Homemade Apple Pie

I am a health freak so I try to avoid sugar, butter and too much of salt. I also substitute butter with vegetable il where ever possible. In this recipe I have not used sugar at all and substituted butter with oil. You coudl even use wholemeal flour instead of plain flour but I have used plain flour .
My husband has a sweet tooth and he relishes anything thats sweet and so he loves fruits more than veggies. Lately, he has been exercising to put down his weight and so I thought of treating him for this. I had some gala apples and had to finish them , this was an easy and quick way of finishing them.

Ingredients
3 apples (I have also used fuji apples. you can experiment with any apples) peeled , cored and sliced
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp rose essence
1 tbsp cinnamon powder

For dough
1 cup plain flour
a pinch of salt
1 tsp oil to brush
1/4 cup water

Method
Heat a pan and throw in all the sliced apples , sugar and rose essence. Cover it and cook it till the apples become mushy. Sugar will help it breakdown quickly. Allow it to cool.

Meanwhile make the pastry. mix all the dough ingredients and make a dough. Roll it and brush with oil. Fold it and again roll it and again brush with oil. Repeat this for 5 times. Then divide the dough into 1/3 rd and 2/3 rd parts. Roll the 2/3rds to fit into the baking tin . Brush the tin with oil and roll this pastry into the tin. Pour the apple sauce into the pastry. Now roll the other 1/3 rd part and use this to cover the pie. Prick the cover with fork to let the steam escape during baking. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon powder. Bake this in a preheated oven at gas mark 6 for about 20 - 30 minutes or till the pie is golden brown.

Carmelised Mango with mango sorbet and chocolate sauce

I had some leftover mangoes. They weren't quiet sweet variety , but I had to finish them before they started to rot. I browsed for some mango desserts and in some of the recipes I saw that mango can be caramelized and used in desserts. From my husband , I learnt that mango and chocolate can make a good combination. That instant I created this recipe....... Oh my god ! I feel so proud to have invented this recipe. This was a good recipe. And to note I haven't used sugar at all.

Ingredients

2 mangoes sliced into strips or chunked
handful of mixed nuts crushed or coarsely chopped (I used cashewnuts, almonds and pistachios)
2 tbsp cocoa powder or any chocolate drink powder
1/2 tbsp milk
2 scoops of mango sorbet
oil to brush

Method

Grease a baking tray and arrange the mango pieces. Lightly brush oil on these pieces and bake them for 15 mins or till they start to brown on gas mark 6. The time to brown these pieces make depend on the size of the pieces and the variety of the mango.

Meanwhile in a microwavable bowl take the cocoa powder and milk. Gently heat them for 10 seconds. Stir it and again heat it for 10 seconds. Repeat this till it gets a sauce consistency. I did this for a minute.

Once the mango pieces are done, arrange half of them in a bowl (as this recipe serves for 2). Top it with a scoop of mango sorbet and cpour chocolate sauce over it. Sprinkle with crushed nuts.

Spicy fruit salad in coconut sauce (Konkani style sasama )

This is sweet and spicy dish so I cant categorise either in savoury or dessert. This is again served during festival meals and wedding. This can be prepared with variety of fruits. Most commonly used is pineapple. I have used mango, red grapes and bananas. But this can be prepared with just one kind of fruit or combination of these fruits.

Ingredients

1 cup raw fruits chunked (just a variety or mixed fruits)

3 tbsp shredded coconut

a pinch of whole mustard seeds

2 dry red chillies

1 tsp tamarind juice

1 tbsp jaggery or sugar or sweetener

a pinch of salt

Method

Take all the chunked fruits into a mixing bowl. Now grind the rest of the ingredients with 3-4 tbsp water in a blender. Add this ground mixture to the fruits and serve. This can be chilled. This tastes very flavourful the next day as these fruits marinate in the sauce. This can be served immediately also.

Pineapple Pudding

Ingredients

2 cups pineapple juice

1 cup semolina

handful of mixed dry fruits

2 tbsp soy butter / I used PURE spread

1/2 cup of sweetener / sugar

Method

Melt the butter and add semolina. Saute if for 2 mins till you get the semolina's aroma. Now add pineapple juice and dry fruits. Cook till all of the juice is absorbed and then add the sweetener. Stir it for 2 mins and the pudding is ready.

Tip

Small pieces of pineapple can be added with sweetener to enhance the taste.

Pumpkin pudding

Ingredients

1 cup of chopped pumpkin

2 cups coconut milk

handful of mixed dry fruits

1/2 cup of jaggery

1 cardamom pod

Method

Cook pumpkin with very little water. When the pumpkin is tender add coconut water and bring to boil. Add jaggery , dry fruits and cardamom . Cover and simmer it, let it cook for 10 mins. Sweet pudding is ready to serve.