all about cooking

MOrning Glory Muffins - A healthy breakfast!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 07:59:00 +0000

Another one from my all time favorite Allrecipes.com

When i made this for the first time i followed the recipe exactly. When i made it again i made the healthier version as some of the reviewers suggested : I used whole wheat flour, apple sauce, splenda, and cut down all the coconut. It came out really good. This s very much filling in the mornings if u take 2 and a good snack in the evening!

check out the recipe here Easy Morning GLory Muffins

Oatmeal - Healthy breakfast!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:47:00 +0000

Oatmeal is one of the staple in my home!! My kids love it and i add a lot od flavours to it! After cooking it sometimes i add raisins, or a grinded apple or pear or chopped banana, chopped nuts - walnuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds (they really love the crunciness) or what ever they insist!

All u need is a 1 cup milk and 1.5 tbsp og quick cook oats and heat both a pan till the milk boils. You can also add salt and/or sugar to this. But my kids dont like to add both. They straight away like to add the topings to it!

Papdi Chaat

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:18:00 +0000

Chaat chaat chaat... yummy yumm... my home town is not famous or we dont have any chaat items at all. I tried chaats for the first time when i came to Singapore. It is one of the yummiest snacks i have ever tasted.. be it papdi chaat or dahi bhale or gol gapa i love all the chaats!

Here is one of the chaat i recently made. Its very easy to make and really filing!

1 pkt papdi

1 onion finely sliced1 medium sized tomato

1 medium potato boiled and sliced

Red chilli sauce

Tamarind chutney (i used maggi tamarin)

Ginger powder

Chaat masala powders

Black pepper pwdr

Sev

a bunch of corriander leaves finely chopped

Line up the papdi in a plate.
Top it with onions. tomatoes and potatoes.
Add the chilli sauce and tamarind chutney to it.
then add the powders to it according to ur taste. i added around a pinch in each papdi.
At last top up with sev and coriander leaves generously.

Enjoy each and every Papdi!!!

This entry will be visiting All Things Yummy for the Chaat Event

Malabar Chicken Curry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:04:00 +0000

This recipe is from the best cook in this whole world!!! not me my Mom!!! I make a lot of variation in her recipes but this time i thought I'll try the authentic one!

Though her recipes are very spicy i reduce all spices to a medium range so that my lil ones also can enjoy! When i was a kid i used to eat a lot of spices and really really a lot of chillies but after getting preggo with my first ones all the gastric things and heart burn showed up and i am now forced to give up spicy things.. But sometimes i do eat spicy food at my own risk! LOL! Also my #2 is hates anything spicy.. except for chicken and fish and eggs!

here goes the recipe but with reduces spice!

Half of a chicken around 1/2 kg

whole spices - cardamon,cloves 3 each

a small piece of cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp pepper

onions - 2 large

ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

potatoes - 1 large

tomatoes - 2 medium

turmeric pwrd - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp

red chili pwdr - 1/2 tsp increase as per your taste

coriander pwdr - 1/2 tsp

coriander,curry and mint leaves - for garnish

oil for frying.

salt to taste.

In a large pan or cooker heat the oil and add the whole spices. When the aroma comes add the onions and saute till brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute again. Add the powdered spices and saute for another 2-3 mts. Add tomatoes, chicken and salt to it and cook till the chicken is done. Do not add water. Keep on stirring the chicken if its getting burned. When the chicken is cooked add some water if u want some gravy otherwise mix well and garnish with the green leaves. Serve with rice, roti, prata, bread or what ever!!! :)

Apple Crumb Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:32:00 +0000

I found this wonderful website The Purple Foodie few days back and when i revisited it today i came across this yummilicious recipe of Apple Crumb Cake. And i wanted to make it right away. I had all the ingredients at home except for baking powder. So i waited till evening to go out with my kids to our near by NTUC Fairprice to buy it.

We had a nice walk and i explained to my kiddos about the cake on the way! My daughter was all excited about it especially when i explained about the topping!!! She had seen only the frosting as a topping on the cake but not something like this which has to be baked with the cake! My son on the other hand was not at all interested about it!! LOL!! i guess its hard to impress a almost 3 yr old without a chocolate ingredient! :D

This cake is for my dear daughter and my DH who loves anything with apples and cinnamon. And DS... chocolate chip cookies are coming ur way soon honey! :)

here goes the original recipe..

