Vegan Banana Bread Recipe | Whole wheat Vegan Banana Cake Recipe : Eggless recipes

From the last few weeks, my son wanted me to bake something for him. I kept on postponing because of the move and also because of his health. I saved couple of bananas to make some banana bread. This time, without fail I took the pictures for the post.

It's a vegan (no butter, no milk, no AP flour) banana bread recipe. I have used whole wheat flour (atta) to make this bread healthy. You can treat yourself with this once a while :)

Please excuse the unevenly sliced and crumbly cake. My son was so restless to eat it and I had to.

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Baking Time: 30-45 mins
Baking Temperature: 350F | 180C
Serves: Makes a loaf or an 8 inch round cake
Recipe Source: Adapted from vegrecipesofIndia

Ingredients:
Ripened Bananas: 2 large (or about 1 cup mashed)
Whole wheat flour | atta : 1.5 cups
Sugar: 1/3 cup, refer notes
Oil: 3/4 cup, sunflower or vegetable oil (I have used olive oil too)
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
Baking powder: 1.5 tsp
Vanilla Extract: 1 tsp
Chopped almonds and cashew nuts: 1/4 cup
Chocolate chips: 1/4 cup

Method:
Sieve the whole wheat flour, baking powder and baking soda. Keep it aside for couple of minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F or 180C.
Meantime, mash the bananas thoroughly. There should not be any lumps. You can even blend it in a food processor or hand mixer.

Add the sugar, oil and vanilla extract to the mashed bananas and mix them well.

Now add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
Throw in the nuts and chocolate chips too.

Fold the dry and wet ingredients gently. Do not whisk, gently fold in everything.

The batter will be a little tighter than the normal cake batter. Do not worry. It will be just fine.
Grease the baking pan and scoop the batter onto the pan. Level the batter and gently tap the pan.

Place the baking pan in the oven and bake the cake for about 35-45 mins. To check if the cake is done: A tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean.

Notes:
Baking time varies considerably. Please keep an eye on your cake after 25 mins. Mine was a tad bit over baked this time. This was the first cake I baked in my new house and I was over confident about the baking time.
You could use any nuts of your choice.
If the bananas are not over ripe, you might have to increase the sugar to 1/2 cup. Adjust the sugar, according to the sweetness of the banana.
I repeat again, you do not have to whisk the batter vigorously. Just fold in the ingredients.

Spinach Cabbage Paratha | Gobhi Palak ke parathe

Parathas are pan fried flat breads. Parathas are usually stuffed with boiled or sauteed vegetables and are eaten with plain yogurt, pickle or a dal (cooked lentils). Here are some of the paratha recipes.

Aloo Paratha
Mixed vegetable paratha
Broccoli Paratha
Rice Dumpling Paratha

My son's latest craze are the parathas. He wants paratha every other day. He says he likes dosas only in summer & when it is fall, it is paratha time for him.To make my son happy, I try to give him paratha atleast once a week. I do not like to stuff the parathas every other day, hence I add the vegetables to the dough itself & make parathas. Cabbage & spinach is one such. It is very easy to make & is quite healthy.

Preparation Time: 20-25 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 3-4 (makes about 8-9 parathas)

Ingredients:
For the dough:
Whole wheat flour | atta | godhi hittu: 2 cups
Finely shredded cabbage: 1 cup
Finely chopped spinach: 1/2 cup, tightly packed
Carom seeds | Ajwain | Om kalu: 1/2 tsp
Salt: As needed
Oil: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp, optional
Water: As needed

Other ingredients:
whole wheat flour : For rolling the parathas
Oil: For pan frying the parathas

Method:
Mix all the ingredients mentioned for the dough(except water) in a bowl. Mix it well & leave it aside for 10 mins (Do not add any water yet!). Cabbage would have oozed out some water.
Slowly add couple of tbsps of water at a time & make a stiff dough. Don't get tempted to add more water. Remember the cabbage will ooze out water.
Let the dough rest for 5-10 mins.

Make lemon sized balls out of the dough.
Roll these balls using a rolling pin. You could make them thin or keep it thick. I generally make my parathas thin & hence roll it thin.

Meantime, heat the griddle on a med-high heat.
Finish rolling all the dough balls.
When the griddle is hot, place the rolled paratha on the griddle. Add few drops of oil to the sides & onto the center of the paratha. Pan fry it until golden brown spots appear.

