Vegan Jewish Apple Cake

Home Bakers Challenge presented a very interesting recipe of apple cake and it was to be Jewish. At the outset, the recipe did not present anything "different" to classify it as Jewish and I was intrigued. After going through a lot of forums, I gleaned that one of the rules of Kashrut (Jewish Dietary law) upon which Kosher foods are based, is that Meat and Dairy should not be mixed at a meal. This might explain why this cake is called so because it uses oil instead of butter and does not use any milk in it.

In my drive to make it Egg free, I have substituted the eggs simply with Ener-G replacer.
I have also substituted half the fat with applesauce making this a very healthy recipe. The cake keeps well in the refridgerator, in an air tight container, for atleast a week from personal experience.
I was overstocked with apples left over from a fruit salad made for a pot-luck, languishing in the fridge till this challenge came along to rescue them!

Vegan Jewish Apple Cake

Servings: 1 9-inch cake
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time:

Ingredients

3-4 Medium sized Apples (I used Jonathan but granny smith or honey crisp should work very well too)
3 cups All Purpose Flour
2 tbsp Ener-G replacer + 8 tbs Warm Water (replaces 4 eggs)
1 1/2 cup Sugar (I used 1 cup since the apples were sweet)
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder (If double acting baking powder use half the quantity)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Applesauce
1/4 tsp Cup Orange Juice (Tropicana works fine)
2 tsp Vanilla Essence

2 tsp Cinnamon
3 tbsp Confectioner's (Fine) Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment
3. Combine 2 tsp cinnamon and 3 tbsp of fine Sugar and keep aside
4. Peel, core and cut the apples into 1-inch pieces. I made the pieces smaller because my family wouldnt enjoy biting into soft big pieces of apple. 
5. If cutting the apple before hand, drizzle 2 tsp of Lemon juice on coat the pieces with it. This will prevent browning.
6. Prepare the egg replacer as per instructions on the product. If using Ener-G then pour the powder in the warm water and stir till well combined. It should become creamy after mixing. Keep aside
7. 
   
8. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a container.
9. Mix together the oil, applesauce. orange juice, egg replacer mix and vanilla essence.
10. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix till just combined. 
11. Pour half the batter into the prepared cake pan. Top with 1/2 the apple pieces and sprinkle half the cinnamon-sugar mixture on it.
12. Pour the rest of the batter into the pan and top with the remaining apple pieces and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture on it.
13. Bake at 350 F for 60-80 minutes.

Hitikida Avare Sambhar (De-skinned Hyacinth beans Curry)

T will be proud to know that I figured out the botanical name of the delectable Avarekaalu  - It is called the Dolichos Lablab!
While Bengaluru orignally got its name from the boiled beans served to a Hoysala king who had lost his way hunting, Benda-kaalu-ooru (boiled beans place) has gone on to become the Silicon Valley of India thereby sending a sizeable amount of its populace to distant lands where this vegetable is never grown. But, thanks to a lot of enterprise in the food sector catering to the Desi populace in said distant lands, frozen varieties of the beans are easily available in most of the Indian grocery stores. We can now find this tasty bean in the frozen foods section under the name Surti Lilva Papdi. It does come with a setback of extremely small sized beans which makes it tough to de-skin. I simply use the beans whole and skip the step of de-skinning it because it would leave behind not much of the beans. Nevertheless we plough on with vigour to create a dish which has been the hallmark of my mother-in-law's cooking repertoire. She is the queen of the kootu which I am going to describe here while (pardon me) salivating for a taste of it.

Hitikida Avare simply means beans whose skin has been removed. It does require soaking of the beans overnight to make the skin soft enough to be removed. So plan in advance.

Hitikida Avare Sambhar

Servings: 6 cups of Sambhar or Curry
Prep Time: 12 hrs including the shelling, overnight soak and de-skinning   Cook Time: 30-40 mins

Ingredients

6 cups of Avarekayi (Beans with shells) or enough to get 2 cups of shelled beans
1 medium sized Tomato

To Grind

2 1/2 tsp Coriander seeds
1/2 tsp Channa dal
1/2 tsp Urad dal
1 tsp Cumin seeds
4 Red Chillies (adjust to taste)
2 tbsp Coconut
1/2 Onion
4 Garlic pods
1 inch Cinnamon stick
2-3 Cloves
1 Star Anise (masala hoovu)

Instructions

Prep-work

1. Shell the beans from the avarekayi pods (skip the step if using frozen shelled beans)
2. Soak the beans overnight or for 6 hours in water, with water reaching above the level of the beans
3. To remove skin - Hold the soaked bean between thumb and forefinger and gently apply pressure on it till the innards pop out of the skin. Discard the skin and save the de-skinned beans. 
4. Tip : Aim the bean down towards a container so that the de-skinned beans pop right into it. 
5. This step can be a family activity since it is a time consuming process. Kids will have a lot of fun with the beans flying all around them after popping out of the skin!
6. I will post pictures of it, the next time I am around in India when this is in progress. 

Boil beans

1. Boil the shelled, de-skinned beans in water along with some salt till soft to the touch. Do not over cook it else it will all get mashed. 
2. Keep the beans and the water aside.

Grind the Masala

1. Dry roast the coriander seeds, channa dal, urad dal and jeera in a heavy bottomed vessel and keep aside.
2. Dry roast the coconut till lightly browned and dry. Keep aside
3. To the same vessel, add a tsp of Oil (there will be some oil left over from the coconut) and shallow fry the onion, garlic, red chillies, cinnamon, cloves and star anise. 
4. Once all the spices are cooled, grind them all together with 4 tbsp of boiled beans.

