Sweets
Puran Poli /Vedmi
Puran poli/VedmiPuran Poli /Vedmi is an Indian flatbread stuffed with sweet lentil filling. It is known as Puran Poli in Maharashtra and Vedmi in Gujarat. It is relished during festivals such as Diwali, Gudi Padwa, Navratri or Holi.
I have made this sweet delicacy for the festival of Gudi Padwa. My mother is Maharashtrian and so I had grown up enjoying many Maharashtrian delicacies prepared by her such as modak, shrikhand, aam paana, pithla bhakar, masale bhaath, tomato saar, chakli, thalipeeth, vangi bhaat, usal, puran poli and many more.
Puran Poli is my favorite and it refreshes my childhood memories of having it on Gudi Padwa. No celebration or festival in Maharashtra is complete without the traditional puran poli.
Gudi Padva is the New year for Maharashtrians. It is a springtime festival and is celebrated on the first day of the Chaitra month to mark the beginning of the New year as per Hindu calendar. “Padva” refers to the first day of the Lunar fortnight. People celebrate this festival by making designs with different colors known as “rangoli ” in front of their houses. Gudi- a kind of flag made with flowers, mango, and neem leaves, topped with upturned silver or copper vessel is erected in front of the houses for the entire day.
As per Wikipedia, Gudi is a bright colorful silk scarf-like cloth tied at the top of a long bamboo. On top of it, one or more boughs of neem leaves and mango leaves are attached along with a garland of flowers. This arrangement is capped with a silver, bronze or copper pot (handi or kalash) signifying victory or achievement. The whole arrangement is hoisted outside each household, typically to the right, or through a window or terrace. It is visible to everybody. Villages or neighborhoods also come together and host a community Gudhi Kavad, which they carry together to the local Shiva temple. Some temples are located on the top of hills, and groups work together to help reach the kavad to the top.
The festival is celebrated in many parts of India with different names:
Samvastar Padvo in Konkan
Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh
Yugadi in Karnataka
Cheti chand by Sindhi community
This is a very auspicious day and people purchase gold, property, vehicles or start their new venture on this day.
On this day at a bitter chutney or juice made from fresh neem leaves is servealong with the sweet puran poli. The fresh leaves from neem leaves are best to have in the month of chaitra. It has many medicinal and antiseptic values. At our place we have the neem juice on empty stomach in morning for the first fifteen-day of Chaitra month.
Puran poli is known as vedmi in Gujarat, Holige in karnataka, oligalu in tamil nadu.
Puran means stuffing and poli means roti in Maharashtra. The stuffing is prepared in many houses either with chana dal (split bengal gram) or tuvar dal (split pigeon pea). For sweetness either jaggery or sugar is used. The outer roti is made of maida or whole wheat flour. Some people prefer making a big and thin puran poli and others prefer to make it small and thick. Some people make puran poli by placing the stuffing between two layer of roti and then rolling it thin. Some prefer placing the stuffing in a single roti and covering the edges and then rolling it thin or thick as I have shown below.
At my husband’s place, we call puran poli as vedmi and is served with gujarati kadhi. You will find it served in Gujarati thali in the restaurants.
Whatever be the name and style of making, It is heavenly to have puran poli hot with a dollop of ghee floating over it.
It is good to pack for kids lunch boxes. It is also a good source of protein and is good for growing kids.
Puran Poli /Vedmi
Puran Poli /Vedmi is an Indian flatbread stuffed with sweet lentil filling. It is known as Puran Poli in Maharashtra and Vedmi in Gujarat. It is relished during the festival such as Diwali, Gudi Padwa, Navratri or Holi.
Servings: 12 Poli
Calories: 247kcal
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup chana dal split bengal gram
- 3 cup water
- 1.5 cup jaggery grated or more as per taste
- 1 tbsp ghee clarified butter
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
- 1/4 tsp saffron strands optional
- 1.5 cup whole wheat flour
- 1.5 tsp oil
- 3/4 cup water to knead dough
- extra whole wheat flour for dusting and rolling
- 12 tsp ghee clarified butter to apply on puran poli
Instructions
- Wash and soak the chana dal for 3o minutes.
- Drain the soaked chana dal and put it in a pressure cooker pan.
- Add 3 cups of water to it. Pressure cook for 6-7 whistles on high heat and 2 whistles on low heat.
- Meanwhile, knead the dough. Take whole wheat flour in the flat dish. Add 1 tsp oil and mix well.
- Start kneading into a smooth dough by adding water.
- Smoothen dough by applying left 1/2 tsp oil on it.
- The smooth dough is ready. Cover and let it rest.
- Let the pressure cooker cool by itself. Remove the lid. The chana dal is cooked.
- Drain the cooked chana dal. The drained water can be used to prepare a sweet and sour spicy dal to be served with puran poli.
