Gluten free Oats Pizza | Easy, healthy pizza recipe

January 2, 2021 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 3 Comments

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If you had asked me some years back about gluten free food, I would have looked at you bewildered as I really had no idea about it. But as I started blogging, I started noting many gluten free recipes in food groups and have been getting many requests for it by my readers. So I had to share this Oats Pizza which was one of my successful trials sometime back (had to perfect it before blogging, hence the delay).

After the first try, I fell in love with it. ❤️ It was so delicious and I was hopping like a bunny at how amazing it came out. 😅 Then I have been making it regularly for my kids whenever they crave for pizza and I felt it was a great way to include oats in their diet (hidden in their fav pizza 😀). Even though they are huge fans of my whole wheat vegetable pizza, this came into their favorite list too and they hardly know the difference.

I would also like to share some free gyan (😄) about gluten free diet (for those new to it like me, other know-it-all people can skip 😁). Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and few other grains. People who have celiac disease have gluten intolerance where they get mild to severe allergic symptoms if they eat these grains. But doctors have advised people without this disease to not follow gluten free diet without any reason. So if you are planning to start one, do read well about it and make an informed choice.

As for me, as I always say, its always best to have a wholesome balanced diet including all kinds of healthy foods in different ways to keep it interesting, combining it with regular exercise or brisk walking.

Anyhow hope this recipe is helpful to those of you who love pizza, yet are on a gluten free diet or for people like me who love to try unique recipes 😁. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: {Makes 2 mini pizzas}

For the pizza base:

1 1/2 Cups Instant Oats

1 tsp Instant yeast

1 tsp Honey

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Water (approx) (+ 2 Tbsp water after rise time)

For the toppings:

1/2 Cup finely chopped Mixed veggies (I used a mix of capsicum, corn, tomato, mushroom)

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Mixed herb seasoning

2 Tbsp Pizza sauce (or any regular ketchup)

1/2 Cup grated Mozarella cheese

Sliced olives for garnish as needed

Oil to grease the oven proof pizza plate

Step by step recipe:

1. Take instant oats in a mixer and dry grind it till it turns into fine powder. 1 1/2 Cups oats gave me 1 1/4 Cups oats powder. Takes about 5 pulses and gets powdered very quickly. Add to a bowl. Also add instant yeast, honey and salt.

2. Now add water little by little till it forms a dough. It should be slightly sticky but still firm. Took me 1/4 Cup plus 2 Tbsp water to form the dough for 1 1/4 Cups Oats powder.

3. Keep the dough to rest, covered in a warm place for 1 hour.

4. Meanwhile add finely chopped veggies, herb seasoning, salt in a bowl. Mix with spoon. You can also add chilli flakes and pepper powder for spicy pizza. I don’t add as I make for my kids.

5. When one hour is done, Preheat the oven at 180 C for 10 mins.

6. Grease the oven proof plate generously with oil. Also oil your fingers. Divide the dough into two portions and make two balls with it. Flatten it onto the plate with your fingers as thin as you can. In simple words, this is like flattening your Bhakris, thalipeeth or akki rottis. 😅

Note: Dough before resting for one hour will be slightly sticky and firm. After resting it will turn hard. Does not rise too but don’t worry, just add 2 Tbsp water to make it soft and it will be easier to spread using fingers. Also oiling your fingers will help you spread it thinly.

7. Now top this with pizza sauce or ketchup. Add veggie mix over it. Top with mozarella cheese and olives.

8. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for about 15 to 18 mins or till the mozarella cheese has a light golden colour to it. Bake in the center rack of your OTG or use both rods option or bake option in conventional oven.

9. Let it cool slightly. Then slice and serve with ketchup or chilli sauce.

Notes:

* You can use oats flour instead of instant oats. Just measure 1 1/4 Cups of flour and continue with the process.

* I have not used rolled oats in this recipe but you could try using. Just that the water required may be little more to form the dough.

* You could substitute honey with sugar but I chose it as it a healthier option while making no change in the output. It is just for yeast to bloom.

* If using dry active yeast, use 1 1/2 tsp of it. Proof it separately in warm water and honey first and then add to the powdered oats, salt mix.

* Dough before resting will be slightly sticky and firm. After resting it will turn hard. Just add 2 Tbsp water to make it soft and it will be easier to spread using fingers. Also oiling your fingers will help you spread it thinly.