Bringing the Sambhar to life

1. Add the ground masala to the boiled beans and water and cook on medium heat for around 5  minutes till combined
2. Add the chopped tomato and allow the sambhar to boil for another 10 minutes. Add water to get the required consistency of sambhar. Do not make it too thick or too watery.
3. Adjust the salt
4. Temper with Mustard seeds and a pinch of asafoetida in a tsp of Oil
5. Serve hot with Rice or Ragi Mudde. 
6. Personaly I like it with chapathi, dose also. 

Ragi Mudde (Finger Millet Balls)

Ragi (Finger Millet) is that wonder grain to which peans ought to be written. It is the richest source of calcium and helps builds bone strength in our bodies and therefore essential for growing children and also in older adults. It is a wonderful source of anti-oxidants and has a good amount of dietary fiber which ensures that we feel fuller for a longer time thus reducing the chances of snacking in between meals or over-eating. The slow digestion aids in controlling blood sugar levels and therefore can be a staple in a diabetic's diet. It has a very small percentage of fat but even then its unsaturated fats.
Ragi is one of the best sources of protein providing many of the essential amino acids which should be reason enough to be incorporated into all vegetarian diets. It is one of the main sources of Methionine which helps reduce cholesterol, reduce fat inside the livers and help protect kidneys.
When sprouted, Ragi develops Vitamin C which helps in absorption of the Iron content in the grain.
Ragi can be prepared in many number of ways,as a ball, sweet or salty porridge, flatbreads, sweets especially with jaggery, each very tasty!
In this post I will talk about making the easiest preparation with Ragi called the Mudde. It is a staple in Karnataka especially among the rural folk. But I think it is about time that the urbanscape adopted this wonder grain into their diets and reap the benefits.

Ragi Mudde (Finger Millet Balls)

Servings: 4 balls
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Ragi Flour
3 1/2 cups Water
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Oil (optional)

Instructions

• Heat water in a vessel and along with salt, oil and 4 tbsp of Ragi flour.
• When the water starts to boil (notice bubbles appearing through the flour) stir in the remaining flour.
• Use a  1-inch thick wooden dowel or the back of a big wooden spoon (which wont break under pressure) to combine the flour well into the water.
• Allow it to cook for 5 mins and remove from stove. By now the raw smell of ragi must be replaced by a cooked smell.
• Let it cool for 2-3 mins (this step is optional but my hand cant take the heat)
• Take a large blob of the mix and place on a slightly greased flat plate. (1/2 tsp of Oil)
• Now wet your hands with water and shake off the excess.
• Working quickly knead the dough a couple of times and then start to roll it into a ball. 
• You might have to dip your hand in water to prevent the dough from sticking to your hand. Optionally work with greased hands.
• Roll the ball in your hands till the surface is smooth.
• Repeat with the rest of the flour. 
• Serve hot with a side dish like Gojju, Sambhar or Hidakbele Saaru which have a watery consistency and not too thick.
• To eat, pinch off a piece of the mudde from the ball, soak it in the side dish and pop it in your mouth. Ideally the mudde should be swallowed without chewing. although I must admit I havent mastered that yet.

Pumpkin Erissery (Kerala style curry)

I made it for the first time many months ago and did not think much about posting the recipe. A month earlier I was routinely asking my daughter what she wants me to make for lunch. Its a question which comes up every now and then in my house when I am out of ideas on what to make. Imagine my surprise when she says "Amma, make that pumpkin thingy you made long back"! First of all I did not think she would remember a specific dish made once many months ago and second  I did not have pumpkin in the refridgerator. So I took a rain check on it and made her favourite pulav instead.
In keeping with this week's Thanksgiving run-up I decided to bring the vegetable home and make her favorite curry today.

Pumpkin Errisery is really simple to make and turns out into a delicious dish. I think it would be a perfect side dish and looks awesome in the middle of a spread. So make it for a pot luck or party  and get some kudos while taking it easy!

Pumpkin Errisery (Kerala Style Curry)

Servings: 3 cups
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients 

To Boil

4 cups Pumpkin (cut into 1-inch cubes)
Salt to taste
A pinch of turmeric

To Grind

1 tsp Cumin seeds
3 Green Chillies
1/4 cup Coconut

To Temper

1/2 Medium onion or 4-5 Shallots
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
2 Red Chillies
8-10 Curry leaves
3 tsp Oil

Garnish

2 tbsp Coconut

Instructions

1. Grind coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds to a coarse mix and keep aside.
2. Boil pumpkins in water till nearly soft along with turmeric and salt. 
3. Add the ground paste to the pumpkins and continue to cook on simmer till pumpkins are well done.
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add mustard seeds.
5. When the mustard seeds splutter, add red chillies and urad dal and saute for a couple of minutes.
6. Add in onion and saute till transluscent and then put in the curry leaves.
7. Mix well and pour the tempering on top of the cooked pumpkin
8. In the same heavy bottomed vessel fry 2 tbsp of coconut till they are crisp and mix it into the pumpkin curry.
9. Mix well and serve with hot rice or chapathi

Gori Manchurian

Yes, you read it right. There is no spelling mistake in the title of the post. I accidentally made an important discovery which will come in very handy to serve a vegetable which is inherently so dry that it usually gets relegated to second cousin status as compared to beans. Cluster Beans or Gori kayi as it is called in Kannada is a thin and dry variety of beans.
I used to be an extremely fussy eater as a kid and gori kayi was one of the many vegetables that I did not like to eat. Adding to my misery was the abundance of this vegetable in the local market in Hyderabad, thus finding its way to my plate more enough than I would have liked. My mom tried to encourage me in various ways to eat more... well lets just say eat. With gori kayi she found an ally in numbers.She always told me that eating gori kayi would make me really good at math! That was a good reason for me to eat it all up although I might say that 101/100 times I might have got my numbers mixed up! I did hallucinate about pieces of gori kayi making its way up my blood vessels to the math controlling part of my brain.
Coming back to the recipe, it was a fridge clean out session where i discovered a bag of gori kayi and pizza sauce left over from last weekend. The rest as they say is Manchuristory.

