Ariyunda or Rice Balls

Summer is here and it is the time I miss home a lot. Ariyunda or rice balls are a staple in my home. My mom makes it as an evening snack and I used to devour them when I get back from school. I got the recipe from my mom, unfortunately she eyeballs the ingredients every time she makes these. Therefore please note that all the measurement of ingredients here are approximate.

Ingredients:
Matta rice/Parboiled rice - 1 cup
(Freshly/Frozen) Grated coconut - 1/2 - 3/4 cup
Cashew nuts -  1 cup
Jaggery -  3/4 cup

First step making the rice puffs!!Fry the rice in a pan, (no oil required) until they are puffed up really well. They will be really crispy and light when they are done. Do not let it blacken, golden brown would be ideal. Then, take it off from the stove and let it cool for sometime. I used toasted cashews which are store bought. If you are using raw cashews, toast them. Finely powder the cooled rice puffs. Now, grind the cashews and coconut along with grated jaggery in a food processor or a blender in batches. Cashews release oil and the mixture has a tendency to stick to the side of jar so occasional stirring is important. Once they are blended well, add the powdered rice puffs and blend them mixing them occasionally. This requires some patience. Once everything is powdered, mix everything together well with hand and make them into small balls.

I made here bite size balls. If you find your rice balls to be dry and more powdery, add more coconut. The moisture of these balls depends on coconut as well as oil released by cashews while grinding them. These are super healthy and yummy without any refined sugar! These have to be kept in refrigerator and they will stay good for 8-10 days.

Enjoy,
Anjana

Caramelized Plantains

This is a super simple, easy to prepare yet so tasty recipe. I love to eat ripe plantains, in all  different ways - steam them, make them fritters and roast them like this. There are even more complicated recipes with ripe plantains. For those who grew up eating plantains (especially from Kerala),you know the place of plantain in our hearts! Back in my home state in India, plantains are roasted in ghee with sugar and served as a snack for kids. Back then, I didn't know it had a fancy name like this, "caramelized plantains."

This recipe is for ripe plantain, with yellow skin and squishy, as shown in the picture.

Ingredients:
Preparation time: 10 minutes

Plantains - 2 Nos , medium, peeled and sliced into half inch thickness

Oil/ghee (clarified butter) - 2 tablespoons (ghee gives more fragrant output!)

Brown sugar/granular sugar - 1-2 teaspoon 

Heat oil or ghee in a pan. Mix sugar and plantain slices together. Turn the heat to medium and add the plantains to fry on one side for 4-5 minutes. Repeat the same for other side. Do not let them smoke, or they would taste bitter. That is it!

 These are great for snacking, or for breakfast and keep you full for a long time and it is guilt free! Every time I eat them, I realize how much I love to eat these.

xo,
Anjana

Banana Oats Muffins with Raisins

Hello everyone!
Last month has been so busy, being the end of the semester. Me being a grad student and taking finals, blogging has been kept aside for a sometime (that was quite sometime!!). Now that I am back, here a recipe for a breakfast muffin.

Ingredients:
Mashed banana -  1 cup or 2 big ones mashed
Flour -  1/2 cup
Whole wheat flour - 1 cup (I used atta, from Indian store)
Oats - 1 cup (Quick or or Old fashioned) +1/2 cup
Oil - 1/3 cup
Buttermilk - 3/4 cup
Honey - 1/3 cup
Egg - 1 No
Brown sugar - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 2 teaspoon
Baking soda - 1 teaspoon
Salt - a pinch
Raisins - 1/2 cup, packed

Start with the dry ingredients. Mix them all together and keep aside. Then add all the wet ingredients and mix well. Now, fold in all the dry ingredients gently into the wet mix. Mix the raisin with a handful of oats and stir in. Depending on the type of whole wheat flour you are using, the batter could be thin or thick (If you feel your batter is thin, add extra oats). Pour into greased muffin pan or muffin liners, and bake for 16-18 minutes, at 400 degree Fahrenheit. Start checking at 15 minutes. Cooking time varies depending on type of oven.

Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee for breakfast, or simply much on them.

xo,
Anjana