Vegan Dry Fruit Scones - 4 ingredient recipe

Scones are just Classic British. Growing up in India, whenever you read a book you would read about these wonderful treats. Though you get many things not commonly made in Indian home at some shops, Scones evaded us. When I realized how easy it is to make one, I had to try my hand at making some. Though I have made them with milk and eggs, I like this version a lot cause I can enjoy it too.

Rise and Shine Papaya Breakfast - Vegan

Papaya is a buttery sweet tropical fruit. I have developed this craze for the fruit lately. I made this awesome Tropical Detox Smoothie which is just amazing - super tasty and super healthy. Do give it a try. The next day I went ahead and made this for breakfast and it was just out of the world. Try it, you will love it. This is not so much a recipe, it is more a combination that I wanted to suggest you try :-)



Ingredients

Papaya 1 cup Chopped (used half a small papaya)
Flavoured Yogurt 1 cup (had pear yogurt, so used that) - use Vegan yogurt or Regular yogurt.
Granola 2 tbsp (Homemade Granola Recipe here. or use store bought)

Method of Preparation

1. Make a paste of papaya in a blender. Add sugar if needed. Mine was sweet and so I did not add any. Transfer to the cup.

2. Add a layer of the yogurt.

3. Top it with Granola. Make sure it has some fruits, nuts and seeds. It will give a nice crunch

4. Drizzle some honey/maple syrup or chocolate syrup if you like. Mine does not have any. Dig in!!

You can prepare this ahead of time in a jar and keep in fridge and grab as you run out of the door. Will make a super filling breakfast!

Zucchini Tots - Courgette Tots

Zucchini tots is basically bite size Grated Zucchini Bake. It takes its name cause of its resemblance to Tater tots which are made with Potatoes. I first heard about this from a friend with whom I share lunch box recipes. It is quite easy to make and works as a great lunch box item or a party item. How about making this for a quick Breakfast!



This month Groovy Gourmets are making Canapés. Canapés are basically bite size food. I totally loved that idea and decided to make these tots for the theme. I do not have mini muffin pans, the one that bakes 24 in a tray. I have the 12 hole one. The 24 hole one work even better cause the tots will be even smaller and hence more bite size. But who is complaining. When the food is so good, you do not mind a few extra bites, do you?



Adapted from here

Ingredients (Makes 6)

Zucchini/Courgette 1 grated
Large Egg 1
Cheddar Cheese Grated 2 tbsp
Mozerella Cheese Grated 2 tbsp
Seasoned breadcrumbs 1/4 cup
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil to brush the muffin tin

Method of Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 200 C.  Brush the muffin tin with some oil.

2. Grate the zucchini. Wring all of the excess water out of the zucchini.

3. In a bowl combine all of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Fill each muffin section to the top, pushing down on the filling with your spoon so it's nice and compacted so they don't fall apart when you take them out of the tin. I needed about 3 tbsp to fill my medium size muffin tin. It filled 6 holes.

5. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden.I needed to bake for about 20 min. The original recipe used mini muffin tins.

6. Use a plastic knife or rubber spatula around the edges of each tot to remove them from the muffin tin.

Granola Trifle

Last week I made some Homemade Granola. You will not believe how easy it is to put together a Granola at home. Once you make it, you will never buy again. After a couple of days of eating the Granola with milk, my mind wandered in search of something new to do with the Granola. So here you go. Super Simple Trifle. You can eat this as breakfast or you can even serve this as healthy dessert!

Don't want to make your own Granola? No worries, just use a store bought one.



Ingredients

Granola 3/4 cup (Homemade Granola recipe here)
Flavoured Yogurt 1 cup (I used blueberry yogurt)
Berries of choice (I did not have have any that day)

Method of Preparation

1. Take the serving cup and start with a layer of Granola 1/4 cup.

2. Add Half the yogurt.

3. Add some more granola (1/4 cup)

4. Add the rest of the yogurt.

5. Top with the rest of the granola.

6. Finish off with a layer of berries (As I said, I did not have any that day). But berries add to a freshness to the Trifle. So don't miss it.

