Carrot Muffins

I know I have nt posted anything new for long time on my pastries page, as I couldn’t get much time for my baking :) . Each time I think to do that, but ended with something else, this time even my Bf was anxious to have my pastry.. So, after a long time, inspite of my schedules,I found a time for baking, the reason why i am saying this is, the muffin which I made is for those who are really in the race and not getting time for baking, as this is really an easy one, and you don’t have to use any electric mixers. All you need is a whisker or just a ladle to mix the dough.The key ingredient for this muffin is the apples and carrots, so grate it to tiny if you can by a food processor or by manual grating.

At my home, everytime I end up with wasting carrots,so was just thinking to make something out of it, and this flashed into me, when I visited some pastry shops here. Not just the carrots, I have also added few grated apples, which added a extra taste to the muffins.

A muffin (American-style muffin in the UK) is a type of semi-sweet cake or quick bread that is baked in portions appropriate for one person. They are similar to cupcakes, although they are usually less sweet and lack icing. You could also do some icing if you wish else, you can serve it without anything on top of it,as I like that way :) Here you go.. Enjoy your weekend !

Ingredients:

• All-purposeflour- 1 ½ Cups
• Grated raw carrot-1 ½  cups
• Apple- 1 Grated
• Sugar- ¾ Cup
• Cinnamon powder- 1 Tspn
• Eggs- 2
• Any Oil- ½ Cup
• Vanilla Extract- ½ Tspn
• Baking Soda- 1 Tspn
• Baking Powder- 1 Tspn
• Raisins- ½ Cup
• Salt- ¼ Tspn

Method:

• In a bowl mix all purpose flour, salt,baking powder,sugar,soda and cinnamon and set aside (Step 1)
• To the flour add the grated apple and carrots and mix well (Step 2)
• In a another bowl, mix the egg with vanilla extract,oil and whisk well (Step 3,4)
• Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix well (Step 5).
• If you have a ice cream scooper, use that to fill in your cup cake holes (reason being, if you take a scoop that will suffice for the complete muffin else it may over flow and the shape will not be proper) (Step 6).
• Set into the oven, and after its baked, transfer to the wire rack and serve after its cooled completely.

If you wish to make it such a way with the folded design at the end like how I did, all you need is a cup cake wrapper, I used the plastic(Oven safe) wrapper.After you all done, just prick the sides of the cake by the toothpick and it comes out without sticking in it.

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Chemma Chakka Curry / Breadfruit Curry

I hope you liked my Cheema chakka thoran, here comes another recipe from it. We had this curry on Onam, and it just tasted awesome as it really resembles the taste of Kerala, as this has a blend of coconut and all the spices, that too when served with the Kerala rice. I know I am bit late in posting this recipe, but I was little busy with our Onam activities. The breadfruit is not so tasty if you cook in any other ways, as it taste good only with this 2 recipes.
 

If you’re desperate in tasting an authentic kerala vegetarian dish, this would be the right choice. Its little tedious but if you cook with the rite coconut measures, you will win the taste. As I have already mentioned in cheema chakka thoran, you just to need to put the chakka pieces into water immediately after you cut it, else it may get darken and you will not get the rite taste.
 

Ingredients:

• Bread fruit pieces- half Cup
• Coconut Shredded- ½ Cup
• Small Onions- Half Cup
• Coconut Thick Milk(1st Milk)- ½ Cup
• Coconut Thin Milk(2nd Milk)- ½ Cup
• Cumin Seeds- ½ Tspn
• Chili Powder- 1 Tspn
• Coriander Powder-1 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder-1/4 Tspn
• Curry Leaves- Few
• Coconut Oil- 2 Tspn
• Salt- to Taste
• Dry Red Chilies- 3 nos

Method:

• In a pan, add the breadfruit pieces and water with little salt and turmeric powder and cook it covered until the breadfruit is baked well.
• In a separate pan, add shredded coconut and sauté well, when it becomes little oily, add the small onion few and add all the powders in the ingredients and sauté
• well. After it turns golden brown, set it cool and grind it to fine paste.
• Add the grounded coconut paste to the cooked breadfruit and mix well.
• Allow it to boil for a minute, now add the coconut 2nd milk and stir well.
• Let it boil until it becomes thick, now add the coconut 1st milk and mix again.
• Boil until everything becomes thick and masala smell goes from it.
• In a separate pan, add coconut oil, curry leaves and dry chilies and add all these in to the curry cooked.

Tips:

"Do not over roast the coconut as it may give a bitter taste if you do so.
You can add more coconut milk as per your need for the gravy.
Donot bake the breadfruit for long time, as it doesn’t take much time to cook."

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Prawn Fry with Coconut

Here I come with an another prawn recipe for fish lovers, look at the pictures, its so tempting is it. Yes, that too this recipe is so tasty when you make it with small prawns like the one I used, this is a dry fry recipe with coconut and so it goes well with rice. The more time you marinate it adds more taste to the dish as well. As you tried my other prawn dishes; I bet you will like this recipe for sure.

