Eggless Butter Tarts

After trying out Eggless Chocolate Cornets for Eggless Baking challenge started by Gayathri of Gayathri's Cooking Spot, this month's challenge is this wonderful looking butter tarts.

I enjoyed thoroughly this wonderful challenge, with plenty of cashew nuts and generous amount of butter and cream obviously my eggless butter tarts turned out absolutely prefect.As per challenge, we have to replace the eggs in this bakes, i went for custard powder and used my mini muffin silicon moulds for making this tarts.

The filling we went for making these cute tarts was super nutty,buttery and absolutely delicious,while the pie crust was super flaky, an incredible yummy tarts to enjoy anytime of the day. Thanks a lot to Gayathri for choosing this incredible butter tarts for this month's challenge.My teddies enjoyed this tarts when they were still warm,they just loved it.

Pie crust:
1+1/4cups All purpose flour
1tbsp Sugar
1/4tsp Salt
1/2cup Cold butter (cut as small cubes)
1/4cup Ice water

For Filling:
1/3cup Butter (softened & unsalted)
3/4cup Light brown sugar
2tbsp Custard powder
1tsp Vanilla essence
1/3cup Low fat cream
3/4cup Cashewnuts (chopped)

Take the all purpose flour,sugar,salt in a large bowl, add the cold butter to the flour,mix well and turn as crumble like texture,slowly add the ice water and turn as a soft dough..Wrap the dough and keep it in fridge for half an hour..

Meanwhile beat together the butter,sugar,cornflour,vanilla essence,low fat cream as smooth paste, slowly fold the chopped cashewnuts,keep aside this filling..Preheat the oven to 350F.

Dust the dough with flour and roll as a round disc, with a round shaped cutter cut the dough as per need, place them in a silicon mould cases, fill each base with the already prepared filling to 3/4th of the base..

Bake for 15-20minutes until the crust turns golden brown..Remove from the oven,let it cool completely..

Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea..

Chocolate Chips Yellow Cake

Anything with chocolates are our family favourites, obviously most of my bakes will definitely have chocolates.Recently i prepared this fabulous looking cake with chocolate chips,custard powder along with eggs and usual ingredients.A super spongy cake to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee, definitely a delicious,buttery cake.Everyone at home just loved it.

You can prepare this cake as eggless version,just by replacing eggs with fruits puree or silken tofu puree, give a try to this super spongy buttery cake friends..

1+1/2cups All purpose flour
1/2cup Vanilla flavoured custard powder
3/4cup Sugar
2nos Eggs
1/2cup Chocolate chips
1cupYogurt
1/4cup Butter
2tsp Baking powder
1/4tsp Baking soda
1/4cup Oil

Sift together the all purpose flour,custard powder,baking soda and baking powder and keep aside, beat the butter,oil and sugar as smooth paste, add the eggs one by one and beat everything together.

Add gradually the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients slowly with a spatula,dont overmix..fold gently the chocolate chips to the batter..

Preheat the oven to 350F,grease a mould and pour the already prepared cake batter to the greased mould and bake for 20-25minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean..

Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee..

Achari Bhindi Masala

My mom never failed to feed bhindis when we were kids,earlier i hate this veggies a lot.But once i came to know about their health values slowly i started eating them. Now after bittergourds,one of my favourite veggie is this bhindis.Once a week,i'll go to Indian grocery here and never failed to pick bhindis.Fortunately everyone at home love this vegetable, obviously i have to cook this veggie with variations everytime to suit our tastebuds,this time i prepared this ultimate achari bhindi masala..

Achari bhindi is a super delicious,spicy,tangy bhindi fry with lots of flavours, i was planning to make this achari bhindi masala since a long.Finally few days back, i prepared this yummy achari bhindi with some super duper fresh bhindis..This achari bhindi masala tastes too good when served either with rotis or with dal and rice.Check out other food bloggers participating this incredible blogging marathon here.Sending to my own event Healthy Vegetarian Side Dish guest hosted by Vardhini..

2cups Bhindis/Lady'sfinger/Vendaikaai
1no Onion (chopped)
1no Tomato (chopped)
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
1tsp Garam masala powder
1/2tsp Amchur powder
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
2tsp Coriander powder
Oil
1tbsp Lemon juice
Few chopped coriander leaves

For Tempering:
1no Dry red chilli
1no Bay leaf
1/2tsp Fennel seeds
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Cumin seeds
1/4tsp Ajwain seeds
1/4tsp Fenugreek seeds
6nos Nigella seeds
A pinch Asafoetida powder

Shallow fry the chopped bhindis with enough oil..In the same pan,heat enough oil, add all the ingredients given for tempering and fry until everything turns brown, add the chopped onions,chopped tomatoes,sauté for few minutes, add the ginger garlic paste and cook until the raw smells goes on, now add the already cooked bhindis ,sauté for few seconds, now add all the spice powder, cook it well until the veggies gets well coated with masala, finally add the lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves put off the stove..

Enjoy with rotis or any sort of rice..

Dhania Flaxseeds Spice Powder

We usually have variety of spice powders in my pantry,coz these spice powders are really handy,versatile and definitely tastes marvellous if you mix them with hot steaming rice. Once a month, i prepare my spice powders with mixed lentils,spices and with different seeds, this time i prepared Oats Paruppu Podi and this dhaniya flaxseeds podi..Both spice powders are healthy and really versatile,coz both these spice powders suits prefectly to spice up your curries also you can have with rice topped with ghee or with sesame oil for your lunch. These spice powders conserved in an air tightened box can stay prefect even more than a month.Do give a try friends.Check out other food bloggers participating this incredible blogging marathon here.Sending to EP Series-Mint Leaves & Coriander seeds guest hosted by Surabi,event by Julie..

1/2cup Coriander seeds
1/4cup Flax seeds
3nos Dry red chillies
1tsp Peppercorns
1tsp Cumin seeds
3nos Garlic cloves
Salt

Dry roast evenly the coriander seeds until a nice aroma comes out..

