High Tea with Stylenani in Bangalore

Hello hello

We meet on Saturday 29 Oct 2011 between 4 pm and 7 pm at the Sathyu residence in Highgrounds, Bangalore.

Tea, coffee and a cake or two.

Happy Diwali!

Aapki Stylenani

So, we met today for tea and cake (there was no coffee).
I baked in Bangalore after ages. And I didnt care about the altitude and adjustments required! I baked one Glazed Mocha Fudge Cake with a strong doze of Dark Chocolate and Coffee.
Then there was an Orange Syrup Cake.

       

Glad that many friends came and enjoyed the food. Thanks to Hamsa for the red boats ;). Sushma brought some really nice muffins with spinach, dill and other flavours. Lovely texture and total contrast to the other items on the menu. And served with some delicious lemon butter.
Then there was Mallika who brought dhokla and samosa (which were very fresh and tasty), but I would have preferred home cooked stuff.
Seema starred with her papri chaat, except that she kept forgetting to make more. Everyone was gobbling it up and then she had to ration the servings!!
Swar and Amit also joined in the food attack. I hope they had a good time...Then there was Bhaskar who patiently ate everything served to him. I hope we didnt force too much food down his throat!
Nischal and Vedant added some cheer by being themselves and not caring too much about the adults.

With so much focus on the food, we forgot to take pictures of the guests! Sorry

And I wish others would have come too....maybe next time.

Stylenani
29.10.2011

GINGER BABA CAKE

Ingredients (all in Indian measures)
125g White butter (DO NOT substitute with yellow salted butter or margarine)
1 cup Brown sugar / Demerara sugar (firmly packed)
3 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 cups wholewheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp ground ginger (saunth)
2 tsp ground cinnamon (dalchini)
1 cup milk

Pan: 20cm or 8 inch BABA pan

Process:

1. Butter the pan and dust with plain flour.
2. Cream butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat until combined
4. Beat in honey. Then put aside the electric mixer.
5. Sift in a large plate or on newspaper all the dry ingredients.
6. Stir in half the sifted dry ingredients plus half the milk into the sugar mixture.
7. Stir in remaining sifted dry ingredients plus half the milk into the sugar mixture.
8. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it in the pan.
9. Bake in oven at 180 degrees C
10. Baking time approx 45 minutes. Do not open the oven door till the cake has been in the oven for atleast 30min.
11. After the time is up, switch off the oven and keep the door open, leaving the cake to stand in the pan in the oven.
12. Remove and stand the pan on a wire rack for 5 min. (IMP)
13. Then turn the cake on to the wire rack.
14. Serve dusted with sifted icing sugar. (optional)

Keeping time: 2 days

Suggestion: After the first day you can eat this cake with coffee icecream!

Stylenani February 2011

Sunday 13th Feb is Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Birth Centenary.

We shall meet at my place in Juhu at 5pm to relish some of Faiz Sahab's poetry along with some Khaana-peena. Please inform me if you are coming.

This time it will be a small gathering and I hope some of you can bring a poem along :)

See you on Sunday!

Yours,
Stylenani

Stylenani mEating on 2nd Jan 2011

2nd Jan 2011
5pm
1st Stylenani meet for 2011

Yesterday we met at Juhu. 'We' included friends from diverse backgrounds, but that was not a problem. The single point agenda was to EAT! And that we all sure did.... by the plateful!

The Menu:
Cakes:

Chocolate Cake (eggless) (top left)
Ginger Baba Cake (bottom right)
Orange Syrup Cake (top right)
Almond Meringue Cake (bottom left)

Sandwiches and fillings for canapes & crackers:
Veg sandwich (Bombay sandwich as Tanya calls it) with chutney made by Vikas (which was just amazing).
Egg sandwich
Egg filling with cheese with cream
Mashed potatoes filling with salsa sauce
Other ingredients for filling: olives, gouda cheese, salsa sauce


Other stuff:
Chocolate cookies
Nankhatais
etc. (which was hardly touched)

And of course filter coffee and masala chai.

The fun part was that everyone brought one or two ingredients and then we all worked together and made the sandwiches etc. Yes, yes...some may say 'SO'...but these days more often we are meeting friends only on Facebook or other virtual spaces. It is nice to keep doing things that remind one about being alive and of course making good memories, the old fashioned way :)

Thanks to all who came yesterday (Bijal, Chandni, Deepa, Dhanraj, Ebrahim, Harshad, Hetal, Ishita, John, Mithila, Navyata, Priyanka, Sahil, Sakina, Satyen, Shabbir, Shama, Sharvari, Sujata, Tanya, Vighnesh, Vikas) and wish you all a very Happy 2011.

For those who didn't make it - Feb is around the corner.

I hope we can have monthly get-togethers this year :) We can change the venue once in a while...so let me know if you want to be the host. But you must have a working oven so I can bake a cake or two.

And remember, when I ask you to bring something - I am not joking (even if its potatoes or sugar or dhania or salt! Onions we shall avoid.)

Have a grEAT 2011.

Stylenani

p.s. recipes coming soon.

Out of the deep freeze!

I made this blog page two years back and forgot to add any information or recipes!!
Anyway, its never too late.
As 2011 approaches, I have decided it is time to start uploading all my recipes.
But, please be patient.
I shall upload one recipe a week.
Happy cooking and Happy 2011
:)
Aapki Stylenani