Apple Green Raisin Muffins

We (my six year old son and Moi) made these muffins last weekend. Perfect day to bake. It was snowing outside so had to be indoors. Just before Christmas we always get into the mood to bake. There's something about this time of the year which makes you crave for sweet goodness.

My son announced the secret Ingredients - Apple and Cinnamon. (You could tell he's been watching a lot of Food Network along with me, especially the Iron Chef where the contestants are given a secret ingredient which they have to use in all their dishes in a set amount of time.)

This is the first time I made Apple Cinnamon muffins. I used to make Banana Walnut muffins and since its been a while that I made them, I had misplaced the recipe. No worries I thought to myself and looked up this very promising recipe on the internet. You can find the original recipe here.

Now to cut a long story short I did make a lot of changes to the above recipe and my muffins did not quite rise as they are supposed to. But they still tasted great. Oh, well To ERR is Human and to Forgive Divine. But good lesson learnt when baking follow instructions to a tee, especially the flour to liquid ratio has to be perfect. (So I should have added less amount of milk ).Well now I know. Or maybe not. If you are reading this recipe, feel free to give your insights as to why my muffins did not rise enough to show off their muffin crowns.

Ingredients:

1) 1 1/2 cups all Purpose Flour

2) 3 teaspoons Baking powder

3) pinch of salt

4) 1/2 cup granulated sugar

5) 2 eggs lightly beaten
6) 1/2 cup or 1 Stick butter

7) 1 tablespoon Orange Zest

8) 1 cup milk

9) 1/4 cup Orange juice

10) 1 1/2 cups Gala apple peeled,cored and chopped

11) 1/4 cup green raisins

12) 1 tablespoon sugar

13) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2) Grease the muffin cups or line them with paper muffin liners.

3) In one bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl cream butter and sugar. Add in the lightly beaten eggs. Whisk by hand. Add the Orange Zest, followed by milk and orange juice. Blend them together.

4) Now add the flour mixture to the butter mixture till its all moist and there are no lumps. Add the raisins and gently fold in the chopped apples.

5) Spoon the muffin mixture into the muffin cups already prepared.

6) Now to top the muffins , prepare a mixture of 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

7) Sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mix on top of the pre-baked muffins.

8)Bake for 15 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

9) Let it cool for couple minutes and then set them on a wire rack to cool completely.

10) Ready to serve. I love mine with ginger tea. This recipe yields 2 dozen Muffins(12 small and 12 mini muffins.)

Rotini Pasta With Basil and Margherita Sauce

Rotini Pasta is cork shaped Pasta and has lots of twists thats how it derives its name. In my house you can eat Pasta everyday. There's never too much Pasta. I always stock up my pantry with different kinds of Pasta.

Ingredients:
1) 1 pound Rotini Pasta uncooked (1 box )
2) 1 Bottle Pasta Sauce -1 pound 10 oz (Old World style Ragu Margherita Sauce).
3) 1 teaspoon dry crushed Basil
4) 2-4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
5) 1 Jalapeno pepper finely chopped
6) 1 small piece of ginger finely chopped
7) Salt to taste
8) 2 tablespoon Olive oil
* The Margherita Sauce contains Tomatoes, Pizza Seasonings and Mozzarella Cheese.

Preparation:
1) Cook pasta according to package directions. Just add basil and salt to the water when you boil the Pasta. The Pasta gets a very good flavor when cooked with it. You could cook it Al dente but I like mine a bit tender so I cook the pasta for another couple minutes.

2) In a large Pan heat the oil. Add the garlic and ginger. Fry till you no longer get the raw smell of garlic . The olive oil will get infused with the garlic flavor. Now add the chopped jalapeno pepper. Fry just for about a minute.

3) Add the entire bottle of the Pasta Sauce. Keep it on slow flame. Stir for a minute and Cover. Let it cook for about 5 minutes.

***Caution - Cover the pan with the lid soon after you add the pasta sauce. It will splitter and splatter all over the place. Believe me..I've been there.

4) Now add the drained and cooked Rotini to the sauce. Cover and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. Ready to serve. I serve it as is. You could garnish it with more cheese of your choice.

This recipe serves 4-6 people. In my house just serves 4 as we all love lots of pasta.

Aloo Gobi ki Sabzi

This is an easy recipe and except garlic it just uses the dry spices. Sometimes you need a little change in the way you prepare a particular dish. Sometimes I like to be a minimalist -just use lesser ingredients. Here the main flavor would be of garlic. You could make this Aloo Gobi without Garlic too if you are not much into garlic.

Ingredients:
1) 2 medium size Potatoes(Aloo) diced
2) 1/2 Cauliflower(Gobi) chopped into medium size florets
3) 1 cup frozen or fresh Peas
4) 5-6 cloves of garlic freshly grated
5) 1-2 whole red chillies
6) 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
7) 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
8) 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
9) 1 teaspoon chilli powder
10) 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
11) 1/2 teaspoon amchur powder (dry mango powder)
12) 1/3 cup heavy cream
13) Salt to taste
14) 3 tablespoon Olive oil
15) 1 cup water
* You Could use regular oil too.