Now dry roast the flax seeds,dry red chillies,peppercorns,cumin seeds and keep aside until they gets cool completely..Grind everything with salt as coarse powder, finally add the garlic cloves and grind it well..

Conserve in an air tightened box..

Enjoy with rice topped sesame oil and potato roast..

Carrot & Shallots Chutney

Its raining here and the temperature is very less when compared to the last year spring.Obviously most of our dinners are hot warming soup, sometimes my H need hot steaming idlis or crispy dosas for his dinner. As i told earlier,i do variety of chutneys to serve along with those spongy idlis or dosas. I do quite often chutneys with carrot, for a change this time i tried adding some shallots i picked from Indian grocery,for my surprise this chutney turned out super flavourful,yummy and delicious.Happy that everyone enjoyed having this chutney,even my H had two more idlis with this chutney,needless to say that this chutney is a keeper and i'll be doing quite often..Check out other food bloggers participating this incredible blogging marathon here.

1cup Carrots (grated)
10nos Shallots
5nos Garlic cloves
4nos Dry red chillies
1no Tamarind (blueberry size)
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Urad dal
Few curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil in a kadai, fry the shallots,garlic cloves, dry red chillies one by one until they get well fried.

Now add the grated carrots to the same hot kadai and cook until they shrinks,finally add the tamarind piece, fry for few seconds and put off the stove..

Grind everything as a fine paste with enough water..meanwhile heat enough oil,let splutters the mustard seeds,urad dal,curry leaves, add this tempered spices to the chutney..

Serve with Idlis or Dosas..

Cabbage Chickpeas Curry

Its been a while,i wanted to combine both cabbage and chickpeas together in a curry.This curry goes for a simple preparation, with a mild gingery flavour this curry tastes truly fabulous when served along with rotis or rice.Even i prepared some quick sandwiches using this curry sterday for our dinner, yep we had this curry for lunch along with sambhar and for dinner we enjoyed the left over curry along with toasted bread slices as sandwich.The addition of chickpeas definitely turned this curry more healthier,a wonderful way to sneak this protein rich legumes..Check out other food bloggers participating this incredible blogging marathon here.Sending my own event Healthy Vegetarian Side Dish guest hosted by Vardhini..

2cups Cabbage
1cup Cooked chickpeas
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1tsp Ginger (grated)
1no Onion (chopped)
3nos Green chillies(slit opened)
Few curry leaves
Salt
Oil
1tbsp Mustard seeds, urad dal,channadal

Heat enough oil and let splutters the mustard seeds,urad dal and channa dal, add immediately the chopped onions,slit opened green chillies,curry leaves,grated ginger and cook for few minutes..

Now add the chopped cabbage, turmeric powder,cooked chickpeas,sauté everything for few minutes, springle some water and cook until the veggies gets well cooked..

Enjoy hot with rotis or rice dishes..

Oats Paruppu Podi/Oats Lentils Spice Powder

My pantry is always filled with different sorts of spice mix powders,i cant survive without them. Whenever i feel lazy to cook up something,i simply mix some spice powder with hot steaming rice topped with ghee,my kind of comforting food. Everyone at home love these kind of spice powders, my recent favourite spice powder is this healthy lentils spice powder with rolled oats.This spice powder is definitely handy,healthy and versatile, you can spice up even your curries with this oats paruppu podi..Check out other food bloggers participating this incredible blogging marathon here.Sending to my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.. ..

1/2cup Rolled Oats
1/2cup Toordal
1tbsp Peppercorns
1/2tsp Asafoetida powder
4nos Dry red chillies
Salt

Dry roast the rolled oats,toordal,peppercorns,dry red chillies,asafoetida powder till the toordal turns golden  brown..Let it cool completely,grind as fine powder with enough salt..

Conserve it in an air tightened box..Enjoy with rice.

Broccoli Chutney

Chutneys have their important place in our breakfast menu.My mom used to serve hot steaming idlis or crispy dosas with two or more chutneys,obviously we make variety of chutneys. Yesterday for our dinner,i was breaking my head to make some chutney to serve along with dosas..Finally tried this broccoli chutney using fresh broccoli florets  along with usual spices. For my surprise this green chutney turned out super delicious,mildly spicy and slightly tangy,everyone at home love with dosas..The next day i had this chutney with curd rice,just loved it..Check out other food bloggers participating this incredible blogging marathon here.Sending to EP Series-Mint Leaves & Coriander seeds guest hosted by Surabi,event by Julie..

20nos Broccoli florets
1tsp Ginger (chopped)
6nos Garlic cloves
1tbsp Coriander seeds
4nos Dry red chillies
1no Tamarind (blueberry size)
Salt
Oil
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Urad dal

Heat few drops of oil, fry the chopped ginger, garlic cloves, dry red chillies, coriander seeds, until they turns brown, take them in a mixie, now add the broccoli florets to the same pan and fry until they shrinks a bit...Take this sauteed broccoli florets along with the fried spices,tamarind, grind as bit coarse paste with enough salt and water..

Meanwhile heat enough oil, let splutters the mustard seeds, urad dal, add this temperd spices to the grounded paste, mix well and serve as side dish..

Pepper Babycorn & Paneer Stir-Fry

Second week of blogging marathon starts from today, my theme for this week goes for accompaniments.. Indian foods is incomplete without this accompaniments, each meal is served either with dry curries,chutneys,spice mix powders or either with pickles..We South Indians serve atleast two or more curries for our lunch along with a bowl of rice, dal based gravies or tamarind based gravies..Obviously accompaniments have their important place in our daily menu..

For the first day of this week of blogging marathon, am sharing this delicious quick stir fry with paneer and babycorns,i simply spiced this quick stir fry with freshly grounded pepper powder,this stir fry gets ready less than 10minutes and we simply enjoyed having this yummy stir fry with rasam and rice for our lunch..You can serve this delicious stir fry even with rotis..Dry roasting and grinding whole black peppers brings the full flavour of pepper to this dish, better dont use the already grounded pepper powder.Check out other food bloggers participating this incredible blogging marathon here.Sending my own event Healthy Diet-Vegetarian Side Dish guest hosted by Vardhini..

