Grilled Pineapple & Cottage Cheese Bites - Desi Health Bites!

In a country where most recipes begin with heating oil in a pan and end with a tempering of oil and spices, disseminating information about cooking oil is a welcome idea. Fortune Foods invited food bloggers to come up with healthy recipes as part of an initiative to highlight some facts and bust some myths about rice bran oil. 

The company launches a 100% rice bran oil, Fortune Rice Bran Health. This oil is extracted from the thin brown layer (or bran) of unpolished grains. The bran contains lots of vitamins and other micro nutrients, making it the most nutritious part of grains.

 Some benefits of rice bran oil : 

1. Helps reduce bad cholesterol: Fortune rice bran health oil has a key micro nutrient called

“oryzanol”, an antioxidant found only in the bran of rice. It helps reduce bad cholesterol, 

increase good cholesterol and keeps your heart healthy, making it a healthier choice. 

2. Keeps your heart healthy: FRBH contains more antioxidants than blended oils or pomace

olive oil. They fight harmful free radicals, which cause heart disease and other chronic 

illnesses, keeping your heart healthy. 

3. Helps to have better skin: Squalene is an organic compound naturally produced by human skin cells and is a natural moisturizer. Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil contains good amounts of it which prevent the ageing of skin.

A couple of myths related to rice bran oil 

1. Darker Oils aren’t good for health. It is a myth that colourless or transparent oils are healthier than dark oils. FRBH is refined optimally to keep all the essential micro nutrients 

intact. It has a darker appearance primarily due to Oryzanol. 

2. Rice Bran alters the taste of food: Rice Bran leaves no aftertaste. It does not have a

taste of its own, so it doesn’t interfere with the taste of food.

Here comes  a delightful tango of hot-sweet flavors, Grilled Pineapple & Cottage Cheese Bites. Light enough to be served as a summer appetizer, enough spices to tickle the Indian palate.  

Grilled Pineapple And Cottage Cheese Bites

Ingredients : 

Cottage cheese - cut into 1'' cubes - 200 grams (please read note)

Fresh peeled pineapple - cut into 1'' cubes - 1 cup
Red capsicum - 1, cut into 1'' cubes

For the marinade 

Fresh red chilies, slit - 15-20  

Fresh coriander, chopped - 1/4 cup

Garlic - 5 pods
Oil - 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
Roasted cumin powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Fresh, thick hung yogurt or low fat set dahi - 6 tablespoons

Chat masala - 1 teaspoon

Roasted chickpea flour - 1.5 tablespoons
Kasuri methi, toasted and crushed - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon

Plus extra oil for grilling

Method : 

To make the marinade 

• On low heat, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a pan. Tip in the chilies, saute till lightly blistered. Now add the coriander and saute till just shriveled. Transfer to a plate, let cool. 
• Grind the sauteed chilies, coriander, garlic, cumin powder, a tablespoon of oil and salt to a smooth paste. At this point, you can store the paste in an airtight jar for a day in the fridge.
• Whisk 3 tablespoons paste with the yogurt, besan, chat masala, kasuri methi, going easy with more salt as chat masala already has salt in it. Taste, adding more marinade if you want it to taste more assertive. 
• Take the paneer, pineapple and capsicum in a bowl, scrape the marinade on top . Mix gently, coating the pieces well. Marinate for at least half an hour or longer in the fridge if convenient. Thread so that pieces of paneer, capsicum and pineapple alternate on the skewers. 
• Heat a non stick tawa. Brush generously with oil. On medium heat, grill till lightly charred, brushing oil lightly as needed. Take care not to overcook or the paneer will become tough and chewy. Serve immediately. 

Succulent pieces of sweet pineapple, soft cottage cheese and crunchy red peppers, I thought is a winning combination! You could even skip the cottage cheese to make it a really low calorie version!

Please note: I have used home made cottage cheese made with 3% milk. You can use store bought paneer or even pressed and drained firm tofu. 

Any remaining ground paste can be simply whisked into fresh yogurt, add a simple tempering of mustard and curry leaves. Enjoy with hot steamed rice or parathas. Or even tossed with cubed chilled cucumber as a snack!

This blog post is in association with Fortune Foods as a part of their Desi Health Bites activity– The Hunt for the Best Rice Bran Oil Recipes. For more updates and healthy recipes using Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil, follow Fortune Foods on Facebook and on Twitter 

Jamie Oliver's Peach Clafoutis - Easy, Homey, Delish!

Its not everyday that you stumble upon a recipe which is super easy to make, does not have a load of fat, barely any flour, comes together in 10 minutes and bakes in 15.  A simple yet satisfying homey kind of dessert you want to eat when you crave something sweet. Made with the most basic pantry staples, this clafoutis is something I could easily fall into the habit of making. On a busy week day or on a lazy weekend, this is one of the easiest desserts you could bake. A scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream will make this good enough for company too! 

Ever since I baked Tartine's Clafoutis, I have been trying more recipes of this French dessert. That was a slightly more substantial one, but delicious nonetheless! The custard lover that I am, clafoutis with lesser flour is a welcome addition to the dessert repertoire.

I don't normally stock canned fruit, but now I think its not a bad idea to have a can or two to bake desserts like this on a whim. Store cupboard versions as Jamie calls them. Seasonal fruit like cherries, berries, plums or even apples should work good. I know you have heard this before  I would anytime prefer eating fruit fresh to those cooked to any degree. But since fruit does add appeal to dessert, I like baking in ramekins as it reduces the baking time drastically. You could bake the clafoutis in a large oven proof dish, but then the fruit will be quite mushy. You could even skip the fruit and make a plain version, so what if we can't then call it a clafoutis? 

