No Bake Oatmeal Raisin Bars

I had this recipe bookmarked a couple of days ago because of it's simplicity and I got to try it yesterday evening as I had all the needed ingredients in my pantry. I also wanted to see if there was even a slight possibility of my girl approving these nutritious and yummy bars. My teenager loves to snack on mostly dry fruits and nuts after school but combining them together in some other snack form other than a trail mix usually won't do. She is not a cereal person and she would not touch store bought granola bars with a barge pole. I figured probably she would like these if she sees with her own eyes what went in there and therefore involved her in making these bars. 

She decided not to mind the grain factor considering that all the other remaining ingredients are her favorites and decided to give them a try without a nudge from me. She in fact loved them since it tasted like chocolate to her. Don't ask me how but I didn't want to argue with her when she was eating without complaining and the bars are filled with all the goodies. 

These granola bars can be set by placing them in the refrigerator / freezer for about an hour or overnight. Wrap them individually in parchment paper or plastic or foil wraps for easy transportation. Store the individually wrapped bars in a freezer-safe bag and freeze them if they are not going to be consumed immediately. The quantity of raisins used here provide sufficient sweetness to the bars but at the same time contribute to their soft texture. I think even decreasing their quantity by a small amount wouldn't effect the recipe.

Recipe Source: Here
Ingredients: (Makes 16 bars)
2 and 1/2 cup raisins
1 and 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup shredded / desiccated coconut
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (I used honey roasted sunflower kernels.)

Directions:
* Line a 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper.
* Add everything except sunflower seeds to a food processor and pulse just until the mixture starts to clump together.
* Add sunflower seeds finally and just mix together.
* Transfer the mixture into the pan and press firmly. Refrigerate / freeze the mixture until it firms up, about an hour or overnight.
* Remove from the pan and slice into bars using a sharp knife.

Note:
1. The mixture can be shaped into balls instead of bars.
2. Other dry fruits, nuts and seeds can be substituted instead of the ones used here for a variation.

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4 Ingredient Recipes ~ Trail Mix

Trail mix, once which was considered to be a food carried during hiking has come a long way to become a popular snack among masses. The ingredients that go into a trail mix can vary depending upon what one have on hand to what one would prefer, if preparing at home. Especially if preparing for kids, it can be easily customized to their preferences using their favorite nuts, dried fruits, seeds and such, like I did today. A trail mix makes a great birthday party snack for kids. A handful portion of trail mix would be a great evening snack even for adults to add a burst of nutrition. Only care need to be taken to not overindulge. The version I am posting today is my daughter's favorite one and sometimes she likes to see chocolate chips also in the mix.

Ingredients:
1 cup toasted and salted peanuts
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 sweetened, dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins

Method:
* (I used store bought salted peanuts which were already skinned.) If using raw peanuts, toast and skin them.
* Dry toast the almonds until crisp either on stove top or a microwave or in oven.
* Combine all the nuts and dried fruits in a bowl and mix. The mix can be prepared in a large quantity and can be stored in airtight container.
 
Check here to find out what the other marathoners are cooking as part of the Blogging marathon #69.

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Oat - Banana Cookies (Using 3 Ingredients)

 
The other day I was mashing the over ripe banana to try these 3 ingredient cookies. My daughter who just stepped into the kitchen proceeded towards the sink and started to wash her hands. I had no clue what got into her and asked her the same. There was a sense of betrayal in her tone when she asked whether I was not going to let her to mash the banana and mix the ingredients needed for the baking. Then I got the point. It is kinda ritual in our home that whenever I bake something she gets to assist me. This time I started on my own without even bothering to call her. She had accidentally ended up in the kitchen and noticing me doing the prep work, she thought of helping me. I had to tell her that there were hardly any ingredients to combine and she began to wonder how is that REALLY possible if I am baking something.  I wondered the same when I saw these cookies on MSN recently. 
 
They cookies are  made with just three healthy ingredients and without all the regular junk fare - the flour, eggs, sugar or butter. These cookies must be the healthiest version I have ever baked. With some milk on the side, they make a complete and guilt-free breakfast, if you prefer a light meal in the morning. I made these cookies in two versions - one with raisins and the other with chocolate chips upon my daughter's suggestion. I think the raisin version more suits the adult palate as they were very subtly sweet but anyway my daughter liked them too. Where as the semi sweet chocolate chips version were sweet enough to please kids. I made the raisin version a bit chunkier than the chocolate chip ones. I did not follow the baking time mentioned in the original recipe and baked longer to get almost crispy cookies. The thicker cookies were soft and chewy whereas the thinner ones were crispy from outside and soft and chewy inside. And needless to say we preferred the thinner, crispy ones though we finished them in one sitting.

