Hands Down - The Best Eggless Brownie

Hello People,

Hope you're amazing.

I feel terribly sorry for abandoning this blog which helped me come a long way. My mid year - oh wait we're past it - so my Q4 resolution is to blog regularly and revive all my forgotten memories. My best friend gifted me a convection oven to appreciate and encourage my love for cooking. Ever since then - there's no stopping. I had fair share of burnt, wobbly, half baked, over baked disasters along with burnt fingers :(



While I am quite comfortable baking tea time cakes, biscuits and muffins, however I couldn't nail brownies right. Either the wet to dry ratio goes wrong or they are under baked or squished or they are charred to death.

I felt baking brownies wasn't my forte, so I had given up baking these beauties until I found a recipe that doesn't need butter or eggs in my handwritten note.

I was blown by the simplicity of this recipe and also halved the baking measurements to check how this would turn out.

My friend this didn't disappoint me - the crust was perfectly cracked, dense, fudgy and not too sweet - just the way I would like it with some caramel sauce or nutella or with some ice cream or plain. I am not sure if you could call it traditional brownie recipe - I'd say who cares as long as it is a "Brownie" and it is eggless.

Here's my recipe -

How to make (Bake) The Best Eggless Brownie

Prep Time

10 mins

Bake Time

30 mins

Total Time

40 - 50 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Makes - 6 - 7 squares

Author: Sindhura Kalita

Ingredients

• Dry Ingredients
• All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup + 1/4th cup
• Sugar - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps
• Baking Powder - 1/4th tsp
• Cocoa Powder - 1/4th Cup
• Wet Ingredients
• Oil - 6 tbsps
• Water - 6 tbsps

How to Make?

1. Sift your dry ingredients in a bowl.Mix all the ingredients.
2. Take another bowl and add in your wet ingredients. Give a quick stir to form an emulsion. 
3. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
4. Fold dry ingredients into wet. Basically, you would add your dry ingredients in batches to your wet and combine or fold in a way without any lumps.
5. Grease a brownie mould or even a cake mould works (you could cut them into brownies or slices later) with some butter and line a parchment or butter paper.
6. Pour this batter and tap until air bubbles pop.
7. Bake at 180 for 30 - 35 mins until done or until a tooth pick comes clean.

Recipe Notes

• You can double the baking measurements if you'd like to bake in huge quantities.
• Feel free to customize this recipe with some nuts.
• You can slather nutella or caramel sauce and make these beauties into nutella brownies or caramel brownies.

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Sindhura Kalita

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Baby Corn Pulao

Finally, after eons and eras of being dormant, I am here making up for the lost time. I can tell you for sure that I missed being my old self and my own virtual space but I couldn't help much in between all the wedding preparations.

What-what-what???? Wedding??

Oh Yes, I am married to the love of my love - My North Eastern Prince charming - Pranjal (Mr.P) from Assam and ours was a two states wedding - a combo of South Indian dosa with North Eastern momos. Sounds nice? Yea, I pretty much liked that word - I can probably use it as a pick-up line to introduce us.

Life has been a roller-coaster life ever since then with extensive traveling and we are almost settling into our normal routines. One pot meals are an essential part of our every day dabbas (oops lunch boxes) apart from easy fixes. So you shouldn't be surprised if you see more of one pot meals here. 

So here's my version of baby corn pulao - All you need is a bunch of ingredients and you're sorted.

How to make Baby Corn Pulao Recipe

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

40 mins

Lunch box options - Baby Corn Pulao - It's a perfect blend of taste, time and health.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 3 people

Author: Sindhura Kalita

Ingredients

• For rice
• Rice -1 cup (Use Basmati - the extra long one works perfectly)
• Water - 1 n 1/2 cup or you could make it a little over 1 n 1/2. Just make sure they are separate
• Whole Spices
• Cardamom - 1 pod
• Cloves - 2 -3
• Peppercorns - 4-5
• Bayleaf - 1 
• Others
• Boiled Baby Corn - 7 - 8 slit them lengthwise and cut them into halves. I like them as 1/2 inch strips.
• Sugar - 1 pinch
• Salt - as per taste
• Tomato Puree - 1/4th cup - 1/2 cup (depends if you like your pulao tangy - I used 1/4th)
• Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin Seed Powder- 1 tsp
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 tsp or make it 2 if you like it spicy.
• Garam Masala - 1 tsp
• Onion - 1 chopped finely.
• Coriander leaves - 1 bunch finely chopped.
• Oil / Ghee - 2 - 3 tbsps.
• Ginger garlic Paste - 1tbsp

How to Make?

