Banana bread

Banana bread

Ingredients

1. Whole Wheat Flour / Atta - 1 1/2 cups
2. Baking Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
3. Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
4. Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Nutmeg Powder - 1/2 tsp
6. Powdered Jaggery - 1/2 cup
7. Oil - 1/2 cup [ I used Olive oil]
8. Milk - 1/2 cup
9. Ripened Banana - 2 Nos
Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Combine the dry ingredients [1-5 ] in a bowl and keep aside.
3. Blend the rest of the ingredients [ 6-9] in a mixer to a smooth paste.
4. Now combine the dry and wet mixtures together. This can be done either in a bowl by hand mixing or using the blender. [ I did using the blender.....Such an easy job].
5. Transfer to a 8 x 4 '' bread loaf tin and bake for about 45-50 mins.
6. While baking , after about 25-30 mins , cover the loaf tin with an aluminum foil for the rest of the time. This helps to prevent the top from getting burnt.
7. Once the bread is done , allow it to rest in the pan for a 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
8. Allow it to cool completely on the wire rack before slicing.
9. You can refrigerate and use if you are making in larger quantities.
Rice Paniyaram

1. Rice flour - 2 cups
2. Powdered Jaggery - 1 cup
3. Over ripe banana - 3 Nos [ Palayam thodan is the variety used traditionally]
4. Water - 1 1/2 cups
5. Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
6. Milk - 2 Tbsp
7. Chopped coconut - 1/4 cup
8. Ghee - 1 Tbsp
9. Cardamom Pods - 8 Nos
10. Take water in a sauce pan and add jaggery to it. Bring it to boil and simmer for 10 mins. No need to wait for a thicker syrup. Turn off the flame and allow this to cool.
11. Meanwhile heat ghee in a small pan and roast the coconut pieces in it until they turn golden brown. Keep this aside.
12. Take the rice flour in a flat pan and roast on a medium heat for about 5 mins. Allow this to cool.
13. Peel the bananas and take them in a blender / mixer and blend to a smooth paste. Now add the cooled jaggery mix to this and blend again until all well combined.
14. Now take the roasted rice flour in a bowl and add the banana jaggery mix to this and combine well without any lumps. This step also can be done in the mixer / blender for a smooth batter. I had used the mixer to do the job.
15. Add the baking soda, roasted coconut and powdered cardamom powder to this and mix well.
16. Keep this aside for a minimum of 1/2 hr.
17. Once ready to make the unniyappams, check the consistency of batter. It should not be too thick. Add milk at this stage and mix well.
18. Now heat the unniyappa chatti / mini dutch pan and add oil or even ghee for a better taste. Make sure that the individualmoulds are only half filled with oil.
19. Once the oil is hot, keep the flame on a medium low and spoon the batter to individual moulds till they are 3/4th full. Dont overfill the moulds.
20. Once the rims of the appams turn brownish, turn over to get the other side done.
21. Unniyappams can be taken out and drained on a paper towel , once both the sides are uniformly golden brown in color.
22. Arrange on a serving bowl and sprinkle some sugar [ optional ] and then start munching.