Homemade badam (mamra) milk drink

This is one of the drinks I make for kids for breakfast especially during winters… Their breakfast includes an Indian breakfast and cup of badam milk to go with it.

I believe almonds provides heat to the body and also develop immunity, now that is what I have read and heard.

And yea I never believed in the store bought ‘health drinks’

Badam milk is something made at home using soaked almonds blended with sweetened milk. Earlier I use to use the american almonds but few years back I met a mom who mentioned about mamra variety of almonds , did a bit of research on it and since then been using  mamra variety for making badam milk, it’s a bit costlier compared to the American variety but is very nutritious.

We soak mamra variety of almonds overnight and grind the almonds with milk, raw sugar and a pinch of home made turmeric powder.  I feel so happy and satisfied when I make this and kids drink this in the morning.. :)

Coming to the recipe

Ingredients

Mamra almonds - 10-1 2 no.s

Milk - 2 cups 

Sugar - 2 tsp.

Turmeric powder – a pinch 

Cardamom power – a pinch

Method

• Soak the almonds overnight and wash thoroughly the next day( I don’t peel the soaked almonds).
• Grind the almonds with little milk, sugar, turmeric powder and cardamom powder well and then later add the rest of the milk.
• Once ground strain thru a juicer sieve.
• Pour out in cups and serve! 

Note : 

• I use 'Braun' chopper to grind this quantity of almonds, have tried most of the other appliances but it never gets ground well.
• We use organic milk, raw sugar, a home made turmeric powder to make the drink healthier. 

Thank you 

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

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 almonds and hazelnut cookies with saffron and cardamom flavor

Easy and tasty recipe of yet another cookie

Ingredients
Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Butter - 1 cup
Sugar 3/4 cup ( powder it )
Almonds -1/2 cup ( I use mamra variety of almonds, powder it)
Hazelnuts - 1/2 cup ( powder it)
Saffron - a pinch
Cardamom powder - a pinch

Method
In a large mixing bowl throw in all the ingredients and knead softly and gently, once the dough come together make small balls and place in a baking tray, press slightly with a fork. Preheat the oven at 150 degrees Celsius and place the tray in the top rack of the oven. Bake for 10-11 mins and then grill for 2-3 minutes, now that's how I do and been doing :)
Once done, remove from the oven and slowly place each cookie on the wire rack to let it cool.
Once cooled store in an airtight jar.
Done!!! .. Enjoy!

Whole wheat oats cookies with almonds, sweetened with jaggery

Whole wheat oats cookies with almonds, sweetened with jaggery 

A mother of school going kids often breaks her head for ideas for snacks box for the kids, and these days mothers are more aware to add something healthy. In this recipe instead of using sugar, I used jaggery syrup to sweeten the cookies.

Following is the recipe
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour- 1 cup
Oats- 1 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Jaggery syrup - 1/2 cup *
Blanched peeled and halved almonds- 1/2 cup
Baking powder - a pinch / 1/8 tspn
Cocoa powder - 2 tbspn

* I melted 1 kg jaggery in I cup of water , strained and used 1/2 cup of this liquid for the recipe. 

Method
As simple as said always take a big bowl and throw in all the ingredients and mix well, it will be a little wet and sticky because of the jaggery syrup. Scoop out small spoons of the dough and place it in a greased baking tray, press it lightly with the back of the fork.
Bake for about 10 mins in a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celsius and grill for another 4-5 mins.
Remove and let it cool in a wire rack and then store in a airtight container.
Enjoy! :)

Chewy avocado almond cookies

Chewy avocado almond cookies

One of the days that I wanted to experiment making cookies with avocados :) The result has been not bad either.

Following is the recipe

Ingredients 
Mashed avocado - 1 cup
Whole wheat flour- 1/2 cup ( I use organic wheat flour)
Ground almonds- 1/2 cup ( I use mamra variety almonds)
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Butter - 1 tbsp
Baking powder - a pinch
Desiccated coconut 

Method
Take a big bowl and throw in all the ingredients except desiccated coconut, mix well with a fork initially and then with the hands to a smooth dough.
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
Slightly butter a baking tray, make small balls of the dough, place it in the baking tray, press it with a fork and then sprinkle some desiccated coconut over it.
Bake the cookies for about 10-15 mins and grill for around 5 mins.
Remove the cookies and let it cool in a wire rack.

Note: these cookies are chewy and not crunchy.

Red bell pepper- almonds sauce

I made this using roasted red bell pepper and toasted almonds.

Ingredients:

• 1 large roasted red bell pepper ( cover the pepper in aluminium foil and roast it over direct flame and it was well roasted in about 15- 20 mins, once roasted remove the skin and seeds of the pepper.)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup toasted almonds ( simply dry roast almonds)
• 2 tomatoes chopped (remove the seeds)
• a couple of fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper - to your taste
• 2 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method
Pulse all the ingredients in a food processor and slowly add the oil with the motor running  Season with salt and pepper.

This sauce is very yummy with our parathas, breads!

