Basic Pancakes

My niece has taken after me. She looks exactly like me when I was her age – real curly hair, chubby cheeks , rosy lips and has an unreserved love for water. She doesn’t mind taking bath 100 times a day and loves ‘pimming’ (swimming) pool the best.

We call her a ‘cyclone’ cos all we can see after she has been to a place (say dining table or telephone table) is scattered stuff all around. She goes to the dining table first, does a good job there and then proceeds to the next place.

What I found most funny was her throwing something down and then looking at me and saying “Aiyyo!”. She makes the perfect “Oh oh” sound at the accurate places, mostly after she drops something she is not meant to.

Bhagus has a problem with sharing her stuff if she is not in a good mood. She went to the extend of holding and carrying an air filled baby chair (light weight stuff) over her head for almost an hour when another kid visited them :-))

My parents love all of her antiques and their eyes brighten up when they talk about Bhagus. I couldn’t spent much time with her this time, yet I can’t help smile when I think of her!

So now that my son is there at her place (he is with my brother in Bangalore), I wonder what and all she is holding up her head!!

Recipe Source: Basic Pancakes

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour : 1 cup
• Baking powder : 1 tbsp
• Sugar : 2 tbsp
• Salt : 1/2 tsp
• Milk : 1 cup
• Egg : 1, beaten
• Butter : 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Whisk to combine.
2. Add milk, beaten egg, butter. Whisk till no dry lumps remain.
3. Heat a tawa/pan. When its hot, add a teaspoon of butter. Add 1/4 cup of the pancake batter. Let it cook until bubbles appear on top and there is not much of moisture left. Turn over and cook the other side.
4. Make pancakes with the rest of the batter. Stack and pour honey on top and serve hot. Yumm!!

Note: These are basic pancakes. You can add mashed fruits/berries to the batter for a different version.

This recipe is off to Blogging Marathon 27, a monthly marathon for April. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for more details. Also sending this to Swathi’s Favorite Recipes for this month’s theme of Bookmarked Recipes, hosted by Pallavi.

Apple Dates Milkshake

My morning is noon for rest of the world. It’s better to have lunch than breakfast at that time. Yet, every single day, my father prepares breakfast for me. I think that’s what you call as optimistic attitude…

Anyway, I have told him not to make anything for me in the mornings. If I am too hungry, I make a quick milkshake for myself. And this particular milkshake has a speciality – its been in my bookmark list for a really long time.

Unfortunately, I was a bit let down by the taste of this milkshake, but I told myself it’s healthy and that’s more important. So in case you are ready to brave a healthy milkshake, go ahead and make these. Add a scoop of ice cream or a bar of chocolate while blending to make it much more tasty and totally sinful!

Check out the Blogging marathon page for recipes from other participants.

Recipe Source: Ramya’s Recipes
Ingredients:

• Apple. : 1 big
• dates. : 5-6
• sugar/honey, optional
• milk. : 1 cup

Method:

• Soak deseeded dates in half cup warm water for ten minutes.
• Core and dice the apple and blend with the soaked dates, milk and sugar or honey.
• Serve chilled. Makes one really big glass.

This recipe is off to Swathi’s Favorite Recipes. This month’s host is Pallavi and the theme is Bookmarked Recipes.

Goan Banana Fritters (Filos)

I made these pancakes for my son’s lunch yesterday. Now, if you knew the state of affairs in the morning time at my place (crazy crazy time!), you will understand the stress under which I clicked these before packing them in the lunch box.

Peace reigns the minute after the man and the child leave home for work and school. The house might look as if a hurricane has hit us, but then I am in a much better state of mind to face the day by that time.

Yet, the post is a day late and I am posting this in a hurry-burry fashion. But these Goan style banana pancakes (or so the internet says!) deserve to be enjoyed at leisure. So please relax, get yourself a cup of tea, check out the recipe and savor these!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for more bloggers and more recipes!

Recipe Source: Filos

Makes : 6-8 small pancakes

Ingredients:

• Ripe Bananas     :      2
• Eggs                     :       2 (I used only one)
• AP Flour              :      1/4 cup
• Milk                      :      1/4 cup
• Sugar                    :      2 tbsp
• Cardamom          :      a pinch (optional)
• Ghee                     :      abt 1/2 tsp per pancake

Method:

1. Mash the bananas in a bowl until no lumps remain. Add the egg and mix with a wooden spoon.
2. Add the sugar, a pinch of salt, milk, flour and cardamom. Mix till it forms a pancake like batter. You can adjust the consistency by adding the milk and flour accordingly.
3. Heat a tawa and add a teaspoon of ghee. When the ghee is hot, pour a ladle ful of batter. Once the bottom side is cooked, flip and cook the top too.
4. Serve hot with a cup of tea.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

After taking a short break, I am now back in action with a very hungry caterpillar for the third week of Blogging Marathon. Theme for this week is Storybook Recipes. Check out the other participants here in Blogging Marathon page.