Don't forget to check the Homemade Granola!

Spicy Desi Pasta Loaded with Veggies - Pasta with Indian Flavours

Indians have a crazy love for Pasta and Pizza. If you ask Indians what is their favourite cuisine after Indian, most of them will answer Italian. It is no surprise then that there are a lot of Pizza and Pasta eateries in India. As with most things, Indians do a twist of their own. For example, in most Indian Pizza places, you will find Paneer Tikka Pizza, Chicken Chettinad Pizza etc. Same is true with Pastas.



I love Authentic Pasta with Proper Italian Sauces. But on some lazy days when I want to make something really quick and decently healthy I make this Pasta. Kids love it cause it is Pasta, and mom loves it cause of all the veggies that are included! You can optionally add some parmesan cheese as well to this.



Ingredients (Serves 3)

Penne (or any type pasta) 200gms (about 2 heaped cups)

Onions 2
Green Pepper 1
Peas 1.5 cups
Corn 1 cup

Tomato Puree 2 tbsp
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Garam Masala 1 tsp

Cumin 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves few

Oil and Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Bring water to boil in a pot. Salt it and add pasta. Cook for 10-12 min (as per the package instructions).

2. In a pan, heat a little oil. Add cumin, turmeric and curry leaves.

3. When it sizzles, add sliced onions. Saute for a couple of minutes.

4. Add chopped peppers and saute till the onions and peppers are nicely cooked.

5. Add steamed green peas and steamed corn. Mix and cook for a couple more minutes.

6. Now add the tomato purée, chilli powder and garam masala. Add a little salt. Mix and cook for couple  more minutes. Switch off the gas.

7. Now drain the pasta when it is ready and add to this pan. Mix everything.

Homemade Granola with Fruits and Nuts

Granola is a popular breakfast food made of oats. It usually has some oil/butter in it and is sweetened with some honey, maple syrup or golden syrup. You can add a choice of spices to it. And of course some nuts, seeds and dry fruits. The combination of all these is a super healthy breakfast that no one can resist.



Eating cereal as part of breakfast became a habit when I moved to US, though I have eaten it a few times in India as well. Then along the line came Oats. I would be lying if I told you that I fell in love with it instantly. Over the years I have learned to love it. Oats, some Soy Milk and Raisins is how I like my oats.



Then came the era of Muesli and Granola. My first experience was with a Muesli. Well, you might at this point ask what is the difference. If you do not know, Muesli is basically uncooked oats mixed with fruit and nut. So it is more like toss everything and it is ready to go! But there comes the problem. I am not a uncooked oats kind of person. Plus did I tell you Muesli usually does not have much added sweeteners to it. Well, that is not good either for my taste buds, is it? I tried it a few times and quit. I was told last weekend by someone how she likes to eat her muesli which has been soaked overnight in milk. That kind of sounds interesting. I have to say I am tempted to try.



Well, anyways during those days of not liking Muesli and looking for something different we found Granola. As with a lot of things those days, we did find him in the isles of Costco. We loved it instantly. And we did eat it for a long time and lost him somewhere during our move to UK. I again stumbled upon him (you know Mr.Granola) recently. This time, I am a home cook and a baker. So I knew I had to try it at home.



We do not get the nice thick oats here. All we get is the Scottish Porridge Oats. Its not as thin as the instant ones, but not quite thick as well. Looking for thicker oats ended in a failure. I was almost about to give up when someone told me that they make Granola with Scottish Porridge Oats. And when Avant Garde Cookies decided to make something with the letter G - I knew G is for Granola!!!



Ingredients

Oats 3 cups

Nuts, Seeds and Fruits
Almond 1/2 cup
Sunflower seeds 1/2 cup
Pumpkin seeds 1/2 cup
Dry Fruits (Raisins, Cherries, Orange peel, pineapple etc) 2 cups

Spices
Ginger Powder 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon Powder 1/2 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp

Wet Ingredients
Golden Syrup 1/2 cup
Oil 2 tbsp
Vanilla Extract 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 165 C. Brush a baking pan with some oil (use a little of the oil used in the recipe).