Peach Clafoutis. Recipe here

Ingredients: To make about 8 half cup servings

Canned peaches, drained - 200 grams ( 1 small tin, I used Del Monte)

Salt - a tiny pinch

Eggs - 144 grams / 3 large

Whole milk - 450 ml (3.5 - 4% fat)
Caster Sugar - 100 grams 

Plain flour - 24 grams / 3 tablespoons

Butter - 50 grams  (I skipped this)

Confectioner's sugar - for dusting on top

Ice cream or whipped cream to serve (optional)

 Method 

• Pre heat oven to 220 C / 425 F.

• Lightly butter 8-10  half cup /120 ml capacity ramekins. Cut the peach halves into 3 pieces each. Arrange two of these pieces in each of the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a large tray, spaced about an inch apart.

• Take the sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt in a medium sized bowl. Whisk lightly to combine. We do not want to introduce air by vigorous whisking. Slowly whisk in the flour a tablespoon at a time. If there are any tiny lumps, rub between your fingers to smoothen. (Eeks? Please tell me if you have a better way to do this!) 

• Warm the milk so its barely warm (think you are warming milk to set yogurt in summer), this was 106 F on my thermometer. Err on the side of the milk being less warm than it being hot as the eggs may curdle. 

• Whisk the warm milk gently into the egg mixture. Pour it over the peaches in the ramekins.  The ramekins will be 3/4 full. 

• Bake about 13-15 minutes or till the custard is set but has a slight wobble when you shake it. To test, check at 13 minutes. Let the ramekins remain in the oven. Shake one ramekin gently to see if looks set but has a slight wobble like jelly. If it looks runny, bake 2 minutes more. If in doubt, err on the side of under baking. The clafoutis will puff up a bit and then deflate. 

• Remove the tray from the oven. Carefully transfer the ramekins on to a cooling rack. Let cool completely. Though this is eaten warm with a dusting of confectioner's sugar, I like clafoutis best at room temperature. Dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve with ice cream or cream. 

Please note:

The original recipe uses 3 tablespoons sugar in the batter and 3 tablespoons dusted on top. I have used more and all in the batter.

You could use lesser sugar if using more fruit as that would make the dessert sweeter. Jamie uses a 400 gram can (almost double). I have used less fruit as I like it to be more of custard.

Do not use powdered sugar in the batter as it will clump. 

If baking the clafoutis without fruit, fill the ramekins 3/4 way up. Check at around 15 minutes. The baking time will vary depending on the size of the baking dish / ramekin.

Even if you have never baked custard before, this should be easy enough to try. Very little effort, safe and good as long as you do not over bake. From inspiration to the table in 30 minutes, don't you think this is worth a try?

Baked Nippattu - Savory Spicy Crackers(video recipe)

Have I ever confessed that behind the bulky incorrigible baker lives a veteran fighter who has never managed to win the battle of the bulge? Temporary triumphs yes, but never lasting success. For all that love for desserts and good food, I try hard to keep our daily grub fairly healthy. I like to indulge my family with treats now and then, but am mostly the wicked mother and heartless wife who plays spoilsport quite often. All in the interests of our long term health and food habits of course!

Store bought junk earns frowns mostly, but I give in sometimes, they sneak them in at times thanks to the hubby and the grandparents. Deep frying is really rare - I just don't enjoy slaving over hot oil ! Eating out very often is a no. The very selfish baker that I am, most of the big calories and fat are reserved for my bakes which I try hard to space out.  My deep rooted  love for conventional baking makes changes for better health all the more necessary. While I may not be the most  health and nutrition conscious person around,  I do keep trying constantly to make our meals healthier, strive hard to strike a balance. My exasperated family naturally has little choice but put up with me as I happen to be the sole chef around. If it helps resurrect my image, yes, I do feel guilty about it - at times! 

I have thankfully realized that home made junk is a lot more healthier than the store-bought or processed 'health' or 'low fat baked' goodies.  Home made, low-fat baked versions naturally do not taste exactly the same as the 'regular' ones, but good enough.  Hopefully will help the kids develop a taste for these as well, learn that this is the only way to have their cake and eat it too.

My family loves Nippattu, South Indian style deep fried savory crackers.  I baked a healthier version of these and was quite pleased with the results.  About 50% whole wheat and 40 ml oil for 18, 3 inch crisp crackers.  Not bad I think!

This is my crazy version of these crackers, play around with the flavors as you please!

Baked Nippattu

Ingredients -

All purpose flour - 60 grams

Whole wheat flour - 50 grams

Salt - 3/4 teaspoon

Sugar - 1 teaspoon

Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Roasted, skinned and coarsely chopped peanuts - 1/4 cup

White poppy seeds, lightly toasted - 1 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Onion powder - 2 teaspoons

Oil - 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons / 40 ml

Garlic - 2 cloves, finely chopped or grated

Green chillies, finely chopped - 1 or 2, to taste

Curry leaves, chopped - 1 tablespoon

Fresh coriander - 2 tablespoons

Water - 1/4 cup

Method : Mise en place. Pre-heat oven to 200 C / 400 F. Line your baking tray(s) with parchment.

