Rava Banana Cake

Quick & easy Rava (semolina) banana cake in Microwave!
Ingredients

1-2 tbsp Ghee / Unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup rava (bombay rava, which we use for making upma)
3/4 cup jaggery
3 bananas – ripe / medium sized
1 pack thick coconut milk – (Dabur’s coconut milk 200 ml pack)
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method

1.Grease a microwave safe flat bowl with some ghee on your fingertips. Keep aside.
2.In a mixie, place the 3 peeled bananas with the jaggery / brown sugar, make a smooth paste and keep aside.
3.Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed kadai, add the rava. On very low flame, constantly stir it around until it turns lightly golden. This part requires your full attention for 5-7 minutes and the slightest burnt rava will spoil the taste of the cake.
4.Once the rava turns in to light golden brown, turn flame to lowest possible, pour in the banana-jaggery paste, stir till it is nearly absorbed by the rava.
5. Meanwhile in a separate bowl, whisk the coconut milk, water, salt, baking powder, cardamom powder well and pour it into the rava mix in the wok. Stir well till ingredients are blended through.
6.Pour this mix into the greased microwave safe dish. Garnish with any nuts /dried fruits or candied fruit.
7.Microwave at 100% for 6 minutes. Check the degree to which the cake is cooked and then depending on that microwave at 80% for 2 minutes or so. Remove, cool and cut into squares /diamonds.
8. Serve warm.

Chocolate Brownies

It is very hard to resist yummy dark, fudgy chocolate brownies, whether it is served with a cup of hot coffee or with scoops of vanilla ice-cream. My son and my dear friend J will vouch for this along with me.

I used to drool for the choco brownies sold at Auroville and Fab India and my passion for the perfect eggless brownies has been finally perfected over time. This churns out the same every time and you can make this in a jiffy.

The preparation time is about 10 minutes and the cooking time is even more less – for microwave it is 7 minutes and in the oven it takes 15 minutes.

The use of demerara – the brown cane sugar imparts a natural flavour to this recipe. Demerara sugar is a type of unrefined sugar with a large grain and gives a crunchy and chewy texture to the brownies. It is much better than using powdered sugar.. (saves time too..). The cold milk is actually a substitute for eggs.

Enjoy the sizzling sinful brownies and forget about diets and calories.. Sometimes it makes sense to live to eat, rather than eat to live!

Ingredients

Maida – 1 cup
Demerara Sugar – 1 cup
Baking powder – ½ tsp
Unsalted butter – 3/4 cup
3 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
Vanilla Essence – 1 small tsp
Walnuts / cashewnuts – handful
Cold Milk – 1.5 cups
Hershey’s Choco syrup

1. Heat butter in a microwave bowl for 1.5 minutes. Take the melted butter and whisk in 3 tsp of cocoa powder, Keep it aside.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together - Maida, Sugar and baking powder. Add Vanilla essence, cold milk little by little and gently mix in the melted butter-cocoa mixture along with walnuts or cashew nuts.

3. Grease a baking pan and fold in this batter.

4. If you are using a microwave, use a microwave safe dish and bake it in high for the first five minutes and low for the rest 2 minutes. The brownie should be little moist while done in a microwave, and will still continue to cook in the standing time. Allow to cool.

5. If you are using a conventional oven, bake it for 15 minutes at 150 deg C.

6. Allow to cool before you invert in to a plate. Generously add Hershey’s choco syrup as a topping sauce so that it retains the chewy moisture and you can later cut in to squares.

Instant Dhokla

A Yummy snack in a jiffy!

Ingredients:

Dhokla Atta – 2 cups
Pinch of turmeric powder
Salt
1-2 cups – sour curd
Eno Fruit salt – 1 sachet
Paste of Corainder leaves, 2 green chillies and ½ lemon
Oil for greasing and tempering
2 tsp sugar dissolved in water (to sprinkle on the dhokla)

For tadka:

1 sliced green chilli
Mustard seeds (optional)
1 – 2 tsp sesame (white til)
1-2 tsp – Grated fresh coconut (optional)
Chopped coraineder

Mix the Dhokla atta, turmeric, salt with curd. Add the coriander paste and whisk it into a smooth paste. Let it stand for 20 minutes. ( The consistency of this batter would be like adai mavu)

Grease a pan with oil, keep it aside.

Just before pouring out this mixture to this pan, add the eno salt and mix it well with your hand. The batter will become fluffy with bubbles and looks light.(Acutally, Eno's fruit salt is an antacid which is a combination of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).. When this is added to the batter which contains water, they release carbon dioxide, and the bubbles trapped in the batter result in a lovely sponge..)

Steam well for 10-15 minutes. Let it cool well before you invert the steamed dhokla.

Sprinkle the sugar water and pour the tadka on top.

Serve with Spciy Mint chutney or Sweet tamarind chutney.

Kara Appam - Kuzhi Paniyaram

You can belt out this recipe quickly with some leftover idli batter and rava. Turns out perfect in a non-stick Kuzhi Paniyaram vessel.




