Spiced oats cookies

When I lady baked a batch if butter cookies, the hubby wanted oats cookies. This one is for him!

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/4 cup maida

1/4 cup granulated sugar*

2 tbsp butter

2-3 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp pepper powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp ginger powder

A pinch of nutmeg powder

A pinch of salt

1/4 cup raisins 

Method:

Mix the oats, flour and sugar well. Add the spices and mix well. 

Add the butter, and mix well till crumbly. 

Add milk one spoon at a time, mixing well. 

Add the raisins and mix well. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 175 degrees. 

Grease the baking tray. Till the dough into balls, flatten and place on the baking sheet. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, checking to ensure it doesn't burn. 

Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container. 

Vegetable ishtew

The hubby is away this week, so I've been experimenting a bit with dinner. I also picked up a lot of veggies from a shop I've finally discovered, and decided to celebrate by making this ishtew. It is a slightly simplified version of the original, and we had it with brown rice.

2 carrots, diced

2 potatoes, cut into inch long cubes

1/3 cup frozen peas

A handful of spring beans, cut

2 onions, sliced long

1 sprig curry leaves

1 inch piece ginger, sliced

2 bay leaves

10-12 peppercorns

4-6 cloves

1 inch piece cinnamon

1 tbsp cooking oil

Salt to taste

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 1/4 cup water

200 ml coconut milk

Pepper powder to taste

Method:

Steam the potatoes and peas for 5 minutes, add the carrots and beans and steam for an additional 3 minutes. The vegetables should be cooked, but firm. 

Heat the oil, add the spices. Once they start crackling, add the curry leaves, and the sliced onions. Sauté till they turn transparent. Add chillies and ginger, and sauté for half a minute.

Add 2 cups water, and just when it starts boiling, add the cornflour paste and mix well so there are no lumps. 

Add coconut milk, with constant stirring, add the vegetables and let it simmer for about 5 minutes till the gravy comes together. Add a dash of pepper powder before serving. 

I served with brown rice and fryums. 

Lentil soup with soya nuggets

While the kids don't like the regular dal chawal/ dal roti, they are open to innovations of any kind. With hubby traveling this week, it is a good time to indulge them a bit, and get them to eat healthy.

1 cup masoor dal
1/2 cup soya nuggets
1/2 tsp haldi powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1 bay leaf
1 inch cinnamon
1 large onion cut lengthwise
1 tbsp ghee
Salt to taste

Method:
Soak the masoor dal for half an hour and cook in the pressure cooker with the haldi and paprika powder till soft.
Boil water with some salt, add soya nuggets and let it soak for 10 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
Heat the ghee, add bay leaves and cinnamon, and then the onions. Saute till browned.
Add the cooked dal,  drained soya nuggets and 1/2 cup water, and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve hot.
It can also be used as a substitute for a dal- you will have to increase the quantity of water.

Vetalai Sadam

Hubby and older one were going to have leftover biryani for dinner. Which left Mr. Fussy and myself. He wanted fried rice- I could have given it to him, but thout this was the perfect chance to try out a recipe I'd bookmarked a long time back (and the brand new kadhai). Fortune favours the bold- it was a hit.

1 cup rice (uncooked)

3 or 4 betel leaves 

1 tbsp garlic paste

1/4 tsp haldi powder

Salt to taste

For dry masala:

1 tsp sesame seeds seeds

1/4 tsp peppercorns

1 red chilli (I toned it down, 2 would be better)

1/2 tsp ginger powder

For tempering:

1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil

1/4 tsp saunf

1 inch piece cinnamon

1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

Wash and soak rice for 30 mins. Cook till 75% done, keep aside.

Dry roast sesame seeds, peppercorns and dry red chillies in a pan and grind it along with dry ginger powder to a fine powder. Set aside.

Heat oil in a pan, temper the ingredients listed under tempering. Add garlic paste and saute for few seconds. Then add turmeric powder in the oil and immediately add cooked rice, mix everything well.

Finally add chopped betel leaves, ground masala powder and salt and mix well.

