Raw Banana (Aratikaya Vepudu/Plantain) Fry - Just in 5 mins

One of my friends was asking me to post some recipes with low calorie...So I came up with this recipe. Raw Banana Fry is a very simple and quick recipe. It's healthy too because it's made in less oil. Try it out!

Ingredients:

1 Raw Banana
1/2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
1/2 Tbsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Pinch of Turmeric Powder
1/2 Tbsp Red Chilly Powder
Salt to taste

Raw Banana Fry

Procedure:

1. Wash, peel and cut Raw Banana into small cubes.
2. Take a Microwavable dish and put the Raw Banana and all of the above ingredients and mix well.
3. Sprinkle some water, cover it with a lid and cook for 5 mins in Microwave mode.
4. If you want the fry to be crispy, remove the lid and keep it in the same mode for 1 min 30 seconds.
5. Yummy Raw Banana Fry is ready to serve. Serve it with steamed Rice and Ghee.

Happy Cooking!
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Eggless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Baking Time!!!! I was so bored yesterday, the weather was so dull and lousy... I wanted to do something... but what?? I had no idea and suddenly  I realized that my hubby was wanting to eat Cookies from a long time. So I decided to bake some cookies by the time he comes back from his office...I looked for some egg-less recipes on the web but to my disappointment I could not find a simple recipe, everything was so complicated...then I decided that I should try baking cookies in my own style :) Here I come with my simple yet yummy Egg-less Chocolate Walnut Cookies recipe...

Yummy Chocolate Walnut Cookies

 Ingredients:

2 Cups Maida/All Purpose Flour   
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 and 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Vanilla Essence
1 Tbsp Cardamom Essence (Optional)

Procedure:

1. Sieve Maida/All Purpose Flour, Powdered Sugar, Coco Powder, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and keep it aside.
2. Melt Butter and let it cook to the room temperature. Add Vanilla and Cardamom Essence and mix well.
3. Now add the Flour mixture to butter and mix gently till all the dry ingredients are completely mixed. The dough should be stiff enough to make balls.

Chocolate Dough

4. Add chopped walnuts to this mixture and mix the dough well. Keep it aside for 5 mins with a covered lid.

Chocolate Dough with Walnuts

5. Divide the dough into small portions and shape them into round balls and flatten them on your palm like tikkis. Or if you have a Cookie Cutter, use it to shape the cookies.
6. In a baking try place a butter paper or aluminum foil and place the shaped cookies with 1 &1/2 inches gap between the cookies. This is because the cookies will swell and spread during baking.
7. Place the baking tray into the oven and microwave them in pizza mode for 5 - 7 minutes. Keep an eye on the cookies so that they don't get over cooked. Once it's done. Remove them from oven and let it cool for 6 - 8 mins and then remove them carefully into a try.

Note: When hot, the cookies will be soft but once cooled the cookies will be crispy.

Yummy Chocolate Walnut Cookies

8. Yummy Egg-less Chocolate Walnut Cookies are ready to eat. Store them in a air tight container and they will stay fresh for a week.

Tip: 1.Using Cookie Cutter you can try different shapes like Heart Shape, Stars etc. I made a few heart shape cookies too...

Heart-Shaped Cookie

2. If you don't have Butter paper or Aluminum foil, directly place the cookies on the oven glass plate and microwave them.

3. If you do not have Cardamom Essence, you can add one more tablespoon of Vanilla Essence.
4. If you do not have pizza mode in your microwave oven, you can directly microwave the cookies for 1  - 2 mins and keep checking after every one minute or 30 seconds. This is a bit difficult process because you the cookies may tend to get over or under cooked. Check the various combinations in your microwave oven and try them.

Happy Cooking!!!
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Vermicelli Dosa (Semiya Dosa)

I was bored of eating Semiya Upma for breakfast, so thought will try something different. Tried making Dosas with Semiya and they turned out good. It's easy and quick. Try it yourself...

Ingredients:

1 cup Roasted Vermicelli (Semiya)
3/4 cup Rice Flour
1/2 cup Rava
1 cup Yogurt
2 Green Chillies
1 Carrot Grated
A few Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste
2-3 Tbsp Oil for Frying Dosas

Yummy Golden Vermicelli (Semiya) Dosa

Process:

1. In a bowl, mix roasted Vermicelli, Rice Flour, Rava, grated Carrot, chopped Green Chillies, and Coriander leaves.
2. Add Salt and Yogurt and mix it to the above mixture. The batter needs to be thin, so add water if needed. Leave it for 5 mins.
3. Meanwhile, heat a Non-Stick Tawa. Pour a ladle of the batter on the tava, drizzle half a teaspoon oil on the dosa and let it cook on medium flame. Flip over and cook on the other side.
4. Serve hot with chutney or tomato pickle

Happy Cooking!
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Tangy Lemon Poha(Atukulu) - Quick Breakfast/Snack Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Cups Thick Poha/Atukulu
2 Big Lemon
2 Tbsp Peanuts
1 Tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Tsp Urad Dal
1 Tsp Chana Dal
2 Tbsp Oil
4-5 Green Chillies(Slit Long)
1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder
Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
Salt to taste

