Coffee Orange Muffins (Whole wheat)

Banana chocolate muffins are the most favorite in my household and is a mandatory preparation every weekend to prepare and stock for the week to be eaten as tea time snack. This time I was in an experiment mode and wanted to try a different flavor. But hubby wanted to keep the chocolate flavor intact. So made these coffee orange muffins using whole wheat flour. They turned out to be yummy and was a good change for our tea time!

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 1 cup
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Cocoa powder: 1 heaped tbsp.
Coffee: 1 heaped tbsp.
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp.
Orange juice from 2 large oranges
Eggs: 2
Oil: 1/4 cup
Yogurt: 2 tsp.
Orange essence: 1 tsp.

1. Pre-heat the oven at 200 C for about 20 minutes while you prepare the mix. 
2. Begin by sieving the whole wheat flour in a big mixing bowl. Sieve in cocoa powder, coffee and the baking soda. 
3. Mix everything slowly but really well so that there are no lumps remaining. Keep aside. 
4. In another big mixing bowl, add the sugar. Break the eggs in the bowl and beat it well. Do not over mix. I used a hand whisk. 
5. Now add the orange juice and mix well.  
6. Add the oil, yogurt and the orange essence. Mix everything nicely with the help of whisk. You can also use the electric mixer. 
7. Slowly begin to add the flour mix to this mix. Add a little at a time and keep on mixing but remember not to over mix. Just mix it until you see no lumps. The mix should be little flowy and not dense. 
8. Spray the muffin molds (I used paper molds) with very little oil. Fill in the mixture in all the molds up to half. 
9. Bake for 30 minutes at 200 C. Then do the toothpick test. Insert a toothpick in the middle of the muffin, it should not have the batter stuck to it, it should come out clean with little crumbles. If not done, bake for a little more time until the toothpick comes out clean. 
10. Remove and serve warm with tea. Let cool completely and it can be stored for up to a week in the refrigerator in air tight container. Enjoy! 

You might also like Whole wheat banana chocolate muffins. 

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Spinach Egg Curry

Ingredients:

Cooking oil: 2 tsp.
Boiled eggs: 4 (How to make perfect hard-boiled eggs)
Spinach: 500 gm
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Onion (chopped finely)
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Coconut milk: 1 cup
Tomato (finely chopped): 2
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Mango powder: 1 tsp.
Black pepper: 1/2 tsp.

1. Blanch the spinach and grind to a puree and keep aside.
2. Heat oil and add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and let them splutter. 
3. Add the chopped onion and fry until it's transparent. 
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and let cook until the raw smell goes away. 
5. Add the coconut milk and mix well. Let cook for about 5 minutes. 
6. After 5 minutes, add the tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
7. Add the dry spices: red chili powder, mango powder and garam masala. Mix everything, cover and let cook for another 5 minutes. 
8. Remove the cover and add the spinach puree. Mix well. We don't need to cook more at this stage as the spinach is already cooked in the process of blanching. 
9. Add the boiled eggs (whole or halved) and turn off the flame. Sprinkle black pepper and serve hot! 

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Rainbow walking for kids

We have chosen the topic "Rainbow" for our project this term in our pre-school class and that itself makes me happy: as it means a lot of colors and more colors and colorful activities all term round!
In the last days of summer, on a warm and sunny day, we decided to do this outdoor activity of rainbow walking with our kids.

Talking about the colors of rainbow was really nice, specially the kids were really interested in *Indigo* color as they had never before used it in any painting. We talked about what colors do rainbow has, and I got varied replies from brown, black to white, pink etc. and of course the colors actually in a rainbow like purple, green, red blue. It's even a great activity to talk about colors, and talk about number of colors with the pre-schoolers as they think it's fun to talk about so many colors; and it makes it more interesting as everyone had different answers.

This is how I carried out this super-fun rainbow walking activity:

1. I put out liquid paint of all the seven colors of the rainbow in dishes big enough for them to put their feet in. I first made indigo color by mixing blue and violet, and made orange color by mixing red and yellow. The children were pretty excited to make new colors as well. 
2. After that I poured out violet, blue, green, yellow and red in all different dishes. 
3. I took four large sheets of paper and taped them together and fixed the sheet on the outdoor floor with the help of clear tape so that it holds in place while children walk over and no accidents happen.  
4. Then I prepared how the children can wash their feet: I just took a bucket half filled with water and a towel so that they could wash their feet and dry themselves before putting on their shoes back. 
5. Then they dipped their feet in their favorite color and walked over the big sheet from one side to another. 
6. It was so wonderful to see the whole paper getting filled with rainbow colored footprints. Also overlapping colors made it even more attractive. 
7. The children loved doing this activity. This is a really good activity to learn about math and colors, develop the body coordination, and developing gross motor skills and balancing. 

Beetroot Soup

Fall has officially begun and the days have started to get cold. As we feel the little chill in the air, we do crave something warm, soothing and yummy which is filling as well. So this is the first soup I prepared to welcome the season of fall. I made this soup in my soup maker, wherein I just dump everything and get yummy, creamy soup in just 20 minutes. But this can also be prepared traditionally on a stove top.

Ingredients:

Beetroot: 2
Tomatoes: 4
Carrots: 2
Parsley leaves: a bunch or according to taste
Ginger: 1 inch
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Soup Spice Mix (Soup masala) : to taste

1. Wash and chop the beetroot, tomatoes, carrots, ginger and parsley nicely. Save some of the parsley for garnish. 
2. Add little water and grind all the vegetables to a coarse paste. 
3. Transfer this paste to a big boiling pot and add 4 cups of water. Add the salt and the soup spice mix and mix everything well. 
4. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the soup reaches the desired consistency. 
5. Add to the serving bowl, garnish with fresh parsley, sprinkle black pepper and serve hot! Enjoy. 

