Skillet Baked Cornbread

My search for a quick and easy, healthy and filling, moist and crunchy Cornbread has been on for a while now. After many trials in my experimental kitchen with my dear husband and kids trying them out, the search finally ends in the form of this recipe. This skillet baked cornbread is just the way I wanted it, savory and mildly sweet, loaded with cheese and jalapenos. Pair with the in house jalapeno salsa or a blob of homemade butter or even a drizzle of honey.

Moist and Crunchy Cornbread, with a drizzle of Jalapeno Salsa

The ingredients used in the recipe are most often available in our pantry. You can also mix in and add more textures and tastes as you wish too, and it will yet come out deliciously baked. I have used a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet for baking this cornbread, do not panic if you don’t have one, you can use a loaf tin, a cake pan or even muffin tin but monitor the baking time.

Recipe

Serves 14-16 slices

Preparation time 20 mins

Baking time 30-40 mins

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups corn (fresh, frozen or tinned)
2 tbsp/ 30 ml honey
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup ( 225 ml) milk
2 free-range eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups (213 gms) sharp cheddar, grated
1 cup yellow cornmeal (you can easily replace it with semolina/Rava or coarsely ground oats, I used semolina)
2 Jalapeno pepper, chopped
3/4 cup (105 gms) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Optional add on’s:

diced bacon
chopped herbs (chives/garlic chives/parsley etc)
2 – 3 tsp Jalapeno salsa

Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F).
Roughly blend the drained corn in a food processor or with a knife. I have used frozen sweet corn and blended them in the processor. Keep aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, eggs, honey, and brown sugar.
In another bowl, mix the blended corn, and bacon ( if using ).
In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, baking powder & salt) along with the grated cheddar.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet, along with the Jalapenos and chopped herbs. Do not over mix.
Place the castiron skillet in the oven with a tablespoon of butter for 5 mins.
Pour the batter into the hot skillet. Bake the cornbread for 30-40 mins or until it’s golden brown.
Remove from oven, let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Enjoy warm as an accompaniment or with a blob of butter or a drizzle of honey or the in house jalapeno salsa.

A slice of goodness with garden fresh garlic chives !

Magic Bars

While searching for a quick and easy snack to prepare for a tea party among my colleagues at school, I stumbled upon this recipe from the Joy of Baking. I have been a big fan of Stephanie for few years now, and her website. I have tried many recipes from her website and they all have come out just as perfect as they sound.

Magic Bars, as the name suggests blends all the ingredients together like a magic in the oven and comes out as a fabulous snack in no time with absolutely no efforts. A perfect balance of the chewiness and crunchiness in every bite. They are also known as coconut dream bars.

I have baked these bars many times, and every time I bake a batch, they disappear in no time with a demand to bake another batch. I have also tried it with chopped raisins/sultanas/dates along with walnuts and they have turned out as delicious as the ones without. So feel free to add and experiment.

The recipe calls for ingredients that are almost always available in our pantry. A very easy to follow, only the base layer involves combining the biscuit crumbs and butter, rest all ingredients are spread as layers and they are ready to go into the oven. These bars are also called as 6 or 7 layer bars because of the 6 or 7 different layers of ingredients.

Recipe

Makes 25-30 bars

Preparation time 5 – 10 mins

Baking time 30 – 35 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) graham crackers/ digestives biscuits, crumbs or crushed

1 cup (55 grams) sweetened or unsweetened, flaked or shredded dried desiccated coconut

1 cup (175 grams) semisweet chocolate chips or

1 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

1 cup (175 grams) butterscotch chips (optional)

1 cup (100 grams) chopped walnuts/pecans

1 can (14 ounce/396 grams) sweetened condensed milk

Chocolate chips, butterscotch chips & chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Line a 9 inch baking pan or a brownie pan with parchment/butter paper and then butter the paper.

Layers of biscuit crumbs, coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips & walnuts

In a mixing bowl, combine well the biscuit crumbs and the melted butter. Press the crumb mixture evenly on to the lined baking pan.

Next, sprinkle the desiccated coconut over the crumbs, follow that with a layer of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips ( if using) over the coconut layer. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts/pecans over the chips.

Finally, evenly drizzle the sweetened condensed milk all over the ingredients. Do not mix the ingredients together, just layer them.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes, in the center rack or until golden brown and set . Remove from oven and place on a wire rack till completely cool. Cut into bars and store in an airtight jar or in the refrigerator.

