Pauline's Fruit Cake

What you need:

• Maida - 2 cups
• Rava 1/2 cup
• Baking pwd. - 1/2 tsp.
• Baking soda - 1/2 tsp.
• Mixed Spice - 1 tsp (Cinnamon, Cardomom, Clove, Nutmeg, Dry ginger)
• Cocoa pwd. - 1 tsp.
• Brown Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
• Butter - 3/4 cup
• Eggs - 4
• Rum - 1/2 cup
• Mixed dried fruits and nuts - 2 1/2 cups

What you do:

• Chop all the dry fruits and nuts. Soak them in rum for 2 days to 2 months.
• Caramelize 2 tbsp. measure of the brown sugar.
• Sift the dry ingredients (first set) 3-4 times.
• Beat butter, sugar and eggs till they are combined.
• Add the flour-spice mixture little by little and beat till all are combined.
• Gently stir in well the soaked fruits and nuts along with the rum.
• Pour the above batter into a 13x9x2 baking dish (greased or non-stick).
• Bake at 355F for 45 min.
• Enjoy when cooled off!

Lilly's Fruit Kesari

What you need:

• Rava-1/4 kg
• Sugar-1/2 kg
• Oil-200ml
• Water-3glasses/glass of rava
• Cardamom powder and pineapple essence.
• Food color-optional
• Cashews and raisins roasted in Ghee.

What you do:

• First cut some pineapple into cubes and separate the grapes(cut in half if it's big)
• Roast the rava with little ghee till you get good aroma.
• In a heavy bottom pan or cooker first add the measured oil and allow it to be heated.
• Then add water by measuring 3cups of water for 1 cup of water.
• Then add color if desired
• Allow the water to boil hig
• Stir in the roasted rava and mix without lumps.
• Once it started boiling add the sugar.
• When the mixture started to thicken add the fruits,roasted cashew and raisins.
• Turn off the stove
• Add the essence and the cardomom powder.
• Quickly pour it into a different container before it gets thicken.
• Fruit Kesari is Ready😋😋

Ramya's Rava Kesari

What you need: 

• Rava- 1 cup
• Water - 2 cups
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Cashews and raisins

What you do:

• Put ghee in a pan
• Roast rava in the ghee till aroma comes
• Transfer roasted rava to s plate
• Pour ghee and roast cashews & raisin and keep it aside
• In the same pan add water and let it boil..
• Once boils add rava and mix...
• Once cooked add sugar and mix...
• Add orange food color mixing it in water...
• Now add cashews, raisins and more ghee...
• Adjust sugar to your taste...
• Enjoy!

Hephzibah's Murukku

 What you need:

• Rice flour - 2 cups
• Urad flour - 1/4 cup
• Butter - 1/4 stick
• Salt - to taste
• Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
• Water - 1 - 1 1/2 cup
• Vegetable Oil - to fry

What you do:

• Dry roast urad flour
• Mix all ingredients in a bowl, to chappatthi flour consistency
• Heat oil in a deep pan
• Use a murukku press and press the dough directly into the hot oil
• Fry until golden brown
• Serve & enjoy!

Hephzibah's Fruit Salad

What you need:

• Kesar mango pulp 2 cans
• Whipped cream 1 can
• Condensed milk 1 can
• Soaked & peeled & halved almonds - 1/2 cup
• Black grapes seedless - halved - 1/2 cup
• Red seedless grapes halved - 1/2 cup
• Green seedless grapes halved - 1/2 cup
• Apple - 2 peeled & cut into small cubes
• Mandarin oranges in light syrup - 2 cans - drained
• Pineapple diced - 1 can. If the cubes are big I normally cut it smaller

What you do:

• Pour the mango pulp in a big bowl. Use a wooden spoon and mix well.
• Now add the whipped cream few swooshes and the full can of condensed milk (forgot to mention this has to be unsweetened)
• Once these three are mixed well add in all the other fruits and nuts and continue to mix well.
• Be sure to use only wooden spoon for the mixing. Otherwise you'll break the fruits.
• Most importantly for the canned fruits, drain off the syrup and only use the fruit.
• Enjoy!

Hephzibah's Ulundhu (Urad dal) Vadai

 What you need:

• Urad dal - 2 cups
• Green chilies - 5
• Ginger - a finger tip size - cut into teeny tiny pieces
• Curry leaves - plenty
• Onion - 1 large
• Baking soda - a pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Oil for frying

What you do:

• Soak Urad Dhal for 2 hours
• Grind it coarsely with salt, adding as little water as possible - max 1/2 cup
• Transfer to a mixing bowl
• Cut onions into small cubes
• Cut green chilies into small cubes
• Add onion, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves and baking soda to the batter
• Mix well
• Taste for salt and add if needed
• Heat up oil in a pan
• Using a table spoon pour little lumps of the mix dough into the oil
• Fry it on all sides until golden brown
• Served best with coconut chutney

P.S: I know I know I know what you are thinking. Why is it not made into vada shape? This still tastes the same folks; so I never bothered to learn that. 😃

Hephzibah's Bonda

What you need:

For the balls:

• Potatoes - 6
• Onions - 3
• Curry leaves - generous amount
• Green chillies - 5 or more
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dhal - 1 tsp
• Corriander leaves - generous amont

For the batter:

• Basan flour - 1 1/2 cup
• Salt - 1 pinch
• Turmeric - 1 pinch
• Cummin seeds - 1 tsp
• Baking soda - 1 pinch
• Ajwain (Omam) seeds - 1/2 tsp

What you do:

• Boil the potatoes with skin
• Peel and keep aside when cooked, mashing it with your fingers to some dough like consistency
• Sauté the onions cut lengthwise along with 6 green chilies also cut lengthwise, curry leave and of course mustard seeds and urad dhal for seasoning.
• Add little bit of ginger garlic Paste also
• When the seasoning gets sautéed nicely add the mashed up potatoes, turmeric and salt and cook it till everything mixes together and the turmeric smell is gone.
• Let it cool and then make them into small balls
• Separately make the batter for frying:
• Basan flour 1 1/2 cup, pinch of salt, turmeric, cumin seeds, pinch of baking soda, and even some ajwain (Omam) seeds if you like that  flavor. Mixing them all well like dosa batter consistency
• Heat oil in a pan, dip the balls in the batter and fry to well done