Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread | Easy Baking | Banana Breads

I love banana breads. Its so simple to make, all it needs is a single bowl and the outcome is something divine. At times I try different varieties with what I have in hand. And that is how I made this banana bread. The tropical flavors are predominant in this bread with the pineapple and coconut which makes it the more merrier. But if you are not a fan of the flavors then you can skip the pineapple and coconut and add walnuts instead, it still tastes fabulous. The bread keeps good for 2 to 3 days, but beyond that it starts drying up a little due to the whole wheat flour.

~*What U Need*~ Ripe Bananas - 2 or 3 Crushed Pineapple - 1/4 cup, drained Coconut Oil - 1/4 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup All purpose flour - 1 cup White whole wheat flour - 1 cup Baking soda - 1 tsp Ground cinnamon - 1 tsp Ground ginger - a pinch Sweetened shredded coconut - 1/2 cup How I made it: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease and flour your loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas and add the sugar, pineapple, and oil and whisk to incorporate. Sift in the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined. Fold in the coconut. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and sprinkle with nuts or more sugar if you want. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes (regular loaf) or 20 to 25 minutes (mini loaf). The top should be lightly browned and a knife inserted through the center should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes before transferring out of a pan and onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve warm.

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Five Healthy Muffin Recipes| Guest Post by Craig of Cake Journal

I am glad to welcome Craig of Cake Journal to share some healthy baking... Over to him.

In most cases, the words healthy and muffin do not necessarily go together. By using alternative ingredients, it is possible to cut fat and sugar levels to a minimum. This decreases the muffin's caloric value and adds ingredients with nutritional value, such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. The following five recipes produce muffins that are not only tasty, but full of health benefits. 

Orange Scented Almond and Olive Oil Muffins
To make Orange Scented Almond and Olive Oil Muffins, first preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. The recipe produces 18 muffins, so place liners in an appropriately sized tin. First beat one cup of sugar and four eggs for two minutes. Add 1/2 cup of room temperature orange juice, 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup room temperature plain Greek yogurt, one teaspoon each of vanilla and almond extracts, and the zest from a large orange and beat again. Combine one cup of almond flour, 1 1/4 cups of all
purpose flour, and two teaspoons fine sea salt in another bowl. Slowly mix the dry ingredients with the wet until well combined, and then add 1/2 cup of sliced almonds.
Portion the batter by 1/3 cup per liner and bake for approximately 20 minutes. When finished, the muffins appear golden and moist. Allow them to cool for 20 minutes, and then apply a light dusting of powdered to the tops.

Apple Muffins
Apple Muffins do not require pan liners. Instead, spray a 12 slot pan with nonstick cooking spray and set the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss 1/4 cup of chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl and set aside until the batter is poured. Using a whisk, combine one cup each all purpose and whole wheat pastry flour, one teaspoon baking
soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a second bowl. In a third bowl, combine 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup canola oil, two eggs, one cup applesauce, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk well, then slowly combine the dry ingredients with the wet, adding 3/4 cup of low fat buttermilk and 1/4 inch, peeled pieces of one golden delicious apple.
Divide the batter evenly between the 12 slots and top with the pecan mixture. Apple Muffins take 20-25 minutes to bake, or until an inserted toothpick can be removed cleanly. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan.

Blueberry Whole Wheat Muffins
Blueberry Whole Wheat Muffins require a baking temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place 12 liners in a tin before preparing the ingredients. Mix 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup each vegetable oil, reduced fat sour cream, and brown sugar, 1 teaspoon each of lemon zest and vanilla extract, and two eggs. Combine both bowls and fold in a cup of blueberries.
Place the batter evenly in the 12 slots of the tin. Bake the muffins for 20 to 24 minutes. The muffins will appear golden when finished.

