Radiance Recipes » Snacks

Strawberry Cupcakes

Kiran — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:04:50 +0000

In recent years there are a few buzz words associated with all the lovely fruits & vegetables available, that are used to tell us why we should eat them. The key phrases are super food, rich in antioxidants, & packed full of vitamins and so on. I feel that all food is good for us, consumed in the correct quantities and eaten on a regular basis. There has been much research that has been conducted on strawberries and the results suggest that it is rich in vitamin C, is filled with antioxidants that help fight cancer and heart disease, rich in folic acid and are also good at helping reduce tartar as well as maintaining healthy skin. With or without the title of super food, strawberries are a great tasting food which gives us an uplifting effect and can satisfy any sweet tooth.

This recipe for Strawberry Cupcakes was requested from my dear son for some months now. He asked my younger sister to make a strawberry chocolate cake, so she attempted it earlier this year. She adapted her normal recipe for eggless chocolate cake and added strawberry jam and syrup. This experiment did not quite work as the cake sank! I then had a go with the yoghurt cake recipe and added strawberry syrup and cocoa. It smelt great but the taste was not there. Then at a recent food festival, I had tried some strawberry cake/bread which was vegan. They had used a lot of chopped fresh fruit to get taste and texture. Then I also saw a few recipes which inspired me, there was this Blueberry coffee cake & Eggless Vanilla Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins.

From all of that research and experimenting, I made the following recipe which was a good first attempt. The cup cakes were moist and had the correct balance of fruit and sugar. My husband said they were more like muffins than cupcakes, but all the same tasted great. I was glad that I took up the challenge and ventured into creating this recipe.

Strawberry Cupcakes

I guess this recipe can be used for any other fresh fruit cake you wish to make, like mango, blueberries etc. You can reduce the amount of sugar needed depending on how sweet the fruit is.

Ingredients

Preparation time : 45 mins Cooking time: 15 to 20 mins Makes: 12 big cupcakes or 24 small

2 cups self raising flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp each of baking powder & bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp of vanilla essence

2 tbsp of butter

3 tbsp natural yoghurt

1/4 cup of strawberry juice

1 cup of chopped strawberry

Method

1) Wash and chop the strawberries, keep aside. Pre- heat the oven to 180 ‘C and place the cases for the cupcakes in a tray.

2) Make the juice of the strawberries by whisking the chopped strawberries in to a pulpy juice to the quantity required. In a large bowl mix together the sugar & butter to create a breadcrumb like consistency. Now to this add the yoghurt, vanilla essence and strawberry juice.

3) To the wet mixture add all the dry ingredients, mix well and then fold in the chopped strawberries. If you are happy with the consistency (not too runny and not too thick) then fill the cases with the mixture coming up to about 3/4 full. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake until golden brown and when a tooth pick is inserted it comes out clean. You are ready to serve with some coffee or with fresh cream or even some ice cream.

Exotic Fruit Ice Lollies

Kiran — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:26:26 +0000

Each year as the mango season is upon us we enjoy eating it just as it is meant to be – plain and simple. The other favourite is to have mango pulp (ras) with our meal (it is great served with puri and any curry). Just so as we can prolong the taste and enjoy them well after the season has ended, it is always a good idea to freeze the pulp.

In the Indian culture mangoes are considered to be the king of all fruits, a place which is rightly deserved as the taste, aroma and juice of the fruit are all beyond comparison. In recent times it has become quite the trend to label the food that we eat as super foods or foods that are good for us. In my opinion all food if eaten in the correct quantity is a super food as it is all good for us, some may have qualities that other fruits don’t but that does not mean we eat any less of it. Having said that mangoes are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and dietary minerals & fibre, hence qualifying as a ideal superfruit.

When I made these ice lollies last year, with my son, they were with just plain mango. So this year I thought I will do two batches, one with just mango and the other with some other fruit mixed in. So I thought of the 5 a day campaign and tried to incorporate as many fruits as I had at the time. Four out of five is not bad and considering they are all rich in vitamin C, A & E and in potassium, phytochemicals, and nutrients. This is one of the main reasons why I like to make these kind of foods at home as I know that it is 100% fruit, not from concentrate and not ladled with sugar and addatives. I know exactly what goes into the lollies and I control the content of fruit and sugar. This is exactly how it was when we young, as there were no sell by dates on the food we ate nor did it give us any allergies or side effects. The fact that it is so quick and easy to make should be the other deciding factor in making these lollies.

Coincidently when we made the lollies, my son was learning about freezing water to make ice, so this was a perfect way of teaching him the process of creating something that he enjoys eating. He was very excited as a result to see the process, however was quite anxious as the waiting time was too long (freezing time).

