Banana Walnut-Chocolate Loaf Cake

Bananas are usually which I prefer to eat raw or slightly caramelised one. Usually I make cakes with only few selective fruits, and honestly I don't have that great liking for banana bread. Well, but when I  came across to a sure shot and very promising recipe thought why not give a chance, and yet I haven't tried making banana bread at home, so had to. And this super soft and moist flavours with chocolates chips and toasted nuts in the bread, was totally justifying for making it by myself. Now I know what I have to do with almost lifeless bananas...:D 

The recipe which I came across was without butter, honestly I cannot imagine my cake or bread without butter, though I personally have tried two three recipes earlier with olive oil, but the taste texture  and everything that butter does to the cake is fabulous. Mostly now I have stopped using oils in cakes and will stick to butter.

 

Ingredients:-

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 medium over riped bananas mashed 

1 tbsp vanilla essence 

100 gms melted butter 

3 small beaten eggs

1/4 cup room temperature milk

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans

Method:

Preheat oven at180 degree Celsius.

In a small bowl, combine all purpose flour with baking soda and salt. Mix well.

In a another large bowl, mash bananas properly, add in melted butter, milk, granulated sugar, beaten eggs and vanilla essence. Mix all well. 

Now slowly add flour mixture little at time. At this point you can use hand mixture for equal mixing to avoid any lumps.

Once the mixing is done, the batter will be smooth and lump free. 

Scrape the sides of the bowl with spatula. Add in chocolate chips and toasted slightly chopped walnuts or pecans and fold it in to the batter well. Pour the batter mix in to a loaf tin lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 55-60 minutes at 180 degree Celsius. 

Once done, bring it outside and check by inserting toothpick if it comes clean. If not than bake further  more for 5 minutes by keeping constant check until toothpick inserting comes clean.

Allow it to cool completely and store in an air tight container. 

A thick slice of this bread with a glass of milk is sorting wholesome breakfast which I throughly enjoyed till 2 days. ❤️

 

Chana Dal Patti Samosa stuffed in spring roll sheets

So today's blog post is chana dal stuffed patti samosa. I know the shape no where look like samosas, actually I have stuffed it in a market bought spring roll sheet. 

Earlier my mom use to make pattis at home but that takes so long and Unlike my mom I don't have that much of patience, didn't want to take so much of load making them at home. Went to market to buy pattis which I saw on shelf few days back, but phew, yesterday when I checked it was out of stock. And me and my hubby don't wanted to hold our craving till new stock arrives, so picked up the spring roll sheets and shaped it in to the same. Hence the craving wish fulfilled with happy tummies...

Mumma love you for your idea 😘😘

Ingredients:

2 cup of chana dal soaked in water for 3-4 hours 

1 cup fresh chopped mint leaves

5-6 green chillies paste (adjust spiciness you want, suitable to your taste buds)

3 tbsp garam masala

1 large boiled and mashed potato (for binding)

Salt to taste

Spring roll sheet to stuff..!!

Oil for frying

Method:

Soak chana dal in water for 3-4 hours.

Later drain the water and wash the dal under running tap water.

In a deep vessel pan or a pot, parboil the chana dal in water with the lid open. (Do not pressure cook it as it will get mushy and we don't want mushy dal stuffing) 

Parboiling will somewhat take 10-12 minutes or may be little more, but should not be mushy at all. 

Once the dal is parboiled, drain the water from the dal. Make sure to drain water completely.

Now in a large bowl, mash one large boiled potato, add fresh chopped mint leaves, green chillies paste, drained dal, garam masala and salt to taste.

Mix the stuffing mixture well.

Taste and check the spice level, if required add green chillies more. (Chillies I bought was not very spicy so ended up using 6 green chillies paste)

Now let's start with stuffing.

Spoon the chana dal stuffing on the spring roll sheet.

Stuffing and sealing procedure will remain same of spring roll or you can follow the pictures below. (For sealing the sheet, make a semi thin paste of all purpose flour mixed with water, I.e. 2 tbsp of flour and 1- 1 1/2 tbsp water)

Tightly sealed and stuffed. 

And follow the same with rest of the stuffing and here you are ready to fry them.

In a hot oil on medium flame, deep fry all the stuffed samosas or spring rolls :P, until it turns golden and crisp on both the sides. 

Bring out and serve hot with green coriander or mint chutney. So here the delicious snack is ready to serve..

Homemade Easy Digestive Biscuits/ Crackers

Early Morning tea is an therapy to me. It rejuvenates and prepares me to start my day, so early morning bed tea is important and a must sip to me. And how I wont make that first sip even more special by adding that personal touch. 

Usually me and my husband prefer having rusk with our first tea, dip dip and in to the mouth with hot cuppa. Aaahhh this awakens us.!!

