Thursday, May 30, 2013

Baked Tuna Cutlet



Today I am going to share a recipe of cutlet, rather healthy cutlets. Did it sound weird, cutlet and still healthy! Yes, when you bake your cutlets instead of deep frying, it is no more junk or fast food. So you don’t need to resist your temptation and stop after having only one! Keep on eating more, one after another till your stomach is fulfilled. The taste would be as good as deep-fried one. And if nobody tells you that these are not fried, you won’t be able to differentiate.








Fish Cutlets are always tasty and no exception with this Tuna Cutlet. As the canned Tuna is always ready to use, you don’t need to wash fish pieces and cook them first, just mix with the spices and make the cutlets. You can use fresh Tuna instead of canned one. If you don’t like Tuna, try this recipe with any of your favorite fishes. I generally use the Chunk Light Tuna Can (in oil).
If you don't count the calorie you can deep fry them. Its shape can be anything as you like. But if you want to put this cutlet in sandwiches or hamburger, shape it like patties. Sometimes when I have leftover cutlet, I bake again slightly and put them in the burgers or sandwiches.

This is a perfect tea time snack or goes well as a party appetizer. Kids would love them too. When you make these cutlets for kids, just skip the green chili part. The entire process of making this cutlet is so easy and fast!




Recipe of Baked Tuna Cutlet  for ( 8 to 10 pieces )

Ingredients :

1. Chunk light Tuna (in vegetable oil)  - 1 can (5 oz or 142 g) or use any white fish ( shallow fried or boiled )  
2. Onion - a big one, finely chopped
3. Ginger - 1 tbsp grated or paste
4. Garlic - 2 tbsp
5. Tomato - a small one, chopped
6. Cilantro - a handful, chopped
7. Green Chilies - 1 or 2, as per taste ( optional ), if you want to avoid green chilies, you can use black pepper powder or Red chili powder.
8. Potato - 1 medium sized, boiled
9. Green Cardamom - 2
10. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
12. Cloves - 2
13. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
14. Grated Cheese (Cheddar) - 1-2 tbsp ( optional )
15. Salt -
16. Egg - 1
17. Breadcrumbs -
18. Non stick Spray -
19. Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp


Method :

1. Open the can of Tuna, drain the oil and keep the Tuna aside.

2. Take a big pan, put 2-3 tbsp oil and heat it up. Add the cardamoms, cinnamon stick, cloves to the pan. Once they are fragrant, discard them from the oil.

3. Add the chopped onion to the pan, saute it till it changes the color to light brown, add ginger and garlic. Stir it, cook until the raw smell goes off. Add the chopped tomato to it, sprinkle some salt. Cook it till the tomato becomes soft and smashed. 

4. Add the coriander powder and green chilies. Stir it and mix it, till oil starts separating from the sides of the pan.

5. Add the Tuna, mix it nicely with the spices, and keep stirring for 5 to 6 minutes more or until it is well cooked. Add the potato, smashed it with a spatula and mix well with Tuna. Here potato will help the mixture to bind it nicely.

6. Add the chopped cilantro and  add the grated cheese to the pan. Give some good stirs and mix it well together.

7. Check seasoning, and turn off the gas. Let it cool down first, the tuna-mixture is almost ready to bake

8. Divide the mixture 8 to 10 equal balls, give them shape into round or cylindrical.

9. In a small bowl whisk the egg with 2 tbsp water and on an another flat dish spread the breadcrumbs.

10. Take a ball first dip into the egg mixture, then roll it on the breadcrumbs till it gets a nice coat of  breadcrumbs all over it. Do the same process for rest of the balls.

11. Take a baking sheet, grease it with non stick spray. Place the Tuna cutlet on it and nicely spray with non stick spray.

12. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C, bake them until they are evenly golden brown on both sides. In between check it, turn the other side and again spray lightly with non stick cooking spray. It takes approximately 5 to 7 minutes for each side to be done.

13. Serve hot with dipping sauce.


Note : Be careful while adding salt as the canned tuna is already salty, same with the souring agent. 
  • If you do not like  canned Tuna fish, use any white fish of your choice ( shallow fried or boiled ) and follow the same recipe. 




