Peanut Butter Apple Caramel Loaf

My fruits basket overwhelmed with fruits all because of my greediness and of course there is no meals without fruits in our household. Despite having fruits for all our three meals and snacking in between I still have few more apples to go.  There's where my elder Dandelion suggested to bake with them. Walla! I love the idea and here you go my caramel peanut butter apple loaf. We made a fresh batch of caramel sauce to drizzle over the loaf but this time opted for Himalayan pink salt instead of sea salt. It's a rice, dark sauce with a mild saltiness which,  goes well perfectly for drizzling on any desserts.

I used Royal Gala apple for the recipient,  you may use any sweet apple of your choice. If you prefer a bit of tanginess even Granny Smith is a good choice for the loaf.  It's a dense cake due to the delicious peanut butter in the recepi. The chunky peanut butter adds texture to the loaf and the crispiness of the baked apples enhance the flavor. The dark and gooey caramel sauce drizzled over the baked apple is simply irresistible.We enjoyed it with a cup of black tea as our tea time treat. 

Ingredients 

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 

1/2 cup unsalted butter,softened

2/3 cup chunky peanut butter

2 large eggs, room temperature 

1 red apple,sliced 

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder 

1/4 cup buttermilk 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

For The Caramel Sauce 

1/2 cup granulated white sugar 

1/4 cup whipping cream 

3 tbsp unsalted butter 

Generous pinch of Himalayan pink salt 

Methods

For The Loaf

Preheat oven at 175'c or 350'F. Line a 9"inch loaf tin with parchment paper. Keep aside. 

Wash, cored and slice the apples. Soak the sliced apples into a bowl of salt water to prevent from browning.

In a large bowl,  combine flour, baking powder and salt. Keep aside. 

Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the peanut butter,butter and brown sugar for 3 minutes till fluffy. 

Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla extract and beat for few seconds. Scrap the sides of the bowl. 

Using a spatula add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and gently fold in to combine.

Add butter milk and fold in till all the ingredients well cooperated.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the surface with the spatula.

Arrange with the apple slices and bake for 55-60 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

For The Caramel Sauce

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, heat sugar on medium-low heat. Do not stir. After few minutes the sugar will completely dissolved and turns to light amber color. Add butter and using a wooden spoon stir the mixture. Be cautious as the moment butter added,  the mixture will splatter.

Stir till the butter completely melted. Carefully add the whipping cream taking note splattering will happen during the process. Stir and boil for approximately 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the Himalayan pink salt. Stir and let it cool completely.

Remove the cake from oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for an hour. 

Drizzle with the caramel sauce, slice and enjoy.

Caramel Aval Payasam

 

This is my second day Navarathiri prasadham for the Goddess of our household. Caramel aval payasam as the name suggests made with caramel and beaten rice flakes or poha. I made pink palada payasam long ago which is similar to making caramel payasam thus, I decided to make the same with aval. It's not too sweet on the palate and yields a gorgeous rich caramel color. The trickiest part is to make sure the milk doesn't curdle. It can be done by turning off the heat while adding the milk to the caramel. Easy step but yet, tricky. I find it it's much safe to add milk to the caramel than carrying a hot pan of boiling sugar to the milk pot. Mishandling of caramel when it comes in contact will lead to third degree burn thus,please be extra careful. 

The payasam turns out really well and everyone enjoyed the delicious payasam. Loaded with ghee roasted cashews that enhance the taste of the sinful payasam and the aval gives the wonderful texture. Serve hot or warm and enjoy the rich flavor of caramel.

Ingredients 

1/2 cup aval/beaten rice flakes

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/3 cup water 

1/4 tsp cardamom powder 

2 tbsp ghee

5 tbsp granulated white sugar

10-12 cashews nuts,broken

Pinch of salt

Methods

In a pan, melt ghee over a medium flame and fry the cashews till golden. Keep aside.

In the same pan with remaining ghee,  roast the aval over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes. Careful not to burn. Keep aside. 

In a pan,  boil milk and keep aside. 