Ingredients: (yield 12 cookies)
1 cup oats
1/2 cup tightly packed, mashed banana
1/4 cup raisins / chocolate chips

 Method:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil / parchment paper or grease it. (I lined the baking sheet with aluminum foil and greased it.)
* Combine all the ingredients just until combined.
* Divide the mixture into 12 portions and roughly pat them into discs of medium thickness. (Don't make them either too thin or too thick. Thick discs will result in softer cookies.) Place them on the prepared baking sheet.
* I think the original recipe recommended to bake for about 10 minutes or until the bottoms start to brown. I baked them for about 20 minutes, turned off the oven and left the cookies in the oven for another 15 minutes. The resulting cookies were crispy from outside and soft & chewy from inside. 
* They are better eaten on the same day they are made.  

This is my post under 'Recipes with 3 Ingredients'. Check the blogging marathon page to see what my fellow marathoners are cooking for BM#53.

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Monday Meals ~ Eggless Zucchini - Carrot Bread

I had planned early on that I would bake at least one loaf of bread for this marathon. I wanted it to be a little on the sweet side, moist and yummy instead of a plain sandwich loaf and this zucchini - carrot bread adapted from here perfectly fit the bill. This quick bread would be a great addition to any breakfast / brunch menu. I converted the original recipe into an eggless version, replaced a portion of plain flour with wheat flour and used equal quantities of carrot and zucchini. This bread is a great way to sneak in vegetables for picky eaters.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm milk (I used fat-free milk.)

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 

1 medium sized zucchini (about 1 cup gated)

1 large sized carrot (about 1 cup grated)

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or substitute all purpose flour)

1 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup raisins 

Method:

* Stir together milk and vinegar in a bowl and keep aside.

* Peel and grate carrot. Peel and grate zucchini and squeeze out excess liquid.

* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease a 8"x3" pan. (I used 9

x5 pan.)

* Combine flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking salt and salt in a mixing bowl.

* In another bowl, whisk the milk-vinegar mixture, oil and vanilla. Next add brown sugar and mix until smooth. Gently stir in grated zucchini and carrot.

* Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the raisins finally and stir gently to combine.

* Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. (Mine was done in about 45 minutes.)

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Umm Ali

Umm Ali is one of the cherished desserts in the Middle East, that was supposedly originated in Egypt. This delicious bread pudding uses puff pastry or phyllo pastry or some stale bread, milk, nuts and coconut. One can use / omit whatever nuts they prefer in this recipe. The creamy bread pudding, crunchy nuts and sweetened cream - milk base, make this an irresistible treat. I came across this lighter version using croissants at Nestle website and had prepared it some time back, scaling down the ingredients to serve two. 

Umm Ali literally means mother of Ali and I came across a couple of legendary stories behind the origin of this delicious dessert. One refers to a woman named, Umm Ali who happened to be the first wife of a Sultan named Aybek. His second wife Shajar al-Durr prevented him from seeing his first wife and son and the king happily obliged. However when he got ready to marry another woman, the second wife got so jealous and raving mad that she killed him and proved that he died in his sleep. The first wife who already had a dispute with Umm Ali, got her brutally killed by Shajar's own servants. And then, she celebrated her victory by preparing this pudding and distributing it among the people of the land.

The second one, a less violent version is that it was invented during the reign of Ottoman Turks. A sultan who was on a hunting trip got hungry and stopped by a small village. Umm Ali, the best cook of the village, filled a pan with the ingredients she had - dried wheat flakes (probably leftovers from some stale bread), nuts, sultanas and coconut. She covered it with milk and sugar, put in the community oven and cooked something akin to this pudding.
 
Ingredients for 2 servings:
3 croissants (I used small size ones.)
1 cup water
1/4 cup condensed milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup whipped cream
1 tbsp. each - coconut, pistachios, almonds and raisins

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 200 deg C / 400 deg F.

* Combine croissant pieces, coconut, pistachio, almonds and raisins in a ovenproof dish. Or divide the mixture among 2 oven proof bowls if you are planning to serve two, individually. 

