Eggless Apple Cookies

Who can resist home-made cookies? Apple cookie was an experiment and I am happy that they turned out good. Please ignore the size and shape :)....I made them in a hurry and hence messed up with the shapes !! But the cookies were good with apple and cinnamon flavour. Its a simple and quick recipe. These cookies are more like soft cookies and not very crunchy. Hope to improve and make the perfect ones next time :)

Ingredients:

1 cup Wheat flour 

1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped Apple 

1 tsp Cinnamon powder 

1 tsp Vanilla extract 

2 tbsp Sugar

3 tbsp Honey

2 tbsp Yogurt

2 tbsp Oil

1/2 tsp Baking soda

a pinch Salt 

1 tbsp each Almonds and Raisins

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking tray.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl - Wheat flour, salt, baking soda,cinnamon powder, sugar.

Whisk oil, honey, vanilla extract and yogurt. Now combine both dry and wet ingredients. Add the chopped apple, raisins and nuts.Mix well and form a  smooth dough.Pinch equal size balls from it and flatten them at the centre. 

Place them on the baking tray leaving adequate space between them.Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes or till the lower part turns brown. Cool them and store in airtight container.

Makes about 10 medium size cookies

Beetroot Chapathi

This is my 50th post and I am very happy about it. I know that some of you might have crossed 100 or 500  posts or much more...But this is my first milestone  :). Its been 2 months now in the blogging world, reached 50 posts and most important is that I found so many wonderful friends. I would like to thank each one of my blogger friends who have supported and encouraged me from the beginning. It was a pleasure to meet you all, read your amazing recipes and to be inspired...I know I have a long way to go and expect your support in the journey of  my GOOD FOOD :)

Colorful chapathis are not just kids favorite, everyone appreciates the color and taste. Beetroot chapathi is another bread like Spinach chapathi, to trick your kids to eat the colorful veggie. You can make it spicy or retain the natural sweetness of the beets by making less spicy. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Wheat flour

1 small Beetroot, grated (Less than 3/4 cup)

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp Chilli powder

1" piece Ginger

Salt

Oil

Cook the grated beetroot slightly. I kept in microwave for a minute or two.

When its cooled, grind it along with cumin seeds, ginger and chilli powder in a blender. Add very less water and make a puree of it. Sprinkle some salt and oil on the wheat flour and mix well. Knead the flour by adding beetroot puree slowly to it. Add water if necessary for kneading and make a smooth dough. Let it rest covered for 15-20 minutes. Make medium size balls out of it, roll them out and fry them.

Serve hot with any curry or raita.

Makes about 7-8 medium size chapathis.

Banana bread (Eggless and Sugarless)

This is one of the simplest bread (maybe you can call it as a cake too ) you can make. Like many of you, Banana bread was my first choice when I saw overripe bananas in my kitchen. I have tried to make this bread in a healthy version. I prefer wheat flour to all purpose flour. The highlight is its Eggless, Sugarless and uses very little oil. I have used honey instead of sugar. There is no need of sugar because of the sweetness of the overripe bananas.The bread came out very good and was very soft.

Ingredients:

Dry:

1 cup Wheat flour

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Baking soda

1/4 tsp Salt

Wet:

2 overripe Bananas

1/4 cup Honey

1/4 cup Yogurt 

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1 tbsp Oil

1 tbsp each Almonds and Raisins

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly spray the oil on all the sides of a baking pan.

Mash the bananas with a spoon so that you will get a smooth paste. Add the wet ingredients to this- honey, yogurt, oil, vanilla essence. Mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to a bowl - Wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Mix well. Now slowly add the wet ingredients to this and constantly mix the flour. Add the nuts and raisins.Mix everything well so as to get a smooth paste, it shouldnt be very runny consistency.