Related Recipes, you may like :

Chicken Croquettes ( Bengali Style Chicken Chop )

Egg Devil ( Dim r Chop )

Fish Patties

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Chocolate Ganache Cake



It is always said that Marriages are made in heaven! It is absolutely true for me. We didn't know each other till 2001 but got married in 2003, and today we completed 10 years of our wedding. So 26th May is always very special to us, but this year it is more so because our relationship completed a decade. In US, it always comes on a long weekend and usually most of the years we go for a short trip. This year we had a plan but somehow we felt tired after yesterday’s picnic in Temecula ranch organized by our Bengali community. So didn't feel like going anywhere but lazily roamed around usual places in San Diego, did shopping and had good food. This year, since we got a chance to stay at home, I was thinking what to cook or bake on this day. I was in dilemma which cake I would bake, Chocolate Ganache Cake or Chocolate Cheese cake or Tiramisu! Finally I decided Chocolate Ganache would be perfect as all the ingredients I already have in my pantry! 




It is so quick and easy to make. The base cake is soft-moist simple chocolate cake, frosted with chocolate Ganache. Ganache is a French word, it is a glaze icing or simply a mixture of chocolate and cream. Ganache is generally made by heating cream and little butter, then pouring it over chopped chocolates. The mixture is stirred or blended until it becomes smooth. You do not need to use electric blender for this Chocolate Ganache frosting. I made it 3 tier cake, without using a 3 tier cake pa, baked the chocolate cake in three different sized pans and assembled it. All the three cakes have a single layer filled with the same frosting and decorated as per my little one's wish with Oreo cookies and raspberries. The base cake was already baked two days before, and kept it in the refrigerator. Frosting and decorating part doesn't take time; still I had no patience for that. When I started to decorate it, I was in serious doubt whether I could finally present it or not. Thanks to God, it came out not only delicious but looked really nice.





Recipe of Chocolate Ganache Cake : for a 9 by 13 inch pan


Ingredients :

For the Chocolate cake :

1.     Dutch-processed Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup
2.     Boiling hot water: 1 cup
3.     All-purpose flour - 1-1/3 cups
4.     Baking powder- 2 tsp
5.     Salt- 1/4 tsp
6.     Granulated White Sugar - 1 cup
7.     Unsalted Butter - 1 stick
8.     Eggs - 2 ( large)
9.     Vanilla extract - 2 tsp


For Chocolate Ganache frosting :



Semi sweet chocolate : 8 ounces ( 227 g) cut into small pieces
Heavy whipping cream 3/4 cup to 1 cup ( approximately 180 g )
Unsalted Butter - 1 tbsp

For decoration :

Raspberries - a handful
Oreo cookies 


Method : 

1.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 176 degrees C. Grease 3 different sized pans or ramekins with nonstick vegetable spray.

2.     In a small bowl, take the cocoa powder and the boiling water and stir them until it becomes smooth. Let it cool down to room temperature.

3.     In another bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt and whisk it. Take butter and sugar in a bowl, beat them with a hand mixer or with a spatula until they become light and fluffy.

4.     Add the eggs one by one and beat until it becomes smooth. Beat in vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat nicely until incorporated.

5.     Add the cocoa mixture and mix the whole thing till it becomes smooth. Fill each ramekin about 2/3 full with batter and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes clean.

6.     But make sure don't over bake. Cakes are ready for frosting when they are completely cool.


Assemble and frosting : 

1. Take a heatproof bowl, put the chopped chocolate and keep it aside. 

2. Take a saucepan, place cream and butter in it and heat it over medium heat, bring it to a boil. 

3. When it just starts to a boil, immediately pour the boiling cream and butter mixture over the chopped chocolates. Let it rest for couple of minutes, then stir until the mixture gets smooth, beat it with a wire whisk till it becomes soft and fluffy.

4. This is the final step, which is to assemble the cake. Once the cakes are completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake in the refrigerator for at least an hour. This makes the spreading of the frosting a much easier task as a freshly baked cake is quite fragile and when you try to spread the frosting, there is a tendency for the cake to tear.

5. With a serrated knife, cut the top swelling parts off and then cut the each cake into two halves horizontally. Place the layers, top of the cake facing down, on your serving plate. 

