Pumpkin Buns – Guest post from Swapna’s Kitchen

Its guest post day :-)Today we have Swapna from Swapna’s Kitchen. It makes me feel good when people write a post for me, happy to have such sweet friends around 🙂

Couple of months ago I happen to come across Swapna’s page. I am a big fan of her homestyle recipes, and having a sweet tooth, lot of her sweet recipes are in my to-do list.  I know she is a mom so I approached her for toddler friendly Recipes. She immediately told yes and asked if I am looking for anything specific, and I was happy to let her choose one for me. Swapna gave a list of recipes and I choose Pumpkin buns, as my Son is having sweet tooth like Mother and likes Pumpkin puree:-) She has a lot of sweet words about me:-)

Over to Swapna

When Vidya mailed me for a guest post I was really shocked for I could not believe how a person who has achieved so much in blogging could trust a new blogger like me.This is my first guest post here.I really wanted to give my best for the trust she had on me.I am so glad to have her as my friend here.I love all her traditional recipes especially the Poondu Kulambu and Karadaiyan Adai.

I am a big fan of her Microwave oven recipes . I guess its time for me to start making them at home for I have gained lot of weight after starting this food blog..I really want to thank Vidya for giving me this opportunity to let me write on her space.

After mailing her some few recipes she selected Pumpkin buns for her cute little son loves pumpkin puree .So this post is especially made for her little boy who loves Pumpkin and his mother who loves him….

Fb Link:https://www.facebook.com/swapnaskitchenofficialpage?ref=hl

 

PUMPKIN BUNS

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup warm milk

2 tbsp warm water

1/4 tsp salt

3-5 tbsp all purpose flour for kneading the dough

FOR PROOFING YEAST

2 tbsp warm milk

1/4 tsp sugar

2 & 1/4 tsp yeast

METHOD

Pressure cook the pumpkin for a whistle,grind them and keep it aside.Add  1/2 tsp of sugar to  warm milk and add the yeast to it.The yeast will rise in few mins.

In a large mixing glass bowl,add sugar,warm milk and 1/2 cup warm pumpkin puree.Then add melted butter ,yeast and mix them well.

Add the all purpose flour little by little (1/4 cup) and mix them well until a mild sticky dough is formed.Now transfer the dough to your work space ,sprinkle some flour and start kneading the dough for 15 mins.

Place the dough in a glass bowl and cover it with a plastic wrap.Leave it in a warm place for an hour until it doubles in volume.

Transfer the dough to your work space and knead it for  2 mins to remove the air bubbles.Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and roll each part into a ball.Place the balls in a baking dish and cover it with a plastic wrap.Leave it for 30 mins to rise again.

Bake at 350 degree F for 15-20 mins or until the tops are lightly brown.Brush the top of the buns with melted butter.

Advertisement

Banana Wheat Pancake ( Banana Gothumai Dosai)

As I have mentioned in my earlier post,  In recent times Pancakes has become one of the common breakfast. Though I generally prepare Whole Wheat Pancake for my son, in the mission of adding some fruits  into his diet tried Pancakes with banana Checkout my other pancakes Eggless Pancake Strawberry Whole Wheat Pancake Cornmeal Pancake

Banana Pancake:

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Resting Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2

Recipe Category: Breakfast

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

Wheat Flour – 1 cup

Cinnamon powder – 1/4 tsp

Baking powder – 2 tsp

Honey/White Sugar/Brown Sugar – 2 tbsp (Adjust according to your taste, I used brown sugar)

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Wet Ingredients:

Banana –  1 (1/2 cup mashed)

Egg – 1

Milk – 1 cup + 4 tbsp (I used 2% milk)

Vanilla extract – 1/4 tsp

Olive oil/butter – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp (for the batter)

Butter –  1 tbsp (Unsalted,  Melted at room temperature)

Method:

• In a bowl add all the dry Ingredients; mix well and Set aside
• In a separate bowl beat the eggs well; add milk banana puree, melted butter and vanilla extract; whisk well
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir gently.  Set batter aside for 10 minutes

