Eggless Ragi Banana Cake

Eggless Ragi Banana Cake

Recently, I met up with one of my very close friends(D had a great time with you) who was visiting India ( she lives in Dallas US )...and we got to discussing the various grains and cereals and what is good and healthy...and can be used in a lot of our day to day cooking, baking etc...

One of those was amaranth...and while trying to get the Indian name for it we mistakenly referred to it as ragi...then later realised that it is not so...the actual name is rajagira...which is supposed to be very good, considered a superfood.

All this bought to fore my desire to move on to new methods and ingredients in my baking in my quest for a more healthy sweet or dessert...since we have tried unsuccessfully many a time to resist the sweet temptations.

So while browsing for recipes got a few using ragi ( nachani ) flour and was very impressed with a couple of them - one was a chocolate cupcake and the other a banana cake...
The latter won the toss mainly cause I had 3 bananas on verge of going to the bin if not used immediately...but I also wanted to try an eggless version and use sweetened condensed milk which was part of the first recipe....confusing right ....nyways the end result was a combination of parts of both.

Ragi is a cereal which is very nutritious, it is rich in  calcium, has a lot of dietary fibre, has a lot of iron, is a natural relaxant, and a host of other properties...

So after reading the above recipes I was quite keen to try it out - though I was unsure how it would be received by all at home, generally I do not have much takers for my "healthy attempts" ...but this one turned out so amazing - it was soft, delish (even with the reduced sweetness) and one could not make out that it was made without the regular flours...

Kansar - Sheera with Fada - Broken Wheat pudding - Daliya Sweet Dish

Kansar or Fada Sheera

This month was very hectic - in terms of the no. of visitors we had - generally our home could be likened to a very sleepy village or town - but the past few weeks you could compare it to a bustling metropolis....

I guess, visitors from the fair climes prefer to come when it is a bit cool here for them (winter for us here in Mumbai) - it makes their stay more comfortable - but this year it seemed that everyone we knew - friends & relatives had come at the very same time...

While it was fun to meet up with all - and we had rollicking parties every second day [as much as our creaking bones would allow :-)] - the biggest question was what do I prepare for each one of our visitors...what are their preferences ...likes, dislikes....

Yesterday T's b-i-l was to arrive in Mumbai...so some of his favourite veggies, dhebra, etc were planned ...and for dessert, I decided to make a sheera  from fada - that is broken wheat - or daliya as it is called, the actual name for this dish is Kansar -  pronounced like kasar...I think the 'n' sound is silent...but anyways when I looked up the net - I saw it was spelled as kansar...so that is what I have put up on my title...though I prefer to think of it as fada sheera.

Ok - so coming back to this dish - I have seen while it was being made in A'bad, by our very talented cook B...and read a few different recipes for the same - but I made it slightly differently...and I think it turned out pretty good (so did T's bil ), so I decided to post the recipe.

Eggless Low-fat Chocolate Brownie....or cake...or something in middle

Now this is a sort of repeat of one of my earlier posts, but had to put it down - could have done a update - but decided that it needed it's own space :-)

How it all started...

End of last year I had discovered a low-fat brownie recipe which I liked a lot - and as I mentioned in that post - it was not a proper brownie recipe -which is supposed to have a high proportion of fat to flour ...whereas that one was more cake like - and the term low-fat brownie is sort of an oxymoron...but as I said since it was such an amazing recipe - and I added a chocolate drink powder on top to give it an icing look - and turn it into a yummy desert...I had been thrilled with the end product and with myself... :-)

Anyways so yesterday we were invited to a sort of snack fest by one of our cousins - and I was to bring brownies with me to the do...now many in my hubby's family are non egg eaters...hence the search last night for an egg less brownie...
Turned up quite a few - but none as quick and easy as the earlier mentioned "low-fat brownie recipe"....so decided to innovate and turn that into a egg less recipe...

And again am so thrilled with the recipe and the end product and myself too... that I had to put it down in a post of it's own - to celebrate the success...

Low fat Chocolate Brownie / Cake / Something in middle...

