Wholewheat mini cupcakes sweetened with jaggery syrup

That day I was feeling  low for a reason and was craving to do something new or different and that usually gives me a high. So that day I just picked up my mini cupcakes pan and kept out all the staples for cake baking. After couple of hours while I was making dinner for the family I got into mixing the batter and then this recipe evolved.  Husband dear had just got back from the office and he loved the aroma filled in our home :)

Following is the recipe

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour -1.5 cups

Eggs – 3 no.s

Butter – 2/3 cup

Jaggery syrup – ¾ cup (refer notes)

Vanilla essence – 1 tsp.

Baking powder – 1 tsp.

Method

• Take a huge mixing bowl and throw in the softened butter, crack the 3 eggs, sieve in the flour and the baking powder, pour in the jaggery syrup, drop in the vanilla essence and mix well using a whisk until all the ingredients have just come together. Yes, you read it right. That’s exactly what I did.  Don’t over whisk. 
• Once the ingredients have come together gently scoop out the batter into the cupcake moulds and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when pierced.

Note: Jaggery syrup is made by melting one kg of jaggery with one cup of water, sieve and  and measure ¾ cup from it for this recipe. You can store the remaining syrup in the refrigerator and stays good for weeks.

I used coarse chakki ground atta for this recipe.

Thanks and regards

Chaithanya

Tutti frutti and coconut flakes bread recipe

Love baking bread these days and today a jar of tutti frutti and a jar of coconut flakes tempted me to bake this bread. I used whole wheat flour for this bread.

Initially I used to find it difficult to bake bread using just whole wheat but now have got the hang of it! And doesn’t get terrified for not using maida. The trick is you have to make sure that the dough is wet enough. As I have always said in my previous bread posts the bread dough should be wet enough to get a softer bread. As a secret I would also say don't blindly follow the recipe but follow your instincts.

I have a reason to say this, as even the texture of the flour changes from packets, brands, batches and so on.

So don’t worries if your dough happens to be mushy...be happy that you get softer dough provided you have good quality yeast to react with

Was doubtful whether to blog this crazy recipe but when husband returned from office he was gobbling it one by one along with tea and that made me decide, yes i should blog this recipe .. lol 

Now onto the recipe

Ingredients

Whole wheat four - 2 cups

Yeast - 1tspn

Olive oil - 2-3 tbsp.

Sugar - 1tbspn

Salt - 1 tsp.

Water – 1.5 cups

Tutti Frutti -1/2 cup to 1 cup (I have used 1 cup)

Coconut flakes - 1/2 cup to 1 cup (I have used 1 cup)

Method

• Take a huge mixing bowl and sift in the flour, add the yeast, sugar and knead using water. You could use your hands, fork or dough hook attachment of the egg beater for kneading the dough. Then add the salt and add the olive oil little by little and knead for about 10 minutes.  This dough will be quite watery, but worry not!
• Close the bowl with a lid or a towel and leave it to rise for about 0ne hour. You will see the dough has doubled in size. AT this stage add the tutti frutti and coconut flakes and mix it gently into the dough. Take a pan and spread out the dough evenly ( I use a silicon sheet ot spread out the dough) and press out using olive oil smeared palm.
• Preat heat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes and meantime the dough will rise.
• Once the oven is hot, place the tray in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until the top turns brown and you hear a hollow sound once you knock the bread.
• Remove the bread and let it cool on a wire rack.
• Slice the bread once the bread cools down.

Bake and enjoy with a nice cup of tea or coffee

Thanks 

Chaithanya

Whole wheat Cranberry Orange Scones with Dulce de leche coffee recipe

When u have a lot of tangy cranberries and sweet oranges at home think of some whole wheat scones and enjoy them with a nice dulce de luche coffee :)

The cranberries I have at home was super tangy, some may like it but my family kept ignoring those. Finally thought of baking scones with those, also had some sweet oranges handy at home.

Came across this recipe from taste of home, while browsing the internet and used organic whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour and baked it. 

The recipe is as follows

Ingredients

·         2 cups whole wheat flour

·         10 teaspoons sugar, divided

·         1 tablespoon grated orange peel

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/4 teaspoon baking soda

·         1/3 cup cold butter

·         1 cup dried cranberries

·         1/4 cup orange juice

·         1/4 cup half-and-half cream

·         1 egg

·         1 tablespoon milk

Method

1.       In a large bowl, combine the flour, 7 teaspoons sugar, orange peel, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.

2.      In a small bowl, combine the cranberries, orange juice, cream and egg. Add to flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.

3.      Gently knead the dough for minute and pat dough into a circle. Cut into 10 wedges. Separate wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet, alternately on a silicon sheet. Brush with milk; sprinkle with remaining sugar.

