Simple Rich & Moist Chocolate Cake

As am typing this, am also enjoying my wonderful chocolate cake which is by the way is very rich,moist and super delicious as my 4 year daughter Adilah would  say..and the best part of it it is very simple and easy to bake it.

I love chocolate in any form so a rich chocolate cake is just another luxurious indulgence if I may say so. I am passionate about my desserts , I am very cautious when I prepare them. Some of them have some much details and take so much of my time but by the end of the day every minute and every ounce is just worth it. 

I eat my chocolate cake like there is no tomorrow and then every morning I stand on that bathroom scale to check my weight hoping and praying that I have not gain a single ounce. If I could, I would have baked this cake as many times as I could but I have to play the safe game with my health although I do look for every opportunity to bake it. 

So last weekend I had a potential client coming over for cake&dessert tasting for their upcoming event, amongst the few samples I made; my favorite chocolate cake was definitely a winner. The recipe produces 2 8" cakes so I reserved one for a rainy day..and I could wait to get a chance and attack. The whole week I was trying to think of some new chocolate flavors that would pair well.I have done so many variations and I was trying to find something totally new and awesome. 

Well, to say the least I with so much planning I got so busy that I never had the chance to go grocery shopping this week at all and I decided to settle with some leftovers that I had in my refrigerator. I had enough to make another 2 8" chocolate cakes and was also delighted that I could make a video coz sometimes its just impossible to record a video with kids at home.

So now, let me show you how to make this gorgeous cake that will make you go crazy.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup All purpose flour
3/4 cup Cocoa Powder ( I used Hersheys)
2 cups sugar
2 tspn Baking Soda
1 tspn Baking Powder
1/4 tspn Salt
2 tspn Cinammon Powder
2 large eggs
1 cup Buttermilk
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup hot Coffee

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F, and prepare 2 8" round pan with parchment paper or spread butter evenly and dust with cocoa powder.

Place all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Run the mixer for 1 minute to combine all the ingredients.

Combine and all the wet ingredients together except coffee.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredienst and mix well for about 3 minutes ( do not over mix)

Add hot coffee and mix well, stop the mixer and scrape the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are well combined and mix for 1 minute.

Divide the batter equally into 2 pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or untill done ( insert a toothpick to check )

Once its done, cool and enjoy with your favourite butter cream or frosting

Lamb Pilau

Pilau is yet another aromatic and delicious meal of its own kind. Pilau is cooked together with any kind of meat be it lamb, mutton or beef and it can also be prepared with fish ,shrimps or vegetables etc.

Growing up , Sunday was not complete if we did not have Pilau, it is also served on special occasions, holidays, birthdays , and also for wedding lunch, this is usually on the night after the wedding reception and I must mention that I had the best Pilau ever in Zanzibar for my sister's lunch (wedding) this was done by a professional local caterer I believe her name is Tausi and the meaning of her name is "Peacock" well she does know what she's doing  and ever since I have been trying to make that Pilau...Its been over 20 yrs and am still craving for it..;(

Pilau gets it flavour from the broth, as well as the spices however many people prepare it with stock or water. I prefer to make mine with broth and I make sure that the broth is well seasoned. Another way to make the broth is to use whole spices, I use whole spice but I wrapped it in a " Boquet Garni" , some like their Pilau  lighter and some dark, it depends on how concentrated your broth is as well as the spices.

On reserching the roots and how Pilau reached Zanzibar, I would like to believe that it was brought by the Indians due to the vast and prominent  Indian influence especially from Gujrat.

Pilau is also prepared and consumed in many countries and due to the vast spread of the dish, there are alot of variations of the name in many languages such as polou, palov,polu,polaao,pulao/pulav etc. The English spelling Pilaf is influenced by the Modern Greek Pilafi.

I also managed to find that   the  ancient Indian text Mahabharata mentions rice and meat cooked together, and the word "pulao" or "pallao" is used to refer to the dish in ancient Sanskrit and Kannada works.

And it is also believed that the proper preparation of pilaf was first documented by a tenth-century by a Persian scholar named Abu Ali Ibn Sina who in his book on medical science dedicated a whole section to preparing various meals including several types of Pilaf. 

Persian neighboring languages: polow (rice cooked in broth while the grains remain separate, straining the half cooked rice before adding the broth and then "brewing"),

Serves 4-6 

For the broth

2 pounds beef/lamb or mutton

1 Tbls Cumin seeds

2 Cinnamon stick

3 cloves

1 tspn whole cardamons

1-2 bay leaf

1/2 tspn peppercorns

Fresh garlic and ginger root

Use a cheese cloth and wrap and tie all the dry whole spices and make a "Bouquet Garni" and immerse it into the a large pot of water with your choice of meat. Mash the garlic and ginger and add. Cover and slow cook for an hour or so ( or until the meat is tender) you can use pressure cooker if you wish.

