Sandhya's Kitchen

Nov 30, 2009

Methi Corn Pulav

One of my quicky n easy pulav recipes I often make is what I would love to share with all today. Methi Corn Pulav goes quite well with just a Raitha . I had made Kanda - Aloo (Onion - Potato) Raitha to go with it.

INGREDIENTS:

ChoppedMethi	: 1 Cup
Sweet Corn	: 1 Cup
Sliced Onions	: 1 Cup
Ghee	: 2 Tsp
Crushed Green Chillies	: 1 Tsp
Salt	:To Taste
Whole Garam Masala
Cloves	3-4 Nos
Bada Elachi	1 Nos
Cinnamon Stick	1"
Star Anise	1
Bay Leaf	1
Jeera (Cumin Seeds)	1/2 Tsp
Rice	: 2 Cup
Water	: 4-4.5cups

DIRECTIONS:

Lets get started with the process.
Wash the Rice and keep it aside for 30 minutes. Just as the name , the 2 major ingredients that goes in this recipe is Methi n Corn. I have used sliced onions to give us an additional flavour.

In 1 tsp of ghee , add the whole garam masala's (jeera, clove , bay leaf , cinnamon , star anise and cardamon(opional) , bada elachi. Once they get heated , add the sliced onions , crushed green chilles with a pinch of salt. This will quicken the process as the water evaporates faster.

Add the chopped methi and saute it for 2 minutes. Needless to say , wash & dry the methi, pluck the leaves and chop them .

Add the sweet corn to this mixture and saute for another 2 minutes. I have used frozen corn here.

Add the soaked rice & required salt and fry it for 2-3 minutes.

Now add 2 wice the amount of water and allow it to boil.

Once the water is nearly evaporated , cover the pulav with a lid and cook for 5 minutes in low flame. After 5 minutes turn of the gas and keep it aside. Add a blob of ghee if you like over the top.

Serve them hot with Raitha for dinner just like I did.

Cheers

Nov 26, 2009

Eggless WholeWheat Apple Cinnamon Muffin

Finally did it!! Yeah .. A full Healthy Muffin... No Plain Flour , No Eggs , No Butter ....

This is my first happy baking muffin ..Normally there is a little guilt while doing the muffin .. Its for the ingredients.. of butter ,eggs n soo on.. I have been really excited this time about the end results and the making. Now that we know wot goes in the making of our regular yummy muffins . Any healthy change gives us total satisfaction.. I have been wanting to do an eggless version of muffins.. so that I cud treat my parents n inlaws with them next time.. when I travel to India... Then I thought.. why not do a Whole wheat version.... A little more healthy.. lets give it some flavour.. Hmmm... How about Apple n Cinnamon... Gave this muffin a total twist with a flavour... I just loved it...
Do try it and enjoy my healthy Muffin.. and let me know ur view on it :)

Updated:

I have created a new page and updated all my awards here .

INGREDIENTS :

Dry Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour (Chapathi Flour)	: 1 Cup
Baking Soda	: 1/4th Tsp
Baking Powder	: 1 Tsp
Light Brown Sugar	: 1/2 Cup
Cinnamon Powder	: 1 Tsp
Apple	:1 medium sized peeled n diced into small pieces

Wet Ingredients :

Milk	: 1/4 cup
Low fat stirred Yogurt	:2 Tblspn
Vegetable Oil( I have used Sunflower Oil)	: 1/4th Cup

Topping :

Cinnamon Powder	: 1.5 Tblspn
Brown Sugar	:1 Tblspn

Most muffins are on a trial run .So I end up making only 6 of them..

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Line the the muffin tray with Muffin Paper.
Combine all the dry Ingredients except Apple pieces & mix well in a bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl ,Combine the Wet Ingredients together using a wisk .
Incorporate dry ingredients into the wet Ingredients slowly and blend well using a spatula so that there are no lumps. Incorporate the apple pieces in the mixture and mix gently .Fill cups 2/3 full.
Sprinkle tops of muffins before baking with a combination of White Sugar and Cinnamon Powder.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan. Serve warm with Tea.

