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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Chettinad Chicken Curry

Something about frozen chicken doesn't spell and taste chicken to me. It lacks taste and texture. I have even switched to organic farm fresh chicken but still its not the same. Bottom line is that whatever you do you just cant pull the flavors that you need to come out of it. Unless you make a spice laden flavor packed chicken curry like this chettinadu version. All that spices that you throw into the curry is what flavors the chicken and makes it succulent. As for this chettinad chicken curry, I wouldn't say that it is authentic and perfect but it tastes good with a whiff of that authentic taste. To achieve that perfection use small onions instead of regular onions.

~*What U Need*~ Onion - 1, finely chopped Tomato - 1, chopped Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp Chicken - 1 lb, cleaned, bone-in Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped Mint leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped To roast and grind: Coconut - 4 tbsp Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp Red chilli - 1 To grind to a smooth paste: Onion - 1/4 cup Green chilli - 1 Yogurt - 1 tbsp Red chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tbsp To Temper Oil - 1-2 tbsp Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp 2 cloves, 1" cinnamon, 2 cardamon, 1 bayleaf Curry leaves - 1 sprig How I Made it: Clean the chicken thoroughly and set aside. You can marinate this in yogurt, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander and ginger garlic paste for 30 mins. Grind the ingredients under smooth paste. Roast and grind the coconut, cashew nuts, fennel seeds and chilli. Heat oil in a kadai, temper with fennel seeds, spices and curry leaves. Add the onions and saute well till brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and cook till becomes soft. Add the curry leaves, ground onion paste and saute for 2 mins. Add the roast coconut paste and cook for another 4-5 mins till the mixture becomes thick. Add the chicken, mix well and cook till the chicken leaves water. Add 1/2 cup water and cook til the chicken is completely cooked. Simmer till you get the desired consistency and the mixture leaves oil. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves and season with salt. Remove from flame.

Serve hot with rice /idli/dosa!!!

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White chocolate Cranberry & Coconut Oatmeal cookies

Christmas is all about gifting to friends and family. With just a few more days to go, I am planning to share a few cake and cookie recipes here and this is first of the lot. My husband is a big fan of coconuts in cookies while the kid loves white chocolate. As for me I have been wanting to make oatmeal cookies for a long time and so I incorporated all three, added some cranberries to overcome the sweetness and a teeny bit of lemon zest for some freshness. These taste delicious and make perfect holiday gifts.

Prep time: 15 mins; Baking time: 12 mins; Makes - 18 cookies ~*What U Need*~ Unsalted butter - 1/4 cup, room temp All purpose flour - 3/4 cup Old fashioned oats - 3/4 cup Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Salt - a pinch Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Brown sugar - 1/4 cup White sugar - 1/4 cup Egg - 1/2 of an egg Lemon zest - 1/4 tsp Dried Cranberries - 1/4 cup White chocolate chips - 1/4 cup Coconut flakes - 1/4 cup How I Made it: Preheat the oven to 350F. In a bowl, combine flour, oats, salt, and baking soda; set aside. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add egg, lemon zest, and mix well. Add the flour mixture and gently mix till you see no traces of flour. Gently fold in the coconut and white chocolate chips and cranberries. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. Form 1 tbsp balls, flatten it a bit and bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool for 2 minutes before using a spatula to move onto a cooling rack. Repeat with the entire batch.

Serve with a glass of milk.

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Ragi Ammini Kozhukattai

At times I become a health freak like roasting cauliflower in the oven for tea time or baking sweet potato fries for that hunger pangs or steaming some dumplings for snack. Ragi is not my favorite cereal but I know that its healthy and I need to include it in my diet atleast once a week. And I do that consciously. Mostly in the form of ragi puttu or ragi malt but at times I like to experiment like adding a cup of ragi flour when making chapathis or adai and sometimes something that is totally different like this. These are healthy, tastes yum and kids will totally love popping 'em into their mouth.

~*What U Need*~ For Dough (makes 20-22 small balls): Sprouted ragi flour - 3/4 cup Water - to knead Salt - to taste Gingely oil - 1 tsp For Tempering: Urad dhal - 1 tbsp Channa dal - 1 tbsp Grated coconut - 2 tbsp Red chilli - 1 Asofoetida - a pinch Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig How I Made it: Take ragi flour in a wide bowl. Boil water, salt and oil in a pan, start with 1/4 cup. Add it to ragi flour and mix with the help of a wooden spoon. Make sure there are no lumps. Close and set aside for 5 mins. Grease your hands with oil and make small balls. Steam cook for 10 mins on medium flame. Remove and set aside. Heat 2 tsp oil in a kadai and temper mustard seeds. Add urad dal, channa dal, broken red chilies and curry leaves. Saute for 2 mins, add grated coconut. Add asofoetida, cooked kozhukattai and salt to taste.

Serve hot.

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Vendakkai Kaarakuzhambu

I am not a pro when it comes to authentic south Indian gravies like vathakuzhambu, kaarakuzhambu and many others. I can never get the consistency right and it never tastes good. I would rate it average and so I never attempt the same. The reason why I dont get these curries right is that I never add the said amount of oil. If a recipe calls for 4 tbsp oil, I always stick to 1 tbsp. Well, the rest is history. Last week I had this sudden urge to try kaarakuzhambu and I tipped in the oil closing my eyes. The result was this tangy and yummy dish. Now I know why oil goes a long way in making these authentic dishes.

