Vegan Jackfruit muffins

These muffins are delicious and burst with tropical fruit Jackfruit. These are vegan  and are made with coconut milk and with shredded coconut. Every bite is rich in flavor of both exotic jackfruit and coconut. This recipe uses fresh jackfruit puree. The muffins are super soft and rich in flavor and aroma.

Muffins are easy breakfast on the go or snack and I made these muffins with my favorite fruit jackfruit. We usually make a kheer Chakka Pradhaman (jackfruit-coconut payasam or kheer) and I love that. I can enjoy that everyday if I get access to the fruit. I made these muffins with the inspiration from the kheer. 

Years back, finding jackfruit in grocery stores, I mean fresh ones, will make me very happy. Nowadays I find the whole fruit in many grocery stores and sometimes in Costco. Sometimes my friends used to get me if they spot in the market. Last month, when I went to the near by farm, they were selling huge ones and got so tempted. I came home with a broad smile and of course with a huge, whole jackfruit! Cutting the jackfruit and taking the flesh from inside may be pain but the flavor of these fruit makes it all worth. But, my schedule was so crazy that I couldn't process it the same day as I got a perfect ripe one. In two days, the fruit was over-ripe. We enjoyed some and churned out our favorite childhood food that our mom made. We loved the muffins and they were amazing. 

Since these muffins are made with fresh fruit, it is better to refrigerate them if planning to use them for a couple of days. Just warm them in the oven and enjoy as a fresh baked one. 

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

I am also linking this to Sundays on Silverado and Inspire Me Monday.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour - 1.5 cups

Salt  -1 /8 tsp

Brown sugar - 2/3 cup

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Ginger powder - 1/8 tsp

Shredded coconut, unsweetened - 1/3 cup

Oil - 1/3 cup

Jackfruit puree - 1 cup

Coconut milk - 1/2 cup

Flax seed powder - 2 tbsp

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the coconut milk to flaxseed powder to gel. In a bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and ginger powder. Mix and set aside.

In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, jackfruit puree, flaxed egg, and oil.

 Add the dry ingredients and mix to form a batter quickly. Add the shredded coconut and fold it in. Add this to limed muffin tins, about 3/4th of each muffin cavity.

Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool for 15 minutes. Serve with milk or chai.

Here are the link for the muffins we shared today. Thanks, Stacy!

• Dutch Apple Pie Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Maraschino Cherry Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Mini Peanut Butter Cup Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Pizza Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Small Batch Zucchini Blueberry Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Vegan Jackfruit Muffins from Magical Ingredients

Layered Garbanzo Beans and Paneer Salad

This is a tasty and refreshing salad with a lip-smacking dressing. This is also a balanced salad making it a complete meal. The sprouts, garbanzos and paneer give essential proteins and some carbs, potatoes add carbs, and the veggies complete the nutrition palette. This salad is based on Indian street food commonly called as chaat. Chaat includes a few comforting ingredients with a little spice powders that gives piquant flavor and lip-smacking spicy and sweet chutney and this is the dressing for the salad. This is very easy to make, just gather the ingredients, layer them, and drizzle the dressing. Also, this can feed a crowd. Stack the layers of ingredients in a beautiful arrangement and with the dressing this is the most comforting, lip-smacking, and scrumptious salad to enjoy with the family and friends.

Don't you agree that layered salads are fun? Than just serving everything mixed in a bowl, when it is layered, it just attracts everyone. It makes the entire feast special! It can change the entire setting of the table,  from a simple to an amazing one just with the layered presentation. This salad is like that. This can be made in triffle stands, or any bowl, or even in a mason jar.

All you need for the layers are: lettuce, boiled potatoes, cooked garbanzos, paneer, cucumber, onion, tomatoes sprouts, chaat masala and peanuts. Kochumber (or Indian style salad with tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers) can be made instead and added as a layer. That would add tons of flavor. Any lettuce can be used. I like to use iceberg or romaine lettuce. Sprouts are very healthy, provide nutrition, and are easy digestible. I make my own. Store-bought sprouts can also be used.

For the dressing you will need  sweet chutney, cilantro-mint chutney (green chutney), lemon/lime juice, yogurt, and chaat masala. Yogurt adds to creaminess and enhances the flavor. The chutneys can be homemade or store-bought. You can find in any Indian grocery shop in jam and/or pickle aisle or in freezer section. 

