Baking – Page 4

Chocolate chip Cookies:

May 30, 2018

Who doesn’t like Choco chip cookie? Let alone like, it is very difficult to resist. If it is guilt free, it is an added boon to relish these beauties. I usually don’t encourage my kids to have non-healthy stuff. It is the main reason I developed this recipe with lot of care.

It is a crunchy from the outside and soft from the inside kind of cookie. It has a whole wheat as well as protein rich Roasted gram powder, which is very nutritious and known as Sattu in India. Sattu is a powder form of roasted gram or Bengal gram or hurigadale in kannada. Added to this, I have added clarified butter/ ghee and ghee residue as well. To give more chocolatey appearance, added Choco chunks as well as chopped cooking chocolate.

How I proceeded is –

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour – 1 cup

Roasted gram flour/ Sattu – ½ cup

Baking soda – 1 tea spoon

Sea salt – ½ tea spoon

Choco chip – ½ cup

Chopped chocolates – ½ cup

Ghee – ½ cup

Ghee residue – 2 table spoon (optional)

White sugar – ½ cup

Brown sugar – ½ cup

Eggs – 2

Vanilla extract – 1 tea spoon

Instant coffee powder – 1tea spoon

Method:

-Pre heat Oven at 180 °C, Line the baking tray with the butter paper.

-Take one bowl, dry whisk all the dry ingredients starting from Whole wheat flour, Sattu flour, Baking soda, sea salt, and Choco chips and chunks.

-In a Food processor or in another bowl, beat sugar, ghee and ghee residue first.

– Add in egg, vanilla, coffee and beat until it is frothy.

-Now pour this liquid over dry ingredient and mix by using spatula or clean hand.

– Scoop out the dough and place over the lined cookie sheet.

-Bake this in a pre-heated oven for 15 minutes or until done.

-When it is done, take out, cool a little and then store this in an air tight container.

-This yielded 18 big size cookies for me.

NOTE:

-Alternatively you can use only All purpose flour or whole wheat flour as well.

-Ghee residue is a moist, brown coloured by-product formed after preparing ghee from white butter.

Mug Pasta or One Bowl Pasta:

March 24, 2018

When my daughter had a holiday in between her exams, she has demanded for this treat for an afternoon lunch. She was alone on that day and I prepared it only for her and she was happy with the result. Today, I made it once again for my twins and I wanted to share the recipe with all my readers.

If you have seen my earlier posts of pastas I normally add any flavours to the white sauce. One of my daughters doesn’t like the bland taste, and here I thought of using tomato to give a little tangy taste.

I have used cooked elbow macaroni pasta. You are free to use any kind of pastas.

My daughter wanted Broccoli, capsicum and onion as veggie filling.

Then comes, grated cheese. I have used mozzarella cheese.

Here I am going to give for 2 big cups (meal for 2 kids)

Ingredients:

Macaroon – 1 cup

Broccoli – ½ cup

Capsicum – 1

Onion – 1

Olive oil or butter – 2 tsp

Tomato – 2

Whole wheat flour – 2 tea spoons

Milk – ½ cup

Seasonings – of your choice

Garlic salt – as needed

Mozzarella cheese – as needed

Method:

-At first, cook tomato in a sauce pan by adding half a cup of water. Remove and cool.

-In the same saucepan, blanch broccoli in boiling water and drain. It will help to remove any pesticide traces.

-In the same sauce pan, add required amount of water, little oil, salt and boil. Add pasta and cook into al Dante. Drain and keep aside.

-Chop onion, capsicum.

-Take one tawa, add 1 tea spoon of butter, toss all the three veggies (onion, broccoli and capsicum) by adding garlic salt, pizza seasoning, red chilli flakes or any other seasoning of your choice.

-Now tossed vegetable is ready and kept aside.

-Now we will make a pasta sauce.

-Fry whole wheat flour with butter or olive oil.

-Take one blender, mix fried whole wheat, milk and cooked tomato with water in which it has cooked.

-Churn and make a paste.

-Cook this paste in a sauce pan by adding garlic salt, any seasoning. I have added crushed rosemary, jalapeno pepper and garlic salt seasoning.