In a heavy bottomed pan over a low heat,  add sugar and simmer till the sugar completely dissolved and the colour change to dark golden resemble the colour of jaggery.

Immediately, off the heat and pour the boiled milk into the caramel.  Be careful as there will be some splattering will happen during the process.

On back the heat to medium and add the roasted aval. Stir and season with salt. 

Simmer the mixture for 7-9 minutes till the avalanche softened and the mixture slightly thickened. 

Off the heat and add the fried cashews.  

Serve hot or warm. 

Notes

• Do not stir the sugar while making caramel to avoid crystallization. 
• Be extra cautious in making caramel by, not to come in contact with the hot sugar as it will cause severe burn
• Always use wooden spoon while dealing with caramel as,  steel spoons will transform the heat. 

Mango Kesari

It's first day of Navarathiri marking the ten days of celebration and performing special pooja for the divine Mother. Special Pooh's comes with special neiveidhyam or offerings as well.  I wanted to make kesari, an easy sweet dish made of semolina loaded with ghee and cashews. Out of sudden, my eyes caught beautifully riped mangoes in my fruit baskets and the idea of adding the mango to my kesari striked. The combination sounds delicious and without wasting my time I found myself grinding the mango pulp and roasting the rava. 

No kesari colur needed as the beautiful yellow colur derived from the mango puree. The sweetness was perfect for my tastebud. The mixture gets thickened eventually while cooling and the generous amount of ghee,  yields a satin smooth and melt in mouth kesari.

Ingredients 

For Mango Puree

3/4 cup chopped mango pulp

1/3 cup granulated white sugar 

2 pods cardamom

For The Kesari 

1/2 cup rava/semolina

2 cups water

4 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp cashew nuts, roughly chopped 

Methods

In a blender, add mango pulp,cardamom pods and sugar. Grind to a smooth puree. Keep aside

Heat a non stick pan over a medium flame. Melt 2 tbsp of ghee and fry the cashew nuts till golden. Keep aside.

In the same pan, add rava and fry on medium-low flame till fragrant for 2-3 minutes and slightly change colour. Keep aside. 

In the same pan, add the water and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and gently sprinkle the roasted rava and stir continuously to avoid any lumps.  

Add the mango puree and stir well. Add the remaining 2 tablespoon of ghee and stir. 

Add the fried cashews, stir and simmer the mixture for 2-3 minutes and off the heat. 

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm or cold.

Madras Chicken Curry

 

I learnt many recepis during my traveling and one of those are this fiery Madras chicken curry. This mouth watering chicken gravy is too good till I couldn't resist than requesting for the recipient from my travel guide in India which is kind enough to get it for me (God knows where he found the recepi) but, I shall say it tastes wonderful. If you can't tolerate the heat,  adjust accordingly to your preference. The gravy has a tiny bit of tanginess from the vinegar and tomato puree. Goes really well with white rice, flavored rice or chapati. To balance the spiciness serve along raita and enjoy.

Ingredients 

1 kg chicken, cut into pieces

3 medium sized onions, choppedMI

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp Madras chicken curry powder

1/2 tsp chilly powder

1/2 tap turmeric powder 

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp coriander powder 

1 tsp cumin powder 

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds 

3 green chillies,slitted

2 dried chilly,torn

1 sprig curry leaves 

1 tsp kasthuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves,crushed

2 tbsp coriande leaves,chopped

2 cups water

2 1/2 tbsp white vinegar 

Salt to taste 

2 tbsp gingerly oil

Methods

In a large bowl, marinate the chicken with turmeric powder,chilly powder, curry powder, vinegar, ginger garlic paste,cumin powder, coriander powder,crushed kasthuri methods and salt. Keep aside for 30 minutes.

Heat gingely oil in a wok and add mustard seeds. Once mustard seeds splutters add cumin seeds,dried chilly, curry leaves and saute for 5 seconds. 

Add chopped onions and saute till golden brown. Add in the green chilly and fry for few seconds.

Add the marinated chicken and fry for 5 minutes.

Add tomatoe puree,garam masala and water.  Stir and simmer with lid on for 35-40 minutes. 

