Oven roasted potatoes

 On Christmas tried a baked variation of my mother's stovetop potato recipe with regular potatoes and sweet potatoes. This with the dhokla provided a warm cozy breakfast though we had a very warm Christmas day this year, humid and a temperature of 75 F.

Ingredients:

Regular baking potatoes - 2 (medium size)

Sweet potatoes                  - 1 (medium size)

Salt.                                      - as needed

Turmeric powder.              - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder.             - 1/2 tsp

Garlic powder.                    - 1/4 tsp

Fresh ginger (chopped)     - 1 tsp

Asoefatida.                          - a small pinch

Black pepper.                      - 1 tsp

Lime                                     - 1/2

Oil of choice.                       - 2-3 tsps

Chop the potatoes to small cubes. Preheat oven to 375 F. Marinate the sweet potatoes and potatoes separately with spices and oil for about 15-20 minutes.

 Do not add the lime juice. Bake the potatoes in an oven safe dish for 20-30 minutes or until well done.  Squeeze lime over the potatoes once they cool a little ( about 5-10 minutes after removing from oven).

Serve with dhokla, dosa, rice,chapathi on the side. It can used with cheese or egg for as a filling for a sandwich.

Tips:

1. You can use your choice of spices.

2. Can be done on stove top also if you do not have the option of baking.

3. Bake it longer if you need it crispier.

4. You can marinate for longer for a stronger flavour.

Pumpkin pineapple fruit cake

This was my first attempt to bake a fruit cake and it turned out very tasty. I wanted to try it out for Christmas. Got a good review from my 6 year old and my neighbour. I tried two versions one with carrot pineapple and the other with pumpkin/pineapple. My little one helped me with the pumpkin version.
Happy Holidays to all.


Ingredients:

Flour                             - 1 cup
Baking soda.                - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder.            -1/2 tsp
Salt                               - 1/4 tsp
Brown sugar.                - 1/2 cup
Pumpkin  and
pineapple puree           - 1/2 cup.
Butter(room temp)        - 1/4 cup
Milk.                              - 40 ml (0.17 cups)
Egg.                               - 1
Dark chocolate powder - 1 tsp
Cardamom powder       - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon powder.       - 1/4 tsp
Raisins                          - 1/2 cup
Walnuts(chopped)        - 40 gms (0.17 cups)

Combine dry ingredients - flour,baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon/ cardamom and chocolate powders together in a bowl.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Cream the butter and brown sugar together to a smooth batter followed by the egg and the pumpkin/ pineapple purees. Blend in half of the flour mix into the butter mix followed by part of the milk and mix well. Blend in the rest of flour mix and milk. Blend them together, do not beat the mix. Fold in the raisins and walnuts mixing well.

Bake the mix in a buttered baking pan for about 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Tips:

1. You can use a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour for a healthier version.
2. You can use only pumpkin or carrot puree without pineapple. I used 75% pumpkin puree and 25% pineapple puree.
3. The egg can be replaced with 1/4 cup banana/ 1/3 cup applesauce or flaxseed(1 tbsp ground flaxseed with 1/3 cup of water).
4. The dried raisins can be replaced partly or completely with dried cranberries.

Recipe source:

https://www.dairygoodness.ca/recipes/pumpkin-bread-with-dried-fruit

The carrot pineapple cake below :

Made 2 loaves of the size shown below.

 Recipe source for the carrot pineapple version :

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/pineapple-carrot-muffins/c8384951-0e3b-4a18-82d2-39f03c8f6bec