Vegan apple banana bread

I had some apples & ripe bananas.I wanted to bake cake or bread using the ripe bananas & the apples.And I wanted to try a vegan version.I searched & got this vegan apple banana chunk bread recipe .

I added flax seed meal to the recipe & made my own version of this bread.I added flax seed meal as it gives a nutty flavour & the nutty flavour goes well with the bread.

Ingredients : I cup multigrain atta ( I used Aashirvaad ),2 apples ( peeled & desseeded,1 ripe banana ( peeled & pureed in mixer or blender ) ,1 tbsp flax seed powder soaked in 3 tbsp water for 15 minutes & more ,1/3 cup brown mineral  sugar + 1 tbsp brown mineral sugar, 1 tsp baking soda,1/4 tsp cinnamon,a pinch of salt.

Method : Take one peeled & desseded apple & pressure in cooker for 1 whistle.Let it cool.Then blend that apple into puree.This is the applesauce.Mix this applesauce with pureed banana.Add flax seed meal soaked in water to this fruit puree mix.Mix nicely to blend the fruit puree with flax seed water mix.Keep aside.

Take another peeled & deseeded apple.Cut into small chunks.Keep aside.

Mix all dry ingredients that is mutligrain atta,sugar,baking soda,salt ,cinnamon powder nicely with a whisk or fork.Mix many times over so that all dry ingredients blend into each other.

Add the apple chunks into the dry mix.Now fold the apple chunks such athat each apple chunk is coated with the dry mix.

Slowly add the apple banana puree into the dry apple chunk mixture.Mix so, that no lumps remain.This is the bread mix.

Line a microwaveable vessel with butter paper.Pour bread mix or  batter .Bake in microwave for 8-9 minutes.Switch off microwave.Let it cool for 5 minutes.Remove & check with knife if cake is done.If knife comes out clean ,cake is done.Otherwise microwave for 1 more minute.Check again.Let it cool for 15 minutes.Put the bread vessel upside down on a plate.The bread  will drop down on plate.Else ,it can be gently removed from sides of vessel so that it drops down on plate.Cut into desired shapes & serve.

Divine feast.

Temple food is always delicious .Maybe because it is offered to Gods & Goddesses before being distributed .Maybe,the ingredients used are as fresh as they can be, which gives it an out of this world taste ! And it satiates our palates.It is truly fulfilling, to say the least !

At one such Sri Satyanarayan pooja in a temple belonging to the Udipi Sri Krishna Mutt, I had the best of the prasad.It was just a complete meal by itself.It was a simple spread of four to five dishes .Yet, it was simply superb !

We prostrated before the Almighty & partook of the Sri Satyanarayan Prasad which is a semolina & sugar preparation made with generous helpings of ghee.It is garnished with cardammom powder, kismis,ghee fried cashews.It also contains some amount of mashed bananas which gives this  prasad its unique taste as compared to simple semolina shira  This semolina prasad is the prasad for the pooja.It is believed that partaking of this prasad gives the devotees all that is needed even if the devotees has skipped the pooja. That is the power of this prasad !The semolina prasad was offered in katoris made from dried leaves.The prasad or shira is off white & is of grainy texture.It has specks of brown ( the kismis which have become saturated with the sweetness) some white specks which are the ghee fried cashews & some black dots which is the cardamom powder which makes it so very aromatic !  Temples have always favoured green efforts. Also offered as prasad was a light yellow concoction of milk,curds, honey & mashed banana.Of course,this was offered only one spoonful per devotee.

Then,we were offered platefuls of bisi bele bhaath,medu vadas,sweet vadas,gojju & patrode.I was delighted looking at the contents of the plate itself.The aroma of all this, was so irressitible ! Bisibele bhaath is a traditional dish from Karnataka.It is made of equal quantities of rice & toover dal cooked slowly - so much so that the two cannot be separated .Cooked veggies like carrots,beans & peas add to the taste of this dish which is a complete meal by itself as it contains,carbohydrates,proteins & veggies !The bisibele bhaath is yellowish orange in colour almost brown or reaching there.Of course,one can spot the firm cooked veggies that is the orange coloured carrot pieces,the green coloured beans & peas .And of couse ,one can smell it before one eats it as the spices hit our nostrils first salivating us !  

