Tried this awesome Chicken with dried red chillies in Singapore and decided to recreate it.This is my own version which is a mish mash of a few recipes I found online.



Method

1. Marinate 500 gms of chicken with bones with 2 tsp soya sauce, 3 garlic cloves peeled and grated, 1 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp pepper powder 1 tsp honey and salt and keep aside for an hour.
2. Take 2 tsbp olive oil in a pan and heat it. When hot, deep fry 10 dried red chillies and keep aside. In the same oil deep fry 1 inch ginger which is cut into long thin slices and keep aside. Fry handful of peanuts and keep aside
3. In the same oil, sear the chicken in batches along with the marinade till they are almost cooked. 
4. Make a mixture of 1 tsp soya sauce, 1/2 tsp red chilli sauce, pepper, 1/2 tsp honey and 1/2 tsp vinegar or according to your taste, add 1 tsp of cornflour and keep it aside. 
5. Add back the chillies, ginger and peanuts and the above marinade. Mix well and stir fry for 5 more minutes. Garnish with spring onions cut into long thin slices.

Never get tired of paneer dishes. Was looking for something new to cook today when I came across this dish on VahreVah.com...Simple to cook and goes well with rotis.

Method

1. Take 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker. When hot, add 2 finely chopped onions and saute it till light pink. To this add 2 finely chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp chilly powder, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder. Mix it well put the lid on and let it cook for 15 mins in a slow flame (2-3 whistles) till cooked well. This paste can be used as a base for your gravies. You can store this in the fridge for future use.
2.  Heat 2 tsp butter in a pan. When hot, add 1 tsp of nicely crushed kasoori methi. Saute it for a minute. Add 1 cup bell peppers (red , yellow) and 1/4 kg paneer cut into cubes.
3. Add onion florets to this mixture and saute well in the butter till the capsicum is cooked. 
4. Now add 2 tbsp of the above onion gravy and saute well. Add some water and put the lid on and cook till the gravy reaches a boil.
5. Add 1 tbsp cream to the gravy and mix well.Cook for a few mins and then turn off the flame.
6. Garnish with coriander and Serve with hot rotis.

Though Yash and me are both GSBs, I am amazed at how recipes and the food we eat differ so significantly even though the distance between our hometowns must be less than 200 kms. 
Puli Koddel is one such dish which we had never cooked at our home but is a delicacy for Yash's family. So I decided to learn this one and cooked it the other day. Turned out pretty much like it is cooked at Yash's home in Dakshin Kanara.

Method

1. Roast 3 tsp coriander seeds, 3 tsp till seeds,  2 tsps black gram dal, 2 tsps bengal gram dal, pinch of turmeric, pinch of asafoetida (hing), 1 tsp raw rice, 3 tbsp grated cocounut, 8 dried  red chillies with a little oil till brown.
2. Grind all ingredients with 1 marble sized tamarind to a coarse paste
3. In a vessel, boil deskinned ash gourd(I used about 1/4 of an ash gourd)  cut into 1 inch pieces with sufficient water. Add 1 lime sized jaggery while boiling.
4. Now when the ash gourd is sufficiently soft, add the ground masala. Adjust the salt and bring it to boil.
5. Remove from flame.
6. In a small pan, give tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add it to the koddel and cover for the flavors to assimilate in the curry.
7. Eat with hot rice.

Just realised how life becomes easy thanks to technology...earlier I used to click photos with my camera and then download them, enhance them on my laptop and then write posts. the whole process was such a time taker that posting  became a cumbersome affair. Now with my new Nexus 5, I can click pics, enhance them and then blog from the comfort of my phone or also laptop...much easier..
Yes the quality of the pics may go down a bit but then it you need to give some to get some...





Method

1. Take 3 cups of maida and 1 tbsp of rawa. To this add 2 tbsp grated coconut, salt, 2 very finely chopped green chillies and mix 2 cups of water.
2. Take a tempering pan, add coconut oil and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds and 1 sprig of curry leaves. Add this to the maida batter.
3. Adjust the water to get a watery consistency
4. Place tawa on flame. Smear with oil and spread the batter thinly  when the pan is hot. Once a side looks cooked (you can figure this out when the edges turn brownish), flip the dosa and cook the other side.
The rawa gives an added crispiness to this dosa. The seasoning is so good that you dont need chutney with this dosa. 

