Muesli Cookies

I am not much of a muesli fan...but had two big jars lying unutilized from when I had bought them during my pregnancy time. So one day, I decided to bake simple and healthy cookies with them...so that I can carry them as a snack everyday when I leave for work.

The 1st time that I was baking these cookies, I was very sceptical. While hunting on the blogosphere for a doable recipe, my only intention was to finish off the muesli!! I found plenty of muesli cookie recipes, all most of them seemed quite simple with tasty and healthy outputs. I modified my recipe based on what was available - i hope I am remember all the ingredients:)

Ingredients (to make 16 cookies)
1 cup muesli (untoasted)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (i use powdered jaggery)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins/black currants (i use a mixture of both)
50 gm butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp baking soda

Method:
1. Lightly grease your mini muffin paper cups/cookie liners or baking trays
2. Mix all the muesli, flour, sugar, coconut and raisins well in a big mixing bowl
3. In a saucepan, melt the butter on low heat (take care not to boil it or overheat it). Add the honey and baking soda in it. It will froth nicely.
4. Make a well in the centre of your dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in it. Mix it lightly with a fork so that everything sticks together
5. Make small balls of the dough and press it down in the paper liners. Bale in a pre-heated oven for 10-15 mins at 175 C.
6. The cookies will get a nice golden color and the smell of butter and dry fruits will waft in the air. Take out the cookies to cool...after which they will be crunchy to eat.
These stay good for 4-5 days.

2

Super eggless chocolate cake

I was digging around in blogosphere for a do-able recipe for eggless choclate muffin recipes, whenI came across this blog. I also prepare a similar eggless cake, only uwse yoghurt instead of milk as is used here. I decided to prepare this..and it was over in a jiffy. It is as advertised - easy recipe and super moist chocolately cake. Method: 1. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 cup powdered sugar, 3/4 cup cocoa powder. 2. Mix 1 cup milk with 1/2 cup melted butter in a mixing bowl.Add vanilla essence to this. 3. Mix the dry indgredients into the wet mixture and put it evenly in a baking tin and bake for ~ 20-25 mins @ 180C. The batter is quite thick, but the result is that the cake is very moist and dense. Will post the pics soon - I will be baking this cake very often. Happing baking!!

Coconut Macaroons

Year 2010 was a particularly difficult year for me - the only silver lining being that my son was born in September. Difficult in all senses - health, personal and professional. Therefore I never felt like publishing anything on this blog....so now that my life is back on track, am uploading all the dishes which I had prepared last year. These are coconut macaroons which I'd baked log time back...the recipe is fairly simple using shredded coconut, egg whites and condensed milk - I got the recipe from JoyofBaking (click here for recipe). The macaroons are fairly easy to make and has a sweet coconutty flavour. Do remember to use vanilla extract, or else the macaroons will get an eggy smell.

Another chocolate cake

These are snaps of a chocolate cake that I had baked for hubby's prof's birthday. I am not very keen on cake decoration, but had tried my hands on icing it.

Chimichurri/Argentinian Lamb

This lamb dish is hubby's favourite at Copacabana, a restaurant very near to our place in Pimple Saudagar, Pune. Not only is their food very tasty, but the menu is also extensive (somebody pls categorise the dishes according to cuisine...Lal gosht shares the same page as Quesadillas and Thai green curry!!) and the seating area is huge along with ample parking space. What else does one wish for in a restaurant?!!:)The first time we'd dined there, hubby had randomly picked out this lamb dish for ordering. He liked it so much, that whenever we go there now, atleast ten more times after the first time, he always orders this dish!

Yes, the dish is v nice..lamb is soft and succulent with nice spices, served on a bed of spinach, along with sauteed mushrooms and herbed rice. We were so impressed by this adaptation of the Chimichurri lamb, that I decided to recreate it in my kitchen. I googled for the recipe, and learned that Chimmuchuri is a green spicy rub, made primarily with parsley, and is meant for marinating steak. I tweaked the recipe and ingredients according to availability and my taste, and made this.

The basic chimichurri marinade is made by blending the following ingredients into a thick paste (more like a dhania chutney):

1/2 cup coriander/parsley leaves

1/4 cup olive oil (check how much is required to blend into a thick paste)

4-5 cloves garlic

2 green onions/shallots

1 tsp fresh/dried herbs like oregano or basil

1/2 tsp chilly flakes

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

2 tsp vinegar/lime juice

salt to taste

I marinated my lamb pieces in this paste for 2-3 hours and then cooked it in a little oil and browned onions, till cooked and tender.

I served this with cooked spinach greens and sauteed mushrooms (simply saute sliced mushrooms in a little butter, with black pepper and salt).

Pancakes for Breakfast

Had made these soft fluffy pancakes for breakfast, again based on Nigella's recipe (will be posting the recipe soon), am sure kids will love these along with fruits.

Both me and hubby are not too fond of sweet breakfast..so will not be really repeating them much.