Bluberry Almond Crumble.

A crumble is a dish of British and Irish origin that can be made in a sweet or savoury version, depending on ingredients used, although the sweet version is much more common. (Wikipedia)

Fresh Blueberries were not quite easily available around where i live,.... recently Ive been finding them a lot around and got hooked on to the lil purple balls :)

These Sweet and tangy berries are a amazing snack, there are a lot of thing you could try with this lil fruit. I decided to do a Blueberry Almond crumble, and the result was a yummy subtle delicate dessert.

Almond Blueberry Crumble. (Optionally Vegan)

3 Cups fresh Blueberries*(check note)
1/2 cup Sugar
Few drops of Lemon juice
1 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs hot water
21/2 cups Oats
11/4th cup All Purpose Flour
1 cup Packed Brown Sugar
11/2 stick Butter/ 1/2 cup Vegetable oil *(check note)
1 cup silverd  roasted almonds
Pinch of salt.

Preheat oven to 180 deg C, and grease you ramekins or you dish that you are using.

In a saucepan set over medim heat, combine the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice, bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to simmer and cook untill the berries are tender. This might take up to 10-15 min.
Whisk in your constarch mixed with warm water until a smooth paste is formed. Cook for about a minute.
Cool this sauce covered, to avoid a skin forming on top.

In a bowl stir in oats, flour and sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Cut in the cold butter with the above ingredients. If making it Vegan and using oil pour in oil little by little to make a crumbly texture. You might need more or less of oil.

Press 2/3rd of the mix on your prepared pan. Spread the cold blueberry mix over the top and sprinkle some roasted almonds.
Sprinkle with remaining mixture of the flour and roasted almonds.
Bake until golden brown or about 45 minutes.
Decorate with fresh blueberries or blueberry sauce. I swished on some caramel sauce too which tasted yum!

You could serve this warm or cold. Choice is your.

*NOTE:  
*If you donot get fresh blueberries you could defrost frozen ones. And if you using a readymade bluebery sauce just cut down on you sugar and boil untill thick.
*Opt for oil instead of butter to make this recipe Vegan.

This Post is off to- Tamalapaku Fruit/Veggie of the Month (This months choice is Blueberries.),  brain child of Priya 

Mukundwadi

Walking through the Memory Lane brings in a lot of Recipes shared by my elders ... honestly i could put down 'N' number of recipes but i choose one.. Passed on by my Mother in law to me.
Never heard before i was shocked and confused when i heard how Mukundwadi is made.
I had to see it to register how its done.
Before flying to Tokyo for the first time after my marriage Mummy made this for my Hubby... and that's when i learnt.
It does have a peculiar taste to it People who love cant get over it. It looks and tastes a bit like Non-veg.
We need a lot of dough for this, at times it gets difficult to knead a lot of dough, so what i do is as when there is any leftover dough with me, I store it in the Freezer. and when its enough to carry on with the dish i make it.

Mukundwadi.

For the wadi.

1kg Kneaded dough. (wheat flour)
Salt
Water to boil.
1 tbs chickpea (chana daal)
Oil to fry.

Take a fine mesh colander and put your dough in it. Keep it under a running tap and knead it with your hand until the dough reduces to 1/4th the quantity, and gets to a elastic texture. Yes! you need to wash the dough, the water that flows will be milky white and gradually to know its does the water should get clear.
Once your gluten is ready form a loaf like and put it in a pressure cooker with a pinch of salt and 1tbs of chick pea. Cook for about 3-4 whistles on medium low flame.
Once the steam vents out, let it cool and cut into small pieces. Deep fry until golden brown.

Note:- You can store the fried wadi's in the freezer for about a month.

  

For the Gravy....


4-5 Tomatoes pureed.
2 Medium Potatoes cut into chunks.
1tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander pwd
1 tbs cumin seeds
1 tsp red chili pwd
Pinch of garam masala
Pinch of asafotedia
Few green chilies slit 
Few curry leaves
1/4th cup whisked yogurt
Fresh coriander for garnish.

