Banana Muffins

Sweet and Soft Banana Muffins

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Tried the banana muffin to get my kids eat some fruits. It came out so soft and sweet. The below recipe makes up to one dozen muffins. You can go ahead and add nuts to the batter, but I didn't want my little one to get choked, therefore avoided nuts. When it is baking time, my daughter is already there ready to help me out.

Ingredients:	Quantity
Ripe big Bananas	3 nos
All-purpose flour	1 1/2 cups
White Sugar *	3/4 cup
Egg	1 nos
Butter softened	1/3 cup
Baking Powder	1 tsp
Baking Soda	1/2 tsp
Salt	1/2 tsp
Vanilla Essence	2-3 drops
Brown Sugar + White Sugar (Optional)	2-3 tbsp to sprinkle

Preparation:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2) Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mash the bananas well.
3) Beat the sugar, egg, softened butter, vanilla essence and smashed bananas together.
4) Fold in the sifted flour mixture and mix into a smooth batter.
5) Fill the muffin tin upto 3/4 a cup with the batter and sprinkle the sugar on top if using.
6) Bake for 20-25 min's or until done. Let it stand for a couple of min's and it is ready to serve.

Batter scooped into the muffin tin	Muffin baked and ready to eat

Note: * You can use a mixture of 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar.

Mutton Stew

Lamb and Vegetable Stew

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South Indian style mutton stew is lamb/goat cooked along with vegetables in coconut milk. Vegetable stew and chicken stew can be prepared using the same method.

Ingredients:	Quantity
Mutton with bone on cut into medium pieces	1.5 lbs
Onions finely chopped	2 nos
Potato cubed	1 nos
Carrot Chopped	1 nos
Celery Stalks chopped(Optional)**	1-2 nos
Tomatoes chopped	2 nos
Green Chilies	4-5 nos
Garlic chopped	4-5 nos
Ginger Garlic Paste	1 tbsp
Thick Coconut milk	1 cup
Thin Coconut milk	2 cups
Cinnamon *	1 inch stick
Cloves *	2-3 nos
Cardamom *	2 nos
Bay leaf *	1 nos
Black Pepper	1 tsp
Fennel seeds	1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves	1 Strand
Turmeric Powder	1/2 tsp
Salt	To taste
Oil	2-3 tbsp
Fennel & Cumin Seeds Powder	1/4 tsp each
Dried crushed Rosemary (Optional) **	1 tsp
Tempering:
Mustard Seeds	1 tsp
Curry Leaves	1-2 Strands
Fennel Seeds	1/2 tsp
Pepper crushed	1/2 tsp
Green Chili	1 nos
Ghee	1 tbsp

Preparation:
1) Clean the medium sized mutton pieces and add little salt and turmeric and set aside.
2) Heat oil in a pressure cooker or a sauce pan and add the whole garam masala*, Black Pepper, curry leaves, fennel seeds, green chilies and sauté it for few seconds.
3) Add the chopped onions and chopped garlic and sprinkle enough salt and fry until the onions caramelize. Then add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for 1-2 min's.
4) Add the chopped carrot, potatoes and celery. Sprinkle the fennel and cumin powder and add the rosemary if using it.
5) Stir in the mutton and the chopped tomatoes.
6) Add the thin coconut milk and pressure cook until 3-4 whistles or well cooked if cooking with a sauce pan. Let the pressure release completely and remove the cover.
7) Stir in the thick coconut milk to the cooked mutton stew.
8) Heat ghee in a small sauce pan and add all the ingredients for tempering and once the mustard sputter remove from heat and add it to the stew and serve with appam, rice or parotta .

Note: ** You can use celery and rosemary for a slightly different taste.
***You can leave the mutton and add more vegetables like cauliflower, beans and peas to make a vegetable stew or add chicken to make a chicken stew and need not pressure cook.