Khara Buns/Spicy Buns

When baking your own fresh breads/buns is so easy, it's a load of fun to experiment with different tastes and get creative! I tried creating my version of the very famous "Khara Bun" which every good bakery has people lining up for it in downtown Bangalore! The result - the whole lot of buns I baked were gone very quickly :)

Here it is, my version of KHARA BUN / SPICY BUN:

Ingredients: For the bread dough, 2 cups self-raising flour sifted, 3/4 cup of natural yogurt, 2 tablespoons melted butter, pinch of salt, water and olive oil as required. For the masala, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 tomato chopped (only if desired, I usually omit tomato), 1 onion chopped finely, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon ajwain, 2/3 green chilli chopped finely, chilli flakes as required, handful of coriander and curry leaves finely chopped, salt to taste, sesame seeds.

Make: Mix the flour, butter, ajwain, yogurt with water and olive oil to form a firm bread dough. Kneed well and wrap in glad wrap. Leave it covered for at least two hours. 

Meanwhile to make the masala. In a nonstick pan, saute chill in some oil. Add in the cumin , onion, curry leaves, tomato if using and garam masala, mix well with salt. Let it cool.

When ready to mix the masala with the dough, kneed the dough well again and add in cooled masala plus chilli flakes and chopped coriander.

Portion into small palm sized balls then shape nicely. Brush each bun with melted butter then sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake in a pre-heated fan forced oven at 170 deg for about 30 minutes. They are ready when they look golden brown and well rounded. Enjoy the soft, spicy, hot Khara Buns with a hot cuppa!

 

Ragda Chaat (Spicy Chickpeas Salsa)

The spicy, tangy, sweet, crunchy, juicy and just plain DELICIOUS flavours of Chaats...Indian street food which is basically irreplaceable! Anyone who has enjoyed this taste will surely want to have more. 

One of the best things about chaats is that they are easy to create as there is no special formula to follow, throw together a few of your favourite ingredients and you can whip up a mouth watering snack in very little time. This is where I like to make things a little healthier than the traditional methods.

So here it is, my version of the very yummy RAGDA CHAAT :)

Ingredients: 1 cup boiled chickpeas (or you can use canned chickpeas if you prefer), 1 cup boiled potato cubes, handful of papdi (or crispy wheat crackers if you want to keep it lighter), 1 tomato chopped small, 1 onion chopped small, handful of pomegranate seeds and chopped coriander, 1 teaspoon chaat masala powder, sev. For the chickpea masala, you will need 1 table spoon tomato paste/puree, 1 onion chopped, 1 teaspoon garam masala, chilli powder, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.

Make: In a non stick pan, heat a little oil and put in cumin seeds and chilli powder. Add 1 chopped onion and saute. Now add in the boiled chickpeas, potato cubes and mix. Add tomato paste/puree, garam masala, salt to taste and a little water. Cover and let it simmer.

On your serving plate, crush the papdi/wheat crackers to form the bottom layer. Spread the chickpeas masala on top, sprinkle chaat masala, then layer with chopped fresh tomato and onion, followed by sev, coriander and pomegranate. Serve nice and hot! 

Besan Burfi (Chickpea Flour Fudge)

When the Indian festive season is here, it's often a season of sweets! With busy routines and days, it can be hard to find the time to make traditional sweet treats made on festive occasions. 

I find this little treat an easy one to whip up quickly and hassle free and apart from the sugar involved it's probably on the healthier side too, being gluten free! 

Here it is, my easy version of the traditional BESAN BURFI (Chickpea Flour Fudge):

Ingredients: Half cup melted ghee (clarified butter), 2 cups besan (chickpea) flour, 2 teaspoons cardamom powder. For the sugar syrup: 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water.

Make: In a non stick pan mix the ghee and besan flour while stirring continuously on low flame, to ensure no lumps. After about 15 minutes of stirring and mixing the aroma of the besan will release and it will be golden brown in colour. Keep it aside and make the sugar syrup. 

In a separate dish mix the sugar and water and bring to boil. It should take around 6 to 7 minutes to form a one thread consistency. 

Then pour the sugar syrup into the besan and ghee mixture and stir on low flame. Once the whole mixture starts to leave the sides, pour into a greased tray and pat down firmly, cut into desired shape. You may add nuts for garnish at this stage, or roll into balls instead. Let it cool completely and enjoy!

Masala Buns

Who loves the scent of freshly baking bread? Count me in...add to that the scents of spicy masala and you most certainly have a winner in the oven :) That nostalgic feeling of biting into hot baked masala buns is actually so easy to create as I now know.

Quick, easy and so so delicious! Here it is, my version of MASALA BUNS.