Flip it & cook it on the other side too. Remember to add few drops of oil on the flipped side too.
Remove the cooked paratha from the griddle. Repeat until all the parathas are pan fried.
Serve these parathas hot with a dal or yogurt or a pickle.

Notes:
I am repeating again. Cabbage will ooze out water & hence be extra careful while adding the water to make the dough.
DO NOT REST THE DOUGH FOR A LONG TIME. The dough will become sticky.
Pan fried parathas remain soft for a long time. Hence, you could roll, cook & then store them for the rest of the day.
You could store the cooked paratha in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Parathas need more oil to cook. Hence, don't be very stingy in adding oil. You could replace oil with butter or ghee (clarified butter). 

Muthiya | Muthia | Steamed whole wheat & greens dumpling : Gujarati Cuisine

Muthiya has all the goodness & nutrition needed. It has loads of greens, whole wheat, and jowar flour. To top it all, it is steamed & not deep fried. Any greens of your choice could be added. In case you do not have leafy vegetable, you could add grated carrots/ grated bottle gourd/ grated cabbage. I tried hard for good pictures, but could't do justice for the dish with the pictures :( 

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

For the muthiya:

Wheat flour: 1.25 cups

Jowar flour/Sorghum flour: 1/2 cup

Besan/Gram flour: 1/4 cup

Chopped dill leaves: 1.5 cups, loosely packed

Chili powder: 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp

Green chili paste: 1 tsp

Yogurt: 1/4 cup

Oil: 3 tbsp

Sugar: 1 tsp

Baking soda: 1/2 tsp

Salt: As needed

Water: As needed, to make the dough

For the seasoning:

Oil: 1-2 tbsp

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Sesame seeds: 1 tbsp

Method:

Mix all the ingredients mentioned for the muthiya (except water) in a large bowl. 

Add sufficient water & make a dough out of it. (The dough should be cutlet or patty consistency).

Make dumplings out of it & steam it for 15-20 mins on medium-high heat. 

Turn off the heat & let the steamed dumpling cool completely. Observe: the steamed dumplings have expanded in size 

(I'm stressing again, cool completely.., else it will crumble while cutting them!)

Cut the steamed dumpling into 1 inch bites.

Prepare the tempering/seasoning. Heat oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, add in the mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, throw in the sesame seeds & let it turn golden brown (Take care not to burn the seeds!)Add in the cut dumplings & mix it gently. Cook it till it is slightly brown & crisp.

Serve it with a dip/chutney/sauce of your choice.

Notes:

The ratio of greens to flour is 1.5: 2. You could play around with any other flour of your choice. I sometimes add corn meal too.

You could add a fistful of left over rice to make the muthia's soft.

Methi Poori/Menthya Soppu Poori

Poori is a deep fried Indian bread made with wheat flour or plain flour/maida.

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: Around 30 mins to fry all the pooris.

Ingredients: (Makes around 20-25 pooris).
For the dough:

• Wheat flour/atta/godi hittu: 1 cup
• AP flour/maida: 1 cup
• Methi leaves/Fenugreek leaves/menthya soppu: 3 cubes (I used frozen. 3 cubes is around a cup of fresh methi leaves).
• Salt: Around 1 tsp
• Water: 0.75 cups, a little more or less.
• Ajwain/Carom seeds: 1/2 tsp
• Hot oil: 1 tbsp
• Yogurt/Curd: 1 tbsp

For deep frying the pooris:

• Around 250 ml of cooking oil.

Method:
For the dough:
Sieve the wheat flour & maida seperately.
Add the sieved wheat flour, AP flour & salt to a big mixing bowl. Mix the flours well. Make a pit at the center of the flour.
Pour in the hot oil & mix well until the flours form little crumbs.
Now, add in the methi leaves, salt, ajwain, yogurt & mix well. Slowly add water & make a smooth yet stiff dough.
Let it rest for 30 mins.
Make grape sized balls from the dough.
Dust the dough balls & roll the dough balls using a rolling pin. Make around 5 inch circles of medium thickness. 
Heat the oil in a broad pan. When the oil is hot enough, slide the rolled circles in the oil. 
Deep fry them on both the sides until golden. The poori will puff up.
Remove the fried poori in a slotted spoon. Drain it on a paper napkin. 
Repeat the same with the remaining dough. 
Serve it hot with a side dish of your choice. 

Notes: 

• All purpose flour could be replaced with wheat flour.
• To check whether the oil is hot enough, take an apple-seed sized dough & slide it in the hot oil. If the dough immediately rises up in the oil, understand that the oil is hot enough to deep fry the pooris. 