Magic Bars, also known as Coconut dream bars or 6/7 layers bars.

Happy baking !!

Bamboo Rice Payasam

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Vishu!

Vishu Kanni Konna and Mulayari payasam/bamboo payasam

A few weeks ago while driving back from my home town Kannur, My family and I, stopped at a hotel in Coorg for breakfast. Waiting for our breakfast, I began to explore the small shop attached to the hotel, selling all the local, handmade, & organically sourced produce. My eyes fell upon this pack of bamboo rice. I was intrigued by this as I had heard many fascinating dishes that could be made with Bamboo rice and it’s health benefits. Here’s my trial of Bamboo rice payasam, also known a Mulayari payasam, a Vishu special.

While making this payasam, figured that it is very easy to prepare and tastes best when cooked using fresh coconut milk and jaggery syrup. The method is very similar to that of making wheat payasam or parippu pradhaman.

Recipe

Serves 8

Soaking time 8-10 hours

Cooking time 30 mins

Ingredients

Bamboo rice 1 cup
Jaggery 1 cup
Coconut milk (thick/1st extract) 1 cup
Coconut milk (thin/2 extract) 2 cups
Dry ginger powder/chukke/Saunth 1 teaspoon
Cardamom/elaichi powder 1 teaspoon
Sea salt a pinch
Ghee/clarified butter 2 table spoon
Coconut slices, cut small for garnish (1 table spoon)
Cashew nuts and raisins for garnish (1 table spoon)

The pre-packed bamboo rice needs to be thoroughly cleaned as there may be tiny particles of dirt or mud.
Once cleaned, wash and soak the bamboo rice in water for over 8-10 hours or overnight.
Pressure cook the bamboo rice with the 2nd extract or the thin coconut milk for 10 minutes after the 1st pressure is released.
Boil the jaggery with 1 cup water to form a thin syrup. Sieve it and keep aside.
Open the pressure cooker, when cooled. Transfer the cooked bamboo rice to a thick bottom sauce pan.
Add the jaggery syrup and a pinch of salt to the cooked bamboo rice and let it simmer on very low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring once a while.
Add the thick coconut milk (1st extract), dry ginger powder, cardamom powder and bring it to a boil. Stir well. Do not over boil this as it may curdle. Take it off the heat and keep aside. The payasam is nearly ready.
Take a small pan for tempering, add little ghee, when hot add the coconut slices and let it cook till golden brown, pour it over the cooked payasam.
Pour a little ghee to the tempering pan, when warm, add the cashew nuts, fry them till golden brown, pour it over the cooked payasam.
Pour the remaining ghee to the tempering pan, when warm, add the raisins, when all swell up, turn off the heat and pour them over the cooked payasam. Give it a good stir and the Bamboo payasam is ready to serve.
Enjoy the payasam warm or cold. Tastes even better the next day, straight out of the refrigerator.

Chocolate Zuchini Cake

Amongst the various arts of cooking, I enjoy baking the most. I bake when am happy, I bake when am sad, I bake almost all the time. Baking is therapy, the most magical stress buster & energizer. Above all, it’s so much fun to whip up magic in the oven.

Baking runs in the family, my mother was an amazing baker herself. Our childhood memories are filled with the aroma of freshly baked cakes & cookies. Those timeless Pound cakes and butter cookies of her’s are just as fresh as a memory yesterday. And now I watch my children baking some yummy goodies. As I am writing this post, my daughter is creating her magical oats chocolate chip cookies.

This recipe came to me when we had a surplus of Zucchini in our garden in Cairo, I had discovered a multitude of way to use this humble summer squash in soups, stir-frys, zoodles, crumb fries, crusted and you name it and have tried it all out, and almost all the attempts were loved at home. This was another super healthy addition to my list of healthy bakes. I had found this recipe from the internet and have tried and modified many times with different ingredients too, after all, isn’t our kitchen a big experimental lab.

Taking you straight to the recipe, keeping aside the many stories that I would have otherwise written here….

This cake tastes best when it is cold..or even fresh out of the oven… glazed or no glaze… This cake just tastes good in any way that you would love to have. So be ready to whip up the magic.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with walnuts, cranberries & chocolate chips

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups regular whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup oil/soft butter ( u can substitute it with coconut oil/canola oil)
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3 cups coarsely shredded zucchini (from about 1 pound of zucchini)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
A handful of chocolate chunks/choco chips
Handful chopped cranberries/sultanas
Glaze (directions follow)

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C

1 Set the shredded zucchini to drain in a sieve over a bowl. If no moisture drains out and the zucchini feels dry, sprinkle some water over it and let the excess drain.

