Baked French Toast Slices

I don't like spending too much time in the kitchen for making breakfast. I always prefer recipes for breakfasts that can be prepared within 15-20 minutes. French toast has always been my favorite breakfast recipes especially on lazy Sunday mornings when we wake up late and most of the time it is a brunch or very light breakfast. If you ask my son what he'd like to have for a quick breakfast, the answer is always the same - Either it is pancakes or french toast. He usually has oatmeal or cornflakes before going to school everyday which he finds very boring. But as he is a very slow eater, I have very limited choices to give him for breakfast during school days. 

This version of baked french toast is so delicious and trust me no one can ever go wrong with this recipe.. This recipe is always a hit. It is really very simple and quick to make. Crispy outside and fluffy inside with sugar and a bit of buttery taste - these french toasts are absolutely yummy or should I say tremendously decadent. If you want, you can serve these french toast drizzled with syrup of your choice or eat it as it is. Do try these fantastic baked french toast slices and enjoy.

Ingredients:-

• 8 slices of bread
• 3 eggs
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• few drops of yellow color (optional)
• bread crumbs 
• butter

Method:-

• Cut each bread slice into three pieces.
• Grease a baking tray with butter and keep aside. 
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
• In a wide bowl, add eggs, sugar, yellow color, vanilla essence. Beat well with a whisk.
• Add milk and beat again until the mixture is well blended.
• Dip each bread slices in the bread mixture. Do not over-soak. Just coat it completely.
• Roll in breadcrumbs.
• Place on a greased baking tray.
• Bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.
• Remove and brish the tops with melted butter.
• Flip to the other side and bake for another 5 - 10 minutes.
• Serve with drizzled syrup.

Notes:-

• You may avoid rolling the bread slices in breadcrumbs.
• You may cut the bread into half to form triangles instead of slices.
• Adjust the sugar as per required. 
• If you do not want to bake them, just grease a pan with oil or ghee, dip each bread slices in the mixture and fry on low heat on both sides till golden brown.. Do not use breadcrumbs if you are frying it in a pan. 

Happy Cooking!!!

Sending this to :- Arthy Shama's Healthy Snacking and WTML & Gayathri’s Announcement Page and Vardhini's Bake Fest # 25 

Tuar Dal Khichdi / Lentil Rice

Khichdi is my favorite comfort food.. Especially when cooked in a pressure cooker till the consistency is like a mashed up khichdi.. Just add a dollop of ghee on it and you have a complete one-pot meal. There are many ways to make khichdi. Some like it spicy while others prefer it to be plain. Also different kinds of lentils can be used to prepare your own version of khichdi. My hubby likes having lentils or legumes for dinner at least once a week. So, I am always on lookout for new lentil recipes. I learnt this khichdi from a Punjabi friend in Chennai 'S'.. It's quite simple and easy to make too. Hope you guys like it.

Ingredients:-

• 1½ cups rice
• ¾ cup tuar dal / split pigeon pea
• 2 onions (sliced)
• 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp clarified butter / ghee 
• 1 tbsp coriander pdr 
  
• 1 tsp crushed red chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp turmeric pdr
• pinch of asafoetida / hing
• salt to taste

Method:- 

• Wash the dal and rice well and pressure cook along with salt, turmeric pdr and 4 cups water.
• Heat ghee in a wok and add onions, garlic and cumin seeds.
• When onion turns golden, add red chillies, coriander pdr and asafoetida.
• Meanwhile, mix the dal-rice mixture well and add to the wok.
• Mix thoroughly. and serve with an extra dollop of ghee and curds.

Notes:-

• You may add some cubed potatoes along with the rice while boiling if you want.
• Adjust the water as per the consistency of the khichdi you like.

Happy Cooking!!

