"Healthy food can be oh so delicious too!"
Yes this site is all about that.
Join me in my journey of healthy eating accompanied by my foodie of a husband and an equally foodie toddler.
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I am writing this blog as a continuation to my Andhra Pesarattu recipe as the Pesarattu dosa is incomplete without this delicious spicy, tangy ginger chutney called Allam Pachadi. ❤️
Before trying this, I used to wonder how a chutney with only ginger can taste but as soon as I tasted it, I fell in love with the flavours. So so delicious for words. It’s a made for each other combination with the Pesarattu. 😍
Hope you all try and love it with Andhra Pesarattu too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { Serves 4 }
2 tsp Coconut Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
A pinch of Hing/ Asafoetida
A sprig of Curry leaves
2 to 3 Red chillies
About 1/2 Cup Chopped Ginger ( 6 to 7 pieces of 1 inch each)
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1 Tbsp Jaggery powder
2 to 3 Tbsp Tamarind pulp
Salt to taste
For seasoning:
1 tsp Coconut Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
A sprig of Curry leaves
Step by step recipe:
1. Heat oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Add urad dal and hing. Fry till Urad dal turns slight brown.
2. Add red chillies and curry leaves. Fry for few seconds.
3. Add chopped ginger and turmeric powder. Fry till ginger turns soft.
Note: Don’t fry ginger too much or else it will turn bitter. Just fry for a minute or so till ginger turns soft.
4. Add to a mixer grinder.
5. Add Jaggery powder and Tamarind paste. Also add salt and little water. Grind to a smooth paste. While grinding, add little by little water to bring to chutney consistency.
6. Heat coconut oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves. Fry for few seconds. Pour over the chutney. Mix well.
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Yet another dosa on the blog, 33rd dosa recipe to add on to my collection – Dosa Corner. This time it’s a special recipe from Andhra Pradesh – Pesarattu or whole green gram dosa with a spicy, tangy chutney called Allam Pachadi. We had this for breakfast today and the flavours are still strong in my taste buds. ❤️
The basic recipe of Pesarattu is the same but many people make different additions to it, like top it with onions and carrots or fill it with upma to make Pesarattu Upma but this combination of plain Pesarattu with Allam Pachadi is what is loved the most by us. ❤️
Pesarattu is a great way to add the healthy green gram into your diet, specially if your kids love dosas. I make small dosas for my kids and they get attracted by the unique green colour of the dosas. ❤️
Hope you all try and love this dosa too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: (1 Cup = 240 ml)
{ Makes 7 to 8 large dosas }
1 Cup Whole Green Moong / Green gram
2 Tbsp Rice flour/ Rice powder
2 tsp Jeera/ Cumin seeds
1 inch Ginger piece
1 to 2 Green chillies
A sprig of Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Step by step recipe:
1. Wash well and soak whole moong in a large bowl with atleast three times the water, overnight or for 8 hours.
Note:You can also soak for 4 to 6 hours but for me, soaking overnight works best as I make Pesarattu in the morning.
2. Drain the water completely. Add the soaked Moong to a mixer jar. Also add, chopped ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, cumin seeds, rice powder and salt.
3. Add water little by little and grind to a smooth paste.
Note:It took me about 1/2 Cup of water to get the right consistency of batter. See that that batter is not too thick nor too thin.
4. You can make dosas instantly. This dosa does not need fermentation. Now heat a dosa tawa and when it is hot, pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread into a large circle.
5. Cover and cook till the surface cooks. Add oil/ ghee on the edges and center of the dosa. Now flip and cook for half a minute.
6. Remove and serve hot. This dosa tastes best when hot from the tawa. Serve with Allam Pachadi.
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* You can soak the whole moong for 4 to 6 hours also if you plan to make the dosas during day time. Soaking less time makes the dosa crispier. For me, soaking overnight works best, so I soak that way.
* Be careful while adding water while grinding the batter. Too much water will lead to a thin batter and you won’t be able to make dosas. Add water little by little while grinding.
