Banana jaggery bread

I had tried making banana bread with jaggery & it had turned out well.So ,I googled for the recipe & came across one @http://panchamrutham.blogspot.in/2011/02/eggless-banana-bread-with-jaggery.html

I made some changes & here is my recipe.

Ingredients: 1 cup multi grain atta ,1 tspbaking powder ,1/4 tsp,baking soda,1/4 tsp cardamaom  powder,1/3 cup powdered jaggery,1 tbsp oil ,2 over ripe bananas, 1/4 cup dahi ( yoghurt ),a pinch of salt.

Method : Mix multi grain flour with baking soda & baking poder nicely.Add cardamaom powder.Mix nicely.Keep aside.

Peel off the banana skin & mash the bananas.Add powdered or grated jaggery to mashed bananas.Blend this mix in mixer or blender.Add dahi.Blend. Add oil & blend again.

Now ,add this banana puree to the multigrain  mix .Mix nicely with whisk.No lumps must remain.

Take a bowl or bread vessel ( a rectangular glass container ) & line it with butter paper.Pour the batter on to the butter paper .Bake in microwave for 8 minutes.Let it cool.Prick the bread with toothpik .If the toothpik is clean ,then bread is ready.Otherwise bake for 1-2 minutes.Cool for 5 minutes after putting off microwave.

Cool bread out of the microwave for another 15 minutes.Now put the vessel upside down on to a plate.The bread will drop down.If butter paper is sticking to bread ,please remove carefully.Cut into desired shapes & serve.

This turned out to be on the drier side-rubbery texture.Next time around ,I will add more dahi. Maybe, add 1/4 cup dahi more,making a total of 1/2 cup dahi so that consistency will be drop down consistency.This is because for microwave baking ,consistency has to be thinner than for electric oven.

Badam halwa.

I came across this sweet @http://www.talimpu.com/2012/10/01/almond-kova/
I made it in my own way.It turned out awesome & my kid devoured it !

This is very simple recipe.

Ingredients : 1 cup malai removed from milk & stored in freezer,1/3 cup sugar,20 almonds,2-3 kesar strands.

Method : I remove malai & keep in freezer daily.When it amounts to 1 cup.I de freeze it.

Powder sugar & almonds in mixer .Keep aside.

Heat the malai in a kadhai till it starts thickening .Add 2-3 strands of kesar.Add almond sugar powder to the thickening malai.

Stir while all get mixed up & become more thick.Put off gas.Serve in bowl.

The sweetness is just right.If you are fond of more sweetness,please increase the amount of sugar to be added.

My daughter just gobbles it up, in one sitting !

Til barfi

Sesame seeds are full of calcium.They are a rich source of iron too.Til sweets are a must at Makar Sankranti.

I have learnt this from my Atya ,a very simple recipe of Til barfi.

Ingredients: 1 cup unpolished white sesame seeds,1 cup chikki  jaggery,a tsp of ghee,1 /2 tsp cardamom powder ( optional ).
Unpolished white sesame seeds look brownish in colour.

Method : Dry roast sesame seeds till they start spluttering.Put off gas.Keep turning the seeds with a ladle even though gas is off.Keep aside.

In a pan ,heat the chikki  jagerry till it melts completely.Be careful as this chikki jaggery melts fast.If it gets overheated,it will get hard.Put off gas.

Add the roasted sesame seeds.Add cardamom powder.Mix nicely till all seeds are coated with jaggery. Take a plate to which ghee has been applied all over on the surface.Now remove  the semisolid jaggery sesome mixture with ladle & on to a plate.Roll the mixture with a chappati rolling pin to spread the mixture evenly.Then cut into desired shapes.

After the spread has been made uniform.Wait for 5-10 minutes.Cut into desired shapes.If left on plate,it will become hard.Then ,one may have to warm the plate so that the barfis can be removed smoothly without breaking into uneven shapes.If it has hardened ,while it is in pan,it can be warmed slightly to make it soft.

Nowadays I have started using ordinary jaggery in place of chikki jaggery & it turns out equally good ! And following Sangeeta Khanna's recipe, I use  1 cup til & half a cup jaggery. The idea is to make it less sweet & more nutritious !

Pomegranate raita

This is one of my atya's favourite raita.Raitas are wonderful-  green cooking meaning absolutely no cooking or in exceptional cases,minimal cooking is needed.Raiats are ready in a jiffy & make use of raw ingredients. Riatas are in effect fruits and or veggies in combination with dahi ! A complete health food.A complete meal in itself.If it has fruit ,it is also the dessert !

Ingredients : 1 pomegranate,2 tbsp dahi,1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder,1/2 tsp pepper powder,salt to taste.

Method : Wash pomegranate.Remove the peel of the fruit & deseed it.Put all the seeds in a plate.Keep aside.

In a bowl ,take dahi & beat it till it has paste consistency.Add the pomegranate seeds & mix.Now add the roasted jeera powder & pepper powder & mix.Add salt & mix again.

The raita is ready -so colorful & healthy !

