Autumn is such a bountiful month!! The air is crisp, leaves are a beautiful marigold/auburn, holiday season is nearing, and this is a gateway to a season of entertaining, fine food and merry making!!! The perpetual recipe hunt begins! On the market front, I am sure there are a lot of produce that we all enjoy immensely in Autumn...but of all that..I love apples!! I could munch on them, blend them into milkshakes to give an oomph to the nutritional value, for a simple snack, spread a tablespoon of peanut butter, for a more decadent snack...substitute the peanut butter with a tablespoon of Nutella and doll it up with a zest of orange and sprinkle of chopped walnuts!! sigh!! You can tell....I am digressing here! We went apple picking.....a favorite activity to do and obviously picked up a ton of apples (at least that is what we thought!) and here I am tired of munching and crunching at them and do not have the heart to throw them away either! So..... I came up with these alternatives. I used them up in other forms such as ...
A savory Apple Compote ..absolutely yum!! This will happily substitute your annual cranberry relish at your thanksgiving table, perfect topper to your cracker at the h'orderves table, a fancy "mini" side with your lunch, a sandwich spread...yup...you got it!!! Endless possibilities!!! So, let us get on with the actual recipe! The ingredients that you will need... 2 red delicious apples, or any apples on hand, 1/2 purple onion, thinly sliced, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 2 tsp cayenne pepper powder, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup lemon juice....
In a small saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter, and saute the onion slices until caramelized. Add the ginger, fennel seeds, cayenne pepper powder, and saute well until they are well combined.
Meanwhile, slice the apples thinly.
Add the apples, lemon juice and brown sugar to the pan, stir well!
Apples cooking in different stages.... Cook the apples for 20-30 minutes, covered for the first 15 minutes. The apples will release their juices, and stew in the most heavenly spiced, lemony sugar syrup till they are soft but still hold their shape! You could make it your own by adding raisins, nuts or raisins to this!
Spiced Ginger Apple Bundt Cake:
I love bundt cakes for all the right reasons!! They make the simplest of cake recipes look fanciful! I love to dress up my everyday cake in a bundt pan and put it on a lovely pedestal stand and serve simply dusted with snowiest sprinkle of good old white powdered sugar! This apple cake is my everyday, easiest cake recipe....it is soft, moist, melt in your mouth kinda cake!! the whole cake is made with just 1 cup flour and sugar and 1/2 cup oil!! So, indulge in it...guilt free!
You will need... 1/2 cup canola oil, 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 1 egg, 1 cup all purpose flour, (watch out for the typo mistake in the pic) -- 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 1/2 -2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice and 1 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder...
You will need... 1/2 cup canola oil, 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 1 egg, 1 cup all purpose flour, (watch out for the typo mistake in the pic) -- 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 1/2 -2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice and 1 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder...
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- First, mix all the dry ingredients together and aerate the mixture with a whisk and set aside!
- Mix all wet ingredients with a whisk. Grate and dice the apples, add them to the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix well, the mixture will be quite thick and lumpy! Do not be alarmed!!!
- Grease a bundt pan with some non-stick cooking spray.
- Pour the mixture into the pan, level it, bake it in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes at 350F.
- Test for done-ness with the help of a toothpick. It should come out clean which it will for, this si a fool proof cake!!! Cool the cake and invert it onto a serving platter and serve with a dollop of whipped cream with a sprinkle of ginger powder!
Warm, moist cake with a hint of spice with a gentle burn in the back of your throat with a cup of tea....pure heaven!!!!!!!!!
My last entry.....
Apple Thokku aka Apple Pickle!
Thokku, is a pickle that is made and enjoyed the same day! Since it is cooked well, with the vegetable and spices in the oil, it does not have to rest for a period like avakkay etc. This gets done fast too...have always wondered about its shelf life! Maybe it is so darn tasty that we wipe it off as soon as this is made! But can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month! This recipe was born out of necessity! As a new bride, I had to come up with a quick pickle for a dinner party! No mangoes or lemon in hand; no driver or a car at my disposal to go to the nearest grocer! But there were two green apples sitting alone, biding their time on my counter...as the light bulb went "on" in my head, they were washed, grated and combined with the spiced oil and cooked to pulpy goodness to the delight of my senses as the pickle aroma wafted through my tiny kitchen!!! Was proud to serve as part of my south Indian dinner platter. Today, other apples have found their way into this pickle, and apart from being a part of a traditional south Indian meal, they also star as dips with tortilla and pita chips, on buttered toast or on English muffins, thinned out with oil, serve as a perfect dressing to cut fruits as the cantaloupe and melon cubes!! You let me know what you served them with!
You will need ...Spice Mixture: 2 tsp of mustard seeds (black or brown, I prefer black), 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi), 1 tsp ground asofetida (hing). Toast the above spices till the mustard furiously pops around...so have a lid handy! The methi seeds need to darken. Cool and transfer them to a spice blender and powder them to a fine powder.
You will need ... for the Pickle: 1 tbsp of the spice mixture, 2 tsp salt, 1 1/2-2 tbsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp hing, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 cup canola oil and 2 apples (any variety... increase the salt and cayenne pepper powder according to taste if the apples are sweet!), grated.
Heat oil in a wok, add 1 tsp of mustard seeds, and hing. Once the mustard seeds pop, add the spice mixture and cayenne pepper powder, toss well in the hot oil. Let the oil froth over on medium heat. Add the grated apples, salt and cook the mixture, covered till it is well combined. Let this auburn spicy mixture cook until the oil seeps out. This should not take more than 20 minutes to come together! Once the moisture from the apples have evaporated, and the mixture evolves to a deep reddish brown color, turn the heat off. Cool and store the mixture in airtight jars.
Enjoy these fall inspired recipe from my kitchen to yours!!! Make yummy memories in your kitchen!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!