-When it starts boiling and becomes shiny and thick, switch off the gas.

-Now comes the assembling part.

-Take 2 Big ceramic mugs, if it is not available, use any baking dish.

-At first, pour couple of spoons of the prepared pasta sauce. Add grated cheese according to your wish.

-Add half of cooked pasta as a layer. Then half of veggie mix. Over to this, pour half the quantity of pasta sauce.

-Once again repeat the action. Empty all the remaining pasta, then veggies, pasta sauce.

-It will reach till the rim. Take one thick kitchen towel and place the mug and tap a little.

-All the sauce will settle, sprinkle grated cheese on top.

-Bake these ready mugs in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese melts or becomes light brown.

-Serve with Love 😊

Eggless Coconut Flour Choco chip cookies:

March 21, 2018

In my last post I have discussed regarding homemade coconut flour. Previously I did try one recipe from coconut residue (without drying and making flour), but this is my first trial or recipe after making the flour, and I am really exited and happy.

One thing we must keep in our minds while using coconut flour is, don’t under estimate its absorption power by seeing its light and airy texture. It absorbs moisture like a sponge. What I learnt from this experience is, it needs almost equal amount of moisture content as flour volume.

Here I have taken flax gel as an egg replacer, mainly because of its gel like texture. Coconut flour doesn’t have any holding capacity, so thought of using flax gel.

In this experiment I have taken half cup of coconut flour and it did absorb the liquid, swell and gave me 9 cookies . More than everything, this was interesting!! Chocolate Chip Coconut Flour Cookie. This was a little experiment, and the results were not bad at all! I got the big thumbs up from my twins 😀

DSC_4745main_Fotor

Let us see the procedure-

Ingredients:

Coconut flour – ½ cup

Flax gel – ½ cup

Ghee or Oil – 1 table spoon

Choco chip – ¼ cup

Organic Natural brown sugar – ½ cup (you can use normal sugar as well)

Sea salt – ½ tea spoon

Vanilla – 1 tea spoon

Method:

– How to make flax gel: Take 2 tsp of flax seed, make powder. Put this powder in thick bottomed small pan, add one cup of water and boil until it is thick, slimy and reduced to almost half.

-Pre heat oven at 170 °C. Line the baking tray with the butter paper.

-Take one glass bowl, put flour, sugar, salt crystals, ghee, flax gel, vanilla and mix. Dough will be little wet. Mix in Choco chip and mix once more.

Ribbet collage 1

-Scoop out the mix by using ice cream scooper and arrange in a lined baking tray.

-Bake this in a pre-heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Ribbet collage 2

-Don’t touch while removing, it will be very soft. Remove the tray and cool as it is.

-After cooling, it will harden a bit. After it cools down completely, store it in an air tight container.

– These cookies are slightly crunchier at outer circle, soft and chewy at the centre.

– It becomes a little more harder and firm the next day .

Eggless tea cake from Ghee Residue:

March 9, 2018

When I prepare ghee at home, I use this super beneficial ghee residue in preparing roti dough /methi Parata or this very mild flavored cake. I have already posted one chocolate cake using pea protein in my earlier post. This time it is my all-time favorite Cinnamon or Cardamom flavored tea cake.

DSC03315_Fotor

Ingredients:

Ghee residue – 2-3tbl

Milk – 1 cup

Sugar – ¾ cup

Chiroti rawa/fine semolina – 1 cup

Cinnamon powder- ½ tsp.

Eno fruit salt -1tsp

Salt – ¼ tsp.

Slivered Almond – 2 table spoon (optional)

Method:

-Take vessel in which you prepare ghee. There will be 2-3 table spoon ghee residues.

-To this add milk, sugar and heat it until sugar dissolves. Switch off and cool.

Ribbet collage 1

-In another bowl, dry mix semolina/rawa, cinnamon powder, salt.

-Mix both and keep it aside for five minutes, at this time rawa will absorb all the moisture.

-After 5 minutes, add Eno fruit salt, mix nicely and pour this mixture into a baking tin.

