Savoury Carrot & Herb Muffins {eggless}

Hello y'all! Back from a fun fun fun weekend at Pondicherry with the UrbanLadder team, where I was asked to do one of my salad workshops for their offsite, as a small step to making people cook and love healthy food! The 5 teams amazed me with their resourcefulness and creativity. We didn't have any cooking implements which made the participants put on their creative caps. One of the girls actually crushed peanuts using the side of a bowl, and someone foraged some Thai basil growing wild, while the others ran into their rooms and got some fruit from the complimentary fruit bowl to add some punch to their salad. All in all, a wow experience and I enjoyed it a lot. 
So if you are looking for something along these lines for your workplace, then do get in touch with me. Check some of the photos from the trip /workshop on my Facebook Page.

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Our youtube videos are back in full swing and we aim to release 3 new videos a week. Last week it was tips to make a kickass Dosai, its partner in crime-the molaga podi. This week has kicked off with a kiddie lunchbox special - Spinach pesarattu. So make sure you subscribe and stay tuned to get every new video fresh into your mailbox or your youtube feed!

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We all love muffins, but the sugar and butter that goes into most commercial muffins makes it as unhealthy as a decadent cake, all the time pretending that they are a healthier option. Muffins when made at home easily lend themselves to all kinds of healthy modifications, make them sweet or savoury, add fruits or veggies, add bran or millets, it's totally up to you. This recipe I put together this morning for my son's lunchbox and I did sneak in one for my breakfast and boy, they are good!

These savoury muffins combine the goodness of carrots, protein from the paneer and cheese. Using a mix of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour, keeps it soft and springy. You could also try it with other healthy flours like millet or corn meal. 
The grated carrots also keep the muffins moist despite minimal oil in the recipe.
Try it out for a tea party or for your kid's lunchbox. You can also double the recipe, and refrigerate in an airtight box, makes for a super healthy after school snack.

Recipe for Savoury Carrot Herb Muffins (eggless) 
Makes 6 medium sized muffins

Ingredients
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp or a pinch of baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 medium carrot, coarsely grated
1/2 tsp mixed herbs (I used Keya)
3 tbsp grated paneer
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup whisked yogurt + 1 tsp vinegar
3-4 tbsp water (if required)

To top:
Grated cheese
Few pieces of chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat the air fryer to 180°C.
Keep 6 silicone cupcake molds ready.
In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients with a whisk. Keep aside.
In another bowl, mix the grated carrot, paneer, herbs, vegetable oil, yogurt - until they are well combined. 
Make a well and add the dry ingredients. Stir gently to mix through. Do not over mix, any small lumps can be left alone.
If you think the mix is too dry, add water 1 tbsp at a time, until it is of the right consistency.
Divide the batter into 6 cupcake molds. Top with a little grated cheese and walnut bits. 
The airfryer will fit in only 4 at a time, so you need to do it in 2 batches. If you are baking in an oven, then by all means, use a 6 cup muffin tin and bake as per instructions.
Place the filled molds in the airfryer basket. Close it in and bake at 180°C for 7 minutes or so.
Remove, allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, unmold and serve warm.

Warm Mushroom Salad with Italian Dressing

Planting cold kisses everywhere, "I am here, I am here," calls out the winter air.
— Subhashini (@NeelaVanam) November 5, 2014

I read this tweet from my poet friend, Subhashini, this morning, and realised, winter is indeed tiptoeing into Bangalore. Even now, as I type this, I am craving for the comfort of a warm shawl around my shoulders and socks to cover my toes. While I would happily eat salads any night of the week. But when winter sets in, it salads don't quite feel like comfort food. 

Even Ayurveda says that the digestive enzymes are at a low ebb in winters, and it may not be the best idea to eat raw foods, as it gets tougher to digest and assimilate the nutrients in the body. And that's why, A WARM SALAD. It's also the perfect solution, when you want to eat a salad and you have no lettuce or other salad greens on hand. Go with any native Indian greens and they will flavour the salad with their quirky taste.