~*What U Need*~ Lady fingers - 10-12 Tamarind - marble sized ball Small onions - 6-8 Tomato - 1 Garlic - 10 cloves Sambar powder - 1/2 tbsp Garlic 8-10 flakes Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Jaggery/brown sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste To temper: Gingely oil - 3 tbsp Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dhal - 1 tsp Toor dhal - 1 tsp Jeera - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig To grind Coconut grated - 1/4 cup Onion - 4-6 How I Made it: Grind the coconut and onion to a smooth paste. Extract the tamarind juice. Slice the garlic. Clean the ladys finger and cut into finger sized pieces. Saute with very little oil till toasted on every sides. Heat kadai with oil and temper with the ingrediends given under ‘to temper’. Add garlic and chopped onion and fry till borwn. Add tomatoes and fry till soft. Add the tamarind extract and enough water,salt, turmeric, and sambar powder. Let it boil for 4 minutes. Then add lady fingers and bring to boil. Add the ground paste to the kuzhambu. Let it boil until the lady finger gets cooked and the kuzhambu comes to the desired consistency. Add jaggery and remove from flame.

Serve with rice!!!

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Kale Thoran

I never make thorans at home because of the amount of coconut that goes into the making. But this kale thoran is an exceptional... The coconut goes so well with the kale that they seem like a match made... Whenever I go grocery shopping I always grab everything and anything that is fresh... Like this kale bunch that I bought a week back. It was screaming freshness and I had to pick it up... And the thoran happened again...

~*What U Need*~ Kale - 1 bunch Oil - 2 tsp Urad dhal - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Dried red chilli - 1 Garlic pods - 5, chopped Curry leaves - 1 sprig Small/pearl onions - 10-12 Grated coconut - 1/2 cup How I Made it: In a non stick pan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds and allow to crackle. Add the curry leaves and urad dhal. When the urad dhal is browned, add the red chilli. Next goes in the garlic and saute till lightly browned. Add the sliced onions and saute. Add the chopped kale and some turmeric powder. Cover with lid and cook for 7-9 mins. Once done, add the grated coconut, mix well and cook for another 2-3 mins. Season with salt and remove from flame.

Serve warm!!!

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Chettinad Chicken Masala

Belated Diwali wishes to all my readers. I am really sorry for not sharing any sweets or savories for this Diwali. I was a bit held up last week but in a good way. I was asked to bake the birthday cake for a lil one. The theme was Cars and the cake that the birthday boy chose was Lightning mcqueen. He wanted a 3D version of the cake and since it was my first time I was skeptical to take up the task. But then the huss encouraged me all the way and yeah I made it. A two tiered Lightning mcqueen cake covered with fondant and decorated with fondant accents. The cake was a big hit and everyone ~ of all the kids totally loved the cake.

Coming to this recipe, Diwali is never complete without a biryani and chicken side dish for us. And so I thought of sharing this delicious and spicy chettinad chicken masala for the day. Chettinad cuisine mostly use pearl onions in the cooking and thats what gives this dish its signature taste. I have used both pearl onions or regular onions to make this dish and both taste awesome but the former always triumphs. And here's the recipe.

~*What U Need*~ Onion - 1, large, finely chopped/small onions - 10-12 Tomato - 1, chopped Garlic - 3, chopped To marinate the chicken: Chicken - 1 lb Red chilli powder - 1 tso Chicken curry powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Yogurt - 2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp To Grind: Onion - 1, medium, chopped/small onions - 10 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Green chilli - 1 Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tbsp To grind: Coconut - 3 tbsp Cashews - 2 tbsp Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp For tempering: Oil - 3 tbsp Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp Cloves - 2 Cinnamon - 1 inch Cardamom - 2 Bay leaf - 1 small Curry leaves - 1 sprig Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped - to garnish How I Made it: Wash the chicken and mix it with all the ingredients under to marinate. Set aside for 30 mins. Grind the ingredients under to grind separately. Heat oil in a pan, when it gets heated add the ingredients under tempering and fry it. Ad chopped onions, garlic and saute until onion turn light golden brown. Add the finely chopped tomatoes and saute till soft and mushy. Add the ground onion paste and saute for 2-3 mins. Add marinated chicken and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Cook till 3/4 th done. Season with salt. Add the ground coconut paste and saute till the raw smell goes off and the chicken is cooked. Add the coriander leaves and remove from flame.

Serve with rice/dosa!!!

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Chicken Salna / Chicken Chalna | Side dish for parottas

I have always been a big fan of parottas in any form. Be it the plain one with a simple kada salna or the jazzed up kothu parottas, I devour the whole plate when it comes to parotta. The parottas that we got in our hometown were much better than the ones that I had eaten in Chennai. Was it the method or the ingredients or the final touch that the masters gave to the parottas, I dont know but something about the parottas from Nagercoil made it stand out. Parottas were always a weekly occasion when I was a kid. And amma makes this copycat kada chalna version at home which pairs perfectly. So here's my moms version.