* Bring condensed milk, water and vanilla to a boil in a sauce pan. Pour it over the croissant mixture and set it aside for five minutes or until the croissant mixture absorbs the maximum of the liquid.

* Place whipping cream in a piping bag and pipe the cream over the mixture. (I didn't use a piping bag and just spooned the cream into the bowls.)

* Place the baking dish in the preheated oven using the grilling part of the oven and grill for 5 minutes or until the cream topping is golden in color. (I turned off the oven and forgot to remove the bowls immediately and hence the darker hue of the cream.)
* Serve it immediately.

This goes to BM #48 for under "1 Cuisine - 3 Dishes" - Arabian Cuisine theme. Check here to see what my fellow marathoners are cooking during Blogging Marath on #48.

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Trail Mix

 

Trail mix, an assortment of dried fruits, nuts, seeds, grain and (some times) chocolate developed as a snack food to be taken along on outdoor hiking trips. It is claimed that trail mix was first invented in 1968 by two California surfers who blended peanuts and raisins together for an energy snack. It is considered an ideal snack food for hikes since it is tasty and nutritious besides being lightweight and easy to store. This high energy “mix” gives the required stamina to hit the “trail” during hiking or any other similar activities demanding strength and endurance. August 31 is celebrated as National Trail Mix Day in USA.  (Info source: wiki).

This outdoor tradition tastes good on or off the trail and I usually keep a stock of it as my daughter loves to snack on it. We can mix and match with the ingredients we have on hand and can create our own mix. I have gone with salted cashews & almonds, dry roasted peanuts, dried cranberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, white chocolate chips, M&M' s. Mix everything together and store them in air tight container.

 

By keeping trail mix handy, one can have a nutritious snack ready for kids anytime. Also this could be a great substitute for many calorie laden treats, when serving kids during gatherings. Other additions could be granola, pretzels, marshmallows, toasted coconut, dried fruits or whatever one prefers.

Check what other marathoners are cooking during this month long marathon.

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Oatmeal - Raisin Cookies

I really love oatmeal cookies and was looking for a good recipe. I stumbled upon this recipe accidentally and found that this one is a keeper. The cookies turn out so good that they disappear in no time. :)

Ingredients: (Yield 30 cookies)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp flax meal + 3 Tbsp warm water
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 & 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup raisins

Preparation:
* Add flax meal to warm water and mix well until blended. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
* Beat the butter and sugars in a bowl until light and fluffy. Next add oil, vanilla and flax meal mixture and beat until well blended. On low speed, beat in flour, salt and baking soda until combined. Stir in oats, raisins and nuts.
* Preheat oven at 375 deg F. Grease the cookie sheets and keep them aside.

Baking:
* Drop dough by rounded Tbsp, 2 inches apart onto cookie sheet. Slightly press them with your fingers.
* Bake until edges are slightly brown or about 10 minutes. Cool and then remove from cookie sheets.

Check here to know what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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Eggless Oat - Banana Muffins

After a little hiatus, I am back with another edition of Srivalli's blogging marathon. Yes, it's BM# 16 time and my posts this week are going to be "Pick one - Cook all" theme based and my ingredient choice is oats. My first oats post is going to be these yummy muffins that are regular at my home. They are perfect for breakfast or snacking. This recipe particularly comes handy when those overripe bananas need to be put for good use. You can keep the recipe basic without the addition of nuts / dry fruits but I recommend them since they definitely enhance the flavor and make these muffins special.

Ingredients:(Makes 12)
3/4 cup oat flour (Make your own flour by grinding either quick / rolled oats.)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 mashed bananas

Method:
* Preheat oven to 375 deg F / 190 deg C.
* Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, coconut flakes and raisins in a bowl.
* Mash bananas in another bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Stir in melted butter. Then stir in dry ingredients.
* Grease or line the muffin pan with paper cups. Spoon the batter into cups so that it fills up to 3/4th of each cup. Sprinkle walnuts.
* Bake until a toothpick inserted at center comes out clean or for about 25 - 30 minutes.