• Sift together the flours, baking powder, salt, chilli powder and sugar into a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix in the peanuts and poppy seeds. 
• Warm the oil with the minced garlic. Do not let the garlic brown. Add the finely chopped green chillies, saute a few seconds. Let the oil cool to room temperature. 
• Mix this with the water, stir in the curry leaves and coriander. 
• Make a well in the flour mixture, tip in the wet mixture. Bring it together gently with your hand, knead 4- 5 times. The dough need not be completely smooth. You want a soft but not sticky dough.
• Add more water if needed just 1/2 teaspoon at a time if the dough feels dry or is not coming together. 
• Divide the dough into 18 equal portions, shape them into balls. 
• Lightly flour your work area. Roll out the balls into 3'' circles about 3 mm thick, placing the rolled discs on the lined sheets as you go. A small bench scraper works great to lift the rolled crackers without tearing .Keep the rest of the dough covered as you work. 
• Bake the crackers for about 12-14 minutes or till light golden all over. The time will vary depending on the thickness of the crackers and your oven. So watch carefully after 12 minutes, these will turn darker pretty fast. A small test batch will tell you the correct baking time.
• Brush the crackers with a tiny bit of oil when still hot. This is optional but good. Let the crackers remain on the sheet for a few minutes. Cool completely and store in air-tight containers.

Traditional version

Skip the poppy seeds, green chillies and garlic. Add a generous dash of hing and 1 1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder to the warm (not hot) oil. Add 3 tablespoons shredded dried coconut to the flour.

You could use finely minced onion, but you will need to saute them to remove moisture. Safe bet? Try this first as it is and then experiment.

You can make this all whole wheat, you will need to adjust the water, expect crackers less light.

Nucchina Unde - Steamed Lentil Dumplings

It doesn't take a six course meal to please me. Just mentioning in case I am invited to break bread with you :D  Simple, satisfying comfort food is what I crave most for. I find that much against my will, my tummy growls louder and earlier than usual  when its one of these dishes on my dining table. Soppina Palya and steaming Tomato Rasam, Spicy, vegetable loaded Bisi Bele Bhat and Sandige, piping hot rice with Menasinakyi Raitha, Stuffed Brinjals and chapatis to name a few. Another all time favorite, filling and easy meal I love is Majjige Huli (a kind of yogurt gravy) simmered with Nucchina Unde.

Ingredient wise, Nucchina Unde is similar to the more popular, deep fried Masala Vadas of South India. Bengal gram dal, fresh coconut, green chillies, hing, turmeric are ground to a coarse paste and made into dumplings and steamed. Sometimes even a mixture of lentils like Bengal gram dal, moong dal and toor dal are used in different proportions. I like to use coriander, dill / mint and onion are also used. You could shape them into flat discs or into oblong shapes as you please.

You can eat these as a snack as is or with coconut chutney. Or crumble them into steamed rice and melted ghee. Even better, simmer them for a few minutes in Majjige Huli and serve with rice. That's my favorite way of eating these dumplings. Deep fried chickpea bondas in yogurt gravy is delicious too, but these lighter steamed ones are way friendlier during hot Indian summers. Light on your stomach and no sweating over deep-frying them.

You will hardly need more than 20 minutes to put these on the table if you remember to soak the lentils ahead. The important thing is not to grind the lentils too much or add water as that will make them hard.

NUCCHINA UNDE

Ingredients: To make about 12 dumplings. If doubling the recipe, grind in two batches.

Bengal Gram Dal - Chana Dal - 1/2 cup.

Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Green chillies - 8-10 (less will make them bland and tasteless)

Fresh coriander, chopped - 1/4 cup
Hing - A generous pinch
Fresh ginger, grated - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt to taste

• Wash and soak the lentils for 3-4 hours or even better overnight. Drain and rinse well. Drain out all water again, making sure there is absolutely no water left.
• Put all the ingredients (no water) in the medium sized jar of your blender and grind at speed 1 for just 10 seconds. Open the lid, mix with a spoon. The mixture should be coarse, a few whole grains of dal or bits of chillies is just fine. If absolutely needed, process again 5-10 seconds. If you make a paste of it, you may not love the dumplings.
  
• Taste to check if you need more seasoning like salt or ginger. If necessary, just add more of these to the ground mixture, do not grind the mixture again. If you need more chillies, either chop fine and add or grind separately and mix. 
• Lightly grease idli plates. Make about 12 small portions of the mixture and place in the plate, flatten slightly. Steam on high heat for about 12-14 minutes and check to make sure the dumplings are not doughy. Do not steam much longer as they may feel very dry.
  

          Serve warm or at room temperature with coconut chutney. Or simmer in Majjige Huli for 5 minutes.

 Tell me your favorite summer savory dishes?

Flourless Coffee Almond Cookies

After staying away from baked meringue in general, I am finally coming to the conclusion that I may like it after all!  I had tried pavlova ages ago and had not taken much of a liking to it. Since then I have been paying little attention to meringue based recipes.

When I asked for a recipe for flour less cookies, the Google Gods directed me to Purple Foodie's Flourless Hazelnut Cookies. They looked so delicate and pretty! No butter, no oil, just whipped egg whites, sugar and ground nuts. Not intimidating like French Macarons, so not much to lose! Shaheen's description of their aroma makes you feel like scrounging around for some hazelnuts, but then good quality ones are not so easy (or cheap!) to find. So almonds it would have to be. If there are going to be almonds, can coffee be left far behind? 

It would weigh on my conscience if I did not mention that there is a possibility I may not got these the way they are meant to be. Having never baked macarons, I realized half a cup of almonds and a fourth of cup of sugar are quite a bit to be folded into the whites of one egg. Though you can't possibly fold in the nuts and sugar without deflating the whipped whites to some extent, am not sure how much of it is alright in these cookies. 

But I am going right ahead and posting these as I found the cookies quite light, nutty, tender-crunchy and delicious!  Even assuming my cookies are not quite there, the results you can get can only be better! 

Apparently, these Italian cookies are called Brutti Ma Buoni literally meaning, “Ugly But Good''!  