* This dough does not rise like regular yeast based dough but don’t worry, the pizza crust turns out very well. Soft, yet firm and delicious.

* Don’t spread thick or else it won’t cook well. Spread thin and evenly.

* I always make mini pizzas with this as it is easier to spread than one large pizza.

* Remember greasing the oven proof plate well with oil so that the pizza does not stick to the plate.

* Bake till the cheese turns light golden in colour. It takes me exactly 18 mins but might be quicker or later depending on your oven. Keep an eye after 14 mins.

* This pizza tastes better when kept for about 10 mins at room temperature as the base turns firm. When it is hot, it is very soft.

* You can add chilli flakes or other seasonings to the pizza. I make this in a very simple way as my kids love this way.

* You can also try this easy whole wheat vegetable pizza which I am making since many years and is my kids’, their friends’ and also my readers’ favorite.

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.

Update:

Reader doubt: Oats absorbs more water , was 1/4 cup +2 tbsp water enough ?

My answer: Yes, it was enough for the first time before keeping it to rise. If you add more, it becomes very sticky and difficult to handle. After it rises, it absorbs all the water and becomes hard. Then add 2 Tbsp water again and make it soft enough to make it spreadable with oiled fingers.

Cakes and Bakes, Cookies

Wheat Butter Cookies | Easy wheat jaggery cookies using 5 ingredients

December 30, 2020 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 2 Comments

As I start writing, I can’t believe this year has almost come to an end. 2020 has been a huge life changing year for me. A year which taught me many things. A year where I understood myself more than ever and an unforgettable year for sure. If you ask me why, it is the time I got being home bound , which otherwise was always filled with the chaos of busy life.

Would love to share some positives that this year has brought in my life with all of you.

# Restarted listening to music (my long lost love ❤️), all thanks to my favorite singer Arijit Singh and Spotify which was my best friend all throughout the year. Music is truly healing and I don’t know why I had forgotten it all these years. 2020 can be called the “musical” year of my life for the amount of songs that I have heard this year. 😅

# Found love in birds and nature ❤️. With all the time in the world, I started observing the birds sitting in the backyard and would spend hours there without getting bored looking at them fluttering around. Along with that, I found an amazing Insta handle of our family friend, @mvbhaktha through whom I saw many beautiful varieties of birds. Sharing one of my favorite here. The innocent eyes of the bird is which attracts me the most. 😍

# Got a little more closer to my Krishna by listening to his bhajans and also by reading more about the unconditional true love that Radha had for Krishna. It taught me the way to love truly in life, without any expectations and always praying for the happiness of our loved ones, no matter what happens. ❤️

# There are two youtubers who deserve mention as I spent most parts of these last few months looking at their videos. One is Patrick Micheal and the other is Shivesh Bhatia. Looking at Patrick sing, his magical voice, feeling the lyrics of the song, touches you so emotionally that my eyes welled up many a times listening to him. His singing is definitely very special and I am very happy to have found such a soulful singer. Sharing my playlist here if you like to listen too. It is mostly malayalam and tamil songs though.

# Shivesh Bhatia from “Bake with Shivesh” is a delight to look at and he is a boy with so much knowledge about baking that I am amazed each time. He has been my inspiration to bake and the Chocolate Chip cookies on my blog are his recipe. When I want to divert myself towards something productive, Shivesh videos it is!

Finally after all the talking about my year (hope it was not boring 😄) , I want to share about these cookies which are not only my kids’ favorite but became my neighbor’s son, Ryan’s favorite too. I had shared some with them for Christmas wondering if they would like it as it is made with wheat flour and jaggery. But when I got a message the next day by Ryan’s mother saying he loved it so much that he is sad that it got over, I felt so happy that he loved it and promised to bake again for him.

So I baked them again for him yesterday and these cookies are definitely special because of that. Ryan gave me a beautiful memory with these cookies forever and I will never forget how much he loves these. Also, it has given me confidence to try more cookies for next year. A new zeal for baking! ❤️

Here’s wishing all of you a very happy new year in advance. Hope you all have a wonderful year ahead filled with love and happiness. Loads of best wishes. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes about 10 cookies }

1/2 Cup Wheat flour or Atta (I use Pillsbury brand)

50 grams salted Butter (1/4 Cup)

3 Tbsp Jaggery powder

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1 Tbsp Milk

Step by step recipe:

1. Take wheat flour in a bowl. Add cold butter, directly out of the fridge, cut into small cubes into it. Mix with your fingertips till the butter and wheat flour mix well resembling coarse texture. (Make sure there are no large chunks of butter and all the butter has been incorporated well into the wheat flour.)

