Cauliflower Fritters

Nothing warms up a cold evening better than a plate of hot crispy fritters. Cauliflower Fritters are pan fried with very less oil so, these are healthy fritters! These fritters can be made within 10 minutes and you can serve them as a snack for a cold evening or as a tasty starter for lunch/dinner.

Cauliflower is called as a Super food not without reason. It is filled with goodness and can also be replaced with potatoes for most of the potato dishes. Some of the health benefits of cauliflower include:

Low in calories: Yes, this is the first thing I check about food. 100 grams of cauliflower contains only 25 calories. Whats more, it contains 0 cholesterol!

Nutritional information: 100 grams of cauliflower contains 8% potassium, 8% dietary fiber, 3% protein, 80% Vitamin c and 10% Vitamin B-6. It is also high in manganese making it a rich source of antioxidants.

Prevents cancer: Cauliflower contains sulfur- containing phytonutrients called glucosinolates and thiocyanates. They cleanse the body and kill cancer causing cells. Cauliflower consumed with  turmeric is also known to keep our body away from Colon cancer, prostrate cancer, cervical and ovarian cancers.

Strengthens heart: The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of cauliflower helps to improve blood circulation and maintaining healthy blood vessels. Cauliflower contains Allicin, a chemical which reduces the risk of strokes.

Brain-booster: The Vitamin-B called Choline present in cauliflower boosts brain cell development  and protects against toxins.

Weight loss: Less in calories, rich in nutrients, rich in dietary fiber, Cauliflower is also the next high source of Vitamin C to Citrus fruits. Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant which is important for weight loss. It has no startch content and makes the best vegetable for weight loss that can be eaten in unlimited quantities.

Whew! #:-S that was quite a list, I still could not include all the benefits. Oh yes, there are a lot more benefits of cauliflower but I better stop listing so that I can start off with the recipe.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	22		Calories
Fat	3		%
Carbohydrates	2		%
Dietary Fiber	8		%
Sodium	26		%
Vitamin A	1		%
Vitamin C	58		%
Calcium	4		%
Iron	3		%
Protein	3		Grams
Sugar	1.9		Grams

Ingredients
[Makes 8 fritters]
Grated cauliflower	2 cups
Wheat flour	2 tablespooons
Cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
Egg(optional)	1
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Oil	to fry
Water(if not using egg)	enough to make a batter

* Combine all the ingredients except oil to make a thick batter . If not adding egg, add just enough water to hold the mixture together.Check seasoning after the mix.
* Heat a frying pan and add little oil. Drop the batter and flatten them like thin pancakes so that they cook through.
* Flip over and cook till then turn golden brown. Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

* You can also deep fry the fritters for more crispiness.
* Egg is optional but tastes better. You can replace egg with a mashed small potato.
* Some recipes replace wheat flour with Besan (gram flour). It is entirely your choice but actually makes no difference in texture or taste of fritters.

Coffee cake with Flour frosting

Light, fluffy, aromatic and yummy is how you can describe this Coffee cake. The cake is covered by a layer of no-butter chocolate Ganache and topped with Flour frosting and the filling is no-butter chocolate Ganache. The cake is coffee flavored and blends perfectly with chocolate and the frosting. Do not let the pics deceive you, It tastes quite opposite to what it looks like.

You may be wondering about "Flour frosting" but trust me, this is the easiest frosting you will ever make. There is nothing that can go wrong with this frosting and you will not even need cream. This cake with no-butter chocolate and no- cream frosting is lesser in calories and tasted amazing. The moment Naveen tasted this, he gave a big thumbs up and I felt as though I rule the world.

It was Naveen's Birthday on August 1 and I wanted to bake a cake. This is the first Birthday cake I ever made. Because of my "Being healthy" craze, I do not bake a lot of cakes. Buying a piece of cake and getting a cheat meal over with it, always sounds good for me. However, Birthday is no good without a Birthday cake right? I knew you would agree with me.

I had to plan for recipe for my first Cake. Well, everybody does chocolate cake and I had to make something different. Coffee is Naveen's favorite flavor so I planned for Coffee cake. Now, to think about frosting, chocolate frosting will be great but what is new about that? Long time ago, I had heard that you can make frosting out of flour. I flipped through pages of my cookbook but no recipe for flour frosting. I called my friend in Delhi who is obsessed with baking and got the recipe.

I was quite excited about this frosting though skeptical and it turned out to be very soft. It is great for anything! cakes, cup cakes, cookies.. you name it! Oh yea, I forgot to tell you about the chocolate filling. I made it just as a backup for the flour frosting, if didn't work out. It is a simple no-butter chocolate Ganache. The recipe may look very lengthy but believe me, If I can do it, anybody can do it. It is that easy! That was a lot of talk, wasn't it?  I will start off with the recipe right away.

Ingredients [For a 6 inch cake]
(I made 2 cakes. You can double the quantity if you plan to make only 1)
Plain flour/Sifted flour	1 cup
Instant coffee powder	2 teaspoons
Baking powder	2 teaspoons
Baking soda/fruit salt	1 teaspoon/2 teaspoons
Egg	1
Butter	2 tablespoons
Milk	1/2 cup
Sugar	1/2 cup
Vanilla essence	1/4 teaspoon

* Beat egg, butter, milk and sugar using mixer or a blender, then add Vanilla essence.
* In a separate bowl, Sieve and mix the dry ingredients; Flour, Coffee powder, baking powder and Fruit salt.
* Add the mixed dry ingredients to egg mixture and mix well.
* Pour the batter in a lined and oiled cake mold. Preheat oven to 360 F and bake the cake at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Make sure to insert a fork or tooth pick to check if cake is cooked evenly.

* I made 2 batches of cake so that I can fill them in the middle and make it a layer cake. You can modify it the way you like.

For Flour frosting

Ingredients
[Makes 1/2 cup of frosting]
Flour	3 tablespoons
Milk	1/2 cup
Butter	2 tablespoons
Sugar	1/2 cup
Vanilla essence	1/2 teaspoon

 * Mix Milk, flour and sugar and heat the mixture in a low flame. Keep stirring and do not let it boil. Cook for 10 minutes or till the flour smell is gone. The mixture will be smooth in texture.
* Take off the heat, add Vanilla essence. Let the mixture cool and chill it in refrigerator.
* Take out the chilled frosting and blend it with butter  in high speed for a minute. The flour frosting is ready.
* Chill the frosting till it is time to assemble the cake.

For Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients
[Makes 1/2 cup of ganache]
Milk	a little less than 1/2 cup
Sugar	2 tablespoons or more
Chocolate chips	1/2 cup

* For chocolate Ganache, Mix milk and sugar in a pot and heat it in low flame. once the sugar is completely dissolved, take off the heat and then add chocolate chips. Mix well and refrigerate it.

To Assemble the cake:

* Let the cakes cool completely before cutting off the top. Take a long sharp knife and cut the top carefully.
* Place the first cake on the plate in which you choose to assemble and pour chocolate ganache. Using a table knife, coat the filling evenly.
* Place the other cake upside down on the filling carefully.

 * You can frost your cake however you wish. I coated chocolate ganache on the top and then poured flour frosting on top of it. Then, using a knife, I could draw flowers on the frosting be dipping the knife on left over chocolate ganache.