I bake goodies like cake and muffins often but when I want to bake something different like a bread or a bun, I run over to Champa’s blog to see what I can try from her collection of recipes. One of my favorites is her Iyengar Bakery Style Potato Buns, which I make as Vegetable Buns.

This week I decided to try another one of her muffin recipes, a muffin with apple and dates. The best part was that it gave me a chance to bake without eggs. I had a couple of green apples on the kitchen counter and since I am not a big fan of eating apples, I just use them in recipes to get their goodness, like this Navarathna Korma.

So this is how I modified Champa’s recipe, she had used whole wheat flour and I used All Purpose flour and also skipped the apple sauce.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 1.5 cups
Baking Powder – 2 tsp
Cinnamon powder – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1/2 cup
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Apple Juice- 1/2 cup
Canola oil – 1/3 cup
Water – 1/4 cup
Grated apple- 1 whole apple
Finely chopped dates- about 10

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Mix all the wet ingredients first, that is water, apple juice and oil. Mix baking powder, salt, sugar, all purpose flour and cinnamon powder. Slowly mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and finally fold in apple and dates.

Arrange muffin liners in the muffin pan and scoop out the batter into each cup. Fill up to 3/4th of the cup level.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes till a knife inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 2-3 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to a plate or a rack.

Because of the dates and apple, this muffin recipe uses less amount of sugar than the usual recipes for muffins but it was all flaky on top and filling.

Serve these muffins with a hot cup of chai or enjoy them when they are warm.

Before I wrap up, I got a couple of mails asking me about last year’s Mavilakku Maavu, especially made for the Fridays of Aadi month(Mid july-mid august). Here is the link for the recipe : Mavilakku Maavu and this is how it looks like a lamp.

Paneer is Indian cottage cheese and it is a very versatile ingredient and is used in making gravies, rice dishes, wraps, indo-chinese recipes like Chili Paneer and kebabs to even desserts like rasgulla.

Paneer tikka is a quick and easy snack/starter course and just the look of grilled vegetables with paneer and spices on a skewer will tempt anyone.

Ingredients:
Paneer – 12 cubes (Not fried paneer, but fresh paneer)
Red onion- one small size
Cherry tomatoes- 8 each or roma tomatoes- 2
Mushrooms (optional)- 8
Peppers(any color)-1
Zucchini(Optional)-1

For the marinade:
Thick yogurt- 1/2 cup
Salt- to taste
Red chili powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tsp

Other ingredients:
Olive oil- 1 tsp
Salt and pepper to season
Skewers- 4
Lemon juice- 1 tsp

Method:

In a bowl,whisk the yogurt well and add salt, red chili powder, garam masala powder, ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder.

Chop the paneer into 1″ cubes. Add the paneer cubes to the bowl with marinade and toss well to coat. Cover with a wrap and let it sit inside the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes. You can also make the marinade in the morning and store it in the fridge and make the tikkas in the evening.

Soak the skewers in water for 30 minutes so that they will not burn in the oven/grill.

Chop red onions into 1″ chunks. If using cherry tomato, use it as a whole tomato to insert into the skewer. Chop zucchini, peppers into 1″ chunks. Use mushrooms as whole mushrooms if the size is small.

Pre heat oven to 400 F.

Heat oil in a pan and place the paneer cubes soaked in the marinade in the pan. Do not pour the marinade into the pan, just use the cubes.

Once the paneer is toasted to a golden brown color on both sides, remove them from the pan.

In a skewer, insert a chunk of onion, a tomato, mushroom, pepper, the toasted paneer cubes and repeat in any order till the skewer is filled. Repeat for other skewers. Brush the vegetables with some oil.

Arrange the skewers in a baking tray and bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. While the tikkas are hot, season with salt and pepper and squeeze some lemon juice on top.

Serve hot.

Alternatively you can also grill the skewers. You can also stuff the grilled vegetables and panner inside a pita bread or use it as a wrap with chappatis.

Instead of soaking rice to make Idli or dosas, for the past few weekends, I am voting towards making breads, buns or muffins as a choice for breakfast. It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish and the left over muffins make a wonderful choice for tea!

Last weekend, I wanted to make a savory muffin and used sun dried tomatoes, onions, chili and cilantro. They tasted like a mix between pakodas and bondas but they were too good to be true. Here is how it goes.

Ingredients: (Makes 8 large muffins)

For Strawberry muffins:

Strawberries- 10 numbers
Vanilla essence- few drops
All purpose flour- 1 cup plus 1/4 cup
Sugar (I like it sweet, but these berries are also sweet ,adjust to your taste): 3/4 cup
Eggs- 2
Milk- 2 tbsp
Butter- 6 tbsp

Muffin pan Liners-8

Method:

Keep the eggs and butter at room temperature. I used all purpose flour which is self rising, if you are using plain flour, remember to add about 3/4 tsp of baking powder.