Pour this to the pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. Keep an eye on the oven after 25-30 minutes itself. Insert a knife to see if it comes out clean. Serve warm.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I always feel the weekends get over very quickly :). Maybe because we are very relaxed, find more time with the family and friends or visit new places..so time just flies without our knowledge !!Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

I like baking and I always prefer baking when it comes to deep fried dishes. Of course, the baked version may not turn exactly like the deep-fried ones.But we can enjoy them guilt-free for sure. I baked the sweet potato fries yesterday, but they didn't turn out very crispy as I thought. Also, the crispiness will be lost if you keep it for long, so serve immediately. Though it didn't turn out to be perfect crispy fries, we still enjoyed them especially my little one.

Ingredients:

(Use any seasoning you prefer. There is no exact measurement, use as per your taste)

1 large Sweet Potato

Red chilli powder

Pepper

Salt

1 tsp Oil

Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and spray some oil.

Peel the sweet potato, wash it and pat dry with a kitchen towel.Now cut it into wedges.

Put these wedges in a bowl. Sprinkle salt, pepper and red chilli powder. Add oil.

Close the bowl with a lid and shake the bowl so that wedges gets coated well.

Now transfer the sweet potato wedges to the tray as a single layer. 

Bake for about 10 minutes. Now slowly turn the wedges to the other side.

Bake again for 8 to 10 minutes or until they turn golden brown.

(Keep an eye on the oven as ovens may vary.)

Serve with tomato sauce.

Serves 2-3

Spinach Chapathi

Spinach chapathi is a favourite at home. I love this green leafy vegetable and try to add in many dishes. The Spinach/Palak chapathi is not just colourful, but  flavorful and very  healthy too. Kids might also love the color and its definitely a change for them from the regular chapathis. Kids who do not like spinach may also like these green chapathis, not knowing what they are eating. So its a great way to trick them :)

Spinach chapathi is the usual green chapathi I make at home. Coriander/Cilantro chapathi was an inspiration from this which I have posted earlier. The recipe for Cilantro/Coriander Chapathi can be viewed here.

Ingredients:

1 cup Wheat flour

1.5 cup fresh Spinach leaves

2 cloves Garlic

2 Green chillies

1 tsp Cumin seeds

Salt

Oil

Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly. Grind spinach, garlic, cumin and green chillies into a smooth paste by adding a little water. Sprinkle some salt and oil on the flour. Mix  the flour well. Now knead the dough by adding the spinach paste a little at a time.If required, add extra water or yogurt so as to form a smooth dough. Cover and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.Make medium size balls out of the dough. Roll them and fry the chapathis. Apply oil/ghee on both sides if you desire. Serve hot. 

I served it with Mint raita. Please view the recipe for Mint raita here.

Makes about 7-8 medium size chapathis


Sending this to Veggie/Fruit a month -Spinach event at Rasoi, an event started by Priya.

Mint raita

Mint raita is a flavourful raita and indeed a refreshing one. Its a simple recipe and very easy to prepare. Mint along with the coriander leaves makes this raita very colorful and tasty. You can serve chapathi or pulao with this. Its just divine...you may not need any other sidedish for the chapathi/pulao. Hope you will try this and love it :)

Ingredients:

12-15 fresh Mint leaves

4-5 strands of Coriander leaves

1 cup Yogurt

2 Green chillies

Red chilli powder ( if you want it more spicy)

Chat masala

Salt

Grind mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies in a blender by adding a little water or yogurt. Make a smooth paste. Do not make it very watery.

Add this paste to the yogurt. Now add salt and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle some chilli powder and chat masala. 

Enjoy the refreshing raita..!!

Minty Tangy Watermelon Juice

Watermelon juice is everyone's favourite. But what about a tangy and minty watermelon juice ??  Its so simple, as the name suggests add some mint leaves and squeeze some fresh lime juice... that's it !! Watermelons are a good source of Vitamin A and C, also best thing is it has almost no fat and we can have them in plenty.Mint has many medicinal properties and helps in digestion. As you all know, lime helps in maintaining a good health. So the trio is a great combination, a wonderful thirst quencher and healthy refreshing drink too..

