2-minute Carrot mug cake with vanilla yogurt icing

I love mug cakes, for the fact that they are easy to make and this recipe is extra special because it is low in fat! That sounds interesting right?! The entire preparation and baking can be completed within 15 minutes. So enjoy this yummy dessert absolutely guilt free :)

INGREDIENTS:

• Milk - 4 tablespoons
• Oil - 1 tablespoon
• Yogurt - 1 tablespoon (original recipe uses 1 Tbsp of unsweetened apple sauce)
• Vanilla essence - 1/2 teaspoon
• Grated carrot - 3 tablespoons
• Maida - 6 tablespoons (I used 3 Tbsp of whole wheat flour and 3 Tbsp of maida)
• Sugar - 2 tablespoons
• Baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon

For vanilla yogurt icing:

• Yogurt - 2 tablespoons
• Powdered sugar - 1 tablespoon
• Vanilla essence - 1/4 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Mix together milk, oil, grated carrot, vanilla essence
2. Add in the flour, sugar, baking soda and mix well so that there are no lumps
3. Transfer the contents to a microwave safe coffee mug or small microwave safe bowls
4. Microwave it on high for 2 minutes (2 minutes is an ideal time. Depending on the power of your microwave, it might require half a minute more or less but do not overdo it)
5. For the icing, mix the yogurt, powdered sugar and vanilla extract well and pour it over the mug cake

Enjoy the low fat treat without any guilt!

Eating healthy, can be tasty too! 

Onion crackers

A rainy evening, hot cup of tea with freshly baked onion crackers! Isn't that an amazing combo?? Yes, I am writing this post while I am enjoying the above combo. Wish I was good at writing poems. As the savory delight melts through my mouth, I am at loss of words. So before I get lost in my thoughts, let me type the recipe right away!

Recipe source: Greenhousecuisine.com

INGREDIENTS:

• Whole wheat flour - 3/4th cup
• Onion - 1/2, finely chopped
• Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) - 1/4 teaspoon
• Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
• Red chilli powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 teaspoon
• Sesame seeds (white til) - 1/2 teaspoon
• Oil - 1.5 tablespoon
• Yogurt - 1/2 tablespoon
• Water - as needed

METHOD:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients - flour, onion, kasuri methi, baking powder, salt, red chilli powder, cumin seeds, sesame seeds and mix well
2. Now add oil and yogurt and start rubbing the mixture inbetween your palms, until it resembles a crumble texture (like bread crumbs) 
3. Add very little water and knead into a stiff dough (for the above measurement, I used 3 to 3.5 tablespoons of water). Keep it covered
4. Pre-heat oven to 180 C and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
5. Roll the dough on a floured surface to about 3 mm thickness and cut it into desired shapes
6. Place them on the cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven for 15 minutes
7. Cool them completely on a wired rack and enjoy it as a guilt free evening snack with your tea or coffee!

NOTE:
They stay good for a day, when stored in air-tight container. But they lose their crispness as time passes

Eating healthy, can be tasty too!

Chocolate bourbon biscuits

We do not generally buy cream biscuits at home but when my nieces had come over, I had got them some chocolate bourbons and like any little kid, they enjoyed the chocolate fantasy! That's when I decided to try them out myself and here I come with an almost replica of the famous bourbon biscuits :) I adapted the recipe from lovefood.com

INGREDIENTS

For the biscuit:

• Unsalted Butter - 55 grams
• Powdered brown sugar - 55 grams (you could use white sugar too)
• Plain flour (Maida) - 100 grams
• Cocoa powder - 1 heaped tablespoon
• Baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - a pinch
• Honey - 3 teaspoons

For the cream filling:

• Icing sugar - 75 grams
• Cocoa powder - 2 teaspoons
• Unsalted Butter - 35 grams
• Vanilla extract - 1/4 teaspoon
• Boiling water - 1.5 teaspoon

METHOD

To make the biscuits:

1. Soften the butter and beat the sugar along with it, until the mixture is soft and creamy
2. Sift the dry ingredients together - flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt
3. Add the dry ingredients and honey into the butter-sugar cream and mix well
4. Form a dough by bringing the mixture together with your hands
5. Place the dough on a cling film and cover it with another cling film. Roll the dough to about 3mm thickness and place it in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes
6. Pre heat the oven to 180C
7. Take the rolled dough out of the refrigerator and cut them into small rectangles (cut them a little smaller than you wish them to be, as they would expand on baking)
8. Place them on a baking tray and poke small holes like in bourbon biscuits
9. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes
10. Allow them to cool completely and in the meanwhile, start preparing the cream filling

To make the cream filling:

1. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder together
2. Add in the butter, vanilla extract and boiling water and beat very well till the mixture is soft and creamy

To assemble:

1. Take a spoonful of the butter cream and spread it on the bottom side of one biscuit and sandwich it with another biscuit
2. Repeat the steps for other biscuits too
3. Sprinkle little sugar on top of each biscuit

There you go!! Yummy homemade chocolate bourbons are ready :)

Note:

**The original recipe uses golden syrup and I have replaced it with honey as I had it readily available

**If you do not want a cream biscuit, you can very well omit the cream part and just enjoy them as chocolate cookies! 

Sending this recipe to the following event:

• Cooks Joy
• Anitha's Kitchen

Mango Jam

Jam can be made at home very easily. It is also healthier as we would not be adding in any preservatives into it. This is my mom's recipe and it is so delicious. The ingredients are also minimal and do give it a try in this mango season :)

INGREDIENTS:

• Pulp of ripe mangoes - 1 cup
• Sugar - 3/4th to 1 cup depending on the sweetness of the mango
• Liquid glucose - 1 Tsp
• Citric acid - 1/2 Tsp (Optional)

Note: the ratio of mango pulp and sugar is 1:3/4 or 1:1, depending on the sweetness of the mango

METHOD:

1. In a heavy bottomed pan, add the mango pulp and sugar and cook it on a low flame
2. Keep stirring continuously till the mixture starts to thicken
3. This will take about 20-25 minutes
4. Now add the liquid glucose and citric acid (if adding) and stir for a minute
5. Remove from fire and allow the jam to cool completely
6. Store in air-tight containers or glass bottles and refrigerate them
7. Enjoy yummy home made jam with bread/bun/roti or as you like it :)

Apple Pie (Eggless)

This is a special dish that I made for my SuperMan - Daddy Dearest!! Yes this is a father's day treat and this day is even more special as he enters his glorious 34th year of service - a celebration for all his hardwork and dedication! 

Apple pie is a mild dessert which is very easy. I have tried an eggless version with whole-wheat flour, that I came across in vegrecipesofindia. Let us jump right away into the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

For the crust:

• Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
• Maida - 1/2 cup
• Olive oil or butter - 1/4 cup
• Water - 1/3 cup
• Salt - 1/2 Tsp

For the filling:

• Apple - 2 medium sized
• Cinnamon powder - 1/4 Tsp
• Brown Sugar - 2 Tbsp
• Whole wheat flour - 2 Tbsp

METHOD:

1. Sieve all dry ingredients - Whole wheat flour, maida and salt
2. Add oil/butter and rub the flour with your fingers, till you obtain a texture similar to that of bread crumbs
3. Now add water and gather all the ingredients together to form a dough. Do not knead
4. Cover and keep aside
5. Peel the apples and cut them into thin slices
6. Mix brown sugar, whole wheat flour and cinnamon powder with the sliced apples
7. Grease a tart mould or muffin moulds (for mini pies) with olive oil and pre-heat the oven to 180C
8. Divide the dough into 4 or smaller portions according to the size of your mould
9. Roll one portion into a round sheet (similar to roti) and place it on the greased mould. Press well across the sides and remove any excess dough
10. Arrange the apple filling and then cut thin strips from the remaining dough and seal them in the shape of checker board as a top layer of the pie
11. Brush the top layer with some milk and sprinkle more sugar on top, for the glaze
12. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30-45 minutes till the crust is golden brown (Mine was done in 30 minutes)
13. Serve warm as such or with a scoop of ice-cream! I served it warm with mango milkshake and we all loved it :)

