Lemon Blueberry Bread

I have been making different muffins so I thought of trying a bread for a change. I saw this recipe in Aparna's blog. I wanted to try it immediately. The bread was very tasty with the lemon flavour. Here is the link to the original recipe. I added some grated apples to the batter. As I didn't have slivered almonds I topped the bread with streusel topping.

Ingredients

-1 3/4 cup flour
-3/4 cup sugar
-2 tsps baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 egg
-1 cup milk
-1/4 cup vegetable oil
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-finely grated zest of 1 lemon
-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
-1 cup of dried blueberries
-1/4 cup grated apple

Method

1.Preheat oven to 350F. Spray Pam and apply flour a 9 ¼ x 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients flour,baking powder,sugar,salt,grated zest of lemon in a bowl.
3.Whisk the egg,vanilla essence,lemon juice and milk in another bowl
4.Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredient in the well and blend it with a hand blender until it becomes a smooth batter.
5.Toss the blueberries with flour. Fold the blueberries and grated apple in the batter.
6. Pour the batter in the loaf pan.
7.Top the batter with streusel topping. Streusel topping is a mixture of flour,sugar and room temperature butter. Combine 2 tablespoons flour, 5 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons butter with fork until mixture resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle over batter.
8.Bake the bread for 50-55 minutes. Test if it is baked by inserting a knife in
the center of the bread. The knife should come out clean.

Navy bean and Vegetables

This is a fun curry with dhal and all sorts of vegetables. The fresh ground masala adds an additional flavor to this wonderful dish. I got the idea for this masala from Vaishali blog. I have been using this masala in all sorts of dishes. The combination of Fennel and Methi seeds give this recipe a unique flavor to this dish.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of mixed vegetable - I used bell peppers, carrots, purple potatoes-
- 1 cup of cooked navy beans
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp jeera seeds
- 1 green chili - (optional)
- salt to taste


Masala (Dry roast and grind to a fine powder)
- 2 tsp Coriander seeds
- 1 tsp jeera seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp methi seeds
- 10 peppercorns (adjust to taste)
- 3-4 dried red chilies (adjust to taste)

Method:

1. Chop all the vegetables to bite size pieces.
2. In a pan pour oil and add the jeera seeds. Once it splutters add the green chilies and after about 30 seconds add the onion and cook till it becomes translucent.
3. Add the chopped vegetables, salt cover and cook till the vegi's become tender.
4. Now add the tomatoes and the ground masala powder. Give it a mix and let it cook for 3-5 minutes.
5. Finally add the boiled navy beans. Do not add it before because the navy bean tend to become mushy. Reduce the heat and let it cook for 10 minutes.

Serve it hot with roti or jeera rice.

Spinach Channa and avocado Roti

The whole recipe is an inspiration from veg Inspirations. The spinach channa I think is very similar to the Ghea Channa we make in our home. So I am calling it spinach channa. We do not use a lot of garam masala in our cooking so I kind of came up with my own masala mix for this wonderful subzi. I combined it with avacado roti. This was one of my wow moment of my life. Think about it - Avacado is so buttery and it really does not have any strong taste to it. By mixing it with the roti flour it makes the roti soft without any butter. The roti was very tasty and it was really good with the spinach channa..

Ingredients for spinach channa:

- 3 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup channa dhal
- 1 small onion
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 green chili
- small piece of ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric
- chili powder to taste
- salt to taste


Fry and grind:
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp jeera seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp methi seeds
- 2 tsp pepper corn
- 3-4 red chili

Seasoning:
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp jeera

Method:

1. Boil the channa dhal till it becomes soft. I do not pressure cook this as I want it to be whole but soft. If you are using the cooker then be careful to not make it mushy.
2. In a large pan add oil and jeera. Once the jeera splutters add the onions and fry till tender. Now add the chopped spinach. In about 2-4 minutes it will start to wilt.
3. Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they become mushy. Add the ground masala, salt and if needed chili powder. Mix them well and let it cook for a couple of minutes
4. Add the boiled channa dhal. If you find that it is dry then add some water. Simmer for 15 minutes and serve it hot with roti

Ingredients for Roti :
- 2 cups atta/ wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ripe avocado mashed
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp of masala (I used the same one I ground for the spinach channa - see above)
- 1/2 tsp ajwin

Method :
1. Mix all the above ingredients to form a stiff dough. Roll them to form small rotis.
2. Heat a flat pan and cook the roti's till you see brown spots on both sides. Add little bit oil while cooking. This will not be like pulka roti's so you just need to cook in the tawa.

The combination is very tasty so definitely give this a try..

This one goes to the Green Foodie event Green Foodie event hosted by Preeti of relishing recipes

Chepankilangu roast/ Taro root roast

The credit to this recipe goes to chefinyou. This is a fabulous site and I have tried quite a few recipes from there. It always turns out good and her recipes are very unique. When I saw this recipe I fell in love with it because she has used very little oil. I cooked mine using about 1 tsp oil and that for a chepankilangu roast to me is pretty good. The one thing I might modify the next time is to chop the the taro root once I boil it. I think that would spread the masala evenly throughout the dish. This is my take on the original recipe...


