Muffins De Chocolate

Last week my younger sister came to visit me, she is studying college and stays in hostel near chennai and she was missing a lot of good food and came with a big wishlist. She loves chocolate and I prepared these muffins for her. She was so delighted with these muffins and kept asking for more

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup tutti frutti
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour(Atta)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter at room temp
• 1/8 cup any cooking oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• pinch of salt

Cooking Procedure:

Put the microwave in convection mode and preheat to 225 C

Take a large bowl sieve the whole wheat flour,all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking power , baking soda , cinnamon and salt all together.

In another bowl beat the eggs and sugar for 3 min with a hand blender with medium speed till it become fluffy.Then add butter,cooking oil,milk,lemon zest and again blend till it all mix nicely.

Take the flour and slowly add to the above egg mixture and stir till it blends properly .This can done with hand blender or even with a spatula.

Now add all the tutti frutti and chocochips to the above mixture and stir softly with spatula.Take 12 muffin cups, spray some oil n pour 3/4 batter each cup.Top some chocochips n fruit bites to the prepared muffins.Then place this tray in the microwave and let it bake for 20 min.

You muffin is ready to be served after it cools

Flavorful No Onion No Garlic Meal

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I had prepared this meal ( Mint Pulav, Paneer Makhani and Palak Raitha ) for my mom who visited me this weekend.

According to ayurveda our ancient traditional medicine system of India there are three formats of food rajasik, tamasik and saatvik, foods simple and wholesome in nature are saatvik by nature, onion and garlic have sharp flavors and they fall under the "tamasik" category.

The theory is based on the fact that "tamasik" food tends to excite the negative feelings such a anger, violence, and deceit and therefore should be avoided. It is a hindu custom to have saatvik food on sacred days. Also practised by the wonderful krishna conscious devotees ( ISKCON photogallery ) around the world. So here is the recipe for the complete meal.

Paneer Makhani (Adopted from Nita Mehta Recipe)

Ingredients

• 200 gms paneer (cut into cubes)
• 3 large tomatoes
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4-5 almonds or cashew
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
• 1 tsp tomato ketchup
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 green cardamoms crushed
• 3 tbsp cream
• salt to taste

Soak the almonds or cashew in 1/4 cup milk for a 1/2 hr and blend it a smooth paste.

Microwave tomato and ginger with a 1/2 cup water for 5 min.Blend it to a smooth paste.

Heat oil and butter in a pan, add salt,sugar,garam masala,crushed cardamom and chilli powder and stir for 30 seconds and add the prepared tomato paste and ketchup and mix well and cook till oil begins to separate.

Add the cashew paste and kasuri methi and stir well, add 1/2 cup water and cook on medium flame for 5 min.

Now add paneer and milk to get a nice gravy. Mix well and cook for another 5 min

Now add cream and serve hot.

Mint Pulav

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Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• 1 tbsp clarified butter or ghee
• 1 handfull of mint leaves
• 1 handfull of coriander leaves
• 1/2 green peas
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick broken into pieces
• 2 crushed cardamoms
• 4 black pepper
• 1/4 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp chopped green chillies
• salt to taste

Soak rice in water for 30 min and stain it and keep it aside.

Heat ghee in a pressure cooker, add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick , cardamom and black pepper and fry till cummin seeds splutter. Add the chopped cilantro, mint leaves and green chilli fry for a min. Then add green peas,salt and pepper powder and stir for 30 seconds. Now add the soaked rice and mix nicely.

Add 1.5 cup water, stir nicely and close the pressure cooker. Let it cook for three whistles and switch off and let it cool.

Once the pressure cooker cools , open the lid add 1 tbsp ghee on top of it and mix carefully and serve hot with your choice of side dish and raitha.

Palak Raitha

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Ingredients

• 1 cup curd
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• 1 green chilli
• salt to taste

For tempering

• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp oil
• a pinch of hing (asafetida)

In a micowave safe bowl cook the spinach with some sprinkling of water for 2 min, when it cools blend it with the green chilli, then add curd and salt to this mixture and whisk nicely till it becomes really smooth.

Now prepare the tempering , heat oil in a tempering pan, add cummin seeds and asafetida , once cumin seeds splutter transfer this tempering on to the above curd raitha.

Your palak raitha is ready. Serve it with chappati and any other choice of your rice.

I am sending this recipe to two wonderful events :

Bookmarked recipe hosted by Priya and Aipi and to another wonderful event Hearth and Soul

Crunchy Sweet Corn Walnut Salad

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Recently my hubby has fallen in love with salads and I was looking out for salads with different flavors. I noticed in some of them balsamic vinegar is used commonly for salads.Surprisingly he came one day with a bottle of balsamic vinegar, it looked like a wine bottle !!

So it was decided I had to make a lot of varieties of salads , so here is one recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup sweet corn kernels
• 1 tbsp chopped spring onions
• 1/4 cup diced tomato
• 1 tbsp chopped walnuts
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• salt to taste

Preparation

Microwave the corn for 2 min and once it cools mix all the above ingredients and refridgerate for minimum half hour

Serve chilled

Snack-time With Savory Khandvi

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One of my favorite cusine is the gujarati cuisine, who are predominant in western India. Khandvi is a gujarati delicacy made using chickpea flour and flavoured with tempering of mustard, sesame seeds, spicy green chillies, a perfect snack which can be prepared quickly.