Spicy Vegetable Pulao

I am a big fan of this spicy pulao, which my mom makes to perfection! So whenever she makes it, I have never peeped into the kitchen but have just relished its aromatic flavor. Last weekend when mom had gone to attend a function, my aunt said she'd make this pulao and I joined in helping her. I never knew this aromatic pulao is such an easy recipe and is the best one-pot meal :) So with due credits to aunt and mom, here goes the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

Part 1 - Masala powder

To be ground into a powder

• Peppercorns - 4
• Jeera - 1/4 Tsp
• Black cardamom/Badi elachi - 1
• Cinnamon - 1/2" stick

The above ingredients can also be replaced with a Tsp of biriyani masala or garam masala

Part 2 - Coriander paste

To be ground into a smooth paste with very little water

• Coriander leaves - a generous handful
• Green chillis - 2
• Garlic - 4 pods
• Ginger - 1/2" piece

 

Part 3 - Other ingredients

• Basmathi rice - 1 cup
• Oil - 1/4 cup
• Onions - 1 big
• Mixed vegetables of your choice - 2 cups (carrot, beans, potato, peas and cauliflower make a good combo)
• Red chilli powder - 1 Tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 Tsp
• Salt - as needed
• Water - 1.5 - 2 cups

METHOD:

1. Wash and soak basmathi rice for 20 minutes
2. Prepare the powder and paste as mentioned in part 1 and 2 of the ingredients
3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the masala powder (part 1) and the coriander paste (part 2). Saute for a minute on medium flame
4. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes till the onions turn golden brown
5. Now add in the mixed vegetables and saute them till they are half cooked
6. Drain the soaked rice and add it along with the vegetables and stir it for half a minute
7. Add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder and give it a mix
8. Add 1.5 cups of water and salt as need
9. Close the lid and when the steam comes, open the lid, check for water level and add or sprinkle water if needed (I didn't add more water). Close the lid again, now with the weight and pressure cook for 2 whistles
10. Remove from fire, allow the pressure to release, open the lid and gently fulff the rice with a fork
11. Keep it closed till you serve
12. Serve warm and relish the aromatic flavors along with any raita/chips/pappad of your choice

 

Keerai Kuzhambu/Amarnath leaves gravy (My home style)

How much ever delicious food we have elsewhere, all of us will always crave for a simple yet mouth watering home made food! I am sure all of you would agree with me. So next in the series of my home style cooking, I am sharing with you all keerai kuzhambu recipe (we call it keera pulla kootu at home). This can be made with any type of greens like ara keerai/siru keerai/mulaikeerai etc. I have used mulaikeerai ( thota koora in Telugu and amarnath leaves in English). Keeping in mind the loads of weddings to be attended in the coming weeks, myself and mom decided to keep it simple this weekend and trust me there can be nothing more satisfying than having such a simple and complete home made food along with your family! Happy weekend :)

INGREDIENTS:

• Any type of greens of your choice - 1 bunch (I used amarnath leaves/thota koora/mulaikeerai)
• Onion - 1 big, chopped
• Toor Dal - 1 cup
• Sambar powder - 2 Tbsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 Tsp
• Fenugreek powder - a generous pinch (methi/vendhayam/menthulu)
• Tamarind - gooseberry sized or Amchur/dry mango powder - 1 1/2 Tsp
• Green chillis - 2, slit
• Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp
• Fenugreek/methi seeds - 2-3
• Oil - 1 Tsp
• Salt - as needed

METHOD:

1. Soak tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes and then extract the juice. Keep aside
2. Wash the greens thoroughly and chop them. Boil them till the leaves soften
3. Pressure cook the dal with enough water for 1-2 whistles (you can also pressure cook it along with rice)
4. In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds and methi seeds. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the slit green chillis and saute for a few seconds
5. Now add in the chopped onions and saute till they turn translucent
6. Next add all the spice powders - red chilli powder, sambar powder, methi powder and mix well
7. Add boiled greens, cooked dal, enough water and salt and mix well. Add the tamarind extract or add the amchur powder dissolved in 2 Tbsps of water 
8. Allow the gravy to boil (if you are adding tamarind extract, then it has boil for a longer time so that the raw smell of the tamarind goes off)
9. Remove from heat and serve hot with rice and any dry curry or pappad