Soni's Food

Indian Inspiration!

Healthy Banana Muffins

28 | 01 | 2013
By Soni Sinha

banana muffins3

Muffins are a great way to enjoy an easy breakfast or a snack!And if you like them really simple, soft and super  moist, then look no further, since I’ve got for you the most delicious basic muffin recipe that will not disappoint!I’ve made this recipe so many times with my 4 year old who loves to mash up the bananas while I get the other stuff ready 🙂

banana muffins

I found a basic muffin recipe in ‘Taste Of Home’ magazine and made some changes to make it more healthier and it couldn’t have been better :)The use of wholewheat flour and brown sugar makes these the ideal nutrition packed breakfast or snack for kids and adults.The bananas add that extra moistness and incredible flavor to these beauties.Needless to say,they’ve become a staple in our house!.Healthy, wholesome and guilt free 🙂

banana muffins1

 

Healthy Banana Muffins-Makes 12

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • Ripe Bananas-3 medium sized peeled
  • Whole Wheat Flour-1 cup
  • All Purpose Flour-1/2 cup
  • Baking Soda-1 tsp
  • Brown Sugar-1/2 cup
  • White Sugar-1/4 cup
  • Salt-1/8 tsp
  • Large Egg-1
  • Vegetable Oil-1/3 cup
  • Vanilla extract-1 tsp

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • In a deep mixing bowl mash up the bananas.
  • Add the egg,vegetable oil and vanilla.Mix together.
  • In a separate bowl or plate mix the flours,sugar, salt and baking soda.
  • Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix gently with a wooden spoon until well combined.Do not overmix.
  • Transfer into a greased muffin tin and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean.
  • Once done,transfer on a cooling rack to cool.
  • Enjoy!

Taking this opportunity to thank my friend Aparna from Not a Leaf  for nominating me for  the ‘Leibster Award’!!Please stop-by her blog for some inspiring Vegetarian recipes with beautiful photos that you’re going to love!

 

 

 

 

Quinoa Potato Cakes (Quinoa Aloo Tikkis)

16 | 01 | 2013
By Soni Sinha

Quinoa is one of my most favorite grains to cook with these days.I love the fact that it can be cooked on its own or combined with other products to create a variety of dishes!My recipe today is an Appetizer/Snack or even Breakfast combining Quinoa and Potatoes.If you’re familiar with Indian Foods you must have heard of Aloo Tikkis that are these yummy potato cakes made with Indian Spices!If you’ve been to Delhi,you must have come across lots of street stalls selling Aloo Tikkis,Chaats,Chole, Pani Puri to name a few, cooked right in front of your eyes!The Street foods in India are to die for and just writing about them makes my mouth water 🙂 In an attempt to quench my insatiable appetite for Delhi Street Foods, I came up with this recipe that’s both healthy and delicious!!

quinoa tikkis:patties

The process involves boiling the potatoes and cooking the Quinoa.Once they’re cooked I mix them with some Indian Spices readily available at your grocery stores and pan fry the ready patties with a little oil until they’re all nice and golden!If you’re looking for a great Quinoa recipe that’s a tad different from the usual but packed with flavor, then this is for you.It tastes just like a Aloo Tikki, but is healthier and has a nice texture!

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Quinoa Potato Cakes (Quinoa Aloo Tikkis)

Healthy and Delicious Quinoa Potato Cakes/Tikkis for a great Appetizer, snack or breakfast!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • Quinoa Cooked-1 cup
  • Potatoes large-2 boiled (1 1/2 cups apprx)
  • Fresh Crushed Ginger-1/2 inch
  • Ground Cumin-1 1/2 tsp
  • Garam Masala-1 tsp
  • Fresh Coriander-1/2 cup
  • Jalapeños green chillies-2 chopped
  • Salt- to taste
  • Oil-to pan fry

Instructions
 

  • Cook the Quinoa according to the instructions.
  • Boil the potatoes until tender.Drain and allow to cool and mash.
  • In a deep bottomed vessel, add the Quinoa, mashed potatoes,ginger, cumin, garam masala,japalenos,coriander and salt.Check the seasonings.
  • Made round patties with the mixture.
  • In a skillet heat about 2 tbsp of oil on medium heat and place the patties.Let it develop a golden color on one side before flipping over and repeat the process for the other side as well.
  • Arrange on a platter with some salad of your choice and some sauce or chutney!
quinoa aloo tikkis4

Sweet Potato Parathas (Pan Fried Indian Flat Bread)

05 | 01 | 2013
By Soni Sinha

Hope you all had a lovely break last week!After all that partying and late nights its back to routine, back to eating healthy!My recipe today involves my favorite Sweet Potatoes but in a Paratha or Indian Flat Bread.For those of you who don’t know what a Paratha is, its a staple bread in most North Indian households enjoyed mainly at breakfast or dinner.It can be triangular,circular or square shaped and its pan fried with some ghee or oil until slightly golden on both sides.You can see my post here on how to make a basic Paratha.I’ve grown up having Parathas for breakfast every morning with a side of a dry vegetable dish usually Potatoes or Cauliflower and some Chutney.Quite the opposite of my lifestyle  now, where breakfast consists of Oats most of the time!I do love my Oats too though 🙂