2cups Babycorns (sliced)
1cup Paneer (cubed)

1no Onion (big & chopped finely)

1tsp Ginger garlic paste

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

1/2tsp Garam Masala

2tbsp Black whole pepper

Few Curry leaves

Salt

Oil

Dry roast the black whole peppercorns for a while, grind the roasted peppercorns as smooth powder and keep aside..

Heat a pan with oil , lets crack the cumin seeds,add the finely chopped onions and saute until they turns transculent, add the ginger garlic paste and cook until the raw smell disappears,now add the sliced babycorns, garam masala powder with enough salt and cook in high flame until the babycorns get cooked..Meanwhile shallow fry the paneer cubes in an another pan and keep aside

Add the grounded pepper powder,paneer cubes and curry leaves, cook in simmer for few minutes until the paneer and babycorns get well coated with pepper powder..

Serve hot with rotis or any rice dishes..

Apple Vanilla Icecream Milkshake

Even its cool here, i love to enjoy chilled desserts not only me but everyone at home, my teddies recent favourite is this apple vanilla ice cream milkshake, this shake doesnt need many ingredients, just with few scoops of vanilla icecream, milk and finely chopped red apples, this delicious shake is ready to enjoy..I truly enjoyed thoroughly this easy breezy shake, with an adult's help even a small kid can prepare this chilled shake for them..You can add cinnamon powder or any sort of fruits to give more flavours to this vanilla shake..A prefect drink to enjoy while its hot, a super delicious shake to beat the heat..Today is our last day of blogging marathon,do check out my blogger buddies running this 15th edition of blogging marathon here..Sending to Kid's Delight- Fruits guest hosted by Nupur,event by Srivalli..

1no Red apple(chopped)
Vanilla ice cream (as per need)
2cups Milk

Take the chopped red apples,vanilla ice cream and milk in a blender,blend everything well and serve immediately..

Enjoy!

MW Beets,Apple & Oats Halwa

Have you ever combined beets,apples and oats together for making halwa?? if not do give a try friends, personally i never thought that this fabulous combination works out wonder, for my surprise even my lil one enjoyed thoroughly having this catchy,healthy and delicious halwa for his dessert after the lunch...This time i prepared this halwa through microwave oven and completely skipped the stove top..Personally i felt that making halwas or pedas through microwave oven was quite easy and quick also you wont waste your precious time on stirring or sauting continously as we do while cooking them on stove top..We simply loved it..Today is our 6th day of blogging marathon,do check out my blogger buddies running this 15th edition of blogging marathon here..Sending to Kid's Delight- Fruits guest hosted by Nupur,event by Srivalli and my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.. ..

2nos Red apples
1no Beetroot
1/2cup Rolled Oats
2tbsp Milk powder
1/2cup Sugar
1tsp Cardamom powder
2tbsp Ghee
Few melon seeds

Peel  the apples and beetroot, grate them finely..Take the sugar,milk powder, grated apples and beets in a microwave safe bowl..cook in microwave oven for 20minutes in high power (stir twice in between)..Take the oats in an another microwave safe bowl,cook in high power for 2minutes until they turns bit crispy..Now add the rolled oats,cardamom powder,ghee to the almost cooked  halwa and cook again for 10minutes until the ghee get separates (stir in between)..

Enjoy warm topped with few melon seeds or sliced nuts....

Banana Bonda

Deepfried dishes are always welcome among the kids, but mostly health conscious moms wont feed that much easily their kids with kind of junk foods..Eventhough am a health nut, sometimes i'll accept to make out some deep fried crispies coz my teddies just love it..Coming to this bonda, my mom used to prepare often whenever she wanted to finish with her over ripen bananas, this bondas goes for a quick preparation..You need mashed bananas, all purpose flour,cardamom powder, milk,baking powder and sugar, but in this bonda i skipped the sugar and used honey..These deep fried beauties are quite addictive,a prefect evening snack to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee,kids will love this bonda when served with powdered sugar or with chocolate sauce...Today is our 5th day of blogging marathon,do check out my blogger buddies running this 15th edition of blogging marathon here..Sending to Kid's Delight- Fruits guest hosted by Nupur,event by Srivalli..

2nos Bananas (mashed)
3/4cup All purpose flour
1/2tsp Cardamom powder
Honey (as per need)
1/4tsp Baking powder
1/2cup Milk

Take the mashed bananas,all purpose flour,cardamom powder, baking powder and add the honey and milk as thick batter..Meanwhile heat the oil for deepfrying,drop gently a teaspoon of batter to the hot oil, fry until they turns golden brown..

Serve warm with chocolate sauce or powdered sugar...

Instant Semolina Oats Idli

I simply love quick,easy breezy and instant versions of idlis..While going through my space, i couldnt able to see my usual instant semolina oats idli i usually prepare whenever i feel lazy to cook something for our dinner..I prepared this healthy idlis two days back,this time i didnt forget to click some pictures of this super spongy and fluffy idlis..Usually we used to make rava idlis without grinding them, but since ever my teddies dont like the crumbly texture of this idlis, i used to grind them as fine powder and make this instant idlis so that i can easily feed them..We had a super satisfying dinner with this healthy steamed beauties with spicy coconut chutney..Sending to my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.. ..

1/2cup Semolina
1/2cup Rolled oats
1cup Sour yogurt
1/2tsp Mustard seeds +urad dal
1no Green chilly (chopped)
1/2tsp Eno Salt or Baking soda
Few cashew nuts
Few curry leaves
Oil
Salt

Heat few drops of oil, let splutters the mustard seeds,urad dal..add immediately the cashew nuts, chopped green chillies,curry leaves, fry until the cashews turns brown, meanwhile dry roast the semolina and rolled oats,grind the semolina and rolled oats as fine powder...Now add the sour yogurt, tempered spices to them and finally add the eno salt..stir quickly and pour enough batter to the greased idli plates..Steam cook in idly cooker for 15-20minutes..

Serve with spicy chutney..