It is difficult to get fresh seafish here in Hyderabad. However got some really good pomfret the other day at Matsya darshini which is on Road no 10, Bajara Hills. Cooked a variation of the normal Konkani fish fry with slightly added south indian flavors from Kadipatta and garlic. 
We liked this variation over my normal fish fry...

Method

1. Crush handful of curry leaves and 3-4 garlic pods using a mortar and pestle. Add pinch of turmeric, 1/2 tsp of jeera powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder,1 tsp tamarind extract and salt according to taste. I applied this paste to approximately 1 kg(before cleaning) of fish.
2. Marinate thinly cut slices of black pomfret with this paste.
3. Heat oil for deep frying in a pan. Mix 2 tbsp of Rawa (sooji) and 1 -2 tsp rice powder in a  plate. Roll the fish pieces in this powder and then deep fry till crispy brown.
4. Serve hot!

Decided to cook some boneless chicken for dinner...thought that I should cook something low fat. Decided to use Dahi for the gravy and came up with this dish. 
Pretty simple dish to cook - The flavors of the dahi, capsicum and kasoori methi go very well in making this a very tasty dish.



Method

1. Take 2 cups of dahi. Mix 2 green chillies slit finely. Add 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1-2 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, pinch of haldi, a pinch of kasoori methi and salt.
2. Mix 500 gms of boneless chicken in this marinade and set aside for atleast 30 mins.
3. In a hot pan, add 2 tsp oil. When its hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds. When they start spluttering, add 2 finely chopped onions. Fry well. Add 2-3 finely chopped garlic cloves.
4. When onion is translucent, add 2 finely chopped tomatoes. 
5. When the tomatoes are soft, add the above marinade with the chicken. 
6. Cover and cook on a slow flame till the chicken is cooked. When chicken is 80% done, add finely cubed capsicum. Cover and cook for a few more minutes.
7. You can adjust the consistency of the gravy according to your taste. You can open the lid and let all gravy cook till its dry if you want less gravy. I added a pinch of sugar to balance the tanginess.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and kasoori methi and serve with chapatis or rice.

As usual I love my one pot dishes for Sunday cooking - something that is easy to cook and tastes good too. Wanted to try something different today and came up with this recipe. Its my own creation and the combination of spices and vegetables my own too. Needless to say, yummy it was ;) - total comfort food for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Method

1. Soak 1 cup of chickpeas overnight and pressure cook it in the morning for 3-4 whistles.
2. Wash and soak 1 cup of Basmati rice in water for at least 10 minutes.
3. Make a powder of 1 tsp aniseed, 3-4 cloves, 2 inch of cinammon and keep aside.
4. Heat 2 tsp butter and 2 tsp ghee in a pressure cooker. When hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds. When the start crackling add the aniseed powder mentioned above. Add grated 1 inch ginger and 3-4 pods of garlic. Add 2 finely sliced green chilies and mix well
5. While sauteing, add 2 finely sliced onions and continue sauteing. Add some salt and saute till pink in color
6. Add 2 finely chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup of blanched spinach and cook for 2 mins. 
7. Add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder and mix well.
8. Let it cook for 2 mins, till the raw taste of the masalas is gone.
9. Add rice and chick peas and add 3 cups of water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. After 2 whistles, let the pressure cooker cool before you open it.
10. Sprinkle some  chaat masala while serving.
11. I served this with Cucumber Mint raita, the recipe for which follows.