* This dosa does not need fermentation of the batter. You can make dosas instantly.
* I add 2 Tbsp Rice flour. You can increase by 2 Tbsp of you like crisp dosas.
* This dosa batter does not taste as good after refrigeration. So best to make in small quantities and use rather than refrigerate. I use 1 Cup Moong to soak and I get 7 dosas which are sufficient for breakfast for us. My 1 Cup measures 240 ml.
* This dosa tastes best when had hot from the tawa.
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Recently I got a lot of walnuts (at super cheap price 😁✌️) which are so crunchy and tasty that I munch couple of them when I have mid meal hunger pangs. Apart from eating the walnuts as it is, I looked up for recipes so that I can add it in my kids’ diet too without them knowing (sshhh 🤫😄).
That’s when I found that they could be added in chutneys and what better an idea as my kids love their dosa and idli with chutney. So I tried in many ways and finally found this way the best. In this chutney you can never say it has walnuts in it as the flavour of red chillies and hing masks the nuttiness of walnuts really well.
Today made this chutney with Rava Idlis and they made such a great combination that I felt like sharing it with you all instantly. Hope you all try it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { Serves 2 to 3 people }
3/4 Cup freshly grated Coconut or Desiccated coconut
4 Walnuts
4 Kashmiri Red Chillies or to taste
1 tsp Tamarind paste
Pinch of Hing / Asafoetida
Salt to taste
For seasoning:
2 tsp Coconut Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
5 to 6 Curry leaves
Step by step recipe:
1. Take coconut, red chillies, tamarind paste, hing and salt in a mixer.
2. Roast walnuts in a small pan for few seconds. It just needs to heat a bit. Then remove from the flame.
3. Add to the mixer.
4. Add water as needed and grind to a smooth paste.
5. Remove to a bowl. Heat coconut oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and when it splutters, add curry leaves and roast a little. Pour over the chutney. Mix well.
6. Serve with dosas or idlis.
Notes:
* I add 4 Kashmiri red chillies for 3/4 Cup Coconut. It does not turn out very spicy and I make it so as I make for my kids. You can increase as per your taste.
* 4 to 5 Walnuts are perfect for this measurement. If you add more, the walnut nuttiness might become more prevalent.
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Though I am not an expert at making traditional Konkani dishes, if there is one Konkani sweet dish I can make really well, it is Madgane. Madgane is made on Ugadi day which is new year for us, as per Hindu calendar. When I made it for Ugadi few months back, I realized I had not shared this delicious recipe on the blog.
That’s when I decided to make it again during Navaratri which is yet another important festival for us and share with all of you. Today is a final day of Navaratri, tomorrow being Vijayadashami or Dussehra. 🙏
If there is something I miss the most living in Qatar, it is going to temples specially during festivals. My dad has been going to all Devi temples across Udupi and sends me pictures of beautifully adorned Devis. 🙏 Feels so happy for him. ❤️ It is a great blessing from the divine which we don’t realize the value untill we are away from it.
Wishing all of you a blessed Navaratri and Vijayadashami. 🙏
Hope you all try Madgane and relish it like we do. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: ( makes about 6 bowls/ servings)
1/2 Cup Chana dal
1 3/4 Cups Coconut milk ( about 400 ml)
1 Cup Jaggery powder
2 Tbsp Rice flour
1 Tbsp Ghee
About 10 Cashews and few raisins
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Roast Chana dal on medium to low flame till it starts letting out an aroma and starts browning.
2. Immediately remove from flame and wash well. Add fresh water, a little above the level of Chana dal, as shown in the picture.
3. Pressure cook till soft but not mushy. Chana dal should retain shape. I cook on high till 2 whistles, then keep on medium flame for 10 mins in my electric stovetop.
4. Now add cooked Chana dal, coconut milk and Jaggery in a thick bottomed pan.
5. Mix well and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 mins on high flame.
6. Take 2 Tbsp Rice flour and mix with 2 to 3 Tbsp water to form a paste free form lumps.
7. Add it to the Chana dal payasa while stirring continually so that it does not form lumps. Cook for 5 to 10 mins on medium flame till the mixture becomes thick. Remove from flame.
