Stovetop Popcorn

Homemade popcorn and that too in stove top is always good.I used to buy the microwave popcorn from the store until I read  several articles about the harmful effects of the chemical used in artificial butter flavoring.

Making popcorn is not that hard.Once you get the hang of it,you would never go back to the store bought popcorn.

Ingredients:

Popcorn kernels - 1/3 cup

Corn oil - 3 Tbsp

Salt as required

Season salt - 1 tsp(You can use seasoning of your choice like cayenne pepper,chat masala,ground pepper.The variations are endless)

Method:

Heat the oil in a large in a large pan with lid.Add salt and 3 kernels to the oil.If they start spinning,add the remaining kernels in one layer and turn the heat to medium..Cover the pan with a lid leaving a gap for the steam to escape.Once they start popping,take the pan away from the stove and shake with the lid closed and continue till you hear no more popping.Remove from heat and transfer to another bowl and add your favorite seasoning.

Chow's intense brownies

These brownies are the best brownies Ive baked so far.It was chewy,fudgy and moist too.

This recipe is taken from chow.com .This is definitely a keeper.Its more of a brownie for grown-ups as it is not so sweet.

Ingredients:

• Bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened) - 6 ounces(I used Nestle's semisweet chocolate chips)
• Unsalted butter (1 stick) - 8 tablespoons
• Large eggs, at room temperature - 2
• sugar - 1 cup
• Unsweetened cocoa powder 1 Tablespoon
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• 1 teaspoon brewed espresso (optional)(I didn't use it)
• 1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon fine salt(I used only a pinch)
• All purpose flour - 1 cup

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish with aluminum foil.
2. Combine the chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until evenly melted. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
3. Combine the eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, espresso (if using), and salt in a large bowl and briefly stir until just evenly incorporated. Add the cooled chocolate and mix until uniform in color. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated (no white streaks should remain).
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and bake until a tester inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with few crumbs clinging and not totally clean like while baking cakes.A nice crust will form on the top and the brownies will start puling away from the sides.It took about 40 minutes for me but the original recipe says to bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. 
5. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting.

Microwave Therattipaal

Wishing all the readers of Simple Vegetarian Recipes Merry Christmas!!
Ive been neglecting this space of mine for almost 6 months.I feel sooo bad about it:-(Some readers sent email enquiring about me and thanks a ton for that.

But during these days Ive tried new recipes and even took pictures.I hope to keep my blog going on atleast in 2012:-)

I tried this MW therattipaal and its very close to the stove top recipe.

Ingredients:

Full fat sweetened condensed milk - 1 tin(14oz)

Curd - 2TBSP

Ghee - 2tsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp


Procedure:

Mix all the ingredients in a wide,deep Microwave safe bowl.Microwave for 5 minutes.Then stir again and microwave for another 2 minutes.Altogether my cooking time was 13 minutes(5+2+2+2+1).But keep an eye on it because the contents may overflow.When it starts to soldify,add the ghee and cardamom powder and allow to stand for 1 minute.

Butter cookies

This is a recipe of Sara Moulton.They tasted so good and just melted in mouth.

It requires only few ingredients.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 2 cups

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 1 cup

Unsalted Butter softened at room temperature - 3/4 cup(1 1/2 sticks)

Vanilla extract -1/2 tsp 

Egg - 1 at room temperature.

Method:

Whisk together flour,baking powder and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl beat the sugar and softened butter until it becomes pale and fluffy.

Now add the egg,vanilla to butter-sugar mixture and beat for about 2 minutes.

Finally add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

In a parchment paper,roll the dough into a 12 inch log.Wrap it and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hrs.The original recipe calls for chilling the dough for 4 hrs.But mine was firm in about 2 hrs.

Take the dough out and slice into 1/4 inch  wide discs.

Place the discs in a parchment-lined tray spacing them about 1 inch apart.

Bake them for about 12 minutes switching tray positions halfway through baking.The cookies are done when they are light golden around the edges.

Baked Kale Chips

Its been a long time since  I logged on to my blogger account.I was busy with my kids especially my little one.

I tried so many new recipes and even managed to take pictures of them.But really couldn't find time to draft them.And finally here Iam with my easy,guilt-free,nutritious kale chips.

If you are addicted to potato chips(like me)you should definitely try making these which are a healthy alternative to fat laden chips.

