Whole wheat chocolate peanut cookies sweetened with palm jaggery

Have heard a lot that when kids grow up they demand munchies for umpteen reasons to follow behind it. And mothers find it hard to let them stick on to something healthier and sane. Salads in my mind in the coming days but as of now baked some cookies. Used palm jaggery instead of sugar and whole wheat instead of refined flour as usual. To add the protein content some powdered peanuts too!

Hope this will satiate their urge to munch on and curb their hunger and cravings too!

Recipe
Butter - 1/2 cup
Whole wheat flour- 1.5 cups
Peanut powder - 1 cup
Palm jaggery syrup - 1 cup
Baking powder - a pinch
Cocoa powder - 2-3 tspns
Choco chips - 1/2 - 1 cup ( optional)


Method
Throw in all the ingredients into a large deep bowl and mix well and gently with a fork or your fingers. Add few drops of milk to bring them together if you want.
Once the dough is formed, refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven for about 10 minutes at 150 degrees Celsius
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and make small balls and place it on a greased baking tray.
Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes or until you see it all puffed up and bottom turns golden brown
Remove the cookies from the tray and lay on a wire rack to cool
Once cooled completely store in a clean jar and store.


Note : For the jaggery syrup, I melt 500 gms of palm jaggery with one cup of water, strain and store and use one cup of the syrup for this cookie.
Bake and enjoy
Thanks
Chaithanya :)

Paneer butter masala recipe

Paneer butter masala - almost restaurant style :)

My son loves paneer and one of his fav dishes is paneer butter masala. On a weekend we were out during evening and was back by dinner time. As they don't prefer any outside food on our way back  I asked them their choice and quick came a shout out for rotis and PBM. 

Reached home and started cooking PBM. I can tell you this is one of the easiest dishes which can be made in a jiffy and equally tasty too. This recipe was given to me by a punjabi frnd, she also mentioned that same gravy can be used for butter chicken as well!. So you may give it a try as well.

So let me get into the recipe

Ingredients
Paneer - 200 gms
Onions - 1-2 med sized 
Tomato - 4-5 med sized 
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Ginger - one inch
Kasuri methi - 2 tbsp
Tomato ketchup- 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Kashmiri chilli powder - 2-3 tsp ( according to spice level)
Garam masala - a pinch
Butter - 2 tsp ( you may replace with oil)
Milk - 1/2 cup ( optionally fresh cream)
Coriander leaves - for garnish

Method

• Cut the panner into cubes and soak in water.
• Take a thick bottom kadai and add the onions and tomatoes chopped in chunks and saute until the raw smell goes off. You needn't let the onion brown or tomatoes to wilt too much.
• Remove the contents into a mixer and let it cool for a while. Once cooled grind into a fine paste.
• Soak the kasuri methi in water for a while and squeeze out and chop fine ( I do this and I feel it makes a difference in the dish..its optional too )
• Grate the ginger and garlic and keep aside.
• Now keep the kadai back to the stove and add butter/ oil
• Add the grated ginger, garlic, chopped methi and add the tomato ketchup, saute for few seconds and add in the tomato onion paste. Saute for a while until the oil separates from the mixture. 
• Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and garam masala, saute for while and add the paneer cubes.
• Switch off the stove and after few minutes slowly add the milk or cream and stir in the gravy. I feel this is safer than adding the milk/ cream in the stove.
• Stir well and mix the contents and finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Note: You may grind cashews for better thickness for the gravy
You may also add regular chilli powder for more spice.

Cook and enjoy
Thanks !
Chaithanya

Recipe for quail eggs in roasted coconut gravy

Quail eggs and duck eggs contain good cholesterol than chicken eggs.. so they say and after sometime they will say the reverse. I dint research much but would be happy to know anything about these. Me and my family loves quail eggs for its size, taste and convenience in eating. It can be consumed in many forms and is actually healthy, this I say based on what I have heard from folks in my native place. 