My little one doesn't like watermelon. So I was very surprised when he drank this juice yesterday and happy that he liked it a lot!!  Beat the heat with this wonderful summer cooler :)

Ingredients:

3-4 cups of Watermelon, deseeded and chopped into cubes 

1/2 of a lime

7-8 Mint leaves

Sugar/Honey to taste

Put the watermelon cubes and mint leaves in the blender. Squeeze the lime into this. Blend until all the watermelon pieces have crushed. Strain if you desire. Add sugar or honey as per your taste. Serve chilled. 

Enjoy this refreshing drink !!

Sending this to the following events:

Kid's Delight - Cool Comforts at Seduce your taste buds, an event initiated by Srivalli.

Fun N Sun at Tickling Palates

SI: series Summer coolers at SaffronStreaks

Only Coolers and Mocktails at Simply.Food, an event initiated by Pari

Healing Food -Sukham Coolers,  an event initiated by Siri

Lemon rice

Lemon rice is a simple rice, yet very flavourful !! I am amazed by different recipes which we can prepare very quickly with the Rice. If you have any leftover rice, you can make this rice so quick. I like this tangy rice.. if served with a raita and a pickle, I can finish it in no time. :) 

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked Rice

2-3 tbsp Lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1/2" pc Ginger, finely chopped

2-3 Green chillies, chopped

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Urad dal

1-2 tbsp Cashews/Almonds

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

A pinch Asafoetida

7-8 Curry Leaves

2 tsp Oil or Ghee

Salt

Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Add cashews and urad dal. When they turn slight brown, add the ginger, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute for a minute. Now add the turmeric powder and asafoetida. Saute again and now add the cooked rice into the pan. Mix well. Add salt and finally the lime juice. Mix everything well so that the rice is uniformly yellow in color. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with any raita, pickle and pappad. Enjoy the simple and tasty rice !!

Serves 2-3

Notes:

*You can use any rice. I have used Basmati here.

*You can use any type of nuts. Peanuts are commonly used.

Apple Dates Milkshake

Summer will be soon at its peak in many places...its the time for fresh juices, milkshakes, ice creams etc...Even just the cold water pacify us so much in the hot days !!

Apple Dates milkshake.....its a simple drink. Apple and dates are a wonderful combination. Both of them are highly nutritious and hence its a  healthy drink too. I am sure you will fall in love with this drink in one sip :).

Ingredients:

1 Apple

8-10 seedless Dates

1.5 cup Milk

1 tsp Honey or to taste

Soak the dates in 1/2 cup warm milk for 20-30 minutes. ( I usually put the dates in 1/2 cup milk, microwave for 45 seconds and keep aside.)

Chop the apple into small cubes. You can use the apple with or without the skin. Put the dates along with the milk in which its soaked into the blender and blend until you get a smooth paste. Now add the apple cubes, rest of the milk and honey into the blender. Blend until smooth.

Serve chilled.

Serves 2

Notes:
*You can add some vanilla ice cream to make it more creamy.
*You can also add some pre-soaked almonds or cashews while blending.

Sending this to the following events:

Kid's Delight - Cool Comforts at Seduce your taste buds, an event initiated by Srivalli.


Fun N Sun at Tickling Palates



SI: series Summer coolers at SaffronStreaks


Only Coolers and Mocktails at Simply.Food, an event initiated by Pari



Healing Food -Sukham Coolers,  an event initiated by Siri

Sprouted moong salad

Hope you all had a great weekend. I would like to introduce you to my little neighbours :). There are 2 cute little birds who have made a beautiful nest over the lamp shade just outside our apartment. Though they are making a mess in front of our door, we are just amazed by the architecture of the beautiful nest. It's really unbelievable !! Whenever we open the front door, they will fly away and they will come back later. So it was very difficult to get a snap with both the birds and the nest. Luckily we got one bird in the nest when it was raining and very cold outside, so it couldn't fly away !! God is really great and his creations too :)

Cute lil neighbour

Check out the architecture of the nest

Today's recipe is Sprouted moong salad. The sprouted moong look very beautiful, they are very healthy and tasty. I have used a combination of sprouted moong, red cabbage and corn. Its a simple salad. Hope you will try this healthy salad..!!

How to sprout moong?

