Category: Evening snack

Ginger Molasses Cookies:

April 20, 2019

Molasses cookies are chewy compared to any normal cookies. If it is made with wholesome flour with added ginger flavour, there’s nothing like it. It finally transforms into an absolute delicious wholesome snack for small kids or elders. Here is my Healthy, no all-purpose flour Ginger Molasses Cookies.

It is easy to make, with no rolling or freezing. Make the dough, scoop it out, roll this in crystal sugar and bake. That is, it. Stays good for a week or more.

If you want to make a huge batch, follow as it is. Otherwise, please make it half and proceed. Here I have taken multi millet flour (morning porridge powder) and whole wheat powder. You can play with the flour or straight away use All purpose flour or whole wheat flour according to your choice.

Ingredients:

Flour quantity – 4 ½ cup (porridge powder + whole wheat)

Butter – 300 grams (softened)

Brown sugar – 2 cups

Molasses / Jaggery syrup – ½ cup

Eggs – 2

Cooking soda – 4 tsps.

Ginger powder – 1 table spoon

Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp

Chocolate chunks/ chips – as needed (optional)

Salt – 1 tsp

Sugar – to coat

Method:

-Whisk all the dry ingredients (flour, cooking soda, ginger powder, Cinnamon powder, salt, chocolate chips.

-Take a big bowl or a processor, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one by one and beat.

– Add molasses and beat one more time. Pour mixture of dry ingredients and prepare a dough.

-Place this dough (little sticky dough) in a fridge by closing a cling wrap, for one or two hours.

-Pre heat oven at 170 °C.

-Take out the dough, scoop out, roll the top part in crystal sugar and place it on the butter paper lined cookie tray.

-Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove, cool and store it in an air tight bottle.

Note:

-If you don’t have Molasses, please melt half cup of jaggery powder in little water and boil until it is  thick and use it.

You can mix sugar crystals with half tsp of ginger and cinnamon powder to get more flavour.

I have made plain cookies as well as with chocolate chunk and both tastes equally good and stays good for many days.

Spinach, Corn and Cheese Sandwich:

March 17, 2019

When I hear the name of spinach and corn sandwich or while making, my memory normally goes back in time. We got introduced to this sandwich in Indigo flight long ago. My daughters used to just love the sight of it and used to enjoy their flight travel, mainly because of spinach and corn sandwich. Because of their fondness towards the sandwich, I used to make this at home and today once again I made it for them and decided to write, my version of recipe.

Ingredients:

Bread slices

Cooked corn – 1 cup

Bunch of spinach – washed and chopped

Whole wheat flour – 2 table spoons

Milk – 1 cup

Butter – 1 table spoon

Chopped garlic – 4

Salt

Pizza Seasoning or oregano – 1 tsp

Chilli flakes – 1 tsp

Grated cheese – as needed

Method:

-Dry roast whole wheat flour, take out, mix with hot milk and make a paste and keep aside.

-In the same kadai, add butter, toss garlic, chopped spinach and cook.

-Add in roughly churned cooked corn, flour added milk paste, boil.

 

– When mixture becomes thick, add seasoning of your choice, grated cheese and mix.

-It is our sandwich filling.

-For sandwich preparation, apply this mixture, over one slice, cover with another slice of bread.

-Apply butter on the outer surface and place it in a sandwich maker and roast.

-Enjoy with ketch up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baked Vada by using Leftover upma/ Uppittu:

March 11, 2019

When we have left over Uppittu/ upma, it is a wonderful opportunity to turn it into evening tea time snack, that too lip smacking good Nippattu /vade. Which is a perfect pair with Hot tea or coffee.

Normally, left overs would sit idle in the corner of dining table and will not attract any one’s attention. For this reason, I normally make it a point to give some modification and present it as a new dish 😉 😀

Here I have taken Lima beans added Avarekai Uppittu. You can take any Uppittu/ upma of your choice.

