Peanut Butter Jelly Brownie

Brownies are so easy to make and kids (and bigger kids) love it. Pair it with some Vanilla Icecream and it is a perfect treat! When our Groovy Gourmets decided to make a Brownie with a difference, I wanted to try adding some Strawberry Jam to it.. Well, the idea extended to making a Peanut Butter Jelly Brownie.

Who does not like Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich? Convert your childhood love into a super easy Brownie.

I have adapted my Triple Chocote Brownie to make this Low Fat Healthy Brownies!



Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
All Purpose Flour 130 gms (1 cup)
Cocoa Powder 23 gms (1/4 cup)
Castor Sugar 90 gms (1/3 c + 2 tbsp)
Baking Powder 1 tsp
Baking Soda 1/4 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp

Wet Ingredients
Warm Milk 1/3 cup + 2 tsp of coffee (Soy Milk for Vegan)
Yogurt 1/2 cup (Soy Yoghurt for Vegan)
Oil 1/4 cup
Vanilla Extract 1 tsp

Topping

Peanut Butter 3 tbsp
Strawberry Jam 3 tbsp

Method of Preparation

1. Brush a 8 * 8 square baking pan with a little oil and line it with Parchment Paper (such that a bit of paper hangs out on two sides of the pan). This will help in easily taking the brownie out. Dust it with some flour.

2. Preheat oven to 150C.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt).

4. In another bowl, mix the milk + coffee, yogurt, oil and vanilla.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Give it a mix till combined well.

6. Pour the batter to the prepared pan. Spread it gently with a spatula.

7. Give the pan a tap on the counter to let any air bubbles escape.

8. Add dollops of peanut butter all over the batter. Do the same with the jam. Using a tooth pick gently swirl it.

9. Transfer to the over and bake for 30-40 min till a  toothpick comes out clean. I baked for 35 min.

10. Take out of the oven and leave it in the pan for an hour.

11. Once cooled, take out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into 16 squares.

Aadi Perukku - Pathinettam Perukku - Aadi 18 - Customs and Recipes

Aadi is a Tamil month that falls from Mid July to Mid Aug. The most auspicious days are Fridays (called Aadi Velli) and Tuesdays (called Aadi Chevvai) in this month. Also important are the Aadi Amavasya (New moon day) and Aadi Poorami (Full moon day). The 18th day of the month of Aadi is the most important day of the month.

I still remember my mom preparing all varieties of Kalanda Sadam (Variety Rice). Usually the rice is eaten outside the house. Many people in Tamil Nadu take the feast to river banks and enjoy. The rivers are usually in full gush during this time. 

One thing that comes to my mind when I think about Aadi 18, is the beginning of one of my favourite books, Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki. The hero of the book Vandiyathevan is seen riding a horse on the shores of Veeranarayanam lake, enjoying the sights, the Aadi celebrations, and stopping to share the food with the villagers. The lake constructed in the South Arcot District during Chola Rule and was fed by the river Kollidam and its branch Vadavaru. You will be transported to that day and time when you read those lines!

(For those who do not read Tamil there is a beautiful translation of this book by Karthik Narayanan in English. Do read the series if you get a chance).

This year (2013) the Aadi 18 is on Aug 3rd (Saturday)...How about a Saturday Brunch with all these recipes!

Recipes for the day!

1. Lemon Rice



2. Coconut Rice



3. Puliyodarai (recipe coming soon!)

4. Curd Rice



5. Chakkara Pongal



Optional Recipes

6. Appam



7. Ulundu Vadai (Medhu Vadai)



Have a great one guys!

Vegetable Kalvan

Kalvan is a dish from Maharashtra (A State in India). It is a very simple dish with Vegetables cooked in an Onion and Tomato Sauce with just a little spice! A bowl of this dish with some Roti or Naan makes a very simple, tasty and healthy dinner.

Ingredients (Serves 6)

Onions 2 big sliced
Ginger 1 inch piece
Garlic 6 pods
Curry leaves 2-3 sprigs
Coconut 1/2 cup
Tomato 4

Potato 2
Carrot 5
Beans 15-20
Peas 1/2 cup
Sweet corn 1/4 cup

Cumin powder 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder 2 tsp (use regular for spicy dish)
Hing a little

Milk 2 cups

Oil and Salt to taste



Method of Preparation

1. Heat a little oil in a pan. Add onions, ginger and garlic. Saute till it browns a little.

2. Add coconut and saute for a couple more minutes.

3. Add chopped tomatoes. Saute till it cooks.

4. Cool and grind into a smooth paste.

5. In the same pan, add all the chopped vegetables. Add 2 cups of water and cook till the vegetables are almost done.

6. Add the ground paste, chilli powder, turmeric, cumin powder and salt. Mix well.

7. Add milk and some water as required. Bring to boil and then simmer till the gravy thickens a little.

Serve with warm rotis. 

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!

Keerai Molagootal - Spinach Cooked in a Lentil and Coconut Gravy - Palakkad Iyer Recipe

Palakkad is a place in Kerala. Palakkad Iyers (Tamilians living in Kerala) have developed a unique Cuisine for themselves over the years which has influence of Tamil and Kerala Cuisines. I am a Tamilian from Trivandrum. So it is not a surprise that I have not posted many Palakkad Recipes. This one has been in my list for a long time and so I decided to make it. Where else would I go for Authentic Palakkad Recipe than my friend Kaveri's Blog! I have used her recipe to prepare it. To be honest we felt it was quite similar to the Keerai Kootu that we make. May be we do not call it Molagootal :-)

Tasted Fabulous. And this is coming from someone who is not a very crazy fan of Spinach!



Ingredients

Spinach about 900gms
Toor Dal 1/2 cup

Urad Dal 2 tsp
Dried Red Chilli 2
Coconut 1 cup
Jeera/Cumin 2 tsp

Mustard 1 tsp
Coconut oil 2-3 tsp
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Pressure cook the Toor Dal with 2 cups of water till it is well mushed up. Whisk it and keep aside. Alternately cook the dal on stove top till it is fully cooked. Soaking the dal ahead of time helps if you are cooking it on the stovetop

2. In a pot add Spinach and 2 cups of water. Cook till it wilts. You might have to do it in batches. Once wilted I was left with about 3-4 cups of spinach. Reserve the cooking water.

3. Cool and Make a coarse puree of the spinach. Use the reserved water as required.

4. In a small pan, add 2 tsp of coconut oil (Use any oil). Add Urad dal. When it starts to brown, add the red chillies and let it sizzle. Drain and Add to a mixie along with coconut and cumin. Keep the oil in the pan. Grind into a smooth paste adding enough water. You can use the spinach water for this as well.

5. Add the spinach puree, coconut paste and dal into the pot along with any left over cooking water (add more if needed). Add some salt as well. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes.

6. In the small pan, add 1 tsp of oil if needed and add mustard. When it sputters, transfer to the spinach pot. Stir well.

Serve with Rice.