Eggless Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffin with Flax Seed | Step By Step Recipe to Make Banana Bread

 Today is the last day of Blogging Marathon Edition#6. Time surely flies, especially when it is Blogging Marathon Time. I know I sound so boring, but life surely is hectic, even if I repeat this often. This edition has been really very tightly squeezed and what with the idea of pairing two bloggers to cook from each others blog. All my BM posts have been cooked just before posting, so you can imagine the haste the entire process has been. For all the planning I normally do, I know I end up being hard pressed for time so much. Still I have enjoyed the entire two weeks of blogging and our discussions.

I am working on the next theme already, hopefully it's should be even more interesting.

For the last day I got myself paired with Cool Lassie and I checked her collection of Egg replaced Cake/ Bread and found the first post I saw to be most appealing. It's Easy Eggless and Moist Banana Walnut Bread. I thought I should make this over the weekend but couldn't do. And I have been planning to use Flax seeds for a long time and since have two packs of flax seed powder. But I never came using it. It's also nearing it's shelf life. So got some ripe banana last night and knew I will have to get up early to make this. I wanted to send this for the kid's snack box.

Since my kids don't like any nut in their food, I had to skip walnuts. Then I saw that my all purpose flour was not enough. So made this even more healthy by adding more of wheat flour. Added chocolate chips to please the kids. Well I know all my bakes have these chips, it surely excites the little ones.

Finally when it was baked, I was so excited seeing how well it has risen. The taste was exceptionally good. Very moist and soft. I know next time I am going to make this as a loaf or a cake. I halved the recipe from what CL mentioned. This yielded me 12 mini muffins, 4 big muffins. Thanks for the wonderful inspiration CL!

But making this in mini size is always good to serve kids.
Sending this to Champa for Kid's Delight themed on Mini Bites

Step by Step pictures for making Banana Muffin

Dry Ingredients

Whole Wheat flour -  3/4 cup
All purpose Flour / Maida - 1/2 cup
Baking powder 1 & 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
A pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients

Sugar - 1/2 cup
Flax Seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Hot Water - 1 & 1/2 tbsp
Butter, melted - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Curds - 1 tsp
Ripe banana - 2 big ones.
Vanilla essence few drops.


Method to prepare:


Shift all the dry flours in a bowl, keep it aside.

Pulse the banana to get the puree

Add the hot water to the flax seeds and keep it aside. It will foam after a while.

In a bowl, take the sugar, add flax seed mix, banana puree, butter, oil, curds, vanilla essence. Mix well.

Pre heat the oven at 170 degree C

When the oven is ready, line the muffin tray with liners.

To the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients and mix well. There is no need to beat or mix fast.

Spoon into the cup to half full. Bake it at 170 degree C for 15 mins. Then reduce to 155 C and bake for 5 mins.

The big muffins had to be baked at 170 degree C for 20 mins and then at 155 for 2 mins.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#6

Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Chocolate Glaze | Step by Step Recipe to make Cinnamon Roll

There are times when you tweak a recipe so much that you never can relate to the original idea that you got you going.This is what happened to the cinnamon roll that caught my fancy a while ago, when I happened to land in this blog. I was on search for mini servings when I was doing the BM last week. Ever since then I have been planning to bake these rolls and made Paneer at home and used it up for various other things.

Finally yesterday I had no option but to use the paneer and make these rolls as I had decided on Mini Bites for today's post. This recipe calls for cottage cheese and I read up on cottage cheese. The cottage cheese that's made in US is different from the Indian Cottage cheese that we call as paneer. But I thought if I am going to use it right away it shouldn't really matter. Guess I was wrong as I never got to use the paneer right away.

I also realized it wasn't my day to bake, as I forgot to add the important ingredient, sugar to the base. So ended up sprinkling castor sugar on top, thus creating another new recipe, even if I say so myself. Whatever  it is, the final end product was delicious and I had Peddu telling me that I will have to make it again tomorrow. And Konda wanted this packed for her snack to school. I can't ask for anything less. Best was the fact that I made these as mini rolls that the kids were able to eat on their own.