2. Now add baking powder and jaggery powder to this. Sieve it if the baking powder or jaggery has big granules.

3. Mix once really well. Then add milk and bring the dough together. The dough will be little sticky. Refrigerate this dough for atleast 15 mins.

4. Preheat the oven at 180 C for 10 mins. Remove the dough from the fridge and make small balls out of it. Flatten it and cut using cookie cutter into different shapes. Place them on a greased (generously with ghee or butter) oven proof tray.

5. Bake in the center rack of your OTG (or bake mode or with both rods on in your conventional mode oven) at 180 C for 10 to 12 mins. The sides of the cookies will turn slightly brown and the surface will change colour to pale golden. The center surface of the cookies will also be hard and not soft. If you bake more than 12 mins, it will turn crispy.

6. Allow it to cool down. It will harden as it cools. Initially it will be very soft but will turn crispy as it is kept at room temperature. Enjoy the cookies!

Notes:

* Store in a container free from moisture. Will last for 3 to 5 days if handled well.

* I always use only Pillsbury brand of wheat flour for all my cakes, cookies and bread. It gives a great flavour and perfect bakes. Have tried with other brands but it does not give the desired result.

* I used salted butter. Add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter.

* Don’t melt or soften the butter. Take it directly out of the fridge, cut into small cubes and mix into the wheat flour, crushing the butter with your finger tips. Make sure there are no large chunks of butter left in the mixture.

* Don’t add more milk then mentioned as it can lead to the mixture being very sticky. If by mistake, your mixture has become sticky, refrigerate longer and it will be easier to handle.

* Jaggery powder can be reduced too to make it plain biscuits. The sweetness in this measurement is not much though.

* Refrigerating the dough is very important to give it that firmness so that the dough can be easily handled while shaping them into cookies.

* These cookies turn soft if made in big sizes (like my heart shaped ones) and crispy if made in small sizes (like the flower shaped ones).

* If you have under baked the cookies by mistake (you realize the cookies are breaking after it has cooled down), preheat the oven and bake for 3 to 4 minutes again and it will be firm.

* If you over bake these cookies, they can turn very crispy.

* Best is to keep an eye after 10 mins and take them out when they turn brown at the edges. Remember that since they are small, cookies continue to cook on the tray even after removed from the oven. So best is not to over bake the cookies.

* These are two other cookie recipes which are a huge hit with my readers:

Ragi Butter Cookies and Almond Butter Cookies

Curry house

Rajma Masala | No Onion No Garlic recipe

December 29, 2020 Healthy Cooking with Mitha Leave a comment

My husband’s aunt has asked us to take the “Solah Somavar vrat” which is fasting, without rice items for breakfast and eating only one satvik meal without onion or garlic on Monday for 16 weeks in a row.

Even though I am not someone who believes much in fasting, I am following it to respect her beliefs. My devotion to God is through bhajans and sthothras, along with talking with him believing he is always there with me ( My deep thoughts, example 1 😁).

So, even though I agreed to take the vrat, making no onion no garlic curries especially on days when the husband has to take lunch box is very difficult since he takes only north Indian dishes for his box. And all north Indian curries have loads of onions in it. That’s when I put on my experimental culinary cap and this Satvik Rajma Masala was born! 😅

The most important reason for me to add this recipe on the blog is my husband loving it like anything. And mind you, he’s not someone who is easy to impress. Even though he can’t cook much, he criticises my dishes so well that even the tiniest mistake does not escape his taste buds 🙄😄. That has been very difficult as a newbie married girl leading to many crying sessions 😂.

