PanCake

A kid friendly recipe with innumerable variations....

sweet or savoury?

Chocolate sauce or maple syrup or honey or fresh cream or butter?

Topped with banana/ strawberry/ blueberry/mango?

Nutmeg /cinnamon/ vanilla?

Jotting down the most basic version of a well liked breakfast so that the girls need not ask me the ingredients and measures each time they make pancakes..

The measurements taken from Internet.  Other than the milk quantity mentioned here, all measures and ratios are just fine

Ingredients for 8 pancakes 

1 ½ cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour / whole wheat flour,

2 tablespoons sugar (powdered)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt, reduce to 1/4 teaspoon if sensitive to salt or using salted butter

1 ¼ cups (295 ml) milk....I used 195ml or till the batter was of flowing consistency

1 egg

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for skillet

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure 

BATTER

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and the salt in a medium bowl.

Warm milk  until lukewarm. 

Whisk milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract.. 

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately at first then combine just before cooking. When we are ready to cook, we combine the two mixes with a fork or whisk. 

COOK PANCAKES

Heat a large pan (mine has 3 circular grooves perfect for pancakes, crepes) over medium heat. The pan is ready if when you splatter a little water onto the pan surface, the water dances around the pan and eventually evaporates.

Lightly brush skillet with melted butter.

Pour ladle full of batter and cook till browned and crispy around the edges. Flip and cook the other side

Serve with toppings of your choice...chocolate syrup, honey, maple syrup, liquid jaggery, cream etc

A Quick Banana Cake

When your fruit basket is weighed down by a bunch of over ripe bananas that nobody in the family (including you) will touch, you know something HAS to be done to avoid the fruits from going straight to the bin. Well, that's exactly how this cake happened to happen in my kitchen. Otherwise I am not much of a baker and would never ever volunteer to bake a banana cake, of all things..... ;)

Ingredients :

Ripe Bananas - 3
Eggs -
Flour / Maida - 2 cups
Sugar - 3/4 cup
White Oil - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla Essence - 1 tbsp
Fresh Cream / malai - 3 tbsp
Cinnamon sticks - 2-3"
Broken Cashew - a handful
Salt - a pinch

Procdeure :
1. In a mixie jar, put the following and mix:
     a) peeled and chopped bananas
     b) eggs
     c) sugar
     d) fresh cream / malai
     e) oil
  Pour into a wok like vessel or mixing bowl.

2. In a container, pour the flour, baking powder, powdered cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Mix well.

3.Pour the dry mix into the wet one. Gently fold in to combine.

4. Add vanilla essence & cashew pieces. Fold in .

5. Pour the batter into a preheated and greased cake mould. The oven is to be preheated to 250 deg C for 8-   10 min.

6. Set the OTG in 'baking' mode, at temp 175-180 deg C for 45 minutes.

 

Insert a fork / toothpick into the cake and if it comes out clean, the banana cake is done.

Let it cool in the oven and then cut a thick slice ...the taste is mildly sweet with a hint of banana flavour.
Eat it just as it is . I had mine with chocolate sauce, garnished with roasted almonds! And despite being quite a banana hater, I loved the cake!!

This post is off to 
1) Sudeshna's Blog (COOK LIKE A BONG) ' s CHRISTMAS EVENT;  

2) Indrani's Blog Event SPOTLIGHT:HEALTHY BAKING which was originally announced here;

3) 'Fast & Quick Healthy Dishes - Guest hosted by Kalpana Sareesh of Life with Spices, on behalf of Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes

Mixed Halwa

with Ata (Wheat Flour), Roasted Almond powder & Roasted Lotus Seed powder

Catering to the taste and health needs of a five and half year old and a one year old with a common dish is not only tough but quite an uphill task. But makes life a trifle easier for me! ;)

On the few occasions I do manage and satisfy both the elder's tastebuds and the younger's nutrition needs, I cant help but pat myself on the back.

This halwa is one such a dish.

Setting out to make suji halwa, realised that the dampness due to incessant rains had gotten the better of me, and the suji looked far from edible.

I had just 15 minutes to leave for office before which I had to make the-after-school-evening-tiffin for AD (my elder daughter).

So this was the substitute....

Ingredients :

Wheat flour (Ata) - 1/2 cup
Roasted and powdered Almond - 1/2 cup
Roasted and powdered puffed Lotus Seeds (Phool Makhana)  - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 3-4 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 litre
Green Cardamon - 3-4
Sugar - 1/2 cup or to taste

Procedure :
1. Heat ghee in a kadai and throw in the green cardamoms
2. Add the Ata and roast on medium heat vigorously. Take care that the ata does not burn
3. After the raw smell of Ata is eliminated, add the roasted-powdered almond & lotus seeds. Keep on stirring  on medium to high heat.
4. Add sugar and continue stirring till nicely browned but NOT burnt
5. Add the milk slowly and keep stirring to ensure lumps are not formed.
6. Cook till the consistency is semi solid & gooey i.e upma/halwa like!!

serve warm...

Note : I have also made this by substituting the Ata with Ragi flour & suji.

This recipe is being sent to 'Fast & Quick Healthy Dishes - Guest hosted by Kalpana Sareesh of Life with Spices, on behalf of Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes