Wanted to try something new with avacado. Have used it in milkshakes and smoothies but never baked. So here is the result of the new venture Avacado and walnut muffins. Slice the warm muffin in half and apply butter( slightly salted and I always use the low fat one), What a perfect breakfast it could be and accompanied by a milkshake, no words to say. Sending this to Siri's healing food avacado.



You need:
All purpose flour                2cup
Sugar                                 3/4cup
Baking powder                  1 1/2tsp
Baking soda                       1/2tsp
Buttermilk                          1/2cup
Avacado meat                    1/2cup
Walnuts                              1/2cup
Egg                                     1(large)
Salt                                     1/4tsp

Preparation:
Beat the eggs and avacodo together. Mix the dry ingredients together.
Now mix the eggs, dry ingredients and the buttermilk together.
Spoon them into muffin cases. Bake them for 20-25  min in a 180*C preheated oven.
The baking time differs from every oven,  adjust so please the timings according to your oven.
Serve them warm

Avacado Mayonnaise  An unusual Mayo and a healthy one. If you are on a diet then do try this mayo. A perfect dip for crackers, a spread for sandwich etc. Sending this recipe to Siri's healing foods avacado and PJ's no cook event. This recipe makes 3/4 cup mayo.



You need:
Avacado       1 nos.
Juice of half lemon
Salt to taste
Paprika         1/2tsp
Olive oil         1/4 cup
Mayonnaise    1tbsp (low fat)

Preparation:
Scoop the flesh out of avacado and blend with rest of the ingredients to a paste.
Serve with your favorite crackers.

Searched the net completely to find a latin bread which  is the theme of bread-baking-day event hosted by canelay&comino and landed in Peruvian Banana bread. To be true never baked a bread with whole wheat flour, but  this bread came out perfectly well and was equally delicious.I just tried this by using only half of what it calls for and sending it to the bread baking event.



You need:
Salted Butter               100gms(melted)
Sugar                          1/2 cup
Egg                             2nos
Banana                       4nos
Whole wheat flour       1 1/2cup
Baking powder            2tsp

Preparation:
Mash the banana and butter together add in the eggs. Add the dry ingredients except the flour. See that there are no lumps. Add the flour and mix well. Spoon into a greased loaf pan and bake  for 180*C fo 60 minutes.
Slice it and Serve.

At last! we named this sandwich today. We were really strugling to find a name to this sandwich which is our favorite now. Just the most easy and tasty recipe. jr loves this and he always calls it sand beach( he is only three).So I thought why not post this easy recipe which is a perfect breakfast and a typicall lunch box or snack box treat for kids. Sending this recipe to PJ's no cook event and Srivalli's Kids delight snacks




You need:
White bread                     3nos
Salted butter                     2tbsp
Strawberry syrup              1 1/2 tbsp

Preparation:
Trim the edges of the bread.
On one side of the bread spread 1tbsp butter and 3/4 syrup, Place another slice. Spread the remaining syrup. On the third slice apply 1 tbsp butter and place on the second slice buttered slice down.
Cut the sandwich diagonally and Serve.

Abbadi is yet another favorite milkshake served in the cafterias  and restaurants in UAE. It s a combination of avacado, mango, banana and strawberry. Its tangy and sweet and fulfilling.You can alter the amount  and consistency to your taste(I have altered it a little to suit our taste) Sending this recipe to Siri healing food avacado,and PJ's no-cook-event. This recipe serves Two.



You need:
Avacado               1 nos
Mango                   1nos
Banana                  1nos
Strawberry            3nos
Milk                      1/2 cup
Vanila icecream     2 large scoops
Sugar                    2 1/2tbsp to 3 tbsp
Ice cubes
Strawberry syrup

Preparation:
Blend everything together except strawberry sauce.
Pour it in the glass and drizzle the syrup along the rim. the syrup will slowly drip down and create a beautiful design.
Enjoy !

sending this again to madhuri's serve-me-some-juices-shakes-smoothies event

Burj Al-Arab smoothie named after the world famous building  is the most preferred smoothie in UAE. Its a simple combination of three smoothies, avacado, mango and strawberry.The vibrant colours and its lip smacking taste attracts people of all ages from kids to adults.Just stir the smoothie a little before drinking, you will be amazed by the combination of the the three fruits. Have modified the recipe  a little and Sending this  to Siri's healing foods avacado and PJ's No Cook Event. This recipe serves 1 person.