1. In a clean cloth, add all your whole spices except for cumin seeds and tie the ends. This is your potli masala. We just need the flavor not the whole spices.
2. Pressure cook rice with potli masala and keep it aside. Make sure that your rice is not cooked into a mush. Just like pulao rice.
3. In a pan, add ghee or oil or butter, add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. 
4. Now add onions and fry until they are brown. Also add ginger garlic paste and fry until the pungent smell subsides.
5. Now add tomato puree and all the dry masalas. 
6. Cook this mixtue until oil leaves sides of the pan.
7. Now add boiled baby corn and let it cook in this masala mixture for a min or 2.
8. It's time for rice - so go ahead and add rice.
9. Mix everything well and ensure that rice grains are throughly coated with this masala.
10. Cook this pulao 3-4 mins and add chopped coriander.
11. Adjust salt or sugar if required.
12. Serve with simple raitha.

Recipe Notes

• You can replace baby corn with any vegetable or even sweet corn.
• You can even add vegetables to make it more healthy. You can add green peas along with baby corn.
• If you aren't pressed for time, upgrade you pulao with fried cashews and fried onions. You get the restaurant feel.

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Punjabi Kadhi Pakora or Kadi Pakoda

Learn how to make Punjabi kadhi pakora.



This recipe has been in my to-do list  for quite some time now. Bitten by lazy bug always, I never tried my hands. I always felt it was too complicated. Mr.P never liked Kadhi Pakora. He always used to respond that it is Khatta. Read he is anti tamarind or anti khatta guy home. I find it very difficult to cook sambar without much of tamarind pulp or pulihora without too much tamarind. Thanks to his Bangalore days, he developed liking towards Kadhi Pakora. I now have a reason to make kadhi pakora instead of dishing up 2 different dishes. One lazy afternoon when I realized that I ran out of basic vegetables stock and I was still scratching my head that what our lunch is gonna be. I remembered Kadhi Pakora. I had Besan just about the right amount.



I prepared this flavorful crunchy kadhi pakora. Let the pics do the talking.

Punjabi Kadhi Pakora/ Kadhi Pakora

Preparation Time: 20 mins | Cooking Time:30 mins
Recipe Category: Side Dish | Recipe Cuisine: North Indian - Punjabi

For Kadhi
Curd - 1 cup
Water -  1 cup
Salt - as per taste
Turmeric Powder- 1 tspRed Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Besan - 1 n 1/2 tbsp

For Pakora
Onion - 1 big thinly sliced and separated.
Besan - 1/2 cup
Water - as required
Salt - to taste
Green Chilly - 1 chopped finely
Ginger - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsps chopped finely
Jeera - 1 tsp
For TemperingOil - 1 tbsps
Jeera - 1 tsp or more if you like (I use 2 tsps)
Garlic - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilly - 2-3 broken
OthersOil - For deep frying

Procedure:
1) Mix all the ingredients required for pakora except water. Once done, add 1/2 cup of water and make a batter of medium consistency.
2) Meanwhile heat oil. Drop a small ball of pakora batter and see if it rises up immediately. If it rises up, hang on that's the right temperature.
3) Drop a spoonful of batter and make small pakoras.
4) Fry until golden brown and crisp. Do not keep the flame high. You may end up getting not cooked pakoras.



5)  Meanwhile, whisk curd until smooth, add salt, chilly powder, turmeric powder and besan. Make a smooth paste. Now add water and combine all the ingredients.
6) Now bring this mixture to a boil. It will take about 8-10 mins and you will get nice aroma.
7) Taste a bit and check, you shouldn't be getting the raw taste of besan.
8) Once it is slightly runny, switch off the flame.
9) Once this mixture cools, it will thicken.
10) You can dunk pakoras right away or just before serving. I like mine crunchy though.
11) Heat oil in a small tadka pan and fry all the ingredients listed under to temper. Now add this to the prepared kadhi.



Notes:
1) I don't like sour kadhi so I use fresh curd. if you like a little sour, then use sour curd.
2) Switch off once nice aroma wafts when you boil the besan curd mixture. The more you boil, this mixture will thicken. Leave it at pouring consistency.

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Bisi Bela Bhaat or Bisi Bela Baath -

Learn how to make Bisi Bela Bhaat - Kannadiga style.

Bisi Bela Bhaat has always been my infrequent love. Yeah, you read it right. Like I forget about its existence for some time and then all of a sudden I'd read about this on some random blog/website and then I am all gaga over it. For next few weeks, this makes it to my every week's menu and then all of a sudden I forget about it and then the same story repeats.

I have fond memories associated with Bisi Bela Bhaat, I was like 10 years or so, I remember this conversation between dad and mom. He came from his Bangalore trip and then he told my mom that he had something sambar rice type with vegetables and then it was served in a pot and all. He started describing its taste but couldn't remember the name. 

He called his B'lore friend and asked - Can you believe he actually described the entire dish to his colleague and then he told him that it was Bisi Bela Baath or Bhaat. My dad quickly scribbled its ingredients and gave it to my mom. When my mom prepared it, I liked it but then it was more like Dal - Chawal, so I didn't understand why my dad was so gaga over it. Because Dal makes it to our everyday menu and it tasted the same.