Gori Manchurian

Servings: 2 cups
Prep Time: 25 mins   Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

2 cups of Cluster Beans (Gori Kayi in Kannada)
1/2 Medium sized Onion
1/2 cup Toor Dal
1/2 cup Pizza sauce
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch of turmeric
3 Green Chillies cut lengthwise
3 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Instructions 

1. Cut cluster beans and onion into small pieces.
2. Wash the toor dal under running water, atleast three times
3. Pressure cook toor dal and cluster beans and keep aside
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add in mustard seeds. 
5. When the mustard seeds splutter, add in green chillies and cumin seeds and saute for a minute
6.  Add in onion and saute till transluscent.
7. To this, add the pizza sauce and fry for a few minutes till the raw smell of tomato has gone
8. Mix in the pressure cooked cluster beans and toor dal. Add salt and continue to cook for a few minutes till the first boil.
9. This curry tastes good with roti or chapathi or plain rice. I enjoyed eating it as is!

Instant Pizza sauce

Ingredients

2 Tomatoes / 5 heaped tsps of unfavoured natural tomato paste

2 garlic pods

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp Olive oil or Vegetable oil or Canola oil

Instructions

1. Grind all the ingredients together adding 1 tbsp of water if required

Pumpkin Soup Curry flavored

Here comes yet another post using the pumpkin puree that I made day before yesterday. After a tiring day pumpkin soup is something you could snack on to both relax and fill your tummy. It is wholesome and the curry flavour gives it an extra spicy kick. This soup can be made as sweet or spicy as desired. 

Pumpkin Soup Curry flavored

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1 cup Water
1 tbsp Butter (or less) or 1 tbsp Oil
1 medium sized Onion
2 Garlic pods
1/2 inch piece Ginger grated
1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp Coriander powder
1/4 tsp Cumin powder
A pinch of turmeric
2 Cloves whole
2 tsp Red Chilli powder
Few coriander leaves cut fine
Salt to taste

Instructions

• Cut onions and garlic fine
• Heat the butter in a heavy bottomed wok and saute the onions till transluscent.
• Add garlic and ginger and saute for a couple of minutes
• Add in all the spices and saute for a couple of minutes
• Pour the pumpkin puree along with water into the wok and continue to boil for a few minutes.
• Add salt and simmer for five minutes.
• Garnish with coriander or parsley
• Serve the soup hot

Spiced Eggless Pumpkin Quick Bread

Pumpkin bread is the kind of food that you want to take with you when your mind wanders into nostalgia. It evokes a lot of emotions, most of all happiness. Done with the right spices, this wonder food, which is a big source of Vitamin A, can be relished as a snack any time of the day.

With my resolve to post a pumpkin recipe everyday of this week leading to Thanksgiving day, I made a list of all the dishes I wanted to prepare and this bread topped the list. It is an extremely simple quick bread which means there is no wait time required between making the batter and baking.

The pumpkin bread is symbolic of warmth. The recipe below does not make an overtly sweet bread. Its a sure-fire crowd pleaser and I am very happy to report that the two food critics in my house absolutely loved it! I recommend it as a kid friendly recipe and it can easily make its way into the school snack box.

Spiced Eggless Pumpkin Quick Bread 

Recipe adapted from Gayathri's cookspot
Servings: 1 9-inch loaf
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 60 mins

Ingredients 

1 cup All purpose Flour
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Pastry flour
1 cup granulated Sugar
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Double acting Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2-3 Cloves (If using powder then 1/2 tsp)
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup Oil
3 tbsp Honey
3 tbsp Water
Chopped walnuts (handful to 1/2 cup)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line a 9 inch loaf tin with parchment paper or grease with oil.
2. Sift together all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour. sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves together in a bowl.
3. In another bowl mix together pumpkin puree, oil, water, honey
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to form a thick batter. Mix only till well combined, do not overmix.
5. Fold in the walnuts
6. Fill the loaf tin with the thick batter and lightly spread to be even topped
7. Bake at 350 deg F for 60 minutes till a skewer inserted comes out clean with no batter sticking to it. Check from 55 mins to see if it is done
8.  Remove from oven and cool in the loaf tin for 5 minutes. Continue to cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Puree

'Ts the week where all of America is thinking about recipes. After all its the biggest culinary expedition of the year. Thanksgiving! 
Vegetarians and Vegans have a lot of resources on the internet to ensure they dont have to forego joining in the celebration. Potatoes, Beans and Pumpkin are some of the vegetables that find their way to the dinner spread and creatively so. My take is that there is only so much you could stuff into a turkey so all the creativity gets unleashed on accompaniments and dessert. I have decided to dedicate this week to recipes which could easily adorn the Thanksgiving banquet.
What better way to do this than the rotund pumpkin.

As luck would have it I had a huge pumpkin leftover from the Halloween times which had failed to make it to a Jack-o-Lantern. I had to use it before it spoilt. Does a pumpkin spoil? I dont know but I wasnt going to find out today. I took it out of the refridgerator and what ensued after that was a 40-min ordeal to crack it open! The shell was extremely hard and I had never encountered a pumpkin with such a hard exterior. Armed with a sharp knife and gritting my teeth I started puncturing through the vegetable with T reminding me of the fact that I am a klutz and should be careful. I have a history of slicing right through my hands so I dont blame him for being worried. Once I had it open it took me an indecisive 5 minutes to resolve making a puree out of the whole thing instead of trying to skin it for a curry.
Pureeing a pumpkin is really simple as you will read later on. Once done, it could be frozen for a few months atleast and used whenever required. The puree could be used in baking recipes, soups, casseroles etc.