8. In another pan, take ghee, add cashews and raisins. Fry till raisins plump up. Add to the payasa. Also add Cardamom powder. Mix well.
9. Serve warm.
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Notes:
* I have used tinned coconut milk from Lulu hypermarket. If you are making fresh coconut milk, then take about 2 Cups of coconut gratings, grind it with little water to a fine paste in a mixer. Sieve it once to get thick coconut milk. Grind again with water, sieve to get thin coconut milk. Add thin coconut milk along with jaggery in step 4 and thick coconut milk along with rice flour paste.
* Be careful while roasting Chana dal as it burns very quickly. Roast on medium flame and remove as soon as it starts turning brown. Roasting is an important step as it gives a wonderful flavour to the payasa.
* While pressure cooking Chana dal, ensure that it retains shape and is not mushy. In Madgane, the bite of chana dal is important.
* Don’t add a lot of water while pressure cooking and even after that as that payasa will become watery.
* 1/2 Cup Chana dal to 1 Cup Jaggery works perfectly for me. You can vary as per your taste.
* Rice flour paste is added to give thickness to the Madgane. Don’t skip it as it enhances the texture so much.
* Traditionally, fresh Cashew or Bibbo is added to Madgane. I don’t get it, so I add regular Cashews roasting only slightly along with raisins.
* Don’t forget Cardamom powder as it gives a wonderful aroma to Madgane.
* Leftover Madgane can be refrigerated and had next day.
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It’s a special weekend day today as my daughter Ashritha’s half yearly exams are finally over and it really feels like my exams are over too. 😅 Teaching her for her second standard exams was not less than my engineering semester exams for me. 😁
Planning her lessons, teaching her, preparing notes, asking her questions while I do my work, then finally heaving a sigh of relief when she says the exams were easy… All of these were my last two weeks in short. 😄 So since yesterday, I have been making her favorite dishes to celebrate “freedom from exams” and today was the day to give freedom to these fast ripening Nendran Bananas too. 😍
Nendran Bananas are her favorite and apart from slicing round, frying in ghee, I also make this Nendran Banana Halwa when the bananas turn overripe. I also learned to make this Nendrapazham nirachathu last month which she loved a lot. So I decided to make it today with these bananas and took some pictures to add on the blog too.
This is very easy to make and tastes so delicious for words, specially if you love Nendran Bananas. Hope you all try it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { For two stuffed bananas }
Two Ripe Nendran Bananas (should not be very soft or over ripe)
4 Tbsp Freshly grated Coconut
2 to 3 Tbsp Jaggery powder
1 tsp Ghee + 1 Tbsp Ghee
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Heat 1 tsp Ghee in a small pan and add freshly grated coconut and jaggery powder.
2. On medium to low flame, fry the coconut- jaggery well in ghee for a minute.
3. Remove from flame. Add Cardamom powder. Mix well.
4. Take the ripe Nendran Bananas. If they are very soft, we can’t use it as it will break when we fill and fry it. Just see that they are ripe yet firm.
5. Peel the bananas. Make a small slit with knife in the center leaving the ends as shown. Don’t make a very deep cut too. Just slit until 3/4th depth of the banana.
6. Now stuff the bananas with the coconut jaggery mixture using hands. Divide the mixture between the two bananas.
7. Now heat 1 Tbsp Ghee in a pan and roast all three sides of the bananas till they turn slight brown. Do it on medium to low flame, else they can burn.
8. Done. Slice into three to four pieces and serve. Enjoy! ❤️
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Notes:
* If you have very soft or over ripe bananas, you can make this Quick Nendran Banana Halwa that I make regularly.
* This recipe requires the bananas to be ripe yet firm to hold.
* While frying the bananas, be careful while turning and see that you do so on medium to low flame, else the stuffing can burn as it has jaggery in it.