• Heat an iron skillet or a non-stick pan on low to medium heat. Reduce heat to low and pour a ladle full of batter in the center of the pan. Do not spread the batter. Allow it to spread on its own. Add little butter around the edges. Cook the pancake on low medium heat for half a minute or until bubbles appear over the pancake

• When the pancake turns to a nice golden shade, flip it over and cook for half a minute and transfer to the serving plate
• Serve warm, topped with butter/honey/Maple Syrup/Powdered Sugar/Caramel syrup/butterscotch syrup/Fruit syrup

My Notes:

• For eggless version add 2 bananas instead of one
• If you are resting the batter for a long time drizzle some tbsp of milk to reach the desired consistency
• All purpose flour can be used instead of whole wheat
• Cardamom powder can be added for flavoring

Custard Powder Halwa – Guest post for Aruna Panangipally’s blog Aharam

Ever since I started blogging I adore Aruna’s work. I was delighted when I got an offer from her for a guest post.

First thing I liked about her blog is her blog name “Aharam” – what a perfect name for a food blog and the way she tells the interesting fact about the food in the Intro for each post

Aharam has a wide spread of Indian and International recipes.

If I say Indian does it justify her work?

No!!

South Indian and North Indian?

Nooo!!

State wise?

Yessss, if I start  specifying all the categories that she has covered, I am sure this post will go Endless

Looking for a festive recipe, low calorie recipe, no oil recipe etc. every search  has a result in her space

I can continue writing about her, but guess its time to hear from Aruna and visit her blog

Few words from Aruna about her space

I have been interested in cooking and collecting recipes for as long as I can remember.  In fact, it is something I imbibed from my grandmother, mother and aunts, all of whom were very interested in trying out new dishes. 🙂

ãhãram, my blog, is my attempt to catalog the recipes I love, be they recipes that are inherited or then those that I have learnt. My blog features pre-dominantly vegetarian recipes (with some egg-based recipes thrown in) from across India. You will find that I have loads of recipes from South India reflecting my ancestry (particularly, Andhra Pradesh, my native state) and those from Maharashtra, the state I grew up in. In addition, I have recipes from across other states of India and the world, reflecting my love for travel and new cultures. 🙂

You can follow Aruna on:

• WordPress: https://aahaaram.wordpress.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Aahaaram
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ahaaram
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Aahaaram/

I was so pleased when Vidya agreed to do a guest post for me because I knew I would get “something different”, a term I hear often in my home. 🙂

Visit Aruna’s space for Custard Powder Halwa recipe

https://aahaaram.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/custard-powder-halwa-by-vidya-srinivasan-of-traditionally-modern-food/

Custard Powder Halwa 

Preparation time: 3 mins | Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Custard powder – 1 cup (I used Vanilla Flavor)

Sugar – 2 cups + ½ cup (I used light brown sugar, white sugar can also be used. Adjust sugar according to your sweetness)

Water – 4 cups

Butter/Ghee – 3 tbsp (I used butter)

Cashew nuts and Raisin – for taste

Saffron – 1/8 tsp

Salt – a pinch

Cardamom powder – 1/8 tsp

Method:

• Add a tbsp of butter to pan and when it melts and becomes hot, add cashew nut and sauté till they are golden brown. Switch off and add raisin; keep aside
• Grease a pan with melted butter/ghee and keep aside
• In a mixing bowl add custard powder, water, saffron,sugar, salt and cardamom powder; mix well without any lumps

• Take a heavy bottomed pan (I used non-stick) and transfer the mixture to the pan. Keep the pan on the stove and start cooking in high flame
• The mixture will come to boil and start to thicken, Keep stirring till it became glossy and jelly like texture

• Add remaining butter, cashew nuts and raisin; mix well and reduce the flame. Keep stirring continuously till the mixture  begins pulling away from the sides

