Eggless Banana- Chocolate Bread/ Cake

I don’t like bananas. What a bad start of a blog, rite? Yah but the fact is I do not like bananas. But have to incorporate in the diet since it has a lot of health benefits. Also lot of people asked me to bake banana bread so tried it for the first time and guess what, I nailed it. Yah I nailed it and it was delicious. We all eat eggs but somehow I have ended up baking egg-less cakes in the recent past with great results. So here is one more egg-less cake.

My toddler loves banana as well as chocolates (I mean who doesn't like chocolates?) however I was told that if he eats bananas in this cold weather, he might fall sick. He has tendency of cold and cough so had to come up with something different yet yummy snack. So here we go!!! Let’s bake nice egg-less banana bread aka banana cake.

Before we start just want to share few tips which will help us to bake a nice moist bread. Do not change the measurements of the given recipe. We need over ripe bananas. You would need to keep the bananas for 3-4 days for this bread. If at all you do not have over ripe bananas then either microwave them for 2-3 minutes or keep it in oven for 3 to 4 minutes till the banana skin is black in color (this is the indication of overly ripe bananas). 

Ingredients:

1. Over ripe bananas: 3 (medium size) 
2. All Purpose flour: 1 ½ Cup 
3. Unsweetened chocolate chips: ½ Cup
4. Melted unsalted butter: 6 Tbsp. 
5. Milk: 7 Tbsp. 
6. Vanilla Extract: 1 Tsp. 
7. Baking Soda: 1 Tsp. 
8. Sugar: 6 Tbsp. 
9. Salt: A big pinch
10. Walnuts or assorted nut: ¼ Cup (optional)

Method:

1. Take a large bowl and mash the bananas with the help of a steel fork. They should be very mushy and well mashed before we start adding other ingredients to it.

   

   I know doesn't look appealing :)

2. Now in another bowl sift all purpose flour, baking soda and salt together. 
   
3. Mix milk, butter, vanilla extract and sugar in the banana bowl. Stir it well with a light hand either by whisk or by a baking spatula. Do not mix it vigorously. The bread will be crumbly and will not be moist. 
   
4. Now mix the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir it gently. This mixture should be of dropping consistency. It shouldn't be very thin or thick. If you take exact measurements from the list you will get the desired consistency. However, for any reason the batter is too thick, you may want to add milk literally drop by drop to adjust the consistency.  
   
5. Add half the quantity of chocolate chips to the above mixture and mix it gently one last time. At this time you may add chopped walnuts or assorted nuts to the batter. 
6. Preheat the oven on 350F/ 180C.
7. Take 9x5 inch loaf pan and grease it well with butter and little flour.
8. Pour the banana mixture in it. Tap the pan on your counter top. This step will make sure that there are no air bubbles in the dough which will help to make a nice moist cake.
9. Spread the remaining chocolate chips on the entire bread evenly. 
   
10. Bake the bread for 55-60 minutes.
11. Check it with a tooth pick insert after 45^th minute and once after 50^th minute. Adjust the bake timing according to it. Each oven is different so you may need more or less time according to your oven. My bread was ready in 55 minutes.
12. When the toothpick comes out clean, your banana bread is ready.
13. Using the oven mitts take the loaf pan out of the oven and keep it on a cooling rack for about 8-10min.
    
14. After 10min take the bread out of from the pan and let it cool again on the cooling rack.
15. Cut the bread in ½ an inch slices. 
    
16. Serve it with hot tea, coffee or simply with nice cold vanilla ice cream. You may want to pour warm chocolate syrup before serving it. And obviously you can just dig in just like that without anything since it tastes really yummy just on its own.

Please try this super easy recipe of banana bread for your next party and surprise your guests with it. If you like this recipe, give a thumps up and please share it with others. Happy Cooking!!!! 

Please leave your comments and suggestions about this recipe. We welcome your feedback.

