Eggless Spicy Banana Bread

Eggless Spicy Banana  Bread

Ingredients:

Butter (1 stick or 8 Tbs)

Salt  (1 Pinch)

Sugar (1 Cup)

Baking Powder (1 Tsp)

Allspice (1/4 Tsp)

Vanilla (1 Tsp)

Powdered Cinnamon  (1 Tsp)

Overripe Mashed bananas (2 or 3)

All purpose flour (1.5 Cups)

Optional Ingredients:

Almond flour  (1/4 Cup)

Walnuts  (1/4 Cup)   

Almond Essence  (1/4 Tsp)

Ground Pepper or Red  Chili Pepper  ( 1/2  Pinch)

  

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 .Melt butter. Meanwhile grease an oven safe bread pan with some butter. In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients (except the flour) and with a fork or spatula blend all the ingredients. Add flour to the mixture and fold the batter. Transfer it to the pan and lightly tap the the pan so the batter is evenly spread in the pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
When done, remove from oven and cool on a wire shelf  slide it out of your pan and cut slices and serve your Eggless Spicy Banana Bread 

Notes: 

Almond Flour makes the bread fluffier And renders a mild nutty flavor to the bread. It can be cut into thin slices or into squares as pictured here.

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Crunchy Curried Chickpea Bowls

***Recipe coming soon ...***

Veggie Bibimbap Rice Bowls

Veggie Bibimbap Rice Bowls

Ingredients:

 ( for 4 servings) 

Vegetable oil (2 Tbs) 

Butter (2 Tbs) 

Salt , Pepper

Sugar (2 Tbs)

Scallions (2)

 Jasmine Rice ( 1.5 Cup)

Ginger (2 Thumbs)

White WineVinegar (5 Tsp)

Sesame Oil (2 Tbs)

Soy Sauce (4 Tbs)

Sriracha (2 Tsp) 

Eggs (4)

Important Vegetables : Carrots (4-6 Oz)

 *Other vegetables :   Zucchini (1)

Cauliflower (1 cup florets) 

Beetroot (1/4) 

Snap Peas ( 10) 

Green Peas (1/4 cup) 

Corn (1/8 cup)

* you can use all or any combination from “Other Vegetables”  

Procedure:

Wash and dry all produce. Trim and thinly slice scallions separating greens from the whites . Using a peeler, shave carrots lengthwise into ribbons . If using beetroots do that with the beets as well. Peel and grate ginger.  Cut other vegetables into 1”  pieces.

Melt 2 Tbs butter in a small pot over medium high heat add ginger and cook stirring until fragrant ( 30 seconds) .stir in rice , 2.25 cups water and a pinch of salt . Bring your a boil then cover and reduce to low simmer and cook until rice is tender (15 minutes) . When rice is done fluff rice with a fork and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile in a small bowl combine scallion whites , vinegar and a pinch of salt . Set aside to marinate . 

For SAUCE : In seperate small bowl combine sesame oil , soy sauce , 2 Tbs sugar and upto 1 tsp sriracha

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium high heat add carrot and season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring until just tender (3-4 mins) . Transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with beets if you are using beets .  Add all other vegetables with a drizzle of oil and cook stirring until tender (5-6 mins) . Add a little bit of salt and pepper. Transfer to the bowl with carrots . Season with salt ( as per taste) and a liberal dose of pepper. Wipe out pan . Heat 1 tbs of oil. Once hot , crack egg into pan and cover. Cook until whites are set but yolks are still runny (3-4 minutes) . Season with salt. 

Divide rice between bowls . Arrange vegetables on top . Top each bowl with a fried egg and pickled scallion whites ( draining vinegar out first) . Drizzle with sauce . Sprinkle with scallion greens and serve. 

Notes: 

Eggs can be substituted for 1/4” thin slices of Tofu or Cottage Cheese (Paneer)

Balsamic Tomato and Zucchini Risotto

Balsamic Tomato and Zucchini Risotto

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil (1 Tsp) 

Butter (1 Tbs) 

Salt , Pepper

Veggie stock Concentrate (2 Tbs)

Scallions (2)

Tuscan Heat Spice (1 Tbs) 

Grape Tomatoes (4 Oz)

Zucchini (1) 

Basil oil (5 Tsp)

Balsamic Vinegar ( 2.5 Tsp)

Parmesan Cheese (1/4 Cup) 

Arborio Rice ( 1 Cup) 

Procedure:

In a medium pot combine 4 cups of water and veggie stock concentrate .  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Meanwhile , trim and thinly sliced scallions , separating whites from greens.  Halve Tomatoes. Trim and dice Zucchini into 1/2 inch pieces. 

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium heat , add scallion whites and cook until softened     (approx 1 minute) . Add rice and T Tsp of Tuscan Heat spice . Stir until rice is translucent ( approx 2 minutes). Add 1/2 cup stock and stir until liquid is mostly absorbed. Repeat with remaining stock adding 1/2 cup at a time until rice is al dente and mixture is creamy ( approx 25-30 minutes) . 