Ok, So I am doing this after a very long time - by this I mean putting down my recipe....not sure why ....
I am generally rather thrilled when I plan to try out anything new and even more thrilled when the end result ( after all my changes ) comes out successful....

I start off with quite a bit of research on the net....take on a few of the best options (with regards to the recipes & it's ingredients) ....check out the pros & cons...and then generally try out one of them with a few of my own variations....
And if it turns out to be a winner - boy am I thrilled (as mentioned above)...and that's when I love to blab about it to anyone who will give me a ear...( or think of blogging...in case the first is missing). 

And that is the cause of my confusion - why the delay ??? in posting - but anyways now that I am here - let me get on with the recipe, this time it is the brownie that I was into...
Actually this is not my first...I have used the box mix many a time with beautiful results...this was way before I started  on my adventures with baking from scratch...with cakes, muffins etc...

I have also baked a sort of instant brownie - which was supposed to be a single serve...which was not bad ....but this was supposed to be full fledged recipe.

As I said I researched and found quite a few - more true to the concept of brownie than this one...but it all had a huge amount of butter, or oil, and sugar..and then I came upon this one...
The recipe said that it was low fat - that was the main attraction for me...as for the sugar - I had my own twist on that...
The only thing is that in most brownie recipes as opposed to cake the flour and butter proportions 1/2 cup is to 1 cup - whereas this really did not fit that category, hence does not fall into the true brownie category - but does it matter...
It is quite fudgy, chocolaty, yummy, delicious - call it what u want  - brownie, cake or anything in between....but do try it...bake it...enjoy it.....cause it is fantastic......and my secret to reduce the sugar ????...to make it more amazing....Dates !!!!
And a twist to an amazing icing on the brownie - Bournvita !!!! that is a chocolaty drink which we have at our place at all times...

So when my alterations to an already amazing recipe yielded even more amazing results - I had to put it down...
Could I have used the word "amazing" any more...well ....let me see.... :-)....

Date & Walnut Cake (Eggless)

Eggless Date & Walnut Cake

I was so sure that I had already put down this recipe in an earlier post, so decided to run a check on my blog for cakes...to my surprise did not find any entry...What?!?  cannot believe I did not post any cake recipes at all...well that is certainly not the case, so then....duh...guess what? somehow I had not put that down as a label at all, so had to do a more thorough check thru the dessert list and found I did have a chocolate cake down ( one of the many I make regularly )...but no entry for the above date cake - which is an absolutely amazing cake and one of my favourites.
Wondering however did I miss both the label cake in my blog and the post for this date cake...anyway set out to rectify both. 

So here I am, in the process of baking this once more ( this time at a request from hubby )...took some pictures of the final product - sorry do not have any of work in progress cause as I said - did not know that this was not down already in my blog...so anyways the next time maybe I might manage to get that too...

There are a lot of recipes for the same on the net... this one was adapted from one of them - have made the original one too but this is more moist and had a more intense date taste, due to increase in the no. of dates used.

I have passed on the date cake recipe to many and all have loved it, including my friend C who visited us the other day - she had come over for lunch and the dessert for that day was a rice & date kheer ( another recipe I really need to get down here ) - nyways this started her off on a discussion on the date cake - and how simple it is to make and how amazing it turns out, and how all her colleagues and friends with who she has shared the cake and recipe loved it....etc...

All this talk on the date cake made hubby long for it too...and hence the request for it ( not that I need a reason to bake it )...

Oh and did I mention that it is egg less - a boon for when I have to take something across for those of my friends and relatives who are vegetarians ( including C ).

Mango Panna Cotta

Mango Panna Cotta

Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk, sugar then mixing it with gelatin and allowing it to cool and set...it is served topped with  fruits, chocolate or chopped nuts...

Had read about this dessert and even checked out quite a few different recipes for the same...had also in my bookmarked list for an amazing looking mango panna cotta, but at that time it was not mango season here in India...and so it remained buried in my to do lists all this while....

Now the hot summer days are upon us...and mango season in full swing...this year's influx of mango has been reasonably good in terms of price and well as taste and quality...so we have all been relishing it.

