Do you guys feel guilty after you over-do something? I do feel so to a great extent. For instance, when I got my hair shortened beyond the level I had planned, I rushed to the super market on my way back home to buy the most advertised hair oil for a super fast hair growth. Aah, yes, the crazy me! :-D Similarly, I get all conscious when I over-feed myself during my Kerala visits. This time around, I was on Good-Food search in Kerala, now you can imagine what I was up to the whole of this weekend! So I have declared this month as "Guilt-Free Low Fat Month" and I am on the go... ;-)
And the whole wheat idea in this recipe is sponsored by my empty all-purpose flour container. When you crave for muffins and when the yummiest recipe calls for ingredients, which you are short of, it's quite natural to be heart-broken and depressed and look away from the food picture. I did the same for a while, but the wheat flour refused to stay away from the corner of my eyes.. ;-) Gee, I grabbed it!
It turned out to be tender, light, fluffy, incredibly delicious muffins and bread! This is a lesson for me, when you are short of an ingredient or a couple, don' you worry. Pull out all somewhat look-alike, taste-alike, feel-alike ingredients from the kitchen rack and choose and use. After all, this is how all the interesting recipes were invented !!! ;-)
Before we begin, please note that I used both loaf pan and muffin cups for this recipe. If you are using a loaf pan, name it as "Honey Whole Wheat -Choco-Chip Banana Bread" or use muffin cups and name it as "Honey Whole Wheat -Choco-Chip Banana Muffins"... ;-)
Ingredients
Vegetable Oil: 1/3 cup
Honey: 3/4 cup
Eggs: 2 large
Banana: 3 medium or 2 large, mashed
Chocolate chips: 1/2 cup
Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder: 1/2 tsp
Whole wheat flour: 1 3/4 cups
Baking soda: 1 tsp
Hot water: 1/4 cup
Method
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan or muffin cups.
- In a large bowl, beat oil and honey together. Add eggs and beat well.
- Stir in banana and vanilla, then stir in the salt and cinnamon. Finally, stir in the flour, just until combined.
- Add
baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then mix briefly into batter
until it is evenly distributed.
- Fold in chocolate chips into the batter.
- Spread batter into the greased loaf
pan or muffin cup.
- (Optional) Sprinkle some cinnamon powder and swirl with a toothpick for a pretty marbled effect.
- Throw some chocolate chips on the top of the batter.
- Bake
for 60 to 65 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean if the bread/muffins are done.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes, then transfer the loaf to a wire
rack to cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Don' wait for so long if you are baking muffins. ;-)
Make a steaming cup of tea and have this along... :-)
Ever since I learned about this New Frosty's cold storage from my friend Sarada's brother, I was wanting to visit this store. It was on a relaxed Sunday evening that I planned to explore the New Frosty's. I was all excited about the plan and knowing me and my silly reasons for being happy, my girl too contributed her itsy-bitsy share of excitement.
All set, we rode down the street and there you see the heaven. Yes, you feel like being in heaven when you step in. Atleast, I felt so :-P As soon as you step in, you will pass by the vegetable counter with a tempting collection of farm-fresh vegetables, which you might get to see only in villages, exotic vegetables from various parts of Karnataka, Kerala, and so on. This sight might brainwash you to become a vegetarian for the day, but no, I have a strong mind. Grabbing back my strong mind from the vegetable counter, I headed towards that separate room with a glass door. There you see an array of sea food in various shapes and forms from which you can choose. You will see a neat counter inside where they clean fish. Unlike other stores, your noses won' demand your palm on it or self-suffocate it by not breathing. This place is just a cool treat, my mind already started cooking. I went on choosing one after the other. My girl who was standing quietly all that while, pointed her li'l finger towards the squid and asked, "Are we not buying the Ring Fish?" Did I hear it right? Yes, I did! I looked at her with astonishment because rarely does she ask me for a particular fish. I billed it without a second thought. Did I just finish promoting New Frosty's !?!!
Coming back to out topic, squid is usually cut in ring shape, or rather people prefer that shape. There are many delicious dishes that we can prepare out of squid, but trust me, squid masala is the most delicious one. Finger licking is not a sin if you are having squid masala ;-) I didn' stop Meghna this time. Its irresistible spice-rich taste lingers on for a while... ;-) This recipe, though I call it Kerala-style, this is just my way of preparing it because whenever I felt like adding more ingredients and when I thought it's better to cook squid with ginger-garlic paste along with other powder, I didn' hesitate to follow my mind. Give it a try, you won't go wrong. ;-) When mine turned out lip-smackingly delicious, yours will too..
To talk about the nutritional facts of squid, it is highly nutritious, rich in natural protein, prevents arthritis, it eases migraine (can you believe this? :-) I found out a natural, tasty medicine for my migraine ;-)), regulates blood sugar level, reduces high blood pressure, and boosts our immune system.
Kerala-Style Squid Masala
Preparation time: 15 mins.
Cooking time: 30 mins.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
For Marinade
Squid - 300 gms, cleaned and cut into rings
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
For Roast
Onion - 2 big, thinly sliced
Tomato - 2 medium sized, sliced
Green chillies - 2-3 nos., slit lenghthwise
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Pepper powder - 1.5 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Salt to taste
For Seasoning
Coconut oil - 2tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Mustard - as required
Red chillies - 2 nos.
Method
1. Clean and cut the squid into rings, marinate it with ingredients listed under "For Marinade", and keep it aside for 15 mins.
2. In a pressure cooker, pour in adequate amount of water and cook the marinated squid until the cooker whistles thrice.
3. In a pan or manchatti (earthen pot), heat oil, season it with all ingredients listed under "For Seasoning".
4. Add onion, green chillies, and salt, saute until onion turns translucent.
5. Add tomato and ginger-garlic paste, fry until the raw smell goes off.
6. Add coriander powder and turmeric powder, fry it. (Take care not to burn).
7. Add the cooked squid into this mixture, pepper powder, garam masala and cook until the water content is absorbed and oil is separated. Drizzle little coconut oil if required. Add curry leaves and keep it covered for 10 minutes.
8. Your delicious spicy squid roast is ready. It goes well with Kerala boiled rice, steamed rice, roti, appam, dosa, or even just that. ;-)
Notes:
- Adding curry leaves towards the end of cooking retains the natural flavor and keeps the leaves fresh.
- Using freshly ground pepper and coconut oil enhances the authentic taste and flavor.
