Banana Pancakes (Without Egg)

There was one fine morning when I totally ran out of breakfast ideas and my husband was already bored of having the same old cereals, fruits and bread! I quickly remembered the Banana pancake recipe that I saw on a famous cookery TV show. Here it is for you.

Ingredients:

Self-Raising flour (Maida) – 3 cups
Powdered sugar – 1 ½ cups
Milk – 2 cups
Riped Banana – 2 nos., sliced into round shape
Baking powder – 2 teaspoon
Salt - A pinch
Cardamom powder – ½ teaspoon
Oil/Butter – For frying
Egg substitute – 1 teaspoon of baking powder + 2 teaspoons of olive oil + 4 teaspoon of water
Honey, Cream – For garnishing (optional)

Method:

1. Mix flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom powder in a deep bowl

2. Slowly whisk together milk to the mixture making sure that no lumps are formed. Add more milk or water accordingly. It should have the dropping consistency like that of the dosa batter.

3. Add the baking powder + olive oil + water mixture to the above and set aside.

4. Heat a tawa and pour the above batter on the hot tawa spreading it with the help of the back of the ladle.

5. Now place the cut bananas on top of the pancakes and slightly press them so it gets set to the pancake or it may fall down when you flip them.

6. Fry on both the sides till it turns golden brown in color using oil/butter.

7. Drizzle a few drops of honey and cream on top of it and serve hot.

Tips:

1. You can increase the richness of the pancake by adding half a cup of condensed milk after reducing the amount of powdered sugar by half.

2.  Similar pancakes can be made using finely chopped pieces of Mangoes, Apple and dry fruits.

3. Whole-wheat flour can also be used in the place of Maida or a combination of both will also work although some amount of sacrifice need to be done on the fluffiness part.

Palak Pakoda

The nutrient packed spinach in a crunchy and a tastier form - who would say no? Ideal for tea time and a great starter in party menu!

Ingredients:

Palak leaves - 1 cup, finely chopped
Gram flour - 3/4 cup
Corn flour - 1 spoon
Onion - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Green chillies - 2 nos., finely chopped
Ajwain - 1/4 spoon
Red chilli powder - 1 spoon
Garam masala - 1/4 spoon
Asafetida - apinch
Cooking soda - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying

Method:

1. Wash palak thoroughly and drain.
2. Mix all ingredients except oil with the palak using water to form a smooth thick batter.
3. Heat oil in a kadai. When the oil is ready, take spoonful of batter and pour it in the oil. Fry on low-medium flame in small batches till crisp.
4. Drain excess oil in kitchen tissue and serve hot with tomato sauce.

Mushrooms on Toast

The creamy texture of mushrooms tossed in olive oil is surely a show-stealer! Very quick to make and your kids are going to love you for this.

Ingredients:

Button Mushrooms - 200 gms
Fresh Cream - 100 gms
Onion - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Garlic - 5-6 cloves, finely chopped
Chilli flakes - 1 spoon
Dried basil, thyme - for garnishing
Olive oil - 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Rub mushrooms with wet kitchen napkin and clean. Slice it into thin pieces and keep aside
2. Take a pan, pour some olive oil. When the oil is hot, add finely chopped onion and garlic and fry for a few mins.
3. Once the onion-garlic turns light pink, add fresh cream. Now add salt, chilli flakes and stir for a couple of mins.
4. Add mushrooms and saute for few more mins - 2 to 3 mins max., and remove.
5. Garnish with some dried basil and thyme and serve hot with garlic bread or any bread toast.

Sabudhana Kichdi

Ideal for a morning breakfast - easy to make and can be a filling meal on a fast day

Ingredients:

Sabudhana - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Roasted peanuts - a handful
Mustard seeds - 1 spoon
Chana dal - 1 spoon
Urad dal - 1/2 spoon
Green chillies - 6-8nos.
Curry leaves - a few
Coriander leaves, finely chopped - a few
Grated coconut - a handful (optional)
Asafetida - 1/4 spoon
Salt - to taste
Cooking oil - 2 tablespoon

Method:

1. Soak sabudhana and moong dal in soar curd plus water for 4-6 hours. Drain excess water and keep aside
2. In a kadai, pour oil. Once it gets hot, add mustard seeds and when they crackle, add chana dal, urad dal, asafetida, curry leaves and peanuts and wait for them to turn light golden brown.
3. Now add the soaked sabudhana-moong dal mixture and salt to taste and keep it on low flame for 10-12 mins. No need to add/sprinkle water.
4. Make sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the kadhai. If need be, add little more oil.
5. When the sabudhana turns pale and transparent, the khichdi is ready. Squeeze some lime juice, garnish it with coriander leaves and grated coconut and serve hot.

Tips:

1. For instant khichdi, saok the sabudhana and moong dal in hot water for 30 mins.
2. You can also add vegetables of your choice to the khichdi.

Gajar Ka Halwa

Presenting my very first "the Chef" experiment :-) - the delicious North-Indian winter speciality, blended beautifully and garnished with dry fruits! Celebrate your memorable day with this famous and yummilicious ‘Gajar Ka Halwa'.

Ingredients:

Carrot (reddish ones, preferably) - 1 kg
Full cream milk - 1/2 litre
Sugar - 2 cups
Khoya - 200 gms
Ghee - 1/2 cup

For Garnishing:
Slivered cashews, almonds, pistachios, raisins - 1/2 cup
Saffron strands - a pinch
Cardamom powder - 1/2 spoon

Method:

1. Wash, peel and grate the carrot and keep aside
2. In a heavy bottomed-pan, mix together the grated carrot and milk. Let this sit on the stove for about 45 mins on a low-flame till all the milk dries up completely. Stir in occasionally to ensure that the halwa doesn't stick to the base of the pan
3. Once the milk dries up, add sugar and mix well. This will darken the color of the halwa (into a reddish orange). Once you add sugar, your halwa may look a bit watery. Continue to keep the halwa on low-flame till all the water dries up. This may take another 20 mins, approx.
4. While still moist, add grated khoya (after reserving some for garnishing) and keep it on low-flame for 5 more mins and then remove from stove
5. Heat a separate kadai, pour ghee and fry the dry fruits (except raisins) into a light golden color. Remove from stove
6. Add raisins to the ghee mixture, along with cardamom powder.
7. Transfer the halwa to a glass bowl, spread a layer of grated khoya, pour in the ghee-fried dry fruits mixture and sprinkle a few strands of saffron all over.
8. Serve warm.

Tips:

There are different ways of making the halwa:
    * You can pressure cook the grated carrot and milk for one whistle and continue from step-3
    * You can add milk powder or condensed milk instead of full-cream milk, depending on
        your taste and need