No Fry Cheese Corn and Rocket Balls

Continuing my love for the appe pan , this recipe is a low cal version of an time favourite vegetarian appetiser . The rocket leaves added an extra twist of flavour ,paired perfectly with the cheese.
Served with a fresh tomato salsa

Ingredients (makes roughly 15 balls)

2 cups boiled fresh corn kernels
1 slice of whole wheat bread
1 cup grated cheese (reduce for a lower calorie version)
3/4 cup chopped rocket leaves
1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
Salt to taste
1 chopped green chilli
2-3 tablespoons cornflour
Few drops oil to grease the pan

1. Pulse the corn in the blender into a roughly ground paste

2. In the dry blender, break the bread into big pieces and grind into fine breadcrumbs
3. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl
4. Place the pan on high flame to pre-heat
5. Grease your palms with oil and shape the dough into round balls, size of the appe pan moulds
6. Once the pan is hot, reduce the flame to slow -lightly grease the moulds and place the balls in the individual moulds.

7. Once the lower side is browned, flip over and brown the other side
8. Serve hot, with ketchup or salsa

Zucchini Chocolate cake - no sugar, no flour

The inspiration for this recipe is all the almonds I received during Diwali  ,that have  been sitting in my fridge ever since as I am not a fan of raw almonds .I came across this recipe that uses almond flour http://thehealthyfoodie.com/paleo-zucchini-chocolate-cake/ . I tweaked it around to basically eliminate all the ingredients that I did not have , but the result was a really moist delicious cake - with zucchini! The frosting is optional as the cake was delicious enough - you can use any frosting recipe that you like, I went with my standard favourite one

Ingredients ( makes two 6 inch cakes)

1 1/2 cup almond flour  ( raw almonds powdered into a fluffy powder using the dry grinder  )
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup date paste ( roughly 12 pitted dates soaked for about an hour in 1/2 cup warm water and then churned into a paste in the dry grinder/food processor)
1/2 cup honey
1 cup grated zucchini

For the soaking syrup
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons honey/jaggery

For the frosting
250 gms cooking chocolate
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light cooking cream like amul

1. Pre heat oven to 180 degrees
2. Beat the eggs for 2-3 minutes. Add the oil , vanilla essence, honey and the date paste and beat again for a minute
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in another bowl and add this mixture to the liquid egg mixture
Beat for another minute
4. Next add in the zucchini and beat till its folded in
5. Spread the batter divided into greased two tins ( roughly 6 inches) and bake in the center rack of the oven for roughly 3 minutes, till a toothpick inserted comes clean
6. Cool the cakes
7. Make the soaking syrup by dissolving the honey in the water
8. Use the soaking syrup to soak both cakes - just pour gently using a spoon over the top
9. For the frosting, heat the chocolate in a double boiler, whisk in the cream and the milk and pour over the cake tops
10. Chill and serve

No Fry Broccoli Manchurian

I was recently introduced to the joys of guilt free cooking with an 'Appe pan' . It might be known by some other name in traditional South Indian homes but it is basically a shallow pan with round cup like holes to pour idli like batter into . Basically, the new non stick ones allow me to use it is an air-fryer , can be used to make any vadas (including dahi wada) . So decided to experiment with manchurian today, opted for a health on health version with broccoli

Ingredients ( makes roughly 12 pieces)

For the balls
1 medium broccoli , minced in a food processor or a dry grinder
1/2 medium cauliflower, minced
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon grated garlic
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons cornflour
few drops of oil , to grease the pan

For the sauce
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2-3 green chillies finely chopped
2 tablespoons dark soya sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon white pepper powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil

1. Place the appe pan to heat on a medium flame

2. Mix all the ingredients for the manchurian balls. Shape into balls. Place into each mould when the pan is hot, lightly grease the pan . Cover with a lid. Turn the flame to low

3. After 4-5 minutes , flip them over and cover with a lid again. Cook for another 4-5 minutes
Repeat for the second batch. Keep aside
4. For the gravy, heat the oil . Saute the onion, ginger, garlic on high heat till the onion is lightly browned. Add all the sauces and toss in the cooked balls taking care to handle them carefully so as to not break them
For a manchurian gravy , add about two tablespoons of cornflour dissolved in two cups of water and bring to a boil.

Serve hot with fried rice or noodles or as an appetizer- guilt free eating!