Here are some side dishes that go well with poori.

Aloo sabzi

Palak paneer

Vegetable saagu

Methi matar malai

Broccoli Paratha Recipe

Recently had the Chicago's deep dish pizza followed by three full days of cheese, cheese & cheese. Never imagined I could survive without the Indian dishes(especially rice) for these many days. After the over dose of cheese, the first thing I prepared was rice & Udupi rasam with some papad. The next day, I made this broccoli paratha for our brunch & after that we felt, we were back home :)

Cooking time: 30 minutes
Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
For the dough:
Wheat flour: 3 cups
Salt: 1 tsp
Oil: 1 tsp
Water: As needed

For the stuffing:
1 medium sized broccoli or 2 cups grated broccoli.
Oil: 1 tsp
Green chilli: 3 nos, grated
Salt: As needed
Lemon juice: 1 tsp

Other ingredients:
Oil: 1 tsp for each paratha
wheat flour, for dusting
Butter: 1tsp, on each paratha (for the extra zing!)

Method:
For the dough:
Mix all the ingredients mentioned for the dough (except water). Slowly add few tablespoons of water at a time & prepare a soft dough. The dough should not be sticky. Knead for 5 mins until the dough becomes pliable. Rest the dough covered for a minimum of 30 mins.

For the stuffing:
Heat oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, add the grated green chilli & broccoli. Sprinkle salt. Mix well & saute on a high heat for 2 mins. Reduce the heat to medium & cook for another minute. Turn off the heat. Add lemon juice & mix well. Keep it aside.

For making the parathas/Stuffed Indian bread:

• Knead the dough again & divide the dough into lemon sized balls.
• Roll the ball using a rolling pin to 3/4th the size of the palm. Place 1 tbsp or a little more of the stuffing in the center of the rolled ball. Cover the stuffing (refer pictures below). Pinch out the extra dough if any (refer pictures below). 

• Generously dust the stuffed ball. Roll the stuffed ball carefully into a 5 to 6 inch diameter circle using a rolling pin.

• Heat a tawa/tava/griddle. When the tava is hot place the rolled paratha & shallow fry it with a tsp or more of oil on a medium/high heat
• Flip the paratha & cook on the other side too.
• Remove the cooked paratha from the heat. Add a blob of butter & serve immediately!
• Repeat the procedure with the remaining dough balls.
• I served the paratha with green gram dal.

Notes:

• It is very important to keep the stuffing dry, else the stuffing will start oozing out when you start rolling the stuffed balls.
• If you are beginner at making parathas, try with a little stuffing at a time. May be a tsp to begin with. Increase the stuffing as your confidence in preparing them increases.
• The safest stuffing to start with for making parathas are green peas stuffing, broccoli stuffing and paneer stuffing, because they don't ooze out water like potato stuffing or raddish stuffing. 

Are you interested in few other broccoli recipes? Here you go:

Broccoli ka kheema/Minced broccoli with Indian spices

Broccoli Capsicum Curry

Mashed broccoli & cottage cheese/Broccoli-Paneer burji

Breakfast Burritos - A Mexican Recipe: Step-by-Step

Every article we read about fitness suggest us to eat healthy morning breakfast. Never skip your breakfast! A fruit, vegetable & a source of protein plays a very important role for morning breakfast, but how many of us follow it? (I see many hundreds of nodding heads, including mine!) They are worth reading, nodding & advising :D

Burritos are one such breakfast item for our weekends. While vegetables provide the essential vitamins & fibre, whole meal tortillas & cheese provides the necessary  protein & energy. Here is the recipe for you.

This recipe is inspired from showmethecurry.

Serves: 2
Preparation time: 5mins
Cooking time: Maximum 10 mins

Ingredients:
Tortillas: 4 nos, whole meal (For more information about tortillas, refer here).
Grated cheese: 1.5tbsp, more or less (for each burrito)
Oil/Butter: 1 tsp each (for shallow frying)

For the filling:
Shredded vegetables: 1/2 cup (I have used cauliflower, baby corn & carrots).
Olive oil: 1 tsp
Garlic: 1 small pod, minced
Ground pepper: according to taste
Pickled jalapeños: 1 tsp, chopped fine (optional)
Salt: According to taste
Dried or fresh basil: 1 tsp

Method:
For the filling:
Shred or coarsely mince the vegetables.
Heat the olive oil in a small pan, when oil is hot, add minced garlic & saute for 30secs.

