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.

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!

 

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!