AVACADO SMOOTHIE:
Blend 1/2 avacado with 1tbsp sugar, 1tbsp vanilla icecream, 1 1/2tbsp milk to a smoothie. Chill till serving

MANGO SMOOTHIE:
Blend 1/2 mango( big sized) with 1tbsp sugar, 1tbsp vanilla icecream and 1 tbsp milk to a smoothie. Chill till serving


STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE:
Blend 2 strawberies with 1 1/2 sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla icecream and 1tbsp milk to a smoothie. Chill till serving


HOW TO SERVE:
In a serving glass pour the avacado smoothie then half of strawberry, then layer with mango and finish it with strawberry.
Enjoy!

Sendind this recipe again to Madhuri's serve-me-some-juices-shakes-smoothies event

Avacado the Green Queen ia an all-rounder as it can be made it into a dessert, dip or just anything you can imagine. It is just loaded with nutrients and make nutritious baby food. This is just the easiest milkshake to make, not only nutritious but also fulfilling.Sending this recipe to Siri's healing foods avacado and PJ's No Cook Event



You need:
Avacado                  3 nos
Milk                         250ml
Vanilla Icecream       2 large scoops
Sugar                        4tbsp
Ice cubes
Strawberry syrup   

Preparation:
Blend the ingredients together except the strawberry syrup. Adjust the milk and sugar  to your taste.
In the serving bowl  pour slowly the strawbery syrup along the inner rim of the glass.
Allow the yrup to drip down the glass. Without disturbing the syrup pour the milkshake.
This serves two people.
Enjoy

Quite an unusual dessert but very easy to make. I once had this dessert when travelling in Indian Airliness and was just amazed by its taste. The combination of the salty taste of the butter and the sweetness of the custard is simply superb. I call it Indian Airliness dessert as I have had that only during flight and have not tasted it anywhere else. Its a perfect dessert when you have unexpected guests. You can cut the bread in any shape but I made it in heart shapes and this recipe is going directly to hearts-for-st-valentines-day. event hosted by Priya



You need:
White bread                   4nos
Butter(slightly salted)      2 1/2 tbsp
Milk                              250ml
Custard powder            1 1/2tbsp
Sugar                            1 1/2tbsp
Condensed milk             2tbsp
Nuts to decorate

Preparation:
Cut the bread into heart shapes( 4 pieces) using a heart shaped biscuit cutter and fry them in butter.
Mix the custard powder in 1 tbsp mlik. Boil the rest of the milk, add sugar, condensed milk, and custard powder paste. Boil till the mixture thickenes, It should be in pouring consistency.
Place two pieces per bowl and pour custard on top.
Garnish with nuts. Refrigerate and Serve.



Tip:
The recipe calls for small sized bread. If you are using large sized bread slices you will get more pieces and can increase the amount of custard prepared.
The custard should submerge the bread slices, as a guidance I have poured little custard in the photsos to show the bread hearts.
If you feel the custard is a bit watery add little more custard powder mixed in milk.
You can do this dessert without condensed milk. Just increase the sugar and add 2tbsp custard powder instead of 11/2.
If you donot have enough time for refrigeration place it in the freezer for about half an hour or till it just gets cold.

Quails are small, plump terrestial birds. It is the smallest member of the patridge family. I always like cooking Quails though cleaning them is the toughest job. This recipe was challenging as i had to cook without onions and garlic for R as its been restricted for him for a month. But to my surprise the dish came out very well and we even had few guests and they too liked it very well.Its a perfect dish when you are having a party around or giving a feast as you can marinate everything the before night and just cook on the party day. Goes well with almost all the dishes. You can also variate this recipe with chicken (will post it later) So I wanted to share this recipe with you all.