6. Spread the cake layer with a layer of chocolate Ganache frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost. Repeat the same with the other two cakes Frost the top and sides of the cakes nicely.

7. Decorate with some fresh raspberries and Oreo cookies. 





Friday, May 24, 2013

Mango Jam / Raw Mango Relish




Mango Mania is still continuing, today I came up with a recipe, that is sweet and sour in taste, simply delicious, rather luscious!! You can eat this with bread at breakfast, or as a snack or dessert. Yes, it’s called Mango Jam. It is so easy to make at home and surprisingly without much effort. Last week I asked my hubby to bring some raw mangoes and I had a plan to make Raw Mango Chutney with the same. But he got some extra mangoes which I didn't need and it ended up with this yummy Mango Jam. 




I was planning to share the recipe of Raw Mango Chutney, but alas! I couldn't save anything to click its pictures. I don't want to blame anybody, I couldn't resist form relishing it. So from yesterday, I was very conscious that before taking any snap, I won’t have a single spoon. When I was in 7th grade in my school, I learnt how to make Mango Jam in our 'Work Education' class. We made this same Jam and but I couldn't remember the actual recipe. But thanks to Google, after reading many recipes, and from the taste that was still in my mind, I gave a try that came out exactly how I wanted.








As such there are not many steps in the cooking method of this recipe. Get the mango pulp from some raw mango and cook with sugar. When it is almost done, add some lemon juice, that's all. I added a pinch of cardamom powder, because I like the combination of mango and cardamom powder. Then I added pinch of dry roasted spice powder for the spicy kick that you may skip. To get some stunning color, I added few strands of saffron. This dish is also known as Mango Murabba (Sweet mango relish/ Sweet mango pickle).






Recipe of Mango Jam : ( for a 6 oz jar )


Ingredients:

Raw Mango - 2 medium sized / approximately 1 lb  
Sugar - 1/2 cup or as per the taste
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Cardamom Powder - a pinch
Saffron - few strands
Dry roasted Masala powder - a pinch ( This is optional, for the spicy kick, you may add it)


Method :

1. Wash, peel, grate the mango and set it aside.

2. Add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron to it. Mix it nicely and keep it aside for 10 minutes and so. In this time, the raw mango starts to release water.

3. Dry roast 1 tbsp of cumin seeds and a whole dry red chili till aroma comes up, then grind them into powder. This is called Dry Roasted Masala Powder.

4. Cook the Mango mixture in microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, take it out of microwave and stir it well. Put it back in microwave again for 3 minutes more. Check it in every one minute and give stirs, till you get desired consistency, check the sweetness. You may avoid the microwave method, by cooking it on the stove-top.

5. When it is done, add the lemon juice, mix it nicely and add the dry roasted masala powder combine with the mango. Mango Jam is ready.

6. Allow it to cool down completely, then put it in a jar, you can store the Mango Jam for about a month at room temperature or 3 to 4 months if you keep it in refrigerator.

   




Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Cottage cheese and Ricotta Cheese Fudge ( Sondesh )



I was not a dessert loving person, till I left Bengal after marriage. I started missing sweets in Bangalore, because there were not many sweet shops. Every weekend we had to go to famous KC Das to get sweets or desserts. But at least one great shop was there. In San Diego, we don’t find Bengali sweets in hundred miles radius. So there is only one way – make your own sweets at home and so my journey of experiments with desserts starts.

Nowadays whenever I invite somebody for lunch or dinner, I have to make at least two dessert dishes. I love to make them because every time it comes out so perfect and makes me more confident to try something different next time. Today I will share recipe of Sondesh which I learnt at the very initial days of my journey with dessert.






Sondesh is cottage cheese fudge, a very popular sweet of Bengal, most likely second most recognized sweet after Rasogolla. There are many types of Sondesh. I made this special type by using home-made cottage cheese and ricotta cheese, flavored with date palm jaggery. It’s a kind of jaggery that made of raw juice or syrup, collected from Date palm tree. It is usually available in winter season. You can add your own flavor, if this is not available. Sometimes I add some cocoa powder to get chocolate flavor or vanilla essence.