Not now though. Now, it does feel sad sometimes but I go into my silent mode (inside my shell😅) and then think that it’s for my own good and that’s how my cooking has improved this much (deep thoughts, example 2 😂). Honestly, that’s the truth too. His straight forward nature is the reason my cooking skills have improved. I have to thank him for that. 🙏😁

So here’s sharing the Rajma Masala which my husband loved so much that he found it perfect, much to my happiness. Hope you all try and love it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Rajma or Kidney beans

2 large Tomatoes

1/2 inch Ginger piece

2 Cloves

A small piece of Cinnamon

2 Tbsp Ghee

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 Bay leaf

A pinch of Hing or Asafoetida

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Red chilli powder or to taste

2 tsp Everest Chole Masala (the secret ingredient 😍) *can use any other masala but this is really very flavourful

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves, finely chopped to garnish

Step by step recipe:

1. Soak the Rajma is atleast thrice the water overnight or for 8 hours. Drain the water, add to a pressure cooker and add water only to soak it. Pressure cook till it turns very soft (this step is very important to get a good, thick gravy).

2. Grind tomatoes with ginger, clove and cinnamon to a fine paste.

3. Now heat ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds and allow it brown. Also add Hing and bay leaf. Now add the paste and allow it to cook really well sauteing in between. It should start leaving the sides of the pan.

4. Now add Turmeric powder, red chilli powder and chole masala powder along with salt. Mix well. Now add the cooked Rajma.

5. Cook till it comes together as a thick gravy. Mash the Rajma slightly using the back of the ladle or masher.

6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice. I serve with Jeera rice.

Notes:

* The main part here is cooking the Rajma to really soft that it’s almost buttery kind of soft, should easily mash between your fingers. That gives a thick gravy.

* Also don’t add much water while pressure cooking. Add water only till it soaks the Rajma.

* The number of whistles or the time for pressure cooking depends on your stove and pressure cooker. In my steel cooker and electric stove top, it takes about 6 whistles and then keeping till the cooker cools down completely.

* Everest Chole Masala really gives a good flavour to this curry. You can use any masala powder which you like.

* If you are not fasting, you can add an onion and about 3 to 4 garlic cloves and make paste with ginger, cloves and cinnamon first. Fry that in ghee and cumin seeds first till raw smell goes and then add the tomato paste. Continue the rest like the above curry. It tastes delicious too.

* The gravy thickens as you keep it and tastes best after couple of hours when the Rajma absorbs all the masala.

* For Jeera rice, Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds along with finely chopped green chillies. Add washed rice, salt and water. Cook till the rice turns soft. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Desserts, Millet recipes, Snacks

Ragi Malpua | Quick sweet idea | Healthy snack for kids

December 26, 2020 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 6 Comments

I have already shared a chocolate cake, cookies, idlis and a dosa with Ragi flour. You can check all the recipes here. This recipe of Ragi Malpua was my first post on my old blog and one of my first trials with Ragi flour back in 2013. Now when my kids love it, it makes me very happy (one of my successful experiments 😄).

These little rolls of yumminess comes handy during their “Amma, we are hungry. Give us something right now!” kind of hunger 😂. Yes, as a mother, we always have to be ready as such hunger pangs can strike anytime (proportional to their naughtiness 😬). I quickly make these Ragi malpuas and they enjoy it while playing. Seeing them eat happily is one of the best moments in the day for me. ❤️

I never realized how someone else’s happiness can be more important than mine before becoming a mother. But now, all I think is how to make them happy (even though I do scold them if they get extra naughty 😁) and all my wishes have got replaced by theirs too. My daughter asked me yesterday what wish do I have in life (she was talking about her wish to be a princess 😆😍). I said I no longer wish for anything as nothing is in our hands and all depends on God’s will, but I do wish and pray that all your wishes get fulfilled. She was so happy with that answer that she gave me a tight hug saying thank you. It made my day! 🥰

Both of them fill my heart with their talks, smiles, naughtiness and love. Can’t imagine my life without them. ❤️❤️

Here’s sharing their favorite snack, these Ragi malpuas. Hope you all try and love it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes 3 Malpuas }

4 Tbsp Ragi / Finger millet flour

2 Tbsp Atta/ Wheat flour

1 Tbsp Jaggery

Salt to taste

5 Tbsp Milk

For the filling:

1/4 Cup Desiccated or Fresh Coconut

1 Tbsp Honey or as needed

1 Tbsp finely chopped Dry fruits ( I use a mix of cashews, almonds and pistachios)

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

Ghee to cook the malpua

Honey and Pistachios for garnish

Step by step recipe:

1. Take ragi flour, wheat flour, jaggery and salt in a bowl.

2. Mix it once using a spoon. Now add milk, one spoon at a time and make a thick batter free from lumps. Keep it aside.

3. Now for the filling, take coconut in another bowl. Add honey, finely chopped dry fruits and cardamom powder. Mix well.

