Month: January 2010

Cakes / Pastries / Cookies/ Bread/Muffins. · Kid Friendly Recipes.

Anubhavati – One Lovely Year & Delicious Eggless Nutty Banana Muffins!!!

Shoba13 Comments

Yes, it has really been a year today since I began Anubhavati…It has been a wonderful year for me, with another lovely addition in the family, and of course with Anubhavati….There have been countless  lessons learnt, friends made and so many wonderful moments enjoyed. It has also opened a whole new world of creativity in cooking, honing my photographic skills, lessons in patience ,perseverance and perfection. I decided to make a simple eggless banana and nut muffin, in an attemt to celebrate the day and a desperate measure to salvage the fast ripening bananas in my pantry.

I had already made an eggless banana cake earlier and this was another method of making them as easy bite sized muffins. I replaced one cup of All Purpose Flour and used Wheat Flour instead. The muffins came out moist and spongy in the inside, yet nutty and crunchy on the outside.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup All Purpose Flour.

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour.

Baking Soda – 1 1/2 Tsp.

Soft Brown Sugar – 1 1/2 cups not levelled. If you are using C&H white sugar, you could slightly lessen the quantity if needed.

2 Bananas pureed in the mixer with 2 tsp of water/milk.

1/2 cup melted margarine.

1 1/2 cups Hot Water.

Handful of Toasted/Raw Walnuts, Almonds.

1 Tsp Banana Essence / Vanilla Essence.

PREPARATION:

  • Measure out the required dry ingredients – the all purpose flour, wheat flour and baking soda and mix them in a bowl.
  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • In a cookie sheet, pop some walnuts and almonds and place them in the oven for 5 minutes to get them well toasted and crunchy. Set aside to cool.
  • Take a mini muffin pan and grease it with baking spray or oil.
  • Start with the wet ingredients  – In a mixing bowl, add melted margarine, banana puree, hot water, sugar, and banana/vanilla essence.
  • Mix in slowly to incorporate the ingredients.
  • Add the dry ingredients little by little taking care not to whisk briskly as this might rob the batter of  air that is needed to give it sufficient sponginess.
  • Lastly add the toasted nuts and give it a mix.
  • Using a small ladle, dole out equal quantities on to the muffin pans. We do this so we get equal sized muffins.
  • Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes. In certain brands of efficient ovens, the muffins bake in around 25 minutes. Keep a watch with the oven light on.
  • When you get browning on the top, and the time has crossed 25 minutes, keep a close watch and turn off the oven when neeeded.
  • Enjoy delicious Eggless Nutty Banana Muffins.

HINT:

The muffin pan can be easily replaced with an 8 inch round cake pan to get eggless banana cake.

Weekend Menu Combos

Weekend Menu #9.

Shoba4 Comments

This was a cold weeked with a little bit of sunshine here and there and I was in a mood to cook something special at home. My husband loves capsicums and my daughter hates them. So I had to make someting for a bit for both of them. So here goes…

Brisk Breakfast · Kid Friendly Recipes.

Mini Idlis in Sweet Curd – Kid Friendly Breakfast Options.

Shoba11 Comments

As a kid, I remember I would simply hate having Idlis for breakfast. In my opinion an Idli is simply a blob of plain dough steamed , with no inherent taste of its own. Ocassionally, I would force one or two down my throat by smothering them with sugar and ghee. As a teenager, my childhood preferences was still fresh in my mind and Idlis simply eluded me!!!  A year in to hostel life, and I was yearning for home made hot steaming idlis with

My daughter is always a sucker for Idlis and loves it in any form. So I make a lot of the mini bite sized idlis for her for a quick breakfast option. These mini idli moulds are so amazing as they transform an otherwise mundane dish to something so exciting and allows a lot of creativity. I picked these little moulds the last time I was in India.

INGREDIENTS:

Idli Batter.

Mini Idli Moulds.

Oil to Grease.

3/4 cup Curd.

Cane Sugar.

PREPARATION:

  • Grease the mini idli moulds with Gingely Oil and spoon out the batter on to them.
  • Place the idli plates in the pressure cooker and set the heat on HIGH.
  • When the steam has been coming sufficiently, set the flame to SIM and keep on stove for 8 minutes. No need to add weight.
  • Switch off the cooker after 8 minutes and allow a little more time before opening the cooker.
  • Place a spoon in a little cup of water. Sprinkle water on the Idli Plates and use this spoon to scoop out the mini Idlis.
  • Take out the serving cup and add the curd. Add 2 spoons of cane sugar and mix well.
  • Pop in the cooked Idlis and serve to your kids a tasty yet healthy breakfast.