So to be even more awakened with our sip, I thought to try something on my own and this is what came to my mind, whole wheat and oats digestive biscuits.., healthy start, Isn't it!!

Perfect crunch and crisp, and on top it's a home made, awakens us freshly and happily...!!

Mine got little dark after 10 minutes of baking, I didn't keep a check. May be next time I shall cover it with a foil as soon before it starts darkening. But it doesn't taste burnt at all. Infact the texture, crumb and crispness seems perfect to me...only the darkening is to be taken care next time.!! So let's start.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup Five grain cereal rolled oats coarse grinded or oats flour (you can use instant oats or any rolled oats, mine is mix of five grains oats made with flax seeds)

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup light and soft brown sugar

3 tbsp white caster sugar 

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

65 grams or half stick of butter 

3 tbsp of milk to form a biscuit dough

Method:

In a large bowl, mix whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, coarse grinded oats, salt, light soft brown sugar, caster sugar and baking soda. Mix all well.

Now add butter (doesn't matter if it is cold than)

Mix butter well with your both hand by rubbing the flour between your palms. At the end when butter is mixed in, it should give you a bread crumb like sight.

Now add milk, bring all the ingredients together to form a dough. Dough will be soft due to butter but will not be sticky at all. 

Transfer the dough in to plastic cling film, wrap it tightly by spreading a little with your fingers and put it in to the refrigerator for minimum 1 hr. (This will help to roll the dough perfectly, else it will stick )

After 1 hrs, bring it out. 

Open the cling wrap, and let the dough on the film.

To roll it easily, cover the top with another cling film. This will be easy to roll without dusting flour on surface..

Meanwhile preheat your oven at 180 degree Celsius.

Sides will crack, but not a problem, keep going by pinching the crack a little.

Roll it in to a large square with rolling pin, it should not be thin, but atleast minimum of 1/8-1 inch thickness..

Cut it with a round cookie cutter or any shape of your choice.

Place all the cut cookies on a baking tray lined with a parchment paper.

Again, Gather the sides of the dough, re roll it and cut.

Bake the biscuits at 180 degree Celsius in preheated oven for 18 minutes. (Mine got lil dark after ten minutes of baking so I covered the top with a foil and baked further. I insist you to keep a check)

After baking, bring it out of the oven, let the biscuits be in tray for 2-3minutes. 

Later transfer it on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely and store in an air tight container.

Whole wheat Honey & Oats Bread

Few time back I came across honey and oats bread, I was amazed to see the result when i read the recipe, the bread I saw was so nicely baked with so beautiful crust, and texture. The only mistake I did, I forgot to bookmark the link where I read that..phew!!

After shifting here in Hong Kong, I rarely buy breads from outside, mostly I bake whole wheat sandwich bread once or sometimes twice a week..I'll soon post the recipe for the same. But for now let me come back to my honey and oats bread. Well after not marking the link, I was looking for similar recipe.  And after lots of reads I came up with my own healthier version by using equal qty of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. I have kept 50:50 ratio of each. May be next time I'll change a bit of this ratio, 60:40. 

Aaahhhh the aroma in my kitchen, it will surely lift up the bakers mood. So aromatic, am happie happy..!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup rolled 5 grain cereal oats (semi grinded) (you can use instant oats too) 

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup Honey

1/2 cup warm milk

3/4 cup warm water

2 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast

4 tbsp melted butter or margarine 

Light olive oil for greasing the kneaded dough

For brushing bread top : 2 tbsp of melted warm honey ( not boiling hot)

And about 2 tbsp of oats to sprinkle on top

Method

In a large bowl, mix all purpose flour with whole wheat flour, semi grind oats and salt. Mix the mixture well.

In a small measuring container or cup, stir warm milk, warm water, melted butter or margarine, honey and yeast together, until yeast dissolves. Keep it aside for 2-3 minutes, until mixture turns frothy. (By mistake I added butter to the flour)

Mix the liquid yeast mixture in the flour mixture bowl.

Bring all the ingredients together to form a sticky dough.

Sprinkle some flour on your work surface.

Bring the sticky dough on to that surface, knead it for 10-15 minutes. 

After 15 minutes of kneading it should be soft smooth and non sticky.

Pop the dough into the oil greased bowl, cover it with tea towel or plastic cling film.

Allow it to rest in warm and dark place for 1 to 2 hrs, until it doubles in volume.

Once it has doubled up, bring the dough to the work surface and punch it down to release the gas inside.

Shape the dough in to a loaf and pop it inside your loaf tin lined with parchment paper.

Again cover it with a tea towel and allow it to rise second time for 35-40 minutes, or until it has risen well an doubled in volume. 

When the dough is nearly doubled, preheat oven at 180 degree Celsius with 2-3 cup of water in a bowl placed in lower rack of the oven for good steam inside.

