Ragi Chocolate Muffins

Ragi, one of the famous millet quite often used in Indian cuisine. You can make variety of foods with this nutritious grain, eventhough one of the famous food prepared with ragi is ragi malt or ragi koozhu. My mom never failed to feed us with this healthy grain, actually i do the same with my kids eventhough they dont like this grain very much. Fortunately, every Indian grocery here have this healthy ragi flour and i'll try to add this flour in most of dishes,especially while making breads,parathas,instant idlis etc. Usually i'll mask this grain with my family's favourite foods, for example today's muffins since chocolate is my kid's favourite i easily combined both ragi and chocolate together for making this healthy muffins.

Am posting this muffins today, as am running my second week of blogging marathon with cooking with alphabets as theme. After yesterday's dish's name starts with 'O',my today's post name starts with 'R.If you want to feed your family with this healthy flour, start your cooking adventure with this flour as something sweet, am sure this muffins will works out wonder to feed your small family.Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#25.Sending this muffins to my own event CWS-Ragi or Quinoa guest hosted by a wonderful blogger Divya.

3/4cup Ragi flour

1/4cup All purpose flour

1/4cup Butter

2tbsp Oil

1/2cup Sugar

2tbsp Cocao powder

1/2cup Milk

1/2tsp Baking powder

1/2tsp Baking soda

1no Egg

Pinch salt

Almond flakes (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F, grease the muffin pan with butter or line with paper liners.

Sieve together the ragi flour,all purpose flour,cocao powder,baking powder,baking soda and salt and keep aside.

Beat together the sugar,butter,egg and oil until the sugar gets dissolves, add the milk, beat well.

Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, fill the muffin pan with the batter,springle generously the almond flakes.

Bake for 12-15minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy.

Oats & Broccoli Stir-fry

I was down with flu and i couldnt able to sit or check my blog baby since two days, now am recovering from this nasty flu but yet very much tired. Since am starting my second week of blogging marathon with cooking with alphabets as theme, as my three dishes are ready to be posted, i couldnt keep myself away from this virtual world.My three dishes will starts with O,R,V that y my today's dish name starts with oats.

A simple stir fry, an excellent side dish for a simple curd rice or rasam rice, this stir fry can be served even along with some rotis. Actually i'll add grated coconut usually in my stir fries, for a change i tried adding dry roasted rolled oats in this stir fry and its tastes absolutely fabulous.Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#25.

1no Broccoli (chopped as medium sized florets)
3tbsp Rolled oats (dry roasted)
1no Onion(big & chopped)
3nos Green chillies(slit opened)
1tsp Mustard seeds+urad dal
Few curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Heat enough oil,let splutters the mustard seeds, urad dal, add now the chopped onions,slit opened green chillies,curry leaves,cook until the onions turns transculent.

Finally add the broccoli florets, salt and sauté for few minutes in medium flame and put off the stove..Dont overcook the broccoli.

Add the dry roasted rolled oats, cook in simmer for few more minutes and put off the stove.

Serve warm as side dish.

Potato Masala Stuffed Snakegourd Rings

Snakegourd is one of my favourite vegetable but honestly speaking none at home like this Indian vegetable. To feed everyone at home, i usually prepare them with dals as kootu so that none can remove the vegetable from the dal. But recently i tried making this super crispy starters with snakegourd stuffed with spicy potato masala, this crispy rings are big hit among my kids and they vanished very much quickly. 

Even these rings goes for a bit long cooking process, i dont bother to make them again just to feed this veggie to my kids.I know potatoes is almost everyone's favourite, thats why i went for a quick potato masala, you can also go for paneer masala or minced soya masala or else any other masala your family likes.A prefect starter to serve in a party menu or as a side dish to serve along with variety rice dishes.

25nos Snakegourd rings (medium sized rings,deskinned & remove the seeds)

1/4cup Cornflour

2tbsp Maida flour

Salt

Bread crumbs (as per need)

Potato Masala:

2nos Potatoes

1no Onion(big & chopped)

1tsp Red chilly powder

1/2tsp Garam masala powder

Few curry leaves

Salt

Oil

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

Heat enough oil,let crack the cumin seeds, add immediately the chopped onions, curry leaves, sauté until they turns transculent.

Add the red chilly powder, garam masala powder, salt, saute everything for few minutes.

Finally add the smashed cooked potatoes, cook everything in simmer,put off the stove and let them get cool completely.

Take enough potato masala and stuff the snakegourd rings well,keep aside.

Make a thick paste with cornflour,maida and salt.

Now drop gently the potato masala stuffed snakegourd rings in the flour paste,take out and roll it well in the bread crumbs,continue the same process until the masala stuffed snakegourd rings gets finished.

Heat enough oil in a pan, shallow fry the breadcrumbs coated snakegourd rings until the crust turns golden brown.

Drain the excess of oil with a paper towel.

Enjoy warm with ketchup.

Soccor Ball Cake Pops - A Guest Post

If you are planning to make a snack that can delight your taste buds then try this cake pop. Being first timer on this blog , I am grateful to the blog owner for allowing me to share a guest blog. I would also like to introduce to the new cake pop site “How to make cake pops”. You can also find other interesting design of cake pops and other helpful steps to create a tasty cake pops by visiting this beautiful cake pop site.

INGREDIENTS

For Making Sponge cake

• White  flour (all purpose flour) - 3/4 cup
• baking soda - 1/4 tsp
• baking powder - 3/4 tsp
• vanilla essence –  1 tsp
• sour cream  - 1/2 cup
• salt - 1/8 tsp
• sugar (extra, if needed) - 1/2 cup
• oil - ¼ cup

For Decoration

• Candy wafers - white
• Lollipop sticks
• Black edible gel pen to draw hexagon shapes

Making process

1. Strain and combine purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into one bowl  and keep it aside.
2. Then mix yogurt sugar, oil and vanilla essence  into another bowl. Whisk till you get smooth and creamy mixture.
3. Then mix in flour mixture into wet ingredients and Mix well. Remember not to over mix the flour into wet ingredients, if you want the best cake.
4. Switch the oven to 375 F. Bake the cake for 25 minutes or until done.
5. Allow the cake to cool down .Once the cakes cool down, divide the cake into small pieces and scrambled it completely.
6. Add in vanilla frosting into crumbled cake. Knead well and make cake balls .

7. Place all cake balls into freezer for 10 to 15  minutes.
8. Melt the candy chocolate( vanilla) into microwave for 40 seconds.
9. Remove the cake balls out from freezer and dip lollipop stick into melted chocolate and pop in  the stick through the chilled cake balls.
10. Dip the cake pop into meted chocolate and take out any excess chocolate to drip off before you invert the pops in the foam. Allow the cake pops to dry.
11. Then mark the hexagon shapes on the white coated pops and fill it using black gel writer
12. Soccer ball cake pops are ready

About the Author: Pranjali Naik is a food blogger and owner of foodydelight.