T had also taken a trip to A'bad and bought back with him the most popular ras kairi, i.e. Kesar ( mango used mainly for it's pulp ). Along with Kesar kairi, his aunt also sent across leichi ( which is a paper thin roti, made in pairs then separated and folded ) - this goes very well with ras ( mango pulp ). A big thank you to G aunty....it was a delicious treat.

Well, we had a few Kesar's left and the most easy option was puri ras, but then T had some friends coming over to meet us, and I thought why not try this new recipe - though generally I am wary to try out new stuff with guests - you never know how it might turn out... right? - and then what do you do?....but then decided that with cream, milk, sugar and mango as it's main ingredients - there was not much that could go wrong...at the most it may not set properly - in that case it would be some form of ras, puddingy...thing...sort of thing...and since the taste is divine we could still eat it...

Eggless Carrot & Apple Muffins

Eggless Carrot Apple Muffins

The rain gods have really been showing their might the past few days, this in the month of September ...is most unusual - but then this year - the monsoon has been very weird - in the months of June to August ( when it should have been at it's peak ) it hardly rained - a few short bursts of rainfall and then hot & dry the rest of the time....we were all worried for our yearly water supply, which if the lakes were not filled would be short ....well now I think that problem should be taken care of....

But all this unprecedented rains is causing a lot of gloom....we generally tend to avoid going out - due to the roads being bad ( potholes etc...) and traffic slowing down...and being at home more than a couple of weekends brings in a feeling of claustrophobia...so it was with a sigh of relief that I greeted the news that we were going to meet up with some friends this weekend....some gupshup...some chai / shai...a welcome change.

So now that was set...my mind got whirring...what do I take with me....ran through my list of cakes/ muffins....our friends would prefer something without eggs...thought of my favourite eggless chocolate cake...but having made that a couple of times recently, decided against it, thought of a carrot cake - had a great eggless recipe ( had made it once before - my sister's friends had given it a thumbs up...awarded it the no. 1 place )...so went ahead with that plan...even started with the carrots...but then while going thru the recipes I had noted with me ( on the search for the above carrot cake recipe ) ....found this carrot & apple muffins....it also had coconut ( which I was keen on )...and there the capricious mind was hooked...

Apple muffins

Apple muffin

The original recipe given to me by my friend has applesauce in it...and even when I was in the US with easy access to that product, I never used it...would generally make do with Gala apples - the red delicious apples which we would regularly stock at home...

Back here in India - I use whatever I tend to have at hand...am not sure of the names of any of the varieties - one they call Chinese, the large one sold with a mesh cover, then another small red variety and another large red types...just shows how ignorant I am....not that it matters which one but generally for these muffins if using the Chinese ones which are pretty large I use one and half - whereas if using the small red variety - I tend to use 2...

While in US, I used to make these many times, somehow here I have broadened my scope of baking and keep trying out different recipes and have not really baked these as much...but it is one of my all time favourites - the flavours, taste, smell of these are more subtle than the banana muffins which have a more intense, in your face types,  taste & smell of bananas...
The delicate taste of apples as it comes thru when you bite into it...along with the aroma of cinnamon and brown sugar is something to relish.

So when we were invited to dinner along with my visiting sis-in-law and her hubby to a cousin's place, I decided to bake these apple muffins...it was her favourite muffin and so I thought she would enjoy it...and so would our hostess and her two lovely daughters...

The dinner was amazing, we also had a delayed Raksha Bandhan since both my husband's sister and cousin had not met my husband since then...it was a fun party with lots of jokes and remembrances of past Raksha Bandhan. B ( our hostess ) is a very lively person and keeps us all in splits with her take on all matters....so thanks to all of them  for the lovely time we had...

Sheera - Rava Halwa

We got good news today in the morning - my nephew ( brother's son ) had got admission in the college of his choice for engineering...and also got the stream he was looking for..electronics.

Nowadays the competition is so stiff with re. to schools, colleges, jobs...etc...regardless of how hard you work - you still have the stress when applying...and along with the kids, so do the parents, aunts ( in my case ), uncles, grandparents ( Mom & Dad )....well you get the picture !!!

