BLUEBERRY YOGURT MUFFINS

I feel the need to explain something today. The difference between a muffin and a cupcake. Yes, they are two different things,if you didn't know that already. A muffin is a quick bread which uses the leavening agents like baking powder and/or baking soda for it's rise.The batter for a muffin should be handled very delicately or else you will have a tough end product instead of a moist,tender muffin.Whereas a cupcake,as the name suggests is a cake in a cup.The cupcake batter is made the same way as a cake batter is made. Instead of baking them into one large cake,they are divided and made into little ones in the shape of a cup.
Now that the weight is off of my chest, I can start talking about the muffins I baked a few days ago.

The box of blueberries we bought the other day was very tart. Eating them as is was out of the question. So I checked my current favourite place for recipes-Pinterest. There were plenty of recipes to choose from but most of them called for something I didn't have at that moment. Then I saw a recipe from Ree Drummond's site which called for ingredients that I had on hand. Flour,sugar,yogurt,eggs,oil,leavening agents and nutmeg. It was a quick and simple muffin recipe,like most other muffin recipes. By now, you all must have noticed that I use quite a bit of yogurt in my baked goods.Cardamom Yogurt Cake, 100% Wholewheat Yogurt Bread,Lemon Yogurt Cake ,Two ingredient 5 Minute Pizza are some of the recipes I've baked with yogurt in the past. All of them are super good!

I am sure that you can substitute blueberries for other berries in this recipe. The addition of yogurt makes the muffins tender and extra moist.Like every other muffin or quick bread recipes, do not beat the batter. Just stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the last speck of flour vanishes.That's it. If there are any lumps remaining in the batter,it is okay. So here' the recipe!

BLUEBERRY YOGURT MUFFINS
Makes 15

Ingredients:
3 cups minus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
Heavy pinch of salt
Dash of ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 generous cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 c fresh blueberries
Some brown sugar (optional)

Method:Preheat the oven to 380F.Line a 12 cup muffin tin.
In a bowl,whisk together flour,baking soda,baking powder,salt & nutmeg. In another bowl,whisk together sugar,oil,egg and yogurt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold until the last speck of flour vanishes. Fold in the blueberries and divide the batter into the tin.Sprinkle some brown sugar over the tops and bake for  20-25 minutes or until the muffin is completely baked.

These muffins were perfectly sweet that you won't think twice about grabbing another one. They make a great snack as well. Just know that it doesn't have a long shelf life,so use it within 2-3 days of baking it.
 

A BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY!

The first time I heard about Monica Bhide was through Twitter.That was when her latest cookbook, Modern Spice just hit the stands. From then on, I was hooked onto her recipes and stories. We became friends on Facebook and I must say,we have been enjoying each other's company over the years now. When she asked me if I could review her latest book, A Life of Spice,I was humbled and excited at the same time. She even sent me a paperback copy for myself and FOUR for you guys!

This book has the most beautiful stories about food and culture. I am a person who cooks to create memories and to relive my beautiful past.When I read through all the chapters in the book, I felt the same about Monica. I could relate so well with her. Some stories were so powerful that it brought tears to my eyes especially the one about her father's childhood in Multan. Some were so light and jovial that I laughed out loud. I must say, I couldn't keep this book down and I finished it in one go.

                                Creamy Tomato & Coconut Fish Curry from Modern Spice (click for recipe)

I have so much to talk about this book because it connected me so well with my past. The stories about her Grandmother's house had me dreaming about my childhood in Mamma's kitchen. When she went back to Old Delhi with her little boy to show him her Grandmother's house, all they could see were rubbles.It brought tears to my eyes as I know how it feels since our Pallikuttumma house is no more.I try not to think about it because of the fear that the happy memories might vanish with the lack of the house there.I might be wrong but I don't want to take a chance.

The Legendary Chicken 65 from Modern Spice (click for recipe)

Since she has given you all a chance to win one of the FOUR copies, you really should try your chance. This is one book you will cherish for the rest of your life. A book filled with stories about food and life that can transport you to your beautiful past. Thank you Monica for writing a book like this. I feel I have been able to relive the good old days and didn't want the book to end. I wanted more.I still want more.