Eggless Clementine Semolina Cake~~ My 2000th Post

Today i reached my 2000th post am soo excited and i have no words to explain how happy i am...Nothing is possible without my blogger buddies,their non stop encouraging comments and continous supports by visiting my blog baby give me more enthu to post everyday...I can say so many beautiful things happened to me after coming to this wonderful blogsphere..Eventhough my friendship with so many bloggers around the world is still virtual, i was overwhelmed by their mails and messages when i stopped updating my blog coz of  my surgery, seriously i have a bundle of caring hearts in this blogsphere, watelse i need..

Coming to today's post, its quite an easy breezy cake i simply prepared with fresh clementine juice and fine semolina as eggless version..Initially i wanted to make some fruit salad with the clementine fruits but while tasting they were bit sour and i know very well that none at home will have those sour clementines as salad, obviously i whipped up quickly this yummy super spongy cake for our snacks.. we enjoyed having this cake when they were still warm with a cup of coffee just to get rid of the super nasty Paris's weather..Do check out my blogger buddies running this 15th edition of blogging marathon here..Sending to Kid's Delight- Fruits guest hosted by Nupur,event by Srivalli,Radhika's I Love Baking..

1cup Semolina
1/2cup All purpose flour
3/4cup Sugar
1/2cup Clementine juice
1cup Yoghurt
1/2cup Oil
1tbsp Clementine rinds
1tsp Baking Soda
1/2tsp Baking powder
Few sugar pearls

Preheat the oven at 350F...mix together the all purpose flour,semolina, baking soda, baking powder in a large vessel.

Beat together the sugar, yoghurt, oil, clementine juice,clementine rinds until the sugar gets dissloved...add gradually the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until everything get well mixed,dont over mix..

Grease a loaf pan and pour the cake batter,sprinkle the sugar pearls on the top...arrange the mould in the middle rack and bake for 20-25minutes until the skewer come out clean...cool it completely..

Slice the eggless clementine cake as u desire!!

Tropical Breakfast Smoothie

My daughter skip her breakfast everytime during her vacation as she woke up too late, last time i prepared this kind of healthy,thick and super filling smoothie  for her with mixed fruits and whole grains..She simply loved it and am making this kind of thick smoothie quite often to feed her easily..Now she is in vacation, time for me to make out some super satisfying breakfast smoothies for her..You can make out smoothies with any kind of tropical fruits, but i went for bananas,pineapples,papaya and guava chunks with rolled oats,honey..She simply loved it..Obviously feeding the kids with this kind of super filling smoothies is definitely a best way to sneak the wholegrains...Do check out my blogger buddies running this 15th edition of blogging marathon here..Sending to Kid's Delight- Fruits guest hosted by Nupur,event by Srivalli and my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.. ..

1cup Banana
1/2cup Papaya
1/4cup Guava
1cup Pineapple
Honey as per need
1/2cup Rolled oats
2cups Low fat yogurt

Take the fruits, rolled oats,honey and yogurt in a blender, blend everything as a smooth,thick paste, serve it immediately..

Enjoy!

Vegan Banana & Chocolate Muffins

Here comes my second entry for blogging marathon which am running for upcoming two weeks...This time i prepared these wonderful looking muffins as eggless,vegan as well as low fat version, using just few tablespoons of oil, this chocolate and banana muffins turned out moist and soft coz of the banana puree i went for making this muffins, since i have very good experience to make out bakes with baking soda and apple cider vinegar, i used the same method for making out this yummy bakes...Initially i was planning to prepare this muffins simply with banana puree but my DH wish to have something with chocolate and fruits,thats how i ended with a chocolate and banana muffin...This mufins tastes too good for breakfast with simple hot coffee or with hot chocolate..Do check out my blogger buddies running this 15th edition of blogging marathon here..Sending to Kid's Delight- Fruits guest hosted by Nupur,event by Srivalli,Radhika's I Lovz Baking..

1cup All purpose flour

1/2cup Whole Wheat flour

1/2cup Sugar

2nos Bananas(over-ripen)

1/2tsp Baking soda

1tbsp Apple cider vinegar

1/2tsp Baking powder

1/4cup Chocolate powder

3tbsp Canola Oil

1cup Hot Water

Mash the bananas as smooth puree and  keep aside...Sieve together the all purpose flour,chocolate powder, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder and take everything in a large bowl...meanwhile mix together the banana puree, water, oil and apple cider vinegar in a another vessel... mix the sugar with the wet ingredients,beat well...Preheat the oven to 350F...

Add gradually the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisk everything until its turns soft and smooth batter...Grease the muffin moulds and pour the batter, arrange it in the middle rack and bake for 20-25 minutes..Keep aside and let it cool...

 Enjoy!

Eggless Orange Cornbread

Am gonna run two weeks of blogging marathon after a long gap, this wonderful event i never failed to run since ever started by Srivalli of Spicing Your Life helps us to get connect with bloggers from around the world together..Everytime i'll wait eagerly for this virtual friendship, but unfortunately during the last two months i couldnt able to be a part of this fabulous event coz of my surgery..Am very much happy to run again my favourite event again for two weeks with kid's delight-fruits as theme for first week and for the second week i'll go for accompaniments..

For the first day of blogging marathon, am posting our recent family favourite 'Orange cornbread', usually i do cornbread as savoury version, i was planning to make some sweet cornbread since a long and finally i prepared them last week for our snacks, this yummy super moist cornbread goes prefect for an evening snack with a cup of coffee, i used yogurt as egg subsitute and prepared this cornbread as eggless version..The addition of orange juice and zest turned this cornbread more flavourful..We simply loved it..Do check out my blogger buddies running this 15th edition of blogging marathon here..Sending to Kid's Delight- Fruits guest hosted by Nupur,event by Srivalli,Radhika's I Love Baking....

1cup All purpose flour
1cup Yellow cornmeal
1/2cup Butter
1tsp Baking soda
1tsp Baking powder
1/2cup Orange juice
1tbsp Orange zest
1cup Yogurt
3/4cup Sugar
Few Sliced Almonds

Preheat the oven to 350F, line a baking sheet over a square baking pan...Mix the all purpose flour , cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder,orange zest together in a bowl..

