Healthy Banana Bread loaded with all the good stuff....not only Whole Wheat but Eggless too

It's been little busy over here, summer vacation is over. Trying to set some routine after 2 & 1/2 months of  break. Mind is working hard again to find interesting options for school lunch & after school snack, on top of that this year in 3rd grade they have to take snack too. So here's this simple recipe which I feel is a very good option for any time of the day snack, we have been eating this as morning breakfast with a glass of milk or coffee. It's quite filling & healthy too. It's Banana Bread but not regular kind, I'm using not only whole wheat flour but oats also in this. I had no plans of making this bread but thanks to my little one she has found one new hobby, whenever she can grab a banana she likes to peel it, until now she usually would eat it too, but now-a-days she only peels them & she's done. Now what do I do with 3 peeled bananas in a day. So I twisted my regular banana bread recipe added few more things to it and here goes the recipe(please do check the variations at the end of the recipe, got whole wheat version too) :

What U need :
dry ingredients :

• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. all purpose flour (I used maida)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour(I used atta-flour used for making Indian style flat bread)
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 /1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. dry ginger powder(optional)

wet ingredients :

• 3 med. size ripe bananas
• 3 Tbsp. veg. oil
• juice of 1 orange
• 4 Tbsp. honey
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar

good stuff :

• 2 Tbsp. dry roasted flax seeds
• 1/2 cup roasted, chopped almonds
• 10 dates chopped

What U do :

1. Take all the good stuff(nuts & dry fruit etc.) & sprinkle 1 Tbsp. of flour on them & mix them with the hand so they get good coating of flour. It  helps preventing them from sinking to the bottom of the pan.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients using a fork making sure no lumps are formed.
3. In a big bowl mash bananas using the back side of fork & add rest of the wet ingredients from the list.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ones. Gently mix them.
5. Add mixture of good stuff to the batter, fold it in.
6. Bake it in the greased loaf pan for 35-40 min.(till the tooth pick comes clean) at 350 degree F.

Note :

This bread was little crumbly but very flavorful, it reminded me of fruit cake & was quite soft even for next couple of days. I did made this for 3-4 times in this month but every time with little variations. Actually this recipe is very forgiving one can easily adjust the ingredients according to the availability or taste. All the variations had almost same amount of oats.

Variations :
First was with half all purpose flour & half whole wheat flour.

 Second was with totally whole wheat flour, came out really good without any compromise on taste.

Third was again totally whole wheat flour but I added 2 Tbsp. of Ragi(finger millet) flour & 1 Tbsp. of flax seed(alsi) meal(powder) also. Instead of almond & dates I only used around 1/2 cup of black raisins & I didn't had any oranges so I added 1-8 0z. carton of apple juice, reduced oil to 2 Tbsp. only(works fine) also reduced the sugar a little bit. Bananas used were also one & a half only. I baked them in mini bundt pan so baking time was reduced to 16 min. only at 350 degree F(recipe yielded 12 mini bundt cakes-I had filled each cavity to 3/4 level). I highly recommend this recipe if you are trying to bake with whole wheat flour as it was light & not at all heavy texture. And these were not at all crumbly. Here's the click...

And this wonderful healthy bread/mini bundt cakes  goes to Champa for her weekly bake-off.

Winner of $60 giveaway and Strawberry + Blueberry Preserve / Jam

First of all thanks to all the readers who took time out to browse thru my recipes and left the comment on the previous post, really meant a lot to me. Now, for the winner as you all know there can be only one so I took help of my daughter to pick one. Yes, I'm little old fashioned still have not figured out(read it as lazy also) how to use Random.org so wrote all the names on piece of paper, folded each piece of paper, mixed together in a bowl, picked one and Congrats to Eve for winning $60 gift certificate from CSN. I'll send you an email with all the details, enjoy your win and Thanks to CSN for giving me the opportunity to host this giveaway.

Now for today's recipe here's a simple Strawberry and Blueberry Preserve/Jam.

Simple ingredients no fancy stuff, I'm making this from almost last 5 yrs. One of his Aunt when she visited us from dehradun-India(hub for strawberry cultivation in India) gave me this simple recipe, since then I usually make it every other week in strawberry season. My husband doesn't like store bought Jams/Preserve but this is one home-made preserve he eats with everything. I even freeze it for couple of months(I don't do canning) when I get big supply of strawberries, just thaw it in the fridge before use(see notes). I prefer to keep it in the fridge and it goes well with pancakes, as a spread on toasted bread, on top of ice cream or simply spoonful from jar to mouth. Now for the recipe :

What U need :

• 
  
  1 pound of fresh strawberries
• 
  
  1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 
  
  3/4 to 1 cup white sugar (depending upon the sweetness of berries)
• 
  
  juice of half a lemon

What U do :

1. 
   
   Wash all the berries. Hull the strawberries & roughly chop the strawberries.
2. 
   
   In a heavy bottom steel pan(non-reactive) put all the berries and mix sugar in it. Let it sit for 3-4 hours.
3. 
   
   On a medium heat bring the berry mixture to a boil add lemon juice & let everything cook together till it becomes thick & glossy, keep stirring in between.
4. 
   
   Once the fruit is cooked & all soft you can mash it with the back side of your spoon, that way it's still chunky but don't have too big pieces of fruit. It might take around 20-30 minute or so to cook the whole thing depending upon how juicy the fruit is. Once cool transfer it to sterilized jar. 

Note : You can easily leave the blueberries out for only strawberry version. Also this is not very sweet, it's more of sweet & tangy in taste but if U like more sweeter version U can simply increase the quantity of sugar. For freezing I usually portion it into roughly 2 week supply & fill it into glass bottles and don't fill to the brim, because when it freeze it expands so need extra space otherwise the bottle will crack. I usually fill 3/4 of the bottle.

As I'm writing this post, in my mind I'm planning to make a fresh batch of this preserve in the morning as the one made last week is already finished, little one enjoyed licking it from the plate. So go ahead and try it at least once before the strawberry season slips away.

CSN Giveaway for $60 and Mango Chutney/Chunda/Preserve

Most of my blogger friends must be aware of CSN giveaway going on in different blogs. CSN has wonderful collection of products, be it furniture or cookware you name it they have it. Just to get an idea what I'm talking about look at this collection of Dutch Oven, they have such a big collection. Last week I was also contacted by the wonderful CSN people regarding an option of doing review or giveaway. It was a moment of excitement for me and first thought which came to my mind was if my blog gets any kind of recognition, first credit goes to readers. Those who blog knows how much important it is for a blogger to have reader....it's like I'm talking & somebody is listening. So as a thanks to my readers I decided to do a giveaway.

So here's the deal CSN is going to giveaway gift certificate worth $60 to one of the readers. It's open to everybody, but in case of readers who live outside USA they gonna need to have US address as the point of destination, so may be you can use it for your friends or family if any one lives in US. Also there may be international shipping charges in case of  Canadian addresses. Now to participate in the giveaway I have decided following rules :
 1)  I don't want to force anybody to follow my blog but if you really like to read what I blog or if you really like my recipes you can surely become the follower....I'll be happy but becoming a follower is totally optional.

 2) Now comes the work part, browse through my recipes & leave a comment on this post telling me if you have to cook one dish from my blog what would that be. Again you don't have to cook but if you cook something I'll be happy to hear your review.

 3) If you are  a blogger spread the word about "CSN giveaway at Spicebuds"  in your blog & link back to this announcement page & leave a another comment for additional entry.

 4) Contest will be open till Aug/16/2010 and winner will be announced on Aug/17/2010.

 5) Please make sure you leave valid e-mail Id with your comment. All the Best.

 

Now what is this photo, well it's a food blog even if it's a giveaway post I feel it's incomplete without some recipe, so here goes simple mango chutney or as we call it chunda. Mango chunda is a sweet & sour kind of fruit preserve which is very common in Gujarat, but I've seen it equally popular in Delhi also, among my family & friends. Recipe over here is from my Mom, there was a time when she use to make it for whole extended family & friends(without any help of electric kitchen machines to do the grating part, that was the duty of Dad & kids) and it was relished by everyone. I also use to get my supply from her only but I guess now it's high time I should start experimenting with aachar(pickles) & chutneys, I already gave you an idea that pickle & chutney recipes are coming soon. Now for the recipe, it was a trial batch so I made it with 1 large mango only.

What U need :

• 1 large raw mango, washed, peeled, grated (about 1 cup)
• 5-6 tbsp. white sugar----check notes
• salt ( i used 1/2 tsp.)
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. red chilli powder (lal mirch)
• 1 tsp. cumin powder (jeera powder)-preferably roasted
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala (optional)
• 2-3 cloves (laung)

What U do:

• 
  
  In a wide base steel pan/pot put grated mango & sprinkle sugar on it and stir. Let it sit overnight or at least 3-4 hours.
• Add rest of the ingredients & cook for around 15-20 minutes on slow to med. heat.
• Once all the water evaporates and preserve comes together turn the heat off.
• Let it cool completely before transferring it to glass jar/bottle.

Notes : here in USA the kind of raw mangoes we get are not only big in size but many a times not very sour they are more toward sweet side that's why I didn't had to use lot of sugar. It was reasonably sweet & sour for our taste & we could eat it spoonful without any thing along with it. So make sure you adjust the amount of sugar according to the sourness of mango.

