Split Pea Fritters (Ambode)

Those from the southern part of India will be very familiar with the very delicious "Ambode" which promptly takes its place in almost all festival menus! This little treat is also great for the healthy conscious as it is made with yellow split peas (lentil) making it a high protein food.

However there's no short cut to achieving the authentic taste of Ambode, as deep frying is the way to go. Go on, it's ok to indulge in a deep fried treat atleast as it made from healthy ingredients!

So here it is, my version of the famous Ambode/SPLIT PEA FRITTERS: 

Ingredients: 1 cup yellow split peas soaked for 2 to 3 hours, few green chillies, 1 tablespoon fresh chopped ginger, 1 onion chopped (if desired), handful of dill leaves chopped (if desired), handful of chopped fresh coriander and curry leaves, salt to taste, oil for deep frying.

Make: Take the soaked split peas and chopped ginger and grind in a mixer roughly. Ensure it is not a smooth paste (should still have some split peas visible). In a bowl, combine the split peas mixture with chillies, onion if using, salt and green leaves. It should form a firm moist dough which you can shape into small balls then pat into oval shapes. Heat oil and deep fry the fritters until golden brown on each side. 

Serve hot with your favourite chutney or sauce!

Carrot Cake

Carrots in sweet treats are one of the best combinations to add that bit of healthy touch to sweets. The good old Carrot Cake is one that is best enjoyed with a hot cuppa! Best part is that kids will love it without even knowing all the goodness of carrots hidden inside.

Given my love for eggless baking, including carrots in my recipe makes it even easier to achieve a soft, juicy cake without the use of eggs. 

Here it is, my version of Carrot Cake:

Ingredients: 1 carrot grated, 1 cup self raising flour, half cup brown sugar, half cup full cream milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, dry fruits if desired. For topping, 1 tablespoon icing sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, dry coconut shreds.

Make: In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, butter, olive oil. Mix well and add milk. Once the consistency is smooth, add in the grated carrot, dried fruits and combine well. Pour the batter into a bread baking tray (greased with baking paper is recommended) and bake in a pre-heated fan forced oven 160 degrees for 30 minutes. You will know it is baked if it bounces back when touched slightly in the middle. 

Let the cake cool. Prepare the topping by mixing the icing sugar and milk and pour over the cake. Sprinkle the coconut shreds on top immediately so it sticks.

Enjoy with your favourite cuppa! 

Hara Bhara Kabab (Green Veg Cutlet)

As the cold weather approaches, so do cravings for those hearty warm dishes. It's probably true that a lot of people throw that healthy diet out the window as warm weather disappears, but it doesn't has to be that way! A lot of hearty hot foods also means things like deep frying and overdoses of fatty ingredients...not this little gem that we love :)

The very popular Hara Bhara Kabab or green veg cutlet is usually made by deep frying, not the best if you are conscious of keeping calories low. At our place, this little goodie is preferred not deep fried but pan fried instead - the same crunchy texture with softness inside, only a whole lot healthier!

Here it is, my version of HARA BHARA KABAB:

Ingredients: 1 cup peas, 1 cup blanched spinach, 1 onion chopped, 1 chilli chopped, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon crushed ginger, a small plate of corn flour, a small plate of bread crumbs, a little oil for pan frying. 

Make: In a pan, add in a spoon of oil and saute the chilli, onion, garlic and ginger. Add the peas and spinach with salt to taste. Cook together for a few minutes. Let it cool then transfer to a blender. Pulse a few times and ensure it does not become a smooth paste. 

Make small cutlet shapes, dip into the plate of corn flour then bread crumbs. Now to pan fry these cutlets, add some oil (the less the better) and fry on each side until golden brown. 

Serve hot with side salad, chutney or anything you choose! 

Mung Bean Sprouts Salad

The word "salad" can often bring up images that are not very exciting and for the diet conscious. However, healthy does not mean boring! Infact, you can combine many different healthy ingredients together to create exciting delicious dishes, that are high in taste and low in calories. 