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I had some cooked Sweet Potato sitting in my fridge and this seemed like the perfect way to use them!As a parent you’re constantly looking to sneak in some veggies into your kids’ diet and this is a healthy, wholesome meal that fills them and provides much needed  energy and nutrition to their growing bodies.The addition of the ground cumin is magical in these and adds so much flavor.All you need to serve with is a simple raita (Yoghurt with some salt and chili powder) for a complete meal.I could just eat them on their own all day 🙂

 

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Sweet Potato Parathas (Pan Fried Indian Flat Bread)

A healthy Indian Pan Fried Bread using Whole Wheat Flour and Sweet Potatoes!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients
  

  • Whole Wheat Flour-2 cups
  • Sweet Potato cooked-1 cup mashed
  • Salt-1 tsp
  • Vegetable Oil-1 tbsp
  • Ground Cumin-1 1/2 tsp
  • Water-1/4 cup or more if required
  • Oil-1/4 cup to pan fry

Instructions
 

Sweet Potato

  • You can either cook the sweet potatoes in the oven at 350 for 50 mins,or boil them until tender.Once cooked and cooled, peel and mash it up until all soft and creamy.Keep aside.

For the Dough

  • Take the flour in a deep vessel or bowl.
  • Make a hole in the center and fill it with 1/4 cup of water.
  • Add the mashed sweet potato,cumin,salt and oil and start kneading with your hands.
  • Add more water if its too dry, until it starts coming together and forms a dough.The dough should not be too wet or too dry.It should be soft to touch.Once done cover it with a cling film and refrigerate for about 30 mins.

For the Parathas

  • Flour your surface.
  • Take a small amount of the dough in your palms and shape into a ball.Flour it on both sides, flatten it a bit and start rolling it on the surface to get a circular shape.Keep flouring your surface every now and then to avoid the dough sticking.
  • The paratha is ready to go into the tava or pan.Heat the pan to medium high and place the paratha.
  • Using a teaspoon take about 1 tsp of oil and spread all over the side that’s up first and flip it over.It should now puff up.Oil the other side in similar manner and just cook until you get nice golden spots telling you that its cooked.Press it all over with a spatula so that its cooked evenly.
  • Your paratha is ready!Serve hot with Raita or a vegetable/meat dish.

 

Monster Pumpkin Pancakes

29 | 10 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

Today is all about monsters.Monsters that are not scary but kind of funny :)My four year old is not a big fan of scary things, unlike my nine year old who LOVES anything and everything SCARY!!This Monster is super easy to make and you can ask your kids to come up their own versions.My son made this one by using decorative candy strings for the mouth and hair.Its an easy Halloween recipe idea for little kids without being too scary :)My kids were super excited to eat these for breakfast this morning 🙂

 

Monster Pumpkin Pancakes

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • All Purpose Flour-1 1/4 Cups
  • Sugar-2 Tablespoon

 

 

 

Vanilla Olive Oil Muffins

25 | 03 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

My kids love to help me whenever I’m in my kitchen baking.This time round my four year old was very excited to be my helper.While I was getting the ingredients ready he had taken out a large bowl and the whisk on the table ready for mixing!!Of late I’ve been coming across a lot of cake and muffin recipes with Olive Oil which cuts off the fat content by a lot.
Vanilla Olive Oil Muffins
Olive Oil muffins sounded so good, but unfortunately I’d never tasted them and was always intrigued every time I saw the recipes posted by my baker friends.So I decided to try making these muffins and figure out myself!My son loves vanilla hence, Vanilla Muffins it had to be!

Vanilla Olive Oil Muffins 1

Oh my, what a delicious, moist treat this was? I have to tell you that these are now my absolute favorites and thanks to all my baker friends out there, I was inspired to bake with Olive Oil.You can clearly taste the Olive Oil in every bite.The yoghurt make it super moist and so good!My son enjoyed it too and was very proud that it was his creation 🙂 My daughter enjoyed it for her school snack the following day!Hubby who is very finicky when it comes to desserts also liked it!That tells it all I guess 🙂

Adapted from The Foodies’ Kitchen
Makes 12 muffins

Vanilla Olive Oil Muffins

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¾ cup All purpose Flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 ¼ tsp Baking Powder
  • ¼ tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • ½ cup Olive Oil
  • ¼ cup Plain Yoghurt
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Egg White
  • 1 ½ tsp Vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Line standard muffin pan with paper liners.
  • Sift together Flour,Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt.
  • In a mixing bowl mix the Oil,Yoghurt, Milk,Egg, Egg White and Vanilla Extract.
  • Mix well and add the dry ingredients and just mix until combined.
  • Take an ice cream scoop and divide between 12 muffin cups.
  • Bake on the center rack in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until slightly golden.
  • Enjoy!