Ingredients:

Kale - 1 bunch

Extra virgin olive oil - 4tbsp and for spraying the trays

Salt - to taste

Chili powder - according to your spice level


Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg F.Wash the kale leaves and pat them dry with paper towels.

Rip the kale leaves into bite sized pieces.Mix salt,chillipowder and oil with the kale leaves and arrange them on a greased tray.

Bake them for about 10 to 12 minutes.Rotate the tray after 5 minutes and toss them.

They are done when they are slightly brown in color and crispy.

Carrot and Zucchini Muffins

This is a healthy breakfast muffin which contains loads of veggies and very less amount of fat.

Ive adapted this recipe from King Arthur's flour blog.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 2 cups

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Vegetable oil - 1/4 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Cardamom powder - 1tsp(or you can use cinnamon powder)

Eggs - 2

Grated Zucchini - 1 cup

Grated Carrot - 1 cup

Chopped walnuts - 1/2 cup(optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 370deg F.

Line the muffin pan with liners.

In a bowl,mix the sugar,oil and eggs and beat well.Add the grated vegetables and cardamom powder.Then add the chopped walnuts.

In another bowl,mix the flour,salt,baking powder.Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold till incorporated.

Divide the mixture into the muffin liners.Bake for 17 to 20 minutes.Insert a toothpick into the muffin and if it comes out clean,remove from the oven.

Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

Vanilla and Chocolate Marble cake

Marble cake was in my baking to-do list for a long time.It was so easy to make than I thought and I got the swirls reasonably good for the first time:-)

Ive taken this recipe from allrecipes.com and made some changes according to the reviews.

Ingredients:

All purpose Flour - 2 cups

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Sugar - 1 1/3 cup

Cocoa Powder - 2tbsp

Butter - 1/2 cup(softened at room temperature)

Vanilla - 1tsp

Eggs - 2

Milk - 1 cup


Method :

Grease and flour an 8 inch round pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.

In a bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.Add eggs one by one and beat until fluffy.

Add the vanilla essence.

In another bowl mix the flour,salt,baking powder.

Add a small amount of dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.Gradually add little bit of milk and fold.Alternate between the flour mixture and milk and fold.

Separate into two parts.Mix the cocoa powder with melted butter and add  to one part of the flour mixture.

Put one spoon of vanilla mixture in the center of the prepared pan.Now add 1 spoon of cocoa mixture on top of the vanilla mixture.

Alternate between vanilla and cocoa.Finally swirl the top with a knife until you get a marble effect.Do not overdo it because you might lose the definition of either vanilla or cocoa mixture.


Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes and check by inserting a tester in the middle.If it comes out with a little bit of crumb then the cake is done.

Mini Pepper Thattai

Mini pepper thattai was in my draft for a long time..This is very easy to make and would be perfect with a hot cup of coffee.

Ingredients:

Rice Flour - 2 cups

Urad /Black Gram Dal Flour - 1/4 cup

Coarsely Ground Black Pepper - 3 tsp

Butter - 2 Tbsp

Salt to taste

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Oil - for deep frying

Water as required

Method:

In a bowl add the rice flour,urad flour,asafoetida,chilli powder,pepper,salt and melted butter.

Mix thoroughly.Add water little by little until it forms a soft dough.The dough should not be very dry.

In a Ziploc bag smear some oil.Make small marble sized balls from the dough.

Pat the ball and flatten it with the tip of your finger to about 1 inch in diameter.Prick the surface with fork to prevent them from puffing up while frying.The ends of the thattai should not crack.If it does,sprinkle little water and mix.

Heat oil in a pan.When hot enough,deep fry them until they are golden brown in color.

Drain with a slotted spoon store them in airtight container.

Two egg Vanilla Pound Cake

Pound cake recipes always calls for sooooo many eggs which makes it so heavy.Though rich and tasty,I always hesitate to bake one fearing the amount of  fat .
But I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe featured in About.com which uses only 2 eggs for pound cake baked in loaf pan.
It was moist,soft and delicious.

Ingredients:


All purpose flour - 2 cups sifted

Baking powder - 3/4 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Sugar -1 1/2 cup

Butter - 2/3 cup softened at room temperature.

Eggs at room temperature - 2

Whole milk - 2/3 cup

Vanilla essence - 1tsp

Method:


Line a loaf pan with parchment paper(It makes cleaning easier) .Alternately grease the pan with melted butter and sprinkle some flour.Preheat the oven to 325 deg F

In a medium bowl cream the butter with sugar until fluffy.Add eggs one at a time and beat well.