Sending this to Champa for Kid's Delight themed on Mini Bites

Step by Step picture Recipe:

In a bowl, take the flour, crumble the paneer, add curds,

 Add melted butter and mix well

 Mix into a soft dough and pinch out small balls.

 Roll out after dusting it with flour

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar

Melt the chocolates by microwaving for a min.

 using a spoon press the chocolates well. Make sure you keep an eye, else it will get burnt.

 It should become a liquid.

 Spread out the chocolate on the roll.

 add chocolate chips

 Roll into a rope

 Cut into small rolls

 Grease a muffin pan and place them inside. brush on the top with milk/butter

 Bake at 170 degree C

 Remove and allow to cool

Glaze with chocolate sauce and castor sugar

Mini Cinnamon Rolls / Cinnamon swirls 

Ingredients Needed:

For the base:

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese - 1/2 cup
Butter - 2 tsp
Curds - 2 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

For the topping

Castor Sugar/ Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup
Melted chocolates - 3 tbsp
Chocolate chips as required
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp

For the Glaze

Chocolate Sauce
Castor Sugar

Method to prepare:

Pre heat the oven at 170 degree C.

To make the base

In a bowl, take the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt, add crumbled paneer, melted butter, and curds. Mix well. This should be enough to get you a soft dough. Else if required you may add water/milk. But mostly it should not be required

Divide into small balls, dust well with flour and roll out into a long oval shape base.

Melt the chocolate, spread on the top, sprinkle chocolate chips. Dust with castor sugar and cinnamon powder.

Starting from one end, slowly roll over, rolling it tightly to form a rope. Cut into small rolls, these look more like a swirls. Bush the top of the rolls with butter.

Grease a muffin tray, place these rolls in it and bake for 15 - 20 mins at 170 degree C. Depends on your rolls for how long it will take to get cooked.

Once it's done, rest it for 5 mins, then pour chocolate sauce over the rolls and dust with castor sugar.

These become a great dessert to enjoy!

 

While I was still making it, Chinnu came to ask what I was making. When I told him that it was a roll, he very sweetly asked me to make him a chocolate cake. When this was done, he didn't want to taste it even. I literally forced him to taste, after one bite, he wanted one more. But I guess he still had his heart on a chocolate cake. Well it will be just that soon...

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#6

Mexican Salad | Carrot Raisin Walnut Pineapple Salad | Step by Step Recipe

I am not really a salad person, though I ardently wish I was. Especially when it's just vegetables with a dressing that leaves much to be desired. I was introduced by my Mexican colleague who visited us a while ago, to this Crunchy Carrot, Raisin, Walnut, Pineapple Salad with a cream and Mayonnaise dressing and it was a real addiction.

It was a wonderful blend of cream and mayonnaise with fruits and nuts. Today's post is going to be Recipe less with step by step pictures. Will be updating the recipe later.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#6

Vegetable Biryani Recipe

One pot meal always comes handy be it when you want to pack for office or when you want to travel. Especially when you plan for a picnic, I am sure you will want to pack something that is not messy and easy to pack. But at the same time, full of balanced nutrition in your box.

On a regular basis, I plan for one pot meals twice a week. Makes a great way to include all the vegetable in one meal. Finding another recipe that turns out well is a real boon. Enjoy this wonderful blend of spices with vegetables in a rice.

What's even better is you can make this dish with left over rice too.

Vegetable Biryani Recipe

Rice - 2 cups
Onion - 1 medium
Vegetables - 1 cup (Beans, Carrot, Potatoes, peas)
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tsp

Masala to be ground.

Cinnamon - 1" 4 pieces
cloves - 2
Cardomon - 1
Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Garlic - 2-3
Ginger - 1"
Onion  1 small
coriander leaves - handful
Green chili - 3-4 (as per taste)
Coconut, grated - 4-6 tbsps
Tomatoes - 2 medium

Method to prepare:

To make the masala:

Add water and grind all the masala to a smooth paste.

Wash and finely chop all the vegetables. Microwave all the vegetables for 10 mins.

Wash and soak rice for 15 mins. Then pressure cook or pan cook the rice with 4 cups water. check to make sure the grains are seperate.

