Eggless Chocochip Cookies

Chocochip cookies were always on my to cook list ,but somehow it got postponed .Finally with some encouragement from my sister -in-law to bake something in her vintage stove top oven I finally decided to give these cookies a try and got the recipe from here and tailor made it according to my taste.These Chocochip cookies were absolutely crunchy and make you want to eat more again and again .we finished this batch in a day itself.

Makes:15-17 cookies

Preparation time :30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour or plain flour
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar (I used turbinado sugar)
• ⅓ cup butter,at room temperature.
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• A little milk to make the dough

Procedure:

1.Preheat oven at 180C.In a bowl cream the butter and sugar together .

2.Then add the vanilla extract and the flour and mix well.

3.The mixture will look like below (like crumbled).Add the chocochips and a little milk.

4.Mix well and gather it like a cookie dough.Then take a small portion of the dough in hand and flatten it.

5.Place the flattened dough on the baking tray which is greased priorly. Bake them at 180 C for 10-12 mins or till the cookies are baked.The cookies will be soft initially but after it cools down it turns very crunchy.Yummy Chocochip Cookies are ready to be served. Store them in an airtight container.

Tips:

• The original recipe called for 1/4 tsp of baking powder but I omitted it. The cookies came out well even without adding it.You can add it if you wish.
• For a dark Chocochip cookie you can add 1 tbsp of cocoa powder to the dough. 

Mum's Homemade Fruit Jam(No preservatives)

This is my 100 th post and I am glad it's very sweet.I am not a great fan of jams but son indeed is .But I don prefer the store brought ones though they are tasty.They are loaded with chemicals like food colors,preservatives and artificial flavors which trigger allergy and wheezing in kids.As I was refusing to buy my son jam,my mom sent me a bottle of delicious homemade mixed fruit jam with no preservatives and has the goodness of the real fruits .My son loved it and the bottle got over in a month.I wanted to try it and got an opportunity to make it this time at my mom's place where I am right now , spending my summer vacation .

Preparation time :30 mins

Prepares:150g approx

Ingredients:

Mixed fruit pulp (papaya,chickoo,mango,banana,Apple)-2cups

Sugar-2 cups

Lemon juice-1 tsp

Tonovin essence -1 tsp

Procedure :

1.Heat a wok and add the fruit pulp and sugar and keep mixing well in medium flame .

2.Once all the sugar has dissolved,add the lemon juice and mix well.

3.Once the mixture starts to thicken ,add the tonovin essence.

4.Keep on mixing and the mixture turns glossy and dark in color. Simmer the flame.

5.Glass jars are generally preferred for jams and one must wash it with soap and hot water and air dry it beforehand.As I didn't have an appropriate glass  jar I used a stainless steel one.But please do not use plastic ones even if they are food grade.The  right stage for the jam to be ready is when you  drop a spoon of jam on a plate it should stay still like a pearl or not runny.Then our jam is ready.

6.Transfer the jam to the jar and once it cools down you can refrigerate it .Stays well for upto 2 months in the fridge and when used a clean and dry spoon for use.Enjoy this delicious ,healthy and wholesome homemade mixed fruit jam .

Tips:

*If you miss the pearl stage then the jam may get too rubbery and difficult to spread.

*I didn't add pineapple as I would like it to eat as a pineapple jam.

*Glass jars are always better to store jam.It should be clean and dry.

*Tonovin essence adds a nice flavor and color to the jam so better to add it.

Gobi paratha/Cauliflower stuffed flat bread

Cauliflower is one of my family's favourite vegetable .I try to include it in most of my recipes like 

1.Gobi Manchurian 

2. Potato cauliflower Masala Dosa 

3.Gobi Aloo Dum

These Gobi parathas are very yummy when served with a dollop of butter ,a pickle and a raita. I prefer to chop or grate  cauliflower finely to get these parathas perfect otherwise boiling and mashing the cauliflower can sometimes make the stuffing retain too much moisture thus making parathas would be difficult .

