Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Nigella Lawson's Chocolate chocolate chip muffins


I love her recipes because they are always never-let-you- down recipes

Its been a while since I baked  something.I was planning to bake something with nutella ,since a jar is just in my pantry being consumed by me a spoonful a day :)which is definitely not good for me but ended up making these.These muffins were moist and fluffy and chocolatey.

Ingredients:


All purpose muffins - 1 3/4 cups

Baking Powder - 2 tsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Cocoa powder - 2Tbsp

Semi sweet chocolate chips - 3/4 cup and few for sprinkling on top

Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup

Egg - 1

Milk - 1 cup

Vanilla essence - 2 tsp

Method :


Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.

Line the muffin tin with liners or spray with a nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl mix the all purpose flour,baking powder,baking soda,cocoa powder,semisweet chocolate chips.

In the 2 cup measuring jar,measure the milk,then oil.Add the egg and vanilla essence.

Mix everything thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold.The mixture will be lumpy.

Fill the muffin liners up to 3/4 th.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tester when inserted into the muffin comes out clean.

Store in airtight container when completely cool.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Cashew Mysore Pak


Wishing you a very happy and prosperous 2011!!

Since this is my first post of 2011,I wanted to start with a sweet note.I tried this sweet and came out very well.Ive made Mysore pak before.But this is the first time I tried cashew Mysore pak.This is a recipe of Mrs Chitra Viswanathan of Indusladies.Iam amazed by her cooking skills ranging from the traditional Tamil Brahmin recipes to International recipes.She is an inspiration to amateur cooks like me.

When my mom was here last year,she made this mysorepak and it came out perfect.So I mustered my courage to try out this new Mysore pak recipe.

Ingredients:


Powdered Cashew - 1 cup

Besan/Gram flour - 1/3 cup

Sugar - 1 3/4 cup

Ghee - 1 cup melted

Water - 2 cups


Method:


Fry the besan in 2 tsp of ghee .Mix the cashew powder and besan in melted ghee and stir till no lumps are found.

Boil the sugar and water to 1 string consistency.That is if you pour the syrup from a ladle,a string appears from the tip of the ladle.

Add the cashew-besan-ghee mixture into the sugar syrup.

Keep on stirring till it becomes a solid mass and it leaves the sides of the pan.



Pour the contents into a greased plate.When slightly cool,cut into desired shapes.

Store in airtight containers.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Palak Tuvar Dal/Spinach with split pigeon pea


This is a mildly spiced dish which contains no onion or garlic.

Recipe Courtesy:Tarla Dalal

Ingredients:


Spinach - 2 cups washed thoroughly and chopped

Boiled toor dal - 1/2 cup

Ginger - 2 tsp grated

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Green chillies - 2 chopped

Dry red chillies - 2 broken

Bay leaf - 2

Cloves - 3

Cumin seeds - 1tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Salt to taste

Oil  - 1 tsp

Procedure:


Pressure cook spinach in 3 cups of water along with toor dal,ginger,green chillies,turmeric,and required amount of salt for 3 whistles.

In a pan heat the oil.When hot,add cumin seeds.When it splutters,add bay leaf,cloves,broken red chillies and asafoetida.

Add the tempering to the spinach/dal mixture and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve with plain rice or roti.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas with a Simple Chocolate Fudge!!


Merry Christmas & Happy Holiday Wishes to all the readers of Simple Vegetarian Recipes!!

This is the first time I have tried my hand in candy making.It was a snap to make.Got this recipe from Joy of Baking website.

Ingredients:

Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can(14 oz)

Nestle semisweet chocolate chips - 1 bag(12 oz)

Butter - 2 Tbsp

Vanilla essence - 2tsp

Walnuts - 1 cup

Method:

Line the bottom and sides of a  8 baking pan with parchment paper or aluminium foil leaving extra foil on the sides hanging down.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.Place the walnuts in a cookie sheet and toast for about 8 minutes,
When cool,chop them roughly.

Combine the condensed milk,semisweet chocolate chip,butter in a stainless steel bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water.Stir the mixture until the chocolate melts and the mixture becomes smooth.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla essence and walnuts.


Spread the mixture into the prepared pan.Cover with foil and refrigerate till it becomes cool enough.


Cut into 1 inch pieces.Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Mili Jhuli Subzi/Mixed vegetables in spicy gravy

When I found this recipe in the newsletter of Tarla Dalal,I was so sure that Iam gonna try this.It is  a combination of vegetables in a spicy gravy.The spices are not store bought,but freshly ground.That tempted me to give it a try.This is a real comfort food for the harsh wintry nights.

Ingredients:


Boiled mixed vegetables - 2 cups(carrots,potatoes,beans,peas,baby corn,cauliflower)

Paneer - 1/2 cup cubed or tofu

Tomatoes - 2 medium chopped into small pieces

Corn flour - 1/2 tsp mixed with 2Tbsp of milk

Salt to taste

Oil - 4 tbsp

To be ground into a paste:

Onion - 1 medium

Thick Poha - 2 tablespoon Soak in water for 5 minutes.Drain and then grind with other ingredients

Coriander seeds - 4tsp

Black pepper - 5 or 6

Cumin seeds - 2tsp

Dry red chillies - 5

Poppy seeds - 1tsp

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon - 2 inch piece

Garlic - 2 or 3 pods

Ginger - 2tsp grated

Method:

Heat oil in a skillet.When hot,add the ground paste and saute till raw smell goes off.

Add the chopped tomatoes and saute till the tomatoes are pulpy.

Then add the boiled vegetables,paneer,required amount of salt and 1/2 cup of water.Simmer for 2 minutes.

Now add cornflour mixed with water and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve hot with roti.