Chocolate Fondant Melting Moments -Eggless Cupcakes/Muffins

Tall ,Dark and Handsome!

Moist ,a little sweet ,a little bitter!

Rich , very Au fait with today!

Satisfying!

Chocolate!

A Gooey center!

I was talking about these muffins!

Honest!

OK ,the photos may not do justice to these Tall,Dark and Handsome type muffins, but then, when there are few muffins and many attackers...one does not have the liberty of time and stage management.
Suffice to say that  ye muffins nahin khaye to kya khaya?
In the lingua pura...These muffins are a must eat. If you haven't tasted these,then you have not tasted anything.
Trust me, I love chocolate,but I always restrain myself.
But here,even the fork lost control.

These didn't take long to make,and we shared some with my mum's neighbor...Komal , spread the magic...
Tomorrow ,we bake some more.

Quick, get out the stuff and make these....


Chocolate Fondant Melting Moments -Egg less Cupcakes/Muffins...

you need

1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
6 tsp Cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp instant coffee powder
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup cold milk
1 tsp vinegar
1/3 cup yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
12 squares of chocolate
5-6 tsp candied cherries or walnuts

Start with the oven...set at 180C/ 350F to heat.
Spray/rub the muffin pan with oil . I used my mums PAM spray...
Better to also flour the tins. This recipe will give you 12 muffins. I have 11 cups, so I overloaded ,to compensate for the 12th.

The dry stuff,to be sifted together. Flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, Cocoa powder and  salt.

Sifted together.

That's the milk, the actual recipe erroneously called for 1 cup milk. Not needed....only 1/2 cup to which I added the vinegar and the coffee.This recipe is an altered version of a recipe seen on FOOD FOOD channel...

In a bowl, that's the sugar and the oil.

Now the yogurt...

Blended well, you know the drill by now.  A third of the flour mix at a time...

And the milk mix added as needed.

A smooth glossy batter....I placed 1 tablespoon first, which I topped with pieces of Cadbury's silk chocolate-what was left. It had been attracted and leftovers salvaged from the grasp of sweet child! So keep your supplies under lock and key....

Remaining batter for the cover up!

I also added the walnuts, cherries would've been a prettier option, but this was a quickie. Use whatever available,for maximum pleasure.

In the oven for 14 -15  minutes...If you like gooey centers. A couple of minutes longer if you like it Firm!
I do...I'm not a fan of goo.
Er..
Truth be told, there was not enough chocolate to make the center all runny, so in my case, sour grapes would be a better thing to talk about.
If you add a big square of chocolate like Donna Hay did on her TV show, you'll have a super runny center.

Now ,run a knife along the edges and pop them out while they are HOT!

Ignore the pathetic pics And enjoy the Yummlicious Chocolate Fondant Melting Moments . I'm sure they'll melt for you.
And the other advantage...these are EGG LESS!

We sorely missed Sanskriti, and her GIB!GIB!GIB!GIB!GIB! mantra...
So Jiya...when are you up to it???

Because remember...


Anything is good if it's made of chocolate.
Jo Brand




So what are you baking today???

Read More

WholeWheat Pita Bread with Hummus

Whole Wheat is always good. 

(a) Any self respecting Indian House will never be caught without a supply of ATTA-whole wheat flour

(b) Its the most nutritious cereal flour ever-as long as you have no gluten tolerance

(c) It also happens to be universally available.

To add to the goodness of this atta, chickpeas and sesame and fresh greens.WOW!

FYI- raw onion not only contains ample amount of fibre, it is also awesome for your cholesterol. Good for your heart, I cant comment on your breath though...

Best weapon against your spouse if you disagree about anything. And if you want to kiss and make up? Brush your teeth, twice a day ,everyday!

FYI bit -2 ,all veggies ,except the onions are from my veggie garden.

This little snack was the healthy exam time snack while sweet child was studying for his grade six exams. Hubby dear was off for work, and I cooked only when we ran out of cooked food. So meals like this really help.
Ready Pita Bread ,to be made into a sandwich or a quick pizza, Hummus ,that can be slathered on whenever needed, and a salad that needs only plucking.
How cool is that?

I'm not a big fan of Tahini-store bought or otherwise,so am never too thrilled at the prospect of the tahini. But for this hummus,I upped the nutritive values with the sesame. You can opt for it or not....your choice.And the garlic...of course from my garden!

