Eggless Pumpkin Muffins | Halloween Special Pumpkin Cupcakes | Eggless Pumpkin Cupcakes

It's that time of the year when it starts to feel the chill and the kiddo's rhymes are always beginning and continuing and ending with Halloween :) And occasionally I can hear "Where's Santa Claus?" too from him ;) We live in India but with those rhymes and those carved pumpkins and everything he sees on TV, he's slightly obsessed with Halloween. Always asks me now to keep Halloween rhymes or asks me to sing them for him :) And he loves cakes. 

So to make it little bit more exciting for us, I decided to make a pumpkin muffin for us. It's an easy peasy recipe, like my most recipes.. Mix the dry ingredients and mix the wet ingredients. And mix them both. Voila. The job is done.. And it is eggless too.. And what's that made me more happy was that Deeps too loved it, see he has not got a sweet tooth especially for cakes. That made me really happy and the 9 cupcakes that I made in the evening got over by the night :) So shall we see how to make this yummy tasty pumpkin muffins..

Recipe Source: Here

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 10+25 minutes (pre-heat+baking)

Makes : 9 medium sized muffins 

I Used:

Unsweetened Pumpkin Puree*	-	1 cup
All purpose flour/Maida*	-	1 ½ cup
Baking Soda	-	¼ tsp
Baking Powder Cinnamon powder Dry Ginger powder Salt	- - - -	2 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp A pinch
Sugar	-	1 ¼ cup
Unsalted Butter (melted)	-	6 tbsp (approx 3/8 cup)
Butter Milk*	-	½ cup
Apple Cider Vinegar	-	½ tsp
The Way:

1. For 1 cup of pumpkin puree, you need 1 cup of cubed pumpkins. Peel the skin and remove the seeds. Then cube them and take them in a pressure cooker. Add ¼  cup of water and pressure cook them for 2 whistles. Once the pressure is released, see if any water is remaining. If then drain them and mash the pumpkins to a puree. You can do that in a blender or use a masher. Once done, keep aside

2. Pre-heat the oven o 180 degree C

3. Take all the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder and dry ginger powder and salt in a bowl and whisk well. Then set aside

4. In another bowl take the melted butter, sugar, pumpkin puree, apple cider vinegar and  butter milk and whisk them well

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Do not over mix

6. Line the muffin tray with the muffin liners. Spoon the batter into the liners. About 2 tbsp for each liner should be good enough

7. Bake them at 180 degree C in the pre-heated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted at the centre comes out clean

8. Once done, cool them for about half an hour and serve

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for self rising flour. If you are using them then omit the salt and reduce the baking powder to 1 tsp

• If you have pumpkin spice powder then use 2 tsp of them instead of the cinnamon powder and dry ginger powder

• Instead of buttermilk I mixed ½ tbsp vinegar in ½ cup of milk and allowed it to stand for 5 minutes. Then used this in place of buttermilk

• You can use normal vinegar too instead of apple cider vinegar

Cheers,

Chitz

Olan | Kerala Olan Recipe | Kumbalanga Mathanga Vanpayar Olan with coconut milk | Onam Sadhya Recipes

Ash gourd, Yellow pumpkin and Red Eyed Beans in coconut milk

Olan is one of my favourite Kerala recipes. It's a subtle dish that tastes mild and creamy. It can be made with or without coconut milk. I like both versions but I love the one with coconut milk more ! There can be many combinations of this recipe, with vanpayar (red eyed beans) and without it. You can also add both kumbalanga (ash gourd) and mathanga (yellow pumpkin) or either one.. It is a quintessential dish in an Onam Sadhya. 

When I make it on normal days mostly there will be some spicy side like a fish fry or chicken gravy. Else there will be pickles :) This time I had it with rasam and some tangy mango pickle. Another kinda comfort food for me :) If you use pressure cooker to cook this recipe, then it will be ready in less than 30 minutes. Slow cooking in a pan will time. So while making for an Onam Sadhya go with pressure cooker as it saves time for you. So let's see how to make this yummy and comforting Olan now..