Pumpkin Muffins
Bake Pumpkin Muffins at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Tin liners are not necessary; simply spray a pan fit for 12 with cooking spray.
Mix one cup each all purpose and whole grain pastry flours, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg. In another bowl, combine 3/4 cup of brown sugar, three
tablespoons molasses, 1/4 cup canola oil, two eggs, and whisk. Add a can of canned pumpkin and one teaspoon vanilla extract before combining with the flour mixture and 3/4 cup of low-fat buttermilk.
Divide the batter evenly in the tin and distribute 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds among them. Bake for 20 minutes, followed by a 15 minute cooling period, and then remove them from the pan. You can find some more variations here

Carrot Muffins
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 12 slot tin with muffin liners before combining 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons wheat germ, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. In a separate container, whisk together two eggs, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then add 2 cups of medium carrots and 1/2 cup of drained crushed pineapple.
Place the batter into the tin. Carrot Muffins bake for 30 minutes. In their final form, they are golden, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

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Asparagus Stir Fry

The past one week was chaos in our house. I could even go back and say the past on month has been chaos. It first started with the kid, he got the flu, passed it over to me and then the huss took it from there. And then the second cycle started with the kid ofcourse. This time his temperatures started soaring. His birthday has come and gone with no big deal. We kept it simple with a funfetti cake and his favorite t-rex dino fondant topper. He's starting to recover and we are still not into routine. I am keeping it simple for lunch with rasam saadam for the kid and a simple asparagus or broccoli stir fry for me and the night leftovers packed for the huss's lunchbox.

~*What U Need*~ Asparagus - 1 bunch, cleaned and pat dry Olive oil - 1/2 tbsp Chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp Garlic - 3 cloves, sliced Salt to season How I made it: Clean the asparagus and pat dry. Break the stem till the part of the asparagus that is tender. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and saute till golden brown. Add the red chilli flakes and saute for 20 seconds. Add the asparagus and saute in high heat till it has brown spots and slightly tender but still crisp.

Serve with a salad.

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(Amma Cooks) Kappa Avichathu / Vevichathu | Seasoned Yucca Root Mash

Kappa and meen kulambu or loved-ly called as "Kappayum meenum" is a Keralite favorite. Its a staple food of the people of Kerala. But anyone who has had a taste of the two combined can never stop from having another mouthful. It is a match made in heaven. I have never been a big fan of fish curry. Ya, sounds bizarre for a person who hails from a land where fish is cooked everyday in every household. Back home, fish was got so cheap and so fresh and so amma used to make something or the other with fish everyday. And so I hated fish, I hated to see them daily in my plate and so I stopped having them. An exception is the fried sardine. I can have them everyday with breads, rolled in chapathis or tossed with rice.

The second exception is "Kappayum meenum", an all-time family favorite. The one that amma makes can never go wrong both in taste and texture. She always uses anchovies to make the curry and then she mixes it with partially mashed kappa. Oh the taste is to die for. I am salivating it even as I write the post. And to all those who are loving the sound of kappayum meenum, I will put up the recipe as soon as amma prepares it. As of now, its verum kappa vevichathu. A simple, healthy and low calorie dish to go with your evening black tea/coffee. I strongly recommend black coffee with ginger as the flavor complements this dish the best.

~*What U Need*~ Kappa / Yucca Root - 250 gm Urad dhal - 1 tsp Pearl onions - 10 Red chilli - 2 Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional) Peppercorns - 7-8 (optional) Salt - a pinch Oil - 2 tsp

How I made it:
Clean and cut the yucca root into cubes. Pressure cook for 2-3 whistles till soft and cooked but not mushy. Cool and mash. Donot mash too much, there should be some bigger chunks. Add coconut and mix when hot. Heat oil in a kadai, temper with mustard seeds, split red chilli, curry leaves, urad dhal and peppercorns if using. Add the chopped pearl onions and turmeric powder and saute till soft. Add the cooked and mashed kappa and mix well. Cook for 2-3 mins and remove from flame.

Serve hot with coconut chutney or meen kulambhu (fish curry).

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Day 8#: Sweet Corn Sundal With Coriander & Lemon | Navarathiri Recipes

For day 8 of Navarathiri, I made this simple sweet corn sundal or rather a simple chaat. Its no sundal cos it involves no tempering. But you can also go ahead and use sweet corn to make sundal just like the other sundal recipes ~ tempering with mustard seeds, red chilli and curry leaves and finally adding in grated coconut. But to me, I could never pair sweet corn with anything else let alone coconut. So doubtful of the flavor combination, I boiled the sweet corn kernels and flavored it to my taste buds. I made pachaipayaru sundal the traditional way as a backup as I was not sure if this could be used for neivedhiyam.

