This heavenly sponge recipe was shared with us by Mrs. Ashlibabu, who has perfected the pressure cooked method of making cakes.

When you think of moist and fluffy cakes, more often than not, the picture of one being pulled out of an oven often comes to mind. And the smell of fresh baked goods permeates the air. With the right recipe, you can get the same results even if you don’t have an over. All you need is an Ultra Pressure Cooker.

Vanilla Sponge Cake

Powdered sugar – 120 grams
Butter – 80 grams
Eggs – 2
Milk – ½ cup or 50 ml
Vanilla essence – ½ teaspoon
Maida – 120 grams
Baking Powder – ¼ teaspoon

METHOD

1. Powder sugar in Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder 0.8L jar for 1 minute.
2. Beat the butter with sugar, then add eggs.
3. Add milk and vanilla essence to creamed mixture and blend well with a hand blender.
4. Sift maida and baking powder in a bowl.
5. Add the flour part by part to the creamed mixture and blend well till no flour remains.
6. Grease a cake pan with butter and dust with maida.
7. Pour the creamed mixture into the cake pan.
8. Fill the cake pan to half level as the cake will rise when done.

Points to note when using the Ultra Pressure Cooker to bake a cake:
1. Remove the gasket and whistle from the Ultra Pressure Cooker lid.
2. Do not pour water in the cooker as we are trying to create an oven like environment in the pressure cooker.
3. Place a steel ring or the cooker plate at the bottom of the cooker and place the cooker plate above it. The cake pan should not touch the sides of the pressure cooker.
4. Preheat the cooker, without water, for 5 minutes with the lid closed without gasket.
5. Place the cake pan on the pressure cooker plate. Make sure to use a cake pan that fits comfortably into the pressure cooker without the sides touching. Use a potholder since the cooker will be very hot because of preheating.
6. Close the lid and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Then turn the flame to low.
7. Depending on the size of the cake pan and cooker it will take anywhere between 40 to 50 minutes to bake the cake.
8. You can open the lid and check by inserting a toothpick, if it comes out clean it is done but if it is sticky, leave it in for some more time.

Moist and delicate, this cake is a hit at any occasion, be it a birthday party or an office celebration. Start with this simple cake and soon enough you’ll be trying out different flavours and exploring new recipes yourself.

This recipe was brought to you by Ms. Asha Krishnakumar, an ultra customer and home cook extraordinaire!

Sometimes while grocery shopping, you spot a bunch a fresh mint leaves and it just calls to you. That refreshing scent and bright green colour will transform any dish. Here’s the recipe for chicken gravy that goes well with rice or rotis.

Pudina/Mint Chicken

Chicken – 3/4 kg
Pudina (mint leaves)- 1 bunch
Big onion – 3 nos. (finely chopped)
Small onions – 1 handful (chopped)
Ginger garlic
Tomato – 1 no.
Green chilli – 6-8 nos.
Coconut milk – 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder – A pinch
Chilli powder – 3/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 1/2 tablespoon
Cinnamon – 2 pieces
Cloves – 2 pieces

METHOD

1. In a pan, pour oil, sauté the pudina leaves with 4-5 garlic pods and then grind them in the Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder at speed 2 to make a paste.
2. In your Ultra Pressure Pan, pour 3 tablespoons oil and sauté cinnamon and cloves.
3. One by one add the chopped big and small onions, ginger garlic paste, tomato, green chili, chicken, turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and sauté well.
4. When it gets well sauted, add the coconut milk, without water, pressure cook it for 1 whistle.
5. Let it cool and open the lid. Add pudina paste and sauté till the raw smell goes and it becomes a thick gravy.

The coconut milk adds a rich density to the gravy while the mint lends a light, refreshing flavour. You can choose to make this recipe with boneless chicken too. It’s sure to be anew favourite at home.

Ms.Hari Priya created this chicken dish in her Ultra Pressure Cooker and shared the delicious results and recipe with us.

Here’s a great idea for Sunday breakfast. Piping hot idlis or idiyappam or crisp dosas with this Tamil Nadu style chicken kuzhambu. It’s definitely one way to get the whole family up and about in the morning!