- Mash the cooked and drained chana dal with a potato masher. It should be mashed till smooth. (You can also blend with a hand blender or kitchen master).
- In a broad thick pan add the mashed chana dal and grated jaggery. Start heating on high heat.
- The jaggery will melt and the mixture will become of thin consistency. Stir the mixture continuously at medium to high heat until the liquid is absorbed and mixture thickens.
- To check whether the stuffing is ready, insert the spatula vertically in the center of the stuffing. If it stands straight the mixture is thickened and is ready. If it falls then cook for further 5-6 minutes.
- Add ghee, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and saffron strands.
- Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes till the flavors of spices are absorbed.
- Remove the mixture in a plate and let it cool. After the mixture is cool, smoothen it with hands and make balls from it. The balls should be smooth.
- Take a ball from the kneaded dough. Flatten it and dust with flour.
- Roll it into big oval shape as shown. Place the prepared stuffing(puran) ball. Flatten the ball.
- Lift the top end of the oval and cover it over the stuffing ball to form a semicircle. Cut the extra edges with a round cutter or bowl to fit the stuffing size
- Cut as shown.
- Press the edges of the stuffed ball and flatten and dust with flour.
- Roll into a 4mm thick circle of 10 cm.
- Heat the flat pan. Put the prepared stuffed circle on it. Cook till the bubbles appear.
- Gently flip to another side. Cook by flipping on both the sides till golden spot appear.
- The puran poli will puff up. It is ready.
- Remove it to a plate and apply ghee over it.
- Similarly, make the other puran poli or vedmi.
- The puran poli or vedmi is ready. Serve it with some extra ghee with kadhi or batata sukhi bhaji.
Nutrition
Calories: 247kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 10mg | Potassium: 341mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 2.2mg
Frozen Banana, Strawberry, Raspberry Candy
Frozen banana, strawberry, raspberry candy is a very healthy treat for the ice cream lovers. It is loaded with fresh fruits and is without sugar. There is no milk or cream added to it and thus makes it fat-free. It is suitable for vegan. It is a good dish for people having fast. It is very healthy for kids who are fussy about having fruits.
The banana gives sweetness and creamy texture to the candy. You can make with different combinations of fruits of your choice such as mango, cherry, pineapple, passion fruit, chickoo, watermelon. You can also add nuts, choco chips, mint, for additional taste. I have added honey for sweetness. It is optional and can be avoided.
Do not think much. Make it and enjoy it guilt free.
Frozen Banana, Strawberry, Raspberry Candy
Frozen Banana, Strawberry, Raspberry Candy is a healthy frozen treat made from fruits such as banana, strawberry, and raspberry. The fruits are frozen and then churn and freeze to set.
Servings: 6 candy
Calories: 54kcal
Ingredients
- 1 banana chopped and freeze
- 125 g strawberry washed, chopped and freeze
- 125 g raspberry washed,chopped and freeze
- 2 tbsp honey optional. You can also use sugar
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Place the chopped and freeze fruits banana, strawberry and raspberry into a mixture jar or food processor.
- Churn it till thick and pulp. Add lemon juice and honey and churn.
- Remove the fluffy mixture into bowl.
- Fill it into candy containers and let it freeze for 6-8 hours.
- Remove, unmould and have it whenever you want.
Nutrition
Calories: 54kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.03g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 27.2mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Eggless Blackforest Cake
Black Forest Cake is a very popular cake. Every bakery will have it on its list. Many people like this cake but are reluctant to make it. However, be assured that this is a very simple and easy cake to make at home. If you make it once, you will always want to make it again. You need not worry about getting the perfect sharp edges and cake finishing as the cake will be covered with chocolate curls on sides and top.
Black Forest Cake is a sandwiched cake whose based is a chocolate sponge cake. It is generally cut into four layers but can be a bit more or less. The sponge is soaked with cherry syrup. The layers of the cake are sandwiched with fresh whipped cream and pieces of fresh cherries or tinned cherries. Once the layers are stacked, the entire cake is frosted with the whipped cream and decorated with chocolate curls or shaving and cherries. Always keep the cake chilled and remove from the refrigerator 15 to 20 minutes before cutting and serving.
I had made this cake for a friend’s daughter’s birthday party order. They wanted an eggless cake and I was happy to bake for them.
Earlier, I had shared with you the recipe for eggless chocolate sponge. You can find the recipe at the below link:
I use this cake as the base for making different types of cake. I had made eggless chocolate truffle cake for my son’s birthday using this base. The eggless chocolate sponge cake is a full proof recipe and the cake comes out very soft and spongy.
Since I was making the birthday cake for around 35-40 people, I have doubled the recipe of the base and have made it in a square 9″x9″ pan.
However, for convenience, I will share the measurement for making the whipped cream and syrup for a single base cake. This will serve around 15-20 people. While making the base divide the batter into two parts and bake the cake in a square 6″ x6″ pan or a circle pan.