So when we were all relieved of our nail-biting ( ?) tension, we decided ( me & Mom ...I was at her place at the time ) to celebrate with something sweet...( this was after our hugs and kisses )....

The first thing I could think of was sheera...actually not true I thought of a lot of other stuff - but either they required a lot of pre planning or preparation...or ingredients that I did not have on hand...so the easiest and quickest sweet that I could immediately whip up was sheera...

This is a dish which we all love, it is made many a time as a prasad when it is a festive occasion...sometimes we make it just to have as dessert after a special occasion meal...and sometimes just because... and sometimes cuz we want to have something sweet to eat...or like today to celebrate ...
We used to have it at times in breakfast instead of powa or dosa or upma - it would make a sweet change :-)
Whatever the reason or occasion - it is a quick and easy recipe and the results are awesome...

Sweet Appam

When we were kids mom used to make a lot of the typical Karnataka dishes both sweet and savoury...but slowly our cuisine changed incorporating a lot of Mumbai cosmopolitan flavours and tastes, our neighbours were a mixed lot and it was from them that she picked up new dishes, recipes, masalas etc...

Many of the south dishes are time consuming to make, most involve soaking, grinding etc...earlier most of our veg curries included coconut which had to be ground to a paste with other spices ( so the first step is to grate the coconut before even grinding)...and me and my brother and sister were pressed into service ...we had the old stone grinder ...where in we had to sit on the floor and rotate the oval stone in one hand over the base which had a flat portion and centre hollow...not sure I am explaining it properly enough - and do not have a picture of the same...suffice to say that it was not an easy task...but according to Mom it would not taste the same if ground in an electric grinder...
Even our idli and dosa batter were ground the same way...

Later we started using the electric grinder for all our tasks - age and lack of time contributed to the change ..I think....

But as I mentioned all these south delicacies reduced to quite an extent and our general fare was quick and easy meals....

Recently we moved from our apartment ( due to redevelopment of the building complex ) to another part of Mumbai...our new apartment was quite close to a cousin's place - my Dad's nephew V....his wife (A) is a very lovely lady who still makes all the traditional dishes of Karnataka and since we are now close by she drops in at Mom's place often with some dish in tow...
Mom relishes all of them...and it tempted me to try it out too...one of them being the sweet appam.

Rice Kheer

Rice Kheer

This plan happened in a very roundabout way...in the morning I started thinking about breakfast, lunch, dinner etc...as in what to prepare...what to organise..what I need...what I have...and such...

I had made some dosa batter...with rice, udad dal, ( the whole process...of soaking, grinding, fermenting etc..) ...had then proceeded to make dosa, sambhar, chutney for lunch a couple of days back...and had some leftover batter...so as I said in my thoughts was to use that up...and decided I would  steam it & voila we have dhokla....that decided on, was wondering what else with that...when hubby suggested kheer( hmmmm )....good idea - rice kheer goes really well with it....and that is how this post came about...made it ...took some pictures ...and decided to put it down...

With re. to kheer or payasam ( as we call it down south...er Southern part of India ) ...there are a lot of options, we make it with sabudana, rice, dal(s), vermicilli ( think I have covered most of it ) but with dhokla normally at my in-laws place it is made with rice...so that was what it would be today...

This is another very simple recipe ( my favourite kind )...and the end result ...awesome....and can be had just by itself, or with dhokla as we plan to later...or it could be served as dessert after a meal...any which way it is delicious...

Whole wheat Coconut Banana Mini Muffins

Mini Muffins

What again ??? This cause I was making my upmteen banana muffin or bread and also my third almost in a row coconut baked something....also have been using coconut quite a bit in other stuff, the most recent being the papad with coconut kosambari ( happala kosambari )....though according me to that does not count - it was a savoury ( spicy ) dish and not to be put in the same mould as a sweet one....

But as I said recently I had made a carrot cake ( which had been given a no. 1 star by my sister's work friends ), a coconut marbled cake / bread ( both recipes still to be posted ) and now this banana mini muffins with coconut...
well what do you do .....when you find a gem of a recipe you have to try it out ...right :-)

Well so here I am making this simple, very healthy ( whole wheat, no butter ), with some of my favourite ( banana, coconut ) ingredients...and very little sugar...so yes I am really thrilled...the occasion ...did not really need any...but had one handy...our friend was to pay us a visit ...it was not a sure thing...but I had to be ready  for him ???