Cook till the chicken done and the sauce thickened. 

Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with white or flavored rice. 

Sweet Potato Chutney

This is my first time making chutney out of sweet potatoes. The idea striked in when I ended up with way too many purple sweet potatoes which I bought out of impulse 😆. When your stock are overloaded that's the time we'll be creative and find a way to use them to the maximum, almost in anything and everything. That's how the idea of sweet potato chutney came into the show.

I used purple sweet potatoes for the recipient and was amazed upon landed with bright orange chutney instead and found out the Kashmiri chilly done the trick. Tadaa...magoc do happen in the kitchen in my case, in the blender 😉. Kashmiri chilly have a bright colour and usually use for it's colour alone.  Do not taken aback with the vibrant colur as,  Kashmiri chilly unlike ordinary chilly not spicy at all (atleast for me). I'm happy I tried the chutney as it was, rich, delicious,smooth and creamy. Goes very well with dosa,idli or panniyaram.  

Ingredients 

2 medium sweet potatoes 

5 tablespoon grated coconut 

6 dry red chillies,torn

2 Kashmiri chillies,torn

1 medium onion,sliced

4 cloves garlic,sliced

1 1/2 tbps tamarind paste 

Salt to taste

For Tempering

1 sprig curry leaves

2-4 chillies (small chillies) 

3 tbsp urad dhal

Pinch of asafoetida

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Methods

Wash and poke the sweet potatoes. Boil till soft and tender. Drain and run cold water over the sweet potatoes. Peel off the skin and cut into pieces. 

Heat 2 tbsp gingely oil and saute grated coconut,onion,garlic,Kashmiri chillies & dry red chillies for 2-3 minutes. Keep aside to cool. 

In the blender add the sauteed ingredients,sweet potato pieces and little water. Grind to a coarse paste. 

Add tamarind paste and salt.  Grind to a smooth fine paste. Transfer the mixture into a bowl. 

In a pan,  add remaining 1 tbsp gingerly oil and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter,  add urad dhal,curry leaves, asafoetida & torn chilly. Saute for few seconds.

Pour over the tempering to the ground sweet potato mixture. Stir and serve with dosa,idli or paanniyaram. 

Rava Dates Panniyaram

 

I have shared few panniyaram recepi in my blog both,  sweet and savoury. Pennsylvania can be served for breakfast or as tea time snack. Usually, I'll use special paniyaram mould to which will give the beautiful puffed up round shape but,  this time I deep fried them and simply love it.  Pennsylvania comes in many variations with added banana,jackfruit,dry fruits or nuts or even savoury version. That's how versatile panniyaram are. 

This time around, I added grated coconut and dates to the batter. Do not taken aback with the deep dark colour, it was due to the dates and jaggery syrup. The coconut and chopped dates enhance the taste to the simple batter. The tiny bits of semolina adds texture to the delicious panniyaram.  

Ingredients 

1 cup semolina/rava

1/2 cup chopped dates 

1/2 cup grated coconut 

1/2 cup yogurt

3/4 cup whole milk

1 tbsp melted jaggery syrup/brown sugar

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

1/4 tsp salt

Oil for deep frying 

Methods

In a large bowl,  add semolina, salt, cardamom powder and sugar. Stir to combine. 

Add grated coconut,chopped dates, milk and yogurt. Mix well. 

Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Using a tablespoon, gently drop the batter to the pan and fry on medium heat on both sides till done. 

Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Serve hot with tea or coffee. 

Lemon Chia Seeds Individual Loaf

With the help of my little Dandelion, I baked this gorgeous individual  lemon chia seeds cake on weekend as our tea time treat. I baked lemon poppy seeds bundt cake months ago and decided to give it a try with chia seeds this time around. To my surprise it turns out absolutely wonderful and I'm truly impressed with the soft and spongy cake. Instead of individual loaf you may bake them in single loaf tin which works good too. 

The whole house filled with "lemony" aroma kind of refreshing aromatherapy and the sweet fragrance coming out of hot oven are indeed amazing. The tiny bits of chis seeds popping in mouth on every bites adds texture the gorgeous cake. You may dust the cake with confectioners sugar or drizzle with simple icing but I prefer mine naked 😄.