 The medu vadas & sweet vadas were crisp & light .They felt oil free.The sweet vadas had jaggery & mashed bananas .Such a healthy combination.The vadas were dunked in wheat flour & fried.The sweet vadas were brown in colour .The medu vadas had the right amount of green chillies & curry leaves.Medu vadas are oozing with the protein of urad dal ! Nutritious to the core ! The medu vadas were like the colour of the moon when it is pale yellow & the texture is  rugged. Patrode is a fried vada made from a combination of colacasia leaves dunked in a batter of urad dal ,mung dal ,rice & spices.This is then steam cooked & shallow fried on tawa. The patrode are layers of green colacasis leaves & yellow dal paste which turns brownish yellow orange when shallow fried. The gojju is a dip or a sauce made from tamarind paste & jaggery, to which spices are added after boiling the concoction. This is a tangy brown accompaniment to the medu vada & the patrode .The medu vada & patrode tasted heavenly without the accompaniment.Moreover bisi bele bhaath is generally eaten  with dry fried veggies like potato fry or bhindi fry.Bisi bele bhaath can even be the perfect partner for papads ,patrode & medu vada.The melt in mouth bisi bele bhaath with the crunch of the fried medu vada & patrode was way too perfect.The whole meal was so fulfilling that  I never took another helping ! The divine treat was so  wholesome  ! And then, this was washed down with a  watery sago kheer ! Deliciously simple ! I avoid milk based payasams & yet, this payasam had the least of milk which had been diluted so much that I simply  licked it ! The payasam had been coloured with just a pinch of turmeric & this made for pastel yellow shade !  This feast was relished by me more than four  years back & yet it is so memorable that I can feel the taste of all the dishes as if  I am enjoying then now !


If only the meal of bisi bele bhaath ,medu vadas ,patrode ,sago payasam,gojju & jaggery pakodas were served in borosil dishes ,then,plates would hardly be needed.The appearance in beautiful see through glassware like borosil would have inspired all, to eat it straight, from the borosil vessels in which the various dishes were kept !  There would have been a stampede, for sure !The food would look golden brown ,orange & yellow ! Golden  hues ! Yes,this food is worth its weight in gold & more !

The gojju would look appetising in mixing bowl,the bisi bele bhaath in a deep round casserole ,the patrode & medu vadss seperately in two easy grip round casserole sets,& the payasam in easy grip & drop round casserole.And the icing on the cake, would be when the dishes would be served in borosil serving plate followed by the payasam in borosil small glass katories ! The temple treat in borosil  glassware would be a feast for the eyes as well !

And after that meal ,I have made sure, that whenever I get invited to any feast at a temple ,I make it sure to attend it ! And needless to add ,they  all  have been immensely  fulfilling meals !

This is my blog post for "My beautiful food " Round 1/2 on IndiBlogger .

Broccoli dal

I have come to love broccoli as it cooks very fast & is quite tasty with just afew spices.So for a  lazy person like me ,it is a boon !

I have tried a broccoli dish earlier from Sangeeta Khanna's blog & today I tried one more of her broccoli dishes.Her broccoli lentil soup came out very well.The original recipe by Sangeeta Khanna is here .

I changed some ingredients.I skipped using celery & garlic.I used green chillies instead of red chilly powder.Moreover ,I cooked long enough for broccoli to lose its crunchiness.

Ingredients : 1 tbsp whole masoor,1 tbsp split green mung dal,300 gm broccoli washed & cut into florets, 2 small tomatoes chopped,1 medium sized onion chopped fine, 2 green chillies chopped, 1/2 tsp ginger washed & grated,1/2 tsp cumin seeds,1 tsp ghee,1/4 tsp haldi,salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook the dals with onions,green chillies,grated ginger & haldi.Add the broccoli stalks which have chopped fine in the pressure cooker with the dals. I pressure cooked for 2 whistles & then lowered the flame & cooked for 5 minutes before turning off the gas.After the pressure has eased,take out the cooked stew & keep aside.

Meanwhile ,heat gheee in a kadhai.Add cumin seedsWhen they splutter ,add broccoli florets & stir fry for 5 minutes.Add salt.Mix nicely.Now add chopped tomatoes & cook for another five minutes.Add the dal stew to this broccoli tomato mix & bring to a boil.Add more water if dal type consistency is needed.Put off the gas & serve with chaptis and or rice.

I loved the simple flavours.Mine was thick stew.It was unlike soup .Yet ,it is dal veggie combo which spells nutrition !

Vegan red velvet cup cakes

I have tried this before .I forgot to note down the recipe.Hence, was unable to post it earlier.
I tweaked  the eggless  red velvet cup cake recipe from Divine Taste  a little.I made it into a vegan recipe.

Ingredients :  1 cup multigrain atta ( I used Pillsbury ) ,1/2 cup beet puree,1/2 cup brown sugar,1/4 cup oil,2 tsp chocolate powder ( I used  drinking chocolate powder which was available at home ),1 1/8 tsp( 1tsp +1/8 tsp ) baking powder,11/2 ( 1.5 ) tbsps apple cider vinegar,1/2 tsp vanilla essence,a pinch of salt.

Method :
Pressure cook 2 small  beetroots  for 3 whistles.Let the cooker cool.Take out the beets.Peel them.Cut into big pieces.Puree them in blender or mixer.Add vanilla essence,oil & vinegar to the beet puree.Mix nicely.Keep aside.

Take all dry ingredients ....atta,sugar,baking powder,chocolate powder & salt .Mix thoroughly with fork or spoon many times.Keep aside.