Chicken Kuzhambu

Chicken – 1/2 kg
Small onions – 250 grams
Red chilies – 10
Jeera – 1 teaspoon
Pepper – 1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds – 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon – 1 inch
Cardamom – 4
Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Sesame oil – 2 teaspoons
Coriander seeds – 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves
Salt to taste

METHOD

1. Pour 2 teaspoons of oil in an Ultra Pressure Pan, add small onions and fry till they become golden brown.
2. Add all masalas and continue to fry until raw smell goes off.
3. Take them off the fire and allow to cool for 10 minutes
4. Grind the mixture into a paste in a Ultra Mixer Grinder for up to 15 minutes
5. Dd the ground masala paste and the chicken in the cooker, add salt and cook till 2 whistles
6. Fry the mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chilies and mix them with the chicken gravy and allow the mix to boil for 5 minutes.

The great thing about this dish is that it’s so versatile, you can use it to accompany rice for lunch or with chapattis for dinner the next day. You’ll find this dish is a staple across hotel in Tamil Nadu, being served with parottas and even biryani.

This classic preparation was shared with us by Ms. Kavitha Ravichandran.

Here’s a dish that’s a staple in every South Indian home and has gained popularity across the country as well. Served hot with steaming rice or relished as a drink on its own, the pepper rasam is great for relieving colds.

Pepper Rasam

Garlic – 10 to 15
Jeera- 2 teaspoons
Pepper – 2 teaspoons
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
Red chillies – 2
Coriander leaves – 1 cup
Curry leaves- 1/2 cup
Coconut – 2 teaspoons

Other ingredients:
Tamarind Juice – 1 cup
Salt
Oil
Mustard seeds

METHOD

1. Grind all grinding ingredients in the Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder small jar at Speed 2 with required amount of water to make it as a smooth paste.
2. Mix 1 cup of tamarind juice and 2 cups of water in it and add salt to taste.
3. Now, in an Ultra Pressure Pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil and add mustard seeds. Once it is tempered, pour the tamarind juice mixture and boil for 3 minutes.
4. Hot Pepper Rasam is ready to serve with hot rice or wheat upma
5. Add water and close the cooker and leave it till 1 whistle.
6. Wait till the steam goes off and then fry the chicken for a few minutes and garnish with coriander leaves.

Did you know the British adopted the humble rasam into a whole new dish called Mulligatawny Soup (Derived from Tamil miḷagāy or miḷagu, and taṇṇi, a.k.a pepper water). But they added potatoes, carrots, lentils and even meat to it.

This recipe was shared by Ms.Asha Krishnakumar and prepared in her Ultra Vario+ and Ultra Endura+ Pan.

Wholesome and hearty, these kozhukattai’s are health-packed morsels that are loved by kids and adults alike. Usually prepared for breakfast, they make a filling snack too.

Millet Vegetable Kozhukattai

Samai Rice – 1/2 cup
Varagu Rice – 1/2cup
White Rice – 1/4 cup
Chopped Onions, Carrot, & Beans – 1/4 cup

METHOD

1. Soak millets and rice for 15 min and then grind in Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder at Speed 3 for 45 seconds to a coarse form.
2. Add 3 tablespoons oil in an Ultra Pressure Pan and temper mustard seeds, urad dal, Bengal gram, broken red chili, and curry leaves.
3. Add onion, carrot, beans and 2 green chilies and fry for 3-4 mins.
4. When the vegetables are fried, add the ground batter and stir continuously till it comes to a semi-solid stage.
5. Turn off the flame, grease your palms with oil and mould the batter into small balls.
6. Steam the balls in an idli pan and kozhukattai will be ready to serve.

These millet vegetable kozhukattai’s go really well with Puli Inji chutney, tomato chutney, coconut chutney and even coconut thogaiyyal. Enjoy!

This recipe comes to us from the kitchen of our customer, Mrs. Kavitha Ravichandran.

We all shy away from the Big Bad Bitter Gourd from time to time but here we give you the most mouth watering preparation with bitter gourd you might have come across, ever. It is very easy to prepare and even great to be stored and had over 3-4 days!

Bitter gourd tamarind kuzhambu

Ingredients for tempering:
Sesame Oil – 3 tablespoons
Mustard Seeds – ½ teaspoon
Fenugreek Seeds – ½ teaspoon
Bitter Gourd – 1 or 2 chopped into circles
Tomato – 1
Tamarind Juice – From a lemon sized Tamarind ball

Ingredients for grinding:
Small Onions – 1 cup
Garlic – 5
Ginger – 1 inch
Curry leaves
Coconut pieces – 1/2 cup
Jeera – 1 tablespoon
Pepper – 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
Chilly powder – 2 to 3 teaspoons
Turmeric powder – Pinch

METHOD

1. Fry all grinding ingredients in your Ultra Pressure Pan.
2. Then dry grind them in an Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder at Speed 3.
3. Add a little water and grind again at Speed 2 till it becomes a smooth paste.
4. Add oil to the cooker and temper the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
5. Add the chopped bitter gourd and tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes
6. After a few minutes add the tamarind juice and the paste from the mixer grinder.
7. Add some salt to taste and mix well. Close the lid and let it cook for two whistles.

