Dulce de leche brownies

Remember the dulce de leche I made in this post??? While eating spoonfuls of it, I've also been thinking of other ways in which to use it up. That is when I saw this eggless brownie recipe of Divya's. I decided to make it with one major change.....a whole cup of dulce de leche went into my brownie.....and I must say this is one of the best brownies I have ever made. It turned out soft, chewy and just right.....even a non-chocoholic like me cannot stop eating it.

What you need:
Maida/all purpose flour - 1 cup
Fresh curd - 1 cup
Milk - a ladleful (if needed)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Dulce de leche - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1.5 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Cashew - a handful

Take curd in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, baking powder and baking soda to it. Let it bubble for a minute or two. Now add vanilla essence and oil to this. Mix well. Slowly stir in the maida and cocoa powder little by little to make a smooth, lumpless batter. Add the dulce de leche and mix well, breaking lumps if any with the back of a spoon. If you find that the mix is too thick, add milk. I had to add a ladleful of milk at this point. Stir in the cashew nuts.
Bake at 200 degree centigrade for 10 minutes....then reduce the temperature to 150 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes or till done.
Grease a square Let the brownies cool completely.
Slice and dig in.

This goes to Divya who is hosting the Best Brownie event to celebrate her third blog anniversary.

Eggless almond cookies for Sweet Punch

This month's A Sweet Punch features eggless almond cookies The recipe has been chosen by Ria and is from Manjula's kitchen.
The recipe is very simple and the cookies turned out to be melt in the mouth good. It is really hard to stop eating these cookies. Though the original recipe says that you will get around 24 cookies, I got only 17 medium sized ones.

What you need:
Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Almonds - sliced, 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Butter - 100 gms softened to room temperature
Milk - 1 tbsp (if needed)
Cardamom powder - 3/4 tsp

Take all the ingredient except butter and milk in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and knead well to a smooth dough. If needed, add some milk to make a soft dough. Pinch out medium sized balls of dough, shape it into a circle and flatten slightly between your palms.
Bake at 175 degrees for 18 minutes or until the bottom turns golden brown. Let it cool for 2 minutes in the pan and then remove on to a cooling rack.
Store in an air tight container.









Check out the bloggers doing the Blogging Marathon, along with me..30 Minutes Meals:Priya Mahadavan, Pavani,Seven Days of Salad: lla, Divya Vikram,For Ongoing 7 Events: Priya Suresh, Suma Gandlur,Harini,Kids Friendly: Vatsala, Jay,Kamalika

Isthu (Potato stew)

I am strongly of the opinion that the English stew is an offshoot of the Malayali Ishtu. With carbs and the great taste of potatoes, the sweetness of coconut milk and the aroma of ginger in it, this is something that my daughter enjoys a lot.

What you need:
Potato - 3 large, cooked, peeled and mashed well
Coconut milk - extracted thrice from 1/2 a coconut (See note)
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Green chilli - 2 or 3
Coconut oil - 2 tsp
Salt

Heat oil in a pan. Grind the ginger and green chillies to a coarse paste. Fry this paste in the oil until aromatic. Add the mashed potatoes, salt and the third extract of coconut milk. Let this boil for a few minutes on a low flame. Add the second extract and boil again for 2-3 minutes. Add the first extract, stir well and switch off heat. Garnish with fresh curry leaves.
This tastes great with rice, aapam or idiyappam.
Note :
To extract coconut milk - Take the grated coconut in a blender. Add a cup of water and blend for a minute. Strain to remove the liquid. This extract is thick and is called the first extract. Take the solids that are left behind after straining and repeat the process to get second and third extracts.





Check out the bloggers doing the Blogging Marathon, along with me..30 Minutes Meals:Priya Mahadavan, Pavani,Seven Days of Salad: lla, Divya Vikram,For Ongoing 7 Events: Priya Suresh, Suma Gandlur,Harini,Kids Friendly: Vatsala, Jay,Kamalika

Kaya tholi upperi (Plantain peel stir fry)

There are two things that no true blue Mallu will waste - coconut and plantain. Every single part of these two plants and fruits is put to good use. While most people use plantains and throw away the peels, we use the peels to make this simple yet tasty stir fry. Even kids who run away at the mention of veggies will love this for its taste and non-spiciness.

What you need:
Plantain peels - as many as required
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Freshly scraped coconut - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Split urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Wash the plantain peels well. Discard the top and the tail end of the peels and discolored parts, if any. Chop the peels into tiny pieces. Cook in the pressure cooker or microwave for 8 minutes or until well cooked.
Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds and urad dal. When the seeds pop, add the cooked peels, turmeric powder and salt. Stir well. Add the scraped coconut. Mix well and remove from heat.

Check out the bloggers doing the Blogging Marathon, along with me..30 Minutes Meals:Priya Mahadavan, Pavani,Seven Days of Salad: lla, Divya Vikram,For Ongoing 7 Events: Priya Suresh, Suma Gandlur,Harini,Kids Friendly: Vatsala, Jay,Kamalika

Watermelon popsicles for Blogging Marathon 3

This is the third marathon that I am participating in since the beginning of this year. Though it is a lot of work and quite hectic at times, I have found that I enjoy doing this. This marathon, like the previous two, is the brainchild of Srivalli. I have chosen to feature kid friendly recipes on all seven days of this marathon. The first one that I have for you is an easy to make watermelon popsicle.

Most kids, if not all, love icecreams.....and most parents worry about letting them eat too many for various reasons ranging from they will catch a cold to high sugar content. The good thing about making this at home is that you control what goes into it, you use as little or as much sugar as you want to and there is nothing but pure fruit extract in it. Here's how you make it.

What you need:
Popsicle molds (see notes)
Watermelon - a large chunk, skinned and deseeded
Sugar - to taste
Curd - 1 tbsp

Chop the watermelon into several big pieces. Puree it along with the sugar and curd in a blender. Pour this into the popsicle molds and freeze for 6 to 8 hours or till it is well set.
While serving, run some warm water over the molds and slowly ease the popsicles out. I made six popsicles and my daughter and all her friends enjoyed them immensely.

Notes:
For those of you in Chennai, popsicle molds are available in the plastics section at Big Bazaar.
Any fruit can be used in place of watermelon.
I did not strain the juice and poured it as it was into the molds. You may strain it if you choose to do so.

Do take a look at what my fellow marathoners are cooking....DivyaVikram,Harini,
Kamalika ,
lla,
Padma Rekha,
Pavani,
Priya Mahadavan,
Priya Suresh,
Suma Gandlur,
Vatsala,
Veena Krishnakumar and
Priya Vaasu
This is my entry to Srivalli's Kids Delight - Restaurant Recreation hosted by Champa.