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A new blog after a long break of many months. Kids had their summer vacation and towards the end of it, we went to India. Had a great month celebrating festivals with our families and the highlight being able to spend Janmashtami time at my native, Udupi. ❤️
If there is heaven on earth for me, it is Udupi. The feeling of living there, being able to see my dearest Krishna always is very precious. Hope my dream of settling down in Udupi fulfills in the coming years. ❤️🙏
I missed cooking at Udupi as we were either constantly travelling or were at our relatives’ houses. So coming back to my kitchen in Qatar, I have been cooking a lot to compensate it. 😁 This Capsicum Peanut Masala was a recent try inspired by something similar which I ate at a hotel during my vacation.
It comes out so delicious that a meal with rice, rasam and capsicum masala is all you need to get your soul satisfied. This is that kind of curry, simple, unique and very flavourful.
Hope you all try and love this curry too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Peanuts
3 medium sized Green Capsicum, chopped into small pieces
1 small Onion
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
2 tsp Mustard seeds
Few Curry leaves
3 Green chillies
1 tsp Tamarind paste
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp Red chilli powder or to taste
2 tsp Sambar powder ( I use Nirapara brand)
Freshly grated coconut for garnish
Salt to taste
Step by step recipe:
1. Dry roast peanuts in a pan till it starts changing colour and let’s out an aroma. Don’t let it turn black. Allow it to cool.
2. When it cools down, powder it coarsely in a mixer. Just pulse for few turns. Don’t blend it a lot as it will turn into paste. Keep it aside.
3. Now heat oil in the same pan, splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and green chillies. Fry for few seconds.
4. Add finely chopped onions and fry till the onions turn translucent.
5. Now add chopped Capsicum and fry for few minutes.
6. Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, sambar powder and tamarind.
7. Mix well. Cover and cook till capsicum turns soft. Sprinkle little water if necessary. Now add the peanut powder.
8. Mix well. Cover and cook for about 5 mins. Add grated coconut on top. Done. 🙂
Serve with rice meals as a delicious accompaniment.
Notes:
* Be careful while roasting peanuts such that they don’t turn black. Roast on medium flame and immediately remove them as soon as they start changing colour.
* Also be careful while grinding the peanuts such that they should not turn into a paste. Coarse powder is enough.
* Onion can be skipped if you follow satvic diet.
* You can reduce chilli powder as we have already added green chillies, depending on your spice level.
* Sambar powder adds a wonderful flavour. So don’t skip it in this curry.
* This curry also tastes yummy with dosa.
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I know if you have come here to read the recipe, you must be wondering as to what kind of Pohe this is. The name itself is so unique that I too was amazed as I read it few months back. My friend on Facebook, Aparna Kamat had posted this recipe and as part of a theme, I had tried it. Even though I was hesitant as to how it must taste with cabbage (also called Kobi in Goan side), I was surprised that it tasted so delicious and I never missed onions in my Pohe.
Thus Kobi Pohe found it’s place in my kitchen and I started making this whenever I had fresh Cabbage or when I felt like making Pohe on Pooja days and I needed to skip onions in my dish. Cabbage substitutes onion really well and you can never tell the difference. Aparna says this Pohe is made in our temples in Goa and I must say, what a great idea!
Though our breakfast is mainly Dosa and Idli varieties, some days the dosa batter is not sufficient for everyone and that’s when I make seasoned dishes like this Kobi Pohe for breakfast and relish it.
Hope you all try and love it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
Thank you so much Aparna for your wonderful recipe. It’s a keeper for sure. ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients:
3 Cups Thick Poha/ Flattened rice/ Beaten rice
1 Cup Finely chopped/ Shredded Cabbage
2 medium sized Potatoes
3 to 4 Green chillies
1 inch Ginger piece, finely chopped
For seasoning:
1 to 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2 Tbsp Peanuts
A sprig of Curry leaves
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp Lemon juice, for garnish
1/4 Cup finely chopped Coriander leaves, for garnish
2 Tbsp freshly grated coconut
Step by step recipe:
1. Keep finely chopped Cabbage, peeled and chopped potatoes, finely chopped ginger, green chillies and curry leaves ready.