4. Now heat a dosa pan well. Then reduce flame to medium. Add about two spoons of the malpua batter in the center of the pan. Spread in round shape. Add ghee and cook till the surface cooks.

5. Flip and cook for a minute.

6. Remove into a plate and fill with the filling. Roll and serve. Drizzle with honey on top and garnish with chopped pistachios.

Notes:

* I have not skipped wheat flour in this recipe as it needs little wheat flour for that soft yet firm texture.

* You can increase the amount of honey on the filling or jaggery in the batter for more sweet malpuas. I prefer it in this quantity.

* Skip jaggery in the batter if you don’t have much sweet tooth.

* They are best enjoyed as soon as made. Keeping them for little while can make it dry.

* Don’t make the batter very thin. The batter is free flowing yet thick. It took me 5 Tbsp milk for 4 Tbsp Ragi flour and 2 Tbsp wheat flour to get the perfect consistency.

* This snack is really handy as it is healthy as well as tastes delicious. Hardly takes 10 mins to make too.

* You can check all my Ragi recipes here.

Recipe collections

Collection of my healthy cake and cookie recipes

December 21, 2020 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 18 Comments

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It’s Christmas time and the official “bake at home” time too 😄. I have been seeing so many wonderful bakes on various Facebook food groups that I am part of and it is really amazing that now, everyone bakes so many varieties at home itself. So I thought I too should compile my healthy cakes and cookies in one page for those who want to bake guilt free goodies even for Xmas (if you are like me 😀).

For me, Christmas brings back two memories of my childhood. One is my dad bringing me Plum cake from our nearby bakery and I used to wait so eagerly for it. The aroma and flavour of the cake is still in my taste buds that it brings so much nostalgia. 😍

Second memory is singing Christmas carol at school (yes, I used to sing too 😅). We all used to wear white top and black skirt, practice so much for weeks and finally when standing on the stage singing the choir together with friends, it felt so good. ❤️ Though I don’t have a picture of the carol singing, here is a picture of the dress, which was my favourite as a 12 year old. This is from Amma’s album which is a treasure trove of old memories (love looking at them remembering old times 😍).

**A part of the album page for the memory of old style albums. Nothing can replace the pleasure of looking through those albums.** ❤️

Though after school, I never sang on stage, I still sing bhajans and songs for my kids when putting them to sleep and record them to send Amma who loves to listen to them. 😍 The best part is I still remember the lyrics and tune of the Christmas carols, much to the amazement of my daughter (she loves Christmas 🎄). So we have been singing carols together, making cards for her friends while baking some goodies to enjoy this season.

Hope you all try some of them too. Happy and healthy Baking! Merry Christmas to all of you in advance! ❤️

Click on the name or image for the recipe.

Healthy Cakes:

1. Chocolate Banana Cake ( using wheat flour and jaggery ) – A moist and delicious basic chocolate banana cake with easy frosting.

Recipe here – Chocolate Banana Cake ( using wheat flour and jaggery )

2. Ragi Chocolate Cake ( using ragi flour, wheat flour and jaggery ) – My kids and readers favorite cake. You can never say it has Ragi in it. With the frosting, it tastes heavenly.

Recipe here – Ragi Chocolate Cake ( using ragi flour, wheat flour and jaggery )

3. Dates and Oats Cake – My idea to sneak some oats in the cake as well. Because you can never say it has oats in it. Another of my readers’ favorite cakes. Tried and loved by so many.

Recipe here – Dates and Oats Cake

4. Mango Ghee Cake – A super soft, moist and oh so delicious cake. My mouth waters whenever I think of this cake 😍

Recipe here – Mango Ghee Cake

5. Dates and Carrot Cake – Sugar free cake – My personal favorite as it is free from sugar or even jaggery can be skipped. Beautifully combines the natural sweetness of dates and carrots. Another of my recipe tried a lot by my readers.

