Breakfast Quesadilla
1 flour tortilla
Crunchy peanut butter
1 banana, sliced
Dark chocolate chips
A knob of butter
Spread some peanut butter on the tortilla.
On one half of the tortilla arrange the banana slices and sprinkle the dark chocolate chips over.
Fold the empty half over and press down lightly to make sure the peanut butter can do its thing and get everything together.
Add a knob of butter in a pan and over a low-medium flame toast the quesadilla till it gets nice and crunchy.
Then add another knob of butter to the pan and carefully turn the tortilla over to the other side and let it crisp up nicely.
I cut it into three wedges just to make it easier to handle.
Serve up…. and oh, please proceed carefully, the melted filling is hotter than you think it would be.
SRC: Caramel Popcorn
To check out my previous SRC assignments, click here.
Anyway, on to this month’s assignment. This was the first time ever I’ve been assigned an Australian blog, actually, I think its probably the first time I’ve spent this much time on one. My assignment this month was Leigh’s Chit Chat Chomp. What a fun name! And what a beautiful blog. Hi Leigh! I really enjoyed looking through your blog space this month. Leigh is from Melbourne and loves travelling and food. Her travelogues are very interesting. Though I didn’t have the time to go through them all, with Easter prep and stuff, I’ve bookmarked them to read through later. I think I could plan a lovely trip to Australia with tips from this lovely blog. Go on and visit her! You’ll have fun!!! Not to mention you’ll be drooling over her lovely food clicks and recipes. It was fun having so many lovely options to choose from. Oh did I mention that Leigh has a little weekend catering venture that she runs. I have a more than a few recipes I want to try out and I’m sure once you head on over there you’ll be in the same boat with me 🙂
For my assignment this month, I was on the lookout for some feel good food. I just got back from a 3-day weekend trip to Panchgani. More on that later. But coming back to the city had me down with a severe case of the blues. So when I saw Leigh’s caramel popcorn, I knew I was going to make it. Popcorn and caramel – two of my favorite things in one. Its tried and tested comfort food that makes you feel better instantly. Who am I to disagree? Its simple and quick to put together and I enjoyed every bit of it. I halved the recipe this time around since I knew I’d have no problem polishing off the whole lot and didn’t want to be faced with that kind of temptation. And I was right to do so! What a treat this caramel popcorn is! I had to try really hard to keep myself from finishing it off. Lovely caramel flavor, with a tiny hint of honey! I’m so glad I now have a recipe like this in my arsenal. This will be perfect for parties and around Christmas!
Caramel Popcorn
40g popcorn kernels (I used a pack of Act II – classic salted)
1 tbsp butter
1/8 cup honey
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Cook the popcorn according to the manufacturers instructions.
For the caramel sauce, place the butter, honey and sugar in a saucepan over low heat and stir it till the butter melts down.
Turn up the heat to a medium and bring the mixture to a boil for 3-4 minutes or until it turns golden and has thickened.
Take off the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda and stir well to combine.
Pour the sauce over the popcorn, mix to coat the kernels well and spoon onto a lightly greased baking tray to set.
Break into pieces and serve.
Check out these little chunks of deliciousness!!!
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Mini Eggless Banana Walnut Muffins
Can you tell that I absolutely love bananas? They’ve always been one of my favorite fruits. If you’re new here and don’t believe me, check out these beauties – Banana Bread, Bananas Foster, Stuffed French Toast and Monkey Business. See I wasn’t kidding. Today I have yet another banana treat for you. And let me tell you that these were absolutely wonderful. Even though they were an eggless bake, they were light, moist and super yum. I made mini muffins this time just as an excuse to have a second helping, maybe even a third 😉 These were so great that the next time I whip these up, I’m going to make them the regular muffin size. I think that tells you how much we enjoyed them. I hope you do too! Oh, I love my new silicone mini muffin cups. They are so gorgeous, they just brighten up my day. Am I crazy to want them in every color available 🙂 ? Unfortunately I forgot to use them while baking the muffins but they do make a pretty picture. Can’t wait to bake with them.
Mini Eggless Banana Walnut Muffins
Yields 12 mini muffins
2-3 over ripe banans, mashed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup natural unflavored yogurt
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Preheat the oven to 180ºC and prepare your muffin mould
Mash the bananas in a bowl and add the oil, yogurt, sugar and vanilla and mix well.
Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix well.
Add the mashed banana mix and fold it into the flour till incorporated. Don’t beat the batter.
Add the walnuts, reserving a few and stir them in gently.
Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins and sprinkle the reserved walnuts on top of them.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or till done.
This recipe is linked to –
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday
Savory Sunday
Mix it up Monday
My Meatless Mondays
Bake Fest
Crushed Black Pepper Crackers / Mathri
Full Plate Thursday
A platter of savory crackers
You can check out the recipe I use for shortcrust pastry here. I sure hope you try making these crackers sometime. Let me know what you topped your crackers with. I’d love to hear from you.
Here’s what my platter of crackers looked like –
Savory Crackers
Shortcrust Pastry
Toppings of your choice (I used sesame seeds, carom seeds, red chilly powder and chopped fresh rosemary)
Roll out the shortcrust pastry and cut into diamond shapes or any other shape you fancy.
Sprinkle the herbs or seeds of your choice and lightly press them down into the dough using your hand.
Place on an ungreased baking sheet at bake at 170ºC for about 10 minutes or till lightly browned on the edges, making sure not to let them brown too far.
Cool and store in an airtight container.
This recipe is linked to –
A Little Birdie Told Me
My Meatless Mondays
Bake with Bizzy
Mangia Mondays
Mouthwatering Mondays
Full Plate Thursdays
Bombay Street Food Special #4 – Sukha Bhel – Light and healthy puffed rice salad
Savory Sunday
Homemade Tortilla Chips – Take 2
I must say, I was really pleased with this take on homemade tortilla chips and I know for a fact that this will be my go to recipe in the future. For starters, the process was considerably shorter that the first version. These chips can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. They don’t absorb much oil and are nice and crunchy. A note of caution, these are so darn good, you won’t be able to stop munching on them just the way they are. We went though half of the quantity without even making a single portion of nachos with them. They make fantastic nibbles.
Tortilla Chips
Recipe from: Soups, Salads & Starters by Nita Mehta
1 1/2 cup corn meal (also called maize flour or makki ka atta)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Knead into a pliable dough with water.
Make large marble sized portions and roll them out into thin discs.
Prick it all over with a fork.
Cut into wedges.
Heat some oil in pan and deep fry on a medium flame till they turn golden brown in color.
Drain them off on some absorbent kitchen paper.
When they’ve cooled off completely, store in an air tight container.
Use as needed.
This recipe is linked to –
Savory Sunday
Mangia Mondays
Hearth & Soul
A Little Birdie Told Me
Tuesdays At The Table
Corn Flakes Chivda – Savory Corn Flakes Snack Mix
For those of you who’ve never heard of this, you must be thinking I’ve lost it. Most of us associate corn flakes with a morning breakfast cereal thats a little on the sweeter side. Today, I’m going to introduce you to a snack mix made of corn flakes, which is savory, crunchy, healthy and really tasty. As a matter of fact this is my husband’s favorite munchy. I’m convinced that given the chance he’ll snack on this every day. I enjoy this from time to time, but in the past the thought of making this myself has always been intimidating. After a fair amount of online research, I decided to try it out. I saw a few recipes that had elements I liked as well as stuff I really didn’t care for. What I’m listing below is a combination of a few, mostly inspired by a store-bought variety that I quite like. This is so easy, I think it take about 15 minutes to make and you can store it in an air-tight container and nibble on it over the next few days, if it doesn’t get wolfed down sooner.
Corn Flakes Chivda
2 cups cornflakes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 green chillies, slit (optional)
6-8 curry leaves
20 raisins
20 cashewnuts
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup roasted chana dal (dalia)
2 tbsp unsweetened coconut chips (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 – 1 tsp red chilly powder
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp superfine sugar (You can also use granulated sugar, powdered)
Heat the oil in a large pan.
Add the mustard seeds and let it sputter.
Add the green chillies and curry leaves and let them fry off till they are nice and crisp. Be careful not to burn them.
Then add the peanuts. If you’re using raw peanuts, let them fry off on a medium flame till they are lightly browned and cooked. If you’re using roasted peanuts, this won’t take as long.