2. In a bowl add Oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, salt, ginger powder and cinnamon powder. Give it a nice toss.

3. Mix the golden syrup, oil and vanilla extract in a small bowl.

4. Add this to the oats mix. Mix everything together till the oats are coated with the syrup mix.

5. Transfer to the baking tray.

6. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Bake till the oats are nicely browned, without burning it.

7. It will not be too crunchy when it comes out of the oven. Let it cool and then it will get crunchier.

8.Mix the dried fruits. I felt that the granola had a little too much fruits. Next time I will add only 1 cup of dried fruits.

Check out the other AGC thoughout this week 
Anusha, Jayanthi, Kavitha, Priya M, Radhika, Priya S

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts - Doughnuts - Raised Donuts - Step by Step Recipe - Donuts using KitchenAid Stand Mixer

Donuts or Doughnuts are basically Fried and Sweetened Bread or Cake enjoyed usually for Breakfast. It is made quite popular in US by chains like Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme. It is made of flour, sugar, egg, butter and milk mixed together to form a dough. The other important ingredient is the rising agent. The Raised Donuts are made with Yeast as the raising agent giving it a bread like texture. Cake Donuts are made with Baking Soda as the raising agent giving it a cake like texture. 



Today I have made a Raised Donut. I will post the recipe for Cake Donut some other time. I have simply coated the finished donut with Granulated Sugar and Cinnamon. You can also coat with Glazed Sugar, Chocolate, Sprinkles, Stawberry Glaze, Vanilla Galze. The options are endless.

I have followed the recipe from Joy of Baking (Video Recipe). It is am amazing resource and I am surprised how I never knew about it before.



Today I also present to you the first recipe I made with my KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer.. Yes, I am the proud owner!! An Advance Birthday gift from my husband!!!

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour 21/4 cup (295gm)

Active Dry Yeast 11/2 tsp

Butter at room temperature 3 tbsp (40gm)

Granulated White Sugar 3tbsp (35gm)

Salt 1/4 tsp

Warm Milk 1/2 cup (120ml)

Large Egg 1 beaten

For Topping

Sugar 1/2 cup (100gm)

Cinnamon 1/2 tsp (more for a stronger taste. this was very mild)

Method of Preparation

1. In a large bowl whisk together 2 1/4 cups (295 grams) flour and the yeast. (If using a Stand Mixer, add the flour and yeast and using a flat beater mix for minute.)

2. Add the butter and rub the butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs. 



3. Stir in the sugar and salt.

4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the lukewarm milk and lightly beaten egg and stir until you have a ball of dough. Add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, if necessary.



5. Then transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic (about five minutes). If using a Stand Mixer, switch the flat beater to a dough hook and continue kneading till you have a smooth elastic dough.



6. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large lightly greased bowl, turning once. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled (approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours).

7. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, and gently punch the dough to release the air. 

8. With a lightly floured rolling pin,roll the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 inch (1 cm). 



9. Cut the dough into about 2 1/2 - 3 inch (6-7 cm) circles, using a lightly floured doughnut cutter or cookie cutter (will need a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the center "hole"). 

10. Place the doughnuts on a lightly floured baking sheet, lined with parchment or wax paper. 

11. Gather up the scraps, roll, and cut out remaining doughnuts. You can keep the donut holes to fry separately, if you like. Loosely cover the doughnuts with plastic wrap (lightly butter or spray the plastic wrap with a non stick vegetable spray so the doughnuts won't stick) and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled (about 30-60 minutes).



12. Heat oil in a pan. The original recipe mentions 190C (375F). I do not have a Thermometer. So I just went by instincts!