Below is half the recipe on Shaheen's blog.  Please do double the recipe if you can bake them all at one go.

Recipe from here, original recipe here .  

Ingredients: (made about 20 cookies or so)

Whole Almonds -  75 grams / 1/2 cup ( or hazelnuts, lightly toasted and skinned, you could also try walnuts, read note)

Granulated sugar - 50 grams / 1/4 cup / 4 tablespoons

Instant coffee - 1 1/4 teaspoons (or orange zest)

Egg white -  30 grams / 1 large white

Powdered sugar - 1 tablespoon

Cream of tartar - a tiny, tiny pinch (about HALF of 1/8 tsp)

Vanilla extract - 3/4 teaspoon

Flaked almonds - 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Preheat to 160°C/325°F. Line two baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.
2. Put the whole almonds in a plastic cover, close and bash with a rolling pin to break them into uneven pieces. This will help you grind them fine without getting them oily.
3. Pulse nuts, coffee (or zest) and sugar in a food processor or the smallest jar of your mixie until finely ground. Short 10-15 second turns, 2 times at the lowest speed will be good. Be sure not to overdo this as you need this to be like fine meal, not clumped up nuts and sugar. 
4. Make sure your bowl and beaters for whipping egg whites are squeaky clean.
5. Beat egg whites on low speed till you seem it foaming. Add the cream of tartar and beat on medium speed (3 on hand mixer) till you see traces of the beaters on the whites. This will look like shaving foam now. Add the powdered sugar slowly and continue beating on medium speed till stiff peaks form. When you raise the beaters slowly, the whites will stand up straight and not droop right away. If you are not there yet, continue and check after about 10-15 seconds. Be wary of over whipping as it will make the whites go dry.
6. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in the nut mixture into the whites ( I added in two additions). If adding vanilla or any other flavoring, you can add now when you fold in the nuts.
7. The mixture looked quite heavy but foamy. Is this how it works in this recipe?? The moment of tragedy when my dreams of baking French macarons were completely shattered!
8. I made cookies with half tablespoon batter each leaving about an inch space in between the cookies. They spread as they bake. Gently drop almond flakes on top of the cookies. Rap the baking sheet a couple of times over the counter.
9. Bake for 22-24 minutes. The cookies will feel firm all over. If the center is softish, bake a couple of minutes more. Cookies which feel softish in the center will have chewy centers.
10. Cool the cookies on the tray for about 5 minutes. Store airtight. 

Please note: 

1. Blanched or un blanched almonds make a difference to the color of the cookies, since I have used  coffee I have used them as is.

2. If adding coffee or  zest, add all at one go when you grind the nuts. Repeated addition of flavoring and grinding repeatedly however briefly makes the nuts turn oily. 

3. Shaheen has reduced the sugar from the original recipe, I have added one tablespoon more and this was just fine with the coffee. Please alter the amount of coffee to taste. 

4. Reading recipes for French macarons, folding in nuts into the whites seems to be acceptable. So no concerns on that count. 

Pretty or not, perfect or not, I loved them the way they turned out, am making these again!

Ottolenghi's Olive Oil Crackers

 

 

Wincing, grouchy, irritable, bored beyond belief - that was me last week. Terrible pain in my back and neck put me completely out of action for a couple of days. Followed by the very much dreaded dictum of rest and restricted movement by the orthopedic surgeon. Rest is anathema to me, just beyond me!  Hubby and kids home over the long weekend, ensured enough and more of it. Good in more ways than one, or boredom would have driven me to the kitchen!  Knowing me as a bad patient for 'rest' hubby said, 'Yes, you can't bake, don't even think about it for a few days'!  Sigh! Self pity!

Better this week, the baker and blogger in me kicks back into action! Thank God for crackers and the kind, low fat and exactly what I need to quickly come out of oven and hopefully on to the blog! 

 

Yotam Ottolenghi's Olive oil crackers from Deeba's had to happen sooner, but as they say, better late than never! Crisp and golden crackers with just about a splash of extra virgin olive oil, these are good! With enough spices to tickle your palate they will be good on their own, milder ones would be good too but with a dip.

Just be sure you do not use excessive flour for rolling as they may taste flour-y. Watch them very carefully as they bake, they bake really fast, burn really fast!  The baking time varies depending on how thin you roll the crackers, so a test batch for tasting is absolutely essential. 

 

 

The really simple recipe goes like this.
 

Olive Oil Crackers
200gms plain flour, plus extra for dusting
50gms whole wheat flour / 50 grams more plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
115ml water
25ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 teaspoon salt (vary to taste, a bit less if using salt as topping)
1 teaspoon red chilli powder

2 cloves of garlic, grated

 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Topping suggestions : Maldon flaky salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, minced garlic etc for sprinkling/topping

Method:
Sift all dry ingredients, except the sea salt  into a medium sized bowl. Add the oil and water. Bring it together, and then turn onto a work surface and knead briefly until smooth. This makes a fairly soft but stiff dough. Wrap in cling film and leave it to rest for an hour in the fridge.

Line 2-3 trays with baking parchment.

Preheat the oven to 220°C / 430 F . On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll a quarter of the dough at a time, as thin as possible. {or you can divide the dough into 25 pieces and roll out thin tongues as described by Ottolenghi.}

Use enough flour to ensure the dough doesn’t stick to the surface. Brush the top generously with olive oil, then sprinkle on the sea salt, or topping of your choice. Cut into shapes, circles or squares or rectangles with a pastry cutter. Squares and rectangles will save you some re-rolling and consequently less light  crackers.