Rave reviews Chocolate cake...in a Microwave

The day after....

Yesterday was my birthday ...and as I mentioned in my post of mocha muffins it was a hectic day of with phone calls, sms'es, FB msgs...and trying to do some special stuff in the kitchen in between all of these...

Then finally it was evening and my entire family got together - we had a great time - every one was eager to sample the baking - so even before the ceremonial cake cutting - the mocha muffins were disappearing quickly...it was proclaimed a success ( or maybe everyone was hungry.....no no it was truly amazing )...

Then came the cake...well what do I say...first of all the 'rave reviews part'  in the title ...they all come from my family - so you may think that they are biased...but you do not know my family...they do not hesitate to call a spade a spade...so if they like this - it has to be gooooood.....

Everyone was waiting eagerly...and finally the cake was  cut and served to all....my husband was eager to capture everyone's picture - so while I was serving or feeding the cake - he kept telling us "aam juyo", in gujarati it means "look here" - so that we could look into the camera for his shots....and the entire crowd being South Indian ( my side of the gang )...they all started saying "aam juyo" to each other and slowly the "aam" changed to "mango" - aam in Hindi means mango - the fruit...
So while T was taking the photos - everyone was calling out "mango juyo"...it was more funny then ...over there...and no ...there were no spirits involved......just high spirits :-)

Anyways ...the cake slowly disappeared too (after the mocha muffins )...& was proclaimed a big success too....
I have baked this many times - and had it appreciated by all...but somehow till date I have not had a chance to post this recipe...not sure why ...
So decided to do it...did not take any pictures of the said cake (too busy with all the phone calls I think ) - other than at cutting time...but had taken a picture of the cake made at an earlier time and have posted that here to give you all a glimpse too...this one did not have walnuts on top unlike the one made yesterday but never mind you get the idea.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

After I have written the title I do not think anything more needs to be written ...it is all said...mmmm....( well maybe the recipe, after all that is what this blog is supposed to be about )...hmmm...maybe I could put in a bit about the making & admiring & tasting...& admiring again...

The aroma of  the cookies has filled my house ...just absolutely love it....I think that is the reason I love to bake...just so as to have the house smelling so good...I know there are candles with that fragrance and can imagine that would be a good sell.

Our favourite cookies are oatmeal raisin cookies...and we would often buy a pack of them ....so when I decided to bake some, I went through quite a few recipes for the same...found some very healthy one - with honey and oats etc..did try it out....with disappointing results...not that the cookie was bad ...just not the same as what we were looking for...
Then I came upon this one from the "Joy of Baking" site...and it turned out to be amazing...the only thing I would change it the quantity of sugar - it could do with a little less.

This is good for a snack with milk or just by itself or after a meal for dessert...or if you are like me...just to nibble on and off... am wondering whether any will be left for others :-)

Manni .....Halwa from Karnataka



Manni

This is a sweet dish made predominantly in Karnataka...or rather it has come from there - now it is of course made the world over where all the Kannadigas reside..:-)

Each house has it's own version of the recipe....and there are quite a few that just like it the way it is made at their own or their mother's place...

The original recipe calls for rice, coconut or coconut milk and jaggery...along with cashews, raisins and cardamom...

My mom had modified the above to include a whole bunch of other things ...one to make it more healthy and second to utilize what is at home ( I think )....and we having gotten used to the way she makes it .... & do it the same way...
After making ( in huge quantities )  she used to pour it out onto plates and also 2 elliptical steel containers - so that once it had cooled we could cover with lid and take home...it made for convenient storage in the fridge and gave us our equal portions ( this is me and my sister - once we were married and had moved  out...)
So now I do the same....

So going back to the recipes given below are both ...

The first one is...

