Pinni

Its Lohri today! Lohri is an important festival of Punjab and is celebrated with utmost fun and fervor. It is popularly believed that Lohri marks the end of the bitter cold but traditionally it is associated with harvest of Rabi crops. It is celebrated on the 13th Jan every year and marks the last day of Paush and beginning of Magh(both Indian calendar months)  when the sun changes its course.
Like any other festivals, Lohri is associated with yummy food esp the winter must Sarson da saag and Makai di roti. Along with it people relish on Pinni, ganne di kheer, makhane di kheer. In the evening, bonfires are lit and everyone sits around spending lovely time singing, dancing, talking and eating Gajak, rewadi, chikki, moongphuli, popcorn etc
I remember when we were small, my Grandmother, ,my Aunt and my Mom would be busy throughout the day making delicious things for the evening bonfire. Amongst all the things I fondly remember my love for the kurmura ladoo which is made with puffed rice and jaggery.

While vacationing in Punjab recently, we had a relative who gave us heaps of homemade khoya. My elder Masi was quick to use it into some seriously out-of-the-world delicious Pinni. I was so amazed at the purity and simplicity of the recipe. Just mixing of few basic ingredients and you have such a yummy  traditional ladoo.

Try this super easy and super yummy Pinni from Punjab.

Recipe source : My Masi

Ingredients : 

• 3 cups good quality khoya/mawa/milk solids
• 1 cup whole wheat flour/atta
• 1/2 cup ghee/clarified butter
• 3/4- 1 cup desi khand/shakar bura/powdered sugar (depending on your taste)

Procedure : 

Take ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel and warm it. 

Add atta to the ghee and on a medium flame cook it. till it slightly changes colour.

Add sugar to it and mix well. 

Now add khoya and cook till everything comes together and mixes well.

Let it cool a little and then make balls out of it. Put a halved cashew on top or just let it be.

Note :

• Use very good quality of khoya for Pinni. I used homemade khoya which I received from a relative on my trip to Punjab. 
• Desi Khand or Shakar Bura is powdered sugar made of jaggery. It is healthier than using refined sugar. You can replace it with easily available powdered sugar. 
• Adding cashew or almond or any other dry fruit is optional. You may even add chopped dry fruits in the mixture and then make Pinni out of it. 

Sending  this recipe to Kolkata Food Bloggers ongoing event 

Happy Lohri
Amrita

Kheer Poode(पूड़े) -celebrating Teeyan(तीयां)

Saawan is the month of rains and like all other months in the Indian calendar, we have festivities attached to this month too. In Punjab this month is celebrated with 'Teeyan (तीयां) da Mela' which means fair of daughters. It is a festival where daughters go back to their maternal house and celebrate the festivity. In the olden days when women when not allowed to visit their parents house often, the women would spend this entire month with their parents and get pampered. 

Women get together and participate in the traditional dance called 'Gidda' with lots of 'Boliyans' or traditional Punjabi songs. Another mainstay of Teeyan are the swings which in earlier days used to be usually around a water body. In olden days it was a way out for women from their normal routine life and indulge in some fun and frolic.

And as far as festivity is concerned how can food be left behind. Teeyan is associated with Kheer Poode (पूड़े) , halwa, malpua and gulguley. In olden days, sugar was used scarcely and instead Gur (Jaggery) was used in everything. Traditionally the Poode are made with gur and the kheer is kept bland i.e. sans sugar which justifies the otherwise weird combination. However nowadays, poode are relished with some kind of Achaar esp Raw mango(Kaccha aam) achaar. The poode are actually crepe like and are made with whole wheat flour or Atta. The sugar or gur is dissolved in the batter and then these are spread thin on a tava with some oil to make them crisp. 

These recipes though extremely simple and humble are getting lost because the festivities are getting lost. Thankfully some families are keeping the festival of Teeyan alive so that the coming generations get a glimpse of the way things were back then. 