Preparation time :40 mins

Makes:15 parathas 

Ingredients:

For the bread:

Whole wheat flour-1 1/2  cups

Salt-to taste 

Water -for kneading 

For the stuffing:

Cauliflower-150 gms

Finely chopped onion-1 no

Jeera or cumin-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Chilli powder-1 tsp( adjust according to your need)

Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp

Kitchen King masala or garam masala-1 tsp 

Kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves-1 tsp

Salt-to taste

Oil-to toast the parathas

Butter/ghee - to serve 

Procedure :

1.In a large mixing bowl add the flour and reunited salt and add required water little by little and knead in to a soft dough.Cover the bowl with a lid and keep it aside.

2.Heat a wok with a tbsp of oil and add cumin seeds.After it splutters add the chopped onion and saute well.

3.When the onions turn transparent add the salt,turmeric powder and red chilli powder,followed by ginger garlic paste.Mix everything well.

4.Put the cauliflower florets in hot boiling water with a tsp of salt and after a minute refrain them and chop or grate them finely.Add this finely chopped cauliflower to the sautéed onion.then add the kitchen king masala .

5.Simmer the flame and cover the wok with a lid and let the cauliflower cook for few minutes.Then remove the lid and add the kasuri methi and mix well.Switch off the flame .Take a small ball size dough and roll in to a small chappathi and place two spoonfuls of the cauliflower filling inside it and wrap it inside the dough .

6.Dust some flour on the wrapped filing dough and roll out in to parathas. It should be neither too thick nor too thin.If it sticks to the rolling plate dust some flour and roll it out.Heat a non-stick pan and add a tsp of oil and place the paratha on top of it.Once it gets cooked on the downside ,flip it and add another tsp of oil so that both the sides are evenly cooked golden brown.

7.Serve hot with a pickle or tomato thokku and raita .Optionally you can add a blob of butter on top of the parathas before serving.

Tips:

*Roll out parathas evenly and lightly  otherwise the filling will come out when you roll out.

*Don't avoid kasuri methi as it adds a very nice flour to the paratha and it is healthy too.

*You can also add chopped coriander leaves to the filling.

Musk Melon Granita

The scorching heat makes us to loose our energy fast and leaves us feeling drained .All one would want is to drink or eat something cool.This musk melon granita leaves you refreshed and is a natural cooler.Kids would love to have them during their holidays .Its very simple  to make and yet an appealing recipe.

Serves :6

Preparation time:15 mins and time to freeze

Ingredients:

Musk melon-1 no( medium size)

Turbinado sugar or powdered jaggery-2 tbsp or more if you are sweet toothed.

Honey-2 tsp for every serve 

Mint leaves-to garnish 

Procedure:

1.Peel the skin of the musk melon and chop them into medium size slices.Discard the seeds.In a juice blender,add the chopped fruits and sugar and beat them till they are puréed well.

2.Transfer the purée to a container and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.

3.After a few hours give it a stir.once it is completely frozen ,use a fork or spoon to scoop out the granita .

4.Serve it in a bowl ,drizzle 2 tsp of honey on top and garnish it with fresh mint leaves .Serve chilled.

Nan Khatai -An Indian Flavoured Cookie

Only after entering the blogging field ,I came to know about these delicious cookies-Nan Khatai. Also I read that these  cookies are made during festivals like Diwali in the north part of our country.They are more Indian in flavour as we use gram flour or besan ,ghee and cardamom to make these cookies.The pistachios on top add a very nice crunch to these nan khatais .So I made these during last Diwali for the first time and everyone at home enjoyed it a lot.

Preparation time:40 mins

Makes about 25 cookies

Ingredients:

Maida or All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Whole Wheat Flour or atta- 1/2 cup
Besan Or Gram flour - 1/2 cup
Melted Ghee - 1/2 cup
Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Milk - 2 tbsp
Pistachios -few

Procedure:

1.Sift all the flours along with the baking powder and the baking soda in a bowl.Grind the cardamom pods with the sugar in a mixer to a fine powder.

2.Transfer the sugar and cardamom mixture to the flours and mix well. 

3.Chop the pistachios finely and add the melted ghee to the flour mixture and mix well .

4.Mix well and gather it to make a dough.If the dough is too dry then you can add a tsp

of milk.

5.Take a small amount of the dough and make a ball and press it slightly in the form of a cookie. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180 degree C .Top each cookie with few pistachios and line it on the baking tray .