Also there are two distinct groups of Sondesh. One is soft or 'Narom Pak-r Sondesh' and other type is harder variety of Sondesh, called 'Koda Pak-r Sondesh' where Cottage Cheese / Chhana / Chhena is cooked for a longer time to make it hard. On the other hand, 'Narom Pak Sondesh' is stirred gently at low heat for few minutes. The recipe that I'm going to share today belongs to this 'Narom Pak' group.





Recipe of Cottage cheese and Ricotta cheese fudge : for 10 pieces.

Ingredients:

1. Cottage Cheese or Home made Chhena - 1 cup
2. Ricotta cheese - 1 cup
3. Date Palm jaggery or Sugar : as per taste
4. Vanilla essence - few drops. ( if you are using sugar)
5. Butter - half tea spoon.
6. pistachio - a handful chopped

Method:

How to make Chhena or Cottage cheese at home :

     Milk - 1 liter of whole milk.
     Lemon juice - a big lime and mix it with 2 tsp of water

1.   Boil the milk in a pan, stir continuously. Once the milk starts boiling, lower the flame. Pour the lemon juice. Stir the milk. Once the milk starts curdling and changes into chhana  (cottage cheese) and greenish water, remove the pan from heat.

2     Leave the chhana / cottage cheese in this condition for 5-7 mins.

3.     Put it over a soft cotton cloth / or a cheese cloth (if you have any). Let all the water drain away.

4.      Now put this cloth with the chhana ( cottage Cheese) under cold running water for 2-3 minutes. This will help to remove the smell of lemon.

5.      Hang the chhana along with the cloth on the kitchen tap / faucet for 45 minutes to 1 hr.

6.       Now once again squeeze the cloth if there is any extra water. Try to get rid of as much water as possible but note that the chhana(cottage cheese) should not get too dry.


How to make Cottage Cheese and Ricotta Cheese Fudge :

1. Take the chhena ( cottage cheese), Ricotta cheese, sugar/ date palm jaggery chopped pistachio and vanilla essence ( if you use date palm jaggery, don't need to add vanilla essence) in a big bowl. Mix them nicely with your palm or put it in a food processor.
2. Grease an oven proof bowl with butter and put all the cheese mixture into it.
3. Cook it in the Microwave for 8 minutes or so, till it looks like (Sondesh) fudge. After 5 minutes of cooking check it in every 2 minute and stir it.
4. Let it cool down. The keep it in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.
5. Give them desired shape and serve it cold.







Sunday, May 19, 2013

Mango Flavored Yogurt





Summer is the most awaited season of the year, for the fruit-lovers, specially who loves mango. Let me indulge you in a dessert that I made couple of days back. It’s called Mango Flavored Yogurt and 'Aam Doi' in Bengali, that is very famous dessert in Bengal during summer. It would have flavor of fresh mango and minimal effort to make at home with no guilty feelings of having extra calorie !! It’s so yummy that you will keep licking till you confirm nothing left in the spoon :)







I made 'Misti doi' (sweetened yogurt) several times in Bengali style. The Mango Flavored Yogurt  is almost similar to that, only difference added is some tablespoons of Mango Pulp to add essence of Mango. It would make the normal sweetened yogurt more delicious.  Mango is the summer-fruit and so it is the normal choice. If you don’t prefer the mango flavor, then you can try this recipe with any seasonal fruits. Outside India, we don't get good Alphonso Mangos, which is supposed to be the best mango, but its Pulp is easily available. If you get fresh Mango, you can try to with pulp extracted out of the mango. Just take some hung yogurt, mix with mango pulps and sweetened condensed milk and then bake it, that’s all.






Recipe of Mango Flavored Yogurt ( Aam Doi) : Serves 4


Ingredients :

Plain Yogurt : 2 cups / 500 gm / 17.6 Oz
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1/2 can or 200 gm or 7 Oz  or as per taste
Sweetened Mango Pulp - 5-6 tbsp

Method :

1. Take a cheese cloth, or a soft cotton cloth, pour the yogurt into it, tie the cloth loosely and hang the yogurt along with the cloth on the kitchen faucet / tap for 15 to 20 minutes or til most of the whey ( yogurt-water) has been drained. You can skip this stage by using Greek yogurt.