For the rice:

3 Tbls vegetable oil

2/3 large potatoes (optional) peeled and cut into half or quarters

1/2 onion diced

1 Tbls cumin seeds

1 Tbl pilau seasoning ( Masala) * check out the video on how to prepare this.

1 Tbls fresh ginger/garlic paste.

2 cups long grain

3 cups broth

Cooked meat

Salt to taste

* Wash and soak the rice for atleast 20 mins before cooking

Method:

In a large sauce pan , heat the oil and add the the potatoes and brown them

Remove the potatoes from the heat

Add onions and sautee  till translucent, add cumin seeds stir for few minutes

Add Pilau seasoning and sautee, add the meat , stir and mix to combine

Add the ginger/garlic paste combine well and sautee for few minutes (do not burn)

Add the broth and potatoes and bring to a boil

Add the rice, bring to a boil. Let it boil for about 2 mins

Reduce the heat , cover and simmer for about 15-20 mins or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Reduce to lowest heat and cover tight for 15-20 mins ( or place in the oven at 350F for 20 mins)

Serve with kachumbari, raita , salsa etc.

Persian Rice ( Beghali Polo)

Rice has always been a staple food in my home particularly for lunch, back home we always had rice for lunch and other types of food for supper/dinner. Rice is served with varieties of curries be it chicken, fish, lamb etc and vegetables or grains.

Being a rice eater it is no surprise why am attracted to rice dishes from every cuisine and Persian is definitely among the few of my favorite that I have come across. Persian cuisine is very wide and extensive in it own unique way so I am only going to focus on the rice at the moment.

Long grains rices are widely consumed they are  and graded based  on where they are grown and the aromatic fragrance they produced. The closest I can get is Basmati rice which is equaly fragrant. Most rices are prepared with one or two additional ingredients varying from herbs, vegetables, meats, legumes, grains, nuts, dried fruits etc. and Safron

Theres a specific and unique approach to cooking Persian rice as far as I am concerned. The Basmati rice is socked in cold water for about an hour to remove the starch ; in some recipes its soaked with a lot of salt (up to 8 Tablespoons!!!) then par boil it in very salty water, its then drained and shocked cold water. Next you heat a pan with any kind of cooking oil preferably one the has no strong smell such as sunflower, canola add the rice to and pile it up in a shape of  a pyramid and make holes and insert the butter cubes or sometimes without it. The rice is then well covered tightly and cooked on medium high heat for about 10 mins and then totally low heat for another 15 mins or so. This process creates a very a delicious golden crispy and crunch rice at the bottom ( Tahdig) and fluffy rice on the top.

I loved Persian food but  discovered the passion sometimes in the 90's  in Dubai, there was a restaurant nearby where I worked and we used to go on every chance and excuse we could come up with. The food was not only delicious; the buffet had such a spread and was ridiculously cheap. And you know whats next...I went out hunting for Persian cuisine cook book, I must say that I was disappointing not to find any !!

I could not understand why considering the obvious and large Persian population in UAE. Nevertheless, I managed to find one after many months of searching every Bookshop I could see. The book 'Persian Cooking A Table of Exotic Delights by Nesta Ramazani' is not one of those attractive with colorful pictures but I bought it anyways. It took me a while to figure out what I really wanted to learn since I was not familiar with the names and no pictures to guide me through... Now I can say that it is an excellent book and I am so glad that I picked it up

Today I am sharing with you two types of rice dishes which are my favorite especially Beghali Polo ( Dill rice) my other favorite is Javaher Polo (Jeweled Rice) it is very decadent both in the ingredients and the time and love to prepare it....I will definitely show you when get chance to make it.

The ingredients here they are just approximate due to the nature of the dish.

Serves 4 - 6 

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 2 cups

Fresh Dill or dried - 1/2 cup

Baby Lima Beans 1/2 - 1 cup 

Cumin powder - 1/4 - 1/2 tspn

Salt - 3 tspn ( as per yr taste)

Butter - 3 Tbls

Oil  - 1 - 1 1/2 Tbls

Safron - a pinch

Potato - 1 large

Dried Barberries or cranberries   

Water to boil the rice - 6-8 cups

Method:

Wash , rinse and soak the rice for minimum 20 mins.

On medium high heat , bring to boil water with salt 

Peel the potatoes and slice into round disks

Grind the saffron into a fine powder

Drain the rice and add to the boiling water

Let it cook for about 7 mins

Remove from the heat and drain, run some cold water for a minute

In a medium pan, add the cooking oil ( Medium high heat)

Layer the potatoes, sprinkle some cumin powder

Layer the rice , add the Lima beans, sprinkle some  dill 

Add another layer of rice, white or yellow ( however you prefer)

To color the rice with saffron; add 2 Tbls of hot water to the saffron powder , pour it into the rice and mix to combine till all rice is yellow.

Once you have finished layering the rice with the herbs and beans ( in shape of pyramid like so) make holes all the way till you touch the potatoes at the bottom . Insert the butter cubes.

Cover it very well so the steam does not come out, use kitchen paper underneath the lid. Let it cook on slow heat for about 30-45mins.

Plate it anyway you like it, garnish some dried berries before serving . Enjoy your meal with anytime of grill or veggies.