UNNIYAPPAM

Its been ages since I have blogged. After the arrival of the newborn it was tough for me to find time to take pix and post it here. Now that kids are able to handle themselves a bit, I started getting time trying to cook. This recipe a traditional Kerala snack, took no time while I was thinking it takes a ton of your time and energy :D. Yes, I did distribute to my friends and I did get a very good positive feedback. Even from my kids and family :). So here goes...

Ingredients:
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Chukku Podi - 3/4 tsp
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Banana (Palayamkudam)* - 4 nos (I hope the spelling is right)
Jaggery - 200 gmsWater - 1 cup
Sesame Seeds - 3 tsp
Coconut pieces(thenga kothu) - 3 tbsp
Jeerakam/Jeera - 2 tsp
Ghee - 1/2 tbsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Oil + Ghee - for frying

Preparation:
Take 1 cup water in a pan and add jiggery to it. Keep it on flame for the jaggery to melt.
Meanwhile, grind the banana in a grinder till thick paste. Transfer the grinded banana to a big bowl. To this add in the chukku and cardamom powder. Then add in the rice flour. Now sieve the melted jaggery to the rice flour - banana mix. mix with a ladle while pouring in the melted jaggery slowly in batches. While I made, jaggery liquid was not enough to form the batter. So I added extra milk till I got the batter in the form idli batter. .

(That's my little one reaching for one :D )

In a shallow pan, add in ghee, and fry the coconut pieces, sesame and jeera. Pour this over the mixed batter. Now add the baking soda and cover and let it stay to ferment about 1-2 hours. (I did for 2 hours)

In a 'unniappam chatti', add in ghee in the holes provided. You can even use oil. I mixed ghee with oil. Once the oil is hot add tbsp of batter to each holes. Keep rotating the appams when one side is done. Take out when done to a plate with tissue to drain the excess oil out.

Enjoy while its warm. You will be saying hmmmmmmmm.... ;)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

NOTES:
In case the small banana (palayakudam) is not available, you can substitute with 2 large robust bananas.

Frying in ghee is purely optional.
 

NO BAKE CHEESECAKE!!! X'MAS SPECIAL

No Bake Cheeeeeeessssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeee Cakeeeee!!!

 
Ingredients:
 
For the Base :
Marie Biscuits - 15 nos
Butter - 40 grams
 
 
For the Middle part:
Whipping Cream - 1 sachet of dream whip (total of 500 ml of whipped cream)
Sugar - 1/4 cup powdered
Cream Cheese - 300 ml (any brand will do)
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Mango Puree / mango pieces - see notes
 
For the Top part:
Mango - 3 big
Gelatin - 1 tbsp

Preparation:
 
Powder the biscuits using chopper. Then add in the butter and again run the chopper in three pulses. Transfer equally to the glasses you plan to serve as base layer. Press lightly with spoon and place the glasses in the fridge to set.
 
Meawhile peel and chop mangoes roughly. Puree them in a grinder.
 
In a bowl beat the whipping cream tiff. Add in vanilla essence and sugar. Beat cream cheese in a seperate bowl till soft and fluffy. Add to the whipped cream and mix properly. Add in half of the mango puree to the mix and stir till all is mixed well.
 
Take the glasses out of the fridge. Now on the top of the biscuit layer, layer the cream based mixture on top (almost 3/4 of the glass) and keep it fridge to set for atleast 2-3 hours.

 
After 3 hours, prepare the gelatin as per instructions written (Boil required amount of water and add gelatin to it). Once the gelatin had cooled a bit, add rest of half  of the mango puree to the prepared gelatin. Pour over top of the set cream part filling all the glasses till top (every glass will have 1/4th of this mango part). Keep again fridge to set for about 4 hours. It would be best if kept overnight. Garnish with chocolate shavings, pista or almonds. (refer pics for layering)
 
Except for the setting time, this dessert is very delicious and easy to make. I can bet you will be a star in front of guests ;)
 
Cheers,
Neetz ;)
 
Notes:
The amount ingredients mostly depends on the amount of serving glass and its quantity. So adjust accordingly.
Add required amount of powdered sugar to the gelatin mix if mango is not sweet.
China grass can also be used in place of gelatin.
For the cream base, instead of mango puree you can even add roughly chopped mango pieces.