Recipe here – Dates and Carrot Cake – Sugar free cake

6. Dates Chocolate Brownie – Guilt free indulgence at its best! ❤️ You can also skip dates for plain chocolate brownies.

Recipe here – Dates Chocolate Brownie

7. Mango Rava cupcakes – Easy one bowl recipe to make delicious mango cupcakes which are enjoyed a lot by my kids.

Recipe here – Mango Rava cupcakes

8. Wheat Jaggery Cake – Basic cake to which you can add dried fruits to make a dry fruit cake. Also can make cupcakes with this. Have been making this cake for years now for my kids.

Recipe here – Wheat Jaggery Cake

9. Wheat Chocolate Sponge Cake – You can never say it is made with wheat flour and jaggery. Comes out super soft and delicious. I make cupcakes with this batter regularly for my kids as they love it. ❤️

Recipe here – Wheat Chocolate Sponge Cake/ cupcakes

10. Eggless Banana Rava Cupcakes – This is my go to recipe when I have over ripe bananas. Super easy to make, one bowl recipe which tastes heavenly due to the combination of Rava, banana, Jaggery, ghee and cardamom powder.

Recipe here – Eggless Rava Banana Cupcakes

11. Eggless Dry Fruit Cake – A great way to add dry fruits in your kids snack. With the addition of orange juice, this cake tastes absolutely delicious. A regularly made cake at my place.

Recipe here – Eggless, whole wheat Dry Fruit Cake

12. Eggless Wheat Banana Cupcakes: I make these cupcakes for my kids’ evening snack during vacations and also for their tiffin box to school. A great way to finish up those over ripe bananas too. Comes out soft and delicious.

Recipe here – Eggless Wheat Banana Cupcakes

Gluten free Cakes:

Jowar Chocolate Sponge Cake – Gluten free and eggless, this cake baked with Jowar flour is a perfect example of being healthy as well as tasty. Comes out very soft and spongy too..

Recipe here – Jowar Chocolate sponge cake

Healthy Cookies:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies ( using wheat flour and jaggery ) – Perfect cafe style cookies at home, only healthier and tastier 😍

Recipe here – Chocolate Chip Cookies

2. Almond Butter Cookies – With basic ingredients and uses no baking soda or powder, these cookies are still very soft and melt in the mouth.

Recipe here – Almond Butter Cookies

3. Ragi Butter Cookies – Another heavenly cookies with Ragi in it, yet tastes so good that you can’t stop devouring them. My favourite! ❤️

4. Wheat Jaggery Cookies: These easy to make cookies are not only loved by my kids but by their friends too. Comes out so tasty.

4. Cashew Butter Cookies – Delicious homemade cashew cookies which needs no baking soda or baking powder.

You can check all my other healthy bakes here. Enjoy Baking!!

My other compilations:

* Easy, Healthy Sweets (under 15 mins)

This is another easy, healthy sweet recipes collection that I made last time. You can find the recipes here. They are sweets that can be made under 15 mins.

* Oats Recipes Compilation

* No Rice Dosa recipes Compilation

* Variety Idli recipes Collection

Idli Stand

Urad – Rava Idli | No rice idlis

December 19, 2020 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 3 Comments

When I was thinking about more varieties of idlis after Broken Wheat Idlis, I was reminded of these Rava idlis using Urad dal which is made at my husband’s place on Pooja days as it does not contain rice (rice is avoided for breakfast during Pooja or fasting days). I realized how I had forgotten to blog about these basic and most made idlis in Konkani households.

So as I am sharing this recipe with all of you, my son is sleeping in my arms completing his evening sleep. This boy who is only 2 years old brings so much joy in my life that I feel so blessed. 🙏 During evenings, when the husband is at work and my daughter goes out to play, he and me have some “us” time. We have our discussions with him sitting on my lap, about birds and kids playing outside. (He has got my bird love genes 😍). He looks at me with his gleaming bright eyes, smiling and pulls my cheeks saying “Amma, mogu mogu” (meaning love you, love you 😍😍) and showers me with kisses. 😄

I had never imagined a child can be so expressive in love and so attached. My daughter was never this way but this boy is very different. I think it’s God’s blessings so that I don’t feel lonely being at home most of the time. He does not leave me alone at all and even sits with me when I cook. Loves hugging me and I sometimes feel I need that hug more than him. 😍 Thus is my love story with my son. ❤️

Here’s sharing his favorite idlis or Iddi like he calls it. Hope our love remains always and fills my heart like this. ❤️ Some motherhood touch to this blog today with teary eyes (can’t stop being emotional 😬). Happy and healthy cooking!

