Banana walnut muffin

Hi ,

I make these muffins quite regularly for my 14 month old baby . It is packed with goodness of bananas and is quite filling for them as evening snack .
I avoid putting any nuts or walnuts when I am making it for a child , so I usually make 1 -2 muffins with nuts and then add nuts in the batter for my husband or friends .
Bananas being used iin this recipe should be really ripe do not use fresh bananas , Infact it is a good way to use bananas which are getting over ripe .
Also it is important to mash the bananas with a fork roughly rather than blending it .

Note: One important trick always to be remembered for muffins - Never ever over mix the batter . Also you can leave out the salt on the recipe if you are salted butter .
At times I use amul regular butter so I leave out the salt .

Serving : 12 Muffins


Ingredients :

1/2 cup walnuts/ almonds
1 3/4 cups maida or all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe bananas mashed well
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt




Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Butter or oil muffin tins to prepare 12 muffin pan.
Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.
In a bowl combine all teh dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts.
In another bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a spoon lightly mix the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients
just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes . Cool for five minutes and then remove muffins from pan. Serve warm or
at room temperature.

Blueberry muffins

Hi , 

These muffins are all time favorites with my friends although I bake them very rarely due to unavailability of
blueberries in market . I have tried making them with frozen blueberries also with no change in final outcome but as
I have a 14 month old baby I avoid using frozen fruits when I bake for him.If you are using frozen blueberries, do not thaw before adding them to the batter just add them as it is .

One major trick with muffin that always needs to remembered is that you should never ever over mix the batter , only fold in the wet and dry ingredients until just mixed .
Over mixing will give you rubbery tough muffins .


Serving: 12 Muffins

Ingredients:

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup plain yogurt (full fat or low fat)
1/3 cup (80 ml )vegetable, canola, sunflower, or corn oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups maida or all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 - 1 1/2 cups (240-360 ml) fresh or frozen blueberries1/4 teaspoon salt

Method :

Preheat oven to 180 C. Position rack in center of oven. Butter or slightly oil 12 muffin cups .
Whisk together the lightly beaten egg, yogurt, oil, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
In another bowl whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Gently stir in the blueberries. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir
only until the ingredients are combined and moistened.
(The batter will be thick.) Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter.
Place in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes , keep checking in the last few minutes .
Let it cool for 10 - 15 minutes before taking out of mould 

Chocolate banana cake

Hi , 

 I made chocolate banana cake for my husband's birthday this year and his team mates in office and our friends thoroughly enjoyed it . A simple banana cake seemed too boring an option for his birthday so I tried out this recipe . One of the major issues I find while baking with international recipes is that the quality of product they use is different so the results also come out differently , hence many times I have to change the quantity mentioned in recipes . The other important point with baking is oven , since they are each of different make and company the cooking time slightly varies . Hence it is important to check the cake during the last few minutes as over baking may be lead to dry cake. 
At times instead of using chocolate ganache I also dress it with chocolate glaze its lighter option than ganache .

Ingredients

Maida or All-purpose flour – 1 3/4 cups

Granulated white sugar – 2 cups 

Mashed ripe bananas ( 2 medium sized bananas) – 1 cup

Unsweetened cocoa powder  – 3/4 cup 

Baking powder -1 1/2 tsp

Baking soda – 1 1/2 tsp

Salt – 1/2 teaspoon

Eggs – 2

Warm water – 1 cup (240 ml)

Milk-1/2 cup (120 ml)

Corn, sunflower or canola oil – 1/2 cup (120 ml)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) round pan.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt . ( If you are using salted regular butter don't add salt at this step ) .Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely before frosting with chocolate Ganache . 

Note : Please refer to Chocolate Ganache recipe in my blog .

Lemon Chicken - Indian Style

Over the years I have read and tried many lemon chicken recipes .. some turned good .. some very lemony and some bitterly sour .There are also many ways and cultures in which it is prepared hence adding an ingredient separately makes it unique to that culture.Below is the lemon chicken recipe indian style but I will be soon posting western lemon chicken recipe .

I have used mustard oil in below recipe but if you don't like pungent mustard oil you can also use any other cooking oil .

Ingredients :
1 Kg Chicken
6 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 - 7 dried red chillies
2 -3 chopped red onions
4 tsp  chopped garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt as per taste
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp sugar
coriander leaves


Method
Heat a kadhai with mustard oil and heat till smoking hot.Fry cumin seeds, dried red chillies, chopped red onions in the oil.
Add the chopped garlic, haldi, coriander powder and salt to taste. Stir gently on a medium flame till softened and all the spices and aromatics are well amalgamated. Once the oil surfaces, add the chicken and fry on a medium heat till fully coated with the masala base.
Add lemon juice and mix well. Finally add sugar and 1/2 cup water .
Cover and simmer the chicken for 45 minutes to an hour or until it is nice and tender and coming of the bone.
Add a big bunch of chopped coriander leaves. Stir through and serve the tangy yellowy chicken hot with rotis.

Apple kheer

Recently I had few unexpected relatives visiting my home at a very short notice but yet the responsibility to impress them with delicious lunch spread was mine. Main course and snacks was taken are of , but couldn't think any option for deserts.. No time to bake a cake or make any elaborate desert . No time to make custard and cool it .. Then I saw these 2 red shiny apples lying in a basket on table . Unfortunately they had been there for last 2 days as no one showed interest in eating fruits at my home .. So tried this recipe that day .

Note: One small trick to remember is to cook apples separately and not add them to milk as it would lead to curdling of milk and you will end up with sour kheer instead of sweet ...

Ingredients

2 medium APPLES grated
5 cups Milk
Sugar 1/2 cup
1/2 teaspoon Green cardamom (Elaichi) powder
6 - 8 Pistachios
6 - 8 Almonds

Method

Bring milk to a boil in a pan ( preferably thick bottom ) and simmer till it thickens. Thickly grate apples without peeling. Heat a pan, add the grated apples and cook on medium heat. Add sugar and stew till sugar melts and continue to cook till most of the moisture evaporates. Add some of the reduced milk and cook. As the mixture thickens add the remaining milk and cook till the kheer thickens some more. Add green cardamom powder, almonds and pistachios and continue to cook till the kheer thickens to the desired consistency. Cool and then chill before serving. Garnish with chopped pistachios and almonds before serving.

Baked French fries

Hi,

I am a big French fries fan or should I say potato fan but my love of potato made me resemble one .So I was looking for a healthy option to curb my urge for occasional French fries .I tried many combinations but my baked French fries never tasted the same .. But nevertheless I was determined to find the recipe which tastes like the fried ones .I tried various seasonings and oven temperature combination and arrived at this recipe ... Hope you and your kids enjoy this healthy alternative ...

Serves :2 -3
Ingredients :

2 large potato ( evenly sliced) 

2 tbsp cooking oil ( Sunflower ,canola ,vegetable oil etc)

1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Salt as per taste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic mince or garlic salt (Optional)

Directions :

Preheat oven to 450F or 230C.

Place a cooling rack on top of baking plate or sheet.

Cut potato in even strips.

In a big bowl combine the oil and seasoning. Add the potato pieces and toss to coat. Keep remaining oil/seasoning.

Spread fries onto cooling rack on baking sheet.

Cook for 20-30 minutes until done. Every 10 minutes, turn fries to ensure even baking and brush more seasoning/oil onto the fries.