4.      Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack.

Dulce de leche coffee

Blend together 100 ml fresh cream, 100 ml milk, 1-2 tspn instant coffee and 2-3 tsp. Dulce de leche until frothy and serve!

Bake and enjoy! 

Regards

Chaithanya 

Whole wheat and sorgum focaccia (atta and jowar) recipe

Whole wheat and sorgum focaccia (atta and jowar) recipe

Once upon a time when I bought few cherry tomatoes I just crushed few and put in my pots. Been religiously watering the pots without but my expectation of seeing the tomatoes had died. But to my surprise after a couple of months I started seeing the saplings and one fine day I see my cherry tomatoes have showed up.

Now when someone has surprised me so well, I wanted to treat them special and hence this recipe. I wanted them to show them up, yea, I agree salads are one option but unfortunately I am not a salad person. Hence thought of making a focaccia since I got about a dozen of those cutie pies. But then again thoughts will try whole wheat and jowar focaccia. Why not, when you want to make someone feel special, take an extra step always J

Alright so I am eager to share the recipe now

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour – ¾ cup

Jowar flour – ¾ cup

Water ¾ cup

Yeast – 1 tsp

Sugar – 2 tsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Olive oil – 2 tbsp.

For the topping

Cherry tomatoes – 1 dozen

Oregano, chilli flakes, basil (seasoning of your preference)

Olive oil – 2-3 tbsp.

Method

• The temperature of the water for the yeast to work is crucial, I have mentioned this every bread baking post. So for this measurement I microwaved the ¾ cup water in high for about 30 seconds. 
• After removing the glass proof bowl I sprinkled the sugar and the yeast into the water and stirred well. After 15 mins it would have frothed up.
•  Sift in the flours and salt and knead well (I use the dough hook of my egg beater attachment) once the dough has come together, add the olive oil and start kneading with your hands for a while.
• When  you get the soft dough let it rest in a well-greased bowl for about an hour or until the dough has risen and doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 10-20 mines. Meantime, knock down the dough and flatten in a preferred pan and make a lot of holes by using your finger. Pour in some olive oil and half the tomatoes and place in it. Sprinkle the seasoning all over and leave it to puff up again until the oven is preheated.
• Once the oven is heated place this pan in the oven and bake for about 20 – 30 minutes or until you see a nice golden brown crust on top.
• Remove and let cool.
• Serve it with some extra virgin olive oil or a garden salad

Thanks

Chaithanya

Whole wheat breakfast loaf recipe

What to make for breakfast is a question of every household and I am not the one who makes lots of idli/dosa batter and dump in the fridge. That’s for none other reason but my darling daughter hesitate to eat anything fermented...

So it was another Saturday night when I had to think 'what to make for Sunday breakfast', thought for some time and then realised I had fine organic whole wheat flour. Yes fine flour works best for breads, it doesn’t crumble much and remains a little lighter than breads baked with coarse flours.

I just went ahead and baked and hence the Sunday breakfast was a breeze. You don’t have to work too hard for breakfast on a Sunday morning and yet wholesome breakfast. 

No, I never trust store bought breads whatever label it has!!! ha, that’s just me! Sigh!

The recipe follows

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour – 3- 3.5 cups

Yeast - 3 tsp

Sugar - 3 tsp

Water - 2 cups

Olive oil - 2-3 tbsp.

Salt - as required

Method

The temperature of the water is crucial for the yeast to react. Hence as a tip I would say microwave the water in high for 1 mins 30 seconds. It should be slightly warmer than being warm. 

Sprinkle the yeast and sugar and let the mixture rest for 10-15 minutes or until you see a nice frothy mixture.

Sift in the flour and salt into the yeast mixture.

Next step is a little messy if using hands, hence either use a fork to stir in the flour or use the dough hook of the hand mixer as I do. I don’t prefer kneading with hands.

When you see the dough has formed, add in the olive oil and knead with your hands for couple of minutes. Smear a huge bowl with a little oil and put this dough into it and cover with a damp cloth for about 1 or 1.5 hours or until the dough has doubled.

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius and in the meantime knock down the dough and bring it together and place it in a bread tin or glass proof bread bowl.

Once the oven is heated place the tin/bowl in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until the crust has turned golden brown and also you hear a hollow sound when knocked or tap the bread with your knuckles.

Few tips :'

• Make sure your whole wheat flour is finest, else sift it 
• Do not put all of the flour as mentioned in the recipe at once. First add 3/4 flour as said in the recipe, then gradually add so that you still have a wet soft sough. The softer the dough better the bread :)

I sliced the bread and served as

Butter and bread for daughter

Garlic bread with grated cheese for son

Chilli cheese toast for husband and me  

thats the bread saga..

enjoy baking and feeding wholesome 

thanks

Chaithanya.