Sending this to :- WTML & Gayathri’s Announcement Page

 

Vegetable Dalia Upma - A Diabetic Awareness Post

Swathi had invited me to write a post on diabetic awareness. Unfortunately, I had some internet issues and then my son went down with viral fever..  Sorry for the delay Swathi Iyer. Hence, I dedicate this post to raising diabetic awareness and trying to make a difference for those living with diabetes.

Diabetes is a never-ending condition.  This means that it lasts for a long time, often for someone's whole life. For our bodies to work properly we need to convert glucose (sugar) from food into energy. A hormone called insulin is important for the conversion of glucose into energy. There are two major types of diabetes called type 1 and type 2. Diabetes that occurs temporarily during pregnancy is called gestational diabetes.  Most common symptoms include- a history of blurred vision, itchiness, nerve damage, repeated vaginal infections, and tiredness.

My Father-In-Law and Father had diabetes and my Mother-In-Law is also diabetic. My father-in-law used to take 1 tsp fenugreek seeds soaked overnight in a cup of water to keep his diabetes in control. My Mother-in-law eats less rice, more vegetables, moderate fat food, black tea without sugar and includes greens and bitter gourds a lot in her diet.

The most important thing you should do is to lose weight which can help you lower your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels very much.  Small lifestyle changes such as a well –balanced diet and a regular exercise can help manage the blood glucose levels without further complications. Before you plan a fitness regime for yourself, it is a must to get your doctor’s approval on it, especially if you’ve been inactive for long. Measure your blood glucose levels more frequently. Avoid eating sweet foods. Eat more of low-carb foods. Eat more frequent meals with smaller quantities to beat hunger. Also drink lots of water because the best way of getting rid of excess sugar is through urine.

Some people believe that eating fruit is healthy for diabetes. Of course, fruit is a healthy food as it contains fiber and lots of vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates. But you should consult your doctor about which fruits are right for you, the quantity to be eaten and also how often can you eat them.

Dalia or broken wheat is a healthy choice if you are on a diabetes diet. It is an excellent source of fiber and low in fat which is why it is mostly recommended food by dieticians too. This upma is definitely tasty, flavorful and nutritious for an early morning breakfast. 

Ingredients:-

• 1 cup broken wheat / dalia
• 1 carrot (peeled and chopped)
• 7-8 french beans (stringed and chopped)
• 2 green chillies (finely chopped)
• handful of green peas
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 inch piece ginger (shredded)
• 1 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp split & skinned black gram / urad dal
• 1 tsp split Bengal gram / chana dal
• few curry leaves
• pinch of asafoetida
• salt to taste

Method:-

• Heat oil in a wok.
• Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, urad dal, chana dal and asafoetida.
• Add onions, green chillies, ginger, carrot and french beans. Saute for 2 minutes.
• Add 3 cups water, green peas and salt.
• When water starts boiling, add the dalia. Mix well and simmer.
• After 5 minutes, mix lightly and simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Notes:-

• You may avoid adding vegetables and make the upma plain if you want. 

Happy Cooking!!

Sending this to :- Arthy Shama's Healthy Snacking and WTML & Gayathri’s Announcement Page

Eggless Oats Chocolate Biscotti

This month's theme for Home Bakers Challenge was announced by Priya of Priya’s Versatile Recipes . She chose biscotti for this month's challenge with four choices – two savoury and two sweet. The options were Savoury caraway cheddar biscotti, Eggless oats chocolate biscotti, American style vanilla biscotti, Savoury Mediterranean biscotti

‘Biscotti' literally means 'twice baked' in Italian - 'bi' meaning two and 'scotti' means baked. It's a great snack and also light breakfast. I like having biscotti’s around because they make the perfect little treat to dunk into an evening cup of coffee. You can make a big batch and store them in an airtight container for weeks and they are still as good and fresh when you eat them. Just dip and dunk with a cup of hot tea or coffee whenever you wish. If you're not a tea or coffee drinker, don’t hesitate to dip these biscotti’s in a glass of milk for an energy booster to start your day.