Please like my FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/kirtiskitchenkatta/

Instant Shahi Tukada

Today I’m writing my 20^th recipe and feeling really happy about it. This mark was achieved in less than 2 months. I’m thankful to each and every person who motivated, helped and encouraged me to start this blog. So to celebrate this day wanted to make something which is really close to heart and couldn't think of anything else but this Royal Sweet Dish called Shahi Tukada, only with my version of it is called as instant shahi tukada.

As a kid I always loved an awesome delicacy called Shahi Tukada which my mother used to make once in a while. Feast for sure. She used to make it with rabadi which used to take like forever to make. Sometimes she used to make it with left over rabadi or basundi. Yummy in our tummy!!!! When I started instant 2 min rabadi here in the US she was really curious about the outcome but loved it in the end. Win-win situation. Now the next step to instant rabadi obviously was shahi tukada with rabadi. However, I don’t know why but I was little skeptical of the outcome. Tried it the other day and wow the outcome indeed was the same as traditional shahi tukada. As always my two guinea pigs (hubby and a 3.5yr old toddler) were ready for a taste test and I passed. So thought of sharing it with you all. Hope you love it too. Here you go!!!!

Ingredients:

1. Bread slices: 4-6
2. Milk: 1 ½ Cup
3. Sugar: ½ Cup
4. Green cardamom powder: 1 Tsp
5. Clarified butter/ Ghee: 8-10 Tbsp. 
6. Almonds: 8-10 (blanched, peeled and sliced) 
7. Pistachios: 8-10 (blanched, peeled and sliced) 
8. Rose water: 1-2 Tbsp. (optional) 
9. Warm Rabadi: 2 Cups

Method:

1. Take bread slices and with the help of any cookie cutter or mold (heart shape, circle, triangular etc.) cut shapes out of them. Traditionally it is cut in triangular shapes.
2. Chop the nuts and keep them aside.
3. Take milk in a non-stick pan and add sugar to it. Now add cardamom powder. Warm the milk on medium-law flame, keep stirring it continuously. Scrape the sides too and now let the milk boil. At this time if you like rose flavor, put rose water in the milk and stir it (this step is completely optional)
4. Now take another non-stick pan and put ghee in it. Put bread slices in the ghee and shallow fry it till nice golden-brown color. Drain all the ghee and put it in the milk. Traditionally it is deep fried but I wanted to keep it little healthy and with less calories so I shallow fried the bread, choice is yours if you want to deep fry it.
   
5. Take the bread slices out of the milk and put them aside.
6. Now take serving plate and put prepared rabadi as a base. I have a very easy recipe for instant rabadi. You may want to click on the link for this rabadi. Put bread slices which were dipped in milk, top it with more rabadi and nuts. 
   
7. Serve it chilled or warm, choice is yours.
8. Presenting to you a very healthy yet quick recipe of our favorite and royal sweet dish.

If you like this recipe, give a thumps up and please share it with others. Happy Cooking!!!! 

Please leave your comments and suggestions about this recipe. We welcome your feedback.

Related recipes: 

Instant rabadi recipe

Instant Khajuri Shahi Tukada/ Double ka Meetha recipe 

Clarified butter/ Desi ghee recipe 

Please like my FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/kirtiskitchenkatta/

Homemade Desi Ghee with Unsalted Butter

When I first came to the US few years back I had brought the homemade desi ghee with me. Obviously it didn’t last for a long time and I ended up buying ghee from Indian grocery store. Did I like the taste? Yes and no, since didn’t have any other option. One day a friend of mine told me about the magic of unsalted butter which transforms it into our own desi ghee or tup (in Marathi language) or clarified butter. I was so excited to try it. We always have unsalted butter in the house so tried it and voila yes it was our own desi ghee. Couldn’t stop thanking her enough. She made my life easier and tastier. Here you go with step by step description of this most easy recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Unsalted Butter: 4 Sticks (1Lb) 
2. Tulasi leaves- 3-4 (optional) 
3. Cardamom/ choti ilaychi: 2 (optional) 
4. Water: 1-2 Tsp

Method:

1. Take a heavy and thick bottom pan.
2. Put all the sticks of butter (room temperature) to the pan.
   
   
   
3. Switch on the gas on the medium to low setting. 
4. In less than 2min the butter will melt. Now put the gas on the lowest possible setting. 
   
