Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I spotted cute little bananas in a wet market after sending my daughter to her class. My impulse buying landed me with this delicious and super moist banana bread. Love the simplicity of this beautiful loaf with just simple ingredients and can be don in jiffy minus the baking time. The sweet fragrance of ripened banana lingered in every corner of the house The chocolate chip enhance the taste of the banana bread and lends texture on every bite.  This sweet banana bread makes as a perfect tea time treat or for breakfast with a genereous slab of butter.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips
3 ripe bananas,mashed
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup plain yogurt
6 tbsp butter,melted & cool to roo  temperature
2 large egg at room temperature,whisked
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Methods

Preheat oven at 350'F or 180'C. Grease an 9'inch loaf pan and keep aside.

In a large bowl, whisk melted butter,mashed butter,yogurt,eggs,vanilla extract and sugar.

In another bowl, combine all purpose flour,salt and baking powder.

Add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold gently.

Fold in the chocolate chips and mix till just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 52-55 minutes or till a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool let it cool completely.

Slice and serve.

Cornmeal Thin Waffle

Waffles..the name itself sounds delicious. Just imagine waking up to the smell of crispy waffle on the Sunday morning. The lightly toasted waffles sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and topped generously with berries indeed something to look out for a great weekend breakfast. Instead of making an ordinary waffles, i added cornmeal to the basic waffle batter for a extra kick. The cornmeal gives the waffles the much needed crispiness and texture. The waffles were thin,crispy,golden and light. So next time when you have cornmeal in your pantry do give this cornmeal waffle a try and I'm sure you'll love them.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter,melted
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp honey
2 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

For Garnishing

Blueberries
Strawberries
Confectioner's sugar


Methods

In a mixing bowl, combine all purpose flour,cornmeal,salt,cinnamon powder and baking powder.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk,melted butter,eggs and honey.

Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over mix its ok if there's a little lumps in the batter.

Preheat waffle iron. Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter and cook the waffle till crispy and golden.

Repeat with the remaining batter.

Stack the waffles, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and garnish with strawberries and blueberries

Punjabi Egg Curry

Indian food are not just briyani,tandoori or nan. The food culture are diverse and countless with countless gravies,roti,sabzi,rice varieties and drinks. One of such dish are the the ever delicious lip smacking Punjabi egg curry which goes very well with Indian flat bread or rice. Its spicy,tangy and full of flavor. The masala used in this recipe are what we usually have in Indian households and can be found easily in any Indian groceries. Be extra cautious with the spices as Indian spices tend to be strong in flavor.I simply love this egg curry with hot white rice or better still the left over curry goes well with Indian roti.

Ingredients

4 boiled eggs.lightly slit
3 tomatoes,finely chopped
2 medium onions,finely chopped
1 green chilly,slit
1 1/4 cup water
1 tbsp coriander,chopped
1/4 tsp kasturi methi/fenugreek leaves
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
3 cloves
1'inch cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
3 green cardamom pods
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

Methods

In a pan, heat oil and saute bay leaf,cumin seeds,cloves and cardamom pods for 30 seconds. Add chopped onions and saute till translucent.

Add ginger garlic paste and green chilly. Saute till fragrant. Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes soften.

Add turmeric powder,coriander powder,chilly powder and garam masala powder. Fry till the raw smell leaves.

Pour in water and stir well. Cook till oil separate. Season with salt and sugar. Add the boiled eggs and kasturi methi.

Cover with lid and cook for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Serve hot

Coconut Strudel

This recipe came out all of sudden when I'm trying to finish up freshly grated coconut in my refrigerator. Little i know it will turn out to be a huge success among my girls as they love the crispy dough and sweet coconut filling. The brown sugar lends a smokey molasses flavor to the filling with a little hint of rich and creamy coconut texture. U may substitute fresh coconut with dessicated coconut or moist Hawaiian dessicated coconut which available in market works very well in this recipe. Instead of trying the usual apple or peach strudel thus coconut strudel indeed a twist to ordinary strudel.

Ingredients

For The Dough

2 cups all purpose flour
1 /2 cup butter,room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese,room temperature
2 tbsp milk

For The Filling

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
Pinch of salt

Methods

For The Dough

Preheat oven at 350'F or 180'C and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Keep aside.

Using a hand mixer/stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese till combine. Add the flour and beat till well combined. Form the dough into a disk and wrap with cling film. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Lightly dust a clean working surface with flour and divide the dough equally into 10 and roll out each into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.

Carefully, place a tablespoon of the filling and roll the dough lengthwise. Place the dough in a baking tray. Brush with milk and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

For The Filling

In a pan add water and brown sugar. Sir till the brown sugar dissolved completely. Add chopped walnuts,raisins and shredded coconut.  Season with salt and stir well. Cook till the mixture thickened. Keep aside

Bake for 30 minutes or till golden. Remove from oven and serve warm

Bombay Ice Halwa

if you ever wanted to try a totally innovative halwa, Bombay ice halwa is the right thing to make to impress your family and friends. As for me, this ice halwa is super cool to make and to dish out and seeing the kids excitement was awesome. I made this Bombay ice halwa as prasadham for Ugadhi and i love the creativity of peel off halwa. The vibrant is a feast for eyes and the chopped nuts enhance the flavor and taste of this delicious halwa. I used pistachios and almonds you may use any nuts as your liking.