Serves: 4-5 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Soaking Time: 8 hours

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

I Used:

Ash gourd/Kumbalanga	-	½ cup heaped (after cutting)
Yellow Pumpkin/Mathanga	-	½ cup heaped (after cutting)
Red Eyed Beans/Vanpayar	-	½ cup heaped (after boiling)
Green Chilly	-	2 nos
Coconut Milk	-	½ cup
Salt	-	As needed
Curry leaves	-	A sprig
Coconut Oil	-	1 tbsp

The Way:

1. Rinse and soak the vanpayar (red beans - I used ¼ cup of the beans to soak) overnight for around 8 hours. While making the olan, discard the water. Take the beans in a pressure cooker. Add enough water (around 2 cups) and salt and pressure cook till done. It took me 2 whistles in high and 2 in low. Keep aside

2. While they get cooked, extract the coconut milk and keep ready. I used around ½ cup of grated coconut and ¼ cup of water and ground it in a mixie till the coconut was smoothly ground. Then using a muslin cloth, extracted the milk from the ground coconut

3. Cut and discard the skin of the ash gourd and pumpkin. Discard the seeds along with the soft middle portion as well. Cut them into thin pieces as shown in the picture. The thickness should not be more than ¼ inch along both width and length

4. Now take the cut pieces in a cooker and add required salt and green chilly along with little water (¼ cup) and pressure cook it till done. I kept 1 whistle in high and 2 in low. Alternately you can cook in a pan as well, only difference would be that it would take time

5. Now once the pressure is released from the cooked veggies, open the cooker. Again switch on the flame. If there is excess water after cooking the veggies, I remove them. Else the coconut milk becomes very thin. Add the cooked beans (a heaped ½ cup) without water to the veggies. Give a gentle stir

6. Then add in the coconut milk and curry leaves and again give a gentle stir. Check the salt now. Add if required. Once the coconut milk is added, it should not boil. It should only get warm. And it would take about a minute or so. Switch off the flame. Add coconut oil and just swirl the cooker

Transfer to the serving dish and serve along with rasam and pickle or as a dish in your Onam Sadhya leaf !

Cheers,

Chitz

Mathan Erissery | Mathan Vanpayar Erissery | Onam Sadhya Recipe for mathanga erissery

Yellow pumpkin cooked in boiled red eyed beans and a coconut sauce tempered with fried coconut tadka

Mathan/Yellow pumpkin is a very tricky ingredient to cook for a person who is not very fond of sweets or a sweet taste in the dishes ! Anyone be there? In that situation? I know, it is very difficult to please the non veg savvy taste buds of my husband with vegetarian recipes. And pumpkin also falls in that category. The only one that he seems to like and eats without a sulken face is this Yellow Pumpkin Kootu. And erissery is always no for him. 

So here in this post I will not say that I conquered in making my husband eat pumpkin with this beautiful recipe, but I would definitely say that it is a personal favorite. I love pumpkin and I love this erissery. It is a little time consuming to make, compared to this simple Mathanga Erissery,  with the overnight soaking of beans and grating of coconut and all, but for me, it's totally worth it ! I like to pair it up with a tangy puli kuzhambu or rasam even ! The sourness from the gravy and the sweetness from the side dish totally pairs up well and makes a hearty meal :) Do let me know how it turned out ! 

Other Sadhya recipes:

Beans Thoran

Beetroot Thoran
Cabbage Thoran

Mathanga Erissery

Mampazha Pachadi | Pazhutha Manga Pachadi

Mambazha Pulissery | Mambazha Kaalan

Chembu Kumbalanga Moru Kootan | Taro-Ash Gourd Pulissery

Pulissery | Kachiya Moru | Mor Kuzhambu
Sambar | Kerala Style Varutharacha Sambar with no Coconut

Homemade Ada for Adapradhaman

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Mathanga/Yellow Pumpkin	-	2 cups (cubed)
Red Eyed Beans/Lobia Red/Vanpayar	-	½ cup
Red Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Salt	-	As needed

To Grind:

Coconut	-	½ cup
Green Chilly	-	1 no
Cumin seed	-	½ tsp
Pepper	-	4-5 corns

To Temper:

Coconut Oil	-	2-3 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Red Chilly	-	2 nos
Curry leaves	-	A sprig
Grated Coconut	-	3 tbsp

The Way:

1. Rinse 2-3 times in water and soak the red eyed beans/vanpayar in water overnight (6-8 hours)

2. In the morning, pressure cook the beans along with salt for 2-3 whistles until it is 3/4 th cooked. Then add the cubed pumpkin/mathanga pieces to it along with red chilly powder and turmeric powder

3. Pressure cook again in medium flame for 2 whistles. If you do not want to pressure cook the pumpkin, then you can cook it without the lid or without the whistle. This way it will take a little longer for the pumpkin to get cooked

4. Grind the ingredients under 'To Grind' with a little (1-2 tbsp) water to a smooth paste

5. Once the pumpkin is cooked, add the ground paste and give a nice stir. Cook now inn simmer for another 3-4 minutes till the coconut paste blends in well with the cooked beans and pumpkin. Once done switch off the flame

6. In another tadka pan/kadai heat coconut oil for the tadka. Splutter mustard and then add broken red chilly and curry leaves

7. Now add the grated coconut and fry till they are deep brown in colour. Once done add the tadka to the cooked erissery and give a quick stir

Serve with matta rice and a hot or tangy gravy of your choice !

Cheers,

Chitz

Yellow Pumpkin Kootu | Poosanikai Kootu | Parangikai Kootu - without coconut

Yellow Pumpkin cooked in Mung Dal

Many think that pumpkins, especially the yellow ones, are for Halloween carvings ! It does remind you of the Harry Potter movies & the Hogwarts dining room, na? I know many a friends who do not like it as a veggie. Maybe the sweetness that it imparts is what puts off many to have it as a side dish. But it is said to be a great source of Vitamin A & antioxidant beta carotene. It also seems to decreases the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes & promotes a healthy complexion & hair. Now that last part would make you feel that including pumpkins in your diet does not sound like a bad idea after all, right? It is also a great substitute for oil & butter in your bakes ! Now I have heard that they even make payasam (kheer) with pumpkins. So many ways to have them..

Yellow pumpkin is one of the favorite veggies of my sis, my mom, me & now Dhruv as well :) I am happy that he likes it & I do not have to run behind him to make him eat them. I was scared that he might not like them coz it's not Deeps' favorite. But this kootu recipe has impressed even Deeps as well & he eats at least 2 spoons of it when I make them (Yes, that's an achievement) Somehow, my mom's recipes do have a very positive impact on his veggie eating habits ! :) So people out there, who do not like pumpkins, do try this recipe for sure, coz it's a breeze to make & a keeper for sure and you are going to start liking them hereafter :)

Other pumpkin recipes:

Vegan Pumpkin Bread
Mathanga Erissery

Recipe Source: Ma

 

I Took: 30 minutes

 

Serves : 2 persons

I Used:

Yellow Pumpkin - 250 gm (A big piece) Moong Dal - ¼ cup Ginger - An inch piece Garlic - 2-3 cloves Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp Salt - As needed

To Temper:

Oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Urad Dal	-	1 tsp
Red Chilly	-	4 nos
Curry leaves	-	A sprig
Asafoetida	-	2 pinch

The Way:

1. Rinse moong dal thoroughly in water. Then soak the dal in water (I took 1.5 cups) for 20-30 minutes

2. Remove the skin of the pumpkin (and also the middle mushy part with seeds) and dice it and keep aside

3. Add salt & turmeric powder to the soaked dal and boil it till it is 3/4 done. Check in between if water is required and add accordingly

4. Once the dal is 3/4th cooked, add the diced pumpkin pieces

5. Crush the ginger & garlic and also add them along with the pumpkin pieces

6. Now cover and cook till the pumpkin pieces are cooked and becomes soft and mushy. This should take around 8-10 minutes

7. Now for the tadka/tempering, heat oil in a tadka pan/kadai

8. Add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the urd dal. As it slightly turns colour add the remaining ingredients and give a nice stir

9. Add the tadka to the kootu and mix and serve

Tastes awesome with Plain Rice / Rasam Sadam / Kathirikai Kara Kuzhambu / Pavakkai Puli Kuzhambu

Notes:

Instead of boiling the moong dal, you can pressure cook as well. Just about 2 whistles should suffice. As pumpkin gets cooked fast, I would not recommend to pressure cook it.