Whole wheat Swedish almond cake recipe

Was in a mood to bake a cake and browsing through my fav recipe books. Couldn’t wait to bake this cake and indulge :)... One of such days when you really want to dig in some yummy stuff. And thankfully the kitchen had all the required stuffs and a jar of slivered almonds was sitting in my refrigerator... Woo... Didn’t wait, just baked !

 

The recipe follows

Ingredients

Eggs – 3 (I use country eggs)

Sugar – 2/3 cup

Whole wheat flour (I use organic hand pound) – 1 1/3 cup

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Vanilla extract – 2 tsp

Milk – 4 tsp

Butter – 75 gm, melted

For the topping

Butter – 50 gm

Flaked almonds - 100 gm

Sugar – 50 gm

Flour – 2 tsp

Milk – 2 tsp.

Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease the base and sides of an 8 inch cake tin with butter and dust with flour.

Whisk together the eggs and sugar until it looks pale and thick.

Sift in the flour and baking powder and pour in the vanilla extract, milk and melted butter, then fold everything in until combined.

Tip the mixture into the tin and bake for 30-35 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

While this gets baked we’ll make the topping, take another bowl melt the butter and add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

After the cake has been cooking remove it from the oven and spoon the almond mixture evenly over on top. Place it back in the oven and bake for about 10-15 mins or until the topping is golden.

Leave the cake to cool for 10 mins and slowly remove it from the tin.

Please let the cake cool to cut it since when I tried cutting it as soon as it was baked, the d topping crumbled but when I cut the cake after waiting for an hour it was cut beautifully J

 The recipe is adapted from cakes by Rachel Allen with minor alterations.

Bake and enjoy

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

Poppy seeds and white chocolate chips cookies

Poppy seeds and white chocolate chips cookies

These days I want to explore a lot on recipes but I feel a little lazy in blogging and I am not happy about it. Nevertheless I want to record my experiments and share it with my readers. So here goes the recipe before I miss it from my mind :)

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 1 1/3 cup

Poppy seeds =- 2 tbspn

Butter- 1/2 cup

Sugar- 1/2 cup ( powdered)

Baking powder - a pinch

Egg - one ( optional)

Milk - few tspns

Vanilla essence- 1 tspn

Method

Preheat the oven  at 150 degrees Celsius

In a huge bowl mix the flour, poppy seeds, softened butter, baking powder, vanilla essence and egg. Use few spoons of milk just to bring the soft dough together.Please dont knead the dough hard! it will spoil the texture of the cookies.

Make small balls from the dough, slightly flatten it and keep on the greased baking tray and bake for about 15 mins or until the sides turn slightly brown. If you prefer to have a golden brown top turn the knob of the oven to grill mode for few minutes. Once done quickly remove the cookies with a spatula and let it cool on a wire rack.

Once cool the cookies will turn crispy and crunchy.

Bake and enjoy :)

Thanks!

Whole wheat almond and lemon cookies

I have always been hesitant to try lemon cookies wondering how it will taste. But last week one of my good neighbours gave me nice plump and juicy home grown lemons. Since when I received it I have been thinking of trying some bakes with that. Though I thought of  baking a lemon cake I ended up baking cookies with it. Nevertheless it was yum .. Honestly I am salivating while writing this thinking about that lemony taste it leaves over your palate once you eat these cookies ;)

So following is the recipe

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup 

Ground almonds- 1/2 cup

Butter - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup (powdered)

Lemon juice - one large or 2 med sized ones

Baking powder - a pinch

Milk - few tspns

Method

As any other recipe of mine throw in all the ingredients  into  big bowl and gently bring it together to form a soft dough . Use milk only to bring the ingredients together. Let the dough rest for a while , about 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees cCelsius

Make small balls of the dough, flatten it and place it on a greased baking tray and press slightly with a wet fork

Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.

Place the tray in the oven( I usually place the tray in the top rack of the oven) and bake for about 15- 17 mins until you get a nice aroma and sides of the cookies are slightly brown.

Remove the tray and gently remove the cookies and place it on a wire rack. Let it cool and take a bite.

Store the rest of the cookies in an airtight jar.

Bake and enjoy

thanks!