Exotic Fruit Ice Lollies

As mentioned I used the fruit I had at home at the time, however you can choose what ever combination you like and perhaps you could even add some herbs. I did this when I made some at my parents place after we went strawberry picking and added some fresh mint to the purée mix, it just adds an extra zing to the lollies. Another thing you can do with this lolly mixture is what I have done, place them in some ice cube trays and use as ice cubes for cocktails and punches.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 15 mins Serves: 8 to 10

1 mango chopped

1/2 pineapple chopped

2 peaches chopped

2 kiwi fruits chopped into cubes

sugar to taste

Method

1) Purée all the fruit apart from the kiwi fruit in a hand blender, adding sugar to taste.

2) Once you have the correct taste then check to make sure the mixture is not too thick, you can add water at this point to make it a pouring consistency. Pour into the lolly moulds or ice cube trays and freeze for a few hours, enjoy on a lovely hot day.

Chilli Garlic Cassava Chips

Kiran — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:32:08 +0000

There are many spicy foods that are good to serve at parties and as a good filling starter or snack. These Chilli Garlic Cassava Chips are perfect, especially when its accompanied with your favourite dipping sauces or ketchup. Like garlic bread or fries/chips, the combination of garlic and chilli with the fried cassava makes a yummy crunchy treat.

I recently made this dish when my friend had come over for dinner, she asked me to make something different with cassava and I thought it was a good opportunity to try this recipe out. My husband had first tried this recipe at a restaurant and was very keen for me to try it so I could recreate it at home, like the chilli paneer he had first tried at an Indian pub.

It is just amazing how by adding a few simple basic ingredients the taste changes. When we used to have cassava in Malawi, it used to be simply boiled and then served with some salt, chilli powder and lemon juice, or fried and made into crisps. We also used to use the flour to make various different savoury snacks. Indians also tend to eat cassava, potato etc. whilst fasting, so there are many recipes that we used to make. As I’ve grown up I’ve had more and more varied recipes using cassava as friends and family have tried experimenting with different methods of cooking and adding different ingredients.

Cassava is also known by many names including Mogo and Yuca (not to be confused with Yucca) and one of its products include Tapioca.

Chilli Garlic Cassava Chips

I use frozen cassava just for convenience, however you can use fresh also but the cooking time will change slightly for that. You can also use the chilli sauce that I use for chilli paneer to if you want a more saucy cassava starter.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 10 mins Cooking time: 30 mins Serves : 4 to 6

500g frozen cassava

4 to 5 cloves of garlic crushed

8 to 10 green chillies crushed

salt to taste

hot water

sunflower oil for deep frying

Method

1) In hot salty water boil the cassava until tender and cooked, drain and let it cool for a few minutes. Cut into long strips or wedges. Crush the garlic and green chillies.

2) Deep fry the cassava in hot oil, over a medium heat, until crisp and beginning to brown. Drain on absorbent paper and keep aside.

3) Pre-heat the oven to 250 ‘ C, in a large baking tray place the cassava pieces. Mix the chilli and garlic with a little oil and pour over the cassava, coating all the pieces. Place the tray in the oven on high for 10 mins, reduce the heat to 180 ‘C until crispy and golden brown, taste the seasoning and serve warm.

Scrambled Tofu

Kiran — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:30:22 +0000

Tofu is fairly recent regular addition to my kitchen /cooking. It is very similar to paneer, which is an Indian cheese that does not have any particular taste and can be used for sweet and savoury recipes. As a result I use tofu more regularly. It absorbs all the flavours and hence makes it very versatile.

A few years ago I bought a basic quick vegetarian recipe book from a supermarket and Scrambled Tofu was one of the recipes in it. It was a simple red capsicum, tofu and chives scramble. I like the idea and added a few other ingredients to give extra taste and flavour to the tofu. This is a good breakfast / brunch recipe, or even to eat as a healthy snack and a good alternative to scrambled eggs.

Scrambled Tofu

Like I improvised with the ingredients, you can use what ever combination of vegetables and herbs and spices that you like. This combination that I have used gives a very Chinese feel that is simple and fresh tasting.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 15 mins Cooking time: 10 mins Serves: 2

6 slices of toasted and buttered wholemeal bread

3 to 4 tbsp sunflower oil

200g soft tofu drained and cut into 2 cm cubes

5 to 6 chestnut mushroom cut into 2 cm chunks

1 each red capsicum and red onion chopped into 1 cm cubes

1 clove of garlic grated or minced

1/2 inch piece of ginger grated

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander with stalks

1/2 tsp soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1) Chop all the vegetables and heat (medium heat) a large sauce pan. Add the oil, the tofu and the vegetables, cook while stirring continuously until brown.

2) Add the seasoning and soy sauce and cook for a further few minutes. Switch off the heat and add the chopped coriander, serve on the warm butter toast, enjoy

Fennel (Variali) Biscuit

Kiran — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:31:49 +0000

I really enjoy the taste of fennel seeds (variali), it gives a wonderful fresh feel to the mouth, which is the reason why it is used as a after dinner mouth freshener in India. Also it retains its taste when mixed with other herbs and spices. When I was living in India for my placement year, I went on a little weekend break with my maternal uncle’s family and along the car journey we saw fields of variali and drying red chillies. When I asked my cousin what was growing in the fields he said variali, so we stopped the car and cheekily ran into the field and picked a bunch of variali, it is so refreshing and cool when eaten fresh and raw.

