Blueberry Muffin

Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man;
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?

Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
the muffin man, the muffin man,
Yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane

The nursery rhyme which we all must have sang in our childhood. While making a batch of these wonderful bread (Muffin) these lines came to mind? 

When I was a child I would have not even thought of actually making these. 

I tried these out with blueberries which has a great nutritional value. Its rich in manganese and helps in 

reducing cholestrol too.

Blueberry Muffin 

Recipe: Yields 12

Ingredients:

250gms Self-raising flour

50gms Brown Sugar

125gms Castor Sugar

1tsp Baking Powder

1/2tsp Salt

125gms Butter (salted or unsalted)

175ml Milk

1tsp Vanilla Essence

2 Eggs

200gms Blueberry (Fresh or frozen or canned)

 

Tips:

ü  If using Salted Butter then don’t add in the salt in the batter.

ü  You can add only castor sugar in the batter which means 175 gms of castor sugar.

ü  If self raising flour is not available, increase the quantity of baking powder to 3tsp.

 

Procedure:

·         Pre-heat the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius

·         Grease the muffin moulds with butter.

·         Place the muffin liners into the moulds.

·         Take two bowls, one for dry ingredients and the other for wet.

·         In one bowl, sift flour + baking powder.

·         Add in Sugar. Mix well.

·         In another bowl add in melted butter + milk + vanilla essence + eggs.

·         Whip it all together for 5-8 minutes.

·         Now slowly add in the dry mixture into the wet folding it gently together.

·         Add in the blueberries in it.

·         With the help of an ice-cream scoop or a spatula fill in the moulds with the batter just 3/4^th of the mould.

·         Place the moulds into the oven for 15minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

·         Check them with the help of a tooth pick it it’s done.

·         If it’s done take it out from the oven.

·         Demould it after 5 minutes.

·         Serve.

Watermelon & Rose Water Sorbet

During this time when holidays are planned, summer camps are organized, relatives are visited and all open spaces become playgrounds supporting a roaring multitude obsessed with the gentleman’s game, the need for an easy to make, refreshing, healthy and economical thirst quencher is universally felt. Thought there are a thousand homemade heat-beaters suggested by parents and elders ranging from the mundane to the exotic. Of all these one of the most effective is the ubiquitous and simple Sorbet or Italian Ice. It makes the perfect desert when the temperature rises.

Watermelon & Rose Water Sorbet

Mark Twain once commented “When one has tasted watermelon, he know what the angels eat” So surely watermelon is the fruit of the angel. I used this fruit alongwith the Rose water which gives a very refreshing flavour.

Ingredients:

3cups Watermelon pieces (deseeded)

3tbsp simple syrup

2tbsp milk powder

Juice of 1 lemon

2tbsp rose water

Few rose petals for garnishing

Procedure:

• ·         Chop the watermelon, deseed it .
• ·         Put into the food processor along with lime juice + milk powder + rose water.
• ·         Churn it till it forms a smooth mixture.
• ·         Now place it in a baking dish.
• ·         Fold in the simple syrup into it.
• ·         Place it in the freezer overnight.
• ·         If u a have an ice cream maker then next day just churn it in the maker according to the manufactures instructions.
• ·         In case you don’t have one, then next day take it out from the refrigerator, churn it again in the food processor.
• ·         Keep it back in the freezer.
• ·         Repeat this after 1-1/2 hrs.
• ·         You can use a fork or an electric beater.
• ·         Sorbet will be ready in next 8 hrs.
• ·         Before serving place the glasses in the freezer.
• ·         Scoop the sorbet and put it in the glasses
• ·         Garnish with rose petals and watermelon slices.
• ·         Serve chilled.
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Summer Special: Mango & Mint Sorbet

Temperatures rising, parched throats, and dry eyes are the few signs that says Yes its summers. We tend to stay indoors to avoid the onslaught of the Sun.
To bet this Summer heat, I tried out this Sorbet with the king of Fruit of Summers Mango.

Made with Fresh seasonal fruits and sweetened water a sorbet is different from slush and Icy Granitas. Sorbets can have milk products but is different from ice cream as no air is whipped into it. 

Mang0 & Mint Sorbet

Ingredients:

3 ripe mangoes

3tbsp simple syrup

Few mint leaves

Juice of 1 lemon juice

Procedure

•      Peel the mangoes and cut into pieces.
•     Put into the food processor along with lime juice.
•     Churn it till it forms a smooth mixture.
•     Now place it in a baking dish.
•      Fold in the simple syrup into it.
•   Place it in the freezer overnight.
•    If u a have an ice cream maker then next day just churn it in the maker according to the manufactures instructions.
•    In case you don’t have one, then next day take it out from the refrigerator; churn it again in the food processor.
•  Keep it back in the freezer.
•  Repeat this after 1-1/2 hrs
•   You can use a fork or an electric beater.
•   Sorbet will be ready in next 8 hrs.
• Before serving place the glasses in the freezer.
• Scoop the sorbet and put it in the glass
•   Garnish with mint leaves.
•  Serve chilled.