• Transfer the halwa to the greased pan and level the top. Chill it for an hour and cut them
• Check out my other custard powder reccpe,Custard Powder Cookies

Notes:

• Food color can be added
• Halwa stays good for a week in fridge
• Any nuts of choice can be added

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

This weekend it was freezing cold here, couldn’t go out anywhere. For the chill temperature felt like having some crispy snack. When I was thinking what to do, many recipes came to my mind like Baked Pakoda, baked bonda, baked bread roll, baked bread Tikki but all those recipes demanded some work, lazy me was thinking of some quick snack without much work. Hubby suggested Microwave potato chips but I was out of potatoes, immediately Corn tortilla  in kitchen pulled my attention. Got them for Quesadilla, had some 9 tortilla left, so decided to do tortilla chip. These chips is great way to finish your leftover tortilla

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

Preparation time : 4 mins | Baking time : 15 mins

Ingredients:

Corn Tortilla – 9

Oil  – 1 tbsp

Salt – as needed

Basil – 1/4 tsp (Optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
• Stack tortillas one on top of the other and cut them into 2,4,8

• Put them in a mixing bowl add oil, salt and basil; gently toss them well  some traingles lost their shape, oh nooooo, but who cares as long as it tastes good 🙂

• Bake for 14 – 18 mins, turning them in between (after 7/8 minutes) or until chips are starting to get crispy and slightly golden brown at the edges (check every 1-2 minutes after 14 mins)
• Remove from oven and let it cool for 5 -10 mins before serving, in order to let them fully crisp. Serve it with Guacamole/ Salsa/ cheese dip (We just finished it with an yummy dip)

My Notes:

• Instead of mixing them in bowl, can arrange in baking tray brush them with oil and sprinkle salt
• Can add spices of your choice like chilli powder, cumin powder,coriander powder, chat masala, onion powder, garlic powder , cayenne pepper, paprika, etc
• Can add grated cheese like mozerralla cheese, parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese on the top of tortilla

Green Chilli Thokku

Pacha Milagai Thokku is a traditional Thokku prepared with green chilli. My Amma learnt this recipe from her grandmother. When my Amma visited us, hubby was asking her to prepare this. Having a sweet tooth I was bit hesitant to taste this, but I took very little quantity as a side dish for Curd rice, though it was extremely spicy, loved the spiciness. This hot spicy thokku is easy to prepare and can be kept for months when stored in airtight container and refrigerated

Ingredients:

Green chilli –  25

Tamarind – big gooseberry size

Salt – as per taste

Asafetida powder/hing – generous pinch

Jaggery – 1 tbsp

To temper:

Mustard – 1/4 tsp

Fenu Greek – 1/8 tsp

Sesame oil – 4 to 5 tablespoon

Method:

• Add 1 tsp oil and Saute the green chilli till the color changes. Grind it into a paste along with salt, tamrind and asofetida. Add 2 – 3 tbsp of water to grind into fine paste

• Add 2 tbsp of oil to pan, when the oil is hot add mustard seeds, Asofetida and fengreek. After they splutter add the ground green chilli paste, cook in moderate flame by stirring in between (add remaining oil little by little)

• When its 3/4 th cooked and starts becoming thick, add jaggery and continue cooking

• Cook for 10 to 15 minutes or till the color changes to dark blackish green; remove the mix when it leaves the sides of the pan or when it forms as a thick paste. Suits well with Curd Rice, Idli, Dosa etc.,

My Notes:

• Tamrind can be grinded along with green chilli paste
• Instead of grinding green chilli you can also finely chop them

Sugarless Tomato Jam

Having a sweet tooth, I always prefer to have a little sugar in my plate while having breakfast. Seeing this, my mother in law used to prepare tomato jam exclusively for my breakfast purposes! I became so addictive to that and learnt the recipe from her. But seeing the sugar addition, I was alarmed, and so thought of trying Jam with honey instead of Sugar, like I did for Eggless Dry fruit and nut cake. My friend Lori was my inspiration in cooking with honey. We liked the taste of this jam, and I didn’t find any difference in taste between honey and sugar. This has now become my new way of preparing jam!