How I made this-

Ingredients:

Left over Upma – one bowl

Onion – 1 big

Green chillies – 2

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Coriander leaves – 2 table spoons (chopped)

Crushed peanuts – little

Rice flour – to bind.

Salt

Method:

-Chop onion, curry leaves, green chillies, coriander leaves.

-Mix in all the chopped items, salt, peanuts into left over upma and mix nicely.Add required amount of rice flour, bind and make a small roundel, pat a flat disc . 

– Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180° C for 15 to 20 minutes or until done.

-Upma already has oil or ghee content in it. So, no need to put any oil. If at all needed, you can add couple of tea spoons of oil while binding.

-Serve with Coffee or tea as a evening snack.

 

 

Lemon Bread Roll:

February 5, 2019

Homemade lemon curd is pretty much going with anything. It is perfect for cookies, tarts, bread or bun, or topping with any dessert.

These sweet lemon rolls are packed with delicious flavours with a lemony tinge that pairs well with tea or coffee as a snack option.

If you are a lemon fan like me, this is for you. It is an alternative to the cinnamon roll, a lemon roll!!

The recipe which I follow is easy to make.

To make 8- 10 rolls

For the Dough:

Milk – 1 cup ( I usually take skimmed milk)

Butter – ¼ cup ( 50 grams)

Sugar – ¼ cup

Active dry yeast – ¾  tsp

Flour – 2 ½ cup ( I took a mixture of oats flour + brown rice flour + whole wheat flour, and All-purpose little flour )

Baking powder – ½ tsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Lemon cream cheese filling:

cream cheese or paneer – 1/3 cup

sugar – 2 tbl spoons

hung curd – 2 tbl spoons

fresh lemon juice – 1tsp

all-purpose flour /fine semolina – 2 tbl spoons

homemade lemon curd – 1/4 cup

Method:

First: Bloom the yeast:  In a large glass bowl, add warm milk, sugar, melted butter, and mix. Sprinkle yeast, stir well, close the lid, set aside for 10 minutes or until yeast starts to bloom. (Milk should barely be warm while touching. Otherwise, the yeast would not bloom; instead, it will die)

Second: Prepare a dough: Take whatever flour you are using, combine everything, add to the bloomed yeast and milk mixture. Fold everything together, keep it covered, let it rise in a warm place for another one hr or more until it nearly doubled in size.

Third: Prepare the filling: In a small mixer jar, at first, churn paneer pieces, sugar, hung curd, then add the remaining ingredients and, whip once or twice and keep it ready.

Line your baking tray or grease your muffin tray and keep it ready.

Fourth: Kneading the dough for good 10 minutes: Dust the clean kitchen counter with the flour, Remove the dough from the bowl, start kneading. If needed, add little flour, and adjust the consistency. Until dough does not stick to your hand or surface. Now start kneading the dough by hand until it reaches a silky smooth texture and springs back when poked.

Fifth: Now it is ready to Roll: Roll the dough into a large rectangle using the hand and the roller. It should be around ½ inch in thickness, roughly 12” by 16” long. Fix the shape of all the corners.

Sixth: Spreading: Drop the filling here and there over the rectangle, spread evenly using a spatula or spoon.

Seventh: Make a log: Start rolling from one end ( longest side); roll up the dough slowly by sealing correctly and tightly. At the other end, seal the edge correctly, place seam side down.

Eighth: Cutting: Cut the log into even pieces using dental floss, twine, or knife. Take a long enough string, keep it at the bottom of the rolled log and pull upwards to get uniform pieces. Place all these pieces in a baking tray. Close the tray with the kitchen towel and leave it to rise. ( mine took hardly 5 minutes)

Ninth: Baking: Preheat the oven to 180°C; if it has risen/ second proof, apply the milk wash and keep it in the pre-heated range. ( I have baked in a mid rack of my oven ) It took me around 35 minutes. Keep an eye after 30 minutes, and when its upper surface turns brown, remove it from the oven.