I chose to bake these deliciously crunchy Eggless Oats Chocolate biscotti’s. These biscotti’s are really awesome, actually amazing is what I should say. They taste delectable and the best part is that they are not excessively rich. What I like about them the most is that they are not overly sweet,  and yet perfect enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. The burst of flavors in each and every bite make these biscotti’s really worth trying.

I strongly encourage all those who love baking but haven’t tried baking biscotti’s before to bake these incredibly easy biscotti’s. And those who are novice to baking, make these for an instant confidence boost which is definitely guaranteed. You can also make these biscotti’s for a nice homemade Christmas gift if you're looking for ideas.  

Ingredients:-  

• 1¼ cup all purpose flour
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup butter (at room temperature)
• ¼ cup melted chocolate
• 2 tbsp chocolate chips 
• 1 tbsp cocoa pdr
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp baking pdr
• ½ tsp baking soda
• a pinch of salt

Method:-

• Sieve flour, cocoa pdr, salt, baking pdr and baking soda in a bowl. Mix in oats and keep aside.
• Beat together butter and sugar till smooth. 
• Add melted chocolate and vanilla essence and beat till well combined.
• Add the flour mixture and the chocolate chips and knead well to form a soft dough.
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
• Roll the logs in the form of two logs and transfer to a greased baking tray. 
• Bake the logs for 20 - 25 minutes.
• Cool completely over a wire rack.
• With a sharp knife, slice it diagonally in 1 inch pieces.
• Bake it again for 5 minutes.
• Flip the biscottis and bake the other side for 5 minutes.
• Let them cool completely before storing in an airtight tin.
• Serve with hot tea / coffee / milk.

Notes:-

• If the dough is too hard to knead, sprinkle a few drops of milk to assemble them.
• If the dough is too sticky to knead, add some flour to bind it.
• This makes 15 - 20 biscotti's.

Happy Baking!!

Chocolate Cupcakes

These chocolate cupcakes are a dedication to all chocolate lovers. The cupcakes are soo moist and light. The texture, the appearance and the taste of the cupcake is absolutely divine. They are really easy to make and quite addictive too. Trust me, you can't eat just one. The original recipe is of a Chocolate Cake. Once, I had leftover batter and tried making these cupcakes with them. And since then, I haven't tried it any other way. I prefer not to change anything even with it's simple appearance.

Ingredients:-

• 1 cup levelled all purpose flour (maida)
• 1 cup sugar (powdered)
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup boiling water 
• ¼ cup refined oil
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg

Method:-

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 
• Line cupcake moulds with paper liners.
• Sieve together maida, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
• Add powdered sugar to this and mix well.
• Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla essence.
• Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
• Now add boiling water and stir well.
• The batter will be thin.
• Pour the batter in the cupcake moulds till ¾ full.
• Bake at 180 degrees Celcius for 30-35 minutes or until done.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes:-

• If you like your cupcake to be more sweet, you can add 1½ cup sugar instead of 1 cup.
• For simple icing:- double boil 100 grams milk chocolate with ¼ cup butter. Cool and use.
• If you are icing the cupcake, do not increase sugar.
• For the eggless version, just add ½ cup buttermilk instead of egg

Happy Cooking!!

Sending this to :- Vardhini's Bake Fest # 25

 

7.11.13 - +Joerg Sterner tried this Chocolate cupcakes... Thanks +Joerg Sterner for sharing your feedback... God bless.. 

Award from Srivalli of Spice Your Life

I'm very delighted to receive an award from an amazing blogger Srivalli Jetti of Spice Your Life .

Srivalli had conducted a kid's delight party event with a Roma Sharma's new book "60 Baby Food Recipes" as a giveaway on her blog. 

I had participated in her event and won this lovely book. Thanks a lot for choosing me as one of the winners Srivalli. She has an awesome blog with so many delicious recipes.

Please do visit her blog for more tasty and incredible recipes.