Strawberry and Banana Sandwich ...

Our friends from Brussels stayed with us during summer and their little dear Neha was coming to India for the first time. Both sides were little concerned as to how she would like to play with two boys and how she would take to Indian food. Kids indeed surprised us because it was instant friendship and they got along so well. Food also was an interesting exchange where my twins started to eat Banana sandwiches and Neha had Poori everyday. So this is a recipe which was a contribution from her . 'Boys have added several other things and tried several versions and finally we have sort of standardised to this one. I did a small variation this time. I used Malabar Plantains instead of the regular ones . That is another favourite with my kids. Sliced Plantains toasted in dollops of ghee or butter. They taste delicious and is a common snack in kerela.

You will need :

2 slices of sandwich bread ( I used Whole wheat bread)

2 tsp softened butter

2 tbsp peanut butter

1/2 banana sliced

4 to 5 strawberries sliced

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp jam of your choice ( I used Apricot jelly)

1 Tbsp choco chips

1. Butter both the breads ...

2. Slice the banana and toast them in a griddle ...Add a small dollop of butter...

3. Cook till they are golden brown.

4. Now sprinkle the choco chips for the first layer.

5. Place the toasted banana ...

6. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top of the Banana slices.

7. Spread the second bread with one layer of Apricot jelly. Next mix honey and peanut butter together and spread over the Apricot jelly.

8.Sandwich both the slices and place it on a griddle and toast for few mins on both sides till crisp and browned.

9.Banana and strawberry sandwich served.....

Verdict : It is something even adults will enjoy. The melted chocochip with strawberry and banana is surely delicious . It is also a healthy snack which can be fixed instantly.

' 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!.

Whole wheat pancakes....

With two young kids at home I am always looking for healthier and nutritious options.. .Pancakes is an all time favourite with most kids. Served with honey and plenty of fruits makes up for the use of plain flour but still I was on the search for a healthier version. I tried several recipes and they were no where close to the original ones…Either they were hard, or flat or tasted insipid. I was at the verge of giving up till I stumbled upon this recipe from Tarla Dalal. When I was pregnant with my boys somebody had gifted me this interesting cook book called ‘The pregnancy cookbook’ by Tarla Dalal which I have never tried till date... So when I was looking through this book I found this recipe which had whole wheat, bananas and walnuts in it. So I immediately tried it out this morning for breakfast. It came out beautiful and tasted good too…

I served it with a dollop of jam and butter and it was all gone in a minute.

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole wheat flour

2 tbsp wheat bran

2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup walnuts finely Chopped
1/2 cup milk
4 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1tbsp melted butter 4 tbsp butter to cook
Sliced banana to serve
Honey and jam to serve

Method:

1. Mash one banana and slice the other.

2. Combine all the ingredients except the sliced up banana in a bowl and add 1/2 cup water and whisk it up to a smooth batter.

3. Heat a pan and pour the batter cook the pancakes over medium heat using little butter till golden brown

4.Serve with honey or jam.