I like to bake two cakes. It makes it easy while cutting into layers.
I bake the base a day before the day of frosting. The base cools down and that makes it easy to cut the cake into desired layers and shapes.
I have used dried cherries for making syrup. You can use fresh, frozen or tinned cherries. I have boiled the cherries with cinnamon and lemon slice. It gives a very nice flavor and aroma to the cake.
For making whip cream: Try to use fresh heavy whipping cream. The cream should be very chilled. I put the bowl in which the cream is to be whipped and the whipping blades in the freezer for an hour before using them. This gives the cream the necessary coolness while whipping. Start whipping the cream on a slow speed for 4-5 minutes. It will start getting thicker. Add vanilla essence. Whip it again for 2 minutes. It will start forming soft to medium peaks. At this moment add icing sugar and whip it for a minute on slow speed till the sugar mixes and then whip on high speed till the mixture thickens and form stiff peaks. It will take around 3 minutes. Do not over whip the cream. Stop whipping immediately after the stiff peaks are formed. Overbeating will result in the formation of butter and the cream will start curdling.
Whipping cream in hot weather is tricky. Try to keep the whipping bowl, blades, cream as cold as possible. If while whipping the cream takes a long time to get stiff, stop beating and put the bowl back in the fridge to chill. Start whipping again once the bowl and cream are chilled again.
Making Chocolate curls: Use a thick grated or a peeler to grate or peel the chocolate bar. I have used a dark chocolate bar. You can use milk chocolate too.
Once everything is ready, cut the cakes into two halves. Start assembling the cake by soaking the layers with syrup and filling whipped cream and cherry pieces in between the layers. Once the layers are sandwiched and stacked on each other, refrigerate the cake for one hour and then cover the cake with the whipped cream and decorate with chocolate curls and cherries. In hot days, try to refrigerate the cake more to avoid the cream getting lose.
Chill the cake and remove 20-25 minutes prior to cutting. Enjoy making and eating this yummy dessert and you will want it more and more!!
Eggless Blackforest Cake
Black Forest Cake is a sandwiched cake. The layers of the cake soaked in the cherry syrup and sandwiched with fresh whipped cream and pieces of fresh cherries or tinned cherries. Once the layers are stacked, the entire cake is frosted with the whipped cream and decorated with chocolate curls or shaving and cherries.
Servings: 15 people
Ingredients
Eggless Chocolate Sponge
- 2 eggless chocolate sponge make two square or circle sponge 6"x6"
Cherry syrup
- 15 cherry dried
- 1 cup water
- 1 lemon slice
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1/4 cup sugar I have used raw sugar. You can use plain sugar.
Whipping cream
- 600 ml heavy cream
- 4 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Assembling and decorating cake
- 200 g dark chocolate slab
- cherries to decorate
Instructions
Eggless Chocolate Sponge
- Cut the eggless sponge cake into layers of the two sponge. It should be total of 4 layers.
making cherry syrup
- In a pot add sugar, water, cherries, lemon slice. Mix well and let it boil.
- Boil it for 10 minutes. The colour will change and the cherries will get soften.
- Cool the syrup and strain it in a bowl. Cut the cherries into small pieces and we will use it while assembling the cake.
Making Whipped cream
- In a chilled bowl, add the chilled heavy cream.
- Whip it for 4-5 minutes on low speed. The cream will start getting thicker. Add vanilla essence to it and beat it again for 2 minutes. It will start forming soft to medium peaks.
- Add the icing sugar and beat it on slow speed for a minute till the sugar mixes. Whip on high speed till the mixture thickens and form stiff peaks. It will take around 3 minutes. Do not over whip the cream. Stop whipping immediately after the stiff peaks are formed. Overbeating will result in the formation of butter and the cream will start curdling.
Assembling and Frosting the cake
- Put a spoon of whipped cream on the cake board or plate in which the cake is to be served. This will help cake to stick to the base of the board or plate. Place one layer of the cake over it. The uneven surface of the cake should face down. Soak the cake with cherry syrup. Put around 2-3 tbsp of syrup.
- With a flat knife or palette knife spread the whipped cream over the soaked cake. Put around two big spoons of cream.
- Add the chopped cherries from the syrup.
- Cover the cake with the other layer. The smooth and even surface of the cake should face top. Soak it in syrup.
- Repeat again by spreading whipped cream and cherry pieces.
- Cover the cake with the third layer. The uneven surface facing down. Soak cake with cherry syrup.
- Repeat again by spreading whipped cream and cherry pieces.
- Cover the cake with the final layer. The smooth and even surface facing on top. The cream will come out of the layers. Spread it on the sides evenly. Refrigerate the layered cake and whipped cream for 1 hour.
- Now remove the cake and coat the cake with the whipped cream. Use a generous amount of whipped cream. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. It's ok if you do not get the smooth edges. The cake will be covered with chocolate curls.