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp lemon juice 

2 1/2 tbsp chia seeds 

1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest

Methods

Preheat oven at 350'F or 175'C. Greased individual cake mould and keep aside. 

Combine flour,baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.  Keep aside. 

Using a stand or hand mixer, cream sugar and butter till pale and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition.

Beat in lemon juice and lemon zest. Add half of the flour mixture and beat. Add chia seeds and yogurt.

Using a spatula, stir in the flour mixture till no flour streak can be seen.  Do not overmix.

Divide the batter evenly into the greased mould and bake for 50-55 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool on the pan for 8-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Purple Sweet Potato Balls With Sesame Seeds

Out of greediness I bought quite too many purple sweet potatoes during my roadtrip to a secluded Chinese village. The sweet potatoes are homegrown and no pesticides been used somehow, it's organic. More reason to get them in bundle right. So who can blame me 😄. The sweet potatoes are fresh and firm with a very mild sweetness.  Perfect for steaming and enjoy on it's own or for making kuih or snacks and that's what I did. I steamed them for lunch and made authentic Chinese deep fried sweet potato balls coated with sesame seeds. 

Always remember, the ratio of glutinous rice is based on the brand of the flour. Some brands required very little amount to bind the mixture and some might be a little more. Always adjust the amount to form a right consistency. The dough shall be firm to hold a ball shape. Do not overcrowd the pan while frying the balls as it will decrease the heat and will end up with uncooked dough. With all this minor steps, your goey,crispy sweet potatoes balls are ready to be enjoyed.

Ingredients 

250g purple sweet potatoes

3 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup glutinous rice

5 tbsp white sesame seeds 

Pinch of salt

Vegetable oil for deep frying 

Methods

Wash and using a sharp knife give a few slit on the sweet potatoes.

In a pot, heat water and boil the sweet potatoes till soft and tender. Drain and cover with cold water for 5 minutes. 

Drain the water and peel off the skin. Using a masher. Mash the sweet potatoes till fine. 

Add the glutinous rice, salt and sugar.  Mix well to form a firm dough. 

In a bowl dilute 1 tbsp glutinous rice with 3-4 tbsp water. Keep aside. 

Add sesame seeds in a bowl and keep aside. 

Pinch a small dough and roll it into ball. Dip the ball into diluted glutinous rice mixture evenly.

Roll the dough onto the sesame seeds to cover completely. Place in a tray. 

Repeat the process with remaining dough.

Heat oil in medium-low and gently fry the sweet potato balls into batches. Do not overcrowd the pan. Stir gradually for frying evenly.

Transfer the balls into a tray lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Serve with a cup of hot black tea.

Pillayar Patti Mothagam

Vinayagar chahurthi is my most favorite festival in the world. Grand celebration is a norm in our household with cleaning,decorating and of course the food.  From morning till evening we'll be busy in the kitchen to dish out prasadham for Lord Ganesha and I try to come up with variations. One such encounter is this mouth watering Pillayar Patti mothagam served as prasadham in Pillayar Patti temple in South India.  Sweet, filling, delicious and absolutely different from the ordinary mothagam.  I used deep dark in color jaggery which resulted in the beautiful brown colour. If you are using Bellamy the colour will be lighter and looks good too without compromising in taste. I hope everyone had a wonderful Vinayagar chahurthi.  May Ganesha bless us all with wisdom, health and wealth 🙏.

Ingredients 

1 cup raw rice 

3/4 cup jaggery

1/4 cup moong dhal

3 tbsp freshly grated coconut 

1/4 tap cardamom powder

2 & 3/4 cups water

1 tbsp ghee & more for greasing

Methods

Dry roast moving shall till golden. Keep aside. 

Dry roast raw rice for 2-3 minutes. Keep aside to cool completely.

In a blender, combine both moong dhal & roasted rice.  Grind to a coarse powder. The mixture shall resemble like semolina or rawa.

Dissolve jaggery with a cup of water and strain to remove impurities. Keep aside to cool. 