~*What U Need*~ Chicken - 1 lb, with bones Onion - 1, large, finely chopped Tomato - 1, medium finely chopped Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, finely chopped Cinnamon(1 inch), Cardamom(2), Cloves(2) Salt, Oil - 2 tbsp To roast and grind: Chilli powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tbsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Chicken curry powder - 1 tsp Coconut - 1/2 cup How I Made it: In a pan, dry roast the coconut till brown, add the spice powders and roast for 2-3 mins. Cool and grind to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan. When hot add the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and fry. Add the onions and fry till nicely browned. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and mix well. Fry till the tomatoes are cooked. Add the cleaned chicken and cook till the chicken leaves water and is half cooked. Add the ground masala and cook adding water till the chicken is fully cooked and the curry is reduced. Simmer for another 5 mins at low till oil separates. Garnish with chopped coriander and curry leaves.

Serve hot with parotta.

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Basbousa / Namoura | A Middle Eastern Delicacy

This months Home Baker's challenge was held by Nupur of UK Rasoi and she selected a variety of Arabian delicacies. When I went through the recipes, I was instantly hooked to the Basbousa. In fact I have been hooked with this sweet for quite some time. I have never tried it but something about this dessert felt so rich and heavenly. I am not sure whether it is the use of dessicated coconut or the combination of almond extract and rosewater but something about this dessert seemed to touch the right spot. And just as I believed this dish is heavenly in every bite. It is best served slightly warm so feel free to zap it into the microwave for few seconds.

~*What U need*~ Fine semolina - 1/2 + 1/8 cup All purpose flour - 1/4 cup Shredded coconut - 3/4 cup(I used homemade, check notes) Milk - 1/2 cup Sugar - 6 tbsp Egg - 1/2 of an egg Almond extract - 1/2 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Butter - 4 tbsp Blanched almonds - 16 For the sugar syrup: Water - 1/2 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Rose water - 1/2 tbsp How I Made it: First prepare the sugar syrup. This is because the syrup should be completely cool when pouring onto the cake. Bring the water, sugar & lemon juice to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 6 mins. Add the rosewater and simmer for another 3-4 mins. Transfer the syrup into a measuring jug and let it cool down. Lets make the cake. Mix together the semolina, flour, coconut, sugar & baking powder. Melt the butter, add the milk, egg and almond extract and mix till combined. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix well. Prepare the pan with butter. Transfer the mixture into the baking pan. Place the blanched almonds on the top. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 20 mins. With a buttered knife cut into pieces. Bake for another 20 mins. Once baked, retrace the cuts made with a knife. Pour the syrup over the warm Basbousa. ** My notes: ** To blanch almonds, soak the almonds in warm water for 10 mins and then peel the skin. Pat dry the almonds and use as needed. ** To make fresh dessicated coconut at home, dry roast freshly grated coconut in very low heat for 6-8 mins or till there is no water remaining when touched. Allow to cool and then blend in a coffee grinder with 1 tbsp of sugar till fine.

Serve warm!!!

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Thengai Paal Meen Kuzhambhu / Fish Curry with Coconut milk

I have never been a big fan of seafood, except for crab. Thats the main reason that you don't see that much seafood related dishes in the blog. However I have started cooking fish these days for the sake of pappu. Amma generally makes fish curry with coconut and thats how I know fish. But my MIL makes a version wherein she never uses coconut. Its just lots of tamarind and loads of pearl onions. I took a liking to that curry right from day one and I make it occasionally at home.

This is a hybrid version of my MILs fish curry. I had some coconut milk on hand which I added in the end, allowed the curry to come to a boil and viola I got a tasty curry with a very mild flavor of coconut. The coconut masks the overpowering taste of the tamarind and gives a not-too-much creaminess and sweetness to the curry. On the whole it sure is a winner to me.

~*What U Need*~ Fish - 250 gms Shallots/Pearl onions - 12 Tomato - 1 medium Garlic pods - 4 Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Red Chilli powder - 1.5 tsp Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp Fish curry powder/sambar powder - 1 tsp(optional) Thick Coconut milk - 1/2 cup Salt - as required Gingelly Oil - 3 tbsp Tamarind - 1 lemon sized ball soaked in 1/4 cup water Salt - to season To grind to a fine paste: Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp Shallots - 5 Garlic - 3 To season: Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds+Urud Dal - 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig How I Made it: Marinate the fish with salt, turmeric powder for 30 mins. In a kadai, add oil and when hot add the 'To Season' ingredients and fry well. Add chopped garlic pods and saute them for a minute. Add the chopped shallots and fry till golden brown. Add the spice powders and fry for 5 mins. Add the ground paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. Then add tomato and saute till the oil oozes out. Now pour the tamarind extract and bring to a boil. In low flame keep boiling till the oil separates and the curry reaches the desired consistency. Add a sprig of curry leaves and the fish pieces. Cook for few mins and then add the thick coconut milk. Cook for 1-2 mins and remove from flame.

Serve hot with white rice!!!

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