Poha - Coconut Halwa

My husband started throwing me options when I went to him to get some ideas for this week's marathon. His suggestions however made me suspect whether he was really serious or gone delirious with his work load. He had flown from his work the previous night, worked way past midnight and was up in the morning again with his laptop on.  And so instead of arguing over trivial matters and getting preached on how I refuse to see beyond my mother's kitchen, I walked out of the room and began thinking about it.
Among the ones, a few seemed feasible like this poha one. My husband had claimed that he had eaten it somewhere but I wasn't  sure whether he was joking or serious. However I tried it since the idea of poha halwa seemed appealing. I loved it and it is a simple and quick option when you are looking for some yummy stuff to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp ghee
1 Tbsp each - raisins & cashews
1 cup thick poha / beaten rice flakes
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut (I used sweetened coconut flakes.)
2 Tbsp sugar (I used about 1 & 1/2 Tbsp as I used sweetened coconut.)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
A pinch of food color (optional)

Method:
* Melt the ghee in a pan and add raisins - cashews to it. Toast until the raisins become plump and cashews turn golden brown. Remove them with  a slotted spoon and keep them aside.
* To the same ghee, add poha and toast on low flame until it starts to change color. Transfer the poha to a plate.
* Add milk to the same pan and heat. Then add the food color, toasted poha and coconut and cook on low flame until poha is done.
* Next add sugar and cardamom to the poha. Continue to cook until the sugar gets dissolved and incorporated into the mixture.
* Turn off the stove and add the cashews and raisins toasted earlier to the halwa and mix well.
* Serve warm.

Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking during BM#17.

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Poori Payasam

Kheers / payasams are my favorite just for the simple reason that they satiate my sweet tooth with less guilt and minimal work. I jump in whenever I see a kheer related event going on in the blogosphere and so no surprise, my theme for the first week of blogging marathon is going to be on the same lines- Kheers / Halwas.

When planning for kheer posts, I realized that I haven't posted the ones that are regular in our homes. Surprisingly, even the most mundane vermicelli kheer hasn't been posted yet though I have close to 30 kheer recipes on my blog. And so I chose to go with this yummy poori payasam that used to be prepared on special ocassions in my MIL's kitchen. My mother would reach for a bag of vermicelli or a bottle of sago on festive days when she thought of kheers while my MIL for the wheat flour bag / chanadal. Those are/were their preferred choices. I keep preparing a variety of kheers but the ones with less calories. I don't deep fry very often and so this poori payasam doesn't appear even rarely in my kitchen. :) Probably I have prepared it once or twice and so, today it was like walking down the memory lane, remembering the good times spent with my dear MIL.

As the title suggests, this payasam needs pooris. This delectable kheer is particularly a breeze if you have any left over pooris. Even if you have to start from scratch, that should be no big deal as you may need only about 6 pooris for about 2 cups of milk used. I have posted the simple version that my MIL used to prepare. If you have company or want to make this kheer extra special, 1/4 cup powdered almond - cashew mixture / khova / condensed milk can be added to make the milk base richer. Or the milk can be boiled and reduced to 3/4th of the original quantity. 

Ingredients: (3 servings)
1.5 cup milk
2 - 3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp MTR badam mix (Optional)
4 pooris
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 Tbsp nuts to garnish
Method:
* Bring the milk to a rolling boil and reduce the flame to lowest setting. Let it simmer until pooris are prepared. Add sugar, cardamom powder and badam mix if using.
* Tear the pooris into small pieces, add them to the milk and switch off the stove after a minute or so. Garnish with nuts. Let it sit for about 30 minutes or so.
* It can be served warm or chilled. I prefer it warmer.

Note:
If you need to prepare pooris, take about 1/2 cup of wheat flour / all purpose flour and prepare a firm dough adding water as needed. Let it rest for about an hour. Divide into 6 equal portions, roll them into rounds and deep fry until they puff and turn golden brown both sides. Drain them on paper towels and press them between paper towels if needed to remove excess grease.

Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking during BM#17.

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Eggless Banana - Chocolate Chip Muffins

This month's "Baking Eggless" challenge was the basic banana muffins inspired from here. When you are baking something with banana, especially like these muffins, egg substitute is no brainer. Just substituting a banana for an egg works wonders. However since I have already posted that version of banana muffins, I went ahead with substituting yogurt for egg. I reduced the amounts of butter and sugar from the original recipe. I also added chocolate chips which made them absolutely my kids' new favorite muffins.

Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour / maida
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 bananas, mashed
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar (original 3/4 cup was sweeter)
1/3 cup yogurt
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Method:

* Preheat the oven at 350 deg F. Coat muffin pan with nonstick spray or use paper liners.

* Sieve the flour, baking soda, baking powder and soda in a bowl.

* Mix the bananas, sugar, butter and yogurt in another bowl.

* Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix them just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips if using. 

*  Add the batter into muffin cups, filling until 3/4th of them. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until done. If using mini muffin pans they will be done in lesser time.

 

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Oats - Kiwi Milkshake

Oats - kiwi milkshake is my concluding post of the BM#16 under "Pick one - Cook all - Oats" theme. This thick, yummy shake works as a quick fix breakfast or a snack. 

Blend the following ingredients to get approximately a cup of milkshake.
3/4 cup milk
2 small peeled kiwis
1.5 - 2 Tbsp oats or oat powder
Sweetener as needed

If you have missed any of my "Oat" posts during this week, here is a recap.
Oat-Banana Muffins
Oat-Walnut Laddus
Oats Chutney Powder
Oats Adai
Oats - Raisin Cookies
Oatmeal - Peanut Butter Bars

Check here to know what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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Oatmeal - Peanut Butter Bars

These easy peasy oatmeal-peanut butter bars can be made in a jiffy and are great for snacking. I followed this recipe for these yummy bars and all good, healthy things can be sneaked in these bars.

Ingredients: (yield 4 bars)
1.5 cup oats
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp semi sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp each - sweetened coconut flakes and chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
* Place peanut butter, chocolate chips, brown sugar and vanilla in a microwave safe bowl and microwave the mixture until it melts.
* Remove and add the oats, coconut and walnuts. The resulting mixture should be fairly dry.
* Mix well and pat the mixture into a greased, square pan.
* Freeze or refrigerate until firm and then cut into pieces.

Check here to know what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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Oatmeal - Raisin Cookies

I really love oatmeal cookies and was looking for a good recipe. I stumbled upon this recipe accidentally and found that this one is a keeper. The cookies turn out so good that they disappear in no time. :)

Ingredients: (Yield 30 cookies)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp flax meal + 3 Tbsp warm water
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 & 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup raisins

Preparation:
* Add flax meal to warm water and mix well until blended. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
* Beat the butter and sugars in a bowl until light and fluffy. Next add oil, vanilla and flax meal mixture and beat until well blended. On low speed, beat in flour, salt and baking soda until combined. Stir in oats, raisins and nuts.
* Preheat oven at 375 deg F. Grease the cookie sheets and keep them aside.

Baking:
* Drop dough by rounded Tbsp, 2 inches apart onto cookie sheet. Slightly press them with your fingers.
* Bake until edges are slightly brown or about 10 minutes. Cool and then remove from cookie sheets.

Check here to know what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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Oats Adai

Adais are healthy, quick alternative to the regular dosas and also the short soaking period and no fermentation makes them suitable during time crunches. Adais can be prepared immediately after grinding or the batter can be refrigerated until use. Replacing the rice with oats make them more healthier and they do taste exactly the same as the regualr rice version adais.

