EGGLESS WHOLE WHEAT BANANA BREAD

Fruits are one thing which iam not interested in, particularly bananas. Once it gets dark spots poor bananas find its space in trash. But that was an old story. After making this banana bread iam waiting my banana to get spots  :).This banana bread is totally addictive. One can’t stop eating just a piece. It almost taste like ‘unniyappom’. Above all you don’t feel guilty while having an extra piece since it is made with healthy ingredients. The bread is soft and moist. It was as delicious as I was eating it continuously. It was hard for me to keep few pieces even for my Husband :).The whole loaf was finished within few hours. Do try this healthy delicious bread. It might satisfy even the banana haters!!

Ingredients

1.      Whole wheat  or Atta-1.5 cup

2.       Grated Jaggery or sugar-1/2 cup

3.      Ripe banana mashed-1 cup,(I used robusta variety, around 3 or 4 medium sized can yield 1 cup)

4.      Baking soda-1/2tsp

5.      Baking powder-1 n 1/2tsp

6.      Oil-3/4cup

7.      Cinnamon powder-1tsp

8.      Vanilla essence-1tsp

Method of preparation

1.      Preheat an oven at 180◦ c For 10 minutes. Prepare a loaf tin and keep it ready

2.      Mash bananas using a fork or mixie without any lumps.(use over ripened bananas).

3.      Mix wheat, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder using a whisk or swift all the dry ingredients.

4.      In a mixing bowl mix oil, vanilla and jaggery well.(Jaggery may tend to form clumps with oil. Do not worry, go head. It will dissolve upon adding flour).Add all the dry ingredients little by little and mix to incorporate everything. Do not over mix as it will make cake dense.

5.      Now bake at 180◦ for 50 minutes or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean.

6.      Allow it to cool .Slice and serve.

EASY BUTTER CHICKEN

Butter chicken is one classic Indian dish loved by Indians and non Indians as well. We never fail to order this whenever we gorge on North Indian cuisine. Recently my Mother in law got a butter chicken recipe from a professional chef. She tried it at home and we all enjoyed it to the fullest. But that recipe calls for lots of ingredients and the entire process took one half day!!!So I never ever wanted to give it a try by myself. Though I love cooking, I don’t like to spend much time in kitchen. Then I happened to see this recipe here . Immediately i tried it with slight modifications.  I did  not use cream, instead I used milk. However it turned out as delicious as the one we get in Punjabi  dhabbas or restaurants .The actual recipe calls for the use of home made tandoori masala..The deliciousness of this curry greatly depend on that masala.I strongly recommend you to make it rather buying from stores.

While reading the methods you may wonder is this the easy butter chicken??Trust me only description seems elaborate, but the work involved is very less!!!

Ingredients For the tandoori masala

1.      Garam masala- 2tbsp

2.      Cumin powder-2tbsp

3.      Coriander powder-1tbsp

4.      Kashmiri chilly ppowder-4 and ½ tsp

5.      Kasuri methi-2tsp

6.      Turmeric powder-1tsp

just mix everything up by using mixie or even with a spoon.

Ingredients for the marinade

1.      Ginger,garlic- finely chopped,1tbsp each

2.      Curd-1cup

3.      Tandoori masala-1tbsp

4.      Tomato paste-1/4 cup

5.      Salt

6.      Ghee or butter-2tbsp,melted

Chicken-cleaned and cut into medium sized pieces,around750gm

Mix everything and marinate the chicken pieces well. Keep the marinated chicken in fridge for a minimum of 1 hour. Arrange the chicken pieces along with the marinade in a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven 200◦C for 30 minutes.

 Ingredients For the gravy

1.      Ginger ,garlic-chiopped,2tbsp each

2.      Tomatoe-4 medium sized,chopped

3.      Tandoori masala-remaining masala after the marinating process

4.      Kashmiri chilly powder-1/2tsp

5.      Salt

6.      Milk-1cup( see notes)

7.      Kasuri methi-1tbsp

8.      Coriander leaves-1tbsp,chopped

9.      Water- 1/2cup

10.  Butter-2tbsp+2tbsp

11.  Sugar-1/2 tsp

Method of preparation

1.      Heat butter in a pan. Saute ginger and garlic for a minute or until the raw smell disappears. Add in chilly powder and tandoori masala powder. Stir .Add chopped tomatoes and salt. Cook until it turns mushy. Let this cool down. Grind this into smooth paste by adding little water. Pour it back into the pan along with ½ cup of water. Bring it to boil.

2.      Add baked chicken along with the juice into the gravy. Close the pan and cook in medium or law flame for about 10 minutes. Check for saltiness. Add milk ,kasuri methi,chopped green chilly.mix well. Do not let it boil. Just heat it up. Lastly add chopped coriander leaves,sugar and remaining butter.Give a gentle stir. Switch off the flame. Keep it closed for some time.

Enjoy with any  flat  breads…

Notes: the actual recipe uses cream instead of milk. Since I did not have it on hand I substituted it with milk. If you use cream reduce the amount by ½ cup. If the gravy is too thick, more milk can be added.

PEPPER CHICKEN MASALA

I guess there is no standard recipe for pepper chicken. Ultimately the taste of pepper should be dominant. Pepper chicken varies greatly in each restaurant. This I have prepared in my own way. I made a gravy version since I wanted my curry to be paired with rice. Here I have not used chilly powder and all the heat comes from pepper also have used a bit more de seeded green chillies to add some extra flavor. Curry was delicious with rich gravy .It pairs well with rice or rotis.

Ingredients

1.      Chicken- 750gm,cleaned and cut into medium sized pieces

2.      Onion-2 large, thinly sliced

3.      Tomato-1medium+ 1 small, cut into squares

4.      Ginger-1 inch piece, chopped

5.      Garlic-1 small bulb, chopped

6.      Whole black pepper-1tbsp

7.      Whole spices-cardamom 4nos,clove 4nos,cinnamon 1medium stick

8.      Coriander powder-3tsp heaped

9.      Garam masala powder-1tsp

10.  Green chilly -6 or 7 de seeded

11.  Oil-3tbsp

12.  Salt

13.  Water-1/2 cup or more ( check the consistency of the gravy .Add water accordingly)

Method of preparation

1.      Heat oil in a pan. Add whole spices and pepper. When the aroma comes, add ginger and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add in onions and salt .Cook until onion turns slightly brown

2.      Add in all powders and one tomato. Stir until raw smell of powders disappears. Switch off the flame. Let this masala cool a bit. Grind this into smooth paste by adding little water.

3.      Pour grinded masala back into the pan. Add water and enough salt. Bring it to boil. Add chicken pieces in. Reduce the flame. Cover the pan and cook until chicken is cooked through and gravy thickens. Lastly add remaining chopped tomatoes and switch off the flame.

Let it stand for some time.Serve with plain rice,pulav or rotis