5. Keep stirring in between and after it starts to leave its foam add tulasi leaves and crushed cardamom powder to the ghee. Adding these ingredients is completely optional. But it surely leaves a nice aroma to the ghee.
   
6. Once the foam starts clearing off and you can see the bottom of the pan, sprinkle a tea-spoon of water in the ghee. If it bubbles and makes cracked kind of sound, your ghee is ready. If not let it simmer for couple of minutes more and repeat the water test.
   
   
   
   
7. Once the ghee is ready, you may want to let it cool down a little bit before you transfer to a glass jar/ bottle.
   
8. Your glass jar/ bottle has to be extremely dry and clean. If you feel it’s damp, microwave the empty bottle for a minute or so. Or alternatively you may want to keep it in a preheated oven just for a minute or so. 
9. If you wish you may filter this ghee and then transfer. I do not like to filter it since we like the flavor of tulasi leaves to remain in the ghee for a longer time.
10. Pour the ghee in the glass bottle but do not put lid immediately. Otherwise the lid will have moisture and it may spoil the ghee. 
    
11. Take out some ghee for regular use and refrigerate the rest. If you have made a big batch then put it in two different bottles and freeze one of the bottle for the future use. This will be good for more than 2 months. 
12. Do not put damp or wet spoon in the ghee otherwise it will be spoiled in no time.
    

Note:

1. Recently found out that you can make this ghee in microwave too. Just keep room temp. butter sticks in a big microwave safe bowl and microwave it on full power for about 12-14 min, stirring it occasionally. Once it changes the color, take it out. Obviously every microwave is different so keep a close eye on it. 
2. Also got to know about pressure cooker method. Keep the sticks in a pan and keep it in the pressure cooker on the lowest possible setting. Since it will be on the lowest setting, it won’t whistle. However as soon as it starts leaving bubbles switch the gas off and your butter will be ready. 
3. Some people also make it with salted butter but I have never tried that one.

Found all these recipes useful and easy. If you like this recipe, give a thumps up and please share it with others. Happy Cooking!!!! 

Please leave your comments and suggestions about this recipe. We welcome your feedback.

Please like my FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/kirtiskitchenkatta/

Instant Khajuri Shahi Tukada/ Double ka Meetha

Ok so again the same craving. Something sweet but something different and should be healthy too. How is it possible every time? You know what, it is possible. Dates (Khajur) has all the good qualities and it helps you to increase your Hemoglobin levels in your blood stream. So decided to try something with it along with assorted nuts. This time master chef came to my rescue. So made this instant khajuri shahi tukada and just came to know today that it is also called as Double ka Meetha in AP, India. Traditionally it is also called as Khajuri Shahi Tukada and the bread is deep fried in ghee, but to keep it little simple and healthy I have shallow fried it. Hope you all like my version of this recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Bread slices: 4-6
2. Milk: 1 ½ Cup
3. Sugar: ½ Cup
4. Green cardamom powder: 1 Tsp
5. Seedless Dates/ Khajur: 8-10
6. Clarified butter/ Ghee: 8-10 Tbsp. 
7. Almonds: 8-10 (blanched, peeled and sliced) 
8. Pistachios: 8-10 (blanched, peeled and sliced) 
9. Rose water: 1-2 Tbsp. (optional) 
10. Warm Rabadi: 2 Cups

Method:

1. Take bread slices and with the help of any cookie cutter or mold (heart shape, circle, triangular etc.) cut shapes out of them.
2. Cut the dates in very small pieces. If you feel the dates are little hard then microwave them for 10-12 sec. 
3. Chop the nuts and keep them aside.
4. Take milk in a non-stick pan and add sugar to it. Now add cardamom powder. Warm the milk on medium-law flame, keep stirring it continuously. Scrape the sides too and now let the milk boil. At this time if you like rose flavor, put rose water in the milk and stir it (this step is completely optional)
5. Now take another non-stick pan and put ghee in it. Put bread slices in the ghee and shallow fry it till nice golden-brown color. Drain all the ghee and put it in the milk.
   