As the prawns cooking time is less, this recipe is a good choice if you are in a hurry to cook something quick when you have guests at home,that too if you get the cleaned frozen prawns like the one I got it.When I started doing it, I wasn’t so sure about the taste but after its done, it was so good, and we had a very special dinner. Look at the cute little prawns, tempting is it. Here you go with the making.

Ingredients:

• Prawns- ½ Kg/1 Lb
• Onions – 1
• Tomato- ¼
• Garlic pieces (Crushed), - 4 Nos
• Ginger (Crushed)- a small piece
• Green Chillies(Crushed)- 4 Nos
• Green chilli paste- ½ Tspn
• Ginger garlic Paste- ½ Tspn
• Chilli Powder - 1 1/2 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tspn
• Coriander Powder - 1 Tspn
• Kasuri methi – 1 Tspn
• Coconut – 3 Tspn
• Garam masala – 1 Tspn
• Lemon juice
• Curd- 1 Tspn
• Salt- To taste
• Curry leaves - Few
• Oil

Method:

• Marinate the prawns for atleast for 30 minutes along with chilli,turmeric powder, lemon juice, curd and ginger garlic paste, green chilli paste.
• Boil the marinated prawn adding little water,until the prawns are cooked, set this aside.
• In a separate pan, add the oil,kasuri methi, mustard and curry leaves.
• Add the onion and sauté until it becomes translucent, add the crushed garlic, ginger and green chillies.
• Add tomato and sauté again for few minutes.
• Add chilli,coriander and garam masala,salt and sauté again until the masala smell goes off.
• Add the cooked prawns and sauté again.
• Add the grated coconut and mix well.

Tips:

"Adjust the chilli powder and green chillies according to your spice level. If you use, coconut oil it give you more taste as well."

 

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Potato Stew

In Kerala, appam is most common breakfast at restaurants, at home, there are several curries served with it like egg curry or any non veg recipes,however I wanted to make a change with a different curry and even my Bf’s favourite breakfast is the Appam but when ever I prepare it, I ended up doing up the same curry, but this time, I got a new dish to go good with Appam from my Amma’s cookbook.
 

Potato Stew was awesome with Appam(The link should come here). This recipe is not spicy and most of the kids love it too. Last week, when I made this with Egg Appam, it was incredible and thought to share this for sure to my readers as well.The main ingredient in this recipe is the thick coconut milk and the preparation time is very less too. Here you go with the making.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes – 5 Nos
• Sliced Onion – 1
• Sliced Tomato – ½
• Thick Coconut milk – 1/2 Cup
• Green Chillies- 6 Nos
• Ginger- Garlic paste – 1 Tspn
• Coriander powder – 1 Tspn
• Garam masala- 1 Tspn
• Mustard Seeds – 1 Tspn
• Curry leaves – Few
• Asafetida- ½ Tspn
• Salt – To Taste
• Oil

Method:

• In a pressure cooker, add oil, when it heats up add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste and sauté well until the masala smell goes off from it.
• Add the sliced onions and sauté again until it becomes translucent; add the tomatoes and green chillies and sauté again.
• Add the potatoes; add the powders in the ingredients and sauté again until the masala smell goes from it.
• Add the coconut milk, salt and pressure cooker it for 2 whistles.
• After the whistle is off, keep the flame low, and stir to break the potatoes if its in big in size.
• Add asafetida and serve hot.

Tips:

"You can also add your choice veggies in the curry

If you need more gravy, you can add more coconut milk to the curry."

 

 

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Pazham Pradhaman / Banana Payasam

Happy Onam to all my readers. Hope you all are having good times with your family :) You may wonder about the picture, it was a just a time pass painting which I made.. thought of clicking a picture of it with my recipe :).Here I come back with the yet another Onam special recipe “Pazham Pradhaman” - Banana Payasam. Onam is not complete with Sadya and Sadya is not complete unless it ends with a tasty payisam. This is my payisam from my Amma’s cookbook after my Chakka Varatti Payasam 

The variety of payisam is the highlight recipe among the entire Kerala cuisines. The kerala banana and the coconut is the asset of making any Kerala sweet recipes. Today I prepared the pradhaman with my Amma’s oral instruction, I wasn’t so sure about the taste when I started doing it.But was surprised and felt so proud when my BF just loved it.. Hope you will also enjoy making it. 