KITCHEN NOTES :

Let the batter be of a thick consistency and not be running. Add a tsp of yogurt or milk if the batter gets very Thick or too dry.
This muffin was very soft even the next day. I had it for my breakfast along with my morning Tea.. Thoroughly enjoyed it...

Cheers

Nov 24, 2009

Tried n Tasted - Pound Cake & Choco Biscuits

Love the color , Love the simplicity of its taste , Love it for the way it is ! The Pound Cake.
2 weeks ago , we were invited to a friends place for a dinner to celebrate their newest arrival's 3rd month Birthday... Until the kids turn 1 , we just cherish every moment and love to celebrate any milestone.
So decided to make this special ones birthday a little more spl with a Pound Cake and some Condensed Milk Cookies.
They loved it ... Infact half was over in a day at home & rest of it , the baby's mother finished it the next day. :) She anyways doesnt have to worry about calories and fat ,coz she is still feeding .

Isnt it delicious.. Well Well.., I have no intentions in taking any credit for this Pound Cake recipe . I got the recipe from here.

Updated : My Version for the Pound cake.
I have eliminated the use of Salt and also used low fat condensed milk in the process.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 cups Plain Flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter plus more for greasing the pan
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup Low fat sweetened condensed milk
3 large eggs

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven 325 F. Generously butter an 8 1/2x 4 1/2 loaf pan and set aside.
Sift together dry ingredients -Flour & Baking Powder and keep it aside.
In a medium sized bowl ,add Butter(at Room Temperature) ,sugar and vanilla extract and whisk well with a hand blender.
Now incorporate one egg at a time and blend well again. Add all the condensed milk at a strech and pulse the hand blender few times.
Add the sifted dry ingredients and pulse until no traces of flour remain, about 10 times. Make sure the dry ingredients are incorporated well and a smooth batter is obtained.
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Bake until the top is dark golden brown and a tester/skewer/fork inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Incase it does not come out clean , bake for some more time.
Cool completely in the loaf an on a rack, then unmold.

CONDENSED MILK BISCUITS

I had about 1/2 can of condensed milk left over from the Cake .. and was wondering wot to do.. Thats when this post on chocolate-hearts from Sushma's blog popped up.
Just did a little a variation by not adding nuts & used dark chocolate chips instead of milk ones.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup Butter
11/4 cup maida
2 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup Dark Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all the above ingredients and obtain a smmoth dough. Add more Plain Flour if the dough is sticky.
Now roll the dough and cut it in the shape of gingerbread with a cookiecutter.
Bake it in preheated oven at 180'c for 10 to 15 minutes or till it is slightly brown on the edges.Cool it on a wire rack .

KITCHEN NOTES :
The cake was moist n fresh for 4 days when stored in an airtight container.
I got a feedback from neighbour granny that the biscuits were fresh and delicious.. even after 2 days:)

Cheers

Nov 18, 2009

From the Diwali Feast

Uh.... Its been quite sometime I have been waiting to complete this post . As promised in my Diwali post, bringing you 2 guest posts from my 2 very good friends. I just love their variety n love the simplicity with which they make the food even more yummier.

DRY GOBI MANCHURIAN:

Recipe Courtesy & Cooked by Lavanya

Picture by Sandhya

INGREDIENTS:

Cauliflower (Gobhi)	:1
Plain Flour (Maida)	: 3/4th Cup
Corn Flour	: 1 tsp
Salt	: to taste
chopped green chillies	: 2
sliced garlic	: 2
Ginger Garlic paste	:1 tsp
Red chilly powder	: 1 tsp
Finely chopped Onions	: 1 cup
Ajinomoto	: ¼ tsp
vinegar	: 1 tsp
Soya Sauce	: 2 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup	: 2-3 tbsp
Oil	: to fry

DIRECTIONS:

Make a batter of maida, corn flour, red chilly powder and salt using water. Add ginger-garlic paste to the batter.
Dip the gobhi florets in the batter and deep fry till golden brown. Keep aside.
Heat oil in another pan and add garlic, chopped onions and green chilli to it.
Now, mix aginomoto, viniger, soya sauce and tomato sauce to it. Fry till oil seperates.
Add fried Gobi kept aside and mix well. Garnish it with spring onions or corriander leaves.

