Cardamom Flavored Pear Muffins

You can ask the other adult at home to shut up and deal with it if you hear complaints about evening hunger pangs. However if it is the question of kids and that too a couple of teenagers with voracious appetites and plenty of free 'summer' time on their hands, you don't and cannot ask them to deal with it. You learn to deal with it by stacking their favorite bunch of snacks so that you can escape the nagging and live in peace.

Fruit based muffins are one of the 'must have' snacks in my kitchen and at any given time, a jar of muffins could be found on my kitchen table. I opt for them since the prep work takes hardly any time and a couple of muffins with a glass of milk take care of 'one snack' time for the kids. It was the turn of these pear muffins for this week's stock. They were yummy besides being light and fluffy almost like cupcakes. I did not use any nuts upon my daughter's request but use chopped nuts of your choice if desired.

Ingredients: (Yield 8 muffins)
1 cup all purpose flour (Half the quantity can be replaced with wheat flour.)
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cardamom powder
1 big sized pear (About 1 cup peeled and cubed pear.)
4 - 6 tbsp. sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp. yogurt (Plus or minus 1 tbsp. depending upon the consistency of the batter.)
1 tbsp. oil / butter (I used canola oil.)
 
Method:
* Preheat the oven to 375 deg F. Grease a muffin tin or use paper liners.
* Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground cardamom into a mixing bowl.
* Grind finely pear cubes, sugar, oil and about 3 tbsp. yogurt in a blender / food processor.
* Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients in a bowl, just until combined.
* Spoon the batter into muffin cups, filling up to 2/3rd in each cup. Place the muffin tray in the preheated oven.
* Bake until the muffin tops start to brown and a tooth pick inserted at the center comes out clean; about 20 to 25 minutes.
* Transfer them to a wire rack to cool before storing them. 

This is my entry to
1. Blogging marathon #53.
2. Srivalli's 'Kids' Delight' event hosted by Harini this month with the theme 'Fruits'.

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Fruit Salad with Mango Sauce

This is a simple yet delightful fruit salad, which can be put together with ease. An excellent alternative to custard fruit salad, in fact a better one for mango lovers.

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped mixed fruit (Any ripe fruit will work. I added apple, banana, kiwi, mango, peaches and pear.)
1/2 cup mango puree (I used kesar mango pulp but homemade puree can be used.)

Method:
Add the chopped fruits to a bowl and pour the mango sauce / puree.
Cover and chill for a couple of hours. Serve.

This is going to be my Day 6 entry for blogging marathon #9. Check what other marathoners are cooking today.

This also goes to Srivalli's "Soups and Salads" Mela.

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Pear Jam ~ Microwave Version

Srivalli's two week long blogging marathon # 7 starts today and the theme choices for the participants this time are going to be
1. Crunchy Snacks for Kids
2. Cooking from a cookbook
3. Cooking from the backpack
4. Microwave Cooking
5. Regional Specials
6. Combo Meals
7. No Butter Bakes

That means the participating bloggers have to select a theme from above and cook for a week based on it. For this week's marathon, I chose microwave cooking and so for the next seven days, you are going to see microwave based recipes here. Check what the other marathoners are cooking today. 
On the first day, here is a simple and quick yet yummy pear jam prepared in the microwave. Actually this recipe was in my drafts for over three years now since I wasn't happy with the initial pictures I took and later forgot to update it.  

Preparing jam using bread machine:
Ingredients:
Pears - 2 (1 cup mashed)
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp
Pectin - 1/2 packet (up to 1 oz)

I usually go with D'anjou pears because they are just sweet with out the awful smell. (I dislike Bartlett pears for their smell.) I prepared the jam for the first time in my Zojirushi bread machine following their cooking manual. Now with the bread machine, it is pretty simple. You add all the ingredients to the baking container and it does the job for you. And if you are not satisfied with the bread maker's jam consistency and think that the jam has to be thicker, then put the jam into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave it for 2 -5 minutes depending upon the desired consistency. The jam thickens when cooled / refrigerated and so, it is usually wise to stop micro waving it when you are almost there. After refrigeration, if the jam becomes thicker and is not spreadable, warm the jam in MW for a minute. It should work. Also, you can skip pectin from this recipe all together. It takes longer in bread machine to prepare jam though it is easier. I don't personally prefer wasting that much of power over a cup of jam. Here is the recipe anyway.
Peel the pears and mash them coarsely with a fork or in a blender.  Add all the ingredients to the baking pan and cook selecting the 'jam course' or follow the instructions.

Jam preparation in microwave:
I usually prepare jams in small quantities and prefer using a microwave. Last week, I prepared pear jam in microwave in two batches and this is how I did it.

