Banana Bread

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups of honey wheat  pancake  mix
1 stick butter
1/4 cup milk
2 large ripe bananas

Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a pan.
Make sure eggs and butter are at room temperature.
Whip the butter and sugar till creamy.
Add eggs one by one and beat them into the butter and sugar.
Add milk and vanilla essence beat till fluffy.
mash the bananas and add it to the batter.
Finally add the pancake mix and mix gently till everything is incorporated.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Enjoy with a hot cup of black coffee!

Chai Latte

Ingredients

1 cup water
3 cloves
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
3 cardamom pods
1 tsp black tea powder
1 1/2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 inch ginger
3/4 cup low fat milk

Recipe

Add water, cloves,cinnamon stick,cardamom pods, black tea powder and dark brown sugar into a pot and boil  for 4-5 minutes.
Strain the concoction into a bottle.Store in a refrigerator for up to 2 days and use as needed.
Warm milk in a microwave or stove. Do not boil.
Pour 1/2 of it into the mug,then add 2-3 Tbsp(or more as per taste) of the prepared concoction.
Whip remaining half of the milk until frothy using a blender or frother.
Spoon it into the mug. Mix slightly.Serve immediately.
This can also be served cold. Instead of warm milk, add ice and cold milk into the concoction.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

1 medium Butternut Squash peeled and cubed
1 medium onion diced
2 large cloves garlic minced
1/2 inch ginger minced
1 green chili
1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
oil
salt
pepper

Recipe

Take the butternut squash pieces in a baking sheet, drizzle oil on top, season lightly with salt and pepper.

Roast for an hour or until soft.Keep aside.

In a pan, add 1 Tbsp oil. Once hot add cumin seeds and let splutter.

Add onions and saute till translucent.

Add ginger, garlic and green chilli. Saute for 30 seconds.

Add Garam masala and roasted butternut squash pieces and puree.

Add milk as needed to get the desired consistency while pureeing.

Simmer for 5 minutes. Add cilantro.

Add more salt per taste.

Serve hot.

Mini Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients

For the dough

1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg (room temperature) beaten
5/8 cup warm 2 %  or whole milk

3.5 Tbsp butter(room temperature)

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp sugar

For the filling

2 Tbsp butter(room temperature)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4  teaspoons cinnamon

For the glaze

1/8 cup Cream Cheese (room temperature)
1 Tbsp butter(room temperature)
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
3-4 drops vanilla essence
1-2 Tbsp of Warm milk(add more or less depending on the required consistency)

Serving size: Yields 14-15 mini cinnamon buns.

Recipe

Prepare the dough

In a bowl, add yeast,warm milk and sugar.Keep aside for a minute or so.
After sometime the milk should look very frothy.
To the same bowl add 2 cups flour,egg,salt,butter.
Mix well with a wooden spoon.
Add more flour by a tsp measure, if the dough feels very sticky.
Once the dough comes together, Knead it for at least 10 minutes with hand.The dough should be smooth and should  spring back when poked with a finger.It should not stick to hands.
Cover with a damp towel and leave aside for an hour in a warm spot for the dough to rise.
In the mean time mix cinnamon and brown sugar in a small bowl.Keep aside.
After an hour, knead the dough for 30 seconds and flatten it out with a rolling pin or hand in the shape of rectangle.(approx 16 X 10 in measurement).

Add the filling and prepare the baking dish

Spread butter all over the surface of the dough.
Sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar mixture.
Beginning at the longer side, roll the dough tightly.
With a knife using short movements, cut the dough into equal slices.(approximately 1 inch)
Place slices with the cut side up in a large baking dish.There should be some space between the slices.Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for an hour.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Apply butter/milk on top of the rolls. Bake till golden brown.
Remove and cool for five minutes.

Prepare the glaze

Beat cream cheese, butter, confectioner's sugar and vanilla essence till smooth.
Add milk slowly (1 Tbsp at a time) checking the consistency. Add more for thinner consistency and less for thicker.

Pour glaze over cinnamon buns.Serve warm.

