Carrot Halwa

I have cooked this halwa few times and each time it’s a hit and easy to make. A slight advantage over flour halwas since it contains vegetable we can call it healthier..hehe. That was our wedding day and there’s a unwritten rule of making a sweet. My mom usually makes rava kesari for special occasions with lots of ghee and cashews...yummy similar to the srinivasa perumal temple’s kesari..haha.

Carrots Health benefits:

As we all know it’s good for improving eyesight, assists in skin’s health and delays aging. 

Carrot Halwa

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet/Snack/dessert

Yields: 3

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 25 Mins 

Ingredients needed:

1 big sized carrot(chopped, approx = 2 cups)

½ cup milk

¾ cup sugar(I used raw sugar,

adjust according to your sweet tooth level, carrots also give out some sweetness)

Cashews as needed

1 tsp Cardamom powder/Nutmeg powder

3-4 tbsp of ghee ghee/oil 

To make the halwa:

1. Pressure cook carrots with milk for 3-4 whistles or until soft.

2. Transfer cooked carrot to a heavy bottomed vessel and mash it to a smooth paste.

3.Turn on heat to medium.Cover the lid cook for 5 mins. Now remove lid and keep stirring the mixture until 70% of the moisture is absorbed.

4.Now add sugar and 2 tbsp of ghee. The mixture will become little watery. Keep working on it until it becomes thick and non sticky in the pan. For me it took about 10-15 mins after adding sugar.

5.Fry cashews in ghee and add it to the halwa with cardamom powder.Add another tbsp of ghee and switch off ,serve hot.

Notes:

You can add desired nuts as it is or after frying in ghee.

Personally, I don’t like adding salt to enhance flavor but if you like you can.

You can cook carrots or boil them(just to get rid of that raw smell) without milk and later you can add condensed milk to the mashed carrots but  adjust sugar accordingly. Condensed milk gives a rich taste to the halwa.

Even koya can be added instead of milk.

Vazhaipoo vadai/Banana flower cutlet

Vazhaipoo is my favourite vegetable. Mostly I make poriyal or kootu out of it than vadai counting the healthier reason. But occasionally we need a twist in the routine. Some of my friends make usili also.Something interesting, after separating most of the petals from the flower towards the last part where you find delicate petals and layers you can just have it raw, believe me its delicious. My mum always gives me that part to eat saying its good for ladies. But when choosing a banana flower make sure there’s no black stains in the petals at least in the first few layers(this ensures its fresh), but we can’t be sure about the rest inside.

Vazhaipoo vadai/Banana flower cutlet

Cuisine: Indian/South

Category: Side dish/Starter/Snack

Serves: 4

Prep time: 2 hrs

Cook time:30 min

Ingredients:

1 medium sized Vazhaipoo/Banana flower

½ cup gram dal soaked for 1 ½ hours

¼ cup roasted gram powdered

1 large onion chopped

2-3 green chili chopped

1-2 garlic pod with skin

1” Ginger minced

½ cup coriander leaves chopped

1 spring curry leaves chopped

½ tsp hing

½ tbsp fennel(optional)

Oil to deep fry

Salt as needed

To make the Vadai:

1. Soak gram Dal for 1 ½ hours.

2.Separate the flowers of the vazhaipoo and remove the thick plastic like petal and the match stick like strand from the flower.(if you keep it while cooking it releases bitterness)Chop the flowers into small pieces and boil till half cooked with a pinch of turmeric and ½ tbsp of salt. Drain water and keep aside.

3.Grind the roasted gram to a fine powder and keep aside.

4.Now drain the water and grind the soaked gram Dal with vazhaipoo and garlic pods to a slightly coarse paste.

5.Transfer to a bowl and add chopped onion chili coriander leaves curry leaves ginger roasted gram powder and salt. Mix well ensuring all the ingredients are evenly spread out into the dough.

6.Heat oil. Make small balls out of the dough and flatten it to make vadai shape or make shapes according to your desire.

6. After sliding vadai into the oil reduce flame to medium and cook till golden brown on both the sides.

Serve hot with coconut chutney/sambar and rice/tea/coffee.

Note:

If you find the dough is not tight the you can add some more roasted gram powder to adjust the consistency.

For ½ cup gram Dal 1 cup vazhaipoo will be a good ratio.

No need for oil to be super hot but when you drop a piece of dough it should start to sizzle.

You can see a small piece floating in the oil other than vadai which is lemon skin. It removes the odor of oil, you can also use a pinch of tamarind. After it turns brown you can remove it.