Pumpkin Puree 

Servings: 4 cups from a pumpkin the size of a football.
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins (includes waiting time)

Ingredients

1 Pumpkin (size of a football)

Instructions

1. Cut the pumpkin into quarters
2. Place it on baking tray
3. Bake at 350 deg F for an hour
4. Allow it to cool and then scrape the pulp out of the skin
5. Blend the pulp in a food processor or mixer to a paste. Use a couple of tbsp of water if required.
6. Store in an airtight container. Freeze for longevity.

Spooky Witches Fingers (Eggless)

Its that time of the year where scary and spooky are mainstream. Halloween brings with it a carnival kind of atmosphere where everyone wants to pretend to be someone else. Going by the number of Halloween Express shops that open up in October, its a mad rush to get out of the skin of one's own life. Before my blog goes all philosophical and analytical on this top I will turn the focus back to food. Pumpkins are everywhere for halloween but not really as a dish. Jack-o-Lanterns adorn many lawns and door steps. Wildly imaginative cookies and cupcakes are also the norm.

I decided to bake the spooky witches fingers to celebrate the Halloween mood early and also as part of the Home Bakers Challenge. The recipe here is a keeper and gives consistent good results. My biggest tip while baking cookies is to chill the shaped dough for atleast 5 minutes before popping it into the oven. This slows down the spread and ensures you dont have to get it off the tray with a spatula.
My daughter refused to even come close to them in the beginning but enjoyed eating it after we demonstrated that they were really harmless. But the whole episode made me gloat with pride at such a life like creation! The hubby who, as my blog readers will know, hates sweets also devoured many many of these fingers.

Spooky Witches Fingers (Eggless)

Recipe Adapted from here
Servings: 30 pieces
Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 25 mins per batch

Ingredients 

1 1/3 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Butter (softened)
1/2 cup Sugar
Ener-G Egg Replacer equivalent of 1/2 egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
30 Whole Almonds with skin

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Sieve and set aside.
2. Whisk the sugar and butter till well combined (whitish and fluffy). This took me around 3-4 minutes.
3. To this add the egg replacer and vanilla essence and whisk for another couple of minutes.
4. Add the dry mixture in parts to the wet mixture and mix till combined.
5. The whole thing comes together as a soft dough. Cover and refridgerate for 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 325 F.
7. Remove small portion of the dough at a time from the fridge, shape into desired form and place an inch apart on a cookie tray.
8. Refridgerate the cookie tray for atleast 5 minutes and then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove when base is lightly browned. 
9. Leave the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes and then cook on a wire rack. 

To shape like a finger

1. Pinch of a small ball of dough and place on parchment paper.
2. Working quickly press and elongate to a log of around 4 inches long and 1/4 inch diameter. 
3. Pinch the edge on one side to give a tapered look. That's the nail side
4. Pinch in the log along the length
5. Using a blunt knife (butter knife) make indentations cross-wise on the log to give it a natural look
6. Press a whole almond on the tapered edge

Vegetable Au Gratin

We had a French inspired dinner last Sunday with Croissants (store bought) and Vegetable Au Gratin on the side. A table laid outdoors, bare with no distractions of threads and cutlery, completed the experience. Soaking in the setting sun with a wonderfully tasty spread is something we all can never have enough of.
The french expression "au gratin" refers to anything grated on top of the dish. Very commonly cheese.
Although this dish looks very sophisticated and prim, its one of the easiest things to prepare. And guaranteed to turn heads at a luncheon or pot luck.

Again, its a great way to get those vegetables into kids' tummies. The recipe I have used is inspired from here. I used beans, carrots, kohlrabi, spinach(a lot) and potatoes for veggies but the options are limitless. Am sure shallow-fried onion would add a dash of intense flavour to the dish.

Vegetable Au Gratin

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20-25 mins

Ingredients 

1 cup Boiled Vegetables
1 cup Spinach cut washed and cooked
1 cup White Sauce
1 tbsp Cream Cheese (optional)
1/2 cup (or lesser) cheese (I used Mozzarella)
1 tsp Garlic powder (optional)
1 tsp Cumin powder (optional)
1 tsp Coriander powder (optional)
1 tsp Black pepper powder
Salt to taste

For 1 cup White Sauce

1 tbsp Butter
1 tsp All purpose Flour
3/4 cup Milk
1 tsp Black pepper powder
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Keep a shallow baking dish (3 inches * 5 inches * 1 inch) ready
3. Mix cream cheese and 1 tbsp of mozzarella cheese to the white sauce.
4. Add in the spices, garlic powder and salt and mix well
5. Fold in the boiled vegetables and spinach
6. Pour this mixture into the baking dish, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top
7. Bake at 400 F for 20-25 mins till the top has become golden brown.
8. Leave it in the oven with the door open for another few minutes (optional)
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool

How to make White Sauce

1. Heat butter in a heavy bottomed vessel, add all purpose flour and mix till it becomes frothy on low-medium heat
2. Add 3/4 cup Milk and stir continuously till the sauce thickens. Around 5 mins
3. Add in black pepper powder and salt to taste

Eggless Blueberry Coffee Cake

At the outset let me share with you that I dint expect this to be a hit. But thats exactly what it turned out to be  and more with my daughter lapping up every bit of it with gusto. This cake is a very simple preparation and I made it on a Saturday night while chatting with a friend which made it all the more enjoyable.
Coffee cakes are usually moist and tender and come out of the oven ready to eat. No frosting required. Although having a streusel on top or glaze or chocolate syrup drizzle are standard dress-ups for it, it can nevertheless be enjoyed without any of those.

I chose to not top it with anything and also chose to make it low calorie by substituting apple sauce for a lot of the butter. The taste of apple is hardly noticeable especially if its a fine paste. What I forgot to add in was nuts and I am going to do it the next time. Almonds would complement the blueberries very well, especially the shavings.

Its an easy way to get kids to eat fruits and nuts, trust me!