You need:
Quails                                 6nos
Green bell pepper(big)        1nos
Tomato(medium)                2nos
Thick curd                          3/4 cup
Chilli powder                      1/2 tbsp
Kashmiri chilli powder         1tsp(optional)
Turmeric powder                1/2tsp
Pepper powder                   1/2tsp
Garlic paste                        1 1/2tbsp
Red colour                          a small pinch
Pandan leaves                     1(optional)
Salt                                      to taste
Oil                                      3tbsp
Ghee                                  1tbsp

Preparation:
Clean the Quails and cut it into 4 pieces.
Chop the Green bell pepper( capsicum) and tomatoes.
In a bowl mix everything except ghee and oil. The tomatoes should have been crushed well. Marinate this mixture overnight.
In a pressure cooker add 1/4 cup water and the marinated mixture and pressure cook for three whistles.
Then add the oil and ghee and cook further.The water should have evaporated and oil should seperate from the gravy.
This is a semi-dry dish. Sprinkle coriander leaves on top and serve hot!

Variation:
Low calorie Quail masala:
Instead of full crean curd use low fat or skimmed curd and proceed the recipe till pressure cooking it for three whistles. After that transfer to a non stick pan add 1tsp oil  cook further till water evaporates and forms into a masala.

Coriander leaves                 to garnish

Quail eggs are small and more nutritious than the regular egg. This is an easy recipe and can be made in a jiffy. Allot 3 eggs per person.



You need:
Quail eggs             12nos
Pepper                   2tbsp
Ghee/Oil                2tbsp
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Boil the eggs and remove the shell.
Score the eggs( make small cuts ). Mix the pepper, salt and eggs together by sprinkling little water.
Heat the ghee  or oil, add the eggs and fry for 10 minutes or so in medium flame.
Serve with any dish.

Bread the all in all handy food in our kitchen is a part in many recipes. But have you heard of making it into a raita? Yes! next time you have left over bread in your house or  you want to make a quick raita which i learnt from my sister. Do try this recipe. If you want whip this up in to an easy snack sprinkle some sev on it amd enjoy.
Sending this to No Cook Event hosted by PJ




You need:
Bread                          2 slices
Thick Curd                  1/2cup
Milk                             2tbsp
Sugar                           1 tbsp
Salt                              a small pinch
Roasted Jeera seed      1tsp

Preparation:
Cut the corners of the bread and cut into four pieces, totalling 8 pieces.
Mix the curd, milk, sugar and salt.
In a flat plate arrange 4 pieces of bread and pour half the curd mixture. Place the remaining pieces on top and pour the remainig mixture.
Sprinkle the jeera seeds on top. Refrigerate and serve.
Enjoy!

Tip:
This recipe calls for medium size bread. if you are using large sized one cut it into 8 pieces per bread, and use more curd to make raita.
This raita is little sweet, so if you want it more sweeter add a little more sugar.
You can also make three layers of raita.

The perfect recipe for valentine's day. Was just browsing the net to make some cookies for valentine's day and landed in foodnetwork . They had the perfect recipe. Sugar cookies with a love twist. The biscuits just came out perfectly. Hope you all will love it. Sending this to announcing-hearts-for-st-valentines-day event hosted by Priya.

You need:
All purpose flour              1 1/2 cup
Baking powder                 1/2 tsp
Butter                              1/2 cup
Salt a small pinch
Vanilla essence                 1/4tsp
Sugar                               1/2 cup
Egg                                  1/2 beaten with 1/2 tsp milk
Red food coluring             3-4 drops
White chocolate                60gms


Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180*C.
Beat the sugar and butter till light and fluffy.  Add vanilla essence, red food colouring, salt and the beaten egg.
Mix well. Add the flour and fold it with the spoon.
Form a soft dough and wrap it with cling film. Refrigerate for an hour.
Place the dough between two plastic sheets and roll out the dough to about 1/4 of an inch .
Using a heart shape biscuit cutter cut out heart shapes and arrange it the baking tray.
Knead the rest of the dough and again roll it out  and cut out the cookies.
Bake the cut out cookies for 7-8 minutes. The biscuit should be just set and not brown.
Cool the cookies.
In a microwave bowl put the white chocolate and microwave for 20 seconds.
Put it in the pastry bag, If you dont have one, take a square plastic cover and fill with chocolate in one end of the bag. Twist the bag tightly. Cut the tip of the bag and decorate the cookies as you like.
Enjoy!