Sev (thin garbanzo flour fritters), chopped cilantro, mint, and a little chaat masala are used as garnish. If you don't have sev, thin tortilla strips or crushed tortilla or pita chips can be used for the crunch. Chaat masala is available in Indian groceries. It is mix of spices and black salt giving the pungent, piquant, and refreshing taste.

Salads are always my favorite and often try varied ones to make my family too enjoy it. This is one such salad that our family loves. Fruits and veggies always add to complete nutrition and the best way to have them is by making salads. Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventure is hosting an event "Layering Up Salad". We are sharing layered salads today in our #FromOurDinnerTable group. We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table! Join our group and share your recipes, too! While you're at it, join our Pinterest board, too!

Here are a few delicious salads to try from this blog:

Kochumber 

Creamy, Spicy, Vegan Zucchini Slaw

Dal Sprouts Salad

Cucumber Peanut Salad

Caprese Salad 

Moong Sprouts Salad

Ingredients

Lettuce - 5 cups, torn, medium packed

Garbanzo beans - 3 cups, cooked

Potatoes - 2 and 1.2 cups, cooked, cubed

Paneer - 2 and 1/2 cups, 1/2-in cubes

Cucumbers - 1 cup, diced

Onions - 1/2 cup, diced

Tomatoes - 1 cup, diced

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Cayenne - 1 tsp

Chaat masala - 2 tsp

For garnish

Peanuts - 1/2 cup, toasted

Sev - 1/2 cup

Moong sprouts - 1 cup

Cilantro - 1 tbsp, chopped

For the dressing

Cilantro-mint chutney - 1/3 cup

Sweet tamarind chutney - 1/3 cup

Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp

Yogurt - 1.5 cups

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method

Add the ingredients for the dressing and whisk. Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside.

Add the lettuce to the bowl as the bottom layer. Next, add in the garbanzos and sprinkle with a little cumin, cayenne, and chaat masala.

Add in the potato layer and sprinkle with cumin powder, cayenne, and chaat masala.

Add the cucumber, onions, and tomatoes in a bowl and mix. Add as a layer. 

Next layer the paneer cubes. Sprinkle cumin powder, cayenne, and chaat masala.

Finally, add the sprouts, peanuts, sev and sprinkle a little of cumin powder, cayenne, and chaat masala. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve with dressing on the side.

Here are the links of delicious salad we shared today for "Layering Up Salads". Thanks, Christie!

• Chicken Cobb Salad Tower from The Spiffy Cookie
• Layered Garbanzo Beans and Paneer Salad from Magical Ingredients
• Layered Mason Jar Niçoise Salad from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Overnight 7 Layer Salad from Leftovers Then Breakfast
• Seven Layer Fruit Salad from Art of Natural Living
• Southwest 7 Layer Salad from The Freshman Cook
• The Ultimate Layered Salad from Karen's Kitchen Stories

Kohlapuri Masala Powder

This is a dry masala powder and a popular one from Kohlapur, Maharashtra. This spice blend is aromatic with the spices in it and also has a nutty flavor with added coconut and sesame seeds. This is a spicy (heat!) powder and is amazing to just sprinkle in any veggie or paneer curry. 

Kohlapuri masala powder is easy to prepare. The spices needed are commonly used and are usually stocked in pantry. This spice blend can be made in 15 minutes. Gather the ingredients, dry roast, cool, and grind - all done! Cooling takes the longer time out of the fifteen minutes in total. Plus, this powder can be stored in freezer for upto 3 months. I always have a few of masala powders in my freezer to make cooking a breeze when time is a crunch.

Years back, I tasted Kohlapuri veggie curry in one of my Marathi friend's home. I tried using store-bought masala. They were close to what I had in her home but later got the recipe from her and love this blend. I add to veggie curries, usal, and paneer too. This spice powder is so tasty that it can be added when you cook no onion or no garlic meal.

Ingredients

Kopra slices - 1/2 cup

Dried red chilies - 8-10

Byadige chili - 4

Fenugreek - 1 tsp

Black pepper - 1 tsp

Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp

Cumin - 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp

Mustard - 1 tbsp

Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp

Cloves - 6

Nutmeg powder - 1/8 tsp

Method

Heat a pan and dry roast the red chilies till they become shiny. Set aside. In the same pan, dry roast the coconut slices and set aside. Add the rest of the ingredients and roast till sesame turns a little golden. Mustard seeds would start to splutter. Set aside to cool.

Add everything to blender along with nutmeg powder. Blend to smooth powder. 

Store in an air-tight container.