Eggless Blueberry Coffee Cake

Servings: 1 9-inch cake
Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 40 - 50 mins

Ingredients 

2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Blueberries (if frozen do not thaw)
1/3 cup Butter
1/2 cup Applesauce
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder (I used 1/2 tsp Double acting)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla extract (I accidentally put in nearly 2.5 tsp of extract and it was still very yummy)

Instructions 

1. Line a 9-inch cake tin with parchment paper or grease it and keep aside
2. Preheat oven to 350 F
3. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a bowl and set aside
4. Cream butter and sugar by hand or with a beater.
5. Add the applesauce and vanilla essence and continue to beat
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients alternating with yogurt.
7. Combine well using a whisk but refrain from mixing too much. 
8. Add in the blueberries and fold in. Be gentle since they pop easily. 
9. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake it at 350 for 40-50 mins till a skewer inserted in comes out clean. 
10. Remove from oven and cool it in the tin for 5 mins and then continue to cool it on a wire rack. 

How to make Applesauce at home

1. Peel and core 2 medium sized apples, cut them into cubes and boil the pieces in 1/2 cup water till soft and mushy. About 10 mins.
2. Once cooled, grind the softened pieces into a paste or mash with a fork to get 1 cup Applesauce

Green Tomato Pachadi Andhra Style

One of my friends suggested that I should try a chutney using green tomatoes. Until then I had never really used green tomatoes to cook and I wasnt sure of the taste either. But having once tried the chutney I promptly bought more of it and made it again the next week. Its going to be one of my go to chutneys since its easy to put together and less on fat.
Green tomatoes impart a very tangy flavour which needs to be balanced. I used fenugreek seeds for that reason.

Green Tomato Pachadi Andhra Style

Servings: 1 cup
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 30 mins (including cooling time)

Ingredients

1 Big sized Green tomato
1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
2 tsp Urad dal
3 Green chillies
2 Red chillies
4 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Few Curry leaves
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Heat 3 tsp oil in a heavy bottomed vessel or wok. 
2. Add the fenugreek seeds and urad dal and fry till the urad dal gets lightly browned
3. To this add the cut tomatoes, salt, green chillies and red chillies and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy.
4. Once cooled, grind the cooked tomatoes but not to a fine paste. 
5. Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Ragi Rotti (Finger Millet flatbread)

If there is one thing which is quintessential Karnataka food it would have to be Ragi. Karnataka is one of the biggest producers of Ragi in India. And no wonder that almost every kannada household would stock it in their pantry to readily whip up Mudde (cooked Ragi ball) or Rotti (Ragi flat bread) best eaten with Bussaru or Chutney respectively.

I prefer the Rotti over Mudde and make it often at home. It is one of the best after school snacks for kids to restore their energy and to provide them with nutrition without fuss. I tend to flavour it with onion, green chillies, coriander leaves and optionally spices. It is easy to make and easy to eat and is one of the healthiest dishes to be had.

Ragi Rotti (Finger Millet flatbread)
Servings: 8 Rottis
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 5 mins (for each Rotti)
Ingredients
2 Cups Ragi flour
1 Medium Onion
2-3 Green Chillies
A bunch of coriander leaves
1 cup Spinach leaves
1 cup Water
1 tsp Cumin powder (optional)
1 tsp Coriander powder (optional)
Salt to taste
Instructions
Cook the spinach leaves (Microwave or stove-top) and grind to a fine paste.
In a bowl mix together flour, salt and spices.
Add to this minced onion, green chillies, coriander leaves and mix well.
Add in spinach paste till crumbly.
Add water, a little at a time, to make a soft dough.
Keep aside covered for 30 mins if desired.
Wet a small piece of cloth (handkerchief) completely and squeeze to remove excess water
Spread it out on a flat surface.
Place a dough ball on the wet cloth and flatten it using fingers dipped into water
Slide the cloth along with the flattened dough and flip it onto a hot skillet
Drizzle  oil around the flattened bread and cook on both sides.
Tip :- If the flour on any part of the bread shows up white, it isnt cooked. Spread a drop of oil or water and cook the spot. 

Pumpkin Spiced Buttermilk Scones (Eggless)

It was a lazy weekend afternoon at our house and I was getting ready for a late afternoon snooze when the baker in me dragged me up and admonished me about wasting away a full day. I gave in and decided to bake something quick. Scones have been at the back of my mind for some time now. Today was the perfect occasion. I had a sliver of pumpkin left over from making Pumpkin Erissery. I had wanted to use it for baking and it provided me with an opportunity to make a savoury bake. I adapted the recipe from here adjusting it to suit our palate.

Its a great recipe and my scones turned out perfect. I cannot even begin to explain the sheer pleasure one derives upon a successful first-time bake!
The scones were a big hit with everyone going for seconds and the hubby even grabbing one right off my photograph!

Pumpkin Spiced Buttermilk Scones (Eggless)

Serrvings: 8 Scones
Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

2 cups All purpose Flour + 1/4 cup as required while kneading the dough
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinammon powder
1/2 tsp Ginger (dry powder or fresh grated)
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter (cold cubes)
1/3 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree (fresh or canned)
1 tsp Vanilla essence

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg F and line a baking tray with parchment paper
2. Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinammon and ginger and set aside
3. Cut the cold butter into the flour using a knife and fork or two knives till a crumbly mixture is formed. It is alright to have a few big chunks of butter in the mixture.
4. If its
5. In another bowl whisk together the pumpkin puree, buttermilk and vanilla essence.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the dough just comes together. Do not overmix as this can cause the scones to lose their airy composition
7. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead lightly to form a lump. At this point sprinkle some flour on the dough to get it all together if required
8. Pat the dough into a circle of roughly 6-7 inches and about 1 1/2 inches thick
9. Cut this circle into 8 even sized pie shaped wedges using a knife (floured)
10. Carefully lift each wedge and place it on the baking sheet.
11. Lightly dab the butter wrapper on top of each scone to get a golden color once baked
12. I used a rectangular cake tin inverted as the "baking sheet" and hence did not fear the scones getting burnt at the bottom. But Stephanie does suggest placing the thin baking sheet inside another one to prevent burning.
13. Bake for about 20 mins till the scones are golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
14. Allow it to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy it warm with your favourite cup of coffee, tea or milk!