Cheers,

Chitz

Mathanga Erissery | Yellow Pumpkin Dhal Curry

Yellow Pumpkin & Tur Dal cooked in coconut paste & dressed with shallots tempering

 What is it that makes us more tempted or attracted towards food? Is it the colour or flavor or aroma or the way it is presented? I guess it differs from person to person, right? Nature has presented us with a wide variety of colours when it comes to food. We have the bright red to baby pink and greens and yellows, even hues of violets.. You know why I got reminded of this suddenly? Coz, I know someone who does not like a particular colour of food and is attracted to some specific colours. Yo, it's none other than my sister. She hates when it is green colour food and loves when mom makes yellow colour food. So that makes pumpkin one of her favorites. But she savors Pumpkin Kootu the best :)

So do you have any specifics in colour when it comes to food? Lemme hear from you on this :) And coming to the dish of the day, it's a Mallu (Kerala special) favorite and is yet another important item on Kerala Sadhya menu. The dish in itself can be had both as a side dish or as a main gravy with steamed rice along with pappad. Either ways, it tastes yum & perfect. There are quite a many variations to this recipe in different parts of Kerala, but the ingredients remain more or less the same. It is just the order & manner in which they appear on the recipe that differs :) So come on, let's see how it is made in a part of Northern Kerala..

Other Sadhya recipes:

Beans Thoran

Beetroot Thoran
Cabbage Thoran

Mathan Erissery | Mathan Vanpayar Erissery

Mampazha Pachadi | Pazhutha Manga Pachadi

Mambazha Pulissery | Mambazha Kaalan

Chembu Kumbalanga Moru Kootan | Taro-Ash Gourd Pulissery

Pulissery | Kachiya Moru | Mor Kuzhambu
Sambar | Kerala Style Varutharacha Sambar with no Coconut

Homemade Ada for Adapradhaman

Recipe Source: Mil

Serves: 4 persons

I Took:

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

I Used:

Yellow Pumpkin	-	2 cups (deseeded & diced)
Tur Dal	-	¼ cup
Red Chilly Powder	-	2 tsp
Turmeric Powder	-	½ tsp
Grated Coconut	-	¼ cup
Cumin seeds	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

To Temper:

Oil	-	2 tsp
Mustard Seeds	-	½ tsp
Red Chilly	-	2 or 3 no
Shallots	-	2-3 no
Curry Leaves	-	A sprig

The Way:

1. Wash and clean the tur dal and soak in water for 20 minutes
2. Peel the skin of the pumpkin & discard the soft middle portion with the seeds. Dice the pumpkin & keep aside
3. Add a little water (sufficient enough for the dal to cook) and pressure cook the tur dal for 2 or 3 whistles until almost done
4. Once the whistle is released, remove excess water from the dal if any
5. Add the diced pumpkin pieces, red chilly powder, turmeric powder & salt & pressure cook again for 1 or 2 whistles. Alternately you can cook it uncovered as well, but then add ¼ cup of water to it
6. You may mash the pumpkin once done. If you prefer to have whole pieces reduce the number of whistles
7. Grind together the grated coconut & cumin seeds with 2-3 tbsps of water. Add this to the pumpkin gravy & mix well
8. Allow it on flame for 2-3 minutes until the coconut paste mixes well with the pumpkin and the raw smell goes off
9. In another small pan, heat 2 tsp of oil. Add mustard to it. When it splutters add red chilly, sliced shallots & curry leaves. Fry until they turn golden brown (Do not burn them)
10. Add this tempering over the gravy. Mix well & serve 

Notes:

Instead of the mentioned tempering, you can also do a different one. For that heat coconut oil. Splutter mustard. Add a handful of grated coconut. Keep frying in low flame till the coconut turns golden brown. Take care not to burn them. Once done, add this to the erissery

Cheers,

Chitz