In a pressure cooker heat oil, add cumin, asafotedia  and curry leaves. Add the tomato puree and cook for about 5-10 min. Once semi cooked add all the dry masala's and cook till the oil starts to split.
Add your fried wadi's and chopped potatoes to the tomato mix and saute them for about 10 min or so. Add about 1 glass of water and pressure cook for 2 whistles on slow flame. Add the whisked yogurt and cover.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with hot Roti or Paratha.

This post is off to Gayatri's cook spot and The Pumpkin Farm for the wonderful event.. Walk Through Memory Lane.... :)

And

Learning to Cook

Eggless Wheat-Choco Muffins

Happy Birthday Maaaaaaaa :)Wish u all the love and luck in the world and Thanks a lot for everything! u all mean the word to me :)
This post is dedicated to my Maa :) i got late today to wish her :( sorry for that :) here's a small lil way we enjoyed your day!! With some Low fat Wheat-Choco Muffins!! Hope u had a great day today!!
I am also forwarding this post to Madhuram;s Event for this month!! Shes hosting this wonderful event to use Whole Grains as ur main ingredient! i m absolutely going to try hard and post as many recipes as i can :)
Here is the recipe for

Eggless Wheat Muffins.

1Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Sugar
1/4th cup Coco-pwd
1/4th cup Oil
1/2 cup water
1/4th cup Milk
1/2tbs Baking Pwd
1tbs Vanilla essence
2tbs Honey

Mix all the above ingredients and blend well until smooth. Pour in your muffin moulds and bake at 180 deg for about 30 min.
Garnish with M&Ms :) and loads of love!

Happy Birthday Nani! :) from Kaira and her friend Kishi :)!!!

Cream Crackers

I love this low fat snack. Well surely its not low fat if you eat a whole pack of it, which i normally tend to. We get a good variety of black pepper, sesame, plain, veggie ..etc Cream crackers here. So i thought to give it a shot at home once and ya they are super duper easy and the best about baking them at home is keeping them as low in fat as you want.

I made a small batch this time as i was experimenting with my own recipe, next time its sure going to be a big ... big batch with all kinds of sprinklings on it :)

Also Madhuram has announced her Low fat Eggless baking Event. So this recipe goes to her. I am eagerly waiting for the round up, to try some awesome low cal, vegetarian recipes :)

I made basic sea salt-pepper (red and black) seasonings this time.
You can make them rich by adding a good scoop of butter or olive oil in it. I have skipped all the fat content in it. They were a little dry but well that made it taste more crisp. :)

So here;s the recipe for
Cream Crackers:
1cup All purpose flour
Salt to taste
1/2 cup milk
Few drops of oil (just to grease it while rolling)
Mix all the above ingredients to make a smooth dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for about 15 min.
In the mean time pre-heat your oven at 170 C
After your dough has rested roll them into sheets and using a pizza cutter cut them into squares or your desired shape. Sprinkle some sea salt/black pepper/red pepper or any seasoning of your choice.
I made small roses out of it. which looked adorable. Bake them on a parchment paper until they get a light golden glow on them, that would take about 15-20 min max.
Cool them on a wire rack and store in a air tight jar :)

Choco'range Cheesecake.

Because you don't live near a bakery doesn't mean you have to go without cheesecake says
Hedy Lamarr . Well in my case even if i was near a bakery i could not eat a cheesecake as i would not get a vegetarian one!, So the only option for me is to make one.
Well cheesecake was in my cook list since the past 10 years, ya!! u read right 10 years! A aunt of mine had made this yum strawberry cheesecake about 10 years back and i always thought id make it, somehow it never happened until the Daring Bakers challenged :)
The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I always get hesitant when i have to use tofu as a egg substitute, i m worried about the tofu taste being dominant. So had to make sure i choose strong flavours to cut down tofu's taste.
I went a lil safe, by using the same choco-orange combo as i had done before. The crust was oreo's mixed with choco-almond digestive biscuits, made some candied orange Peel's for the orange flavour.
Trust me it just was heavenly. All my friends who got a bite worth size to taste , loved it!! I m sure to make it soon again but next time try the unbaked version.
I loveeeeeeeeeee cheesecake!!!!
I have to sincerely thank Noveleats for providing the recipe. Thanks a million for sharing such a lovely recipe with us. :)
I followed her recipe mostly, except for changing the flavours:)
Here;s my version of ..