To make the biryani:

In a non stick pan, add oil, saute onion julinnes. When it turns colour add the ground masala and fry till the raw smell goes.

then add the cooked vegetables and mix well. Finally add the cooked rice and combine everything. Close with a tight lid to make sure the flavours mix well.

Serve with Raita

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Mixed Flour Ribbon Pakoda

Ribbon Pakodas have always been my favorite snack next to Murukkus. Amma always makes ribbon pakodas for deepavali without fail, so it has come to mean as a festival snack for me. It's also one of those snacks that Adayar Ananda Bhavan makes well. Gone are those days when we slogged over hot oil making tins and tins of these snacks. I pratically find it hard to spend so much time to make for the festivals. Especially when we have to send it across to neighbors, we have to make sure there is enough. Since these shops make them well and fresh, we resorted to buying them for the festivals.

Coming to the recipe for today, we had made Urad dal at home for another snack and had excess of it at hand. So Amma thought of making a Mixed flour Ribbon Pakodas and it came out well. If you are looking for change, then this one will surely interest you.

Ingredients Needed:

Raw Rice flour - 2 cups
Besan / Gram Flour / Roasted Channa Dal - 1/2 cup
Urad dal flour - 1/4 cup
Fried Gram Flour / Pappula podi - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Butter - 1 tbsp

Method to prepare:

In a wide bowl, take the rice flour, besan, Urad dal flour, fried gram flour (Pottukadai, Pappulu), salt and butter.

Mix all the dry flour well and slowly add the water just enough to get a pliable dough. It should not be very loose though.

Heat a kadai with hot. Once its hot, simmer to medium flame.

Divide the dough into balls, fill the muruku achu and press over the hot oil. Since the dough is smooth, it will easily slide into the oil. Cook over medium flame to ensure equal cooking on all sides.

When its cooked and it turns golden colour, remove and allow to cool a bit.

Store in a container.

This is delicious snack if you want to take for picnic.


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How to make Ragi Malt at Home | Step By Step Recipe | Diabetes Diet Food

Ragi / Finger Millet has always been common at our home since we used to grow this in our lands. Well that was years ago, still it somehow remains so very clear, the memories of my granny bringing home those fresh Ragi, Bajra from our crops.

Most frequent dish was of course the Mudda we make with Ragi. Then it used to be Ganji that is made by mixing in Ragi with water, boiling it and then mixing it with curds.

Malt is a process wherein the grains are sprouted, then ground to be made as a drink. Well sprouting is not something that's strange at our home. That's what Athamma does with most ingredients that she thinks of. I was telling her that we should prepare some Diabetic Friendly recipes. Ragi Malt is part of the series that we planned. 

Follow the procedure to sprout

We made a soup, porridge and this Malt. Though I told others who are doing one theme a day for the BM#6, they can choose to do two dishes for Different ways to use an Ingredient. Even when I was saying that I was not liking the idea as I have come long way to realize I don't' like crowding a post with more than one recipe, unless until it really requires.

So will be posting the Soup recipe later and hope my BM friends won't bump me for doing this..:)

We have made this drink even healthier by adding Jaggary which is a good source of iron and completely avoided sugar.

Sprouted Finger Millet

Ragi Malt - Healthy Drink made with Sprouted Finger Millet

For sprouting
Sprouted Ragi / Finger Millet - 1 cup

To make the Ragi Malt

Ragi powder - 2 tsp
Milk - 1 cup
Jaggary, powdered - 1 tsp

Method to prepare

To sprout the Ragi

Soak ragi for a day, after about 8 - 9 hours, drain the grains and tie in a cloth. It will sprout over the night.

Shade dry and powder the Ragi fine.

To get more shelf life for the flour plus make it more aromatic, dry roast the powder over hot pan. Once it's cooled you can store the flour in an air tight container.

To make the malt.

Take required amount of Ragi flour, add little water and get a lump less mix. Heat it in a pan, add the jaggary and bring to boil. slowly add milk and boil for couple of mins.

Serve hot / warm depending on who's drinking this.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#6