Uzhunthu halwa/Ulunthangali

Recently I attended a puberty function of our close relative. Usually we prepare some sweets and give it to the blossomed girl. Urad dal plays a significant role in the sweets during this time as it is  believed that urad dal strenghtens the hip bone/muscles. Leaving behind the controversies about the function in modern days I believe every moment of life should be celebrated and why not this. I prepared this halwa(actually called ulunthangali) and gave it to the girl.

Black gram/urad dal health benefits:

Rich in protein. Relieves pain and inflammation in joints. Good source of calcium and minerals.Improves digestion.

Uzhunthu halwa/Ulunthangali

Cuisine: Indian/South

Category: Sweet/Snack

Yields: 3

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 20 Mins

Ingredients needed:

½ cup urad dal/black gram powder(roasted and ground)

½ cup jaggery/palm sugar

½ tsp cardamom powder/dry ginger powder

½ cup sesame oil/ghee (I used sesame oil because it is traditionally cooked that way for the function)

Pinch of salt(optional)

To make the halwa:

1.Dry roast urad dal till golden shade and grind in a processor to a fine coarse powder.

2. Add two and half times of water to one measurement of the powder.(water to powder 2 ½ :1) and mix well ensuring no lumps.

3. Place a heavy bottomed pan on stove over a medium flame and pour the water & urad dal mixture into it.

4.Add cardamom powder and let the mixture boil. Throughout the process keep stirring the mixture as it might easily get burnt.

5. When it starts to bubble & thicken add the jaggery/palm sugar. Initially the jaggery releases water and makes the mixture little watery. Keep stirring.

6.Now the mixture again starts to bubble&thicken, here add the sesameoil/ghee and keep stirring. It took 15 mins for the mixture to thicken.

7. Once you see the halwa sweating oil and moves freely without sticking to the vessel switch off the flame. Serve hot. 

Notes:

You can use cashews for garnish, it makes the dish more tastier.

Traditionally ginger powder is used as I ran out of it I used cardamom powder.

You can store it for up to maximum 3 days without refrigerating.

You can soak jaggery in ½ cup of water and strain it before using. Mine doesn’t have any sediments when I tested last time so used it directly. 

Adding a tbsp of ghee before switching off the fire enhances the halwa’s flavor.

Banana nutella Brownie(eggless)

I read this “The first person to put a recipe for "brownies" in a cookbook was Fanny Farmer, who adapted her cookie recipe to be baked in a rectangular pan, in the 1896 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook. But that recipe contained no chocolate! Farmer had basically made what we today call a Blondie.”(it looked as per the name blonde fudges, no chocolate)..huh seriously 😞.

I have tried 3 ingredient brownie several times inspiring from my friend pavithra’s web dishesfrommykitchen J  But this one again specially for the g’reens cuisine 😜. I skipped the egg part and substituted it with a banana so adjusted recipe with measurements/ingredients. I tried brownie first in pizza-hut, chocolate brownie with ice-cream. Tasted divine. See I’m addicted to this brownie anytime you give me a brownie I will gobble it 😝.

Banana Nutella Brownie

Cuisine: Western

Category: Cake/Snack

Yields: 12-14 cakes

Cook time: 30-40 min

Prep time: 15 min

Ingredients needed: 1 cup = 240 ml

(320 ml Approx =)1 cup + 5 tbsp + 1 tsp all purpose flour

1 medium size overripe banana puree(approx yields 80 ml)

75-80 ml milk(for vegan use almond milk/rice milk but i haven't tried with that yet)

350-360 ml nutella/chocolate hazelnut spread

(optional ingredients which I used)

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp instant coffee powder

1/2 cup mixed nuts(cashews/almonds/walnuts)

To make the brownies:

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C/350 F for 10 mins.

2. In a bowl mix banana puree, honey and vanilla essence.Then add nutella and stir completely.

3.Mix coffee power with milk.

4.Once the wet ingredients are mixed thoroughly add the sifted flour and milk by parts.Mix gently.Bind in the nuts.

5. Pour the batter in a tin/tray with baking sheet spread inside. Bake for 30-40 Min's

according to your oven’s cooking time. Keep an eye after 20 Min's by doing toothpick test(can refer in vegan vanilla cup cake recipe)However if the batter depth is high then it takes longer to bake and the outside will be little crumbly.

7.Once baked allow it to rest for at least 15 mins-20 mins and make pieces.

Note:

Mine is a small oven if your oven is big preheat for extra time and the heat function for top and bottom should be on.

My batter depth was 1 inch as I used a bread baking tin but a small flat tray will get the brownie baked quickly.Say 15-20 mins, same if done as cupcakes.