Now add the wet mix to the dry mix .Mix both nicely so that no lumps remain.Now line silicone cup cake moulds with butter paper.With a table spoon fill 2/3 of the cup cake moulds with the cake batter.Bake them in microwave for 1.5 to 2 minutes.Put off microwave.Let it cool. After five minutes,cup cakes can be tested with fork to see if they have been baked by poking a fork.If the teeth fork come out clean ,it is done.Otherwise,bake for another 10-15 seconds.Cool. After 10 minutes,take out the cup cakes.Let them cool outside for another 10 minutes.Carefully & slowly remove the butter paper lining the silicone cup cake moulds.The cup cakes are ready !

I garnished them with titbits of white chocolate that I had at home.The cup cakes had no taste of beet,They were moist & sweet.Not very sweet. The quantity stated made seven small cup cakes & 6 slightly larger cup cakes.

Capsicum,carrot ,onion salad

I have been eating cooked food...I was craving for something raw ...raw carrots,etc.So decided to make a salad with whatever veggies I had at home.

Ingredients : 1 medium sized onion roughly chopped,1/2 capsicum roughly chopped & 1 small carrot cut into thin slices, 1/4 tsp chaat masala,1/2 tsp lemon juice,rock salt to taste.

Method : Mix all the chopped onion & capsicum pieces.Add the thinly sliced carrot pieces.Mix nicely.Add chaat masala powder followed by salt.Mix nicely so that  chaat masala & salt gets nicely blended with the veggies.Add lemon juice & blend it by tossing all the veggies.The oil free sald is ready !

Serve with pulao or rotis or eat it just like that !

Any salt can be used.If more spices are needed ,they can be added.I like mine with just a minimum of spices.Instead of chaat masla ,roasted pepper & jeera powder can  both be added.More raw veggies can be added.I prefer lemon juice instead of raw tomatoes.The possibilities are endless !And this salad can be eaten as a snack  by itself !

Broccoli stir fry.

I had brought broccoli & wanted to try a  stir fry.I googled  Sangita Khanna's blog healthfood desi videshi .I was amazed to see many recipes using broccoli.I selected this  detox recipe.

I did not have soy nuggets.Hence ,I made this sir fry without soy nuggets.

Ingredients :  3 cups broccoli florets,1 medium onion finely chopped,1 tomato chopped,2 green chillies chopped,1 tsp ginger  & garlic (both grated),1 tsp pepper powder,2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp  oil,salt to taste.

Method : Warm oil in a pan.Add grated  ginger garlic & saute it.Add green chillies & onions.Saute them as well.The onions will get translucent,Add the soya sauce & 1 tbsp  water.Mix nicely.

Add broccoli florets.Add salt.Stir all the ingredients well.Add pepper powder.Mix again.Cover with a lid & cook for five minutes.Add chopped tomatoes & mix with all ingredients.Cover with lid & cook for 5-10 minutes.

Serve hot with rotis.I ate this with rotis & loved the new flavours that I discovered.

Add salt carefully as soya sauce contains salt & green veggies have their own salt content.

Strawberry cake :Vegan version.

I had strawberries in my refregerator & wanted to use them.Searched for a recipe & came across a vegan cake using them here.I tweaked it a little & made one last night ...on the eve of International Women's day.

Ingredients : 1 cup multigrain atta ( Pillsbury ),1/2 cup brown mineral sugar,1/2 tsp baking soda,1/2 tsp baking powder,1/2 cup  strawberry puree ,a few strawberries with the stem removed & cut into thin stripes ( optional ),1/4 cup oil,1 tbsp apple cider vinegar,1/2 tsp vanilla essence, salt to taste.

Method : Mix all dry ingredients that is atta,baking soda,baking powder,salt & sugar with a whisk many times so that all are thoroughly mixed with each other.Keep aside.

Mix strawberry puree ( wash strawberries,Remove the green stems,Chop them .Puree in a blender or mixer.Take 1/2 cup of this puree .Add oil,vanilla essence & apple cider vinegar.Mix nicely with whisk.Now pour this liquid mix into a well in the dry ingredient mix. Blend all into a batter.Add water if lumps remain.Keep aside.

Line a microwaveable vessel with butter paper.On that ,keep thin slices of strawberries.Pour cake batter over the strawberries.Bake in microwave for 8-9 minutes.Switch off microwave.Let it cool for 5 minutes.Remove & check with knife if cake is done.If knife comes out clean ,cake is done.Otherwise microwave for 1 more minute.Check again.Let it cool for 15 minutes.Put the cake vessel upside down on a plate.The cake will drop down on plate.Else ,it can be gently removed from sides of vessel so that it drops down on plate.Cut into desired shapes & serve.

The lining of thin strawberry slices on bottom of cake is optional.This gets sticky after baking.
The amount of sugar used was just apt.If you want it to be more sweet ,3/4 cup sugar can be used.Always remember that brown sugar is less sweet than white sugar.Hence ,if using white sugar,1/2 cup would be sufficient.

The cake was super moist !

Sprinkle some powdered sugar on cake slices to make them sweeter .Sprinkle coloured sugar balls on cake slices in the alternative like I did !