Banana Bread

Banana bread recipe is easy to make and moist soft bread. It is loaded with goodness of ripe bananas and walnuts. This is the best way to use up ripe bananas.

Ingredients :

• Ripe bananas - 3 large
• Unsalted butter - 100gm(8tbsp)
• Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup
• Eggs - 2
• All purpose flour - 1 cup
• Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
• Walnuts chopped - 3/4 cup

Method : 

• Butter and egg should be in room temperature. If using salted butter omit adding extra salt. You can completely use wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.
• Grease and dust a bread loaf pan. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Mash the bananas with a fork.

• In a bowl sieve all purpose flour and wheat flour. To this add baking soda, salt and mix well.

• In a mixing bowl whisk softened butter and powdered sugar until creamy.

• Add the eggs and whisk until combined. Add mashed bananas and whisk to combine.

• Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix well. Mix in vanilla extract and walnuts.

• Pour the batter into loaf pan and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 50 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.

• Rest the banana bread for 10 mins and then remove onto a wire rack to cool. 
• Moist banana bread is ready to be savour.

Chicken Yakhni Pulao

Delicious and aromatic chicken pulao with full of essence and flavors. This recipe is lip smacking chicken pulao where Basmati Rice is cooked in flavorful chicken stock infused with spices. You can serve it plain or with raita or salna.

Ingredients : 

For chicken broth :

• Chicken - 1 kg
• Garlic - 4 cloves
• Ginger - 1 inch 
• Onion - 1 medium
• Cumin - 1 tsp
• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
• Bay leaf - 2
• Cloves - 5 to 6
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Pepper cones - 1/2 tsp
• Star anise - 1
• Black cardamom - 1
• Cardamom - 4
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Water - 4 cups

For pulao :

• Basmati rice- 2 cups
• Oil - 4 tbsp
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Onion - 1 medium size
• Cumin - 3/4 tsp
• Bay leaf - 1
• Pepper cons - 8
• Cardamom - 3
• Cloves - 4
• Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp
• Mace powder - 1/4 tsp
• Nutmeg powder- 1/4 tsp
• Curd - 4 tbsp
• Sugar - 3/4 tsp
• Green chilies - 4
• Salt to taste

Method :

• In a pot take cleaned chicken preferably with bone as it gives more flavour to the pulao and bigger piece as we will be cooking the chicken twice. Add all other ingredients for broth.

• Cook it for 8 mins on high heat and 15 mins on low heat. Meanwhile wash and soak basmati rice for half an hour.

• Take out the cooked chicken on to a plate and set aside. Filter the broth and discard the residue.

• In a pan heat oil and butter. Add sliced onion and saute till translucent. Add the whole spices and saute.

• Add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes away. Add the cooked chicken pieces and saute well. Add powdered mace and nutmeg.

• Beat curd with sugar and add to the pan and saute on low flame. Add whole green chilies and saute for a minute(add more green chilies as per spicy required and you can slit them too).

• Add the reserved 4 cups of chicken stock and let it come to a boil. Then add drained basmati rice and cook until water is reduced on high heat.

• Cover the lid and cook on low flame for 10-15 mins. You can place the pan on hot tawa and dum the pulao. Let it rest for 20mins before opening the lid.

• Flavorful yakhni pulao is ready. Serve it hot.