Ingredients for Poode : makes 7-8

• 1 cup whole wheat flour/atta
• 1/4 cup sugar (powdered)
• 1/4 tsp saunf powder
• water as required to make the batter

Procedure : 

Take atta in a bowl and mix sugar in it. Add the saunf powder and make a crepe or dosa like batter with water. 

Allow it to rest for 30-40 minutes.

Take a flat pan or tava and spread oil or ghee on it.

Pour little batter and spread it to a round.

Add more oil and crisp it from both sides.

Ingredients for kheer : 

• 1 1/2 litre milk, preferably full cream
• 1/4 cup rice, soaked in water
• chopped assorted nuts like cashews, almonds, pista and raisins
• elaichi powder

Procedure : 

Take milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and let it boil. Add the soaked and drained rice and let the milk reduce.

Keep stirring in between and let the rice cook in the milk. 

When the milk reduces to half the original quantity, take off from heat and cool it.

Add elaichi powder and assorted nuts(optional)

You may add sugar to your kheer if you do not want to pair it with the poode. 

Happy 'Teeyan da mela'

Amrita

Enriched muffins

My little angel, my cherub started Montessori this January. It turned out to be a new beginning for all of us as we had to change our carefree no-time bound routine. Our morning rush started with a bang with me and Vishal running here and there trying to finish all chores before getting Vaanya dressed up for school. Oh well, in the beginning it also included trying to wake her up and make her happy about going to a new place. We soon realized the more we talked about the so called fun she will have in school, the more she was averted to go there. To top it all my endless questions 'What did you do in school today' was never answered.

We stopped talking about school to Vaanya and were wondering when will she start enjoying her school and go inside happily like other children. Then one fine evening, Vaanya joined her hands and started singing in her beautiful voice 'Thank you God for the world so sweet'. Me and Vishal looked at each other and understood this must have been taught in school. Vaanya was now enjoying this new place called school and was interacting with other children and teachers and learning new things. 

Everyday I pack her a small tiffin for school. In the beginning it was very confusing because Vaanya was used to being fed by me. I used to wonder what to include in her tiffin that she will be able to eat on her own. Vaanya soon learned eating sandwiches, biscuits, fruits on her own perhaps looking at other children. One of the things I love to include in her tiffin are homemade muffins. 

These muffins are enriched with Nutrilite chocolate flavoured drink which Vishal had very fondly got for Vaanya but since she is fond of plain milk, it was left unused for a long time. I have also added in some whole wheat flour to enrich it further. The colour that you see in the pictures is with the chocolate drink only. Here is the easy peasy recipe.

Ingredients : For 5-6 medium sized muffins

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp Nutrilite Kids drink powder, chocolate flavoured(You may use any other brand/flavour)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 egg

Procedure : 

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Prepare a muffin tray or individual muffin tins with liners.

Take butter and sugar in a bowl and mix it till it gets creamy. 

Add egg and mix.

Add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and Nutrilite chocolate powder. Mix well.

Pour batter in the prepared muffin tray/tins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Notes : 

• You may add in any other brand or flavoured drink of your choice.
• You may add in chopped/powdered nuts like almonds or walnuts.
• You may also add grated apple or mashed banana for extra enrichment. 
• If your flavoured drink powder has added sugar, then reduce the quantity of sugar in the batter.
• If you find your batter a little too thick add some milk to it. 

Happy Muffin enriching

Amrita

Thandai Cookies

Holi is the festival of colours and is celebrated with lot of  fun and fervour. For me Holi is a sweet remembrance of the non stop fun we had as children colouring each other with the darkest of shades that would not come out for weeks. Holi meant the kitchen smelling heavenly with yummy treats esp Thandai and Gujiya. It meant spending hours in the bathroom afterwards scrubbing ourselves hard to get the colour out of our hair, face and body. Our nails would be invariably painted with a pink or black colour. And we all looked the same!

I remember when I was small, my cousin brothers who are elder to me were the mastermind behind all the mischief. They would fill scores of balloons with coloured water and throw them at their friends. Each year, it was a competition of sorts to paint each other with the toughest of colours that would take weeks to come out. Going next day to school meant meeting my friends in different shades. 