Ingredients :

1 cup rice - soaked for 2-3 hrs
1 cup coconut - grated
3/4 cup jaggery
1/4 cup cashews broken
1/4 cup raisins
2-3 pods of cardamom - crushed
2 tsps of ghee
a pinch of salt

Method:

Grind to a fine paste the soaked rice and coconut - then add jaggery, cashew, raisins and cardamom - along with about 5-6 cups of water....in a heavy bottomed pan.
Bring to a boil - then reduce heat and on low flame - keep stirring till it all comes together...Add the ghee, pinch of salt and stir till it is incorporated.
This entire process takes at least 30 - 45 minutes...
Once it is done - pour it onto a plate and cool - then refrigerate to harden - and cut into diamond or square shapes.

This is the simpler method - and the halwa is more light ....since it uses only rice...
Instead of coconut - some use coconut milk - in that case the rice is soaked and ground to a fine paste with a little water, then coconut milk is removed from 1 coconut - to get about 4 cups of coconut milk and it is mixed with the rice paste and jaggery and the process is the same as above.

At our place we used to make it with 1/2 rice and rava mixture...as below

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
1 cup rava ( sometimes 3/4 rava & 1/4 ragi )
2 cups coconuts grated ( some tender coconut was also added ) ( as I mentioned we would use what was available at home at the time of making )
1 cup of cream ( this was malai which was gathered from the milk and stored in the fridge for making of ghee )
1/4 + 1/2 cup cashew
1/4 cup raisins
8 - 10 cardamoms crushed
a pinch of saffron
1 and 1/2 cup of jaggery
1 tsp of roasted and then crushed fenugreek seeds.
1/4 tsp salt.

Method :

1) Soak rice for 2-3 hours. Then grind the rice along with the coconut & 1/4 cashew adding water as required till it is a fine paste.
2) Transfer to a heavy bottomed pan and add the cream of milk, 1/2 cup cashew chopped, raisins, jaggery, salt, fenugreek seeds powder.
3) Add about 8 cups of water in parts - first 4 cups of water and mix well and heat the pan on high flame till it comes to a boil stirring continuously...then reduce the flame and continue to mix.
(If during the grinding process a lot of water was used then you can reduce the above 8 cups to 6 )
4) After about 10 mins - add the balance water, cup at a time - and mix to incorporate - this is so that it can absorb it slowly and continue cooking.
Also add saffron and cardamom powder at this stage.
5) At this point you can do a taste test and adjust salt, sweet ( jaggery ) and even fenugreek seeds ......it should not be bitter - the fenugreek  just heightens the taste of coconut and jaggery.
6) The mixture should be stirred till it all starts coming together - then pour it onto big plates ( at least 2 ) or containers. Due to the cream - the plates needs no greasing...
7) Cool for about 1/2 hr - then refregirate and then cut into pieces and serve. You can decorate the top with either cashew or raisin.
Enjoy !!!

Coconut Ladoos with Milkmaid

 The easiest sweets that I have ever made are these coconut ladoos...which are so light, yet so full of flavour & taste that it is difficult to stop at just one...

It has been a hit whenever I have made them and wherever I have taken it....it is so simple to make ...that when anyone asks for the recipe (while thinking that I spent a lot of time & effort on it ) I am almost embarrased to let them know that that is not the case.

This recipe involves only 2 ingredients...when Nestle introduced Milkmaid in India (that is sweetened condensed milk ) - they also came out with a small recipe booklet ....this had a lot of dessert recipes in which their product could be used...had tried out quite a few at the time...and I feel that this is one of their best ...in terms of the simplicity of the process and time involved, and hence has been my all time favourite.

This is very good for festivals, post dinner if you require more than one dessert items, or just to take across to anyone's place when visiting...I have used them for all of the above...and here I go once again making it today to take for an office party.

So anyways to get back ...here's how you go about making it...

Ingredients :

1 can of 400 gms - Sweetened Condensed Milk
250 gms - Dessicated Coconut Powder

Method :

Take a non-stick pan.
Keep aside 50 gms of the coconut powder.
Mix the entire can of condensed milk and 200 gms of coconut powder  into the pan and keep it on a low to medium flame.

Keep stirring continously - do not allow it to brown ( the coconut burns very quickly if not stirred )
Once the mixture starts to come together - this will be in about 5 - 10 minutes - take the pan off the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes or so.
Put the remaining 50 gms of coconut powder in a large plate.