Place the crackers on the prepared tray. Bake for 5 minutes or less, until crisp and golden brown. Allow to cool, taste the test batch to help identify the baking time for the rest of the crackers. Store in an airtight container. 

 

 

 

We loved these and I will be making more of these soon! A word of caution though, the above recipe makes a whole lot of crackers, try halving the recipe if like me, patience is not among your virtues!

 

Double Chocolate Granola

From the great revolt of 1857, to the states of matter, to decimals and fractions and finally back to obsessing over my neglected blog and less used oven. Am feeling elated and so liberated!! We are done with the final exams but still need to attend school for a few days - bliss! No exams, no homework, kids out of my hair for a few hours ...but only to come back home together and create double the trouble and bedlam as if making up for all the lost time. Sigh! You can't really have your cake and eat it too!

The pandemonium of the holidays comes with restless kids and their never ending hunger pangs...a common manifestation of very frequent, little big bursts of boredom. Heavens! What do I feed them all day! Needless to say, there is always a desperate need and demand for chocolaty somethings which never fail to make them happy! Though granola is one of my favorite things to have in the jar, my daughter normally wrinkles her little nose at the sound of the word. But wait, a chocolaty chocolate granola could be one of the answers!

Scouting for a recipe for chocolate granola, I landed here and made this several times since! A little less cocoa, a little more chocolate, and then I found what we liked! Being a low fat, non-sugar loaded snack which keeps well for days, you can tweak and experiment endlessly with granola till you figure out what you like best! Small batches in my microwave for experimentation and then a large batch in the big oven...so that we always have a bit of chocolate goodness in the guise of granola!

This granola is quite chocolaty no doubt, but mind you this is not meant to be dessert! But then you can always make it more chocolaty, as it is just a matter of  heating the liquid ingredients and dark chocolate together, mixing it with oats and baking them till crisp. Mix in more of the almost powdery chocolate to it when still warm so that it coats the oats, and then some more little chunks when its almost cool, but very slightly warm. Let the chocolate melt just enough to get the granola into little chocolatey clusters. Finally stir in toasted nuts of your choice. Friendly granola allows me to divide the whole batch into a lesser chocolate and no nuts part for me and add more chocolate to the rest. Hubby wants to keep a box of this with a tiny spoon in his office to eat as a bite of dessert when the sugar craving hits!

Here is how we go. The below recipe makes enough to make one small batch in your 8-9'' round tin. Double if using a much bigger tray or pan. But remember, make it just one single thinnish layer.

Based on the recipe from the The Wannabe Chef, with modifications.

Ingredients:

Quaker oats - 95 grams (please read note)
Granulated sugar - 2 tablespoons
Cocoa powder - 3/4 tablespoon
Dark chocolate - 3 tablespoons / 40 grams approx
Vegetable oil - 1 tablespoon
Water - 1 tablespoon
Honey - 1 tablespoon
Pure vanilla extract - 1/4 teaspoon
Grated dark chocolate ( or tiny bits of it at the bottom of your chocolate tin) - 2 tablespoons

Add ins
Dark chocolate chunks - 2 -3 tablespoons
Toasted walnuts or almonds - 1/4 cup or more

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees C / 320 degree F (read note). Line your baking tin with parchment. Weigh the oats, keep aside. Measure the rest of the dry ingredients and put directly into a medium sized heavy saucepan. Then the rest of the liquid ones, again directly into your saucepan. The oil first, then the honey (slips out of the spoon like a dream), water and vanilla. Heat the ingredients in the saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly juts until the chocolate melts. Take off the heat. Tip in the oats. Mix well to combine. You will have a moist but crumbly mixture. Spread this on your prepared pan in a single layer.

Stirring thoroughly every 10 minutes to re-distribute the mixture, bake for about 30-35 minutes (or may be 5 minutes more) or till the oats turn crisp. To test, take your granola out from the oven, take a spoonful of it, it will still feel soft. Allow it to cool for 3-4 minutes and taste. It should be crisp. If its not crisp enough, bake again for about 3-4 minutes, check again.

When done and the granola is still on the tray right out of the oven, add about 2-3 tablespoons of grated chocolate and stir. It will melt coating the granola. Allow it to cool further and when barely warm, add about 2 tablespoons of finely chopped chunks of chocolate. The chocolate will melt just enough to clump some of the granola but still remain as bits of chocolate. Stir in the toasted walnuts when the granola is completely cool. Store in an airtight container.

Here is some oats and chocolate goodness for you!

Please note: When I bake granola, I first sieve the oats to remove the fine powdery part and reserve it for another use. The oats here are first sieved, then weighed. You could alter the quantity of sugar and honey to your taste. This is not very sweet. I personally like eating granola as is, but my kids love to eat this as is and with chilled milk too.

I prefer toasting nuts separately and adding them at the end. Sometimes, if the granola takes longer to bake, the nuts would have got over toasted. If adding dried fruit, add that to the cooled baked granola.

I have baked this at 180 degrees C / 350 degree F as mentioned in the original recipe for about 20-22 minutes. This works fine too, but baking at a lower temperature for longer will give you crisp granola with lesser chances of it getting a burnt taste within minutes. And remember, its tough to see the color change when its chocolate.

This is now another staple in my home and shall be made regularly, so more updates here if any!

Onion, Poppy Seed Crackers And Crisp (Yeasted) Flatbreads - With The Daring Bakers!

 Its the 27th and time for another Daring Bakers' challenge! At at a time when I am desperately torn between my restricted diet and the inexplicable pull of my new oven, came these apt recipes from our hostess this month, Sarah. Sarah from  All Our Fingers In The Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers!