 Ingredients: For the bread dough, 2 cups self-raising flour sifted, 3/4 cup of natural yogurt, 2 tablespoons melted butter, pinch of salt, water and olive oil as required. For the masala filling, 2 potatoes boiled and mashed, handful of peas, 1 onion chopped finely, 1 teaspoon cumin and mustard seeds, chilli flakes as required, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt to taste, sesame seeds.

Make: Mix the flour, butter, yogurt with water and olive oil to form a firm bread dough. Kneed well and wrap in glad wrap. Leave it covered for at least two hours. Meanwhile, make the potato masala. In a nonstick pan, saute chill flakes in some oil, adding cumin and mustard seeds, turmeric powder and chopped onion. Add in the mashed potato, peas, lemon juice and mix well with salt. Let it cool.

When ready to fill the dough, kneed the dough well again and portion into small palm sized balls. Scoop in 1 tablespoon of the potato masala and fold dough over to close completely. Brush each bun with melted butter then sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake in a pre-heated fan forced oven at 160 deg for about 25 minutes. They are ready when they look golden brown and well rounded. Enjoy the soft, spicy, hot Masala Buns!

Zucchini Chips

When there are kids involved, cooking is a lot about thinking of ways to get healthy ingredients into tasty dishes that look more fun than healthy! Zucchini is one of those nutrition packed vegetables that more than often gets pushed to the side of the plate so I thought why not camouflage the goodness in a delicious coating. The trick works wonders for sure! 

Here it is, my healthy, quick and easy ZUCCHINI CHIPS.

 Ingredients: 1 large Zucchini cut into thick wedges, 1 cup bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons corn flour, salt to taste, 2 tablespoons olive oil, chilli flakes, sesame seeds.

Make: In a small bowl mix the corn flour with a bit of salt and water to make a smooth paste. Dip the Zucchini wedges into the paste then immediately roll in a plate of bread crumbs to cover completely. In a wide based non stick pan, heat the olive oil and place the covered Zucchini wedges to pan fry until golden brown on both sides. Sprinkle chilli flakes and sesame seeds while pan frying if desired. Enjoy your crispy delicious hot Zucchini Chips! 

 

Vanilla PannaCotta (vegetarian)

Every Masterchef season, my little one and I get very inspired to create some of our own Masterchef magic in the kitchen! We created our own twist on the good old Panna Cotta.

Panna Cotta is a traditional Italian dessert famous for its creamy, jelly like deliciousness. Traditionally gelatin is used to allow the creamy mixture to set into desired shape. In my vegetarian kitchen, it's corn flour which does the same trick to make a wobbly firm Panna Cotta!

Here it is, VANILLA PANNA COTTA with crunchy rice bubbles, fresh fruit and choc flakes :)

Ingredients (for two): 1 cup full cream milk, 3 tablespoons caster sugar, 1 teaspoons vanilla essence, 1 tablespoon cornflour, chocolate bar and fruit of your choice of decoration.

Make: Heat milk and caster sugar with vanilla essence (do not boil). In a separate small bowl, add the cornflour with some of this hot milk and stir until smooth. Add this mixture back into the pan, stirring continuously to ensure lumps don't form. Keep stirring until the mixture starts to thicken to a custard kind of texture - it should take around 8 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into cups or moulds. Place in fridge immediately and allow to set for an hour. Once set and jelly like, take out and flip upside down on serving plate. Decorate fresh fruits, crunchy elements or whatever you like!

Enjoy your smooth, delicious, egg and gelatin free Panna Cotta, Masterchef style!

Choc Banana Muffins (eggless)

When your little one is huge fan of bananas in baked treats, how can you not combine the two yummiest ingredients into one yummy treat! 

Presenting my egg-less vegetarian version of CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS. With loads of sweet mashed banana it's fluffy, soft and simply delicious :)

Here it is :)

Ingredients: One very ripe banana, 1 cup self raising flour, quarter cup brown sugar, half cup milk, 1 tablespoons melted butter, 3 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, handful of choc chips. 

Make: In a bowl mash the banana well with a spoon, should be well mashed but not a smooth paste. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, butter, oil, cocoa powder, choc chips and vanilla essence. Mix well with a fork (to ensure the cake will be light and fluffy not thick and heavy). Add the mashed banana and mix lightly. Pour into your lined muffin tray and bake in a preheated fan forced oven at 160 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, when baked, it will bounce back when lightly pressed in the middle. Dust icing sugar on top if desired.

Enjoy your freshly baked CHOC BANANA MUFFINS :)

Choc Milk Barfi/Fudge

Who has a sweet tooth that comes out from time to time?? Actually who doesn't?! Although not a huge fan of sweets, I have to admit there are times when I enjoy a nice bite of sweetness but love to have less guilt about it. It's great to have fresh homemade treats to munch on too!