(The mix of ingredients i have found in many of my fellow bloggers and otherwise. So I really cant pin point the recpe from so and so :) )

BESAN LADDOO (MICROWAVE) - DIWALI SPECIAL

Besan Laddoo

 

All credit goes to my SIL for teaching me this. I had no idea this can be so easy in microwave :). Thanks a lot sis.

Ingredients:
Besan - 1 cup
Rava - 1/4 cup
Ghee melted - 1 cup
Sugar powdered - 1/2 cup
Almonds and pistachios - garnish

Preparation:

In microwave safe bowl  make sure the bowl is a big deep one as the mixture when heated rises) heat the ghee for 1- 2 mins. Then add the besan and rava slowly and stir with spoon. Now keep this in microwave and heat for about 5 mins. Remove and stir. Again microwave for another 5 mins. Keep this going on every 5 mins till you get the aroma of besan (This is done to remove the raw taste of besan). Keep tasting the mix to see till the raw taste of besan is gone. You will see that the besan mix has changed in color to darker side than it was lighter initially. Once the raw taste of besan is gone, take the bowl out and then add in the powdered sugar and stir nicely. Add more powdered sugar if you need more sweetness. Keep aside to cool. Then keep it in fridge for about 20 mins. The mix will be firm. In a tray spread butter paper.  Now take small balls of the mix and make small balls and place on the tray. Garnish on top with sliced almonds and pistachios. Keep it in fridge for laddoos to be firm. Eat whole heart after 15-20 mins ;P.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Note:
1. You can add few strands of saffron too while heating the mix and also for garnish.
2. Keep checking the mix when you keep in microwave. Sometimes you wont need 5 mins for heating depending on the microwave you have as the mix can rise and overflow (the cleaning part is very tough). So keep checking every 2-3 mins.
3. The laddoos are soft and wont be hard.

 

PALAK KOFTA (Low Fat Version)

Palak Kofta

Ingredients:
Palak - 1 bunch

For the Kofta:
Potato boiled - 1 big
Paneer grated - 1/4 cup
Peas boiled - 1/4 cup
Green Chilli chopped veru finely - 3 nos
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Brown Bread slices - 2 nos
Low fat cream - As needed
Salt

For the Curry:
Butter - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Cashew nutes - 8 whole
Onion sliced - 1 large
Ginger Garlic paste - 1.5 tsp
Tomato - 2 medium sliced
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Kasuri Methi - a liberal pinch
Low Fat milk - 1 cup
Low fat cream - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Cut the stems of the palak and chop finely the leaves. In a pan add about 2 tbsp water and add the chopped palak and boil till water gets evaporated. Drain well. I further chopped the palak and kept aside.

For the Koftas:
Smash the potato so that no lumps are formed. To this add all the ingredients, 1/4 cup of palak, except bread.

Cut the ends of the bread and soak the bread in the water and squeeze nicely. Then add to the potato mix.

Now make small round balls of the mix. Flatten the the balls lightly and add about less than 1/4 tsp of cream and then cover the flatten ball to form a ball again.

Add 1/4 tsp of oil into Unniappam Pan, add each balls into one hole and fry till golden brown. Alternatively you can make a paste of cornflour, salt and water to a thick paste. Dip each balls into the cornflour and deep fry till golden brown. Drain in a tissue to remove excess oil.

You can see the cream in the centre when kofta is cut

For the Curry:

In a pan, add 2 tbsp butter. First add the cashew nuts and fry till golden brown and remove. Then to the same oil, add sliced onions. When slightly pink in color add ginger garlic paste and fry till light golden color. Then to this add tomato and saute till tomato gets smashed nicely.