Throw in the vegetables to the pan & saute. Cook the vegetables on medium flame for 2-3mins.

Add the ground pepper, salt, basil leaves, jalapeños & mix well. Turn off the heat.

For burritos:
Heat a griddle.Warm the tortillas.
The griddle must be on low heat. Place one tortilla on the griddle.

Spread the cheese all over the tortilla.

Follow it by spreading the vegetable filling.

Place another tortilla on the filling. Seal the edges. (Melted cheese helps to seal the two tortillas wonderfully).
Carefully flip. Sprinkle the oil. Cook on medium heat, until both the sides are nicely brown.

Repeat the same with the remaining two tortillas.
Cut the burritos & serve them hot with tomato salsa or any dip of your choice.

Notes:

• For those who are new to tortilla, here is a brief. Vague definition for tortilla, it is very similar to Indian chapathi. Tortillas are made using corn flour(makki aata), plain flour(maida), whole wheat flour. I am sure you can easily find the tortillas in any supermarkets in India. I have seen them during my last visit. If you really cant find tortillas & want to prepare these burritos, go ahead making them using your chapathi dough. Roll 2 chapathis (same size) & lightly toast them. Keep them aside. Prepare burritos! For people in Singapore, you get them at Mustafa, Fair price & other shops too. Here is how they look.

• Any vegetable of your choice could be added to make these burritos. I have made burritos with grated potato  filling, paneer filling & many more.Scrambled egg could also be added as a filling.
• Basil leaves could be replaced with fresh & finely chopped coriander leaves.
• If you don't prefer Garlic, replace it with ginger

Vegetables stuffed whole wheat Indian bread | Vegetable Paratha | Healthy Parantha Recipe

Late last year, I invested in a mini chopper & I have been using it tremendously since then. I have to still learn the art of slicing, grating & whipping using the chopper, but mincing is so much easier. I hide all the vegetables for my son & he happily eats the vegetables. It is only color-color dosa & rang bhi rangi rotti(colorful Indian bread) for him these days.

The chopper has made my work a lot easier when it comes to make parathas. Cauliflower, broccoli takes seconds to be minced. I used the same chopper to make this vegetable paratha. We all love these vegetable parathas & are currently addicted to them. 

Ingredients: (Makes around 8 parathas)

For dough:
Whole wheat flour/atta: 1.5 cups
Warm water: Around 3/th cup
Salt 1/2 tsp
Oil: 1.5 tsp

For stuffing:
Beetroot: 1 small piece (skinned)
Ginger: 1 inch piece
Carrot: 1 medium sized
Chow chow: 1 small piece(skinned)
Cucumber: 2 inch piece
Potato: 1 medium (skinned)
Green chilli : 2 nos
Salt: According to taste

Other ingredients: 
Whole wheat flour: for dusting
Oil: 1 tsp for shallow frying each paratha
Butter: 1 dollop on each paratha (optional, for serving)

Method:
For the dough:
Mix all the ingredients mentioned & make a smooth pliable dough. Let it rest for 60mins.

For parathas:

• Grate all the ingredients mentioned for the stuffing. Mix them. (I minced them using my chopper. Super fast & perfectly done). Add salt. Squeeze out as much as water possible from the vegetables.

• Knead the dough again & make 8 balls (approximately). 
• Roll each ball a little & put a tbsp of stuffing in the center of the rolled dough. 

• Cover the stuffing with the dough & seal the edges (refer to picture below)

• Dust the stuffed ball & roll them into 7 inch diameter circle. 

• Heat a griddle. When griddle is hot, place the rolled paratha & shallow fry both sides on a medium-high flame. 
• Repeat the above steps for the remaining dough balls. 
• Serve it with a dollop of butter on top of paratha & a side dish of your choice. 

Notes:

• I have used most of the vegetables available at hand to make this paratha, like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, capsicum, onion, raddish. Try to flavor the vegetables with roasted cumin seeds or ginger or chaat masala etc. Believe any combination of vegetables with a nice flavor makes it a hit at home. 
• Always remember to cook the paratha on a medium high heat. If you cook the paratha on a slow flame, they turn hard. 
• Squeeze out as much as water possible from the vegetables before stuffing them.
• Parathas could be rolled thick or thin. We prefer our parathas on a thinner side. Hence, I roll it as thin as possible.
• More the butter, more the better ;)