- Decorate the edges with chocolate curls and write the message on the top if you want.
- Put the left whipped cream in a piping bag and make round spiral designs on the top of the cake. Put a cherry on each spiral. Sprinkle some more chocolate curls. The eggless black forest cake is ready. Chill it and serve.
Meethi Seviyan /Sweet Vermicelli
Seviyan or vermicelli are noodles made from wheat. They are a kind of pasta similar to spaghetti and are used in many Indian dishes both savory and sweet. They are egg free and are very quick to cook.
Since they are like noodles, they are kids’ favorite. Savory dishes such as upma, pulao, cutlets can be made with this vermicelli by adding some vegetables and spices to it. Sweet dishes such as sweet seviyan, kheer, payasam, pudding, can be made.
Meethi seviyan/sweet vermicelli is enjoyed during festivals such as Holi, Diwali, Navratri, Eid.
Meethi Seviyan/sweet vermicelli is a very quick and easy recipe and can be prepared in 25 minutes. It is easy to cook when you suddenly have unexpected guests at home for lunch or dinner. It gives a good amount of energy and hence is good for the children to have after their sports activity. It is also a good after-school snack.
For the festival or some special occasion, it can be cooked in advance and stored. Warm it before serving.
This time I have prepared this seviyan for the festival of Holi. I like to cook it in milk, however, you can cook it with water. Meethi seviyan cooked in milk gets a grainy texture. I enjoy eating it this way. Besides spices such as cardamom and nutmeg, I have added a pinch of cinnamon powder. Cinnamon goes well with the sweet dishes. I thought of adding it to the seviyan since it enhanced the taste, flavor, and aroma of the dish.
My son does not like to have nuts in seviyan and so I have used them in powdered form. The powdered nuts made the seviyan more tasty. I have added chopped nuts on top while serving as it gives a nice crunch while having the soft vermicelli. You can roast nuts in ghee for a more richer taste.
At first, My son hesitated to taste it but I requested him to try one spoon. Believe me, he ended finishing one bowl and told me to keep some aside for later. I was so happy for him.
So what are you waiting for?… just make this quick seviyan and enjoy!!
Meethi Seviyan /Sweet Vermicelli
Meethi Seviyan/Sweet Vermicelli is a very quick sweet made under 25 minutes. It is made by cooking thin wheat seviyan or vermicelli or noodles with ghee, milk and sugar. Dry nuts, cardamom, saffron , nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamom enhances the flavor of the dish. Serve it warm as breakfast, after school snack or dessert.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 331kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ghee clarified butter
- 1 cup wheat vermicelli seviyan , broken into small pieces
- 2.5 cup milk
- 3/4 cup sugar I have used raw sugar. Adjust the quantity as per sweetness needed
- 1/2 tsp cardamon powder
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
- 2 tbsp powdered nuts almond, cashew nut, pistachio
- 2 tbsp chopped nuts almond, cashew nut, pistachio
- 1/4 tsp saffron
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder a pinch
Instructions
- Heat a pan with ghee.
- In other pot, put milk to heat.
- After the ghee is melted add the crushed seviyan (wheat vermicelli).
- Roast it on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
- After 4 minutes the seviyan are roasted and turns golden brown and aromatic.
- The milk will be heated by this time. Add the hot milk to the roasted seviyan. Stir quickly.
- Cook on medium heat stirring in between. The seviyan will absorb the milk.
- After 7-8 minutes add sugar, cardamom powder, nutmeg and strands of saffron. Mix well.
- Cover the lid and cook the seviyan on medium heat till the milk is absorbed and seviyan are cooked. It will take around 4-5 minutes.
- Add powdered nuts and pinch of cinnamon powder. Mix well and cook for other 2-3 minutes on low heat.
- The meethi seviyan/Sweet vermicelli are ready.
- Garnish with chopped nuts and serve hot.
- The meethi seviyan/sweet vermicelli are ready to serve.
Notes
I have used wheat vermicelli. It is easily available in the Indian stores here at Sydney. You can use water instead of milk. Adjust sugar as per the sweetness level required. I have used raw sugar. You can use plain sugar instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 144mg | Potassium: 57mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.9mg
Masala Milk
Masala Milk is a very healthy beverage made by boiling the milk along with powdered nuts mixture, saffron, and cardamom. If you like you can also add nutmeg. It is good to have it hot in winter and cold in summer.
Masala milk is very often made in our house. My son loves the taste and calls it is “peda doodh” due to the flavors of cardamom and saffron infused in milk. My mother in law makes it for “Lalji(Krishna)”. She makes it as an offering to Him during festivals, auspicious occasions or on birthdays of family members. I love her way and I also follow the same.
Besides that, we also make it during Holi, Diwali, Navratri or Sharad Poornima (Khojagiri Poornima). We serve it to the people coming for a pooja ceremony or bhajans at home. We sometimes take it as a normal hot drink during winter or like a milkshake during summer.