Cucumber Mint Raita

1. Grate 1 cucumber; place it into a sieve and drain out the excess water
2. Add 1 handful of finely chopped mint. Add 1 finely chopped spring onion(both whites and greens). Add 2 small green chillies finely chopped. 
3. Now add 1 cup curd, salt, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp chat powder and 1/2 tsp rock salt. Add normal salt while adjust for salt and mix well.
4. Refrigerate before serving

Recently we grew our own mushrooms thanks to Yash's uncle (Here is his website http://swethamushroom.wordpress.com/) who gave us a mushroom kit. All we had to do was sprinkle some water every day to the pre- prepared kit that he had made and in 3 weeks we had these awesome mushrooms. This variety is called Milky mushrooms and tastes much better than the normal button mushrooms which I was used to buying. 




 

  






































Here is the recipe of the sauteed mushrooms which we cooked with these mushrooms.


Method

1. Shred the mushroom into thin strips. This gives a much better texture to the dish than cutting it with a knife...almost like the texture of chicken
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a pan. 
3. Add finely minced garlic (7-8 flakes) and fry it. When soft, add the mushrooms and stir
4. You need to cook this on high flame as the mushroom tends to release water
5. Saute for 5- 10 mins till the mushroom is well coated and looks cooked. Add salt according to taste.
6. You can garnish it with red chilli flakes and some dried herbs like rosemary. You can dribble some extra virgin olive oil too, to add to the flavor.

Have been experimenting with different salad dressings recently. Here is one I made today which was extremely tasty. The flavors linger on far after you have devoured the salad :)





Method

1. Cut baby tomatoes, onion, cucumber into thin slices. Shred iceburg lettuce leaves  and mix them all well. Add bean sprouts - all proportions according to your tastes and likes.
2. Now make a dressing in another bowl. For this take a mortar and pestle and grind 4 garlic pods and 2 chillies. Add this to the bowl. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp fish sauce, 2 tsp honey, juice of 1 lemon and salt. 
3. Mix them well and pour them on the salad. Serve with coarsely ground peanuts
4. I added some  some pepper and ground chilli flakes for additional taste.

I was not a fan of hummus until we went to UK. I ate some store bought ready to eat hummus for breakfast and started developing a taste for it. Cook it often  these days as a starter or even as an evening snack. Like to eat it for breakfast too.

Here is my recipe ...

Method

1. Soak 1 cup of chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook in 3 cups of water for 3 whistles. Cool it and keep aside
2. Take 2 tsp til (sesame seeds) in a grinder. Add 4 pods of garlic, 2 tsp curd and the boiled chickpeas and grind to a coarse paste.
3. Remove from the grinder and adjust the salt, Add juice of half a lemon, 2-3 tsp olive oil 
4. Sprinkle ground red chilli flakes and serve with Pita bread.

I also like to eat it as a spread with whole wheat bread for breakfast. This also tastes as a good dip to eat with freshly cut cucumbers and carrots.

I love bhindi !! Though I have cooked this recipe many times, I realised I had never put it on the blog. So her goes.


Method

1. Wash and dry 1/2 kg okra and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Trim the ends and cut them into 1 inch pieces and keep aside.
2. Wash and pat dry 2 medium sized potatoes, peel off the skin and again cut into cube sized pieces.
3.  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and saute the okras and the potatoes till almost cooked. Add some salt while sauteing.Stir occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan. Remove the okra and the potatoes and keep aside
4. In the same pan, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida. Add some grated ginger and fry for a minute. Now add 2 onions chopped into thin longish slices and sweat them till they are nice and pink. Add a pinch of salt while doing this. Now add 1 tsp till seeds. Add 1 tsp chilli powder, pinch of haldi, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp amchur powder and 1 tsp garam masala and mix well and fry for 2 mins. Now add the okra and potatoes. I also threw in 1 onion chopped into  4 pieces with the florets separated. Now mix well, cover partially and allow to cook for 10 mins on a slow flame.
5. Adjust the salt and serve with chapatis. 

