Valentine's Cupcakes

I took a Valentine's cupcake class over the weekend at Sur La Table . It was a two hour class and we baked three kinds of cupcakes. I don't think I should publish the recipes here ( copyright issues, not sure, why take a chance!), but they turned out great. The frostings were to die for, specially the Orange Cream cheese frosting. It was full of orange zest and absolutely citrus-y and delicious. Here's what we baked:

> Red Velvet cupcake with Orange Cream cheese frosting

> Devil's Food Chocolate cupcake with Pink Butter cream frosting (and the pink was not food coloring, but a strawberry puree. Yum!)

> Vanilla cupcake with milk chocolate frosting

The instructor was good, funny and shared lots of information on good baking tips etc. It was a fun class and I am looking forward to trying out one of these recipes at home next weekend for Valentine's day. Right now, I am thinking the Red Velvet cupcake. Just because the frosting was out of this world. But then again, I am a chocoholic, so it might be the Devil's Food chocolate cupcake!

Fried Corn in Spicy Gravy (Corn Koftha)

If you are a corn lover, this recipe is full of all that corn goodness! The spicy gravy balances the sweet corn really well.

Prep Time: 40 minutes (includes making the corn fritters)

Serves: 2

Ingredients: Corn (Frozen) - 1/2 packet, Onion (red) - 1 large, Tomatoes - 2 medium, Tomato paste - 2-3 Tbsps, Serrano peppers - 1 medium, Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, Garlic (optional) - 2 cloves,  All purpose flour - 1/2 cup, Canola oil or vegetable oil - 3 tsps +  enough for deep fry, Salt to taste, Coriander powder - 2 tsps, Cumin seeds - 2 tsps, turmeric - 1 tsp, cilantro - 3 Tbsps

Cook Away...

> To make the Fried corn fritters

     > Thaw the frozen corn, leave at room temperature for about an hour or so

     > Grind the corn to a coarse paste, add some salt while grinding and about a 1/4 cup of water

     > Heat a pan on medium high on the stove top and add enough oil for deep fry

     > To the corn paste, add the all purpose flour and fold in thoroughly

     > Make small fritters with the corn paste and deep fry till they turn golden brown

     > Set these aside on a paper napkin to soak up any additional oil

> To make the Gravy

     > Dice the onion, tomatoes, serrano peppers and garlic

     > Heat a pan on medium high and add 3 tsps of oil

     > Add cumin seeds to the oil and add the onions and serrano peppers and saute for a few minutes

     > Now add the garlic and grate the ginger on top and saute everything for a couple of minutes

     > Add chopped tomatoes and salt, turmeric and coriander powder and let it all cook for 5 minutes

     > Now add the tomato paste and about a cup of water and cook on medium high heat for an additional 5

        minutes

> Now add the fried corn fritters to the gravy and gently fold in so the corn doesn't break

> Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice or chapathis or naan !