Delicious, spicy bitter gourd kuzhambu is ready to be served with hot rice.

As prepared in an Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder by Ms. Hari Priya.

Peanut or groundnut chutney is an Andhra staple that goes really well with dosas, idlis and uttappams and any Indian snack for that matter. It is rich in protein and has a warm nutty flavour that you can’t get enough of.

Peanut Chutney

100 Grams peanuts
2 Tablespoons oil
10 Red chillis
1 Tablespoon jeera
1 Inch tamarind
Curry leaves
Salt to taste

METHOD

1. Fry the peanuts and load them in the Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder.
2. In an pan add oil, jeera, red chilli, tamarind and fry all together.
3. Add the fried items to the peanuts in the Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder and grind for 30 seconds in Speed 2.
4. Fry red chilli and curry leaves in a little oil and pour on the chutney.

Since there’s no coconut in this recipe, it won’t go bad quickly. You can make peanut chutney in large quantities, store it in the fridge and enjoy it for 5-6 days easily.

Here’s a Sunday special recipe from the kitchen of Ms. Reena Kothari, proud owner of an Ultra Endura+ Pressure Pan.

Everyone’s favourite street food is quite easy to prepare at home. The same great taste in a healthier and hygienic environment will keep both you and the family happy.

Pav Bhaji

4 Potatoes
2 Carrots
1/4 Beetroot
1/4 Capsicum
2 to 3 French beans
1/4 Spoon sompf
Chopped onion
Ginger garlic paste
Everest pav bhaji masala

METHOD

1. In the Ultra Endura+ Pressure Pan, boil finely chop potatoes, carrot, beetroot, capsicum and beans for 5 whistles.
2. Mash the boiled vegetables and keep aside.
3. Heat some ghee or butter in the Endura+ Pressure Pan and sauté chopped onion and ginger garlic paste.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of Pav Bhaji masala and keep on stirring.
5. Add tomato puree, made from 3 to 4 tomatoes, and then the mashed vegetables when the masala starts to boil.
6. Set the gas to sim and allow the vegetables to marinate, add salt to taste and mix well.

To get the best taste, serve with buttered pav toasted on a tava. The crispy pav and warm bhaji will fill you with a satisfaction unlike any other.

Ms. Kavitha Ravichandran shows us that palak panner isn’t the only way to use fresh and healthy palak.

Palak dal is essentially lentils and spinach tempered with spices. It’s a great source of protein and can be made in a jiffy.

Palak Dal

1 Cup toor dal
1/2 Cup small onions
1 Tomato
5 Green chillis
1 Cup chopped palak
1/2 Teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 Teaspoon coriander seeds
Salt to taste

METHOD

1. Pressure cook the dal with turmeric powder for 3 whistles
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and again pressure cook it for 1 whistle.
3. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Disguised in dal, this is a great way to get children to eat their greens. As it goes well with rice and rotis. Just remember to wash the palak leaves properly so that no mud gets into your food.

Ms. Asha Krishnakumar shares her recipe for mango pulissery, a sweet and sour mango curry that’s popular in Kerala.

Our love for mango knows no bounds. We eat it straight off the tree, make pickles, jams, juices, curries and so much more. If there’s another way to eat it, we’ll find it. Until then, here’s a lip-smacking recipe for you to try.

Mampazham Pulissery (Mango Pulissery)

2 Fully Ripe Mangoes
1/2 Tablespoon Chilli Powder
Turmeric Powder

For grinding:
3-4 Tablespoons Coconut
1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seed
1/2 Cup Curd
1 Green Chilli

For tempering:
Mustard Seed
Fenugreek Seeds
Curry Leaves
2 Red Chillies

METHOD

1. Peel and chop the mangoes. Boil chopped mango pieces with turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt with required water to make the mangoes soft.
2. Grind coconut, cumin seeds, green chilli with less water and curd to a fine paste in the Ultra Vario+ Mixer Grinder.
3. Once boiled, add the ground paste in it and let it simmer.
4. Allow it to boil a few minutes (do not allow the curd to curdle) and switch off.
5. Garnish with tempered mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chilli and curry leaves.

To get the authentic Kerala mampazham pulissery taste, use the Pulissery mampazham to make this dish. But any other mango is still as good.