Try this healthy pulao recipe which is yummy too - dont get mislead by the spinach in the recipe :)


Method
Wash 2 cups of rice and soak it in water for about 20 mins. After 20 mins, drain the water and keep aside
Blanch 2 cups of spinach (palak) in hot water, drain and keep aside. Mix it in a mixer to a fine paste with 5 pods of garlic, 1 inch ginger and 2 green chillies and keep aside
In a pressure cooker, heat 1 tbsp ghee. When it is hot, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp shahi jeera seeds. Add  2 finely chopped onions and saute well till it is brown. Add pinch of salt while sauteing the onions. Once the onions are brown, add 2 finely chopped tomatoes and saute.
Add the spinach puree and 1/2 cup of frozen peas, 2 carrots chopped into 1 inch cubes. 
To this mixture add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala and saute well. To this add the rice and mix well. Now add 5 cups of water. Adjust the salt and then close the lid on the pressure cooker. After 2 whistles, cook for 5 mins on a slow flame and then switch off the gas. Keep the cooker closed for 10-15 mins before opening the lid to allow the rice to firm up.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with raita.

I like Onions with my chicken and hence decided to cook this Murgh Do Pyazza today. This dish is so called because you add a lot of onions to the gravy. The gravy is very rich and goes perfectly with both Roti and Rice.



Method

1. Clean and cut 500 gms chicken into pieces and marinate with freshly grated 1 inch ginger and 3-4 pods of garlic, some salt and 1 tsp red chilli powder.
2. Finely chop 1 large onion and cut another large onion into cubes. Separate the onion layers and keep aside. Blend 2 tomatoes in the mixer to a fine puree.
3. Heat 1 tbsp ghee or oil in a pan. I added ghee for extra taste. Add 1 tsp ginger paste and 1 tsp garlic paste (I again grated ginger and garlic into a pan directly.
4. When it turns brown, add finely chopped onions. Add a pinch of salt and cook till it turns brown. Now add tomato puree and saute for 5 mins.
5. Meanwhile, take 2 tbsp yoghurt in a bowl, add pinch of turmeric and 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder and 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder and mix well. Add this to the pan and saute well till the smell of raw spices is gone.
6. Add the chicken pieces,and the cubed onions and mix well, add water according to the consistency you like. I added 1 cup of water and mix well.
7. Cover and cook for 20 mins on a small flame.

The chicken do pyaza is ready to eat. You can garnish it with kasoori methi leaves and coriander leaves before serving.

This is my first chocolate cake. Wanted to cook it the other day - as usual searched online for Nigella Lawson recipe and this is what I found. Was a pretty easy cake to make. The best part was that this turned out to be chocolatey, moist and almost like a mud cake.
Here is my version of the recipe with some variations.



Method

1. Preheat the over at 160 degrees Celsius for 15 mins.
2. In the meantime, add  200 gms flour, 200 gms powdered sugar, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda, 50 gms cocoa powder, 200 gms butter, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract , and 100 gms of Hung curd (Nigella uses Sour cream) into a  bowl and mix well. I generally mix with a wooden spatula but you could use a cake mixer.
3. Mix till you get a a smooth, thick batter. In case the batter is very thick you can add some milk to get it to the right consistency.
4. Prepare a baking tin with butter and sprinkle flour on it.
5. Add the cake mixture - spread it out evenly and out it into the oven
6. Bake it in the oven for 40 mins, but start checking at 30 mins.You can check the centre of the cake with a tester. The cake is ready when the tester comes out clean.
7. Remove the cake to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the tin
8. To make the frosting, melt 100 gms of dark chocolate and 100 gms butter in a bowl in a microwave for 2 mins. I grated the slab of chocolate so that it melts easily. Add 100 gms powdered sugar and keep mixed well so that there are no lumps. You can add 1 tsp cornflour so that the mixture thickens. Add some 2 tsp hung curd and mix well. Make it so that the consistency is right to coat the cake. Dont bother if it is runny as it will harden over the cake eventually.
9. Spread it evenly over the cake. Let it cool.
10. Sprinkle some grated chocolate on top and the cake is ready to eat. 

This is a dish we ate in London  at Wagamama - a Japanese chain in UK. This dish was highly recommended by friends and we really liked it prolly because it was very close to Indian cuisine. 

Last week felt a craving for this dish and decided to look for the recipe online. Surprisingly the recipe seems to be well guarded - very few  food sites had this recipe and they all looked like copy paste of the same recipe.