Here's my winter salad idea to warm up your cold evenings. This one, I've made with the stuff I had in my fridge and some greens from the garden. It's just an outline and the possibilities are plenty. Roasted pumpkin, sweet potato, cooked beans / lentils can all happily lend to the heartiness of this salad and the lemony Italian dressing gives it a freshness, that makes you want to lick the spoon. If you are someone who think healthy eating is boring, especially salads, this one is sure to change your perception.

If you would like to learn from me on making delicious and interesting salads, there's a ZESTY SALADS workshop scheduled for 15th Nov. You can check the details here. 

Check my video below to learn how to make a quick Italian dressing at home. It's so easy that you'll never buy a bottle of dressing again! 

Subscribe to Youtube.com/saffrontrail so you don't miss a single new video.

Warm Salad with Italian Dressing
Serves 1

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6-8 button mushrooms, halved
1/2 small onion, sliced
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped into bite sized pieces
handful of tender spinach leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp of mixed dried herbs
handful of frozen green peas
handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
3 dried apricots, sliced

1-2 tbsp of Italian dressing  (video link)
6-7 almonds, toasted and sliced*

Directions
In a pan, lightly warm the olive oil. Add the garlic, and allow it to brown a little. This will give a lovely flavour to the salad.
Add the mushrooms, onion, red bell pepper and let them saute on low heat for 5 minutes. 
Next, add the frozen peas, spinach and saute until the spinach wilts, the green peas are thawed and somewhat cooked. Add the mixed herbs and toss.
Add the dried apricot bits, tomatoes, give it one toss and remove from flame.

Place this salad in a large bowl. Top with dressing and toss gently until coated well. Sprinkle a pinch of salt at this stage. Garnish with sliced almonds.

*To toast almonds, place whole almonds in the glass tray of the microwave and microwave on high for 90 seconds - 2 minutes, until they emit a nice toasted aroma. Cool for few minutes and then roughly chop or slice.

P.S.
Place this inside a hunk of crusty bread, a couple of slices of cheese and you have a delicious hearty sandwich ready.
I also crumble some paneer into the pan when the spinach is wilting. A vegetarian is always eager for some extra protein!

5 Summer Drinks : Video Recipes

BORICHA - Barley Tea
I first had this at my neighbour Michelle's house. In fact, most introductions to Korean food and culture have happened thanks to her. Boricha or roasted barley tea can be had either warm or cold is a comforting, caffeine-free, almost calorie-free drink. You can store a jug of boricha in the fridge and drink it chilled, but typically ice is not added to this. This tea is great for kids too to cool them off in the summers as it has no caffeine. 

WATERMELON-CUCUMBER COOLER
Both watermelon and cucumber are summer friendly fruits/vegetables with their high water content and refreshing quality. Add in a few leaves of basil for a new flavour twist. You can sweeten this with honey or drink it as it is. 

GREEN TEA-CRANBERRY COOLER
We all know that green tea is good for us. Studies indicate that it improves the metabolism and it is full of anti-oxidants that offer protection from a range of diseases. However, Indian summers can get so hot that drinking a cup of hot iced tea may not sound like fun. Here's how you can get all the benefits of green tea and make it appealing for the summers. Feel free to substitute any other juice, if you don't have cranberry juice around. 

VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE
There's regular cold coffee that we all grew up drinking, in our college canteens and then there is this Vietnamese Iced coffee, so simple and yet a tad fancy. And absolutely delicious. Once you try this, this is the only way you will want to drink coffee in the summers. Make sure you have an open can of condensed milk in your refrigerator at all times, because I guarantee you that you'll be craving for this one. 

CUCUMBER MINT LASSI
While I do love the sweet, thick lassi, that's easier to 'eat' than drink, I cannot do it without a pang of guilt for having consumed several spoons of sugar in this tall glass that Punjab is famous for. My version of the lassi may not be as delicious or decadent as the typical Punjabi lassi, but I promise it is refreshing for the hot days and quite filling too for a quick breakfast if you add some soaked oats or some soaked poha (beaten rice) to this and make a smoothie. It would have probiotic qualities too.

D is for Dosai / Dosa - Recipe and tips to make the perfect dosa

I think I made my first dosai when I was in Class 9. Typically, my grandmother would make dosais for tiffin at least 1-2 days in a week. First she would prepare hot dosais for my grandfather and me and I would make for her. I'm grateful that she let practise my dosa making skills on her. 