VEGETABLE RICE :

Recipe Courtesy & Cooked by K Gayathree.

Picture Courtesy by Sandhya

INGREDIENTS:

Basmathi Rice	: 2 Cups
Mixed Vegetables	: 1.5 Cups
Ginger Garlic Paste	: 1 Tblspn
Spring Onions	: 2 stem
Soya Sauce	: 2 Tsp
Vegetable Stock	: 2 Nos
Salt	:To Taste
OIl	: 2 Tsp

DIRECTIONS:

Preparation:

Wash, drain the basmathi rice and keep it aside for atleast 30 minutes.
Chop vegetables of your choice & keep it aside. I have used Carrots, Beans , Peas, Onions. Either microwave the vegetables or open cook them leaving the onions aside.
Chop spring onions finely & keep it aside.
In a large pan , add twice the amount of water for the rice measurement. Once the water boils , add the vegetable stock , a pinch of salt and rice. Cook in medium flame. Once the water is nearly about to evaporate , cover the rice pan with a lid and cook for 5- more min in fully low flame. Turn of the gas and allow it cool down a bit.

Method:

In 2 tsp of Olive Oil , Add Ginger garlic paste . Saute them for about 1 minute .
Add Red onions & spring onions and stir them for few minutes until they get translucent.
Now add the cooked vegetables and mix them well. Add Soya Sauce & required salt and stir them well. Turn of the gas and keep them aside.
Now add the rice to the vegetable mixture and stir well until they are well incorporated.
Serve hot with Gobi Manchurian or Raitha.

Cheers

Nov 14, 2009

Gajar ka Halwa - Indian Carrot Pudding

Talk of an Indian Dessert, something that pops in our mind is Gajar Ka Halwa. This is such a wonderful sweet , irrespective of diversity in Indian Culture ,it is quite popular and commonly prepared in every household all over on festivals. I chose to prepare this dessert for this Diwali .
This sweet could be prepared in a variety of ways - the traditional way of cooking for long hours , Microwave Method ,With Condensed Milk , Pressure cook method and so on.
I present to you more or less a traditional way of preparing this Indian Carrot Pudding from my Diwali feast.

INGREDIENTS

Carrots	: 1.2 Kg
Full Fat Milk	: 1 l
Low fat double cream	: 250 Ml
Sugar	: 1.5 Cups
Fresh Ghee	: 4-5 Tblspn
Crushed Cardamon	: 4-5nos

For Garnishing

Handful of Cashewnuts
Handful of Almonds
Ghee for roasting.

DIRECTION

Preparation :
Wash , dry & peel Carrots & grate them on from the bigger side of the grater.
Soak Almonds in Hot water for nearly 2 hours and peel them.
Chop Almonds & Cashewnuts length wise ,fry them in ghee and keep it aside.

Method:
In a thick bottom non stick pan , add Grated carrot and Milk together and allow it to cook on low flame for nearly about 40-45 min with gentle stiring occasionally.
Once the milk begins to condense , add the double cream & sugar .
Allow it cook till the sugar has dissolved and all the milk, cream has been absorbed.Make sure to stir in between.
Add 4-5 tblspn of ghee & crushed cardamon (elachi) and stir for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the gajjar halwa from heat and arrange in a serving dish. Garnish with roasted almonds( Badam) & Cashewnuts.

Gajar ka halwa tastes good when served warm or cold. Many people love this delicacy with a scoop of Vanilla Icre cream.
This recipe should serve approximately 12 for dessert.

