Friday, May 30, 2008

Rockin' with Mango Scones and Okra Corn Cakes!

Are you someone who likes a sweet breakfast? Something light, flaky, and warm that doesn't take up lots of time to make? If so, you'd probably like this recipe. I was in my kitchen the other day and had a ripe mango that needed to be used up badly. After a bit of deliberation and perusal through some baking books, I settled on making scones using mango and coconut.


Let me tell you that these scones are definitely a treat for the taste buds. Be sure to use the ripest, most flavorful mangoes you can find. The flavor of mango is accented by bits of sweetened shredded coconut and perfumed with the ethereal fragrance of cardamom. Need I say more? If you don't want them for breakfast, they'd make a fabulous snack with tea!

Ingredients:

Mangoes, diced - 1 cup
Shredded sweetened coconut - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1 cup
White whole wheat flour - 1 cup (you can use AP flour instead if you want)
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 3 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Yogurt - 1/3 cup
Eggs - 2, beaten
Cold butter - 6 tbsp, cut into pieces

For the top:

Melted butter - 2 tbsp
Granulated sugar - 1-2 tbsp

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, salt, cardamom, and baking powder together. Whisk lightly or sift. Add the butter pieces and break them up using a fork or your fingertips. You want to get to a consistency where you have some pieces of butter that are the size of peas and some that are like grains of sand. Don't overwork it or else your scones won't be light and flaky.

3. Mix the eggs and yogurt together in another bowl. Add to the dry ingredients along with the mangoes and coconut. Stir until it's just barely mixed together. The dough will be very sticky, but that's ok. The end result will be worth it!

4. Turn out the dough onto a very well floured surface. Sprinkle the top with flour and knead it 2-3 times to just pull the dough together. Pat it out into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Cut the dough into triangles using a sharp knife. I was able to get about 12 triangles out of this batch.

5. Place the cut scones on a baking sheet/cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

6. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until golden on top. Enjoy warm from the oven with tea!

Off these go to Arundati of Escapades who's hosting this month's WBB with the theme of mango madness. Hope she likes them as much as we did!

Not in the mood for something sweet, you say? How about something savory?

Dhivi and Siri had started dining hall and I was intrigued by their International Food League event. So, I cracked open my account to receive the following riddle:

I have a crown yet I am not the king
You cut my crown and feet off with a fling

I carry lots of eggs, yet I nothing but a veggie
Even with all that I am thin and long not pudgy

I am green and I am gooey
If u don't pay attention, I will make your dish go mushy and chewy

I do good to your health and to you brain
Which is what your elders told you without refrain
Now its up to you to think and guess
To who I am ...Cos I am good too and no less

Luckily, I managed to guess okra correctly on the first guess! My next task was to come up with a dish using okra. What have I cooked up this time, you ask with bated breath? Yes, that was my idea of a lame joke. Haa haa.

The dish is Okra Corn Cakes. I was browsing recipes on the net and saw a lot of Southern style recipes using okra, mostly fried. Eventually, I saw a few that were more along the lines of corn cakes using okra. After a lot of serious Indianization and modifications, this is what I came up with:

Without any further ado, let me get to the recipe... :)

Ingredients:

Okra - 1 cup, sliced finely
Onion, chopped - 1 small
Green chillies - 6-8, chopped, or to taste
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp, or to taste
Salt - to taste
Egg - 1, slightly beaten
Water - as needed
Cornmeal - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Baking powder - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan for shallow frying on medium-high heat.

2. In a large bowl, mix okra, onion, chillies, salt, chilli powder, cumin powder, and egg. Add the flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. Stir together. Now, slowly add water and mix until you get the consistency of a pancake batter to bhaji batter thickness.

3. Drop the batter by spoonfuls (I used a small ice cream scoop) into the hot oil and shallow fry until golden brown. It takes about 2 minutes per side or so. Drain on paper towels and serve warm with ketchup, chutney, or a sauce of your choice. Enjoy!

These delicious bites of brain food are on their way to Open Sesame at International Food League.

I'm also sending them in to Mansi who's hosting this month's monthly mingle themed appetizers. Monthly mingle was started by Meeta of What's for Lunch, Honey?


Just to make my day perfect, Madhavi of Vegetarian Medley passed on the rocking girl blogger award to me! Thank you so so so so much, Madhavi!!! I am totally thrilled and ecstatic to have received this from you, dear! I know that a lot of you have already received this award, but would like to extend it to Cham, Uma, Sagari, Pravs, Namratha, Dhivi,and Siri. Congrats and enjoy it! :)

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

30 comments:

FH said...