After taking it out, apply butter over hot rolls to retain moisture. After it cools down, break one by one and serve. I have not used any glaze or cream cheese. It was delicious as it is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surnoli: (Bread dosa/ Buttermilk dosa)

January 24, 2019

Surnoli is a traditional breakfast recipe of south canara; it is also called as bread dosa or buttermilk dosa. This is usually prepared if you have left over buttermilk or curds in excess. Usually we make this by adding jaggery.

Here I am giving both sweet and normal dosa version.

Ingredients:

Dosa rice – 3 cups

Fenugreek seeds – 2 tsp.

Beaten rice /poha – 1 ½ cup

Salt – to taste

Buttermilk /curd – 2 cups

Grated coconut – from half coconut or 2 fists full.

Eno fruit salt – 1 tsp. each (for sweet/normal version)

Grated jaggery – according to taste (2 to 3tbl sp) (For sweeter version)

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp. (for sweeter version)

Method:

  • Wash dosa rice, fenugreek and beaten rice twice; discard water. Pour curds and soak this for 3 to 4 hours.
  • Grind this in to a smooth paste by adding coconut and salt to an idly batter consistency (little thicker than normal dosa)
  • If butter milk is very sour add milk while grinding or else you can add water too (if batter is too thick)
  • Now divide this batter into two, take out one portion of batter into a steel vessel in which you keep it for fermenting. This is our normal dosa batter.
  • For sweeter version, add turmeric and jaggery to the mixer jar and grind until it is homogenous.
  • Remove this batter to another vessel and keep it for fermentation.
  • Next day morning add 1 tsp. Eno fruit salt to both the batter and leave it aside for 10 min.

  • Make a dosa by pouring one serving spoon of the batter on hot iron griddle, don’t spread.
  • You will see thousands of holes on upper surface, smear with butter(Vegan’s can avoid) and cook this in a low flame by closing it with a lid.
  • Cook this dosa only on one side and don’t flip.

    -Spongy bread dosa is ready to serve and indulge in it with homemade butter or any chutney. Here I have served this with Onion-coconut chutney.

Mangalore Buns:

January 13, 2019

Mangalore Buns is a mildly sweet, deep-fried poori which has a honeycomb texture inside.  It is pure bliss to have this super tasty breakfast occasionally. The main ingredient of this delicacy is Banana and curd. That is the reason it has the fragrance, a little sour, melt-in-a-mouth texture and a sweetish taste.

In Mangalore, each hotel in any nook and corner will offer this super yummy dish throughout the day as a snack. Usually, they serve this with coconut chutney or super thin dhal which is called Thovve.

In our household, we relish this with Thovve. Thovve is nothing but cooked Toor dal boiled with slit green chillies, lots of asafoetida/hing and salt and seasoned with coconut oil or ghee, mustard and curry leaves.

Usually, buns are prepared by using all-purpose flour, but I normally make this by using whole wheat as a healthy choice.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour – 3 to 4 cups

Curd – ½ cup

Sugar – 6 to 7 teaspoons

Salt – 1tsp

Cooking soda – 1 teaspoon.

Bananas – 4 (small variety)

Cumin seed – 1 tablespoon.

Coconut oil – 2 teaspoons.

Oil- to fry

Method:

-Take one mixing bowl; pour in curd, sugar, salt, and cooking soda. Mix nicely in a circular motion by using your hand.

-When sugar dissolves, add in bananas and mash or add mashed bananas. Now add cumin.

-Starts making the dough by adding Whole wheat flour or All-purpose flour or half and half, however you prefer.

-Dough should be a little sticky, hope you are clear over here, if not please refer to the above picture and refer to my fingers.

-At this stage, pour in coconut oil and coat this on the outer side of the dough. Now keep this oil-applied dough in a bigger container or in that same vessel by closing the lid.

-It should ferment, rise and becomes double. It will take almost 7 to 8 hours in normal weather. In cold areas, even more, time is needed. I keep it for almost 20 hours rising in Bangalore weather.