13. Carefully place the doughnuts into the hot oil, about 2 to 3 at a time (do not over crowd). 

14. Fry each side until golden brown, about 45-60 seconds per side. The doughnut holes will only take about 30 seconds per side. Carefully remove the doughnuts from the hot fat with the end of a wooden spoon, tongs, slotted spoon, bamboo chopstick, or Chinese skimmer. 

15. Place on a baking sheet lined with clean paper towels. After a minute, roll the doughnuts in the sugar and cinnamon mix. These doughnuts are best freshly made.

I made about 12 - 3 inch doughnuts and 12 doughnut holes with the above recipe.

Rava Kanji - Semolina Porridge - Vegan Option - Healthy Breakfast Porridge

Rava Kanji or Semolina Porridge has a reputation of being food for the sick people. That is quite not right, though it does work as a filling meal when you do not have the taste for other stuff. It makes an amazing breakfast porridge



In an era where Oats where not that popular, my mom used to make this porridge for us. We used to love drinking it. Some days when we had a very heavy lunch and did not feel like eating a heavy dinner, my mom used to make a very thin version of this porridge for us to drink.



This recipe makes about 3-4 big bowl (cereal bowl) of very thick porridge. If you are looking for thinner porridge, just reduce the quantity of rava/semolina



Ingredients

Rava/Semolina - 3/4 cup
Water 2 cups
Soy Milk / Or regular milk 3 cups
Cardamom 1/2 tsp
Raisins to serve (optional)

Method of Preparation

1. In a pan, dry roast the rava for a couple of minutes and set aside.

2. Add water to the pan. Bring it to a boil. Simmer it and add the rava. Give it a stir.

3. Cook till all the water is absorbed and rava is cooked.

4. Mix in the milk/soy milk and cardamom. My soy milk is sweetened. You can add a little sugar if needed to taste.

5. Serve topped with some raisins. 

Baked Sprouts and Semolina Cake - Eggless Savoury Cake

Fancy eating a cake for Breakfast. You can now! This super simple Semolina cake is packed with nutrition. You kids will go ga ga over it. I promise.





I made some as cup cakes and rest in the 7" round cake tray. We liked the cake tin version better. The other one stuck to the paper. Next time, I am going to try pouring directly to greased muffin tins.

This is inspired from Radhika's post. I took the idea and added some more stuff to the recipe. I have added some Sprouts and some veggies of my choice. You can change it and use it suits you. 

Ingredients

Semilina/Rava 2 cups
Yogurt 2 cups
Whole Green Moong Sprouts 1 cup
Onion 1 finely chopped
Carrot 1 big grated (1/2 cup)
Beans 8-10 finely chopped

Mustard 1 tsp
Jeera/Cumin 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder 1 tsp

Green chilli and ginger (optional, will taste good if you add)

Baking powder 1 tsp
Sesame seeds 2 tsp for topping

Oil and salt to taste



Method of Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a baking pan (i used a 7" cake pan) and lined 12 cupcake liners on a cupcake tin.

2. Heat a little oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it sputters, add cumin.

3. When it sizzles, add onions. Saute till it becomes translucent.

4. Add moong sprouts. Toss it for a couple of min.

5. Add carrots and beans (add ginger and green chilli if using). Mix well.

6. Finally add the semolina and toss well. Switch off.

7. Add red chilli powder and salt. Mix.

8. Add the curd and mix well.

9. Just before pouring to the baking tin, add baking soda. Mix.

10. Pour into baking tins.

11. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

12. Bake for 20-25 min. Mine were perfect in about 22 min.

Serve with some spicy chutney. You can also just eat it as is.

I am hosting a Healthy Cooking Event - Cooking with Sprouts. It is Priya's event.

Nombu Uppadai - Savoury Adai prepared for Nombu

Nombu is a tamil festival celebrated on the first day of Tamil month of Panguni (March-April). Adai (sweet and savoury) are made for this festival. I have already posted the Sweet some time ago. Taking the chance this time to present to you the Savoury version as well.



