Custard Cookies

Custard Cookies – soft, melt in the mouth and a delightful treat for kids snack box. This recipe is inspired by Chef Venkatesh Bhatt’s OTG special episode in the show ‘Samayal Samayal’. Instead of buying biscuits and cookies from the store Mr Bhatt suggested we bake them at home for our little ones, and that’s exactly what I did. These cookies are very hard to resist, but I am still keeping my hands off the cookie tin and saving it for my kids snack box 😀

Makes: 50-60 cookies (If you make it in a round shape of 1 inch diameter), 150 cookies (If you make small star shape cookies)

Ingredients

• All purpose flour – 300 g
• Confectionary sugar (Powdered sugar) – 175 g
• Custard powder – 75 g
• Butter – 350g – 375g (The more you add, the softer the cookies – I added around 370g)
• Salt – a pinch
• Finely chopped almonds for decorating the cookie

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• Mix the flour, sugar, custard powder well
• Add the butter to the dry ingredients and leave it in the bowl until the butter melts
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• Once the butter melts, gently knead to a smooth dough
• Shape the cookie into any desired shape using a cookie cutter or shape it into flat round shape using your hand. I shaped it to a round shape with my little one’s help
• Top each cookie with the chopped almond(s) and line on a cookie sheet
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• When using 2 cookie sheets, position a rack in the upper and lower thirds of the oven (assuming a regular, non-convection oven). Place one cookie tray in the upper rack and place the second cookie tray after 5 minutes. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back after around 10 minutes. Check the cookies on both the sheets after 15-20 minutes
• Allow the cookies to cool on a cooling rack for a sufficient time
• Once cooled store in an air tight container

These cookies have a great shelf life, so you can store them for 2-3 weeks :), that is if they last 😀

Moong dal and bread patties

A quick and easy to make snack for your little one. This recipe is inspired by an idea given by my grandmother – Sethu Paatie ” to my aunt Vidya Mami. She suggested combining moong dal and bread to make delicious patties for kids !

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup moong dal
• 2 slices white bread
• Salt, to taste
• Red chilli powder to taste
• Garam masala – 1/2 tsp
• Bread crumbs for rolling 

Method

• Pressure cooker 1/2 cup moong dal for 2-3 whistles until well cooked
• Mash the moong dal along with 2 slices of bread
• Mix salt, red chilli powder and garam masala
• Shape the mixture into balls, flatten into a disc and roll it in bread crumbs 
• Heat oil in a pan and add 2-3 patties depending on the size of your pan 
• Fry for a minute or so until the base is golden brown
• Flip on the other side and fry again until golden brown 

Serve hot with green chutney or ketchup 

Bread Roll

Try this soft melt in your mouth bread roll that is a perfect snack for tea time !!!

Ingredients

• Bread flour – 2 1/2 cups
• Warm milk – 1 cup
• White butter – 2 1/2 tbsp
• Fresh yeast – 1/2 tbsp
• Sugar – 2 tsp
• Poppy seeds – 1 tsp
• Salt – 3/4 tsp
• Ghee – 1 tsp

Method

• Mix 1/4 cup warm milk, yeast and sugar well. Leave aside for 5 minutes until the yeast mixture is frothy
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• Mix the bread flour, salt and the yeast mixture well. Add the rest of the milk, butter and mix well to make a smooth dough
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• Cover and keep aside in an oiled vessel and place it on a saucepan with warm water to aid the dough to rise well
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• After 1 1/2 hours, the dough will rise to almost double
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• Knead the dough again and divide into twelve equal pieces
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• Roll each piece into a rope, twist into a circle and tuck both ends in
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• Place the rolls aside on a greased tray and keep aside for half an hour to allow the rolls to rise again
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• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
• Apply melted ghee on the rolls and sprinkle poppy seeds
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• Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on one side
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• Bake the other side for another 5 minutes
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool

Bread rolls are now ready 🙂

Green Thai Curry

Thai food is tempting and delicious. Here is my version of Thai green curry. Coconut, cilantro, lemon grass, lemon rind and basil add a unique flavor to this dish !

Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 cup paneer chopped into cubes
• 1/2 cup green peas
• A few whole pea pods
• 1/2 cup beans and carrot, finely chopped
• 3 cups coconut milk
• Few lemon grass pieces
• 1/4 tsp lemon rind
• 1/4 tsp soya sauce
• A few chives, finely chopped (optional)
• Basil leaves for garnishing
• 4 tbsp oil
• For the paste
  • 1/4 cup small white onions
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 8-9 peppercorns
  • 1/2 inch ginger
  • 2-3 tbsp cilantro
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp sugar

Method

• Coarsely grind all the ingredients for the paste
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• Steam cook the red bell pepper, green peas, pea pods, green beans and carrot for 15-20 minutes
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• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the paneer to a golden brown color
• Heat the rest of the oil, add coconut milk and bring to a boil
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• Add the steamed vegetables, ground paste
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• Add the fried paneer, lemon grass, lemon rind, a few chives, 1/4 tsp soya sauce and simmer for 10 minutes until all the ingredients blend well
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• Garnish with basil leaves and serve hot 🙂
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Vegetable Rice Noodles

Noodles are a great eating delight for everyone ! There are different types of noodles and innumerable recipes using noodles, sauces and vegetables. However sometimes the simplest recipe of all ends up being a hit dish in your household. I present a really easy to make recipe for vegetable rice noodles, which was shared with me by my aunt Aparna Suresh. Since then this is a staple noodles dish in my home !

Ingredients

• 1/4 cabbage
• 1/4 cup carrot
• 1/2 cup beans
• A handful of snow peas
• 1 spring onion
• 1/2 a capsicum
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
• 2 red chillies
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• A few drops of soya sauce
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Around 4 oz uncooked rice noodles

Method

• Soak the rice noodles in water for 2-3 hours until the noodles are soft
• Powder the peanuts to a coarse powder
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• Grind the 2 red chillies and 1 garlic to a coarse paste
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• Julienne all the vegetables i.e. cut them lengthwise into uniform thin strips
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and the julienned vegetables and salt and saute for a few minutes
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• Sprinkle some water and cover and cook for around 15 minutes until the vegetables are almost cooked
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• Drain the rice noodles and add it to the vegetable mixture
• Add the peanut mixture, red chilli – garlic paste and the red chilli powder and mix well. Saute for a few minutes
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• Add a few drops of soya sauce and some more salt or spice if needed and switch off the flame

Serve hot and enjoy 🙂

Eggless Vegetable Quiche

Ingredients

For the filling

• 200 g carrot
• 140 g beans
• 100 g cauliflower
• 100 g green peas
• 2 mashed potatoes
• 1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed dissolved in 3 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt or any thick yogurt
• Salt and pepper to taste

For pastry

• 200 g flour
• 1/2 cup butter (approx 113 g butter), cold
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup milk, plus more if needed while kneading into a dough

For garnishing

• 1 large tomato, sliced round
• Finely chopped cilantro
• Grated cheese

Method

• Steam vegetables in water until cooked
• Place all the ingredients for the pastry into a food processor or stand mixer and mix well until the mixture forms a nice dough
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• Line a round 10″ tin with parchment paper and press the dough into the tin to cover the bottom up and sides evenly
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• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the pastry for 10 minutes until slightly brown
• Mix all the ingredients for the filling and spread over the baked pastry
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• Place the tomatoes over the top and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and grated cheese
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• Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese melts
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Cut into pieces and enjoy 😊

Baked Masala Cashewnuts

Try out this baked version of gram flour coated masala cashew nuts that is a perfect snack for tea time !

Makes: 1 kg masala cashewnuts

Ingredients

• For the coating
  • Gram flour – 1 cup
  • Corn starch – 2 tbsp
  • Rice flour – 2 tbsp
  • Chilli powder – 1 tbsp
  • Ajwain powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Salt, to taste
• Whole cashew nuts – 1 kg
• Oil – 1 – 2 tbsp
• Water, as required

Method

• Mix all the ingredients for coating, including salt in a mixing bowl
• Bring water to a boil and switch off flame
• Soak the cashew nuts in the water for 2 minutes and drain
• Coat the drained cashew nuts with the coating
• Spread the cashew nuts on a baking tray and sprinkle some oil
• Bake the cashew nuts in batches for a good result
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
• Bake the coated cashew nuts for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
• Cool and store in an air tight container

Enjoy with a hot cup of tea !