Meanwhile beat the butter,sugar as smooth paste,add the yogurt,orange juice and whisk them until everything gets well mixed...gradually add the wet ingreidnets to the dry ingredients..pour the cornmeal batter to the already prepared baking pan,springle the sliced almonds over the batter and bake for 20-25minutes in the middle rack until the skewer inserted in the center comes out clean...

Cool completely and cut into pieces, enjoy with a cup of tea for snacks...

Chenna Poda~~IC Challenge

Chenna poda, an incredible Indian cheesecake from Orissa, actually we used to make many sweets like rasogollas,pedas etc from chenna aka paneer a well known Indian cheese..This irresistible cheesecake from Orissa is also prepared from homemade freshly prepared paneer along with simple ingredients..Eventhough this cake is quite famous in Orissa, its totally new for me, after missing last month's challenge coz of my surgery i was waiting eagerly for this month's challenge, when Srivalli announced Indian Cooking Challenge with this chenna poda as this month's challenge i was really excited and try out few days back this super addictive Indian cheesecake..Its turned out super prefect with a wonderful super moist texture as this recipe is prepared completely with paneer along with small quantity of rava,sugar, cashews and raisins..Thanks to Srivalli for this wonderful challenge, i simply enjoyed it..I choosed Shibani's version which sounds super easy for me also i used my silicon individual muffin mould for making this cheesecake..

500grms Fresh Paneer
1/4cup Rava
1cup Sugar
1/2tsp Cardamom powder
2tbsp Raisins
Few cashew nuts
Caramel syrup as per need

In a large bowl, mash the fresh paneer cheese, add the rava,sugar,cardamom powder, raisins and cashew nuts to the cheese and mix it well using hands..

Pour the caramel syrup as per need to the mould, then pour the cheese mixture to the mouldcover the mould with aluminium foil,make some slits on the foil with a knife and bake for 30minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool it completely and serve it..This chenna poda stays prefect for a week in fridge..

MW Mushroom & Oats Soup

Soups are always welcome that too for dinner if the weather is too chilled and rainy..If you want to get a super comforting, yummy and healthy soup, give a try to this tempting soup..Serve this bowl of soup with some toasted bread slices am sure you will definitely have a super satisfying dinner..I simply prepared this thick and healthy soup through microwave oven just with frozen mushrooms and rolled oats..We enjoyed having this soup which suits incredibly prefect for rainy evenings and we loved it, this soup tastes too fantastic..Easy soup to prepare through microwave oven..Sending to my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds and to MEC-April Edition guest hosted by Nalini,event by Srivalli, .. ..

2cups Frozen mushrooms
1/4cup Rolled oats
1no Onion (chopped)
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper powder
2tbsp Low fat cream

Take the olive oil in a microwave safe bowl,add the chopped onions and cook in high power for a minute,now add the frozen mushrooms,salt and pepper powder and cook for 3minutes in high power, add 2cups of water,low fat cream and cook everything for 5 minutes in high power..Add immediately the rolled oats to the cooked veggies,give a quick stir..

Blend the soup with a hand blender..Serve hot with cream and few dry herbs..

Bread Gulab Jamuns

Wishing all you a Happy Tamil New Year and Vishu wishes to all my readers and followers..

Bread jamuns gets ready in very less time when compared to the usual gulab jamuns..These jamuns tastes super rich and definitely easy to prepare whenever you run out the store bought jamun mix..You can make out these juicy and spongy jamuns with stale bread slices or either with freshly store bought bread slices, with less ingredients you can make out these yummy jamuns very much quickly..An excellent sweet to serve when you have sudden guests at home..Needless to say everyone at home just enjoyed having this super juicy jamuns after our lunch..

6nos Bread slices
1/2cup Milk
1/2cup Sugar
1cup Water
1/2tsp Cardamom powder
Few Almond slices
Oil for deepfrying

Cut the brown edges of the bread slices, soak it in milk, squeeze out the excess of the milk and make a smooth and soft dough with this soaked bread slices..

Make out medium sized balls with this bread dough, meanwhile heat the oil for deep frying, fry the bread balls until they turns golden brown..

Prepare a sugar syrup with sugar,water and cardamom powder..add the fried jamuns to the syrup and let them sit atleast for an hour..Serve the jamuns topped with sliced almonds..

Eggless Carrot & Raisins Bread Pudding

Quick,delicious,healthy at the same time an eggless bread pudding to enjoy warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream..I simply prepared this bread pudding for our yesterday's snack with some leftover stale french baguette, this pudding is completely eggless but unfortunately not vegan..To make this simple eggless bread pudding more colourful and healthier i used finely grated carrots, black raisins and few cashews, needless to say this pudding tastes super yummy and my teddies loved it once this pudding came out of the oven.

Few slices of French Baguette or any sort of stale bread slices

1/2cup Sugar

4tbsp Custard powder

2cups Milk

1/3cup Grated carrots

2tbsp Raisins

Few  cashewnuts

Preheat the oven to 350F..Bring boil the milk with sugar, grated carrots,raisins..add immediately the custard powder and put off the stove.

Grease a square cake mould with enough butter, arrange the bread slices as per ur need, pour the already prepared custard-milk mixture to the arranged bread slices, springle the cashews nuts over it..

Bake in oven for 10-15minutes..Enjoy warm.

Oats Potato Murukku

Have you ever tried out making crispy murukkus using both rolled oats and potatoes??..Give a try friends, even i dunno how this combo works out before trying them at home..For my surprise potato and oats works out wonder together in murukkus..Actually i cooked potatoes for making poori masala for our dinner but somehow i forgotten to prepare them, the next day i saw those cooked potatoes sitting sadly in my fridge,  thats why i wanted to finish those leftover cooked potatoes for making this murukku else i wont ever thought of adding them in murukkus..You wont stop munching these crispy beauties and they were quite addictive, a prefect snacks to have with a cup of tea or coffee..We just loved it..Sending to my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.. ..