Crumb topping:

5 tbsp butter, cold

¼ cup sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

½ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

½ cup walnut, chopped

For the cake:

1 large apple, peeled, cored and diced

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon, ground

2/3 cup sugar

8 tbsp butter (100g)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup yogurt

Making the crumb topping:

Mix together all the ingredients except the walnuts. You could do this either manually (using a fork or a pastry blender) or pulse it in a food processor. Next, stir in the nuts. Refrigerate until needed.

Making the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter an 8 inch square or circular pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and the butter with a hand mixer until light and airy, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition.

Reduce the speed now and add the flour in 3 parts and yogurt in 2 parts alternately; starting and ending with flour.

You will have a very thick batter. Stir in the chopped apples.

Transfer the batter in the buttered pan and even out the top with a spatula.

Get the crumb topping out of the fridge and break it apart using a fork. Then sprinkle it over the batter.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the crumbs are golden and a skewer comes out clean.

I made some changes in the original recipe

For the crumb toping i reduced the white sugar to 2 tbsp. And for the cake i added 1/3 brown sugar and 1/3 white sugar.

Caramel Pudding

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:02:00 +0000

This is something my mom always used to make when we make biriyani at home. I dont make this often now a days but i got nostalgic when i made biriyani last week. I thought i'll give a try in my electric oven (my friend Safia gave me this idea). But hers burned a lot on the top.. I think my oven is much more bigger than hers so may be thats the reason mine didnt get burned that much.

My mom used to make it in cooker with out the whistle on and cook it for a long time. But i think the Electric oven is much more easier that the cooker!

Its very easy to make and and you will have all the ingredients

4 eggs

3 cups milk

2 tsp vanilla essence

sugar 3/4 cup (u can increase as per ur taste)

2-3 spoons of sugar to caramelise (separate)

Preheat oven at 180 C

Beat the eggs lightly and add all other ingredients to it except the sugar.

Sprinkle the sugar set aside for caramelising on a oven proof dish.

Keep it on a top rack of the oven till its brown

Slowly add the milk and egg mixture to it.

Put it back into the oven and let it bake for 30-40mts

Turn upside down after cooling.

Please note that the top layer will burn a little bit. You can take off the layer after it cools off. Also after 30 mts insert a tooth pick to check whether its done. Its will be a little bit of watery on the top so dont get a wrong impression that its not baked.

This is how it will look once its out of the oven.
After the top layer is peeled off it will look like this.

Zebra cake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:36:00 +0000

When i saw this cake for the first time in Farida's blog i already fell in love with it!! :) it was something so different and unique!!! If i saw this in a bakery or somewhr else i wouldnt even imagine that i can also bake something like this!

Luckily i had all the ingredients at home and everything came out wonderful.. I followed the recipe exactly with no changes. Its really a big cake. I made this in Silicon round cakepan that i just brought. im slowly trying to replace all my baking pans to Silicon.

I took this to a kitty party and evertbody raved about it.

Please note that.. i made this in an electric oven.. one of my friend made the same thing in a microwave/convection oven and it didnt come out as the same pattern, it turned out to be a Marble cake!

Oatmeal Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Yesterday night i had a lot of reasons to bake muffins! I had brought this silicon muffin cups and wanted to try on it so badly! And my Dh was coming home late from work and the kids were in bed by 9 pm and i had pretty much nothing to do. Then searching for lots of recipes especially the ones with oats i came across this recipe. It was a good base but i added a lot of things to it.

The recipe was is very easy to make. I started of by ( pm and the first batch was already in the Oven by 9:25pm!

The changes i made in the recipe are

added 1/4 cup of applesauce
added 1 large chopped pear
added a medium sized mashed banana.
in some of the muffins i added half a tsp of Nutella
in some i added chopped dates and walnuts
in some i added a tsp of strawberry jam in the middle

Altogether they were delicious. And i love love love the silicon muffin cups. Just turn them upside down the muffins are out and you dont even have to wait for it to cool.

Chocolate chip cookies!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:01:00 +0000

After i made the yummy muffins today my daughter said SHE wants to make chocolate chip cookies!!! i said why not? any ways with all the rain the kids was very bored and they had nothing much to do a home. I tried this recipe before but that time i didn't have any cocoa powder. This time i had it so i followed the exact recipe and it was sooooo chocolaaateeee and wonderful...

ohh forgot... i really did make some changes!!! I reduced the sugar to 1 cup and i added only about half cup of chocolate chips. Also i freezed the dough for 20 mts.