KITCHEN NOTES:
My mother would wait and buy the Red carrots for preparing this delicacy. Color of the halwa is just worth the wait.
I prefer to use fresh ghee by melting fresh butter for this preparation.
I love to add the almonds& cashewnuts in each cup before serving. This is to avoid soggyness and keep it fresh.
Gajar ka Halwa need not be stored in fridge. But in very warm places, it is advisable to store in the fridge.

Cheers

Nov 10, 2009

Paneer Tikka

Weekend is the best time to try new variety food... After blogging for a while , I always prefer to do a variation in my cooking. Morever I wanted to treat 2 big boys - H & his friend yesterday who helped me doing quite a bit of chopping of vegetables for the week. With mylil one around , it is fairly getting difficult to chop vege's finely on a day to day basis... So this was our first trial week for chopping in advance.

We picked up farm fresh peppers from the market on the Kingston High Street.. Cant believe he sold me 13 peppers for a 1£ when any other popular grocer like Tesco, ASDA sold them for 60p each. Wot better treat could be rather than PANEER TIKKA full packed with Paneer( Indian Cottage Cheese) and Peppers.

INGREDIENTS:

Paneer	: 250 gms chopped into 1" square. Got 16 pieces.
Green Pepper	: 1 medium sized chopped into 1" square
Red Pepper	: 1 medium sized chopped into 1" square
Yellow Pepper	: 1 medium sized chopped into 1" square
Onion	: 1 medium sized chopped into 1" square

FOR MARINATION :

Low Fat Yogurt	: 1 Cup
Turmeric	: 1/4 Tsp
Red Chilli Powder	: 1 Tsp
Cumin(Jeera) Powder	: 1 Tsp
Coriander Powder	: 1 Tsp
Dry mango powder (amchur)	: 3/4 Tsp
Salt	: To Taste
Black Salt	: 1 Pinch
Pepper Powder	:1/2 Tsp
Fresh Ginger Garlic Paste	:2-2.5 Tsp
Corn Flour	: 1 Tsp

FOR SETTING THE PLATTER

Onion Rings	: 3 pieces
Lemon Slice	: 1

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare a marinade by combining all the marination ingredients above .
Drop the Paneer Squares and the vegetable Squares separately in the marinade and keep them aside for 30 minutes.
Take a wooden skewer, thread them with Paneer and alternative vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, place the skewers on a greased tray or on a rack and grill them for 12-15 minutes or till golden from all sides.
Serve hot with with Green Chutney n Tomato Ketchup. Arrange the platter with onion rings , lemon wedges and with a drizzle of lemon juice over the Tikka.

KITCHEN NOTES :

I am sure many of us must be on my plight when started baking .I did not know what a skewer is . I used to use a fork to check if my baking is done properly.Later I realised after window shopping that A skewer is a wooden stick.
For Paneer Tikka ,we need to place them between 2 edges of a baking tray so that it doesnt touch the bottom of the tray & stick. Always greese the tray on which we place the skewer coz the marination tends to leek and will blacken.
Before compiling the final recipe for Paneer Tikka , I browsed quite a lot of websites, blogs and came to the final understanding that,

We can deep fry the marinated Paneer Tikka .Place these skewers in the heated pan and cook till golden on all sides.
Alternatively we can also do it in a conventional microwave oven by cooking in high power for 15 minutes. Checking the progress in between.
Most popular method is the grill it oven for 15 minutes.

Cheers

Nov 8, 2009

Tomato Salsa

A packet of tortilla chips has been lying in my grocery storage for the last 1 month.. and craving for attention. I have just been putting it off site thinking not today ... One fine evening , I was thinking of a starter before Pasta .Then remembered about this recipe which is an ideal medley.. and something tat's quite fresh n healthy.This mexican side is quite an ideal combi with tortilla chips.

INGREDIENTS:

Chopped tomatoes	: 3 Nos medium sized
Chopped Green Bell Pepper( Capsicum)	: 1 Nos
Chopped Garlic	: 3 Pods
Salt	: To Taste
Lime Juice	: 2-3 Tsp
Onions - sliced finely	: 1 medium sized
Jalapenos - chopped finely	: 1 Tblspn
Chopped Coriander Leaves	: 2 Tsp

How to Make Fresh Tomato Salsa Dip:

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
Cover with a cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour in order to blend all flavors .