In anothe bowl,sift the flour,baking powder and salt.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.Add milk little by little and mix gently.Finally add the vanilla essence and mix.

Pour the mixture into the loaf pan.

Bake for about 1  1/4 hrs to 1 1/2 hrs.Start checking your cake after 1 hour.Mine took about 1 hour 20 minutes.



Test the cake by inserting a toothpick in the middle.If it comes out clean,then cake is ready.

Penne Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino

Don't get intimidated by the name..It simply translates to pasta with garlic,olive oil and dry red pepper.This is a very simple,quick and inexpensive pasta dish.The original recipe calls for spaghetti.But I substituted Penne You can use your favorite pasta.

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta - 1 lb

Onion - 1 chopped finely(optional)

Dry red pepper flakes - 2tsp(or according to your spice level)

Garlic - 2 cloves 

Olive Oil - 4 tbsp

Fresh parsley - 1 sprig(I substituted coriander leaves because I didn't have parsley)

Capsicum - 1 chopped(optional)

Salt to taste

Method:

Bring a large pot of water to boil.Add the pasta,little bit of oil,salt and cook the pasta aldente.Drain in a colander and keep the pasta ready.

In a pan heat the oil.When hot,add the pepper flakes,garlic.When the garlic turns slightly golden add the onions and cook till translucent.

Then add the capsicum and cook for 2 minutes.

Now add the pasta,salt and toss together.Let it cook for 2 minutes.

Finally add the chopped parsley and garnish with grated cheese if you like.

Serve hot.

Eggless Nutella filled Banana muffins

Who loves Nutella?I think I should've asked who does'nt?

My favorite way of eating Nutella is to just eat it with a spoon:)Me and my elder son love nutella ..

For all the nutella lovers out there..World Nutella day is Feb  5th...
So I thought I would make something with this yummy goodness.

I tried to make use of Nutella in my muffins..I swirled nutella on top of some of the muffins and filled in the rest..

Here goes the recipe..

Ingredients:


All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup

Baking soda - 1tsp

Baking powder - 1tsp

Sugar - 2/3 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Melted butter - 1/3 cup

Mashed Banana - 4

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Chopped walnuts - 1/2 cup

Nutella - 1/2 cup


Method:


Preheat the oven to 360 deg F.

Line the muffin tin with muffin liners.In a medium bowl add the all purpose flour,baking soda,baking powder,salt and mix well.

In another bowl,add the mashed banana,sugar,melted butter,vanilla essence,chopped walnuts and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix.The mixture would be lumpy.Don't tend to over mix.

Fill up to 1/2 of the muffin liner.Spread the mixture evenly on the sides so that when you fill the nutella it will not come out through the sides of the muffin.Then add a tablespoon of nutella in the middle.I worked with my finger cuz I felt so easy to indent the nutella.Then fill the muffin up to 3/4 th.

You can also fill the muffin liner upto 3/4 th and then add a tsp of nutella on the top and swirl with a toothpick.

My swirl did not come out that good because nutella was sooo hard to work with..

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tester when inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and store in air-tight container.

Mushroom Chettinad

Chettinad cuisine is one of the popular cuisines of Tamilnadu.

This recipe is adapted from Indobase website.I made some changes according to my taste.

Ingredients:

Button Mushroom - 2 lbs.Wipe the mushrooms with a wet paper towel.Cut the stalks and quarter the mushrooms.

Onion - 1 medium,chopped finely.

Tomato - 1 chopped

Tamarind paste - 1tsp

Mustard seeds - 2tsp

Curry leaves - a sprig

Turmeric powder - 1tsp

Dry red chillies - 2

Oil - 2tbsp

Salt to taste

Water - 1/2 cup

For the spice powder :

Channa Dal/Split Bengal Gram Dal - 1Tbsp

Whole Black pepper - 1Tbsp

Garam Masala - 1tsp

Dry roast the Dal and pepper and grind with garam masala into a fine powder.

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan.When hot add the mustard seeds.When they splutter,add the dry red chillies and curry leaves.

Then add the mushrooms,turmeric powder.

Saute till the mushrooms start to sweat.Close the lid and cook for about 5 minutes.

Then add the tamarind paste along with a half a cup of water and allow to boil for 5 minutes.

Add the required amount of salt.

Finally add the spice powder,mix and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve with roti or rice.

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.

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.