Nankhatai

Nankhatai's are basically Indian cookies or shortbreads, majorly made with Maida or All-purpose flour. They are a popular tea-time snack and serve as a nice pop-in-the-mouth sweet when you have those midnight cravings ;) They are made with ghee instead of butter and hence the aroma of these nankhatai's when they are baked is enigmatic. Nankhatai's are found in different flavours/versions and popularly available in local bakeries all over India. 

Here i am posting a recipe of Nankhatai that i saw recently on a blog which was made from Atta (Wheat flour). I decided to try them for Christmas, since i wanted to bake some cookies anyway. And they turned out absolutely great. The addition of rava made the nankhatai's more crispy and i am surely going to make them again with a little additions and twist.

Note: The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup sugar, but i would advise putting a little less than half, as mine turned out a little too sweet with 1/2 cup (For our taste). It is according to personal liking, but at first try making it with a little less than half cup. 

Recipe adapted from : My Cooking Journey

Ingredients:

Wheat flour (Atta) - 3/4 cup

Maida - 1/4 cup

Rava (Sooji) - 2 tbsp

Ghee - 1/2 cup (melted) - Might require more or less

Baking powder - 1/4 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 cup (Please read the 'note' above)

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Chopped almonds and cashews to garnish (Any nuts of your choice)

Recipe:

Grind the sugar to powder in a mixer/grinder.

Grease a baking tray and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl, take the flours, rava, baking powder, powdered sugar and cardamom powder. Mix it all well.

Now slowly, add the ghee and knead it into a crumbly dough. It shouldn't be too soft or too stiff, hence add ghee little by little and knead.

Keep the dough covered for 10 minutes or wrap in a cling foil and set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degree celcius.

Make small round balls of the dough after 10 minutes (original recipe says 18, but i made 16) and flatten them a little. Line them on the greased baking tray.

Now bake them at 180 degree C for about 15 minutes. (You will come to know it's done when they change colour a bit to brown)

Let them cool (They become stiff and crunchy after they cool)

Now, isn't your home smelling of some real good aroma?

Happy Cooking :))

Paatvadya : Microwave recipe

Besan squares : Paatvadya are basically small vadis ( squares like a patty ) which make a great tea-time snack. I remember my mother giving me these vadis in tiffin for breakfast as kids. They are a much healthy option than to snack in chips or any fried items and well, they taste delicious. The traditional way of cooking paatvadi is on stovetop, but recently i saw a post from my friend Prabha Iyer on her blog ( http://prabhacooks.blogspot.in/2014/06/microwave-khandvi.html ) of making khandvi in microwave. I have made paatvadis the traditional way earlier (i shall upload that recipe too sometime soon when i make them after these finish ), but decided to try the same recipe of khandvi for paatvadis. And believe me, as experimental as it may sound, they have turned out super flavourful with a hint of tanginess ( due to the curd added ).

These vadis can be eaten along with any spicy chutney  or some even make a daal out of it ( Paatvadi-amti as we say in Marathi ). Well, for this time,  as pleasant as they are looking, i would want to eat them as it is. You can add red chilli powder to the paste while putting the mixture in microwave. I was not sure of the spiciness of the chilli paste, hence i didn't add it to the mixture but sprinkled red chilli powder on top. Another important ingredient of Paatvadi is grated dried or fresh coconut. I didn't have it handy, but you can sprinkle it on top if you have it fresh or dry roast it and add to the mixture before putting it in microwave.

Ingredients :

Besan( Gram flour ) - 1 n half cup

Curd - 1 n half cup

Corriander leaves - to sprinkle

Oil - 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp

red chilli powder - to sprinkle ( if adding to the mixture, add about 1 tsp )

Garlic-green chilli paste- I used about 2 tsp of thecha( http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2014/06/kharda-mirchicha-thecha.html ) that i had.

Asafoetida - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Oil - to grease a plate

Recipe :

Sift Besan and remove all lumps.

Beat the curd, so that no lumps remain. Add about 1 cup of water to it and mix well.

In a microwave safe bowl, add this curd mixture, besan , asafoetida, turmeric powder and salt. Mix it all well.

Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Stir the mixture well twice after every 1 n half minute.

After 5 minutes, remove from microwave, and add about 1/2-1 cup of water and mix it well and make a smooth paste.

Microwave again on high for 5 minutes.

Grease a plate with oil. You can sprinkle some corriander leaves and grated/shredded coconut if you have. Now put the mixture in the plate and with a spatula or a flat spoon, spread it evenly.

Let it cool and cut them in squares.

Heat about 2 tbsp oil and add 1 tbsp mustard seeds. When they splutter, add this tempering on top of the cut-squares. Sprinkle some corriander leaves on top. Since i didn't add chilli powder to the mixture, i sprinkled some on top.

Yummy easy snack is ready :)

Happy Cooking :)

Fruity Sponge Cake

Very Berry Healthy : A Great Day begins with a Healthy yet Tasty breakfast, but is more good when you have a Healthy snack to munch on when you have that in-between hunger cravings! Me and hubby get those a lot! And instead of having the regular buiscuits and chips, we decided to opt for something healthier and Smarteats came right in ! 
http://smarteats.in/ 
They have some really tasty wholesome snacks which you can carry in your tiffin or the packaging comes so neat with a seal-zip bag that you can carry it anywhere just like that ! They have Diet snacks, Cookies, Granola Bars, Tangy mixtures and dried fruits/dry fruits ! The combinations are so interesting that it really doesn't get to that "Boring snack to watch my diet"!!

