Tom Yum Thai Dip

A Thai twist to a regular yoghurt dip. Very healthy, low fat and a sure hit at your next party!

Ingredients (makes one medium bowl)

1 cup hung curd
1 cup grated raw papaya (or raw cucumber)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon light soya sauce
1/2 teaspoon lime juice

To grind into a paste
1/4 cup peanuts
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 medium garlic pods
1/2 inch piece galangal (or ordinary ginger)
1 teaspoon palm sugar (or regular sugar)
1 green chilli


1. Sprinkle a little salt on the papaya/cucumber and leave aside for half hour.Squeeze to remove extra water content.
2. Grind all the paste ingredients in a mortar pestle (preferably)
3. Add the paste and the papaya to the curd. Add the salt ,lime juice and soya sauce.
4. Serve with chips/salad, garnished with peanuts/basil

 

Eggless Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

Been wanting to try these for a while. Most recipes with pumpkin use canned pumpkin puree, these are made from fresh puree. I steamed the chopped pumpkin (with the skin on) in a pressure cooker with a steamer basket ,removed the peel and then just blended the pumpkin to get a smooth puree. These are eggless, but you can  add one beaten egg to the batter to make these even fluffier. Great tea time treat! These are without a frosting, but would work great with a cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients (makes 12 regular muffins)

3/4 cup curd
3/4 cup pumpkin (kadoo) puree
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups maida
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup oil

1. Take about 1 cup roughly chopped pumpkin . Add  2 cups water to a pressure cooker and place the pumpkin in a steamer basket in the cooker. Cover the lid for one whistle, reduce flame to sim for 5 minutes. Once steam is released,open the lid and cool. When cooled, puree in the blender.
2. In a bowl, mix the sugar and curd. Add the baking soda and baking powder and leave for 2 minutes till frothy on the surface.
3. Beat in the oil ,ginger, cinnamon and vanilla essence. Beat in the egg (optional)
4. Add the puree to get a smooth yellowish coloured batter.
5. Fold in the sieved flour, in three portions .
6. Pour evenly into muffin moulds and bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.