Apple - Strawberry and Almond Breakfast Muffins

Even though you can buy a can of fruits or a bag of frozen vegetables from the grocery store any time of the year, autumn weekends are always very special when you would stroll through farmer's market and get the season's best farm fresh produce. Similarly fall is the best time of the year for food lovers. During this season, a number of delicious fruits and vegetables are ready to pick.


Right now the weather is becoming cooler, but your produce choices are heating up.  We have perfect excuses to start baking on cold nights! Today I would share a fall-inspired breakfast recipe which we can call, Apple, Strawberry and Almond Muffins.

These muffins went for a bake sale at my son's school on fall festival. Before this event I heard about bake sale, but didn’t think of making anything for this event. One of his friend's mom asked me to bring something for the sale and so I made these muffins. The remaining muffins turned into our yummy breakfast on crispy autumn morning.

These are made of Spicy cinnamon, delicious crisp of apple, strawberry and almond. When you have fresh strawberries on your hand and fresh apple sitting on your kitchen counter, try these Apple -Strawberry and Almond muffins. This is not only delicious but very healthy too! Muffins belong to the quick bread family and these muffins are very quick to make. You need just two bowls, one for the wet ingredients and other for the dry. Combine them together, you batter is ready! Transfer it into the muffin tins and bake then till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Yummy breakfast muffins are made! If you want giant sized muffins then try this same batter for six. The recipe is adopted from the book What Katie Ate.

Recipe of Strawberry, Apple and Almond Breakfast Muffins : for a standard 12 cup muffin tin

Ingredients:

Self rising flour : 1 1/4 cups

Almond meal : 1/2 cup ( if you do not want to buy it separately, can grind sliced blanched almonds and make it to a powder )

Sugar : 1/2 cup

Baking powder : 2 tsp

Lemon zest (finely grated) : of a lemon

Ground Cinnamon : 1 1/2 tsp

Salt : 1/2 tsp

Vanilla extract - 2 tsp

Unsalted Butter : 1 stick or 1/2 cup ( at room temperature )

Large Eggs : 2 ( beaten )

Warm water : 3/4 cup

Apple : 1 big - peeled, cored and cubed

Strawberries (halved ) : 2 cups

Almonds : 1/2 cup ( sliced and blanched )

Light brown sugar : 1/4 cup

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C. Line a 12- cup standard muffin tin with paper baking cups or parchment paper.

2. Put the flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt in a bowl and mix them well.

3. In a separate bowl, add vanilla extract, melted butter, beaten egg and 3/4 cup warm water and combine together.

4. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to incorporate. Then add the apple and gently mix to combine. 
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, fill the each cup to about three quarters full.

6. Place 2-3 strawberry pieces on the top of the each muffin. Sprinkle with almonds and brown sugar.

7. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Apple - Strawberry and almond muffins are ready to serve!

Continue Reading...

Tweet

Narkel Naru / Coconut Ladoo / Sweet Coconut Balls

Today I will share a very traditional Bengali Sweet recipe, which all of us used to love in our childhood days. Bengali pujas are not complete without the same. One week before Durga puja, every home in Bengal will start cutting coconut and then grate it to make this sweet. The smell used to bring a nice feeling that Puja is coming. I am talking about Narkel Naru or Coconut Ladoo.

I should have shared this before the festive season, but I couldn’t find time in the middle of preparations for the Puja! I have made more than hundred pieces of Narus this time for both Durga and Laxmi Puja. Several of my friends started asking if I have uploaded the recipe in the blog. I had to make another round of the same to take pictures. The taste is so addictive that my husband couldn’t stop eating before he finishes at least five.