Summer Time: Aamras

Its that time of the year when you get Mangoes in abundance everywhere. Streets are filled with hawkers selling the King of fruits. In Chennai, you get so many varieties of mangoes which i have never heard of.
Eating mangoes sometimes becomes little messy so Aamras is a great idea to have this irresistible fruit
This dish is popular among the people of Gujarat, Rajhasthan. Gujarati's love having this wid hot Pooris.
Aamras can be both eaten as a dessert or as a main course dish.

Aamras

Ingredients:
3 Ripe mangoes
3tbsp sugar (depends on how sweet the mango is)
1/2cup milk
1cup water
Saffron (optional)

Procedure:

• Peel the mangoes.
• Dice them removing it from the seed.
• Take a blender, add in the chopped mangoes + milk + water + sugar.
• Blend it well.
• The consistency should be thin. if required add water.
• Keep it in the refrigerator.
• Can be stored for 3 days.

Thai Salad :Pineapple & Cucumber Salad

Toss it, dress it, season it, eat it. Things cant get simpler than this. Salads are one of kitchen's little miracles that pack taste and health in equal measures.
So everyday I try to incorporate something new in my salads which can easily break away the monotony.
So i used two of the most refreshing ingredients of summers cucumber & pineapple.

Pineapple & Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:
1cup Pineapple (Diced)
1cup Cucumber(Diced)
1/2 cup Red Bell Peppers(Diced)
10gms Groundnut (Roasted)

For the dressing:
1tbsp Olive Oil
Few springs of fresh mint
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Procedure:

• Take a bowl add in the diced pineapple and cucumber.
• Toast the groundnuts before adding into the salad.
• In another bowl prepare the dressing. 
• Add in olive oil + salt + mint + black pepper + lime juice.
• Mix well.
• Toss in the dressing into it.
• Serve cold or at room temperature.

Apple & Pomegranate Salad with Toasted Walnuts

In summers u always wish to eat something light especially in the evenings after a long day of work and heat. So salads are good for your appetite and makes u feel fresh and energetic. Pomegranate is a fruit which is little time consuming when it comes to peeling. But when it is done it tastes great. It is sometimes boring to eat the pomegranate just like that so I incorporated this fruit in a salad and it tasted superb.

Its a simple recipe which just require few major ingredients.

Apple & Pomegranate Salad wid Toasted Walnuts

Ingredients:

1 large Apple

1 Pomegranate (deseeded)

4-5  Iceberg Lettuce leaves (roughly chopped)

6-7 Walnuts (roughly chopped)

 For the Dressing:

1tbsp Olive oil

Salt to taste

Black Pepper to taste

Lime juice

1tsp Honey

Apple & Pomegranate Salad wid Toasted Walnuts

Procedure:

• Take a bowl, add Apples+ Pomegranate seeds + Lettuce.
• Take another bowl prepare the dressing by adding Olive oil + Honey + Lime juice+ Salt + Pepper.
• Mix well
• Now add in the dressing in the bowl of fruits.
• Toss in well.
• Serve cold or at room temperature.

Tips:

• To serve cold keep the fruit bowl in the refrigerator.
• Toss in the dressing only when you have to serve it.
• Dry toast the walnuts before putting in the salad. (This is optional you can add them without toasting also)

Vada Pav

Whenever I  make Vada pav at home, it makes me remember those days when we had gone to Mahablaeshwar from Mumbai by road. The road journey was great as the express highway made the time less and more pleasurable. On our way we had stopped on this eating joint which serve awesome vada pavs. Vada pavs are the staple food of the people of Maharashtra as it is available in every gali of any city and it is sold by all the street hawkers as well some posh eating joints. It is served with a chutney made up of garlic, shredded coconut, tamarind pulp. its a dry chutney.

Vada Pav

Ingredients:
6 Pav Bun

For the Vada (Batata)
4 medium-sized boiled Potato
2 Green Chilies
1tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
Salt to taste
1tsp Cumin powder
1tsp Coriander powder
1tbsp Turmeric powder
Fresh coriander

For the tempering:
1tsp oil
1tbsp Rai (Mustard Seeds)
5-6 curry leaves (Finely chopped)

For the Gram Flour paste:
4tbsp Gram flour (Besan)
Salt to taste (be careful as u will add salt bath in potato and besan mixture)
Fresh coriander leaves
1tsp red chilly powder
Water to make a paste
Oil to fry

Procedure:

• Take a bowl, mash in the potatoes in it.
• Now add in ginger-garlic paste + salt + cumin powder + coriander powder + turmeric powder + fresh coriander.
• Mix all this well.
• Now heat 1tbsp oil in a pan, add in rai  + curry leaves.
• When it starts to tempering switch off the gas.
• Add this into the potato mixture.
• Mix in well
• In another bowl make a paste of gram flour with water + salt + fresh coriander + red chilly powder.
• Mix all this well and make sure no lumps are made.
• Make a thick paste.
• Now divide the potato mixture into balls.
• Heat the oil.
• Dip each ball into the gram flour mixture and fry till it turns red.

To serve Vada Pav:

• Cut the pav bun into halves.
• Place the vada in between the pav.
• Serve hot with green chutney.