Eggless Whole Wheat Tropical Banana Bread

I hope all of you had great week end and those of you in US had a great Thanksgiving and long weekend. Even though I avoid gluten because out of four people in house hold,  two are on a gluten free diet because of various health reasons. But I love to bake and I jump on opportunities when I have to bake it with gluten based flours and have to give it out to others. The moment I saw this tropical banana bread recipe in the good house keeping book – recipes for children which my elder one had got it for me, I was totally tempted to bake. I baked this quick bread for one of my friend few months back and got a great review. Do not be intimidated with the long list of ingredients, once you get a grasp of the ingredients this is very easy to make.  If you are not on a gluten free diet, do try this out and I am sure you must be surely happy with the out come.
Preparation Time – 15 Minutes
Cooking Time – 30 to 40 Minutes
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour - 1 3/4 Cup
Bananas - 3 (Small to medium)
Juice of 1 Orange
Coconut - 3/4 Cup
Pecans - 1/2 Cup
Yogurt - 1/4 Cup
Ener-g or Corn Starch - 1 1/2 Tsp + 1 Tbsp Warm Water
Baking Soda - 1 Tsp
Baking Powder - 1 Tsp
Oil or Melted butter or clarified butter anything will work - 1/4 Cup( I used clarified butter)
Salt - 1/4 Tsp
Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 Tbsp
Raw sugar - 1/2 Cup(Optional and I left it out as the sweetness of banana was just enough)
Water – 1/4 Cup(Check point 4)
Flaked Almonds – Handful to put as a topping
Method
1) Combine whole wheat flour, pecans, salt and keep it aside.
2) Squeeze out the orange from orange juice. Add 1 Tbsp warm water to the ener-g egg replacer and beat till frothy. Puree the ripe bananas.
3) To the yogurt add the baking soda and baking powder, combine and leave this for some time and you will see the yogurt mixture has started bubbling out. To this add the orange juice, banana puree, raw sugar(if using), ener-g egg replacer mixture, clarified butter and combine thoroughly till well mixed.
4) To the wet mixture add the grated coconut and wheat mixture and combine thoroughly without over beating the mixture. The consistency of the mixture depends on how ripe the banana is and also the size of the orange you are using. If the orange is big one and the banana is over ripe the batter should be just fine. But if you find the batter too thick, then add 1/4 cup more of water.
5) Now add the apple cider vinegar and mix till well incorporated. Pour the batter in a loaf pan and add handful of almond flakes on the top and spread it evenly. Baket for around 30-40 minutes in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit till a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Events

Sending this to Breakfast Club #17 - Breads hosted by Krithi's Kitchen an event started by Fuss free Flavors.

Sending this to Edible Entertainment’s Jingle all the way.

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Tindora(Ivy Gourd) Quinoa

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers and friends. I am sure every body would have started on their Thanksgiving menu and meal ideas already and  if you are still trying to figure out an option for the main course and which needs to be something nutritious, guilt free and something you don’t have to worry about after indulging. Then do include this high protein pseudo grain in menu.  Very easy to prepare and nutritious. Do try it out and let me know, how you liked it.

Ivy gourd(Tindora) can be found in Indian(Asian) stores and is very low in carbohydrate and in alternate medicine it is believed to regulate sugar metabolism. Looks like a small miniature cucumber and crunchy and crispy in taste.

Preparation Time – 15 Minutes

Cooking Time – 20 Minutes

Serves – 2

Ingredients





For the spice powder

Coriander seeds - 2 Tbsp

Split Channa Dal(Kadali paruppu) -1 Tbsp

Dry red chilies - 4 or as per taste

Cinnamon - 1 stick

Fennel seeds - 1 Tsp

Tamarind - 1 inch long piece

Coconut - 7 one inch pieces

Cooked Quinoa - 1 Cup

Tindora(Small gourd) – Around 12 to 15(Chopped into small pieces)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsp

Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste

Coconut oil - 1 Tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp

Urad dal - 1 Tsp

Peanuts - 1 Tbsp

Chopped cilantro - 1 Tbsp







Method

1) Dry roast the ingredients given under the spice powder section until fragrant and once cool enough to handle, make a coarse to fine powder and keep this aside.

2) Heat the pan, add a tsp of oil and roast the peanuts till slightly brown, remove the peanuts and then add mustard seeds. After the seeds stop spluttering add the urad dal and leave it till slightly browned.