There are 3 parts to this recipe Curry, Rice and Fried Chicken all of which need to be made in parallel so that they can be served hot.

Method

1. Cook Basmati rice after soaking it in water. Keep aside
2. For the curry: 
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add 2 medium sized onions finely sliced to the oil and saute. Add 4-5 garlic pods, 1/2 inch of ginger finely chopped and saute. 
2. Add 1 tbsp flour and 1 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes  and 1 tsp garam masala powder. Saute it for 1 min. 
3. Add 1 tbsp tomato puree and saute well. Cool this mixture and grind it for a fine consistency.
4. Put this paste back in the pan. Gradually add in 1/2 lt water, 1 bay leaf and add 1 to 2 tsp soya sauce and mix well. Slowly bring to the boil.
5. Cook for 20 mins on a slow flame and cook till the sauce thickens. You can add more garam masala for additional flavor. Remove from flame and keep aside
3. For the Fried Chicken -Cut boneless chicken into 1 inch cubes. Marinate them with lemon juice, salt and pepper and set aside for 20 mins. 
4. Take 3 bowls, add 1 tbsp flour (maida) in one, 1 egg (beat it so that the egg yolk and the whites mix well) in second bowl and bread crumbs in the third.
5. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Now take the chicken, coat it with maida, dip it in the egg and then coat it well with bread crumbs on all sides. Drop it in the oil and fry on medium flame till brown.
6. Drain and keep aside
7. Plate the rice and  the fried chicken and pour gravy on them and serve hot. 

Tasted this soup in a restaurant and really liked it. Decided to give it a try. Took the cream of Chicken Tomato recipe and then added the fried okra to try and replicate what I ate at the restaurant. It came pretty close to what I had set out to achieve. Yummy soup - must try!





Method

1. Melt 1 tbsp butter/olive oil  in a heavy bottomed pan. Add 1 bay leaf to the hot oil/butter.
2. Add 2-3 pods of thinly sliced garlic and fry them slightly. Add 2 thinly diced carrots and saute till partially cooked.
3. Add 10-12 mushrooms finely chopped and saute. Add salt and pepper.
4. Add  4 tomatoes thinly sliced, 3-4 cups water and let the whole mixture boil for 20-30 mins on a slow flame. Also add chicken pieces(bigger ones) to the mixture. 
5. Remove from flame, let it cool and then remove the chicken pieces aside. Blend the tomato, carrot and mushroom mixture in a grinder. Strain it for smoother texture and then again put it on the flame for cooking
6. Shred the boiled chicken and add it to the soup. Let it boil again.
7. Add pepper, adjust the salt and you can also add oregano/italian seasoning for additional taste
8. Pour in 1 to 2 tbsp of cream to the soup and keep aside
9. Thinly slice okra (bhindi) and deep fry it in oil. You can also deep fry bread crumbs sliced into cubes.
10. Serve the soup with fried bhindi topping and bread crumbs.

Banana Walnut cake is one of Yash's favorite. Found this interesting recipe online where buttermilk is used  and to my surprise the cake turned out really moist and juicy. I decided to throw in some choco chips to entice Anya to eat it and it worked wonders. 

As I was taking pictures of the cake for the blog, I noticed a small finger on the cake in my viewfinder. You can see the sequence of pics here and you will realise how much Anya loved this cake.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160degrees C.  Grease and flour 1  round pan.
2.  In a small bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp baking powder and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix 100 gm butter, 1 cup sugar  until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs. Mix 3 chopped bananas. Add flour mixture and 1 cup of buttermilk and mix well using a cake mixer. Stir in 1 cup of chopped walnuts and 2 tbsp  choco chips. Reserve some for the topping. 
4. Pour batter into the greased pans. Top with chopped walnuts and some more choco chips. 
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or till a skewer inserted at the centre of the cake comes out clean
6. Remove from oven, and place on a rack for cooling for 10 mins. Remove from the pan and store in an airtight container. 

Now that I am on a baking spree, I try new recipes. I came across this Carrot cake recipe and since carrot is always associated with health, carrot cake sounds less indulgent ;)
Tried this recipe and must say I loved it.