Narkel Naru which is more like Coconut Ladoo in other parts of India is a sweet dish, made from fresh grated coconut, milk and sugar or jaggery. This sweet Coconut balls are soft, chewy and amazingly delicious. There are three kinds of Narkel Narus. One is "Chini r Naru" which is pure white in color and made of sugar and coconut.  No milk will be added to that. Personally I never like these narus! The second one is "Kheer r Narkel Naru". The one I made yesterday, is made of sugar, milk and coconut! This is the most popular type. There is also "Gurer Naru" that is deep brown in shade and made of jaggery. I did not have any jaggery at my pantry and so added brown sugar in the place of white sugar to half of the coconut mixture. I must say that these came out really good and became just like Gurer Naru!

Making Narkel Naru is not a big deal these days because you get ready-made packet of frozen grated coconut. Unlike our mom or grandmother, we have no time to grate a coconut or to use whole milk in making Narus. I use condensed milk and evaporated milk that make the process simplified and cut the cooking time by half. You can complete the entire cooking in 30 minutes! 

Recipe of Narkel Naru / Coconut Ladoo / Sweet Coconut Balls : for 25 pieces 


Ingredients : 

Shredded Coconut : 1 packet / 340 gm / more than 4 cups 

Evaporated Milk : 1 can 

Whole Milk : 2 cups

Condensed Milk : 3/4 cup. ( if you want you can use the full can too )

Sugar or Brown Sugar : half cup or little less or more than half cup, as per the desired sweetness

Green Cardamoms - 2 or 3 ( crushed )

Method :

1. Thaw the coconut, if you use frozen coconut.

2. Take a heavy bottomed pan and add the coconut. Then Stir it on low flame for 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Add the whole milk. Once the coconut and the milk mixture will start bubbling, add the evaporated milk and the condensed milk to the pan. Mix it all together and let it cook on low to medium heat. 

4. Add the sugar and keep stirring till the coconut is cooked. Once the milk almost dries up and the coconut mix comes out clean from the sides of pan add the cardamom. Again give some stirs and check the sweetness.

5. Turn off the gas and let the coconut mixture cool down. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle but still it is warm, make some little balls by rolling between your palms. Store them in an airtight box and refrigerate it or you can keep it out for 2 to 3 days. Enjoy Narkel Narus!

Continue Reading...

Tweet

No Flour Chocolate Sponge Cake Roll

Hi there!  I am here with the new post after a long gap.  I can’t remember when I posted last time in my blog :-) Last few days I was so busy with our big festival Durga Puja, could not think about anything else other than the festival. We had a great weekend with Pujas and had lots of fun with cultural programs and delicious Bengali food. Shubho Bijaya to my Bengali readers! Soon I will come up with some Bijaya Special sweet dish, till then enjoy this yummy Chocolate Sponge Cake Roll.

This lovely spiral designed chocolate sponge cake doesn’t merely look good, it is very delicious too. It seems to just melt in your mouth. The good part is that it can be stored in the refrigerator for four to five days. The best thing about any sponge cake is that you need only the most basic ingredients. Sponge Cake relies only on beaten eggs whereas making Butter Cake with good volume relies on baking powder.

This Chocolate Sponge Cake is little different from others in this aspect that it does not contain flour. This makes the cake very light and moist. The texture reminds me the molten chocolate cake or baked chocolate mousse. The downside of the cake is quite fragile and so it can crack when you roll the cake around the filling. 

It does contain melted chocolate. You should make sure that the chocolate has been cooled down in room temperature before adding it to the beaten egg yolks and sugar. The filling is up to your choice. You can either use plain whipped cream frosting that I did or chocolate whipped cream.  Also flavor the cream with any choice of your fruit preserves. The process may sound complex but it is not so in reality.  It won’t take long time either. The Recipe is adopted from Joy of Baking.

Recipe of No Flour Chocolate Sponge Cake Roll : for a 17 by 12 inch sheet pan 

Ingredients : 

For Chocolate Sponge Cake : 

Egg : 6 

Semi sweet chocolate( chopped ) : 4 oz or 120 gm

Granulated White Sugar : 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp 

Cream of Tartar : 3/4 tsp 

Pure Vanilla extract : 1 tsp

For Filling : 

Cold Heavy Whipping Cream : 1 cup

Pure Vanilla Extract : 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 2-3 tbsp or to taste 

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 180 degrees C ) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.