CHOCO'RANGE CHEESECAKE.
200gms Silk Tofu
200gms Cream cheese (i used Philadelphia)
3/4th cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2tsp vanilla essence
2tbs lemon juice
4-5 tbs candied orange peel's (chopped)
3tbs Cornstarch
1 Bar of milk chocolate
1 Bar of bitter chocolate
*Melt the chocolate on a double boiler and keep aside.

For the crust-
One pack oreo biscuits.
One pack Choco-almond digestive biscuits.
* You can use your choice of crust in accordance to your taste.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Drain the tofu, Add the tofu, Cream cheese and blend till smooth. Then add rest of the ingredients except for Lemon juice, chocolate and orange peels.
Blend till smooth paste. Divide the mix into two parts. Add the melted chocolate in one and add the orange peels with lemon juice in the other mix.
Prepare the crust by crushing the biscuits and layering it on a greased cake tin. I used a regular rolling pin and a ziploc to crush my biscuits.
As far as the cake tin is concerned its always better to use a springform. I used a regular one as i dint have a springform.
The verdict to this tofu-cheese cake is DOUBLE thumb's-up!! As i read all the post;s i now feel i could have tried the water bath which i dint. Next time id know the difference if it actually makes it more creamier or not. Also one thing i really enjoyed was the pieces of candied orange zest bumping in with the vanilla -sour cheese flavour, it was some what like the classic meets the hip-hop!
One thing is for sure, Its sinful in every term!!

Mixed Marwadi Dal

Somehow i get a urge to cook something different everyday. Something which is not too fancy, can be packed for hubby;s lunch-box, Tasty and goes with the theme of a weekday lunch/dinner. He loves all kinds of dal's, and it gets so boring to make the same thing again n again. I keep craving for diff kind of lentil recipes.

This was the best time to bump into the Tried and Tested event which is hosted byAparna this month which is featuring Lisa's Kitchen.I visited Lisa's blog for the first time and was stunned seeing the variety of vegetarian food. Loved her collection!! Me being a vegetarian myself made it easy to choose a recipe from her blog to blog for.

I choose the Mixed Marwadi daal.. It tastes heavenly with hot roti;s splashed with ghee. I followed lisa;s recipe to the T. Here; the recipe http://foodandspice.blogspot.com/2008/04/marawadi-mixed-dal.html
Trust me its a must try!!

Mexican Stir-fry Rice

Its always fun to cook for kids, they seem to relish their food if it is of their taste and the smile that comes along with it is .. priceless!! All kids love diff colours in their food, My daughter is almost 2 years now and yet understands her taste completely.She lovessssss Rice in any form. SO wen i saw Trupti;s event which she is hosting this month, which is cooking for Kids and that too mainly using Rice i was sure to participate. Cooking for Kids event is a master mind of Sharmi of Neivedyam
SO here i made Mexican stir-fry rice using read kidney beans along with some veggies.

I love this recipe for the fact that it is quick to make, is enjoyed by all, healthy, and colourful too :)

1cup uncooked rice 1 cup white onions, sliced 2 crushed garlic cloves pinch of turmeric pwd 1 sliced green pepper 1 tomato, chopped 1 cup mixed boiled vegetables 1/4th cup boiled Red kidney beans Drop of Tabasco Oil Salt

Wash and soak rice for about an hour or more. Boil the rice and set aside.Heat oil in a pan and add Onion slices, saute till golden brown, add garlic and turmeric pwd, saute for a few more minutes. Set this mix aside and in the same pan saute the green pepper. for a min. Add the remaining mix vegetables, beans and the onion mix. Saute everything well enough until veggies are tender. Add salt and a drop of Tabasco. Add Ur boiled rice and mix well. Serve hot with curry or curd!! :)

Peppery Basil Spaghetti

I love the flavour of paprika. The colour and the flavour both add a zing to the dish. This spaghetti is one of the most quickest and delicious recipes, Its spicy and creamy at the same time. the sweetness of basil brings out the flavour of the dish.I don't think i have ever cooked any dish without this particular ingredient. :) Paprika !!
So this ones for MIMI



Enjoy!!


