Almond and Tutti Frutti Quick Bread

I love to bake. Love this saying – “Cooking is an art, Baking is science”. Most people who bake at home have a stress free feeling when the stuff is baking in the oven – I fall into this category and I love the aroma of freshly baked goodies in the house.  My biggest constraint in baking is I do not use eggs and many recipes have eggs in them and to substitute them is a risk – sometimes success and sometimes not. I look at the fruit bread or wonder cake and love to replicate them at home. When I shop in bakeries, my mind automatically captures the images and I want to try them at home. I have made many quick breads (hope to post them soon on the blog) and I love them for their simplicity as it takes around 30 minutes to an hour and you have a freshly baked home food that is more nutritious and healthier than the store bought. I got this recipe from here and this one is a keeper. The bread was moist and soft and kept good at least for 2 days (sorry it did not last more than that to test). I will try this same recipe again with whole wheat flour to make it more healthier and post its results soon!!!

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
Almond Powder - 1/4 cup
Baking Powder - 1 tea spoon
Baking Soda - 1/2 tea spoon
Ghee - 3 table spoons
Condensed Milk - 1/2 cup + 2 table spoons
Flaked Almonds - 2 table spoons for garnish
Milk - 1/2 cup (adjust as needed)
Tutti Frutti - 1/2 cup
Almond Essence - 2 drops
Salt - A pinch

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
Grease a loaf tin and set aside
Sieve together all purpose flour, almond powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mix it until uniform and set this aside
In a separate bowl, cream ghee, essence and condensed milk till it becomes light and fluffy
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and add milk little by little to get dropping consistency batter.
Add the tutti frutti and fold them in and transfer the mixture to the prepared tin.
Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top and tap the tin on the counter a few times to even them out and also to remove the air bubbles
Bake for 25 minutes and then lower the temperature to 165 degrees C and bake for another 10 minutes until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
Cool it in the tin for 5 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing
If storing in the fridge for later use, then allow it to cool completely and wrap the entire loaf (without slicing into pieces) with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.


Sending this to Tickling Palates' Lets Cook Bread, Chef Mirelle's "Taste of the Tropics - Sugarcane" Priya's Olympics Games Event, Jagruti's event, Kalyani's Bake Fest hosted by Pumpkin Farm this month, Divya's Love Lock Series - Breads, Pari's preschooler snacks, brain child of Nithu's Kitchen, Let's Party, Bookmarked Entries - Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes as host and mention Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments as founder of the challenge, JCO - Monsoon of India, Jagruti's page, Spotlight: Healthy Snacks, Indrani's page,

 

Sakkari Velli Kizhangu Halwa / Sweet Potato Halwa – (சக்கரை வெள்ளி கிழங்கு ஹல்வா)

Hurray!!! my blog views crossed 1000... Thanks to all my viewers!!!! Celebrating it with a quick sweet... Sweet Potato, known as sakkara velli kizhangu in Tamil is a very healthy vegetable. It is one of the few vegetables containing nature's unsurpassed sources of beta-carotene. This halwa is a simple and quick sweet. It will look very similar to badam halwa with its orange color and its paste consistency when done. The photo does not show its full beauty - sorry took in a hurry...This sweet has no ghee or butter making it close to fat free.

Easy Coconut and Pistachio Laddu

Sweets – the word brings smile to many faces.. Doing sweets at home is a challenge many times as most of the Indian Sweets are tedious. However some sweets that are quick, easy and tasty brings smile to the person cooking it..  Especially when it looks like a lot of effort being put in, but can be done in less than 15 minutes.. Mix, cook for 5 minutes, cool, roll and serve!. vola that is easy.. Perfect for sudden guests, parties, actually for any occasion. I got this recipe from here. This makes around 18 laddus.


Sanjeev Kapoor (Khana Khazana) said – “you start to cook with condensed milk and then you do not make the recipe but eat the condensed milk by itself, then also it is fine… “ – This is not the exact phrase, but he said something similar to this. This is so true!!!!

Ingredients
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1/2 tin - 200 grams
Coconut - 1 3/4 cup (grated)
Pistachio Essence - 2 drops
Pistachio - 3 table spoons (chopped) + 3 table spoons (chopped)
Saffron - A pinch
Warm Milk - 1 table spoon

Method
Put saffron in warm milk for 3 minutes
In a heavy bottom pan, add together condensed milk, saffron milk mixture and coconut and cook on slow flame for around 3 to 5 minutes until the mixture leaves the sides and comes together. You need to stir continuously to avoid burning.
Once the mixture leaves the sides and comes together, add the essence and 3 table spoons of the chopped pistachio and remove from heat and mix it well
Once little cool to touch (not completely), make small laddus and roll it over the chopped pistachio and make tight balls
It will get more tight as it cools
Serve!


Sending this to my own event – Anniversary event, Priya's Olympics Games Event, Jagruti's event ,  Bookmarked Entries - Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes as host and mention Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments as founder of the challenge, Chef Mirelle's "Taste of the Tropics - Sugarcane", Pari's preschooler snacks, brain child of Nithu's Kitchen, Jagruti's page, Month Of Shravan,  Vardhini's Diwali Bash,  Celebrate - Indian Sweets , Surabhi's let's party, Preeti's page

Surprise Roti

Surprise Roti – surprised by the name? It has a story to it.. My mom was making this roti to give for my daughter’s first day at school as lunch. My daughter (3 years) came to the kitchen to see what is happening – saw my mom doing roti. My daughter thought it is the usual roti and went away. Then at lunch when she tasted it, it was sweet and she called it as Surprise roti – meaning roti with surprise. It is the name my daughter gave for this simple roti and we love it. So the name. Now coming to the recipe, this one is sure a hit among kids, perfect for lunchbox and is also quick to do. Also if you are like me who do not get perfect shaped round rotis, this is good to practice as I cut the roti into small pieces for my daughter’s lunch box. It did not matter when it was in perfect round or triangle as it was all bite size pieces in the lunchbox.  Regular granulated sugar will not work and you need to use powdered sugar.


Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour / Chapathi Atta – 1 cup
Salt - A pinch
Powdered Sugar - 3 tea spoons (adjust as needed)
Ghee / Clarified Butter - 2 tea spoons + more for cooking the roti – can use oil for vegan version
Water - to make the dough

Method
Mix flour and salt well and add water and make it to a dough. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes (covered)
Take a tomato sized ball and make a small round of about 4 inches.
Spread the ghee on the roti and sprinkle powdered sugar over it
Press the powdered sugar into the roti
Fold it in half to get a semi circle and fold it again to get like a triangle and seal the edges.
Roll the roti to a 7-8 inch triangle
Heat a tawa and smear it with ghee and add the roti and cook until both sides are done. Apply little ghee on top
Serve hot or pack as lunch when little cooled. You can also cut into small pieces with a scissors like how I send for my daughter's lunch box



Sending this to 30 Minute Mela, Tickling Palates' Lets Cook Bread, Priya's Olympics Games Event, Jagruti's event, Kitchen Chronicles – Only Vegan ,Kalyani's page, Divya's Love Lock Series - Breads, Pari's preschooler snacks, brain child of Nithu's Kitchen, Healthy Diet Foods - Whole Grains, Priya's page