Anyway I was planning to cook ghee rice and thought of making this dish as an accompaniment.

Unlike baking this dish does consume some of our time in the kitchen, saute, saute, saute is the formula for this curry ( warning :)  )

Let me get into the recipe

Ingredients

Quail eggs- 8-10
Med sized onion - 3
Med sized tomato - 2 
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch 
Green chilli - 2-3 
Coconut ( grated) - 1 cup
Coriander powder - 3 tspn
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
Chilli powder - 1 tspn
Pepper corns - 5- 10 ( depending on the spice level)
Garam masala - a pinch
Cooking oil - 4 tspn
Curry leaves- one sprig

Method

• Boil the eggs, peel and keep aside ( I pressure cook eggs for one whistle).
• Take the kadai add 2 spoons of oil and add the grated coconut, roast, roast, roast until the coconut turns golden brown in colour, add the coriander powder and the pepper corns and roast again.
• Remove the coconut mixture and put in a mixer jar and let it cool.
• Place the kadai again back to the stove and add 2 spoons of oil and add the finely sliced onions, saute, saute, saute until it becomes golden brown, add the green chillis, ginger, garlic, and saute again.
• Add the tomatoes and saute again, 
• Once the tomatoes are soft and oil separates from the sides add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and saute well.
• Meanwhile grind the coconut mixture into a soft paste and add it to the onion tomato gravy.
• Add more water if required and let the mixture comes to boil.
• Add in the garam masala and curry leaves and also throw in the eggs.
• Stir well and remove from flame.
• Serve hot with rotis or rice.

Note : This gravy can be made using any other eggs and veg, also sea food.

Thanks
Chaithanya

Recipe for hundred percent whole wheat buns in mud pot

When I thought about baking something today it was just a simple focaccia with olives and sun dried tomatoes. Slowly it changed to simple buns and then I just happened to use organic whole wheat flour for kneading the dough and finally when I arranged the bun to bake in the tray I changed my mind and baked in a mud pot... Ha! As they say sometimes, some days are like that... we just need to initiate the thoughts rest follows. I am certainly happy with the output, the buns are very soft and tasty, yes!

Coming to the recipe 

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour ( I used organic) - 2 cups

Water - 1cup

Yeast (dried instant) - 2 tsp.

Salt - 1 tsp.

Sugar - 1 -2 tbsp.

Olive oil - 2-3 tbsp.

Method

When it comes to bread the recipe always says to mix the yeast in luke warm water.  I always used to confuse this 'luke warm' water temperature and the short cut or easier way I used to describe it is to heat the water in the microwave high for exactly a minute. I never go wrong with this temperature for the water when I have to make breads. This assumption is based on the availability of the microwave in most houses.

• Warm the water as mentioned above.
• Dissolve the sugar and yeast and let it froth; ideally leave it for about 10- 15 minutes.
• Sieve in the flour and add the salt.
• I use the dough hook attachment of my egg beater to knead the dough for not having messy hands :)
• Knead the dough using the hook and gradually keep adding the olive oil little until you get nice soft and elastic dough. Ideally once you see that the dough has come together you can knead with your hands smearing the olive oil when you feel the dough sticks to your hand. The dough will be good and will not stick to your palm anymore. Leave the dough to rest for about an hour or two until you see the dough has risen.
• Once the dough has risen, punch it down and make small balls and arrange in the baking pan (here, the mud pot or the chatti) 
• Smear it with an egg wash (mix well one egg with one tablespoon water) 
• Sprinkle some white sesame seeds.
•  Meantime preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes
•  Bake the bread for about 20- 25 minutes or until you see a golden crust on the top and you hear a hollow sound when the bread is tapped with the back of your knuckle. Yea that the test :)
• And that done :)

Bake and enjoy

Thanks 

Chaithanya

Recipe for rose flavoured palpayasam

Recipe for rose flavoured palpayasam

I know what you guys must be thinking, again dried rose petals recipe...yea, I have been smitten by it and what better occasion than Holi to use it up :)

I saw ample recipes using dried rose petals but finally thought of infusing it in my palpayasam recipe. I have a recipe of palpayasam which I usually make in pressure cooker. Did the same recipe but with a twist. So here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Rice - 1/3 cup ( I use jeera rice)

Ghee - 1 tspn

Milk - 500 ml

Sugar - 1/3 cup

Milk powder - 1/2 cup

Dried rose petals - 2 tbspn

Chopped dry fruits for garnish.