I would love to go on and on about my son’s reading habit, but now with all the books packed and kept inside (too much of dust in the new place), there is hardly any reading going on.

But The Very Hungry Caterpillar comes out of the shelf now and then, to be read and enjoyed. Its not only my son’s favorite, it is a bit hit with me too! So thought of starting this theme with a hungry caterpillar cheese sandwich.

Recipe inspired from : The Very Tasty Caterpillar

Ingredients:

• Bread Slices          :     8 (or as many as required)
• Cheese
• Tomatoes
• Cabbage leaves
• Olives for eyes
• A small tomato wedge for mouth

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, if you are planning to grill the cheese, its optional.
2. Cut all the slices, but one, of the bread with a small round cookie cutter or with a vessel with sharp edges. I used my hubby’s cylindrical stainless steel pickle dabba for this.
3. Cut the face with a bigger cutter or a bigger lid or vessel. Using the same big cutter, cut through a slice of cheese and a leaf of cabbage.
4. Cut through the cheese to get a long cylindrical piece, and then thinly slice for the body of the caterpillar.
5. Slice the tomatoes and  cut the cabbage leaves with the same cutter.
6. On your baking tray, place a parchment paper. Arrange the bread in the form of a caterpillar, keep the head on top.
7. Layer the cabbage leaves so that the bread doesnt become soggy. Keep the tomatoes on top of the cabbage leaves and the top it with the cheese slice.
8. Gril for 2-3 minutes. Once done, keep the olives for eyes and a tomato wedge for mouth. I used the edges of the cheese slice for ‘horns’ and legs.
9. Season as per wish and serve with ketch up.

Note: I grilled for 5 minutes and wasnot around to check on them, so the cheese melted and was a gooey mess when I returned. I had to use fresh cheese slice for the face, as the previous slice had just sunk in and was not looking good at all. I took off the excess melted cheese away and transferred the caterpillar to another parchment sheet.

This recipe is off to Srivalli’s Kid’s Delight - Cooking From storybook hosted by Archana

Apple Cheese Sandwich

We (read – Hubby) gave in to our kiddo’s pestering about Bay Blade and got him one.

We bought it from the store at 2:30PM, reached home that day by 4 PM and kiddo lost it by 4:30 PM. He had taken it to the park to show off to his friends and lost it in a bushy area. The only solace for him was the fact that half of the items in the lost blade was his friend’s. So his friend was equally miserable.

I told the kids that we will search for it together and they took me to the area where the blade had landed. There were some 7-8 bushes about 6 feet high. I entered the bushes, expecting the kids to follow me, but - aha - no. No one was coming after me. They were both standing right outside.

‘The leaves are sharp, my eyes will get hurt. But you search, Aunty’ : Kiddo’s friend said.

‘Its a jungle. There will be tiger, lion and red ants inside. So you go in, Mommy.’ Kiddo chipped in.

It took me a whole day to get kiddo come with me finally. But he enjoyed it a lot. After all, he got to wear sunglasses (to avoid the sharp leaves), wear shoes(to stop the red ants from biting) and carry a thread. He would hold one end of the thread and I would hold the other end, so as not to get lost in the deep dark jungle (I am referring to those 7 bushes, of course!).

And the less said about the discussion about tigers and lions and red ants in the forests, the better!

Similarly, the less said about my delay in posting the recipes for Blogging Marathon 21, the better! But still, I am here finally. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for recipes from fellow bloggers who, of course, posted everything on time.

Recipe Source: Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

• Caramelized apples             :  5-6 slices
• Cheese slice                          :  1 slice
• Bread slices                          :  2 slices

Method:

1. To caramelize apples, peel, core and slice an apple thin. Heat a tablespoon of butter in medium flame amd add a tablespoon of sugar.
2. Add the apple slices and cook for 5-6min, turning them frequently to prevent burning an even coating of the caramel sauce. Take of the heat, cool. This can be refrigerated for a week.
3. For assembling a sandwich, take two slices of bread. Add a layer of caramelized apples on one slice, and a cheese slice on the other.
4. Heat a panini/sandwich maker and place these in it until done. You can do this in the stovetop too, adding a spoon of butter and cooking both the sides till the cheese melts.