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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Peanut - Roasted Chickpeas Powder & Carrot - Raisin - Dates Halwa

I am back again with another edition of BM after a relaxed hibernation. I had to take a forced break due to unforeseen reasons after last BM and hence there have been no updates since then. There is going to be some action, at least for the next two weeks because of the marathon. :)
My theme for this week is going to be accompaniments where chutneys, spice powders and dry sautes are allowed. The first one in the series is going to be this simple, versatile and flavorful powder prepared using toasted peanuts and roasted chickpeas / dalia.  These are some of the ways how this delicious podi is used in my kitchen.
1. Sprinkle some ghee and eat it with rice or breakfast dishes such as upma.
2. Adding to vegetable sautes at the final stages of cooking. Or can be used as stuffing for eggplants or other stuffed vegetable preparations.
3. Adding to puffed rice upma at the final stages of cooking for extra flavor.
4. One more idea is to add water to the powder to bring it to chutney consistency and add some mustard seeds - curry leaves tadka. This instant chutney works as a great substitute for the regular version chutney during power cuts.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup dalia / roasted chickpeas
1/2 cup grated, dry coconut
12 red, dried chillies
Salt to taste

Method:
Toast the peanuts on low flame, until they turn golden brown. Add red chillies and fry for a minute. Turn off the stove and let cool the peanuts. Skin the peanuts (and this step is optional).
Grind all the ingredients together finely / coarsely and store it in an airtight container.

Check what other marathoners are cooking during BM#15.

Microwave Carrot - Raisin - Dates Halwa:

This microwave version, sugar free yummy halwa is my entry for this month's Magic Mingle with "Carrot and Raisins" theme.

Ingredients:
2 cups grated carrot
1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup milk or as needed to grind the dry fruits
A pinch of cardamom powder
Nuts to garnish

Method:
Grind dates and raisins to a fine puree adding milk.
Combine carrot and ground puree in a microwave safe bowl. Cook in the microwave, stirring in between until it comes together, about 12 -1 5 minutes. Add cardamom at the final stage of cooking and mix well.
Garnish with nuts before serving.



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Chewy Granola Bars

These granola bars, inspired from here are easy to put together, taste delicious and can be versatile depending upon the ingredients you have on hand. Great for snacking or breakfast.

Ingredients:
1 & 2/3 cup quick rolled oats
1/3 cup oat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 - 3 cups mixed nuts and dry fruits (I used almonds, dates, raisins, walnuts, coconut flakes and sesame seeds.)
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or corn syrup
1/4 cup melted butter / vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp of water if needed

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.
* Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
* In a separate bowl, whisk together all the liquid ingredients.
* Mix together the dry and wet ingredients until the mixture is evenly crumbly.
* Spread the mixture evenly in the pan, patting down gently with the fingers.
* Bake the bars for 20 - 25 minutes, until they are golden brown around the edges.
* Remove them from the oven and slice them into bars when they are still slightly warm. Separate them when they completely cool down.

Check out the page to see what other marathoners are cooking during this BM#14.

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Paneer - Dry Fruit Rice

This is my neighborhood after yesterday's winter storm. Doesn't it look picturesque? I enjoy every bit of it until it dawns on me that I am the one who needs to cleanup our driveway. :) Still I shouldn't be complaining as this winter has been mild and this is only third major storm this season.
Now coming to the third day of BM#13, here is one more quick and easy protein packed rice dish meant for a kid's lunchbox.  Recently I have become a big fan of a cook show that comes on a Telugu TV channel. I like the chef's style of cooking and  has started to note down interesting recipes that I come across. This was one of those and I tried it last week. It's very simple, apt for the morning rush hours and if your kids love paneer, then this is a dish to try.

Ingredients: (2 servings)
1/2 cup Basmati rice (Cook adding a cup of water and keep aside.)
1 Tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp shah jeera / cumin seeds
1 or 2 green chillies
1/4 cup dry fruits (raisins, cashews and almonds)
1/4 cup paneer cubes
2 Tbsp yogurt
1 tsp amchur powder
Salt to taste
Cilantro to garnish

Method:
* Heat ghee in a pan and add shah jeera. When it starts to brown add green chillies, cashews and almonds. Saute them for about 30 seconds and add raisins.
* Next add paneer and saute until golden brown.
* Next add the yogurt, amchur powder and salt. Fry until the mixture thickens. Add rice and mix well. Garnish with cilantro.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

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Eggless Raisin Scones

Here are eggless and delicious scones on the second day of blogging marathon #13. Raisins could be easily replaced by any other dry fruits / nuts or even chocolate chips. Even though my younger one would have been glad if I went with the latter one,  I did not want to overdose this week with chocolate based recipes. And so here we go with raisin based ones. My son happily devoured these scones while the daughter was sulking that they were not chocolate chip version. :)

Ingredients: (8 scones)
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter (vegan margarine for vegan version)
1/3 cup milk (or any non dairy milk for vegan version)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins (I used dark & golden raisins.)