Been waiting to tell you, I got my new big oven at last! A Morphy Richards 40 liter OTG which occupies its place of pride in my dining area.  Its another matter that my already crowded kitchen counter looks rather too overcrowded now as it had to accommodate my microwave and an induction stove too. Not that it really matters to me as I am so very happy to get my oven after a really long wait. Happier as it happens to be a gift from my father. Though am no stranger to an OTG, am still getting used to my new one - each one has a mind of its own as they say! Have mini bundts, Swiss Rolls, baguettes, large batches of tuiles on my mind, but am content with baking safer bakes like crackers, biscotti and granolas for the time being. Better that way as I will feel less sad burning these rather than over baking pound cakes or doughnuts.

Back to the crackers, I baked these onion crackers - which we absolutely loved! Crisp onion and poppy seed flavored ones which remind you of the famous famous Maddur Vada!! I made these 3-4 times, in small batches of course. Each time, they were gone fast, some as munchies and some as an accompaniment with hot rasam and rice! Oh, they sure were yum and will be definitely made again and again, goes high on my list of keepers!

Onion and Poppy Seed Crackers : I have quartered the recipe as I am not blessed with patience and I liked them best when made with the sticky dough rolled really thin without using a whole lot of flour. You may find making these more efficient and faster if you use a silicon mat.

Ingredients:
Onion puree - 1/4 cup (pls read note)
Egg - 1/4 large egg / 12 grams of one whisked whole egg
Vegetable oil - 20 ml
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
 All-purpose (plain) flour / maida 70 grams
 Baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon
 Poppy seeds (raw) - 1/2 tablespoon
 Granulated sugar - 3/4 teaspoon
 Freshly ground black pepper - 1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste)
Fresh coriander, 1-2 teaspoons, finely chopped, very well squeezed to have no moisture( read note)
Directions:

• Sift the flour, salt, sugar, pepper, baking power together twice. Stir in the poppy seeds. Keep aside.

• In a medium sized bowl, take the onion puree. Add the egg, oil and blend with a fork until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture.
  

• Mix well until the dough is fully combined. The dough will be very sticky, that's alright. Grease your counter. Lightly knead the dough for 2 minutes, though it will be tough to. If you have to add more flour, add very little, about a teaspoon. I preferred the ones to which I did not add additional flour while kneading. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour or more to suit your convenience. Overnight works fine too. The dough will be firmer after refrigeration.

• Preheat oven to moderate  180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Line your baking sheets with parchment and grease lightly.

• Even after refrigeration this will be a very soft dough. If you have mixed a large portion of dough, you may want to take out only a part of it.  Lightly flour your rolling pin and counter, take tiny balls of dough, roll as thinly as possible. Place them on the lined sheet. If you cant roll them as thin as you want, place them on your parchment lined baking tray and then spread them with your finger tips to make them thinner. Brush off any excess flour with a dry silicon brush. 
• You could roll large portions of dough, cut out the crackers with a cutter . But I did not want to use too much flour or roll them thicker, so rolling them thin with tiny balls worked better for me-taste wise!  Unless you roll the dough thick or use much of flour,  its tough to lift the thinly rolled soft dough onto the baking sheet as they will tear.

• As the crackers bake pretty fast and you surely don't want them to burn while you multi-task, you may want to use multiple trays, roll 2-3 sheets of crackers at one go and then bake them in succession.
  

Bake until almost evenly golden (mine has splotches of white, but they tend to burn if you wait for longer). The time required will depend upon the thickness but anywhere from 5 - 15 minutes. Mine took about 6-7 minutes. Watch carefully as they will bake quickly, Do not let them turn dark brown. Cool thoroughly before storing in air tight container.

Please Note : You can add a green chilli or a pod of garlic while pureeing the onion, but do not add too many things (such as mint, coriander., garlic, more chillies) as your dough may become very sticky and tough to roll out. Or u may end up using less of onion in the puree when you measure which may not give a predominant onion flavor. If you want to roll the crackers really thin, chopped coriander or chillies in the dough will make it difficult to roll.

Yeasted Flatbread Crackers  Another must have low fat crackers in your repertoire! Quick and easy to make as there isn't much kneading here, proof the dough and then carelessly roll the friendly dough into shapes you want, making sure you roll them uniformly thin. Top them with herbs or seeds and toppings of your choice as you roll and bake till golden and crisp. Eat with a dip of your choice or as is for in between meal hunger pangs..

Ingredients: 

Luke warm water - 60 ml / 1/4 cup  

Milk - 60 ml / 1/4 cup

Instant yeast - 1/2 teaspoon 

All-purpose (plain) flour / maida - 195 grams / 1 1/2 cups, plus more for rolling

Extra virgin olive oil 20 ml -  1 1/2 tablespoons (aprox)
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Sugar 1/2 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm)
sea salt, for sprinkling
Freshly ground pepper (use generously) and white sesame seeds as needed
Or
Fresh rosemary or thyme - 2 tablespoons 
Optional - 1 large egg whisked with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) water, for egg wash ( I did not use any as I was using milk in the dough)

Directions:

• In a medium sized bowl, mix the lukewarm water and milk. Add the instant yeast ( if using active dried yeast, let stand for about 5 minutes till foamy and then proceed), add the oil. Mix the flour, salt, sugar very well. Stir in flour mixture, bring it together, turn on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes till you get a smooth dough. The dough must not be sticky or even tacky.
  

