Chocolate chip cookies

I am not a chocolate person at all but my bakes in my Instagram page is loaded with them and that's mainly because of my kids  has a soft spot towards chocolate, somehow it gets done in my kitchen . I am  someone who likes to make cookies. I feel it is the easiest form of cooking. Just a few  basic attention tricks they get done so well and best part it takes very little time . My cookies  usually never turns out well. But after getting to know the right temperature of my oven I have started baking some recipes that are trial tested ones, and they all turned super so far. I lack that patience, that usually needed in baking  but basically speaking That is why there are very limited cookie recipes on the blog , inshallah will work on it soon , gradually. I wish I could improve on my skills  but as long as I don’t keep my focus on blog , I don’t think the numbers will improve!

OK, focusing back your eyes  to these delicious stack of cookies that I have cooked couple of days ago actually , as it was hot it tasted so yummy and cracky . First batch got over very soon and the second set was almost done. It was warm and I had let it cool a bit before storing  it away from containers. As gorgeous as it looks it looks and tastes wonderful as well .I guess the other aspect of baking them is that's it is super crunchy and slightly soft within . I added the chocolate chips that I had leftover from the birthday cake that I had baked for my kid. I love baking them as I have sure instincts that it will turn out fine .

Ingredients

1/2 cup  Unsalted Butter

3/4  cup sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

1 and 1/2 cup  All Purpose Flour 

1/ 2 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ tsp salt

1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 cup chocolate  Chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 degree C.

Take a bowl and mix butter, sugar,  vanilla .

Add in egg and mix well.

Add in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and chocolate chips. Shape it into a dough.

Take small portion of dough. Roll it into a smooth ball.

Arrange it in a parchment lined paper. Bake for 17 mins.

Remove and cool completely.

Store and enjoy.

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Vegetable stir fry

Three of my homy vegetables are potatoes lady's finger and brinjals . The only way I like to have it is in the form of chips, snacks and stir fries . Sometimes, I end up buying  large quantities and then forget about it in the fridge, and one fine day I wonder what to do with it. It was then that this recipe was discovered. Here is another one to be added onto it when you are looking for inspirations to cook with our homy beast who are  street food caters' love …

Vegetable Bajji  fry goes  amazingly well with anything – a perfect example being this recipe itself . This recipe was a trial in similar lines, just that potatoes is more of a durable vegetable and one that can be differed in many ways . I kept the flavors very simple and let the vegetable itself  do the tasting
We really enjoyed it with our chapathis and I ate it just like that without anything to go with it for that too as snack with toasted breads , the next day too.

Ingredients

• 4 nos. Potatoes peeled and chopped
• 1/4 kilo lady's fingers
• 2 small size brinjals
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/2  tsp jeera
• 2 Dry Red Chilli
• 1 Onion sliced
• 2 Green Chillies  slit long
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

Method

• Heat oil in a pan, add in  jeera, dry red chillies and fry for a min.
• Add in potatoes, onions and mix well.
• Fry well .
• Then add the rest of the veggies and fry well
• Add salt, green chilli ,turmeric powder, mix well.
• Cook till all veggies  are fried and cooked and mix well.
• Serve.

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Roasted bell pepper hummus

I love  hummus and it's an absolute craze even if there are no sides to go with it we drool just by finger licking gypsies! . Hummus is just perfect dip and have it along with any veggie sticks like  cucumber celery or carrot sticks as my son loves it. Once a while I buy the cans or just have it cooked from homemade boiled chick peas.  There are times when I run out of extras and I apply some hummus on breads . I
Love the flavours of fresh ones cooked basically from.jome and then there is no longer need for a canned one for life. That's how good the homemade hummus can be … During these times, the “innovated” hummus comes into play, like this one with red bell pepper.