2cups Gram flour
1/2cup Rice flour
1/2cup Rolled oats(grind as fine powder)
1tbsp Butter (melted)
1tsp Cumin seeds (crushed)
1/2cup Potato puree
Salt
Oil for deepfrying

Take the rice flour, gram flour,oats flour,melted butter along with salt, crushed cumin seeds,add gradually the potato puree and water, knead everything slowly as soft and stiff dough..

Heat oil for deepfrying, take a ball of dough, put in the muruku press..squeeze out the murukku directly to the hot oil, fry on both sides until the oil stops bubbling..drain the excess of oil in a paper towel..

Conserve in an air tightened box and enjoy this crunchy murukkus!

Oats & Tofu Paratha

If you are searching something quick, healthy and protein rich parathas for your dinner,this parathas suits prefectly when served along with spicy coconut chutney..Actually i was planning to make some oats paratha with ajwain seeds, while going through my fridge i saw some leftover silken tofu and used both oats and silken tofu for making this healthy parathas..Just grind the rolled oats as fine powder and blend the silken tofu as fine paste with warm water, mix both these ingredients to your usual wheat flour to turn as a soft dough and make out your rotis..Your super healthy parathas are ready..I used ajwain seeds and dry mint leaves to spice up this paratha,incase if you dont want to add neither ajwain seeds nor dry mint leaves,you can definitely skip this part..Sending to SHMY HITS-Soya guest hosted by Prabha,event by Sangee, to Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy and my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.. ..

1+1/2cups Wheat flour
1cup Rolled oats (grind as fine powder)
1/2tsp Ajwain seeds
1tbsp Dry Mint leaves
Salt
1/2cup Silken tofu
Oil of cooking

Blend the silken tofu with warm water as fine puree..Make a soft dough with wheat flour, oats flour, ajwain seeds,dry  mint leaves,salt and silken tofu puree and keep aside for half an hour..make 8-10 medium sized balls from the dough, dust the dough balls with  flour and roll as flat round disc with rolling pin..

Heat few drops of oil and place the flattened paratha, cook on both side until they turns golden brown..Serve hot with any side dish..

Vegan Carrot & Raisins Smoothie

A healthy and super filling smoothie to have either for your breakfast or for a sunday brunch..I simply prepared this super thick and delicious smoothie with silken tofu,soya milk, grated carrots and black raisins..I used raw grated carrots in this smoothie,if you dont like it you can cook them either in pressure cooker or in a steamer..This smoothie turned out super smooth and creamy coz of the silken tofu i went for..You can feed easily this healthy and protein rich tofu to your kids by preparing as smoothies along with their favourite fruits..Give a try friends,you will just love it.

1cup Silken tofu
1cup Grated carrots
2tbsp Black raisins
Honey as per need
1/2cup Soya milk
Ice cubes

Soak the black raisins in hot water for few minutes, now take the silken tofu,grated carrots,soaked black raisins,honey,soya milk in a blender and blend as smooth paste, add water if needed..

Serve immediately with ice cubes.

MW Potato & Oats Sukka

Microwave cooking changed my way of cooking a lot, whenever i feel lazy and bored of cooking i do prepare many dishes through microwave oven..Recently i prepared this quick,delicious sukka with potatoes and rolled oats for our lunch,i simply served this sukka with hot piping rasam and rice..This dry curry takes hardly half an hour depending upon your microwave oven power, mine took less than 20minutes..Spicy curry to enjoy simply along with rotis and rice..Sending my own event Healthy Diet-Vegetarian Side Dish guest hosted by Vardhini,MEC-April Edition guest hosted by Nalini,event by Srivalli, Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy and my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds.. ..

2nos Potatoes (cut as cubes with skin)
1no Onions (chopped finely)
2nos Garlic cloves (crushed)
Few curryleaves
1tsp Red chilly powder
1/2tsp Fennel seed powder
1/4cup Rolled Oats
1tsp Coriander powder
Salt
Oil

 Cook the cubed potatoes with a cup of water and salt in microwave bowl for 5 minutes..drain the water and smash the potatoes slightly...heat the oil in a microwave bowl for a minute in high,add the chopped onions,crushed garlic cloves,fennel seed powder,curryleaves and salt, cook for 2-3minutes in high power..

Now add the mashed potatoes with red chilly powder, coriander powder,cook everything again for 5minutes(stir twice in between)..finally add the rolled oats to the potatoes and stir well,cook again for a minute..

Serve hot with rice or rotis..

Green Peas & Tofu Masala Rice

One more delicious and healthy one pot meal from my kitchen, again its a quick rice dish if you have some leftover cooked rice in your fridge..You can prepare this rice within less than 15minutes if you have all the ingredients we need for..Needless to say much about tofu, i never failed to buy whenever i go to our nearby chinese store and never failed to feed my teddies with them by adding them either in rice or in my bakes..This recipe goes for extra firm tofu cubes and frozen green peas,this rice doesnt need chopped onions or either ginger garlic paste..So if you are in hurry in the morning, this rice will gets ready very much quickly and suits prefectly to carry in your lunch box..Sending this catchy purple rice to to Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy,  my own event Healthy Diet-Easy & Healthy Lunch guest hosted by Jaya of Spice and Curry & SHMY HITS-Soya guest hosted by Prabha,event by Sangee. ..

2cups Cooked rice
1/2cup Extra firm tofu (cubed)
1/4cup Frozen green peas
1tsp Garam masala powder
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
1/2tsp Cumin seed powder
Few cashew nuts
1/2tsp Cumin seeds
1no Bay leaf
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil, fry the cumin seeds,cashew nuts and bay leaf until they turns brown..Add immediately the frozen greenpeas with salt and cook for few minutes, now add the cubed tofu pieces along with garam masala powder, chilly powder and cumin powder, cook everything for few more minutes until the tofu pieces gets well coated with the spices..

Add immediately the cooked rice and toss everything gently for few seconds..Serve hot topped with spring onions or chopped coriander leaves...

Carrot & Raisins Kheer

My daughter love kheer with anything, she never fails to ask me whenever she feels like having kheer..Thats why i never failed to make some, this time i went for carrots and black raisins for making my daugther's favourite kheer with handful of mixed nuts, this carrot and raisins kheer  tastes absolutely delicious with a fabulous nutty texture..This kheer goes for a quick and easy breezy preparation coz i used pressure cooker for cooking the carrots,nuts and raisins together...A best way to sneak raisins,whoever says no to raisins wont even find it in this kheer...This yummy kheer goes to Kalyani's Magic Mingle#4..