3) Now add the Tindora pieces, add the salt and turmeric powder and saute till well cooked. Cover and cook and this will take any where between 8-10 minutes. Now add half of the spice powder saute for a second and add the quinoa. Add one more tsp of oil and mix thoroughly.

4) Garnish with toasted peanuts and chopped cilantro and serve with raita(yogurt dip) of your choice.

Note – I made this spice powder and used up half of it to prepare Eggplant Quinoa and the used the rest in this dish. So based on the quantity required, half or double the spice powder measurement.

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Eggless Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are not health food to do a write up about the nutritional value. But they are any time better than the store bought one with no preservatives and additives.I have been baking these chocolate chip cookies for a long time and continue to bake them when I have to do a nut free baking.  This is the recipe which you can find in the Nestle Chocolate Chip Bags and I just substituted with whole wheat instead of refined flour and raw sugar instead of white sugar and are egg free. Personally I prefer my Almond Flour Chocolate chip cookies over these but I had to make these for some body who is allergic to nuts. So if you are looking for a chocolate chip cookie recipe to bake this holiday season do try out this one and do let me know how you liked them.

Preparation Time – 10 Minutes

Cooking Time – 25-30 Minutes(10 – 12 Minutes for each batch)

Serves – Makes around 3 1/2 Dozen Cookies



Ingredients



Whole Wheat Flour – 2 1/4 Cup (The original recipe used All purpose flour)

Butter – 1 Cup(2 Sticks)

Raw sugar – 3/4 Cup(Original used 3/4 Cup White Sugar + 3/4 Cup Light brown sugar)

Semi sweet chocolate chips – 1 Cup

Vanilla extract – 1 Tsp

Baking Soda – 1 Tsp

Salt – 1/4 Tsp(1/2 Tsp if using 1 1/2 Cups sugar as per original recipe)

Warm Water – 3 Tbsp

Ener-g egg replacer or Corn flour – 3 Tsp



Method





1) Beat the ener-g egg replacer by adding the warm water till frothy and keep it aside.



2) Beat the butter till creamy, add the sugar, egg replacer + water, vanilla essence and keep it aside.



3) Combine the whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips and add it slowly to the wet mixture and combine thoroughly.



4) Preheat a baking oven to 350 Degree Fahrenheit and like cookie trays with parchment paper.



5) Take the cookie dough with an ice cream scoop or a spoon and spoon out equally with enough distance between each of them. Slightly flatten the cookie dough with your fingers after spooning.



6) Bake for 10-12 minutes till the cookies are completely baked. Cool in a wire rack and store in a airtight container.



Note – The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of sugar and I halved it and with 1 cup of chocolate chips this sweetness was good enough. But if you have a sweet tooth, then stick on to the original recipe of 1 1/2 cups and also you can add 1 cup of chopped nuts to cookie dough. Because the kid for whom I was baking had nuts allergy, I couldn’t add any nuts.

Events

Sending this Krithi's Kitchen - Serve it Series Sweet an event hosted by Kirthi and Denny's

Sending this to Simply Food's Let's Cook for Christmas Red and Green Event.



Sending this to Edible Entertainment's Jingle all the way.

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Mixed Bean & Raw Banana Cutlet

How often do you do pantry audits? I do once in couple of weeks and when I did, I had small amounts of four different varieties of beans lying around and also had few raw bananas, onion, little bit of mixed vegetables lying in my refrigerator. In my attempt to clean up my refrigerator and my pantry and  before I stock up on fresh new produce. I wanted to use up  all these little bit of everything and  make something out of it.  Finally ended up in making these healthy and delicious cutlets, you can make them more tasty and sinful by adding some boiled and mashed potatoes and powdered bread crumbs and of course deep frying them and making it more interesting and delicious. But I decided to stick on to the high protein, low carb and baked version and enjoyed them with some spicy cilantro and sweet date chutney. Do try this out and of course do let me know, how you liked it.



Preparation Time – 20 Minutes

Cooking Time – 30 Minutes

Serves – Around 10 Cutlets depending on the size



Ingredients



Black eyed beans – 1/4 Cup

Black beans – 1/4 Cup

Roman beans – 1/4 Cup

Split channa dal – 1/4 Cup

Raw banana – 1

Powdered Chia seeds – 1 Tbsp(or flax seed powder)

Besan(Split chick pea flour) – 1 Tbsp

Onion – 1 Medium sized

Chopped mixed veggies – 1 1/2 Cups(Bell peppers, cabbage, broccoli)

Coconut oil – 1 Tbsp(for brushing melted)



Seasonings ( I used Indian spices, but feel free to use the spice of your choice)



Red chili powder – 1 Tsp or adjust to your taste

Salt – 1 Tsp or to taste

Turmeric powder – 1/2 Tsp

Garam Masala powder – 1/2 Tsp

Chopped cilantro - handful

Amchoor powder(dry mango powder) –1 Tsp

Coconut Oil – 1 Tsp



Method



1) Soak the black beans, black eyed beans and roman beans over night. Add the split chick peas and cook in a pressure cooker for three whistles.  Cut the raw banana into two pieces and cook that also along with the beans.