Made this cake for my hubby's birthday last year and it really turned out well. the velvety texture was simply superb. Actually I learnt this recipe from foodnetwork a complete site for all food related queries. Thought posting this recipe now would be perfect for the ocassion. Sending it to the announcing-hearts-for-st-valentines-day event hosted by Priya
You need:
Butter                      100 gms
Sugar                       3/4 cup
Red food colouring   5-6 drops
Cocoa powder          1 1/2tbsp
A small pinch salt
Egg                           1nos
Buttermilk                 1/2cup
Vinegar                     1/2tsp
Vanilla essence          1/2tsp
All purpose flour        1 1/4cup
Baking soda               3/4tsp
Extra butter to coat pan


Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180*C or 350 F.
Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add red food colouring,Cocoa and salt.
In a seperate bowl whisk egg and buttermilk together and add to batter. Add Vinegar, Vanilla essence, flour,and baking soda. Mix well.
Butter the cake pan and dust with flour. pour the batter and smooth the top. bake for 30 minutes.
Cool and dust the cake with icing sugar.
Cut and serve.

The famous Malaysian sweet dish Bubur kacang hijau is nothing but our moong dhal payasam. The unusual green color  is its beauty. I learnt this dish from my grandmother and i would call it Indo-Malay because she gives an Indian touch to the malay sweet. The original recipe calls for palm sugar and only moong dhal and coconut milk. But here I have used sugar and tempered with ghee. Just have a sip and you will really fall in love with it. Sending this recipe to Anitha's vegetable-marathon-event-announcement

You need:
Whole moong Dhal              1cup
Thick Coconut milk              1cup
Thin coconut milk                 2 cup
Sugar                                   1/2 cup
Ghee                                    1tbsp
Elaichi                                   2 nos
Cinamon                               1 small stick
Cashews(broken)                  2tbsp
Golden raisins                        1tbsp
Sabudana( Sago seeds)          2tbsp
Pandan leaves                         1nos
Salt a small pinch

Preparation:
Wash and soak the moong dal for an hour. Add enough water and cook the dal and sabudana  till soft.

In a seperate pan heat the ghee, add elaichi, cinamon, cashews and raisins. Fry till golden brown.
Add the dal and thin coconut milk. If you find it thick add a cup of water. Add sugar, salt and pandan leaves.
Mix well and after the sugar dissolves add thick coconut milk and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Serve it hot or cold.

Tips:
If you have forgotten to soak the dal, its ok, just pressure cook.
You can always increase or decrease the amount of sugar to your taste.
 Its ok if you dont have pandan leaves, you can still continue with the recipe

Bhindi, Okra, Vendaikai, Lady's Finger. The name given to the slender vegetable in different languages has more nutrients than we have imagined. It is a rich source of fiber, vitamin B6 and folic acid. It also helps in reducing serum cholestrol thus reducing the risk of heart disease. But many of us dislike it often because of its gooey nature. Try it out and you will not notice that its okra at all. This can be had as a perfect accompaniment for rasam, curd rice etc, etc.,

You need:
Lady's finger    5-6nos
Corn flour        2tbsp
Besan flour       2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Chilli powder     1/2tbsp
Oil to fry

Preparation:
Mix the flours, salt and chilli powder.
Wash the lady's finger and chop the top and bottom out.
Cut the lady's finger slantingly. Mix in the lady's fingers in the flour mixture.
Do not add water, the dampness in the vegetable is enough to bind.
Heat oil and deep fry till crisp.
Serve with any  of your favorite dishes!

This is an unusual way of  serving Cheese Omlette and bread. A wild idea just struck when I was just asking my hubby as what to prepare for breakfast, why not make cheese omlettes in bread castings. Since Priya of
priyaeasyntastyrecipes is hosting Valentine event I made this in heart shapes. You can make it in any shape.
A banana smoothie or chocolate milkshake( will post later) will be a good accompaniment and a complete breakfast. Sending this to theannouncing-hearts-for-st-valentines-day event hosted by Priya

You need:
White bread                                2slices
Egg(medium)                               1nos
Mozerella cheese(shredded)        2tbsp
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter                                          2tbsp

Preparation:
Cut out the center of the bread using a round or square shaped biscuit cutter.( For the event I used a big heart shaped  one to cut the bigger heart and a smaller one to cut the center of the bigger heart)
Beat the egg with salt and pepper, add cheese. You can also use finely chopped red or green bell pepper, spring onions.
Heat the tawa and place the cut out bread (here its the big cut out heart).
Keep the heat in simmer. Place spoonfull of the egg mixture till it fills the hollow center.( Take  care as not to over fill, the egg should be intact in the bread)
Apply 1tbsp of butter to the edges, Close it with a lid and cook for about 2-3 minutes, then flip it over and add the remaining butter and allow the edges to crisp.
Remove and serve it with tomato or sweet chilli sauce.