Here is another one for you using chickpeas and red bell pepper . These red capsicum has a nature of so juicy flavour to it. I picked up a small pack since it I cook mostly with fornpastats and additions for sandwich The first thing I made with it was this hummus. It looks so similar to the original hummus, just that it is slightly more peach colour because of the color of the red capsicum. That's tell change we find there was some thining of the liquid to be done . I also found it a little thicker, so add more liquid to loosen it up. Off to the recipe…

Ingredients

2 whole red bell pepper / capsicum

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup  tahini, see  recipe

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil, and extra for garnish 

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Salt to taste

Method
Roast the peppers.
Remove pepper core  , cut into large pieces.
Arrange pepper pieces, skin-side up, on a baking sheet.
Bake them for 5 to 10 minutes on a tray and cool . 
Gently remove  the charred skin.

You can reserve the skin for garnish too. 

Make hummus

In mixing jar,  combine tahini ,lemon juice and grind for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then grind again

It helps the whole thing to be creamy too.

Next Add in  olive oil, minced garlic,  1/2 a teaspoon salt to  the fluffy  tahini  lemon mix.
Grind again  for 30 seconds.

Add half of the chickpeas  and repeat the process.

Now Add the roasted peppers and continue to geind again .

Add water if needed only.

The whole thing will be creamy 

Add salt to taste  garnish with pepper soup ns and green chopped parsly if needed..

Add olive on tops and make a dip.

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Easy Cooker chicken curry

If you are an avid ayurvedic person then this is the time where most folks from Kerala would go for body massage and oil therapy.  I have not mentioned till now that we are also into it. I had done it last year and it was worth it. A treatment that everyone loves. My family follow this and  our food also change along with it. As we very particular about what we have , We have special kanji that's Rice gruel with authentic masalas added to it. I hadn’t had this type of gruel but it was heavy for me and tasty too. During the initial days of my session the lady would start slow and she would try to relieve all the muscles catches and pains if any. It's done once in year and it would cure many diseases too. . .

During our chats, she would tell me how much her family would also have massage sessions . There was some  magic in her hands. I actually dozed off in between sessions .  Naturally, I was inclined to her stories of how she started this in many places and her husband who also is a trainer in kallary paittam had joined her . For those who are not familiar with it it's a Kerala Martial Art .. I would say..    She emphatically declared that it was  like the lifestyle that kids follow nowadays with too much stress and mobiles , kids too fall prey to many body aches at a young age . As she said  to me, I didn’t find anything surprising at all it was all true because I am also one of them .

I am thankful for these sessions as for those like me , I , don't like to rely too much on English medicines  in life. That give you all sorts of insights about some having after effects that could tirn out pretty bad for our body . She used to speak to me about how she joined Ayurveda treatments and had completed a course in it and  once her three kids grew up and is now working in a health centre  .Just gives us a thought  the fact that age is not a factor to achieve your success . Just go after it and you will have it .

Ingredients:

3 tablespoon oil

2 teaspoon Fennel Seeds

2 Onion  large sliced  thinly

2 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste

Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp

Chilli Powder – 2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder – 2 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 spring

1 Tomato chopped finely

Salt to taste

1 kilo Chicken

For the grind

1 cup coconut grind
1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste
1 sprig Curry leaves
1 teaspoon chicken curry Masala powder

For tempering
2 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon shallots chopped
1 teaspoon curry leaves
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
salt to taste .
A bunch of chopped corriander leaves .

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients mentioned above except for the ground ingredients.
2. Add into the pressure cooker and mix well add 1 cup hot water.
3. Cook in pressure cooker 
4. cook in until  for 2 whistle. Now lower the flame and cook for 20 minutes on a low flame.
5. Switch off the flame. After half hour open the lid .
6. Grind the ingredients mention under ground above .
7. Open the pressure cooker and add coriander
8. leaves and mix well.
9. Add the grind paste .
10. Heat oil and add the tempering ingredients.
11. Add to curry and it's done. 
12. Serve hot 

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Almond milk

The name itself is so protein reminder. isn’t it? Yes, even I was intrigued… When we were kids, we used to have this with a large banana. AJ is a total foodie and he needs a drink of this almost often so almond stock is always in our pantry so that we would get non-stop eating of nuts in variants in our house. But anything of too much is also a bane . All the way from start to finish I  still relish those days when we used to stand by catering section– so called thattu kaddas one in particular was Basheerkaas thattu peedi in Kannur and they serve the best almond milk Horlicks and boost aval shakes ”serving hot snacks  or Mutta appams and chicken  65 and we madly shamelessly eat on them like crazy! Not to mention of how much the next day we will want for more...that wouldn’t stop us from eating, hehe… though my parents have stopped such outlets . We love it and shamelessly hog along with kids .Thank god AJ  is typically foodie . When I go craving to eat, the only thing he gets me everything Mashallah. saying that should replcate one at home . How wise right?