To serve :

To enjoy a healthy starter just serve the tortilla chips with Salsa.

For a cheesy time :Spread the tortillas over the plate . Sprinke the tomato salsa over it .Followed by chopped jalapenos , sliced onions and grated cheese. Microwave it until the cheese melts and then enjoy it cheesy.

Kitchen Notes:
Make sure to chop the vegetables as fine as possible.

Cheers

Nov 5, 2009

Spice Remedies for All Disease

Hi All ,

I am sharing a forward recently sent to me about Spices Remedies. Just formated it for easy viewing.
Cold , Flu being in Air , I thought this is the right time to share them.

COLD	Mix a gram of dalchini/cinnamon powder with a teaspoon of honey to cure cold. Prepare a cup of tea to which you should add ginger, clove, bay leaf and black pepper... This should be consumed twice a day. Reduce the intake as the cold disappears.
GINGER FOR COLD	Ginger tea is very good to cure cold. Preparation of tea: cut ginger into small pieces and boil it with water, boil it a few times and then add sugar to sweeten and milk to taste, and drink it hot.
DRY COUGH	Add a gram of turmeric (haldi) powder to a teaspoon of honey for curing dry cough. Also chew a cardamom for a long time.
BLOCKED NOSE	For blocked nose or to relieve congestion, take a table spoon of crushed carom seeds (ajwain) and tie it in a cloth and inhale it.
SORE THROAT	Add a tea spoon of cumin seeds (jeera) and a few small pieces of dry ginger to a glass of boiling water. Simmer it for a few minutes, and then let it cool. Drink it twice daily. This will cure cold as well as sour throat.
AJWAIN/AJMO FOR ASTHMA.	Boil ajwain in water and inhale the steam.
CURE FOR BACKACHE..	Rub ginger paste on the backache to get relief.
HIGH BP	Have 1-2 pod garlic (lasan) first thing in the morning with water
HIGH BP	Mix 1 table spoon and 1 table spoon ginger (adrak) juice, 1 table spoon of crushed cumin seeds (jeera), and have it twice daily.
MIGRAINE	For the cure of migraine or acute cold in the head; boil a tablespoon of pepper powder, and a pinch of turmeric in a cup of milk, and have it daily for a few couple of days.
BITTER GOURD/KARELA IS GOOD..	A tablespoon of amla juice mixed with a cup of fresh bitter gourd(karela) juice and taken daily for 2 months reduces blood sugar.
TURMERIC/ ARAD CURE FOR INJURIES	For any cut or wound, apply turmeric powder to the injured portion to stop the bleeding. It also works as an antiseptic. You can tie a bandage after applying haldi/turmeric.
CRAMPS	You must do a self-massage using mustard oil every morning. Just take a little oil between your palms and rub it all over your body. Then take a shower. This is especially beneficial during winter. You could also mix a little mustard powder with water to make a paste and apply this on your palms and soles of your feet.
HEADACHES	If you have a regular migraine problem, include five almonds along with hot milk in your daily diet. You could also have a gram of black pepper along with honey or milk, twice or thrice a day. Make an almond paste by rubbing wet almonds against a stone. This can be applied to forehead..
TURMERIC GOOD FOR HEART	Turmeric lower cholesterol and by preventing the formation of the internal blood clots improves circulation and prevents heart disease and stroke. Turmeric can be taken as a drink other than adding to dishes to help prevent all problems. Use one teaspoon of turmeric powder per cup of warm milk every day. It is also used as a paste for local action.
TURMERIC FOR ARTHRITIS	Turmeric can be used in treating arthritis due to its anti-inflammatory property. Turmeric can be taken as a drink other than adding to dishes to help prevent all problems. Use one teaspoon of turmeric powder per cup of warm milk every day. It is also used as a paste for local action.
TURMERIC : GOOD FOR INDIGESTION	Turmeric can be used to relieve digestive problems like ulcers,dysentery. Turmeric can be taken as a drink other than adding to dishes to help prevent all problems. Use one teaspoon of turmeric powder per cup of warm milk every day. It is also used as a paste for local action.
HONEY IS A GOOD CURE FOR ALL DISEASES	Mix 1 teaspoon honey with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder and have at night.
HICCUPS	Take a warm slice of lemon and sprinkle salt, sugar and black pepper on it.. The lemon should be eaten until the hiccups stop.