Ingredients (Makes 16 adai)

Rice Flour 1 cup
Water 2 cups
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Urad dal 1 tsp
Curry leaves few
Green Chillies 2 (as per taste)
Ginger (optional)

Cowpeas (thatta payar, vanpayar) 1/4 cup
Coconut pieces (cut into small rectangles, we call it thenga pallu) 2 tbsp

Oil and salt to taste



Method of Preparation

1. Soak cow peas overnight and pressure cook till it is well cooked, but still has its shape. Drain water. Keep ready.

2. Dry roast the rice flour till it is slightly reddish in colour. Keep aside.

3. Heat some oil in pan. Add oil. Add mustard. When it sputters, add the urad dal. When it starts to sizzle, add the curry leaves, green chilli and coconut. Saute for a minute.

4. Add water to this. (keep water ready before you heat the pan). Bring it to a boil. Add 1 tsp of salt.

5. Keep the gas in low, and add the rice flour. Mix well. Keep stirring till there are no lumps and the water is all absorbed.

6. Add the cow peas and mix well again. Switch off.

7. Make small balls out of this mix and pat it on a banana leaf or plastic cover. Make a small hole in the centre.

8. Transfer it as is in the banana leaves to idli plates. Or you can slightly grease the plates and put the adai directly on the plate.

9. Steam for around 10 min (or till cooked well).

Don't forget to check out the recipe for Sweet Adai as well in my blog. To know more about the festival and its celebration, do check out here.

You don't need the excuse of the festival to make these. It will make a filling breakfast or evening tiffin. 

Barley Biriyani

We @ Avant Garde Cookies have chosen Secret Ingredient as the theme for this week. A partner gives you a secret ingredient and you have to make something with that ingredient. My partner for this week, Veena gave me Barley.

That was an interesting ingredient for me. I have seen some recipes using barley since I started blogging. It has never featured in our house. Not My kitchen, not my Mum's kitchen nor my MIL's kitchen. My only tryst with barley was when I was little and got Jaundice. I was given barley water a lot to drink. So I was a little skeptical. How am I supposed to cook something that I have never tasted. That is the whole challenge, right?

I am glad I got barley as the ingredient. It tasted soooo good...

Ingredients

Barley 1 cup

Onion 1

Tomato 1

Mixed Vegetables 3 cups

Bay leaf 1

Cardamom 1

Clove 2

Cumin 1 tsp

Turmeric 1/2 tsp

Aachi Biriyani Masala 1 tsp

Curry leaves few

Channa Dal 1 tsp

Urad Dal 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

1. Soak barley overnight. Pressure cook with 2.5 cups of water for about 4-5 whistles. Drain excess water if any and keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add channa dal and urad dal. When it starts to brown, add curry leaves, turmeric powder, cumin, cardamom, bay leaf, clove. Saute till it starts to sizzle.

3. Add chopped onions. Saute till it starts to brown.

4. Add tomatoes and cook till it is well done. 

5. Add Aachi biriyani masala and salt. My fav. It has a unique taste. you can use any biriyani masala or even substitute with garam masala. 

6. Add cooked vegetables. I used Frozen. So I just cooked in microwave for 10-15 minutes. 

7. Once it is all mixed well, add the barley and mix well.

Check out the other AGC thoughout this week 
Anusha, Jayanthi, Kavitha, Priya, Radhika, Veena

Linking this to event Independence Day by Sharan

Puttu with Kadala Curry

Puttu is one of Malayali's favourite breakfast. Puttu is basically steamed rice flour and kadala curry is kala channa curry. Puttu can also be had with a combination of dry moong dal curry/papad (Check recipe for that in the kanjiyum payarum). Another awesome combination is with banana - typically palayam thodan or etha pazham. I found it interesting that I have never posted a recipe in my blog. So when the Avant Garde Cookies selected Breakfast as the theme, I knew I am making this.