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 375 deg F. Grease the baking sheet and keep aside.
* Combine the first five dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then add the remaining ingredients and just stir until blended. Do not overmix. 
* Transfer the dough onto a working surface and shape it into one inch thick circle.

* Slice the dough into eight wedges and place them on the baking sheet. I don't bother to seperate the wedges before baking since they come off easily after baking.
* Bake until golden brown or for about 20 minutes.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Linking this to
1. Srivalli's "Kid's Delight" event, guest hosted by Priya this month with the theme "Eggless / Vegan Bakes".
2. Anjali's "Cakes, Cookies & Desserts" event.

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Eggless & Delicious ~ Carrot - Apple Muffins

Another edition of blogging marathon starts from today and by now, my regular readers must have become familiar with the exercise attached to it. BM is for 2 weeks every month and the participants have the choice to take part in the 1st and / or second weeks sticking to a particular theme per week. My theme for the first round of BM#12 is "Something Sweet" and obviously the readers get to see some yummy stuff here all weeklong.

I have been noticing this muffin recipe for years now whenever I buy gold medal brand flour. The recipe comes printed on the flour pack under the name "glorious morning muffins". The yummy and healthy combination of carrots, apple, nuts and dry fruits had piqued my interest well enough that I tried them last week at last. Thanks to Gayathri's tips about egg substitutes during last marathon, I could convert these egg based muffins to eggless ones. They turned out truly delicious and actually were not dense as muffins would be. The texture was somewhere between a muffin and cupcake and so I really enjoyed them. We thought they were subtly sweet the evening I made them but by the next day, they were perfect for us.

The sweet stuff never counts as breakfast at my home and these could pass as yummy cupcakes actually. I am therefore sending them to Raven's CEDD (cook.eat.delicious.desserts) event, that I am guesthosting this month.

This also goes to Vardhini's Bake Fest, hosted by Pradnya this month.

Ingredients: (Make 12)
1 cup flour (1/2 the quantity can be substituted with whole wheat flour.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1.5 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup yogurt
6 Tbsp butter
2 - 3 Tbsp milk (adjust as needed)
1 big carrot, grated (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup peeled, shredded apple
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup coconut
1/4 cup sliced walnuts / almonds

Method:
* Heat oven to 350 deg F /175 deg C. Place paper baking cups in the muffin tray or grease them.
* Combine butter, milk, yogurt and vanilla in a mixing bowl and just whisk to blend the ingredients. Add flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in carrot, apple, coconut, raisin and 2 Tbsp of nuts.
* Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the batter.
* Place the muffin tray in the preheated oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes and remove from the pan.

Check out here to know what my fellow marathoners have come up with during this marathon.

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Bread Machine Baking: Barley - Raisin Bread

We grew up with the notion that barley is a diuretic (and it is) and is used only when the need arose. :) Neither any of our family members nor I therefore never ventured into the barley world so far.
When Kiran asked me whether I could contribute to her event, I gathered online info about this grain. This multipurpose, cereal grain dates back to the Stoneage. It has been a source of food for both humans and animals in Europe and Asia from thousands of years besides being used in production of certain alcoholic beverages. The barley berries look like wheat berries and are slightly smaller in size and lighter in color. While berries are used to prepare soups / stews, the flour is used to make breads.
I just had a vague idea about the barley java (soup) that some consume and I bought pearled barley with the intention of preparing something based on it. However, I ended up grinding the berries into nice flour and added it to the raisin bread I regularly bake. Barley flour has a slightly sweet taste, soft texture and has to be used in combination with wheat flour to bake breads because of  low gluten content. This bread tasted almost like my regular raisin bread but was a tad denser. This can be toasted or used in PBJ sandwiches.