Puliogare rice

Puliogare is offered as prasadam in many temples in South India.It has sourness , sweetness,saltiness as also pungency of chillies.Tamarind paste can be kept for  days as it has a good shelf life.In Chennai ,this paste is available in the Grand Sweets & in other shops.Just buy a bottle & keep.Whenever ,one feels too tired,just cook rice.Mix with this paste with rice & eat it by mouthfuls.Then gulp down a glass of buttermilk to soothe the tongue.

I have learnt to make this paste at home.Please check out the recipe for tamarind paste here.

Ingredients :1 cup  rice,1 lemon ball of tamarind, 2 tbsps oil,1-2 green chillies,1-2 red chillies ( byadgi mirchi ),1 tbsp jaggery,1 tbsp rasam powder ,1/4 tsp red chilli powder,1/4 tsp fenugreek powder ( dry roast fenugreek seeds & pound them in mixer ),1 tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp urad dal,1 tsp chana dal,1 tbsp peanuts,a few sprigs of curry leaves,1/4 tsp hing,1/2 tsp haldi,salt to taste.

Method :Pressure cook rice.Keep aside.

In a small thick bottomed vessel ,take the tamarind & add 1 cup water.Heat it & bring to boil.Drain the thick water containing tamarind pulp.Take the tamarind pulp taste,add fenugreek powder,  rasam powder ,red chilli powder & jaggery.Boil the pulp some more time till it becomes paste consistency.Keep aside.

In another vessel ,prepare seasoning.Add oil & heat it.Add mustard seeds.When they splutter add urad dal followed by chana dal.When they become golden brown ,add peanuts.After peanuts change colour ,add green chillies & curry leaves.Lastly add red chillies & hing & haldi.Put off the gas.

Spread the cooked rice on to a plate.Add the tamarind paste & the seasoning & salt.Mix nicely all rice & the tamarind paste & seasoning.The lip smacking puliogare is ready !

Carrot Tomato soup

I add carrots to many dishes- upma,vermicelli upma,pav bhaji,bread pizza,etal.I add carrots to gravies of chhole,rajma & other lentils as I feel carrots blend nicely with tomatoes.Moreover ,my daughter would eat carrots smuggled into the dishes which otherwise she would not.

Ingredients : 2 medium sized tomatoes,1 medium onion( optional ) ,1 small carrot,1/2 tsp pepper powder,1/2 inch grated ginger ,fresh coriander-a few sprigs, salt to taste.

Method : Chop tomatoes,onion & carrot into big chunks.Pressure cook them all.After the pressure cooked veggies cool to room temperature,blend all of them in a mixer or blender.

Take the blended paste or liquid into a thick bottomed vessel.Add water to make it thin -of soup consistency. Add grated ginger.Boil the liquid.Add salt & pepper powder.Mix properly.Take off the vessel from gas.

Serve in bowls -garnished with fresh coriander which has been cleaned,washed & chopped.

Banana bread :eggless

There were over ripe bananas & I thought of trying banana bread recipe .I had come across this recipe @ http://www.jeyashriskitchen.com/2012/03/eggless-banana-bread-no-egg-no-butter.html.

I made my own changes & the bread turned out great !

Ingredients :1 cup multigrain atta ( I used Pillsbury- any other multigrain atta or wheat flour or maida can be used ), 3/4 cup brown sugar( white sugar can be used as well ), 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder,a pinch of salt,3 tbsp olive oil ( any other oil can be used ),1/4 cup yoghurt,1/4 cup milk,1tsp vanilla essence,2 over ripe bananas.

Method : Mix all dry ingredients - atta,sugar,baking powder & soda nicely.I do not sieve -hence I use fork or even whisk can be used to mix dry ingredients thoroughly.Keep aside.

Mash bananas into a puree.Add vanilla essence.Mix.Add yoghurt & milk.Add olive oil .Mix nicely.Keep aside.

Make a hole in the dry ingredient mix.Pour the liquid mix of banana,milk ,yoghurt,oil  into the dry mix.Whisk nicely till all ingredients are nicely mixed.The mixture must have drop down consistency.If the mixture has thicker consistency ,little water or buttermilk can be added to get drop down consistency.

Take a glass vessel or a microwaveable vessel.Line it with butter paper.Pour the mixture into the vessel.Bake in microwave for 10 minutes.After 10 minutes,switch off.Let the bread  be in the microwave for 5 minutes.Check if bread  is done by inserting a knife into the cake.If knife comes out clean ,it is done.Otherwise bake for another minute.Check again.

Cool bread  outside the microwave for another 10- 15 minutes.Now turn the vessel upside down on a plate.The bread will drop down after 10-15  minutes on to the plate.Cut into desired shapes & serve.

I felt that my bread had a nice brown colour as I had used multigrian atta as also brown sugar.The  banana taste was not prominent. So maybe 1 more banana & perhaps no milk in the next attempt.I felt that I should have baked for 9 minutes.The bread was on drier side.The sugar was just apt.So for those, who want a sweeter version, more sugar can be added.Instead of 3/4 cup sugar , 1 cup sugar can be used.