Cracked wheat and spinach khichdi

Ingredients

1 cup coarse cracked wheat
3/4 cup yellow moong daal
2 cups spinach chopped roughly
1/2 tsp whole black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
Pinch of asafoetida
1 sprig curry leaves
1 whole red chilli
2 tbsp clarified butter/ghee
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
5 cups water

Recipe

Pressure cook cracked wheat, moong daal and spinach in 5 cups of water for 3 whistles.
In a small pan, heat oil and clarified butter together on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add cumin and mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add black pepper corns, asafoetida, red chilli. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to the cooked cracked wheat.
Add salt to taste.
Drizzle ghee/clarified butter on top(optional).
Serve hot with a pickle of choice.

Whole wheat pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg

2 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp butter
Blueberries or any berries of choice
Maple syrup to drizzle on top

Recipe

Take cold milk in a cup and add lemon juice to it. Keep aside for 5 minutes.

Beat egg in a mixing bowl. 

Add milk and lemon juice mixture,sugar,oil to the egg and beat till everything blends.

Sift whole wheat flour,salt, baking soda and baking powder .Mix into the wet ingredients.

Mix with a spatula till everything just blends. Small lumps is fine in pancake batter.

Heat a pan on low. Brush some oil or butter on the pan

Pour a ladle full of batter into the pan.

after 30 seconds,try to lift the sides slowly using a wide spatula. 

Once the pancake is golden brown on the bottom side, flip it gently.

once the other side is also light brown,Use a toothpick and prick in the center to see if the pancake is cooked throughout.

Transfer to a plate.Drizzle maple syrup on top. Add some berries. Serve hot with a dollop of whipped cream or butter.

Idli

Ingredients

1 cup Urad Daal
2 cups Idli rice
1 cup of Regular oats
1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
Water as needed
Salt to taste

Recipe

Soak urad daal and fenugreek seeds together in a bowl for 40 minutes. Soak rice and oats in a separate bowl for 1 hr.

Drain and grind urad daal and fenugreek seeds till a smooth fluffy mixture is formed.Use water as needed to aide in grinding.

If a 1/4 tsp of ground urad daal is put in water,it should float and not sink to the bottom.This is when it is done.Keep this aside.

Next, grind idli rice till a coarse mixture is formed. 

Finally, grind the urad daal mixture and rice mixture together with a 1/4 tsp of salt, till everything blends in well.

Put the batter in a tall container and leave it in a warm place for the batter to ferment and rise.It takes approximately 8-10 hrs in a cold climate.During summer it may take much less time.

Once the batter ferments, add required amount of salt to taste(already there is a 1/4 tsp of salt, so be careful while adding more). Mix well.

Take an idli stand. Apply oil/ghee and pour in batter(do not fill batter to the brim,leave some place for the idli to rise while steaming). 

In a cooker/idli steamer, add water and bring it to boil. Put idli stand in and steam for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes take the idli stand out, and let it rest for a minute or so. Use a blunt knife to take idlis out.

Apply ghee on top and serve hot with Sambhar/chutney/spice powder of choice.

Some tips for proper fermentation in cold weather:

• Fill a large container with warm water and place the idli batter container in that. Leave this in a warm place.
• Keep batter in a warm oven. Switch on the oven light.
• Put idli batter container  near the stove while cooking

If batter does not ferment and rise even after doing all this. Make dosa/uttapam with the batter and try again next time.

Kadhai Paneer

Ingredients

7 oz Paneer cut into bite size cubes

2  Medium Carrots cut into Discs

1 Big Green Bell Pepper cut into bite size pieces

1 Medium onion cut into bite size pieces

1 Roma tomatoes cut into bite size pieces

1 inch ginger grated

3 cloves Garlic grated

1 green chilli

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp Garam masala powder

1 tsp crushed Kasuri methi

1 Tbsp tomato paste

Pinch of sugar

Salt to taste

4-5 mint leaves

Water as needed

3-4 Tbsp oil

Recipe

Add oil into a pan and heat it up.

Once hot, add carrots , saute till tender, remove from pan and keep aside.

Add bell peppers into the same pan, saute till tender , remove from pan and keep aside.

Do the same with onions, when onions are slightly translucent, remove them from pan.

Saute Paneer for 30 seconds and keep aside.

Finally add tomatoes, Saute for a minute. They should not turn mushy. Keep aside.

