cake recipes.

BLOG BREAK:
I will be off to India soon and most likely will not have the time to post from there so I will see you all again in September. Ciao.

Ginger Chutney - 2

My love for all things ginger can't be expressed sufficiently in words - a large chunk of it is smashed up and added to my daily tea and I typically incorporate it in most every dish I make. This is the second Ginger Chutney recipe on this blog but this version is quite different and something my MIL whipped up as an accompaniment to idlis/dosais. It was spicy, thick and delicious. The previous version however goes really well with rice.

GINGER CHUTNEY for Idlis/Dosas


Ingredients:
Ginger - 100 gms, peeled and chopped
Urad Dhal - 2 tbsp
Dried Red Chillies - 10 (yes this is a spicy chutney)
Tamarind - small piece
Jaggery - small piece
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp (preferably Gingelly)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Method:
1) Heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the urad dhal , red chillies and ginger and roast on medium till golden & fried. Add the tamarind towards the end and switch off the stove.

2) Allow this to cool a bit and grind along with salt and jaggery to a paste with water as required.

3) Heat the remaining 1 tsp of oil and season with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour over the chutney and serve.