The famous Milk Barfi/Doodh Peda/Milk fudge is very well known and I have taken the recipe for that and added my own little twist, to make a gluten free sweet treat that let's you feel a little less guilty.

Here it is, my quick and easy CHOCOLATE MILK BARFI :)

Ingredients: 2 cups full cream milk powder, 1/2 cup ghee/clarified butter, 2/3 cup caster sugar, 1/2 cup fresh milk, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon cardamom powder.

Make: In a wide base non stick pan, add the ghee, milk and sugar and mix well on medium flame. Add in the milk powder bit by bit while stirring continuously to avoid any lumps forming. Finally add the cocoa powder and cardamom powder. Keep stirring for about 6 minutes until the whole mixture leaves the sides of the pan and is a firm dough texture. Line a small try with baking paper and pat the mixture flat. Sprinkle toppings as desired. Let it cool completely, cut into pieces and serve your yummy Choc Milk Barfi!

Vegetable Pulao

Rice main dishes are one of most popular in South India. There's a sense of comfort associated with varieties of rice creations and there's no denying that when it comes to rice, the possibilities are almost endless! 

One of the most well known is the humble Vegetable Pulao - there's nothing much fancy about it but certainly is most loved by rice lovers all over the Indian subcontinent. Packed with goodness from fresh vegetables and the comfort of spices and rice, it's a beautiful combination.

Here's my quick and easy version of the famous Vegetable Pulao.

 Ingredients: 1 cup cooked basmati rice, 1 cup chopped vegetables (such as carrots, beans, peas), 1 onion sliced thin, handful of curry leaves. For masala - 4 or 5 cloves, 1 small piece of cinnamon stick, 4 or 5 peppercorns, 1 or 2 fresh chillies, 1 spoon chopped ginger, half a bunch of fresh coriander, a few fresh mint leaves, 1 spoon of coconut. For tempering - 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds.

Make: In a wide base non stick pan, temper the cumin seeds and mustard seeds in the olive oil. Once it starts to splatter, add in the sliced onions and curry leaves. Saute then add all the chopped vegetables and let it cook in the open pan. Meanwhile prepare the fresh masala by adding all of the above masala ingredients into a mixer and grind to a paste using as much water as required. Add the masala paste into the pan with cooking vegetables and mix well. Add the cooked rice, salt to taste, mix well and simmer with the lid closed for about 5 minutes. 

Serve hot with raita or yogurt. Enjoy!

Honey Cake Eggless

Do you have foods that are associated with a favourite feeling or memory which adds to the fondness of that particular food? They do say food is much more than just for hunger and taste...it's a feeling, which us human beings love to hold on to. One such feeling of fondness for me is that of walking into the local Iyengar Bakery in Bangalore with scents of fresh baked goodies and laying eyes on that beautiful, juicy, honey drenched, soft piece of cake - Honey Cake!

Given all the love we have for it, I thought of giving it a shot at home and we were very happy with the results.

Here it is, my version of HONEY CAKE, eggless Indian style :)

Ingredients: 1 cup self raising flour, 2/3 cup caster sugar, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 olive oil, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, milk as needed. For the honey syrup, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 large tablespoon honey. For jam topping, 1 tablespoon jam, desiccated coconut. 

Make: In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, caster sugar and oil until smooth. Add the flour, vanilla essence, orange juice and mix well until you have a flowy firm cake mixture. Add milk only if needed. Pour into a baking pan and bake at 160 degrees in a fan forced oven. Cake should be baked in about 25 to 30 minutes. 

While it is baking, prepare the honey syrup by bringing to boil, the water and sugar. Warm it enough to melt the sugar. Cool to room temperature then add the honey and mix well. 

Once the cake is ready, poke holes all around the top of the cake using a toothpick. Pour the honey syrup all over the cake and allow it to soak for about 10 minutes. 

For the jam topping, heat the tablespoon of jam until it is flowy, then spread over the cake. Immediately sprinkle desiccated coconut all over. Let it cool and serve :)

When you cut into it, you will see the cake will have soaked up the honey syrup giving it a juicy texture. Yum!!

Roast Beetroot & Potato Soup

When the cooler days arrive, who loves the charm of all things cozy, warm and comforting?? I'm sure we all nod yes to that...well food plays a huge part in that charm for sure. That's also the reason why the kilos start tipping upwards in the cooler months too! Let's try and keep that from happening, with healthier options that not only help keep you in shape but satisfy that inner need for comfort food.

Most of us love our soups and here's my version of a healthy, creamy, hearty soup that is sure to have your family asking for more. My ROAST BEETROOT & POTATO SOUP :)

Ingredients (for two): 1 large beetroot, 1 potato, 1 onion, 1 spoon garlic paste (can be omitted), 1 spoon chilli flakes. 1 spoon butter, 1 cup warm water, salt and pepper to taste.

