Daliya (Broken Wheat) Dhokla

A big hello from 2022. If you are an old reader, I am so blessed to see you again, and if you have stopped by for the first time, Hi I am Ritu. Nice to meet you…!! It’s been a while since my last post, but one of my goals for this year is to post more recipes and I hope to continue it, and not just like other resolutions that last only till January.

To kick off the official month when everyone wants to eat healthy, I bring you a Dhokla (steamed savory cake) recipe that is made with Daliya (Broken Wheat or Bulgar). Daliya is a great source of fiber, contains low glycemic index and complex carbohydrates and is a great food to add to your meal plans.

If you are like me and prefer your porridge savory, this recipe is for you.  If you are looking to incorporate more healthy recipes in your diet, this recipe is for you. 

It would make a great breakfast or evening snack item that will keep you full for longer, avoiding any mid-day munching.

Let’s move on to the recipe

Ingredients:

Fine daliya – 1 cup (roasted)

Sooji – 1/2 cup

Yogurt – 1 cup

Water – 1/2 cup

Ginger grated – 1 tsp

Green chilly chopped – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt – 1 tsp 

Sugar – 1 tbsp

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp (or 1/4 tsp citric acid)

Oil – 1 tbsp

Eno fruit salt – 1 tsp and 1/4 tsp

Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish 

Tempering:

Oil – 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Sesame seeds – 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves – a few leaves

Sugar – 1 tbsp

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

Water – 1/2 cup

Method: 

1. Mix together the daliya, sooji, and yogurt. Add in the ginger, green chilly, lemon juice and oil. In the water, mix in the salt, sugar and turmeric powder. Mix everything together and leave it for 30 minutes. 
2. It’s important to mix turmeric in water and then add to the dhokla mix. This will avoid the reaction with Eno and your dhokla will not turn red or brown in spots.
3. Grease an 8-inch plate and get your dhokla steamer ready. 
4. Pour the Eno to the dhokla mix. Add 2 tbsp water to activate the Eno and mix well.
5. Steam the mixture for 20 minutes till a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
6. While the dhokla is steaming, make the tempering. Heat oil in a small pan, add in the mustard seeds and let them crackle, followed by the sesame seeds.  Add the curry leaves and then add the water and sugar. Bring the water to boil and turn off the gas. Add the lemon juice. 
7. Once the dhokla has steamed, let it cool down a bit and finally add the tempering to the dhokla. Make sure both the dhokla and tempering water are at room temperature. 
8. Cut the dhokla into pieces and garnish with cilantro leaves. 

So that’s how I made this easy, delicious and healthy Dhokla. I would love to hear from you if you give this a try.

Other Dhokla recipes from my blog to try :

Makai (Makki) ka Dhokla or Corn Savory Steamed Cake

Oats Dhokla

Love

Ritu.

Makai (Makki) ka Dhokla or Corn Savory Steamed Cake

Hello everyone. I am sure by now you know how much I love Gujarati food. I probably have more Guajarati dishes on my blog then any other cuisine. Just in case you have missed them, here they are – Kutchi Dabeli, Aam ka Chunda, Cabbage Muthia, Microwave Khandvi and Oats Dhokla. Do check them out if you like Guajarati food as much as I do. 🙂

For today’s post I am sharing another dhokla recipe. This one is made with maize flour or Makai ka atta and also has some corn kernels to bite into. A pure healthy delight I must say. If you are like me and have lots of Makai ka atta left from those Maki ki roti you thought but never made, here is something you can use it for. And trust me, the dhokla is so good, you won’t regret buying some maize flour especially to make this.

Without wasting anymore time, let’s make some delicious dhokla 😛

Recipe inspired from here

Ingredients:

Maize Flour or Makai ka atta – 1 cup

Sooji – 1/4 cup

Corn Kernels – 2/3 cup

Thick yogurt – 1/2 cup

Sugar – 1 tbsp

Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp

Ginger paste – 1 tsp

Chopped green chili – 1/2 tsp (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Eno Fruit Salt – 1.5 tsp

Warm water – 2/3 cup

For Tempering:

Oil – 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves – a handful

Seasme Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Water – 2 tbsp

Chopped Cilantro and Shredded Coconut – for garnish

Method:

1. Mix together the maize flour, sooji, yogurt and warm water and keep it covered for 30 minutes.
2. Now add in the corn kernels, chopped chili, ginger paste, sugar, lemon juice, oil, turmeric powder and salt and mix well.
3. Lightly grease a 7 inch pan and bring water to boil for steaming.
4. Once you are ready to steam, add the eno fruit salt to the dhokla mix, sprinkle some water to activate it and mix gently.
5. Steam the dhokla on medium flame for at least 20 minutes, till a toothpick inserted in the center of the dhokla comes out clean.
6. While the dhokla is steaming, we can make the tempering. Heat oil in a small pan and add in the mustard seeds. Once they crackle add the curry leaves, followed by sesame seeds and water. Cook everything for a few minutes and turn off the gas.
7. Once the dhokla has cooled down to room temperature, pour this tempering over dhokla and garnish with cilantro leaves and coconut.
8.  Cut the dhokla into desired pieces and serve with your favorite chutney.

So that is how I made this delightful dhokla. Do let me know if you try it out.

Thanks for stopping by.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oats Dhokla..A healthy delight

A big hello to all of you. I am so excited the spring will be here soon. With the New England weather, you can’t really predict much but at least with all the Easter stuff floating around, it makes both me and my daughter very happy. She is looking forward to all the egg hunting and I can’t wait for some warmer days and outdoor activities. We have been lucky enough to have a reasonably warm winter this year and are really looking forward to a  gorgeous summer ahead. How is the weather like at your end..?

Healthy is my favorite kind of food. I do enjoy eating all the junk and the not so good for you desserts but they make me so guilty afterwards. Dang. So not worth it. 😦 I am therefore always on the lookout for healthy recipes – oats, quinoa, kale, chia seeds are some of the most frequent ingredients used in my kitchen. I have been cooking with oats a lot off lately and this dhokla or steamed cake recipe was as healthy as it was delicious. 🙂

Without wasting any more time, lets make this yummy treat..

Ingredients:

Oats – 3/4 cup, dry roast and make a powder – will yield 1/2 cup oats flour

Sooji or Semolina – 1/2 cup

Yogurt – 1/2 cup

Ginger and  green chilly paste – 1/2 tsp

Chopped Spinach or grated carrots – 1/2 cup (Use your choice of veggies)

Salt to taste

Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp.

Sugar – 1 tbsp.

Eno Fruit Salt – 1 tsp

Water – 1/4 cup, use as needed

Oil – 1 tbsp.

Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves – a few

Chopped Cilantro for garnish

Method:

1. In a bowl mix together the oats flour, sooji, yogurt, salt, lemon juice, sugar, ginger and green chilly paste. Add water as needed to make a smooth batter of pouring consistency. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
2. Now mix in the spinach and give it a good stir. Add some more water if needed. The batter should be of pouring consistency but not too thick or thin.
3. Get your steamer ready or boil some water in a large pot or cooker. If steaming in the cooker, do not use the whistle.
4. Grease a 7 inch dish and keep it ready.
5. Once the water comes to boil, add in the eno fruit salt to the dhokla mix and give it a gentle mix, making sure not to over mix.
6. Pour the dhokla mix in the greased dish and let it steam on medium flame for at least 15 – 20 minutes till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. While the dhokla is steaming, we can prepare our tempering.
8. Heat oil in a pan and add in the mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter. Throw in the curry leaves and once they crackle, switch off the flame.
9. Once the dhokla is ready, pour this tempering over it and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
10. Finally, cut your dhokla pieces and serve with your favorite chutney. Enjoy this healthy snack.

….

So here is how I made this healthy and delicious dhokla. Do let me know if you try this out.

Thanks for stopping by. See you soon.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂

 

 

 

 

Quinoa and Kale Patties..Two super foods in one.

Hello everyone. Its that time of the month where I do my monthly column for the B’khush Magazine. It is an online magazine, catering to the South Asian population around the world. They write about varied topics ranging from fitness, beauty, parenting, DIY projects, recipes etc. Do check out their website – B’Khush – Upload Thoughts, Download Happiness.

My column in the magazine is called “Healthy Bites“. Through this column, I like to share such recipes that provide the nutrition, taste great and most of all you can enjoy them guilt free. Follow me here to make some easy and healthy dishes that you wouldn’t feel guilty about when you take that second serving. Just in case you have missed the previous posts for my column, here are some of the healthy dishes I had cooked up for them.

