Pumpkin Bread

Have any of you had this experience where you have this one foolproof recipe which you keep going back to and it has always turned out perfect? Well, I thought I had one just like that. There was this raisin bread that I had made quite some time back and I had used the same mix to make banana bread too, which was delicious.

I was confident that no matter what I changed, it would still come out well. And so I decided to make pumpkin bread. I substituted the bananas with pumpkin puree (home made mind you!) and put it in the oven. The original recipe which takes only about 23-25 minutes to cook was all sticky inside even after 30 minutes. I baked t for another 10 minutes after which the tester knife came out clean. So I assumed that the pumpkin puree, being moist, had just taken longer to cook.

My kitchen smelled great for the rest of the evening. As there wasn’t enough natural light by the time the bread was done, I fought all temptations of taking a bite and left it in the oven to be photographed in the morning.

After the photo session, I couldn’t bear it any longer and cut into it to find that the inside looked nothing like bread. It looked more like a dense pie. The taste was spot on but the texture spoiled it all. 

So what do you do when you have a good looking disaster on your hands? You take pretty pictures and blog about it anyway.

Carrot Halwa

We had guests this weekend, one of our close family friends. They were in the area to visit a kids’ theme park and spent a night with us. We took them to the beach, came home and chatted late into the night. Overall, we had a really nice time. Food was of course part of the evening and for dessert, we had carrot halwa. 

Ingredients

Grated carrots – 4 cups

Milk – 1 ¾ -2 cups

Sugar – 1 ½ cups

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Ghee (clarified butter) – 2 tbsps

Cashews & Raisins for garnish

Method

Add the milk and carrots to a heavy bottomed vessel, like a pressure cooker, and cook until the carrots are completely cooked. This will take about 10-12 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the sugar and 1½ tbsps ghee and keep cooking for another 20-25 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Keep stirring to avoid burning. Take the vessel off the stove and add the cardamom powder.

Heat ½ tbsp ghee in a small pan and add the cashew nuts and raisins. Toast until the cashews are light golden brown and the raisins are plump. Garnish the halwa with the nuts and raisins and serve warm or cold. Bon Appétit. 

Thanks Divya from Divya's Culinary Journey

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Simply Crunchy Salad

Today is the first day of spring and what better way to welcome  it than with an equally refreshing salad. I had this at a local Asian diner and loved every bite.

Ingredients

Carrot (julienned) - 1/2 cup

Cucumber (julienned) - 1/2 cup
Toasted sesame seeds - 1 tsp

Lemon juice to taste

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Thinly sliced grapes (optional) - 1 tbsp

Method

Toss all ingredients together and enjoy. Bon Appétit.

Note -  1) Julienning is a culinary term which means cutting vegetables into thin, long slices. 

            2) You can toast sesame seeds in a pan or place them in the microwave for a couple of minutes. 

Recipe sent to

Masala Potatoes

Here is a delicious potato dish which can be served with rice or rotis. The original recipe was for stuffed okra and I used the same masala and added it to the potatoes.

Ingredients

Baby potatoes – 10-12

Masala

Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

Chaat masala – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Ginger powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Besan (gram flour) – 2 tbsps

Oil – 1 tbsp + more for seasoning

Garam masala – ½ tsp + a pinch for garnish

Black pepper powder – ½ tsp

Chilli powder to taste

Salt to taste

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Asafoetida – a pinch

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Water

Method

Wash and peel the potatoes. If you do not have baby potatoes, you can use regular ones cut into cubes. Mix all the masala ingredients in a bowl (it will form a thick paste. You can add a little more oil if the mix feels too dry). Coat the potatoes with the masala.

Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and once they splutter add the potatoes. Add the asafoetida and a little bit of water to speed up the cooking. Cook open/covered until the potatoes are tender. Reduce the heat and let them roast for another 10-15 minutes (while stirring occasionally). Garnish with a pinch of garam masala and cilantro leaves and serve hot. Bon Appétit.

Carrot Payasam (Kheer)

This is a different take on regular payasams made with milk/coconut milk, and rice, vermicelli, rice flakes or wheat. This creamy dessert is yummy served warm or cold (I personally love it cold).

Ingredients

Roughly chopped carrots – 2 cups

Sugar – 1 cup

Milk – 4 cups

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Raisins – 2 tbsps

Cashews – 2 tbsps

Saffron – a few strands (optional)

Ghee (clarified butter) – 1 tbsp

Method

Boil the carrots until they are tender.  Once they have cooled a bit, blend to make a smooth paste. Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed vessel, like a pressure cooker, and put it on medium heat. Add the carrot paste and sugar to the milk, mix well and continue heating. Keep stirring occasionally to avoid burning.

Let the mixture cook for 15-20 minutes until the carrot loses its raw smell or leave it on for slightly longer till it thickens a bit.  

In a small pan, heat the ghee and saute the cashews and raisins until the cashews are slightly golden brown and the raisin are plump. Add to the payasam. Add the cardamom powder and saffron and take a taste. Bon Appétit.

Urad Dal Vada

Long before starting this blog, I used to work for an Indian fashion and lifestyle magazine. While working there, I had the pleasure of editing a fabulous cookbook. The author is a wonderfully talented lady, who enjoys every aspect of cooking and entertaining. This recipe is an adaptation of her traditional dish called Gaarelu.

Ingredients

Urad dal – ½ cup

Chana dal – ⅛ cup

Baking soda – ⅛ tsp

Finely chopped onion – ¼ cup

Finely chopped green chilli

Finely chopped curry leaves

Whole pepper corns – 5-6

Salt to taste

Method

Wash and soak the dals for at least 8 hours (don’t forget to plan ahead). Take ¾ of the soaked dals, add salt and baking soda and blend to make a smooth, sticky paste. Add the remaining soaked dals and pulse a couple of times. The final batter should be smooth with a few whole pieces of dal (this gives the vada a nice texture). Add the chopped onions, green chilli, curry leaves and pepper. Mix well.

Heat oil in a deep wok until a small piece of batter dropped in rises up immediately. Shape the vadas and fry until golden brown.

Watch the video to see how to shape the vadas. Remember to grease the foil/plastic wrap and wet your hands in between the process. Else the vada will stick to the foil/wrap and in your hands.

 

Enjoy these crunchy vadas with coconut chutney.Bon Appétit.

 To learn more about the wonderful cookbook, visit http://komalinunna.com/.

                                                        Recipe sent to