Make: In a pan, saute chilli flakes and garlic paste in the 1 spoon of butter. Add chopped onion, potato cubes and beetroot cubes. Pan fry for 5 to 10 minutes until the beautiful aroma is released. Add 1 cup of warm water, cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes until the beetroot is soft. Once it is all cooked, let it cool enough to be able to grind into a soup in your mixer/juicer. Transfer the soup back into your pan, add salt to taste and heat. Garnish, sprinkle with pepper and serve your creamy delicious soup :)

 

Roast Chilli Cauliflower

Did you know the humble Cauliflower is actually considered a "super-food"?? With high levels of natural antioxidants this magical vegetable is known to have great anti-inflammatory benefits - so all in all, it's not just fun to get creative with but also gets a big health tick!

After having a delicious cauliflower side dish at a local Mediterranean restaurant recently I was inspired to try something similar at home with a spicy twist (as most of us Indian folks do!!). So I went ahead and experimented with a few ingredients to come up with my own little Cauliflower treat :)

Here it is, ROAST CHILLI CAULIFLOWER:

Ingredients: Florets of half a cauliflower, handful of peanuts, pine nuts & flaked almonds (can be omitted if you prefer nut-free, but the nuts do add an amazing crunch element), 1 or 2 fresh red chillies, 1 spoon garlic paste, salt to taste.

Make: In a wide based pan, heat a bit of oil and saute chopped chillies, garlic paste and nuts. When the nuts are golden brown, add in all the cauliflower florets and salt. Gently toss together and let them roast on the pan with minimal mixing (to get the char-grilled taste). You will know it's well roasted by the beautiful aroma and crisp florets. 

Serve hot with a wedge of fresh lemon - enjoy!

 

Sabudana Kichidi (Spicy Stirfried Tapioca)

Tapioca..most of us have heard of it but not quite sure where it comes from. I was the same until I discovered the health benefits of these little pearls! Tapioca pearls are made of starch from Cassava roots, so they are gluten free and pretty much fat free. 

The Indian continent knows these pearls as Sabudana and is popular for both savoury and sweet dishes. I have become a fan of the very popular dish, Sabudana Kichidi, which is like a spicy stirfry. It is so simple and easy to make yet delicious to savour as a snack or a meal in itself! Also a great dish for those that follow religious fasting where only gluten free foods are consumed.

Here it is, my version of SABUDANA KICHIDI or Spicy Stirfired Tapioca:

Ingredients: 1 cup of tapioca pearls soaked for 1 to 2 hours, 1 potato chopped into small cubes, handful of peanuts, small amount of fresh ginger finely chopped, 1 onion chopped, a few chillies chopped, a handful of green peas if you wish, lemon juice. Spices of tempering: 1 spoon each of urid daal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and turmeric powder.

Make: In a non stick pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and put in all of the spices for tempering as above. Saute then add chillies, chopped onion, ginger and peanuts. Roast these all nicely then add chopped potatoes and peas if using. Once they are almost cooked, add the in soaked tapioca pearls and salt to taste. Stir gently (to keep the pearls intact) and you should notice after a few minutes the pearls will start to turn translucent. Once all the pearls are translucent and fluffy it should be all cooked well. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and garnish with coriander. 

Enjoy your healthy gluten free meal :)

Sri Lankan Pumpkin Coconut Curry

One of my favourite cuisines has got to be Sri Lankan! With the use of spices and coconut, the creamy yet strong flavoured curries are simply delicious. 

I have read some traditional recipes for Sri Lankan vegetarian curries, which involve a lot of grinding of dry spices to achieve the strong flavours - this is not always quick and easy for busy lifestyles. So I took the ideas and tried my own twist on a Pumpkin Coconut Curry, which worked wonderfully and since been a favourite for us!

Here it is, my quick and easy version of the Sri Lankan Pumpkin Coconut Curry:

Ingredients: Half a pumpkin chopped into large cubes, 1 onion chopped finely, fresh chillies (2 or 3 as desired), 1 can light coconut milk, small spoon of turmeric powder, salt to taste. For tempering, 1 spoon olive oil, 1 spoon fennel seeds, 2 or 3 small pieces of cinnamon sticks, 1 spoon cumin seeds, 1 spoon mustard seeds, 2 sticks of fresh curry leaves. 

Make: In wide based pan (I prefer non stick), put in the spoon of olive oil, add fennel seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, chopped chillies and mustard seeds. When they heat up, chopped onion, curry leaves and saute. Now add the pumpkin cubes, salt and roast slightly for about 8 minutes. Finally add coconut milk and bring to boil. Garnish with chives and serve hot :)