Method 1:

Ingredients:
1 cup pear
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp pectin
6 Tbsp sugar

Peel and coarsely mash the pears with a fork. Add all the ingredients to a microwave safe bowl and cook in the microwave, stirring in between. Stop before you think that you have reached the desired consistency since it thickens after cooling. It usually takes me around 10 - 12 minutes to prepare jam in my microwave with the above quantity. Let cool and refrigerate the jam.

Method 2 :
For the other batch, I decided to puree the fruit and had about 4 cups of pureed pears. I added about 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp pectin, 6 cloves and a tsp of lemon juice to it. I microwaved it till the desired consistency was reached. The jam consistency would be softer when the fruit is over ripened and pureed. I personally prefer not to puree the fruit while preparing jams. Cool, discard the cloves and refrigerate the jam prepared.

Note:
Pectin is a type of sugar contained in fruits that jellifies jam (adds thickness). Add pectin as part of the ingredients if a softer jam is not preferred but a thicker version.

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Pear Milkshake

For those of you wondering about my absence from the blog world and what happened to me, I am all well and alive. J We had been on a short, rejuvenating vacation over the long weekend and got to meet some family members. I had been busy with the preparation and packing for the vacation, the actual part of it and again the unpacking and cleanup chores after returning back home. And of course the latter part was no fun though we enjoyed each day of our vacation. The little one is already asking whether we can go on another one next weekend. Probably we have to do it one more time next month. J

Summer holidays for the kids have started just last month in our parts of the world and obviously we parents have to devise new methods to beat their boredom. Or else we get bombarded with a routine tag line of a summer vacation 'I am bored'. Luckily 'the daughter' is in summer program giving me some respite for a few hours each day. She seemed to like the concept of the program and tries to follow their routine at home during weekends. And this milkshake, basically a simple recipe was the result of it. Her summer program teacher cooks a snack once a week in front of the students. Usually the kind that can be created easily by even kids (with adult supervision of course.) My daughter has planned to cook with me once a week during the summer break and for our first cooking session, I chose to go with a milkshake for its simplicity. Though the picky eater tasted only a few spoons, she now at least knows what goes into a milkshake and how it is prepared. Mission accomplished. J

We just blended together two peeled pears, 1.5 cups milk and sugar for this quick, refreshing treat. Add extra milk if thinner milkshake is preferred.

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Pear Smoothie, Brown Rice Bisibele Huli and Jihva Workout Vratham

I thought of being a part of Jihva work out vratham that is being performed at Indira's place this month. Though I would not be able to stick to the exercise routine due to my own reasons, I am putting efforts to stay along with the diet part.
I am going to log what I would be cooking/eating during this process.

May 1st:
Breakfast: (Around 10 AM)
Woke up late and it was around 10 am when I had my breakfast. Made breakfast for the family, got ready the little one for gymnastic class and then had my breakfast. While the family had scrumptious dosas, I had a custom made smoothie :) and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I blended a well - ripened d'anjou pear + 1/2 cup homemade fat free yogurt + a pinch of cardamom powder for flavor (optional) with out any additional sweeteners. The pear smoothie was sweet enough.
The above quantity yields 1 cup of smoothie and adding some crushed ice during blending sounds good on a hot summer day.



Lunch (2 pm)
Then with housework and brief online chatting with my SIL and an aunt, it was around 2 pm when I had lunch and by the time I was almost starving. 2 medium - sized pesarattu with a cup of carrot sambhar satisfied my hunger.
Dinner (8pm)
I returned just before 8pm after 4 hours of shopping and was completely exhausted and starved. Didn't have energy / time to prepare any thing for dinner. Again had pesarattu with sambhar. Churned 1/4 cup fat free, plain yogurt + 1/2 cup water, made majjiga and had it too.
After thought: This menu did not work well since the day started with only smoothie and I was really hungry just after an hour and so. Also didn't have any evening snack. Felt hungry again 2 hours after dinner.

May 2 :
Worked around 1 hour in the garden.

Breakfast:
1 cup sprouts
Lunch:
1 cup of bisibele bhath - Prepared with brown rice, lentils, carrots, green beans, peas and spice mixture sans ghee and cashews.
1 cup majjiga / buttermilk
Snack:
10 almonds + a small fruit
Dinner:
1 cup Bisibelebhath
After thought: Was full whole day. Didn't feel the need to snack in between.

Bisibele huli anna / Bisibele Bhath using Brown rice:
In Kannada, Bisi - hot (as in temperature), Bele - lentils, , Huli - Tangy, Anna / Bhath - rice



Ingredients for 4 -5 servings of Brown rice bisibelehuli:
1 cup brown rice (for the regular version, go with white rice as sona masuri variety)
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 cups mixed veggies. (Usually I go with chopped carrot, bean, potato, chayote, peas and 2 tomatoes)
Water - 4 to 5 cups
Bisibelebhath powder, homemade or use a good brand like MTRs - 4 Tbsp or as per taste
Salt as needed
For tadka: 3 -4 tbsp ghee, 2 tbsp cashew nuts, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 10/12 curry leaves
(I don't use tamarind when tomatoes are tangy. If the dish needs to be tangier, use tamarind juice as well.)

