Eggless Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

I've been itching to bake since I've been back from my US trip as I did not get to do much there with the absence of an oven. Last week I made strawberry shortcakes which were absolutely yum and this week since I am going to meet my Guddu darling, I made eggless chocolate cupcakes. I hope he likes them. I adapted the recipe from here.

Ingredients (For 6 cupcakes):

1. 1/4 cup maida
2. 1/4 cup wheat flour
3. 1/4 cup ragi - I used sprouted ragi flour from Manna
4. 1/2 cup brown sugar or 1/3 cup white sugar
5. 1 tsp vanilla powder
6. 2.5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder - I use the one from cadbury. The weikfield cocoa powder does not satisfy the chocolate urges that I get.
7. 1/4 tsp salt
8. 1/2 tsp baking powder
9. 1/2 cup water
10. 4 tbsp neutral oil
11. 1/4 tsp instant coffee powder
12. 1 tsp vinegar

How I made them :

I made them in 2 batches as I have only one 6 cupcake tray.

1. Sift the maida, ragi, whole wheat flour, vanilla, baking powder, cocoa powder.
2. Add the salt and brown sugar. Keep aside.
3. In another bowl mix in the water, oil, coffee powder and vinegar.
4. Heat the oven to 180 degree C.
5. Prepare your cup cake moulds and place liners if required. I have a non-stick tray and hence don't always need the liners.
6. Mix the dry with wet ingredients as your oven is almost heated up. Don't fold or mix too much. Just enough to have a well mixed dough.
7. Pour spoonfuls into the moulds until 2/3rd full.
8. Bake for 17 minutes in middle tray. If you do not have a rack try placing the cup cake tray over any other inverted cake moulds/cooker vessel that you may have.

Cool on a wire rack and serve.

Tips :

1. Use only cadbury cocoa. If not, you will get the same taste that you get when you eat the Chocolate cakes at cafe coffee day which I don't like.
2. Mix the wet and dry ingredients just as the oven is almost at 180 degree C as the trick is to get the mixture into the oven as soon as possible. The baking powder starts to work as soon as it meets the wet ingredients. The longer you take to put it into the oven, the lower the cake will rise.

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Eggless Ragi Pancakes

What better way to get back to blogging than with a healthy recipe? Here's what I made for breakfast after being inspired by Appu's ragi pancakes. She made them in a jiffy when I decided to drop in for a cuppa chai :)

Ingredients : (makes 3 pancakes)

1. 1/3 cup ragi flour
2. 1/2 tsp baking powder
3. 1 tbsp sugar
4. A pinch of salt
5. 2 tsp olive oil or any neutral oil
6. A little less than 1/2 cup of milk
7. A few dried pumpkin seeds - I usually pop them in the microwave for 2 minutes and once cooled, store in an airtight container. These add some texture to the pancakes - tip borrowed from Appu
8. 2 tbsp butter/oil

How I made it :

1. Mix all the ingredients from 1 through 7 to form a smooth batter
2. Heat up a tawa or griddle.
3. Lightly greast hot tawa with butter/oil
4. Pour a ladleful of batter.
5. Cover for 45 seconds
6. When you lift the lid and see nice holes, flip and cook for another 45 seconds to 1 minute.

I served it with my homemade strawberry preserve. It was my first attempt and I did not add enough sugar so it was a bit tart.

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Sindhi Breakfast - Koki - my favorite

Koki is a kind of mixed paratha. Onions, green chillies, chopped coriander, red chilli powder and salt are a must add to the flour while making the dough. Optionally, jeera/cumin or saunf could be added.

I love koki and think that it is a quickie breakfast. Kokis go well with tea, unsalted butter and sugar, pickle, curd and papad. My mom and aunt's kokis are famous amongst my friends and they, mostly men, have taken to cooking kokis when away from home. There must be something about them right?

Ingredients (makes 2 kokis):

1. 1 cup whole wheat flour
2. 1 medium sized onion chopped finely
3. 3 tablespoons oil + extra for cooking
4. 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
5. 1 finely sliced green chilly
6. finely chopped coriander
7. salt to taste
8. Water - enough to make the dough. I used the whey which is left after making homemade panneer this time

How I made it :

1.   In a wide bowl, mix in all ingredients from 1 to 7. 
2. Slowly add water to make a dough. 
3. Roll out into 1/2 cm thick parathas. 
4. Use a knife to draw a criss cross on one side - this helps it cook more evenly and also makes it look more interesting.
5. On a hot tawa/flat pan, on high heat, place the paratha with the criss cross side on top.
6. After 30 seconds, pour some oil on top and flip it. Reduce heat to low.
7. Cook for about 2 minutes and flip it again making the heat high. Add more oil as desired. 
8. When dark brown spots appear, it is done. Serve hot or cold. These stay for about 24 hours in an airtight container and are perfect for travelling. Have it with a hot cup of chai.

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Oats Muffins

I seem to be stocking up on a lot of things. One of the disadvantages of frequent visits to the supermarket - you do end up picking a lot of stuff that you don't really need, and I mean - A LOT. I had picked up this bag of oats for a quick weekday breakfast, just as I had many other such similar items. I got home last evening elated that I need not cook as I had lots of food leftover from the previous day. With time on my hands, I decided to make these oats muffins which I got from here.

If you are a Sindhi and know what "kutti" is, you will love these. It reminded me so much of the days when mom would fast on Teej and bring this delectable treat home. "Kutti" is something like roasted wheat flour with sugar. The sugar is added when the flour is hot which causes it to just melt, creating magical flavours and texture.

Ingredients (For 6 muffins) :
For Streusel :

1. 1/8 cup all purpose flour
2. 1/6 cup oats
3. 1/8 cup brown sugar
4. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For Muffins :

1. 1/2 cup milk
2. 1/8 cup oil
3. 1 beaten egg
4. 1/2 tsp vanilla essence/powder
5. 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
6. 1/6 cup brown sugar
7. 1/2 cup oats
8. 1/2 tablespoon baking powder

How I made it :
Prep for stresel:

1. Mix together the oats, sugar and wheat flour.
2. Cut in the butter. Mix with a fork to form a crumby mixture. Keep aside.

Muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degree C
2. Mix together the baking powder, wheat flour, oats and sugar. If using vanilla powder, add that now. If using vanilla essence hold off with that in this step.
3. Mix together milk, oil and egg. If using vanilla essence, add that in.
4. Mix the wet and dry. Pour into muffin moulds. 
5. Sprinkle streusel on the top. Press it in lightly.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.

The top has a light crunch which rates this quite high on my list of dishes to make again and again. Tastes best when had warm on the same day. It loses its crunch the next day.

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