                              Grilled Spicy Paneer Sandwich from Monica's website (click for recipe)

After reading it all and staring at our white popcorn ceiling, I was wondering how it would be to live inside Monica's head for a day! :-) We think alike in many ways. In one chapter,she discusses whether the food is better if it's cooked in a glamorous kitchen.In another chapter,she talks about the ghosts of the cakes past.I could relate to it so well because of my Idli adventures. My Idli's are usually spongy soft, porous and feather light.It wasn't the same for the past almost 3 months. I tried and tried. I would soak rice and dal every other night. The batter never fermented.I even started to doubt my cooking skills. I made batters of different consistency at the same time.My kitchen looked like a research lab.Finally, I found the culprit. The brand of urad dal I was using was of poor quality.I changed it and my Idli's were back to where it belonged...into my hot case /Casserole...instead of the trash can.

For a chance to win this book
1. Leave a comment on this post saying why you would like to win Monica's book.
2.'Like' my Facebook page. You can use the widget on the right hand side or you can click here.Do come back and tell me in another comment that you did so :-)

You can choose to do one or both of the above mentioned options. If you do both, you have doubled your chances of winning a copy!

This contest is open to all but the copies can be sent only to a US address.
Contest is open till 1 June,2015.

 

A CAKE FOR A BABY SHOWER -5

There are so many cakes going in and coming out of my oven but only a handful makes their appearance here. It's mostly because of the lack of time to photograph them. I baked this cake for a friend's baby shower last year. Yeah,it took me almost 7-8 months to post it here! B & S sent me the photo of the cake they wanted and I made the exact same cake. They were really pleased with it. The only request was to add some pink stuff to the baby on the cake,since they were having a girl. A big thanks to Divya Maiya for the photographs!

I also baked a dozen of red velvet cupcakes for the party. Each cupcake was decorated according to the theme. If you look carefully, you can see them in the photograph above. I will be posting another cake I baked for another friend of ours almost a year ago! I should get it all done really soon before their baby turns One! :)

WHOLEWHEAT CARROT MUFFINS

Ian loves carrots.Whenever I make a carrot thoran,something that I never really enjoyed before Ian,vanishes in no time in our house now. Ian considers it to be a snack and can hardly wait for me to finish cooking it. I baked these during Easter as I wanted to bring in the spirit by making something with carrots.So I made a huge batch of carrot thoran and these muffins. Both of them,vanished in no time.

I was on the lookout for a good wholewheat carrot muffin recipe from a long time until I chanced upon Linu's page on Facebook. She had shared a recipe for it over there and it looked really good.I noted it down immediately and made a mental note to try that in the afternoon while Ian took his nap. I wait for him to nap to start baking something,just so that I can enjoy every step and take my own sweet time to finish it.
While the batter was made and poured into the muffin tins,the oven was preheating.Then as it baked and filled up our home with it's amazing aroma,I washed the dishes and cleared up the mess in the kitchen.By then, the muffins were done. It's a super simple,quick & delicious muffins.

WHOLEWHEAT CARROT MUFFINS
Makes 12-15

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour (I used regular atta)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup grated carrots

Method: Preheat the oven to 400F/ 200C and line a muffin tin.
In a medium bowl,mix together wheat flour,cinnamon,brown sugar,baking soda and baking powder.In another bowl, whisk together yogurt,water and oil. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until the ingredients are mixed together.Fold in the grated carrots. Pour the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

These muffins are so moist and tender that you cannot believe that it's made with wholewheat flour.No matter how many times I've baked with that flour and found success, I still have an image that they can be dense and heavy. I think I should stop thinking that way! These muffins literally vanished in no time. I made some mini muffins too along with the regular one and I must say that they were super convenient to eat!
 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

It's that time of the year when I bake Lamingtons. Usually, I would make a tower of Lamingtons along with a separate big cake for him to cut. Since we were away from each other for the last couple of birthdays, I decided to make him one big tower of  his most favourite Lamingtons and took the other cake off the list so that he can concentrate on his most favourite thing! This is the first birthday where Ian was with him. Ian was super excited to cut the cake and was super shy when asked to feed a piece of cake to his Appa.

Honestly,I look forward to eating them every year now. Even though these can be baked throughout the year I chose not to. Special things are meant for special occasions only...atleast in our little world!

You can find the recipe here.