In the same pan add cumin seeds. once they splutter, add tomato paste,grated ginger,garlic and green chilli. Saute till the raw smell is gone. 

Add coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder,turmeric powder,Kasuri methi, fry for 30 seconds, Add 1/2  cup water to make the paste thinner.(Add more or less depending on the preferred consistency)

Let it come to a boil. once small bubbles appear, add the vegetables and Paneer pieces, salt to taste and Garam masala powder. Mix gently.Finally add mint leaves to garnish on top.

Cover and simmer for 1-2 minutes so that the flavors develop.

Serve hot with jeera rice, pulao or Naan.

Tomato rice

Ingredients

 4 Roma tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 green chilli
1 sprig curry leaves
3 Tbsp mint leaves finely chopped
3 Tbsp cilantro finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Chana daal(Bengal gram)
1/4 tsp urad daal(Black gram)
1/8 tsp hing
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Garam masala
2 Tbsp oil
2 cups of Sona masoori rice
3 cups water
Salt to taste

Recipe

In a rice cooker, cook 2 cups of rice in 3 cups of water. Keep aside.

Heat a pan on medium , add oil .

Once oil is hot, add chana daal.vFry till the color changes to light brown.

Add urad daal,cumin seeds, mustard seeds. Wait till they splutter then add curry leaves and hing.

Add chopped onion, fry till translucent. 

Add chopped garlic,slit green chilli,cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and fry for 1/2 a minute.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook on medium heat till the tomatoes are soft and paste like.

Add tomato paste and saute till the raw smell is gone. 

Add sugar,salt and cooked rice.

Finally add garam masala, mint leaves and cilantro.Mix well

Serve hot.

Fresh homemade White Bread

Ingredients

3 cups King Arthur Bread flour
2-1/4 tsp Active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Honey
1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp light olive oil
1/2 cup warm milk

serving:makes 1 loaf

Recipe

In large bowl, add the yeast and warm water,honey and mix.

Leave alone for 2-3 minutes.the mixture should become frothy.

Add salt,milk, oil and mix well.

Add the bread flour slowly and keep mixing with a wooden spoon.

Finally after mixing in 3 cups of flour, the dough should be a little sticky and it will become difficult to mix with a spoon.

Time to use hands. Add 1 tsp flour over the dough and Knead the dough for 5 minutes. 

While Kneading if the dough feels sticky, add 1 tsp flour.

I usually knead it in the mixing bowl. You can put it on the counter and knead if you are not comfortable.

After 5 minutes the dough should be soft to touch.

Drizzle some oil on top,cover and leave it in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.

After 1 hour,knead the dough for a minute and take the dough out from mixing bowl.

Spray the loaf pan with oil.

Put the dough in the pan  cover and again leave it in the warm spot to rise for 20-25 minutes.

Preheat oven at 375 degrees F.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Take the pan out of oven, and transfer the bread loaf to a cooling rack immediately. Be careful while handling the hot pan.

Once completely cooled cut slices of bread.

To store, wrap it in a cling wrap and aluminum foil.

Put it in a microwave(switched off) and use as needed. 

Tomato Mozzarella and Basil pesto Sandwich

Ingredients

2 slices fresh homemade bread(Recipe here)
2-3 Mozzarella Slices(Do not use the shredded one)
2 Tbsp Basil Pesto (Recipe here)
1 medium Roma Tomato slices
Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on top

Recipe

Spread basil pesto on both slices of bread.

Layer mozzarella slices and tomato slices on top of the pesto.

Place the other slice of bread on top of the tomatoes to make a sandwich.

Grill the Sandwich. Once the bread is toasty and warm with golden grill marks,it is done.

Drizzle Extra virgin olive oil on top and serve hot.

Basil Pesto

Ingredients

1 bunch basil leaves
Handful of pine nuts
1/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Juice of half lemon
2 cloves garlic
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

serving:
This recipe makes  1 cup basil pesto.

Recipe

Separate the Basil leaves from the stems.

Process the leaves in a blender along with Pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil.
Once the desired consistency is achieved, add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Can be stored in the refrigerator in a tight lid glass jar for future use.

This can be used in pasta,sandwiches, vinaigrette.