Ingredients:

2 cups Idli batter
1 cup semolina / rava
1/2 cup maida or atta
1/2 cup rice flour
1 finely chopped onion
2 - finely chopped green chillies
Curry leaves - chopped
Cut ginger - 1 tsp
Salt
1/2 cup water (to be added as necessary)


For seasoing the batter : 1 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard, 1 red chilli, asafoetida

Method:

1. Mix all the items with the seasoned idli batter. Add little water to this batter.

2. You should be able to take out the batter with a spoon and put in the "Kuzhi Paniyaram" kal.

3. Add little oil to each crevice in the kal and fill the batter in. Cook in medium flame and turn it around with a fork.



4. Serve with chutney / sambar

Apple Kheer

Instant and yummy Kheer at a moment's notice! Preparation Time : 5 minutes - No Cooking required
Serves / Makes : 4





Ingredients:

2 apples
Condensed Milk -1 tin
Chilled Milk - 2 cups
Slivered Almonds/ pista, saffron for garnishing

Method:

1. Make a kheer base out of condensed milk and chilled milk. You can adjust the sweetness / thickness of the kheer according to your taste.

2. Peel and grate the apples. Add to this mixture.

3. Garnish with almonds/pistas and saffron and whip it up with a ladle - Lo! here's your kheer to serve your guests! Serve it cold.

Variation - Add finely chopped litchi (fresh / tinned), or strawberries. Yumm! Just make sure that the milk is always Chill..

Tender Coconut Jelly

Got hooked to this dish which used to be served at office lunch (RSA).
A nice and light dessert, watch it disappear when you serve to your guests!
Once you perfect this dessert, you can also try out with watermelon juice..

Ingredients

1 Tender coconut water ( scoop out the tender flesh, if any)
2 tsp sugar ( Adjust according to the sweetness of tender coconut)
1 small packet of Agar – Agar / China grass (Agar-agar/China grass is a setting agent made from seaweed. It sets quickly without refrigeration)
½ cup - Water

Method :

1. In a saucepan, heat the water. Add the china grass in medium heat.
2. When it fully dissolves, add the tender coconut water with sugar and mix it well.
3. All this should be done on medium heat only, switch off the flame and let it cool.
4. Take an ice cube tray (or you can use small cups to set the jelly individually), pour this tender coconut mixture and freeze it for an hour.
5. Small strips of tender coconut flesh can be used as topping (optional)
6. The jelly would be set after an hour, and you can transfer it from the freezer to chiller in the fridge. Serve it chilled.
7. Variation : You can also mix it 1 tablespoon of milkmaid after adding the tender coconut water.

Butter Sevai

A twist to the usual rice sevai, with melting butter as flavouring.. Yummy sevai in 10 minutes flat.. Yeah!



Ingredients :

1 packet dried rice noodles – (Concorde brand sevai)

For seasoning :

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp split white urad dal
1 tbsp channa dal (kadalai paruppu)
Broken cashew nuts, (if your prefer)
1/2 tsp asafoetida
4-5 finely chopped green chillies
a sprig of curry leaves
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste
1/2 cup grated coconut
2 tbsps of unsalted butter (yes, generous portions..)


Cooking tips:

Boil the dried sevai in boiling water with a pinch of salt. The instant sevai cooks very quickly, so you have to take off the flame at the right time.

When the water is boiling, add the sevai and leave it for 2 minutes on high. No need to cover the vessel.

Immediately drain the water and keep the sevai vessel closed with a plate. Leave for 5 minutes. With this heat itself it will continue to cook and after 5 minutes it would be cooked just right.

Method :

Heat oil in a saucepan, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, cashew nuts, cut chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves.

Add the shredded coconut, fry for a few seconds and simmer the gas.

Now add the cooked rice sevai, salt, mix well and at last add the butter. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with coconut chutney, tomato chutney or with Mor Kozhambu.

Variations :

Lemon Sevai : All ingredients except butter, but add little turmeric while seasoning and lemon juice ( 2 tsp) after switching off the flame.

Mango Sevai : Add shredded mango along with coconut. No need for butter / lemon juice.

Watermelon Cups

This is an amazing dessert to finish off with a good meal! I learnt it from an Italin chef. The crunchy water melons in sugar syrup is a light, yet tasty dessert..

Ingredients :

1. Scooped balls of water melon
2. Equal parts of water melon juice and sugar syrup
3. Orange Juice
4. Rum ( as per taste)
5. Mint sprig for decoration

Method :

1. Cut the water melon in to half. With a small fruit scoop, make water melon balls as shown in the picture (removing seeds, if any). You can prepare this & refrigerate earlier also.
2. Make Water melon juice from the left over parts and add equal amount of sugar syrup.
3. While serving in a glass, first add 3/4 of juice + syrup, then add orange juice and rum (according to your taste) and top it with 10-11 Water melon scoops.
4. Top up with a spring of mint and enjoy your dessert...

Mor Kuzhambu

Mor Kuzhmabu is a simple and yet a tasty dish which could be done in a jiffy! The veggies used could be Ladies finger, potato or white pumpkin (Pushanikai)..

