Whole wheat banana muffins

2

Muffin is a quick and easy sweet bread product that can be made in a flash :-) it's my daughter's favorite snack. I usually make blueberry muffins but today I tried a different one with healthier options. It's wholewheat banana muffin made with brown sugar and honey. Here is the quick recipe for making this simple and delicious snack.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 1 cup

Baking soda : 1/4 tsp

Baking powder : 3/4 tsp

Salt: 1/4 tsp

Cinnamon powder: 1/4 tsp

Bananas: 1 large or 3 small ripe bananas + 1 small banana for garnishing 

Brown sugar: 1/4 cup

Egg:1

Milk: 40 ml

Honey: 60 ml

Vegetable oil: 30 ml

Vanilla essence :1/2 tsp

Broken almonds: 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Take a big bowl and mix whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder.

2. Take another bowl and mash the bananas with a fork and add lightly beaten egg, vanilla essence,sugar, honey, milk, and oil and mix well.

3. Add in broken almonds and mix.

4. Mix the wet ingredients with dry flour mixture and combine slowly. Do not over mix the batter.

5. Line the muffin tin with muffin cups ( paper or silicon) or grease them with oil or butter.

6. Put equal quantity of batter in each cup and put a spoonful of water in the empty cups. Water helps in baking the muffins evenly.

7. Put a slice of banana on each muffin

8. Bake for 18-20 mins in a preheated oven at 190 celicius.

9. Insert a toothpick in the center, if the toothpick comes out clean, muffins will be ready.

10. Cool them down for 5 mins and store in airtight jar.

Notes:

1.You can replace wheat flour with all purpose flour.

2.You can use white sugar instead of brown.

3.Nuts of your choice can be used like cashews, almond or walnut.

4. Dried banana chips can also be used for garnishing.

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Shenga chutney - Peanut garlic chutney powder

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Shenga chutney pudi or peanut garlic chutney powder is a must in most of the houses in north Karnataka. It goes well as a side dish with chapathi, jolada rotti ( jawar roti) or even with idli, dose. Tastes best when mixed with curd or ghee. 

Ingredients:

Peanut- 1 cup

Kashmiri Dry red chillies: 10

Garlic cloves: 4

Curry leaves - 1 spring

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Salt for taste

Method: 

1. Dry roast peanuts on low flame for about 7-8 minutes and remove the skin roughly. 

2. Dry roast red chillies, cumin seeds, curry leaves and garlic one by one. 

3. Put dry red chillies and salt in the blender jar and grind once.

4. Then add roasted peanuts and grind roughly.

5. Add roasted cumin, garlic and curry leaves and pulse it. 

6. Mix well and store in an airtight jar.

Notes: 

1. You can replace dry red chillies with red chilli powder and you can grind roasted peanuts, salt and red chilli powder together.

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Dal Fry

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Dal fry is a famous dish in roadside eateries. It goes well with both roti and rice. Here is my simple recipe.

Ingredients:

Split Pigeon peas/ Togari bele/ toor dal: 1cup

Butter:2 tbsp

Garlic: 6-8 cloves

Ginger: 1inch

Onion: 1 medium

Green chillies: 3-4

Cumin: 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder: 1 tbsp

Cumin powder: 1 tsp

Garam masala: 1/4 tsp

Lemon juice: 2 tsp

Coriander leaves: 2 tsp for garnishing

Method:

1. Soak dal in enough water for 15 minutes and pressure cook.

2. Fine Chop garlic, ginger, chillies and onion.

3. Heat butter in a wok and add cumin seeds and fry.

4. Next add in chopped garlic and chillies and sauté until garlic is golden in color

5. Then add chopped onion and ginger and fry until onions are cooked well.

6. Mix in turmeric, coriander powder and cumin powder and sauté for a min on low flame

7. Add cooked Pegion pea/dal, add salt and bring to boil

8. Mix in garam masala powder and let it simmer covered for 5 minutes and turn off the gas.

9. Add lemon juice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

10. Serve hot with plain or flavored rice or with roti.

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ಮಾವಿನಹಣ್ಣಿನ ಮೆಣಸ್ಕಾಯಿ - Mango Menaskai

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Menaskayi is a popular dish in South Canara (current day Udupi/Mangalore), it is spicy, tangy and sweet in taste. Usually served in weddings and other functions. Eating it on a banana leaf is an experience in itself. This is one of my favorite curries. It's a quick and easy recipe passed to me from my mother in law.

Ingredients:

Small Mangoes:6
Dry Red Chillies:10-12
Sesame seeds: 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds:2 tsp
Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds:few grains
Turmeric:1/4 spoon
Hing: 1 pinch
coconut:1/2 cup (fresh or frozen)
Jaggery: 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil: 2 tsp

Method:

1. Clean mangoes properly.

2. Peel the skin and put it in a cooking pot, add 2 cups of water, hing, Jaggery, salt and turmeric and let it cook covered on low flame for 10 mins.

3. In the meantime heat oil in a pan and roast red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds and Fenugreek seeds one by one. Dry roast coconut until it's slightly brown.

4. Make a coarse paste of coconut and all spices in the blender and add it to the boiling mangoes and bring to boil and turn off the flame.

Seasoning:
Oil: 1 tsp
Hing: 1 pinch
Mustard: 1 tsp
broken dry red chilli: 1
Curry Leaves: 1 spring

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when the mustard splutters add dry red chilli, curry leaves and hing. Pour the tempering on the Mango gravy and serve with plain rice. 

Notes:

• You can add split black gram and Bengal gram if you like nutty flavor.
• Adjust the amount of Jaggery depending on the sweetness of mango.
• You can also add tamarind juice if it's too sweet.
• You can replace mango with pineapple.

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Caramel Custard

3

Caramel custard also known as Creme caramel or flan or caramel pudding is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top. It's easy to make it and loved by all. 

                     

Ingredients:

1. Milk: 300 ml
2. Cream : 200 ml 
3. Sugar: 80 gms plus 4 spoons for caramel
4. Eggs: 4
5. Vanilla essence: 1 spoon

Method:

Caramelizing the sugar 

Take 4 spoon sugar in a pan and add a little water and heat it on low flame until sugar melts and turns golden brown. Pour the caramelized sugar in the mold and keep it aside.

 Custard base

• Beat eggs in a bowl with sugar and vanilla essence then add milk and whisk so that the mixture is even.
• Pour the mixture into the mold that's kept aside and bake it in the preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 20-25 minutes.
• Check for doneness by shaking the mold lightly, if you see a puddle under the top layer bake it for a little longer.
• Bring to room temperature and unmold (put a plate on top of the tray and flip it carefully to unmold)
• Refrigerate for 4-5 hours and serve chilled.

 Caramelized Sugar

 Ready to bake: caramel mold in waterbed in the oven

 Out of the oven, bringing to room temperature

                                      Ready to Devour :-)) 

  Notes:

1. You can skip the cream and make it with 500 ml milk, adding cream makes it thicker and creamier. 
2. Adjust sugar according to your taste.
3. It can also be cooked in a double boiler on the stove top ( take a bigger pot and heat water and keep the caramel tray inside the bigger pot, do not boil the water, cook on low flame)

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