Ingredients:
1 cup oats (I use rolled oats.)
A handful each - toordal, urad dal, moongdal and chana dal
A handful each - cilantro and curry leaves
2 pinches of asafoetida powder
6 - 8 dry red chillies
1/4 cup fresh, shredded coconut
Salt to taste
1/2 cup finely minced onion

Method:
* Wash and soak dals together in water for a couple of hours or in hot water for an hour. Throw away the water after the soaking period.
* Add all the ingredients except onion to a blender. Add sufficient water and grind into a thick, coarse batter. The batter should not be runny.
* Next add the minced onion to the ground batter and mix well.
* Heat a tawa / iron griddle. When it is hot enough, pour a ladleful of batter at the center and spread it into a circle. Pour 1/2 tsp oil around the edges and cook for about a minute on medium flame. When it appears done on the bottom side, flip the adai. Pour another 1/2 tsp oil around the edges. Cook for another 30 seconds and remove the adai.
* Repeat the procedure with the remaining batter.
* Adais can be served with chutney / aviyal / sambhar or even plain if they are made spicy. I prefer it with jaggery powder. :)

This is my Day 4 "Oats" post and check what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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Oats Chutney Powder

Another interesting way of incorporating oats in an Indian kitchen and thanks to Priya Suresh. This wonderful idea of adding oats to a spice powder came from her, who had posted another version during last marathon. It sounded so interesting that I tried it last week and nobody could point out the difference between the regular chutney powder and this oats one.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup oats (I used quick oats).
1/4 cup chana dal / Bengal gram
1/4 cup urad dal / Split, skinned blackgram
1/4 cup dried coconut grated
12 red chillies (Less or more depending upon the spiciness preferred.)
1 tbsp tamarind
2 Tbsp jaggery
2 stalks of curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method:
* Toast chana dal and urad dal in a pan on medium flame until they start to change the color. Transfer them to a plate and let them cool.
Add oats and red chillies to the same pan and toast for a minute. Let them cool as well. Dry toast curry leaves and keep them aside.
* Now add all the ingredients to a grinder / blender and grind the mixture to the desired consistency. I usually prefer a coarse powder.
* Store it in airtight container and use it as a side dish for breakfast items like dosa, idli, rice or with plain rice and ghee.

This is my Day 3 "Oats" post and check what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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Oat - Walnut Laddus

My Day 2 post for BM#16 are these healthy and delicious laddus and I would just say that you can't stop with one when they are around. Have to mind the calories though. I really love them since they are ready under five minutes besides tasting really good. I just keep playing with the ingredients whenever I make these kind of super quick, no cook laddus and so end up with a different version each time. :)

Ingredients: (Yield 6 laddus)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup grated, dried coconut
1/2 cup jaggery powder

Method:
 * Toast the oats on medium flame until you start to smell the aroma. (This step is optional and I skip it sometimes). Turn off the stove and let cool.
* Add the toasted oats, walnuts, coconut and jaggery to a food processor / blender and process until the mixture comes together.
* Remove the mixture from the processor. Take a fistful mixture at a time and shape it into laddus/small balls. 
* Store it in a closed container if you have any leftovers. :)

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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Eggless Oat - Banana Muffins

After a little hiatus, I am back with another edition of Srivalli's blogging marathon. Yes, it's BM# 16 time and my posts this week are going to be "Pick one - Cook all" theme based and my ingredient choice is oats. My first oats post is going to be these yummy muffins that are regular at my home. They are perfect for breakfast or snacking. This recipe particularly comes handy when those overripe bananas need to be put for good use. You can keep the recipe basic without the addition of nuts / dry fruits but I recommend them since they definitely enhance the flavor and make these muffins special.

Ingredients:(Makes 12)
3/4 cup oat flour (Make your own flour by grinding either quick / rolled oats.)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 mashed bananas

Method:
* Preheat oven to 375 deg F / 190 deg C.
* Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, coconut flakes and raisins in a bowl.
* Mash bananas in another bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Stir in melted butter. Then stir in dry ingredients.
* Grease or line the muffin pan with paper cups. Spoon the batter into cups so that it fills up to 3/4th of each cup. Sprinkle walnuts.
* Bake until a toothpick inserted at center comes out clean or for about 25 - 30 minutes.

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking during BM#16.

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