2. Take the yogurt out from the cloth, put it in a big bowl and add the sweetened condensed milk and the mango pulp. Mix all the ingredients nicely by using a spoon and check the sweetness. Pour the mixture into a oven proof dish. ( cup / bowl / pan )

3. Preheat the oven to 220 degree F or 104 degree C and place the rack on the top. Bake the yogurt for 30 minutes. Just check it if the top of the yogurt has set, and turn off oven. Cover the yogurt with foil and let it be there in the oven for another 4-5 hrs or overnight.

4. Then take it out and put it in the refrigerator for couple of hours, serve chilled.

Microwave Method : 

 It takes only 2 to 3 mins to set the yogurt. Check it in every minutes until done. When it is done, keep it in the refrigerator for couple of hours and serve. 




Related recipes, you may like :

Mango Jam / Raw Mango Relish (easy recipe)

Mango Avocado Salsa

Sondesh with Ricotta Cheese

No-cook No-bake Pineapple Cream



Saturday, May 18, 2013

Bengali Chicken Curry with a flavor of fennel




It’s a simple chicken curry that I used to cook in Bengali style but this time I tried to give a little twist. chicken Curry has always a special appeal but roasted fennel powder adds a new flavor to this dish. I was wondering how should I cook today's chicken and it was a coincidence that I came across the ecurry.com's Fennel-flavored chicken curry. Thanks to Soma to come up with this idea !  This little change gives a nice aroma to this dish.





It’s a medium hot and spicy chicken dish, little soupy and just perfect for Sunday afternoon lunch with a plate of rice. Though it’s not a hot dish, actually Kashmiri chili powder, caramelized sugar and mustard oil give a nice red color. These days If I cook something very spicy, nobody in my family would touch except me. But this one was appreciated by both the boys of my home. It’s not very new or unique to add fennel to any curries. I added it many times to veg dishes, sometimes to fish curry but this is the very first time with chicken.






When I was a kid, mostly the Sunday had a special attraction, because my mom used to cook Chicken / 'Murgi r jhol' on this day for lunch. But things have changed so completely today !! Since my hubby and my son both love fish over chicken, I have to cook chicken for myself at least 2 to 3 days in a week. And whenever I cook this kind of Bengali Chicken curry, I end up eating extra because of their soupy gravy and  all the dieting or calorie goal goes for a toss. Not only me, I noticed the same with others too J
So a small suggestion to my diet conscious friends, if you want to serve this dish with rice, cook rice little more than regular J But if you have already crossed all the limits, you can try with Indian flat bread or normal toasted bread which would also go well with this chicken curry.







Recipe of Bengali Chicken Curry with a flavor of fennel : Serves 5

Ingredients :

Chicken- 2 lb to 2.5 lb skinless but with bone cut into medium sized pieces.
Lime juice - 2 tbsp  
Yogurt - 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp 
Kashmiri Red Chili Powder - 1 + 1  tbsp as per taste 

Potato - medium sized 3 
Red Onion- medium sized 3 (finely chopped)
Ginger- ( grated or paste )1-1/2 tbsp 
Garlic - 2 tbsp paste 
Tomato - 1 medium size (chopped)

Pepper Corn - 5-6 
Whole green Cardamom - 3
Cinnamon stick - 2 inches 
Bay leaves - 2

Sugar- 1/2 tsp 
Oil - preferably Mustard oil - 5 to 6 tbsp 

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp 
Coriander powder - 1 tsp 


Method :

1. Wash the chicken pieces and pat dry. Add the lime juice, salt, turmeric powder and kashmiri red chili powder with the chicken. Toss it and mix it well, put it in a big Zip lock bag and let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Then add the yogurt and rub it well on the chicken pieces and allow it to marinade for an hour or so, If you are not in hurry, overnight is better.

2. In a pan take the cumin seeds and fennel seeds, dry roast them till they are fragrant. Let it cool down first, then grind them into powder and set it aside

3. Peel the potatoes and cut into halves. Wash it well, pat dry and sprinkle some salt on it. Take 1 tbsp oil in a big pan, heat it up and fry them till they are golden brown. Remove it from pan and keep it aside.

