Date Muffins

This is a simple muffin recipe, that I've adapted by adding dates. The dates caramelise slightly when cooked, giving these muffins an extra boost of flavour and texture.

Date muffins

Dates pair extremely well with lemons and oranges. In this case, I've used lemon zest, which imparts a beautiful flavour that makes this recipe unique.

Date muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups of plain flour, maida

1/3 cup of granulated sugar

2 tsps of baking powder

2 eggs

3/4 cup of milk

1/2 tsp of salt

4 tbsps of olive oil or melted butter

1 tsp of vanilla essence

lemon zest (the zest of one entire lemon)

1 cup of dates

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius

Since I used fresh dates from my tree, I softened the dates by putting them in a pan and adding 1 cup of water. Put the pan on the stove and let it cook for about 5 mins on a medium heat, just till the dates have softened. This process doesn't take very long (If your dates are store bought and already soft enough, you can avoid this process). Remove the softened dates and throw out the excess water. Then, chop them up into small pieces.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs, then add the butter or oil, milk, vanilla essence and lemon zest.

Add the wet ingredients slowly into the flour bowl, folding the batter with a spoon as you go along. The batter needs to just be incorporated and not smooth. Fold in the dates.

Grease a muffin tin with butter or line it with muffin paper cups. 

Spoon the batter about 3/4 way up the height of the muffin cup, leaving room to rise. 

Bake for 20-25 mins. Remove from the oven, once the muffins have risen and have a nice colour and are firm in the middle. 

Date muffins

Leave to cook in the muffin tray for 5 mins, before removing and letting it cool completely on a wire rack.

Date muffins

Gajar (Carrot) Halwa

This famous Indian dessert is made by cooking grated carrots in milk and reducing that mixture down till all that's left is the grated carrots. This is not one for those who are calorie counting, as it's cooked with ghee and sugar too.

You can also do a cheat's version of this dessert, by using condensed milk to shorten the cooking time. In this case, I would suggest you use just a little milk, say half a cup or about to cook the carrots before adding the condensed milk.

I have tried to make a slightlier healthy version of this dish (if that's even possible with carrot halwa!), by using lesser sugar and a lot less ghee. Makes me feel a little less guilty later on!

A note to keep in mind is to make sure the carrots are cooked properly. You do not want that raw taste of the carrots coming through. Cook it the first time with the milk and the slow frying at the end should finish it off nicely.

Gajar (Carrot) Halwa

Ingredients:
9 medium sized carrots
5 tsps of ghee (good quality cow's ghee for the best flavour)
2 cups of full cream milk
10 cardamom pods (remove the inside black seeds and crush them to a powder in a pestle and mortar) or alternatively use a pinch of cardamom powder
1/3 cup each of raisins and cashews
1 cup of sugar

Gajar (Carrot) Halwa

Method:
First grate the carrots after peeling off the skin. Put a big non stick pan on the heat. Put 5 tsps of ghee in the pan. Fry the grated carrots till softened. Then add in the milk, sugar and the cardamom powder.  Keep the heat on a medium, making sure you are constantly stirring the mixture so that it doesn't burn.

Keep stirring till the milk is almost evaporated. For a richer flavour, fry the cashews and raisins separately in a tsp of ghee before hand and then add that to the carrot halwa.

Once you've added the raisins and cashews, fry the mixture slowly on a low heat, taste for sugar (I have used a little less in this recipe) and once the oil starts releasing from the carrots you know that the carrot halwa is ready.

It tastes best served warm with cold ice cream.

Ras Malai (Indian Sweet)

Easy Ras malai recipe given by a Rabbia Qaswar. I've tasted it myself and it was yummy.. I didn't realize it would be that easy to make.. All you need is powdered milk! I thought it would involve slowly boiling down milk which is a very long drawn process..

So here goes!

Ras Malai

Ingredients:
1 cup Nido (full cream milk powder (120 gm)
1 egg at room temp, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. oil
1/2 tsp. plain flour
small pinch of cardamom powder

Other Ingredients:
1 litre whole milk
1 cup evaporated milk
(200 ml)
6-8 tbsp. sugar
pinch of cardamom powder OR 2 green cardamom pods
a few strands of saffron

Instructions:
Pour the litre of whole milk and evaporated milk into a wide pan. A wide pan is good because the rasmalai balls tend to expand a LOT as they cook and they will need the extra space.  Add sugar, cardamom and saffron.  Simmer on gentle heat for about 10-15 minutes (or longer for a thicker milk base).