~*What U Need*~ Sweet corn kernels - 1 cup Pepper - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste Lemon Juice - 1/2 tbsp Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped

How I Made it:
Pressure cook the sweet corn for 3 whistles. Drain and mix with the other ingredients.

Serve hot/cold.

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Day 7#: Masala Channa Sundal / Masala Kondakadalai Sundal | Navarathiri Recipes

For day 7, I made this masala channa sundal for neivedhiyam. I had seen this in Sharmi's blog and had bookmarked it immediately. Adding the homemade spice powder gives a unique taste when compared to the regular tempered sundals that I make. You can add the spice powder for any type of sundal varieties but I think it goes best with channa sundal. Again this also makes an easy stir fry which could be used as a side dish or could be packed off for lunchboxes.

~*What U Need*~ Kondakadalai/Chickpeas - 3/4 cup Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp Oil - 1 tsp Salt - to taste To roast and grind: Urad Dhal - 1 tsp Channa Dal - 1/2 tsp Red Chilli - 1 To temper: Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad Dhal - 1/2 tsp Red Chilli - 1 Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Hing - a pinch

How I made it:
Dry roast the ingredients given under 'roast and grind' and grind it to a coarse powder. Set aside.

Soak channa in water overnight. Pressure cook for 3 whistles till soft. Drain and set aside. In a pan, heat oil add mustard seeds, urad dhal allow it to crackle. Add hing, curry leaves and split red chilli and saute.

Add the cooked channa and mix well. Add the dry roasted powder, coconut and salt and mix well. Cook for 1 min and remove from flame.

Serve hot as evening snack!!!

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Day 6#: Kaaramani Inippu Sundal / Sweet Cow Gram Sundal | Navarathiri Recipes

For day 6 of Navarathiri I made this kaaramani inippu sundal for neivedhiyam. Making different types of sundal for all the nine days of Navarathiri is so interesting and I am planning to continue this habit. That way I would have the satisfaction that I am including one dhal or pulse in our everyday diet.
Cow gram a.k.a black eyed peas a.k.a kaaramani has high fibre content and helps to alleviate constipation and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. These simple bean variety is a low-fat and low-calorie food. They are also protein and iron-rich. With so much benefits, there is nothing wrong in including this in your daily-diet. A handful of cow gram boiled with some salt can make wonders to your health.

~*What U Need*~ Cow gram / Kaaramani – 1/2 cup Salt – A pinch Jaggery – 1/4 cup Water – 2-3 tbsp Grated coconut – 3 tbsp Cardamom powder – a pinch(optional)

How I Made it:
Soak the cow gram in water overnight. Drain and pressure cook with water for 2 whistles. Drain and set aside. Take the powdered jaggery in a pan, cover with little water and make a syrup. After the jaggery has melted, strain it to remove the impurities. Heat again till it becomes frothy and thick. Remove from flame and add the cardamom powder. I skipped it.

Add the cooked kaaramani and mix gently to avoid turning mushy. Add the grated coconut and mix well. Cool completely.

Serve as snack.

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Day 5#: Channa Dhal Sundal / Kadalaparuppu Sundal | Navarathiri recipes

Its day 5 of Navarathiri and today I made this simple channa dhal sundal for the pooja. I am simply loving making all these sundal varieties as a)it fills up my blogging space b)we have a healthy snack for tea-time and c)its so easy to make and hardly takes anytime in the kitchen.

Its raining cats and dogs here in Chennai and its a perfect climate to coze up in the couch with a steaming cup of tea (read hot-chocolate if you are my kind) and some hot hot bajjiyas. The climate is making me soooooo lazy that I hardly enter the kitchen to cook, much to the huss's wrath and all I make is dosas and coconut chutney for our dinner. A large jar of Thakkali thokku residing in the fridge saves us when I am in an utterly dormant state. (...the huss is forced into the kitchen to make dosas). Ok, that being said, these sundal varieties have become life savers for me as I am able to skip entering the kitchen staying long the kitchen.