In a large pan heat a drizzle / 1 Tsp of Basil oil over medium- high heat. Add Zucchini and the remaining Tuscan heat spice. Cook stirring, until tender and lightly browned (approx. 4-6 minutes). Add tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegar to pan with zucchini.  Cook stirring until tomatoes have softened  ( approx. 2-3 minutes ). Season with salt & pepper. Turn off heat .

Once Risotto is done, stir in 1 Tbs Butter and half the Parmesan. season with salt and peeper .

Serve Risotto in bowl. Top with veggies , scallion greens , and remaining Parmesan. Drizzle with basil oil to taste and serve.

Quick eats -Desserts

When families and friends visit or when we are just lazy to make something elaborate , there are always things that are quick to to whip up. Whether it is tortilla chips or Khakra or papdi layered (topped) with  fresh cut tomatoes, coriander leaves, green chili peppers and onions drizzled with lemon juice or with simple salsa and / or cheese for appetizer.
But when it comes to making quick eats that double as meals sometimes we are at a loss. So this series of blog (Quick eats) is aimed at snacks that are not just yummy but also quick to fix.

The first in the series of Quick eats is ofcourse  dessert ideas. Often times after preparing an elaborate spread we run out of time, ideas, energy or enthusiasm to make desserts. All these desserts ideas take very little time and can be prepared well in advance and typically have a good shelf life. .

Amrakhand 
Ingredients :
1 pint Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
1 Cup Mango Pulp (I Prefer the Kesar Mango)
1 tsp Shaved Pistachios (optional)

Procedure:
With a spoon, fold Mango pulp into the Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt until it mixes in completely.  Drizzle shaved Pistachios on top to decorate and refrigerate to serve it cold.



Srikhand
Ingredients :
1 pint Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
1-1.5 Cup Sugar
2-3 tbs Shaved Pistachios & Almonds
1/2 tsp Cardamom seeds -ground
1 pinch Saffron
1 pinch nutmeg powder

Procedure:
With a spoon, fold sugar, ground Cardamom and nutmeg powder into the Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt until it mixes in completely.  In a tsp powder and work the saffron with a little Yogurt or cream until it turns yellow. Add this to the rest of the mixture and fold it until it has a slight yellowish tinge. Drizzle shaved nuts on top to decorate and refrigerate to serve it cold.



Malai Kulfi
Ingredients :
10-15 oz Ricotta cheese, 1 Can sweetened condensed milk, 2-3 tbs shaved Pistachios, cashew nuts and almonds, 1tsp powdered Cardamom seeds , 1 pinch Saffron

Procedure:
In a blender, blend ricotta cheese, condensed milk, cardamom powder and saffron until its smooth and fully blended. Fold in shaved nuts and transfer into molds(moulds) or paper cups and freeze for 6-8hrs before serving.

Lesson learnt

Often times we hurt those closest to us in ways that we cannot fathom . Are the stressors in life that important that we have forgotten to smile or give a hug or say a kind word ? I wish I could say that my heart is as pure as that of my canine partner. Every day and every moment he teaches me life lessons that no text book, parent, spouse, friend, family or teacher can or have covered. He's taught me, that it doesn't matter whether you were born to stars or are a product of dust, what matters is how you are as an individual.

What I have learnt from my dog is to grab life by its horns and enjoy every moment and every second of it. Be it while getting those yummy treats or during meal times, play times or during down times. Every moment is a celebration of life , relationships and Nature. There is nothing wrong in running amuck or  rolling in the grass or mud as long as you come back and shake things off.

We humans have weighed ourselves down with  worries, stress, malice, fear, complaints and comparisons which keeps us from enjoying the very essence of life. This is especially true with every passing generation. If we look at nature or even look back in history we like other creatures were meant to 1) be born, 2) eat, 3) when there is abundance of food & water be happy, 4) procreate and 5) die. But somewhere along the line between birth and death we complicated our existance and brought along burdens of everyday life.

We increased longevity as a race but decreased health in the process. We increased creature comforts but brought in comparisons , malice and stress to be one up than the other.. We have forgotten the true meaning of bliss.

In this rat race of life, everybody wants to be the head and hopes and pushes the other to be the tail. We forget the body is as important (if not more ) to sustain the head and to grow the tail. My dog has taught me to be the body , the being that nourishes the mind and body as a whole as we are incomplete without one or the other. He's taught me to cherish every little morsel of food whether it is for thought or for hunger and be thankful for all the people and things in my life. Happiness is not always with big expensive things.. even a stick or a cardboard box can bring so much joy and excitement to a dull moment.

My upbringing had taught me to learn from our mistakes. My dog has taught me to forgive mistakes. Family and friends have taught me to love them, while my dog has taught me to love everyone and every creature. People had taught me to respect those with power, My dog has taught me power lies within each one of us and is worthy of respect no matter what race , color, creed or form it is in.