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes about 22 idlis }

2 Cups Rava / Semolina / Sooji

1 Cup Urad dal (I use split ones)

Salt to taste

Oil to grease the idli plates

Step by step recipe:

1. Wash well and soak the Urad dal in enough water for about 4 hours. Drain and using about 1 Cup water, grind to a smooth paste. I grind in my mixie, not grinder.

2. Dry roast the semolina till it turns hot. No need to brown it. Just roast till it turns hot and aromatic. Keep aside to cool.

3. Add this to the Urad dal batter and mix well with hands to ensure a lump free batter. Also add about 1 and half cups water along with salt to bring it to idli batter consistency (thick yet free falling).

4. Ferment for about 8 hours or overnight by keeping the batter at room temperature. Might take longer in cold weathers. When the batter ferments, it might become thick as semolina absorbs a lot of water. Add about 1 or 2 spoons of water to make it little loose if it’s very thick.

5. Steam for 20 to 25 mins or till a knife inserted in the center of the idlis come out clear.

6. Remove and serve with a chutney of your choice.

Notes:

* These idlis take slightly longer to steam than regular idlis. So steam really well. Else it will be lumpy inside.

* I use mixie to grind. Hence used 1:2 ratio of Urad dal to rava. If using grinder, use 2 and 1/2 Cups Rava for 1 Cup Urad dal.

* No need to brown the rava while roasting. Just fry till it turns aromatic. Cool well and then mix.

* It took me total 2 and 1/2 Cups water while making the batter and 2 spoons of water the next day to get perfect idlis. In these idlis, water is very important as semolina absorbs a lot of water. Make sure the batter is loose and not very thick, else you will get hard idlis.

* I served these idlis with Hing Chutney. Just grind 1 Cup Coconut with a pinch of Hing powder, 4 long red chillies, 1 tsp Tamarind paste, salt and water to a smooth paste. You can season the chutney using mustard seeds and curry leaves if needed.

Desserts

Healthy Biscuit Pudding | Easy 10 minute recipe using hung curd and Jaggery

December 17, 2020 Healthy Cooking with Mitha Leave a comment

If you are amazed at the above picture, you are not alone. I too have been coming back to look at it every few minutes 😅. Can’t believe my hands holding the pudding over our Tulsi plants could look so beautiful 😂. Have to thank Mr Husband for his idea and also the captures (his plant love speaks!). The Tulsi bushes are also growing so well now due to winters here in Qatar which makes for a perfect backdrop. Doesn’t the pudding look so pretty? 😍

***An inside look of the deliciousness*** 😍

It is Qatar National day on December 18th and I dedicate this simple yet delicious dessert to Qatar 🇶🇦 where I am living since more than 9 years now. Sharing a collage of pictures which I took during my first year here, the 21 year old me, little silly, very naive, a cry baby, super talkative, amazed at the tall buildings, astonished at stylish people, scared of escalators (yes, that’s true 😬) and wondering if I will ever fit in here. 😅

These are two of my favorite places here. The view of the Doha skyline from Corniche with the gleaming blue waters in between and Villagio mall which has a small stream of water flowing right in midst of the mall with a boat taking you for small rides. There is also a park next to this mall which has a beautiful lake where I could just sit for hours looking at the ducks moving around freely (my bird love speaks 😍). There are also the goodies we got during our first visit to the Corniche on National day celebrations. I was as happy as a kid to get these stickers and notepad that I had clicked all this to show Amma. 😀

This country has really seen me changing. From the silly, naive, talkative girl (who wanted to chat with everyone around) to a woman now, who thinks more than she speaks, does not want many people close to her, happy in her own little world. I actually have only a handful of friends apart from my family and very few special ones whom I love to love, in my life. That’s my precious circle and I can do anything for them. 😍 (That’s me and I know only to love to the extreme and nothing less than that. ❤️)

I can go on and on but I guess it’s time to give a break to my thoughts and keep it for the next time. I don’t know how many of you are from Qatar but I wish all my readers from Qatar a very Happy National day 🇶🇦. We residents know how well our King has taken care of this country and it’s people, even in the toughest times of blockade and we are all proud of him. I don’t know how long I would be here but this country will be in my heart forever. 🇶🇦 ❤️

Now to the recipe finally. 😂 Do try this delicious dessert and you are sure to love it. Happy and healthy cooking!