-Next day morning, Keep oil in a thick Kadai for heating. When it becomes hot, take the fermented dough and keep it ready.

-Don’t mix or knead the dough. Take a small amount of dough, make this into a ball and roll the ball into discs with thickness as shown, by applying flour while rolling. (please refer to the above picture).

-Check the oil, if it is hot start frying buns.

-Slip the rolled disc into hot oil, when it comes up, immediately starts pressing from the back of the frying spoon. (please refer the picture no. 1) Now disc will fluff (No. 2) and fry nicely on both sides.

-Serve these fluffy and soft buns either with Thovve or coconut chutney.

 

Ubbu Rotti : ( In a Traditional way)

December 24, 2018

Made Ubbu Rotti for today’s lunch, one of the most laborious and very tasty dishes of south canara region. It is a simple rice flat bread and made by soaking Red rice. This is an age old, gluten free and healthy flat bread.

Ubbu Rotti is made as well as served in different styles. Each household has their own method even though the basic ingredient is the same Red rice which is also known as boiled rice or Kerala Matta rice.

In our household we make the Rotti by soaking Red rice and Idli rice in hot water and ground to smooth batter with salt. The ready batter is then cooked on a low heat to make a dough. Then it is pressed into discs by keeping in-between the two plantation leaves. In our native, people use clay tawa to cook the roti. I normally use my Iron Roti tawa. After cooking on both the sides, normally in villages, we put it on “Kenda” (hot burning firewood) to puff up nicely. Here I normally use direct gas flame to do the same. It is low in calorie as well as very healthy and tasty.

While serving, some families prefer chutney and some Malabar spinach gravy. It depends on one’s family preference. In our household, my Mom used to serve Garlic or Onion chutney and Mom -in -law used to serve with Raw mango chutney.

I have mentioned that it is laborious at the beginning itself. You must be thinking by now, why? It is very simple and straight forward and sounds easy as well. I am telling you, it is one of the most difficult recipes to master! Because it needs a lot of patience and time. Roti cooks really slow and vanishes very fast as well 😉 Once you get a hold of it, you can make it very easily. So, if you attempt and practice you will get the hang of it and can make easily.

Ingredients:

Boiled rice – 1 cup

Idli rice – 1 cup

Salt

Coconut oil – to apply

Method:

-Wash rice and soak it for one to two hours by adding hot boiling water and close the lid.

-Grind into smooth batter by adding enough water.

-Cook the batter( I normally add 1 tsp of coconut oil to batter to enhance the taste)  until it forms a dough consistency.

-Take out and cool a little and start making the discs.

-Take small banana leaves, wash and keep it ready as well as a roti presser or two wooden planks to press.

-Take a big lemon size dough and knead a little and form a round shape.

-Take one banana leaf, place it on a roti presser. Place the dough roundel over it and close it with another leaf and press the presser. If you are using plank, do it exactly like this by using the plank.

-Heat the griddle, place the discs (including banana leaf) over the hot iron griddle. Cook in a medium heat.

-Flip the sides couple of times, when roti cooks, leaf will become loose and at that moment, remove the leaf and discard it.

-continue to cook the roti, until you see the light brown spots. Now it is the time to place it on the direct fire and do it. Some would puff, some would not or partially puff.

-That is it. Remove, apply some coconut oil and enjoy with Onion/garlic chutney or Raw mango chutney or Malabar spinach curry.

 

 

Lemon thumb print cookies:

December 21, 2018

When I have homemade lemon curd, I use it in my baking and enjoy the tangy taste. Usually I make lemon thumb print cookies by using All-purpose flour and now a days, due to my healthy baking concept wanted to use healthy flour. I thought of using my Oats cookies recipe as a base and proceeded. It worked out and I am sharing the procedure of thumb print cookies using lemon curd.  I have already shared my home-made lemon curd recipe as well as oats cookies recipe separately in my blog. Link will be open, if you enter the highlighted words.