2 Vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl, and set aside.

3 With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugars until smooth. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a wooden spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.

4 Alternately stir in the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition

5 Spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan or tube pan lightly with cooking spray (or grease with butter). Wipe off the excess. Pour in the batter and use a rubber spatula to level the top of the batter. Bake in the oven for about 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean (test at 45 min). Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

6 Make the glaze by mixing together the glaze ingredients. You can easily do this by hand with a whisk or a spoon. If the glaze is too runny, add some more powdered sugar. If too thick, add more milk. Drizzle glaze over cake.

This is a fairly large cake. Cut in thin slices to serve.

I have replaced the brown sugar with powdered jaggery, Butter with coconut oil, Orange zest with lemon zest & even cranberries with sultanas. So feel free to change as per the supplies available in your pantry. Believe me, all the versions will be just as delicious as it could be.

Recipe adapted and modified from simplyrecipes.com

Falafels

My love affair with falafels began when we moved to Cairo, and it still continues (though the south indian paripu vadas seem like its cousin & am not a much fan of it). The hot falafels with a garlic tahini sauce were the best combination ever. During one of my explorations of this mystic city, my friend Kavita Rangappa took me to “Gad”, a local cuisine restaurant and introduced me to “on the go” Tahmeya sandwiches. These sandwiches consisted of the Baladi (local ) bread, which is a whole wheat pita, filled with falafels, fresh salad, tahini & many options to be added, for instance, you could even add french fries into them (but I liked it without). and then just munch on as you continue to drive around the city.

When we moved to Nairobi, I began to miss falafels tremendously & began the search for Arabic restaurants that served falafels on their menu, found a few but nothing compared to the ones we had in Cairo. And one fine afternoon, thinking back, I remembered a television show (cookery channel) I watched while we were in Cairo, that was shot on the river Nile, on a boat. I was fascinated by the whole set up of the show though I couldn’t follow the language. And coincidently the chef was making falafels. I could understand the ingredients and followed the recipe. From then on, my search for falafels at restaurants came to an end as I could make these amazing (Egyptian way, I believe every Arabic country have their version of falafels) at home.

So here in this recipe, the measures are all as per my understanding of the recipe (as it was in Arabic, but believe me it’s delicious) so please feel to modify as per your liking and do make it too.

Falafels

Ingredients

Chickpeas (dry): 2 cups, soaked in water for 8-10 hours

Flat leaf parsley: a medium bunch, approximately 1 cup (or you could use a small bunch of coriander leaves if you don’t find parsley, but the flavor is different)

Peeled garlic: 8-10 cloves

Onion: medium size, roughly chopped

Green chilies: as per taste

Cumin powder: 1 tbsp

Coriander powder: 2tsp

Cumin seeds & coriander seeds: 1 tsp each

Rice flour:2-3tbsp

salt to taste

White sesame seeds (to roll)

Method

Rinse the soaked chickpeas well. Add the chickpeas in a food processor along with the chopped parsley, garlic, onions, green chilies & the seeds. Add in the cumin, coriander powder, rice flour & salt to taste and Mix well. Allow the mixture to stand for 2 hours.

Heat plenty of oil in a deep saucepan or fryer. Shape small balls from the falafel batter. Roll them gently in white sesame seeds and fry in oil until they are golden brown.

Serve warm with Garlic tahini sauce and a hot cuppa mint tea…..

You can also fill them in pita pockets smeared with garlic tahini with some fresh salads, pickled vegetables and make your own tahmeya sandwiches.

Garlic Tahini sauce

Ingredients

Minced Garlic: 1tsp

salt to taste

Tahini: 1/2 cup

Juice of a half lemon

cold water

Method

Crush garlic & salt in a mortar. Mix in the lemon juice. In a bowl, pour tahini along with the lemon, garlic & salt mix, whisking a few tablespoons of water at a time, to get a smooth consistency. The Garlic Tahini sauce is ready. This can be stored in the refrigerator for 7-10 days

Achari Raan

This being my first recipe on the blog, had to be an in-house favourite. The Achari Raan, one of our discoveries, inspired and reimagined from the recipe of my dear friend Henny Lubecke, who taught me Lamb leg roast with Mediterranean spice rub.

