September 17, 2006

Banana Nut Muffin


Almost everybody loves bananas, right? I like the variety of the tropical bananas in Kerala. The fat Poovan Pazham, the sweet and tiny Njavalipoovan, the mild tasting Mysore Pazham, the Robusta, the Plantains, the red ones from Trivandrum.
And here we get the Chiquita, the Dole, but all are primarily one category known as the Robusta. I do like bananas but only at a certain stage of ripeness.i.e. when they are still greenish yellow outside but have turned sweet inside.
So what do I do when the bananas turn ripe? Banana nut muffins are made at my house to use up the last 2 bananas which are very ripe inside but have started showing the spots outside. The muffins flavored with the bananas and the nuts, spiced up by the nutmeg and cinnamon is one of my favourite combinations. Omit the nuts if you want to. The muffins are good for a snack for my son, as a breakfast on the go, and perfect with the evening tea or coffee.
You will need: For 16 muffins
All Purpose Flour- 1 ½ cup
Sugar- ¾ cup powdered (Can be reduced as per sweet level)
Maple Syrup/Honey-4 tbsp
Milk- ¾ cup
Butter-2tbsp at room temperature.
Canola/vegetable Oil-3tbsp
Baking powder-1 tbsp
Cinnamon-1tsp
Salt-1/4 tsp
Nutmeg-1/4 tsp
Egg-1
Bananas -1-2 ripe ones mashed.
Walnuts/Almonds- ¾ cup crushed coarsely or chopped
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Fit 12 muffin cups with paper liner. Coat each with cooking spray. Sift the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.
2. Combine melted butter, oil and powdered sugar in a blender till extremely smooth. It should not be grainy at all. If doing by hand, blend well. Break the whole egg in the blender too and pulse till mixed. Scrape the contents into a mixing bowl and add the flour gently, folding it in a little at a time. When it is all mixed, add the maple syrup, bananas and nuts. Fold until just blended.
3. With an ice cream scoop, portion the batter into the muffin cups, dividing evenly. Sprinkle raisins/cranberries and a couple of nuts on each mound of batter.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean and dry. The last five minutes of cooking are crucial to prevent over browning, so keep an eye on it. Cool for a minute and then remove from the muffin pan. The muffins can be kept with the paper cups attached.
This is my entry for 'Weekend Breakfast Blogging' hosted by Saffron Trail.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooooh so lovely... Can I have few of them? Thanks for sharing Shaheen.

FH said...

YUM!! banana anything is good enough to go nutty for me!! thanks!

Anonymous said...

mmm...i can almost smell them
rakhi

Mrs. K said...

Exactly!!! I have no idea howmany times I have made the banana nut muffins/bread with those last two bananas which would go into the trash otherwise. I love these for breakfast with a cup of milk.

Anonymous said...

Ho shaheen this is just amazing..i have been thinking and thinking but never dared to do it till now..may be will try soon thank you...

Rooma said...

Yummmmm..... Can't wait till i try them out!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Lovely muffins... being a reluctant baker, such recipes tempt me a lot.Thnx.

Nabeela said...

quite lovely looking muffins there shaheen!

Gattina Cheung said...

Shaheen,
learn a new thing from you... didn't realize bananas come with quite a few catalogries, and I couldn't know the names until I read you post :) Love your muffins, seem their cinnamon and nutmeg aroma drifting up here!

Shah cooks said...

shilpa, u are welcome to take a few.
rp, good to see u feel the same.
sudhav,rooma, jayshree, i would love for u to try and let me know.
nabeela, this must be an easy one for u.
gattina, if u knew the variety of dishes with cooked plantains back in india,u would be amazed.

Mandira said...

Shaheen, the banana nut muffins look delicious. I am constantly buying them from starbucks. Now I can make it at home! Thanks

sheena said...

can we omit d maple syrup,since we don't get maple syrup easily in mumbai....

mlavgv said...

Not able to understand when to add the 3/4 cup of milk . I have just started on baking help!

Bulbul

mallugirl said...

bulbul, the milk is to be added along with the maple syrup.