Things thankfully have changed over the years. For better reasons, the culture of playing Holi with those chemicals is slowly reducing. People are realizing the after effects of these meaningless colours and have started opting for Organic colours. I personally prefer Holi now with dry colours or what we call Abeer. 

For Holi this time, I experimented with the very famous Thandai flavour and incorporated it in cookies. Thandai is a popular drink consumed esp during Holi which is made by grinding almonds, rose petals, fennel seeds, melon seeds and black peppercorns and adding to milk. There is a variation called Kesariya Thandai where saffron is added to the mixture but the most famous one is the Bhang Thandai which is basically adding the leaves of cannabis plant whihc has intoxicant properties.

Ingredients : Yields about 15 cookies

• 4 tbsp all purpose flour (maida)
• 3 tbsp whole wheat flour (atta)
• 2 tsp rice flour (chawal ka atta)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of baking soda
• 6 tbsp powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, cold
• 2 1/2 tbsp Thandai spice
• 1 tbsp rose water
• 1 tbsp milk
• almonds, chopped
• khus khus/posto (Poppy seeds) for sprinkling on top

Thandai spice : This will make a little more than the quantity required in the cookies

• 1/2 cup dries red rose petals
• 2 tsp fennel seeds/saunf
• 2 tsp melon seeds/magaj
• 4-5 green cardamoms/hari elaichi
• 15 whole black peppercorns/gol mirch

Procedure :

Thandai spice :

Grind all the ingredients to a fine powder.

Sieve the mixture to get a further fine powder and remove any particles.

Cookie dough :

Add all purpose, whole wheat and rice flour in a bowl and mix with sugar, baking powder and baking soda.  Add cold butter and rub the flour in the butter till it gets incorporated in the flour mixture. 

Add the Thandai spice and mix.

Now add rose water and milk and knead to a smooth dough. If required add a little more of the rose water/milk. 

Cover in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. 

Take the dough out to come to room temperature before you begin baking them.

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius and line a baking tray with a lightly greased parchment paper/aluminium foil. 

Dust a little flour on your work station and roll the dough to 1/8" thickness. 

Cut out cookie shapes with a round cookie cutter or a round shaped bowl/glass.

Press in the chopped almonds on top of the cookie and sprinkle with khus khus/posto seeds. 

Place the cookies on the baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes or till they are browned well. 

Allow to cool completely to crisp them.

Notes:

• Substitute rice flour with corn flour.
• Be more experimental and add Bhang to the cookie dough.

Wishing all of you a Happy and Colourful Holi

Amrita

Masala biscuits

This month our Daring Baker's hostess Aparna challenged us with not one but two amazing challenges. There was this terrific Mawa cake(that I made into cupcakes) and two very traditional in flavour biscuits/cookies-Bolinhas de coco(Coconut flavoured semolina biscuit) and Masala biscuits. My personal hatred to coconut cookies made me jump straight to the Masala ones.
These biscuits(as I would rather call them over cookies) burst with very Indian flavours. These are just throw ingredients in the bowl kind of recipe. I rolled them extra thin to achieve such crisp and yummy biscuits and regretted trying just 1/4 of the recipe. The curry and coriander leaves along with roasted and crushed cumin seeds and black peppercorns with a dash of chopped green chillies lend such an amazing Indian taste to these biscuits. 
All it needs is a hot cup of strong milky tea and you will not be able to stop at just one. I personally had the most difficult time trying to save some to take pictures.