2) Drain the water from the beans, peel and slice the raw banana and keep this aside.



3) Heat the oil, add the onions and saute till translucent. Now add the veggies and the seasonings and saute for 5 minutes and switch off.



4) Preheat a baking oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit and like baking sheets with parchment paper.



5) Place the beans, raw banana pieces, veggies with the spices, chia powder and split chick pea flour in a food processor and process till well combined into a coarse mixture.



6) Take equal sized balls and press them into patties and brush with oil on one side and bake for around 10 minutes on one side. Turn it brush oil on the other side and bake for 10 more minutes. Now change the oven to broil and broil the patties for 10 more minutes.



7) Serve hot with spicy cilantro chutney and sweet date jaggery chutney.

Events



1) Sending this to Serve - It Savory Baked hosted by Krithi's Kitchen and Denny's.

 



2) Sending this to Veggie/Fruit a month- Raw banana hosted by Archana an event started by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan recipes.



3) Sending this to Fast food not Fat food an event by Priya of Now Serving.

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Spinach & Bean Soup

So planning to throw a holiday party ? Definitely include these kind of soups and salads, which are water rich and fiber rich to fills up and helps to cut down on the calorie rich main course. Spinach is such a healthy vegetable with loads of Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Iron, Calcium apart from a host of other vitamins and minerals. A low glycemic index food and will perfectly fit the diet list of weight watchers and carb watchers also. The addition of Cannellini bean in this soup, adds not only thickness to this soup but fortifies with additional protein.  This recipe is too simple and can be done in minutes, do try this out and let me know what you think about this one.





Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 to 15 Minutes

Serves - 4





Ingredients



Spinach - 1 bunch(Rinsed, Drained,  thick stalks removed, chopped)

Cannelli bean - 3/4 Cup(Cooked)

Coconut Oil -2 Tsp

Garlic - 2 Cloves(Chopped into fine pieces)

Crushed black pepper - 1 Tsp or to taste

Salt - 1/2 Tsp or to taste

Fresh lemon juice - 1 Tsp or to taste

Water - 4 Cups(Add more for a thinner soup)



Method



1) Heat a tsp of oil and add the spinach and saute till they are slightly wilted for 8-10 minutes on medium heat. Switch off and let this cool for few minutes.



2) In a blender add the cooked spinach, beans, salt and half of the water and blend till a smooth paste. Add the remaining water and puree one more time.



3) Heat a pan, add remaining oil and saute till the garlic browns and transfer the pureed content from the blender to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.



4) Switch off and add lemon juice and black pepper. Serve hot.

Events



1) Sending this to Soup and Salad Mela by Srivalli.



2) Sending this to Winter Carnival an event hosted by Radhika of Tickling Palates.

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Mixed Veg & Chick Pea Salad with Parsley & Yogurt Dressing

Do you love salads? I do, not just because they are so healthy and good for the body but also they are easy to put together in a jiffy. Most of the time no cooking is involved, add this and that. Come up with a dressing and toss things together and the salad is ready in few minutes. Starting the meal with fiber and water rich food like salads or soups with veggies fills you up and prevents from over doing the high calorie main course later. So give this colorful salad a try as a part of your Thanks giving meal and let me know how you like it. Now getting on to this super simple recipe.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 4



Ingredients



Cucumber - 1 (Medium size, washed, peeled and cubed)

Tomato - 1 small chopped

Mixed bell peppers - 1 Cup(Red, yellow and green washed and cubed)

Salted & boiled chick peas - 1/2 Cup



Dressing



Greek yogurt or thick yogurt with excess water drained - 3/4 cup

Fresh parsley or cilantro - 1/2 cup (finely chopped, I just put them in my food processor with little bit of yogurt and blended till a coarse paste)

Lemon juice - 2 Tbsp or to taste

Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Black pepper - 1/2 tsp to taste



Method



1) Stir together yogurt, parsley or cilantro(works wonder with yogurt dressing too), lemon juice, salt and pepper. If you like crushed garlic add 2 cloves but I didn't.