Ribbet collage 2

-If you want to add slivered almond at the top to enhance its taste and nutritional value.

-Place this tin in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or till done, at 180 C.

DSC03299_Fotor

Note: you can replace rawa with Ragi (finger millet flour) and wheat flour. If you are using only flour, add 1 ½ cup, because it absorbs less moisture than the rawa.

Walnut – Chocolate chip Coffee Cake:

January 27, 2018

Coffee flavoured cake happened by chance. I had some unused Nescafe instant coffee and wanted to finish it ASAP. So, I thought of baking a cake. It is made up of healthy flour and a very good option as a snack.

While getting ready to assemble everything, I thought of adding chocolate chip and walnut as an attraction to kids and it worked out very well with finger millet or Ragi flour as well. Now we will see how I proceeded with the ingredients.

DSC06113_Fotor

Ingredients:

Whole wheat Flour – 1 cup

Ragi/ Finger millet flour – 1 cup

Baking soda – ½ tea spoon

Baking powder – ½ tea spoon

Salt – ¼ tea spoon

Walnuts – ½ cup

Choco chip – ½ cup

Butter – 100 grams

Eggs – 2

Sugar – 1 ½ cup

Hot milk – 1 cup

Instant Coffee powder – 1 to 1 ½ table spoon

Hot water – ¼ cup (you can take little less than ¼ cup)

Method:

-Pre heat oven at 180°C, line a baking tray with the butter paper.

-Take one bowl and mix all the dry ingredients like, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, walnuts and Choco -chips.

-In another bowl, beat melted butter, eggs, sugar, milk by adding one by one respectively.

Ribbet collage 1

-Make dark coffee by mixing powder and water. Mix in the liquid and beat.

-Now wet mix is also ready.

-Pour this wet mixture to dry ingredients and fold the batter by using any spatula.

-Pour the batter in lined baking tray and keep this for baking until done.

Ribbet collage 2

-It takes anywhere between 40 to 50 minutes.

-Before removing, check with a knife by inserting, in the baked cake.

-Knife should come out clean.

-Remove the cake, cool before cutting, and serve.

DSC06109_Fotor

Note: For the Eggless Version, use 1/2 cup of flax gel and you can refer my earlier post for the preparation.

Oats cookies with kisses:

December 19, 2017

Wanted to use Hershey’s “Kisses” in baking from so many days, finally I did try out this and my kids liked it too. These are a real treat for kids and at the same time filled with high fiber and are healthy because of the usage of Whole wheat flour and oats. I like lemon flavor in my cookies, if you don’t want to use lemon you can add vanilla or cardamom too.

main_Fotor

Now we will see how I made this.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour -1 cup

Powdered oats – 1 cup

Sugar -1 cup

Baking soda -1 tsp.

Grated lemon zest- ½ to 1 tsp.

Ghee /Clarified butter – ½ cup

Milk – 3 to 4 table spoons (to bind)

Hershey’s Kisses chocolates for decoration.

Method:

-In a mixer jar, powder oats, measure and keep aside.

-powder sugar and keep aside.

-Now take one mixing bowl, take all the dry ingredients like whole wheat flour, oats powder ,sugar powder ,baking soda ,lemon rind and mix it thoroughly by using hand ,so that flavor will spread uniformly.

-Now mix in melted ghee and bind it together. If it is a little dry, add one to two table spoons of milk, if it binds and holds a shape well and good. Otherwise add one more table spoon of milk and make a ball like Chapati dough.

-Now pre-heat your oven in 180C.

-Line your cookie tray with butter paper or aluminum foil and keep it ready.

-Take one small cookie scoop or a Table spoon to shape the dough into semi-circle balls, and place them on a parchment covered baking/cookie tray.

Ribbet collage 1

-Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until base becomes light brown in colour.

-While baking process is going on, keep kisses chocolate ready by removing its cover.

-When it is done, take out the tray and immediately press a chocolate into the center of each cookie.

Ribbet collage 2

-Base of this chocolate will melt a little, so it holds firmly after it cools down. Cookie will crack around the edges.