Ingredients

2 cups  + 6 tbsp whole milk
1/4 cup corn flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 cup chopped nuts
Pinch of yellow food coloring
Pinch of saffron


Methods

Add 2 tbsp milk to saffron and keep aside.

Dilute cornflour with remaining 5 tbsp milk. Keep aside.

Boil milk in a pan, add sugar, saffron diluted in milk and yellow food coloring. Stir till sugar completely dissolved. Add cardamom powder and stir.

Reduce heat to medium=high and add diluted corn flour and keep stirring.

Add ghee and continue stirring till the mixture thickened.  Cook till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and form a big mass on the pan.

Add 2 tbsp ghee and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Spoon the mixture over a parchment paper greased lightly with ghee, top with another parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, gently roll into a medium thin. Remove the top parchment paper and sprinkle the halwa with chopped nuts.

Gently place back the parchment paper and roll lightly for the nuts to stick to the mixture. Let the halwa cool for 1-2 hours.

Remove the top parchment paper and using a sharp knife, slice into squares.

Serve

Cream Bun

I'm a fan of cream bun especially something with vanilla cream and who can resist the luscious silky smooth cream piped into a freshly baked soft buns. My memory with cream buns goes a long way thru my childhood whereby, an old Indian uncle selling breads make his rounds in our neighborhood with his motorbike fully loaded with assorted loaves and buns. We kids will eagerly wait every evenings for his cream buns. The taste of buttery sweet cream buns still lingers even after so many years. Childhood  food memories remained.

Ingredients

4 cups bread flour
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/3 cup + 1 tsp granulated white sugar
1/3 cup butter,melted
1/2 cup warm milk
1 egg,slightly beaten
1 tsp salt

For The Buttercream

1 cup butter,room temperature
3 cups confectioners sugar
2-3 tbsp milk,room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch o\f salt
Chocolate chips for garnishing


Methods 

Using a stand mixer, fitted with dough hook add lukewarm water,yeast and 1 tsp sugar to the bowl. Stir and let the yeast to bloom for 5-10 mins.

In another mixing bowl, mix in melted butter,egg and milk. Add the mixture to the yeast. dd flour,salt and remaining 1/3 cup of sugar. Turn on the machine.

Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with clean kitchen towel. Let the dough to rest in a warm place for 90 mins.

Punch down the dough and lightly dust a clean working surface with flour. Place the dough on working surface and divide them equally into 12-15 oval shaped balls.

Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover the dough with  it clean kitchen towel and let it rest for another 30 mins in a warm place.

Preheat oven at 350'F or 180'C and bake the oven in the middle tray of the oven for 20 mins till golden. Remove from oven and cool the buns on cooling rack.


In a bowl of stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment beat the butter on medium speed till smooth. Scrap the sides of the bowl as needed.

Reduce speed to low and gradually add in the confectioners sugar. Increase speed to medium and continue beating for 1-2 minutes. Add 2 tbsp milk and continue beating. The mixture shouldn't be more too runny or too thick. Add vanilla extract and salt and keep beating on high speed for another 1-2 minutes.

Make a slit on the cooled buns and piped generously with vanilla butter cream and garnish with chocolate chips

Sago Payasam

Another Indian sweets in blog today. Many of my friends requested for Sago payasam recipe in Facebook after i posted my Panguni Uthiram neiveidhaym for Lord Muruga. Delicious milky sago payasam makes a perfect prasadham as offering for God. Payasam comes in many variation semiya payasam,cashew payasam,paal payasam,moong dhal payasam and etc. One of such is,sago payasam which pops in your mouth on every gulp. The yummylicious payasam often take place at home or restaurants as a dessert after a good hearty meal. My girls particularly like this sago payasam simply because of the little soft sago bursting in mouth on every bite and who doesn't like desserts?

Ingredients

3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sago
1 1/2 cups water
3 pods cardamom,crushed
1 1/2 tbsp ghee/clarified butter
8 cashews,broken
8 raisins
Pinch of saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp boiled milk
1/2 cup granulated white sugar

Methods

In a pot, boil sago with 1 1/2 cups water till the sago pearls turns translucent while stirring occasionally to prevent the sago from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Stain over a sieve to remove excess water. Rinse the sago with cold water and keep aside.

In a frying pan, melt ghee and fry the cashews and raisins till golden. Keep aside.

Boil min in a heavy bottomed pan Once milk comes to a boil,  reduce heat to medium and add sugar and cardamom pods. Stir till the sugar dissolved completely.

Add sago and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the milk soaked saffron and stir.

Add the fried cashews and raisins. Stir and remove from heat.