How to Puree Pumpkin

Wash and peel the tough skin off the pumpkin
Cut into even sized pieces
Boil in water for around 15-20 mins till soft
Let cool, drain the water and puree in a blender

How to make Buttermilk

Add 1 tbsp vinegar to 1 cup of Milk and let sit for 10 minutes.
The milk curdles to form buttermilk.

Eggless Pinwheel Cookies

My darling dotzy turned five last weekend and we had an amazing party at the park. Among the fun and frolic was great food including snacks made at home. I made Blueberry Vanilla Cupcakes, Chocolate cupcakes, pinwheel cookies, Nipattu and Pakoda all of which were well recieved and the boxes were nearly empty by the time we came back home. Its always very gratifying to have super success with your food!
Pinwheel cookies was part of  the Home Bakers Challenge for June, a group which I have joined on FB. I had already made the Peanut Butter Cookies and now found the perfect opportunity to bake cookies in a house where the folks dont eat anything sweet!

One thing I must say about these cookies - they taste best till the next day once done. They get a cardboard-y taste after 2 days. So eating them fresh is the way to go according to me.
This recipe has been adapted from The Heritage Cook and adapted to make it eggless. It requires making two varieties of dough, one chocolate and one vanilla, and rolling it together.

Tips for making the process easier

1) The easiest way to handle this dough is to keep it cold. I refridgerated the dough quite a few times to be able to make it easily. After I kneaded it wrapped in cling wrap and also after I rolled it out and wedged between parchment paper, for 30 mins each time.
2) Flatten the dough  in between layers of parchment paper to make it easier to roll out. Else it sticks to the rolling pin. Also cleaning up becomes a breeze!
3) It might be easier to press down on the dough with a heavy wooden spoon or rolling pin and push it outwards to flatten it rather than rolling on it using a pin.
4) While rolling the dough into a log, roll using the parchment halfway and then pull back the paper. Do this for every roll
5) Refridgerate dough log for atleast an hour before cutting it into cookies. This ensures the dough log is stiff and cutting it into cookie rounds makes it easier without the dough losing shape.
6) Last but not the least, dont get intimated by the length of the instructions. Its easier done than explained.

Eggless Pinwheel Cookies

Servings: 32 cookies
Prep Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

All purpose flour – 1 ½ Cup
Baking powder – ½ Tsp
Salt – ¼ Tsp
Unsalted softened butter – ½ Cup
Granulated sugar – ¾ Cup
3/4 tbsp EnerG Egg Replacer
1 1/2 tbsp Warm water
Vanilla extract – 1 Tsp
Unsweetened cocoa powder – 2 Tbsp
Semi sweet chocolate chips – ¼ Cup
2 tsp Milk

Instructions

Vanilla Dough

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Whip the egg-replacer with warm water until it is gooey and set aside
3. In a mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg replacer and vanilla extract and beat again until blended.
4. Add the flour mixture slowly, beating just until combined.
5. Divide the dough into two parts
6. Refrigerate one part wrapped in cling wrap for 30 mins. That will be the vanilla dough.

Chocolate Dough

1. Melt the chocolate chips along with the milk in a microwave by heating it for 10 secs. Set aside to cool.
2. Add the cocoa and the cooled melted chocolate to the second half of the dough and mix till well incorporated.
3. Refrigerate this chocolate dough wrapped in cling wrap for 30 mins.

Making pinwheel Shape

1. Place the vanilla dough in between parchment sheets measuring 12 inches * 12 inches. 
2. Flatten the dough in between the sheets to the dimension of the paper. 
3. Repeat for the chocolate dough (use another set of parchment paper of size 12 inches * 12 inches)
4. Optionally refrigerate the two dough discs along with the parchment paper for 30 mins. This step is necessary if the weather is really hot and humid.
5. Set the vanilla disc on a counter and peel away the top paper. Do the same for the chocolate disc.
6. Now flip the chocolate disc and stack on top of the vanilla disc ensuring that the discs are again sandwiched between the remaining parchment paper. (Bottom parchment of Chocolate disc now becomes top parchment of the sandwich)
7. Roll lightly over the layers so that the dough adhere.
8. Remove the parchment paper on top.
9. Starting from one side, roll up the dough into one big log 12 inches long. Since the first couple of rolls will form the center of the cookie late ensure its firmly packed in. (I did falter here a bit and rolled it loose and you can see from the pics that the pinwheel shape at the center is not perfect)
10. Wrap the log in parchment and refrigerate it for upto an hour. 

Making the cookies

1. In the meantime preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Carefully slice the log into ¼ inch thick cookies and place on a baking sheet 1 inch apart. 
3. Bake it for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are done when you see the edges turning golden brown. They also harden on the cooling rack. 
4. Cool it on wire rack.

Berry Healthy Smoothie

After a long hard tiring day picking blueberries, what better way to relax than to sip on ice cold berry smoothie!