Ingredients:

Firm and ripe Tomatoes – 10

Water – 3 tbsp

Honey – 3/4 cup (Adjust according to your sweetness)

Cardamom powder – 1/8 tsp (Optional)

Method:

• Add  honey and water to the pan and cook for a minute.

• Add the tomato puree to the honey syrup and stir it occasionally, till it thickens

• Cook till moisture is completely observed. Tomato and water should not run separately. If the jam is taken in a spoon, it should flow as a paste

• Allow the jam to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container

 My Notes:

• Sugar (White/Brown) can also be used instead of honey. Add sugar and water in a pan and cook till sugar melts completely
• Jam stays good upto a month
• Can  also boil tomatoes and then blend that
• Agave nectar can be used instead of honey

Pulikaichal (Puliyodharai)

Pulikaichal is a classic traditional recipe.  When mixed with rice, tangy variety rice is ready (Puliyodarai). It also goes well with dosa/ Idli tiffin variety, and acts as a yummy pickle to curd rice.  It is a great travel recipe too, also a festive recipe prepared during kannum pongal and aadi perukku. It stays good even for a month (when refrigerated) or upto a week (outside),  if stored in an air tight container and accessed with a clean dry spoon. This is one of the most favorite prasadam in temples. It’s good to have Thakkali Thokku/Pulikaichal in fridge, and during busy days these two pastes help a lot.

Pulikaichal (Puliyodharai)

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins

Recipe Category: Pickle/Side Dish and Entrée

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice – 2 cup

For the pulikaichal:

Tamarind – big lemon size

Powdered Jaggery – 1 tbsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/8 tsp

Asafoetida – a generous pinch

Salt – as needed

Sesame oil – 3 tbsp

Roasted Peanuts – 1/4 cup (approximately) I generally add handful

To temper:

Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp

Channa Dal – 1 tbsp

Dried Red chillies – 2

Curry Leaves – few

Spice Powder:

Channa Dal – 1  tbsp

Coriander Seeds – 1 tbsp

Dried Red Chillies – 4 (Adjust according to your spice)

Fenugreek Seeds(Venthyam) – 1/4 tsp

Method:

• Dry roast the ingredients under ‘Spice powder’. Allow them to cool and grind it to a fine powder without adding water, and keep aside

• Soak tamrind in luke warm water for 10 – 15 mins. Extract the juice and keep aside
• Add sesame oil in a pan, and when the oil is hot add the ingredients under ‘to temper’ and let them splutter. Add the tamarind extract and allow it to boil

• When the raw smell starts to go away, add the powder, peanuts, salt and jaggery. Mix well and continue cooking

• Keep stirring occasionally. When oil begins to seperate and the mixture becomes a thick paste (and raw smell goes off completely), switch off.

• Take the cooked rice spread it in a wide bowl, drizzle a tsp of sesame oil, add 1/2 cup of pulikaichal, and mix well without mushing up the rice.  Adjust the quantity of pulikaichal and add salt, if required. Allow it to rest atleast for 30 – 45 mins before you serve. Serve with Aviyal/Potato Chips/Appalam/Fry

My Notes:

• Always use a wide pan while cooking pulikaichal as they tends to spit spills outside
• Sesame oil make it stay good for longer days
• Generally for puliyodarai I use normal rice but basmati rice can also be used
• Rice tastes better sometime after it has been mixed
• Can add 1/2 tsp of sesame seed, 1 tbsp of urad Dal and 1/2 tsp of pepper powder while preparing spice powder. My friend’s mom coos with these ingredients, and it tastes good too. As both my mom and mother in law won’t add these spices, I haven’t added
• First day it tastes spicy but over a period of time it tastes less spicy
• Adding jaggery is optional but it gives a sweet tangy taste which we like
• I have used roasted peanuts so I added them at the end. If you are using unroasted add it after tempering