6. Take the bread slices out of the milk and put them aside.
7. Take a bowl and mix dates and chopped nuts together. Make a pattice of this mixture.
   
   Since I cut the bread in heart shape, I made date pattice in heart shape too. 
   
8. Now take serving plate and put prepared rabadi as a base. I have a very easy recipe for instant rabadi. You may want to click on the link for this rabadi. Put one slice of bread which was dipped in milk and then put date pattice and top it with one more milk bread. 
   
9. Top it with rabadi and garnish with dates and nuts.
   
10. Serve it chilled or warm, preference is yours.
11. Presenting to you a very healthy yet quick recipe of our favorite sweet. 
    

If you like this recipe, give a thumps up and please share it with others. Happy Cooking!!!! 

Please leave your comments and suggestions about this recipe. We welcome your feedback.

Instant rabadi recipe
Instant Shahi Tukada Recipe
Clarified butter/ Desi ghee recipe 

Please like my FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/kirtiskitchenkatta/

Quick Vegetable Pulav (in pressure cooker)

We all love rice. However, if it’s nicely seasoned and if you add veggies in it, obviously it tastes better and also it’s healthy. Vegetable Pulav was one of the two dishes (2^nd was simple dal-fry) which I was able to cook before marriage without any help. I was a terrible cook and I’m still trying to be a good cook. LOL. My mom had taught me how to make this simple pulav. So presenting my mom’s recipe of vegetable pulav.

Ingredients:

1. Basmati rice (uncooked): 2 Cups
2. Hot Water: 4 ½ - 5 Cups
3. Onion: 1 Medium (cut in julienne or thinly sliced) 
4. Green peas: 1/4 Cup
5. Carrot: 1 Small (cut in julienne or thinly sliced)
6. Corn kernels: 3-4 Tbsp. (optional)
7. Green pepper: 1 Medium (cut in julienne or thinly sliced) 
8. Cauliflower florets: 1 Cup (chopped) 
9. Bay leaf: 1 Large
10. Cinnamon stick: 1 Medium
11. Peppercorns: 5-6
12. Cloves: 2-3
13. Star-anise flower: 1
14. Cumin seeds: 1 Tbsp.
15. Cumin-coriander powder: 1Tbsp.
16. Ginger- Garlic paste: 1 Tbsp.
17. Clarifies Butter: 5-6 Tbsp.
18. Cashew nuts: ¼ Cup or just a fistful (either cut in halves or chopped in small pieces, as per your preference)
19. Coriander/ Cilantro leaves: ½ Cup (finely chopped)

Procedure: 

1. Take a large pan or wok or a pressure cooker and put 3 Tbsp of clarified butter to it.
2. Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, clove and star anise to it. Sauté nicely till the beautiful aroma of this whole Garam masala fills your kitchen. Put cumin seeds and let them splutter.
   
3. Now add onion and fry it till crispy golden brown. Do not over fry it to black color.
4. Once the onion is done, add cashews and little salt.
   
5. Start adding other vegetables to it starting with green peas, green peppers, corn kernels, cauliflower and carrots. Saute them well.
   
6. Now add ginger-garlic paste. Stir well.
7. Add remaining spices like cumin-coriander powder more salt.
8. Once the veggies are cooked, add some cilantro to it and stir well.
9. Now add rice carefully. Stir it well. Do not stir it vigorously otherwise the rice grains will break and the pulav will lose its beautiful look.
   