Add in the powders and saute till oil starts leaving the sides. Leave the mix to cool down. In a grinder add the onion-tomato mix and cashew nuts and grind to a paste. I added almost 1/2 cup of milk too the grinding stage.

In the same pan, add 1 tbsp butter and add the grinded mix and also remaining milk. While its coming to boil, add the very finely chopped remaining boiled palak to the mix and stir. Then add add kasuri methi and cream and stir. Switch off flame.

Serve the koftas topped with curry. It goes best with rotis and naans :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes:
While adding boiled palak, squeeze once more the water out and add.
Kasuri Methi is purely optional.

BOMBAY BREAD TOAST/FRENCH TOAST/BREAD TOAST

Bombay Bread Toast

Ingredients:
Brown Bread - 5 nos
Egg - 2
Milk - 1/3 cup
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp
Butter

Preparation:

Beat the egg till light and fluffy. Beat milk and sugar together and then pour into beaten egg and to this add cinnamon powder and beat further.

In a flat pan, rub fair amount of butter on it. Take bread the slices and dip in the mix. Dip the reverse side too. Place the dipped bread slice onto the buttered pan and cook on low flame till both sides are light brown in color. . Serve with fruits and honey. Best for breakfast or evening snacks ..

Can it get more helathier than this :) :)...

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes
You can definitely use normal white bread instead of brown bread.

COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES - EGGLESS

Cookie Truffles

Its VALENTINE'S DAY and obviously its a ritul type for me to make something sweet to share with all of you :). My SIL being in town made me even more eager to make this sweet. Its always better when you have an extra helping hand :) :).. I m so glad we tried this sweet out and sure was a super duper hit among my neighbours. We were floating around the whole day on ninth sky  with appreciation ;) :D

Ingredients:

All purpose Flour - 2 - 2.5 cups
Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup (softened)
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Condensed Milk - 1 tin (395 gram)
Milk chocolate Chips - 1/2 cup

For the coating:
Semi-sweet choco chips - 1 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

In a bowl, mix brown sugar, butter and vanilla essence till creamy. I used a hand mixer for this. Then add in the condensed milk and mix again. Now start adding flour bit by bit till you get a dough. Once the batter starts thickening, start kneading with hand. Once you get a dough mix, add in the milk choco chips and knead nicely. Then keep in fridge for about 20 mins to harden the dough a bit so that its easy to roll into ball. Make small balls out of the dough, place them on butter paper and keep it in fridge again for a minimum of 2 hours atleast to harden the ball. Otherwise the balls will fall apart when you do the coating.

Now for the next step, Melt the semi-sweet choco chips by double boiler method and add butter to it. Once the chips have melted nicely remove and keep aside. now pick each dough balls and dip them in the melted chocolate, remove and place them on butter paper carefully. Sprinkle them with sugar strands in the end. Refrigerate overnight for best results and voila there you go! You have the best easiest cookie sweet you can make!!

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes:
You will perfect round balls. I had feew extra melted chocolate so used to stick the sprinkles at the end :)..
Use all Purpose flour in accordance to the need for thickening the dough.

I would like to send this over to Valentine Fest , Bon Vivant, Just for Fun

CHOCOLATE NUTELLA COOKIES (Eggless)

Eggless Nutella Cookies - BHW

Another exciting wednesday for blog hopping came in and this time I was paired with one of my bloggy friend Priya :). I was so dleighted to know that I was paired with her as her blog as a treat to my eyes and i actually got confused what to make seeing all the wonderful dishes she have made. I was looking for simple recipe and as usual baking being my passion these days, these cookies were instant eye cather to me eyes. I did make changes to it and added extra few ingredients to it. I liked this biscuit coz unlike other biscuits it wasnt so sweet and for a family like mine, this was perfect :). Do find the link to the idea i got form her blog from here.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp
Cocoa Powder - 1/3 cup
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Softened Butter - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup
Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp
Nutella - 8 tsp
Milk - 6 tsp

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 163C/325F

Sieve Flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and keep aside.

