Fruits | Healthy cooking with Mitha

We are getting fresh cherries here and after eating them as it is and making this Cherry Jaggery compote, it was time to use them in my favourite way – the baking way. The muffins came out beautiful and tasted so delicious that I have already made them thrice this month.

The best part about these muffins is its healthy and uses ingredients like wheat flour, jaggery and cherries. You can enjoy them guilt free. My kids love them as a mid meal snack.

Also, this recipe is great for basic wheat jaggery cupcakes for which I get lots of requests. So just skip cherries and you get plain cupcakes as shown below.

You can give them to babies above 6 months old. I started these healthy muffins for both my kids since 6 months and they love it now, much more than store bought maida ones. Wheat muffins might be denser but definitely flavourful and so tasty.

Hope you all try and love it too. Happy and healthy baking!

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

1 and 1/2 Cups Wheat flour or Atta (I use Pillsbury brand)

1 tsp Baking soda

1/4 tsp Salt

Wet ingredients:

1 Cup Milk, at room temperature

1 Cup powdered Jaggery

1/4 Cup Ghee

1/4 Cup chopped Cherries (fresh or candied)

1 tsp Vanilla essence

A few quartered cherries for garnish (optional)

Step by step recipe:

1. Preheat the oven at 180 C for 10 mins.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together using a sieve in a mixing bowl. Keep aside.

3. Add milk and jaggery in a large mixing bowl. Whisk well to melt jaggery in the milk.

4. Now add ghee, vanilla essence and chopped cherries. Mix well.

5. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

6. Now mix both using a spatula just so that the wheat flour specks are not seen. Do NOT overmix the batter as it will lead to dense cake.

7. Now pour the batter into greased muffin tray till three fourth of the level. Garnish with quartered cherries (optional).

8. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 15 to 20 mins in the center rack of the oven till a toothpick inserted in the center most muffin comes out clear and not wet.

9. Allow it cool. Remove and serve.

Notes:

* This lasts well at room temperature in an air tight container for a day. Then refrigerate and microwave before serving.

* I always use Pillsbury wheat flour for my bakes and they come out perfect and delicious.

* If jaggery is not fine powder, then sieve and add into the milk. Jaggery can be substituted with brown sugar or cane sugar or regular sugar.

* Cherries can be substituted with any berries or you can skip it completely for plain muffins. This is how perfect plain wheat jaggery muffins comes out too.

* Do NOT overmix the batter. Else it will lead to dense muffins. Just mix together so that wheat flour specks are not seen and that is enough.

* Don’t forget to preheat the oven for 10 mins atleast before placing the muffin tray.

* It took my muffins exactly 15 mins to bake perfectly. But it might vary according to your oven. So keep an eye after 12 mins but do NOT open oven door before that.

I have tried to note down as much points as possible so that it’s easy for you all to follow but if you still have any doubts, either comment here or message me on my Facebook page Healthy cooking with mitha or on my Instagram handle and I would be happy to help.

As easy as this pudding is, I was still having doubts whether I should share this or not. It does come out tasty and tastes like papaya jelly (without gelatin, of course) but since we are using fresh fruit instead of any artificial essence, a slight bit of peel can turn the pudding bitter.

I learned this pudding from my friend Sandhya Puranik who had shared it in a food group. Many had tried it after that and I was inspired by them. Papaya has a natural tendency to set when blended and refrigerated. This recipe makes good use of it while setting it like a pudding.

I make the pudding regularly when I get really ripe papaya and we are bored of eating it as it is. The kids, especially my toddler loves it a lot and thinks it’s ice cream. 😀

Do read the notes at the end to make successful papaya pudding. Hope you all enjoy it too. Happy and healthy cooking!

RECIPE:

Ingredients: {Serves 2}

2 Cups Papaya (ripe portion only)*read notes

1 Tbsp Milk

2 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla essence

Step by step recipe:

1. Put the chopped Papaya along with milk, sugar and vanilla essence in a blender.

2. Blend till it turns smooth. Please do NOT add water at all. Else the pudding won’t get the texture. Pulse and blend till smooth.

3. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for two to four hours till it sets.

4. Unmold or enjoy from the bowl itself. Slice and enjoy if you are lucky enough to get the right texture!

Notes: {Important to read before you try so as to avoid the pudding getting bitter or not setting}

* Please be very careful to use only ripe and sweet tasting papaya for this recipe.

* Pick the ripest papaya and scoop the flesh of the fruit using spoon. Do NOT add the thick portion near the skin. If you take the papaya near to skin, the pudding tastes bitter.

* Do not add water at all while grinding. Also don’t use more milk than mentioned.

* If the papaya has more water content, you won’t be able to unmold the pudding and slice like I have shown in the picture above but you can eat directly from the bowl without unmolding it. Tastes same!!

* Sugar also depends to taste and the sweetness of papaya.

* Refrigerate for overnight too if it does not set but cover well so that the pudding does not leave water. Do NOT freeze it. It requires only refrigeration.