Cilantro Lemon Rice

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Hope our friends in U.S enjoyed the long weekend. I did. We visited friends and even hit the malls to check the Memorial Day sale. By the crowd in the malls, I could see most people were making good use of the discount sales. I did not find anything I wanted so came back empty handed but had fun nevertheless being out and about.

I made some cilantro rice on Friday and had it with chicken curry. I always enjoy the Chipotle burrito, especially the rice they pack in it. To have a change from the usual white rice, I decided to try my hand at cilantro rice and what do you know, it was pretty good! When you have guests over and have too many things to cook, this rice will make be easy enough to put together, and yet keep the festivity alive because this rice has the zing of lemon and a burst of cilantro flavor.

I have seen recipes which calls for lemon zest and I say go ahead and do that if you like. I have not used it in the recipe below but I can see it will be fun to add some lemon zest to add more punch. You can play with the amount of lemon juice to make it suite your palette. Lemon and cilantro cannot go wrong in the coming summer months. Don't you agree?

The possibility of mixing this rice in your salads and wraps is endless. It's also great with chicken or any other curry.


Ingredients:
Basmati Rice – 2 C
Tejpatta/Indian Bay Leaf – 1
Salt – to taste
Lemon juice – 2 Tbspn
Soya sauce - 1 Tbspn (optional)
Cilantro - 1/2 C
Canola Oil - 1 Tbspn

Method:
1. Wash and soak rice for about ½ hour
2. Bring about 10 cups of water to a boil. Strain the water from the soaked rice and slip it into the boiling water along with bay leaves, and enough salt. Taste the water to make sure there is enough salt. Cook the rice al dente.
3.Chop the cilantro fine and mix it with lemon juice, soya sauce, and oil in a serving bowl which will hold all the cooked rice. Add a couple of spoons of rice and mix with the cilantro-lemon mix. Add the remaining rice on top and using a fork fluff the rice until well mixed with cilantro and lemon.

Notes:

1. If the cooked rice is not salted well enough, add more along with the lemon juice - preferably, dissolved in the lemon juice to have it evenly mix in the rice.
2. If you like the rice to be white in color avoid the soya sauce and replace it with lemon juice.

Beef Cutlets

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This is a recipe that Sunitha had mentioned in her chicken cutlet post about a month ago. Which means today’s recipe has been in the drafts for quite a long time. I haven’t been cooking anything time consuming of late mainly because of laziness. But I continue to blame the weather for my lethargy !

Meat cutlets are a hot selling snack in Kerala bakeries. We have a couple of bakeries, near my parents ‘ home, where they sell the most delicious cutlets. Some days, the demand was so high the bakeries would run out of cutlets way before tea time, which is when we would have stopped by to buy some. Oh! the disappointment!
Another place and time from when cutlets got registered in my mind as a fantastic food was the hostel. Especially the one I stayed in while doing my pre-degree course. This hostel is in fact one of the best hostels where I stayed which served good food. I can say this with certainty because I have stayed in quite a few hostels during my college days. And beef cutlets in this place served was tremendous. Hm… I can almost taste it, writing about it.

Thursday lunch is when they served cutlets and Thursdays were always when the hostelites felt the hunger pangs the most. Well, hunger and a dying desire to eat the marvelous cutlets, of course. The hostel is about 5 minutes from the college campus but on Thursdays we would reach it in a minute. One cutlet per person, a dry dish with moru kachiyathu was the menu. Now, you will agree one cutlet for a person is never enough. For the first year, most of us savored every bite of this one piece we were doled out and remained sated. But the second year, we were bolder and demanding. With more friends, gangs had been formed and the human pack behavior was at it’s best. Some of us meat eaters had vegetarian friends and we plotted a plan. On Thursdays, we managed to get these poor souls to lunch at our table. I remember one girl a vegetarian by choice who sometimes enjoyed chicken but otherwise remained a vegetarian. We connived and pleaded with her to lunch at our table. She was a sweet heart and foregoing her special vegetarian food agreed to lunch with us. The lady who serve us, unaware of our antics would serve everyone at our table a cutlet each and as (The vegetarians and non vegetarians are encouraged to sit at their preferred place so that food can be served accordingly on each table). The unsuspecting served would serve this vegetarian friend a cutlet and the rest of us would hide our smile and wait for her to move on. As soon as the server was out of sight we would grab the cutlet from our friend’s plate. The ensuing fight for this one lone beef cutlet is too gory to let you in on the details. We never persuaded this friend to taste the cutlets ever , fearing she might turn over and be a fan herself. We were wicked!

