Choco Chip Muffins

Well Its summer and my travelling feet has been itching for a while now...
Going on a month long vacation !!..

See you all in June!. Of course i will miss blogging! Anyways catching up will be fun too!.

Happy Vacation to all of you!

Signing off with a simple Choco chip muffins from Nigellas's Kitchen.

Super simple and super Yumm !

Choco Chip Muffins

(Nigella's Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS
250g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Half-teaspoon bicarbonate soda
2 tablespoons best quality cocoa
175g caster sugar
150g chocolate chips (plus more for sprinkling later)
250ml milk
90ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
METHOD
1.Preheat the oven to 200C and fill a 12-bun muffin tray with paper cases. I used silicon cases which were a thouhtful gift from a good friend and a terrific cook herself.
2.Weigh out the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring jug.

3.Mix both together – it will be a runny batter - then spoon into waiting muffin cases.


4.Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top then cook for 20 minutes or until the muffins are risen and springy.

Enjoy!!.

`Tamota Per Eeda' - Tomato - Poached Eggs

I have a great attraction for authentic and traditional dishes. It certainly tells one about the culture and evolution of food . I think what attracts me the most is understanding and learning the provenance and history of original dishes. What is even more fascinating is when one finds similar or sometimes even identical dishes across culture. One such dish that i recently came across is a parsi poached eggs in tomato sauce. when P and I were visiting a parsi family in Mumbai we were introduced to this awesome dish which is now a regular at home.
Parsis migrated to India many centuries ago from the Persia and settled in Mumbai. Amongst many things that they are known for they are also known for their distinctive cuisine which is mostly a combination of sweet and savoury .
Having mentioned about Parsis poached eggs - `Tamota per eeda' i found two other culture that makes exact same dish with very mild variation. It is known as `Huevos Rancheros' in Mexico and Shakshukah in Israel.
Huevos Rancheros is typically served on Tortillas while Shakshukah is served with a liberal topping of feta cheese. I love my Tamota per eeda on a thick chunk of rustic bread.


The creamy and sweet tomato sauce with the soft poached eggs is fabulous on toasted or grilled bread too.

It is super easy and perfect for anytime of the day.

Now for the recipe :


Paarsi Tomato - Poached Eggs

(Adapted from Anjum Anand's Indian Food Made Easy)
1 medium onion peeled 1/2 Green pepper finely chopped
3 tbsp oil
2 large cloves finely chopped or grated
1tsp ginger finely chopped
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1heaped tsp ground coriander
1/2 to 3/4 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
8 plum tomatoes blanched , skinned ,deseeded and chopped (phew!)
6 eggs

Method:
1. Heat oil in a medium pan and fry the onion till golden brown
2. Add green pepper and cook for sometime.
3.Add garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute
4.Now add all the ground spices and salt and cook for few seconds
5. Add the tomatoes and stir well . Bring the pan to simmer and cook covered for 15- 20 mins. Cook till it becomes a creamy mixture. Add a splash of hot water if required. The gravy should be loose yet creamy !.
6. Smooth the surface of the mixture and make six hollows with the back of a spoon . Now carefully crack an egg in each hollow.


7. Cover and cook till the eggs are done to your liking. Roughly for about 2-4 mins.
Serve with grilled rustic bread or Tortillas!!!

' Aeblezkeiver'...

When my Mil's sister from Malaysia very sweetly carried this pretty 'flowered moulds' which weighs a tonne for me as a gift ,i was extremely touched and thrilled . I knew instantly that i could use it for a regular south Indian recipe that is made at home . She also mentioned that it is used to make a certain 'Danish Pancakes for breakfast menu's in restaurants in Malaysia...

My pretty flower moulds...

So i took it from there and started googling for danish pancakes and came upon this amazing stuffed roundels called 'aeblezkiver'...

Maybe some of you are already familiar with it.. But for those of you who, are like me unaware of , they are traditional dutch pancakes that are prepared in a special pan to create their ball/sphere shape. A typical 'aeblezkeiver' comes with a small slice of apple placed in the centre of each pastry. I made mine plain .

The ingredients are similar to that of a pancake but one can get adventurous with the flavouring though....

One can use lemon zest, cardamom, cinnamon, or vanilla ... or anything that catches ones fancy and stir it into the batter.

Now for the ings:

2 cups flour
3 to 4 tbsp sugar
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 th cup milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
4 eggs
2 tbsp melted butter


1. Mix all the dry ings together...

2. Separate the eggs and lightly beat the egg whites and keep aside

3. Now add milk, egg yolks melted butter and mix well

4. Fold in the egg whites gently

The batter should be of dropping consistency.

Heat the 'abelezkiver ' pan, i did not use the traditional one but used the flower mould. Pour oil in each section of the mould and Pour in a spoonful of the batter and wait till it bubbles up...

Cook it covered till it is not wet anymore on top...


Now turn the pancakes over and cook it for a little while
Dust it with icing sugar....

and there you go ... Ablezkeiver ready!. The serving options are plenty. You can team them with jams, jellies, honey, maple syrup, nutella or fruit preserves...or can eat them plain as well. Similarly u can make stuffed pancakes too by inserting fruit pieces ,or chocolate, or jams or even marshmallow when the batter is still wet and turn them over and cook. I served mine with freshly made apple and cinnamon sauce.

If one uses a traditional mould i am sure it needs some practice to get it right... So i found this video which shows how to use the mould and also gives interesting anecdote about the origin of the pancakes...

They taste lovely and will be a sure hit with the kids...
They are super fluffy ,moist and definitely a change from the regular pancakes!.