-Now don’t disturb these beauties and allow them to cool completely. It will take anywhere between one to two hours to cool completely.

-Because of the heat, chocolate will become very soft and after some time it will hold its shape and become firm.

-Then you can store this in an airtight container.

Mixed millet Masala Cookies:

November 17, 2017

Millets are a very good alternative to normal All-purpose flour or whole wheat flour in gluten free baking. You can’t even recognize the core ingredient. It is gluten free as well as high in nutritional value too.

When I was trying out some recipes for the 2017 Millet calendar, I dished out a couple of recipes, which had turned out super tasty, and at the same time, healthy, filling and as an alternate snack for kid’s tiffin boxes as well.

I tried pizza based seasoning in this cookie recipe and it tasted super delicious.

Ingredients:

Mixed Millet flour – 1 cup

Butter – 50 grams

Sugar – 2 table spoons

Salt – ½ teaspoon

Baking powder – ½ teaspoon

Baking soda – ½ teaspoon

Curd – 2 table spoons

Pizza seasoning or Oregano – 1 tea spoon

Chilli flakes – 1 tea spoon

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Grated cheese – to decorate.

Method:

Mix flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, pizza seasoning, chilli flakes and cumin and keep aside.
Now beat butter and sugar until it becomes fluffy and creamy. Add in curd and beat once again.
Mix in flour mixture and bind all the ingredients together, the resultant dough will be like Chapati dough.

Take dough little by little, roll it into half inch thickness and take a cookie cutter and cut.
Arrange this in a lined baking tray.
Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Bake this in a pre-heated oven at 170 ºC for 10 to 12 minutes.

Note:

Here mixed millet flour is store bought pre- mixed flour.
Alternately one can mix two to three millet flours and make their own flour or use all purpose flour as well.

Choco Almond Biscuits:

October 29, 2017

These are melt- in- the -mouth and loved by all, kind of cookies or biscuits. Added to all that, it is rich with all the healthy stuff. I got an opportunity to taste this goodie at “RAGA” Mangalore and it was prepared by Nalini akka who is a super talented and down to earth person. Our acquaintance started in 2012 through a Facebook group named “FOODIE” and I got to know her through her hubby Sadashiva Rao Mailankodi, who started our group and has shared this recipe on the group long ago. It was in my “to try” list and after tasting these cookies at their residence, I couldn’t wait much and prepared it immediately. I am posting it over here by thanking Nalini akka for this wonderful recipe.

Ingredient:

Whole wheat flour – 3 cups

Almond – ½ cup

Cocoa powder – ¼ cup

Powdered sugar – 3 cups

Ghee – 1 ½ cup

Butter – 3 table spoons

Cooking soda – ½ tea spoon

Salt – a pinch

Method:

-Roughly Crush almonds.

-Mix all the dry ingredients like flour, cocoa powder, cooking soda and salt.

Ribbet collage 1

-Sieve couple of times or use dry wire whisk to combine uniformly.

-Now beat ghee, butter and sugar by hand or food processor.

-When it becomes like a cream, add flour and make a dough.

-Add in crushed almonds, mix well. Dough will be little crumbly and will not be like a smooth dough.

-Now shape these dough into whichever shape you like.

-Keep in a lined cookie tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 170°C for 10 to 12 minutes.

– I have exactly followed her method to give shape by using bigger steel spoon. It was a cute oblong shape.

-After baking, cool and store it in an air tight container.

Gluten free Masala Bread:

October 11, 2017

Wanted to experiment with banana flour which I had made at home, in baking bread. So, I tried my hand at this recipe. In the end, I got soft, dill flavoured bread. Which had nutritionally rich dill leaves, seasoned onion, Amaranth flour, homemade banana flour and fine rawa. People who want to try this, can replace the flour and try. One can use only All-purpose flour or whole wheat flour but handle your dough carefully.

