Banana Muffins

Easy to make Banana Muffins.

Ingredients :

• All Purpose Flour - 1 1/2 cups
• Ripe Bananas - 3
• Baking Powder - 1 tsp
• Baking Soda - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 3/4 cup
• Melted Butter - 1/3 cup
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Egg - 1

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven at 350°F. 
• Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt . You may strain through a sieve. Keep aside. 
• In a mixing bowl , mash the bananas. Add sugar, melted butter and egg to it. Combine. 
• Add the flour mixture to it and mix well until smooth. 
• Coat the muffin pan with a cooking spray or use paper liners. 
• Spoon batter into the muffin pan cups. ( 3/4th filled )
• Bake the muffins for half an hour ( or 15 minutes for small muffins ) Or until the toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. 

Enjoy !! :))

Creamy Broccoli Soup

Ingredients :

• Broccoli Florets - 2 cups
• Onion - 1 small
• Garlic - 1 clove
• Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
• Water or Vegetable Stock - 4 cups
• Thick Cream - 1/2 cup
• Salt -to taste
• Crushed Pepper - to taste
• Croutons - few 

Click here for the recipe of  home made Vegetable Stock

Directions : 

• In a saucepan, saute chopped onions and crushed garlic in olive oil .
• Once the onions are cooked add the broccoli florets and cook till slightly tender. 
• Pour water or broth and season with salt and pepper. Let it cook for about 12-15 minutes. 
• Let it cool. Blend until smooth. 
• Just before serving, heat the soup once again and add cream to it.  Adjust salt and pepper. 
• Top it with few croutons. 

Putnala Pappu Pachadi ( Roasted Gram Dal Chutney )

An excellent side for idlis and dosas.

Ingredients:

• Fresh Grated Coconut - 1 cup
• Putnala Pappu ( Roasted Gram Dal ) - 1/2 cup
• Green Chillies - 2 or to taste
• Garlic - 2 flakes ( optional )
• Tamarind pulp - 2 tbsp
• Water - just to help in grinding
• Salt - to taste
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad Dal - 1 tsp
• Red Whole Chillies - 2
• Hing ( Asafoetida ) - a pinch
• Curry Leaves - 1 spring
• Oil - 1 tbsp

Directions: 

• Grind fresh grated coconut, putnala pappu, chopped green chillies, garlic, tamarind pulp, salt with the help of little water. 
• For tempering, heat oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds, add urad dal. Let the dal turn slightly reddish. Add broken red chillies, hing and curry leaves. Turn off the heat.
• Pour this tempering over the chutney and mix well. 
• Serve with idli or dosa. or even upma.  ( in pic , served with oats idli ) 

Instant Oats Rawa Idli

Ingredients:

• Instant Oats - 3/4 cup
• Semolina ( Sooji ) - 3/4 cup
• Yogurt - 3/4 cup
• Water - 3/4 cup or as needed
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Hing ( Asafoetida ) - a pinch
• Curry Leaves - 3-4
• Grated Carrot - 2 tbsp
• Finely Chopped Cilantro - 2 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Baking Soda - a pinch
• Oil - 1 tbsp

Directions: 

• Dry roast the oats for a couple of minutes and let it cool. 
• Grind it into a fine powder. 
• Dry roast sooji in the same pan till it slightly changes the color. Turn it off and let it cool.
• Now , heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add chopped curry leaves and grated carrot. Saute till the raw flavor of carrot goes away. You can also add finely chopped green chillies along with carrot if you wish. 
• In a mixing bowl, add the powdered oats, roasted sooji , the seasoning ingredients , Chopped cilantro , salt, hing, baking soda, yogurt. Add water little by little and whisk it till you reach the right consistency of idli/pancake batter. 
• Greese the idli plate with little oil / ghee and fill the idli moulds with the batter. 
• Steam it in the pressure cooker without whistle for about 10-12 minutes.
• Serve idlis with your favourite chutney or sambar. 

Boiling Milk

While boiling milk, add a little amount of water at the base of the vessel to prevent  milk from sticking at the bottom.

Kadhi Pakoda

Hello Friends, I am back from a wonderful Indian vacation.
I did not have to cook at mom's place ; was just treated royally, which made me too lazy to get back to my kitchen.
Well  here I am, back on my blog after a good break and sufficient rest.
Yesterday I made Punjabi Kadhi. That's one of my favorites.
Lemme share my recipe with you all.
Lemme also reiterate, I might not be an excellent cook but I am just sharing with you all whatever little I know.
Any suggestions or improvements are most welcome. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Ingredients :

For Pakodas:

• Gram Flour ( Besan ) - 1 cup
• Carom Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Finely Chopped Onions - 2 tbsp
• Red Chili Powder - to taste ( Can be substituted by finely chopped green chillies )
• Salt - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
• Baking Soda - 1 pinch ( optional )
• Water - as required to make a smooth batter
• Oil - for deep frying

For Kadhi: 

• Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Yogurt - 2 cups
• Water - 1 cup
• Beasn - 3 tbsp
• Sliced Onions - 1 large
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds - 4-5 seeds
• Curry Leaves - 1 spring
• Slit Green Chillies - 2
• Bay Leaves - 2
• Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala Powder - 2 tsp or to taste
• Chopped Cilantro - for garnish
• Salt - to taste

Directions: 

For Pakodas: 

• Mix all the ingredients except oil in a mixing bowl and add just sufficient water little by little to make a thick batter.
• Heat oil in a pan for frying pakodas. 
• Drop small dumplings ( 1 tsp each ) of batter in the hot oil. 
• Deep fry them till they turn nice golden brown and crispy.
• Remove them on paper towel and keep aside.

For Kadhi : 

• Blend yogurt , water, turmeric powder, salt and besan with no lumps. Keep aside. Amount of water may vary according to your preference of consistency. 
• Heat ghee in a deep pot. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek Seeds and let them pop.
• Now add green chillies, curry leaves and bay leaves.
• Saute sliced onions till translucent.
• At this point, you can add ginger garlic paste if you wish. ( optional )
• Add garam masala powder.
• Add the yogurt mixture into the pot and bring it to boil over the medium heat and then reduce the heat. Keep stirring to avoid sticking at the bottom. 
• Cook covered for 15 - 20 minutes . The kadhi thickens due to the besan in it. 
• Turn off the heat and then add pakodas to the kadhi.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro. 

Kadhi tastes the best if it is made with sour yougurt , however you can add amchoor powder to the kadhi if it is not sour enough. 

Serve it hot with just plain rice and it would taste heavenly. You can also have it with jeera rice or roti.