Preparation:
1) Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add the Mustard seeds. When they splutter add Cumin seeds. Wait for it to splutter and add the whole red chillies.
2) Add freshly grated garlic and saute till you no longer get the raw smell of garlic.

3) Add the chopped potatoes and Cauliflower. Fry for about 4-5 minutes. Add turmeric powder,red chilli powder,amchur powder and Garam Masala. Fry for another 2-3 minutes.

4) Add 1 cup of water and cook covered on medium heat till almost cooked.

5) Now add the frozen peas and mix well. You will see its almost getting dry. Cook uncovered on low heat.

6) Just when you see the peas are almost cooked add the heavy cream. Cook on medium heat. The heavy cream will get absorbed into the Sabzi and will soon become dry.

7) It will look like this when its done.

8) Ready to serve with your choice of any Indian Bread. I serve mine with Garlic Parathas.

Curried Lotus Roots with Potatoes - Kamal Kakdi Aur Aloo ki Subzi

I'm Back after a short break for Thanksgiving. Hoping all my fellow blogger friends had a happy thanksgiving. We were visiting some dear family friends for thanksgiving. My friend Shashi made this for me. She's an excellent cook. She was kind enough to let me assist her in making this dish so I could learn it first hand and today I'm going to share this recipe with you. This brings back childhood memories when my Nani (maternal grandma) used to make this dish.

Lotus Roots has numerous health benefits. Its rich in Iron, Vitamins B,C and has great fiber content. It is used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. It has a strong physical resemblance to the lungs which explains why it is used to treat various respiratory problems.You could checkout the health benefits here.

You should find this in any Asian grocery store. Lotus roots is an integral part of Chinese and Japanese Cuisine too. This is how a Lotus Root look likes....

If You cut it open , this is what the cross section looks like...its simply beautiful to look at..

Ingredients:

•  2 medium sized Lotus Roots/Kamal Kakdi
•  4 small potatoes diced
•  1 cup chopped onion
•  4-5 cloves of garlic
•  1 small piece of ginger
•  1 cup chopped tomatoes
•  4-5 green chillies slit
•  1 teaspoon turmeric
•  1 teaspoon red chilli powder
•  1 teaspoon Garam Masala
•  Salt to taste
• 3 tablespoon oil and some oil for shallow frying
• 2 tablespoon Freshly chopped Cilantro

Preparation:

1. Wash and peel the Lotus roots. Cut them into thin slices. Place the sliced Lotus roots in water to avoid discoloration.

 2. Now heat some oil in a Kadai or skillet and shallow fry the sliced lotus roots for about 6-8 minutes until they turn golden brown. Add the diced potatoes and fry for another 2 minutes.

3. Make a puree of onion, ginger and garlic. Also make another puree of the tomatoes. Heat oil in a pan or a pressure cooker. Add the onion/garlic/ginger puree and saute till golden brown. Add the tomato puree and saute till the oil leaves the masala.

 4. Next add turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Add the stir fried lotus roots and potatoes. Season with salt and add garam masala. Mix well.

5. Add around 2 cups of water and pressure cook ( 2 whistles) or cook covered until cooked for around 15-20 minutes.

6. Garnish with Cilantro and serve with Parathas, Phulkas or any Indian bread of your choice.

Adraki Dal

There can never be Too much of Ginger . I just love ginger in everything. Even my tea has little bit of freshly crushed or grated ginger. So that led me to make this Adraki Daal/Dal.

Ingredients:
1) 1 cup Dhuli Urad Dal
2) 1 cup tomatoes chopped
3) 5-6 green chillies slit
4) 1/4 cup ginger cut into juliennes
5) 2 tablespoon Cilantro/Coriander chopped
6) 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
7) 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
8) 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
9) 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
10) Salt to taste
11) 2 tablespoon butter/ghee
12) 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation:
1. Wash the dhuli Urad dal in a pressure cooker and add 4 cups of water ,turmeric and Salt. Pressure cook for about 4 whistles or until Dal is cooked. If you do not own a pressure cooker you could boil this dal covered with 6 cups of water until cooked. Pre soaking this dal for atleast 1/2 hr will reduce the time to boil this dal.
2. Heat butter or ghee in a thick bottom pan or Kadhai. Add cumin seeds. When they crackle add ginger and fry for about 2-3 minutes and then add tomatoes and green chillies. Fry for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Now add red chilli powder , garam Masala and fresh cilantro and keep frying till the oil leaves the masala.
4. Add the boiled dal .Add lemon juice and it simmer for about 3-4 minutes.
5. Ready to serve. This dal goes well with any Indian Bread - Parathas, Naan,Kulcha, Phulkas.

The consistency is intended to be a little thick. You could always add a little more water and make it to the desired consistency.That way it could be enjoyed with rice as well.

Sabudana Kheer - Tapioca Pudding

Its my 25th Post. I am so excited. So an appropriate dish to mark this milestone in my food blogging world would be a dessert.