Ingredients for 1 lb loaf:
3/4 cup water
1 & 1/3 cups bread flour / all purpose flour
2/3 cup barley flour *
2 Tbsp sugar
2/3 tsp salt
3 Tbsp butter
1.5 tsp rapid rise yeast
1/2 cup raisins
* For raisin bread, barley flour can be eliminated from the recipe and replaced with bread flour / all purpose flour. Then, totally 2 cups of flour is needed to make a 1 lb loaf.



Baking:
1. Precisely measure the ingredients and add them all except the raisins into the baking pan in the order listed above or as your bread machine manual suggests. Make sure the yeast does not touch any liquid and to sprinkle it on the center of the flour.
Raisins can be added later when the indicator beeps or at the end of the first kneading. If added at the beginning, they would be well blended into the flour mixture.
2. Select the 'quick baking' course (or the equivalent on your machine.).
According to my bread machine manual, the rapid rise yeast need to be replaced with about 1 tsp of active dry yeast in this recipe if 'quick baking' setting is not selected. 
3. Bake according to the manual instructions.

This goes to
1. Kiran's CWF-Whole Grains : Barley.
2. Champa's Bake - off event

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Eggless Carrot - Walnut Cake

I favor eggless cakes and so tried to convert the carrot cake recipe found in my food processor manual into an eggless one. The experiment was a huge success and everyone at my home including my parents loved it. It was a pretty decent cake sans icing (since I don't care for it.)
Actually the experiment started to get rid of the overripe bananas lying on the kitchen counter. I substituted them for eggs in the original recipe. I had to also finish off the coconut flakes bag and so dumped that as well into the batter and added some cardamom, for that awesome flavor imparted to the cake.
The awesome combination of healthy carrots & walnuts, sweet coconut, delicious raisins and aromatic cardamom make this simple, carrot - walnut cake a scrumptious one.

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins (I used a combination of raisins and sweetened, dried cranberries)
1 tsp cardamom powder or vanilla flavoring 
Scant 1/2 cup melted butter / ghee / oil
2 bananas - mashed
2 small sized carrots- peeled and finely grated
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes (optional)
Few Tbsp of milk, if needed



Tried to slice it before capturing the images and then the desire to taste it grew so stronger that I had no patience to capture a piece of cake. :)

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease the cake pan* or line bottom with parchment paper.
2. Mix up the mashed bananas, carrot, coconut and butter in a mixing bowl. Gently add the remaining dry ingredients and mix them together. If the batter is too thick, add a few Tbsp of milk to the batter.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes clean, about 45 minutes.

* I used an 8x8 inch cake pan.

This goes to Siri's Healing Foods event; guest hosted by me this month, with the theme Carrots.

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Sapaada Bhakshya

According to the Hindu epics, performing Satya Narayana Vrata brings one happiness, peace and prosperity. It is said that people who observe / attend the worship, hear the sacred story of Satya Narayana Swamy and eats the prasad are relieved from the miseries of the world. The Hindu months of Magha, Karthika, Vaishaka are considered auspicious for the vrata. The vrata is generally observed on pournami (full moon day), ekadashi and surya sankramana days.
In Andhra Pradesh, it is a custom to celebrate this popular vratam after auspicious functions like marriages and gruha praveshams. It is said that you should never leave the pooja with out eating the prasad. Coming to prasad, there are several variations. The most common one in South India is being made of semolina. In one of the versions made at my mother's place, no liquid is added. It is supposed to be dry so that they can share this prasad with other family members / friends later. It stays for months.
Today's version, Sapaada Bhakshya is from Karnataka which uses both semolina and bananas.

Ingredients required:
2/3 cups of Semolina, Sugar, Milk & Ghee
2 Bananas peeled, finely chopped
1/4 cup of raisins and cashews

For an authentic version, use equal quantities of semolina, sugar, milk and ghee in this recipe. I have used 2/3 cup of each ingredient. If you have tasted Satyanarayana pooja prasadam, you would know how almost ghee would be dripping from it. I personally feel that prasadam tastes so 'divine' because of the excess ghee used and 'meagre' servings at the pooja. The quantity of the ghee can be reduced. (If it would have been kesari bhath, I would have used just a Tbsp of ghee).

Cooking:

• Peel the bananas. Chop them into tiny pieces.
• Melt the ghee in a deep pan and add cashews and raisins. Toast them till the cashews turn golden brown and raisins turn plump. Remove them with a slotted spoon and save them in a bowl.
• Now add the chopped bananas to the same ghee and fry them for a few minutes till they change into golden color. By the time, they would have turned mushy, add semolina to the pan and keep roasting till you notice the pleasant aroma.
• Then add sugar and keep stirring till all the sugar melts and blends into one lump.
• Add milk and keep stirring till the semolina is cooked.
• Turn off the stove and add the toasted raisins and cashews to the cooked mixture and stir well.