Now we will see how I proceeded –

Ingredient:

Amaranth / Rajgira flour – 1 cup

Banana flour – 1 cup

Fine rawa / semolina – 1 cup (used millet rawa)

Milk – 1 cup (vegans can use any other form of milk)

Water – ¼ cup

Active dry yeast – 2 tea spoons

Sugar – 2 table spoons

Oil – 2 table spoons

For masala:

Dill leaves – 1 small thin bunch

Curry leaves – 1 table spoon

Onion – 1

Green chillies – 2

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Oil – 1 table spoon

Salt – 1 tea spoon

Turmeric – ½ tea spoon

For Garnishing and other:

Chia seed – 1 tea spoon

Butter – 1 table spoon

Milk – 1 table spoon

Oil – 2 table spoons

Method:

-First, we will arrange for yeast proofing: take Luke warm milk and water, dissolve sugar and add yeast, mix nicely by using spoon and keep aside by closing a lid for 10 minutes.

– If this has not shown any bubbles even after 10 minutes, discard the solution and prepare once again with fresh yeast.

-At the meantime, prepare for seasoning:

-Chop onions, green chillies. Heat oil, put cumin, onion and fry for a while. When onion becomes transparent, add curry leaves, dill, turmeric, salt.

-Switch off the gas, when greens wilts.

-Now put all the dry flours in food processor, dry run and mix thoroughly. Add in seasoning, oil and once more mix everything.

-Now pour yeast mixture and knead with the help of kneader. If it is very sticky, adjust the consistency by sprinkling extra flour.

-Ready dough should be little sticky, but not watery.

-Remove this dough from the processor, apply 2 table spoons of oil on this dough all over from the outside and keep it in a bowl covered with wet towel to rise (First rise)

-It will take anywhere between 1 ½ to 2 hours. (Dough should be doubled)

-After one and a half hours, remove this raised dough and place it over the work table by sprinkling some dry flour over the counter.

-Spread this dough into rectangular shape by pulling by hand (width should roughly match the bread baking tin)

-After pulling and spreading like a rectangular mat, fold it thrice or four times, like a real folding of the mat.

-Keep this folded roll in a greased baking tin, apply milk on top of the dough to avoid drying. Sprinkle chia seed and keep it for second proofing (rise) by closing it with a wet cloth or bigger vessel.

-When it rises after an hour, bake this in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes at 200® C.

-Immediately after taking out from the oven, apply butter all over at the top part and keep it for cooling.

-After it cools down, de-mould and slice the bread and enjoy with any jam or butter.

Note:

-If you want vegan version, please skip application of milk and butter.

Gluten free Masala Cookies:

September 9, 2017

This masala cookie is low in sugar and perfect as a snack for toddlers or elders. This recipe works out with any permutation combination of flours. I have worked with the addition of Amaranth flour with banana flour. As well as the Combination of whole wheat flour, oats flour and banana flour as well. Every time, it gives crunchy outside, soft inside cookies, and if you are feeding diabetic people, it is a healthier option when compared to packaged biscuits.

pic main

Ingredient:

Amaranth flour /Rajgira Atta – 1 cup ( you can use 1/2 cup of whole wheat + 1/2 cup of oats flour as well)

Plantain/Raw banana flour – ½ cup

Butter – 100 grams

Salt – 1tea spoon

Baking powder – ¼ teaspoon

Baking soda – ¼ teaspoon

spice blend –1 to 2 tablespoons (a blend of spices like cinnamon, pepper, ginger or as per the choice )

Desiccated coconut – 2 tablespoons

Sugar – 3 tablespoons

Curd –2 tablespoons

Method:

Pre-heat oven at 170-degree C.
Take one bowl, mix all the dry ingredients such as flours, salt, baking soda and powder, spice blend dry mix/sieve a couple of times and keep it ready.
Cream butter, sugar and curd (2 tbl spoons) by using a food processor or hand. Add dry flour, desiccated coconut and make a firm dough.

Line the cookie tray with butter paper.
Drop the dough into the cookie tray using a table spoon to shape and get the uniform cookies.
Mark X at the top of the cookie to get a design by using the tip of the knife.
Bake this in a pre-heated oven for 15 – 20 minutes. Pull out and cool.
Store this in an airtight container. This measurement yields around 18 -20 cookies.