Caramelized Apple Crepe

Kiddo’s Parents’ Teachers’ Meeting was scheduled for last Saturday. And as always, our plan was to reach there at 8:30 and we ended reaching there at 11 AM. The school gives us 4 chances an year to break this habit, but till now we have not been able to do it.

Anyway, when we reached there, only two parents were there ahead of us. Oh, so we can be out of here in another 15 minutes, was what we were thinking. We couldn’t have been more wrong.

Each parent (2+2 = 4) had N number of things to ask the teacher and it took more than 40 minutes when our turn came. How can you analize a kid in 1st standard so much, is my question. But then again, parenting differs from person to person and I shouldn’t comment on it, other than that this was the kind that made us wait for a long time.

When our turn came, me and my hubby went. I asked her whether he was doing fine, she said yes. And that was it. As we were leaving, his teacher said,”Ah one more thing, he howls in the class.”

Now, that’s an interesting feedback!

And do leave some interesting feedback for this wonderful Crepe, filled with caramelized apples, if you happen to try these out.

For the third week of Blogging Marathon 21, I chose the theme Sandwiches, rolls or wraps.After the Stromboli, its the crepes next. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for recipes from fellow bloggers.

Recipe Source: Caramelized Apples, one recipe with variations

Ingredients:

Caramelizing the apples

• Apple                 :     3
• Brown sugar   :     4 tbsp
•  Butter               :     1 tbsp

For the crepe (makes about 10 – 12)

• Plain flour         :        1 cup
• Milk                     :         1 cup
• Eggs                     :          3
• Melted butter   :        3 tbsp
• Salt, a pinch or 2 tbs Sugar, if you want to make it sweet

Method:

1. Peel, core and slice the apples thin. Heat a pan, melt the butter and add the sugar. Once the sugar starts melting, add the apples and cook in medium flame, for 5 – 10 minutes until the apples are cooked. Keep turning the apples so that they don’t burn and are coated with the caramel sauce. Cool and keep aside.
2. For the crepes, add everything together in a mixing bowl. Whisk so that there aren’t any lumps. Heat a non stick skillet and add a spoon of melted butter or cooking oil.
3. Take a ladleful of crepe batter and pour in the skillet. Swirl the skillet so that a thin, even coating of the batter is formed on the base. Flip and cook the other side too. As you can see, my first two crepes were smaller in size compared to the last ones (basically, you will get it right after a couple of tries).
4. Take off the pan, roll up with the caramelized apple as filling. Serve with the apple caramel sauce.

Easy Veg Sandwich

I have dieted two times in my life with success. But then, fatty & sugar loaded food and laziness to work out always prevails over good sense. So I have never been able to keep off the kilos I lost.

When I was dieting. There was no portion control, only restricted recipes. So I never used to feel hungry.  One of the tips, which I didn’t follow that much, was to use low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese instead of fatty sauces.

So this sandwich with yogurt instead of mayonnaise filling is my entry for Blogging Marathon 23, under the theme ‘Zero Oil Recipes’. Check out the other participants here in the Blogging Marathon page.

Makes : 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• Bread slices                  :         4
• Yogurt                           :          4 tbsp
• Carrot & Cabbage       :          1 tbsp each, grated
• Tabasco sauce             :          a few drops (or pepper powder)
• Salt
• Tomatoes                     :          1, sliced

Method:

1. Drain the yogurt in a tea strainer or coffee filter and leave it overnight in the fridge or at least 2-3 hours.
2. Add the tabasco sauce, salt, grated carrot and cabbage to the drained yogurt.
3. Spread this on one slice of bread. Add sliced vegetables on top and cover with another slice. Toast in a sanwich toaster or panini maker and serve with tomato ketch up.

Bread Upma

I have a ‘love-hate’ relation with telephone, especially my mobile phone.

I am either talking in my phone or I am frantically looking for it all over the house. The searching is really wild if the phone is ringing, but the panic level is much much worse when its not ringing.

The only use for the landline is to help me locate the cellphone. Other than that, its just a piece of decoration!

My family always complain that I neither pick up or return their calls, but my point is that they call me only when I don’t have the phone with me or I can’t pick it up. Like my younger brother. His call comes the minute I enter the bathroom. If I decide to take bath at 9AM, then the call comes at 9AM sharp. If I go in at 12:30, then 12:30 is the time of call! How he does that, I have no idea! But its guaranteed to damage my ‘I won’t pick any calls’ image more.