Corn and Cheese Toast

Ingredients

2 Slices whole grain bread (or any bread on hand)
2 slices American cheese
1 cup Fresh corn(frozen is fine too)
Salt
Pepper
Sriracha sauce/hot sauce(optional)

Recipe

Take the corn and boil it in water for a minute.
Drain water and keep aside.
Take one bread slice, and cover the surface with boiled corn.
Put one cheese slice on top.
Toast it using a toaster oven till the cheese melts and the bread is crisp.(It took me 2 minutes)
Take it out of the toaster oven, season with salt and pepper.
Top it with Sriracha sauce for extra kick(optional).
Serve immediately.

Vegetable Hakka Noodles

Ingredients

1 pack Ching's Veggie Hakka noodles

9-10 baby carrots

1 big red bell pepper

1 big green bell pepper

1 big onion

Handful frozen corn

4-5 Tbsp canola oil

1 Squirt Tomato ketchup

2 Tbsp Ching's green chilli sauce

1 squirt Sriracha red chilli sauce

2 Tbsp Ching's all in one sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe

Add noodles into a pot of boiling water.Cook for 2 minutes. Drain water, drizzle oil and keep aside.

Chop all the veggies lengthwise.

Take a Frying pan,heat it up.Add oil.

Once oil is hot, add baby carrots and fry for 1 minute.

Add onion, fry till translucent.

Add Frozen corn,Red bell pepper, green bell pepper. Saute for 1 minute on high heat.

Mix in the cooked noodles, all the sauces(Add more or less depending on personal preference), salt and pepper.Mix well and saute on high heat for 15-20 seconds.

Serve hot.

Basil Pesto Fusili

Ingredients

1/2 pound Fusili
Basil Pesto(recipe here)

Recipe

Cook Fusili in a large pot of boiling water until it is al dente.
Strain and drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top.Keep aside.
Add 2-3 Tbsp or required amount of pesto into the cooked pasta bowl. Mix well. Serve hot.

Grilled veggie and black beans taco

Ingredients

For Whole Wheat Tortillas:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp oil

For Grilled Vegetables:

1 medium Zucchini

1 medium Onion

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp cumin Powder

1 tsp Black Salt

Oil to drizzle on the vegetables

Juice of 1 big lime

For Black Beans:

1/2 pound Black beans rinsed and soaked in water for 5-6 hours or overnight.

1 onion

1 Tbsp cumin powder

Juice of 1 big lime

1 tsp chili powder

3-4 cloves of garlic

Salt to taste

For Salsa:

1 medium Tomato chopped

1 medium Onion chopped

2 Tbsp Lime Juice

1 Tbsp finely chopped Cilantro

Salt to taste

Mexican Cheese mix for Garnishing.

Recipe

The Tortillas

In a bowl take the whole wheat flour, add salt and baking powder. mix well. add oil mix.

Add milk slowly to make a dough. Dough should not be sticky.

Knead the dough for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes, dough should not stick to the hands and it should be smooth.

cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, make balls of the dough . Roll the balls into tortillas and cook them on a pan till brown spots appear on both sides.

Cover the prepared tortillas with a damp kitchen towel.

The Black Beans

Pressure cook the rinsed and soaked beans for 4 whistles.Alternatively, simmer beans in a pot full of water for 1 - 1 and 1/2 hours.

In a separate pan, add oil, fry onions till translucent. Add cumin powder, chilli powder, cooked beans and  salt. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Finally add lime juice and fresh cilantro.

The Salsa

In a bowl add the chopped onion, chopped tomato,cilantro, salt  and lime juice.

Mix well.

Grilling the Vegetables

Cut the zucchini lengthwise into 2 -3 slices.Cut Onions into rings. Cut bell peppers into big pieces and remove the seeds so  that they can be grilled.

Apply oil on the vegetables with a brush.

In a small bowl, add the chili powder, cumin powder, black salt.

Rub the vegetables with the above mixture.

Finally drizzle lime juice on top of vegetables.

Grill the veggies till dark lines appear. 

Once grilled, chop them into bite size pieces.

Assembling the Taco

Take a Tortilla, add beans on one side of tortilla.

Add the grilled vegetables on top of the beans.