Tofu Tikka, Chocolate & Chia Seeds Pudding, Avocado Kebabs and Cauliflower Crust Pizza.

Today I am making another healthy dish and its called Quinoa and Kale patties. This is a super healthy patty that combines the goodness of two super foods. Quinoa are very nutritional grains and pack a lot of proteins. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), declared 2013 to be the International Year of Quinoa. Kale is another superfood very high in antioxidants and Vitamin K and Vitamin C. I enjoyed it with some poached eggs but these would just be as good as an appetizer.

And finally, let’s hop on to the B’Khush Women website for the recipe of these delicious Quinoa and Kale Patties.

Update : The B’Khush Women website is currently not working. You can find the recipe here.

Ingredients:
Cooked Quinoa – 1 cup (See package for instructions to cook quinoa)
Kale – 1 cup, shopped finely (Can substitute with spinach)
Garlic Cloves – 2, chopped finely
Onion – 1, small, chopped finely
Boiled and Mashed Potato – 1, medium (Can use sweet potato)
Oil – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
Cumin Powder – ½ tsp

Method:

1. Cook the Quinoa as per package instructions and keep aside.
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a nonstick skillet or pan and add the garlic and onion. Cook for about 3 minutes till the onions get a little color.
3. Now add in the chopped Kale and cook for another 3 minutes or so, stirring continuously. Take it off the flame and keep aside.
4. In a mixing bowl, add in the quinoa, kale and onion mix, boiled and mashed potato, salt, pepper and cumin powder. Mix everything well. Check the spices as per your preference.
5. Now heat the 1 tbsp of oil in the skillet and make small round patties of this mix.
6. Let it cook for 7 – 10 minutes on each side till they get a nice golden color. Turn and cook for another 10 minutes. Make sure the flame is medium low throughout.
7. Finish cooking all the patties similarly. Enjoy warm for whichever meal you prefer. They will taste delicious.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you will give this a try and let me know if you like it.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂

Healthy Banana Oats Cookies…Sugar Free, Butter Free & Oil Free

Hello everyone. Sorry for missing in action for so long. My daughter started her Preschool today and I was super busy getting ready for the big day. I am so glad she thoroughly enjoyed her first day at school. There were lots of firsts for all of us and we are excited for the new beginnings. I really wish her the best in this new phase of life. 🙂

School also means thinking what to pack for lunch everyday. I can’t believe I have reached that stage. I still remember asking my mom – what’s in lunch box tomorrow and then saying..No give me something different. Sigh..how life takes a full circle. Having said that, I am excited to try new recipes for her so if you have an interesting lunch box idea, do share in the comment below. Would love to try it out.

Speaking of lunch box and healthy treats, today I am sharing a very healthy cookie recipe with you. If you are looking for a healthy snack, this is it. These cookies have the natural sweetness of banana, the goodness of oats and are free from any oil or butter. Best of all, they get ready in 15 minutes. So the next time, you see some ripe bananas lying round, make this delicious and healthy treat.

Here is how I made them:

Ingredients:

Ripe bananas – 2 (You can also use very ripe plantains instead)

Quick Oats – 1 cup

Baking powder – 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp

Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Raisins or chocolate chip – 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Mash the bananas well and add in the rest of the ingredients till everything is well combined.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Scoop little balls of this mixture on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. You should get about 12 – 16 cookies based on the size.
4. Let the cookies cool completely before storing them away in an air tight container. Enjoy your healthy snack.

So that is the super simple recipe of the healthiest cookies. These taste like the chewy cookies and not the crispy ones. You can also make these like a bar. Just put the whole mix in a baking dish together and cut into pieces when done.

Thanks for stopping by. Do let me know if you try this out.

I hope to see you again soon.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂

Vegan Banana Pecan Bread..A keeper recipe

Hello everyone. I hope you guys are doing well. I am on a “constant happy mode” these days. Just in case you didn’t know my parents are visiting us here and I am so delighted with all the love, pampering and of course the good food. 🙂

Today I am sharing the recipe of a vegan Banana Pecan Bread. I made this to welcome my parents and they give it a big thumps up. I wanted to make something without egg for them but haven’t really had good success with yogurt or other egg substitutes earlier so was a little skeptical with this one. The good thing was I didn’t add any egg substitute here, expect for an additional banana and it worked like a charm. I would definitely be making this again. I have used Pecans here but you can definitely add walnuts or your choice of nuts or chocolate chips as well.