Method

1. Preheat the oven at 160 degree for  10 minutes before baking. 
2. For the cake dough, mix 2 cups Maida (flour), 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda and keep aside.
3. In a glass bowl, beat 2 eggs well. Add 2 cups sugar (I used brown sugar) and beat well. Add 100 gms of butter and beat well.
4. Add the flour and keep on beating until mixed well. Add some milk in case the mixture is too thick and more flour in case the mixture is too thin. Slowly add 2 cups of grated carrots and fold in well. 
5. Add 1 tsp of cinammon powder which gives additional taste to the cake and goes very well with the carrot flavor.
6. Make sure that there are no lumps. You can add vanilla essence if you want but I avoided it. I added some raisins for additional flovor
7. Grease a cake tin with butter and flour and then pour the cake batter into it. Bake for approx 30 mins at 160° C in the pre heated oven (or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean)
8. Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool on a rack. When completely cooled remove from the tin. 
9. This cake has a nice brown caramalised colour to it.

I was introduced to Kaali Dal pretty late in my life but as it goes, I started liking it instantly. 
I always thought it was an extremely difficult dish to cook but have overcome my fears now. I cook it often now - tried different recipes, but this one here has turned out the best. 





Method
1. Cook 1 cup urad dal(chilkewaali urad dal) with salt and turmeric in it in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles.

2. In a pan, dry roast 1 tsp each of cumin, coriander seeds, saunf, 5-6 cloves and 1 inch piece of cinnamon. Add some turmeric powder, 1 tsp chilli powder and roast some more. Add the salt. Make a fine powder of the spices. You can store this powder. 

3. In a pan, take 1 tbsp of butter (the more the better ;)) . Fry 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp ginger finely chopped and 1 tsp garlic finely chopped. 
4. Add 2 medium sized onions finely chopped, pinch of salt and fry till translucent.
6. Add 2 finely chopped green chillies and 3 chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are mushy. I also added 1 tbsp of tomato puree (store bought) for extra taste. Add 2 tsp of the powder and mix well

7. Add the cooked dal and mix well.Adjust the salt. You can add a pinch of sugar to balance out the tangy tomatoes. Cook for 10 mins on a slow flame.
8. Mix in 1 tbsp cream, Garnish with chopped coriander and serve. For added flavor, you can top it up with the spice powder that you had made earlier and some lime juice.

So yeah!! I finally have started baking!!!
Have been baking since Feb, but its tough to find time to blog when you have a toddler who ensures you spend all your time with her :) 

My first cake had to be a rich rum and raisin cake  - I love this cake so much that I have already made it 5 times in the last 2 months :) Anya loves the cake too which makes me want to cook it again and again. Thanks to my friend Deepali Paul for the live demo of how to bake this cake and for not giving me any recipe or measurements ;)...and leaving it to me to experiment with the ingredients. Here is my recipe 



Method
1. Take  150 ml of rum  in a vessel and add 2-3 tsp each of chopped prunes, black currants, raisins, cranberries, tutti frooti, chopped candied cherries,  2 tsp melon seeds (for crunchiness).You can be generous with all these ingredients and add them in any proportion that you like.
2. Add 1 tsp orange rind, juice of 2 fresh oranges, 1 tsp coffee powder, 2 tsp honey, 1 tsp cinnamon powder, 1 tbsp cocoa powder and 100 gms brown sugar. 
3. Leave the fruits to soak in the rum for atleast 1 hour - the more you leave it the better the cake will taste.
4. Heat this mixture on a low flame for a quick boil.
5. When the mixture cools down, add 2 eggs, 250 gm  maida, 100 gm butter, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda and fold it well into the rum.
6. Pre heat the oven to 160° C 
7. Grease a cake tin with butter and flour and then pour the cake batter into it. Bake for approx 30 mins at 160° C (or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean)
8. Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool on a rack. When completely cooled remove from the tin. 
This cake tastes better as it matures. You can store at room temperature in an air tight container.

Note: The decoration on the cake is pointless - the cake is yummy any which ways :)