Black Tea infused Chocolate Pots

Inspired by this recipe http://gourmandeinthekitchen.com/2014/earl-grey-chocolate-pots-de-creme-recipe/ and some wonderful Black Tea from Sri Lanka

Ingredients (makes 8 small ramekins)

1 cup milk (full cream preferably)

1 black tea/earl grey tea bag  

2 large egg yolks

3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

120g cooking chocolate (at least 70%), finely chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Chocolate shavings, to garnish

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees

2. In a pan, bring the milk to a boil and turn off the gas. Turn off the gas and add the tea bag to the milk. Leave for 3-4 minutes till the tea is infused and remove (make sure to squeeze out the tea bag into the milk before removing from the milk)

3. In another bowl beat the sugar and egg yolks for 3-4  minutes till thickened

4. Add the chocolate to the milk and whisk.

5. Add the egg mixture, vanilla essence and salt and whisk all together to get a smooth batter

6. Divide equally among ramekins till the ramekin is filled slightly below the rim (this pudding does not rise much so no worries of batter spilling out ) In case you do not have ramekins use any heavy ceramic baking bowl

7. Line the ramekins in the baking try baking pan. Pour water into the tray so that atleast one fourth of the ramekins are covered with water (depends on the size of the ramekins and the depth of the tray but do not cover more more than half the ramekin height)
8. Bake for 25 minutes
9. Remove from oven and chill for atleast two hours before serving
10. Garnish with chocolate shavings

Roasted Zucchini Hummus

Hummus is my all time favourite go-to snack, any time of the day! I have always tried to make it from scratch, with freshly ground sesame paste, the result is however not as creamy in texture as the one available in restaurants. So I was inspired to buy a jar of tahini paste and I noted the difference immediately! To experiment with the tahini paste, I discovered various recipes for dips that use zucchini/aubergine and tahini. This version was a delight, and is a perfect accompaniment to lavash or pita bread. Serve cold, with pickled vegetables as a delicious mezze.

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini
2 cloves garlic
juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons tahini paste
1/2 cup hung curd/greek yoghurt
1 green chilli
Salt to taste


1. Preheat oven to 200 degree celcius
2. Wrap the zucchini in a foil and bake on the center rack for about twenty minutes till you can prick easily with a fork. Some recipes grill the zucchini slices on a pan with olive oil instead of oven baking, that will do as well
3. Remove the foil and let the zucchini cool
4. Cut into big pieces and blend into a coarse pulp in the food processor along with the garlic and the chilli ( I used the regular blender of my mixie) . You will notice a fair amount of liquid after the zucchini is blended, this can be removed with a spoon to get a thick creamy dip
5. Whisk in the lemon juice, tahini and the curd
6. Garnish with olive oil and chilli flakes. Chill and serve with pita/lavash

Turai ke chilke ki chutney

Back to the blog after a long hiatus!
I was served this chutney by a friend and I was so surprised when I learnt that the chutney was made from the peels of turai (ridge courd) ! It is apparently a common feature in a lot of South Indian homes. So the next time that you make turai do not throw the peels away. Wash and blend with other chutney regular ingredients and you have a side dish worth showing off!
When you peel the turai, you can discard the thin,pointed peel of the outer sharp edges and keep the softer inner peels. You can also add fresh coconut or roasted chana dal for variation.

Ingredients

Peels of two medium sized turais
1 garlic clove
1 small onion
3-4 green chillies
Few sprigs coriander (optional)
Salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Juice of one lemon

Mix all the ingredients together in the blender and blend into a fine paste. Since I used the dry blender I did not add any water. You can optionally add a tempering with oil,curry patta and mustard seeeds

Eggless Caramel Bread Pudding

Caramel Custard is a universal favourite,although hard to substitute the taste with an eggless version.
I came across this interesting recipe on http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/eggless-caramel-bread-pudding-recipe/ . The recipe is beautifully explained with several cooking options. I tried the pressure coooker version and served it cold with icecream. I think this can be tried with one ripe banana mashed and added to the bread mixture for a caramel banana pudding. Or maybe even mango pulp.
Will definitely try my mango version soon. Till then, this is the recipe I followed.

Ingredients (serves 6)

375 ml milk (regular toned milk, the original calls for whole milk)
1 tablespoon cornflour/custard powder
4 tablespoons sugar
6 slices regular brown bread
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 cup crushed walnuts

For the caramel
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon water

1. Powder the bread into crumbs using a dry grinder

2. Mix the milk, sugar and cornflour and bring to a boil in a heavy bottomed pan
3. Add the bread crumbs to the mixture along with the butter,walnuts and the vanilla essence

4. Let this mixture cool. For the caramel ,heat a cake tin on the gas flame with the sugar and water (I used the small cake tin about 5 inches in diameter). Leave the gas on low flame till the sugar turns into caramel. Quickly turn off the gas and swirl the caramel around to cover the sides of the dish

5. Set up your double boiler - could be a cooker with a stand at the bottom to place the cake tin OR
a regular boiling pot with a tight lid. The arrangement should be filled with water just touching the base of your tin which will be placed above a stand ( I used my steel grater as the stand)

6. Cover tight and steam for about twenty minutes. If using a cooker, ensure you remove the whistle before covering the lid
7. When cooked, cool and invert onto a tray
8. Serve with ice cream or caramel sauce .