Watch my youtube video on tips to make the perfect dosa:

In our home, there was no special dosa batter. The same idli batter would be used for making dosai. So the day the idli batter was fermented and fresh, it would be made into idlis for the first (and sometimes the second) day. The day old batter would be used for dosai on the following day. And if the batter was still leftover after the third day, it would end up as an 'iluppuchatti dosai' - iluppuchatti being a cast iron kadai, where oil would be poured at the bottom and then the dosa batter ladled over it. This wouldn't be spread out, so the resultant dosai would be a thicker one with lots of bubbles as the batter would be more fermented, having sat around in the fridge for over 4 days. Sometimes, some extra flour would be added to the last dregs of batter and deep fried as 'bondas' - I haven't seen the leftover batter in this avatar too many times, but the few times it did happen, I remember that it was quite a delicious tiffin item. That was the life cycle of idli-dosa batter.

I remember as a kid, once on his trip from Madras to Bombay, my grandfather lugged this huge wet grinder (by train). Those days the wet grinders weighed a ton- none of the feather weight, fancy schmancy table top brands available these days. Once a week, the mornings or sometimes afternoons were dedicated to grinding idli batter so that evening tiffin and lunchboxes (if any) for most of the week were taken care of. The parboiled rice (ukhada chawal) was soaked separately. The udad dal was soaked with some fenugreek seeds. Both these would then be drained and ground separately in the wet grinder. The udad dal until it was a very fine satiny paste and the rice batter ground a little coarser. My granny would then mix both these batters along with some rock salt in a large vessel, exclusively reserved for this purpose. It would be covered with a lid and a muslin cloth and kept aside to ferment. She also had this theory that as the batter was mixed along with the salt by hand, some people's hand had a more souring effect than the others and the batter would ferment very quickly. Well, it's all wild yeast and I'm quite willing to buy that theory today.

Watch my youtube video on how to make Molaga Podi / Gunpowder

I never invested in a wet grinder for my kitchen. My kitchens in Bombay and Hyderabad were painfully compact and by the time I moved to Bangalore, I quite mastered the idli-dosa batter in the mixer, thanks to my neighbour aunty in Hyderabad who shared her secrets with me. Here I share the same recipe with you.

Recipe for Idli / Dosa batter [In the mixer]
1 cup whole udad dal (skins removed) 
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
2.5 cups idli rava 

Wash the udad dal and fenugreek seeds. Soak in plenty of water for 2 hours.
Wash the idli rava and soak till immersed in water, at least for 30 minutes.
Drain dal well and grind in the mixer until fluffy and soft, using upto 1/2 cup of water.
Squeeze out excess water from the soaked idli rava and grind to a coarse batter. No need to add water to this.
Remove both the batters into a large vessel. Mix well with your hand. Cover and keep aside for 6-10 hours until well risen / fermented. In summers it may take just 6 hours, while in winters, you may need to keep in a warm place like the oven, with the light turned on for extra warmth. These batters harness the power of naturally occurring wild yeast to rise.

Once the batter is fermented, either refrigerate it or use it immediately to make idlis / dosas.
I prefer not to add salt before fermentation. I take as much batter as is required for each batch of idlis / dosas and add the required salt just before using it. 
To get crispier dosas, you can add some rice flour to the batter and mix well before using, as this batter yields very soft idlis because of high udad dal ratio. For dosas, you may need to up the rice ratio slightly. 
If you have a wet grinder, you can increase the rice ratio to 4:1 - 4 parts parboiled rice to 1 part of udad dal. In the mixer, the rice to udad ratio is maximum 3:1.
Instead of idli rava, you can use special rice available for Idli / Dosa batter under the names, Idli rice / Dosa rice. You need to soak the rice for 4-5 hours at least and grindly fairly fine for dosa and coarser for idli, if you don't want an all purpose batter. 

Tips to get the perfect dosa

1. The consistency of the batter is important. Too thin and the dosa will tear off into pieces, too thick and it will stick like a lump in your throat while eating. Dosa batter should be a little thinner than idli batter.
2. If you are a newbie, use a non-stick pan. It's the best way to start learning the techniques.
3. Keep the batter out at least 30-45 minutes before you prepare the dosas - chilled batter on hot tava may lead to scrambled dosas.
4. Grease the tava uniformly, with very little oil, smeared well with a tissue paper so there are no blobs of oil anywhere on the tava. This may also lead to incorrect spreading of the batter, as it will just slip away from the oil.
5. The tava should be hot, but not very hot. You should be able to keep your palm a few centimetres above the hot tava without getting burnt. Extremely hot tava will again lead to scrambled dosas, the extreme heat will prevent you from spreading out a uniform dosa. 
6. Pour around 2 ladles of batter in the center and quickly start pushing it into concentric circles to get a proper, uniformly spread circle. You may now increase the heat slightly. Pour a tsp of oil all around the circumference. Once you see bubbles all around the circumference, and when you lift the dosa up slightly in one place, you see a golden brown colour, you can flip around. Pour tsp of oil around the sides and once you have a few golden spots on this side too, you can remove it on to a plate, folded in half.

I have a video coming up this month on my YouTube channel - SaffronTrail Kitchen, on all these tips above, explained on video, along with a video to make the best molagapodi at home. Stay subscribed and stay tuned!

My favourite way to eat dosai is with molagapodi and gingelly oil, another acquired taste for most people. My great grandmother used to make thicker dosais for herself, crumble the whole thing, add sugar, molagapodi, dahi and then eat the whole thing together. Trust me, this would taste so delicious that we, as kids, would finish our share of dosai and then hang around her plate to taste some of her dosai-dahi mix. 

Dosa making does take some practise. It is infinitely simpler than learning to make perfectly round chapatis though. So if the dosas crumble or don't turn out in one piece during your practise sessions, you have my great grandmother's idea to fall back on. 

This post is a part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge. 

The previous posts are 
A is for Avial
B is for Beans Paruppu Usili
C is for Chow Chow

Recipe for the perfect homemade pizza

It is very easy to make a pizza at home once you get the basics right.
What's more, you can make it healthier by:
-adding healthy ingredients to the dough such as flaxseed and some whole wheat flour
-keep the crust as thin as you like to reduce the carbs
-add as little cheese as you want

This is one of the items we make in my Breaking Bread workshop and believe me when I tell you, if I don't take a picture in the first few seconds, it's all GONE. That's only because, it turns out so good. I'm sharing the exact same recipe with you, so you can try it at home and you have some of my youtube videos to help you with the steps.

Bubbly active yeast ready to use

My TOP 5 TIPS for a perfect pizza

1. Make sure your yeast is bubbly and active. I use the instant yeast Gloripan, available on online gourmet stores like Zansaar and some others. Learn how to activate yeast properly by watching my video.
2. Make sure the dough is doubled in volume.
3. Don't make the spread out dough soggy by pouring too much sauce. Use a thin layer.
4. Cheese goes first, then the toppings.
5. Don't go overboard with toppings. Less is more. Too many toppings make the pizza thicker and the base won't get cooked properly.

Photo courtesy my Bread workshop student-Harsha P (used with permission)

Recipe:

For pizza base 

Makes 3 medium pizzas (medium thickness crust) or one large rectangle

Ingredients

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp instant (or active dry) yeast or 2 1/2 tsp fresh yeast, crumbled

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp flaxseed powder (grind flaxseeds to a coarse powder in the chutney jar of the mixer)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp olive oil

For pizza sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced

1 small onion, very finely chopped

200 g tomato puree (tetrapack is fine)

Pinch of chilli powder or flakes

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped or use 2 tsp of dried herbs

1 tsp sugar 

1/2 tsp salt

You also need-
Toppings of choice
Mozzarella (I've found Milky Mist Mozzarella to be nice and melty. Britannia pizza cheese called Cheeza is also good)

For base:

In a large bowl, mix the water, sugar and yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 mins until frothy. This means that the yeast is active. Add the flours, flaxseed, milk, salt and knead until it comes together. Add the olive oil and knead till the dough is smooth (around 5 minutes). Cover and keep aside until doubled in volume. This could take 30 mins-1 hour depending on the weather.