Cover and cook for 5 mins or until well cooked, if needed sprinkle some water to avoid drying.

Ragi Milk

I know it is ridiculous, but ever since I bought ragi flour, ever meal seems to have become a ragi meal. This ragi milk is very popular in Karnataka, and though my mother has it often, I made it for the first time today. And we all loved it.

For 3 cups ragi milk:

1/4 cup ragi flour

1/2cup water

2 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar-cinnamon mix

Method:

Heat the water, add some water to the flour to make a paste. Add the paste to the water, and cook with constant stirring till the paste turns shiny. 

Blend milk, ragi paste and sugar in a mixer till smooth. Serve chilled. 

You can replace the cinnamon with cardamom powder. 

Hot Cross Buns

"Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns.
One a Penny, Two a Penny.
Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns."
On a lazy Sunday a few weeks back, I sought to find the origin of the nursery rhyme, and learnt that there was indeed something called Hot Cross Buns that were traditionally baked on  Good Friday. I decided right then to make it this year, and then promptly forgot all about it. Till two days back when I remembered my resolution, and took stock of my ingredients. My active dry yeast had been lying unused for so long, the bottle was covered in mould. I no longer remembered the provenience of either the baking powder or the baking soda. And the last of the raisins had been consumed by me awhile back.
All of yesterday went in collecting the ingredients, and making the dough, and despite not having a day off today, I baked the Hot Cross Buns.
The icing was an unmitigated disaster, but the Hot Cross Buns are divine!

2 cups milk
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
4 cups maida/ flour
1/2 cup (additional) Flour
1/2 tsp (heaping) Baking Powder
1/2 tsp (scant) Baking Soda
2 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom, nutmeg, allspice (optional)
1/2 cup raisins

Glaze1 whole Egg White
Splash Of Milk

Icing1 whole Egg White
Powdered Sugar
Splash Of Milk


Method:Combine milk, oil and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Bring to nearly boiling, then turn off the flame, and let it stand for 30 minutes
Sprinkle yeast over the milk. Add 4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Mixture will be very sticky. Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour.
Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined.
Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon and whatever other spices you want to use.
Lightly flour surface. Press to slightly flatten dough. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle on about a third of the raisins. Then fold the dough over on itself and flatten again so the dough is "plain" again. Repeat the sugar/raisin process, then fold the dough again. Repeat a third time until all the raisins are used. (You won't use all the sugar/cinnamon mixture.)
Pinch off ping pong or golf ball-size bunches of dough. With floured hands, quickly roll it into a ball, then turn the edges under themselves slightly. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes...an hour-plus is better.
Preheat to 180 degrees
Mix 1 egg white with a splash of milk. Brush onto each roll.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until tops of buns have turned nice and golden brown.
Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

IcingMix 1 egg white with enough powdered sugar for icing to be very thick. Splash in milk as needed for consistency.
Add icing to a small Ziploc bag and snip the corner. Make icing crosses on each roll, making sure they're completely cooled first.

Oatmeal cookies

More cookies- oatmeal cookies this time- to help the kid while he studies for his exams! These rustic looking cookies are very high on the taste quotient, and disappeared almost before I could click a photograph.

1 cup instant oats
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used less)
1/3 tsp cinnamon powder
1/3 tsp ginger powder
1/3 tsp pepper powder
1/3 tsp nutmeg powder
Water as per need.

Method:Dry roast the instant oats till they smell toasty
Mix the butter into the flour till it looks like breadcrumbs
Add oats, sugar and spices mix together so it holds together when pressed.
Gradually add water till the dough is able to hold together- when you pull, it should break away easily- do not overknead

Roll the dough into a cylinder and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Cut into discs, press lightly between the palms, and set on the tray distributing equally- the cookies shouldn’t be too thin as they will not be very crunchy.
Bake for 15- 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees- keep checking after 12 minutes to ensure it doesn't burn.