While the milk boils gently, take a bowl and sift the Nido powder with the baking powder and flour.  Add the small pinch of cardamom and mix it in.  This will ensure the rasmalai smell very good.  Add the oil and rub it in with your fingertips.  Now add the lightly beaten egg and mix to form a soft and slightly sticky mixture.  Set it aside for about a minute. This small resting time BEFORE shaping the balls helps make sure the egg moisture is full absorbed into the milk powder.  If the mixture feels too dry, you can beat another egg and add 1 TEASPOON at a time from it into the mixture until the dough is of a good soft consistency for shaping. Do NOT add milk or water to this dough as it will make the rasmalai hard in the center.

Now here is a tip that I have found to be very useful in preventing hard centers in rasmalai.  Take a clean pin and poke a few tiny hold through each ball.  This will ensure that the rasmalai will cook through the center when it boils in the milk.

Bring the milk to a brisk boil and then LOWER the heat. Remember, if you drop them into rapidly boiling milk, the outside will cook fast and the inside will remain yellow/hard.  At the same time if you add them to milk which is not hot enough, they may fall apart or again, the centers will remain uncooked. So bring the milk to a brisk boil, then lower the heat so it is on gentle simmer and THEN immediately add the balls and cover your pan.

Also, always make sure to drop ALL the rasmalai balls in ONE GO into the simmering milk. One big mistake people tend to make is to drop them one at a time into the boiling milk.  With this method, the rasmalai will not all cook for the same length of time, so you will end up with some that have hard centers.  Cover the pot and let them simmer for about 5 minutes.

Uncover and gently flip them over with a spoon.  Cover again and allow them to cook for 10 more minutes on low heat.

To check if the rasmalai is cooked through, remove one and cut through it with a spoon.  It should be spongey and soft.  If not, put it back in the milk and keep simmering on low heat for a few more minutes.

Once done, turn off the heat and leave the rasmalai covered in the pan for a few minutes so that the steam helps continue to cook them. Transfer them gently to a bowl/dish and garnish with nuts. Chill overnight and serve this yummy milky dessert cold!

Banana Muffins stuffed with Nutella

This is a really simple recipe, that's handy especially when bananas are getting over ripe. I followed a recipe here that makes 8 large muffins but I modified it slightly by making mini muffins and stuffing it with nutella inside. They make a lovely snack for school kids. You can omit the nutella if you want a nut free snack.. I have seen other brands similar to nutella that are nut free so you can always use that option.

Banana Muffins Stuffed With Nutella

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
4 tbsps. butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup mashed banana ( about 3 medium bananas)
1/3 cup milk

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (180 C). Grease your muffin pan with butter or cooking spray.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl.

(The recipe then called for using an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and beat till fluffy and adding the flour and milk alternatively till a smooth batter is achieved.)

I avoided the mixer bit (less washing up to do!), and just added all the ingredients into the flour bowl.
So into the flour and baking powder, went the eggs, vanilla extract, butter, sugar and bananas along with the milk. Mix all the ingredients together with a hand whisk till all the lumps disappear.

Spoon a small dollop of batter onto each of  the greased muffin cups. Then add a dollop of nutella on top. Finally cover with another dollop of batter.

Bake for 20- 25 mins if you are using a regular muffin size tray. For the mini muffin trays, 10 - 12 mins should be good enough.

Remove immediately (should flip out when turned upside down) and cool on a wire rack. Serve with nice spoonful of whipped cream.

Grilled Pineapple Slices With Mint

This is a quick dessert which is just as delicious as it is fast. I've served this with my favourite Waitrose clotted cream icecream. Its definitely more creamier and tastier than the plain vanilla icecream (unless you are making some homemade).

If you use a grill pan to make this recipe, you will get the beautiful marks that you get with a grill. But if not, a simple non stick pan will do, as I have used here.

Keep in mind, if you do use a grill pan, to oil the pan first with a basting brush.

Grilled pineapple slices with mint

Ingredients:
Fresh pineapple slices
butter
sugar
fresh mint leaves
icecream to serve on the side

Method:
Crush the mint leaves with sugar. The ratio you need is 1:2. So whatever quantity of mint you use, approx. double the sugar. Chop the mint fine and then grind in a pestle and mortar.

In a pan, add some butter on a low heat (you do not want the butter to burn and turn too brown). Fry the pineapple slices turning over, till you get a nice golden brown on both sides. Remove and set aside.

Plate the pineapple slices, garnished with the mint sugar and serve with a dollop of  vanilla icecream, or in my case, my favourite waitrose clotted cream icecream.