I decided to order the "Very Berry Strawberry" and the "Fruity Granola Bar", just to try it out! The Granola Bar which was a mixture of Oats, coconut powder, and the sweetness of apples, grapes and dehydrated peaches coated with honey, brown sugar and butter was one simple yet delicious bar! That's not exactly a meal substitute but makes up as a snack or a lunch supplement.
And the chewy dehydrated strawberries were so flavourful that i finished them off in almost 3-4 days! And not only pop them as a snack, i used them in a recipe !!!!

So here i am making a SmartEat recipe with the dried Strawberries :) As Chai-Buiscuit ( Buiscuut, as it is called :)) is a very common household evening favourite snack, our home has the Chai-Cake fever ! So baking a cake every week is mandatory :) You can add any dried fruits of your choice and make this one, the basic ingredients remains the same.

Ingredients :

Maida /All purpose flour - 1 cup

Yogurt - 1/2 cup

Butter - 1/4 cup

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup ( Add 1/4 cup more if you have a sweet tooth )

Egg - 1

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Dried strawberries - a few chopped

Tutty fruity - a few

You can also add nuts if you wish to.

Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp

Recipe :

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius for 10 minutes

Grease and dust a cake tin with butter and flour and keep aside.

Sieve together Maida, Baking powder and Baking soda.

In a bowl, Beat Butter and Powdered sugar together. Now add the egg and beat again. 

Add in the yogurt and mix it all well into a nice creamy mixture. Add vanilla essence and nutmeg powder. 

Slowly add the flour mixture and mix it well with a spatula.

Lastly, add in the dried strawberries, tuttyfruits and nuts.

Put this mixture into the baking tray and bake at 180 degrees celcius for 45-50 minutes.

Remove and set aside to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the cake tin.

Now remove from the cake tin and let it cool on a wire rack.

Soft spongy cake is ready, which tastes and smells like heaven :))

Happy Baking :)

Eggless Banana Walnut Muffins

Breakfast Blues : Every evening, i always have to sit and think what to pack in tiffin for breakfast the next day to give hubby dearest at work. The regular recipes of Upma, Poha, Idli, Dosa etc takes a toll sometimes. Yes, egg is always an option ! I would like to mention about this friend of mine who is called "Anda Iyer"... seems, eggs are his life! He can't do without them ! But it's interesting to see his egg-recipes in the forum, always a different one, and the tempting pictures too :)

With "Anda Iyer " Rajiv :)

So, it was one of those days when i had Bananas at hand, but no eggs and no butter. I decided to make some Banana muffins without egg, and they turned out superrrr soft and spongy. I had made the Yogurt Cake earlier with oil,( http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2013/12/yogurt-cake.html ) but i had added an egg then. This time i tried making these with only oil. I did use Olive oil, but you can use regular vegetable oil too. Olive oil of course gives it a good aroma and a rich taste ! This one is a simple-easy to make muffins recipe! Packed in tiffin for breakfast, hubby loved them with a mug of coffee :)

You can otherwise store them in an air tight container in refrigerator for about 2-3 days. Warm in a microwave just before eating. They taste as fresh as ever :))

Ingredients :

Maida ( All purpose flour ) - 3/4 cup

Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup ( Put little less if you don't like it too sweet, adjust according to taste )

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Walnuts - 1/4 cup

Olive oil - 1/4 cup ( or any other vegetable oil )

Bananas - 2 ( medium size)

Recipe :

Mash the bananas in a bowl with hand or a fork to make it into a paste.

Now add the oil and mix well.

Add the sugar and vanilla extract, Mix it all well and keep aside.

Chop the walnuts.

Sieve the Flour, Baking powder and baking soda together twice.

Now Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and mix it all well. Don't beat/whisk...Just mix everything together with a spatula.

Add 1/2 of the chopped walnuts into the batter and mix again.

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Line a muffin tray with muffin liners or else grease it with oil and dust with flour. 

Fill the batter till 1/2 or 3/4th into the mould ( Don't fill it to the full, as it will raise and the shape will get distorted ). 

Now Bake the muffins for about 30 minutes or till upper portion gets brown. I baked for 5 minutes more to get that fine brown colour. Check after 25 minutes with inserting a toothpick. If it comes out clean, means its done!

Let them cool on a rack for about 15-20 minutes. Then remove and let them cool completely.

These Tempting muffins are ready.... Have one right there!!!:)

If you have butter at hand, then you can try this recipe which i had made a few days back...This one is easy too, and you can replace the cashews with walnuts or any nuts of your choice but i would say, the walnuts are the USP of these muffins !!!

Banana Cashew Muffins :

Ingredients :

Bananas - 4 ( of medium size )

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Maida ( All purpose flour ) - 1 n half cup

Melted Butter - 1/3 cup

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Cashews - a few ( 1/4 cup )

Salt - a pinch

Recipe :

Chop the cashews.

Mash Bananas with a fork or with hand and keep aside.

Sieve the flour, baking soda and baking powder together twice.

Take butter in a bowl and add sugar and whisk till it turns creamy.

Now add the mashed bananas and vanilla essence.

Slowly add the flour mixture and mix well.

Add about 1/2 of the chopped cashews into the batter.

Preheat oven to 190 degree Celsius. Line a muffin tray with muffin liners or grease with oil/butter and dust with Maida ( All purpose flour )

Now fill the muffin moulds with batter, fill it only to half or 3/4th.

Bake for abut 20 minutes or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean. If not, bake for more time and check every 5 minutes.

Happy Baking :)

Linking this recipe to :

http://www.amummytoo.co.uk/2014/06/recipeoftheweek-21-27-june/