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.

Vanilla essence – 1 tsp.

Ghee /Clarified butter – ½ cup

Milk – 2 table sp to 3 tbl sp (to bind)

Lemon curd to fill the indent.

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, vanilla essence 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 170°C. Line the baking tray with butter paper.

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

-Take one small cookie scoop or a Table spoon to shape the dough into semi-circle balls and place at a lined tray.

-Make an indent at the centre, by pressing your index finger.

-Fill the indent with lemon curd.

-Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until base becomes light brown in colour and seeing some cracks around the edges.                  

-Now don’t disturb these beauties and allow them to cool completely. Then you can store this in an airtight container.

 

 

Broken wheat Huggi:

December 17, 2018

Huggi is a very popular, semi solid dessert of North Karnataka and each house has its own method. It is a sort of homely recipe and you would not find in any restaurant. Broken wheat is known as Godhi nucchu in Kannada language. I learnt Some of my favourite North Karnataka recipes from my previous neighbour aunty, who hails from Solapur near Gulbarga. I used to enjoy whatever she used to offer, starting from simple triangle chapati, obbattu, obbattu saru, chapparadavarekai palya, chavlikai palya and khara byale saru to Godhi nucchina Huggi, which she used to offer to God, every Friday evening and used to offer as a prasadam to us.

Aunty used to use hardly 3 ingredients and it used to taste divine. It is no coconut dessert and you can feel the texture of wheat as well as flavour. Preparation is very quick and simple and needs hardly any pre-preparation.

Recipe goes like this-

Ingredients:

Broken wheat – 1 cup

Jaggery – ¾ cup

Salt – ¼ tsp

Ghee – ¼ cup

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Cashew pieces – Roasted (Optional)

Method:

-Wash broken wheat twice. Cook with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt for 2 to 3 whistles.

-Mean time, heat jaggery by adding ½ cup of water. Strain the liquid and remove the impurities.

-Add strained jaggery syrup to cooked wheat and cook further at a very low temperature.

-When raw smell of jaggery vanishes, add ghee and cook further by mixing in between.

-Lastly when mixture becomes like a mass, add cardamom powder, garnish with roasted cashew and serve.

DATE CAKE:

December 7, 2018

I must say, this cake is my Signature dish and very close to my heart. When I was trying my hand in baking, I experienced a lot of failures, but this recipe has uplifted my faith in trying and achieving my goal.

Whenever I made this, everyone liked it for its soft, moist texture. As a little treat to help you relax and settle into Christmas mood, I will share my very easy Date cake recipe with very minimal ingredients. If anyone wants to try their hand at baking, this is just the recipe for you. Just go ahead and try this, you will never regret it.

Now we will see how to make this,

Ingredients:

Dates – 1 cup

Butter /oil – 1 cup

Sugar – 1 cup

All purpose flour – 2 cups (you can mix whole wheat and all purpose too)

Eggs –  2 (beaten)

Water – 1 cup

Cooking soda – 1 tsp or little less.

Method:

– De-seed the dates and chop it either by using food processor or knife, keep aside.

-Grease the baking tray (you can use bread tin as well). Line this with butter paper, keep it ready.

– Take water in a small bowl and boil. When it starts boiling switch off the gas, add chopped dates, butter, sugar, and cooking soda to boiled water and keep aside at least for 20 min.

– After it cools, add beaten eggs and mix nicely.                          

-Now fold in All-purpose flour, mix gently and pour this batter to greased and lined baking vessel.                                              

-Bake this in a pre- heated oven for 35 -40 min or until done at 180 C.

-If you want to check its doneness, use tooth pick or knife. Insert this, if it comes out clean, remove the tin, keep it outside.

-After some time, remove butter paper and cool further.                  

-When it reaches room temperature, you can slice it or cut according to your wish and enjoy with cup of coffee or tea.

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