Now lets pick up some of those ripe bananas and make this delicious bread 😛

Ingredients:

All purpose Flour – 1.5 cups (Can also use whole wheat flour instead)

Very Ripe Bananas – 4, medium

Sugar – 1/2 cup

Oil – 2/3 cup

Baking Powder – 1 tsp

Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon Powder – 1/4 tsp

A pinch of salt

Chopped Pecans – 1 cup

Procedure:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease well a 9 inch loaf pan with butter and keep aside.
2. Peel and mash the over ripe bananas with a fork or use a blender. Mix in the Oil and Sugar to the banana puree.
3. Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder and salt. Keep aside.
4. Take some flour and coat well about 3/4 cup of the pecans. This ensures that the pecan do not sink to the bottom of the pan while baking. We will use the remaining 1/4 cup of pecans for garnish.
5. Mix the coated pecans with flour mixture.
6. Now gently mix the dry ingredients with the wet ones, making sure not to over mix. Just use a rubber spatula.
7. Finally, pour this mixture in your greased pan and give it a gentle tap and shake to take out any air bubbles.
8. Garnish with the remaining pecans on top of the bread.
9. Bake it for about 40 minutes, more or less, depending on your oven, until a toothpick inserted at the center on the bread comes out clean.
10. Let the bread cool at the kitchen counter for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy with your favorite beverage.
11. Any leftovers can be stored in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

So that is how I made this healthy and delicious bread and welcomed my parents 🙂

I hope you will give this a try and let me know if you like it.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Love,

Ritu 😀

Bhature (or Indian fried bread) Recipe..Best enjoyed with Punjabi Chole

I am super excited as I write down this post. My parents will be here tomorrow (yayyy). I am so looking forward to their visit and spending some quality time with them. Believe it or not, that is probably one of the best gift a girl can get after her marriage. Super excited 😀 I will also be taking a break from my cooking to enjoy some delicious food by my mom because she is the best cook in the world. No I am serious. I am sure your mom is too. Cause seriously no one cooks as good as our moms 🙂

Today I am sharing the recipe of Bhature, an Indian fried bread, best had with Punjabi Chole. Do check out the recipe, just in case you have missed it earlier.

Chole can also be had with Puri or Naan but my husband is really fond of Chole Bhature so I decided to treat him a few days ago. Chole Bhature is a favorite north indian breakfast but seriously can be enjoyed anytime of the day.

Here is how I made these delicious treat 😛

Ingredients:

All purpose flour or Maida – 1 cup

Thick Yogurt – 1/4 cup

Baking powder – 1/2 tsp

Baking Soda – 1/4 tsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp.

Semolina or sooji – 1 tbsp., optional (use if you like crispy bhatura)

Water – as needed

Oil for frying

Procedure:

1. Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Add in the salt, sugar and semolina to it. Mix well. Drop in the oil and rub it in the flour.
2. Make sure you are using thick yogurt and it is at room temperature. Add in the yogurt to the flour and mix well.
3. Now slowly add water as needed and make a soft dough. The quantity of water will depend on how thick your yogurt is. Make sure not to add too much water. I ended up using a little less than 1/4 cup of water. Try to use a little warm water to knead the dough to make sure its soft.
4. It is very important to knead the dough well for the gluten to activate. I recommend kneading it for at least 10 – 15 minutes.
5. Add some oil on the dough so it doesn’t dry up. Cover the dough with a wet cloth and keep it in a warm place. The microwave or oven works best.
6. Leave the dough to rest for at least 4 – 5 hours.
7. Now, make small round balls with this dough. You should be able to get about 5 medium sized bhature with this quantity.
8. Let the balls rest for another 10 minutes, covered. Heat oil in a big wok or Kadai for deep frying the bhature. Make sure the oil is hot to ensure the bhature puff up well.
9. Now take a ball and roll out the bhatures, either round or oval, based on your preference. (Please do not judge the shape of my bhatura, not everyone is blessed to make round shaped rotis, like our moms) 😉
10. Stretch the bhatura by hand and drop it very carefully in hot oil. Press it firmly from all sides. The bhatura will puff and once it gets a golden color, flip and cook it from the other side.
11. Drain the excess oil and take out the bhatura on a paper towel to absorb any oil.
12. Serve hot with some delicious Chole.