Ingredients:

• Ripe Bananas(Kerala Banana)- 2 Large
• Jaggery- 1 Cup
• Coconut Thick Milk(1st milk)- 1 Cup
• Coconut Thin Milk(2nd Milk)- 1 Cup
• Pearl Sago(sabudana)- 1 Cup
• Coconut pieces- half Cup
• Cashews/Raisins- Few
• Powdered Cardomom- Few
• Ghee- 3 Tspn

Method:

• Steam cook the banana until its baked well, smash it and keep aside.
• Soak the Sago for atleast 3 hours, pressure cook it for a whistle and keep aside.
• In a heavy bottomed pan, add ghee, when it heats up, add the smashed baked banana and sauté well until the banana melts and nicely cooked(sauté for 5 minutes approx).
• Add the jaggery to the banana and sauté again, until it melts well and completely mixed with the banana.
• Add the coconut 2nd milk to it and heats up, until the mixture gets thick(approx for 5-10 minutes).
• After it becomes thick, add the coconut thick milk(1st milk) and boil it again (approx for 3 minutes).
• Add the cooked sago/sabudana to it and boil it again for 2 minutes.
• In a separate pan, add ghee, and when it heats up add the coconut pieces, cashew and raisins and sauté until it becomes brown.
• Add the cashews to the payisam and stir well.
• Add the powdered cardamom to it and give a stir again.

Tips:

"The exact taste comes only if you use the kerala bananas.

You could adjust the jaggery if you want to reduce or increase the sweet."

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Chemma Chakka Thoran/Breadfruit Poriyal

I was thinking a lot to present an authentic kerala recipe as we all are in Onam Maasam. Lot of different varieties of vegetable recipes forms “Onam Sadya”, as it has aviyal, kichadi, here comes the yet another recipe in Onam Sadya. Cheema chakka(breadfruit) is very famous in Kerala where it is widely grown and cooked, it is known as Ceema chakka. Lot of curries is prepared using this fruit. This is same as of jackfruit but you can find the difference, as the outer skin is not sharp as like the normal jackfruit and even it is smaller than the normal jackfruit. This recipe is again exclusive from my Amma’s cookbook, as she prepares both as dry and the curry with it.

 

As you can see in the pic, the inner part of it is very soft and doesn’t have seeds in it. You just need to peel the skin and slice it into small pieces.The most important factor before making this recipe is that you have to put this in water after you cut them into pieces else it may get darken. It’s easy to cook and may not take much time to bake as well.
 

Ingredients:

• Cheema Chakka (Breadfruit)-sliced half cup
• Small Onion(Sliced)- half cup
• Turmeric Powder- ¼ Tspn
• Salt- To Taste

To Grind (Coarsely):

• Coconut- half Cup
• Garam Masala- 1 Tspn
• Chili Powder-1 Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 1 Tspn

To Temper:

• Coconut oil- 1 Tspn
• Mustard – 1 Tspn
• Dry Red Chilies- 2
• Curry Leaves- Few

 

Method:

• In a pan, add the cheema chakka pieces along with the small onion and pour little water, add turmeric powder and cook it covered until the pieces are baked well.
• After the chakka is baked well and the water is evaporated, add the grounded coconut, salt to it and sauté until the masala smell goes out from it and it slowly starts thickening.
• Now, in a separate pan, add all the items under to temper. Add this to the cooked chakka and serve hot.

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Vada Curry

Vada Curry, I always use to wonder how they make this whenever I taste in Tamil Nadu hotels. If you are confused about the left over vadas which you make at home, here comes the vada Curry recipe, you can use all those vadas to this. And especially when you are bored of making the regular sambar and the chutney to your breakfast like idly,dosa. This recipe is awesome when served hot with idly especially.

It may look tedious to make, however your work is easy if you have vadas already.It is mainly famous in Chennai. You can find this in most restaurants served with pongal too. Here you go with the making.
 

To Make Vada:

• Channa dal -1/2 Tspn
• Chilli powder -1/2 Tspn
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Green chilies- few
• Onion sliced- few
• Salt
• Onion finely chopped – ¼ Tspn
• Oil for frying

For the Curry:

• Oil- 1 Tspn
• Mustard- 1 Tspn
• Curry Leaves-Few
• Small onion sliced- ½ Cup
• Tomato- 1 Sliced
• Sambar Powder- 2 Tspn
• Coconut Milk- 1/4 Cup

For the Curry:

• Ginger-garlic paste - 1 Tspn
• Green chili -few
• Fennel seeds -1/2 Tspn
• Cloves -2
• Cardamom -1
• Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

 

Method:

• Soak channa dal for 2 hours. Drain the water, add salt, chilli, green chilies,turmeric powder and grind coarsely with little water. Then mix finely chopped onions with it.
• Fry the vadas in the oil until it becomes golden brown,transfer it to the paper towel.
• Grind all the items under “To grind” to fine paste and keep aside.
• In a separate pan, add oil,mustard and the curry leaves, add the sliced small onions,sauté until the onion becomes translucent.
• Add the tomatoes, and the sambar powder, grounded paste and sauté until the masala smell goes off from it.
• Add the coconut milk to it, and let the curry boils for some time.
• Add the fried vada to the curry and smash the vadas with a ladle and sauté until it gets well into the curry.
• Add the coriander leaves,serve hot to idly,dosa.

Tips:

"Adding coconut milk is optional; however it gives a good taste to the curry.

While adding the vada to the gravy, the vadas should be soaked well in the gravy and it should not be hard."

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