But I have to tell you, the time in college and the hostels were the best times. I am still in touch with friends from that time but have lost contact with the sweet friend who let us rob her of the beef cutlet. I wonder how she is fairing without cutlets but as for me and most of my other friends we all still love cutlets! Whenever I make beef cutlets memories pour in from those days. Oh jeez! I am all nostalgic now, and I want some beef cutlets !




Ingredients:


Onions finely chopped- 1/2 cup
Ginger grated- 3 Tbsp
Garlic grated- 1 Tbsp
Garam masala- 2 tsp
Green chilies finely chopped- 4-5
Black pepper powder- 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves, chopped- 5-6leaves
Ground Beef- 1 lb
Boiled potatoes- 2
Oil- 2 Tbsp + for deep frying
Bread crumbs from 2-3 slices
Slightly beaten egg- 1

Method:

1.Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide frying pan. Saute the onions till translucent.
2.Add the chopped green chillies, ginger and garlic and saute for a few minutes.
3.Also add the garam masala and chopped curry leaves and saute.
4.Add the ground beef and mix everything well. Add a little bit (maybe 1/4 cup) water, cover and cook till the meat is done and all the water is absorbed.
5.Mash the boiled potatoes and mix with the beef mixture.
6.Heat the oil for frying the cutlets. When it is almost ready start shaping the cutlets.
7.Make small lemon size balls out of the mixture and press between the palms and make your preferred shapes, like oval, round,heart etc.
8.Dip them in the egg and roll in the bread crumbs and deep fry till both the sides are brown.
9.Serve warm with ketchup.

Notes:

1. You could use any meat of your choice.
2.If you don't have curry leaves, add some chopped coriander leaves instead.
3.Do not keep the shaped cutlets after dipping in egg for a long time. Fry them as soon as you can.
4.If you want to shape them and store for frying after a while, do not dip them in egg or roll in crumbs, do this step just before you fry them in oil.
5.The amount and flavor of ginger gives it the authentic taste. If you are using great quality ginger, use lesser than I mentioned in the recipe.(I never get ginger that has a flavor anywhere close to the ones we get in Kerala :(

I am sending these cutlets to this month's Kerala Kitchen hosted at Spoonful of Delight

Contributor: Namitha

Lettuce Wrap

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Everybody needs finger food these days. Maybe it is because it allows tasting a variety without over indulging. Small bites of different taste. I get the feeling the future generations will only be eating finger foods. Which will make sense with so many people doing desk jobs and portion control of our meals are being a requiste to keep a healthy lifestyle. Have you heard of 5 course dinners recently. No, right? Exactly my point, it's the age of finger foods. So keeping with the trend, here is something easy, fun and colorful for your next party.

You can wrap the lettuce in a host of ways. Cut each leaf into four, take the mid rib out and make cones of each part, hold it together with tooth picks and fill with your choice of meat or vegetables.

If you are just having it with your family then thin the mid rib of the leaf and wrap meat or vegetables in each romaine lettuce leaf.