 Ingredients : I reduced the recipe to 1/4 and added whole wheat flour(atta)

• 4 tbsp all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp whole wheat flour(atta)
• 2 tsp rice flour(chawal ka atta)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar, powdered
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
• 1 tbsp yogurt, cold(I used homemade dahi)
• 1 green chilly, deseeded and chopped
• 1/4" piece of ginger, grated
• 1/4 tsp whole black peppercorn
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 sprigs curry leaves, chopped
• 1 sprig coriander leaves, chopped
• white sesame and nigella seeds for sprinkling on top

 Procedure : 
Add all purpose, whole wheat and rice flour in a bowl and mix with salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. 
Add cold butter and rub the flour in the butter till it resembles breadcrumb like texture.
Dry roast whole black peppercorn and cumin seeds and coarsely crush them.
Add chopped green chilly, grated ginger, roasted and  crushed peppercorn and cumin seeds, curry and coriander leaves. Mix well.
Add cold yogurt and mix well to make a dough.
Cover in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius and line a baking tray with parchment/butter paper.
Using little flour, roll out the dough to 1/8" thickness. (I rolled as thin as I could)
Sprinkle white sesame seeds and nigella seeds and press them lightly with a rolling pin.
Cut with cutters of your choice (I used a round cutter and a rectangular tart tin) and place on the baking tray.
Bake for 20-25 mins or till the biscuits brown up well.
Allow them to cool to get crispy.

This recipe is also a part of the amazing KFB blogging marathon that I am part of, along with my fellow members. Do drop in to check what they are doing here : 
A Homemaker's Diary
Silence Sings
My Food My Life
Recipe Junction

Happy Biscuit Eating
Amrita

Mawa/Khoya Cupcakes

Daring Baker's challenge for this month was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and she challenged us with some amazing Indian Bakes-Mawa cake, Bolinhas de coco(Coconut Biscuits) and Masala biscuits. Traditional Indian cuisine does not boast of baking at all but you may find some adapted recipes which were introduced by traders, invaders and colonial rulers. 
Mawa cakes are typically associated with Irani cafés found mostly in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.These cafés, owned by Zoroastrians who emigrated to Mumbai from Iran in the 19th century to escape persecution of non-muslims, are famous for their good, honest, reasonably priced food and beverages. Some of the very popular food sold in these cafe's are ‘bun maska’ (bread and butter) and ‘paani kam chai’ (a strong Iranian tea), or khari chai (very strong tea), mutton samosas, and Keema Pavs, akuri (a scrambled spicy egg preparation), berry Pulao,  Veg/Chicken Dhansak (a spicy broth with lentils, pulses) and Biryani, cheese khari biscuits, shrewsbury biscuits...just to name a few.
Mawa, also called khoya, is made by reducing milk (usually full-fat) on low heat until all that remain is a mass of slightly caramelized granular dough-like milk solids. This is then used to make a rich and dense cake which along with cardamom and almonds gives it the rich and milky flavour.
I decided to make cupcakes and enhance the Indian flavours with some saffron infused milk that goes in the batter. Along with chopped pista and almonds on top, these cupcakes certainly are full of the true Indian essence.

Ingredients : I halved the recipe to yield 6 cupcakes and a 3 1/2" round small cake

• 500 ml full fat milk
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 5 tbsp packed crumbled mawa
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar, powdered
• 1 egg
• 2 cardamom pods, powdered
• 1 cup cake flour (Add 2 tbsp cornflour in 1 cup measurement and fill the rest with all purpose flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup milk
• Cashewnuts to top
• Chopped pista-little
•  few saffron threads

Procedure :

Mawa :
Pour milk in a heavy bottomed pan and bring it to a boil. Turn down heat to medium and keep cooking the milk till it has reduced to a quarter of the original volume, stirring frequently. This can take between 30-45 mins. By now the colour of milk will be light brownish.
Keep stirring till the milk solids take a lumpy appearance. This is called Mawa/Khoya. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
This yielded around 1/2 cup mawa.
You may refrigerate the mawa for 2-3 days and bring it to room temperature while using it.