It has a lovely yellow color and simple melts in your mouth with a savory taste. The preparation is easy but needs a little patience. So here is the recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
• 1 cup yogurt ( plain curd )
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp green chilli paste
• 1/4 tsp ginger paste
• pinch of hing (asafetida)
• salt to taste

For tempering

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp cilantro (coriander)
• pinch of hing (asafetida)

Cooking Procedure

Sieve the chickpea flour to remove the lumps. And then to it add all the above ingredients to make a smooth paste.

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Take a non stick pan and put this batter in it and switch on the flame.Stir continuously till it becomes soft thick paste.

To test the consistency apply a tsp of paste on the backside of a small plate and once it cools if it is able to peel off easily for rolling , switch off the flame immediately.

Take a clean surface and apply this paste lengthwise with spatula approx 1 mm thick. Once it cools cut vertically and start rolling.

Keep the rolls on a serving plate and prepare the tempering.

Heat oil in a tempering pan, add mustard seeds once it splutter add sesame seeds, hing and stir once sesame start spluttering switch off the flame and spread this mixture on the khandvi.

Garnish with coriander and serve.

I am sending this recipe to two wonderful events :

Bookmarked recipe hosted by Priya and Aipi and to another wonderful event Hearth and Soul

Mesmerizing Grape Ice Cream

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One of my favorite ice cream is the black current ice cream in which dark black grapes are used for flavor. Recently I got some seedless black grapes n prepared this ice cream at home. It is got a mesmerizing color and taste.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups seedless black grapes
• 397 grams condensed milk
• 100 grams fresh cream
• 1/2 cup seedless black grapes pieces
• 1 tbsp sugar

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Procedure:

Wash the 3 cup grapes, pat them dry and blend it and stain the juice from the pulp.

Take the 1/2 cup grapes and slice into small pieces

Mix the condensed milk, fresh cream and sugar in a bowl with a hand blender in low speed till it become fluffy.

Now pour the grape juice and the cut grape pieces into it and mix nicely with a spatula.Pour the mixture in a freezer safe container.

Freeze it for 3 hrs and mix nicely with a fork to break ice crystals.Repeat this procedure three time in total at 3hr intervals.After the third time using an ice cream scooper, scoop the ice cream and serve.

Top it with almonds and chocochips for the extra nutty feel.

Tip: To get the scoop easily and smoothly dip the ice cream scooper in water.

I am sending this recipe to a wonderful event : Any One Can Cook ( With Less Ingredients )

Healthy Cracked Wheat Oats Pongal

Today I was searching for a healthy breakfast and I had come across this version of oats pongal in anubhavati blog which I had bookmarked earlier long back.I prepared as per her instruction and it came out very well. I was amazed pongal can taste so good with so many healthy ingredients. So here is the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup cracked wheat
• 1/2 cup oats
• 3/4 cup moong dal
• 6 cups water
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 tsp chopped ginger

For tempering

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 8-10 whole black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• handfull of cashews
• 2 green chillis slit
• 1 spring curry leaves
• pinch of hing

Cooking Procedure

Dry roast cracked wheat, oats, moong dal each seperately and mix them and keep aside.

In a pressure cooker pan heat 1 tbsp ghee then add cumin seeds and once it splutter add grated carrot,ginger let it fry for a while then add six cups water,when it starts to boil add salt,pepper and cumin powder and the above dry roasted ingredients. Mix well and close the lid and pressure cook for 3 whistles and switch off.

To prepare tempering in a tempering pan add 2 tbsp ghee once it get heated add cumin seeds and once it splutter add cashew nut, crushed black pepper,green chilli,curry leaves,pinch of hing and stir. Switch it off and keep aside.

Open the pressure cooker after it cools add the above tempering to it. Switch on the gas and stir the cracked wheat oats pongal. Stir well till uniform consistency and if need add little milk.

Serve hot.

Delicious Tender Coconut Pudding

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Coconut water is my favorite summer quencher and in chennai the summer has started. My hubby loves puddings. This weekend when I went out to a restaurant I saw a tender coconut pudding on the menu card.While shuffling through the net I got a set of recipes which gave me idea how to make this tender coconut pudding. It had a unique taste and it was gobbled up in no time.So here is the recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tender coconut pulp
• 1 cup tender coconut water
• 8 gms gelatin
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup condensed milk

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Mix gelatin in hot water and stir continously till it blends. Then add this mixture to boiling milk and stir for a while and keep it aside.

Blend the tender coconut pulp with little coconut water and shift to the container. Now add the remaining coconut water,condensed milk and the milk with gelatin.Stir it nicely and let it rest .

Once it comes to room temperature cover the container with aluminium foil and keep it in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

After 3-4 hours slightly turn it out on a plate , garnish with your choice of topping (I used grated red cherry) and enjoy.