2. Grease a 17 by 12 inch sheet pan with a non stick vegetable spray and line the pan with a parchment paper and then again spray the paper with non stick vegetable spray.


3. While eggs are still cold, separate the white part and yolk. Place the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and bring them to room temperature. 

4. Melt the chocolate in a stainless steel bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Once done, let it cool down to room temperature. 

5. In the bowl of electric mixer or with a hand mixer place the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat on high speed until the mixture is thick, light and fluffy.

6. Add the vanilla extract and melted chocolate, and beat to combine. Once done, set it aside.

7. In a clean mixing bowl beat the whites until it is foamy. Add the cream of tartar and the sugar, and beat at medium-high speed until soft peaks form.

8. Gently add small amount of egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture using a rubber spatula. Fold in the remaining whites until incorporated.

9. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan with the back of a spoon or a offset spatula.

10. Bake until it is puffed and it is no longer shinny and springs back once gently pressed. It will take 15 to 16 minutes to be done.

11. Remove from the oven and place it on wire rack to cool. Cover the cake with a slightly damped clean kitchen cloth while it is cooling down. This will help the cake to get the moisture.

12. Place the mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then put the whipping cream, vanilla extract and sugar into the bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. 

13. Once the cake cools down, take the cake out of the pan, but do not peel off the parchment paper. Spread the whipped cream evenly with offset spatula and gently roll the cake, peeling off the parchment paper when you roll the cake. 

14. Keep the rolled cake into the refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hrs. Then cut it and serve!

Note : You can store this cake in the refrigerator for up to five days. 

s

Continue Reading...

Tweet

Dhaniya Chicken : Chicken Curry with Fresh Cilantro

In Kitchen, sometimes you plan for a dish but end up making something different. When I was going to try something innovative, a brand new chicken recipe. noticed that I had a bunch of fresh cilantro still left in my refrigerator. Thinking if I try out the new recipe, bunch of cilantro would be wasted, I decide to make Dhania Chicken. It’s a simple chicken curry with lots of fresh flavors. This recipe is for you if you love fresh cilantro. This chicken curry doesn’t need lots of spices, to maintain the fresh flavor of coriander. But surprisingly all the time it came out so delicious that even my conservative hubby had to appreciate J It has become one of his favorite chicken dishes.  

We tried several times Fish curry with fresh cilantro paste or Dum aloo with the same and those are kind of regular dishes in Bengali kitchen. But Chicken curry with fresh Cilantro was not so common in my family before we tried this out. This recipe is very easy and quick that you can make on any busy day.

• Recipe of Chicken Curry with fresh Cilantro : Serves 5

  
  

  Ingredients :

  Chicken : 2 lbs ( medium sized pieces ) Lemon juice - 2 tbsp Salt - Red Chili powder - 1 tsp or as per tolerance Oil - 4-5 tbsp Green Cardamoms - 3 Cinnamon - 1 inch stick Cloves -3 Onions - 2 big (finely chopped) Chopped Green Chilies - as per your tolerance Ginger - 1 tbsp Garlic - 2 tbsp Chopped Cilantro / chopped fresh Coriander leaves : 1 big bunch Turmeric - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Kashmir red chili powder - 1 tsp

  Method :

  1. Wash the chicken pieces and pat dry. Add the lime juice, salt, red chili powder to 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.

  2. Take a deep pan or wok, add 2 tbsp of oil and heat it up. Once oil is ready, add the green cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves.

  3. Once they are aromatic, add the 3/4 of chopped onions. Saute the onion till they become transparent. Add the chopped cilantro and chopped green chilies.

  4. Give some stirs, add turmeric, Kashmir red chili powder and coriander powder. Cook it until every thing is well mixed. Once done take them off from the pan. First let it cool down at room temperature, then make a paste. Keep it aside.