• Soak the whole moong in water for a minimum of 8 to 10 hours.
• Drain the water, wash the moong. Tie them in a clean cloth.
• I usually keep it in a vessel, close it with a lid.(dark warm place is needed)
• Sprinkle water in between to make the cloth damp.
• Sprouts should appear within a day or two.
• If you want to get longer sprouts, leave it for few more hours.
• Refrigerate them and use as needed.

Aren't they pretty ?

Ingredients:

1.5 cup Sprouted moong
3/4 cup Red cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup Corn
1" pc Ginger
Lime
Salt
Pepper
Coriander leaves

Take the sprouted moong in a microwaveable vessel. Sprinkle some water and cook for 2-3 minutes in microwave. Cook corn and red cabbage for a minute in microwave. Mix the moong, corn and red cabbage. Squeeze half a lime into this. For Ginger juice, grate the ginger and squeeze them. (I use garlic press too ). Mix the ginger juice into the salad. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Add coriander leaves and mix everything well.

The healthy salad is ready to serve.

Finally, I would like to thank Chitra @ Share my recipe , Vardhini @ VardhinisKitchen  , Prathima @ Indian Recipes to share their blogger awards with me. I feel really happy, thank you dear friends !!

Notes:
*Red cabbage can be eaten raw. There is no need for cooking it.
*There is no limit to the quantity when it comes to the salad. Add or reduce as you desire.

Papaya Spinach Dal

Papaya is a wonderful fruit, also known as the Power fruit. It has many medicinal values, it mainly boosts our immune system and enhances digestion. I am happy that its available here in US.I like to add green papaya in many dishes, even in sambar.  I usually make dal-papaya or dal-spinach combination. This was the first time I tried a combination of all the three. Hence it became a perfect healthy dish which I needn't explain further :)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Toor dal

3/4 cup Papaya, chopped into small cubes

1/2 cup Spinach chopped

Salt

For grinding:

1/2 cup grated Coconut

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

2-3 Shallots

2 Green chillies

For tempering:

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

2 dry Red chillies

4-5 curry leaves

Oil

Method

Pressure cook the dal and papaya in different bowls for 3 whistles. Meanwhile, add all the ingredients under For grinding in a blender. Make a smooth paste by adding a little water.

Once the dal and papaya are cooked, transfer the dal to a pan. Mash it well to form a smooth paste. Add the cooked papaya , spinach and salt. Add water if required. When it boils, turn the heat to low. Add the coconut paste to the curry.Let it cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from flame. Do the tempering and add it to the curry.

Serve with rice or chapathi.

Sending this to the Kerala Kitchen event hosted by Sarah, an event initiated by Rose and Ria. The original event details are here.

Chapathi Mexican Wraps with Guacamole

I love Mexican food. The best thing I love is the Guacamole dip. Till now, I never thought of making it at home...until I saw it at Jyoti's space. Then I realized its so simple and why can't I make it home..No cooking needed and its just mixing the ingredients and the dip is ready in few minutes. So I did try and just loved it. The main ingredient in the Guacamole is Avocado. Like the Chapathi Pizza Rolls, I thought of using the Guacamole for making an easy wrap using some left over chapathis. Do try it and I am sure you will love it !!

Ingredients:

2 Chapathis

1/2 cup Vegetables you prefer (I used only corn)

For Guacamole:

1 ripe Avocado

1/2 of a medium size Onion, finely chopped

1 ripe tomato, deseeded and  finely chopped

2-3 Green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

2 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped

Lime

Pepper

Salt

Preparing Guacamole:
Cut the Avocado into half. Remove the pit and using a spoon, remove the flesh from the skin.Mash the avocado gently using a spoon to form a smooth paste.Squeeze some lime over this.
Add the onion, tomato, green chilli and cilantro to this. Mix well.
Sprinkle salt and pepper. Mix again. If you want, squeeze lime again.

( I forgot to click the Avocado snaps. So this is a Google image to show you how you need to cut it and this is how a ripe avocado look)

Guacamole

Preparing the wrap:
Microwave the corn for a minute. Add salt and pepper. Squeeze lime over this and mix well.
Add about 2-3 tbsp of Guacamole to  the corn and mix.
Place the mixture inside the chapathi and make a wrap.