Orange Marmalade Bread Pudding With Caramel

I've always loved bread pudding, but I wanted to take the recipe up a notch and add a little something into it. The orange marmalade and the caramel sauce gave it that something special that it needed. This was just something that I came up with as I was looking in my pantry and it turned out pretty delicious. This is also a really good recipe to get the kids involved with in making. My daughter enjoyed buttering all the bread, arranging it and was amazed how the whole dish just transformed into something so yummy.

Orange Marmalade Bread Pudding with Caramel

Ingredients:
3 eggs
8 slices of bread
softened butter
1/2 cup of sugar
orange marmalade
2 tsps bon mama's caramel sauce
500 ml of milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

Butter all the slices of bread. It is best to use a day old bread that has gone slightly dry. On half the slices of bread, also spread a layer of marmalade on top of the butter. Cut the slices in half diagonally so that you get 2 triangles. Layer the triangle bread slices in a round baking dish. Drizzle over with a teaspoon some of the caramel sauce. Bon mama's caramel sauce is rich and thick, so you don't need a lot. It is available in the Spinneys grocery store, for those living in Dubai. If you can't find it, try any other local thick caramel sauce.

Buttered bread before adding the milk

Prepare the egg mixture, by breaking the eggs in a mixing bowl. Add in the vanilla extract and the milk. Add in the sugar. Whisk it for a minute and pour over the prearranged bread slices. The milk should just cover the bread. If it is less, add some more milk on top, otherwise your pudding will turn out dry.

Place in the center of your oven for 20 - 25 mins. You can serve this pudding, warm or cold with some freshly whipped cream.

Orange Marmalade Bread Pudding With Caramel

Note: Do a taste test once its done on a small corner of the dish. It should not be the consistency of cake. If it is, then it is too dry. It should be crusty on the outside, but moist on the inside. If you find your bread pudding slightly dry, quickly drizzle over a 1/4 cup of milk while the whole dish is warm. It will get absorbed  into the dish in 5 minutes and no one will ever notice.

Strawberries With Balsamic Vinegar

This is my first dessert recipe up on my blog. It is originally from Ina Garten popularly known as the Barefoot Contessa. Its simple and quick and tasted out of this world.

Strawberries With Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients:
Strawberries one packet
3-4 tsps of sugar
1-2 tbsps of dark balsamic vinegar
Pinch of freshly ground pepper powder
vanilla ice cream
zest of a lemon

Method:
Remove the leaves from the strawberries and rinse them under water. Cut into small pieces and keep in a bowl. Sprinkle over the sugar, give them a good toss and keep in the fridge.

About an hour before serving, remove them so they come to room temperature. Add in the balsamic vinegar. Add in one tablespoon first and then see if you need more. You don't want to create a sauce. Taste it and see. The idea is to just to coat and flavour the strawberries. Season with pepper powder.

Serve in bowls. Add a nice big dollop of vanilla ice cream and garnish with lemon zest. Serve!

Banana Pancakes

This is a good recipe to make, especially when you have bananas lying at home getting over ripe. You don't need much sugar in this recipe as bananas are naturally sweet. They are an excellent addition to your child's lunch box as well.

Banana pancakes

Ingredients:
4 large bananas
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
about 1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
Milk (around 1/2 cup to 1 cup)
oil or butter for frying

Method:
Mash the bananas in a plate. Add them to a bowl along with the sugar, vanilla essence, baking powder, whole egg and the flour. Add the flour slowly, and mix well with a fork. Add the milk till you achieve the consistency of regular pancake batter. Start with 1/2 cup first and see how thick the batter gets. If you feel the batter is too thick, add in a few tablespoons of milk to make it thinner. The batter should not be watery like a crepe batter. It should be thick enough to scoop with a big spoon. If you feel it is too runny, add in some more flour till you get the desired result. The amount of milk required would vary depending on how ripe your bananas are..

Heat a little oil in a pan. These pancakes benefit from a little more oil than the regular pancakes you make, so add about 2 tbsps of oil for each batch you are frying.  If you would like it to be more calorie full, you could substitute with some butter instead. :-)
Once the oil is warm, scoop out the batter with a ladle onto the pan. If the pancakes are mixing into each other on the pan, that means your batter is too runny. Make sure they are not too thick either, or it won't cook on the inside. If you aren't sure, make a test pancake first, and taste it to see if you are happy with the result.

Banana pancakes

Pancakes should be cooked on a medium heat. You should start to see the batter cook as it touches the pan. Don't be tempted to flip it until you see the edges set and small bubbles appear on top. Flipping it too early will result in your pancakes sticking to your spatula.

Fry in batches till they are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. Will stay nicely in the fridge for a day or two.

banana pancakes