I try to make the powdered nuts mixture at home whenever I have time and store it in an airtight container. I refrigerate it and use whenever needed. I also make the powdered cardamon at home and store. If we have these mixtures ready then making masala milk is just 10 minutes job. Some people prefer to grind cardamon and saffron along with the powdered nuts and store it together.
Some people also add a pinch of turmeric powder to masala milk to give that nice yellow color as saffron is costly and you need more for the color. Turmeric is also good for the body.
Usually, most of the people associate to make masala with full-fat milk. It makes milk creamier. However, I prefer using low-fat milk for regular intake of it.The choice of nuts to be powdered depends on personal taste. Some people prefer to use more almonds than cashew nuts. Or some want to add walnuts with the other nuts. Some people want to use pepitas or other seeds.
You get ready-made masala milk powder. I have used them. They are good but I prefer to make it at home for the purity of the products used since I am then assured that I am using good quality dry nuts and pure saffron and cardamon. It takes only a few minutes to make at home.
Make it a habit for your children to have the homemade masala milk hot or cold. It is better than the ready-made flavored milk powders available. It is good to for pregnant ladies to have daily.
Masala Milk
Masala Milk is a healthy drink enriched with powdered dry nuts and is flavored with saffron and cardamom powder. It is good to have it warm in cold or as a chill milkshake on hot days.
Servings: 1 glass
Calories: 302kcal
Ingredients
Making powdered nuts
- 15 almond chopped
- 10 cashew nut chopped
- 15 pistachio chopped
Preparing Masala Milk
- 1 cup milk I have used low fat milk. For creamy texture use full fat milk.
- 1 tsp sugar or add as per your taste
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
- 1/4 tsp saffron (kesar)
- 1 pista sliced for garnishing
Instructions
Making powdered nuts
- In a grinder or mixer add chopped almond, cashew nut, and pistachio.
- Grind into a fine powder. The powdered nut mixture is ready. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. It makes around 12 tsp of mixture.
Preparing Masala Milk
- Take one cup milk in a pan. Put it to heat. Add sugar to it. Mix well.
- When milk gets warm add saffron to it.
- Mix it well.
- Add the powdered nuts.
- After 2-3 minutes milk starts to boil. Add cardamom powder to it.
- Mix it well and let milk boil on medium heat.
- Boil for 7-8 minutes on medium heat. The milk will start to thicken. Boil for 1 more minute. Take off the heat.
- Masala milk is ready.
- The masala milk ready to serve. Garnish with sliced pistachio and sprinkle cardamom powder.
Nutrition
Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 125mg | Potassium: 398mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 50IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1.3mg
Eggless Whole Wheat Banana Chocochip Muffin
Eggless whole wheat banana choc chip muffin is a good healthy option for sweet cravings.
It is made from whole wheat flour. The banana provides energy and is a good source of potassium. It gives moisture and softness to the muffin and hence is good for eggless baking. I have also used flaxseed powder. It is a very healthy and is a good source of Omega 3 fatty acid in a vegetarian diet. The muffin does not contain any egg or dairy product and hence is good for a Vegan diet.
The muffin can be refrigerated for a week in an airtight container. It can be packed as a sweet for kids lunch box. You can enjoy it with your morning or afternoon tea.
Ripe bananas mostly find their place in the dustbins. So now do not worry about it and instead use them to make muffin, bread or cake. You can also cut and freeze the banana in the ziplock bags and then use them for preparing milkshakes or smoothies.
Here are other recipes that I make with banana Eggless ragi chocolate banana cake, Eggless wholewheat, ragi banana bread, Banana, peach, apricot smoothie with muesli , Blueberry banana smoothie .
Eggless Whole Wheat Banana Chocochip Muffin
Eggless banana chocochip muffin is a made with whole wheat flour and goodness of banana, rich in chocochips . It is eggless and made with oil. Flaxseed powder added is a healthy and good option for eggless baking. It does not contain any dairy product and hence is Vegan.
Servings: 12 muffin
Calories: 220kcal
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp flax seed powder
- 1/2 cup oil any refined flavorless oil
- 3 banana riped
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup white choco chips
- 1/8 cup darc chocoale chips
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Instructions
- Sift the dry ingredients - whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add flax seed powder to it and mix well.
- In a big bowl take the riped banana.
- Mash banana with a potato masher or fork. Once mashed, add oil and sugar. Mix well.
- Add vanilla essence and mix well.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients into two batches.
- Mix well. Add white choco chips
- Mix gently.
- Pour the batter into the muffin moulds lined in the muffin tray.
- Sprinkle dark choco chips on it.
- Bake in a preheated oven @ 180C for 20-25 minutes on till the toothpick comes out clean.
- Serve muffin warm with tea or coffee. Pack them for your kids' lunch box. Also a healthy snack for biting between meals.
