Tofu Balls Air Fryer Style

 Another way to incorporate tofu in our meals. These tofu balls are made with crumpled tofu, some vegetables, flour for binding and Panko bread crumbs for crispiness. Takes about 10 minutes to prep and 25 minutes to cook. You can serve it as an appetizer with some dipping sauce or make a meal out of it by adding them to sweet chili sauce and served over steamed rice. This is similar to vegetable macnchurian. Recipe adapted from thefoodietakesflight.com. 

Ingredients :

1 lb. extra firm tofu, pressed and drained

1 small carrot, peeled and grated

1/2 cup diced red and green pepper

2 spring onion, chopped

salt to taste (1 tsp)

2 tsp soy sauce

Ground black pepper

1/2 cup all purpose flour (maida)

1/2 cup quick oatmeal, crushed or panko bread crumbs

Oil for spraying 

Air Fryer for cooking

Dipping sauce

Method:

1. Crumble pressed and drained tofu in a large bowl.

                            

2. Mix the remaining ingredients, except oil with tofu. Mix well until combined. You should be able to scoop mixture and roll into a ball without crumbling.

            

3. Make the balls. Spray or brush with olive oil.

                           

4. Place the tofu balls in the air fryer basket, and cook for 20- 25 minutes at 380 F, until golden brown. Flip half way.

                    

5. Remove tofu balls from air fryer and serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.

                        

Notes:

I used golden carrots in this recipe.

If you feel that the mixture is a little moist, add some flour to make it non sticky.

You can also bake the meat balls in the oven at 375 F until golden brown.

Chocolate Marble Banana Cake

What do you do when you have ripened bananas in your kitchen? Usually I make banana nut bread. Today I made chocolate banana cake instead. I made chocolate ganache and swirled it into the the batter, and baked it in a Bundt pan. Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

Chocolate ganache:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate bars, finely chopped

1/2 Cup heavy cream

Cake:

3 large ripe banana, mashed ( 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

Method:

Ganache:

1. Place finely chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer.

2. Pour it over chocolate, then let it sit for a couple minutes.

3. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Set aside.

                                                         

  

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F(177 C) and generously grease a 10- inch Bundt pan.

2. Mash the bananas until there's hardly any lumps. Set aside.

3.Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside. 

                                               

                                                   

4. Using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy (1 minute).

                                

5. Add both sugars and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape the sides and bottom.

                                 

6. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined.

                                                        

7. Beat in the mashed bananas. Scrape the sides and bottom of  the bowl. The mixture would appear curdled.

                               

8. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition just until incorporated. The batter will be thick with some lumps.

                               

                                                         

9. Pour about 1/3 of the batter evenly into prepared pan. Drizzle half of the ganache on top. Swirl with a knife or toothpick.

                               

       

10. Evenly pour another 1/3 of the cake batter on top, followed by the rest of the ganache, then the rest of the batter. Swirl everything together with a knife or toothpick.

                                 

11. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 hours inside the pan. Then, invert the slightly cooled cake onto a cooling rack or serving dish. cool completely before serving.

                                         

Notes:

1. If you are topping the cake with ganache, double the recipe for ganache. Use two 4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars and 1 cup heavy cream.

2. Make sure you swirl the ganache and cake layer for marble effect. This was my first time making a marble cake, and I did not swirl it all the way through.

3. You can prepare the ganache up to 5 days in advance. Make sure to warm the ganache before using. Ganache for swirling should be slightly thicker and thin for topping.

Cauliflower Steak

 I wanted to try something different with the cauliflower in my refrigerator, instead of the usual aloo Gobi subji or cauliflower paratha etc. I had come across an interesting recipe on Instagram last week. I tried it out today, boy was it amazing. It was a nice low carb dish made in the air fryer. I had it with my favorite Mac n Cheese. I was in heaven. Recipe adapted from hungryhappens.net.

Just 5 minutes to prep, and 25 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

1/4 Cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven or air fryer to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, mix oil, grated parmesan, spices, and salt and pepper.

3. Remove the leaves from the bottom of the cauliflower, leaving the stalk in place. Slice the cauliflower in half. Then slice the two pieces in half to create your "steaks". 

          

                                                

4. Place the "steaks" on the parchment paper. Brush the cauliflower all over with the oil mixture.

5. Air fry or bake until the stalk is tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes in air fryer ( flip half way through), 20 minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Place back in the oven until melted. 

 

                                  

Roasted Vegetables Burrito

When you are low on vegetables and running out of options, you have to be innovative. Last night I made burritos for dinner with roasted vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato, cut in small cubes

6 baby Bella mushrooms, sliced

kernels from 1 fresh corn

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced

2 mini colored peppers, diced

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

salt to taste

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Cup shredded Monterey pepper jack cheese

1 avocado, mashed

salsa

sour cream

4 tortillas

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place the vegetables on  a baking sheet. Add the spices and oil. Stir to coat. Roast for 20 minutes, turning the vegetables half-way. 

                               

2. Slide the vegetables onto a baking dish. Top with cheese and bake until cheese is melted. 

                                 

3. spoon mashed avocado in the center of the tortilla.

                                                   

 Spoon roasted vegetables along with lettuce. Top with salsa and sour cream.

                                                    

 Carefully roll the burrito. Serve with extra sour cream and taco sauce.

                                       

Peanut Dosa (Crepe)

Dosa is an integral part of South Indian cuisine. Basically, it is a crepe or pancake made from a batter of soaked and ground rice and lentil. There are so many different varieties of dosa. Last week my sister told me she made peanut dosa. She has little kids and her daughter is into sports, and my sister tries to add more proteins in her diet. I love peanuts and this sounded nice and easy to make, with just 3 main ingredients; roasted peanuts, chickpea flour, and rice flour. I made it for dinner tonight.

Ingredients for 10 dosas:

3/4 Cup roasted peanuts, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes

1 inch ginger

3 green chili 

1/2 Cup chickpea flour (besan)

1/2 Cup rice flour

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon paprika or red chili powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

handful chopped fresh cilantro

salt to taste

oil to make dosa

Method:

1. Drain peanuts and place in a blender, along with ginger and green chili. Grind to a smooth batter by adding 1/2 cup of water or little more if required. Add besan, rice flour, required salt, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, and paprika. Blend to a smooth batter with 3/4 cup of water. Check for salt. Add chopped cilantro. 

                             

                             

2. Pour half cup batter in the center of a hot skillet. Gently spread to make a thin dosa. Drizzle 1 teaspoon oil around the dosa.

       

Cover and cook for couple minutes before flipping and cooking both sides. Cook om medium heat.

                        

Serve hot with chutney or milagai podi.

                                          

                                            

Note:

You can add grated carrot to the batter. I sprinkled  chopped onion and cilantro over the batter.