Add a tsp of ghee in a frying pan and roast the rice mixture for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. 

In a pan add the strained jaggery water and remaining 1 3/4 cups water. Bring to a boil.

Add the rice mixture to the boiling Jagger and stir to combine. Close with lid and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 2-4 minutes uncovered. 

Once the rice softened, add the remaining ghee and stir till the mixture form a huge mass by leaving the sides of the pan. Pinch a small portion of the mixture and form a ball,  if it forms easily the texture is correct. Add grated coconut and cardamom powder.  Stir well and switch off the heat. 

Let the mixture to cool completely. Grease hands with ghee and pinch a lemon sized of the dough and start to form into balls. 

Place on a plate greased with ghee and stream for 10 minutes. 

Serve warm. 

Kothu Parotha

This one recepi is what you shall give it a try whenever there's left over parotha. Kothu parotha is a popular Indian street food which loved by many.  In my neighborhood, we have an Indian restaurant which serve one of the best kothu parotha I ever tasted.  Salna or gravy is what makes a delicious kothu parotha. The restaurant's salna is the best. We simply love the kothu or literally means pounding which refer to the pounding action of the parotha on a hot kadai. You know someone ordered kothu parotha from the loud sound of metal spatula pounding the mixture on hot kadai. 

My nephew is an ardent fan of kothu Partha and I made my own at home to surprise him. Thanks to my left over chicken gravy which works wonder as salna for the parotha. Other spicy gravy like mutton or fish goes well as salna too.  Filling, delicious and absolutely stress buster kothu parotha got a thumbs up from my nephew and I'm a one happy aunty 😄.

Ingredients 

2 pcs parotha,torn into pieces

1/2 cup left over chicken or mutton gravy

1 pc fried chicken drummet,torn into pieces 

2 eggs,beaten

1 green chilly, chopped 

1 medium onion,chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped 

1 sprig curry leaves 

1/2 tap ginger garlic paste

1/3 tap chilly powder 

1/4 tap turmeric powder 

Pinch of garam masala

1/2 tsp lemon juice 

Salt to taste

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves 

2 tbsp oil

Methods 

In a flat heavy bottomed Kasai, heat oil on medium flame and saute onion,curry leaves and green chillies for 2-3 minutes.

Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 1 minute. Add chilly powder and turmeric powder. Saute got another 1 minute. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till the mushy approximately for 3-4 minutes.

Make a well in the center of the kadai and add the beaten egg till half cooked. Stir the scrambled egg with the tomato mixture to coat well. 

Add the torn parotha,fried chicken pieces and salna (gravy). Stir well to combine. Using a metal spatula start mincing the mixture with pounding action. Keep mincing for 3-4 minutes. 

Season with salt, lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. Mince well to combine. 

Transfer to serving plate and enjoy hot. 

Cashew Milk

Tired of ordinary fresh,skimmed milk?  Need something new and tasty?  It's time to get your hands on nutritious cashew milk packed with zinc, iron, photasium & magnesium for your family to enjoy. Safe to consume for kids and adults who are not having any nut allergic issues. I made a reasonable amount of cashew milk to replace my fresh milk for my chai/tea and it tastes awesome. The same cashew milk enjoyed by my girls for their breakfast replacing their morning milk and they absolutely love the rich and creamy texture of the delicious milk. 

Soak your cashew to help with easy grinding. You may skip the straining process if you prefer to have a bit of cashew pieces in your drink.  Otherwise, the remaining bit of cashews after straining can be added curries to enhance the taste of the gravy. Cashew milk goes well with morning cereals or even as it own. 

Ingredients 

1 cup raw cashews

4 cups water,  divided

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp honey

Pinch of salt

Methods

Soak the cashews with water for overnight or at least 4 hours.  Drain and and add into a blender with 2 cups of water.  Blend for 2 minutes. 

Add another 2 cups of water, honey, vanilla extract and salt. Blend till all the cashews are well grind. 

Prepare a clean muslin cloth and strain  the milk. 

Store the milk in a covered container and refrigerate. Stays good up to 3-4 days.