Pre heat the oven to 365 F. Place the liners in the muffin pan.

Blend the berries in a blender and use the pulp to make the muffins (You can also use chopped berries, but I like a uniform taste).

Whisk together eggs and butter. Add sugar and berry pulp and mix lightly. Add vanilla essence, flour and mix lightly again. Do not mix like you are beating an egg, light mixing will be enough. If the batter is too thick, thin it out with 2 tbsp of milk.

Take about 2 tbsp of the muffin mix and place in on top of the muffin liners. Bake at 365 for just around 15-17 minutes or till a fork inserted into the muffins comes out clean.

Transfer to a tray and let it cool.

Savory Muffins:

Ingredients(Makes 6 large muffins):

Sun dried tomatoes-4 each
Green chilies-2
Sweet yellow onions-one small onion
Egg- 1
Vegetable oil- 3/4 cup
Milk- few tsp
All Purpose flour- 1 cup plus 1/4 cup
Salt – to taste

Method:

Soak the sun dried tomatoes in about 1/4 cup of hot water for 10 minutes. Discard the blackish water and chop the tomatoes. Finely chop the onions and chilies.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg first. Then add oil and beat well to mix. Add salt, sun dried tomatoes, onions, green chilies and mix well again. Add the flour and fold it in with a spatula. The batter will be thick, but that is alright. If you want, thin it out with just 2 tsp of milk.

These muffins do not have sugar as an ingredient and so the number of muffins that can be made with this measurement will be around 6-8 (depending on size of the pan)

Transfer the batter into a muffin pan. Bake at 365 for 15-17 minutes.

Serve the muffins with coffee for a quick and easy breakfast.

These Muffins are going to Bake off at Versatile Kitchen.

Since N travels a lot and we are vegetarians, it gives me a chance to share a lot of funny stories about food, particularly, airline food. When I accompany him on his tours, more than the joy of seeing a new place, I have the issue of preparing food for the travel. Usually I make tamarind rice or podi idli(both can stay fresh for atleast 2 days without using a fridge) for him to take for the journey. It sounds funny that at this age of freshly brewed coffee and to-go food options, I still make those old recipes.

But it was a life saver once- when N was on a non stop flight to Japan last year, though we had mentioned Vegetarian option, he was served Shrimp and chicken(as it is they offered food twice on the flight). And the only alternate options the crew had was a bag of peanuts and ice cream to munch for the 14 hour flight! Luckily I had made a pack of tamarind rice and he had that on the flight

It helps a lot to have a sandwich or something in hand, given the flight delays and the options for vegetarians. If good food is served on the flight it is OK if the prepared food goes as a waste, but if nothing is there, then comes the trouble.

So many times N and I have munched on a plate of fruits (kiwi and honey dew melon to be exact), sadly looking at each other and watching others enjoy a hot and cheesey pepperoni pizza. That is a pathethic situation, you know?

I always make a point to pack something for our travels and if N has a early morning flight to catch, I make some fresh cupcakes or muffins for him to take.

These cupcakes are very simple, actually very basic recipe for cupcakes. You can alter it, add any flavors or colors or frosting and enjoy them. I made a basic batter and then baked two batches of cupcakes, one with cocoa and nuts and other with coconut.

Ingredients (Makes 12 cupcakes)

All purpose flour- 1 cup and another 1/4 cup
Baking powder -1/2 tsp
Butter- 1/2 stick (6 tbsp)
Sugar- 3/4 cup
Large eggs-2
Almond essence- 1/2 tsp
Coconut flakes- 1/4 cup
Milk- just to add if the batter is too thick
Cup cake liners- 12

Method:

Keep the eggs and butter at room temperature for atleast an hour before baking. Use self rising flour or add baking powder to the all purpose flour and mix the flours together.

Pre heat the oven to 365 F.

Beat the eggs in a bowl till fluffy using a hand mixer, then add butter into it and beat well again. Add sugar and flour, alternating them and mixing them and folding them into the eggs as you go along. Mix gently, not like the egg beating!

Add almond essence, coconut flakes and mix once. If you feel the batter is too thick, you can add 1-2 tbsp of milk to thin it out.

In a muffin pan, arrange the cupcake liners and scoop about 2 tbsp of batter and place it inside the cups. Do not fill the muffin pan till the brim, give some space for the cake to rise.

Bake in a 365 F oven for just 14-16 minutes, or till a fork inserted into the cake come out clean. Remove from the oven, let it cool for a couple of minutes and transfer the cupcakes on to a plate.

Serve with tea or enjoy them as a breakfast. These cupcakes(muffins) are starting their journey for Versatile Kitchen’s Bake off event.