Ingredients for the filling:

Chicken breast - 1 lb
Soya bean sauce - 3 Tbspn
Thail chilli - 1
Ginger - 1/4 tspn chopped or grated fine
Garlic - 2 cloves chopped fine
Sesame seeds - 1 tspn
Oil - 2 tbspn

Wrap
Romaine Lettuce - 6 leaves

Optional:
Onion - to taste
Tomato - 1/2

Method:

1. Chop the chicken breast into small pieces. Marinate with 2 tbspn of soya sauce and refrigerate overnight or at least marinate for 2 hours
2. After chicken has marinated it's ready to stir fry.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add ginger, garlic and green chilies - saute till the raw smell turns to aromatic.
4. Add the marinated chicken with juices and stir fry on high for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through
5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and stir again. Alternately, toast the sesame seed and add to the cooked chicken and toss
6. Add the remaining 1 tbspn of soya sauce to the chicken towards the end of the cooking. Some soya sauce comes with a lot of salt therefore make sure you test for salt and taste before adding the last spoon of soya sauce.
7. Once the meat has cooled wrap it in a whole lettuce leaf. Or else, cut each leaf into four, make a cone shape of it and fill the chicken and hold the leaf together using tooth pick.

You can use a soya vingear dip or peanut sauce.

Contributor: Sunitha

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

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The weather is not very good for spending time outdoors, but I still managed to clean my yard yesterday. What I learned in the process - rains are not only good for plants and the lawn but also for weeds. When my finger tips start to get numb, and my back hurts, a part of me says spray the weed killer! But the other part of me says - it’s unnatural.  Even if the weed killer is organic I can’t get myself to use it.  Old habits die hard.  I have to break my back laboring away plucking out one weed at at me.  And thus continues my never ending confusion of weeding the weeds or spraying the weed killer. 

Now with the yard weed-free, and an aching body, you will agree that I truly deserve a treat. Then again, who will make it? Since the answer is ‘me’ I decided on a smart, easy, quick and yet delicious dessert. Extremely delicious chocolate fudge!  This can be made in 5 minutes, and you only need simple ingredients that most will have handy in their pantry.  If you haven't tried this sinfully delicious fudge yet, do it right now. One bite and you'll be hooked for ever!

These are quite addictive; don't blame me for not warning you.  ;-)

Ingredients:

Semisweet Chocolate morsels- 2 full cups
Sweetened Condensed milk, fat-free/regular- 1 14oz can
Salt- a pinch
Pure Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Chopped Walnuts/any nuts of your choice- 1 cup

Method:

1.  Line a baking pan that is preferably 8 by 8 inch square, with a parchment paper.
2.  Gently heat the condensed milk and chocolate chips together in a thick bottom pan on very low heat.  Continuously stir till all the chocolate is melted.
3.  Turn off the heat, add vanilla and mix in well.
4.  Throw in the chopped walnuts and fold in.
5.  Spoon out into the prepared pan and level the top with a spoon or butter knife.
6.  Let it cool for an hour, cover with cling paper and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
7.  Cut into squares and serve.  Store the left-over in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from: internet and Eagle brand condensed milk cover
Contributor: Namitha

Kati/Kathi or Egg Rolls

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After 34 years of communist rule in West Bengal, Tiranmool Congress won the recent elections. Of course, I will not be covering all of the news here, but with so much talk about Bengal, when we called home (parents) last night, and recently connecting with a long lost Bengali friend of mine, I suddenly felt closer to that place.

At one point in my life, I was talking with a lot more people from West Bengal than anywhere else. They were classmates in college, and sometimes hostel mates, but I soaked up a lot of their stories and culture from Calcutta - the street food, Durga Pooja, Bhang, the food in general, game of cards and so on and so forth. One of my friend’s Dad wrote this book ‘Paye paye prithvi’ which was written in Bengali, and we would always talk about translating it to English. I have heard that story page to page about her father’s life in Europe. How he travelled by feet from Italy to Denmark in the 1960’s I think.

In all this, being away from home, and living in hostels, food is remembered by all of us most vividly. As we suffered with badly cooked rice, roti or curry we reminisced about our favorite foods back home. Another friend’s eyes would light up every time she was back from her vacation in Calcutta. She would talk about street food, ogling guys, wearing the latest trend, and eating street food like nobody’s business. If someone knew to romanticize a place she knew it best. That is how I first heard about egg rolls. I learned to make it much later.