Now with a electric mixer beat sugars and butter till smooth. Add int he essence and nuteela and beat for another minute or so. Slowly add in the mixed flour and start folding in. Add milk in between and fold the whole mix into a soft dough. Refrigerate for 15-20 mins to make the dough hard.

Make small balls and place them on to a baking tray placed with baking paper. Flatten them with a bottom of a glass. Bake till slight cracks are formed and cookies are still soft. This wil take about 10 mins or so.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)


I would like to send this over for KIDS DELIGHT cevent onducted by Kavi and Srivalli and Valentines Event

                              Valentine fest serve with love

Bon Vivant Series

DEVIL FOOD CAKE WITH FROSTING

Devil Food cake

This is my first major frosted cake that i am making in my life. The frosting work and design has been little sloppy as i nearly lost my patience towards end :(.... But this also taught me a lesson that baking and to design a cake is no easy job and you need tons and tons of patience.

I wanted to make this for long but somehow always thought maybe some day during some occassion and dragged for long. But then finally i got a reason to make this coz its my BEST FRIEND VIDYA'S B'DAY!!.. HAPPY B'DAY SWEETHEART!!! She really is the sweetest devil in my life and have been with me through thick and thin. Now you all understood why i wanted to make this cake for her ;). As the name itself the cake is named Devil cake but when you eat its full of sweetness exactly like my vidhu is :) :)...
"Vidya, its sad that you are not near to have this share but we all will have on your behalf :) :)"

Ingredients:

All purpose Flour (Sifted) - 1.5 cups
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Powdered white sugar - 3/4 cup
Unsalted Butter - 9 tbsp
Eggs - 2 nos (room temp)
Vanilla Essence - 2 tsp
Water - 1 cup (boiled)
Cocoa Powder (Sifted) - 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup packed

For the Frosting:
Butter - 3/4 cup
Brown Sugar - 2 tbsp
Water - 1/2 cup
Semi Chocolate chips - 1.5 cups

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 180C/375F. Butter the pan in which you are going to bake.

Sift the flour with baking soda and baking powder and keep aside.

Sift the cocoa powder and to this add brown sugar and keep aside.

Boil 1 cup water and add to the cocoa and brown sugar mix and stir.

In a bowl, add the softened butter and white sugar and beat till creamy and pale. To this add the vanilla essence and beat once again. Then add the eggs and beat till pale. Add in the flour little by little and whisk till all the flour has been mixed. Now fold in the the cocoa mix to the flour batter. Fold in nicely till all the ingredients are mixed properly. Pour the batter to the buttered pan and keep it in oven. Bake for 40 mins or till cake test is done.

Recipe courtesy - Nigella Lawson

Meanwhile we will start preparing for the frosting. In a pan add water, butter and brown sugar. Keep over stove and when it starts to boil switch off . Add the chips to it and stir continuosly till the chips has been dissolved. Then keep aside for the mix to cool.
When cake is done, keep for baout 40-1 hour to cool. By that time the frosting mix also will cool down completely and will be thickened nicely.

Remove the cake to a plate and cut through the middle. Spread the frosting generously in the middle part of both cut side of cake and place them back together to look the same as before cutting. Then apply frosting again on all over the cake and place it in fridge to chill for some time. Maybe 20-30 mins. Cut and serve :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes:
If you do not prefer to cut the cake in middle, then pour the batter in two 8"round pan.



I am sending this over for the KIDS DELIGHT event conducted by Kavi and Srivalli  and VALENTINES EVENT

VERMICELLI BIRDS NEST

Birds Nest

Ingredients:

Potato - 250 gms
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Amchur Powder - 1/2 tsp (dry mango powder)
White Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Chaat Masala - 3/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Peas - a few, boiled

Vermicelli - broken into small pieces
Oil for frying

Batter:
All Purpose Flour - 3 tbsp
Corn Flour - 1.5 tbsp
Water
Salt

Preparation:
Boil the potatoes and mash them till no lumps are there.

Place the vermicelli on a plate.

Mix the ingredients for the batter without lumps. Make sure the consistency is slightly thick and not thin.