Serve warm or cold

Akkaravadisaal

This is my second time making this authentic Iyengar sweet called akkaravadisal. The first time i made them, my family just love it to the crore and upon their request i made it again for an auspicious day to celebrate Lord Muruga as served as "neiveidhyam" which means offering. Akkaravadisal similar to sweet ponggal wid added moong dhal which usually served as offering to God or as a sweet for any special occasions. The key to a perfect akkaravadisal is the generous amount of milk and ghee/clarified butter used in the recipe. Lovely mashed grains swim in milk and ghee and tastes heavenly on every bite.

Ingredients

1 cup raw rice
1/4 cup moong dhal
2 cups grated jaggery
5 + 1 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1/4 cup ghee + 2 tbsp ghee
Tiny bit pacha karpooram or edible camphor
12 cashews,broken
12 raisins
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
Pinch of saffron, dissolve d in 2 tbsp hot milk

Methods

In a pan, melt jaggery with 1/2 cup of water. Strain over a strainer to remove impurities.

In a frying pan, melt 2 tbsp ghee and fry the cashews and rasins till golden, Keep aside

In a deep bottomed pan, add 5 cups of milk and 2 cups water. Once milk started to boil add the rice moong dhal./. Cook till the mixture becomes mushy by stirring occasionally to avoid the milk from sticking on the bottom of the pan.  Remove from heat and mash the mixture using masher.

Boil the jaggery water and add the rice mixture to the jaggery water and stir well.  Reduce heat to medium and stir regularly till the mixture fully cooked.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the remaining 1 cup of milk and ghee. Stir well.

Add saffron soaked milk,edible camphor and cardamom powder. Stir well and remove from heat.

Garnish with fried cashews and raisins

Notes

Be cautious while adding edible camphor as they have a very strong flavor. A tiny bit is more than enough. Do not tempt to add a pinch it will ruin the whole akkaravadissal

Cucumber Mayo Sandwich

Cucumber ,mayo sandwich is my kutties favourite sandwich. Its so simple to make and can be ready in a jiffy. If you have cucumber,mayonnaise and bread your weekday breakfast are ready. Do not underestimate this simple sandwich as its refreshing and filling. For the extra kick i added a pinch of freshly ground pepper mayonnaise. and be generous with t. This delicious sandwich will make a perfect lunch box for kids and adult.

Ingredients

6 slices white bread
1  medium size cucumber
6 tbsp mayonnaise
1/3 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Methods

Wash and slice cucumber.

Generously spread mayonnaise on each slices of bread.

Arrange sliced cucumber on one side of the bread and sprinkle with pepper. Top with another bread and cut half.

Serve.

Salted Caramel Pancake

Pancake make most of our weekdays breakfast or weekends brunch and its kids favourite too. Its soft and fluffy and comes in different varities and shapes. You may drop in some blueberries for some blueberry pancake,strawberries or banana and even chocolate chips for a wonderful treat.Maple syrup is a must for pancakes for variation, i drizzled my delicious pancakes with generous amount of salted caramel and it tastes heaven.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup milk, room temperature
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
Pinch of baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
Handful roasted hazelnuts,chopped
1/4 cup salted caramel sauce

Methods

In a large bowl, combine flour,baking powder,baking soda,cinnamon powder,sugar and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

In another bowl, add oil,vanilla extract,milk and eggs. Whisk well.

Add the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix the batter to just combined. Do not over mix.

Heat skillet over medium heat and spray with non stick cooking spray. Pour a laddle full of the batter and cook till bubbles form and edges becomes dry approximately around 1 minute.

Carefully, flip the pancake and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer the pancake onto a serving plate.

Repeat the process with the remaining batter.

Drizzle generously with salted caramel sauce and sprinkle with roasted chopped hazelnuts.

Spiral Pasta With Tuna Bolognese

Pasta comes in many different flavours,colurs and shapes and one of it is the spiral tri-colored pasta which is a feast for eyes. This spiral pasta is my girls favourite for their colors and shape. As for me, the pasta holds the sauce perfectly well. We used to have pasta dishes for Saturday lunch often enough to the extent i made sure we always have stock in our pantry. Nowadays, pasta make it on our dining table even on weekdays for dinner as it is easy to get them done and spare me thinking what for dinner. You may serve them as its own or with toasted garlic bread and soup for a complete meal.

Ingredients

300 g spiral pasta
1 can tuna chunks in water
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 white onion,chopped
2 cloves garlic,minced
1 bay leaves
1 cup whole milk'
1 can whole tomatoes,finely chopped and reserve the sauce taste
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
Dash of freshly ground black pepper

Methods

In a deep bottom pan, boil water and season with salt. Add olive oil and stir. Add pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes al dente or as instructed in the package.

Drain the pasta and reserve the pasta water.

In a saucepan, melt butter and saute the onion till translucent. Add minced garlic and saute till fragrant. Add the tuna chunks and cook for another 1 minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes and the reserve sauce. Add the bay leaves and cook for 5-7 minutes on low heat. Add a ladleful of pasta water and milk. Stir well. Increase heat to medium and let the sauce simmer for 10 -12 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Place pasta on a serving plate and top with bolognese sauce.

Sprinkle with grated parmesan and serve hot