Sending a bowlful of Idlis to Srivalli for her event – Kid Friendly Event  – Kids Delight – Wholesome Breakfast.

Kerala / Palakkad Recipes. · Naivedhyams/ Festival Offerings. · Poriyals / Kootu Varieties.

Thiruvadharai Upperi – Vegetables steamed and spiced with coconut chilli paste.

Shoba7 Comments

The complimenting Neivedhyam for Thiruvadharai Kali would be the Upperi or rather a version of select steamed vegetables, spiced generously with ground coconut and green chillies.  The Upperi as I remember is a combination of various tubers and roots that are combined and cooked to get the most delicious preparation. I remember as a child, when Thiruvadharai was around the corner, I knew a trip to the local crowded vegetable market at Ranganathan Street would happen pretty soon. Since the monsoons would have just finished, it would be a herculean task, just to walk in that crowded street. My friend would quip light heartedly that all one needs to do, was to stand at the beginning of Ranganathan street…the crowd would pull you to the very end!!! That said, one would hardly look forward to a weekend trip here, coming back with bagfulls of tubers and vegetables. Nevertheless, it had to be done…every year unfailingly, until, one day Madurai amma was convinced about buying it from  the vegetable man, pulling his own cart, quoting his own fancy price.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup chopped Raw Banana.

1/2 cup chopped Potatoes.

1/2 cup chopped Kavathu Kazhangu.

1/2 cup Flat Bean/Avaraikka slit in to 1 inch square pieces.

1/2 cup Koorkai / Chinese Potatoes

1/2 cup Mochai / Valor Lilva.

1/2 cup Sweet Potatoes.

1/2 cup fresh coconut.

4-5 green chillies.

2 spoons of coconut oil.

Turmeric.

Seasoning:

Mustard, Curry Leaves, Hing.

PREPARATION:

  • Remove the skins from  the potatoes, raw banana, sweet potatoe, Koorkai, Kavathu , wash and chop them in to slightly big one inch pieces.
  • Arrange them in the base of a cooker vessel.
  • Next arrange the valor lilva/mochai over the root tubers.
  • Now chop the Avaraikka / flat bean over the valor lilva and add enough water for the vegetables to cook.
  • We keep the root tubers at the base as they would need to cook more.
  • Add salt and turmeric and steam in the pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
  • Remove from cooker and allow to cool.
  • Grind the coconut and green chillies to a rough paste and set aside.
  • In a kadai, add coconut oil, mustard, curry leaves and hing and slowly add all the cooked vegetables without breaking them with the spatula.
  • Mix well for a couple of minutes and then add the ground coconut paste.
  • Allow a couple minutes for the coconut mix to spread on to the vegetables.
  • Offer Thiriuvadharai Upperi to the Lord as Neivethyam.
Brisk Breakfast · Kid Friendly Recipes.

Fun Foods for Kids – Double Flavoured Toasts!!!

Shoba7 Comments

It`s always a challenge making little treats for kids when they come home from school. It is also very important to combine in a meal, health and good taste. At home, any requests for junk food like chips etc are always entertained only combined with health foods like fruit, vegetables or dry fruits like raisins, dates etc. This time ,during Halloween  my daughter wanted a special multi coloured toast, depicting fall colours…so this was a quick idea that flashed my mind. She loves chocolate hazelnut spread and pineapple jam, so hey why not combine both together for a quick breakfast???

INGREDIENTS:

2 Loaves of toasted whole wheat bread.

One scoop of Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread.

One scoop of  Pineapple Jam.

PREPARATION:

  • Toast the bread as needed.
  • Smother one side of the prepared toast with pineapple jam in the shape of a triangle.
  • Spread the other side with creamy chocolate hazelnut spread.
  • Serve as is.
  • Kids love the interplay of flavours and colours and you have a quick breakfast finished on time.
  • Many times I place round slices of cucumber to complement the taste and for an even healthier option.

HINT:

Use your creativity and make as many variations as possible. As far as this dish is concerned, sky is the limit. I have listed a few options below:

  • Chocolate Hazelnut Spread & Peanut Butter.
  • Creamy Cream Cheese & Ketchup.
  • Ranch & Chat Sweet Sauce.
  • Strawberry Jelly & Cream cheese.
  • Apple Butter & Ranch.
  • Sweet mango chilli spread & Margarine.

This is one of the first of my entries to Kids Delight event at Srivalli`s blogpage SpiceyourLife.