4. Add rest of the oil in the pan, add the sugar and caramelize it on medium to low heat. Sugar will slowly melt down to golden brown in color. Add the pepper corns, cardamoms, cinnamon stick, cloves and bay leaves. When they are aromatic, add the chopped onion, cook the onion, once they start browning, sprinkle some salt .

5. Add the garlic paste and grated ginger or ginger paste, cook them along with onion, until the raw smell goes off. 

6. Add the the chicken pieces to the pan and save the marinade. Cook the chicken pieces till they are light brown on all the sides.

7. When the chicken pieces are well coated with cooked onion- ginger - garlic mixture, add the roasted cumin and fennel powder, add the coriander powder, turmeric powder and red chili powder to the pan. Stir it, mix it well cook until oil starts to separate.

8. Add the chopped tomato and the marinade into it. Again toss it, mix well and in this process chicken will be half-cooked. Give it some good stirs until tomatoes are soft, all the spices are well cooked and oil coming up from all the sides. At this point add the golden fried potatoes to the pan and let it cook with the whole thing for few minutes more.

9. Sprinkle the salt, mix it well add 2 to 3 cups of water as per the desired consistency.  Cover it and let it cook till potatoes are soft and chicken pieces are just about separating off the bones.

10.  Check the consistency, check the seasoning. If you like, add some chopped green chilies. Turn off the gas and serve hot with steamed rice or any Indian flat bread or with some toasted bread. 






Sunday, May 12, 2013

Date and Walnut Bread



Tomorrow is Mother's day. While my 6 years old is planning to celebrate the special day, I was wondering if I can cook something that my mom loves to eat. Though I know she cannot taste it, I can show my creation through pictures, that would give her same pleasure. My mom has so many restrictions on diet, very few things she would enjoy with no worry. One of those is Date and Walnut Bread. Whenever we used to go out to buy cakes, she would tell us to buy something with walnut for her. On my last visit to Calcutta, I baked a banana walnut cake for her and she was delighted !! Nowadays whenever I visit my parents, I make a list of food that I would cook for them. But they still consider me a kid and don’t let me enter the kitchen.




Date Walnut Bread is nice tea-coffee bread, bursting with the flavor of sweet dates and crunchy walnuts.  Not only my mom loves it, this ( fruits and nuts) is the only cake that my hubby eats!








The recipe is quick, easy but taste is simply awesome! It is something dense, moist with lots of dates and nuts in every bite. It is an old fashioned bread, traditional recipe calls all purpose flour, butter and white sugar but I most of the time use wheat flour, oil and brown sugar to make it healthier. Dates are sweet fruits of palm tree, when dates are dried, they become sticky, soft and plump. In this recipe, I am using dried and pitted dates, that can be found in the “produce” section of the grocery store. If you are using pitted dates, still better to re-check if there is any seeds inside before using.




Recipe Of Date Walnut Bread :

Ingredients :

Walnut - 1/2 cup (toasted and chopped)
Dates ( dried and pitted ) - 10 ounces around 1 1/3 cups
Flour ( All purpose flour + wheat flour ) - 1/2 + 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup ( you can use 1/2 cup unsalted butter)
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Boiling water - 1 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Egg - 1 large
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp


Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F or 180 degree C and place the rack in the center of the oven. Grease or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan.

2. Toast the walnuts for about 6 to 7 minutes until they are lightly browned and fragrant. Let it cool, then chop coarsely.

3. In a large bowl, take the chopped and pitted dates, add salt and baking soda into it. Mix them well then pour 1 cup hot water over the dates. Give some stirs and let it cool down to room temperature. It will take approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

4. In a big bowl take the two types of flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder and mix them well. Add the oil and combine them nicely and then stir in the chopped walnuts.

5. In a separate bowl whisk the egg with vanilla extract. Finally add the flour mixture and the egg mixture into  the cooled dates mixture ( that is dates with their water). Stir it until they are combined well.

6. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until the bread has risen well and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. It will take approximately 50 minutes to an hour.

7. Take it out of the oven, place on a wire rack to cool down and remove it from the pan. Cut it into pieces and serve. You can keep the bread for several dates at room temperature if it is well wrapped.

Enjoy and Wishing Happy Mother's day for all the mothers!!