Also my kids wanted to decorate it with some Reese Peanut butter cups and i think the cookies turned out really cute :) not in a perfect shape but they really have a kiddy touch :)

Healthy Apple Cinnamon Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:22:00 +0000

My hubby is a big fan of cinnamon. So i keep on searching for baking recipes with loads and loads of cinnamon flavour. This recipe one came out perfect!

Its sure a healthier version of the muffins with no oil and sugar. I made some changes in the original recipe after reading the reviews --- increased the cinnamon by 1 tsp, milk by 1/4 cup, added 1 more egg, and reduced the apple to 1.

Also i added about 4 tbsp of raisins and walnuts as my kids suggested!! It turned out really yummy!!! i still can smell the cinnamon all over my kitchen!

home made fresh hummous!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:53:00 +0000

i had this post in my draft for a long time. i think its finally time to publish one by one!! I and my hubby are big fans of Middle east food.. we just love it. its very easy to prepare compared to our Indian food and i think its much more healthier. During our vacation to the Middle East we both were eating like some crazy people who came from the land of NO food! LOLs!!!

I found this awesome book Lebanese Cooking by in our library here and it has a delicious hummus recipe. I tried many of the recipes from the book and all came out good. For those who are a big fan of Kubboos and hummus and shawarmas should try this book!

i just make this once a month and refrigerate it. during lazy day s i just buy some kubboos and grill a chicken and eat it with hummus.. yumm and healthy and easy too! :)

here goes the recipe.

1.5 cups of chick peas soaked overnight

about 2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup tahini

1/2 cup lemon juice

a pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tbsp of chopped parsley for garnish

salt to taste

Cook the chickpeas with salt until tender. Run it through the food processor till smooth. Add the garlic,tahini and lemon to it and mix well till its a creamy consistency. Adjust the salt and lemon according to your taste. Garnish with cayenne pepper and parsley.

Carrot (& Zucchini) cake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 13:09:00 +0000

I made this carrot cake 3 times before and it really turned yummy.. the only thing i changed in the recipe was reduced the sugar to 1 cup.. And i added the apple sauce too.

Then one day i came across this recipe of Carrot-Zucchini Cake

I was in the middle of the first Carrot cake recipe when i got the second one! So i just grated 1/2 cup skinned zucchini and reduced the carrot to 2 cups. Also reduced the sugar to 1 cup. Also i didnt add apple sauce this time because i thought Zucchinis have a high water content and it will help to keep the cake moist.

At the end.. both the recipies were delicious!

I made the cake in 2 loaf pans and took one to my friend Shebi's house where we were having a girls party! Everyone loved it!!

The other loaf was almost finished by my kids and DH! Luckily i had one slice left to take a pic!! LOLs!

Rainbow...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:57:00 +0000

Today we saw a rainbow right in front of my home!!! it was sure beautiful! Now atleast my kids will know its a real thing!! LOL!!

Here are some pics of it..

Chocolate cupcakes!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:25:00 +0000

I think there is no need to say for whom i made this!!!! To finish my large tin of cocoa powder many chocolate recipes will be coming up in this blog!!!

My daughter likes everything in chocolate flavour! Well my son is only 2 + now im wondering what his requirement will be when hes 4-5 yrs!!!

I saw these cup cakes in another blog but forgot which one and in that blog there was a link to the original recipe

I didnt do the frosting but i topped my cupcake with vanilla ice cream. I followed the exact recipe and it was soft and fluffy! :)

Mooli Paranta

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:15:00 +0000

Everyday i think what should i make for dinner sometimes i repeat the same thing twice a week. To avoid that i have made a timetable for the whole month! So every monday is parata day :) kiddos sure love it! This time i decided to make mooli parata.

I have been thinking to try it for a long time.. but never did get a chance.. I went thru Srivallis Roti Mela i came up with a recipe which was a mix of all mooli parantas! LOLs!!!

i added 2 cups of aata, 2 cups of grated mooli, 1 tsp each of ajwain and til, salt to taste, little bit of red chilli pwdr and turmeric powder and kneaded into a dough. i kept the dough for 1 he before i made rotis.

Banana Crumb Muffins & Banana Walnut muffins!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:06:00 +0000

Do u know the muffin man the muffin man the muffin man the muffin man..

LOLs.. when ever i make muffins both my kiddos sing this :)

All Recipes is my fav website for baking. The main thing is that the recipe will have lots of reviews which will help to make thr original recipe better and healthier.