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Gluten-Free Low Carb Cauliflower Bites

These delicious cheesy cauliflower bites or cauliflower tots give a burst of flavor in each and every bite. They are gluten-free, eggless, and low in carb. These cauliflower tots are a healthy alternative to traditional tater tots and a fantastic way to include more veggies in diet. Kids will love to have these in place of carb-rich tater tots. Even adults too! Cauliflower, cheese and the spices make an amazing addictive combination of flavors. These are great served with ranch (I served with vegan thousand island ranch) or ketchup.

These are eggless. YES! Eggless! Flaxseed powder helps in binding the tots together. When cheese is added and baked, it expands in size a little but the texture would be perfect after cooling. The added almond flour also helps in holding the shape and adding nutty flavor. Along with the spices, this is an ultimate low-carb snack. It is important to completely drain the moisture from cauliflower or else it won't be possible to shape them.

 

Cauliflower is one of the  amazing veggie in Brassica family. They provide excellent nutrition and the benefits are well known. It can be incorporated in everyday diet in many ways and these bites are amazing way to introduce to kids. Try this Cauliflower Bajji/Pakora for a perfect rainy day snack. Curried Roasted Cauliflower is easy to make and it can be paired with creamy pasta, roti, or can be had as such.

This is a great finger food just like Mini Pancake Skewers. Cracker Pizza is another finger food cum snacky meal which everyone would fall in love. These are great for any occasion as like the taco style Stuffed Mini Peppers. I am linking these cauliflower bites to Blogging Marathon, Full Plate Thursday, and Thursday Favorite Things.

Ingredients

Makes 27-28

Cauliflower florets - 3 cups, medium sized

Water

Salt - 1/3 tsp

Garam masala - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Onion flakes - 1/2 tsp

Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp

Cayenne - 1/2 tsp

Cilantro - 1/4 cup, finely chopped

Almond flour - 1/2 cup

Flaxseed powder - 4 tbsp

Cheddar cheese - 1 cup, shredded

Method

Bring water to boil. Add the cauliflower florets and cook for 6-7 minutes. It should be crisp tender. Drain and set aside. Arrange them on a paper towel to remove all the moisture.

Pulse the cauliflower in food processor to rice like texture. This yields about two and a half cups. Transfer this to a bowl. Add salt, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne, almond flour, cilantro, and flaxseed powder. Knead to a smooth mixture.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Take a tablespoon of this mixture and roll into a ball or a cylinder. Arrange them on a baking sheet. Brush a little oil on top. 

Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven, cool. Serve with ketchup or ranch.

Mini Pancake Skewers

These mini pancake skewers are fun and delicious. Classic pancakes with simple fruits and syrup is anytime comfort meal. When served on a skewer, the elevated comfort food becomes fancy. Even a picky kid would go eat these delicious mini pancakes. These are great for any day.

Kids usually live fancy ideas. These pancakes are usually adored and devoured in our home. Strawberries and bananas are always favorite for any kid and when given with a fancy presentation, the mealtime will be without any fuss. 

The order and the count of fruits and pancakes is totally optional. They can be added as desired. Kids would love to make their own and would offer to help in making this meal as this will be loved by them always. These are great as a breakfast for kids sleepover or a play date snack. Any sweet pancake like Eggless Coconut Pancake can be used to make these mini skewers. For a vegan option use plant based milk and oil in place of milk and butter, respectively. 

Finger foods like this and Cracker Pizza are usually loved by kids. These food help in keeping the kids nourished. Fruits and veggies offer lot of heath and these mini pancake skewers are a fun way to include lots of fruits and veggies. I am linking this to Blogging Marathon, Full Plate Thursday, and Wonderful Wednesday.

Ingredients 

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Aquafaba - 6 tbsp

Salt - 1/8 tsp

sugar -2 tbsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Vanilla - 1 tsp

Butter - 1 tbsp plus 2 tbsp, melted

For assembling:

Toothpicks 

Sliced bananas

Strawberry - full, halved, or quartered

Blueberry 

Maple syrup

Method 

In a bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix. Add the milk, melted butter,  and aquafaba and make a smooth pancake batter without any lumps.

Heat oil in a pan, melt a little butter, add pancake batter to hit pan using spoon. Alternatively, use a piping bag with a tip that is according to the mini pancake size, May be 12.

Flip once bubbles appear on the top and cook for a minute. Transfer to a plate.

For the assembly - add the blueberry to the toothpick if using, followed by banana and/or strawberry. Them add one or two mini pancakes. 

Arrange in a serving plate, drizzle with maple syrup and serve.