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Winter care face pack

The summer is past and the cold days of winter will soon be knocking our doors. The weather outside is going to be unsightly, but your skin doesn't have to be! Rough, dry skin is often a result of the harsh winter against our skin, which is often very itchy and uncomfortable. Along with drinking lots of fluids in the cold weather, here's a winter skin care face pack to prevent rough and dry skin and keep it smooth and glowing throughout the winters!

Ingredients:

Daliya (oatmeal): 1 cup
Rice (basmati or any other): 1 cup
Besan (chickpea flour): 1/2 cup
Coffee powder: 1 heaped tbsp.
Cocoa powder: 1 heaped tbsp.
Mint powder: 2 tsp.
Desiccated coconut: 2 tsp.
Almonds: a handful (8-10)
Dried apple: 1
Dried rose petals (or any other flower, I used tulip)
Dried orange peels (according to preference)
Iced tea (lemon flavored): 1 tsp. (optional)
Saffron: 1/2 tsp.

1. Lightly toast the almonds and remove from the flame. Let cool. 
2. Add the oatmeal, rice, desiccated coconut, almonds, saffron, dried apples and dried orange peels to the mixer and grind it to a smooth powder. 
3. Transfer contents to a big bowl and one by one add and stir in chickpea flour, coffee powder, cocoa powder, mint powder, iced tea a crushed flower petals. 
4. Mix everything completely using your hands. This whole pack should be dried and no drop of water or moisture should be added. Transfer contents to an airtight box and store on room temperature. Use everyday. 
   
5. Instructions to use: Mix one tbsp. face pack to 1 tsp. yogurt and mix well. You can also add few drops of rose water. Apply on face and neck and let dry. Wash off with lukewarm water, don't use very hot water as it can make the skin further dry. Pat dry with a towel. 

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Saffron Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken: 600 gm
Saffron: 1/2 tsp.
Cream: 1/2 cup
Cooking oil: 4 tsp.
Onions: 2 large
Ginger-garlic paste: 4 tsp.
Coriander seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Nigella seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Dried red chilli: 2
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp.
Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp.
Tomato (chopped): 2
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Yogurt: 1/2 cup
Green cardamom: 2
Lemon juice: 3 tsp.
Coriander leaves for garnish

1. Wash and clean the chicken and marinate it with the cream and a pinch of saffron and leave for 3-4 hours. 
   
2. Heat oil in a pan and crackle the coriander seeds and nigella seeds. Add the dried red chili. 
3. Make a smooth paste of onions and add to the pan. Fry until the raw smell disappears and it starts leaving oil on the sides. 
   
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and mix well. Let cook for another 2-3 minutes. 
5. Sprinkle a bit of water. Mix and stir well. Sprinkle little water again after 2 minutes and stir well. Let cook. Repeat this process 7-8 times, keep sprinkling little water and stirring and leaving for about a minute each time. This will make the onion paste creamy without being watery. 
6. Now add the marinated chicken, stir well and fry in the masala. Add the dry spices: salt, red chili powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Mix everything well and fry for about 5-7 minutes. 
   
7. Grind the tomatoes in a paste and add the ground tomatoes at this stage. Add the garam masala. Mix well and let cook for about 8-10 minutes until everything is incorporated in the masala and it starts leaving oil on the sides. 
   
8. Add the yogurt, mix well and cover. Let cook for another 5 minutes. 
9. Remove cover and mix well. Add 2 pinches of saffron and powdered green cardamom. Mix well. Let cook for another 5 minutes and turn of the flame. 
10. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken curry, top with the remaining saffron and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot! 

Pao Bhaji in Slow Cooker

I belong to Jaipur and Pao-Bhaji at roadside stalls at Pandit Pao Bhaji has always been my favorite snack all my life. I have always missed the Pandit pao bhaji and have prepared the same many times. But this particular time, as I was exploring the many benefits of my slow cooker, I thought to give a try to prepare the bhaji in the slow cooker; and trust me, I have never been able to prepare a richer, creamier and yummiest pao bhaji before on my stove top.

So here's the step by step method that I followed to achieve the yummiest ever pao bhaji!

Ingredients:

Cooking oil: 4 tsp.
Onion (chopped): 1 big
Vegetables of choice (I used cabbage, capsicum and carrots)
Boiled potatoes: 4
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Cumin powder: 1 tsp.
Coriander powder: 1 tsp.
Mango powder: 1 tsp.
Tomatoes (roughly chopped): 2
Peas: 1 cup (I used frozen peas)
Pao Bhaji masala: 2 tbsp.
Butter to add over the bhaji

1. Add the cooking oil to the slow cooker and add the onions. Turn on the slow cooker on low and let the onions get warm for a while. 
   
2. Add the chopped and diced vegetables next: cabbage, capsicum and carrots. You can use other vegetables as well. 
   
3. Next, add the boiled and roughly chopped potatoes. 
   
4. Add the dry spices: salt, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and mango powder. 
   
5. Add the tomatoes. 
   
6. Add the peas and the pao bhaji masala. 
   
7. Try and stir all of it together. Add a cup of water. 
   
8. Cover and leave overnight. 
9. In the morning, turn off the slow cooker, remove the lid and add the dollop of butter. 
    
   
10. Serve hot with pao bread. Enjoy! 

You can prepare the same on stove top if you don't own a slow cooker using the same recipe or this Pao Bhaji recipe I use to prepare on stove top. 

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