Notes
Use nice ripe bananas You can use dark choco chips instead of white choco chips. Do not overbeat the batter. You can store the muffin for a week in a refrigerator in an airtight container. Warm it for 10-15 sec in a microwave before serving. It does not contain any dairy product and hence is Vegan.
Nutrition
Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 3.3mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.7mg
Eggless Ragi Chocolate Banana Cake/ Eggless Finger Millet Chocolate Banana Cake
The nutritional benefits of Ragi or Nachni (Finger Millet) are manifold. It is a staple diet for many people in villages of Maharashtra and South India. The world over, ragi is mostly found in Africa and Asia.
Ragi is a good source of calcium and iron. It is a good food supplement for children and helps in increasing their immune system. It is a good source of fiber and hence is diabetic friendly. It is also beneficial for people looking to lose weight.
There are various dishes made with ragi such as ragi roti, ragi puri, ragi dosa, ragi balls or ragi mudde, ragi biscuits, ragi papad, ragi porridge. I have also made sukhadi with ragi and other flours-multi grain sukhadi. I used to make porridge using ragi flour and give it to my son when he was a toddler. I also make rotis from it and always try to include it in our diet.
I often make this ragi and chocolate cake. It is very healthy and can be made with the regularly available ingredients. The color and taste of ragi are hidden by cocoa powder. It is thus enjoyed by kids. Adults also love it. During celebrations, I decorate the cake with chocolate sauce. This time I added a banana for additional flavor. The cake came out very well. It was moist and soft. For an eggless cake, adding banana increases its softness. The cake remains moist and fluffy.
My son takes it in his lunch box or likes to have it for a mini snack between meals.
Enjoy baking this healthy cake and enjoy it either plain or with a frosting of your choice. It goes very well with a cup of hot tea or coffee.
Eggless Ragi Chocolate Banana Cake/ Eggless Finger Millet Chocolate Banana Cake
Eggless Ragi Chocolate Banana Cake is a soft and moist cake which combines the flavors of chocolate and banana. It is healthy and nutritious and is packed with the goodness of Finger Millet (ragi/nachni). It is a good option for snacking and for kids lunch box.
Servings: 1 loaf
Calories: 2339kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup finger millet flour ragi
- 3/4 cup raw sugar or white sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt a pinch
- 3/4 cup greek yogurt thick yougurt. I use the store brought thick yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup oil any refined flavorless oil. I have used canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 banana ripe
- 1 tsp oil or butter for greasing the pan
- 1 tbsp maida for dusting pan
Instructions
- Sift all the dry ingredients three to four times in sieve. (Whole wheat flour, finger millet-ragi flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt).
- Mash the ripe banana with a potato masher in a bowl.
- Add milk, thick curd, oil, vanilla essence, and honey.
- Add the raw sugar.
- Mix them well till the sugar dissolves.
- Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two batches.
- Mix it slowly. There should be no lumps. The batter is ready.
- Pour the cake batter in the greased and dusted pan. (I have used 8.5" x 6.5" rectangle cake tin). Tap it three to four times.
- Bake it for 35-40 minutes in a preheated oven @ 180 C.
- Remove tine from oven, cool and place the tin upside down and unmould the cake.
- Cut into pieces and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 2339kcal | Carbohydrates: 411g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 67g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 30g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 1492mg | Potassium: 943mg | Fiber: 34g | Sugar: 217g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Calcium: 530mg | Iron: 11mg
Mango Custard
Summer brings lots of heat and mangoes!! I wait for mangoes because I love that fruit very much. In fact, a majority of us love this king of fruits. The heat of summer subsides with this sweet fruit. Mangoes can be eaten as raw or as ripe.
People want to eat something cool and fresh to bear the summer heat. Custard is the dessert of choice in parties and marriages. It is very refreshing and is packed with the goodness of milk which has calcium and protein. It is popular in any age group. You can make fruit custard, chocolate custard, caramel custard, strawberry custard or mango custard.
While making the custard, milk is thickened either with eggs or any starch. For making eggless custard use custard powder. Custard powder is cornflour with some flavoring and color.
Various flavors of custard powder are available in the market such as vanilla, mango, strawberry, banana. I prefer using vanilla flavor as it is the most loved flavor and goes well with any fruit or dry nuts and dry fruits.
The consistency of the custard depends on the amount of custard powder used and type of milk during cooking, I have used 2 tbsp of custard powder for 500 g of milk.
for thinner pouring consistency, use 1.5 tbsp of custard powder for 500 g milk.
for setting or thick custard, use 3-4 tbsp of custard powder for 500 g of milk.
While making custard take note of the following points:
- Use a heavy bottom pan for boiling milk.
- Always keep aside some milk before boiling and mix the custard powder in it.