Mawa

Cupcakes :
Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Line cupcake moulds with liners or just grease them well. 
Warm milk and add 5-6 saffron threads and leave aside.
Beat butter, mawa (at room temperature) and sugar till soft and fluffy. I used my electric beater for it.
Add egg and the saffron infused milk(reserving the saffron threads to top on the cupcakes) and beat well.
Add cake flour, baking powder and cardamom powder and mix. 
Pour this batter in the prepared cupcake liners. (My batter was still in excess after filling 6 cupcake liners and so I prepared a 3 1/2" round cake tin and poured the leftover batter in it)
Place cashew nuts(I halved them lengthwise), saffron threads and chopped pista on the cupcakes and the small cake.
Bake for 25-30 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool and serve.

Sending this recipe to the event Little Thumbs Up  which is co-hosted by my dear friend Yen from Eat your heart out  

This recipe is also a part of the amazing KFB blogging marathon that I am part of, along with my fellow members. Do drop in to check what they are doing here : 
A Homemaker's Diary
Silence Sings
My Food My Life
Recipe Junction

Happy Mawa cupcake Eating
Amrita

Choco-Cappuccino Biscotti with Roasted Almonds

Biscotti (plural for biscotto) are Italian biscuits and are described as dry, hard and twice baked cookies. The name is derived from 'bis' meaning twice in Italian and 'cotto' meaning baked or cooked. 
Traditionally Biscotti are almond flavoured and do not use butter or oil. The sticky dough is first shaped in a log and baked till firm. After a short cooling period, the log is sliced into diagonal slices and baked again to draw out the moisture and thus giving the characteristic crisp and dry texture. These biscuits thus have a long shelf life. 
Modern recipes use butter or oil to attain a softer texture and use endless variations. You can add any flavour, dried fruits, nuts, seeds  spices etc and can even frost with melted chocolate and top with nuts or coloured sprinkles.
Baking Partners challenged us with four different types of cookies from around the world. My instant pick was Biscotti from Italy being on my list for a long time. This was suggested by Sandhya who blogs from My Cooking Journey. I went wild in my flavorings and decided to add both chocolate(being my weakness) and coffee. I added some roasted almonds for that beautiful crunch in these cookies which are basically an avatar of our desi Rusks.
Enjoy them with your cup of tea or coffee as crunchy biscuits or dunk them in to soften them. These are such super simple and impressive biscuits mainly because of the variation you can bring into them.

Ingredients : I reduced the recipe by 1/4 to yield about 10 Biscotti

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour(atta)
• 1/4 cup sugar, powdered
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp strong coffee, cooled(I diluted 1 1/2 tsp instant coffee in 1 tbsp of hot water)
• 1/2 egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp choco-chips
• 2 tbsp roasted almonds, chopped

Procedure :

Roasted almonds : 

Boil some water in a pan and blanch the almonds for a min. Remove from heat and let it cool. Rub the skin off and pat dry the almonds with a kitchen towel.

Dry roast the almonds in a pan. 

Allow to cool and then chop.

Biscotti :

Preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius.

Prepare a baking tin lined with parchment/butter paper.

Whisk together coffee, egg, vanilla and olive oil in a small bowl.

In another bowl, sift both the flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and cocoa powder.

Add the coffee mixture to the flour mixture and mix till incorporated.

Mix in the choco-chips and roasted almonds.

The mixture will be very sticky. Avoid adding any more flour.

Transfer this to the prepared tin and shape into a log with wet hands. (I pulled the ends of my butter paper and tied above to maintain the log shape.)

Bake for 25-30 mins.

Reduce the oven temperature to 150 degree Celsius.

My Biscotti after the first bake

Allow the Biscotti log to cool for 15 mins. 

Cut diagonal slices with a sharp serrated knife carefully, so as not to break the slices.

Arrange the slices on the baking tray and bake each side for 5-10 mins or till crisp and brown.