  5. Add the remaining oil to the same pan and heat it up. Once oil is ready, add the remaining onion and stir it. Add the marinated chicken to the pan and saute it for 5 to 7 minutes. Then add ginger and garlic and give some stirs.

  6. Chicken will release water, let it cook until water is dried out. Stir it occasionally to prevent burning at bottom. Add the cilantro - onion paste to the chicken.

  7. Mix it well, keep stirring until oil starts coming up from the sides of pan.

  8. Add salt and add a cup of warm water. Cover the pan with lid and let it cook until chicken pieces are fully cooked.

  9. Once chicken is tender, check the seasoning. Add some chopped green chilies if needed and switch off the gas. Serve Dhania Chicken / Cilantro Chicken with a bowl rice or bread.

Continue Reading...

Tweet

Bacon Wrapped Egg Cupcakes

I love lazy weekend as I can get up late and there is no hurry to get anything ready or to go anywhere. Also my happy weekend means a relaxed one with yummy food! Both the boys are early risers, so I don't get much time to prepare their favorite breakfast on weekend. 

Off late I've collected several yummy breakfast recipes which are easy to make but a lovely way to start the day. Bacon Wrapped Egg Cupcakes is one of them, favorite breakfast to my 6 years old. 

Couple of my friends have been asking me to post some back-to-school lunch recipes. This one is not very usual kid's lunch but will go well for a change once in a month.   

I do not experiment much for my kid's school lunch. As my son is picky eater, I give him whatever he likes. Usually he carries chicken sandwich, Potato / Chicken wrap, any quick fix pasta, meatballs, smashed potato, steamed or stir fry veggies. Recently I tried this Bacon wrapped Egg Cupcakes with some baked potato wedges and some vegetables. He really liked it as the lunchbox returned empty.

Bacon Wrapped Egg Cupcakes, is not technically a cupcake in the traditional sense, but a cute and impressive addition to any breakfast or brunch spread. It uses minimal ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes to whip together. You can add green or red peppers and onion with egg though. Most of the time I do not add any vegetables or meats with the egg, except cheese.

Try it for your kids, they will surely enjoy!

Recipe of Bacon Wrapped Cupcakes : for 12 cupcakes

Ingredients :

Eggs : 9 

Bacon : 12 slices 

Cheese : 1 cup, Shredded Cheddar  ( or as per your choice )

Chopped Vegetable : 1 cup (optional ) you can add chopped onion, green or red bell peppers, tomato, mushroom. 

Fresh herbs : 

Salt : 

Pepper : 

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cook the Bacon on medium heat, until it is brown but not crisp.

3. Spray muffin tin and line each cup with a bacon around the edges.

4. Take a big bowl and whip all eggs. Add cheese, vegetables, salt, pepper and other desired herbs to it. Mix them together.

5. Evenly pour the egg mixture into each cup. Fill it about 1/2 way.

6. Bake about 15 to 20 minutes, until egg is done.

7. Pop out and serve. 

Note : Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then refrigerate up to 24 hours before serving.

Continue Reading...

Tweet

Bengali Style Cholar Dal ( Lentils with Coconut and Spices )

I am slowly realizing that blogging is not that easy and sometimes can become hectic too. Though I am enjoying this life of blogging, learning new stuffs and receiving feedback every day from readers or my other blogger friends, sometimes it’s too difficult to keep some time left for trying out and writing down new recipes.  For example, I had this one in mind for few days but couldn't concentrate because of day-to-day usual stuff and weekend party, socialism and shopping. On the other hand, generally I don’t like to stay awake till late night and so my working day becomes shorter. Anyway, we have to cope up with this challenge of balancing between our interest and other day-to-day boring stuff.