2nos Carrots (chopped)
4tbsp Raisins
4cups Full fat milk
3/4cup Sugar
1/4cup Mixed nuts (cashews, Almonds & Chironji )
1tsp Cardamom powder
1tbsp Ghee


Take the chopped carrots,raisins and mixed nuts in pressure cooker and cook for 3hisses..meanwhile bring boil the milk with sugar and ghee..Once the cooked veggies & nuts gets well cooled, grind them as fine paste..

Add this paste to the boiling milk and cook for few minutes,finally add the cardamom powder and put off the stove..Serve the kheer warm or chilled topped with some pistachios..

Purple Cabbage Lemon Rice

A quick rice to carry in your lunch box for lunch, this rice suits prefectly for both office going adults and school going kids, the purple colour of this yummy rice will attracts definitely everyone..This rice goes for seriously a simple and easy preparation...Serve this rice with some potato chips or either with crispy chicken fries, am damn sure you will definitely have a super filling and satisfying lunch..Definitely an interesting twist to usual cabbage rice, the addition of lemon juice in this rice gives a mild tangy taste to this simple rice...Sending this catchy purple rice to my own event Healthy Diet-Easy & Healthy Lunch guest hosted by Jaya of Spice and Curry..

2cups Purple cabbage (shredded)
1no Onion (chopped)
2nos Green chillies (slit opened)
1cup Cooked rice
1tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Urad dal
 1/2tsp Cumin seeds
1/4tsp Ginger (grated)
Few Curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil let splutters the mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds and curry leaves, now add the chopped onion,cook them until they turns transculent, add the slit opened green chillies,saute for few seconds, add the cabbage pieces and salt..cook everything in simmer without adding water, close the kadai with lid..

 Stir the veggies occasionally... once the cabbage get well cooked, put off the stove..add the cooked rice to the already cooked veggies and the lemon juice..toss everything gently for few seconds..

Serve it with chips or fried chicken..

Vegetable Tortilla Noodles

If you have some storebought tortillas sitting sadly in your pantry, give them a second life by making this interesting and delicious vegetarian noodles, i have already tried noodles with chappathis here with eggs..This time i simply prepared this tortilla noodles as vegetarian version using veggies, cutting down the tortillas as long strips will take a bit time when compared to the cooking time, my lil chef enjoyed and had loads of fun while cutting the tortillas as noodles..Its quite a super filling and satifying lunch or dinner, you can carry them very well in your lunch box, kids will definitely love this tortilla noodles...Sending this healthy vegetable tortilla noodles to my own event Healthy Diet-Easy & Healthy Lunch guest hosted by Jaya of Spice and Curry..

12nos Tortillas (cut as long strips)
1no Onion (sliced)
1/4cup Carrots(chopped)
1/4cup Cabbage (shredded)
1/4cup Capsicum (chopped)
1/4cup Green peas (frozen)
1tsp Garam masala powder
1tsp Red chilly powder
1tsp Soya sauce
1/2tsp Cumin seed powder
Salt
2tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
Sesame oil

Heat sesame oil, add the sliced onions and saute for few seconds, add the carrots,greenpeas and saute for few minutes now add the cabbage,capsicum and saute again, the veggies should be crunchy, add the tortillas noodles along with garam masala powder, red chilly powder, soyasauce, cumin seed powder with enough salt and cook again for few minutes..toss everything gently until the noodles gets well coated with spices,put off the stove..

Add the coriander leaves to the noodles, serve hot with ketchup..

Eggless Oats & Orange Muffins

Its almost two months i baked cakes, cookies or either muffins..Obviously my first muffins i prepared after my surgery goes for my favourite grain Oats along with freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest..These muffins turned absolutely super spongy,delicious and addictive, my teddies couldnt stop themselves to have these muffins once they came out of the oven, an excellent eggless muffins to enjoy with a cup of warm milk or with coffee..I used butter for making this muffins, if you dont like the addition of butter in this muffins you can definitely use oil to prepare a low fat version of  these muffins..Sending these eggless beauties to my own event CWS-Oats guest hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds..

1+1/2cups All purpose flour
1/2cup Rolled oats (grind coarsely)
1tsp Orange zest
1/4cup Orange juice
1+1/4cups Yogurt
1tsp Baking powder
1/2tsp Baking soda
1/4cup Butter
3/4cup Sugar
1tsp Vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F..Sieve the flour with baking soda and baking powder, add the rolled oats to the flour and keep aside...Meanwhile beat together the butter and sugar until they turns soft, add the orange juice,orange zest,yogurt and vanilla extract, beat until everything get well mixed

Now add gently the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients,mix well with a spatula, dont overmix the batter,else ur muffins will turns hard..Pour enough batter in greased muffins tray and bake for 15-20minutes..

Enjoy warm with a cup of tea..

Bittergourd Kootu

While checking my freezer yesterday, i got a packet of chopped & frozened bittergourd, thought of making a simple curry with it immediately i chopped onions and tomatoes, but finally i changed my mind and prepared a quick,healthy and easy kootu using those chopped veggies and frozen chopped bittergourd with yellow split moongdal and masoor dal, for my surprise this kootu tastes fantastic,mildly bitter..Definitely an excellent gravy to enjoy with hot steaming rice and pickles,a fabulous feast for bittergourd lovers like me..An interesting dal based bittergroud gravy to prepare whenever we are bored of having the usual curries and stirfries with bittergourd..Sending my own event Healthy Diet-Vegetarian Side Dish guest hosted by Vardhini..