Make ladoos ( once the mixture has cooled sufficiently enough to hold ) taking small portions and roll between your palms - and then put it immediately in the plate and cover with the coconut powder.
Cool and the store...stays good outside for a couple of days - and in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days.
Enjoy !!!

Coconut Ladoos

This makes 25 - 35 ladoos depending on the size.

Sukhadi

The aroma of roasted wheat has filled the entire house bringing with it memories of Dasera spent at my sister-in-law's co-sister's place ...confused ?....

Well I am not sure whether it is a common term but in South the term co-sister is used for wives of 2 brothers...so my husband's sister whose brother-in-law's wife ...the one I am referring to here is her co-sister...

Now I think I am confused too....so anyways moving on...let's call her S....we had all gathered at  S's  place for Dasera and she had made the most amazing, mouth-watering Gud papdi or as it is also referred to as Sukhadi...

And even though we are all now conscious of what (& how much )sweets we have ....we could not resist it and it was soon polished off...

I asked her for recipe and have since made it many times with delicious results and here I go making it once more...while it is cooling on the kitchen counter I decided to log it in ...the recipe given below....

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup jaggery
1/2 cup ghee
1/2 nuts powdered - (optional) ( I used a mix of almonds and walnuts )
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
broken cashews to garnish

Method:
1) Melt ghee in a non-stick or heavy bottomed pan

2)Roast the wheat flour and powdered nuts together till it changes colour to reddish brown - it will also give a heavenly aroma at this stage - and you will also see the ghee starting to separate a bit.
This takes about 10-15 minutes approx.

3) At this stage add the jaggery ( jaggery should preferably be grated )
4) Stir till it is all blended well - you will see that the mixture starts coming together - switch of the flame and put the mixture in a greased thali or baking dish.
(After adding the jaggery - you do not have to keep it all flame for long - just till it all mixes in and the mixture comes together - about 1 minute.)

5) Sprinkle cardamom powder over it - cool it for about 10 minutes then cut into diamond shapes...decorate with cut cashew pieces...
6) Let it cool further completely before removing from the pan and storing it in an airtight container...
Enjoy !!!

Tips: You can put a little less ghee if you would prefer - but then you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of milk in the end for the sukhadi to hold it's shape...

The addition of powdered nuts is optional - but it does raise the level of the sukhadi and brings out the nutty flavour of the roasted wheat...besides increasing it's nutritive value.

First post....Banana walnut muffins

I don't know why I thought I could do this...have been thinking about it for a long time and decided to finally take the plunge...went ahead and started this blog...


Now I am getting cold feet ...it is difficult for me to ramble in print...I am too direct and get immediately to the point...[ it is a different story when I get talking...then there is no stopping me...or so I am told :-) ]


Anyhow...let me not prove myself wrong ( by rambling )...and get to my favourite muffin recipes...starting with banana muffins...they were one of the first things I baked...the recipe was given to me by a very close friend who was an amazing cook...we loved going over to their place for dinner or tea or anything...mmmm....


As a kid I do remember baking a few things with my mother ( bread, cakes ) - we had a very old style dome structure oven...do not remember what happened to it or why we stopped ......but after a very long hiatus I restarted .....and the taste of this moist and absolutely heavenly muffins bought back all those memories...esp. the smell of baking filling the house...making our mouths water, and waiting impatiently for it bake and then cool...so that we could dig in...

So getting back ...here's the recipe that I follow...



Ingredients:


3 large bananas
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar or demerara sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup walnuts chopped


Method :


Mash the bananas. Add the sugars, and lightly beaten egg.
Add the melted butter.
Add the dry ingredients.  Fold lightly - do not overmix, add the walnuts and put in muffin tin...bake at 375 for 20 mins...or till a toothpick inserted comes out dry...gives 12 muffins.


The original recipe called for 3/4 cup of white granulated sugar which I have changed as above...you could also use all brown sugar ...and the AP flour could be changed to half of AP and half whole wheat ...this will change the texture and taste of the final product but it still makes a very delicious treat...so go ahead and experiment...