Chocolate Banana & Walnut Cake

So Ramadan has come to an end and it's Eid so I wanted to post something sweet for this occasion.  I always thought the combination of chocolate and banana is interesting. I went ahead and tried out this cake and OMG it turned out oooeeeyyy gooeeyyy and so moist. My parents and friends absolutely loved it and want me to make it again. So if you love bananas and chocolate, you would definitely love this cake. It is simply amazing. Try it out!

Stuff you need:
2 eggs
1 ripe medium size Banana, mashed ( Bananas that have turned dark brown or almost black from outside is the best choice)
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 cup flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup warm water mixed with 1/2 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup crushed walnuts ( if you don't have walnuts you may use almonds or even experiment with cashew nuts)

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degree Celsius, grease your cake tin and keep two large bowls handy.
2. In one bowl sift and  mix all the dry ingredients( except sugar) :- Flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.
3. In the second bowl add the wet ingredients- eggs, milk, oil, warm coffee mixture, vanilla extract, mashed bananas and sugar. Mix this very well with a whisk or an egg beater until it is very smooth and has no lumps.
4. Now pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and gently fold it in using a rubber spatula. And then add the walnuts. Do not use a whisk to mix this or the cake will end up very dense.
5. Pour the batter into your greased cake tin. I used a 9 inch round cake tin that was around 3 to 4 inches deep.
6. Put the cake tin in the oven and check on it after 40 to 45 minutes. If you use a larger cake tin that is wide  it would be ready within 40 minutes or so. It took me 50 minutes to bake this cake. You know the cake is ready when you insert a toothpick in middle of the cake and it comes out clean.
7. Take it out of the oven and let it cool down completely before you add the frosting of your choice.

So this is how it turned out.. It tastes great even without frosting. I love having this cake as it is but frosting does add the extra lift. :) Eid Mubarak everyone! Have a wonderful day!

Chana Chaat

So I decided to make Iftar today for a change. Preparing snacks is the least of my favorites but anyway, decided to make Chaat today. This is just a simple and basic recipe. Hope you guys like it..

Stuff you need:
1 1/2 cup Garbanzo beans/Chickpeas; (soaked for 24 hours and then boiled)
3 medium sized potatoes, boiled and diced
5 medium tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, finely sliced
1 tsp chopped ginger
2 tbs chopped coriander leaves
4-5 green chilies, chopped
1 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp red chili powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Chaat masala (or according to taste)
a pinch of sugar
1/4 cup Tamarind water
5-6 tbs oil
4-5 tbs water

1. Heat oil in a wok or non stick pan on medium heat and then add the mustard and cumin seeds and wait until it pops. Then add the diced tomatoes and chopped ginger and fry it in the oil until the tomatoes become very soft.
2. Now mix in the red chili powder to the tomatoes and cover the pan on low heat till the tomatoes becomes almost liquid and the oil starts to separate.
3. Add the garbanzo beans, potatoes, sugar, salt and 2 or 3 tbs water and cook this on medium heat with lid closed for 4- 5 minutes.
4.Add the tamarind water (reserve some to serve), onions, coriander, chaat masala & green chilies. Give it a mix and let it sit on the stove on low heat for a couple of minutes. And then serve.

Oreo Blizzard

All I can say is that it's yummy, quick and very very easy to make. You hardly need to do anything to make this.. But don't get too used to it.. :)
(serves 1 person)

All you need is
1/4 cup cold milk
5-6 Oreo cookies
4 scoops of vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream (depending on your preference)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence


1. In a blender add the Oreo cookies, milk, vanilla essence and ice cream.
2. Pulse the blender a few times until everything mixes well. Avoid blending it for long because this would make it too runny.
3. Pour it in a glass and add another scoop of ice cream if you want and add some roughly crushed oreo on top and enjoy!