• Place dough in a greased dough rising container or in a lightly oiled bowl and roll the dough around in the bowl so that it is also lightly oiled on the surface. Cover with the lid or greased cling wrap. Let stand in a warm place until it doubles in volume, about 1 hour. (as the amount of yeast is less, it takes some time to double)

• Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. Keep your toppings ready. Line your baking sheets with parchment. Divide dough into 8 or more equal portions (depending on your tray size and size of crackers you want to bake) and cover with plastic wrap. 
• Flour your counter lightly, roll out each piece thin (mine was about 3 mm at a guess) sprinkling the sesame seeds, salt and pepper halfway through so that the seeds are rolled in. Or brush with the egg mixture (if using) and sprinkle with sea salt, sesame seeds, pepper or herbs. Transfer to the parchment lined baking sheet. 

• Bake, rotating sheet halfway through baking, until crisp and golden, for about 12-14 minutes ( or more depending on the thickness).  Watch carefully as they turn dark brown or burn quite fast. I burnt some as I went out to gush about how many I could fit in the big oven at one go to hubby :) Let cool on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Eat as is or with hummus or a red pepper dip.

Storage and Freezing Instructions/Tips: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month. Prolong the freshness by freezing for up to 3 months.

Thanks for these super recipes Sarah, these will be a regular in my kitchen now! Check out the creations of my fellow Daring Bakers!

The flatbreads are Yeast Spotted!

Tropical Coconut Wafer & Ice Cream Cones

And am back! Please don't tell me you have forgotten me! While I had planned a whole list of things to do, bake, write about and build a bursting folder of posts no less for the post-break blogging, I have actually been able to do very little of it. I am as usual huffing and puffing away to compile a post - some things never change! Like the tendency for Cakes And More showing on me - every now and then. Me trying hard to knock-off those exx...tra kilos while also struggling to resist the pull of my oven, bread machine and the rest of the baking toys. And of course the itch to blog. Perpetually confused me is now more confused about what I can bake and blog about as I have temporarily no luxury of tasting and testing calorie dense treats, cake or dessert very often. I really need to watch what I eat and how often I indulge...

But I am so thankful for the small portion of dessert I am allowed every week, reserved for my bakes predictably. This week's calories found themselves in these delicate coconut tuiles. I love coconut and these wafers are great on their own. And the delectable thought of filling it with some fruit and ice-cream giving it a more tropical twist was too good to resist! 

Eat the tuiles as is or poise them over some pannacotta. Add a dash of rum to the batter if you are a rum person and serve with whipped cream or pineapple or mango ice cream and some diced tropical fruit you will be transported to Hawaii!! 

Don't shy away from baking tuiles like I have earlier thinking that these are tricky to make. If you can separate eggs and can time baking your cookies, you certainly must try these! Don't let the part of coaxing the hot wafers from the baking sheet and shaping them in nano-seconds deter you. Usually, if your wafers harden before you have a chance to shape them, you pop them back in the oven to soften and then shape. Well, I simply bake all my tuiles, let them cool. Then I put them one at a time in the oven for about 30 seconds to soften them and then shape them. Easier this way and no burning your fingers!

 From Alice Medrich's Chewy, Gooey, Crispy and Crunchy Cookies. I want to try more tuiles from here!


Equipment - Baking trays or pans or cookie sheets, silicon baking mats, heavy duty aluminum foil dull side up. I use my baking trays lined with aluminum foil, dull side up. I used 2 trays and lots of foil as I needed to use a fresh piece of foil for each batch. A very thin metal spatula if you want to attempt to remove the hot cookies from the foil, cooling rack.
 
Ingredients: To make forty 3'' tuiles ( I made a quarter of the recipe to make about 10 tuiles)

Unsalted butter - 3 tablespoons / 42 grams approximately, melted and still very warm (not hot)
Unsweetened coconut (peeled and grated dry copra) - 1 cup / 3 oz / 84 grams approximately
Sugar, fine - 2/3 cup / 4.625 oz / 130 grams approximately
Egg whites - 3 large / 90 grams
All purpose flour - 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon / 1.5 oz /  42 grams
Salt - 1/8 teaspoon
Rum - 1 tablespoon ( I used vanilla extract)

Procedure:  If baking cookies immediately, preheat oven to 150 degrees C / 300 degree F.  If baking cookies later, just mix the batter as mentioned below and refrigerate.

If you would be using foil, measure the size needed to line your tray or pan. Cut carefully making sure you do not cause major creases. If there are any small creases smooth it out. Wrinkles will mar the appearance of the cookies. Line your pan or pans if using multiple ones. You could mark the outline of a 3'' circle with a food grade pencil. Grease the foil with butter lightly but thoroughly. Large cookies sheets will be great, I used my 9'' square tin to bake 2 at a time.

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients till well blended. We are not whipping up a volume here, just simple whisking. The batter will look very thick and you will wonder how this could be actually spread thin. Let the batter rest for at least 10 minutes or keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I used the batter the next day. The batter firms up on refrigerating and loosens up a bit after it comes out of the fridge.

Drop level teaspoons of batter 2 inches apart on the prepared foil. Using the back of a spoon, spread the batter evenly in 3 inch rounds or oval or other shape about 1/16 of an inch. This will look like some egg whites here and there and the coconut here and there. If using multiple trays, you could spread the batter and keep the trays in the oven one by one. If using the same pan for the next set of tuiles, make sure the pan is cool before you spread the batter.

Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. The time depends on the thickness of the cookies. Watch very carefully,  bake till the cookies are mostly golden with splotches of white here and there. Rotate pans if using a large oven and multiple sheets. If the cookies are not baked thoroughly, they won't be completely crisp when they cool. A test batch must tell you the approximate baking time. I baked for about 11 minutes.