So that is how I made this delicious treat. It was a pleasure seeing my family enjoying it as much as I enjoyed making them.

I hope you will give this a try and let me know if you liked it.

Thanks so much for reading.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂

Kutchi Dabeli Recipe..Indian style burger..Another favorite street food.

In continuation with my love for Indian street food and Gujarati cuisine, I am making some Dabeli today. It is a delicious Indian street food that originated in Kutch, Gujarat. Spicy potato mixture is placed between Buns and topped with chutney, pomegranate seeds, peanuts and sev.

Dabeli is one of my favorite street food. I have such fond memories of my father treating me with this delicacy. When I moved out of India, I dearly missed eating all the street food, especially Dabeli. So I finally decided to try it at home, and I am so glad I did as its super easy if you have everything handy. Do give it a try and I am sure you will like it.

Lets make some delicious Dabeli…:P

Ingredients:

For Dabeli masala – you can also use store bought – use 1.5 tbsp. or make your own as below

Whole Red chilly – 1

Cumin Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Corainder Seeds – 1 tsp

Cloves – 2

Black pepper – 4

Cinnamon Stick – 1/2 inch

For Potato stuffing:

Boiled and mashed potato – 1.5 cups

Oil – 1.5 tbsp.

Cumin Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Tamarind Chutney – 2 tbsp.

Salt to taste

Water – 1/2 cup

To Serve:

Buns or Pav – 4

Butter to toast the Pav – 2 tbsp

Roasted Peanuts – 1/4 cup

Sev – 1/4 cup

Pomegranate seeds – 1/4 cup

Chopped onions – 1 small

Sweet tamarind Chutney – 3 tbsp.

Red Chilly Garlic Chutney – 3 tbsp. (Can substitute this with mint & cilantro chutney)

Method:

1. Lets start with making the Dabeli masala. Skip this step if you have the store bought masala readily available. Roast all the ingredients listed under Dabeli masala until fragrant and then grind to a fine powder. Use as in the recipe.
2. To make the potato filling, heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Once the seeds crackle, add the potatoes, Dabeli masala, salt and tamarind chutney. Mix everything well.
3. Now add 1/2 cup of water and let it come to a boil. Mix everything well and let it cook for a few minutes until the filling is like a thick paste.
4. Slice the buns in half and toast them with butter till they are nice and crispy. I make my own buns using this amazing recipe at Shital’s Kitchen. Check it out here.
5. To assemble, apply some tamarind chutney on one side of the bun and the garlic or mint chutney on the other bun.
6. Take some potato filling and place it on one of the bun slices. Top it with some chopped onions, chopped cilantro leaves, peanuts, pomegranate seeds and sev. Close with the other Bun slice.
7. Garnish with some more sev and chopped cilantro leaves. Enjoy

So that is how I made one of my favorite street food and relished some good old days. See how I have served it on a newspaper, just like they do in India 😉

Do give it a try and let me know if you like it.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂

Punjabi Chole..A north Indian delight

Everyone loves chole in my house. It is a gravy preparation made with chick peas or garbanzo beans that are spiced up and best enjoyed with naan or bhature. It is a famous breakfast item but seriously can be enjoyed anytime of the day. Many people have requested for my chole recipe and I am so glad to finally pen it down. Do give it a try, I am sure you will love it. 🙂

Here is how I make it.

Ingredients:

Chole or Chick Peas – 1 cup

Dried Amla – 2 or 3 pieces

Tea Bags – 2

Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped

Tomatoes – 2 medium, finely chopped

Garlic cloves – 3, finely chopped

Ginger – 1/2 inch, finely shredded

Oil – 2 tbsp.

Chole Masala – 1 tbsp.

Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp.

Pomegranate seeds powder – 1 tsp

Dry Mango Powder – 1 tsp

Red Chilly Powder – 1tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Cumin Seeds – 1 tbsp

Bay Leaf – 1 medium

Cinnamon Stick – 1/2 inch

Cloves – 2

Black pepper Corns – 3

Black whole Cardamom – 1

Water – as needed

For final tempering

Ghee or clarified butter – 1 tbsp.

Ginger juliennes – 1 tbsp.