- Add the custard powder and milk mixture slowly to the boiled milk. Keep on stirring in between so that no lumps are formed and the custard powder does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- The milk will start to thicken once custard powder is added to it. Add sugar to it. Stir and cook for 5 minutes till the milk is thick and the raw taste of the custard powder goes away.
- Always cool the custard and then add all the fruits or fruit puree to it.
In the custard, you can mix fruits such as banana, apple, chickoo, grapes, pomegranate, strawberry or orange and can make mix fruit custard or Indian fruit salad.
Mango Custard is the perfect way to use the king of fruit. This recipe covers the Indian way of making the custard. It is a good dessert to impress your guests and is perfect for summer.
The amount of sugar can be added as per individual taste. I prefer using less sugar in the Mango Custard as the mango puree and mango pieces added to the custard are sweet.
Use mango which is sweet and more fleshy. Here in Sydney, we get Kensington Pride and R2E2 which goes well. You can also use fresh Alphonso or the frozen or canned ones. If the mango puree has more threads in to then strain the puree through the strainer so that you don’t get the threads while eating the custard.
The use of dry nuts such as almonds, pistachio or cashew nut will give an additional crunch to the mango custard.
I have made custard using the full cream milk. You can also make it with low-fat milk. It tastes equally good.
Many restaurants blend heavy cream in the custard to make it more creamy and smooth. It is optional to use.
The mango custard tastes best when served chill. It can be enjoyed for 3-4 days when refrigerated.
Mango Custard
A very delicious dessert made by thickening milk with custard powder along with sugar. . The flavor of the custard is enhanced by mixing fresh mango puree and is served chilled along with fresh mango cubes and nuts.
Servings: 15 bowl
Calories: 223kcal
Ingredients
- 2 litre Full Cream Milk
- 8 tbsp custard powder vanilla flavor
- 10 tbsp raw sugar or white sugar. You can add more or less sugar as per your taste
- 5 mango pulp
- 3 mango cubes
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds and pistachio optional
Instructions
- Put milk to boil in a thick bottom pan. (keep aside a cup of milk for combining custard powder ).
- Take the custard powder in a bowl.
- Add the milk that was kept aside and mix.
- Stir and mix the custard powder well till all the lumps are gone.
- When the milk starts boiling, reduce the heat and pour the prepared custard powder mix. Stir the milk continuously to prevent custard mixture from sticking at the bottom of the pan.
- After 2-4 minutes the milk will start to thicken. Keep on stirring continuously.
- Add sugar to the thickened milk and mix well.
- Let the custard cook on medium heat for 5 more minutes. Keep on stirring continuously to prevent from sticking at the bottom. The custard is ready. Keep it aside to come at room temperature. Meanwhile, keep on stirring the custard in between to prevent a layer which forms on top while the custard is cooling.
- Once the custard is cooled to room temperature blend it with a hand blender so that it becomes smooth and even.
- Sieve the custard through the strainer to remove any lumps.
- The custard is ready. Let it cool it for 3-4 hours in the fridge.
- Puree the mangoes. If it has threads then strain the puree through the strainer to get a smooth mango puree. Cut the rest of the mango into cubes.
- After 4 hours when the custard is cold, add the mango puree to it and blend it well with a hand blender.
- Mix it well. Mango custard is ready to get chill and serve. You can fill them in an individual serving bowl and chill till serving.
- While serving fill the bowl with the chilled mango custard.
- Put the mango cubes and sliced almonds and pistachio or any nut of your choice. Serve it chill.
Nutrition
Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 63mg | Potassium: 406mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 950IU | Vitamin C: 40.4mg | Calcium: 190mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Choco Walnut Truffle Balls With Leftover Cake
I had made the Eggless chocolate truffle cake for my son’s birthday party and everyone loved it. We had some leftover cake. Before frosting or icing the cake, it has to be leveled by cutting, so some more cake pieces and crumbs were left after leveling the cake. I had made chocolate truffle for the icing the cake so part of it was left too.
I thought of using the leftover cake and truffle and making truffle balls from it. Walnuts and desiccated coconut increased the flavor of the truffle balls.
There is no cooking involved and hence it takes only a few minutes to make them. You can also involve your kids while making them and they will enjoy the process of making and shaping them. Aarav enjoyed to roll them into different shapes.
It would be difficult to consume the leftover crumbs of the cake and the truffle. Combining them together to make a new dish was fun.
So friends do not worry if you have lots of leftover cake next time. Just try making different flavor balls of your choice and as per the flavor of the cake.
vanilla cake + strawberry jam + cashew nuts + white chocolate -> Choco strawberry balls.
chocolate cake + almonds +nutella -> Nutella balls
chocolate cake + peanut butter+ choco chips -> Choco peanut butter balls
Chocolate cake + rum + walnuts+ cocoa powder -> Rum balls
Vanilla cake + condensed milk + desiccated coconut -> Coconut balls
This way you can try out various combinations of various nuts, spreads, jams and make differently flavored balls from it.