1/4cup Moongdal
1/2cup Masoor dal
1cup Bittergourd (frozen & chopped)
1no Onion(chopped)
1no Tomato (chopped)
2nos Green Chillies (slit opened)
1tsp Mustard seeds+Urad dal
2nos Dry red chillies
1/4tsp Asafoetida powder
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
Few curry leaves
Salt
Oil

To roast & grind:
1tbsp Coriander seeds
1tsp Cumin seeds
3nos Dry red chillies
3tbsp Dessicated coconut

Roast and grind all the ingredients given under the list 'to roast & grind' as fine powder, meanwhile pressure cook the moongdal,masoor dal,chopped bittergourd with turmeric powder and salt with enough water upto 3 hisses...keep aside until the steam gets released

Heat enough oil, lets splutters the mustard seeds,urad dal,asafoetida powder, fry the red chillies until brown, now add the onions,chopped tomatoes,slit opened green chillies,curry leaves and saute until the veggies gets well cooked...Add the cooked dal-bittergourd mixture,already prepared spice powder to the cooking veggies,cook everything for few minutes,put off the stove..

Serve hot with papads along with rice or simply with dosas..

Ajwain Tomato Rice

If you love ajwain seeds aka carom seeds flavour in your foods like me, this yummy flavourful tomato rice is for you..This rice goes for an easy breezy,simple,quick preparation, if you have pressure cooker this rice gets ready in very less time and definitely a flavourful one pot meal to carry either for your lunch or serve as a special rice dish for your sunday's special lunch also why not as main course for a party menu, this rice goes awesome along with any sort of spicy meat side dishes as well as with simple vegetarian side dishes, we had this rice with dry chicken fry and loved it...Sending this healthy rice to my own event Healthy Diet-Easy & Healthy Lunch guest hosted by Jaya of Spice and Curry & to Krithi's Serve it- Pressure Cooked..

2cups Basmati rice (washed & soaked for 15minutes)
2nos Onions (sliced)
6nos Tomatoes (chopped)
4nos Green chillies (slit opened)
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
1tsp Garam masala powder
1tsp Red chilly powder
1tsp Cumin seeds
1tsp Ajwain seeds
1cup Yogurt
2nos Whole spices (bayleaves,cloves, cardamoms & cinnamon stick)
Oil
1/2cup Mint leaves (chopped)
Salt

Heat enough oil in a pressure cooker, add immediately the whole spices and fry until they turns brown, now add the sliced onions,chopped tomatoes, ginger garlic paste and slit opened green chillies with salt and saute until the veggies gets well cooked..

Meanwhile dry roast the cumin seeds and ajwain seeds together in a pan and grind as fine powder,keep aside..Now add the red chilly powder,garam masala powder, already prepared cumin-ajwain seeds powder to the veggies and cook for few more minutes, add the yogurt along with 2cups of water to the veggies (add salt if needed) and bring everything to boil..

Finally add the soaked rice to the cooker, give a stir and add the mint leaves, close the cooker with lid and pressure cook until 3hisses..Once the pressure gets released, serve hot the flavourful tomato rice with your favourite side dish..

Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

When compared with pumpkins, butternut squash are quite cheaper and its available even in Indian groceries here in Paris, few days back i picked two butternut squash from Indian groceries and prepared kootu and this vegan soup with them, my teddies enjoyed having this creamy,catchy and healthy light soup for their dinner, with tomato brushcetta..Both together turned out our dinner absolutely divine and we loved this wonderful bowl of butternut squash soup..I prepared this soup using coconut milk instead of fresh cream, adding coconut milk to the soup turned them out super delicious,light with mild coconut flavour..Trust me, people whoever says 'no' to soups will definitely love this delightful soup...Sending this soup to Ivy's Creative Concoctions#4 - Cooking With Olive oil & to Fast Food But Not Fat Food guest hosted by Priya,event by Priya Mahadevan..



1no Butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
1no Onion (large & chopped)
2nos Carrots (chopped)
2cups Vegetable broth
1can Coconut milk
Salt
Pepper powder
2tbsp Olive oil

Heat olive oil in a pressure cooker, saute the onions until they turns transculent, add the chopped carrots,cubed butternut squash,cook for few minutes, now add the vegetable broth,salt, cover the cooker with lid,put the weight and cook upto three whistles..once the steam get released, add the coconut milk, pepper powder and blend the cooked veggies with a hand blender as smooth paste..

Serve warm with any bread sandwich or croutons...

Drumstick Leaves Chutney Rice

Are you bored of the same routine stir fried greens or tempered greens, give a try to this delicious and healthy rice for a change, am damn sure you guys will definitely love this yummy rice..I prepared this healthy,quick,simple,easy breezy as well as delicious rice using drumstick leaves before a week once i entered to my kitchen after a long rest, actually i saw this interesting rice dish in a cookery show and got hooked immediately to the simplicity of this healthy rice, this rice tastes simply marvellous as well as quite an easy way to feed our picky eaters with greens..Thank god, we get fresh drumstick leaves in our Indian groceries here since a year anytime of the week, i never forget to buy these healthy greens whenever i go to Indian grocery, back home i usually clean and freeze them for later use, but this time instead of freezing i prepared this healthy rice  using those greens for our lunch..

We had this rice with hard boiled eggs and spicy potato fries for a lunch,needless to say we had a super filling lunch..You can carry easily this rice in your lunch box and definitely this greens rice suits prefectly to everyone..Sending this healthy rice to my own event Healthy Diet-Easy & Healthy Lunch guest hosted by Jaya of Spice and Curry & to Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy..

2cups Cooked Rice
2cups Drumstick leaves (cleaned & washed)
6nos Shallots
10nos Garlic cloves
3nos Dry red chillies
2nos Green Chillies
1no Tamarind (blueberry size)
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Urad dal
 Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil in a kadai, fry the shallots,garlic cloves, dry red chillies and green chillies one by one until they get well fried,now add the drumstick leaves to the same hot kadai and cook until the leaves gets shrinks,finally add the tamarind piece, fry for few seconds and put off the stove..

Take all the fried ingredients in a mixie jar and grind as fine paste with salt and enough water, meanwhile heat again enough oil in a pan, let splutters the mustard seeds and urad dal, add this tempered spices to the cooked rice, now add the grounded drumstick leaves chutney to the rice and mix everything well until the rice gets well coated with the green chutney..

Serve this rice with any sort of spicy side dishes..