A Hint of Spice

These muffins remind me of fall season when apples and pumpkin are in season.I have tried this recipe with fresh apples....making applesauce at home and then making pumpkin puree at home and it turned out to be tooo good to be true,but then for saving time I have also used store brought applesauce and pumpkin puree and they are just as scrumptious.This recipe makes quite a few muffins ,so I freeze them or make two loaves of bread.

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoon's melted butter or cooking spray( for greasing the muffin cups)
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter,softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup applesauce
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup apple juice,cider or orange juice
1 1/2 cups raisins

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease 12  half cup muffin cups.Sift together the dry ingredients.
2.Beat the butter and sugar for about 2-3 minutes.Add the eggs,applesauce,pumpkin,and vanilla and beat lightly.
3.Alternately add some of the fry ingredients  and pour in some of the apple juice or cider,beating until smooth.Fold in raisins.
4.Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins,filling each cup two-thirds full.Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes,or until puffed and a toothpick comes out clean.
5.Cool for few minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a rack for cooling.Serve the muffins warm or at room temperature.
6.The same batter can be used to bake Pumpkin Applesauce bread by baking in two 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pans for 5-60 minutes.Cool,remove from the pans ,cut into slices and serve.
7.The muffins and the bread freeze very well.For doing that wrap the bread in a piece of aluminium foil and then wrap the cling wrap tightly around.
'njoy!!!

Tips:-
1.The recipe calls for softened unsalted butter .Well there are two ways to go about it.You can leave the butter at room temperature to softened or in the microwave if you are in a hurry.I prefer the first option as it ensures that the cakes,muffins,bread etc are soft.
For more baking tips see this,and this.

A few days back I was talking to my friend about Summer Vacations,kide being at home,mom's getting annoyed,kids getting bored....... and I started remininsing about the summer vacations I had as a kid.Spending time with my cousins at my grandpa's (my mom's parents) where we were involved in every kind of mischief you can think of.I miss those hot days where you are cooped in the home whole day as it's boiling hot outside.I miss eating kulfi's (a icecream) from the thela.I miss drinking homemade lemonade,Mango lassi,Sweet and Spicy Lassi, and Panha (I do homemade....but here homemade refers to everything made my mom or aunts and we enjoying it).

                 Well the Panha I wrote about above is a drink made from raw mangoes.It is a sweet-spicy-sour drink.The original recipes wanted us to boil the raw mangoes(called kairi),cooling them and taking the pulp off these raw mangoes.Then making a solution of sugar,water,salt and black pepper.Trust me it's heavenly.I miss it staying here in US as I don't get raw mangoes.Then a friend of mine -Priti from IHM( a forum ) mentioned a recipe of Panha using applesauce.Ohhhh thank you so much Priti.It turned out to be as good as the one my mom used to make with kairi.The recipe she mentioned was of a fellow blogger "The Cooker".

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup water
6 tblsp lemon juice (less it you don't like tart Panha)
4 tsp sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
pinch of elaichi powder
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
Saffron strands(optional)

Directions
1.Heat the applesauce at low heat till it changes color.
2.Turn the heat off and add the sugar,salt,black pepper,lemon juice,saffron strands and water.
3.Mix well
4.Serve the Panha chilled.
'njoy!!!