If you have a sweet tooth like me, then this is for you. A five minute recipe with a very few ingredients. This will surely fall under your toddler’s food preference, if you have one. It’s gluten-free and makes a perfect snack or dessert. It could also be served with pancakes, ice cream or just eat them for a sweet treat!
Ingredients 2 apples (I would recommend granny smith apples) 2 tablespoon butter/coconut oil 2 tablespoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder Pinch of nutmeg powder pinch of salt
Preparation 1. Peel off the skin and cut the apples into thin slices. 2. Heat a pan and add the butter and sliced apples, saute them until they’re soft. If you had cut them into chunks, cover the pan and cook for 2 mins in low flame. 3. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until they caramelize onto the apples. 4. Once they turn slight brown in color, they are ready.
Serve them warm with ice creams, also a perfect topping for homemade waffles and french toast.
Tips I’ve made very thin slices for a crispy outcome. You can cut them into thick slice for a soft and chewy texture.
I remember my first meringue like it was yesterday. An easy 5 ingredients recipe with its crispy texture is a perfect delight for your taste buds and treat for your eyes. This is my go-to recipe and it’s simply irresistible. You can play around with the colors, topping and piping tips.
Ingredients 4 egg whites 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence of your choice Desired food gel color/powder Pinch of cream of tartar/salt
Preparation 1. Preheat the oven to 110° C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat and set aside. 2. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites and tartar/salt in a medium speed until they are frothy, approximately 2-3 minutes. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer with whisk attachment. 3. Add the vanilla extract, food color and the sugar spoon by spoon and continue beating in high speed until stiff glossy peak is formed. 4. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with star tip and pipe them into an inch wide swirls. These cookies won’t spread, so you can pipe them 1-inch apart. 5. Straight into the oven, bake them at 110° C for 1 and 1/2 hours and allow them to sit them in the oven for 30 more minutes or until it’s cooled completely. 6. Store them in an air tight container and it’ll be good for 2 weeks.
Tips Try to separate the egg whites carefully, even a drop of yolk will spoil the peaks. Make sure your bowl is clean, greasy bowl will prevent the egg whites from reaching stiff peaks. I rub the bowl with half of a lemon and wipe it with a tissue before using. Do not open the oven while baking.
A traditional south Indian side-dish with a lot of nutritional values. I learnt those values only when my colleague in SFO mentioned that they buy moringa leaves powder capsules for $15! Yes, you heard me right.
That was the first time I heard buying moringa leaves. In southern parts of India, we can see this on the roadside with the leaves falling off on the pavement. We have this in our home and my mom makes a lot of recipes with it, but in all my early days, for some reason I gave these leaves a miss. I’ve learnt them from my mom a few years back and will share all of them here in the coming days.
Ingredients 2 cups murungaikeerai/moringa leaves 1/4 cup grated coconut 1/4 coarsely ground roasted peanuts 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon white gram/ulundhu 1 red chilli 1 tablespoon coconut oil 4 shallots curry leaves salt to taste
Preparation 1. Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add white gram, curry leaves, shallots and red chilli broken into two pieces; stir them for a minute. I’m using coconut oil for the flavor, you can use any oil of your choice. 2. Add the washed leaves into the same pan with a pinch of salt and 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. Put on the lid and cook them in a low flame for 8-10 mins. 3. The color of the leaves will turn deep green if they’re done. Add the ground peanuts and grated coconut and combine. 4. Turn off the heat and leave the lid closed for a few minutes.
Chicken is always a comfort food that everyone agrees on!
This is our typical Saturday evening snack and on all the lazy evening. A hot cuppa ginger tea and this chicken has always been an ideal pair and serving as our movie night food till date.
Ingredients
For marination 300gms chicken breast, cut into 1-inch thick strips 1/3 cup buttermilk 1 beaten egg 1 teaspoon chilli powder or hot sauce 1 teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon pepper powder 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste 1 teaspoon salt
For coating ½ cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoon cornflour ½ teaspoon pepper powder ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon chilli powder ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon dried rosemary (optional)
Preparation 1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for marination and refrigerate the mixture for at least 20 minutes. 2. Mix all the ingredients for coating in another bowl and dip the chicken strips into the flour mixture one by one. 3. Heat the oil and fry the chicken in batches until they are golden brown and serve them with your favorite dipping sauce.
Tips for crispy tenders For thicker outer layer, dip them in the flour mixture, beaten egg/leftover marinade and then flour again. If you want to have less spice, avoid ginger-garlic paste, pepper powder and chilli powder in the marination. Try to maintain the oil close to 175° C for optimal frying.
I remember the first time I had this macaron, ’twas from Tryst cafe in Chennai and the taste has inspired me to try this out. Pair it with the lemon curd and it will make sure to glam up your evening tea and would leave you asking for more!
Ingredients (for 45 macarons shells) 1 cup powdered sugar 3/4 cup almond flour (ground blanched) 1 teaspoon cream of tartar or salt 2 egg whites, at room temperature ¼ cup granulated sugar ½ teaspoon lemon zest (optional) ½ teaspoon lemon juice or artificial flavor 1 drop yellow gel food colour (for bright color macarons, use gel food color)
Preparation 1. Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour and mix them together in a bowl. Please don’t push the larger particles through sieve. 2. FRENCH MERINGUE: In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites and salt in low speed with an electric hand mixer until it’s frothy. Now, gradually add the granulated sugar until it’s fully incorporated. Keep beating in high speed until STIFF peaks are formed (turn the bowl upside down, if they’re not falling then you have made the perfect meringue). 3. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and food color until they’re well combined. 4. Add half of the sifted almond flour mixture into the meringue and gently cut and fold them using a spatula. Add rest of the flour mixture and continue folding until it falls off in ribbons and be able to form a figure 8 without breaking (approximately 30 folding). 5. Pour the macaron batter into the piping bag fitted with ½ inch round tip. 6. Pipe the macarons into the baking sheet in 1½ inch width (place a dot of batter on bottom of the four corners of baking sheet to hold firm) or silicon mat (suggested). For uniform shapes, keep the piping bag perpendicular to the surface, when you finish piping stop squeezing and pull up the bag. 7. Now tap the baking sheet against the floor a few times to release the air bubbles. You can use a toothpick to pop them and let them sit in the room temperature for 30 minutes to form a dry skin on the top. 8. Bake them at 140°C for 17-20 minutes. Then, transfer it a wire rack and cool the completely. 9. Transfer the lemon curd into a piping bag fitted with ½ inch of any desired tip. Place a dollop of the curd in one macaron shell and top it with another plain shell. 10. It will be good for 2-3 days if stored in the refrigerator.
Loavesandfishez 