Moist Banana Nut Breakfast Muffins (Eggless)

These muffins are full of goodness. Made with bananas, wholewheat flour, oats and walnuts they are surprisingly moist and flavorful. They are not overly sweet and are perfect for kids lunchbox or for breakfast on the go!

Ingredients ( For 6 Muffins)

• 3/4 Cup Wholewheat Flour
• 1/4 Cup Quick Cooking Oats,powdered
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of nutmeg powder(optional)
• 1/2 Cup Banana Puree ( I took 2 large ripe bananas)
• 1/3 Cup Oil ( I used Rice Bran Oil)
• 1/3 Cup Sugar, powdered
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoon milk, as required to adjust consistency of batter
• 1/4 Cup chopped Walnuts

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius and  prepare the muffin molds.

• Roughly chop walnuts and keep aside.

• Sieve the first six dry ingredients (Flour,oats powder,baking powder,baking soda,salt and nutmeg) together.

• In a bowl beat together Oil, sugar powder,banana puree and vanilla extract till sugar is completely dissolved. 
  
      
  

• Fold in the dry ingredients into to above mixture and mix to form a smooth batter. Do not over beat the batter at this stage.
  
  
• Fold in chopped walnuts in the batter reserving few to sprinkle on top. 

• Add 1-2 tablespoon of milk if you find the batter too dry. This batter is however slightly thicker than usual cake batters.  

• Spoon the batter into muffin molds.

• Bake the muffins at 180 degree Celsius for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

 

Quick Tips

• For Vegan option, substitute milk with almond,cashew or rice milk.

• You can add nuts of your choice like almonds,raisins to the batter.

• These muffins keep well in fridge. To store wrap them in cling film, before serving heat them in microwave for 30 seconds.

Baked Sesame Chilli Crackers

Who does'nt love crackers with their cup of tea.  I particularly love Haldirams Chai puri. They are so crispy and flavorful but I often feel guilty for eating such fried processed stuff. So I decided to make a healthier version of the same chai puri by using incorporating whole whaet flour,same spice mix and baking the puris/crackers instead of frying them. So here is my version of baked spicy sesame chilli crackers.

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Whole wheat Flour
• 3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
• 1 teaspoon Kasoori Methi, powdered
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Mirch Powder
• 6 tablespoon Olive Oil or any refined vegetable oil
• Salt to taste
• Chilled Water to knead the dough

Method

• In a bowl sieve all purpose flour and whole wheat flour together.

• To this add Sesame seeds, Kasoori methi powder, Kashmiri mirch powder and Salt.

• Add in olive oil and mix well with fingers till dough starts to resemble bread crumbs and should come together when pressed in palm.

• Add in just enough chilled water so that the dough comes together. Do not add too much water at this stage.

• Do not knead dough for long just enough so that a ball is formed. Dough should be a little stiff. Cover it with cling film and rest it for 30 minutes.

• Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

• After 30 minutes, divide the dough into 4 portion and roll out each portion of about 1/2 inch thickness

• Withe the help of a desired cookie cutter, cut out small crackers and prick them using fork.

• Bake the crackers for 15 minutes,turning them once in between.Make sure not to over bake them else they will become hard.

• Cool on wire rack and store them in airtight container.

Quick Tips

• Do not over bake the crackers as they will harden up more after cooling.
• You can use any combination of herbs and spices to your liking in this recipe.
• If you wish to you can also fry these crackers on medium heat till they turn light golden brown.

One bowl Eggelss Fruit and nut Cake

Fruit & Nut cake is a universal favorite.This is a hassle free, egg free and foolproof recipe.  All it takes is a single bowl to put in all your ingredients, mix it up and pop it in the oven. The result is a delicious, soft and flavorful fruit cake that can brighten up anyone's mood and will vanish from the plate in a matter of minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 plus 3/4 Cup All purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1/4 Cup Black Raisins
• 1/4 Cup Tutti Fruity ( Candied Fruits)
• 1/4 Cup chopped Cashew nuts
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease a baking pan and keep aside.

• Combine sugar, butter,tutti fruity,water and black raisins in a pan. Bring to a boil on low heat  till sugar dissolves. Turn off flame and let the mixture cool. 

• Mix in cashew pieces, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Reserve a few tutti fruity and cashew pieces to sprinkle on top.

• In the above mixture, sift in flour, baking powder and baking soda.

• Fold in the flour gently with a spatula. Do not over mix the batter.

  

 

• Pour the cake batter into prepared tin and bake  at 180 degree Celsius for 35-40 minutes till the toothpick inserted out in center of cake comes out clean.     

• Allow the cake to cool before taking it out of tin. 

•  Cut into slices and serve.

Quick Tips

• Allow the sugar syrup to cool down before proceeding with rest of the recipe.
• You can add dry fruits of choice like chopped dates, golden raisins, prunes etc to the batter.

Dahi ke kabab

I had these melt in the mouth goodies last weekend at a popular north indian restaurant. It was their in house specialty. I took note of the ingredients while eating them and tried to remake it at home last weekend and voila I think I hit the bull's eye. The result was delicious  kababs with cripsy exterior and melt in the mouth creamy center.

Ingredients

1 cup Hung Curd (to make hung curd,see tips)
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, grated
8 slices fresh white bread
1 medium sized Tomato
1 medium sized Capsicum
2 green chilly
Salt to taste
Chat Masala to sprinkle
Oil for frying

Method

•  Deseed tomato,capsicum and green chillies and chop finely.Shred cheese finely.

• Prepare the filling by mixing hung curd, mozzarella cheese,chopped tomato,capsicum and green chilly together. Add salt to taste and mix well.