Divide into 3 or 4 balls and keep aside. If you are making one large rectangle, as shown in the picture, then no need to divide into 3 portions.

Saffron Trail Kitchen -Video: How to activate yeast | Video: How to make pizza dough

For sauce:

Heat the oil, saute the garlic and onions until soft (around 3-5 mins), do not brown the onions. Add all remaining ingredients, and simmer for 3-4 minutes along with fresh basil leaves. Remove into a bowl and keep aside. You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate in air tight container. Let this cool to room temperature before spreading on the dough

Keep the toppings of your choice and mozzarella cheese ready.

To make pizza:

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Grease a large square of tin foil with olive oil. Place the ball of dough and with fingers stretch it out by pressing, into 7-8" diameter circle. Smear with oil and allow this to rest for 5 minutes. Spread the pizza sauce (2 tbsp) evenly over this. Top with cheese (sliced or grated) and then scatter toppings of your choice (olives, jalapenos, bell pepper, onions etc.) -don't overload pizza with toppings or it wont bake through. Bake for 25 minutes at 180°C until you see the edges are golden brown.

Cut into pieces and eat immediately.

Khamang Kakdi : The best cucumber salad ever

Watch a video of me making Khamang Kakdi 

I'm a Bombay girl, born, brought up and spent all my years in that city. In fact, my maternal family has been in Bombay for three generations before me, so our attachment to that cuty is deep rooted.

I've been out of my home city for some 4 years now and while I surely don't miss the burgeoning crowds, the crazy way my heart would stay in my mouth until I boarded that local train and got inside the compartment or the fear of a bike running over my feet the second I stepped out of my building, I do miss the other things about the city. The beautiful open air markets is surely one of them. And the other is the food. Vile Parle, where I spent my last 4 years in Bombay was a veritable Mecca of street food and  it's generally amazing how that city has something for everybody. 

Now, Maharashtrian cuisine, is quite different from the Bombay street food. It is divided into several regions such as coastal, Kolhapuri, Puneri etc. While i'm not the best person to be talking about all the regional variations, I can tell you what my top favourites are - there's Kanda Pohe (Onion Poha) which with chai is the best breakfast I can think of. There's Misal Pav which is that perfect 4 pm snack, where you get a small deep dish filled with spicy peas with a little gravy, that's perfectly mopped up by a piece of bread (pav). Also, the Maharashtrian style of making rotis, or Tel PoLi as it is called, is simply a most amazingly soft, muslin handkerchief like Indian bread, made of whole wheat flour. I was quite thrilled to hear about a Maharashtrian home style restaurant opening near my place and I'm happy to report that their 'poLi' hits the spot. You could eat 3 of them and still feel there's space for more.

All that said, the ultimate delicious thing in Marathi cuisine for me, is this simple cucumber salad called 'Khamang Kakdi'. I tried this for the first time in the Marathi restaurant 'Diva Maharashtracha' in Mahim (Bombay) and fell head over heels in love with its taste & texture. While cucumber is a fairly palatable veggie as it is, in it's raw form, adding some condiments, some herbs and some spices to this, gives it a whole new personality. It goes as the perfect side dish to your regular roti and subzi. Try it and you'll not settle for any other random cucumber salad. I'm sure there are various ways to make this and many recipes, but this is how I make it.

Recipe for Khamang Kakdi (Maharashrian / Indian cucumber salad)

Serves 4

Time taken - Under 15 mins

Ingredients

2 large cucumbers, peeled and diced

1 tbsp freshly scraped coconut

2 tsp peanut oil or any other cooking oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

2 green chillies, finely sliced

pinch of asafoetida powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp chopped coriander

juice of 1/2 lemon or 2 tbsp yogurt (optional)

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely pound

Directions

In a big bowl, place the diced cucumber and coconut.

Heat the oil in a small pan. Temper the mustard and cumin seeds, curry leaves, chillies and add the asafoetida towards the end, just after you switch off the flame. Transfer this tempering over the cucumbers.

Add the salt, coriander and toss well, adding the lemon or yogurt if using.

Serve immediately or refrigerate, adding the peanuts and tossing well just before serving, so that they remain crunchy.

Serve with poLi/roti and vegetable curry or eat as it is as a snack time salad.