2. Take the thick Poha in a large bowl and wash it well removing impurities if any. Drain and keep aside.
Note: Be careful while washing Poha as some Poha requires only be sprinkled with water and it turns soft. My variety of thick Poha needs to be washed well and drained completely to get the desired texture.
3. I add salt to this softened Poha. Mix well and keep. This ensures that salt gets mixed evenly in the poha.
4. Now heat oil in a large pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves, ginger, green chillies and peanuts. Roast till peanuts turn slightly brown in colour.
5. Now add potatoes, cabbage and turmeric powder. Keep frying for couple of minutes. Now cover and keep on medium flame. Cook till potatoes turn soft.
Note: Only if needed, you can sprinkle little water for potatoes to cook. I don’t add water at all.
6. Now add the softened Poha and mix well. Cover and keep for 2 mins on low flame.
7. Remove from flame. Drizzle lemon juice and garnish with finely chopped Coriander leaves and freshly grated coconut. Done! Enjoy Kobi Pohe with a hot cup of tea. ❤️
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Notes:
* For a regular version of Poha which is called Kanda Poha in Maharashtra and we Konkanis call Batat Phovu, substitute Cabbage with finely chopped Onions. Rest procedure is the same.
* You can use white or brown Poha but make sure it is Thick Poha and not Thin Poha.
* If you are unsure of whether your family will like this or not, just use 1/2 Cup Cabbage first. Trust me, you just can’t say the difference between this and Kanda Poha. Just be sure to finely chop the Cabbage such that it mixes well with other ingredients.
* I also like to drizzle a spoon of ghee at the end as garnish while making any kind of Poha. It not only ensures that the poha is not dry but gives a wonderful flavour to the poha too. It is completely optional but just sharing the way I do.
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My Dosa Corner page is proof for our Dosa love. It has 35 Dosa recipes as of now (just back from counting 😀) and here is the 36th variety of dosa – Our favorite and a dosa which I make most regularly, Methi dosa. ❤️
Methi or Fenugreek seeds when soaked and if the soaked water is used while grinding the dosa batter yields really delicious dosas. Also, is very beneficial for our body. I have been making different kinds of Urad dosas but this one works perfect for me and is a weekly once dosa at our place.
My kids’ can eat these dosas for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner (True dosa lovers 😍😍). Making dosas for them and watching them enjoy it is my happiness. ❤️
Hope you all try and enjoy these dosas too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: Makes about 20 dosas
1 Cup Whole Urad dal (can use split urad too)
2.5 Cups White rice ( I use any regular white rice or parboiled rice)
2 tsp Fenugreek seeds/ Methi
Salt to taste
Ghee to cook the dosa
Step by step recipe:
1. Wash well and soak Urad dal, rice and fenugreek seeds in separate vessels in atleast twice the amount of water for 4 hours.
Note: Do soak fenugreek seeds separately as we won’t be draining the soaked water but will use it while grinding the batter. This gives best texture to the dosas.
2. Drain water from Urad dal and add to the mixer. Now add the fenugreek seeds along with the soaked water.
3. Grind to a smooth paste. Pour into a large vessel.
4. Drain water from soaked rice too and grind it to a smooth paste adding little water as needed. Add this to the Urad dal paste. Mix well adding salt.
5. Keep it covered to ferment for about 8 hours at room temperature.
6. Heat a dosa pan and spread a ladle full of dosa batter into a circle.
7. Cover and cook till the surface cooks. Add ghee on top and sides.
8. Flip and cook for crispy dosas. Else you can just cook one side, fold and remove the dosas. Serve with a chutney of your choice!
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* Leftover batter can be refrigerated and used for two to three days.
* Please do soak fenugreek seeds in a separate container and do not discard the soaked water while grinding. Use it as it is very healthy and will also give a great texture to the dosa.
