Easy Corn Bread

Easy Corn Bread

 I remember years ago when we had taken a road trip to Austin, we were tired, hungry and were craving for something warm and hearty. It was dark and colder than the usual and with no many choices on hand we reluctantly stopped at a local café located on the highway. However we were in for a treat, when we tasted their corn bread along with hot black bean soup. We had never tasted such cornbread before, hot, moist and delicious it totally worth the stop we made there.

 Again in our recent trip, we tried to locate that place, but were not successful. It appears to have lost in the oblivion. Anyway the warmth and the flavor will be etched in our memories for long time. 

After that we tried cornbread from many different places, but were not pleased with the flavor and dense texture. So I decided to give it a try on my own. I have baked this recipe by adapting it from the Joy of Vegan Baking. This is one of my favorite cook books and I have had good results following her recipes. This corn bread comes close to the ones we had; soft, delicious and can be made in a jiffy. 

Do check out this easy corn bread black bean bake if you are looking for similar alternative.

Easy Corn Bread

 Ingredients: 

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup AP flour
• 1.5 cups milk (use soy milk to make it vegan)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1-2 jalapenos seeded (cut into circles)
• 1/2 cup frozen whole corn kernels
• 
  
• Method:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare keep a square pan (9 X 9) ready by greasing it.
• In a small bowl, first combine the wet ingredients, milk and vinegar and set aside.
• In another bowl, combine together cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
• Now add oil to milk/vinegar mixture and stir to combine.
• Add corn kernels, continuing to stir until just blended.
• Spread the batter into the pan evenly and top it off with cut Jalapeno circles.
• Transfer to the oven and bake it for about 25-28 minutes until top is golden brown.
• Cut into desired shapes when slightly cooled.

Easy Corn Bread

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Strawberry Oat Bars

Strawberry Oat Bars

These bars are delicious, adaptable and very easy to make. You can substitute any preserves of your choice like raspberry, peach etc. I usually have strawberry preserves on hand and so I used it in this recipe.   

The crust in many ways reminds me of the one that I had made for Apple crisp.I was in a hurry when I made these and so did not have the time to take good pictures. Trust me the pictures do not do justice to the taste of these delicious bars. These make a good snack and great accompaniment with tea or coffee. 

Strawberry Oat Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups All purpose flour/maida
• 1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup butter ( melted)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup strawberry preserve (substitute with raspberry or any other flavor)
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes

Method: 

• Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease a square baking pan and set aside.
• Take a bowl and in that first combine dry ingredients AP flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Add melted butter and vanilla to this and mix until crumbly. Measure 1 cup of this crumbly mixture and keep aside.
• Take the remaining mixture and press the crumb mixture evenly in the baking pan. Use the tip of your fingers to even it out and making sure there are no spaces.
• Take spoonful of the preserves and spread the preserves over the crust. Continue until the entire crust is covered.
• Combine the coconut flakes to the reserved crumb mixture and it sprinkle over preserves and press lightly.
• Bake 25-30 minutes or until coconut is lightly browned. Cool and then cut into desired shapes.

Strawberry Oat Bars

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Quick and easy Rasmalai sweet Recipe

Easy Rasmalai recipes

Here is a recipe I have been dying to post. Its from my mother-in-law and its the most easy and quick rasmalai recipe ever! Promise!
But wait, what is rasmalai? Its sweetened, flattened or round balls of paneer (Indian cottage cheese) soaked in milk cream. Sounds yummy? That's 'cuz it is!

So in case you want to celebrate the holidays with some Indian dessert, whose sweetness level you can control, then this one is for you. Did I mention its super easy?
The recipe does use eggs, which would probably make the inventors of rasmalai turn in their graves, but the taste is not compromised one bit and there is no 'eggy' smell at all.

What I Used:

For the pieces

Milk Powder - 1.5 cups
Egg - 1

For the liquid base

Whole cream milk - 4 cups
Sweetened condensed milk - 1/2 tin (adjusting according to the size of your sweet tooth)
Crushed cardamom - 3
You can use other flavoring of choice like rosewater, pistachios, almonds, saffron, etc.

How I Made It:

1. Mix the egg and the milk powder together to form a thick, sticky dough-like mass. Divide into lemon sized balls and flatten gently on palms. If too sticky, dampen palms. Lay these flattened pieces without overlapping, on a tray.

2. Heat a wide bottomed pan and bring the milk to boil. Once it starts boiling, bring the heat to sim and gently, very gently, add the milk powder-egg discs to this.
3. You don't need to mix or stir much, but be careful to give the discs enough space from each other in the liquid. They will expand a bit when they start cooking.
4. After about 10 mins, add the crushed cardamom and. Let it cook for another 10 mins.
5. When the pieces have expanded considerably and seem soft and cooked through (take out once piece, break and check inside if the dough is still sticky), remove from fire.
6. Add the condensed milk when still hot and mix gently. Adjust amount according to sweetness required.
Chill before serving.
Now you can tell me you love me for this quick and easy rasmalai recipe :)

Rasmalai recipes

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