The Joy of Baking Muffins - Raisin and Choco-chip Vanilla Muffins

RAISIN AND CHOCO-CHIP VANILLA MUFFINS

Ingredients

Who doesn't love Muffins...The very smell of one makes me drool..And when I started Baking  I realised that baking 'Muffins' was one of the easiest things to do..extremely simple, no frills and can be done without even using an electric or a hand mixer..What now, me being 'The Lazy Cook', 'Muffins' became my favourite things to bake!

When it comes to baking I can close my eyes and trust Stephanie's (from Joy of Baking) recipes. They are all full proof and have never let me down till now!! I have adopted her recipe for Choco-chip Muffins here though the quantities vary according to my requirement. I wanted Choco-chips but strangely they were out of stock from every possible grocery store nearby so I have used chopped dark chocolate instead and even added some dark raisins!! 

RAISIN AND CHOCO-CHIP VANILLA MUFFINS 

Mixing the Dry Ingredients

Makes: 20 Muffins


Ingredients

200gms unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 medium eggs

280ml milk (whole or reduced fat)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

460gms all-purpose flour/Maida

270gms  granulated white sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

120gms chocolate chips/chopped chocolate

150gms Raisins

Wet Ingredients

Cinnamon Sugar Topping: (Optional)
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Procedure

Folding the Ingredients together

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and place oven rack in the center of the oven.
2. Butter, or line with paper liners, 12 muffin cups.
3. In a large bowl whisk together all the 'Dry Ingredients' the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips and raisins.
4. In another bowl whisk together the 'Wet Ingredients' the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.

Filling up the Moulds

5. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon fold the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are moistened and combined. (Do not over mix or you will have tough muffins.)
6. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.
7. In a small bowl combine the topping ingredients and then sprinkle a little topping on each muffin.

Just out of the Oven

8. Place in the oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

9. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5-10 minutes before removing from pan. Can be covered and stored at room temperature for a few days or they can be frozen.

10. Slightly warm it up just before serving.

Cooling over the Wire Rack

Next on my list is Pineapple and Orange Muffins or Carrot Muffins...Hope to catch you soon with any one in my hand!! Thanks for taking out time to read! Byee!

Breakfast with Instant Rawa Uttapam

INSTANT RAWA UTTAPAM

Ingredients

My Rule - "If the Breakfast is good the entire day is bound to be good".. Yes I really can't have cereals or simple bread in the morning..I need something different everyday..
And that's the reason I rush into the kitchen just after my morning tea.. But deciding what to make is a pretty taxing thing to do..
Well during the initial two years of my career I used to teach Physics..Yes I know its a shocker..I won't say I disliked doing that but within those two years I understood that this was not meant for me..I was not made to do a regular 9-5 job..I wanted my own flexibility..And that is the reason I gave it up and joined the husband as a free lance web developer.
Well why am I telling you all this is because the following recipe was given to me by one of my colleagues back then and I am really thankful to her because not just me the entire family loves it!! This is an Instant Rawa Uttapam which can be prepared in a jiffy.. Here goes the recipe...

Sooji-Curd Mix

INSTANT RAWA UTTAPAM

Makes: Around 8 Uttapams

Ingredients

Rawa/Sooji - 2.5 cups

Curd - 1 cup

Tomatoes - 2 small

Onions - 2 medium

Green Chillies - 2-3

Coriander Leaves - 2 Tablespoons (chopped)

Salt - to taste

Black Pepper - 1.5 teaspoons
Water

Refined Oil for frying

Procedure

Batter

1. In a bowl mix the Sooji and the curd properly (it will looks like a paste/dough) and cover and keep for around 20 minutes

2. Chop all the vegetables

3. After 20 minutes add Water to the Sooji Mix and mix till it forms a smooth batter

4. Add Salt, Pepper and the vegetables (remember to take into account the vegetables while adding Salt)

5. Take a NON-STICK Tawa and heat 1 teaspoonful Oil

Spread the Batter

6. Pour 2 ladles of the batter and spread it (the way you do it for am omelette)

7. After around 20 secs with the corner of your spatula make a few small holes on the uttampam

8. Place few drops of Oil on each holes and let it cook
9. Turn the Uttapam and fry the other side
10. Serve Hot with Chutney (I prefer it with ketchup or chilli sauce).

Instant Rawa Uttapam

The biggest advantage of being a free lancer is taking out time to cook whenever I want to!! Thanks for reading and Do try this at Home!! Ciao!

Sunday Lunch with Veg Yakhni Pulao/Pilaf

Veg Yakhni Pulao/Pilaf

Since I was a child Sunday Lunch used to always be special.. Being a Bengali, Maa's favourite used to be Mangsho Bhaat as in Mutton Curry and Steamed Rice... Arpi (sis) and me used to finish off with our homework right in the morning and then kept playing till Maa's Mutton Gravy's aroma made our tummies growl with hunger and our mouths drool..
Many years have past and Maa still continues to make something special on Sunday and makes me miss her even more on these days..

Today being a Sunday, the Husband n Me decided to move our lazy bones and do something special with Rice and Mutton..

N (the husband) chose a Kashmiri dish - Mutton Kabargah (for the recipe click here), his patented dish which I am crazy about.. I decided to make a type of Kashmiri Pulao/Pilaf to go with it which I have never tried before..After browsing through the net I found a very interesting recipe. It was Veg Yakhni Pulao (adopted from http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/vegetable-yakhni-pulao-veg-yakhn-pulao/)..Since we Bongs like our Pilafs slightly sweet, I added some sugar in the recipe. This one's extremely light on the palate yet very flavourful!! Hope you all like it!

