Perfect Veggie Burger right from your kitchen

What if I told you, you can easily make a burger from the comfort of your own home? What if I also told you it will taste better that a restaurant burger? Well, no more waiting, let me also tell you that it’s super healthy as we are going to bake the vegetable patty and make a healthy vegan sauce ! The ingredients for the vegetable patty if arranged on a balanced diet plate will have an ingredient for each food group 🙂

I spent quite a lot of time researching for the perfect burger recipe, and finally found the right formula on : https://thecookful.com/veggie-burger-formula-make-perfect-burger/. The sauce is inspired by : https://veeatcookbake.com/vegan-burger-sauce/

Now let’s dig straight in !

Ingredients

For the vegetable patty

• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• A few cloves of garlic, minced
• The Veggie Group – 2 cups of finely chopped veggies ( you can pick any combination – I have tried 1. beetroot, zucchini, corn ; 2. beetroot, sweet potato, carrot ; 3. beetroot, carrot, green bell pepper )
  • CHOOSE ANY 3
    • Sweet potatoes, boiled and chopped
    • Red beetroot, finely shredded
    • Carrots, finely shredded
    • Spinach, finely chopped
    • Corn, remove the kernels
    • Butternut squash or red pumpkin
    • Zucchini
    • Green or red bell peppers
• The Protein Group – 1 1/2 cups of cooked legumes – I have tried a combination of chick peas and black eyed peas; white chick peas and black channa ; chick peas and kidney beans (rajma) – all 3 combos have tasted yummy
  • CHOOSE 1 or 2
    • Chick peas, cooked
    • Kidney beans or rajma, cooked
    • Black eyed beans, cooked
    • Black channa, cooked
    • Sprouted moong or cooked moong

• The Spices Group
  • Red chilly powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Cumin seed powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Coriander powder – 1 tsp
  • Black pepper powder – 1 tsp
• The Herbs Group – I have used a combination of basil, coriander and mint – but you can use any herbs that you have on hand
  • Mint leaves, a few sprigs finely chopped
  • Coriander leaves, a few spring finely chopped
  • Basil leaves, a few, finely chopped
• The Carbs Group
  • Bread crumbs – 1/2 cup
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Salt, to taste

For the Vegan Sauce

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1.5 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp pickle juice from any pickle jar that you have, you can also add 1 tbsp of juice from a jar of olives, if you don’t have pickle or olives, just squeeze juice from half a lemon
• 1/4 cup white sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Salt, to taste

To Serve

• Burger buns
• Lettuce (Optional)
• Butter to grease the buns (Optional)

METHOD

For the vegetable patty

• When cooking the legumes (chick peas, rajma etc.. ) reserve some of the cooking liquid
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat
• Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent
• If using, bell peppers, add the bell peppers and saute for 2-3 minutes
• Add the vegetables, salt and spices and cover and cook for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are salt
• Transfer the cooked vegetables to a mixer or food processor when cool
• Add the herbs, the bread crumbs, the legumes (chick peas / rajma etc.. ) and pulse a few times until everything combines and comes together
• To check if the patty is ready, press the mixture between your fingers. If you can form a patty easily without sticking you are ready to go, if it’s very sticky add a little more bread crumbs. If it’s very dry, add some of the liquid reserved while cooking the legumes
• At this stage, taste the mixture to check for the salt and spice
• Shape the mixture into patties and refrigerate for 30 minutes (This is a very important step as it firms up the patties !)
• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper or grease with oil and place the burger patties
• Brush the burger patties with some oil and bake at 200 degrees Celsius for around 10-15 minutes until the patties are brown on both sides
• Set the patties aside to serve with the burger. If you have made a few extra patties, let it cool completely and then you can refrigerate it or freeze it for later

For the vegan sauce

• Soak the cashews in hot water for about an hour
• Toast the sesame seeds until it’s slightly brown and starts spluttering
• Grind the cashews, ketchup, salt, toasted sesame seeds, olive oil, pepper, ketchup, pickle juice or lemon juice, mustard seeds and garlic to a fine and creamy paste in a mixie
• The final consistency of this sauce will be creamy and smooth without any pieces
• At this stage, check for salt and spice and keep aside. If you plan to use this sauce later, please refrigerate it

Assembling the burger

• Toast the burger buns with some butter
• On the base burger bun, slather the burger sauce
• Top it with the burger patty and place some melted cheese
• Top it with any greens like lettuce or onion / pickle / tomato
• Now just cover it with the top burger bun
• If you are making this for kids, you can place some olive for some cute eyes and make a smiley face using a lettuce leaf !