So when I saw the event of ‘Think Spice.. Think Twice‘ for this month which was for fennel, I thought I must take part and make these biscuits. This event is originally started off by Sunita of Sunita’s World, and I feel it is a wonderful event where we learn a lot about different spices, not to mention the vast array of recipes we get from it as everyone uses spices in different ways. This month the event is hosted by Ivy from Kopiaste, where she has given the option of two different spices, fennel and mastic gum.

I originally made these biscuits a couple of years back as one of my Diwali treats. I had them at one of my husband’s cousin sister’s place. She makes lovely biscuits, so I asked her for the recipe and made them a year or so later. However the biscuits had spread while baking, as I had beaten the butter and sugar mixture too much. So when I saw this event I thought I would make these biscuits, remembering not to over beat the mixture. However this time I cannot explain why it happened but once I had added the milk, the butter, and sugar, the mixture curdled slightly. I still carried on and the biscuits turned out to be a success. They are quite refreshing and a good treat and go wonderfully well with afternoon tea.

Fennel (Variali) Biscuit

As I had made these biscuits before, I reduced the amount of sugar slightly to the original and added twice the amount of ground fennel. Perhaps next time I will be brave enough and try making them using wholemeal flour, to make them more healthy. You can use a biscuit machine with a moulding disc of your choice, or as I did (because I don’t have a biscuit machine) use a icing gun. Another way of making them is by creating small portions of the dough into oval shapes and then press with a fork to make a pattern, either straight lines or a grid pattern.

Ingredients

Preparation time:20 mins Cooking time:10 to 15 mins Makes: roughly 100

250g plain flour

6 to 8 tbsp ground fennel

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g sugar

125g butter

1/2 cup warm milk

Method

1) Start to cream the butter and sugar together, once they start to look like they are binding together (like coarse sand) slowly start to add the warm milk to the mixture and combine all three of the ingredients.

2) Fold in the remaining ingredients to form a soft dough. Let it rest for a while.

3) In the mean time line a baking tray with grease proof paper and pre heat the oven at 200′C.

4) Create the biscuits by filling the dough into the biscuit machines, or icing gun.

5) Bake in the oven until they are golden brown in colour. Cool completely on a wire rack before storing in a air tight container and enjoy at your leisure.

Vegetable Buns

Kiran — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:30:36 +0000

My father is a free mason, and when he used to go to the lodge, this is one of the more popular dishes that he would take as the vegetarian option. I remember my older sister helping our mother to make them for him to take. It is a good dish to serve as a snack, with afternoon tea or at parties. Because these can be prepared in advance and then baked before serving makes it good to serve at dinner parties. We tend to use the same filling and pastry as the vegetable pie, however I have also made these buns with the same filling as the toasted sandwich. Experiment with the ingredients you have or enjoy to make the buns.

Vegetable Buns

I tend to roll out each individual bun, however if you want to save time then maybe you can roll out a big sheet and then cut out 4 inch round discs.

Ingredients

Preparation time:-1hr 30 mins Cooking time:- 30 mins

Makes: about 30 buns

Pastry

2 1/2 cups Self-raising Flour

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1/4 tsp dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

3/4 cup boiling milk

2 tbsp butter or margarine

1 tsp salt

Filling

2 tbsp sunflower oil

3 small onions diced

3 large potatoes diced into 1cm cubes

2 large carrots diced into 1cm cubes

1/2 cup each of frozen peas & sweet corn

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp each chilli powder, garam masala & clove powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup water

Method

1) In a large bowl make a well in the flour, mix the yeast & sugar in warm water, heat the milk and add the salt and butter. Pour the yeast mix into the flour well first and then the milk mixture, make a soft dough knead a little and leave it to rise in a warm place covered with a wet tea towel.

2) Chop the vegetables, heat the oil on medium heat in a large non stick pan (I use my cast iron casserole pot and it cooks the vegetables wonderfully). Place the onions and cook until the turn slightly brown, add the remaining vegetables, spices and lemon juice. Mix well and add the water, cover and cook , occasional stirring to ensure that the vegetables do not start to burn or stick to the bottom. You may need to add more water, cook until the vegetables are tender, keep aside.

3) Divide the dough into small golf ball sized pieces, roll on to a flat surface to 4 inch diameter and fill with a table spoon of the filling. Cover with the dough, by pinching the ends to the centre, twist and remove any excess dough. Try not to let any air into the buns as you close it, make into small balls and place on a greased baking tray with the closed side down. Do the same with the remaining buns.

4) Place in a pre heated oven 180 ‘C for 20 to 25 mins or until the top is golden brown. Once done remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins, before serving with sauces of your choice.