• Remove the edges of the bread and place 2 slices of the bread on top of a plastic sheets such that their edges overlap.

• Pat the bread softly with wet hand and press gently where the edges overlap.

• Add about one tablespoon of filling in the center and roll the bread with the help of plastic sheet to form the kabab.Press the ends of kabab tightly to seal it.

• Deep fry the prepared kababs on a medium high heat till they turn golden brown.
• Take them out and place on kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.
• Cut into half from middle and sprinkle chat masala on top.
• Serve hot with green mango mint chutney .

Quick Tips

• To prepare Hung curd, place  fresh curd into a muslin cloth,tie it tightly and hang this cloth  from a kitchen cabinet so that the excess water drips out. When no more water drips out,hung curd is ready to be used in any recipe. 

• Make sure the bread you use is fresh else the kababs will break while making.
  
  

Quick Strawberry Trifle Pudding

More than fresh strawberries I like fresh strawberry compote where the flavor of strawberries is intensified and it tastes even more delish! I had some leftover strawberry compote that I used for whipping up this beauty in a jiffy. I made the puddings into individual serving because they look a lot more prettier and tempting to eat :)

Ingredients

For the compote:

1 pack fresh strawberries

1 tablespoon sugar

dash of lemon juice

For the custard

1/2 litre Milk( preferably full fat)

2 heaped tablespoon sugar

2 heaped tablespoon custard powder

For the topping

1/2 Cup Whipping cream ( skip sugar if using rich's whipping cream)

2 tablespoon Sugar

1 small pack (100 gms) digestive biscuits

Method

• Roughly crush digestive biscuits in a mixer and keep aside.
• Roughly chop strawberries,add 2 tablespoon sugar and cook on medium flame for 5-7 minutes till u get a sauce like consistency.Take off heat,add a dash of lemon juice and keep aside to cool.
• From the half liter milk,take aside 1/2 cup milk and dissolve well custard powder in it. Heat  rest of the milk in a pan,when it reaches boiling point add dissolved custard powder and sugar.Keep stirring continuously till the mixture becomes thick and coats back of the spoon.Keep aside to cool.

• Beat whipping cream with sugar till stiff peaks are formed. Keep to chill in fridge.

For the final layering

• First layer the custard in serving glasses followed by a layer of  digestive biscuits.Then Spoon strawberry compote in middle,Repeat again the layers of custard and crushed biscuits.
• Top the pudding with whipped cream.Drop a little bit of strawberry compote on top and use to toothpick to create swirl pattern.

Chill the pudding for at least 3-4 hours before serving.Enjoy!

 

Quick Tips

• You can substitute crushed biscuits with crumbled cake.
• If you don't have fresh strawberries you can use ready made strawberry crush/pineapple crush/mango crush. 
• You can also heat up about 2 tablespoons of jam with a little of water to get a sauce and use it in place of strawberry crush

Soft and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

The best indulgence for me is having couple of chocolate chip cookies with a cup of coffee.The aroma of freshly baked cookies is a reward in itself. I made these cookies over last weekend and they turned out just how I like them,soft ,chewy and loaded with chocolate chips. Irrelevant to mention,they did not survive the weekend:)

Ingredients

1 and 1/4 Cup plus 2 tablespoon All purpose flour

1/2 Cup Salted Butter,kept at room temperature

1 Cup Brown sugar 

1 cup Chocolate Chips

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon Baking powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking soda

Pinch of Salt

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

• Beat together Butter and brown sugar till the become fluffy and light in color.

• Add egg and vanilla extract and beat the mixture for about 1-2 minutes.

• Sift Flour,baking powder,baking soda and salt into the butter mixture and mix well with the help of spatula.
    

  

• Finally add chocolate chips and mix until well distributed.

 

• Drop about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough onto prepared  baking tray.

 

• Bake at 180 degree C for about 14-15 minutes till edges of the cookie turn light brown in color.

• Let the cookie remain on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and the transfer them to plate to cool down.

• Enjoy with a cup of cappuccino or a glass of cold milk.

      Quick Tips

• In case of non availability of brown sugar, it can be substituted with regular white sugar.

• Ensure egg and butter are kept at room temperature for 3-4 hours.It makes a significant improvement in texture of cookie.

• Don't skimp on chocolate chips in this recipe. You can also add about 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts to this recipe. 

Kesariya Thandai Recipe

Holi is around the corner and we all look forward to enjoy the delicacies associated with holi. Thandai is one such exotically flavored indian drink that is truly relished by my whole family and I am sure yours too.Perfect drink to welcome summers. If you have not tried this delicious drink yet,do give it a try and you will be hooked. I promise:)

Ingredients

750 ml or 3 large cups Milk ( Full Fat preferably)

15 Almonds,Soaked for 2-3 hours

5-6 Cashew nuts,roughly broken

4 tablespoon Poppy seeds (Khus khus)

2 tablespoon Watermelon seeds (Magaz Seeds)

4 Green cardamom

1 tablespoon dried Rose petals(optional)

1 teaspoon Fennel (Saunf)

10 Black pepper corn

Few strands of Saffron
Sliced pistachio and almonds for garnish (optional)

Method

• Soak almonds for 3-4 hours,peel and keep aside
• Soak magaz,khus khus,cashew nuts,black peppercorns,Cardamom,saunf and rose petals for 2-3 hours.

• Soak Saffron in little milk.

• Grind peeled almonds along with other soaked ingredients together adding very little milk at a time.Grind till it becomes a smooth paste.

• Add the above paste and sugar to milk and mix well

• Strain the milk through a muslin cloth and discard residue.

• Add soaked saffron to prepared thandai.

• Chill thandai well and serve with ice cubes and  few strands of saffron,sliced pista and almonds.