This recipe is also part of the KFB (Kolkata Food Bloggers) Blogging Marathon. Check out what my other lovely Blogger friends have to share at these links:
A Homemaker's Diary
Silence Sings
My Food My Life
Recipe Junction
Jayati's Food Journey
 
This post is also linked to Little Thumbs Up   hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out

 

This post is also linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and me, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out, at this post. - See more at: http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.in/2013/08/quadruple-chocolate-loaf-nigella-lawson.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BakeForHappyKids+(Bake+for+happy+kids)#sthash.QLcusnQ4.dpuf

This post is also linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and me, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out, at this post. - See more at: http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.in/2013/08/quadruple-chocolate-loaf-nigella-lawson.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BakeForHappyKids+(Bake+for+happy+kids)#sthash.QLcusnQ4.dpuf

organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and me, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out - See more at: http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.in/2013/08/quadruple-chocolate-loaf-nigella-lawson.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BakeForHappyKids+(Bake+for+happy+kids)#sthash.QLcusnQ4.dpuf

This post is also linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and me, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out, at this post. - See more at: http://bakeforhappykids.blogspot.in/2013/08/quadruple-chocolate-loaf-nigella-lawson.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BakeForHappyKids+(Bake+for+happy+kids)#sthash.QLcusnQ4.dpuf

Happy Biscotti Eating

Amrita

Twin Treat-Cute Reindeer Cupcakes and Devil's Food Cupcakes

Plans are nothing; planning is everything-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Plans !

At the beginning of this month, I made a plan with the list of recipes to be made and shared on the blog. I planned to make Truffles and Rum balls, Christmas fruit cakes and all sorts of Christmas Bakes!! Another thing on my plan was to participate in the event 'Cook like a star-Martha Stewart' which my dear friend Yen of Eat your heart out is co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy kids and Jocelyn of Riceball Eats for this month. One thing led to the other and the entire month breezed by and here I am barely 3 days left to Christmas, still with the plan!

Well, I made another plan!! To kill two birds with the same stone! I decided to make a Martha Stewart cupcake and do a christmassy icing. I eyed these cute little adorable reindeers on Pinterest and have been wanting to replicate them for the longest time. Every time I see them, my heart strums Vaanya's favorite Christmas carol

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer 

had a very shiny nose. 

And if you ever saw him, 

you would even say it glows. 

I eyed these chocolicious cupcakes here and wanted to try them badly so I planned(yet again) to make half as the recipe goes and the other half with the reindeers. 

Our Christmas tree is finally put up and all the decorations are out so I made the most of it!! Everyone loved the aptly named Devil's food cupcakes  and adored the cute reindeers. The cupcakes are soft dark chocolatey and very yummy.

Ingredients: I quartered the recipe to yield 7 cupcakes

• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp hot water
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar (powdered)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sour cream(I used yogurt)
• 1-2 drops vanilla essence

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Line standard muffin tins with liners.
Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth.
In another bowl sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Melt butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring well to combine. Remove from heat and pour in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer till mixture is cooled, 4-5 mins.
Add egg and mix well.
Add vanilla essence and the cocoa mixture and beat till combined well.
Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with yogurt and beat until just combined.
Pour batter in prepared tins filling each till 3/4.
Bake for 20 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool them well before icing.

Assembly:
I used my leftover Chocolate honey frosting from Chocolate Almond cake. Spread them well on the cupcakes and sprinkle some chocolate shavings for Devil's Food cupcakes.
For the reindeer cupcakes, I spread the same frosting as base. Made eyes out of blobs of white butter and mouth with some white butter mixed with chocolate sauce to get the brownish tinge. Melt some dark chocolate and put in a ziplock bag or a plastic and snip of the end. Draw pairs of eyes and reindeer antlers on a butter/parchment paper. Draw extra pieces as they are brittle and may break. Let it cool completely and carefully peel off. Put the eyes on the white butter blobs and antlers on the head. For the noses I used Skittles (remember my Skittles experiment) You can use Gems or any other small round candy with brown/dark purple and red colour.

Sending this recipe to Yen for cook like a star, Merry Christmas celebrations, Cook Joy Bake fest#14, Favorite recipes Christmas, lets cook edible gifts for christmas, foodomania's christmas-cook-off-contest, 60 days to christmas, 16 Christmas treats and celebrate christmas

Merry Christmas
Amrita