Corn mixed with Guacamole

Isn't the dip and the wrap so simple ???

You can use the Guacamole as a spread on your sandwich also. Some like to eat tortilla chips with this dip.

Notes:

*The avocado shouldn't be too hard which means its not ripe.It shouldn't be too mushy which indicates its overripe.Feel it with your hand before you buy.

*The avocados turn brown when exposed. So squeezing lime juice will help to some extent to retain the natural green color.

* After preparing Guacamole, store it in an air tight container. I usually refrigerate it.


*Its always better to make in lesser amount as the green color is lost as days go by. Better if prepared just before you serve.

Chickpeas curry

The weekend was great and we had lots of fun. A kid's movie at the open theater with my little one, visit to the Farmer's market, the regular weekly shopping and  also a quick visit to the library. The most exciting part was a short trip to Eureka Springs yesterday. Its a Victorian resort village with wonderful cottages, art galleries, beautiful churches and lots of place to shop and dine.I am sharing a few clicks with you all at the end of this post..!!

Today's recipe is Chickpeas curry. It is very delicious and goes with any south indian breakfast items such as appam, idiyappam, dosa etc as well as with chapathi. Try this curry !!

Ingredients:

1.5 cup cooked Chickpeas (Soak the chickpeas overnight and pressure cook them)

3/4 cup Onion, chopped

1 small Tomato, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste

1/2 tsp Chilli powder

1/2 tsp Coriander powder

1/4 tsp Garam Masala

3-4 Curry Leaves

few Coriander leaves, chopped

1 tsp Oil

Salt

Heat oil in a pan. Splutter cumin seeds. Add onions, ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves. Saute until the onions turn brown. Add tomatoes and cook until they turn tender.

Add all the spices and saute for a minute. Now add the chickpeas and mix everything well to form a nice chickpeas masala.Take a small portion of this masala, maybe a little less than 1/4th of the whole chickpeas masala. Keep it aside and allow to cool.

Add salt and a little water to the masala in the pan. Let the water  boil. Meanwhile once the masala which was kept aside is cooled, make a paste of this in a blender adding a little water. Once the water boils, add the paste and mix thoroughly. Add 3-4 tbsp of coconut milk if you desire. Let it cook for another minute or two. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.



Now sharing some clicks of the trip:

Christ of the Ozarks (67 ft tall)

Beaver Lake 

Beaver Lake (another view)

St.Elizabeth church

Simple Mango Pickle

Wishing all the wonderful moms out there a very Happy Mother's Day !!

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. "


There is no substitute for Mother. She is the one person whom we can confide all our sorrows and worries. She can forgive all your mistakes and can make you a better person. We all owe a lot to our mothers, rt?

My mother is a great cook. Since it's Mother's day, I thought of writing this recipe which I learnt from her. .I love this a lot when she makes this. I should admit that it doesn't taste the same when I make it, that's the magic of her cooking!!

Who doesnt like the spicy and tangy mango pickle? It goes well with anything. I can eat it with rice , dosa or chapathi...Here is a simple recipe for mango pickle....!!

1 medium Raw Mango

1 tbsp Gingelly oil

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

5-6 Curry Leaves

1 tbsp Chilly Powder or to taste.(Please adjust as per your taste)

1/2 tsp Asafoetida

Salt

Chop the mango into small pieces. Add some salt, mix well and keep aside for a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 hr.Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves.Remove the pan  from fire. Wait for a minute. Now the oil will still be warm, but not hot. Add asafoetida and chilli powder to the warm oil. (Do not put the chilli powder to the hot oil, it will burn). Mix the spices in oil. Add the mango pieces to this. Mix thoroughly. Adjust salt and chilli if required.

Refrigerate this. Better to consume at the earliest. If you want to use for more days, add a little vinegar.

Sending this to the Kerala Kitchen event hosted by Sarah, an event initiated by Rose and Ria. The original event details are here.