Berry Healthy Smoothie

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients

1 cup Blueberries
1 cup Strawberries
1/2 cup Milk
A few ice cubes
2 tbsp Vanilla Icecream (optional)

Instructions

1. Wash the berries thoroughly if using fresh, by running a stream of water over a colander of berries
2. No need to thaw the berries if using frozen.
3. I used both fresh
4. Blend the berries along with milk till smooth.
5. Drop in the ice cubes and give it a couple of churns
6. Add in the ice cream and whirr it again.
7. Serve straight from the blender or chill it some more

Healthy Vegan Vegetable Mini Pie

I have become a part of the Eggless Baking Challenge Group where we are given challenges every month to convert a egg filled delicacy to eggless. July's challenge was one of my favourites because not only was it something I wanted to try from a long time but the twist was that it was savoury. A welcome relief from all the sweet bakes that I have been doing.

I have been wanting to bake a pie from forever but the quantity of butter required and the sheer size of a pie was holding me back. When this challenge came up the first thing I did was to logon to Amazon to buy pie pans. After browsing through a lot of options, I couldnt make up my mind on the large pans vs the mini ones. I found that the mini pans were also 4.5 inches or more in diameter and felt it was a bit too big. I prefer individual portions than an overwhelming big size. And thats the same reason I prefer cupcakes to cakes. I then stumbled upon some images of pies being made in muffin pans and I had the tool I was looking for right in my kitchen.

I also found a recipe for making the pie crust without butter (which I cant seem to find again to link to) and adapted it further to incorporate whole grains into it by substituting half the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour.

My tips for a happy experience:

1) Use parchment strips/aluminium foil strips lining each cup in a way that lifting the strip would lift out the mini pie. Aluminium foils are easily pliable and can line the cups better. Ensure that both ends of the strip jut out of the muffin cavity.
2) I found it easier to flatten a ball of dough with my hand using my palm. Since the pie dough is usually hard it is tough to roll it out using a rolling pin even if sandwiched between sheets of parchment/wax paper. I flattened the dough to 1/5 inch thickness and used a round cutter to cut out the pie bottom and top.
3) Cooling the ingredients before mixing and mixing it barely ensures a flaky texture. No muscle power required.
4) If placing a top crust then brush with little oil to get a better taste before baking.

This pie crust is a keeper because its low calorie and really good.

Healthy Vegan Vegetable Mini Pie

Servings: 6 Mini Pies (2 inch wide)
Prep Time: 2 hrs   Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients 

For the Pie Crust

3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/4 cup Oil (I used Canola)
1/4 cup Cold water
Salt to taste

For the savoury filling

1/2 Medium onion
1 Carrot
1/2 Capsicum
1/2 cup Corn
3 tsp Oil
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Black pepper powder
Salt to taste

Instructions

To make the savoury filling

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and saute finely cut onions till transcluscent.
2. Add in the grated carrot, finely cut capsicum and corn and saute for a couple of minutes.
3. Mix in the spice powders and salt and saute for another couple of minutes till its done. 
4. Set aside to cool.

To make Pie 

1. Line the muffin cavities with aluminium foil strips such that the two ends of the strip jut out of the cavity.
2. Lightly grease the cups
3. Mix the all purpose flour and the whole wheat pastry flour in a bowl and freeze for 30 - 45 mins
4. Freeze the oil for the same amount of time
5. Mix salt into the chilled flour, add the oil and mix lightly. 
6. The flour becomes crumbly and should remain that way with big clumps
7. Add water very little at a time to form a hard ball of dough. Do not add too much water and also ensure that the dough does not become soft and pliable. 
8. Pinch off a golf ball sized dough and flatten it to form a 1/5 inch thick disc.
9. Cut the dough to a 3 inch diameter circle using a round cutter. (I used a container cap)
10. Push the circle into a muffin cup and lightly press against the walls of the cup to form a pastry shell.
11. Optionally, leave a little bit of the dough outlining the mouth of the cup especially if its an open pie
12. Spoon in a tablespoon of the filling into the shell, topping it with cheese optionally.
13. Cut out a 2 inch dough circle and place on top of the filling. Press a fork all around the top crust so that it seals the pie. Lightly brush oil on the top to aid browning.
14. Bake at 350 F for around 30 mins. The top may not brown all that much if using whole wheat flour. It is done when the dough gets crusty.
15. Serve warm optionally topped with cream cheese. 

Easy Eggless Pad Thai Noodles with Vegetables

Pad literally means Stir fried. Noodles are the easiest thing to dish up on a busy week day or night.
I made this to impress my m-i-l and onlya fter laying it out on the table did I get to know that she doesnt eat noodles. Pasta is ok but Spaghetti is not. Well, I got to try out a new recipe so there. Pad thai is usually served with crushed peanuts as a garnish. But I decided to incorporate the peanut flavour in the sauce itself by using peanut butter. Since this is the vegetarian version no question of using fish oil or eggs. Also replaced the rice noodles which is used in the classic dish with its whole wheat cousin. The whole wheat version does make the dish heavier. Mung bean sprouts are an important element in the dish but I havent used it since I was out of it.

Easy Eggless Pad Thai Noodles with Stir Fried Vegetables

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 mins   Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

1/2 box of Whole Wheat Spaghetti Noodles
3 tbsp Peanut Butter
4 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp White Vinegar
1 tsp Lemon juice
2-3 tsp Maggi Hot and Sweet Tomato Chilli Sauce
2 tsp or more Red Chilli powder
2 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Black pepper powder
6 tsp Oil
1 Medium Onion julliened
1/2 cup Capsicum cut thin
1/2 cup Carrots cut thin
1/2 cup Mung Bean sprouts (I dint have it today)
Any other vegetables of choice
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Boil a pot of water, add some salt and drop in the noodles. Cook them according to the package instructions to al-dente. 
2. Drain the noodles and keep aside. 
3. In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce, lemon juice, garlic powder, red chilli powder, black pepper powder.
4. Heat the oil in a skillet, add in onions and saute till transluscent.
5. Tip in the capsicum, carrots and other veggies and stir fry.
6. Stir in the sauce mix and saute for a few more minutes. Adjust the salt.
7. Fork in the cooked noodles and give it a good mix. 
8. Serve warm.