HIGH BLOOD CHOLESTEROL	In 1 glass of water, add 2 tbsps of coriander/dhania seeds and bring to a boil. Let the decoction cool for some time and then strain. Drink this mixture two times in a day. OR Sunflower seeds are extremely beneficial, as they contain linoleic acid that helps in reducing the cholesterol deposits on the walls of arteries..
PILES	Radish juice should be taken twice a day, once in the morning and then later in the night. Initially drink about 1/4th cup of radish juice and then gradually increase it to 3/4th cup. OR Soak 3-4 figs in a glass of water.Keep it overnight. Consume the figs on an empty stomach, the next day in the morning.
VOMITING	Take 2 cardamoms/elachi and roast them on a dry pan (tava). Powder the cardamoms and thereafter add a tsp of honey in it. Consume it frequently. It serves as a fabulous home remedy for vomiting. OR In the mixture of 1 tsp of mint juice and 1 tsp limejuice, add 1/2 tsp of ginger juice and 1 tsp honey. Drink this mixture to prevent vomiting. OR Limejuice is an effective remedy for vomiting. Take a glass of chilled limejuice and sip slowly. To prevent vomiting, drink ginger tea. OR In 1 glass water, add some honey and drink sip by sip.
WARTS	Apply castor oil daily over the problematic area. Continue for several months. OR Apply milky juice of fresh and barely-ripe figs a number of times a day. Continue for two weeks. OR Rub cut raw potatoes on the affected area several times daily. Continue for at least two weeks. OR Rub cut onions on the warts to stimulate the circulation of blood.. OR Apply milk from the cut end of dandelion over the warts 2-3 times a day. OR Apply oil extracted from the shell of the cashew nut over the warts. OR Apply Papaya juice OR Apply Pineapple juice.
URINARY TRACT INFECTION	In 8 oz of water, put 1/2 tsp of baking soda and drink it. OR Drink plenty of water, as it aids in flushing out the waste products from the body.OR Drink Cranberry juice. You can also add some apple juice for taste.
SINUSITIS	Mango serves as an effective home remedy for preventing the frequent attacks of sinus, as it is packed with loads of vitamin A. OR Another beneficial remedy consists of consuming pungent foods like onion and garlic, as a part of your daily meals. OR Fenugreek/methi leaves are considered valuable in curing sinusitis. In 250 ml water, boil 1 tsp of Fenugreek seeds and reduce it to half. This will help you to perspire, dispel toxicity and reduce the fever period. OR Tie a tsp of black cumin seeds in a thin cotton cloth and inhale.
TONSILLITIS	Take a fresh lemon and squeeze it in a glass of water. Add 4 tsp of honey and 1/4 tsp of salt in it. Drink it slowly sip by sip. OR Milk has proved beneficial in treating tonsillitis. In 1 glass of pure boiled milk, add a pinch of turmeric powder and pepper powder. Drink it every night for about 3 days.

Nov 4, 2009

Chocolate Chip Muffin

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend ..It was good for me too with lot of activities revolving around the Kitchen. My H bought me a whole new set Pots n Pans to encourage and appreciate me in my Cooking n Blogging. It didnt stop here. He bought me another lovely handblender from Philips with a full bunch of accessories and I m just loving it.. It does all my whisking n blending in a Jiffy....
Thank you H :)for all of it.
This Muffin Post is really dear to me for 2 things .Firstly I could use my new Handblender and my work was done... in a Wrooooooooooooom. All my whisking was done. Initially I used to struggle doing the same , using all my muscle power in a hand whisker .....
Seondly my previous try at Muffin few months ago was a utter disaster... I made a Chocolate Muffin and it hardened and was a little bit salty .... I have listed all my learning notes below inorder to avoid n repeat such mistakes .
But everything is a learning curve. I wouldnt have realised things can go this worse .. If everything is goooody all the time.