Methi Chicken with a medley of spices

This was another of those recipes that had me at "Hello". One  look at the photograph, and I knew I  had to go through the recipe. One scan of the recipe and I had to bookmark it to make someday.
Strangely, despite the presence of many iffy spices, the recipe was a hit at home, and every last bit of it was polished off.

1 curry cut chicken

Marination:
1 cup hung curd
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 green chill, minced
1/2 tsp javitri (mace powder)

2 tsp oil /butter
4 Cloves
1/2 tsp whole jeera
1 inch piece of cinnamon
salt to taste
1 cup milk /milk plus water
1 tbsp roasted besan
1/2 tbsp Kasoori methi

Method:

Marinate the chicken after cleaning it well. Wrap with clingfilm and keep in refrigerator overnight.

Heat oil and put whole garam masala.

When it stops spluttering, add the marinated chicken with salt and let it cook on medium heat. Stir off and on. 

After 10 to 15 minutes, add milk or milk and water and the roasted besan - cook for another 5 minutes. 

Sprinkle kasoori methi and cook away for another 5 minutes.

Serve with parathas.

Atta dosa with stewed apples, and some apple raita too

Coming up with lunch ideas for the kids is just not easy. I guess I could train them to have dal-chawal every single day, but that somehow doesn't seem fair to me. So, the quest continues.....
This is one of the easy ones that worked well for the kids.

For dosas:
1 measure atta
2 tbsp grated/ dessicated coconut
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
Sufficient water to make batter
Ghee

For stewed apple:
1 apple
2 tsp sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup water

Method:
Mix the atta with the other ingredients,adding sufficient water to make batter of the same consistency as dosa batter. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes.
Heat the dosa pan, pour the batter, making a circular shape. Edge with ghee, and let it cook on a low flame till the edges start to rise up. Turn the dosa over, and let the other side cook.
Serve with stewed apples.

Dissolve the sugar in water, and heat it till boiling.
Once it starts boiling, add the apple pieces and the cinnamon stick. Bring to boil, then reduce flame and let it cook for about 5 minutes

If you have some stewed apple left over, you can mix the syrup well with curds, and add the apple pieces to make an apple raita.

Creamy egg curry

Cloves, cinnamon and cardamon. Kenzy's creamy egg curry had me at 'Hello'. Only, instead of making it with eggs, I decided to experiment with soya nuggets instead. I adjusted the chilli down from 3 to 1, but even that proved too spicy for the kids- I underestimated the power it would unleash when ground- next time, I tone it down even more.

1 big onion
1 inch ginger
1 small green chili (or a part of a larger one)
½ liter milk
1-2 tblspns oil
Salt to taste
3/4 cup soya nuggets soaked in warm water for about 10 minutes

¼ tspn Bengali garam masala (equal parts ground cinnamon, cloves and cardamom)
A couple of sprigs coriander to garnish (optional)


Method:
Grind the onion, ginger and chilies to a fine paste, without adding water.
Heat oil. Add the ground paste n sauté well till the paste changes to a darker color n the onions are cooked.
Take off from fire. After 2-3 minutes, gradually add warm milk and stir to blend the milk well with the fried onion/ginger//chilies paste.
Put the vessel back on slow fire n allow it to heat up. Stir continuously.
Let the gravy boil on low heat till you achieve the desired thick consistency for the gravy- I let it thicken to slightly less than cream consistency.
Add soya nuggets which had been soaked in warm water (for about 10 minutes).
Allow the curry to simmer for a couple of minutes.
Add salt, Bengali garam masala and simmer for half a minute.
Garnish with coriander leaves n serve with steamed rice.

Soft and chewy Spiced Cookies

The kids wanted cookies, and I had run out of butter. All the recipes I found online were for chocolate chip cookies, but of course, I didn't have chocolate chips either. So I adapted one of them to make spiced cookies, and they were really quite amazing. Soft and chewy, just the way cookies should be.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nonsweetened cocoa powder**
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp ginger powder


Method:
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.
Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, ginger powder and cinnamon powder and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix sugar, oil, egg and honey. Add in flour mixture to oil mixture a little at a time until well incorporated.

