Week 14 - Veggie cutlets

https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/veg-cutlet-recipe-vegetable-cutlet-recipe/

Spinach and corn balls

Maida 1 tsp
Corn 1 small cup
Spinach 1 small bunch
Boiled rice 1 cup
Salt to taste
Chilli powder (optional)

Chop spinach fine. Add butter to a kadai. Mix all the ingredients together, roll into balls and fry in oil.

Banana Bread

I know I said I won't be baking for sometime but I was looking at David Lebovitz's food blog the other day when I found this wonderful recipe for banana bread that I just had to make. I also had ripe bananas at home that I had to use up and I did not want to make muffins again. You can find the original recipe here. I made few changes to the recipe and I baked the bread in a loaf pan. This is how I made it.

Banana Bread

1 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsps melted and cooled butter
1 egg white
1 egg
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup hung curd
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Butter a loaf pan and keep aside. Preheat the oven to 180C.
Sift together flour, baking  powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add sugar and mix.
Puree the bananas. In a large bowl, mix together the egg white, egg, butter, banana puree, hung curd and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until just combined. There is no need to use blender as the mixture should not be over stirred. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes or until the center is done. Cool on a rack.

Methi Paneer Buns

I usually have lunch pretty early and by 3 in the evening I feel very hungry. Never know what to make for my evening snack. It cannot be too heavy but it should also fill my stomach. No fried stuff. Nothing too sweet. You see my problem........  Luckily I found this recipe. Methi paneer bun is a perfect evening snack and I will be making these quite often.

Methi Paneer Buns (makes 8-10)

For the recipe go here . I only changed one thing. Instead of 2 cups paneer, I added 1 cup paneer and 1 cup yogurt. These buns were just fabulous.You have to try them.

Sprouts with Yogurt

I came across this website one day while searching for some recipe. It has some really nice original recipes. It is just amazing, the number of food blogs out there. So many exciting dishes, just waiting to be made. All the photos of the dishes look so good that I want to cook and taste everything right away. K is real happy with my experiments in the kitchen but sometimes I force food down his throat just so that it gets over soon and I can make something else. Just kidding. :-)) Coming back to this website, the recipe that I had to try immediately was Dahi Misal or Sprouts with yogurt. It actually requires 5 different types of sprouts and I had only moong sprouts but I could not wait. I made this with only moong sprouts and it was yummy! Here is my slightly adapted version of this recipe.

Sprouts with Yogurt

1 cup sprouts (I used moong sprouts)
2 potatoes, boiled and mashed
1/4 tsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp grated jaggery
1 tbsp goda masala (recipe given below)
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt
  
Grind to a paste
1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1/2" ginger

For tempering
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 sprig curry leaves
1 small onion, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped

For Garnish
Whisk together 1 cup yogurt & salt. Sprinkle chaat masala and red chili powder on top. Can also add sev as garnish.

If using dried beans and sprouting them at home, pressure cook the sprouts. I usually buy sprouts from the market and cook in hot water for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Keep aside the sprouts to cool. In a pan, heat oil. Add all tempering ingredients except tomatoes. Fry till onions are soft. Add tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes. Now add the ground paste and goda masala. Saute for about 10 minutes adding water if masala gets too dry. Add salt, jaggery, chili powder and tamarind paste and  1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Fold in the sprouts and potatoes. Simmer for few minutes till everything is mixed well.
To serve  - spread the sprouts mixture on a plate, top with cold yogurt and add sev if using.

Goda Masala

Goda masala is a major ingredient used in Maharashtrian cooking. I just googled goda masala and used the 1st recipe I got from the search results. I have given the recipe below for your easy reference. Do not be lazy and try to substitute this masala with something else. The goda masala gives the above dish its strong flavor. Make the masala beforehand and you can store it for months and also use it in dals and curries. 

Maharashtrian Goda Masala
1 cup coriander seeds
1/4 cup cumin seeds
1/3 cup white sesame seeds
2 tbsp cloves
2 tbsp big cardamom
2 tbsp cinnmon sticks
2 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp lichen (skip if unavailable)
1/2 cup bay leaf
1-2 tsp oil

In a pan, heat oil and roast all the spices together till they turn very dark in color. Keep stiring while roasting and be careful not to burn the spices. Once roasted, cool and then grind to a fine powder.

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

I was looking at recipes at onehotstove when some link there took me to this site: egglesscooking. There are lot of wonderful eggless recipes here that I want to try. I started off with the oatmeal coconut cookies. The author suggests in her notes to the recipe that the cookies were too sweet and offers some suggestions to reduce the sweetness. I tried the recipe with the modifications suggested. Here is how I made it.

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies (makes 12 cookies)

All purpose flour, 1/2 cup
Baking soda,1/4 tsp
Salt, pinch
Dessicated coconut (unsweetened), 1/2 cup
Quick cooking oats, 1/2 cup
Butter, 1/4 cup
Granulated sugar, 1/4 cup
Honey, 1 tbsp
Milk (if required), few tbsps

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt the butter with the sugar and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep aside to cool. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in the coconut and oats. Pour the cooled melted butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. I found that the cookie dough was not moist enough so I added little milk. Instead maybe you could add more honey or melted butter. Once you get the right consistency, roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Flatten the balls slightly. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Muffins, Muffins, Muffins!

I bought a muffin tray but I never used it for 4 years as I was under the impression that it would not fit into my microwave oven. Only last week I realized that all I had to do was turn the tray around and put it inside the oven. Duh!!!! I am on a muffin baking spree now. Started off with the plain muffins. Just google muffin recipes and you will get lot of recipes on the web. I liked this one as it seemed fairly simple to make.

Plain Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
5 tbsps butter

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Melt the butter and let it cool but do not let it solidify. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and then add the sugar, milk and vanilla to the eggs. Pour melted butter into the egg mixture little by little and stir till it is all incorporated. Keep a muffin tray ready with paper muffin liners. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix no more than 10 seconds. Do not overmix. Batter should be lumpy and it is allright if there are pockets of dry flour. Pour the batter into the muffin pan and bake immediately for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cheese Olive Muffins (makes 6 mini muffins)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar or any other cheese of your liking)
1/4 cup black olives, chopped finely

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Mix flours, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, oil and buttermilk. Add this to the dry mixture and mix gently until well combined. Mix in cheese and olives. Do not overmix. Pour into the muffin tray and bake for 18-20 minutes. Like my niece says, these muffins are fantastico.

Banana Muffins

Check out this banana muffin recipe from tastypalettes.

Healthy Pancakes

I got this wonderful and easy recipe for pancakes from my sister. Very convenient as you can make the dry mix beforehand and store in an airtight container. Both the flour and dried milk add natural sweetness. The pancakes came out soft and fluffy and were a big hit with K and D.

Whole-wheat pancake mix (Makes 3 cups dry mix, or enough to make 20 pancakes)















1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

In a large bowl combine the whole-wheat and all-purpose flours, dry milk, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the cinnamon, if you like. Store in an airtight container.

Whole-wheat pancakes (Makes 10)

1 1/2 cups pancake mix (see recipe)
1 cup water
1 egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, or more if needed

Maple syrup, confectioners’ sugar, or preserves (for serving)

In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, water, egg, oil, and vanilla. Stir well. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter. When it begins to bubble, use a 1/4-cup measure to ladle 3 mounds of batter in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until the undersides are brown. Flip the pancakes over and cook an additional 1 minute. Transfer pancakes to a warm plate. Repeat with remaining batter, adding butter to the pan when necessary. Stack the pancakes and sprinkle with syrup or confectioners’ sugar, or add a spoonful of preserves.