Remove the cookies sheets or pans from the oven and set them down. Keep your rolling pin / cup right beside the oven if you want to curve them or shape them into cups. You won't have time to turn, go to the table and then shape.You are supposed to slide a very thin metal spatula when the cookie is still hot and soft. Then shape it immediately into a curve or cigar and cool it on a rack. If the cookies harden before you shape, pop them back in the oven for a few seconds, they will soften, you can shape again. I normally let them cool and harden, then peel the foil from underneath the tuiles very gently taking care not to break the tuiles. After baking all of the cookies, I put one cookie at a time in the oven (the underside of the cookie facing up, so that when you pick up the cookie and shape it into a cone, you have the right side facing outward) on the sheet for 30-40 seconds till they became very soft and flexible. Then shaped them. They harden very very quickly as in a matter of 4-5 seconds, so its really important that you work very quickly.  Timing is everything here! And psstt...even if you can't get them pretty and shaped, they will still taste delicious!

Please note: Be very careful as you measure the flour. Excess flour can make the tuiles tough. If using the same pan for the next set of tuiles, make sure the pan is cool before you spread the batter. You could reuse the aluminum foil if its completely smooth and clean.

Next time you have guests who are not chocolate lovers and you scratch your head about what you could make for dessert (happens to me all the time!) try these wafers and ice cream!

Aloo Chana Chaat - A Guest Post By Pratibha Garre

The techie playing the chef, the Dosa Queen - You have met Pratibha Garre of The Chef And Her Kitchen. This chef has innumerable varieties of  recipes up her sleeve, the passionate foodie dishes out lip-smacking everyday and celebration food out of her her kitchen with equal elan. Her dosa tawa sizzles with  numerous varieties of dosas, her parties see new appetizers every time, her pickle and pachadi jars are enough and more to keep you drooling for quite some time! Andhra and Karnataka cuisine predominantly and quite a lot of baking await as you explore her space. Take a break from the usual pani puri and try this unique Bangarpet Pani Puri, capture the goodness of mangoes in this delicious Mango Fudge, the goodness of whole wheat, oats and bananas in Eggless Whole Wheat Banana Muffins, chocolate and vanilla tango in an eye-catching Chequered Cake. This is just a teaser, so do stop by her space if you haven't yet! Thanks Pratibha for the tongue-tickling Aloo Chana Chaat, I could eat it off the screen of my monitor!

Without further ado, over to Pratibha..

First of all let me thank Suma for giving me the opportunity to write a guest post on her blog.When she asked me to do a guest post I readily agreed to do it. After running through a couple of ideas, I decided to firm up on Aloo Chana Chaat.

The word 'Chaat' makes my mouth water,in fact it is the same with many of you,agree??I usually have any form of chaat atleast once a week to satisfy my cravings. I normally ask the chaatwala to make a chaat according to my personal preference and its fun to watch various ingredients being mixed to create unique flavours.

 This Aloo chana chaat is very simple,once the preparation work is done ahead, you hardly need two minutes to stir and serve this yummy chaat. More over it is a healthy chaat which gives a good dose of protein and carbohydrates with little or almost no amount of fat.You can make this as an evening snack or serve it as a salad or appetizer in parties. One can make this ahead and refrigerate it for 1-2hrs and garnish them with a liberal dose of sev while serving.

Aloo Chana Chaat Recipe:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Chickpeas/Kabuli Chana
1 medium Potato
1 small Onion,finely chopped
1/4 cup Pomegranate Kernels
3-4 Papdis*,crushed(optional)
2 tbsp finely chopped Coriander
1 tbsp + 1tsp Kharjur-Imli Chutney
1 tbsp Green Chutney
3/4 tsp Chaat masala
1/4 tsp Red chili powder
1/4 tsp roasted Cumin powder(optional)
Salt to taste

To garnish:
2-3 tbsp fine Sev(fine crisp chickpea vermicelli)
2 tsp chopped fresh Coriander

Method:

• Soak chickpeas overnight for 8-9hrs and wash them and pressure cook with enough water for 3 whistles,reduce the flame and cook for another 10 mins.Chickpeas should cook thoroughly and soft but firm and also should not become mushy.Drain them and keep them aside to cool.
• Pressure cook potato for 3 whistles along with chickpeas or separately.Let it cool completely and then peel the skin and chop into small cubes.
• In a bowl add imli-kharjur chutney,green chutney,salt,chaat masala,red chili powder,roasted cumin powder and give a nice stir until you get a uniform paste.
• Add boiled chickpeas,boiled and chopped potatoes,finely chopped onion,coriander leaves,pomegranate kernels,slightly crushed papdi and give a nice stir.Check the taste of it and add any seasoning like salt or more chutneys to suit your taste buds.
• Serve them into two individuals bowls.Garnish with chopped coriander and sev.

Serve the chaat immediately. You can even refrigerate for sometime and eat,it tastes good too, just garnish with sev before serving.

*The addition of papdis are optional,it gives a nice crunch and adds the taste to the chaat.You can even replace them with crushed pooris if you have.You can totally avoid puris/papdis in the recipe,still it tastes good.

Notes:

1. The addition of amount of chutneys are completely left to your choice.Please feel free to add or reduce the spices and chutneys according to your wish.
2. One can replace kabuli chana with kala chana in the recipe.But I prefer the kabuli chana version better.
3. You can replace Kharjur-Imli chutney with meethi sonth(marwadi meetha chutney) in the recipe.
4. For a healthier version avoid papdis/puris in the recipe,which make the recipe guilt free.

If you liked my Chaat,do not forget to come back to my blog and let me know what all you liked about this chaat.I would be happy to hear from you...and once again thanks Suma for having me here.