Felafel is an arabic savoury item. It is famous in gulf countries. just have it plain or with felafel sauce or just make it a sandwhich with khubus and lettuce, it is delicious.

You need:
Chick peas                              250gms
Garlic                                      3 pods
Parsley                                    a small handfull
Coriander leaves                      a small handfull
Green chilli                               1nos
Roasted Sesame Seeds            3 tbsp
Maida or All purpose flour       2 tbsp
Baking soda                            3/4tsp
Cumin                                     1 tsp
Roasted coriander seeds          1 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil to fry

Preparation:
Wash and soak the chick peas overnight and grind to puree.
Grind the parsley, coriander, garlic and green chilli together.
Crush the coriander seeds.
Now mix all the ingredients together.
Heat enough oil to fry. Shape the felafel in either round or heart shape and make a hole in the center and deep fry.
Serve with felafel sauce

Sent this recipe to Priya's Easy N Tasty recipes Cooking with Sesame
Reposting this recipe and sending it to Cws- Coriander seeds event guest hosted by sourashtrakitchen  event started by Priya

The colour of the yellow grains always fascinates us. It is an all time favorite lunch box dish. Have it with curd, potato fry or egg scramble, it is a sure hit! Try out this recipe and you will love it for sure.

You need:
Raw rice or Basmati                   1 cup
Raw peanuts                               2tbsp
Chana dhal                                 1 1/2tbsp
Cashew nut                                5-6(optional)
Dry red chilli                               3nos
Green chilli                                 2nos
Mustard seeds                           1/2 tsp
Curry leaves                              2sprig
Oil                                            2tbsp
Ghee                                        1tbsp
Lemon(big)                               1
Turmeric powder                      1/2tsp
Salt

Preparation:
Wash and cook the rice with salt. Seperate the grains and cool.
Heat the kadai add oil, when the oil just gets heated add mustard seeds,
When it starts to splutter add peanuts, fry for 1 min, add chana dal, red chilli, green chilli, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Fry for 30 seconds, Add the rice and ghee. Switch off the flame.
Add the lemon juice and mix well. Season with salt.
Serve

This mizhagai podi recipe is from my mother and its also my favorite. I add little Sugar  to this podi along with Gingelly oil  and have it with dosai or idli. You can increase the amount of chillies if you want it to be fiery hot.

You need:
Par boiled rice                          2 cups
Urad dhal                                 1/2 cup
Chana dhal                                1/4 cup
Pepper                                      20 gms
Dry red chilli                              20 gms
Salt

Preparation:

Dry roast all the ingredients except the salt till golden brown.
Grind it to powder, add salt.
Allow to cool and store

Felafel sauce is a dip made with tahina and curd. You can also use this dip with crackers, nacho chips, or just with juilliened vegetables.

You need:
Tahina                    1tbsp
Curd                       1/2 cup
Salt

Preparation:
Mix the ingredients together and Serve.

Sending this recipe in Priya's  Easy N tasty recipes Cooking with Sesame

Tahina is an arabic sauce. It is a base to many dishes especially hammus( chick pea paste). It is very easy to make. The recipe is as follows

You need:
Roasted sesame seeds                1 cup
Olive oil
Salt


Preparation:
Put the sesame seeds in the blender.
Start adding olive oil and blend. Stop adding oil when you get a smooth paste.
Add salt and store it in a sterilised bottle.
Keep refrigated. It keeps good for 6 months in the fridge.

Participated in Priya's cooking-with-seeds

There are various recipes for mizhagai podis. Here Iam using sesame seeds as the base. You can store this kept in an airtight container for 1 month. Iam sending this recipe to the cooking-with-seeds event hosted by priyaeasyntastyrecipes

You need:
Roasted Sesame seeds                       100gms
Urad dhal                                           250gms
Chana dhal                                         150gms
Red chillies                                         50gms
Asafoetida                                         a little
Salt  to taste
Gingelly oil                                         1 tsp

Preparaion:

Fry the urad dhal, Chana dal, red chillies, Asafoetida in 1 tsp oil and grind together with salt ans sesame seeds.
Allow to cool and store.