Add the roasted chana dal and cashew seeds and saute for a minute or so.
Next, add the raisins and let them fry for about half a minute.
Add the salt, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and stir well.
Add the corn flakes and toss well making sure that the corn flakes are well coated with the spice mix.
Take it off the fire.
When it has cooled a little but is still warm, sprinkle the sugar over it and toss gently but thoroughly.
Let it cool completely and store in an air tight container.
Please note – Snacks like this should be tweaked to your liking. Feel free to play around with the dry fruits and nuts added as well as the spice, sugar and salt levels. After you make this once, you’ll have a better idea of what you’d like to do the next time.
Have fun with this recipe.
This recipe is linked to –
What’s On The Menu Wednesday
What’s Cooking Thurdays
Real Food Wednesday
Diwali Delicacies @ Spicy Treats and Priya’s Versatile Recipes
Sheera with a twist … of Saffron, that is
My version is a little less fancy looking, but tastes the same. I know my Nana would be proud. I use roasted semolina to make this and roasting it brings out a wonderful nuttiness that the unroasted version lacks. I added a few strands of saffron as well. In mere minutes, you will be sitting down to a lovely warm, hearty treat. It is equally yummy if had once its cooled down to room temperature.
Sheera
(Serves 2)
1/2 cup semolina, dry roasted till it emits a light nutty aroma
1/2 cup milk
1/2 – 3/4 cup water
2-3 tbsp sugar, or to taste
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
A few strands of saffron, added to the milk
Seeds of 2 pods of cardamom, crushed
Slivered almonds and a few raisins (optional)
Heat the ghee in a vessel.
Add the roasted semolina and let it fry off till the ghee is incorporated with the semolina and the semolina has fried off. Make sure you don’t burn the semolina in the process.
Add the sugar and the crushed cardamom seeds.
Add the water and milk and stir continuously while the semolina absorbs the liquids.
When the liquids have almost dried out, add the slivered almonds and raisins and stir well.
Once all the liquids have been absorbed, the sheera is done.
You can garnish it with some more almond slivers, if desired.
This recipe is linked to –
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday
Savory Sunday
Meatless Mondays
Mangia Mondays
My Meatless Mondays
Bombay Street Food Special #3 – Rava Idli
South Indian fare is very popular street food in Bombay. Today, I’ve got a little twist on the the traditional fare, but I promise you it is good, so very good. Typically, South Indian snacks like dosas and idlis take a while to make. The batter is made with a base combination of rice and urad dal (black gram). The ingredients have to be soaked, ground and fermented etc. (not necessarily in that order). In time, I’m itching to try out the traditional method. This take, however, is a quicker, simpler version. Its almost an instant recipe. The idlis turn out really delicious and I made a quick coconut chutney that my mum always made to go along with dosas and idlis. My mum has this amazing lady for a neighbor. She is from South India and ever so often whenever she has time away from school, where she’s a full time teacher, assistant head mistress and I don’t know what else, she’d treat us to a huge portion of breakfast snacks like this that she’d make for her family. I miss those days. And honestly, she was the first person I thought about while I was eating these. I should try and coax her to give me her recipe for the traditional rava idli.
But back to the instant rava idlis, they make a quick healthy snack with rava (semolina) and it is steamed. What could be healthier? For me, this is like soul food.
Rava Idli
(Makes 8)
1 cup rava or semolina
1 cup curd or plain unflavored yogurt
Salt to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup water (I used a almost half)
A pinch of soda bi-carbonate
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and make sure there are no lumps.
Let it stand for 20-30 minutes. During this time you can make the chutney (Recipe below).
Pour the batter into idli moulds and steam for about 10 minutes.
Open the steamer and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Then take the idlis out of the moulds. A small spatula or the blunt end of a knife should be just right incase you need to help the out of the moulds.
Enjoy them hot with some Coconut Chutney.
Coconut Chutney
1/2-3/4 cup of freshly grated coconut
1-2 green chillies
Salt, to taste
1/2″ ginger
A ball of tamarind, the size of a large marble, soaked in a little water
Blitz all the ingredients together in a blender. Taste and adjust seasoning.
And thats it. In half an hour you can treat yourself to something yummy and wholesome.
This recipe is linked to –
Tuesdays at the Table
Delectable Tuesdays