* You can also make dosas within an hour of making this batter as it still turns soft and tasty. I make it when my son craves for dosas and the batter is just ground. He loves it.
* Soft dosa lovers can make the dosa thick and cook only one side. Crispy dosa lovers can make the dosa thin and cook both sides till crisp.
* You can check all my Dosa recipes (35 Dosa recipes): Dosa Corner
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Both the kids just left for school and I take this (peaceful 😄) opportunity to write a recipe which I wanted to share since long time. In Qatar, during winters ie roughly from November to April, residents grow vegetables in their gardens. Main vegetable which almost everyone grows is Tomato. Even we have tomatoes in abundance every year which we enjoy till June due to it’s good shelf life.
Here are some of the beautiful tomatoes which grew in our’s and our neighbor’s garden who was kind enough to share with us. ❤️
And plenty of tomatoes means making my favorite, my Amma’s Tomato chutney. 😍 Apart from that, due to my daughter’s request, who wanted the hotel style Tomato Chutney which she enjoys at Aryaas restaurant here, I happened to try this recipe which came out exactly the same. Imagine my happiness!! ❤️
So after getting daughter approval as well, I knew this recipe deserved to be blogged and shared with all of you. Hope you all try and love this recipe too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients:
About 4 to 6 medium sized Tomatoes (or as available, even 2 large tomatoes are fine)
2 medium sized Onions
1 inch Ginger piece
4 pods of Garlic
3 to 4 Red chillies
A sprig of Curry leaves
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder/ Haldi
1 Tbsp Coconut oil
Salt to taste
For seasoning:
2 tsp Coconut oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds/ Jeera
A sprig of Curry leaves
A pinch of Asafoetida powder/ Hing
Step by step recipe:
1. Take all the ingredients for the chutney and keep ready. I have taken home grown tomatoes of different sizes depending on which of them were turning soft. Since I have a lot of tomatoes, I have taken plenty to make this chutney. You can use only two to three large ones depending on availability.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add curry leaves, chopped ginger, garlic and onions. Fry till onions turn translucent. Then add red chillies. Fry for few seconds.
3. Add roughly chopped tomatoes along with turmeric powder and salt. Cook till tomatoes turn soft. Don’t add water at all. Tomatoes will leave a lot of water as it cooks.
4. Once the tomatoes cook and turn soft, remove from the flame. Allow it to cool. Blend to a smooth paste.
5. Heat oil in the same pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and hing.
6. Now add the blended paste along with little water if needed to bring it to desired consistency. Check for salt and also spice level, adding red chilli powder if needed.
* You can skip Onion and Garlic if you don’t consume or on Pooja days. The texture of tomatoes will still make a thick chutney.
* Ripe and bright red tomatoes will give a beautiful colour and flavour to the Chutney.
* Keeps well if refrigerated for couple of days. Mine usually gets over within that.
* I make a big batch specially during tomato season, hence you can see I have used plenty of them. You can use two to three tomatoes to make one batch of chutney.
* For variety of dosa recipes, you can check my Dosa Corner page.
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Hello dear readers, I am back after a very long break. I know I have been taking many breaks now and then but I also know you all will understand me. I had travelled to India, to my hometown Udupi in Karnataka, last month which was after a period of 2.5 years and had a wonderful time with my Amma along with my dearest family members. ❤️
After coming back to Qatar, my kids started school, with my son joining kindergarten too. I miss the kids specially my son a lot as he was always stuck to me (fevicol ka jod 😄) but as they say, we have to accept whatever life brings and I have got accostomed to his absence in the mornings too (though I get teary eyed each time he leaves 😁 #motherhood).
When he comes back though, I get smothered with hugs and kisses from him which compensates for everything 😍😍. My daughter comes a little later and then an hour goes by with her narrating what happened at school. Her stories remind me of my younger self who used to tell each and everything to my mother after she came back from work. ❤️
When they are at school, I cook or bake something special just to see their excitement and the way they enjoy it. 😍 That’s how I baked these Cashew Butter Cookies which both the kids loved a lot.