I know its just my 25th..compared to so many of my blogger friends who have so many beautiful recipes in their repertoire. I have great respect for you all and your beautiful creations. All of you are so supportive of each other , which made me stay here a bit longer and not give up. Each day just hanging in there...Knowing someone will read my recipe and care enough to leave their comments. That really feels good. Great thankyou to all my followers. Also we have so many newbies like me coming in afresh with newer ideas. A warm welcome to you all.

Today's recipe is really easy. I'm a great fan of easy recipes with minimum ingredients. So this is made with most of the stuff you'll find it in your pantry.


Ingredients:
1) 1/2 cup Sabudana /Tapioca
2) 4 cups milk
3) 1/2 cup Sugar
4) 2-3 green Cardamons/Elaichi (optional)
5) 1/3 cup almonds, cashewnuts and raisins
6) 1 tablespoon ghee or unsalted butter

See I did say its going to me easy breazy with a few ingredients...but tastes heavenly though..

Preparation:
1) Wash Sabudana and soak it in 1 cup of water for about 2-3 hrs. I prefer 3 hours but 2 hours is fine as well. Sabudana will soak up most of the water and become light and fluffy.


2) Next take a thick bottom pan and bring the milk to a boil. Add Sugar and the soaked sabudana with the water and crushed cardamoms. Keep this on slow flame and let it simmer for about 30-35 minutes.

4) In the meanwhile chop the almonds and cashews. Fry the nuts and raisons in ghee or unsalted butter and keep it ready.

Thats it...You just sit and relax or watch your favorite show while your Kheer is being slow cooked. You will see its color changing to a slight golden color.

5) Just when its done add the fried nuts and raisins and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Serve hot or chilled.

Word of Caution : Sabudana kheer will thicken over time. So if you have leftovers you might want to add some warm milk to the kheer and simmer for 2-3 minutes to get to the desired consistency.

Now its Award time....Marking my 25th Post with an Award. What more can I ask for..

My dear blogger friend Aruna @ Veggie Platter has been kind and generous to share this award with me which she received from Anncoo. Thankyou both.

I would be honoured to share this award with all my fellow bloggers. Please feel free to display it on your blog and join in my celebrations for my very 1st milestone my first 25 recipes.....

Khatti-Mithi Dal - Gujarati Dal

This dal as the name refers is little khatti (sour) little mithi(sweet). It is another way of preparing our Tuvar dal ( Arhar, toor, Split red gram). I love this recipe for its simplicity and ease of preparation. Another thing I like about it is I can use peanuts in this. So its an easy and healthy dish.

This is also known as Gujarati dal. This is my MIL 's recipe. I did tweak it a little though. Had to learn this dal as my husband simply loves it. For a North Indian this was a different way to make it. I know when we just married and whenever I made Tuvar dal , my husband would just sneak in the kitchen and add a little sugar or jaggery to the dal when it was simmering. I would think silly me why does my dal taste sweet..must be the water here in the US. Until I found out..Since then decided to make this dal once in a while just like his mom did...This is his Comfort food. Now even I and my kids love it .

Now for many of us this could be an acquired taste as it does require a little jaggery in it. But if you skip it it will still taste good.



Ingredients:
1) 1 cup Tuvar Dal
2) 1/3 cup peanuts
3) 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
4) 4-5 green chillies slit
5) 1 inch piece of ginger chopped
6) 1 piece of jaggery around 2 tablespoons (optional)
7) 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
8) 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
9) 1/2 teaspoon cumin-cilantro powder
10) 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
11) 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
12) 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds(methi)
13) pinch of asaf0etida (hing)
14) 4-5 curry leaves
15) 1-2 whole red chillies
16) salt to taste
17) 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (adjust the amount to taste)
18) Oil for tempering


Preparation
1)Wash Tuvar dal in a pressure cooker and add peanuts,chopped tomatoes, ginger, green chillies, and about 6 cups of waters. Add Salt and turmeric.

2) Pressure cook until dal is slightly overcooked so it looks like its well blended.

3) Now add a piece of crushed jaggery to this dal. Cook for 2-3 minutes till the jaggery dissoves.

4) Lets get ready for the tempering. I always like to keep the ingredients handy so I don't forget to add anything and there's less clutter on my kitchen counter and lastly my tempering doesn't get burnt trying to find the various ingredients .

5) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a tempering pan or small pan. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds(methi). Fry for about half a minute then add whole chillies. Followed by curry leaves and then add hing. Remove pan from the flame and while oil is still hot add red chilli powder and cumin-cilantro powder. Add the tempering/seasoning to the dal.

6) Cook the dal for about 2-3 minutes. Add the freshly squeezed lime juice. Garnish with freshly chopped Cilantro.

7) Ready to serve with Rice, Papad and Pickle.

Now its Award Time :

My dear Blogger Friend Sangeetha @ Kothiyavunu. com has been kind enough to let her fellow bloggers share this award with her. She received it from our dear fellow blogger PreethVijay @ Luscious Indian Recipes.

Thank you both, Happy Blogging.

In the Spirit of Sharing and giving let me dedicate this recipe to all my fellow bloggers.