Later on, mom noted this recipe from a popular Telugu cooking show and this has been a keeper ever since then. I remember last week when my mom told me that she prepared Bisi Bela Bhaat for lunch and that it turned out yum. Quickly noted this recipe and I am documenting it here so that I don't forget it ;)

Bisi Bela Bhaat/ Bisi Bela Baath

Preparation Time: 20 mins | Cooking Time:30 mins
Recipe Category: One Pot Meals | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

Rice - 1/2 cup,
Pigeon Peas/Toor Dal or Tuvar Dal- 3/4th cup
Water - 4-5 cups
Salt - as per taste
Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp

Vegetables
Carrot - 1 med Size diced into cubes
Beans - 10-12 cut into 1-inch pieces
Potato - 1 med Size (Cut into squares)
Green Peas - 1/4th Cup (I used frozen)
Onion - 1 med Size (cut into squares)
For Grinding
MTR Bisi Bela Baath Powder - 2 tbsps
Tamarind - Goose berry sized
Jaggery -1 tbsp
Grated Coconut - 1-2 tbsps (refer notes)
Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp (Optional)
Water - 3 tbsps
For Seasoning
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
Jeera - 2 tsps (adjust)
Asafoetida- 1 generous pinch
Dry Red chillies - 2-3 broken
Ghee - 2-3 tbsps
Oil - 2 tbsps
Coriander -1 small bunch finely chopped

Procedure:
1) Wash and pressure cook rice, pigeon peas, for 4-5 whistles. Also, add salt and turmeric powder. Make sure you add enough water.
2) Once pressure releases, mash this rice + dal mixture.
3) To make life easy, you can even pressure cook vegetables in a separate bowl.
4) Grind the ingredients mentioned under for grinding list with water - 3 tbsps approx.
5) Heat a tbsp of oil and add the ground mixture. Fry until the raw smell subsides and add 1/2 cup of water. Make sure this is lump free.
6) Now add this mixture to rice and combine all the ingredients well. Add vegetables as well.



7) Taste and adjust salt if required.
8) Heat ghee in a pan and add ingredients listed under seasoning. Fry for 20 secs. Make sure that you do not burn this.
9) Add this mixture to dal. Combine all the ingredients well.
10) This should be of pouring consistency.
11) Garnish with Coriander
12) Serve hot immediately with fryums, papad and pickle as sides.



My notes:1) You have to serve this recipe hot. As it cools, it becomes hard and may not so tasty.
2) This rice should be of pouring consistency. So add water adequetly.
3) You can use vegetables of your choice.

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Chilly Butter Garlic Noodles

I love Noodles... Like I can have them as if there is no tomorrow. My mom often smirks at me and tells me that I should have been Chinese. I love to carry Noodles for lunch and eat the same thing for dinner and next day for breakfast as well and still not get bored of it. I'm happy to share my life with a North East guy(read North East which is almost close to China according to my terrible geography). He is more like me or should I say we click together because of our love towards Chinese/Indo-Chinese food. So I can give him Schezwan Noodles, Veg Noodles or Chilly Butter Noodles in a week and he will happily complete his dabba.



When I went to Mainland China like a year back, Mr.P ordered Chilly Butter Garlic Noodles.  I loved it to the core - it was buttery, garlicky and very mildly spiced.I wanted to replicate the same at home and went by  what I could guess. My first 3 attempts were bad. After a couple of trial and error methods, I was able to come up with this dish and it is pretty much close if not there.



This recipe is surely a keeper and a winner as well.

Chilly Butter Noodles
Ingredients
Noodles - 2 packets (200 gms each)
Oil- 1 tbsps
Water - as required for boiling

For Masala
Butter - 1/2 stick (You gotta be liberal if you are watching your waistline carefully then replace it with olive oil or regular oil)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2-3 tbsps finely chopped
Ginger - 1/2 tsp
Schezwan Paste - 2 tbsps
Salt- as per taste
Tomato Ketchup - 2 tbsps
Soy Sauce - 1 tsp
Green Chilli Sauce - 1 tsp
Sugar - a pinch
Oregano - 1 tsp (optional)
Spicy Garlic Powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Pepper Powder- 1 tsp

Vegetables - 1 and 1/2 cups (Capsicum, Carrot and cabbage (cut into strips), beans cut into 1-inch pieces, cauliflower florets, green peas, baby corn)
Onion - 1 medium cut into squares



Procedure:
1) Cook noodles as per packet instructions. Drain and add little oil and mix it. This prevents sticking.
2) In a pan, melt butter and add oil as well.
3) Fry ginger and garlic until the pungent smell subsides.
4) Add onions and fry for 30-40 secs. They need to be crisp not soft.
5) Add remaining vegetables and turn the flame to high. Fry for a min.
6) Now add Schezwan paste + sauces, salt, pepper powder, garlic powder, oregano.
7) Fry for 2-3 mins. Now add noodles. Combine all the ingredients well so that vegetables and masala coat the noodles.
8) Check salt and serve hot.



Notes:
1) I used Chings Veg Noodles. You can even use Egg Noodles.
2) If you don't like too much of garlic just reduce it to 1/2 tsp.
3) You can even minus the schezwan paste and add red chilly paste instead

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