6.Bake them for 18-20 mins at 180 C till it is done and bottom of the cookie is golden brown .

7.The delicious and crunchy Nan Khatais are ready to be served.After it cools down transfer the cookies to an air tight container .

Tips:

• You can make these cookies with only maida and besan alone.In that case replace whole wheat flour with maida.
•  You can add melted butter to make these but ghee adds a rich and desi flavour to the Nan Khatais .

Rose Falooda shots

A long time craving of mine has been satiated finally! Yes,I love faloodas and always wanted to try once at home. Of course I didn't have the long and slim glasses for falooda but still wanted to go ahead with it and voila -Rose Falooda Shots! The sabja seeds are a natural way too cool your body and has many medicinal properties too.This is a great way to add them to your diet. It's very simple to make and ideal to beat the summer heat!

Preparation time :30 mins 

Makes 5 shots 

Ingredients:

Full cream milk-1/2 Litre

Rose milk essence-3 drops

Sugar-5 tbsp or more if you are sweet toothed

Sabja seeds or chia seeds - 3 tbsp

Boiled vermicelli -1/2 cup

Mixed nuts-3 tbsp

Vanilla icecream -as required

Procedure :

1.Boil the milk and simmer it for ten minutes in a thick bottomed vessel.Add the sugar and stir it till it dissolves .Add the rose milk essence.Mix well and refrigerate the mixture.

2.Soak the sabja seeds in water till it turns transparent on the outside .Keep the boiled vermicelli ready too.

3.Dry roast the mixed nuts till it turns light golden in colour.

4.Now take the small glass cups ,add a spoon of soaked sabja seeds and boiled vermicelli .Then add the rose milk up-to three quarters of the glass.

5.Lastly add a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and top it with roasted nuts and serve immediately .Enjoy the cool and yummy Rose Falooda Shots.

Tips:

• I didn't add jelly,you can add it if you wish.
• You can add cut fruits also to the Falooda.
• I have added only cashew and almonds.You can use pistachio ,pecans and walnut too .

Chettinad Ribbon Pakoda(Fried Rice Flour Crisps)

I am a great fan of the culinary expert Mrs.Revathi Shanmugam. My mom used to try a lot of her recipes and tells me to try it too.One such delectable and delicious recipe is this chettinad ribbon pakoda which is made of par boiled rice. I was so determined to make this dish and Diwali and successfully made it as well. It came out very crispy and tasty that it got over in 2 days.My son loves it and I too joined him in munching these awesome ribbon pakodas. Unlike the regular ribbon pakodas which are made of gram flour these pakodas are light in colour and have a unique flavour. They were too crunchy.

 Ingredients:

Par boiled rice -2 cups

Fries gram dal -1/2 cup

Sago or Javvarisi -1/4 cup

Green chilies-3 no

Hing or asafetida -1 tsp

Coconut milk thick-1/2 cup

Salt-to taste

Refined oil -to deep fry

Procedure :

1.Soak the par boiled rice for 6 hours and grind it in a wet grinder to a thick paste by adding minimum water.To this paste add the coconut milk and mix well .Dry roast the fried gram for a few minutes till nice aroma arises.Keep it aside .

2.In the same wok,add the sago and roast it till it gets slightly puffed up.

3.Powder the fried gram and sago in a mixer to a fine powder.Add it to the ground rice mixture along with asafetida or hing and salt.

4.Grind the green chillies and strain the juice to the rice paste mixture.Mix well and bring it together to a pliable dough.(adding no or little water)

5.Take a small amount of the dough and use a ribbon pakoda press to make the ribbon pakodas.

6.Heat oil in a wok and turn the heat to medium once the oil is heated.Use the press and add the pakodas to the oil and fry them till the oil sound reduces or it is cooked well.

7.Remove them oil and store it in an air tight container.Crispy and yummy Chettinad Ribbon Pakoda is ready.

Tips:

*Use very less water to grind the parboiled rice.If water content is more then we wont be able to make pakodas as the dough will be too watery.

*Roast the sago till it slightly puffs up,if not the pakodas wont be crispy.

*You can add sesame seeds for added flavour.