 

Enjoy it with roti or as a spread on bread or like in my mom's house we all loved to finish our meal with a spoonful of this sweet & sour chunda. And don't forget to participate in $60 giveaway by CSN right here at spicebuds.

Roti Stir-fry......quick snack, using left over roti

As I mentioned in my previous post now a days lunch is home made ice cream, so on one such day after gorging on home made vanilla & mango ice cream around late afternoon when stomach started to rumble that was the sign that I need to go to kitchen & cook something. So this quick dish is result of all the above. I had some left over rotis(Indian flat bread), instantly the idea of roti poha on the lines of bread poha came to my mind. This dish was done in within less than 10 minutes start to finish, it's just a guideline one can add any veggies of their choice.

What U need :

• 4 left over rotis/chapatis, cut into around 1 x 1/2 inch pieces
• around 1 & a half cup of thinly shredded cabbage
• 1/3 cup of frozen peas
• 1/3 cup of frozen corn
• 3-4 green chillies, chopped
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds (rai)
• few curry leaves
• 2 Tbsp. of cooking oil
• pinch of asafoetida(hing)
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder(haldi)
• 1 tsp. red chilli powder(lal mirch powder)
• 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 1 Tbsp. dry roasted sesame seeds
• cilantro or green onions, chopped for decoration
• juice of 1/2 a lime

What U do :

• Take a wide pan/wok/karahi, heat oil in that.
• Add mustard seeds once they splutter add curry leaves, also add hing.
• Turn the gas to high & add cabbage & cook it for 1-2 minutes on high heat only and then add peas & corn. Keep stirring veggies as it's on high heat.
• After another minute or so add salt, turmeric, chilli powder & chopped green chillies.
• After another minute or so add roti pieces, mix everything together. Once rotis get coating of all the flavors, around 2 minute, turn the gas off.
• Sprinkle peanuts, sesame seeds and lime juice. Garnish with green onions or cilantro.

Note : this dish is done on high heat & no liquids are used, only little oil, so make sure U keep stirring the veggies otherwise they might stick to the bottom of pan. If needed use only a spoon or two of water. Cooking them quickly on high heat helps in retaining the crunchiness of cabbage. If  U prefer little water can be used & cabbage can be cooked till it's fully soft. Once dish is done Covering the pan with lid will also helps in getting some moisture to the dish & making it little more soft.

So next time U have any left over rotis, try this recipe it's perfect as anytime snack or as morning breakfast, healthy and filling, enjoy.

Mango Ice-cream & Coffee Ice cream

Now a days we are enjoying pure home made ice cream treats as lunch, specially when outside temperature is in 90's. Kids don't want to eat lunch specially when they are slepping till 10 in the morning & by the time they finish their breakfast or I should call it brunch it's almost noon. So, as soon as one batch is made, plan for next batch is already in discussion.....so Mom do U think we can make choc. flavour next time. I'm only the incharge of making sure that we have enough supplies on hand as the credit for this delicious ice cream goes to my 8 yr. old & her Dad. Now for the recipe :

What U need :

• 3/4 cup whole milk, chilled
• 3/4 cup regular sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream, chilled
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract(optional)
• pulp from 2 medium size mangoes, chilled

What U do :

• Using a blender puree the mango pulp, use pulse if u like little pieces in it, keep aside.
• Using a hand mixer or a whisk combine the milk & granulated sugar, until it dissolved.
• Stir in heavy cream & vanilla to taste.
• If using ice cream maker follow the instructions of the ice cream maker. Towards the last 10 minutes of churning add chilled mango pulp & once done(usually whole process takes about 35 min.) transfer it to air-tight containers & let it freeze for at least 2 hours or so.
• If U don't have ice cream maker blend everything together including mango pulp & let it set in the freezer in air tight container & every couple of hours take it out whip the ice cream(to break the ice crystals), freeze it again. Repeat the process for at least 3 more times.

Here's a pic of Coffee Ice cream with home made brownie bits as topping(Coffee + Chocolate nothing can beat the combination). For coffee version omit mango pulp & blend 3 tablespoon of instant coffee powder  with the mixture & during the last 5 minutes of churning process add 3 tablespoon of chopped semi sweet chocolate + 3 tablespoon of roasted chopped almonds.

Note : It's been 5 years since I'm using my Cuisinart ice cream maker but have never tried manual method but it's a common process & in my case comes from an experienced person who in his childhood has done lot of arm wrestling for this yummy cold treats, yes you guys guessed it right it's DH.....in fact he has some first hand experience of making "mutki wali kulfi" too.....but for that I'm gonna need matka first so till then I'm happy with my electronic ice-cream maker.