Oats and sprouts crust Pizza

Recipe inspired and adapted from
http://www.veganricha.com/2012/10/mung-bean-sprout-spinach-crust-pizza.html
I love the nutty flavour and texture of oats for making cheela (pancake) , so this twist was tempting to try. The final result was delicious given that some very fussy eaters loved it. The baking was tricky as in the first attempt the crust stuck tight to the paper. For the second attempt I greased the paper with olive oil before baking and it was easier to peel the paper, just had to wait for it to cool. Use a good quality parchment paper or a non stick baking tray (which I need to invest in shortly too ). For the toppings use any soft vegetables like peppers,onions. The tang of the sundried tomaotes and the goat's cheese complimented the base perfectly. A super healthy breakfast option


Ingredients (makes 3 pizza medium crusts)

For the crust
1 cup roasted oats
1 cup mixed sprouts
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 garlic cloves
1 cup water
1 tablespoon besan
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh herbs( chives/basil)

Olive oil for greasing

For the topping
Chopped bell peppers /onions
Sundried tomatoes/ fresh tomatoes
Crumbled goat's cheese/ feta

1. Grind all the ingredients of the crust into a chunky paste. It should be a thick batter (as shown)

2. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees
3. Spread a dollop of batter into a palm size circle, about 1/2 cm thick on a greased parchment lined sheet.

4. Bake for 10-15 minutes on the center rack till the crust dries up and feels firm, slightly brown on the edges
5. Remove from oven, add the vegetables and back again on the top rack till the base gets brown and crisp and the vegetables are cooked ( about ten minutes). Cool slightly and remove from parchment paper
6. Crumble goat's cheese/feta cheese/grated paneer. Serve warm.

Raw banana in curd and coconut gravy

I first tried this dish at a Malayali wedding and simply loved it. It was a wedding sadhya so I got to taste an authentic version with steaming hot rice (eaten with hands..the real deal!) Picked up the recipe from my favourite Kerala cook book and voila! Pure comfort food. You can use regular oil for the tempering. I prefer coconut oil for the true flavour. A very easy dish to master

Ingredients(serves 4)

To boil
4-5 raw bananas, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes
1 tsp black pepper
2 shallots (baby sambhar onions) ,peeled
1 tsp haldi
2 cups water

Grind to a very fine paste
1 medium coconut
4-5 shallots
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon jeera powder

2 cups thick sour curd
Salt

For the tempering
1 tablespoon edible coconut oil
2-3 shallots
Few curry leaves
2-3 dry red chillies

1. Add all the ingredients to be boiled in a pan. After bringing to a boil , cover and simmer for 10 -12 minutes
2.Add the finely ground coconut paste and simmer for another 5 minutes
3. Whisk the curd and add with the salt. This should be done just before serving so the curd does not split
4. Pour into a serving bowl and temper with curry leaves,shallots and dry chillies
5. Serve hot with papaddum and rice

 

Corn and Sooji Balls

A healthier version of Corn and Cheese Balls. Adapted the recipe from http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/Recipe/Corn-N-Sooji-Balls.html

Ingredients(makes roughly 16 balls)

Boiled Sweet corn 1 cup
Sooji 1/2 cup
Milk 1 cup, at room temperature
Grated paneer 1/2 cup
Fresh coriander leaves chopped 2 tablespoons
2 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1/2 cup grated cheese
2 tablespoons cornflour

1/2 cup mixture of maida and bread crumbs
Oil for deep-frying

1. Dry roast the sooji for about 8-10 minutes on a low flame. Add the milk and stir well. Cover till the sooji fluffs up like upma. Turn off and cool
2. Mix together with all the other ingredients and shape into medium sized balls
3. Roll the balls in the maida and crumbs mixture to coat all aorund
4. Deep fry in hot oil till nicely golden on the outside
5. Serve with green chutney

 

Eggless Date and walnut coffee cake

A perfect tea time cake. Adapted this recipe from     http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/eggless-dates-walnut-coffee-cake
You can vary the recipe by adding in chocolate chips or using Demerara sugar.  This recipe uses equal parts of whole wheat flour and regular flour for a healthier version.

Ingredients
1/2 cup de-seeded dates, grind roughly
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp instant coffee
1 cup warm milk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup maida
1 cup atta
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla essence

1.  Soak the dates in the warm milk with the coffee powder stirred in for about half an hour before making the batter
2. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
3 Sieve the flours with the baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the powdered sugar
4. To the milk add the water and oil and whisk together. Add the vanilla essence to the wet mixture
5. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and beat with a beater for a few minutes
6  Grease a 6 inch baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper. Pour in the batter and bake on the center rack for roughly thirty minutes
7. Serve warm. Perfect tea time cake !