Crispy Waffles with Cacao Nibs - Recipes with Cacao Nibs

Crispy Waffles - two words that will make me actually pass over a plate of hot dosas for breakfast. If made right, waffles are one of my favourite breakfasts of all time. My mom, being the ever experimental cook that she is, used to make waffles when I was a kid. She had a fancy kitchen equipment that could do a few things, one of which was to make waffles and while it was definitely not an every day affair, I do remember a few hot waffles with fresh, homemade butter mornings. I was indeed a spoilt child.

Admittedly, for all the love I profess to waffles, I haven't made them much at home except for those times I made Eggless Whole Wheat Waffles and my Easy Basic Waffles. The main reason is because we get them at breakfast in Google and they are crispy outside, soft inside, and delicious. Also, my waffle iron was often giving me trouble by burning the corners and undercooking the middle.

Then I came across this amazing creation by Nordicware (I love that brand!) a stovetop Belgian waffle maker that's heavy-duty and cane be flipped as you cook the waffles. I immediately bought one and it lay there in my kitchen cupboard for many months until my waffles were destined to get together with some raw cacao nibs.

Raw Cacao Nibs

Which brings me to cacao nibs. I don't like talking this much and should just get to the recipe, I know, but cacao nibs are worth the extra lines I have to type and you have to read, trust me. Cacao nibs are crushed cacao beans which are the most raw form of chocolate. They are crunchy and don't melt like chocolate chips but you can use them in a similar way as you would chocolate chips. Cacao nibs are high in antioxidants, minerals, fibre, and all sorts of other stuff that's really good for you. Thanks to Dassana for giving me the push to try this superfood. I am absolutely in love with the deep chocolate flavour it gives food and also the texture. Adding cacao nibs to my waffles was really a no-brainer.

So here are my Crispy Waffles with Cacao Nibs. A great breakfast recipe for even busy (or lazy) cooks. If you don't have cacao nibs in hand, you can definitely substitute with chocolate chips or just keep the waffles plain. This recipe yields a crispy waffle with a soft inside. The waffles on their own are not very sweet so you can add on large amounts of pure maple syrup and not feel guilty about it.

CRISPY WAFFLES WITH CACAO NIBS

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4
Recipe source: food.com

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of plain flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of sugar
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup of oil (I used vegetable oil), or use melted butter
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup of raw cacao nibs
2 tbsp of butter, melted, for the waffle iron

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Separate the egg.

2. Mix the flour, egg yolk, sugar, oil, baking powder, and milk in a bowl. Whisk well without forming any lumps.

3 In another dry bowl, whip the egg white until soft peaks form.

4. Add the whipped egg whites to the rest of the batter and gently fold in.

5. Add the cacao nibs to this and fold again.

6. Heat your waffle iron and brush lightly with melted butter. Pour about 1/3 cup of batter (depending on size of your iron) and spread evenly.

6. Cover and cook until both sides are crisp and golden brown.

Brush with more butter and set aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve the waffles hot with more butter and maple syrup.

Mirchi Ka Salan Recipe - Hyderabadi Mirchi Ka Salan for Biryani

Mirchi ka Salan - if you asked me to pick one dish, and only one, that stood out to me during my 2.5 years of life in Hyderabad, it would be Mirchi ka Salan. There, I said it, it's not even the famous Hyderabadi Biryani but the underrated chilli based gravy that they serve with the biryani that stole my heart. I have tasted it in all kinds of places starting from the roadside biryani stalls to the really fancy restaurants. The wonderful thing about this seemingly humble side dish is that it looks very coy and innocent but is bursting with flavours. It's spicy, sweet, salty, and a tad bitter all at the same time and holds its own with a dish like the mighty biryani. Also check out my baingan ka salan recipe.

I had made Mirchi ka Salan once before and at that time, I felt it was amazing (although I do say so myself). Now that my culinary intuitions are much better, I decided to give it another go recently. I referred a bunch of recipes and decided to go with my reading buddy Preethi's recipe with a few minor changes from Vahchef and of my own. The pleasant surprise was that my Mirchi ka Salan was much thicker than the restaurant version and it went beautifully with plain rice, rotis, and even dosa. Since the gravy stores well for up to a week, this is definitely a win.

Mirchi ka Salan would go great with a simple Vegetable Biryani, Egg Biryani, Chicken Biryani, and even Vegetable Pulao. Also try with it with chapatis and idli or dosa for a change.

HYDERABADI MIRCHI KA SALAN RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes ~ 2 cups
Serves 6
Adapted from: The Meal Algorithm

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-6 large green chillies (use the kind that has lesser heat, the larger the better)
• 2 tbsp of gingelly oil (Indian sesame oil)
• 2 tbsp of white sesame seeds
• 3 tbsp of raw peanuts
• 2 tbsp of grated coconut (or use desiccated), optional
• 1/2 tsp of minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp of grated ginger
• 1 heaping tsp of coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp of jeera (cumin) powder
• 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds (methi)
• 1/2 cup of sliced onions
• A few curry leaves
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp of tamarind extract
• 1 dry red chilli
• 3/4 tsp of powdered jaggery or dark brown sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Wash and pat dry the green chillies. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide pan and lightly fry the chillies until they are charred and start to look softer. Drain and set aside on paper towels.

2. Meanwhile, In a dry skillet, roast the coconut until golden brown (if using coconut). Desiccated coconut will brown much faster so keep an eye on it as you fry.

3. In the same pan used for the chillies, add the peanuts and sesame seeds and roast until a shade darker, keeping flame very low. Once they are done, add the roasted coconut and mix well. Switch off flame and remove to a plate to cool.

4. In the same pan (we like to minimise washing, remember?), add the remaining 1 tbsp oil and the mustard seeds+ fenugreek seeds. When the mustards pop, add the sliced onions and red chilli torn into half. Fry until onions turn golden brown.

5. Next, add the curry leaves, ginger, garlic, and turmeric. Saut� for 30 seconds until fragrant.

6. Then throw in the red chilli powder, coriander pwoder, jeera powder, and some salt. Roast for 10 seconds and add 2 cups of water. Bring to a slow boil.

7. Meanwhile, grind the roasted coconut + sesame + peanut mixture with some water to a smooth paste. Add it to the simmering curry and mix well. Continue to cook on a low flame.

8. When the mixture is a bit thicker and simmering, add the jaggery and the tamarind extract dissolved in 1/2 cup water.

9. Mix well and add the green chillies we had saut�ed and set aside. Cook covered on a low flame for 5-7 mins until the green chillies are soft. Add more salt if required.

10. If you find that the mixture is too watery, you can simmer longer, and if it's too thick, add more water or tamarind water as required. How much you want to cook it down is up to your preference. I like it on the thicker side soI cooked it down a bit.

Making a Mirchi ka Salan is not the quickest thing you can do and it does involve a lot more ingredients than the average dish. But trust me when I say it's worth it. The day I made this Mirchi ka Salan, I just made a Rice Cooker Vegetable Biryani so that I can fully focus on this dish. The combination along with a simple onion and cucumber salad was a winner!

For Mirchi Ka Salan recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, please use the Google Translate button on the top right of this website.

Dates Banana Milkshake Recipe (Vegan Option Included)

Dates Banana Milkshake, a combination that's probably common and should've seemed natural to me but I never went beyond this banana milkshake with coconut milk for a long time. One day, a friend and I were talking about the ill effects of sugar on our body and how some natural sugars are lesser of the two evils. She uses date sugar in almost all her beverages and that's when the lightbulb went off in my head that I can easily add a couple of dates to my milkshakes instead of sugar.

Easy milkshakes like these are a great drink idea to serve to guests before a party. Serve them in smaller portions so you don't fill them up before the food is served but in general, I appreciate a good hearty drink before some spicy food at Indian parties, especially. A lassi like strawberry lassi or mango lassi is a great option too but as mentioned, keep portions small.

I absolutely love banana milkshake and ayurveda didn't keep reminding me that the combination of banana and cow's milk doesn't suit all body types. I then started using coconut milk in my banana milkshake (and so making it vegan) and while it's not as nice as the original version, it's an acceptable substitute. You can use either cow's milk or go with coconut milk or any other nut milk for a vegan version of this dates banana milkshake.

Check out other easy drinks recipes on Edible Garden. The most popular ones are apple almond milkshake, avocado milkshake, and the popular milkshake from Kerala, Sharjah shake.

DATES BANANA MILKSHAKE RECIPE

Preparation time: 3 minutes
Makes 2 glasses

INGREDIENTS:
400 ml of chilled milk (use any kind you prefer)
3/4 cup of ripe banana, cubed
2 dates (I love Medjool dates for milkshakes)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Blend all the ingredients together, deseeding the dates if needed before you start blending.

2. Pour into tall glasses and serve immediately.

As mentioned, for a vegan date banana milkshake, you can use coconut milk, cashew milk, or any other vegan-friendly milk that suits your palate. I have only tried cow's milk and coconut milk in this milkshake recipe.

Chocolate Cookie Brownies - Chocolate Brownies with a Cookie Crust

Chocolate Cookie Brownies - these brownies with a lovely crackly cookie top actually happened through a happy accident. I was trying to bake these delicious looking brownie cookies that were getting pinned left right and centre on Pinterest and the cookie dough turned out like brownie batter and i had no option other than to pour them into a small brownie pan and some mini ramekins to bake them up. I really had no high hopes for them, quite disappointed that the evening was not going to hand me some delicious brownie cookies but hey - sometimes bad things lead to better things, in this case, these gorgeously fudgy Cookie Brownies.

The original recipe is from Epicurious and there are lots of rave reviews from people who actually tried this recipe and got cookies instead of a brownie like me and all I can think of is that I went wrong with the beating of the eggs, which is a very important and slightly time-consuming step in this recipe. So as weird as it may seem, I am going to advice you guys to follow the recipe exactly as below (I did that too except to scale down the chocolate chips) and see if you get a cookie dough. If you do, yay, just bake them into cookies. If not, you can bake them in small cupcake trays or muffin pans into these lovely, fudgy, cookie-topped brownies. Either way, they are delicious.

As you can see in the picture above, the brownie part turned out super moist and fudgy and the top part was crunchy like a cookie. Quite a treat, I must say. If you are looking for more brownie goodness on Edible Garden, check out all brownie recipes here or some of my favourites, the Eggless Chocolate Brownies, No-Bake Biscuit Brownies, or the Basic Brownie Recipe that's very easy to customize.

CHOCOLATE COOKIE BROWNIES RECIPE

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Makes ~ 20 brownie pieces

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup of plain flour or maida
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup of sugar (remove 2 tbsp for a milder brownie)
• 1/2 tsp of instant coffee powder
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chunks or dark cooking chocolate broken into bits
• 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F / 190C. Grease and prepare a mini cupcake or muffin tray. If you use a regular cupcake tray, baking times will vary and be warned that I haven't tried that out myself.

2. Using a double boiler (a smaller bowl placed over a larger bowl of rolling boiling water without touching the water should contain the ingredients to be double boiled), melt the chocolate pieces or chunks and butter together. Remove when they are soft and lumpy and mix well together until glossy. Set aside. to cool. I am guessing you are also use the microwave for this job.

3. In the bowl of your stand mixer or using your electric beater, briefly whip the eggs to break them and add the vanilla, coffee powder, and sugar. Beat on high speed for 15 mins until thick. Yes, you read it right, it says 15 mins. That's a long time. But just do it. Even if you don't get a cookie, you'll end up with a wonderful brownie like I did.

4. Pour the melted chocolate into the whipped eggs and fold gently without breaking the bubbles too much. It's ok if some streaks remain.

5. in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

6. Tip flour mixture into the egg-chocolate mixture and fold gently again. Finally add the chocolate chips and fold again.

At this stage, if you get a thick dough-batter that you can bake into cookies, do that. Just lay teaspoonfuls of dough on a greased baking tray and bake away. If, like me, you got a runny batter, just pour into small brownie moulds or whatever you have in hand. I used a small heart shaped brownie mould and mini ramekins. Make sure you grease the baking pan generously with butter.

7. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 7-10 mins depending on the size of your pan. The tip will crack beautifully and turn crisp and the centre should still jiggle when down. It will firm up on cooling.

That's it! Delicious cookie brownies are ready. Allow to cool completely before unmoulding.. The batter can be refrigerated up to one day if you want to prep ahead and bake a fresh batch for guests the following day. Serve with a dollop of cream or vanilla ice cream, you know you want to!

Egg Biryani Recipe - How to Make Egg Biryani Indian-Style

Before I go into the details of how I made this egg biryani, I must admit that I am stunned you guys. Stunned that I never thought of making egg biryani before a month back. I have no idea why since I love biryani (and make vegetable biryani at least thrice a month) and TH loves eggs and I just never thought of marrying the two (the eggs and the biryani, not the two of us). So yeah, it had to happen and it did, finally. Now there's a thing with me making biryani. I don't follow any particular recipe, preferring to throw in spices and ingredients as I go. I prefer layered or dum biryani rather than a pressure cooker biryani although the latter is way more quick and convenient.

Anyway, let's talk Egg Biryani now. This one turned out super delicious but it took a tad more time that I normally like to stand in the kitchen for. I believe from start to finish, including chopping and everything, this biryani took about 1 hour 15 mins. I like to finish all my cooking within an hour so yeah, this went slightly over, but then the advantage of making a biryani for lunch is that you don't really need a side dish except a simple onion salad or cucumber raita and papad or chips.

I took pretty detailed pictures and had to cut short a few to make the length of this post reasonable. It may seem like a lot more work than it actually is because this egg biryani has many pieces that finally come together into a single dish. Don't let that deter you. You can do a bunch of stuff simultaneously and I have written the order in which I cooked. Total time will depend on your speed on getting things done though.

Alright then, it's a beautiful day to make some Egg Biryani so let's get cracking. Check out more Biryani Recipes on Edible Garden if you have some time to browse around. My favourites are gobi biryani, soya chunks biryani with sprouts, and Amma's layered chicken biryani. Don't forget to whip up a mirchi ka salan to go with your biryani - yum!

EGG BIRYANI RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 2
Recipe: my own

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of basmati rice
• 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp of ghee
• Half a fistful of whole spices like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise, and one bay leaf (use  whatever you have in hand)
• A small bunch of coriander leaves (cilantro)
• A small bunch of mint leaves
• 2 green chillies
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2" piece of ginger
• 1.5 cups of large onions, sliced long
• 1/2 cup of cubed ripe tomato
• 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp of jeera or cumin
• 1 tsp of fennel seeds or sombu (perumjeerakam)
• 1 tsp of coriander powder
• 2 cups of thick coconut milk (optional)
• 1-2 tsp of biryani masala or garam masala
• 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste (freshly made is best)
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup of cashew nuts and more coriander leaves and mint leaves, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

This is the order in which I made the egg biryani. Adapt to suit your convenience and time in hand. Check notes at the end of the recipe below for some tips on preparation ahead of time if you are making egg biryani for guests.

0. Wash and leave the basmati to soak in some water before proceeding with the next steps.

1. Start with a medium-sized pan and heat 2 tbsp ghee. Add the cashew nuts and fry until golden. Drain and set aside.

2. To the same pan, add half of the sliced onions. Fry until golden, drain and set aside. We'll use these and the cashew nuts for garnish before serving.

2. Grind together - coriander leaves + mint leaves + green chillies + ginger + garlic + salt.

3. In the same pan with the ghee (add some more ghee if needed), add whatever whole spices you are using. I only had cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.

4. Once the spices turn fragrant (about 15 seconds), add the ground paste and fry for another 30 seconds or so. Turn off flame.

5. Add the soaked rice and this fried spice mixture along with 1.5 cups (adjust to your cooking method) to a rice cooker or pressure cooker. Leave it to cook while you proceed with the rest of the recipe.

PS: once the rice cooks, fluff it gently with a fork so it doesn't get more mushy.

6. Next, let's boil the eggs. I got this fail-proof method from Martha Stewart to make perfect hard boiled eggs. Place the eggs in a pan large enough to hold them without overlapping. Add enough tap water to cover them fully by an inch. Bring to a rolling boil, let it boil for 1 minute, and then turn off the flame. Cover fully with a lid and let it sit for 15 mins. Take eggs out and peel under running water. There you go - perfect hard-boiled eggs.

Let the eggs cook while you start off with the masala part of the egg biryani.

7. Heat 2 tbsp ghee and add the remaining sliced onions. As they begin to brown, add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 10 seconds.

8. Next, add the spices and powders - coriander, turmeric, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, chilli powder. Saute until they are roasted, about 10 seconds. Top off with the chopped tomatoes and more coriander leaves and mint leaves (this is optional, I happened to have a lot of them fresh in hand so wanted to use it up.

9. Saute until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy and the mixture is cooked. This will take about 5 mins or so.

10. Next, add the coconut milk. You can also use water instead of coconut milk, I just happen to love biryani made with coconut milk. If using coconut milk, add the 2 cups + 1/2 cup of water just to thin it out a bit.

11. Let the mixture simmer on low flame for about 10 mins until the masala becomes thick-ish. Add salt and garam masala or biryani masala now, mix well, and turn off flame. The ghee will be visible on top of the masala. That's when you kinda know it's done.

12. Almost done! Mix the cooked rice to the masala until nicely combined. If you want the marbled look, don't overmix, just lightly mix for an uneven look.

13. Add the sliced, boiled egg on top and cover with rice. Pat down tightly and cover. Let the biryani sit for atleast one hour for the flavours to blend.

Garnished with the fried onions, cashew nuts, and more coriander leaves before serving.

Notes:

1. You can do some of the preparation ahead for making egg biryani, especially for a party or guests
2. Boil the eggs in advance and leave in the fridge unpeeled. Peel and slice before you need to use them.
3. There aren't many vegetables to chop but slice onions and keep them ready.
4. You can also pre-cook the rice and refrigerate it. Heat it along with the masala and it should work fine. This will also allow the rice to stay as separate grains.
5. Serve egg biryani with a simple raita and papad or chips

For Egg Biryani recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, please use the Google Translate button on the top right of this website.

Brinjal Chutney Recipe - Eggplant Thogayal for Dosa, Idli, Rice

Brinjal, Eggplant, Kathirikai, Kathrikka - it's a personal favourite vegetable of mine and I hardly tire of brinjal dishes. I love all varieties of chutneys too and like experimenting with different vegetable and spice combinations (chow chow chutney, anyone?). Chutneys are great to make and store for a couple of days and I especially love the kind that can double up for rice in addition to tiffin like dosa idli. This brinjal chutney is heavy on the brinjal flavour so those who don't like them much, consider yourselves warned!

As a sidenote, I must admit it was very tough to make this eggplant chutney look appetizing. The colour is very blegh and the texture is gloopy, just refusing to convey the taste of the dish - as opposed to a drizzle of blueberry coulis that conveys the deliciousness really well, you know? Anyway, I made it, I took photos, so I am going to share this eggplant chutney recipe.

Brinjal Chutney with Pesarattu

I thought I had used the recipe from Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan - a fabulous vegetarian cookbook for South Indian recipes, btw (buy in US or India) - but looks like I took some inspiration from her recipe and then used my own variations. I am sounding a bit clueless because I share recipes here about 2-3 months after cooking them so often forget making it. But don't worry, before I share anything, I make sure the recipe is complete :). So, let's go make us some brinjal chutney, shall we?

Looking for more Variety Chutney Recipes?

BRINJAL OR EGGPLANT CHUTNEY RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
Inspired by Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan (INDIA | US)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large eggplant or long Asian brinjal (or use 4-5 small Indian brinjals)
• 2 green chillies
• 1 tsp + 1 tsp + 1 tsp of oil
• 1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp of urad dal, ulutham paruppu, uzhunnu parippu
• A pinch of hing, kayam, asafoetida
• 1 dry red chilli
• 3/4 tsp of tamarind paste or small piece of tamarind
• 3-4 minced shallots or 2 tbsp minced onions
• A few curry leaves

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Chop the eggplant into 1" cubes and set aside in a bowl of water. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.

2. When they pop, drain water and add the eggplant pieces. Saute until the pieces soften and turn light brown. Remove to a plate and set aside to cool.

2. In the same pan (because we don't like washing up, do we?), add one more tsp oil, slice and add the green chillies, dry red chilli, and 1/2 tsp urad dal. Saute until the dal turns golden brown.

3. Transfer the cooled eggplant, the roasted ingredients from above, tamarind, and some salt to a mixie and blend to a smooth paste.

4. Heat the last tsp of oil in the same pan as before (this is clearly a one-pan chutney recipe) and add the sliced shallots/onions, hing, and 1/4 tsp urad dal.

5. When the dal turns golden brown, add the curry leaves and the blended chutney paste.

6. Mix well and add more salt if needed.

Serve warm with dosa, adai, pesarattu, rice, idli, even chapati.

Notes:

1. You can grill the eggplant in an open flame or in the oven instead of pan frying like I did. Gives the chutney a smokey flavour
2. You can add the mustard seeds while tempering (along with the onions, etc) instead of with the eggplant. I wanted to grind the mustard which is why I added it in the first time, this is entirely up to you
3. You can pan fry 1/2 cup sliced onions after the eggplant and grind along with the chutney. Will be super delicious too!