In a pan, add a 1/2 tsp oil and to this saute onion and ginger garlic paste. Saute till raw smell goes and add to the mashed potato. To this add all the powders and salt and mix nicely. Make small balls out of the lump.  Dip each ball in the batter making sure all the sides are coated with the batter. Then roll them with vermicelli. The more uneven the coating the better will be the look of the birds nest :). Place them on a plate and likewise complete the rest of the potato balls.
I felt the balls were kind off very soft so placed then in fridge for about 20 mins or so. Once the balls have been set make small hole imprint on top lightly and in a pan, deep fry the balls till the vermicelli turns light burned color. Place them on to tissue to remove the excess oil. Place the peas on top to represent the eggs of the birds and serve warm with ketchup :). You can also fry them as whole and place peas in between the potato balls before rolling them to a ball.

I would like to this over for the event Tea Time Snack

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

BANANA BREAD (Cafe Style)

Banana Bread (the best bread ever baked!)

When it was time for blog hop wednesday, i was paired with Priya. I was awestruck with the recipes and especially the baking section which was my fav!. Seeing the cafe style bread made me no hesitant to try it out immediately. I had no confidence at first that it will turn out as good as she had made. But out of my surprise it came out well and the best part everyone was happily relishing on the bread slices asking for more. Doesnt that make you even more happier!!!.. Thanks a ton Priya for sharing and I m so glad i tried it out :) :)

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour (sifted) - 1 3/4 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 2
Ripe Bananas - 3 large
Oil - 1/2 cup
Buttermilk - 1/3 cup
Walnuts - 1/2 cup chopped
Chocolate Chips - 1/2 cup

Preparation:

Grease a loaf pan with butter and keep aside.

Sift the flour with baking soda. Then beat the eggs first till pale. Then add in the sugar and bananas and beat till smooth. If you need bananas to be chunky you can roughly crush before hand and add to the wet mix. Then add in buttermilk and salt. Whisk nicely and add in all the dry ingredients little by little.

Bake at 190C/375F for 1 hour and 5 mins. I bet the hosue will be smelling awesome right now :) :)...

Relish on warm or cold slice :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

TRADITONAL X'MAS CAKE

X'mas special Kerala Plum Cake

About 1.5kg
Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour : 300gm
Powdered Sugar - 300gm
Butter - 300gm
Egg - 300gm (approx 5 large eggs)
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Orange Juice - 1/2 cup
Caramalized Sugar - 6 tbsp
Lime Juice - 1 tsp
Orange skin - 2 tsp*
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Cardamom - 2
Nutmeg Powder - 1/2 tsp
Clove - 2
Cinnamon - 2 sticks
Cashew nuts -  a ahndful roughly chopped
Tutti frutti - 1/2 cup
Cherries in syrup - 1/2 cup
Dates - 10 nos
Rum - 2-3 tbsp*

For the Caramalized Sugar:
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Boiled water - 1/3 cup

In a thick bottom pan, add in the sugar and melt it over low-med flame. After some time you will see the sugar startes melting and changing its color to light brown. Gradually it will turn dark brown and almost blackish color. Switch off the flame and pour in the hot boiling water. Keep aside to cool. (While pouring hot water be very careful as it will splatter)

Preparation:

Soak the cherries, dates, tutti frutti and raisins in rum for atleast a week. I had soaked themmore than 2 weeks. When needed, drain them and keep them aside.

Sieve the all purpose flour and baking powder.

Seperate the egg whites and egg yolks. Beat till egg is fluffy. Same way beat egg yolks till light in color.

Powder the spices together and keep aside.

In a bowl, add in the powdered sugar and butter and beat till creamy. Add in the egg yolks and mix once again.

Now add the egg whites and whisk nicely.

Then add in the flour little by little and start whisking. Add in the caramilized sugar, lime juice, essence, orange skin, nuts and the masala powder and whisk nicely till all are properly mixed.

Now in a plate add in the fruits and dates and rub in flour lightly. his helps the fruits to be in the flour. Otherwise if its wet it will go below while baking.

