Whole wheat ginger cookies

Christmas is soon approaching and it’s that time of the year when I love to enter my kitchen while something is baking with the holiday spice aroma. Ginger cookies are one of my go to cookies with a hot cup of tea. Do give a try and leave your feedback

Ingredients

Wheat flour – 200 g

Powdered sugar – 50 g

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Spice mix ( I used nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves ) – 1/2 tsp

Butter – 100 g

Ground ginger powder – 4 tsp

Caramel syrup – 3 tsp

Method

• Sieve the flour with baking powder, ginger powder and spice mix and keep aside
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes
• Beat the butter and sugar using a stand mixer or hand blender or a spatula until it’s nicely blended
• Add spoonfuls of flour, caramel syrup and mix well to form a dough
• If you find the mixture is too dry, add a little warm milk or water and mix it
• This cookie dough will be slightly dry compared to other cookie doughs like sugar cookies or chocolate chip cookies, if you are able to gather a little dough and make a ball then you have reached the right consistency
• Knead lightly form balls, flatten and place on a greased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
• Leave enough gap for the cookies to spread
• Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes until the cookies are golden brown
• Once done cool the cookies on a wire rack

Enjoy these crisp ginger cookies with your Chai 😀

Insta pot Orange Marmelade

Have a lot of oranges and wondering how to finish it up, or ever wondered how to make orange marmelade at home then you have come to the right post 😊

This marmelade is very easy to make if you have an insta pot or mealthy. If you don’t have an insta pot you can try this in a pressure cooker or stove top too.

Ingredients

• 8-10 medium sized oranges ( approx 1.5 kg )
• 1 lemon
• 1 medium sized apple
• Sugar (350 g will vary based on how much juice you extract out of the orange )
• 1 cup water (1/2 cup to cook apples and 1/2 cup additional )

Method

• Juice the oranges and save the pulp and the juice in separate containers
• Save the peel from one orange and chop finely into thin strips. Save the skin from a a few oranges as well while you juice. All of this will enhance the flavor of your jam.
• Juice a lemon and grate the lemon rind and keep aside
• Measure the juice, mine was 275 ml
• Core and chop the apples with skin into fine pieces and cook in 1/2 cup water until the apples are nice and tender. The water reduced to approximately 75 ml ( note down the measure of the left over water )
• I now have 275+75 = 350 ml water
• Add the orange juice, orange pulp, finely chopped orange rind, orange skin, lemon juice, lemon rind and 1/2 cup water in the insta pot or mealthy
• Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes ( it not using an insta pot pressure cook for 4-5 whistles in a pressure cooker or 30-40 minutes on stove top stirring at regular intervals until the orange rind, pulp are super soft )
• Once it’s done switch off the pot and let it release pressure naturally
• Open the pot and for a minute enjoy the aroma of your marmelade
• Add the sugar to the mixture and switch on Sauté High for 5 minutes and keep stirring
• Cancel the high sauté mode and switch on low sauté mode for the next 10-15 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half. Keep stirring at regular intervals, the mixture will stop bubbling and the consistency will be similar to a syrup. It is okay if it’s a little runny as the marmelade will thicken later
• Once the jam cools down it will thicken naturally so don’t worry if the jam is a little liquidy after 15 minutes of sauté, just make sure you keep stirring at regular intervals and the liquid reduces by half

Enjoy the marmelade as a dip with scones, bread or anything you like 🙂

Do share your feedback !

Whole wheat orange marmelade cookies

Lots of marmelade and wondering what to do! Well, whip up these delicious orange cookies and enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee 🙂

Ingredients

• Whole wheat flour – 2 cups
• Unsalted butter – 1/4 cup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup orange marmelade
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Orange zest from one orange plus 1/4 cup sugar

Method

• Grate the skin off the oranges and keep the zest aside
• Grind the orange zest with 1/4 cup sugar in a mixer or blender and keep aside
• Beat sugar and butter until frothy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to prevent any sugar remaining in the bowl which is not incorporated. Add the orange zest, orange marmelade and mix well
• Add the yogurt and oil and mix well
• Add the dry ingredients – wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well until the dough starts to come together . At this stage, use a folding in movement, i.e. mix well in one direction so that there are no air bubbles formed
• Press and flatten the dough with your hands to smooth and even out the dough. If the dough appears tough, you can knead the dough again in your food processor or stand mixer, until smooth
• Line a cookie tray with parchment paper or grease well with butter
• Divide the dough into small balls and flatten slightly
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 160 degrees Celsius for 10-15 minutes until the cookies are crisp and golden brown from the bottom and slightly golden from the top

Enjoy the cookies with hot tea 🙂 Store in an air tight container once the cookies cool down