Kalai, Mango scones! YUM!!! I made with Papaya once. I have canned Mango pulp, I could try these. Corn cakes go perfectly with these.
Last photo is beautiful, Bee's CLICK is Yellow this month!!
Enjoy the weekend.

Uma said...

wow, wow, Kalai! those scones and the corn cakes are so scrumptious. Corn Okra is a unique combo. Bookmarked to try it.

Congrats on the award and you truly deserve it. Thanks for passing it to me dear! I am so happy.

Sagari said...

thank u so muchh kalai for chossing me ,I am so happy , corn cakes and scones looks soooooo delecioussss

Cham said...

Wow, first congrats Kalai, next lovely tropical breeze scone re lovely and okra goes on top of everything! Thank you Sweet heart to think and pass it :)

kamala said...

Looking so delicious and mouthwatering kalai.Congrats on ur award.U deserve it

Unknown said...

That was a cute dish with Okra..Love the scones..It was fun participating in the Open Sesame event right?

Namratha said...

Kalai, mango scones....awesomeeeee! :) Congrats on the award and thank you very much for passing it on to me...very sweet of ya! :)

indosungod said...

Mango Scones, that is right for the moment. Delicious I bet. But the ones I have the eye for is the Corn Okra Cakes that you made.

Siri said...

I am still drooling at the scones and the pancakes Kalai. they look perfecto! and Thanks dear for the award! U indeed made my day perfect!
I am so glad that u liked the concept of Open Sesame and Congrats on cracking the riddle in the first guess!!.. Are u ready for the second edition then??.;)

Hugs,
Siri

Hetal said...

these scones and okra cakes are so tempting,wonderful recipes and congrats for the award..

Beyond Curries said...

Kalai, this my first visit to your blog. Both the recipes are good. But since I don't use eggs at home, I'm wondering what I can use for the okra corn cakes. I guess I can mash potatoes, I remember seeing about egg substitutes in Jai and Bee's blog.

TBC said...

Mango-coconut scones! I would love to try one!
I tried making a mango-cocconut burfi yesterday but it did not turn out well at all. The consistency was more like that of a pudding and less burfi-esque.:(
But it tasted reallly good.

I like the look of the okra-corn cakes too.

bee said...

i showed these to j. he's gonna make them for me.

Srivalli said...

Oh.,..those scones look so temtping..and no words to talk abt the okra...too innovative!..you are rocking!

Pravs said...

Like the mango & coconut in scones..will be nice to bite into. Okra appetizer is very creative and pics are tempting. Congrats on the award and thanks for awarding me with the same :) You are a sweet heart :)

jayasree said...

Kalai dear, u literally rock with those mango scones and okra cakes.
Lovely recipes. Have to find egg substitutes in these recipes. Shall surely try it.

Congrats on the well deserved award.

sra said...

Rock on, Kalai! Those okra corn cakes are totally new to me.

notyet100 said...

mnagoscones,..had read bout themin books,..this looks delicious,..

Unknown said...

those scones looks lovely...and the okra corn cake is something veru unique..BTW, congrats on your award...

ranji said...

2 yummy dishes in 1...that is a real torture:)...both have come out soo delicious and its really tempting me to buy some scones right now and make some okra cakes soon...:)

Arundathi said...

huge fan of scones - and i make them at home too - never did make mango scones - bookmarked.

Mansi said...

Kalai, I made Mango Streusel Cake yesterday, and was thinking I should bake scones next time:) and here you have a wonderful recipe!:) they look beautiful, but the okra cakes are amazing! I so love the idea:)

thanks so much for sharing these really wonderful recipes with us at MM!:)

bha said...

okra corn cakes....thats a perfect fusion food....isnt it....nices scones

Lisa Turner said...

I'm loving both of these recipes! I'm a big fan of scones and your savory little corn cakes are a must try!

Red Chillies said...

You come up with such wonderful recipes Kalai! I love okra and mangoes in any form and this time looks like you read my mind. I have bookmarked these!

Laavanya said...

I love the tropical touch you gave the scones but my eyes are on the corn and okra cakes - and they aren't even deepfried! Awesome.

Suganya said...

My mom makes her version of deep-fried okra. She coats 'em in a batter very similar to bajji. Tastes amazingly delicious.

Vani said...

I'm very intrigued with the okra corn cakes! Sounds yum and looks delicious, Kalai! The mango scones & the hash both look great too!

Beyond Curries said...

Congrats on winning the contest Kalai. And also thanks for the suggesitions for substituting eggs. I'm going to try this very soon and will let you know.

Unknown said...

Hey congrats on winning this event..Nice participating in it..Will try this recipe for sure