Parmesan muffins !!!!!

Muffins are adorable. They are so comforting and so easy to make. My boys love it and i make it very often for them to snack at school. Generally i make them with various fruit combinations like banana, orange or carrot& cinnamon. But this recipe is something very different and i adapted it from cinaras place and was greatly pleased. I read the recipe and saw ...Parmesan & oregano,what more do i need ... I was already in the kitchen trying it out. The original recipe calls for wheat flour. First time i tried it with wheat flour and the second time with plain flour. Honestly i liked plain flour better than wheat. It wasn't bad but still plain flour was better.

They are more like breakfast muffins. Heat them up , slice it and lather it up with a big blob of butter and mmmmmm.... .....

Parmesan Muffins :
(adapted from Cinarasplace)You will need:

2 cups : Plain flour
1tsp of sugar
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate
1 tsp oregano
1/4th cup of Parmesan grated
1 1/4th cup of buttermilk
1/4th cup of butter melted
1 large egg
grated cheese for topping

Method:

1.In a bowl mix the flour, sugar,baking powder, soda , oregano and grated Parmesan and mix well.
2. Add the buttermilk, melted butter and egg.
3. Mix only until incorporated.
4. divide into 12 muffin cups to 1/3rd capacity.
5. sprinkle grated cheese on top.
6. Bake in oven at 200 *c for 15 mins.

Sardine curry with red rice

Sardines as far as i know is one of the easily disliked variety of fish around. My!! what a way to start a post. They are messy to eat, they stink and totally unappetising . Why would anyone like to eat Sardines!

Wait till you read this. This humble fish is truly incredible. It has extraordinary health benefits to offer that i have completely changed my opinion about them.

Sardines have very high concentration of omega3 fatty acids. They are considered to be one of the best sources of omega 3's around surpassed only by few other fishes.Now we all know that Omega 3 fatty acids are poly-unsaturated fatty acids and a diet rich in omega 3 helps reduce bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol.

Because of their size they have less accumulated toxins compared to larger fishes , such as tuna which immediately becomes safer to eat.

And of course they are great source for Vitamin D and Calcium.

They are also inexpensive and readily available that We don't have to opt for tinned ones .

I have found an interesting way of eating sardines. I learnt to make a thin gravy from a Mallu friend and i eat with Red rice and papadam. It is grrrreat!!!!




Ings :

Sardines - 500gms


For paste:
Coriander powder - 2tbsp
Red chillies - 10
Turmeric powder - 1tsp
ginger - 1 " piece
3 fat cloves of garlic
150 gms of coconut

For Tempering :
Coconut oil - 2tbsp
few curry leaves
sliced shallots - 9
1" ginger julienned
green chillies - 3 sliced
Kokum - 3 to 4
250 ml hot water.

Method:
1. Clean the sardines and set aside.
2. Grind the ings for the paste either in a pestle or in a food processor.
3. Soak the Kokum in a small bowl of hot water.
4. Heat the coconut oil over moderate heat and toss in the mustard seeds followed by curry leaves, shallots ginger and chillies. When the onions are golden , tip in the kokum. This is a sour fruit mainly used in the coastal part of south India. This will add a tang to the curry.
5. Bring it to simmer and and stir in the ground spice pate. Add 250 ml of hot water and simmer for 10 mins, until the sauce thickens mildly.
6. Add the cleaned fish to the pan, and continue cooking further for 10 - 15 mns until the sauce has reduced and sardines are tender.

Serve with hot red rice.

swedish tosca cake...

'P' is a huge fan of pastries and cakes.... and he has an impeccable sense to pick the right ones too. I guess that is because everytime we decide to travel i dig the books to discover culture and places to visit ,while he has just one mission - that is 'food'and places to eat.
When we were in Stockholm we had this lovely swedish tosca cake in a bistro.Actually he called for the cake and i being the fusspot that iam, called for green tea and shamelessly ended up gobbling most of it. What i liked about this one was that
it was light and had this amazing chewy flaked almond topping ...

It took me less than five mins flat to put it together .... You will know why....

Ings :
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1tsp baking powder
1 cup melted butter
1tsp almond essence



Topping:

1/2 C sugar
1/2 C butter
1/2 C flaked almonds
1tbsp milk
1 tbsp flour

Method:

1. Whisk together the eggs and sugar to a nice creamy mix..
2. Add the flour and melted butter and combine well.
3. Now add the almond essence and pour it in a lined 9 " spring tin.
4. Bake for 30 mins in a 180 degree oven.

For the topping ...

Melt butter and put all the other ingredients and mix it.. Dont let it boil though.
Quickly pour it on top of the cake and broil it. Dont step aside , keep a watch and remove when it turns golden brown on top. Actually the sugar caramalizes at this stage and the almonds get mildly roasted and the result is this....




Enjoy it with a nice cup of tea or coffee... I had mine with a refreshing green tea.



Tosca anyone???...

Pineapple and cucumber Gazpacho..

After a great week of practically no cooking at home,iam happy to return to my kitchen. Well it was a week of birthday and get togethers.

It was P's birthday on the 29th... We badly wanted to go out for dinner with my twin beasts... The summer heat was not one bit inspiring to leave home.... finally we did and decided to go to 'UpperDeck' in 'Fisherman's cove'.. It is a beautiful hotel set on the remote shores of the east coast. It was here that i had this amazing cucumber and avocado gazpacho... God i cant tell u how incredibly comforting it was!!! Since then i have been attacking my cookbooks and churning and chilling various combinations that 'p' left town till iam done with my affair with gazpacho . Today i tried one with Pineapple and cucumber.... It was gorgeous.



I Used ..
2 cups chopped pineapple
2 cups chopped cucumber
1 1/2 tbsp chilli chopped
1 1/2 tbsp scallions chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup of pineapple juice
1-2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
2 tbsp extra virgin olve oil
1/4th cup raw macadamia nuts..

In a blender process 1 cup pineapple and 1 cup cucumber along with chillies, scallion,limejuice,pineapple juice and salt at high speed till smooth.
At this point check for salt and chilli and correct seasoning.

Add the remaining cucumber, pineapple,cilantro and olive oil and just slush it. We want the gazpacho to be chunky. Stir in the nuts and drizzle olive oil and serve chill. I did not have macademia so i used pine nuts which was good too...

enjoy!