Whole wheat almond cookies

Cookies are one of my favourite bakes ever for various reasons..easy to bake, can use simple and healthy ingredients and above all kids love to eat it anytime 







I have  experimented and baked a lot of cookies in the past with various ingredients and almond cookies has been a favourite cookies forever. I added the chocolate flavour for the extra oomph for the product ;)

Ingredients 
Whole wheat flour - one cup
Butter - half cup
Sugar - half cup
Almond powder - half cup
Cocoa powder - 3tspn
Milk - 1/4 cup
Slivered almonds - 1/3 cu p

Method
Throw in all the ingredients in a big mixing bowl and mix it tenderly into a soft dough.
Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven at 150 degrees Celsius.
Make small balls from the dough , flatten it and roll it in the almond flakes.
Place it on a greased baking tray and bake for 15-17 mins until the almind flakes turn golden colour.
Remove the cookies from the rack and let it cool on a wire rack
One cooled store in an airtight jar or just munch on :)
Happy baking !


I dint use and baking powder or baking soda in the recipe, the cookies came out good.

Whole wheat cheese straws

The following is an incredibly easy recipe of cheese straws which can be made easily, I used whole wheat flour and some grated carrots to make it more healthier. I am in love with recipes which doesn't seek help of any baking agent and this is one among it, so all the more happy :)

Recently bought Vikas Khanna's cook book and loved this recipe .. made few alterations using whole wheat flour and making it veg. The original recipe called for shredded chicken .. so you can actually use that!

Ok so following is the recipe.

200 gms whole wheat flour

125 gms butter

50 gms cheddar cheese

50 gms parmesan cheese

one whole egg and one egg yolk

one med sized carrot finely grated

chopped coriander - 2 tbspn

salt and pepper and any other seasoning you wish ( like paprika or herbs)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Sift the flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt.

Add the butter and rub in until it looks fine like bread crumbs.

Stir in the cheese, beat the egg and egg yolk and stir in the seasoning too.

Mix to a dough.

Take small balls from the dough and roll into thin straws and lay on a greased baking tray ( I don't use any parchment or foil to line the tray)

Bake for 15- 20 mins. Cool for 5 mins and then transfer to a cooling rack.

And is done .. just munch on! :)

Whole wheat Dulce de leche cake

I am a big fan of caramel and since when I saw the method of making dulce de luche by pressure cooking condensed milk tin I have been making it occasionally though since it is very addictive. Also have been reading lots of recipes which uses DDL. This time I thought of trying a cake of Rachel Allen, one of my favourite baker :) 

So this cake is all about including DDL in the batter, I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour and the cake had a very distinct flavour of the DDL. Cake is equally loved by both kids and adults :)

Its as easy as any other cake recipe 

 

Ingredients

Butter - 175 gms

Light brown sugar  ( powdered) - 100 gms 

Vanilla extract - 1 tspn

Dulce de luche - 200 gms

Eggs - 2 no.s

Whole wheat flour - 1 1/3 cup

Baking powder - 1.5 tspn

Ground almonds - 100 gms

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Cream the butter until soft in a large bowl

Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and dulce de luche and beat the mixture for a good few minutes until the mixture is smooth and light.

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl for a few seconds and add to the creamed butter mixture beating all the time. Tip in the ground almonds, then sift the flour, and baking powder gently and fold until combined.

Pour the batter in a baking tin and bake for about 30 - 40 mins or until the skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes , loosen the edges and carefully remove the cake on a wire rack to cool down completely.

Making dulce de luche ( dulce de luche is boiled condensed milk) 

Boil unopened tins of condensed milk for 2 hours  and let the tins cool completely.

Alternatively you can pressure cook the tin in low flame for about 20 - 25 mins with pressure. Open the tin only when its cooled completely.

Bake and enjoy!!

Rice bran and hazelnut cookies sweetened with jaggery

Rice bran and hazelnut cookies sweetened with jaggery

(Something which is easy to bake, tasty and healthy as well) 


As i have said many times in the past I just love baking cookies because its very easy to assemble and bake and also there are lot of options which we can explore. So this time I boldly tried baking cookies with rice bran just to see what could be the result. And thankfully it was accepted my family. I can proudly share the recipe with you all.

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Rice bran - 1/2 cup
Hazelnuts - 1/2 cup ( crushed)
Thick jaggery syrup - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/3 tspn
Egg - one ( I use country egg )
Choco chips ( optional)

Method 

Throw in all the ingredients in a huge bowl and gently bring in together . I dint use any milk in this recipe since the ingredients came together when I mixed. You may add more jaggery syrup or few spoons of milk if you find it difficult to make the soft dough.
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius
One the soft dough is formed, scoop spoonful of dough, roll and flatten slightly and place in the greased baking tray.
Keep the tray in the top rack of the oven and bake for about 15-18 minutes until you see the bottom of the cookies have turned dark brown.
Remove the tray from the oven and gently remove each cookie and place in the wire rack to cool.
Once cool the cookies becomes crisp , store in a air tight container .

As i said isnt it easy to bake these cookies ! Bake and enjoy!! :)

Thanks!