Oats Masala Milk Delight

This oats masala milk delight was really tasty and energetic and rightly served the purpose of preparing it for my daughter who was getting ready for her exams.  It was easy, simple, and quick to make.  Surely, it is one of the best energy drinks for students.

Ingredients:

Milk - 2 cups

Saffron - A pinch

Oats - 4 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Honey/Sugar - 2 tsp

Dry fruits/nuts (eg: cashew, badam, pista, walnut, raisins, dates, figs) - 2 tsp


Method:

Boil milk with saffron.  To this, add oats and boil for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add cardamom powder and honey/sugar.  Finely chop the nuts or coarsely powder them and add to the above mixture and bring to boil.  Serve hot or cold in a tall glass with stirrer.

Note:

I used honey in this drink and it was mildly sweet.  If you are a sweet-toothed person, add more honey or add both honey and sugar.  Use any dry fruits that are available at home.  If any type of dry fruits/nuts mentioned above is not available, it can be left out.  The taste does not differ.

Capsicum Gojju

I have been making this recipe often now, say almost every week or as and when it gets over, since I have seen this on TV and quickly noted it.  It is a good accompaniment for almost anything, viz., idlis, dosas, plain rice, rotis although the original recipe was recommended it to be served with ghee and hot rice.

Ingredients:

Capsicum - 1 (medium sized)

Tomatoes - 2

Garlic - 2 pods

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves of 2 twigs

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Sambhar powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Tamarind extract - 1 tsp

Jaggery - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp


Method:

Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard, cumin seeds, and fenugreek seeds along with asafoetida powder and curry leaves.  Add finely chopped garlic and saute for a minute.  Now add finely chopped tomatoes and stir well for around 3 to 4 minutes until they become soft.  Add in chopped capsicum and mix well.  Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, sambhar powder, and salt one by one and mix well.  Pour in around half a cup of water, mix, and cook with a closed lid.  When cooked 3/4th, add tamarind extract and jaggery and bring to boil.  By this time, the oil floats atop.  Switch off and sprinkle finely cut coriander leaves.  Serve with ghee and hot rice.

Wheat Carrot Cake (No Butter Cake)

I had been long trying to make this carrot cake as I felt it would be health wise a better option with carrots included in it.  Also, the substitution of wheat flour to maida (at least half the portion of it) made me try this recipe immediately.  It really turned out to be soft and yummy and was over within few hours.
Ingredients:

Maida - 1 cup

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup

Raw Carrots (grated) - 2-1/2 cups (340 gms)

Walnuts - 1 cup (100 gms)

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Baking powder - 1-1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Ground cinnamon - 1-1/2 tsp

Eggs - 4

Sugar - 1-1/2 cups (300 gms)

Vegetable oil - 1 cup (240 ml)

Vanilla extract - 2 tsp


Method:

1.  Preheat oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes.

2. Toast the walnuts, cool them, and then chop coarsely.

3.  Finely grate carrots.  It can be used as such and it came out fine.  Sauteing is optional but was not needed.

4.  Sieve together maida, wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon and keep aside.

5.  Beat eggs until frothy.  Add sugar (granulated) gradually and beat until the batter is light colored and thick in consistency, say for about 3 to 4 minutes in high stir mode of the beater.  Add oil in a steady stream and then the vanilla extract.  Beat for a minute more.  Add the flour mixture and beat lightly until mixed well.

6.  Now, fold in the grated carrots and the chopped walnuts.

7.  Pour the batter in a cake tin that is already greased with oil/butter and dusted with flour.

8.  Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

9.  Remove and cool.

Note:

1.  This cake stays good for 2 days in room temperature.  It can be stored in refrigerator beyond this time.

2. Grated beetroots can also be used instead of the grated carrots but it needs a bit of frying (sauteing) as it has a raw taste coming in when used raw even after baking.

3.  Some chopped walnuts can be saved to garnish the top of the cake.  For this method, sprinkle a handful of coarsely chopped walnuts over the batter after pouring it into the baking tin.  I have mixed the whole of it in the batter itself to get a crunchy bite.

4.  Maida can be skipped and the whole wheat flour can be used entirely for this recipe.

Homemade Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter is one of the richest sources of essential nutrients to our body.  In India, peanuts (verkadalai/varutha kadalai) is consumed in various forms in its traditional style as kadalai urundai, chikki, peanut rice, etc. etc.  or just plain peanuts, roasted or boiled.  I have not got to taste the commercially made peanut butter in all these years and never plan to henceforth too as my homemade peanut butter filled that gap and it is just yummy and loved very much by my daughter and me too.  With all the ingredients available readily at home any time, it is so easy and simple to make.

Ingredients:

Peanuts (unsalted) - 1-1/2 cups

Salt - a pinch

Sugar - 3/4 tsp

Honey - 2 tsp

Refined sunflower oil/Groundnut oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

First, dry roast and cool the peanuts.  Rub off the skin of the peanuts.  Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste in a mixer to form the peanut butter.  Transfer this to a clean jar and use a clean spoon every time you spoon it out.  It can be used as spreads on bread slices/chappathis or as soft center fillings in homemade chocolates.  This is a totally preservative free homemade peanut butter.  

Note:

1.  Generally, roasted peanuts are available only as salted.  In that case, avoid the salt as per the ingredient list and add a little more sugar or honey if you are a sweet-toothed person.

2.  The peanut butter can either be a coarse and crunchy paste or a smooth and creamy paste.  It depends on how you like the peanut butter to be.  I made a smooth peanut butter.