I am sending this to bookmarked recipes a wonderful event hosted by Priya and Aipi

And to another wonderful event Hearth and Soul

Best food I have blogged in 2010

When I got to know about the event hosted by Smitha - Best food blogged in 2010, I wanted to post these two recipes.

I started blogging in 2010 June and the best part was I started to learn baking ... and even better I won recognition and new pals from around the world. All my recipes are my favorite but two are very close to my heart.

Both these recipes could be categorized as "A Kiddie Delight" as both taste wonderful and easy to hold too

The bread swirls won many hearts but my greatest satisfaction was my simple innovation was tried out immediately by lot of readers and comments poured in appreciating the joy expressed by their loved ones.

Delightful Bread Swirls

Another recipe which was very new to me was baking stuffed buns with a healthy tasty filling. The reader response was very encouraging and baking has now become a delightfull experience.

Spinach Cottage Cheese Stuffed Buns

Sending this to- Best food I have blogged about- by Smita

Schezwan Paneer Frankie

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Sometimes on weekends we love to eat tibbs schezwan paneer frankie..a nice name for a wrap which can contain paneer,vegetables or chicken pieces with some sliced onions . However it is a little expensive and also use full maida which is unhealthy so I wanted to prepare a healthier option at home and surprise my hubby !! So here we gooooo

Basically the total process needs 3 steps

1. Preparing the stuffing
2. Making the wrap roti
3. Assembly

Ingredients

• 1 cup paneer cubes (cottage cheese)
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/4 cup diced baby corn
• 2 tbsp chopped onion
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp green chilli
• 1 tbsp chopped celery
• 1 tbsp chopped red chilli
• 2 tbsp red pepper sauce
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup homemade vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp corn flour dissolved in 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• salt to taste

Step 1: Schezwan Sauce Preparation

Heat oil in pan/wok in a high flame, saute the garlic,green chilli,red chilli, green chilli, ginger, onions, celery for a minute

Add the vegetable stock and mix well. Add the corn flour mixture, vinegar,red pepper sauce, sugar, salt amd bring to a boil and keep aside

In another pan add 1 tbsp oil and saute the paneer cubes, bell pepper, baby corn for 3-4 minutes on high flame...add this to the above prepared sauce and keep aside.

Step 2 : Preparing the wrap roti

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 2 tbsp cold butter
• a pinch of salt

Mix both the flour with salt,then add the butter and crumble with ur hands and mix nicely my by adding little by little water and make a soft dough.Let it rest for ten minutes.

After ten min knead the dough into a smooth ball and then divide the dough into 10 parts.Make them into small balls, with a rolling pin roll it into a nice thin circle of 5 - 6 inch diameter and as thin as possible.

Heat the skillet/tawa and it should be hot. Put one roti and after 2 min flip it let it cook for 1 min. Both the sides should cook nicely. Repeat the procedure for the rest of wraps

Step 3 : Assembly of Frankie

Ingredients

• 10 wrap roti (prepared above)
• 1 cup sliced onion
• 1.5 cup above schezwan paneer

Take on wrap and spinkle some onion slices along the length

Take one table spoon of schezwan paneer on top of onion slices

Wrap the paneer in the roti as per the steps below as it will avoid spillage from the bottom

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Wrap it and place it on the tawa until roti is warm, then roll a small paper tissue on the bottom and serve warm

Note:

1. You can add chicken pieces in place of paneer

2. For egg lovers you can put some beaten egg on the roti, toast it on tawa and then assemble it.

I am sending these yummy frankie to Hearth and Soul

Traditional Andhra Style Sweet Bobattu

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Bobattu a traditional sweet roti also known as obbattu, puran poli is the perfect traditional dessert served during festival times in andhra with pulihora (tamarind rice) make a best combination of sweet and sour tastes blending with one another.

I never realized this combination until my MIL used to prepare this for my hubby. Bobbatu is served with a little serving of ghee and pulihora in my home and it tastes so divine.

My MIL prepares the best traditional andhra style dishes like bobattu, pulihora, pessarattu ... in my home and I would rate this as one of her best. So here is the recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup chana dal
• 2 cups maida
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cardamom powder
• 1/2 cup oil

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In a bowl mix the maida with water to a smooth dough and the poke some holes in it with your fingers and pour the oil over it ,let maida soak in oil for 3 hrs .

Soak the chana dal for 30 min before cooking .Pressure cook the dal along with 3 cups water for 3 whistles and switch of the flame .After it cools open the pressure cooker and stain the water from dal completely .

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In a blender make a smooth paste of sugar and dal.Heat a broad open pan and put this paste and stir continuously till this paste start to caramelize.Transfer the whole mixture to a plate ,keep aside and let it cool.After the dal mixture cools ,divide the total paste to large lemon size balls .

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Divide the the dough into small lemon size balls. Spread it flat into a small circle and place the sweet dal mixture in the center and enclose it. Then put on a greased plasic sheet and pat it nicely to form a nice circular shape.

Heat the tawa and place the each piece till golden brown on each side.

Serve hot with ghee and tamarind rice.