Banana Walnut Muffins

Last month, one of my friends gifted me with a Wilton Baking Set. I was waiting to experiment with it. So, decided to start by using the muffin tray. Emily loves bananas and hence, I decided to make banana walnut muffins for her. We made the muffins together and had so much fun doing it.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Baking time : 20 - 25 minutes

Makes : 14 muffins

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 beaten egg
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp cinnamon powder (optional)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 11/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

• First put the bananas in a big bowl and smash it using a potato smasher or a fork. Ensure that all the bananas are smashed well are there are no lumps left.
• Now, mix the melted butter into the mashed bananas.
• To this, add the sugar, beaten egg, cinnamon powder and vanilla essence and mix well.
• Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix it well.
• Finally, fold in the flour gently in to the mixture with a spatula. Add chopped walnuts and gently fold it again.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.
• Grease the muffin tray and gently pour the mixture into a prepared muffin tray. Bake for 20 minutes. To ensure that the muffins are ready, slowly insert a knife in the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, that means the muffin is ready and done.
• Cool on a rack and then serve it warm or at room temperature.

Tiramisu

My all time favorite Italian dessert. I always thought this particular dessert was extremely difficult to make. But, I was wrong. One day I was watching this show on TV called Kitchen Boss and the host of this show who is a renowned pastry Chef was showing how to make Tiramisu. It looked so simple and easy that I had to give it a try.

Last month, I had organized a party for about 30 people where I cooked everything at home right from starters to dessert. I decided to make this particular dessert for the first then. It was a big challenge for me because, I never made it before and I decided to try it out for the first time and that too make 2 trays of the dessert. But, the end result was phenomenal. I was extremely happy and both the trays were swiped clean. Everyone simply enjoyed this dessert, more so because I put a lot of booze in it :) I have used Buddy's recipe and added a little of my own personal touch to it.

Preparation Time : 1 hour +

Serves : 12 - 15

Makes : One (9x13) tray

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups american strong coffee / espresso

11/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp plus 1 tbsp coffee liqueur (Kahlua)

4 extra large egg yolks

1 pound marscarpone cheese

2 tbsp sweet marsala

1 cup heavy cream

48 store bought saviordari biscuits

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 slab of milk chocolate

Method:

• Put the espresso / american coffee, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and 1/4 cup of the coffee liqueur into a heavy saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool.
• Put the yolks, marscapone, marsala, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and remaining 1 tbsp of coffee liqueur in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment and whip on medium speed until light and airy, approximately 7 minutes. You can also do this using a hand mixer. Transfer the mixture to another bowl and clean and dry the stand mixer bowl and the whip attachment, returning them both to the mixer.
• Put the cream in the bowl of the stand mixer and whip until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the cream mixture into the marsala mixture.
• First spread some cream mixture at the bottom of the 13 inch x 9 inch pan.
• Then one by one, dip the saviordari biscuits in the espresso syrup / american coffee syrup and arrange a layer in a the bottom of a 13-inch x 9-inch pan. Spoon a layer of cream over biscuits. Sprinkle some cocoa powder over top of cream. Dip and arrange another layer of biscuits over the cream, with the second layer perpendicular to the first. Spoon the remaining cream over the top.
• Dust the tiramisu with cocoa powder. Finally, grate some milk chocolate all over the cocoa powder. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or upto 2 days.
• To serve, use a kitchen spoon to scoop out portions into small bowls or glass dishes.

Mango and Pepper Salad

It is summer season in India and it is time for my favorite fruit which is "Mangoes". In Canada, we don't really get nice mangoes but I found the Ataulfo mangoes pretty good for this recipe. This is a Mexican variety and I found this particular variety of mangoes simply perfect for this recipe. But, you could really use any ripe mango. This recipe was passed down to me by a close friend of mine and I really liked it and hence decided to share it with you all.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Serves: 3- 4

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow bell pepper

1 medium red bell pepper

2 medium sized mangoes

3 small shallots sliced or you could use 1/2 red onion

3 tbsp of Jufran hot banana sauce (easily available in No frills)

2 tbsp of roasted salted peanuts chopped

1 green chilli chopped

a few coriander leaves finely chopped

Method:

• First cut the peppers lengthwise into thin strips and after you have finished cutting them, try to pat them dry using a kitchen towel. Make sure you remove all the excess water from the peppers.
• Once you have done that, combine the rest of the ingredients with the peppers and garnish with some peanuts on top.
• Serve it chilled.

Sprouted Moong Dal Curry

Recently, my husband has decided to go on a complete protein diet in order to lose weight. He is completely off carbohydrates, and that keeps me thinking which protein to cook every day for him. I came across this particular dish at a friend's place and found it to be very healthy, nutritious and also delicious. So decided to give it a try.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 cups sprouted whole green moong dal

1 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

pinch of asafoetida (hing)

1/2 can of coconut milk

juice of 1/2 a lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• In a vessel, add sprouted moong dal and enough water (around 4 cups) and bring to a boil on medium heat. Cover and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cook for about 30 minutes till the dal is tender.
• Now, add the red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and add the coconut milk and lemon juice. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then taste to adjust seasoning.
• In a pan, roast some cumin seeds, hing and mustard seeds on medium heat and add this to the dal.
• Serve hot with rice or chapattis.

Baingan Bartha

Today I am going to share with you all an interesting recipe. This is very easy to make. It can be made in a lot of different ways but the real flavor comes from roasting the brinjal. Although, some of you might not like the look of it, believe me, it is really delicious and goes very well with phulkas or chapatis.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serves : 2 - 3

Ingredients:

1 medium sized long eggplant / brinjal / baingan

1 cup onion finely chopped

1 cup tomatoes finely chopped

2 tbsp of crushed garlic

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 green chilli finely chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

oil

Method:

• Rub a little oil all over the brinjal and roast it in the oven at the highest temperature for 20 minutes. You can also do this over a flame. (By rubbing oil over the brinjal, the skin comes out easily)
• Heat some oil in a pan. Add some cumin seeds and garlic and saute for a minute or two.
• Then add the onions and green chillies and saute for a while. You need not brown them.
• Then add the coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, chilli powder and mix it well. Add salt to taste.
• Add tomatoes and chopped coriander and allow it to cook on slow flame for about 3-5 minutes.
• Then slowly separate the brinjal pulp from the skin, chop it and add it to the tomato onion mixture and mix it well.
• Check the seasoning and serve hot with phukas or chapatis.

Note: Some people also like to add boiled peas to it but it tastes good as it is.