With some soaked mung bean sprouts, I went on a healthy ingredient hunt in my pantry and pretty much used whatever I felt like to make a hearty, protein packed salad which was loved. Gluten free, vegan and loaded with goodness - all the elements of freshness, crunch, crispness made for one yummy meal :) 

Here it is, my MUNG BEAN SPROUTS SALAD:

Ingredients: 1 cup mung bean sprouts (soaked and sprouted), 1 tomato chopped, 1 carrot grated, 1 small red onion, handful of almond flakes, peanuts and coconut flakes, chilli flakes, lemon juice, salt.

Make: In a pan, mildly saute the sprouts with a bit of oil and chilli flakes, add salt to taste. Let it cool completely. In a serving bowl, add the chopped tomato, chopped onion, grated carrot to the cooled sprouts toss together (do not mix vigorously). Dry roast almond flakes, peanuts and coconut flakes. Let cool and sprinkle over the salad, along with lemon juice. Your healthy Mung Bean Sprout Salad is ready to enjoy!

VERMICELLI PAYASA / KHEER

One of the simplest yet loved sweets for most folks of Indian descent is Payasa/Payasam/Kheer. We're no different and every time I ask my little one which sweet treat I should make for any celebration or festivity the answer is usually this - Shavige Payasa = Vermicelli Payasa! 

The best part about cooking and creating is how easily you can turn even a simple dish into a fancy one just by presentation. I love to do just that with most dishes which take little time to create but look extensive :) 

Here it is, my VERMICELLI PAYASA/SEVIYAN KHEER Shots:

Ingredients: 1 cup of thin vermicelli broken into small pieces (I use pre-roasted wheat vermcelli), 1 tablespoon ghee, 1.5 cups full cream milk, 1 quarter cup warm water, raw sugar as per sweetness required, 1 teaspoon cardamom powder, a few teaspoon saffron strands. If wanting to use nuts for garnish, choose any nuts and roast in ghee.

Make: In a thick bottom pan, lightly fry the broken vermicelli in ghee. Within a few minutes, add the warm water and mix. Then add the milk and let it heat up while stirring. Add the sugar, cardamom powder and saffron strands. Mix well and remove from heat. 

For presenting the payasa as shots, pour into glass shotglasses and garnish with roasted nuts. Serve warm or cold and enjoy!

Vegan French Toast

Good Morning! A good morning is always made better with a sweet start. It is said that your daily intake of calories should be roughly evenly split between breakfast, lunch and dinner, so all the better reason to indulge and enjoy breakfast time rather than skip it! 

French Toast is a popular breakfast choice for the sweet tooth as well being easy and quick to whip up. Being vegetarian shouldn't stop you from enjoying this yummy treat either! 

Here it is, my eggless version, VEGAN FRENCH TOAST:

Ingredients for one serve: Two slices of brown bread, 1/2 cup light coconut milk, 1 tablespoon corn flour, 1/2 cup sugar syrup, maple syrup, fruits of your choice.

Make: In a plate, mix the light coconut milk with corn flour to make a smooth liquid with no lumps. In another plate make a quick sugar syrup with sugar and water with all sugar completely dissolved. Heat your frypan and spray with olive oil. Dip each slice of bread first into the sugar syrup then into the coconut milk mixture. The corn flour with the coconut milk mixture will bind similar to using egg. Place the soaked slice of bread on the pan and toast until crisp and golden brown on each side.

Top with maple syrup and your favourite fruits. Enjoy!

Valentine's Vanilla PannaCotta Shots

A perfect day to be back to my blog for the year..Happy Valentine's Day! While it's been a crazy busy start to 2019, it's also been a fun filled and memorable one. Just the way we like it!

Valentine's is always a fun day, there's so much love and colour around everywhere..so while we celebrate and cherish LOVE every single day, it's just so much fun to get into the celebrations on this day. This also means a sweet ending to the day is a must, without having to spend much time in the kitchen. I've shared this one before, but I still do get asked for the recipe of my vegetarian version of the popular PannaCotta :) 

Here it is, VALENTINE'S VANILLA PANNA COTTA SHOTS.

Ingredients (for two shotglasses): 1/2 cup full cream milk, 1.5 tablespoons caster sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 tablespoon cornflour, 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. It is set if it is jelly like in texture. Decorate fresh fruits and enjoy!

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!