Last week, on Friday night our dinner menu was Cholar Dal with Luchi. Cholar Daal, whose English name is Split Bengal Gram, is a very popular Bengali dish, especially when it is prepared with coconut. This one is much different from the Daal (lentil soup) we cook every single day. The regular daal is simpler, flavored and tempered with some spices, which Bengalis generally have with rice. But Cholar daal is mostly cooked on special occasions, usually served with Luchi (Indian Puff Bread) or sometimes with Pulao. The humble combination of Cholar daal and Luchi makes any occasion special and you would find many Bengali who would start licking their lips after hearing this phrase.

The recipe is not complicated and flavored with minimum spices. The addition of coconut, other spices like chilies and the seasoning is simply delectable to the palate. Though it is a not sweet dish, still the original dish tastes little sweet. Please note that Cholar daal (Split Bengal Gram) that is also known as Channa dal and Channa Dal and Toor daal (Split Pigeon Peas) both look very similar, but taste-wise they are completely different. Sometimes people get confused between these two. Many recipes are there in Bengali cuisine with Cholar Dal and all are delicious. Will try to share some of them later. 

Try this recipe of channa dal for a change, hope your family will simply love it.

Recipe of Bengali Style Cholar Dal : Split Gram with Coconut and Spices : Yield : 3 servings 

Cholar Dal  / Chana Daal / Bengal Split Gram : 1 cup 

Salt : 

Turmeric : half tsp 

Oil : 2 to 3 tbsp

Asafoetidia (hing ) : a pinch 

Whole Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp 

Dry Whole Red Chilies : 1 or 2 

Bay leaves : 2 

Coconut flakes ( or thinly sliced or chopped )  : a handful 

Cashew nuts ( halved ) : 2 to 3 tbsp 

Golden Raisins : 2 tbsp ( optional )

Grated Ginger or Ginger paste : 1 tbsp 

Cumin powder  : 1 tbsp 

Kasmiri Red chili powder or Red Chili powder : 1/2 tsp or as per tolerance 

Sugar : 

Method :

1. Soak the Chana Dal in water overnight ( at least 2 to 3 hrs )

2.  Boil the Dal, there are two methods, one is pressure cooker method. Another one is sauce pan method.

3. For pressure cooker, rinse dal and put it in the cooker along with enough water, salt and the turmeric powder. The water level should be half of the finger ( 1 cm approximately ) tall above the dal. Cover the lid and let it cook in medium heat until you hear three whistles. Remove from heat, first let it cool down completely, then open the lid.

4. Another process of boiling dal, take a deep sauce pan, rinse dal and put it in the pan with enough water, salt and turmeric. Bring it to boil and then let it simmer until the dal is well cooked. Add more water in the boiling process, if needed.

5.  Once dal becomes soft and well cooked, set it aside.

6. Take a deep pan or wok, heat 2 to 3 tbsp oil. Add asafoetidia, whole cumin seeds,dry whole red chili, bay leaves. 

7. Once they become aromatic and start to splatter, add the coconut. Fry it until they change color to nice golden brown. 

8. Add the the cashew nuts, stir it for 2 minutes, add the raisins. Add ginger paste, cumin powder, red chili powder and 2 tablespoon water. Give some stirs, until oil starts to come up from the sides of pan.

9. Now drop the cooked dal to the pan and stir it nicely. Let it cook for couple of minutes. Add water if needed ( as per your desired consistency ). Add sugar, check the seasoning, add salt if required. 

10. Once done, pour it in the serving bowl, garnish with some fried coconut flakes and roasted cashew nuts. Serve hot with bread or rice. 

Continue Reading...

Tweet

Phulkopir Rezala : Cauliflower in Yogurt Sauce

Here is best time of the year slowly approaching - the festive season. We Bongs already started counting the days before Durgapuja. As soon as those grand four days are over, we start waiting for Diwali, the most celebrated festival in India.  Then the east meets the west. Nowadays Thanks-giving has become so special to us, especially for that longer weekend and mega shopping deals. The festive season ends with Christmas trees, lights, cakes and probably with a short trip to your hometown.