These are the pita breads.I stashed them in three Tupperware in the fridge....lasted three days!

For the

Whole Wheat  Pita Bread...

you need 

5 cups whole wheat flour/Atta
4 1/2 tsp active yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tsp honey(you can substitute it with sugar)
2-3 tsp olive oil/refined oil
Warm water to knead the dough

I started out with the  yeast and honey,disolved in a few teaspoons of the warm water. Left to its own devices for 10 minutes,it threatened to spill out like a volcanic eruption.
That means,all is well!

Bad Idea,the food processor! The amount of dough was too much for it to handle. A smarter move would've been a BIG glass bowl. The one that would have worked best is a 2 1/2 litre bowl.

Into the flour the salt and the yeast and the oil,kneaded for around 7-8 minutes. If you have lazy bones like me and do not believe in kneading dough with your hands, a pro for the hand made dough....keeps your hands nice and soft.

Proving,set aside for an hour....another volcanic eruption in the making.

One more anger management therapy....punch ,punch and hit it back .

Now the oven heating up to 230-250C.
Again golf ball or lemon sized ball...

Rolled out 1/4 inch thick about 5 to 6 inches in diameter. You can sprinkle poppy seeds if you so desire...a wee bit will not make you an addict!

In the oven ,heated from top and bottom....about 2-3 minutes per side and they are done. I generally ake all of my pita breads at one go. Heat and use is my motto. Green Earth , I want.

This amount of dough gave me 20 pita breads,to use as I wanted.
BTW,you can also make pizzas using these breads, and the puffed breads make great pita pockets...and excuse for you to make felafel, get the recipe here.

Three tupperware full!
One for my master????
One for the dame....who me???
and one for the little boy who lives down the lane!

That's the salad...
Fresh out of the garden.
Sliced onions( Raw onions are excellent fighters of bad cholesterol,the bad breath can be nuked with a quick brushing of your teeth),sliced tomatoes,lettuce and baby spinach. Liberally dusted with salt and black pepper. I also sprinkled some Mc Cormick Zesty Lemon and Pepper Seasoning Salt. You can douse your salad with lemon juice also.

For the


Hummus...

you need

1/4 cup toasted white sesame seeds
1 cup boiled and drained chick peas
3-4 tsp Extra virgin Olive oil( if you dont have EVOO,or Olive oil..desi sunflower oil will also do. Just be majorly stingy!)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3-4 cloves finely minced garlic(I used 4 garlic scapes,greens and all-fresh from my back yard along with the regular garlic)
1/2 tsp jeera/cumin seed powder
1 small onion finely diced(optional)
salt ,paprika/Kashmiri red chilli to taste.

Lets start with the Tahini.
Buy it, or buzz it.
All you need are the sesame seeds and the olive oil.
The flavor is not that intense,so if you don't have sesame seeds or tahini,feel free to skip it.

Toasted and cooled sesame seeds into the smallest jar of my mixer. Add to this about a tablespoon of the olive oil.A bit of warm water and buzz....

You want a pourable consistency for your tahini. A thick batter like consistency will do. You need to use only 2-3 tablespoons in the hummus. Make sure you freeze the remaining tahini if you dont intend making hummus soon. It spoils extremely fast.

These are the boiled chickpeas. As a standard I pressure cook my chickpeas with a pinch of ajwain-carom seeds and salt. In goes the lemon juice,garlic,salt and paprika and the cumin seed powder.
Process with the olive oil .

Whizzed up,now check for seasoning.Remove to a bowl and add in the chopped garlic scape's, the onion and drizzle a little Extra Virgin....

Like so, sprinkle with some paprika, cumin seed powder and garlic chives.Drizzle with the Olive oil...virgin or otherwise...

You can assemble the sandwich with hummus and the salad, or make a patty- felafel's,or a mutton patty or whatever...These were vegetable cutlets. And if you want to make felafel,click here for the recipe.

That is the protein rich, fibre rich meal...pretty and full of promise.

And low calorie to top it all...

Enjoy a fulfilling meal...And a healthy snack to beat.

So what are you baking today???

Read More

Mathri and Matri and Yaadon ki Baarat(the tales of our past)

Yaadon ki Baarat...

I remember,and if you are north Indian,you will remember, containers full of fresh Mathri and Matri. If you are south Indian,you'll have memories of the murruku .If you know not what this word means, check here.