This wholesome, signature dish from Karnataka can be prepared in a jiffy, if the spice mixture vital for the dish is prepared in advance and when a pressure cooker / pan is used for cooking. When I have time to prepare bisibele bhath leisurely, I would opt to cook it in a pot on stovetop so that the rice - lentils attain almost a creamy texture and all the flavors mingle well. If in a hurry, I sometimes use the short cut method and go with a pressure cooker.
Put rice, lentils, veggies (if in a hurry, go with frozen stuff), turmeric powder and water directly to a pressure cooker or a pressure pan and cook till done. When the valve pressure is gone, remove the lid.
In the mean time, melt some ghee and toast cashews till they turn golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and then add mustard seeds and curry leaves to the same ghee. When mustard seeds start to splutter, turn off the heat.
Add the tadka mixture, bisibelebhath powder and salt to the cooked rice - mixture and stir well. Turn on the stove and simmer for a couple of minutes more.
Serve hot with papad /chips.

This Brown Rice Bisibelebhath goes to Twenty - 20 cooking event.
And the yummy Pear Smoothie goes to
Priya's Cooking with seeds - Cardamom Seeds
Srivalli's Thanda Mela.

Other variations of bisibelebhath:
Cracked Wheat Bisibele Huli
Poha Bisibele Bhath

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Fruity Yogurt

When I was trying to come up with a recipe for a fruit based yogurt, my peach shrikhand and pomegranate raita posts gave me an idea. Instead of pureeing the fruit, I added chunks to the creamy yogurt and the result was a fat free & guilt free snack. It was a healthy, delicious dessert with no sweeteners and preservatives added. Ingredients: Yogurt Chopped fruit I used fat free yogurt and for fruit - chopped mango, nectarine, peach, pear and plum. Any fruit which goes well with yogurt can be substituted. A creamier texture can be obtained using fat free yogurt by just hanging the yogurt in a cotton cloth. Freshly prepared yogurt tastes better since it doesn't go sour during the draining process. Cover a colander with a thin cotton cloth and pour the yogurt into it. Then tie the cotton cloth into a bundle and leave it in the colander. No need to place weight on it. I placed a bowl underneath the colander to catch the drips and put it in the refrigerator. That water can be used to prepare roti dough instead of throwing it away. Drain the yogurt for a couple of hours and the end product is a thick yogurt with a creamy texture. Then mix the chopped fruit and serve. I used half a cup of fruit for a cup of hung yogurt. This healthy, luscious, creamy dessert can be served as it is or refrigerated for a couple of hours before serving. Note: If the hung yogurt goes sour, try adding a sweetener packet. This goes to 'Frozen yogurt' event hosted by Siri of Siri's Corner and also 'Eat healthy - Protein rich' contest hosted at "Art of cooking Indian food'. Post a comment

Pear Muffins

Out of necessity, I prepared pear muffins for the first time today. What was the necessity? I had to finish the pears, which I bought a couple of weeks ago. I had bought a dozen and they had ripen at the same time. Sitting in the refrigerator, they were over ripen and my refrigerator was smelling all pear...y. I decided to do something with them instead of eating them plain. I finally concocted my own recipe for muffins after going through several recipes and here is the result. It is quite simple to make and turned out delicious.They were perfect for me as I prefer a crusty top.


Ingredients:
All purpose flour / Maida – 1 cup
Wheat flour – 3/4 cup
Brown sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Pears peeled, finely chopped - 2 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Ground nutmeg - 1/4 tsp
Ground ginger - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Melted butter - 2 tbsp
Milk - 1/4 cup
Yogurt - 1/4 cup
I substituted 1/4 cup wheat flour + 1 tsp oil + 4 tbsp milk + 1 tsp baking powder for 2 eggs. (Or 2 bananas can be substituted for 2 eggs)

Method:
Preheat the oven at 375°F.
Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line with paper muffin cups.
Combine all the dry items. Since I was not using any eggs, I added milk, yogurt, butter and pear into the dry ingredients and just stirred the mixture to form a moist lump.
Fill the muffin cups evenly and bake them till they turn golden brown or a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
Remove and serve.

Note:
I was using wheat flour and the substitution for eggs (with the above ingredients mentioned) for the first time while making muffins. I got this substitution from a cookbook on muffins. By mistake, I added 1 & 1/2 cup of chopped pear pieces instead of 2 cups. Muffins were a very tiny bit dry. I could not guess whether it resulted because of the substitution or the missing pears or the wheat flour. If it was because of the substitution , I would go back to my old substitution, bananas.

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