Peppery Basil Spaghetti
For the sauce:
7 to 8 leaves of fresh basil
1/4Th cup of almonds
1/2 cup fresh cream
Crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to ur taste)
Olive oil
3-4 tbs of Chopped garlic

Grind Almonds, basil, fresh cream in a blender, add some olive oil to it.Boil Spaghetti mean while.In another pan add garlic and saute well, add the blended basil paste. and saute for about a minute. Then add crushed chili flakes and boiled spaghetti.Saute well till the paste blends well with spaghetti. Sever hot!

Grilled Cheesy Shitake

This one is for Meeta & Ruth :) for the monthly mingle.
Ive been wanting to always participate in one of "What's for lunch Honey?"'s Monthly Mingles and well at last ....
So it is Sensational Sides this time.... i love side dishes... continental, Indian,.... all of them are just so well relished!
I made Grilled Shitake :)
I love the rustic flavour of shitake, Wild mushrooms are in abundance in japan, Diff
kinds have very typically different flavours. I used shitake cause it has a nice chewy flavour. Also for vegetarians it gives u a nice meaty taste.
I love it when the meaty taste mingles with cheese and mint!



6 sitake mushrooms
Half a onion
1 small clove of garlic
2 tbs of chopped mint
Black pepper
1/4th cup of cheese of your choice.
Salt
Olive oil

First De-stem the shitake and chop the stems very finely.In a pan heat olive oil and add finely chopped onions and garlic, saute well and then
add the chopped stems, saute until tender and add rest of the ingredients. Turn of the heat and let it settle for about 5 min.
In the mean while rub some olive oil on the shitake caps, and then stuff them with
the above mix. Grill on low heat for about 10 min or cheese melts :)



Trust me its a tastes like n looks like a luxurious side dish!

Italian Tofu Frittata

I have seen a lot of recipes on TV of Spanish frittata;s which look absolutely yum with those potatoes, cheese, zucchini and loads of egg;s..... wait a min!! eggs!!!
Well that's what it is made of.
Its a Spanish omelet using lots of veggies cooked on the stove and then baked in the oven to finish it.
I have substitute tofu to eggs and the end result pretty amazing :)!
To give it a little more special "Me" effect,,i tried to add more of Italian ingredients to it like fresh basil, tomatoes, etc...
So here is my version of Frittata!:)
This one is for Madhuram 's event!

1 pack silk tofu (about 200 gms)
1/4th cup flour
1/4th cup cheese (u can avoide cheese, i did)
Chopped jalapenos
Chopped olives
Chopped tomatoes
Half onion finely chopped
2-3 fresh basil leaves finely chopped
Few stems of spinach finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
Salt
Olive oil

In a pan heat some olive oil and add garlic and onions saute for about a min and then add rest of the ingredients to it. Add little salt and turn off the heat.
In a mixi add the flour and tofu, blend well.
Add this paste to ur veggies and cook for about a min stirring continuously.
Grease a pie pan or a cake tin and fill this mix of tofu and veggies in it.
Bake it for about 40 min at 180 deg C or till a stick comes out clean.
OR
U could mix all the ingredients and cook it on a nonstick which will make it more crispy :) and that crisp part tastes like cheese even if u dontt add cheese to it.

Also i would recommend to eat this with mustard sauce and a spicy chili sauce :)
Trust me ud love it!!


The end result is pretty soft, i guess adding some boiled potatoes would give it a more cake like texture. I did not want to add potatoes cuz i wanted it to be low calorie.