I made the Banana Crumb Muffins from this site last week and followed the recipe exactly, except that i used 1/2 cup of sugar and used oil instead of butter. It was so soft and moist and yummy. And another thing i didnt add the topping because i thought it might be very sweet.

When i made it this week i made it more healthier. I used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and added 1 tsp of cinnamon. Still it was yummy and moist and soft. I sprinkled a lil bit of quick cooking oats on it. I also added 1/4 cup of walnuts and raisins this time.

Altogether it was delicious.

Marble cakes and cupcakes!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:27:00 +0000

I have been baking and grilling a lot now a days but unfortunately my camera is dead and my camera phone is not so good in taking pics.. By the time i wait for my hubby to come home to take a pic from his iPhone half of the thing is eaten by mu kids and then i think ok may be i'll post this next time... i have a lot of drafts and im wondering when im going to post all of this!!!

today my daughter told me lets make a cake together! Its really hard to resist a almost 5 yr old! :D

So i decided to make my first marble cake from scratch! i have been baking a lot from www.Allrecipes.com so i decided to go there and search for this recipe. And i think this is the perfect recipe

then she said she wants cup cakes.. So with 3/4th of the batter i made a marble pound cake and the rest i made marble cup cakes.. i even mixed a little more cocoa pwdr in one or 2 cupcakes to make it chocolate cup cakes and some into plain white cup cake.

I followed the recipe exactly but reduced the flour by 1/2 cup as some of the reviewers suggested but kept everything else the same.

Garlic Bread toppped with eggs!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:59:00 +0000

Now that i brought an electric oven i have been in a mood to bake n grill... :) so fa i made choc chip cookies and oatmeal cookies.. both of them have been so fast moving that i didn't even have time to take a pic and post it! LOL!!

today morning i thought i would make some garlic bread.. But then i thought it would be very light so i decided to cover it up with some eggs.. (my friend Afroze's idea) so that everyone will get some carb,proteins,fats etc all together!!!!
Blend 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp of olive spread, 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 small bunch of parsley into a smooth paste.

2 hard boiled eggs cut into thin slices

2 slices of cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Cut the bread half and apply the blended paste on it. Top up with cheese and the eggs.. im sure kids are gonna love it!

Lobia curry/ Black eye beans curry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:06:00 +0000

Lobia is one of my favorite among beans. today i was thinking to make Lobia parata but somehow i wasn't in a mood.. And while browsing through some of my favorite blogs i found this recipe in Shaheens Malabar Spices. it turned out so yummy even my kids loved it!

thanks Shaheen for sharing such a wonderful recipe :)

potato Bread Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:23:00 +0000

Sandwiches is my all time favorite food! I usually turn all left overs into sandwiches!!! some turn out food some flop!! LOL!!

i had some left over aloo subzi yersterday and i thought that would make an interesting lunch for my hubby!!! is a big fan of leftover sandwiches but i made the green chutney more spicy this time and he liked it!

what you'll need is

6 slices of bread
pototo subzi
green chutney
butter for applying on bread (optional)

Apply butter on 2 slices of bread. Spread green chutney on 1 slice and spread potato subzi on other. Close both the slices and put into a sandwich toaster. Toast till brown.

Aloo Methi subzi.. (Potato and fenugreek leaves)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:57:00 +0000

I love methi.. be it the seeds or leaves or the dried ones (kasuri methi).. i love the flavour though no one else at home is a big fan of it!! In between when i got preggo with my #2 i couldnt even stand it!!!! And for some reason i didnt event buy them for the last 2 yrs!!!

When i went to Mustafa Centre last week i saw the fresh leaves and i thought itz high time i need to have them now! I forgot all the recipes i used to make with the methi leaves i tried to google but didnt get the ones i used to make. Then i stumbled upon this wonderful recipe of Aloo Methi from Chayya's blog.

i made it exactly like that and it came out very good.. its easy to make and will go with rotis and rice as well. Thank god dry subzis are loved by all at our home!

Easy Veg Pulav

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:42:00 +0000

Another of my fav rice varities! well actually not mine my picky eater son loves this! He'll eat this without yogurt!! A rare thing otherwise with any type of rice he needs yogurt!!! :) This is also easy and packed up with all the vegs. I usually cut the vegs into small pieces so that he wont even notice that he is eating it :)

You'll need

Ghee - 2 tbsps
cardamon and cloves - 3-4
cinnamon stick - 1 small piece
bay leaf - 1
onion finely chopped - 1
basmati rice - 3 cups washed and soaked
mix vegs finely chopped- 1 cup (carrots,beans,corn,peas) or what ever u like
turmeric pwdr - 1/4 tsp
garam masala - 1/4 tsp
water - 6 cups
salt to taste

Heat the ghee in a non-stick pan and add the whole spices. When the smell comes out add the onions and fry till brown. Add water to it. When the water boils add the rest of the ingredients and close the pan and cook for 15 mts. Serve with raita, pickle,pappadam.