Ingredients:
- 10 taro root
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- bit of hing
- 1 tsp oil

Method:
1. Boil the taro root and remove the skin. I microwaved it for 10-15 minutes and then pealed its skin. Check the consistency every 5 minutes so you don't overcook the taro root.
2. In an bowl add the oil then the turmeric powder, chili powder, hing and salt. Mix the boiled taro root in this masala. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
3. Take a baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil. Spray some oil. Place the taro root on it so that they don't touch each other
4. Turn on the oven to broil. I turned mine on to 500 degree. Now cook for 25-30 minutes.
5. Remove it and you are ready with your roast. I did not bother to do the last few steps in the original recipe as the roast was yummy as it is is.

Quinoa Chocolate Zucchini muffins

I wanted to bake something with quinoa. I had some sorry looking zucchini in my fridge and so I decided to try out a vegan version of zucchini bread. I hunted down some zucchini bread recipe's but my only issues with them were that they used too much oil. I try to cook with as little oil as possible so I started to modify the recipe and ended up with a pretty tasty version. Here is the link to my original inspiration. I used apple sauce instead of oil or eggs.



Ingredients :
(Yields 18 muffins if you bake in the standard 12 muffin pan)
- 1 cup qunioa flour
- 1 cup flour (I used 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 whole wheat flour)
- 2 cups apple sauce (As there are no eggs or butter you need quite a bit of apple sauce)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (If you don't want your bread too sweet then half cup will do)
- 1/2 cup walnuts (optional - they give a nice crunch to the muffin)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 2 tbs unsweetened coco powder
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 cups shredded zucchini

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350F degree
2. In a bowl mix all the ingredients until they are all incorporated. If you find your zucchini is not moist then add a little bit more apple sauce.
3. Now fill the muffin tin to about 2/3rd and bake them for 20 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean when you insert it in the middle,

Serve them warm with a hot cup of tea.

Note: If you don't have quinoa flour just take the 3/4 th cup whole qunioa and grind it in a mixer till it becomes a smooth powder. If you don't have chocolate chip then increase your coco powder.

This one goes to Whole Grain Baking Event – Quinoa hosted by Maduram's eggless cooking and to Bake-off event at Versatile Kitchen.

Eggless banana muffin

I love baking muffins. My 2 year old son likes muffins and by baking it for him at home I can be sure he eats healthy stuff. We had lot of over ripe banana sitting in the counter. I was debating between banana bread or banana muffin. When I was browsing I saw Saffron hut blog and there was a very easy recipe for a banana muffin. I made some minor changes and tried it out. The muffins are so easy to make and it tastes wonderful. Try it out. Here is the link to the original recipe.

Ingredients

-1 cup all purpose flour
-1/2 cup Whole wheat pastry flour
-4 ripe bananas (blended this nicely)
-3/4 cup sugar
-1/3 cup melted butter (unsalted)
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp Vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients(flour,baking soda,baking powder,salt) in a bowl.
3. Melt the butter in a microwave. Add sugar,mashed banana,vanilla essence and mix it properly
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix it with a spoon. Don't over mix the muffin batter.
5. Pour the mixture in a muffin pan. This makes 12 muffins.
6. Bake it for 20 min or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Enjoy yummy muffins for breakfast or as a snack with your tea.

This goes to the Bake-off event at Versatile Kitchen

Corn Muffins with jalapeño and cheddar cheese and Vegetarian Chili

We had a very hearty chili and corn muffin for our lunch. It was easy to put together and it tasted great. Here is the recipe..

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup corn meal
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk (I used low fat milk)
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 jalapeño pepper finely chopped (adjust to taste)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/8 cup oil

Method:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl beat the egg well with milk and oil.
2. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir till they are all well combined.
3. Finely chop the jalapeño pepper and add it to the corn bread mixture. Stir in the cheddar cheese.
4. Grease your muffin tins. Pour the batter so the tins are half full. Bake in a 400F oven for 20-25 minutes. Ovens vary in heat so check it after 18 minutes.

Serve it hot with chili.

Ingredients for Chili:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 3 bell peppers (any color is fine), chopped
- 2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
- 2 tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups pinto beans boiled
- 2 fresh corn boiled and kernels removed

Method:
1. In a croak pot add oil and the onions. Sauté till the onions become transparent.
2. Add the bell pepper, jalapeño and sauté for a few minutes.
3. Now add the tomato and let it boil till they become tender. Add all the spices (cumin powder, chili powder, pepper powder, oregano, salt) and beans. Pour 3 to 4 cups of water and reduce the heat to simmer.
4. After it has cooked for at least 45 minutes add the fresh corn. Now allow it to boil for another 20-30 minutes. The more it simmers the better it tastes. So if you start it in the morning reduce the heat and let it simmer the whole morning.

Serve it with some fresh cheddar cheese and tortilla chips on the side. You can dip the corn muffin and eat the soup with it. It is definitely a satisfying lunch or dinner.