These cookies are healthier as compared to store bought ones and very tasty too. Once you get the trick on how to make it well, it’s very easy and hardly takes 30 mins to bake a batch of cookies.
Hope you all try and love these cookies. Do let me know if any doubts and it will be a pleasure to help. Happy and healthy baking! ❤️
RECIPE: { My 1 Cup = 250 ml }
Ingredients: { Makes about 15 cookies }
100 grams Salted Butter ( 1/4 Cup + 3 Tbsp) (Add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter)
3/4 Cup Whole wheat flour or Atta
1/2 Cup finely powdered Cashews ( + 2 to 3 Tbsp if needed)
1/4 Cup Jaggery powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Soften butter by keeping it at room temperature for little time. (Do NOT melt it in microwave or so.) Just place it at room temperature till it turns soft. Now add jaggery powder.
2. Combine both well with a spatula till jaggery powder blends with the butter.
3. Add cashew powder and mix well using the spatula.
4. Now add wheat flour.
5. Combine well to form a non sticky dough. At this step, if needed add extra cashew powder or wheat flour if the dough is very sticky. The dough should not be very hard but should not be sticky too. It sometimes takes me extra 2 Tbsp of cashew powder to get non sticky dough. Depends on your wheat flour/ butter brand.
6. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 10 to 15 mins so that the dough becomes firm. After that Preheat the oven for 180 C for 10 minutes in the center rack of the oven.
7. Now make roundels using your palm and place on a greased (with butter or ghee) oven proof plate. Grease your palm too if needed.
8. After the oven finishes pre heating, place this plate in the center rack of the oven and bake at 180 C for 12 to 15 mins. My cookies get done at 14 mins.
9. When done, the cookies turn slightly brown at the edges and are hard to touch in the center. If the cookies look underdone, bake for couple of mins more.
10. Once baked, allow the cookies to cool completely. As they cool down, they start getting firmer but these cookies are more on the soft side and not the crispy kind of cookies. Enjoy soft, melt in the mouth homemade cookies! ❤️
Notes:
* Store the cookies in a dry, air tight container and it lasts well for two to three days. Mine gets finished off by my family before that. Will last longer if handled well, free from moisture.
* They are very soft and break upon touching on warm. As they cool down, they will harden but still not very hard like store bought ones as we have used only butter. The texture is melt in the mouth softer version of cookies.
* These cookies do not need baking sodanor baking powder. They still grow in width during baking process. I too was amazed the first time I tried it as I always thought cookies needed either baking soda or powder.
* Baking time depends on your oven. In some ovens, it can be done at 10 mins while in my OTG, it takes 14 mins. So keep an eye but don’t open the oven door before atleast 10 mins into the baking time. Else it will lead to uneven baking.
* Do refrigerate the dough for atleast 10 to 15 mins as it helps combine the ingredients well and also helps us form cookies well without sticking in our hands.
* Place the cookies in the center rack of your OTG or with both rods on if using microwave with conventional mode oven.
* I have not replaced butter with ghee or oil in this recipe. So can’t say about the outcome.
* I use Pillsbury brand of wheat flour for my bakes and it works very well for me.
* For making powdered Cashews, just put the cashews in a mixer and pulse it in regular intervals till it turns into fine powder. Keep checking in between so that it does not leave oil and become a paste.
* Leave space between cookie dough while keeping on the tray as they increase in width as they bake.
* When they fully bake, you can see the surface is free of raw dough and edges are slightly golden in colour. It is enough. You can remove the cookies out of the oven.
I have tried to note down as much points as possible so that it’s easy for you all to follow but if you still have any doubts, either comment here or message me on my Facebook page Healthy cooking with mitha or on my Instagram handle and I would be happy to help.
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Join me in my journey with a foodie husband and hungry kiddos while I make them eat healthy!
Healthy cooking with Mitha 