Method

Wash and drain the rice

Keep the pressure pan on stove, add ghee and roast the rice in the ghee for about 1-2 minutes.

Pour in the milk, add the sugar and close the lid of the pressure cooker and pressure cook for about 1-2 whistles.

Open the lid once pressure is released and add the rose petals, stir in the milk powder and stir for another few minutes.

Serve hot or cold and garnish with finely chopped nuts.

Note: 

• Adding milk powder is optional, you may return the pressure cooker on stove and cook for sometime to make the payasam thick.
• You may tie the rose petals in a small potli and add to the payasam and remove it off once its flavour has entered the payasam . I did that since I was afraid my kids would make a big fuss on seeing the petals.

Cook and enjoy :)

thanks

Chaithanya

Dried rose petals and cashew cookies sweetened with jaggery syrup

Dried rose petals and cashew cookies sweetened with jaggery syrup 

I have mentioned in one of my previous posts about buying dried rose petals on pure impulse. We don't generally use this ingredient in our daily cooking, hence my mind wanders as to what to, how to and  when to use up this flavorful ingredient. Yes its flavorful and indescribably aromatic too! My mind wandered and reached at cookies, yet again :) 

It really was a trial and error recipe but the results was not disheartening. Hubby dear gave a green signal to the product hence its making way into my blog . these little challenges and result makes us 

happy . isn't it? 

Anyway knowing that I should save the recipe before forgetting I am sharing with you all

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

Butter - 1/4 cup

Jaggery syrup - 1/2 cup

Dried rose petals - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder - a pinch

Baking powder  - a pinch

Crushed cashews - 1/4 cup

Method
Preheat the oven at 160 degrees Celsius.
Powder the dried rose petals well in a mixer or a coffee grinder.
Throw in all the ingredients in a huge bowl and mix gently with hands until you form a soft dough.
Make small balls of the dough and place in a greased baking tray.
Place the tray in the oven and bake the cookies for about 20 minutes or until you see the sides browning. If you prefer the top of the cookies to be brown as well, change to grill mode.
Remove the tray from the oven and gently remove the cookies using a spatula and place in the wire rack. The cookies will be very soft at this stage. Once it cools it turns crunchy. Store in airtight container. Ok, yea before that take a bite, taste and  don't forget to share :)

Baking is no rocket science, try it before its too late. You can make various flavours at home for kids instead of buying.


Happy baking
Thanks 
Chaithanya :)

Recipe for carrot milkshake

Recipe for carrot milkshake

There are few drinks which I make for my kids in the morning before school or as a mid day drink when they are at home. Carrot milkshake is one among it.

Ingredients

Medium sized carrot ( peeled and roughly chopped ) - 2

Milk - 2 cups

For sweetening - sugar or  yellow palm sugar 

Method

Take a small size pressure cooker and throw in the chopped carrot and 3/4 cup of milk and cook for 1-2 whistles.

Once the pressure releases blend the mixture well and add the rest of the milk to it.

For sweetening add sugar or any other sweetener. 

(I add yellow palm sugar/candy which is the crystallized form of palm sugar and has its own medicinal values specially when its the season of cough and cold. )

Once it is blend well its ready to serve.

TIP: Your can blend some soaked almonds/walnuts to make it healthier and  is helpful for the kids when they are out in school for long hours. 
For blending you can either use a stick blender or a mixer. I use Braun chopper, yes it blends really well :)

Thanks
Chaithanya :)