Divide the dough into 16 parts, and roll each into a ball. Place on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly with your fingers.
Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 8-10 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Apple-raisin cake

A couple of minutes after polishing off the orange sponge cake I'd baked two days back, the Younger One decided he wanted an apple cake. When he expresses a food related desire, I rush to obey, so off I went to discover recipes for apple cake. Most required apple juice, but since we've not had the best possible experience with apple juice, I didn't want to try any of them.
This is adapted for a recipe for apple upside down cake, and the batter gave me 24 cup cakes.

One large apple, chopped into small pieces

Raisins- a handful (about the same quantity as the apples)
1 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup castor sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg

Method:

In bowl combine flour, castor sugar, baking powder, ginger, and cinnamon. 

Add chopped apple, raisins, milk, butter and egg, and beat well till combined.

Preheat the oven at 220 degrees. Pour the batter into cupcakes (I had enough for two batches of a dozen each). Bake for 20-25 minutes until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes.

Super moist Carrot Cake

Carrot cake!
The name itself is enough to conjure images of divine goodness packaged into a beautiful slice of cake. The kind of cake that you could eat by the dozen, without a twinge of guilt. And then, I came across this quote- "We looked at an online recipe from a celebrity chef ...(for a carrot cake)... There it was, in all its splendor, weighing in at 1,460 calories and 28 grams of saturated fat in one gargantuan three-layer slice."
Ouch! Not so healthy after all. But the heart still craved for a carrot cake. Tarina's recipe for a super moist carrot cake seemed perfect, and I was contemplating substituting some of the flour with wholewheat flour to keep up the "healthy" charade, till I heard Tarina say, "baking is completely scientific. If you have a recipe which has been tested before you have to follow it to the last gram. If you do want to make substitutions e.g. wheat flour, then you are basically creating a totally different recipe and you will have to make your own trials and see what works. You cannot make one substitution in an existing recipe and expect the result to be the same, it doesn't happen as you have basically changed the formula!"
That decided me. This cake follows the recipe to the letter, except two substitutions- regular flour instead of self rising flour and regular sugar instead of brown sugar. 

2 eggs
150 ml vegetable oil
200 gms soft brown sugar*
300 gms carrots (peeled and grated)
75 gms walnuts
175 gms self raising flour
1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
1 tsp cinnamon powder
pinch of salt

MethodHeat oven to 180 C. Line a 8 inch baking pan. Sieve all dry ingredients together. Whisk all wet ingredients till well mixed. Fold in all dry ingredients. Crush the walnuts slightly and add at the end. Pour into muffin liners, and bake for 25-30 mins till a skewer comes out clean. Serve warm!

I halved the quantities, and that gave me a dozen cupcakes.


 *- I didn't have brown sugar, so used regular sugar

Cinnamon Punch

After a few days of excesses, the body gets used to 'drinks'. This was a good way to start weaning it back to normal.

Bring 2 litres of water to boil.
Put 2 green tea bags (plain green tea, not flavoured) and 6 sticks of cinnamon, and let it brew for about 5 minutes.
Remove and discard the tea bags and the cinnamon sticks. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon, and about 3 tbsps honey.
Serve cold.

Baked apple with raisins

Perfect for all those times when you crave for something sweet, but don't want to overdose on refined sugar. Added bonus- everytime you make this, your house smells like a dream for quite a long time.
It is one of my favourite post-workout snacks.

 
1 apple (make sure it is firm)
1 1/2 tbsp raisins
pinch of cinnamon powder
maple syrup/ sugar syrup (optional)

Soak raisins in water for about 10 minutes (or till plump). Do not discard the water.
Make a tiny hole on top of the apple, and remove the core (I use the back for a spoon to bore it out). Place apple on a microwavable container
Sprinkle cinnamon powder inside the apple.
Fill the hole with raisins.
Mix maple syrup/ sugar with the water in which raisins were soaked, and pour over and around the apple (I skip the maple syrup/ sugar).
Place in the microwave and cook uncovered for 3 minutes.
Wait till it cools down, cut slices and enjoy.