Hazelnut cookies coated with tempered chocolate

A post after a while :) and yes it is a cookie... This is one thing which is very easy with cookies is that its easy to make and you can finish of your work when you enjoy it in less time. And what better way to spend time with your kids when you bake along them. Had lots of hazelnut in my pantry bought for making home made Nutella, so thought of trying cookies with the same. Here goes a recipe for it

Ingredients
Hazelnut - 1/2 cup (powdered)
Almonds - 1/4 cup (powdered)
Wheat flour - 1 cup
Sugar ( powdered) - 1/3 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Milk - if required

Method
Assemble all the ingredients in a mixing bowl except milk and gently mix together until it comes together. Make sure it doesn't come stiff or hard. If you feel so add  milk tsp by tsp to make the dough soft. Knead it softly . Make balls , flatten it and bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celsius

If you check my other post of cookies, you will now how I bake my cookies :)

Once cookies are baked, let it cool in a wore rack .
Meanwhile temper dark chocolate and coat it over cookies and sprinkle sprinkles of your choice.

Barley cookies

Barley cookies


Ingredients

Barley flour- 1 cup
Powdered nuts ( almonds, cashews)-1/2 cup
Powdered sugar- 1/2 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Baking powder 1/2 tspn

Method 
Mix all the ingredients and make a dough, Make small balls and keep in the baking tray, press the balls with a fork.

Bake at 150 degrees Celsius it in the preheated oven for about 10 - 12 minutes. 

Eggless crunchy choco chip cookies

Egg less crunchy choco chip cookies

Whole wheat flour- 1 cup
Softened butter- 1/2 cup
Crushed or powdered nuts ( I took almonds) - 1/2 cup
Powdered coconut- 1/2 cup
Choco chips- 1/2 cup to 1 cup
Powdered sugar- 1/2 cup
Baking powder- 1/2 tspn
Milk- 1/4 cup - 1/3 cup

Method


Mix all the ingredients except the choco chips in a large bowl. Knead into a very soft dough adding few spoons of milk in between to get a sticky soft dough. Finally add the choco chips and mix well.

Drop in cookie dough with spoon or hand in the cookie tray and bake in a preheated oven for around 10 minutes at 150 degrees Celsius

My process of baking cookies is as follows:

I preheat the oven ( I bake in my OTG) for ten minutes at 150 degrees celsius, place the cookie tray in the top rack and bake for around 6-8 minutes, when you feel that the bottom of the cookies are baked slowly shift the mode of the OTG to grill mode and grill for another 5-8 minutes..make sure that the top and bottom should not get dark brown , it should be just golden brown.

Remove the tray from the oven and remove each cookie carefully ( it would be soft ) from the tray using a flat spatula and let cool till it turn crispy and then store in airtight jar.

Fatless sponge cake

Basic fatless sponge cake


Eggs -  4 no.s
Powdered jaggery - 3/4 cup OR 1/2 cup sugar
Vanilla essence - 1 tspn
Whole wheat  flour ( atta) - 1 cup
Almonds 1/2 cup ( powdered)
Baking powder - 1 tspn


Method


Preheat the oven to 180- degrees celsius
Beat together the eggs , powdered jaggery and the vanilla esssence till light and creamy. Gradually fold in the flour stirring with a light hand in one direction only.
Add in the powdered almonds and fold again.
Pour the batter in a prepared pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Barley - cornmeal- almond cookies

Barley- cornmeal- almond cookies

Barley powder- 1 cup
Cornmeal - 1/2 cup
Almond powdered- 1/2 cup
Sugar- 1/2 cup ( powdered)
Butter- 1/2 cup
Baking powder- 1/2 tspn
Milk -
Choco chips- one handful (optional)

Method

Mix all the ingredients adding reqd amnt of millk to form a soft dough. Make balls, flatten it with a fork and place in a baking tray at 150 degrees Celsius

Pink cookies

Pink cookies 

Whole wheat flour- 1 cup
Almonds- 1/2 cup ( powdered)
Sugar- 1/2 cup ( powdered)
Baking powder- 1/2 tspn
Butter- 1 /2 cup
Beetroot pulp - 6 tbspn


Method
Mix all the ingredients adding the beetroot pulp in the final stage of mixing and form  a soft dough. Spoon the dough into the cookie tray and press it with a fork and bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees celsius .

Cornflakes chocochip cookies

Cornflakes chocochip cookies

Whole wheat flour- 1 cup
Almonds- 1/2 cup
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Butter- 1/2 cup
Baking powder- 1/2 tspn
Choco chips- as required
Corn flakes crushed - a handful
Milk- 4-6 tbspns

Mix all the ingredients except choco chips and cornflakes in a bowl , Add in the milk if required to make a soft dough. Finally add the chocochips and cornflakes and spoon in the dough in a baking tray and bake as said in the description of the cookie album.

Alternatively u can make a ball of the dough and roll in cornflakes and bake it

Chocolate nankatai

Chocolate nankatai


Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rava ( semolina)
1/4 cup almonds (powdered)
1 tbspn flaxseed (powdered)
Cocoa powder- 2 -3 tbspn ( 2 tbspn will also be enough)
Sugar- 1/2 cup ( powdered)
Ghee- 1/2 cup
1/4 tspn baking powder

Method
Mix all the ingredients and knead it to make a super soft dough. Make balls, flatten it with a fork and bake it in a preheated oven at 150 degress Celsius for about 10- 12 minutes 

Rajgira almond with chocochips cookies

Rajgira almond with chocochips cookies
Rajgira flour- 1/2 cup
Whole wheat flour- 1/2 cup
Almonds - powdered- 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Baking powder- 1/4 tspn
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tspn

Method ..
Mix all the ingredients smoothly into a soft dough make balls, flatten it with fork and bake at 150 degrees celsius.
Quite simple na.. Try it soon !