After cutting t pieces if you find the batter not cooked then bake for extra 5-10 mins.

If the batter depth is high then it takes longer to bake and vice versa. If baked for long then outside will be little crumbly still tastes good 😉.

You can add extra nutella/choco chips for more rich brownie.

This brownie is moist chewy and little crunchy on top.

Bread kebab

Kebabs come from middle east countries. Initially I didn’t like it as it wasn’t appealing for eyes 😖 but once I gave it a try, then started loving it. I tried something that everyone can easily make at home without running for the ingredients that a original recipe requires. I guess it’s the tandoor version of our south Indian masala vadai 😉.

Health benefits of wholemeal bread:

They contain lot of fiber. Keeps hunger at bay for long hours. Good source of vitamins and minerals.

Bread kebab

Cuisine: Fusion

Category: Starter

Serves: 1

Preparation time: 10 min

Cook time: 5 min

Ingredients:

2 no’s wholemeal bread slices

2 ½ tbsp grated carrot
1 tsp corn flour
½ of a boiled peeled potato 

1 green chili
1 tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp coriander leaves

1 tsp garam masala

½ large onion

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp lemon juice

1 slice cheese

1 tsp oil

Ghee/clarified butter for roasting kebabs

Salt as needed

To make kebabs:

1.Grind the bread in a food processor/mixer to fine crumbs.

2.Heat oil in a pan and fry chopped onions chili carrots.

3.Add lemon juice, coriander leaves,salt, turmeric powder and garam masala. Give it a stir and switch off flame.

4.Now add bread crumbs and toss well to incorporate all the ingredients. (This stage it is bread upma, you can have it as it is 😁)

5.Cut the cheese slice to 4 equal parts and stack them into 2 portions.

6.Cover the cheese with the bread crumbs tightly and completely in desired shapes. Heat a tawa/skillet and spread ghee. 

Roast the kebabs till they turn golden brown outside.

Serve with sauce and salad.

Variation for kids:

1.After step 4 ,add a tbsp of all purpose/chickpea flour to 2 tbsp of water.

2.Instead of cheese slices take shredded cheese cubes/paneer and mix with bread crumbs mixture. Make them in shapes of balls and dip into the all purpose/chickpea flour.

3.Deep fry in oil till golden brown outside.

Serve with ketchup.

Note:

You can add corn capsicum potato and desired vegetables to make kebabs.
For cheese choice cheddar mozzarella are apt but you can mix different varieties. 
Don't make thick and heavy kebabs if grilling. 
You can wrap this inside chapathi/tortilla for lunch box.
If binding kebab is difficult then add another half mashed potato to the mixture and make shapes.

Healthy Ladoo(whole grains and nuts)

Another experiment with healthy snacks includes whole grains and nuts.This simple laddoo tastes delicious.I bought a health mix powder from a store and found it contained most of the ingredients I included to make laddoos. So if you are lazy to make the powder then just grab a packet from grocery stores.

Health mix laddoo benefits:

Gives instant energy. High in fiber and nutrients. 

Healthy Ladoo(whole grains and nuts)

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Snack/Sweet

Yields: 12

Prep time: 30 Mins

Cook time: 3 Minutes

Ingredients to be roasted and powdered:

4 tbsp Raagi

2 tbsp barnyard millet

2 tbsp corn kernels

1 tbsp sago

2 tbsp wheat

2 tbsp barley

1 tbsp fried gram

1 tbsp moong dal/green gram

1 tsp rice

1 tsp urad dal

1 tsp cardamom

Handful of each peanuts cashew nuts almonds (yields approx 4 tbsp)

Or

2 cups ready made health mix powder

½ cup raw sugar powdered/ jaggery or as needed

Ingredients to bind and garnish:

½ cup ghee or as needed to bind flour into laddoo

¼ cup Cashews or as needed

Dark chocolate bar(70%) brought to room temperature and rolled into eyeball-sized balls(optional for health freaks)

To make laddoo:

1. Melt ghee in a pan and add cashews. Roast till brown.Switch off flame.

2.Add sugar/jaggery powder and other powders. Mix well thoroughly.

3.Take a dark chocolate ball and cover with the powder mixture and make laddoos. 

Note :

If the powder is dry to make laddoos then add some ghee.

You can coat the laddoos with coconut and sugar syrup but the shelf life will be less.

The same powder can be used for making porridge or dosas.