Getting Started

Note: Yakhni means Stock in Kashmiri. Here the Rice is cooked in the vegetable stock, You can try this with Mutton or Chicken also.
Bouquet Garni refers to a bundle of herbs/spices tied together in a muslin cloth and placed in the pan of water with the vegetables/meat to enhance the flavour of the stock.

VEG YAKHNI PULAO / PILAF

Makes: 6-7 servings

Bouquet Garni

Ingredients

For the Bouquet Garni:
3-4 strands of mace
1 tbsp coriander seeds/dhania
½ tbsp caraway seeds/shah jeera
3 cloves/laung
2 inch cinnamon/dalchini
¼ tsp nutmeg/jaiphal
½ tbsp chopped ginger garlic

For the Veg Yakhni:
2-3 cups chopped veggies like cauliflower, carrots, beans, peas
5 cups water
salt

For the Pulao/Pilaf:

Vegetables chopped up

3 or 4 tbsp ghee
2 cups basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes
1 tsp caraway seeds/shah jeera
1 tsp ginger garlic paste (optional)
1 large sized onion, sliced
1 inch cinnamon
3-4 green cardamom
3 cloves
1 cup curd/yogurt
Salt
Sugar - 4 to 5 teaspoons

For the Garnish:
1 small onion, thinly sliced and fried - also known as birista
½ cup fried cashew nuts (optional)

Procedure:

To make the Bouquet Garni:
1. Take all the ingredients mentioned above for the yakhni in a muslin cloth. Tie the muslin cloth securely with the spices inside it. this is the bouquet garni.

Preparing the Yakhni:
1. Heat 5 cups of water. add the chopped veggies and salt. and the Bouquet Garni
2. Cook the veggies till they are half done. (15 mins)
3. Squeeze the bouquet garni and discard away the spices.
4. Through a strainer strain the stock/yakhni and keep the veggies aside.

Preparing the Pulao:

Placing the final Rice-Vegetable Mixture
in the Rice Cooker with the Yakhni/Stock

1. Heat Ghee in a Pan/Wok
2. Add the caraway seeds and fry till they sizzle.
3. Add the sliced onions and fry them till they are browned.
4. Add the other whole spices - cloves, cinnamon, cardamom along with the ginger garlic paste.
5. Fry for a minute or till the raw smell of the ginger garlic disappears.
6. Now add the half cooked veggies and curd.
7. Mix everything add Salt and Sugar (We have already added salt to the yakhni. keep this in mind before adding the salt)
8. Add the drained basmati rice and mix the rice with the spices and curd.
9. Now pour 3.25 cups of the broth/yakhni. ( I did the last part in the Rice Cooker) and set to boil
10. Put the Mixed Rice in the boiling yakhni.
11. Mix well and cover.
12. Cook for 15-20 minutes or till it switched over to 'Keep Warm' mode
13. Garnish with fried onions and fried cashew nuts.
14. Serve Veg Yakhni Pulao Hot with Onion- Tomato Raita.

And so the Bongs enjoyed a scrumptious Sunday Lunch while remembering the good old days.. You can try the Pilaf with Mutton or Chicken.. I ll keep it for next time!! Thanks for reading! Ciao! :) :)

The Veg Yakhni Pulao with some Onion-Tomato Raita (and ofcourse N is frying the Kabargahs while I click this)

Oh Calcutta and Bhapa Ilish

Maa and Me

Well all of you will agree there is something about 'Maa ke haath ka khana' and that is what makes my annual vacation to Calcutta even more special..

Being born and brought up in Delhi I really haven't spent many years in Calcutta (except a couple of years of schooling).. But there is something so very special about that city that once you manage a bite of the place you will savour the flavours forever..

After Baba's retirement, Maa and Baba mostly stay in Calcutta which gives me good enough reason to visit the city atleast annually.. Its a city full of amusing things, from lip-smacking street food to the hand pulled rickshaws, from the yellow cabs to the slow moving trams, the city is a wonder in itself!!!

And for me additionally is Maa, Baba, Arpi , Jiju n my cute nephew!! Obviously whenever I am there Maa makes sure she prepares all my favourite dishes!!

'Ilish' or 'Hilsa' is one Unique Fish...and being a Bong I totally love its taste..And if you manage to get hold of a fresh Hilsa make sure 'Bhapa Ilish' is the 1st thing that you cook..Maa obviously made sure I got my annual share of Hilsa this summers too. So here's presenting Maa ke haath ka 'Bhapa Ilish' or 'Steamed Hilsa'

BHAPA ILISH / STEAMED HILSA FISH

Fresh Hilsa Fish

Makes: 6-7 pieces of Fish

Fresh Mustard and Green Chilli Paste

Ingredients

6-7 pieces of freshly cut Hilsa
2 tablespoons of fresh Yellow Mustard  and Green Chilli Paste
2 teaspoons mustard oil
2-3 green chillies (slit)
Salt

Procedure

1. Wash the Hilsa pieces and sprinkle Salt and keep aside for half an hour

Preparation

2. Take a metallic container (with lid) which fits perfectly into the pressure cooker add the Mustard Oil, the Mustard and Chilli paste and some Salt

3. Put the pieces of fish inside and properly smother the mixture over the fish








4. Place the green chillies over the pieces

5. Close the lid and pressure cook till you hear one whistle then switch it off

6. When the pressure has released Serve Hot with some steamed Rice

This is one of the most popular Bengali Meals ever..Just one things you need to be an expert at picking out fish bones while eating Hilsa!

Bhapa Ilish / Steamed Hilsa Fish

Bon Appetite and Thanks Maa for making my annual trips so very memorable!