Add salsa on top of grilled vegetables.

Sprinkle cheese and fold the tortilla into half.

Grill the taco.

Serve hot with lime and guacamole on the side.

Penne with Tomatoes and herbs

Ingredients

For Sauce:

2 big tomatoes
2 Tbsp Tomato paste
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 Tbsp finely chopped Parsley
1 Tbsp finely chopped Basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3-4 medium size cloves of Garlic
Water as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
oil

For Pasta:

1/2 pound Penne
Water to boil
Salt to season
Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on top
Shredded Parmesan Romano cheese

Recipe

Add some oil to coat the base of a frying pan and heat it up. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and Garlic. Once the onion turns translucent, add the tomatoes and cook till they become a little mushy.
Add the Tomato Paste and some water so that the sauce is not too thick. Add salt pepper and Italian seasoning. wait till the sauce comes to a boil. if the sauce is becoming thick, add some of the water used to boil the pasta. Once the sauce comes to a boil, take of from heat and keep aside.
Boil Pasta in another pot, following the directions on package.
Once boiled, strain the water from pasta.
Drizzle Extra virgin olive oil and Add the shredded parmesan romano Cheese
Top it with the prepared pasta sauce.
Add fresh basil and parsley.
Mix well.
Garnish with parmesan and romano cheese and some basil and parsley.
Serve hot.

Lime Rice(Nimmakaya Pulihora)

Ingredients

 1 cup Sona Masoori rice
2 cups water
1 big Lime
1 Tbsp Chana daal
1 Tbsp Urad daal
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1 tsp Turmeric powder
6 Tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Recipe

Boil 1 cup rice in 2 cups of water.

Once cooked, add 1 Tbsp of oil, fluff it up with a fork put it in a mixing bowl.

In a frying pan, add the remaining oil and heat it up.

Once the oil is hot add the chana daal, fry till the color slightly changes.

Add urad daal, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Fry till the cumin and mustard seeds splutter.

Add Hing, curry leaves, turmeric powder and salt.

Add the oil mixture to the rice in the mixing bowl.

Squeeze out the juice of the lime into the rice bowl.

Mix well.Serve hot.

Spiced Sesame Seeds Powder

Ingredients

1 cup  white sesame seeds
1/2 cup red chillies(add more or less depending upon the spice levels)
Salt to taste

Recipe

Dry roast sesame seeds till the color changes to very light brown.
Dry roast the red chillies for 1/2 a minute
Put the dry roasted sesame seeds,salt  and red chillies into a grinder.
Pulse until everything comes together in the form of a powder. Do not grind continuously. Use pulse mode,Otherwise the oil from the sesame seeds will make the powder mushy.
This powder can be mixed with hot plain white rice and ghee or can be added in curries. It can also be eaten with plain dosa, idli etc.

Masala dosa

Ingredients

For Dosa:

1 cup Urad Daal
3 cups Idli rice
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
Salt to taste

For Potato Curry:

4 medium boiled potatoes
1 medium green chilli chopped finely
1 inch ginger grated
1 tsp urad daal
1 tsp chana daal
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 medium onion sliced
1 sprig of curry leaves
salt to taste

Recipe

The batter:

Soak urad daal, Fenugreek seeds together in bowl of water and rice in another bowl for 4 hours. Grind them together into smooth paste, cover and leave it in a warm place to ferment(should double in volume) overnight. Once the batter ferments mix well and the batter should have the consistency as shown in the picture.

If the batter is too thick, add water. Finally add salt and mix well.Keep aside

The potato curry:

Take a pan and heat it up. 

Add oil,once the oil is warm, add the chana daal and fry till it changes color to light brown. Add urad daal,cumin seeds, mustard seeds. Once they Splutter, add curry leaves, ginger, green chilli, onion, and turmeric. Fry till the onions turn translucent. Add salt. Mash the potatoes and add it to the above mixture.Mix well. The potato curry should look something like in the picture.

The masala dosa:

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan.
Pour a ladle full of batter on the griddle and make a thin crepe.
Once the crepe has dried a bit, add oil all over the crepe and to the edges.
Once the crepe starts turning brown, remove it onto a plate.
Serve hot with the potato curry and chutney of your choice.