2) Toss the cucumbers, tomatoes, mixed peppers, chick peas and add dressing, tossing to coat.

Serve.

Events



1) Sending this to Herbs and Flowers - Parsley an event hosted by Anu's Healthy Kitchen an event started by PJ of Seduce your taste buds.



2) Sending this to Soup and Salad Mela by Srivalli.

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Eggplant Quinoa

Quinoa is a protein rich pseudo grain, meaning a seed actually used as grain and is of South American origin. With a slightly crunchy texture and a nutty flavor this can be substituted in place of rice in most of the dishes. Quinoa is available in your local health food store or online stores. This eggplant quinoa is super quick to make. With rice being a staple in the region from where I come, there are so many varieties of rice that are prepared and relished and this is one amongst them. But in my house hold since quinoa is a staple, I just substituted the rice with quinoa to make this protein rich one pot meal.  The spice powder  is the key to this flavorful and delicious dish and I make it before hand and this stays good for at least a week refrigerated.  Very easy to put together, just try out this dish and do let me know how you liked it.

Preparation Time - 10-15 Minutes

Cooking Time - 20 Minutes

Serves - 2



Ingredients





For the spice powder



Coriander seeds - 2 Tbsp

Split Channa Dal(Kadali paruppu) -1 Tbsp

Dry red chilies - 4 or as per taste

Cinnamon - 1 stick

Fennel seeds - 1 Tsp

Tamarind - 1 inch long piece

Coconut - 7 one inch pieces



Cooked Quinoa - 1 Cup

Eggplants - 1 big or 2 small Japanese eggplants(Chopped into small pieces)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsp

Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste

Onion - 1 small(chopped into small pieces)

Coconut oil - 1 Tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp

Urad dal - 1 Tsp

Ghee roasted cashews - 1 Tbsp



Chopped cilantro - 1 Tbsp



Method



1) Dry roast the ingredients given under the spice powder section until fragrant and once cool enough to handle, make a coarse to fine powder and keep this aside.



2) Heat the pan, add a tsp of oil and once it is hot add the mustard seeds. After the seeds stop spluttering add the urad dal. Once it slightly browns add the onion pieces and saute for a few minutes till translucent.



3) Now add the eggplant pieces, add the salt and turmeric powder and saute till well cooked. Cover and cook and this will take any where between 8-10 minutes. Now add half of the spice powder saute for a second and add the quinoa. Add one more tsp of oil and mix thoroughly.



4) Garnish with ghee roasted cashews and chopped cilantro and serve with raita(yogurt dip) of your choice.

Events



1) Sending this to Healthy Lunch box ideas - Brinjal an event hosted by Priya an event started by Kalyani.



2) Sending this Healthy Cooking Challenge - Healthy Lunch Box Ideas by Edible Entertainment an event started by  My Tasty Curry

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Sweet Tender Pumpkin in Coconut Sauce(Parangikottai Paal Kootu)

Think Pumpkin people think the ripe orange color, but the young tender pumpkin is green in color with very tender seeds. I don't know how many of you have used it in your cooking, I rarely find that kind of young tenders ones in the grocery stores or farmers market here. This dish was made almost year and half before when my parents visited us. I love this young tender pumpkin and my sister who was in the west coast at that time, packed off couple of them from the farmers market there. The tender pumpkins have slight green color skin and the skin is also pretty edible because they are not thick like the yellow ones. A very simple dish made by adding jaggery(panela) & coconut, this dish absolutely tastes divine. So if you happen to see the young green pumpkin next time, do pick them up and try it out and let me know how you liked it. You can also do this with the yellow pumpkin if doing so, adjust the quantity of jaggery.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 15 Minutes

Serves - 4



Ingredients



Chopped Pumpkin pieces - 4 Cups

Powdered Jaggery(Panela) - 1/3 Cup or according to your sweet tooth

Grated coconut - 1/2 Cup

Rice flour - 1 Tsp

Salt - 1/4 Tsp

Ghee(clarified butter) - 1 Tsp



Method



1) Boil the chopped pumpkin pieces adding little bit of water and salt. Stir in between to cook evenly and add more water if required.



2) Grind the coconut and rice flour adding little bit of water into a fine paste and add this to boiled pumpkin pieces and simmer on low heat for around 5 minutes.



3) Now add the jaggery and simmer for 3-5 minutes till it completely dissolves and add the clarified butter and serve.



Note - Even though this is called paal kootu(paal meaning milk in my language) this version which we do in our house hold just uses coconut and no milk is involved.