Just enjoy your burger and keep discovering different combos for the veggie patties !

Whole Wheat Brookies

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I was in a hurry to bake chocolate chip cookies for my cousin, and was left over with lot of whey water too. “Can I use this in baking a cookie”, I wondered. Well, the end result of the cookie experiment was a tasty choco chip cookie that tasted like a cookie and a brownie. Let’s get straight to the recipe now 🙂

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup whey water 
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 6 tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 75 g chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 50 g dark chocolate melted
• 1/4 cup warm milk
• 1 tsp instant coffee powder

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and line cookie sheets with parchment paper
• Melt the dark chocolate in a microwave on low power for 1-2 minutes. Pour the warm milk over the melted chocolate and keep this mixture aside
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
• Add the whey water, oil, melted chocolate and blend well
• Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking powder, and salt
• Mix the flour mixture using a folding in movement, which means just mix in one direction
• Fold in the chocolate chips evenly
• Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes
• Scoop the dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Leave enough gap between each cookie to rise
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cookies brown well
• Let it cool on a wire rack

Cookie cups filled with dark chocolate ganache

A few days back I came across a recipe for hot chocolate cookie mug on Tasty. As soon my son saw it he said we need to try this out Mom. I love baking cookie, I had never tried baking a cookie cup so thought why not. I followed the recipe from Tasty but made my version eggless and also used whole wheat flour. I try to avoid all purpose flour as much as possible except for cakes.

Now straight to the recipe instead of a mug I just made cookie cups and filled them with hot chocolate ganache. It’s super easy just try it out and you will simply fall in love with this new edible cup cookie.

My recipe is adapted from Tasty’s recipe for hot chocolate mugs : https://tasty.co/recipe/hot-chocolate-cookie-mugs

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter(115 g), room temperature

• ¾ cup light brown sugar(150 g), packed

• ¼ cup sugar(50 g)

• ¼ cup oil

• 180g dark chocolate melted

• 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

• ¼ cup cocoa powder(30 g)

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

For the filling

– 150 g extra dark chocolate

– 1/4 cup full fat milk

Method

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy

• Add the melted chocolate and oil and blend well

• Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Use a folding in movement at this stage , which means just mix in one direction

• Grease a muffin pan with butter and flour. Scoop out the cookie dough into each cup of the muffin pan

• Use your fingers to spread the dough evenly across the bottoms and the sides of the cups

• Bake for around 10 minutes, until the cookies have slightly puffed up. At this stage, use the back of a steel or wooden ladle to reshape to make a perfect cup. This is very important you need reshape while it is hot.

• For the filling: Melt 150 g of extra dark chocolate. Bring milk to a boil and pour over the warm melted chocolate and let sit for 1 minute, then stir until well combined and smooth

• Once it completely cools, use a knife to gently lift the cookie cups from the muffin tin so one side sticks up.

• Pour the filling into the cooled cookie cups. You can even decorate with nuts. I decorated it with some left over chocolate cookie. Let it set in fridge for a couple of hours

• Hope you enjoy the cookie cup 😊

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Enjoy these delicious and chocolate double chocolate cookies. This recipe is inspired from Tasty’s recipe for Vegan chocolate chip cookies :

https://tasty.co/recipe/vegan-chocolate-chip-cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
100 g dark chocolate and Belgian chocolate melted ( you can use any chocolate combination )
100 g chocolate chips

Method

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, salt, and oil until combined
2. Add milk and vanilla and blend well until all sugar has dissolved and the batter is smooth
3. Fold in the flour and baking soda with a spatula
4. Fold in the meleted chocolate and chocolate chips evenly
5. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes
6. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)
7. Scoop the dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Leave enough gap between each cookie to rise
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cookies brown well
9. Let it cool on a wire rack

Store in air tight containers and enjoy 😊

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