Once upon a time, not so long ago, home made snacks meant cakes and the usual fried stuff.

The fried stuff,which was made by the virtual tonnes(to young eyes ,that small amount did resemble tonnes). I remember...I remember...my parents were stationed in far off places Kochi, Dabolim-Goa also Mumbai....little imps we were....used to munch fist fulls of them at a time.

Black and White pics to remind us of an era gone by.

Suddenly it was not fashionable to make all this at home.

That was about the time Maggi Noodles invaded our lives.

This was also an attempt to introduce Sanskriti to Matri(the ones that look like peas, and are thus called Matri-Matar means Peas in Hindi).

Hello,I am not talking of the sixties,just the nineteen eighties.

I have this thing about age, I may love the melancholy ,but I also love Michael Jackson.

                                 

The same dough works the magic in mathri,whether it is made with with peppercorns or with Kasuri Methi...or dried fenugreek.

FYI -fenugreek has Greek antecedents,the bitterness was welcomed by us Indians. The Greeks lost out on the flavors and the medicinal benefits of this wonderful plant. It really is a powerhouse of goodness. Try it, it suddenly bursts in your mouth. Even the most tepid of foods will exude warmth...of fenugreek. Just a pinch is enough.

The same goes for ajwain,carrom seeds for the uninitiated.

Flavor,aromas and the benefits of no gas.

Ask those who live on Pepto Bismol or Eno, wherever you live,you'll have a brand dedicated to the burps!

These fried snacks may give you gas, they also have ways to bring them out.

As long as they don't have trans fats!

The easiest possible thing to do,ready in an instant...and can also be used for chaat paapri.

Since these are a little high in calories we made just enough for one sitting.

You can too,keep them for munching while you watch a movie,or make some memories for your children.

for the

Mathri and Matri and Yaadon ki Baarat(the tales of our past)...

you need 

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ajwain-carrom seeds

1 tsp peppercorns(optional)

1 tsp crushed  kasuri methi-dried fenugreek leaves

1/4 cup refined oil or desi ghee/clarified butter (I used Canola oil)

1 pinch bicarbonate of soda

oil to deep fry

Start with the flour ,salt and  bicarbonate of soda. Sift it into a bowl. to this add the ajwain-carrom seeds and kasuri methi-dried fenugreek leaves.

Add in the 1/4 cup refined oil or desi ghee/clarified butter. Desi ghee/clarified butter makes the mathri taste awesome,but we were thinking convenience....I had already poured oil in the wok,ready to fry. 

We go the shortcrust pastry way here.Mix it in to resemble bread crumbs,you may add a little more oil if you think that the breadcrumbs are a little dry.

Use cold water to knead it to a hard dough. Totally not like a bread dough, it must make you work out a bit. If the dough is soft,your mathi will be soggy,wont crisp up. If you are going into all this effort and oil,you may as well have crisp mathis.

Take a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll it out on a greased surface, to about 1/8th inch thin. Now prick it all over with a fork. Let it feel the pain, or it will bubble up in happiness in the hot oil.

With a pastry cutter,cut out thin strips ,about the size of a  pea pod.

Now,the tricky bit....don't pull them off the rolling board. Gently roll them off,just like you are coaxing a sleeping child off the bed....roll,roll and they'll be off...maybe a tangled web like thing emerges,but we are not practicing to deceive!

In the meanwhile,the wok filled with about an inch deep oil should be hot enough. Just drop one matri..it should rise to the surface in a few seconds.

Once you put them in,a handful at a time,reduce the flame to a simmer.

You'll want to keep an eye on them,or you'll end up like us...the first batch burnt to chocolate..er coloured crisps.

I made a few lots of the matri, then with madam Sanskriti perched on my hip, rolling was ruled out. So small balls...who does not like balls??

One peppercorn per Mathi and then shaped like one, you can prick these balls too,but it would not be in good taste. Flatten them a bit,the right thickness is the thickness akin to that of the peppercorn. That's why Pepper corn!

First batch....Versus the second....

These were the mathris....all crisp and warm....and yummy.

After the packaging and the first attack...

Babies don't enjoy the option of sharing,mind it. 

That was one very successful tea, and we had memories to match. So when are you going to be bringing out the albums???And the tea???

So what are you baking today???

Read More