Carrot Muffins

Seeing a huge number of events around the blog world, I realized how infrequent I am in participating in them..... This may be because I am not so comfortable in cooking within constraints - cook this in this month, use these ingredients, and so on. Though I make a mental note when I see some event, it slips off my mind, and I realize I haven’t participated, once the event is over!
But of late, i decided to take part in as many events as possible, seeing the effort and passion with which co-bloggers host events....
Well, coming to this "Tried and Tasted" event hosted by Champa and started here, I must confess I had forgotten totally about it till last week. Luckily, I wasn't too late this time! So noted down this Carrot Muffins' recipe from Divya's blog and tried it out with some modifications over the weekend, in a hurry. I tasted it, and felt it could have been sweeter; didn’t serve it to anyone that day since we were all heading for a wedding. I didn’t have time to click pictures as well that day and just left that part of the work for the next day.

And guess what? By the time I returned home from work next evening, there were only two of them, saved for me!! I was happy that folks at home had liked it! Took pictures of the remaining two :)
Made the following modifications to the recipe, though:

• Omitted eggs - replaced it with butter and yoghurt
• Omitted the nuts
• Added Brown sugar as well as I wanted to use up some

Carrot Muffins

Preparation time : 15 min Cooking time : 20-25 min Makes : 12 muffins Ingredients: Grated Carrot - 2 cups All Purpose Flour – 2 cups Sugar – 1 ¼ cup Brown sugar - ¼ cup Melted Unsalted Butter – ¼ cup Yoghurt - 1/3 cup Vegetable oil - ¼ cup Grated coconut - ¼ cup Baking Powder – 1 tsp Baking Soda – ½ tsp Ground cinnamon - ½ tsp Salt - ¼ teaspoon Grated coconut - ¼ cup Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon Method: • Peel and finely grate carrots • Preheat Oven to 180 degrees C. • Line the Muffin tray with the Muffin Liner Paper Cups. I simply greased and dusted the muffin tray. • In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon • Add grated carrots and coconut • In a separate bowl whisk together the melted butter, oil, yoghurt and vanilla extract. • Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. • Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20 - 25 minutes on low rack until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took exactly 25 minutes. • Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes Tips n Tricks: • Do not over mix the mixture. Let it remain crumbly. Variations: • Chopped walnuts/pecans can be added • One beaten egg can be added to get smoother muffins, in place of butter and yoghurt • Coconut can be replaced with crushed pineapple

Sending this to Champa's Bake-off event as well.

Black eyed beans in Peanut Masala

It gets too boring with the same side dishes for chapathis in the mornings.... the same dal, the same gojjus or palyas...... Dee hates chapathis unless there is some interesting, or new variety of side dish.
Not every time when in-laws decide the breakfast menu as chapathis that I get to try out something new for side dish... So this time, I decided the previous night itself that to cook some peanut masala based lobia gravy, and soaked the beans. Peanut based masala is not something that I make regularly, so added ingredients on a fair guess.... it did turn out to be tasty. And definitely it is full of proteins..... we enjoyed the chapathis, courtesy this gravy!
Here’s how I made it....

Black eyed beans in Peanut Masala

Preparation time : 10 min Cooking time : 15 min, other than time taken to soak and cook the beans Serves : 5-6 Ingredients: Black eyed beans / Alasande kalu / lobia - 1 cup Onion - 2 medium sized Garlic - 4-5 cloves Ginger - 1” cube, grated Green chilies - 2-3, vary depending on taste Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Cooking oil - 1Tbsp Garam masala powder - 1 tsp Salt - ½ tsp or as per taste Sugar - ¼ tsp For the masala Tomatoes - 1 medium sized Red chilies - 3-4, vary depending on taste Channa dal - 2 tsp Urad dal - 2 tsp Peanuts - 1 Tbsp Coconut - 2 Tbsp, grated Coriander seeds - 2 tsp Method: • Soak the beans in enough water overnight • Cook it in a pressure cooker for just 1 whistle, or till cooked soft • Boil tomatoes. Tomatoes can also be boiled along with the beans in the cooker • Meanwhile, dry roast red chilies, dals, peanuts, coriander seeds till aromatic • Allow to cool slightly and grind it with tomatoes, adding water used to cook beans • Slit green chilies, and chop onions into medium sized pieces • In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds, crushed garlic, ginger, slit green chilies • Add the chopped onions and sauté till they turn translucent • Now add the ground paste and cook for a few minutes till the raw smell of onion is gone. • Add garam masala, salt, sugar and mix well • Now add the cooked beans and bring to boil for a few minutes. Adjust the consistency with suitable amount of water. The beans should absorb the flavors and taste of the masala. • Garnish with chopped coriander • Serve with chapathis or rotis or rice Tips n Tricks: • If the gravy turns out to be too thin, then, just take out a tablespoon of the cooked beans, and grind it to a coarse paste and add it back to the gravy. This way, you get the right consistency and a creamy texture, without compromising on the taste

I'm sending this to MLLA 24, started by Susan and hosted by Diana here.

Halasinakai (Raw Jackfruit) Palya

This is a South Karnataka specialty. Raw jackfruit being seasonal and rare to find in market makes this a special dish. This being jackfruit season, there are many vegetable shops selling raw jackfruits in the market.We get a couple of raw jack fruits once or twice a year and make a few rare dishes with it. I agree it is cumbersome to peel and chop it... but I bet it is worth the effort. It has a unique flavor and taste, different from other veggies.

Halasinakai Palya

Preparation time : 15 min Cooking time : 20 min Serves : 4-5 Ingredients: Raw jackfruit - 1 small sized Coconut - ½ cup, grated Green chilies - 5-6, depending on taste Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Coriander leaves - 1 Tbsp, chopped Cooking oil - 1 Tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Chana dal - 2 tsp Urad dal - 2 tsp Asafetida - a pinch, powdered Turmeric - a pinch Tamarind - a small marble sized ball Salt - ½ Tsp or as per taste Chopped raw jackfruit Method: • Roughly peel the outer skin of raw jackfruit and chop into pieces • In a pressure cooker, cook it till soft, with a little water. It takes about 3-4 whistles and let the pressure come down • Meanwhile, coarsely grind coconut, green chilies, coriander and asafetida without adding any water • In a thick bottomed pan, heat oil, add mustard, allow to splutter • Turn the heat low, add channa dal and urad dal and stir • Add curry leaves and turmeric and stir for half a minute till all the ingredients are properly roasted. • Drain the cooked raw jackfruit and add it to the pan. Add tamarind pulp, salt and the ground mixture and mix well • Sauté well for about 5 minutes till the raw smell is gone • Serve it with rice or as a side dish for chapathis/rotis Tips n Tricks: • When cutting the jackfruit, smear your hands and the knife with oil liberally. This avoids the knife getting stuck in the sticky jackfruit