Anyway, in the lost and found section, along with my cellphone, was a bread packet this morning. I had totally forgotten about it and decided to serve them this way before they go bad. This is my post for Blogging Marathon #21, under the ‘Upma Varieties’ theme. Check out the page for more themes and more recipes from other participating bloggers.

Serves : 2 -3

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• Bread slices             :          5-6
• Onion                         :          1 small, chopped
• Tomato                     :          1 small, chopped
• Capsicum                 :           chopped, a handful (optional)
• Tomato Ketchup  :            1 tbsp (optional)
• Chili powder           :           1/2 tsp (or per taste)
• Coriander powder :           1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala         :           1/2 tsp
• Salt
• Oil

Method:

1. Chop the vegetables fine and keep aside.
2. Toast the bread and cube them. Keep aside.
3. Heat a teaspoon of oil and add the onions, cook till it turns pink. Add tomatoes and capsicum. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the masala powders, ketchup (if using) and salt. Mix and cook for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle a little water, if masala sticks to the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the bread cubes and give a good stir, so that it is coated in the masala fully. Do a taste test and adjust the seasonings if required.
6. Serve hot as such or with a cup of steaming tea.

Idli Upma

What do you do when life throws totally unexpected things at you?

My two cents : duck quickly, especially if life is throwing back those rock hard idlis I made recently!

But a bit of background first : I was down with a throat infection, closely followed by absolute tiredness and body pain. The tooth ache I was neglecting was finally making its point. In the dentist’s chair, I discovered that none of my teeth are going to get a chance to fall on their own, cause I have to take three of them out.  One down now and two more to go.

When I was recovering, my parents who were visiting us, left back to their home. I had lovingly packed idlis for their dinner during travel. I was checking with my mom whether I had left out something while packing the food. Hubby intervened and said : “Don’t forgot to pack a hammer for breaking the idlis.”

Lesson learnt : Go for idli upma, when idlis are rock hard. Now those…those are guaranteed to be soft!

This is my post for Blogging Marathon #21, under the theme ‘Upma Varieties’.  Check out the BM page for more recipes from really talented bloggers!

Serves : 2 + kid

Prep & Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Leftover idlis            :        6-8
• Onion                           :        1 small, chopped
• Carrot                          :        1 small, chopped
• Beans                           :         8-10, chopped
• Green peas, frozen :        handful
• Chilies/Chili flakes :        1 -2, per taste
• Salt
• Oil

Method:

1. Crumble the leftover idlis fine. I had kept the idlis in the fridge, so they crumbled easily without any problem. Keep aside.
2. Heat a teaspoon of oil and saute the onions till pink. Add the other vegetables and cover and cook for about 5 minutes till done. If you want, you can sprinkle a bit of water too. I cooked the vegetables in the MW (covered) for about 4 minutes.
3. Add salt and chilies or chili flakes and cook for a minute more. Add the crumbled idlis and mix thoroughly. Do this in a medium flame, or else the idlis might get stuck to the bottom of the pan.
4. You can mix the crumbled idlis with idli podi also.
5. Serve as such or with chutney/sambar.

Carrot Watermelon Juice

Breakfasts are simple affairs at my place. The menu is fixed. Cornflakes, on weekdays.

And on weekends, guess what – its Corn Flakes again! That’s because I wake up pretty late, and hubby and kiddo know its  better to rely on corn flakes, than on me to wake up and prepare breakfast for them.

For a change, they switch their types on weekends. Hubby has strawberry or chocolate corn flakes and the kid has bran or  oats type. So the problem of variety (in my opinion, at least) is solved.

I have half heartedly tried the usual idli/dosa breakfasts, but hubby and kiddo prefer to run on a light, liquid breakfast than on something heavy or oily. So cereals is more of their choice than of mine.

So for the second week of Blogging Marathon 20, when I chose Low Fat or Low Calorie breakfast, I had no idea what to feature here. I can’t present you cereals in a bowl three days in a row, so I thought of smoothies or juices for Day One.

Check out many more recipes and more varieties here at the Blogging Marathon page.

Inspired From : Healthy Breakfast Juice Recipes

Makes 2 glasses

Ingredients:

• Watermelon                 :             1/2 of a small one (about 3 cups, when cubed)
• Carrots                            :             2 big

Method:

1. Wash, clean and peel the carrots and cut the watermelon into cubes.
2. Run them through a juicer, if you have one. Or blend them in a mixer and strain it to get the juice.
3. Try adding black salt/mint/sugar or  ginger for additional flavoring.