Tangy Lemon Poha

Process:

1. Wash Poha(Atukulu) twice, drain out water completely from Poha and keep it aside.
2. Heat a Kadai, add two tablespoons Oil, add peanuts, chanadal and fry for 2 mins on medium flame. Now add Urad dal, Mustard seeds, slit Green Chillies and fry till the daal turns Golden brown and now add Hing/Asafoetida and mix well. Turn off the stove.
3. Add Turmeric Powder to Poha and mix lightly.
4. Extract juice from Lemons, add salt and dissolve it completely.
5. Add Lemon juice and the seasoning to Poha and mix well. Yummy Tangy Lemon Poha is ready to eat.

Happy Cooking!
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Your Favorite Chef

Quick and Easy Vermicelli(Semiya) Halwa

Ingredients:

2 Cups Semiya/Vermicelli
1/2 Cup Ghee
1 Cup Grated Jaggery
2 Cups Water
1/2 Cup Nuts (Cashewnuts, Almonds, Raisins)
2 Tsp Cardamom Powder

Vermicelli Halwa

Process:

1. Take a thick bottom kadai or non-stick pan, add 2 Tbsp Ghee and fry the nuts till golden brown and keep them aside.
2. In the same pan add 2 Tbsp more Ghee, add Semiya or Vermicelli and fry till golden brown.
3. Once the Semiya is fried to the desired color add water and cook the Semiya for 2-3 mins. Cover it with lid. Stir it occasionally.
4. After the Semiya is cooked completely, add grated Jaggery and mix well. Cook till the Jaggery completely melts. Keep stirring occasionally. Add the remaining Ghee and cook for one more min.
5. Turn off the stove and add the nuts and Cardamom powder and serve hot.

Happy Cooking!
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Eggless Mango Cake - Made in Pressure Cooker

Today is a very special day for me. It's my hubby's Birthday :) so I have decided to bake a different cake. I made Eggless Mango Cake in Pressure Cooker. This was the first time I did some experiment with my cake baking. The out come was totally amazing! It was beyond my imagination.

Happy Birthday My dearest Hubby :)  with loads of luv :)

Mango Cake Made in Pressure Cooker

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour/Maida
3/4 cup Mango Puree (I used Ripe Alphonso Mangoes)
1/2 Tsp Cooking Soda
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Yogurt
1/2 Tsp Cardamom Essence
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Essence
1/4 Cup Cashwenuts and Tutti-Frutti bits

Process:

1. Heat Pressure Cooker with lid on medium flame for 5 mins. (without the rubber gasket and whistle)

2. Mix Sugar and Yogurt, Mango Puree until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add melted Butter, Cardamom essence, Vanilla essence and mix well.

3. Add Baking Powder and Cooking Soda to Maida and sieve twice. Now, add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add little about a tbsp flour at a time and blend with the wet ingredients.

4. Grease a thick bottom vessel or aluminum tin and pour the cake batter. Add Cashewnuts and Tutti-Frutti bits and tab the container gently. 

5. Remove the pressure cooker lid and place a separator at the bottom of the pressure cooker. Do not add Water. Using tongs, place the container into the pressure cooker. Close lid and on high heat let it cook for 2 mins.

6. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30 mins. Turn off heat and do not open the lid for 5 mins.

7. After 5 mins remove the pressure cooker lid and carefully remove the container and cool the cake for 20 mins. Overturn the cake onto a plate and slice it into desired pieces.

8. Yummy Mango Cake is ready to eat! Store it in Fridge in an air tight container.

Happy Cooking!
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Eggless Mango Pancakes

Mango Time - I have finally decided to eat Mangoes every day till they are gone...I can't imagine waiting for one full year for the season to come back... More or less with this season's last few Mangoes I have made Mango Pancakes and they turned out really yummm...

Yummy Golden Brown Mango Pancake

Ingredients:

1&1/2 Cup Ripe Mango Pulp (I used Alphonso Mangoes)
1/2 Cup Maida/All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Rice Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder(Optional)
2 Tbsp Sugar Powder
1-2 Tbsp Ghee or Butter

Procedure:

1. Combine Maida, Wheat Flour, Rice Flour, Cardamom Powder, Sugar Powder and Baking Powder in a bowl.
2. Add Mango Pulp and mix well to form a smooth batter. Make sure there are no lumps. Keep aside for 10 mins.

Batter

3. Heat a non-stick tawa or Pan and smear some butter or few drops of Ghee.
4. Pour the batter on to the griddle and spread gently.

 5. Cook on low flame for 2-3 mins. You will see small bubbles appearing on to top of the Pancake. This indicates that first side is done. Flip over and cook the other side for 1 min.

 6. Yummy, golden brown Mango Pancakes are ready to eat. You can have them just as they are or you may go ahead and top it with Maple Syrup or Chocolate Syrup.

Happy Cooking!
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