Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Pumpkin Puree

Pressure cook pumpkin cut into chunks. Cool, scoop out pulp, blend with a fork or hand blender.

Pumpkin Spice

 - 1 small Nutmeg
 - 2-3 inch long pieces of cinnamon
 - (Optional) 1 inch piece of dried ginger
Grind to a fine powder.

Dry Ingredients

1.5 Cups of Flour
1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
1 teaspoon of Pumpkin Spice

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In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of sugar and 2 eggs
Add 1/4 cup of unsalted Butter, and 1.5 cups of Pumpkin Puree, mix

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and gently fold.

Bake at 175 C for 23 minutes in an oven... Baking time may differ depending on the flour used, type of oven, and size of the muffins, so I rely on the toothpick test to check for completion.

Rest for 15 minutes when you take it out of the oven, then cool completely on a wire rack. Can be stored for 3 days outside in an airtight box, or 1 week in the fridge (microwave for 30 seconds before eating if you store it in the fridge)

Bitter-gourd Stir-fry

Thoran (തോരൻ) is a coconut-based dry dish traditionally made of finely chopped stir fried vegetables in Kerala. I added raw mango, and tomatoes to this dish.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
a large pinch of asafoetida
2 medium sized bitter-gourds, diced
a large piece of raw mango, diced
2 medium sized tomatoes, diced
3 green chilies, slit
salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder
3 tablespoons of fresh grated coconut

Method

Heat oil and add mustard to it. When the mustard starts sputtering, add the asafoetida.

Add the bitter-gourd and stir for about 2-3 minutes. Add the raw mango, the tomatoes, and the green chilies and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the salt, turmeric powder, and cumin powder. Close and cook low heat.

When the bitter-gourd is half cooked, add the coconut. Close and cook on low heat till done.

Physalis Salad

I’m not a salad person and will usually avoid salads as much as I can. On the rare occasion, I’ve been persuaded to eat a salad, and even rarer still have I enjoyed or even liked a salad. So while I enjoy experimenting making new stuff in my kitchen, I’ve literally never tried to make a salad before. But #Physalis... I’ve eaten it for years, made it into preserves for a couple of years; and my Human, he likes salads. So today I made a Salad at home and I enjoyed making it and I even liked eating it - it was refreshingly delicious! I’m as surprised as anyone else who knows me well is going to be!

Here's the recipe: 

100 g of Physalis cut into eighths
1 medium sized Cucumber diced
Kernels from 1 Cob of Corn steamed and salted lightly
3/4 Cup of Mint leaves

Salad Dressing: 

Juice of 1 small Lemon
Lemon Rind, to taste
1 tablespoon of Honey
1 tablespoon of Olive oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Mix the ingredients for the salad dressing in a bowl. Toss all the ingredients with the salad dressing till it is well combined. Eat!

Physalis Jam - a twist

Physalis or CapeGooseberry Jam was what was cooking in my kitchen a few days back. While this is not my first attempt at making jam, this is my first attempt at making jam from this fruit, mostly because I either was too lazy or had too little time to experiment with and make jam from it; the fruit also being very seasonal. The idea to make jam from it came from looking the fruit up on google; with it came many variations in recipes. I first discovered it in a local market a few years ago and picked it up out of curiosity. At that point in time I did not know what to do with it. I asked a friend and she wove me a nostalgic story about how she and her siblings would pick these fruit that would grow wild in their home town and just eat them. I ate quite a few of these fruit too. I like their sweet and tart taste.

I used 300 g of Physalis; 200 g of Demerara Sugar, and the juice of 1 1/2 limes to make the jam. I prepared the fruit by easing them with salt and water and cutting them into quarters.

Mix the sugar and lime juice in a cup of water and bring this mixture to boil in a thick bottomed pan on high heat. Once the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is bubbling, add the chopped physalis to the pan. Wait till the mixture comes to a boil again and then lower the heat so that the mixture in the pan is simmering.

I tested it to see if it was done after about 30 minutes.

How to test if a jam is done? 

• Place a few drops of the jam on a cold spoon and put the spoon in the fridge for a couple of minutes. 
• Take the spoon out and push at the jam with a finger; if it wrinkles, it is done. 

If not, continue to simmer till it is done; checking at 5 minute intervals. My jam was done in about 45 minutes.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

After years of talking about learning to bake, I was gifted my sister-in-law's oven when she got a new one for her new kitchen in their new home. So bake I started, and after some serious Pinterest and YouTube research, this is my Chocolate Chunk Cookie recipe.

Ingredients 

• 1 Cup of Unsalted Butter
• 1 Cup of Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup of Powdered White Sugar
• 2 Eggs 
• 2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract
• 3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda 
• 1/2 a Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 1/2 Cups of Chocolate Chunks

Mixing 

1. Microwave the cup of unsalted butter for 30 seconds - 1 minute. Pour it into a mixing bowl. 
2. Add the cups of brown and powdered white sugar to the mixing bowl. Stir till it is evenly incorporated into the butter. 
3. Add one egg to the mixing bowl and mix till the mixture in the bowl is of even consistency. Repeat with the second egg. 
4. Add the teaspoons of vanilla extract to the mixture in the bowl and stir in. 
5. Place the sieve above another mixing bowl. Sieve in the cups of all purpose flour, the teaspoons of baking soda and salt. 
6. Now add the dry ingredients in the second mixing bowl to the mixture in the first mixing bowl a little by little. Stir in till the flour mixture is completely and evenly incorporated making a stiff dough. 
7. Add the Chocolate Chunks to the dough and mix till evenly incorporated. 

Baking 

Preheat the oven at 175 C for 10 minutes. 

To make cookies that are approximately about 65 grams each, spoon 2 tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 175 C for 11 minutes.

Remove the cookies and let it cool for about 2-3 minutes before you transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Storing

Store the cookies in an air-tight jar for up to 10 days with a slice of bread to keep the cookies moist and fresh.