Insta Pot Akkaravadisal

Akkaravadisal is a yummy sweet dish similar to sweet Pongal. Its made by cooking rice and moong dal in milk, which gives it a rich and yummy taste. It’s super easy to make it in the insta pot or mealthy pot, and is ready under 15 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw rice
• 1/4 cup moong dal
• 2 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup jaggery, powdered
• 1/4 cup, plus 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 cardamom
• Cashewnut and raisins for garnishing
• a few strands of saffron

Method

• Roast the moong dal on stove top until you it’s slightly red and emits a nice aroma
• Soak the saffron strands in 1/2 cup warm milk and keep aside
• Wash the moong dal and rice and soak in 1 cup water for 10 minutes
• Switch on the insta pot or mealthy on Sauté high mode
• Add 1 tbsp ghee to the insta pot
• Drain the water from the rice and dal
• Add the rice and dal to the insta pot and sauté for a few minutes
• Add milk and water and stir well to make sure that rice and dal do not stick to the bottom of the pot
• Cancel Sauté mode
• Switch on Pressure cook mode and Preaaure cook for 10 minutes
• Let the pressure release naturally
• In the meantime dissolve the jaggery by in a little water and heat on stove top on medium flame until the jaggery dissolves completely. Strain and keep aside.
• Roast the raisins and cashew in 1 tbsp ghee until golden and keep aside
• Once the pressure releases, open the insta pot or mealthy pot
• Switch on Sauté mode on Low and mash the rice and dal
• Add the jaggery and mix well
• Add the milk mixed with saffron, cardamom and mix well
• Add the ghee in batches and continue mixing
• The consistency of this dish must be a little mushy. The Payasam will should be a little runny as it thickens with time. When you feel that stage is reached switch off for he insta pot or mealthy
• Garnish with raisins and cashews

I

Homemade tomato ketchup

Ingredients

• 6 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small carrot
• 1 small tomato, blanched and peeled
• 1 garlic clove
• A few basil leaves
• ½ teaspoon ajwain
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• ½ teaspoon red chilly powder

Method

1. Place all ingredients into a blender and secure the lid.
2. Start the blender on a slow speed and slowly increase the speed
3. Blend for sometime until the mixture is ground finely.
4. Pour the mixture into saucepan and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes until the mixture reaches a thick consistency.
5. Allow the mixture to cool down and store in an air tight container.

Enjoy the ketchup as a dip with your snacks or use it as a pasta sauce 🙂

Whole wheat apple cookies

I was looking for a way to make use of my juicy red apples and came across a recipe for Toffee Apple Cookies on tasty. The cookies used all purpose flour and eggs but I wanted to make mine using wheat flour and without eggs so started my experiment and tada the result was yummy apple cookies with the goodness of apples, whole wheat 😊

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar ( 180 g )
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter ( 100 g) at room temperature
• 2 cups whole wheat flour ( 250 g)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 Apple medium size finely chopped
• Chocolate chips dark, peanut butter or any flavor

Method

• Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
• Beat the sugar, butter, milk and oil either in a large bowl or in your stand mixer at medium speed until it is light and fluffy
• Add spoonfuls of the flour, cinnamon powder, baking soda and fold into the butter sugar mixture
• Add the apple pieces and blend it in the dough
• The dough should be firm, but softer than your regular chapathi dough, it’s okay if it has a little moisture as these cookies are chewy
• Using a cookie scoop drop the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
• Add the chocolate chips in the center of the cookies place one or two chocolate chips in the center
• Bake for around 15-20 minutes until golden brown
• Cool the cookies and then store in an air tight container

Cherry tomato jam in insta pot or mealthy pot

This is my first recipe in the series of insta pot or mealthy pot recipes. Ever since I got my mealthy pot, I have been really busy experimenting with it and hardly got time to keep up with my blog 😀 Now you will see more recipes in this category.

Ingredients

• Cherry tomatoes 20-25
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• A few cloves
• A small piece of cinnamon
• Juice from half a lemon
• 20-25 almonds blanched and peeled

Method

• Wash the cherry tomatoes well and keep aside
• Add cherry tomatoes, 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup water, cloves, cinnamon and the blanched and peeled almonds to your instapot or mealthy
• Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes
• Once it’s done switch off the pot and let it release pressure naturally
• Open the pot and for a minute enjoy the aroma of your tomato jam
• Switch on sauté mode on high for 5 minutes and keep stirring in between
• Cancel the high sauté mode and switch on low sauté mode for the next 10-15 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the lemon juice toward the end
• Once the jam cools down it will thicken naturally so don’t worry if the jam is a little liquidy after 15 minutes of sauté, just make sure you keep stirring at regular intervals and the liquid reduces by half

Enjoy the jam as a dip with scones, bread or anything you like 🙂 Do share your feedback !