Add this to the batter and mix. if you want you cna save few for garnish too.

Transfer the batter to a pan and into the pre-heated oven at 180C/350F for about 50 mins. Since the quantity was more my oven took more time. Some may take hardly 30-40 mins. Check the cake with toothpick test.
Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes :
Youc an use freshly grated skin of an orange and then powder them or even dried orange skin. I used fresh powdered skin.
For the orange juice, you can freshly squeezed one and also add a bit more than the said quantity if the batter is too thick.
If you dont have rum, you can use brandy or even wine too.

CUSTARD BISCUITS/YO-YO BISCUITS

CUSTARD BISCUITS / YO - YO BISCUITS

I have seen this recipe in many blogs long back. The name yo-yo itself is what made me attracted to trying out these biscuits. As the name sounds they look also yo-yo and easy to prepare :)..
Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour - 1.5 cups
Custard Powder - 1/2 cup
Butter - 220 gms
Icing Sugar - 1/2 cup


Preparation:
Sieve the flour and custard powder.

Whisk butter and sugar nicely. Add in batches the flour and mix till you get a soft dough. Make small balls from it and press lightly with a fork to form a cookie mark. Bake in a pre-heated oven @ 190C for 10 mins. Cool and store in an air-tight container.
I would like to send this over to JATW conducted by my dear friend Kavi :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

AVAL UNDA (Flatten Rice Balls)

Aval Unda

I had no idea how to make this or even heard of it. Recently during the Harvest festival in church, my father told me that he bought these. I asked him what was added in it and he said he thought the ingredients where so and so. Thats when i decided i should give a hand on this recipe and see how it will be :). I was surprised the outcome was awesome and definitely tasty!

Ingredients :

Aval (Brown flat beaten Rice) - 1 cup
Coconut grated - 1 cup
Sesame Seeds - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Cashew Nuts - 1/4 cup chopped roughly

Preparation:
Place pan over stove and once hot add in the flat rice and fry for 2-3 mins over low flame till the rice flakes are crispy. Make sure they dont change color. Remove the rice flakes. Then add in the sesame seeds and roast till nice aroma comes. It took me nealry 3- 4 mins. Remove from flame to cool.

Powder the rice flakes in a grinder. Optionally you can keep as it is or even half grind too. I preferred the grinded version.

Now in another pan. add in jaggery and 1/4 cup water and melt the jaggery. Once melted completely sieve for any impurities. Then to this add coconut and nuts. Mix properly. Mix in the sesame seeds and grinded aval powder and mix nicely. Once slightly cooled start making small balls with them and keep to cool completely. You can store them in an air - tight container for days :).

I would like to send this over for the event conducted by Julie :)

I would like to send this also over to Jingle all the way , a event conducted by kavi :)..

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

POTATO KIBBEH

Potato Kibbeh

Potato kibbeh is basically a middle eastern dish with potato and carmellized onions sometimes stuffed with meat (chicken, lamb). I would prefer to make this dish veg and then serve with non-veg to go with it. I surely would make this several times as its very healthy and filling too.

Recipe Source : Discover Lebanon

Ingredients:
Potato - 1 large boiled and mashed ( roughly about 1 cup)
Wheat Bulgar - 1/2 cup
Garlic Powder - 2 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil - 2 -3 tbsp

Walnuts - 1 large handful
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely

Preparation:

Roast the walnuts in 180C pre-heated oven for about 55-7 mins till nuts turn slightly brown in color.
Roast the onions in 1 tsp of oil in a pan till lightly brown color.
Wash the bulgar and blend it in a processor.
Mix the mash potato, blended bulgar, garlic, salt and pepper.
Divide the mix into two parts. Place one part into the baking dish. Layer the onions and walnuts on top. Then layer with the second potato mix. Cut over the top into squares roughly and pour the olive oil so that it sweeps between the cuts.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 10C for 40 mins. You will see it will turn lightly brown in color.

