Category: Cuisine

Tricky little temperamental Treat

Post author By Anagha
Post date January 29, 2015
No Comments on Tricky little temperamental Treat

French Macarons

I had never seen a Stand Mixer until a few years ago. Always wanted to buy one since I saw it but could not justify the investment …until today, I bought my first KitchenAid..

Growing up in India I did not know much about baking. For one, we did not have any oven or any stand mixer at home. Mom made cakes on the stove top in this contraption and creamed the butter & sugar patiently with just her hands. I always love the cakes she makes but now I appreciate even more knowing how much effort went into it. When I came to the US I tasted so many yummy baked good and I started baking as well. The first time I tasted Macaroons, I did not care much more it. I personally don’t like coconut & chocolate together. Every time my daughter asked me to make Macroons, I kind of made excuses since I thought she was referring to Coconut Macaroon.

Then last year, Whole Foods opened near where we live and I got to see and taste French Macron for the first time, and let me tell you I fell in love with it. Every time we go grocery shopping to Whole Foods, we coem back with a pack of macrons. They are yummy but expensive and I never felt like I ate to my hearts content.

So I decide to try and make Macrons at home. Usually I am good at following instructions and recipes, so I figured I can make macarons as long as I have the recipe and ingredients. Boy was I wrong, I failed miserably…not one, two, more like 6 times. I had almost given up…but then I remembered that I had a set a birthday goal for my self. Yeah, like people set New Years resolutions, I make Birthday resolutions. On every birthday I set a few goals and try to complete them before the next birthday. So going back to Macrons, making them is one such goal I made last year and just could not give up.

I tried the seventh time… and very proud to say it worked. And that is how that KitchenAid came into my life..

French Macarons- a delicate temperamental cookie..but worth every min spent on it.

Macrons have very simple ingredients and looks very deceivingly easy looking, but the trick is in following all the steps and tips. I watched many you tube videos, read many recipes and then finally settled on this one..

Ingredients:

Cookie:

7 oz Confectioner ( powder) sugar

4 oz Almond flour/meal

4 oz Egg whites at room temp

3.5 oz granulated sugar

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp gel color of your choice

Filing

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

4 cups Confectioner ( powder) sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp milk

Method

A. For cookies:

Part 1- Dry mixture

Sift the almond flour and the confectioner sugar at least 4-5 times. This makes the batter light and also ensures that there are no lumps in the batter.

Part 2- Meringue

Making meringue- Take the egg whites and start beating them on a low-medium speed until it foams
Add granulated sugar slowly. Once all the sugar is added, add the cream of tartar.
Kepp checking in between and make sure you stir in between so make ensure that there is no liquid egg white remaining at the bottom of the bowl.

Scrape down the sides, add the food color
Beat on high till you get a soft peak.
It is not done if you get a beak, when you left the whisk out of the egg mixture.

Part 3- Mix the ingredients

Mix 1/3 of the almond flour mixture in the egg mixture.
Using the folding action mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.
When the dry flour is sort of mixed, add the next 1/3 and continue
THIS IS IMPORTANT- DO NOT UNDER MIX OR OVER MIX. THIS PICTURE SHOWS YOU EXAMPLES.
When you can see a ribbon falling from your spoon, your batter is ready

Part 4- Piping and baking the cookies

Draw circle on the paper. These will act as a template for piping your cookies.
Out that template on the baking sheet.
Line your baking tray with parchment paper, on top of the template
Fill the mixture in a pastry bag and using a #2 round tip, pipe the cookies on the parchment paper

Make sure you keep the tip almost buried in the mixture so you don’t get a point on the cookie- if you get a point it will look funny and the point will burn during baking

Part 5- Drying of the cookies

Heat the oven to 325 F.
Take the tray with the piped cookies and tap really firmly on the counter. This will ensure that the air trapped is released

Let the tray sit on the counter until the cookies have a skin on top and are dry to touch. Depending on the weather it could take from 20-30 mins
I write the time on it so I know when I can check.
Now your cookies are ready to go in.

Part 6: Baking

Make sure that the oven temperature is right.
Bake th cookies for 10-15 min
Turn half way to ensure even baking
Check if the cookies are done- when you gently try to move the top and it kind of wiggles and slides, the cookies are not done.

Watch carefully though since they go from not done to done very quickly

Part 7: Cooling

I know it is tempting to eat them right away
Wait for 3-4 minutes to take the cookies off the baking tray
Let them cool completely before you fill them up.

B. For Filling

Beat the butter until creamy
Add the powdered sugar a little at a time.
Add the color, lemon juice and zest and beat the mixture until light and fluffy.

There are 7 key points to remember, I have listed them here and have mentioned again along the way.

Measure your ingredient- I recommend weighing them instead of measuring in a cup
Sieve the almond meal & Suagr
Beat your egg white just till soft peak stage
Don’t over or under mix the Egg & Almond mixture
Make sure the air is tapped out before you bake the macrons
Make sure they dry out before you bake
Make sure the oven temp is right

Tags almond flour, cookie, dessert, gluten-free, meringue

Cakes Not sure

Apricot Almond cardamom cake

Post author By Anagha
Post date January 22, 2015
16 Comments on Apricot Almond cardamom cake

Apricot-almond cake

My daughter is always looking for something to eat after school, she is picky… But in a good way..the snack have to be healthy, no soda, no chips, not processed food, should be easy to eat…

I am happy because she is making smart and wise choices and I want to support that anyway I can. So I ensure that there are good snack options available, nuts, fruits, dehydrated vegetables, dehydrated fruits etc.

Todays post is one such recipe which is very healthy and yet tasty. Today I added a touch of cardamom to this cake and I feel it complimented the almond flavor so well. Made from whole wheat flour, no butter, no sugar and no eggs…I don’t mind if she eats an extra piece

Apricot Almond cake

It has very delicate flavor and goes well as a desert with a dollop of whipped cream. It can be easily made vegan which I like, I can make it when I have friends who eat dairy-free, or don’t eat processed sugars.

Ingredients:

Apricot cake ingredients

18-20 Dried apricots
1 1/4 cups milk ( you can also use Almond milk to make a Vegan version)

Note: You may need to adjust the milk qty based on how dry the apricots are. The batter should be not runny but not overly clumpy or sticky either.

2-3 tsp sugar( optional, I do not add since the apricots here are sweet)
1 cup flour( I take 1/2 atta & 1/2 un bleached flour, all atta recipe makes it dense)
1/2 cup oil
1 tea spn baking soda
1 tbl spn almonds(or more if you are crazy about nuts like me)

1/8 tsp cardamom powder

Method:
Soak the apricots(save 2-3 to be chopped &added to the batter) in warm milk (3-4 hours is enough for the dates we get here)

Remove the seeds if not using seedless. Blend them to a smooth paste along with the milk in which it is soaked in.

Add oil and mix.

Add cardamom powder
Sieve together flour and baking soda. Add the flour one spoon at a time and mix slowly.

Taste and if needed add sugar. Add the nuts and mix.

Preheat the oven at 350F. Bake the cake in a greased oven dish for 35-40min

You are ready to dive into guilt free treat

Depending on the color of the apricots your cake might be orange or brown, so dont worry so much about the color as long as the cake tastes good. As you can see, two different colors I got since the apricots were of different colors.

Dark apricots:

Light Apricots

Apricot cake

Note:

I also make a Date-Walnut cake with similar recipe and it tastes just as yummy

Tags almond, apricot, butter less, cardamom, dairy free, sugar-less, vegan

Chicken Italian Main Dish

Chicken marsala- sounds like masala but so much different

Post author By Anagha
Post date January 17, 2015
No Comments on Chicken marsala- sounds like masala but so much different

I love Chicken Marsala, it is flavorful not heavy and very easy to make. Another reason I like it is that it has mushrooms, and I love mushrooms.

I have always loved mushrooms. But when I ate Portabella mushrooms, I fell in love with them. I like the fact that it holds its shape even after cooking and does not melt away.

I feel that everyone should be like that, try to adapt to the situation without giving up your own. I feel very strongly about it since in India where I grew up, it is expected that when a woman gets married she forgets her past, her existence and gives herself to the new family, adapts to the new customs and mold herself to the liking of her husband and her in laws. I think it is not fair..not only because she has to make so many adjustments but that she can not be herself any more. Change of name, wearing symbols showing she is married, keeping fast for her husband…all are one sided adjustments that are expected of a woman and very rarely reciprocated.

I guess Women rights is is not the topic of this post, mushrooms are, so moving on…

In winter when the farmers market sort of shrinks, there are very few vegetables, a star like mushroom comes to the rescue. And a dish like ‘Chicken Marsala’ showcases the mushrooms very well.

I had watched a food network show where a chef ( I think it was Giada)made Chicken Marsala, I thought it is so easy and have been making it for a while now.

The recipe itself is very simple, very few ingredients and comes together very quickly. It also looks very fancy so makes a great candidate when you have company. It can be made ahead and kept warm.

Ingredients:

For the chicken cutlets

2 Boneless skinless Organic Chicken breasts

1/2 cup all purpose flour

Salt & Pepper to taste

Oil

Sauce

4 cups sliced crimini mushrooms

1/2 cup Sweet Marsala wine

1/2 cup organic chicken stock

3 oz prosciutto chopped in small pieces

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup chopped Parsley

Method:

Chicken Cutlets

Slice the chicken in half horizontally, or cut like butterfly. Put in on a cutting board, cover with plastic and pound it with a mallet till it is nice thickness.

Season with salt & pepper.

Take flour in a wider bowl & season with salt & pepper generously.

Heat a skillet on medium heat.

Drench chicken in the flour mixture well. Shake off the excess flour.

Add olive oil to the skillet and add the flour covered chicken pieces.

Cook till it is nice and brown on both sides, about 4-5 mins on each side. If the chicken piece is thicker, it might take longer.

Remove and keep aside on a plate. Keep it covered so it stays warm.

In the same pan add the chopped prosciutto on medium heat. It will gives out some fat, after it browns.

Add the sliced mushrooms.

Cook the mushrooms until they are a bit softer. Season with some pepper.

Add the marsala and cook till the alcohol burns.

I like to flambe the mushrooms at this point. I think it adds a nice flavor to the mushrooms & helps burn the alcohol off.

Add the chicken stock and cook a few mins.

Add the chicken cutlets and heat through. Add butter and stir well.

Add chopped parsley.

I like to serve it with something like orzo, mashed potatoes.

I think these serve like a blank canvas, take on the flavors of the main dish, in this case the Chicken Marsala.

Tags chicken, chicken marsala, mushroom

Breakfast Indian Maharashtrian

Sabudana Khichadi- a typical Indian Breakfast

Post author By Anagha
Post date January 13, 2015
1 Comment on Sabudana Khichadi- a typical Indian Breakfast

Jump to Recipe

Sabudana ( Tapioca) looks like tiny white pearls, made from roots of the cassava plant, it is very common in Indian cooking. It is a younger cousin of the Boba tea/Tapioca tea. Typically it is eaten during fasting, but also eaten as a common breakfast food. It is can be made as a savory or a sweet dish. It can be eaten like a tapioca pudding but my favorite recipe is a savory one.

My husband and kids are big fans of this and happily eat it any time. In fact whenever my son comes home, the first thing he wants to eat is this ‘Sabudana Khichadi’

Jump to Recipe

Sabudana Khichadi

A popular dish from Maharashtra India, made with Tapioca Pearls, seasoned with green chili cumin and peanuts, its often enjoyed during 'Vrat' or Fasting

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine Indian, Maharashtrian

Keyword fasting, vrat

Ingredients

3 cups Soaked sabudana sago/Tapioca
Sugar
Salt
1/4 cup milk at room temp
1/2 cup roasted peanut Powder

Spice paste

1 1/2 tbsp Cumin seeds divided use
4-5 green chilies

Tadka

3 tbsp ghee
1 1/2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1-2 Green Chilies Adjust based on spice preference
1-2 Potatoes peeled and sliced

Garnish

Chopped cilantro
Fresh grated coconut

Instructions

Take the sabudana in a large pot. Wash it with cold water. When you start washing it will looks cloudy
Wash until the water runs clear. This helps get rid of excess starch which makes the khichadi clumpy when cooked.
Add water just to cover the sabudana and a little over.
Now let it soak for at least 7-8 hours. I end up soaking it overnight since I make this mostly for breakfast.
About an hour before you plan to make the khichadi, take the milk and sprinkle it over the soaked sabudana. Using fork separate the grains and leave aside.
Make powder with roasted peanuts
Make paste with the green chilies & 1 tbsp of cumins seeds in a mortal & pestle, you can also use a blender.
Add peanut powder, chili mixture, salt & Sugar to the soaked sabudana and mix well.
In a pan heat oil, add cumin seeds. Add some green chili pieces and saute till the cumin seeds are brown.
Add sliced potatoes, add salt to the potatoes and cover.
Cook until the potatoes are done.
Add the sabudana mixture and cook. Cover for only a couple of mins and stir constantly, this will prevent clumps from forming. The easiest way to know when it is done is to check if the pearls are translucent.
Add the ghee and mix well. Traditionally it is cooked in ghee, but if you are trying to avoid it then adding just a couple of tbsp at the end is a good solution. This gives the flavor of ghee but you dont have to cook solely with it.
Garnish with chopped cilantro, fresh grated coconut and yogurt or a lime wedge.

Tags breakfast, gluten-free, sago, vegetarian

Condiments Indian Kashmiri Pickles & Chutneys

Smoked Walnut chutney- a treat from Kashmir

Post author By Anagha
Post date December 3, 2014
1 Comment on Smoked Walnut chutney- a treat from Kashmir

Indian food for non-Indians is naan, butter chicken, chole, saag, as that is the only food they have been exposed to in the restaurants. You would think Indians would know everything about different types of indian foods but Indian food is so diverse and regional that many a times you only know about the food from yours and may be neighbouring region. So even though I grew up in India, there are many indian delicacies that I had not even tasted. For example, Assamese food, Bengali Food or Kashmiri Food.

So when I came to think country, I not only learnt about different cuisines of the world but also different regional cuisines of India as well. The Indian grocery stores here carry things that are used in Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and many other Indian cuisines. One such item was ‘Lotus Stems’, growing up I had never eaten a lotus stem. It is very commonly used in Punjabi & Kashmiri cuisine. In Kashmir they call it ‘Nadru’. So when I started reading about how to cook Nadru, I came across many Kashmiri delicacies. I make many kashmiri dishes now, and I will be sharing a few here.

Today’s recipe however is from a facebook food group. When I saw this post, I knew I had to make it.

I love anything smoked, I love onion, green chili and I love walnuts…so this recipe was just too good to ignore.

Smoked Walnut Chutney

It is so simple to make yet fantastic flavors

Ingredients

1/2 cup walnuts

1/3 cup onion chopped

2 green chilies

1/2 tsp crushed red chilies

1 tsp jeera

1/2 cup or more chopped cilantro

salt to taste

For smoking:

1 piece of coal

Few drops of mustard oil

Method:

Dry roast the walnut and jeera slightly.

Add all the ingredients to a mortar and pestle. On a related note, I am obsessed with the mortar & pestles, I have many in my collection 🙂

Pound all the ingredients till you get a coarse paste. I feel that the coarse texture add to the taste of this dish.

Now take out the chutney in a bowl.

Cover the bowl with a leaf. If you don’t have a leaf, you can use a aluminium foil and poke a few holes in it.

Now take a piece of coal and burn it on the gas flame till it is bright red.

Now place the coal on top of the leaf.

Pour a couple of drops of mustard oil and cover immediately with a bigger bowl.

You will see that it smokes up quickly.

After a few minutes when the smoke has died down, open carefully and enjoy. The recipe looks very easy, but I was amazed how delicious it tastes. Give it a try.

You can even serve it with pita chips as a dip.

Tags chutney, healthy, kashmiri, spicy, vegan, walnut

Bengali Masala (Spice Mix)

Panch Phoran

This is a spice mix from Bengal, the eastern state of India. I just love the combination of flavors. As the name suggests it is a mixture of Five( panch) spices. There are many variations of this recipe, but here is what I use:

Panch Phoran

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Fennel Seeds ( saunf)

1 tbsp fenugreek seeds ( methi seeds)

1 tbsp Mustard seeds ( Rai)

1 tbsp cumin seeds ( jeera)

1 tbsp nigella seeds ( kalonji)

Method:

Slightly rosat all the ingredients separately. Mix them in a bottle. You can use it in many recipe.

Tags spice mix, vegan, vegetarian

Curry Indian Vegetable curries/daal

Lauki majedar

I try to eat and cook only what is in season, so I only shop at the farmers market for my fruits and vegetables. You will always find some kind of squash in season. Most of the summer and almost through the fall season, you will get opo squash in the market. It is easy to clean and very nutritious, so I try to include that in our diet as I can, be it in the form of a salad, curry, Soup, Parantha( Indian flat bread) or even dessert. Although it is very good for you, it can be very bland testing and needs some dressing up.

Typically you will find Lauki made with some sort of lentil, or in a form of a kofta. This recipe is none of that, it is very simple and easy to make. I also like the fact that it does not have onion or garlic and hence can be a nice addition to a dinner plate with other curries with onion, garlic.

For last night’s dinner I made egg curry which had onion and garlic, so I made the lauki majedar to compliment it.

Ingredients

1 lauki ( squash)

1 tbsp Panch Phoran

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 inch ginger

1 green chili

1 roma tomato

Cilantro for garnish

Oil

1/2 tsp ghee ( optional)

Method

Peel and chop the squash in fine dice. Chop tomatoes in small pieces. Chop ginger in fine pieces. Chop green chilies in fine pieces as well.

Heat oil. Add panch phoran, turmeric saute for 10 secs. Make sure that the panch phoran does not burn otherwise the methi might start tasting bitter.

Add ginger and green chilies, saute for 10 secs.

Add the chopped tomatoes and saute for 20 secs.

Add chopped squash and mix well. Add salt to taste and cover. Cook on low flame until cooked.

Add the ghee if using.

Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Tags healthy, Indian, vegan, vegetarian

Curry Indian Maharashtrian

Indian Egg curry- poached eggs in coconut curry

Post author By Anagha
Post date November 18, 2014
No Comments on Indian Egg curry- poached eggs in coconut curry

Yesterday was one of those days when I had very few things in the fridge and yet I was hoping to make something yummy for dinner, then I thought about Egg curry. Egg curry is a very common Indian dish. Most of the ingredients are available at home and egg curry can be very handy on one of those days when you don’t know what to make. It can be eaten with rice or wheat roti( Indian bread). Sometimes I like to eat egg curry with a crusty bread for breakfast as well, with a cup of tea it is perfect nutritious way to start the day.

Typically egg curry is made with boiled eggs in a tomato-onion gravy. Although I like the taste of that curry, I find that the eggs and curry don’t blend well. I prefer to make it almost like poached eggs. The eggs get cooked in a nice coconutty curry to perfection. This recipe does not have tomatoes and gets its tartness from tamarind. This egg curry reminds me of the the Tunisian recipe ‘Shakshuka’, Eggs cooked in tomato based sauce, so try this Indian Shakshuka, it is very easy to make.

Last night’s dinner was a simple egg curry, Opp squash with panch Phoran & whole wheat rotis.

Ingredients

For the Masala paste

1/2 cup Fresh grated coconut
4 dry red chilies
1 big clove of garlic
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp jeera
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp turmeric

Oil
1 small onion chopped fine
3/4 cup coconut milk( optional)
4-5 eggs

Method

Grind all the ingredients for the paste fine using water.
Heat oil and sauté onion till nice and brown.

Add masala paste and sauté it for a min

Add water to make a thin curry It should be thinner than what you would like the final product to be.
Add salt and mix well.

Make small wells in the curry and crack eggs gently in the curry.
Cover and cook on low flame. After a couple of min open the lid and spoon some curry over the eggs without disturbing them.

Add coconut milk if you want richer curry.
Keep cooking until the yolk is set. Garnish with chopped cilantro & serve with Roti or Rice

Tags coconut masala, egg curry, poached egg

Appetizer Indian Maharashtrian

Vada Pav -the indian veggie burger

Post author By Anagha
Post date November 14, 2014
1 Comment on Vada Pav -the indian veggie burger

If you have visited India and especially Mumbai, you must have seen many road- side stalls for Vada Pav. Vada is a name for anything that is round in shape and fried..and Pav is the bread or dinner roll in hindi.

Indian Vegetarian Burger

Usually I visit India in July-August time frame, at that time it is Monsoon in India. When we drive from Mumbai to Pune, you go through the Western Ghats, the mountain are covered in lush green carpet, you see beautiful streams bouncing down the mountain side. The air is clean and crisp, and as you are enjoying this all, you smell Hot Vada Pav being made somewhere.

Vada Pav is a popular street food of India, especially Maharashtra. Vada is a name for anything that is round in shape and fried..and Pav is the bread or dinner roll in hindi. There are some foods which I can eat anytime of the day, many times in the week and still enjoy and love the same. Vada Pav is definitely one of them. In fact, whenever I visit India Vada Pav is the first food I eat.

When you travel by train any station the train stops at, you will find the vendors selling vada pav. On a piece of paper with some spicy hot green chilies.

It is a very easy recipe and typically most of the ingredients are available at home so anytime you crave it, you can make it quickly.

Vada Pav

Indian vegetarian Burger

Ingredients

Ingredients:

Filling

3 potatoes boiled and diced I have used russet potatoes
1/2 onion finely chopped optional
6-8 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp grated ginger
4-5 green chilies
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
a few curry leaves
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste
1 tsp lime juice

Batter:

1 cup of besan bengal gram flour
1/2 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
Couple of pinches of baking soda
Oil to fry

Instructions

Method

Filling

Peel the potatoes and dice them in small pieces. Make sure the potatoes are cooled before you dice them, else they can get sticky. Slightly mash them with the back of a fork.
Pound the garlic and green chilies with a little bit of salt into a coarse paste.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds. As soon as they splutter, add curry leaves and turmeric. Add onions if using and saute them till they are light brown in color. Dont let them burn at all.
Add the chili-garlic paste and saute for 15-20 secs. Turn the heat off
Add the potatoes mixture, salt, sugar and lime juice. Mix well, and taste to adjust the seasoning.

Batter

Mix all the ingredients for the batter except the baking soda well, make sure there are no lumps. When you are ready to fry the vada, add the baking soda and set aside for 5 mins.
Make lemon size balls of the potato mixture.
Dip the balls in the batter and fry on medium heat till golden brown.

Serve with dry garlic chutney. You can also use tamarind chutney or Mint chutney as a spread on the bread before making a sandwich with the Vada.

Recipe Notes

Serve with dry garlic chutney. You can also use tamarind chutney or Mint chutney as a spread on the bread before making a sandwich with the Vada.

Tags burger, potato, vegan, vegetarian burger

Appetizer bread Breakfast Not sure

Cheddar Pimiento Harissa muffins

Post author By Anagha
Post date November 13, 2014
1 Comment on Cheddar Pimiento Harissa muffins

I am always looking for savory options for breakfast. So when I made Harissa, I decided to make these muffins and use Harissa for flavoring. I had seen a similar recipe in a Food magazine, added my twist to it.

I also make savory breakfast waffles which are also a great savory breakfast option.

I like this recipe since you can have all the wet ingredients mixed and in a container in the fridge and dry ingredients mixed as well. In the morning you just mix them together and you have yummy muffins for breakfast in 20 mins. You can also serve them as appetizers with some spread.

I also make these with some bacon bits and those taste yummy as well.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients

2 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Wet ingredients

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

4 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp chopped jalapeno

1 tsp Harissa Paste

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3 tbsp chopped cilantro

3 oz chopped pimiento

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 shredded cheddar cheese

Method:

Heat the oven to 375F

Line your muffin pan with liners.

Mix all the dry ingredients well and keep aside. You can adjust the spices in it as per your taste.

Beat the two eggs, add buttermilk, butter and mix again. Now add the harissa and mix.

Add chopped vegetables and herbs. Add the shredded cheese and mix well.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture 1 tbsp at a time. Immediately add to lined muffin pans

It is important that you don’t wait after the wet and dry ingredients are combined. The baking soda and buttermilk get to work right away and if you dont make it right away, the muffins may not rise.

Bake for 18-20 mins in a 375 F oven.

I also make savory breakfast waffles which are also a great savory breakfast option.

Tags cheddar cheese, harissa, Harissa Paste, muffins, muffins for breakfast, quick appetizer