INGREDIENTS :

Dry Ingredients

All Purpose Flour	: 1 Cup
White Sugar	: 1/4 Cup
Baking Powder	: 1.5 Tsp
Salt	: Pinch
Dark Chocolate Chip	: 1/4th Cup

Wet Ingredients :

Milk	: 1/4 cup +2 Tblspn
Egg	: 1 Nos
Vegetable Oil	: 3 Tblspn

Topping :

White Sugar	: 1.5 Tblspn
Brown Sugar	:1 Tblspn

This measurement yields 6 Muffins.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 205 C. Line the the muffin tray with Muffin Paper.
Combine all the dry Ingredients & mix well in a bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl ,Combine the Wet Ingredients together using a wisk or a hand blender.
Incorporate dry ingredients all at once into the wet Ingredients and blend well.Fill cups 2/3 full.
Sprinkle tops of muffins before baking with a combination of White and Brown Sugar.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan. Serve warm with Tea.

KITCHEN NOTES :

Be very careful while adding salt in a muffin making. It can get too salty.I will suggest to add less than a pinch in this preparation.
If toothpick /skewer not available, Use a kitchen fork to check it if comes out clean.
As soon as the muffin turns slightly brown at around 20 minutes , take them out to check. Baking for slightly longer time can leave the muffin totally hard with time.
First time makers , remember to fill the muffin cup only 1/2 - 2/3rd only. Muffin is sure to rise and will fall out if you fill more than that.

Recipe Courtesy : All Recipes

AWARDS :
I appreciate my fellow blogger friends who have passed these awards with me.

Now its my turn . I would love share them with Prasu ,Sara ,SE(Denu Food),Vrinda,Anupama,San,EC

Over the top award comes with a meme.. Read here

Cheers

Oct 31, 2009

Healthy Homemade Porridge & Reposts

This porridge is quite ideal for anyone from a baby to a grandma... Its quite healthy n filling enough for a breakfast.
I have learnt this recipe from my Mother.. and its been passed on from my Grand Mum :)
This blog post is for my own reference as I had them written in pieces of paper before coming over to London.

INGREDIENTS :

Whole Wheat	: 1/2 Kg
Rice	: 1/2 Kg
Moong Dal	: 1/2 Kg
Cashew Nuts	: Handful
Almonds( Badam)	: 15-20 Nos
Peanuts	: 15-20 Nos
Cardamon (Elachi)	: 3-4 Nos

DIRECTIONS:

Dry Roast Wheat , Rice & Moong Dal separately until they turn slightly brown.
Dry Roast Badam & Cashewnuts too for 2 minutes in low flame.
Dry roast peanuts for about 3-5 minutes.. We will know peanuts are ready when we rub our hands against the roasted peanuts , the skin will peel off.

Grind all of them together or separately in batches until the powder is smaller than rava like. Store them in an airtight container.

How do we make the porridge?

For Babies :

Add 2 tsp of the porridge powder in 1 cup of water in a milk pan and cook in low flame for 2-3 min. Make sure to stir a couple of times else its bound to catch at the bottom of the pan. Now add 1 cup of boiled milk and Sugar/ jaggery and cook until the milk condenses to a desired consistency. Transfer the porridge to a serving bowl and serve when warm.

For Adults :

Procedure is quite simliar as above. Need not wait until the milk condenses. Enjoy warm for breakfast!

KITCHEN NOTES:

My grandparents enjoy this for breakfast everyday .They use Jaggery instead of Sugar.I use this porridge for my lil one's (20 Months old) breakfast couple of times a week and for self too occasionally.