chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

February 3, 2014 MysTri MumLeave a comment

Ingredients:

125 gms soft butter

1 1/4 cup flour

3/th cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oats

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

Cream the butter,sugar and eggs together.Add the essence and then fold in flour and oats.Chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Using a spoon,drop blobs of cookie dough(its a little sticky) on a cookie sheet and then,using a wet spoon squish the blob to make a flat cookie.
Bake at 160deg for 10-15 minutes.
Get ready to bite into warm soft cookies.
I have no idea if these turn crunchy on cooling,because they never last that long here!

Note the cookies do spread a fair bit,so if you are OCD about getting each cookie the same size/shape,then,this might not be your thing 😀

Baked from Scratch · Cakes · Carrots · From my oven · Mumma's Kitchen · Recipe · Uncategorized

Of carrot cakes and truth about frostings… Day 5

December 5, 2012 MysTri Mum16 Comments

Ms.Aadya was going to the zoo today and its sort of a tradition in this house that Mumma has to bake her something special for such occasions.I asked her what she wanted and she said,”Carrot Cake”..So,that’s what I baked. I have to tell you,it was quite an experience,cracking eggs,when I had my own cheer-leading team of midget sized people! With every egg that I cracked,the girls cheered..I whisked and they sang and danced..:) I had only just creamed the oil and sugar and Aadi wanted a taste.Nanhi didn’t like the look of the creamed brown sugar,but she threw a tantrum because only didi got to taste it!! Oh! the joys of sibling rivalry!
So,the recipe-this one calls for oil instead of butter.My mom was forever looking for ways to replace butter with low-cal options,so you can imagine her joy when a friend told her that she could replace butter with vegetable oil.Since then all the cakes in our house were made using vegetable oil.And every now and again,I play around with the basic recipe to add flavors.
Without further ado,I present :

Ingredients :

Yields 1 Glad BBQ pan (29cm X 19cms X 5cms)

3 eggs
1 and 1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup chilled water
2.5 cup self raising flour
2.5 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped nuts(almonds,walnuts,cashews and pistachios)
1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 tsp cinammon powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder

Method:

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degs (160 fan forced). Grease and sprinkle some flour on the cake pan.

Cream the oil and Sugar together,making sure that all the lumps are broken.Add one egg at a time.Add the flour,walnuts,carrots,salt,spices and the baking soda.Mix it together gently,adding little water at a time.

Pour the batter in the baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes,till the fork comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let it cool..

Once cool,you can frost the cake and garnish it.I used Philadelphia Frosting It was divine and for garnish I used chopped nuts(walnuts,almonds,cashews,pistachios)

If you want to make your frosting from scratch,I totally recommend this recipe from Taste.com

60 gm cream cheese
30 gm butter,softened
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup icing sugar.

Place cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until pale. Gradually add icing sugar mixture, beating until combined.
So quick and it turns out so nice and fluffy..ohh yumm!

I still remember the first time I tasted a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting at starbucks in a Borders Book store in Delaware and my first reaction was..umm why cheese? But with every mouthful,I liked it a little better..and now I can’t think of any other frosting that will compliment a carrot cake as the Cream cheese.
That being said,I know my daughter and though Aadya insisted on the CC frosting,I knew it that she wouldn’t like it.I let her taste it,before I frosted the cake..she did and when I asked,she said..hmm not bad…I frosted the cake,she waited patiently and then worked her way through her piece slowly..very slowly..and then,she said,looking extremely shattered..’OK Mumma..I need to tell you the truth about the frosting..I don’t quite like it’
SD and I couldn’t stop laughing..I removed the frosting and she gobbled the cake up.
But she is like me.. she is warming up to the cream cheese.. every now and again,she wants to take a little lick of the frosting…
I heart this cake..because its so light and moist and not very sweet.Its just perfect to school snack or after-school snack or even great with the afternoon cuppa.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do..If you try the recipe,please leave me a comment tell me how you liked it:) and also send me pictures,so I can add them to my reader’s pictures page!