When I was working in Hyderabad, and living in a flat with my cousins, our neighbors happened to be a newly married Bengali couple. Of course, I got on with them famously! I was excited to share everything I know about Calcutta with my new friends. I think secretly the lady of the house encouraged me to talk half- baked information because she was away from her mother for the first time and obviously missing her hometown. When her husband traveled, we would go out on walks and share stories. By then, I was cooking quite regularly and learned to make kitchidi, potato bajji, kheer, etc. from this friend. She is the one who also taught me egg rolls. Every time we made this at home, she would keep telling me it could never be as good as the ones they brought from the street vendor. But of course, I never wrote down any of her recipes, but I would watch her cook and learn. Here is what she taught me and you will need to know how to make rotis or buy frozen parathas to make this.

Rotis/ Parathas – 2
Eggs - 2
Onions - ¼ thinly sliced
Green Chilies - 1 chopped
Cucumber - 1 peeled, seeded and finely chopped
Lemon/vinegar – a little for taste
Tomato Ketchup
Salt
Oil – 1 tbspn
Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Beat 1 egg and pour in. Reduce the flame or heat to medium low.
2. Once the egg starts cooking, and is still wet on top place a cooked roti or chapatti over it. Continue cooking till egg is not runny. To test, I gently press a pan cake flipper over the roti and look if the egg is runny. Do the same with the remaining roti and eggs.
Filling:
1. In a bowl mix together onions, chilies and cucumber. Add a sqeeze of lime or a little vinegar and salt for taste.
2. Sqeeze a line of tomato ketchup on the roti with the egg side up. .
3. Add a spoon or two of the filling and roll
4. Using butter paper or foil, wrap it and then you can enjoy them hand held. The tomato ketchup and cucumber will make it soggy so it is recommended to eat them as they are made.

Contributor: Sunitha

Herbed Focaccia

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"Mamma Mamma,I broke my hair". Little M was trying to grab my attention by pulling my trousers and I looked down saying "oh, it's ok! How did you break the hair? What happened?" Lil M looked at me confused as if he was wondering why his mother was not taking him seriously. He persisted and explained how he pulled his hair. But what made my jaw drop is when he said " I need to see a doctor". "What!" I thought in my head, but trying hard hard not to crack up said, "It's ok buddy!. You don't need to see a doctor if you broke a hair. It is fine". He looked evern more perplexed with my calm and dolefully said "Ok, so can I have a Bandaid then?" This time I couldn't stop laughing out loud. Now, you help me understand, am I dealing with a dumb or a smart boy at home?

Stories apart, today I want to share the recipe for a focaccia. A simple and easy method,which I have been following successfully at home. Are you intimidated about yeast/yeast breads? If yes, then this is a perfect recipe to start with. You could never go wrong with a Focaccia recipe,like this. I have tried it several times and it always turned out perfect.

The texture is great and the taste is wonderful !

Ingredients:

Lukewarm water- 1 3/4 cups,divided
Sugar- 1 tsp
Active dry yeast- 2 tsp
Bread flour- 3 cups
A P flour- 3/4 cup
Salt- 2 tsp
extra virgin olive oil- 1 Tbsp

For Olive Oil topping:

Warm Olive oil- 3 Tbsp
Optional herbs/spices:(You can combine your favorites)
Freshly ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Dried oregano- 2 tsp
Dried basil- 1 tsp
Dried sage
Fresh Rosemary- 2 Tbsp (1 tsp if dried)
Garlic powder- 1 tsp

Method:


1.Take 1/4 cup of lukewarm water and mix yeast and sugar and set aside for a couple of minutes or until its frothy.
2.In the bowl of your electric mixer - mix the flour, and salt together.
3.Add to it a tablespoon of oil and mix again.
4.Start pouring in the rest of the lukewarm water into the dough and start mixing.
5. Follow it with frothy yeast and continue mixing the dough.
6.Slowly add the rest of the water and mix until the dough comes together and leave the sides of the bowl.
7.Continue kneading for 5-6 minutes or until the kneading is done. (you can test this by pushing down the dough with your finer and if it is done, the dough will bounce back).
8.The dough shouldn't be too tight. It is better if it's on the stickier side.
9.Take out the dough from the bowl and make a smooth ball out of it.Spoon over some olive oil to coat the dough ball and the bottom of the bowl.Cover this and keep in a warm place to rise to double. This may take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
19.Take out the dough from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured work surface.
20.Prepare a baking pan by greasing and place the dough in it and flatten the dough till it is about an inch thick.
21.Cover it and let it rest for 30-40 minutes.
22.Preheat the oven at 400 degree F.
23.Make the herb oil by warming the oil in a microwave safe bowl/to be on a safer side, keep in a thick bottom pan that is small and warming the oil. If you are using a microwave, be very careful, do not burn yourself or the oil :-) Keep the oil for 15 seconds and check and keep another 15 seconds until it is warm enough.
24.Mix the herbs in the warm oil and mix well.
25.When the dough is ready, risen double, dimple it with your finger tips and brush with this herb oil.
26.Bake on the center rack of the oven for 18-20 minutes or until it is slightly browned on top.
27.Cool on a wire rack before you slice it.

Sending this bread to Yeastspotting.

Notes:

1.You could use any pizza recipe to make this bread.
2.The herb toppings is up to your imagination. You could use any combo of your choice.
3.You could add more olive oil on the top if you wish.

Adapted from : Flavored breads by Mark Miller and Andrew Maclauchlan
and Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Contributor: Namitha

Baked Omelette

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I thought I will totally crazy after last night. The temperature went as high as it goes in the Chicago area, and the A/C unit in our apartment went kaput! Sleep less night and woke up cranky. But we are not here to talk about my sleepless nights, right! Here is a recipe for baked omelette, which I am sure you will like. If someone as cranky as I was ate it with relish today, anybody will.

The peppers, oregano and cheddar flavors the egg to make a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner. The recipe today will serve two.

I am having a party with all these blue painted bits and pieces of a tableware I picked up in Holland, Michigan.

Ingredients:

Eggs - 2
Onions - 2 tbspn finely chopped
Bell pepper - 1 cup chopped
Serrano Pepper - 1/2 optional
Garlic - 1 clove
Oregano - 1/2 tspn (if you don't like it too reduce the quantity)
Fine Bread crumbs - 2 Tbspn
Cheddar Cheese - 1 cup
Salt - 1/8 tspn
Butter - 1/2 tbspn

Method:

1. Beat egg lightly and set aside
2. Heat butter in a pan and saute the onions, garlic and oregano followed by the peppers.
3. After adding peppers saute for a minute or two. Slid it into the egg with juices if any and mix
4. Add the bread crumbs mix to combine and pour this into a casserole and bake at 325 D F for 30 minutes
5. I used 1 1/2 quart casserole round pan to bake this. The mixture will remain way down at the bottom so you could use a smaller casserole if you like.

Contributor: Sunitha
Adapted from Paula Deens recipe

Funfetti Cupcakes

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Hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's day. I had a terrific one, thanks to my family. They are the best!  They brought me breakfast in bed, took me out hiking, barbecued and made daiquiri in my honor.  Hm…may every day be Mother’s day!  

 

 The weather was extremely good for a hike, and there was no way we could pass it up.  It has been a custom of 4 years for us to get out and hike as soon as the temperature rises.  And we are lucky to be living in the right place to make it possible, the foothills of Rocky Mountains.  We love exploring the mountains, both by driving and hiking. To my husband and my great excitement our kids share the same passion.  They both walk/hike without complaining and my 2 ½ year old son did us proud by doing ¾ th of a mile without complaining.  Precious!  Now we are itching to do mountain exploring with him.  Kids really have fun on these trips. What with elks, moose, snakes and birds to spot and keep an eye out for.  Fantastic!