Ingredients :

Thick sour curds (whipped with salt and turmeric)
Grated fresh coconut - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 6
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Toor dal - 1 tsp; Rice - 1/2 tsp (to be soaked in water for 10 mins)
Asafoetida
Small piece of Ginger/ 1 small Garlic (if needed)

For Tempering : 2 tsp Coconut Oil, Mustard seeds - 1 tsp, Cumin seeds - 1 tsp, Fresh curry leaves, a pinch of turmeric powder and asafoetida.

Preparation :

1. Grind all the ingredients with grated fresh coconut and add this mixture to the whisked sour curds.

2. Heat a Kadai, make the tempering, and add the boiled vegetables. (Tip : Use boiled & Cubed potatoes, if using Ladies finger, it can be deep fried and added while serving, if using white pumpkin, it can be pre-cooked in a microwave).

3. Lower the flame, then add the curd mixture. Keep it on just for 2-3 minutes, till the froth appears. Switch off the gas immediately and transfer it to a serving dish. (If you leave it on high flame, the curds will break and the mor kuzhambu will be in a thinner consistency)

4. Can be served with hot rice and pappadam / appalam.

Paruppu Usili

Paruppu Usili, a popular Tam brahm veggie preparation is a deadly combo with Mor Kuzhambu … It is a lentil crumble that is added to vegetables like cluster beans (Kothavarangai) or French beans. (Variations: Capsicum, cabbage, carrot, kovakkai.Usili adds flavour and volume to the vegetables.

Paruppu or the lentils are soaked and ground with spices, steamed and then mixed with the cooked veggies. It is a delight to make as much as it is to eat. (Especially with a microwave around!).. My mom was an expert in making this, and over the years, I have perfected and found short cuts to make this dish, and yes, she says that I prepare it better than her!

Ingredients

3/4 cup toor dal
1 tsp chana dal
5-6 dried red chillies, 1 green chilli (for extra pep)
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tsp rock salt
1 sprig curry leaves
1 small piece ginger
1/4 kg vegetables – finely chopped

For tempering :

1/2 tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp white split urad dal for tempering
2 tbsps coconut oil ( this makes all the difference..)
A sprig of curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp of asafoetida


Step 1 - Preparation of the lentil mixture




1. Soak dal (toor + chana) for one hour along with red chillies.
2. Drain the water, grind this mixture to a coarse paste, along with the rest of ingredients, without adding any water.
3. In a microwaveable dish, steam this paste (cook it covered), for 4 mins. Turn it around after 2 minutes. Allow this mixture crumble to cool. (If you do not want to use the microwave, you can steam this in an idli thattu or steamer for 10 minutes). This steamed lentil mixture can be freezed and stored for sometime to cut down the time during your next preparation…
4. The last part is the secret for the fluffy usili (years of experience in perfecting the usili, ha ha) is to put the cool mixture in a mixi and whip it anti-clock wise ( Just one round), so that air gets in a makes the usili mixture fluffy. This way the mixture will be granular and also light and so it can mix well with the vegetables.


Step 2 - For making the Paruppu Usili with vegetables

1. In a microwave safe bowl, place the finely chopped vegetables, sprinkle some water and cook for 4-5 mintues. (Except for capsicum, which can be added to the usili directly last)
2. In a kadai, heat 2 tbslps of coconut oil, add the tempering. Add the cooked vegetables, toss over for 3 minutes and finally added the lentil mixture. Mix it well along with the cooked vegetables.
3.Over low heat, stir it around for 5-7 minutes. Finally when it is done, add 1-2 tsp of coconut oil before switching of the flame.

The delicious aroma of Usili will make your mouth water! Best served with hot rice, Mor Kuzhambu and Appalam or papadam.




I hope the picture makes you to drool over..

Tomato Salsa

Salsa time! Enjoy with Tacos or Tortillas..

Ingredients

5-6 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small green bell pepper or capsicum - (in whatever colors you get)
1 garlic cloves, finely chopped (if needed)
6 onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh corainder leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño chilis ( Pickled Jalapenos are available bottled in Nuts & Spices)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp olive oil

Method :

1. The secret to a good salsa is the right texture of tomato. The presence of seeds and fleshy centre part would make the salsa too liquid.
2. To seed the tomatoes, cut the tomato crosswise in half and squeeze each half gently over a bowl to remove the seeds. (OR) You can also cut the tomato in to two, place in the conventional pre- heated oven for 5 minutes. Take it out from the oven and scoop the centre part.
3. Toss the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate it so that it would be crunchy.

Muesli Bars

One way of eating Muesli - Sometimes I do hate a cold breakfast..

When you are on the run (always we do!), carry these Muesli bars as breakfast!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup demerrara or brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup Muesli (preferably the ones with dry fruits)
1 tbslp almonds / peanuts
1 tbslp dessicated coconut
1 tbslp sesame seeds (white til)

1. Preheat a conventional oven to High and keep a greased square baking pan ready.
2. Meanwhile, heat a sauce pan over low heat. Add butter, brown sugar and honey. Just wait till the sugar melts.
3. Now remove from heat. Add muesli, almonds, coconut and sesame seeds.
4. Mix this mixture and pack this in to the prepared baking pan
5. Bake for 10 mins, until the top becomes golden brown.
6. Allow to cool and then cut into bars.