Basic White Bread with the touch of Whole Wheat Flour

I don't need the bread, but it's nice to do something creative

- John Goodman

I have a very good excuse for making another bread in a row, Champa of Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen is hosting a CSN giveaway for which she has a condition that bake/cook anything from her blog , so what can be a better reason for trying new recipes & also I really like her baking recipes, specially breads. Make sure you check out her blog for more wonderful recipes. My first trial from her collection of bread recipes was Challah Bread which came out really good & now is the turn of Basic White Bread, again with good results. I've mainly followed the original recipe but have made little changes in term of ingredients. So please check the original recipe for full details as I'm only going to write down the changes I've made.

• Original recipe uses 3-3 & 1/4 cup Bread flour or All purpose flour(APF), I substituted 1 cup of APF with whole wheat pastry flour & rest I used was APF.
• I used only 1 tablespoon of sugar & not 2.
• Salt  1 & 1/2 tsp.
• I also covered my bread after first 10 minutes of baking as I've noticed in my previous bakes like Challah & Biscotti that my oven brown the breads & cookies little too early so to prevent that covering it loosely with the foil is way to go.
• I used stand mixer to knead the dough at speed 2 for around 7-8 minutes.

Here's another look at the dough/bread at various stages.

Shaping a Loaf : Just in case if some one is new to bread making I thought these 3 steps about how to shape a loaf, will be helpful(source : KitchenAid stand mixer recipe book)  :

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle, approximately 9x14 inches.
2. Starting at a short end, roll the dough tightly. Pinch to seal the seam.
3. Pinch the ends & turn them under. Place the dough, seam side down, in a loaf pan. Follow the directions in the recipe for rising & baking.

Also sending this bread to Champa's  weekly bake-off.

Challah - A Jewish bread

I don't even butter my bread. I consider that cooking.

- Katherine Cebrian

I Love to make bread but the only problem is when it's freshly made at home there is no portion control, it happened earlier also & happened again this time too. It vanishes or 1-2 slices are left. Few weeks back I tried my hands on Challah bread after seeing it on Champa's blog, she has a good collection of baking recipes. Not once but two days in a row I made this bread. First day I tried with all purpose flour & second trial was with whole wheat flour. I divided the recipe into half so that I get only one loaf ,also made little bit of changes, for original recipe click here. Now for the recipe :

What U need:

1. All purpose flour- 2 cups
2. Sugar - 2 Tblsp.
3. Vegetable oil - 2 Tblsp.
4. Salt - 1 tsp
5. Egg  - 1
6. Warm water - Mixed with egg to make 3/4 cup
7. Active Dry yeast - 1/2 Tblsp.

What to do :

1. Add enough water to beaten egg so that it make 3/4 cup of liquid in total. Pour it into stand mixer bowl. Sprinkle yeast & sugar on it. Let it sit for 8-10 minutes or till yeast become frothy.
2. Add salt & oil, attach the dough hook & turn the mixer on at speed 2 & slowly start adding flour, half a cup at a time. Knead it at speed 2 till it turns into smooth dough, took around 6 minutes or so (This process can be done by hand also as suggested in original recipe you need to knead the dough for about 10 minutes or so).
3. Rub oil in a big bowl & let the dough rest in it, cover the bowl with plastic wrap. In an hour or so dough should be doubled in size but it can take more time also depending upon the temp. in the room/kitchen where the dough is kept. Mine took 1 & half hour this time.
4. On a lightly floured surface divide the dough into 3 equal parts & roll each part into around 10" long log. Place all the 3 logs side by side.
5. Wet tips of your one hand fingers with some milk & pinch one end of all the 3 logs together to join them. Dry your hands & make a braid with those 3 logs & again join them at the end, the way we did in the beginning.
6. Move the braided dough to parchment lined baking sheet. Brush it with milk. Cover loosely with aluminum foil & let it rise for another hour or so.
7. Toward the end of rising period turn the oven on at 375 degree F for pre-heating. Again brush it with milk before putting it in the oven.
8. Bake at 375 degree F for first 10 minute. Reduce the temp. to 350 degree F & continue baking for another 20-25 min. or till nicely browned and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
9. Cool on wire rack.

Note : In my first trial bread got too much browned.

So when I baked it second time the very next day I covered it loosely with foil after first 10 minutes of baking & result was good. Also I kept the oven at 375 instead of 400. It was a whole wheat version......some time taking so many pics can be confusing....forgot to take picture of final result. 

For Whole wheat version I added around 1 & 1/2 Tblsp. of thick home made curd(yogurt) while kneading the dough as whole wheat flour usually needs little extra liquids or u can simply decrease the quantity of flour by 2-3 Tblsp. I'm sending this bread to Champa of  Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen for her weekly Bake-off.