Vanilla Beans and Chocolate Chip Muffins

Dear All,

Wishing all my readers a very Happy and Safe Holi !!!

I have been planning to use the bunch of Vanilla Beans I got from Switzerland from a very long time. Apart of making some Vanilla Sugar and Vanilla Essence I really wanted to bake something. Initially I thought of baking a pound cake but didnt have enough flour in hand so I turned them into mini muffins.

What makes these mini muffins special is the fact that the I didnt follow any recipes, just mixed and matched ingredients i had on hand and BANG!! I got these wonderfully moist and sinfully delicious muffins. Oh i love the flavor of vanilla beans in them, it filled my kitchen with an aroma I have never experienced before. I am so gonna use vanilla beans in my all bakes! I wish we could get these here easily. Next on target is to make some homemade Vanilla Essence and Vanilla Sugar.

Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:-
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 vanilla bean
1 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Procedure:-

• Grease and flour 12 muffin moulds.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
• Sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda in a seperate bowl.
• Split the vanilla bean from middle and remove the seeds. Mix the seeds in the milk.
• Beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffly
• Add in the egg and beat for another 2 mins.
• Now mix in the flour and milk alternatively until everything is combined well.
• Add in the chocolate chips and mix well, donot beat.
• Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full and bake them for 15 to 20 mins until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Serve these warm with a glass of milk.

Verdict?  Muffins were insanely flavorful and soft with melt in mouth texture. If you are a vanilla lover just like me you ve got to try these!

Have a wonderful week ahead!!

Kande Pohe - A Traditional Maharashtrian Delicacy

Dear All,

Finally the winter has come to an end with sun shining bright in the sky. The temperatures are getting roaring high here in Pune. Last weekend we went for shopping to the very famous Laxmi Road, we left in the afternoon and by the time we came back, we were tired as hell. After a tiring day of shopping, getting up on sunday morning was painful. Usually on weekend i prefer to have a heavy brunch. Poha is one of my all time favorite breakfast. Its very popular dish in Maharashtra and very close to its cousin Batata Poha which is very famous in Gujarat. Both the dish are very similar in nature with few differences in the ingredients used. Its perfect breakfast for lazy weekends when you want to cook something quick. I usually have Poha on weekends for brunch with a slice of brown bread and filter coffee. You can also serve Poha with coconut chutney, the combination is extremely tasty!

Ingredients:-
1 1/2 cup of Poha (beaten rice flakes)
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 tbsp grated coconut (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 tsp fresh lime juice

For tempering:-
2 tsp oil
a pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp mustard seeds
few curry leaves
2 small green chillies finely chopped
2 tbsp peanuts
Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Procedure:-

• In a wide strainer run the poha through running water, squeeze out the extra water and keep aside for 5 to 8 mins. Make sure you dont add lots of water or else poha will become mushy. Poha should be soft when touched but should not be soggy or mushy.
• Sprinkle salt and turmeric powder. Mix gently to incorporate turmeric powder and salt well.
• In a wide saucepan heat 2 tsp oil, add in mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chillies and peanuts. Saute for 2 mins, until peanuts become crispy.
• Add in finely chopped onions and cook them for 3 to 4 mins, until the raw smell disappears.
• Add in the poha, sugar and mix well. Adjust the salt.
• Just before serving, drizzle some lime juice on poha and garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut. Serve hot.
• You can also add some sev on top before serving, gives a nice crunch.

Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee Bread

Dear All,

The moment I saw Eggless Coffee Banana Bread at Cilantro i knew i wanted to try out the recipe but I am not a big fan of bananas and hence I dont buy them very often until and unless I am making a fruit salad. I used Cilantro's recipe as a base and made this Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee Bread. I love Cadbury's Temptations especially the one with raisins and rum, so I was inspired to use chocolate and raisins combo and was quite sure it would work well. Another reason for using raisins was that, few weeks back i bought a large bag of raisins which were on sale! The cake is perfect as a tea time treat, its dense and chocolaty, not too sweet but has perfect blend of coffee and chocolate! This is a perfect bread for people like me who love coffee and chocolate together! 

Adapted from Cilantro's recipe

Ingredients:-

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/3 cup oil

1 cup sugar

1 cup freshly brewed strong black coffee*

1 cup raisins

2 tbsp rum (optional)

1 tsp vanilla extract

* Make sure the coffee is warm and not boiling hot.

Procedure:-

• Soak the raisins with 2 tbsp of rum. If you dont want to use alcohol, pls use orange juice or you can completely skip this step as well. I prefer juicy raisins in my cake hence i soaked them with 2 tbsp of rum for about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease and flour a loaf pan 5-9 inch in size.
• Sieve the dry ingredients and keep aside.
• In a seperate bowl, mix together oil, sugar and vanilla. Add in the flour mixture alternatively with black coffee.
• Sprinkle some flour on raisins and add them into the batter. Mix them well.
• Pour the cake in greased or lined cake pan and bake at 180 degrees C for 40 to 45 mins, until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool the cake completely before slicing. The  tastes even better after refrigeration.

Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee bread is finding its way to Meeta's Monthly Mingle guest hosted by Jamie the theme for this month being Chocolate and Bread.

Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend ahead!

Chilla with Gram Flour (Besan)

It was lazy sunday afternoon and I was in mood to cook something really simple and easy without much effort. I simply made some chillas with gram flour using spring onions, tomatoes and spiced them with green chilles. In gujarati chillas are also called Pudlas. Its ideal dish to make when you are running out of time, its real easy and quick to prepare and you can add whole lot of veggies like grated carrots, cabbage ,cucumber,capsicum etc....The recipe below is ideal for one person and makes 2 to 3 chillas. I am sending this dish to Sahaja of SpicyRasam who is hosting Single Single Recipes event and to Neha of EasyNTastyRecipes who is hosting FIC Red and Green event, originally started by Sunshinemom of  TongueTicklers.

Ingredients :

1/2 cup gram flour (Besan)

2 tbsp Semilona (makes chillas crispy)

2 green chillies finely cut

1 medium size tomato finely cut

1/2 cup spring onions finely cut

1 tbsp finely chopped corainder leaves

1 tsp salt

1 pinch Asafoetida

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 to 3 tsp oil for cooking

Procedure :

• Mix gram flour, semilona, salt, asafoetia and cumin seeds in a bowl.
• Add little water and make a smooth paste out of it, the consistency will be of dosa batter.

• Add finely cut spring onions, tomatoes, corainder leaves and green chillies. Keep it aside for 10 mins.
• Heat non stick pan , add 1 tsp of oil, spread the batter, cover and cook it for 5 to 10 mins on medium heat.
• Cook on both the sides until light brown.
• Serve hot with corainder chutney or tomato sauce.
• Variations - Use can also use grated carrots, cucumber, capsicum and cabbage.