Sending this to Halloween fiesta hosted by Vardhini of Vardhini's Kitchen.



Now to the answer of my previous post riddle, who carved the pumpkin. Check out the following pictures. I thoroughly enjoyed this carving and had to hide and click these photos.

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Pumpkin Mung Bean Halwa

Mung Bean is a very good source of protein and is very easy to digest. Inspired by my earlier Mung Bean Halwa, I tried this one with a slight variation, yes by adding pumpkin puree to this halwa. Pumpkin does give a very lovely color and slight sweetness to this dessert. This dessert is high in protein and made with iron rich jaggery. So if you like pumpkins and are looking for recipes using pumpkin during this fall season,do try this out and let me know how you liked it.



Ingredients



Split Yellow Moong Dal(Mung Bean) – 1 cup

Ghee (clarified butter) – 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp

Pumpkin pieces - 2 Cups



Powdered Jaggery – 1/2 cup 



Cardamom powder - pinch

 Toasted nuts – 1 tbsp for garnishing



Method



1) Soak Moong Dal overnight in water.



2) Next day rinse the mung dal few times with enough water.



3) Drain the water completely from the mung bean and grind this into a fine paste using as little water as possible.



4) Heat 1 Tbsp of ghee and toast the nuts and keep it aside, now add the chopped pumpkin pieces and saute for 5 minutes and cover and cook for 5-7 more minutes. Now the pumpkin would have turned mushy and soft. Keep this aside to cool and puree the pumpkin once it is cold enough to handle and keep this aside.



5) Heat 1/4 cup of the ghee(1/2 the quantity) once it is hot and melted, simmer the stove into minimum and add the grind mung bean paste little by little stirring continuously with a egg beater as this part is very tricky because the mung bean will stick to the bottom of the vessel if not taken care. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of ghee and keep stirring till the mung bean gets cooked and the color of the bean paste changes color to slight brown.



6) Now add the pumpkin puree, jaggery to the bean mixture and stir till everything combines and well cooked and the halwa starts leaving the side.



 7) Add the toasted nuts and switch off the stove and serve this warm.



Now how to carve a pumpkin? Let me show you the unusual way. Can you guess who did this ? Will show you in my next post.

Events



1) Sending this to CWS- Cooking with Seeds Mung Bean hosted by Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes.



2) Sending this to Halloween fiesta hosted by Vardhini of Vardhini's Kitchen.



Note - I tried this Mung Bean & Pumpkin halwa almost two years back.  The recipe was lying in drafts because I misplaced the photo files. Since then I have changed two laptops and lot of my food photographs I had taken earlier was in flash drive and I misplaced it somewhere. Finally I found the missing flash drive and got all my old files back. So excuse me for this photograph and few more not so good ones will come from my earlier clicks. I am not saying I am pro in food photography now, but definitely when compared to old photos my new ones are better and I know it is long way to go to master the art. 

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Green Mung Bean Savory Pancake(Pesarattu)

If you are looking for a high protein and low carb super nutritious break fast recipe, do include this recipe  in your list. A signatory breakfast of Andhra(Southern State in India) is super filling and at the same time very nutritious also. If you haven't tried this before, do try out this gluten free, grain free, savory power packed breakfast made with legumes. Normally accompanied with coconut and ginger chutney, they are such a treat for the taste palate. I served this one with Bell pepper & Almond Chutney.



Preparation Time - 20 Minutes

Cooking Time  - 20 Minutes

Serves - Around 6





Ingredients



Whole Green Mung Bean/ Dal - 1 Cup

Salt - 3/4 Tsp or more to taste

Ginger - peeled 1/2 inch piece

Green Chili - 2 to 3 depending on the spice preference

Onion - 1 Chopped into small pieces

Coconut Oil - 2 Tbsp (or you can use ghee also(clarified butter))



Method



1) Soak the green mung dal over night. In the morning, rinse the soaked dal couple of times drain the water. Add the ginger, salt and chili and some fresh water  in a food processor, Grind and make a fine paste. The batter should be slightly thin than the pan cake batter.



2) Heat a Iron griddle and then once it is hot, take a ladle full of batter and make a thin circle and add a tsp of oil around it. In medium heat cook this and once one side is well cooked, flip it and cook the other side. Now place the side which was cooked first the outer side and sprinkle the chopped onions and fold it.



3) Remove from the iron griddle and serve hot with chutney of your choice.



Events



1) Sending this to CWS- Cooking with Seeds Mung Bean hosted by Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes.

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