Kitchen-Kollections

Perfect for cold weather!  This is my official entry for the Click event bye Jugalbandi

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ounces (65 grams) peppermint white chocolate, cut into small pieces
2 large eggs, lightly beat
(1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 very ripe large bananas mashed well
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F for 10 min 
• In a large bowl combine the flour(sift the flour),sugars,baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate. Set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter and vanilla.
• With a spatula, lightly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffing paper cups. Bake about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for five minutes and then remove muffins from pan. Serve warm.

Palak or spinach is highly nutritious. Its rich with all the vitamins and minerals. Its best to completely boil it and never throw away the spinach water. It is loaded with nutrients. Here goes the recipe-

Ingredients

1 bunch of spinach – thouroughly washed and chopped
Paneer (cottage cheese)- 10 to 12 cubes
1 onion – finely chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
5 green chillies
10 cashewnuts – roasted and grounded to powder
1 tomato – Boiled and mashed
Turmeric
Salt to taste
Jeera and Dhaniya powder (fennel and coriandar) - 2 tbs
Red chilli powder – 1 tbs
half cup of cold water

Method

• Heat a tsp of oil in wide pan and add green chillies and then spinach leaves. saute until the leaves are wilted. Turn off the heat.Add half cup of cold water and keep it aside. It will help cool it off fast.
• Now add them to blender and add pinch of salt and blend to smooth paste.
• Lightly saute panner cubes in one tsp of oil until they are golden brown and crispy.
• Take another wide pan and add one tsp of oil. Fry the chopped onions and add ginger garlic paste and saute well.
• Add pureed spinach,tomato and cashew powder. Add a pinch of turmeric,red chilli powder and salt to taste.
• Mix thouroughly. Cook it in low flame for about 5 to 10 minutes. Before turning off the heat, add the paneer cubes.
• Mix it well so that the cubes are completely coated with spinach. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes and then turn the gas off.

Serve the curry hot with chapatis! You can also add a black of unsalted butter on top. That is how it is served in a typical north indian dhaba!!

Well..its a brand new year and I thought of starting it off with a great but simple cake. Initially I thought of a baking a chocolate cake..but it takes a bit more time so i decided I will make banana walnut cake. Its best to use ripe bananas in this recipe. There is one interesting thing which i want to share about banana..may be its a known fact but i figured out quite late. I usually buy at least a bunch of bananas. Once I was in usual hurry and pulled out a banana leaving the stalk. After a while it started giving out some odour and some black insects started flying around. I still dont know how those insects came in..but i totally freaked out and threw the bunch away. But now, i have realised one thing, as long as you break the banana along with the stalk..no odour will be released hence..no insects. I was somehow very relived after this experience…thats why i wanted to share this experience. I feel US homes are loaded with invisible fungus…lol but anyway back to my banana walnut cake recipe..you can top it with chocolate syrup and it tastes delicious.  

Ingredients

1 cup brown Sugar
1/2 cup Butter, unsalted
3 Eggs whiles
11/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup milk
1tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 Mashed Bananas
1 cup Chopped Nuts (walnut)
half cup raisins
1 pinch Salt

Method

• Pre-heat oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit (175 degree Celsius).
• Grease and flour the cake pan.
• In small bowl mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Separate the egg and keep aside.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract beating well.
• Mix in the mashed bananas and add milk.
• Add flour mixture alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture. Mix only to combine, and not too much.
• Stir in the nuts. Pour the batter into the pan
• Bake at 350-degree Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until test done.
• Remove from oven and cool it.
  Note: For testing use a toothpick. Pierce toothpicks into the cake if it comes out clean without sticking. It means cake is done