Neiappam V 4.0

This is my fourth variation of neiappam. This seems to be the best of all versions according to my family 😀

Ingredients

• Rice flour – 1/2 cup
• Jaggery – 1 cup
• Water – 1/8 cup
• Black sesame seeds, 1 tsp
• Cut pieces of coconut, 1/8 cup
• 2 small bananas or one medium banana
• A pinch of soda
• Ghee to fry the appam

Method

• Dissolve the jaggery in 1/8 cup and strain the jaggery and keep aside
• Grind the bananas to a fine paste and mix with the jaggery
• Add the rice flour a little by little and keep mixing well until you get consistency like idly batter. Add more water if required at this stage
• Add a pinch of soda and let the appam batter stay for 45 minutes to an hour
• Heat a paniyaram pan with ghee
• Pour spoonfuls of appam batter in each hole
• When you see a color change at the top of the appam it’s ready to turn
• The appam should cook well on both sides and turn reddish brown
• Optimally you can coat the appam with sugar once it’s done
• Let the appam cool down and then store in air tight container

Masala biscuit

Baking cookies is my stress buster and I have been always baking sweet and sugary cookies. For a change I wanted to bake some savory and salty cookies, my Mother in law had also been suggesting the same for a while. Another big experiment I did was trying to bake these biscuits on a dosa tava and it turned out to be a big hit, and it gets done in less than 10 minutes. So are you ready to try out masala cookies ?

My recipe is inspired by Chef Chandri Bhat’s recipe for masala biscuit.

Ingredients 

• Whole wheat flour – 2 cups
• Butter – 1/2 cup (115 g)
• Powdered sugar – 1 tbsp
• Salt – 2 tsp
• Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
• Buttermilk – 4 tbsp
• Green chillies, 1 -2 or 2-3 depending on the spice level you wish, we used 1 as we wanted minimum spice
• 1-2 sprigs of curry leaves
• Ginger, 2 cm
• A few coriander leaves
• A few mint leaves (if you like mint flavour, else skip it)

Method

• Sift the flour with baking powder and keep aside
• Grind the green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves and mint and make a coarse paste
• Melt the butter for a minute in the microwave and keep aside
• Mix the butter with sugar and salt until it blends well
• Add the flour and baking powder mixture and mix well
• Add the buttermilk, chilly-ginger-curry leaves-coriander-mint paste and knead well until it forms a smooth dough. The dough should not be very stiff, if it’s very stiff add a little more buttermilk
• Preheat a greased dosa tava for at least 10 minutes
• Turn the stove to a low flame when you are ready to place the cookies on it
•  Shape the dough into a flat round shape using your hand and place it on the tava
• Cook both sides until nicely brown
• 
• Once all the biscuits are done, switch off the tava and place all the biscuits on the tava. This will make them very crispy
• Allow the biscuits to cool and them store them in an air tight container

 

Whole wheat samosas

The crispy and delicious snack samosa has been on my to-try list for a while now. It’s a special Indian snack that’s a hit with hot chai. Try out this whole wheat samosa stuffed with potatoes and green peas. This samosa is made with mild spice, so adjust the spice accordingly if you want a spicier version.

Ingredients

• For the covering
  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 6 tbsp oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ajwain
• Oil for deep frying
• For the filling
  • 5 small size potatoes or 4 medium size potatoes (should be rough 2 cups of chopped and boiled potatoes)
  • 1/2 cup green peas, boiled
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1-2 green chillies, chopped
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp tamarind paste
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 anardana (dry pomegranate seeds) powdered

Method

• Knead together the ingredients for the covering and make a tight dough. Add water as needed to make a firm dough. Leave the dough covered with a wet muslin cloth for 10-15 minutes. Remember the consistency of the dough should be firm and smooth
• Boil the potatoes, peel and cut into cubes
• Boil the green peas
• To make the filling, heat oil in a pan, add the green chillies. After a minute, add the potatoes and green peas. Add salt and mix well. Add the remaining spices – red chilli powder, tamarind paste, garam masala and anardana powder and mix well. Remove from heat and let it cool
• How to make the samosas
  • Divide the dough into 8-9 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a ball and roll each ball into a small roti. Cut each roti into half. Pick up one half and bring the edges together to form a cone shape. Add 2 tsp of filling into the center of the dough and seal the edges with a little ghee. This step is very important, it’s important to seal the edges tightly and using ghee does the trick here 
• Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Deep fry the samosa in oil on medium fire until it is crisp and golden in color

Serve hot samosas with sweet chutney or mint chutney and enjoy it with your hot Chai 🙂