Baby Biscotti

Babies love eating finger food every now and then. Why not give them something homemade and tasty? Her a recipe to make a simple homemade biscotti. Now the term 'biscotti' just means 'twice baked' biscuits! 

Ingredients:

Sugar - 1/2 cup

butter - 1.5 tbsp 

Egg - 1 

baking powder - 1/2 tsp   

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp 

Plain flour - 1 1/4 cup

tiny pinch salt

Preheat the oven to  180C. 

Cream the sugar with the butter and beat in the egg. 

Add the vanilla essence, 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt and mix the dough well. It should be fairly sticky, but you should be able to gently mould it with your hands. If it's too sticky, add the extra 1/4 cup of flour. 

Form the dough into a long log shape and bake for 20 mins on a greased baking sheet. 

Allow to cool, then carefully cut into 1/2 in slices with a sharp knife. 

Place each slice, cut side down, on the baking sheet, then bake for another 15-20 mins, turning the Biscotti over half way through the cooking time. If they still feel soft, lower the heat and cook for an extra 5 to 10 mins. 

Remove from the oven and cool completely - they get harder as they cool. 

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Fish Curry

TAMIL NADU STYLE FISH CURRY

This is not how I usually make fish curry, but sometimes when I'm sick of eating the way I usually make, I try this version. It's quite easy to make and doesn't involve a lot of work. It actually tastes best when used the next day!

Ingredients:

Fish - 5 to 6 pieces (use any that you like)

Tamarind - lemon size

Shallots - 10 (chopped roughly)

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Coriander leaves - a few chopped finely

Turmeric - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

To grind:

Coconut - 1/4 cup

Red chilly powder - 1.5 tsp

Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Onion - 1 (chopped roughly)

Tomato - 1 (chopped roughly)

Method:

Before grinding the above ingredients, heat 1/2tsp oil in a pan and add the chopped onions. When they turn brown add the tomatoes. Sauté until the raw smell of the tomato goes away. Add these to the rest of the grinding ingredients with a little bit of water to make it into a smooth paste. Keep aside. 

Soak the tamarind in some warm water and take the pulp out. Keep aside. 

In the same pan add rest of the oil and add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to splutter. Add the shallots, curry leaves and garlic. When the shallots turn brown add the above grinded mixture, tamarind pulp and turmeric. Add water according to how thick or thin you want the gravy to be. Add salt to taste and let it boil in sim for 15-20 mins. 

Next add the cleaned fish pieces and allow the fish to cook in the boiling gravy until it is cooked well. Once the fish is cooked add the chopped coriander and remove from heat. 

Wait for atleast an hour  before you serve the fish. Serve with rice!

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Egg yolk custard

BABY EGG YOLK CUSTARD (6 months +)

It's quite natural that babies get bored of food very fast. So we mothers have to come up with new ideas and tricks to get them to eat their daily supplement of food. 

Well here's a quick and easy way of making a great snack for your little one. It's so yummy that they will love it. My little one eats this all the time and he never got sick of it!

Ingredients:

Milk - 2/3 cup

Egg yolk - 1 egg

Sugar - 2 tsp

Cornflour - 1 tsp

Method:

Bring milk to a boil in small saucepan; remove from heat.

Whisk yolk, sugar and cornflour in small bowl until combined.

Pour milk mixture over yolk mixture, whisking continuously until combined.

Return mixture to same pan; cook, stirring over low heat, until mixture just boils and thickens. Remove from heat; cover surface of custard with plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature.

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Prawn Roast

RICH CREAMY PRAWN ROAST

Me and my husband both love eating prawns! The reason this recipe is called rich is because the prawns are cooked in ghee rather than oil which gives it a rich flavour. If you are a vegetarian then you can try this recipe with panner.

Ingredients:

Prawns - 500gms, shelled and deveined

Ghee - 6 tbsps

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Beaten curd : 1/2 cup

Marinate:

Curd - 4 tbsps

Lime juice - 1 medium lime

Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Rice flour - 3 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Gravy:

Red chilli powder - 3 tsps

Coriander powder -  2 tsp

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Dry methi - 1/2 tsp

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp

Tomato ketchup -  1 tsp

Vegetable oil - enough to mix the above ingredients to a paste.

Method:

 Clean the deveined prawns and pat them dry using a kitchen paper roll. Mix all the marinate ingredients in a bowl and add the prawns to it. Keep it aside for atleast an hour.

Add the ghee to a pan and fry the prawns in them until the turn pinkish in color. Don't over cook them. Make sure you shake off the excess marinate from the prawns before you add them to the hot ghee. Keep the left over marinate aside for later use. Take the prawns out when done.

Mix all the gravy ingredients in another bowl adding enough vegetable oil to make it to a thick paste. To the same pan you fried the prawns, add the curry leaves and this gravy ingredients and let it cook until the raw smell is gone. Then add the left over marinate and the fried prawns. Cover and cook for another 2-3 mins. 

Lastly add the beaten curd and mix until everything is incorporated well. Serve hot with naan or rice!

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