Coming to this sundal, it has a story behind its birth in my kitchen. Actually today morning, I didn't soak any lentils or pulses or dhal to prepare sundal as I had settled for making sweet corn sundal with a thought that I had a pack of corn kernels in my fridge. Only when I was rampaging through the fridge in search of it did I realise that I had used up the corn by making a salad for my previous day lunch. Without second thoughts, I set about soaking the channa dhal for one hour and the sundal was made in half an hour's time. So this makes an easy to make snack even if you do not have too much time.

~*What U Need*~ Channa Dal - 1/2 cup Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp Ginger - 1/2 tsp Salt, Oil To temper: Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1/4 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig Red chillies - 2 Hing - a generous pinch

How I Made it:
Soak channa dal in water for an hour. Pressure cook with enough water for 1 whistle. Allow the pressure to leave by its own. The dhal should be soft but not mushy. Drain and set aside. In a pan heat oil, add mustard seeds, urad dhal. Allow to brown. Add hing, curry leaves and split red chillies and fry for a minute. Add ginger and saute.

Add the cooked chana dal and salt. Mix well until its combined. Add coconut, give a quick stir and switch off.

Serve hot!!!

** My Notes:
** Adding ginger and hing helps to avoid gastric problems. So donot avoid it.

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Day 3&4#: Pachapayaru Vella Sundal / Green gram Sweet sundal | Navarathiri Recipes

For day 3&4 (yes both fall on the same day) of Navarathiri, I made pachapayaru sundal for padayal. Since it has been savory sundal varieties for the past two days, I wanted to make something sweet today for neivedhiyam (read for us) and hence settled down for pachapayaru vella sundal. Amma used to make this for us when we were kids but she used to mash everything up and make balls out of the mixture. That way she found it easy to feed us and we found it easy to gobble them up. This time I made it dry and I loved this version too.

~*What U Need*~ Green gram / Pachapayaru – 1/2 cup Salt – A pinch Jaggery – 1/4 cup Water – 2-3 tbsp Grated coconut – 3 tbsp Cardamom powder – a pinch(optional)

How I Made it:
Soak the green gram in water for 4 hours. Drain and pressure cook with water for 2 whistles. Drain the green gram. Take the powdered jaggery in a pan, cover with little water and make a syrup. After the jaggery has melted, strain it to remove the impurities. Heat again till it becomes frothy and thick. Remove from flame and add the cardamom powder. I skipped it.

Add the cooked dal and mix well with a fork to avoid turning mushy. Add the grated coconut and mix well. Cool completely.

Serve as snack.

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Day 2#: Moong dhal Sundal / Paasi Paruppu Sundal | Navarathiri Recipes

For day 2 of Navarathiri, I made this moong dhal sundal for neivedhiyam. Moong dhal is rich in Vitamin A, B, C, E and minerals like calcium, iron and potassium. Well known benefits are ~ its aid in loss of weight and lowering cholesterol levels. According to Chinese medicine it is said that these tiny pulses has anti-cancer properties. And according to paati kaivaidhiyam, moong dhal cools the body. After pregnancy, I was advised to replace toor dhal with moong dhal in my diet as toor dhal gives uneasiness to the baby.

I am totally in love with making different sundal varieties as they make a fuss-free and healthy snack for our tea-time. Again this is gluten-free and diabetic friendly and so can be easily served to anoyone of any age.

~*What U Need*~ Moong Dhal - 1/4 cup Grated Fresh Coconut - 2 tbsp Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp Urad Dal - 1/4 tsp Dried Red Chillies - 1-2 Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Turmeric powder - a pinch Hing - a small pinch Salt, Oil

How I Made it:
Soak the moong dhal for 1 or 2 hours. Rinse and drain. Add the moong dhal with some water and turmeric powder and cook for 10-12 minutes till soft but the dhal should retain its shape. Drain and set aside.

Heat 1 tsp oil in pan. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal and let them splutter. Add the broken red chillies, curry leaves and hing and fry for a few seconds.

Now add the cooked moong dal and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the grated fresh coconut and salt to it and mix well. Remove from flame.

Serve as snack!!!

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