Strawberry Muffins

Ever since I saw Sharmi's post on Strawberry Muffins, I wanted to make my own. I had to wait for the lovely berries to be in season before I could try them out. So, I tried variations. I found great success with almond raisin muffins and the black currant raisin muffins both of which were variations of Sharmi's Strawberry Muffins.

Now, strawberries are in season. And we have been buying them regularly. I made these with the first batch that we brought home this year. I found a recipe for raspberry muffins in one of the books that I acquired last month. This was a low fat recipe. I was quite thrilled. It also wasn't very sweet. It fit perfectly in with our plans and I substituted half of the flour with atta and was very happy with the result. I suppose these muffins would go very well with some butter and jam, but I didn't have time to experiment. We sampled only two of these and the rest went as a housewarming gift to a friend. I also used half the batter to bake a cake to take to the party.

This is a very simple recipe.

1 cup Strawberries, chopped

1 1/4 cup Flour

1 1/4 cup Atta or Whole Wheat Flour

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 cup Sugar

1 egg

4 tbsp Oil

1 cup Buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Prepare the muffin pan by greasing or placing muffin cases.

Sift the dry ingredients together. Mix the buttermilk and oil and add the egg. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until it all comes together. Add the strawberries and spoon the mixture into the muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

One of my nieces turns 18 today and she is probably the only one I actually watched growing up. Kind of right in front of me. When she was about 3 or 4 years old, she saw me putting on some lipstick and asked me to put some on for her too. I told her she was too young. She, almost never seeing that there was an age difference between the two of us, asked me how I got to do it when she didn't. I told her, "When you turn 18, you can too." These muffins go out to her as she turns into a young woman. I also sent her some top of the line L'Oreal stuff and she is excited like no other kid I've seen. Happy Birthday Kalyani. My friend, Muly, also celebrates her birthday today and will be extremely happy to have a couple of these. Happy Birthday Amulya!

This recipe is supposed to make 12 muffins, but I almost always get around 18 with most recipes. I think it has to do with the size of my muffin cups. So, I made 9 muffins and converted the remaining batter into a cake. I topped the cake with some left over fruits and nuts from my New Year Cake and when it was baked, I melted about 2 teaspoons of jam and poured it over the cake as a glaze. The cake continues to be low fat as the batter is the same. But it is loaded with dry fruits and nuts. And the jam glaze gave it additional flavour. It wasn't exactly a pretty, decorated cake. Everyone knows how brilliant I am when it comes to decorating cakes. So, we won't go down that path now. This cake goes to the wonderful woman who also celebrates her birthday today. The one who tells us what to eat, what not to eat and also tells us why. The one who never fails to impress upon us the importance of eating right. Starting from our first big meal of the day: breakfast. As I got to know her a few months back, it turned out we had loads in common. Eventually, I figured I knew her husband's family for almost as long as I've been alive and the two families go back 3 generations. We had a two hour chat session that freaked us out. We got on the phone soon after to continue our journey of discovery. A month before that day, I didn't know this girl. And suddenly, we were chatting like long lost friends. We have still not met each other, but I would count her as one of my very good friends. It is thanks to her that I started this blog. I am so glad to have found this friend. It is through her that I have met all of you. Nandita: Here's wishing you a very happy birthday!