I usually finely chop all the vegs so that the kids wont notice it.

Another entry for the Rice Mela and Wholesome Lunch Box Event!

Egg Masala/ Egg bhurji

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:34:00 +0000

When Meeta my Gujju friend used to talk about Egg Bhurji i always wonder what is it!! But it always slip from my mind to ask her the recipe. At last few weeks back i asked her how to make it.. when she started telling me the reicpe i iwas telling her that my egg masala! The only difference is i boil the eggs cut into pieces and add and she adds scrambled eggs!

Herez an easy recipe when u have no vegs or meat but only eggs at home!

2 large onions finely chopped
2 tomatoes finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric pwdr
1/2 tsp chili pwdr (add more or less as per ur taste)
1/4 tsp garam masala (optional)
little bit water
3 boiled eggs cut in to 6-8 pieces each
coriander and curry leaves - a handful
oil for sauteing
salt to taste

In a large pan saute the onions in oil. When they are brown add the ginger garlic paste and fry for 2-3 mts. Then add tomatoes to it. Mix them well when the oil starts to separate add the masalas to it. Mix well then add a little bit of water i added around 2-3 tbsps. And add the boiled eggs to it immediately. Mix again and close the lid for another 2-3 mts. Garnish curry and corriander leaves.

Serve with rotis!

Khichdi

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:16:00 +0000

I love Khichdis.. mainly because on a lazy day its so easy to prepare and it had all the vegs and daal in it and i dont need a curry or side dish for it! LOL!! Luckily both my kiddos loves it too. :)

When Meeta my gujrati friend told me about this recipe i first made it with ponni rice as she suggested. But my kiddos didnt like it. Then i tried it with Basmati rice and it came out really tasty and kiddos loves it :)

Srivalli, here comes another entry from my blog to your Rice Mela!

Basmati rice - 2 cups
moong daal/ khichadi parippu - 1 cups
onions -1
ghee 2 tbsp
cardamon, cloves - 3-4
garlic - 2-3 crushed
cinnamon stick - a small pieces
carrots,beans,frozen green peas - 1 cup (altogether)
water - 7 cups
turmeric pwdr - 1/4 tsp
red chili pwdr - 1/2 tsp (add more or less according to ur taste)
coriander pwdr - 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

Soak the rice and daal for an hour.
In a pressure cooker heat the ghee and add the whole spices and onions.
when the onion is brown add the garlic to it.
When the garlic is brown add water to it and let it boil.
When the water boils add the rice, vegs, salt and masalas to it and cook for 20 mts in low flame.
The khichdi will be soft and mushy and you'll have to eat it hot to enjoy it!

Thenga Chor (Coconut Rice)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 03:08:00 +0000

My grandma makes the best coconut rice in the whole world!!!! it is so delicious that even if we make it just like her it wont taste the same. she sure has a magic touch. :) Today i have tried my best to make it just like her i know it doesnt taste like hers but still i tried my best.

In calicut coconut rice is made of matta rice. its round and brown and takes some time to cook. Malabaries usually use this rice. There is also white matte rice but as its not available in singapore i use the brown rice. Another rice which is commonly used is ponni rice. Its white long grain rice and very easy to cook. But my son doesnt like it so i hardly use it.

Back to coconut rice/thenga chor here are the ingredients

2 tbsps dalda or ghee (i used dalda)
4-5 shallots
3 cups rice
1.5 cup grated coconut
1 tbsp methi seeds/ulluva
1 tbsp fennel seeds/perunjeerakam/saunf
7 cups water
salt to taste

In a pressure cooker heat the dalda or ghee and add finely chopped shallots to it

When the shallots are brown add water

Grind the coconut and fennel seeds into a fine paste with less water

When the water boils add the rice, methi seeds, coconut, salt and cardamon to it.

Pressure cook in low flame for 30 mts.

When the steam is gone remove the whistle and mix the rice well.

Now its ready to serve with any chicken curry with gravy!

Srivalli here goes another entry from me for the Rice Mela! i hope your not fed up of me!! LOL!