Khara Biscuit / Eggless Whole Wheat Savoury Cookies

The day before we have to leave for any trip, I have this last minute urge to make and take along a snack. I have made cookies in the past and some savoury bakes. I tend to make the non fried variety so that we can have guilt free indulgence. I, for one get very hungry when I step into a car for any journey greater than an hour.
Our trip to Chicago over the 4th of July weekend had a very hectic prep time because of work pressure during the week. Packing just came down to picking up a stack of ironed clothes off the cupboard and shoving it into the suitcase. I mention this especially because I am a light packer, never carrying any extras. There was a lot of prep work where food was concerned since we prefer to pack lunches for the day outings. So we packed a mini kitchen into two big bags complete with ground pulav masala!
Getting back to what I wanted to post about. Amidst all the crazy kitchen activity I made Khara Biscuit to take along for the ride. I made it with whole wheat pastry flour.

Khara biscuit conjures up memories of Butter Sponge visits when we were kids. Many of our Sundays would start with Sweet bun, Khara bun combo for breakfast and on some extra special occasions it would be accompanied by the Benne Biscuit, Khara Biscuit combo. Yummy!! For me the yard stick in judging a bakery's goods is the Benne Biscuit, Khara biscuit they make as compared to Butter Sponge Bakery in Gandhi Bazar. My attempt here was very close and even though they turned out extremely good, I cannot claim to have recreated the magic. The biscuits turned out delicious and were a huge hit. Its simple to make and easy to stow.

Khara Biscuit / Eggless Whole Wheat Savoury Cookies

Servings: 20 biscuits
Prep Time: 1 hr        Cook Time: 20 - 25 mins

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 cup Butter (softened on the counter)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Ginger paste
2 Green Chillies finely chopped
1 tsp Coriander leaves finely chopped
1/2 tsp Curry leaves finely chopped
1 tsp Salt (or to taste)
1 tsp Sugar
1/4 cup Yoghurt

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl.
2. To this add the ginger paste, green chillies, coriander leaves, curry leaves and mix well. 
3. Add the butter to this and mix to form a stiff dough. Do not overmix. 
4. If the mix turns out crumbly add yoghurt very little at a time to get a stiff dough consistency. 
5. Put the dough into a ziplock bag and refridgerate it for 30 mins to ensure that the butter does not stop melting while rolling the dough. 
6. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
7. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to a 1 inch thick circle. 
8. Cut out round shaped biscuits and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. 
9. Prick the biscuit with a fork to prevent it from puffing up. These are after all biscuits. 
10. Continue to do this for the rest of the dough making sure to leave atleast 1 inch between each cookie.
11. Bake for 20 mins or till the biscuit feels a little firm. 
12. Remove from the oven and cool in tray for 5 mins and further on a wire rack. 
13. The biscuit firms a little more while cooling. 
14. This biscuit stores well in an air tight container in the fridge for 5 days. .

Sweet Potato Curry - Spicy with a hint of sweet

Sweet potato supposedly has lesser calories, more fiber and more nutrients packed in it than the white potato. But as with a lot of vegetables the debate goes on. Debate not withstanding both the spuds are loved by my family The sweetness of the sweet potato is often off-putting for some in my family which forces us to choose the white variety many times but with the right kind of treatment the sweet potato can provide a stiff competition.
Its an easy curry to prepare and goes well with chapathis but I love it most with rasam rice. Great for the lunch box of a picky eater too.

Sweet Potato Curry - Spicy with a hint of sweet

Servings: 2 cups curry
Prep Time: 15mins     Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients 

4 sweet potatoes
1-2 tbsp Jaggery
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
4-5 Green chillies
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tsp Chana Dal
1 tsp Urad Dal
Few Curry leaves
1 bunch Coriander leaves
4 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
3-4 cups Water

Instructions

1. Boil the water, add some salt, turmeric and put in sweet potato halves.
2. When the sweet potato is nearly cooked add in  the jaggery and continue to cook till sweet potato becomes tender to the touch. 
3. Remove the sweet potato halves and peel the skin off and mash it. 
4. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add mustard seeds
5. When the seeds sputter add the cut green chillies, cumin seeds, chana dal and urad dal and fry for a couple of minutes. 
6. Add in the mashed potatoes and curry leaves and mix well.
7. Adjust the salt as necessary. 
8. Switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves. 
9. Serve with chapathis or rice. 

Home-made Peanut Butter

Making peanut butter at home is really the easiest thing to do. Plus you can avoid all the preservatives and whatever else they add into the store bought ones. The other advantage of making it at home is the different flavours we can experiment with. Make it sweet by adding some sugar or make it spicy by adding cayenne pepper and red chilli flakes or anything else in between.

Home-made Peanut Butter

Servings: 1 1/2  cups of peanut butter
Prep Time: 2 mins if you have roasted peanuts or 20 mins if not Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients 

2 cups roasted Peanuts

Instructions 

1. In an electric mixer or food processor put in the roasted peanuts and grind. 
2. The peanuts first  turn into powder and then it becomes crumbly. 
3. Continue to grind and with the oil oozing out of the peanuts, it turns into a saucy texture.
4. Make it crunchy or smooth by varying the grind times. 

How to Roast peanuts at home

1. Heat a heavy bottomed vessel and put in 2 cups of regular peanuts in it. 
2. Keep stirring on low-medium heat till the peanuts turn evenly brown. 10 -15 minutes
3. Cool the roasted peanuts and then proceed to remove the skin.
4. To remove the skin - Place the roasted peanuts in  a wide plate and crush peanuts with hand. This will break the peanuts and separate the skin. 
5. Alternatively place the roasted peanuts on a flat surface and run a rolling pin on them. This will break the peanuts and separate the skin
6. Lightly blow on the crushed peanuts to blow the flaky skin away.