Vegan vanilla cupcakes with choclate frosting

We two cousin sis and 3 bro’s always have spent our summer holidays at our grandparents place. When my grandfather returns from work he used to buy lots of snacks and tiny plain cakes with different flavours from this baker called henry and woolsey. They taste awesome, even now when I think of it I can smell the fragrance of the cakes. I don’t know they still run the shop. One more we call as “vaathu cake 😁” duck cake was the one thing we cousins don’t have any difference of opinion 😌. Since  it was in the shape of duck they call it duck cake. The head and body were covered with white sugar syrup, the main cake was something close to a chocolate cake. That was a neighborhood shop where they stopped selling them now 😢. Ok now to our vegan cupcakes… I usually bake cakes with eggs but for the blog’s sanity 😜”greens” I researched this recipe and tried out which came out amazingly delicious.

Vegan vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting

Cuisine: Western

Category: Cupcake/Cake/Snack
Yields: 12-14 cakes

Cook time: 15-17 min

Prep time: 30 min

1 cup =Appox 236ml for wet ingredients
1 cup =Appox 225ml for dry ingredients

 Dry ingredients:

1 cup plus 5 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp cornflour /corn starch

¾ cup sugar (I have used raw sugar) use any granulated sugar

½ tsp baking soda

1tsp plus a pinch of baking powder

Wet ingredients:

½ cup melted butter/oil

1 cup thick yogurt/curd

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp water (to be added if the batter is thick)

For Chocolate frosting:

8 pieces of semi-sweet baking chocolate bar

1½ tbsp milk

1 tsp butter

To make the cake:

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C/350 F for 10mins.

2. In a bowl whip sugar and yogurt till the sugar dissolves.

3.Add melted butter/oil vanilla essence. (If using oil then add a tsp of butter essence to give the cake a nice flavour or else the cake tastes bland)

4.Sift flours baking powder baking soda twice. Add it to the wet ingredients in the bowl.

5.Fold in the flour gently without heavy whisking. If the curd is too thick and makes the dough tight add 2tbsp of water. Cake mixture is ready.

6.Scoop in the cake batter into cupcake liners to ¾ of its height.(I poured only till half of the height as it was my first trial so the cake was resting inside to peep in 😄)

7.Bake in the oven for 15-17 mins.

8.Once they are baked do a toothpick test(insert a toothpick into the cake and it should come out as clean and oily without any raw batter) and let them rest on a wire tray for at least 10mins.

To make the chocolate frosting:

1.Boil water in a bowl and keep another bowl on top of it with chocolate pieces milk and butter. Let the chocolate and butter melt to a creamy texture, if it is thick add a tsp of milk. 

Spread over resting cakes and decorate.

It was fluffy and moist.

Notes:

Instead of all purpose flour and corn flour you can use 1½ cup cake flour
All ingredients have to be at room temperature .
do not over bake - it dries out the baked goods.
You can add your choice of an essence for a different flavour.

Healthy Dates and Nuts Ladoo

Lately, my daughter is losing weight due to her secondary school extra works and stress. I bought few energy bars and found the price weighed more than the stuff..huh... So I tried few healthy homemade recipes. Here goes number1...

Dates and Nuts Ladoo

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Snack/Sweet

Serves: 5

Prep time: 15 Mins

Cook time: 4 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup pitted n chopped dates

1/4 cup chopped almonds and cashews each

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1 1/2 tbsp ghee

Method:

1.Heat ghee in a pan

2.Fry nuts for just 2mins

3.Add cardamom powder and dates

4.Sauté until dates are soft n mashed

5.Transfer to a plate

6.Make balls when the mixture is hot with little ghee smeared in palm

7.Toss them in shredded coconut or nuts powder.

Sorry, I couldn't take the picture of the frying part.

Note:

If the ratio of dates increased then it will be too sweetCan make them in desired shapes.You can also add pistachios peanuts. Adjust the quantity according to the same ratio of dates to nuts mentioned above

Banana Icecream

I saw this post recently in a social media and immediately wanted to give it a try as it looked simple and delicious. It was close to real Icecream..hehe! First sweet post :) 

Banana I Screeeeam...

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Dessert

Serves: 2

Prep time: 2 Hrs

Ingredients:

1 Ripe banana (do not choose the fully ripen)

1/2 tsp Food colour (optional)

1 tsp Essence (Flavour your choice)

Method:

1.Cut the banana into cubes

 

2.Refrigerate until they are hard and frozen

3.Grind them in food processor or mixie until creamy

4.Add desired flavours(Chocolate Vanilla Strawberry) and fruit toppings

That's it!  Healthy no guilt ice cream!  

Note:

Though the creamy texture of banana retains for long the thickness of ice cream melts away quickly so prepare the ice cream when you are about to serve.