Pear Walnut Muffin

Everyday I wake in the morning with a will power to stay on a healthy diet. So Sundar keeps couple of fruits, some raw vegetables, and nuts for the snacks. So, I keep saying to myself to have them during those craving time. But somehow, the chips or the breads, cream cheese overtake and rule over the fruits in my body. Does this happen to everyone, I ask myself. well, may be! Then mind goes in eating those lousy chips saying, its OK for a day.Although, my pantry is filled with quite a many healthy things, they have some chips and cheesy stuffs clinging around the corners. It is hard to eat healthy food during your cravings. So it is better to keep the healthy foods on the dining table with a glass of water, so we try to reach out and have these.
My muffins are a result to my cravings. I wanted to replace them a highly healthy snack.

"Satisfaction from mindless craving lasts only the first 5-10 minutes (that is until you start feeling full) but the satisfaction and contentment from eating the nutritious foods is for LIFE!"
 
The egg was replaced only to pave way for flaxseeds to boost omega-3 fatty acids in these muffins. Some Oat bran went it to increase metabolism and lower bad cholesterol. Wheat provides fiber additionally along with Oat bran.  The Phytonutrients, Vitamin E and Omega 3 fatty acids in walnuts makes them a beneficial addition. Vitamin C, Potassium and additional Fiber come from Pears.  For all the wholesome nutrition that this provides and the way its heartiness makes it so filling.

Puffed Rice Upma | Borugula Upma

Upma is a simple savory dish for any time of the day. It is very simple to prepare and you can also add as many variations as you need for the upma. To me, they are made on a very lazy boring day! Although, I try to change my grains every time I make the upma. Who likes to eat the same upma with similar vermicilli and just onions and tomatoes? well, I certainly don't! But there were days when I love to eat them that way! You know, when Sundar prepares I insist him to be simple, as they taste very yummy that way! No, not for flattering but the truth!

I had bought these puffed rice during karthiai and made very minimal pori Urundai and now there's whole big bag lying in the pantry. My litltle champ opens the door to play with them and reminds me often. I was too lazy to make a breakfast for myself. Then I was thinking of my regular oats upma (this has also began to bore in a while), these puffed rice popped up! So, to my upma I added these instead of my every boring oats!

I will be chit chat with my mom, and aunt in India in the mornings. When they come online, I never know how time passes. Most of the time is had by my little champ and the rest when my barbie doll (Hasini insists me calling her that way!) comes from school. She and her friends have these nick names and they call for themselves. She is called Barbie, and she calls her friends Golden, and some more. I just see her as how I was at that age, well, no, I was too too baby like. Rather, never understood this as she understands nor this helpful. I admit! This talk doesn't seem to end here, so lets hop into our recipe,

Capsicum fritter (bajji)

I was chatting with my friend yesterday and she asked some tips on making bajji or pakoda. She is totally new to cooking. She felt home sick and she wanted to have some home made snacks or some fritters. I was in her place couple of years back. I used to call for all tips and basic recipes to my mom or aunt or my granny. I wonder that I don't have one single post of bajji or pakoda! But why? I make them once in 2 weeks and apart to that on-demand to Sundar's request.

I always like to try variations in my own recipes and also the traditional recipes. And this is one of the kind of recipes. My pati always wants to try all kind of bajjis for various vegetables. When I keep myself to her, I make only couple of vegetables. I still don't see half of her enthusiasm in me in most of the things. People of our earlier generation are too enthusiastic and work like a flicker. I try hard to be like her one day and get too exhausted the next day.

This is something great for a rainy day, and a tangy snack once he comes from office. Sundar, sometimes calls on his way back home and ask me to prepare some.

Tutti Fruity Buns

The days are over flowing with my baked goodies. I still, take a huge amount of time to bake. But slowly am trying to reach that zone of comfortableness. Well, in such a place I was so excited to bake with Mr. Yeast. Mr.Yeast is been waiting for a very long time in my pantry. He pops up every now and then to ask did you call me? I just set him aside and cook something else. But now I am ready to go for a trial and some tests.

I looked at more than 1 site to see how to proof Mt. Yeast. I was so worried if I was on right way. But everything has to be tried out to achieve. So, I started to prepare them Tutti Fruity Buns.

I have not seen these buns here till now. My mom loves buns. I wish I could have tried them when she was here. She would have lived on my buns. Before my marriage, we used to go to walk everyday. Just a casual walk around our place. So, she sees Adyar Bakery and enters for the buns. Somehow, I used to feel they are quite blank and choose black forest cake instead.

Moist Mango Nut Bread

Why does Mango come in this season? We are all Mango maniacs in our home! When we find yellow Mango in the shop, we get them! These mangoes are from Ecuador, and they are lovely to make desserts or any other baking. They are not juicy but sweet and tender to bake.
They are quite similar to Alphonso mangoes. Quite lot of fibers and when they are naturally sweet we do not require much sugar for baking.

I prepared a small loaf of the bread and it hardly lasted for 2 days. I always like to share (testing samples, may be!) my new creations with my neighbours. But this time, I hardly had a very small piece to give. So I prepared some more for today, I think by the time Sundar is home they will be distributed :)

The bits of mangoes dotting the bread and the slight crunch of nuts makes this one of my favorite breads. This recipe was passed on to me by my aunt from some TV show. When I baked for the first time, I used eggs and today I ran out of eggs. So added Mango puree instead or by increasing the oil. Just blend few pieces of the yellow goodness and blend it and replace for the egg whites.