10. Add hot water. Add remaining clarified butter and put the lid on and let it cook. If you are using a pressure cooker, put the pressure cooker lid and hear one whistle on medium-high heat. Put the gas to lowest setting and switch it off in another minute.
11. Once the rice is done, take the lid off. Take the rice out in a serving bowl and garnish it with the remaining coriander leaves. You may want to take out the whole garam masala or you may garnish the dish with same whole garam masala.
    

Presenting to you a very healthy yet yummilicious rice variety. If you like this recipe, give a thumps up and please share it with others. Happy Cooking!!!! 

Please leave your comments and suggestions about this recipe. We welcome your feedback.

Note: 

1. You may add or omit veggies according to your choice and availability of the vegetables. Also you may use mixed frozen vegetables. Just wash them thoroughly and keep them in warm water.  
2. Clarified butter gives an authentic aroma and taste to this pulav so as per as possible, please do not substitute in with any other oil or butter.  
3. Please add hot water to the rice so rice will be cooked quickly.

Please like my FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/kirtiskitchenkatta/

Sabudana (Sago) Khichadi in Microwave/ साबुदाणा खिचडी/ Sabudana Khichadi Recipes: Traditional way, in Microwave and in Instant Pot/ Tapioca Khichadi

Sabudana (Sago) Khichadi/ साबुदाणा खिचडी

YouTube Link 

As a kid I never used to like the concept of “fasting”. However, loved all the fasting food items. And out of all the yummy fasting food items, Sabudana Khichadi was my most favorite dish. Mouthwatering for sure. Now we don’t fast at all but love to make sabudana Khichadi as a breakfast item. Here is the simplest recipe of this yummilicious recipe of most popular Maharashtrian fasting food item, Sabudana Khichadi.

Ingredients:

Sabudana/ sago: 1 Cups
Danyache kut/ Roasted peanut powder: ½ Cup
Batata/ Potato: 1 (sliced)
Hiravi Mirchi/ Green chilies: 4-5 (Finely chopped and as per your taste buds)
Jeera/ Cumin seeds: 11/2 Tsp.
Sajuk tup/ Ghee/ Clarified butter: 2-3 Tbsp.
Limbu ras/ Lemon juice: 2-3 Tbsp.
Kothimbir/ Cilantro: ¼ Cup (Finely chopped)
Salt: To taste
Sugar: To taste

Procedure:

1.    Take sabudana and wash it under running water. Soak it with very little water (about 1 cup) for about 6-7 hours. Cover it with a lid. Soaking depends on the quality of your sabudana. There are times when you may need to soak it overnight with some water in it to get that beautiful puffed sabudana for this khichadi.

2.    Take a non-stick kadhai or wok. Put ghee in it.

3.    Take the potato slices in a microwave safe bowl, add ½ cup water to it. Microwave it for 2 min on high. However this step is totally optional. If you like your potatoes crisp in the khichadi, just omit this step.

4.    Once the ghee is hot. Temper it with jeera, green chilies.

5.    Add the potatoes now. Stir it well and put a lid for a minute.

6.    Once the potatoes are done, add sabudana and stir it well.

7.    Add roasted peanut powder to this sabudana mixture.

8.    Put salt, sugar and lemon juice to the sabudana mixture. Stir it well and keep the lid on till the sabudana is cooked properly.

Alternatively: Microwave recipe (Refer video)

I sometimes use this microwave method when I’m in a hurry or don’t want to stand in front of the gas to keep an eye on the sabudana. 

Follow 1 to 5 steps as it is and take a large microwave safe bowl and transfer the sabudana, roasted peanut powder, salt, sugar to it. Mix it well. Put little ghee in it and put this bowl in microwave. Put lid very loosely to this microwave safe bowl. The air shouldn’t get trapped otherwise it will burst while the microwave is on. The air should escape from one side of this bowl. Turn on the microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir in between. Take it out carefully and add lemon juice and little cilantro to the mixture. Stir it well. Put it back in the microwave for one more minute. Check, if the sabudana is well puffed. If yes then your khichadi is ready or else put it back in the microwave for another minute or so. Stir it well and add finely chopped cilantro to the khichadi. . I have always noticed that the sabudana is well puffed if I make it in the microwave after tempering.

