Saturday, November 26, 2016

Mint dhokla (3 minute Microwave recipe)


Very often I purchase a lot of mint as I cannot resist beautiful, fresh mint in stores and then I try to use that lot of mint in so many various dishes to finish that wonder herb as it starts blackening and going bad after just few days and how much mint-coriander chutney can one make? I obviously do prepare so many other dishes from mint all the time I have mint in abundance but this mint dhokla is my favorite as it's an instant and quick option for a breakfast or snack and is easy to prepare and filling, yummy and satisfying.

Other recipes I prepare from mint are:

Mint- coriander chutney
Mint-egg salad
Mint-zucchini (pudina lauki masala)
Mint fish curry
Mint Poha
Mint paratha
Mint Dal fry
Mint Rice

Here's the recipe of the Mint Dhokla (Pudina dhokla):

Ingredients:

Chickpea flour (besan): 1/2 cup
Semolina (sooji): 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Lemon juice: 3 tsp.
Mint leaves: a big handful
Eno fruit salt: 1 tsp. OR baking soda (1/2 tsp.) and baking powder (1/2 tsp.)
Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
White sesame seeds: 1 tsp.
Dried red chili: 1



  1. Wash and grind mint leaves with water in a mixer. 
  2. Mix the chickpea flour, semolina, salt and lemon juice in a big bowl. Add the mint water to the bowl and mix well. Add more water if required to make a flowing batter like consistency. 
  3. Leave this mixture aside for 20 minutes. 
  4. Add eno fruit salt or a mix of baking soda and baking powder. Sprinkle little water on top, the soda will start bubbling. Mix it slowly but nicely. 
  5. Add the whole mix immediately to a greased microwave safe bowl. 
  6. Cover the bowl and microwave on high power for 3 minutes. Remove and do the toothpick test. If toothpick comes out clean, the dhokla is done; otherwise microwave for another 30 seconds. 
  7. Remove the dhokla on a plate and let cool. 
  8. By the time, prepare tempering. Heat oil in a pan and crackle the mustard seeds. Add white sesame seeds and the red chili. Turn off the flame after 30 seconds. 
  9. Cut the dhokla in desired shape when cooled.
     
  10. Pour tempering over it. Serve with Coconut Chutney









Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Autumn love

Autumn! Ah Autumn is my favorite season and this is the season I love most of all. Yes, even more than summer. I love how Mother Nature blesses us with such beautiful, colorful landscapes as it begins to get a little chilly. Everywhere is a beautiful canvas with a pretty scenery and no matter how many pictures I click, it's never enough!

The scenic views, the beauty, the red, orange and yellow colors make everything a bit more lively, a bit more cheerful, a bit more amazing! So here's the best pictures of my (otherwise huge) collection of the fall pictures as I go crazy and can't stop taking pictures. Enjoy!


Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.


"The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let the dead things go!"


"Crisp air, pretty leaves, sweater and boots, pumpkins and coffee: I love Fall!"


Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile! 


"I love Autumn. The one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it"


"Autumn paints in colors that summer has never seen"


"Every leaf speaks bliss to me; fluttering from the autumn tree!"


"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."


"I hope I can be the autumn leaf
who looked at the sky and lived
And when it was time to leave, 
gracefully it knew life was a gift!"


"Autumn that year painted the countryside in vivid shades of scarlet, saffron and russet; and the days were clear and crisp under the harvest skies."


"Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird, I would fly about the Earth, seeking the successive autumns!"
- George Eliot



"Fall is my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale."


"How beautifully the leaves grow old.
How full of light and color are their last days!"


"No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face"


"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor; summer and oil painting; and autumn a mosaic of them all"
- Stanley Horowitz


"The tints of autumn.. a mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost."


"Listen! The wind is rising and the air is wild with leaves. We have had our summer evenings, now it's time for autumn eves."


"Come, little leaves; said the winds one day. Come with me to the meadows and play. 
Put on your dresses of red and gold.. for the summer is past and the days grow cold!"


"There is something about autumn that wakes up our senses and reminds us to live!"


"Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons."
- Jim Bishop. 


"Light breeze, colorful leaves, bare trees.. It must be Autumn!"



 "Autumn wins you best by its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay."
- Robert Browning.


"Everyone must sit and take the time to watch the leaves turn."
- Elizabeth Lawrence. 


" Life fails to be perfect but never fails to be beautiful."


"My favorite color is autumn!"



"The name of it is "Autumn". The hue of it is blood. An artery upon the hill. A vein along the road."


"It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life."
- P.D. James


"Autumn remembers the warming days of Summer. Today the sun shines."


"Falling leaves hide the path so quietly."
- John Bailey. 



"Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call
down they came fluttering, one and all..
over the brown field they danced and flew..
singing the soft little songs they knew.."


"and all at once.. summer collapsed into fall!"
-Oscar Wilde



"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods; and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt."


"Leaves of gold (their former green)..
the richest color briefly seen..
A canopy of purest light..
falls glittering down (into the night).
As winds of change draw ever near..
the trees - (they seem to have no fear).
They know it's time (they must transform)..
and with that something new is born.
And so it's been (since the dawn of time)..
all things must learn to bend with clime. 



"It is so strange that autumn looks so beautiful, yet everything is dying!"



"A fallen leaf is nothing than summer waving goodbye!
They remind us that goodbyes can be beautiful too."



Note: All the pictures posted in this article are subject to copyright and may not be copied or used in any other form without the consent from the author. 

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Coffee Orange Muffins (Whole wheat)



Banana chocolate muffins are the most favorite in my household and is a mandatory preparation every weekend to prepare and stock for the week to be eaten as tea time snack. This time I was in an experiment mode and wanted to try a different flavor. But hubby wanted to keep the chocolate flavor intact. So made these coffee orange muffins using whole wheat flour. They turned out to be yummy and was a good change for our tea time!

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 1 cup
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Cocoa powder: 1 heaped tbsp.
Coffee: 1 heaped tbsp.
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp.
Orange juice from 2 large oranges
Eggs: 2
Oil: 1/4 cup
Yogurt: 2 tsp.
Orange essence: 1 tsp.



  1. Pre-heat the oven at 200 C for about 20 minutes while you prepare the mix. 
  2. Begin by sieving the whole wheat flour in a big mixing bowl. Sieve in cocoa powder, coffee and the baking soda. 
  3. Mix everything slowly but really well so that there are no lumps remaining. Keep aside. 
  4. In another big mixing bowl, add the sugar. Break the eggs in the bowl and beat it well. Do not over mix. I used a hand whisk. 
  5. Now add the orange juice and mix well.  
  6. Add the oil, yogurt and the orange essence. Mix everything nicely with the help of whisk. You can also use the electric mixer. 
  7. Slowly begin to add the flour mix to this mix. Add a little at a time and keep on mixing but remember not to over mix. Just mix it until you see no lumps. The mix should be little flowy and not dense. 
  8. Spray the muffin molds (I used paper molds) with very little oil. Fill in the mixture in all the molds up to half. 
  9. Bake for 30 minutes at 200 C. Then do the toothpick test. Insert a toothpick in the middle of the muffin, it should not have the batter stuck to it, it should come out clean with little crumbles. If not done, bake for a little more time until the toothpick comes out clean. 
  10. Remove and serve warm with tea. Let cool completely and it can be stored for up to a week in the refrigerator in air tight container. Enjoy! 





You might also like Whole wheat banana chocolate muffins

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