Puttu Kutti / Puttu Kuzhal - equipment needed



It uses a special equipment called Puttu Kuzhal. Kuzhal literally means Tube. It is also available in the form of a bowl (resembling coconut shell). You can the top part alone that goes on the top of a pressure cooker. But remember that if you have a prestige pressure cooker, the cooker top does not work as the newer cooker has a notch that prevents the kuzhal from sitting on the top. Even if you do not have a kuzhal, you can still roll it into a ball by holding your hand like a fist and steam it (in an idli plate) or make blocks by putting in a small bowl and inverting into a steaming plate. Options are many.



To prepare the puttu



Ingredients
Puttu is super easy to prepare. Just 3 ingredients

Rice Flour 2 cups, preferably puttu flour
Salt 1 tsp
Coconut (as needed, see below) about 3/4 cup
Water about 11/4 cups

Method of Preparation

1. Take the rice flour in a bowl. Then rice flour is should not be fine. Most shops sell puttu flour. Puttu can be made with white rice flour or with red rice flour (chemba rice flour). I love chemba puttu. But my dad loves white ones. So try both to find which one you like best. The flour should be roasted flour (most store bought ones are). Alternatively, you can soak rice in water for 1 hour. Drain and dry overnight. Powder to a coarse powder. Sieve and then roast.

2. Add salt. Mix well. Add water little at a time kneading all the time. We are trying to make a powdery wet flour. The end result should be wet to touch, should be able to roll into a ball with the fist, but should powder back when crumbled. See photos. But incase you do not get the right stage, don't worry. If you add less water, it will come out a little powdered out of the kuzhal after steaming. If you add more, it will stick to kuzhal. Other than that taste does not vary much.



3. Let it sit for 30 minutes (not mandatory). Time to fill the kuzhal. There is a chip at the base of the kuzhal. Put that in. It acts as stopper. Heat and bring to boil water in the bottom pot.

4. Add a small layer of coconut about 1 tbsp. Add a handful and some more of rice flour. Fill to half the kuzhal. Add another layer of coconut. Add another handful of rice flour and top with a layer of coconut. Close the lid. Put it on the top of the boiling pot of water.

5. Steam for about 10-12 minutes. Steam will come out of the top of the kuzhal. If you did everything perfectly, you may even see the puttu pushing out of the lid.

6. Remove from the pot and push the puttu out by using a stick or a knife. Serve with Kadala Curry - recipe below.


To prepare the kadala curry



Ingredients

Black Channa 2 cups dry

Coconut milk 2 cups
Bay Leaf 1
Cardamom 1
Clove 3
Onion 2 sliced
Green Chilli 3
Curry leaf few
Ginger 1 inch piece
Garlic 8 pods
Coriander leaves for garnish

Oil and Salt to taste

Make a paste
Chilli powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tbsp
Cumin powder 1 tbsp
Pepper 1/2 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

1. Soak Kala Channa overnight and pressure cook with about 3 cups of water till it is well cooked.

2. Make a paste of ginger and garlic.

3. Add a little water to the 'Make a paste' spices and mix. Keep aside.

4. Heat oil in a pan. Add bay leaf, cardamom and clove. When it sizzles, add sliced onions, green chilli, ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves. Saute till the onions are nice and brown.

5. Add the spice paste. Mix well and saute for another 2 minutes.

6. Add the coconut milk and bring to boil. Simmer.

7. Drain water from the channa and keep the water. Add the channa and some salt. Add some of the cooking water if needed.

8. Cook in a low flame till the sauce thickens. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with Puttu.



How to eat!!

Just a note on how to eat this. When I served this to many North Indian friends, they always ask me how do you eat this... most ppl cut a piece with spoon and dip in curry and eat... No No No.... Let me tell you how a mallu will eat this...

Take puttu in a plate.. Break it (powder it). Pour the curry over it. Mix either the whole thing or a little at a time from the sides and eat...

A pappadam (papad) will make a nice accompaniment to this... Enjoy!

Check out the other AGC thoughout this week 
Anusha, Jayanthi, Kavitha, Priya, Radhika, Veena

Linking this to Show me your hits - Rice - Event by Sangee, hosted by Vardhini