Green chilies – 2, slit

For Garnish:

Chopped cilantro leaves

Onion – finely chopped

lemon – cut into quarters

Method:

1. Soak the chole overnight in water or for at least for 6 – 8 hours.
2. Pressure cook the chole with amla, tea bags, salt and enough water until soft. This should take about 30 minutes. The tea bags give the chole a nice black color. Just make sure to discard the amla and tea bags after pressure cooking the Chole.
3. While that is happening, lets make the masalas. Dry roast the following spices – Bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and black pepper corns. Keep stirring until fragrant. Once done, let it cool down and grind to a fine powder. All except the bay leaf.
4. In a large pan, add the oil and let it heat up.  Add in the cumin seeds and let it crackle. Now add the ginger and garlic and let it cook for a min till lightly brown.
5. Add the chopped onions and let it cook for about 5 minutes till they are cooked through and translucent. Finally mix in the chopped tomatoes and cook till they ooze out some oil. That’s when you know its done.
6. Its time to add in all the dry spices – the powdered garam masala, chole masala, coriander powder, pomegranate seed powder, dry mango powder, red chilly powder, turmeric and salt. Remember that we have already salted the chole while pressure cooking. Add some water to make sure the dry spices do not burn. Mix well.
7. Now add the pressure cooked chole to this masala and about 1.5 cups of the water in which we had boiled the chole. Cover and let it cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Once, all the flavors have blended through, take about 1/2 cup of the chole from that gravy and mash it well and add it back to the chole. This helps to thicken up the gravy as well as flavor it. Let it boil for another few minutes.
9. Finally do a taste test to make sure its per your preference.
10. For the final tempering, heat ghee in a small pan and add in the ginger juliennes and slit green chilies. Let it cook for a minute and add this to the chole gravy. Mix it well and turn off the flame. Cover it for a few minutes for the flavors to blend in.
11. Finally garnish it with chopped cilantro leaves and enjoy it with your favorite naan, bhature or puri with a side of chopped onions and lemon wedges.

So that is how I make my chole. You can also top it with some tamarind chutney and that takes it to an another level. 😀

Do give it a try and let me know. Thanks so much for reading.

See you soon.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂

Double Chocolate Banana Bread…A chocolate lover’s dream

I am not such a big fan of banana. In fact the only way I like to eat them is munching on some banana chips. I have been searching for a good banana bread recipe for a long time to use those over ripe bananas that go bad because no one really wants to them in my house. When I came across this recipe at Bake with Christina, I knew I had to try it. It had double chocolate which means double the happiness for me. What better way to use those over ripe bananas then to hide them in a chocolate bread. This bread came out delicious. Thank you Christina. I cant wait to bring some more bananas just to get them real ripe and make this again.

Here is my adaption of her recipe.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 1 cup (Feel free to substitute with whole wheat flour. The bread would be just more dense)

Cocoa powder – 1/2 cup

Sugar – 1 cup

Baking Powder – 1 tsp

Baking Soda – 1 tsp

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Over Ripe Bananas – 3 large

Egg – 1 large

Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Melted butter or Oil – 1/2 cup

Sour cream – 1/4 cup

Chocolate Chips – 1/2 cup (The original recipe said 1 cup, I have cut that down so it doesn’t get overly sweet)

A few more chocolate chips for garnish

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper or spray it well with cooking spray.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients – flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. Mix the oil with sugar with a whisk until well combined.
4. Mash the bananas with a fork or in a blender. It would total about a cup of banana puree. Add in the egg, sour cream, sugar and oil mix and vanilla extract.
5. Now mix the dry ingredients with the wet ones, gently with a spatula making sure not to over mix. Just mix till everything is well incorporated and you do not see the dry ingredients any more, then stop.
6. Slowly fold in the chocolate chips, leaving some for garnishing.
7. Pour this batter in your loaf pan and sprinkle some chocolate chips on top.
8. Bake this in your oven for about 55 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
9. Check around the 30 minutes mark. If baking in a round 7 inch pan, it will bake sooner. 
10. Once done, let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting it out on a cooling rack to cool completely.
11. Cut this into slices and enjoy. It tastes delicious warm and right out of the oven.
12. If you do have any left overs, keep it in an air tight container, at room temperature for no more than 4 days. Though, trust me, it won’t last that long.

So there you have it, one of the most delicious ways to enjoy bananas. And if you like chocolate as much as I do, this is as good as a trip to heaven. Go ahead, make some today. You will love it. I promise.

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Ritu. 🙂