Last week too, we celebrated couple of pujas, Janmastami (birthday of Lord Krishna) and Ganesha chaturthi. Sometimes on these auspicious days, we avoid non-veg food. So I tried couple of good vegetarian dishes. Today I will share one of them - Phulkopi r rezala or Cauliflower Rezala. Pulkopi is the Bengali name for cauliflower and Rezala is a yogurt-based dish with very flavorful, delectable and light gravy. The dish is simply awesome and definitely worth trying.  You can have it either with bread or steamed rice. 

Rezala, introduced in Bengali cuisine by the Nawabs, when they ruled Bengal and its popularity expanded slowly among people. During this Islamic rule, the Influence on the food was top-down, where the common started trying the dishes of the royal court, such as biryani, korma or Rezala. Rezala was mainly used to cook with mutton or chicken. Probably in the modern days, chefs have experimented with vegetable dishes like Cauliflower or Paneer. But the outcome is equally good, no less than any non-vegetarian dishes. Interestingly Rezala has confined itself within Bengal. You won’t find it in rest of the India. So whenever you go to Kolkata, must visit one of those legendary food joints who serve rezala to get its magical aroma.

I have read couple of recipes, but many thanks to my friend Tanaya. I liked her idea of adding charmagaz (melon seeds) paste to the gravy. Here is the recipe, which is very simple and easy to cook. 

Recipe of Cauliflower Rezala : Cauliflower in Yogurt Sauce : Yield 4 servings 

Ingredients :

Cauliflower : 1 medium sized ( cut into medium sized florets )

Cashew nuts ( halved ) : a handful 

Oil :  4 to 6 tbsp

Dry Whole Red Chili : 2 or 3 

Pepper corn : 1/2 tsp

Bay leaves : 2 

Green Cardamom : 2

Cinnamon stick : 1 inch

Cloves : 2

Onion : 1 small ( finely chopped )

Ginger paste : 1 tbsp

Garlic : 1 tbsp 

Poppy seeds : 2 tbsp

Melon seeds ( charmagaz ) : 2 tbsp

Green chili : 1 

Yogurt / curd : 2 tbsp 

All purpose flour ( maida ) - 1/2 tsp 

Salt : 

Sugar :

Garam masala / spice mixture : Take two green cardamoms and a half inch cinnamon stick grind it to a coarse powder.

Clarified butter ( ghee) : 1 tbsp ( optional )  

 Method :

1.  Add poppy seeds, melon seeds ( charmagaz ), a green chili and half cup of water in a blender and make a paste.

 2. Take a wok or a deep pan, add 3 tbsp of oil and heat it up. Once oil is ready, add the cauliflower florets to the pan. Fry it till they are light brown. Once cauliflower is almost done add the cashew nuts and give some stirs. Take both cauliflower and cashew nuts out of the pan and set it aside.

3. Add 1 or 2 tbsp of oil to the same pan, add dry whole red chilies, add bay leaves, pepper corns, green cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves.

4. Once they are fragrant, add the chopped onion, stir it until it becomes light pink. Add ginger and garlic paste, mix it well and cook it until raw smell goes off.

5. Add the poppy seeds - watermelon seeds - green chili paste to the pan, stir everything and mix well, till oil starts coming up from the sides of the pan.

6. Take a bowl, add the yogurt and all purpose flour to it. Whisk the yogurt nicely.

7. Add the yogurt mixture to the pan, add salt and sugar. Stir it and cook the gravy until all are well mixed and oil comes up from the spice mixture.

8. Add cauliflower and cashew nuts to the pan, again give some good stirs.

9. Add half a cup to 1 cup water to the pan and add salt. Put the lid on and let it cook over medium flame. Once cauliflower is well cooked, check the seasoning and desired consistency.  Add sugar or salt if needed.

10. Add the garam masala ( spice mixture ) and a tbsp of clarified butter ( optional ).

11. Cauliflower Rezala is ready to serve, goes well with any kind of bread or rice.

Note : You may try this recipe with Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese ) too.  

Continue Reading...

Tweet