Mango milk shake - a simple summer cooler

It is that time of the year again. Holidays!!! The kid is at home, feeling hungry at all hours. Not only does she feel hungry and thirsty for 'specific' things - as in, I am thirsty for Coke, I am hungry for noodles........but she also wants variety in her food. Gone are the days when I could mash up pretty much any combination of edible stuff and coax her into eating it.
This mango milk shake with splashes of colour from mango and tutti fruity is visually appealing, not to mention easy to make.

What you need:
Mango - 1, peeled, and chopped (Finely chop and set aside about 4-5 tbsp of mango)
Millk - 2 cups, chilled
Sugar - 2 tsp (adjust depending on sweetness of mango)
Tutti fruity - a few spoonfuls

Puree the mango and sugar in a blender. Add the chilled milk and blend again until frothy. Pour into a glass. Top with some chopped mango and tutti fruity. Serve chilled.

Colourful cupcakes

Ever since I first saw a rainbow cake, it has fascinated me. I love not only the vivid array of bright colours in the cake, but also the name itself. I recently tried making these at home with the few colours I had on hand and in cupcake form.
 
What you need: (Recipe source :Seduce your tastebuds)
All purpose flour - 1.5 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Thick curd - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
 Oil - 1/2 cup
Food colour - a few drops of each colour you wish to use

In a bowl, whisk the curd and sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Add the baking powder and baking soda to this. When the mixture starts to bubble, add oil and vanilla essence. Mix well. Stir in the flour little by little, mixing well after each addition.
Divide into as many parts as the colours you intend to use. I used pink, green and then a mixture of red and green together which gave me a dark olive-green-ish colour. I also kept one part of the batter plain. Mix the colour into the batter until well mixed.
Line your muffin pan with cupcake liners. Pour half a spoon of each coloured batter into the liners, one on top of the other. Don't worry about spreading the batter evenly. It will settle into beautiful coloured patterns by itself.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees celsius for 12-15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cupcake comes out clean.
This is my post for the Blogging Marathon under the theme Kids' Delight - Oven baked snacks.
Enjoy plain or with some whipped cream piped on top of it.

This post goes to PJ who is hosting Valli's Kid's Delight themed on Baked Treats.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 37

Watermelon shake

This is a very, very easy to make dessert/snack. Kids are sure to love this....and so will the kid in you.
There's no real recipe as such....but I just thought I'd post this here because every time I have made this, the little girl has finished it off without me having to ask her to a zillion times in an increasingly louder and frustrated voice. Her friends too love this and usually ask for second helpings.
Without further ado, here's how you make it.

Grate watermelon....remove the seeds. Chill this until it is almost frozen, but not yet solid. Add Milkmaid (or any brand of sweetened condensed milk). If you have a shaker, transfer this to the shaker and shake well until mixed. If not, just stir it really well with a spoon and serve topped with some watermelon slices and a dollop of condensed milk.

Despite having made this several times, I haven't managed to click a pic of this, as it disappears almost as soon as it is ready. Next time, maybe I'll make it when she's at school and then update this post with a pic.

I am sending this to Valli who is hosting Colouring your kids' delight.

Veggie puris, anybody???

All mothers are necessarily inventors. Right from the time a child is born, we take on a new avatar. We invent new ways to put them to sleep, new ways to sleep while they sleep without waking them up(i tell you i can write a book on that), new stories to keep them engrossed, silly songs to make them laugh, devious err...clever methods to sneak those veggies in. One such invention is what I am going to talk about today.
A few days back, I thought of making puris for dinner. The little girl (to see what she is up to, click here) loves puris....and we don't have to go through our usual cycle of threats and tears if puris are on the menu, but she doesn't like eating any side dish with the puri. I started off by taking some atta for the dough and then thought, hey, why not add some ragi to this? And while I was kneading together the ragi and atta, I had another Eureka moment. I decided to add some cooked, pureed carrots and some mashed potatoes to the dough. A little salt, some kashmiri chilli powder and there.....I had a complete guilt-free and tasty meal which the little girl and her friend enjoyed.

What you need:
Ragi flour - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 1 cup
Salt
Red chilli powder (I used kashmiri chilli powder)
Carrot - 3 medium sized, cooked and pureed
Potato - 1 large, cooked, peeled and mashed well
Oil - for deep frying

Mix all the ingredients well. Add water if needed and knead to a smooth, pliable dough. Divide the dough into lemon sized balls. Roll into small, thick, circles and deep fry in hot oil until lightly browned on both sides.
I served this with a simple, tangy tomato chutney. To make this chutney, heat a few spoons of oil in a pan. Chop up some onions and tomatoes into large pieces. Fry some red chillies and then the chopped onions in the oil. When the onions starts to brown, add the tomatoes and fry till mushy. Let it cool. Add some salt and grind till smooth.

This is my entry to JFI-Ragi hosted by Madhuram, Creative Food for Kids hosted at Sara's Corner, and Kid's Delight event hosted by Srivalli.

Vella payaru

There are some dishes that I associate with my childhood. Eating the dish, or even the aromas that waft out of the kitchen while it is being made take me back to another time and place. Vella payaru (black eyed beans or karamani cooked with jaggery) is one such dish. This often made an appearance whenever we were hungry and wanted something in the evenings and during navaratri. Children usually love this because it is sweet (my daughter is an exception) and filling.

What you need:
Black eyed beans - 1 cup (There are two kinds of black eyed beans - white and reddish brown. I prefer the red one and that's what I've used)
Jaggery - 1/3 cup
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Cardamom - 4 or 5 pods, coarsely crushed

Soak the beans in plenty of water for 2 hours. Pressure cook until two whistles or until it is cooked through but not mushy. Drain off excess water.
Take the jaggery in a pan. Add a little bit of water to it and heat until the jaggery melts completely. Stir in the cooked beans and heat for a minute or two until all the moisture evaporates. Switch off the heat and mix in the grated coconut and crushed cardamom. Stir well. Serve hot or cold.

This goes to Madhavi who is hosting the Childrens Day edition of the Festive Foods event.
It is also my second entry to the 5th helping of MLLA hosted by Simona and begun by Susan.
A helping of this is also being sent to Aparna's birthday party.