 

And for us parents children never fail to add to the entertainment.  I had packed snacks for us all and my little boy claimed the goldfish crackers.  A whole packet!  Of course, his sister wanted some.  But he was not giving any.  I know for sure because he made it clear through his expression, speech and manner.  Now, I love both kids equally and decided my precious daughter deserved some goldfish crackers too.  He had a tight grip on that packet except when he gave it to me in exchange for his water bottle.  On one occasion, when I knew he was not looking.  I can vouch for this anywhere - he was not looking!  I snatched a handful and passed it on to his sister.  I returned him the packet and was about to walk on when I heard the lil imp say - "Mamma robbed me." Some one tell me, how do we keep a straight face?  He looked at his father and said again -"My crackers are missing and Mamma did it" I was going crackers by then!  

Such is life! And in the mean time, I had promised my little one that I will make him cupcakes during Easter.  He had spotted the Sprinkle cupcakes.  I finally made good of that promise and here is the recipe for you too.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 1 1/4 cup
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Sugar- 3/4 cup
Butter,at room temp- 6 Tbsp
Egg- 1 large and 1 egg white
Pure vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tsp
Milk- 1/2 cup
Rainbow Sprinkles- 2 Tbsp

Method:

1.Preheat oven at 350 degree F. Grease or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2.Sift together the flour,salt and baking powder.
3.Beat the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.
4.Add the egg and egg white one after the other and mix until everything is combined.
5.Add the vanilla extract and mix again.
6.Mix in the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk, staring andhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif ending with flour mixture.
7.Fold in the sprinkles and spoon out into the prepared pan.
8.Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9.Cool on a wire rack and do the frosting of your preferred choice.

Notes:

1.You could use any white cake/vanilla cake recipe for making this.
2.I used whipped cream frosting. You can find the recipe here.
3.This makes 12 cupcakes.



Recipe adapted from: Here
Contributor: Namitha

Drumstick in thick coconut gravy

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The name drumstick owes to the triangular, long seed-pods of Genus Moringa. Huh?!? I am not convinced with this etymology, but who am I to say! What I am proud of is we call it muringakay which is definitely closer to the scientific name Moringa. Full points to the Indian name of this vegetable!

Did you know that the drumstick tree is said to be one of the most useful trees on earth? Surprised? Me too! Wikipedia says “It is considered one of the world’s most useful trees, as almost every part of the Moringa tree can be used for food or has some other beneficial property.” This is phenomenal. So, let’s not waste any more time, but jump straight in- to learning how to cook this vegetable.

This curry is generally made with drumsticks and mango, where mango gives the tartness.  I did not have any handy, so decided to make it without, and what do you know – not bad!   Obviously the tartness is missing, but the addition of jeera, and a generous amount of cloves, packs the curry with enough flavor. A mango pickle to go with it will be perfect. 

Ingredients:
Drumsticks – 14, 2-inch pieces
Thai Green Chilies – 4
Turmeric – 1/2 tspn
Chili Powder - 1/2 tspn

For Grinding
Coconut – 1 cup
Jeera – 1 tspn
Garlic Cloves - 4

Tempering
Coconut oil – 2 Tbspn
Shallots – 3
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Dry red chilies – 2 broken into 4 pieces

Method:
1. Cook drumsticks in 1 cup or enough water to immerse them together with turmeric, ¼ tspn salt and green chilies. Cooked to done but not falling apart. That will be about 10 minutes. Note that I have used frozen drumsticks.
2. Grind coconut, jeera and garlic cloves to a fine paste, and add to the cooked drumsticks. Use water to make a thin or thick gravy to your preference. Take the pan off the heat as soon as the curry heats through. Check for salt and add to taste.
3. Heat coconut oil in a small pan splutter the mustard. Follow it with shallots, red chilies, and curry leaves, and pour over the curry.

Serves: 4
Serve with rice.