We have made this (with various versions) many a time at home for get-togethers with friends & family. And, it’s been so difficult for them to decide as to which version is the best, as all are irresistibly delicious. Leg of Lamb will definitely be the star attraction on your party table. This can be teamed up with salads on the side, and pita or roti or bread or even just flavoured rice. Here I have teamed raan with Roti Jala also known as Malaysian net crepes & they seemed like a match made in heaven.

The secret to a perfectly baked leg of lamb/raan is in its long marination and slow cooking. This recipe calls for a good 8-10 hours of marination and baking for 2-3 hours.

While picking a lamb leg/raan, ideally take a small to mid-size, with little fat on. Also, ensure that it fits the roasting pan of your oven, else you may get it cut it to the desired size of the pan by the butcher, and arrange it in the pan.

The achari spice mix can be made at home or you may also use the commercially available ones from the super markets. I have tried both, and they have come out equally good.

Very excited to share my first recipe with you all, do share your feedback if you happen to try it out

Achari Raan

Ingredients :

A lamb/mutton leg ( the measures are for a 2.5kg raan)

Ginger Garlic paste : 100 gms each

Thick yoghurt : 1 cup

Smoked and cooled Mustard oil : half cup

Peeled garlic cloves : a handful

Potatoes : 3, cut in big chunks

Onions : 3, cut in big chunks

(optional: Carrots, zuchinni etc in chunks)

Ingredients for the achari spice mix

Whole red chillies (dry): 9-10 nos

Fennel seeds: 3 tbsp

Coriander seed: 1tbsp

Cumin seeds: 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds: 3tbsp

Carrom seeds:1/2 tsp

Nigella seeds: 1 tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp

Asefotida: 1/4 tsp

Dry mango powder: 2 tsp

Salt: 3-4 tbsp

In a thick bottom pan, dry roast the red chillies, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, carrom seeds & nigella seeds till lightly fragrant. Set aside to cool completely. Dry grind to a coarse powder & mix in the remaining ingredients. Store in an airtight jar.

2 packets of Achari gosht masala

Method:

While buying the raan, do not discard the fat, instead slice the fat and keep them aside to use while baking.

Wash, clean & pat dry the raan thoroughly. Make gashes with a pointed knife on the raan.

Mix the achari spice mix, ginger garlic paste, yoghurt & the mustard oil in a big bowl.

Take a baking pan, which can fit the raan, Line it with thick layers of baking foil (keep some extra as you will need to wrap & seal the raan completely in it.

Transfer the pat dried raan into the foiled baking pan. keep the slices of fat under the raan.

Pour the marinade and massage the raan well with both ur hands. Fill the gashes on the raan with cloves of garlic. Cover & let it sleep overnight or 8 to 10 hours in the refrigerator.

Pre heat the oven to 250c, Open the foil, and place the fresh cut onions & potatoes randomly over, under & besides the raan and wrap the foil completely sealed. It should be thoroughly sealed.

Place the raan in the preheated oven for 1 hour. After an hour, reduce the oven temp to 120c and let it bake for another hour. Check with an oven thermometer for the doneness of the meat. Baking time may vary on the meat size & the oven. When done, take it out and open the foil carefully (as the steam might burn u). Transfer onto a serving platter & serve hot.

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The Spice route….

Thanks for joining me!

The journey of the Spice route

In the land of the great Pharaohs & the pyramids, the journey of the Spice route began. My family and I relocated to Cairo, Egypt from Bangalore, India many years ago. While building some great friendships over the years, we realized that one of the greatest things that bring people together around the world was food and music. Thus began the journey of learning the various cuisines from the different kitchens of my friends. Our expat journey took us to Nairobi, a foodies paradise in Kenya, setting off more into the culinary journey with my friends from various regions of the world. Now back home to Bangalore, I sit down here, to publish my Spice route.

My blog is a treasure trove of recipes that I learned from my friends in their kitchens and my trials too.

About me…..

An avid travel photographer, a wildlife enthusiast who belongs in nature with the flora and fauna. Professionally, trying to be a better educator and facilitator of learning in the process of teaching the child, equally passionate about cooking and experimenting with food. While am not doing any of the above, you would find me in the company of little kids or be dancing away.