Bread · Mumma's Kitchen · Roti/Paratha · Tomato · Uncategorized

Methi Paratha with Tomato Chutney

April 22, 2011 MysTri Mum2 Comments

Last week,I found a bunch of fresh Methi(fenugreek leaves) in our local Indian store and I can’t tell you how thrilled I was. Winters are here in the Southern Hemisphere and if Paratha is not a winter food what is:)
My childhood was spent in a small town in Rajasthan,called Lakheri,where fresh produce was abundant.And my father’s family was well-loved and respected there,so as a result,we always,ALWAYS had more than enough fresh produce at home. Dinners in the winter months was mostly some kind of a vegetable paratha or vegetable pulav and soup.
So,the moment I laid my eyes on that fresh green bundle,I knew,I was going to make Methi Parathas.

Now if you have finished drooling,here’s the recipe:

Methi Paratha

Ingredients:
4 cups of whole wheat flour
1 medium bunch of fresh fenugreek leaves
2-3 tbsp fresh yogurt
1 green chili
2 flakes of garlic
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cummin-coriander powder
salt to taste
warm water for kneading the dough.

Method:
1. Pluck and wash the fenugreek leaves.Pat dry and chop finely.
2. Make a paste of yogurt,green chili and garlic.
3. Take the whole wheat flour in a wide plate and add all the ingredients and knead into a firm dough.Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
4. Take a lemon sized ball of dough and roll out into a flat round.
5. Roast on a pan.Apply a little oil on each side,and toast a little more.

Serve hot with yogurt/raita/pickle or chutney.

Here’s my mom’s recipe for Tomato chutney. Its my ultimate favorite chutney and it gets made in no time,at all.

You need :
4-5 medium sized tomatoes
2-3 flakes of garlic
1 green chili
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cummin seeds
Salt
red chili powder
a pinch of sugar.

Method:

Wash and cut the tomatoes in to chunk sized pieces.
Heat oil in a pan and add cummin seeds.When the cummin seeds start splattering,add the tomatoes and let it cook on a medium flame.
When the tomatoes start getting squishy,add chopped green chili and garlic. We don’t add the garlic and green chili before the tomatoes,so that maximum flavor is retained.
Add salt,red chili and sugar and let it cook till the tomato turns into pulp and all the water dries out and all you are left with is tomato pulp.
This chutney is a great accompaniment for parathas and also tastes great with toast.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do and if you do try any of these,do leave me a comment and tell me,how you liked it:)

Baked from Scratch · Cakes · Carrots · Juice · Mumma's Kitchen · orange · Uncategorized

Orange-Carrot Cake

March 27, 2011 MysTri MumLeave a comment

Remember the pulp left over from this delicious juice?Take a look:

Isn’t it gorgeous??
I decided to turn it into a cake. And what a delicious cake it was. And it called for minimum sugar too.

To make this cake,I just twisted,my mom’s regular cake recipe,to accomodate the pulp.This recipe was a hand-me-down from one of my mom’s friends and it was the first cake I ever baked.It still is,my go-to recipe,for when I want to quickly whip up a cake for tea.
Here goes:

Ingredients :

3 eggs
3 cups Self Raising(whole wheat) flour
1 cup sugar
3/4th cup oil
1 and 1/2 cup orange carrot pulp
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp cinammon powder

Method:

Beat eggs and powdered sugar together.Add oil to the mix and slowly start adding the AP flour.Simulatenously,also add the fruit pulp.Finally add the ginger and cinammon and mix a final time. Pour into a pre-greased tin and bake at 180 deg C for 20-25 mins,or till the skewer,inserted in the center of the cake,comes out clean.

This would yield a 9″ square cake.
If you do try it,do leave a comment and let me know,if it was:)
Happy Baking !!

P.S. you can reduce the quantities of sugar.. I had to add this much for the resident sweet tooth!