Oatmeal Walnuts Dates and Raisins Muffin

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I am always trying to get my kids to put on weight. They are on the lower end of a growth chart, when it comes to weight. Knowing this, whenever I make something they like, I try to incorporate as much calories as possible. Of course, in a healthy way! Recently, my daughter started taking to oatmeal porridge. I grab on to small clues like that. And then I decided to take our oatmeal cookies, which everyone in the family loves, to the next level. While searching for recipes that have oatmeal, I came across this title and immediately knew what to do next. Oatmeal muffins!

Extremely good breakfast muffin! It works well as a snack for the kids too. The mild flavor of cinnamon and vanilla - with a bite of nuts, dates, and raisins will definitely make you want to eat more. I will make this over and over again.

If you have picky eaters at home, try these muffins on them. Highly recommend!

Ingredients:

Rolled Oats- 1 cup
Whole wheat atta flour/AP flour- 1 cup
Brown sugar- 1/2 cup, packed
Baking powder- 1 tsp
Baking soda- 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon- 1/2 tsp
Toasted Walnuts- 1/2 cup chopped
Raisins- 1/3 cup
Chopped Dates- 1/3 cup
Butter- 1/2 cup/1 stick, melted and cooled
Milk/Buttermilk- 1 cup
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
Egg- 1 large, slightly beaten

Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 400 degree F and grease or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
1a. Whisk together the dry ingredients( oats, flour, sugar, salt,baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, walnuts, raisins and dates) in a large bowl.
2.Beat together the butter, milk,egg and vanilla in another bowl.
3.Mix in the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Fold in lightly, not over mixing. Just mix for 10-15 seconds and not more than that. By this time almost everything will be wet.
4.Spoon into the muffin pan and sprinkle with some oats if you want.
5.Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6.Cool on a wire rack completely before storing in an air tight container.

Notes:

1.The original recipe calls for all purpose flour, but I use whole wheat atta, that we use for making rotis.
2.Also I didn't have buttermilk, so I used milk instead.


Recipe Adapted from: Simply Recipes
Contributor: Namitha

Unnakai - Ripe plantain filled with dates and nuts

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I had given up dreams of wearing flip flops. Then Saturday happened. Glorious sunlight and suddenly everything seemed possible. We found out state parks and walkways near by and marauded them. Breathed fresh air and drank in the verdant beauty all around. Hm...! Nice. Am I glad or am I glad! I wore my flip flops too.

The fruity treat today called unnakai is a Malabar specialty. I have seen it in many blogs and had to try it myself. We are huge fans of plantains at home so decided it won't go waste. Making a sweet treat is quite a hefty decision these days. It's no good for me but my husband loves them. The only balance I can strike is to make only for him and resist it myself but that is asking a lot. But with plantains I decided its going to be okay. And it sure is. I have stayed away from the coconut filling which traditionally is the filling and instead used dates and cashews.

They are delectable

They are irresistible. If I say so myself!

Ingredients:

Plantain – 2, cut into four pieces, skin on.
Dates – 15
Water – ¼ cup
Cashews – 10 – 15
Brown sugar – ¼ cup
Butter – 1 tspn
Oil – to shallow fry

Method:
1. Make slits over the plantain peel randomly making sure the gashes are ‘skin deep’
2. Steam it to soften
3. Cool, peel and cut each piece lengthwise and seed them.
4. Mash to a pulp
5. Stew the dates for about 5 minutes. Remove from the liquid and chop into fine pieces.
6. Chop the cashew and sauté in 1 tspn butter and add the dates and brown sugar and switch off the heat. Set it aside
7. Make 8 equal parts of the mashed plantain.
8. Grease your hands with oil, take one part plantain into your hand, flatten it, and fill with enough date and cover over the plantain to make cylindrical shapes. Follow with the rest of the plantain and set aside
9. Heat a pan for shallow frying, add about 4 tbspn of oil, and slide in the shaped plantain. Turning carefully brown on all sides. Serve as a dessert.