While the oven is preheating, warm the honey a little. 

Brush the warm honey on to the risen loaf and sprinkle the oats on it.

Once the preheating is done, bake the loaf at 180 degree Celsius for 40-50 minutes in preheated oven, until it gets deep golden brown crust on top. Sit back and enjoy the aroma of the bread in your house. 

Once done, bring it out carefully and allow it to cool on wire rack.

And the star is here...beautifulllllll 

Baked And Matar (Pea) stuffed baatis

This is not my first time in baking baatis, I did baked before, In fact I mostly bake them as i don't have the proper and traditional  baati cooker, my mom and my didi always have made baatis in baati cooker and I love that soooo much, the taste the texture and the crumb of it, simply too good it tastes...when I asked my mom about baking baatis, she was not having much idea about it, it's when I posted plain baatis. So I quickly searched on google at what temperature it gives perfect texture, mostly I read baatis are baked at high temperature in proper oven. But when I made first time, don't know where I read and baked at 180 celsius (slow baking for baatis are not recommended I think) and they turned out to be little hard. So this time while baking I made sure to keep a check on time, as well as to be sure first with timings and temperature, don't wanted to end up with some hard texture.. So after lots of reads I finally nailed to the correct baking time and temperature, and it was yippee yeeyyyy moment,  it came out so perfect, not harrddddd at allllll.. The texture and crumb was really perfect and reminded me of my mumma's baatis.. 

So this time I have stuffed the baatis with pea and potatoes(matar and aloo) mixture. And this is speciality  of M.P (Madhya Pradesh,India) where it is known as masala baatis. You can stuff with any stuffing of your choice, for example you can use dals too for stuffing. My mother in law makes kachori stuffed with moong dal, me and my husband go crazy over it, may be next time I'll be baking baatis stuffed with moong dal...😍😍 

Ingredients: 

For Baati dough:

3 cups of whole wheat flour

1 cup semolina (sooji/rawa)

1/3 cup chickpea flour (besan)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup and lil more ghee (clarified butter) or you can also use any vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp of carom seeds (ajwain)

2 tsp of grounded fennel powder (saunf powder)

Salt to taste

And water to knead in to dough

For stuffing or filling:

2 cups of fresh or frozen peas semi grinded (matar)

1 large boiled peeled and mashed potato

2 tbsp chick pea flour (besan)

3-4 green chillies's paste ( adjust the spice level suitable to your taste)

3 tsp grated ginger or fine paste

3 tbsp oil (any vegetable or light olive oil)

1/2 tsp black mustard (rai)

1/2 tsp whole cumin (Jeera)

1 tsp asafoetida powder (hing)

2 tsp roasted cumin powder (jeera powder)

1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi powder)

1 1/2 tsp chaat masala powder (optional)

1 tsp dry mango powder (aamchur)

2 tsp fennel powder (saunf powder)

1 1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Salt to taste

2-3 tbsp of fresh chopped green coriander

Method: 

For baati dough:

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients well, add water and knead in to semi firm dough, should not be sticky at all and it should be able to handle without dusting any flour.

Once kneaded cover and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes. Till time make baati stuffing.

For stuffing or filling:

In deep vessel pan or kadhai, heat oil, add mustard seeds. Once it starts crackling, add whole cumin and asafoetida powder with green chilly and ginger paste. Stir and turn flame to low, now add semi grind fresh or frozen peas. 

Allow it to cook and keep sauteing for 7-10 minutes on medium flame or until it changes its colour to dark green slightly. 

Now add mashed boiled large potato and chick pea flour. Mix well.

Add all the spices mentioned above and salt to taste. (Except chaat masala)

Mix all well and sautée for 2-3 minutes on medium flame.

Turn the flame off, now sprinkle chaat masala powder and add lemon juice. Mix the pea mixture well and keep it aside to cool for 5-10 minutes. 

 

For making stuffed baatis balls:

Uncover the baati dough and knead it for few seconds. Pull out the lemon size dough ball, spread the dough ball by keeping on your palm, spoon a large tsp of the pea and potato mixture. Lift the sides and seal the dough ball with mixture inside well. Roll between your palms and press slightly from middle with your fingers. Place the stuffed baati in greased baking tray lined with parchment paper. Stuff all the baatis the same way.

Meanwhile, Preheat oven at 220 degree Celsius.

Brush nicely all the baatis with ghee or oil before it goes inside oven.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven at 220 degree Celsius. ( mine was nice light golden brown from outside after 12 minutes of baking, with perfect crumb)

Bring it out, let it cool for 5-10 minutes and dip all of the baatis in ghee or clarified butter. 

Serve it with Rajasthani panchkuti mix dal. My mom in law, makes baingan bharta with it, and so I did the same. And it tastes so yum..loll this is making me hungry :D