Coming back to the recipe, for that matter I have never had the original .  Each time it turns a bit watery and my aunt who does it well she cooks to perfect and she gave me the recipe but still I was not satisfied. InShaAllah, I guess I have to push through a chance of having it from the scratch and I added and depletion of few here and there I made the way perfect it means to me . Meanwhile, I enjoy it once in a while at home so I have put on weight to this regards . Something all bloggers have to deal with …off to the recipe.

Ingredients

1. Raw Almonds - ½ cup
2. Water - 1 cup to 2 cups

Method

1. Soak almonds for 1 hour.
2. Take it in a blender and add water little by little and puree till smooth.
3. Drain using a cheese cloth. Squeeze and extract as much milk as possible.
4. Now toast this on a pan till it becomes dry on low flame .
5. Take it in a blender and blend till fine. Store in a air tight container.
6.  Almond meal can be used for baking  other recipes too

.

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Coconut laddoos using milkmaid

 I am always thinking all sweet as ever since zamee has joined the gym he just wants more of sweets and just because of that we are also into it. I avoided that part of the cuisine a long time back but right now really can't resist it. I have to think early and prepare in advanceresist . He does have it in small amounts but the only clause is the pantry must have a dessert everytime.

I am into this theme ' cooking three ingredients that I will be posting every month. I feel I  need some thing to push myself from behind like some challenges and the blog needs a lift upfront . There are so many recipes but  I do get lost many times and it's like a gun point where I just cannot move my blog. 

I had a packet of desiscated  Coconut lying around . One of my brother's had got it thinking it would be a substitute for curries it turns out he was not satisfied with it . I personally like curries with dessicated coconut added as it brings a lovely smell . There was also a half tin of milkmaid after making the Turkish milk cake  lying around in the fridge and I had to use it immediately before it vanish off to hungry tummies if they find out.

I  had so many ideas in my mind regarding what all to make with it. But as this was the three ingredient challenge theme . When zehna asked me to make a simple one I  was thinking of making with nuts added as so here's the recipe. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups dessicated coconut
• 1 tin milkmaid
• 1/2 cup cashews

Method

• Heat the pan on low flame .
• Slightly toss the dessicated coconut and milkmaid together.
• Do not over heat . Just warm it up for two minutes only.
• Take off the stove and mix well to form a dough . Make lemon size balls and roll of dessicated coconut flakes . Chill before serving .

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Oats bran muffins

Oats bran muffins are super healthy and perfect for tiffins and snacks for kids. Today I am baking few as my son who is in class 1 has complained recently that he is not getting an interesting tiffin to school . Yes he actually said that I was so confused .. I always pack in interesting tiffins for him . But it's not fun anymore for him to have at school . What he meant was he wanted extras ...like pizzas cupcakes pastas .. not the boring rice and sambar and vegetable fried .. now that put  me in a spot . But I guessed this is going to be  fun . Creating new recipes for his tiffin.. may be I will load up a few on my Instagram stories.. do check it out ...

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Wheat Flour
• 1 cup Oat Bran
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1  1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
• 1 Egg
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
• 2 tablespoon Oil
• 1  1/4 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup  Dry Fruits
• (My 1 cup measures 240 ml)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200 degree C.  set up the cupcake tray with cupcake liners  .
• Take all the dry ingredients like the wheat flour, oat ,baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon in a bowl. Give it a stir amdix well completely.
• Take all the wet ingredients like  egg, vanilla, milk and oil in a bowl and mix till sugar is melted.
• Pour this into the dry ingredients and fold gently.Add in raisins  and fold gently.
• Drop dullops of this into cupcake  pan and bake for 16 to 20 mins.
• After done ,Remove and  cool for 10 mins.

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