This goes to JFI - Banana hosted by Mandira of Ahaar.

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Thank You and Pineapple Sheera

Thank you, dear visitor

Veggie Platter has hit the '100' mark. Yes, I have completed 101 posts (including this), since I started blogging from last December. I would have reached this tiny milestone months ago, if I had maintained the consistency and vigor of my initial blogging days. Nevertheless, here I am after seven months of blogging.

I would love to thank you all for visiting my blog and I really appreciate you and your valuable time spent here. Hope you continue to visit and enjoy my blog.
Ending on a sweet note, here is a recipe for pineapple sheera.


What you need:
Pineapple fruit chopped into small cubes- 1/2 cup
Semolina / Rava - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 Tbsp
Raisins & Cashews - 1 tbsp
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 Tsp
Pineapple essence - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Yellow food color - a little (optional)

Cooking part:
Cook pineapple in 3/4 cup of water in a MW.
Mean while, dry fry the semolina on low flame with constant stirring, till it starts to turn light brown. Keep it aside.
Boil a cup of water in a saucepan or a small wok. Add sugar, cardamom powder, food color and the essence to it and stir once or twice till the sugar completely melts. Then turn down the stove to low and add the cooked pineapple and the semolina. Stir the mixture well so that there are no lumps and there is a homogeneous mixture. Cook till the semolina is done.
Heat ghee in a small pan and add cashews and raisins. Toast them till cashews turn golden brown and raisins turn plump. This step takes less than a minute.
Add this mixture to the cooked semolina - pineapple sheera and mix well.
Serve warm.

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Jack Fruit Halwa

My procrastination always ends me up in either sending last minute entries for the cooking events on blogosphere or totally skipping them, though I would have thought well before hand what I am going to do. This time it was different, when Bee and Jai announced Jack fruit as the ingredient for JIHVA. From the day, they announced their ingredient for Jihva to the moment when I added ingredients to the pot to come up with an entry, I was clueless.

Though we are fond of the fragrant, flavorful fruit, I had never seen my mom cooking with jack fruit, I had never eaten any jack fruit dish or never liked a fruit in savory dishes. My husband who had tasted raw jackfruit curry earlier was not interested in it either. A big thanks to Bee and Jai. Like that Poirot, after a long time, they put my grey cells to work.

Finally, I thought of experimenting for a sweet dish. I put all those ingredients that I thought would make the dish delicious, into a pot. Until the final stages, I was not sure what it is going to be. I thought if it reaches burfi stage, then I would call it burfi or else halwa. As you see, it became jack fruit halwa. By the way, it IS delicious (like any Indian sweet should be) with a hint of jackfruit flavor and I am going to make it more often.

Ingredients:

Jack fruit (sheaths around the seeds), chopped into pieces - 1/2 cup

Besan / Gram flour- 1/2 cup

Coconut, grated - 1 /2 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Ghee - 4 or 5 Tbsp

Cardamom Powder, Powdered - 1/4 tsp

Raisins and Cashews - 2 Tbsp

Dry fry the besan on low flame in a nonstick pot, till you start to notice the aroma. It would take around a couple of minutes. Keep aside.

Grind the jack fruit pieces, coconut along with milk till all the jack fruit pieces are ground.

Add the ground mixture, sugar, 4 tbsp of ghee and cardamom powder to the besan and start to cook on low flame. Within a short time, you would notice all the mixture starting to turn into one big mass.

After the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan and turns into a big mass, Keep stirring for about another 5 - 10 minutes and turn off the stove.
Heat a Tbsp of ghee in a small pan and add raisins and cashews to it. When cashews turn golden brown and raisins turn plump, turn off the stove. Add them to halwa and stir once.

Serve Warm or cold.

* I wanted to see if I could make burfis out of it and therefore kept stirring for another 20 minutes till my arms started aching. I am not sure whether that mixture could have reached burfi stage. So, anybody following this recipe could happily skip this part.

Jack Fruit Halwa ~ My entry for JFI - Jack fruit event hosted by Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi this month.

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