Choco Walnut Truffle Balls With Leftover Cake
A very quick and easy sweet treat made from the leftover cake in few minutes. No cooking is require.
Servings: 16 balls
Ingredients
- 2 cup Chocolate cake crushed grind cake in mixture jar
- 1/2 cup walnut powdered
- 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
- 4 tbsp chocolate truffle
Instructions
- Grind the leftover chocolate cake in the grinder into the powder.
- Add the powdered walnuts and desiccated coconut. Mix them well. Add chocolate truffle to it.
- Mix them well and knead like a soft dough.
- Take small portions into the palm and shape them into circle, square, cylinder or any shape you want.
- The chocolate walnut truffle balls made from leftover chocolate cake are ready to serve. They can be refrigerated and stored for 4-5 days.
Anjeer Badam Burfi/Dried Fig Almond Fudge
Anjeer Badam Burfi- This is a very healthy, tasty and easy to make sweet dish. It is packed with the goodness of dried figs, almonds and other nuts.
My mother in law (Geeta Shah) often makes this dish. She makes mava/khoya at home by boiling milk and then adds the soaked and ground dried fig and nuts paste to it. She then sets it in a greased thali and cuts it in squares. The process of making it becomes little lengthy as the khoya is made at home, but as they say “mehnat ka fal mitha hota hain”. The outcome is very awesome. It is good for all age groups. You can even give it as a baby food to the infants. Nuts can be roasted and chopped and added if you want the barfi to be crunchy, however, some kids or the older people cannot chew the nuts due to the teething problem or some simply do not want the whole nuts. They can enjoy the barfi by adding the ground nuts while making barfi.
The amount and types of nuts can be used as per your choice. You can use almonds/walnuts/cashew nuts/pistachios entirely or in combination. You can also use raisins, dates or desiccated coconut. The use of sugar is optional. You can make it sugar-free.
I had a pack of dried figs and milk powder also in my pantry. Since I was short of time, I thought of using it along with the dry nuts available in my home.
Milk powder is a good binding agent and is a good replacement for khoya. I cooked the anjeer paste and when the moisture in it dries out, I added the powdered nuts and milk powder to it. The milk powder and the dried nuts powder gave it a good binding. Then I put it in the greased pan and spread it evenly. I sprinkled some sliced almonds and pistachio on it. I let it set for 30 minutes and then cut into pieces. The pieces came out very easily and were firm to hold.
Anjeer has a lot of nutritional benefits – It improves digestion, is good for reducing weight, helps to maintain hypertension, is rich in antioxidants, prevents cancer, prevents heart diseases, helps to strengthen bones, is rich in iron and helps to cure anemia, helps to strengthen the uterine muscles and good for pregnant ladies !
Consume 1-2 pieces of this barfi as a healthy snack every day. I give it to my son as an after-school snack or in the morning before going to school. Whenever you crave to eat something sweet, have it guilt free as it has very less sugar and ghee in it. This will satisfy your sweet craving and will benefit your health !!
Anjeer Badam Burfi/Dried Fig Almond Fudge
A very healthy barfi made with dried figs (anjeer) and almonds (badam ) and other nuts - pistachio, sunflower seeds. (Different nuts can be added as per your choice such as walnuts, cashewnuts, peanuts, peccan)
Servings: 28 pieces
Calories: 168kcal
Ingredients
- 350 g Dried fig Anjeer
- 1 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup pistachio
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup pepita
- 3/4 cup milk to soak and grind
- 1/2 tbsp clarified butter ghee
- 1.5 cup milk powder
- 2 tbsp raw sugar plain white sugar (optional)
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- 2 tbsp sliced almonds and pistachio
Instructions
- Soak the dried figs (anjeer) in the milk for 1-2 hours.
- Grind the soaked dried figs (anjeer) along with milk into a smooth paste.
- Gather all the dry nuts (almonds, pistachio, pepita, sunflower seeds).
- Chop and grind them into a smooth powder.
- In a non-stick pan heat ghee.
- Add the dried fig (anjeer) paste. Roast it for 7-8 minutes until all the moisture dries out.
- After 7-8 minutes the mixture dries out.
- Add milk powder to the mixture.
- Add the powdered dry nuts (almonds, pistachio, sunflower seeds, pepita) and raw sugar to it. Adding sugar is optional. You can add the dry nuts as per your choice.
- Mix them all together and saute again for 3-4 minutes till the sugar moisture dries out. Now add the cardamom powder to it.
- Now pour the cooked mixture into the greased tray. Spread them evenly. I had used two trays.
- Garnish them with sliced almonds and pistachios.
- Let the tray rest for 3o minutes. The anjeer badam barfi is ready. Cut it into pieces and serve. You can store it in the fridge for a week.
Nutrition
Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 63mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 0.7mg
