Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
I am terribly proud of my banana muffins. I spent many months developing this recipe. To get a light muffin, make sure to beat the egg mixture for at least 10 minutes with an electric beater. Makes all the difference.
Whole wheat Banana Muffins
Whisk together until thick
* 1 egg
* 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
OR
* 3/4 cup grated dark jaggery
* 3 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup thick yogurt blended with 1/2 cup milk
Sift together
* 2 cups wholewheat flour
* 1/2 tsp baking pwd
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Mix together
* 1/2 cup mashed over-ripe banana
* 3 dried apricots, chopped / 2 tbsp sultanas
* 2 walnut halves, chopped
Add the banana mixture to the egg mixture
Pour the flour into the wet ingredients and fold in until just mixed. Don't stir too much. The mixture will/should not be smooth.
Spoon into muffin cases or directly into lightly greased muffin tins.
Bake in an oven pre-heated to 200 C for 15 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
Cool on a rack. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Warm and serve for a quick breakfast. Labels: Banana Muffins, Low calorie banana muffins, low fat banana muffins, Whole-wheat banana muffins
Choco Almond Biscotti.
There's nothing nicer than a cup of tea with some biscuits. But the amount of butter in most cookies make them not so much fun to eat. At least not for me! Until I discovered biscottis. These amazing Italian biscuits are a guilt-free treat.
Choco Almond Biscotti
(makes 14 slices)
* 1 egg
* 70 gms brown sugar
* 100 gms plain flour
* 25 gms whole wheat flour
* 1 tsp cinnamon pwd
* 1/2 tsp baking pwd
* 50 gms bar of dark chocolate
* 50 gms raw almonds
Grease a baking sheet with a few drops of oil and pre-heat the oven to 180 C
Chop chocolate and almonds coarsely
Whisk sugar and egg with an electric beater until thick, pale and doubled in volumn
Sift the flours, baking pwd and cinnamon pwd together.
In 2 batches, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture.
Now stir in the choco almond mix.
Place dough on the baking sheet and shape into a flat long plank.
Bake for 20 mins until golden
Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 mins.
Using a serrated bread knife and a sawing motion, cut thick slices off the log
Lay the slices on the baking sheet and bake again for about 5 mins
Turn the slices and bake for another 5 - 10 mins.
Cool and store.
Labels: Almond Biscotti, Biscotti, Choco Almond Biscotti, Chocolate Biscotti
Banana Bread
Nothing satisfies like a loaf of freshly baked home-made bread. The aroma of multiplying yeast instantly puts me in a good mood.
For the longest time, I would pore over bread recipes looking for sweet breads, and come away disappointed. They called for peaches and nectarines and blackberries and rhubarbs and many other ingredients that are alien to Chennai. I can find them in cans at the supermarket, but that's not the same as fresh produce.
My long search was rewarded when I found the recipe for a Banana Cardamom Bread. I have made several batches of this bread and made modifications each time. This is the recipe I liked best. It makes a lovely breakfast bread.
Yeast mixture
* 75 ml warm water
* !/2 tsp dry yeast
* a pinch sugar
* 1 tbsp warm milk
* 100 gms refined flour
* 100 gms whole-wheat flour
* 1/2 tsp salt
* seeds from 5 cardamom pods, roughly pounded
* 1 tbsp honey
* 1 large over-ripe banana, mashed
Stir yeast and sugar into the water and set aside covered for 10 mins. Once slightly bubbly add the milk.
Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the banana, honey, and yeast mixture. Bring everything together to form a ball of dough. The dough should be slightly sticky.
Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead using the base of your palm. Stretch the dough as you knead. After 5 minutes the dough should feel elastic.
Make a ball of the dough and leave it in a large bowl covered with a damp tea-towel. Leave it for an hour or until doubled in size.
Lightly grease a baking tray. Knead the risen dough lightly and shape into an oval or round loaf. Place on the baking tray and cover with a large plastic bag. Set aside for 30 mins.
Preheat the oven to 220 C.
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Just before it goes in the oven |
Brush the loaf with water and place in the oven. Bake at 220C for 10 mins and then lower the temperature to 200 C and bake for a further 10 mins.
Remove the bread from the oven and tap it's base. If it sounds hollow, the bread is cooked and can be put on a wire rack to cool. If not, return it to the oven for another 5 mins.
Labels: Banana Bread, Banana Cardamom Bread. Breakfast bread
Ninya Pulau
A couple of weeks ago, I spent a lazy Saturday evening with 2 friends at their home near the beach. We started the evening off on the terrace with a pot of Jasmine tea to accompany the conversation. We talked about a whole of things, but 2 topics stayed with me over the weeks. Healthy eating and the nature of friendships.
My friends are eating healthy because their doctor ordered them to and they seem quite comfortable with their diet dominated by veggies and whole-grains. Their skin was glowing and they had both lost a considerable amount of weight. But they did crave a a good mutton biryani. And I promised them a light recipe.
This recipe is my version of the classic Kashmiri Ninya Pulau. I've omitted the dry fruit and added some fresh ingredients. The results are lighter on the palate and the stomach. I usually make it in my rice-cooker, but a pressure cooker does the job too.
My Amphed-up Ninya Pulau
Serves 2
* 1 cup long grain rice, soaked and drained
* 3 cloves
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 2 black cardamoms (lightly crushed)
* 3 green cardamoms (lightly crushed)
* 2 bay leaves
* 5 peppercorns
* 1 onion sliced
* 2 green chillies, slit
* 1 large handful mint leaves
* 1 pinch Saffron (optional)
* 1 tbsp oil
Pressure cook together, cool and refrigerate :-
* 300 gms mutton with some bone
* 1 tsp turmeric pwd
* 1 tsp ginger pwd
* 2 tsp aniseed pwd
* 1 pinch asafoetida pwd
* salt to taste
* 1 1/2 cups water
Skim the fat off the chilled mutton broth. Warm lightly and strain the broth.
Add more water, if necessary, to make up 2 cups of liquid. Set aside.
Heat oil and add whole spices. Add onions and saute till brown.
Saute the chillies and mint leaves.
Add the mutton pieces and brown over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Add rice and stir into the spice mix.
Pour in 2 cups of the mutton broth, saffron (if using) and salt to taste.
Cook until rice is done.
Serve with vegetable curd pachadi and pickle.
Labels: Biryani, Indian food, low calorie biryani, low calorie pulau, Mutton, Pulau