Serve warm as it is or you can have with tuna (which i had and it tasted superb) or with cooked chicken mince.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes :
You can add variations like cashew nuts, raisins or even cooked meat instead of walnut areas.

BANANA FRITTERS (Pazham Pori)

Banana Fritters/Ettakka appam/ Pazham pori

Ingredients:
Ripe Plantains (Ethakka) - 3 numbers
Maida - 5 tbsp
Rice Flour - 2 tbsp
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
Jeera Powder - a large pinch
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Sugar - 1 tsp *
Salt - a pinch
Water just enough for making the batter
Oil/Ghee for frying

Preparation:
Mix the flours, powders, sugar and salt. Add water little by little till you get a thick flowing batter. Make sure the batter is not very thick or very thin. When you dip the spoon and take out, the batter should flow slowly from the spoon.
Remove skin and cut the plaintains into half. Then cut each half vertically into 3. If you want thick ones you can cut into 2. I prefer the thinner version.

If you are not into calorie counting feel free to use ghee for frying to enhance the flavour. I used oil. Pour in oil in a pan and once hot, add in the dipped plantains(banana) and fry till both sides are light brown color. Serve warm with tea/coffee.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes:
Add in sugar quantity in accordance tot he sweetness of the plantains. If its nicely ripe and sweet and in very less sugar.

BANANA CHOCOLATE BREAD MUFFINS

Banana Chocolate Bread Muffins

Ingredients:
Flour - 1 .5 cup
Banana - 3 nos ( Ripe)
Eggs - 2 nos
Brown Sugar - 1 cup
Curd - 1 cup
Salt - a pinch
Vegetable Oil - 3/4 cup
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Milk Chocolate chips - 1/2 cup
Roasted Walnuts and  Cashew Nuts - few crushed

Preparation:

Preheat  oven to 180C/350F.

Sift the flour with baking soda twice and keep aside.

Seperate the egg whites and yolks. Beat the egg whites till fluffy.  Mix in the yolks and sugar and beat till sugar is dissolved. Then add in the bananas cut and beat till bananas get mushy. i made sure no banana lumps are there. Then add in rest of the wet ingredients (curd,oil) and salt whick nicely. Add in the egg whites and whisk slowly. Then add in the nuts, chocolte chips and sifted flour little by little and fold in gently. In a muffin pan, place the muffin papers. With a icecream scoop add in 2 scoops of the batter into each. Garnish with nuts or walnuts. Bake for about 25-30 mins or till toothpick inserted come out clean.
Wait to cool down a wire rack itself.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

EGG CHEESE PARATHA

Egg Cheese Paratha - STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Ingredients :

The Stuffing :
Egg - 2 nos:
Cheddar cheese grated - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 large chopped finely
Green Chilli - 2  - 3 nos chopped finely
Coriander Leaves - a handful chopped
Salt
Oil

For the Dough:
Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Warm Water - 1/2 cup (almost)
Salt

Preparation:
Prepare the dough by adding sufficient water and salt and knead till you get a soft dough. The dough shouldnt be sticky or too dry. Cover with damp cloth and keep aside.

Prepare a scrambled egg. First beat egg nicely with salt. The add in the onions and chilli and beat again. In a pan, add a bit oil and move the pan round to make oil coated over the whole pan. Then pour the egg mix over and once half fried start scrambling the mix witha  spatula. Once the mix is done add in the cheese grated and the coriander leaves. Mix and keep the mix to cool down.

Now take ball sized dough (larger than a golf ball) and flatten them and roll them out round. Not very thin. Apply half  tsp of oil one one half and then place a spoonful of mix on one half of the dough. Cover it with the other half of the dough into half and Apply oil on top of half covered dough. Again fold into half to form a triangle as shown in pic 2 & 3. Then dust the dough with flour and roll the dough lightly to a bigger triangle and thinner.

In a heated pan, put the triangle stuffed dough and wait till one side has lightly brown spots. Turn over and apply oil to the brown spotted side and vice-versa. Turn over again and cook for 30 seconds or so and serve. Serve with boondi raitha.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)