Bread · breakfast · Mumma's Kitchen · snack · Uncategorized

Happy New Year and Bread Rolls

January 10, 2011 MysTri Mum4 Comments

Happy New Year,everyone!!
And a big Thank You to those of you,who still haven’t stopped visiting.And Only for you,I try once again to revive this blog!
One of my goals..yes goals and not resolutions,this year is to introduce back some real food to Ms.Aadya.That and to bring in some childhood favorites in our everyday menu.
Two trips home in less than a year,an over-indulgent father,my sister’s visit and my lack of energy has turned Ms.Aadya into a junk-slob!Well not really a junk-slob..but lets just say,good wholesome food and vegetables aren’t top on her list anymore..they have been replaced by Candy,chips,icecream.Give her some Nuggets and she will gobble them up..Give her fries-she will chomp’em up..Give her potato bhaaji(curry) and she will turn her little nose up. Meal-times have been very irritating,lately.The girl refuses to eat anything other than yogurt-rice or roti-butter.I am not kidding you!!The only good thing is she still loves her oats and salads!I am tired of sneaking in vegetables..and the tantrums that follow if they are discovered.
So,anyway,I have rolled up my sleeves and decided to kick the junk-slob out of my little Princess and get her to eat something sensible..occasional treats are fine…AFTER sensible food.
The first thing I did is got rid of the junk..chips,candy,icecream.No more of that in the house.When we go out,she does get to pick one!
Anyway,so far I have tried:
Daal-chakali mixed with stir-fried spinach(not sneaked in..added in front of her)-another comfort food from my childhood. -She quite liked it.
Cracked wheat Dalia-This one went down well too..but it was sweet!
Upma-She hated it.
And today,/Bread Rolls -She loved those.Though she removed half of the stuffing:)

Does anyone remember this crispy favorite? Crunchy on the outside,filled with soft mashed potatoes ?And I pan fried them.I don’t remember the last time I deep-fried something..Seriously!
Anyway,here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
5 slices of bread-white or whole wheat.
2 medium sized potatoes-boiled and mashed
1 tsp chopped corriander
1 green chilly ,finely chopped.
1/2 tsp red chili powder
pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin-corriander powder
salt to taste,
Bread crumbs to coat.
oil to fry.
A bowl of water.

Preparation:
Add corriander,green chili,spices and salt to the mashed potatoes and mix well.Keep it aside.
Take a slice of bread,dip it lightly in water and gently squeeze out the water,by pressing the slice between your palms.If the bread is very soft,its a good idea to just let it touch the water from one side and then,squeezing the water(hope this makes sense)
Now,put some potato mix on the bread and make a roll,applying very little pressure.
Roll it in bread crumbs.Let it sit for 5-10 minutes and then, pan fry your rolls on medium heat,till they are a nice golden brown.Its important to keep the heat medium,because other wise you will end up with crunchy rolls on the outside but soft on the inside.
Cut into halves and serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

Baked from Scratch · Cakes · From my oven · Mumma's Kitchen · Uncategorized

No frills cake

June 14, 2010 MysTri Mum2 Comments

It was DH’s birthday on the 10th of June and he wanted a simple no frill cake.I tried to tempt him,”Black Forest??” He didn’t budge..So,I just did what he asked..:P
The Cake was Vanilla sponge ,made from this recipe.The filling was sweet light thickened cream and chocolate shavings.The frosting was buttercream..and the cake was garnished with chocolate shavings.
Last month,I baked about 35 cupcakes for a friend’s daughter’s 5th birthday celebrationg in school.She wanted chocolate cupcakes with white icing..I was looking for a buttercream recipe that worked..thats when I hopped across several blogs and a basic recipe for buttercream,stayed in my mind.I didn’t try it that time..but this time,I decided to give it a go..
Here’s the recipe for buttercream frosting-
Ingredients:
1 part salted butter(softened)
1 part unsalted butter (softened)
2 parts of icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence.
3-4 tsps milk.

Make sure the butter is soft and at room temperature.Cream the salted and unsalted butter..,add the vanilla essence.add the icing sugar slowly,adding milk ,one tsp at a time..And that’s it..you have the softest,fluffiest butter frosting ready!
I can’t find the link,that I am talking about,if anyone,has the link,for it..would you,please share it with me?