Vrat Playlist on my Youtube channel

9.    Serve it hot with sweet lemon pickle (Maharashtrian goad lonche) or yogurt or peanut chutney.

Don’t forget to enjoy this yummy & authentic Maharashtrian meal item. Happy Cooking!!!! 

Please leave your comments and suggestions about this recipe on my blog page. We welcome your feedback :)

Please like my FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/kirtiskitchenkatta/

Tutti-Frutti Cake

Tutti-Frutti Cake

“Frosty the snow man….” my kid came singing this beautiful Christmas song from school. And the nostalgia began. What do we used to do when we were kids at the Christmas time??? Used to eat cakes, cookies and go to the “camp” area in Pune to see the beautiful decorations and meet dear Santa clause. So now what do I want to bake this year which is different to my son’s American culture but still near to my childhood? Here comes the “Britania Tutti-Frutti cake”. I found a vegan recipe online and saved the recipe for later, made some little changes and baked this yummilicious cake. Thanks to Jaintadaka for this vegan recipe.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour: 1 ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp for tutti-frutti

Greek yogurt or Plain white yogurt: 1 Cup

Baking powder: 1 Tsp

Baking Soda: ½ Tsp

Olive oil or vegetable oil: 4 Tbsp

Vanilla extract: 1 Tsp

Powdered Sugar: ¾ Cup

Tutti Frutti: ½ Cup plus 3-4 Tbsp for the top of the cake

Cashewnuts: 8-10 cut in small pieces (Optional)

Salt: A pinch

Procedure:

Take a large bowl and sieve flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and baking Soda in it. Now add a 1 tbsp. of all purpose flour to tutti frutti and mix it so that it doesn't sink or stick to the bottom of the pan. Take another bowl and start whisking the Greek yogurt in it. Do not apply pressure while whisking otherwise the cake will not be fluffy. I didn't use any hand mixie to beat the yogurt, mixed it with normal kitchen whisk. The original recipe asked for the plain yogurt but I always prefer Greek yogurt over the plain yogurt for the obvious health reasons also the recipes become much creamier and moist when you use Greek yogurt. At this time add vanilla extract and olive oil to the flour. Add the yogurt slowly to the dry ingredients and keep whisking lightly (you may need to add a Tbsp. of water to the yogurt while whisking it since Greek yogurt is very thick in consistency). Grease the loaf pan with oil or butter flavored oil spray which gives a nice golden-brown color to this cake. I also line it with parchment paper to avoid the mess later. Pour the batter into it. If the batter isn't of the pouring consistency, do not panic, just put all the batter in the pan and tap the pan a little on your counter top this will even out the cake and also the air will be out of the batter to leave a lovely spongy cake once it’s baked. Preheat the oven at 350 F and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes. Mine took 40min however it depends on oven to oven so just check the cake after 37^th minute and keep it more or less accordingly. Check with wooden skewer or with a toothpick in the middle of cake, if it comes out clean, your cake is ready.  

when you cut it without cooling, it breaks

If you have lined the pan with parchment paper just take it out pulling it out from the sides along with the parchment paper. However if you haven’t lined it with the paper just wait for 5-7min and then take it out on a cooling rack. Don’t cut it immediately otherwise it will break. Cool it for about 7-8min and then with a sharp knife start cutting the cake in ½ an inch thick rectangles. If you wish you may drizzle some strawberry/ chocolate syrup on the cake as decoration.

It’s one of the best tea time snacks. Enjoy and relive your childhood. Happy Cooking!!!! 

Please leave your comments and suggestions about this recipe on my blog page. We welcome your feedback :)

Please like my FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/kirtiskitchenkatta/