Basic Sponge Cake

I just wonder How many times I have baked this, since I started baking. I know, countless! And not penned the recipe here.
I have lots of sweet tooth at my home, anything sweet, just this Pound cake. Made these couple of days back for their cravings. Now, I realize, Baking isn't really that hard as long as you stick to measurements.
Sundar, likes to take them for his snack time :)

Bread roll chaat

Call it Bread roll chaat, or Sandwich rolls, or bread rolls! What ever you call it all means the same, and I like it with this name! We always crave for some chaats. Any kinda chaats, it is great to have as a winter day snack. Sundar, comes home looking for some snack always! But some days are so busy with both my kids, that I hardly prepare my dinner. And time runs out thinking what to prepare?

So, I suddenly remembered that its the fortnight event tom! So, I at once went to Rinku's blog and was looking at the menu card and my pantry. I found hard to match them up. And finally came the roasted Sandwich rolls.

Butter Jam Cookies

I was looking to prepare something nice for the kids for our princess birthday. Then my brother jittu suggested me for a cookie that we loved to eat when we were kids. Buttery cookie with lots of Jam on top of it which has great taste that stays for along time in our mouths. I found a easy and simple recipe from the Food Network website. I must say they were very delicious.

You need:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
2/3 cup sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup strawberry jam (or raspberry/cherry jam)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
In another bowl, whip the butter and the sugar with a hand-held mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing just until incorporated.

Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls with a cookie or ice cream scoop and roll in sugar. Place about 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press a thumbprint into the center of each ball, about 1/2-inch deep. Fill each indentation with about 3/4 teaspoon jam.

Bake cookies until the edges are golden, about 15 minutes. (For even color, rotate the pans from top to bottom about halfway through baking.) Cool cookies on the baking sheets. Serve.

Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to a week. Hasini loved to give them for her friends along with a gift.

Sending this to Krithi's kitchen for serve it Savory baked and Denny's blog

Madras Mixture

Mixture is a very nice snack, although it is quite time consuming. We prepare this for every Diwali and keep for almost couple of months.

Prep Time 30 mins

cook'g time 75 mins

Ingredients

Red chillies - 15 to 25 (15 for more heat, and 25 for HOT)

pea nuts - 1 cup

Curry leaves - 3 bunches

Cashew - 1/4 cup

Bengal gram - 1/2 cup (optional - I do not like this)

for boondhi

Gram flour - 2cups

oil - 1/4 kg

Salt - 1 tsb

Water 2 cups

Perforated spoon

for murukku

2cups Rice flour

1/2cup Gram flour

2tsp moong dhal flour

2tsp Butter

2tsp Cumin seeds + sesame seeds

1+1/2tsp Red chilly powder

Oil

Salt

for sev

Gram flour - 2cups

oil - 1/4 kg

Salt - 1 tsb

Water 1 cups

Sev press

Boondhi

1. Take 2 glasses of gram flour, and add 2 cups of water and mix it well until there

are no dumplings.

2. Add half a table spoon of salt. And mix it well. The batter should be slightly

thinner to the Idli batter.

3. It is very important to use a perforated spoon. The holes should not be too big

or too small.

4. Heat oil in a wide pan until smoky.

5. Hold the spoon 1 inch above the oil and pour some batter on the spoon. Tap very

lightly at edge of spoon to allow small droplets to fall in the oil. (If the

batter is watery, then the it will not fall as balls or if the batter is not

falling through the spoon then add little water to the boondi to fall down in

round shape)

6. Keep adding the boondi in oil until the pan is entirely filled.

7. Stir the boondis in the oil gently and fry till crisp but not brown. Drain and

Keep it aside.

8. Repeat this until you finish with the entire batter.

Sev

1. Mix the gram flour and water by adding salt. The batter should be gooey sticky dough.

2. Grease hands with some oil for ease in handling dough. Grease the inside cylinder of press.

Fill with dough and screw the top tight.

3. Heat oil in heavy large frying pan. Hold the press about 8 inches above the hot oil. When it is hot, proceed to press and drop the dough through the press.

Move your hands in circular motion to make a circle and keep coming in to

form smaller circles and finish off when you come to center. You may cut off the dough with your fingers.

4. Cook for about a minute or so. Then carefully flip over the sev with a fork. Cook another minute, do not allow to become golden. Remove the sev when it still looks undone and whitish. Place on kitchen paper to drain and cool.

5. Repeat till all the dough is used up.

Store as is, or crush to small pieces.

Store in an air tight container.

Mullu Murukku

1. Mix all the ingredients above and add water untill becomes soft dough, it might be bit sticky, grease ur palms to avoid stickiness..

2. Use the murukku press with star nozzle.. heat the oil for deepfrying, meanwhile take a small portion from dough n squeeze out over a greased plate in circular shape

3. drop the murukku in the medium hot oil n fry on both sides until they turns brown, drain the excess of oil with paper towel.

4.Now, brake murukkus into small ones, and mix with bondhi and sev. Fry the red chillies and grind to soft powder, add salt, asafoetida, and add to the above mixture.

5.Fry the curry leaves, cashew and pea nuts separately until crispy and add to the mixture.

6. Store in a air tight container and served for more than a month.

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