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Serves 2 }

For Hung curd layer:

2 Cups thick full fat Curd/ Yogurt (to make about 1 1/2 Cups Hung curd)

1/2 Cup Jaggery powder/ grated Jaggery

For chocolate layer:

About 35 grams Chocolate (I used Lindt. You can use Dairy milk or any other brand.)

1 Tbsp Milk

2 Tbsp finely chopped Walnuts

For Biscuit layer:

2 to 4 Digestive biscuits (or as needed as per your container.)

1/2 Tbsp Instant coffee powder

2 Tbsp Water

Step by step recipe:

1. Make hung curd using 2 Cups Yogurt. You can see the full step by step pictorial here in my Jaggery Shrikhand recipe. Now, add jaggery powder to it and mix well. (Sieve if jaggery powder contains granules) Keep aside.

**This is Jaggery Shrikhand which tastes yummy as it is too!** 😍

2. Now take chocolate (your regular chocolate like dairy milk/ galaxy) in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high power for 1 to 2 mins till the chocolate turns soft.

3. Add about 1 Tbsp milk to it. Also add finely chopped Walnuts to it. Mix well. Keep aside.

4. Mix instant coffee powder with water till it dissolves. Dip one of the digestive biscuit into it and keep in a bowl.

5. Add a layer of the Jaggery Shrikhand over it.

6. Top it with the melted chocolate- walnut mixture.

7. Again repeat a layer of biscuit dipped in coffee solution, jaggery Shrikhand and melted chocolate- walnut mixture. Garnish with biscuit pieces and a hint of Jaggery Shrikhand. Serve that time itself or chill and serve.

Notes:

* If you don’t have hung curd or don’t know how to make it at home, check my step by step pictorial in the Jaggery Shrikhand recipe. Once you make hung curd, the assembling of this pudding hardly takes 10 mins to make.

* Just make sure you use full fat yogurt which is not very sour.

* Use any biscuits which is available in your house. I wanted to make it healthy, so I used Digestive biscuits. But digestive biscuits dipped in coffee solution does give a wonderful flavour.

* Make sure you don’t add a lot of coffee solution in the pudding or the pudding can turn bitter (once I added a little of leftover coffee solution over it and it had a slight bitter aftertaste.). Just dip the biscuits in the solution and add to the bowl.

* The layers are:

1. Biscuit dipped in coffee solution
2. Jaggery Shrikhand layer
3. Melted Chocolate- walnut mixture

Repeat again as much as your bowl as hold. With the measurements I have given, it makes one small bowl of the pudding serving two.

* Walnuts give a wonderful crunch and flavour to the pudding. But you can skip or substitute with other nuts if you don’t have.

* I enjoy this pudding as soon as I make it but if you like it chilled, you can refrigerate for an hour. It also helps the layers set very well and turns firm.

* I sometimes add a layer of sliced bananas to this making it a Banana chocolate pudding.

* Makes for a great make ahead dessert for parties. A lot healthier than whipping cream and sugar based puddings too. You won’t know the difference too as hung curd gives it that creamy flavour.

Cakes and Bakes

Eggless Whole wheat Jaggery Cake | Tea time cake | Snack idea for kids

December 13, 2020 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 16 Comments

When I became a newbie mother in 2015, it was really overwhelming for me as I did not know most things (babies don’t come with manuals 😄). Though my mother helped me a lot with her experiences, I hardly got time to talk to her in detail then (from talking for hours together on the phone to just few minutes, motherhood changes everything 😬).

So most of the time when my daughter slept, I used to read about nutrition and how babies really don’t need separate purees and porridges. Hence, when she started her solids at 6 months, I gave her whatever we ate (minus sugar and salt till one year) which she accepted without any issues. That is the reason why even now, she accepts almost all kind of foods at 6 years of age and after that, I am now following the same with my 2 year old son too. No purees or baby foods.

When she turned a toddler, I saw how she loved store bought sponge cakes. But somehow, I did not want to give her the maida, oil based sugary ones. So that’s how I started baking wheat flour jaggery ghee cakes in 2016 and that cake has now become both kiddos’ favorite cake. I bake this when they crave for cakes and their happiness while enjoying the cake is worth watching. Here is my daughter presenting a piece of her favorite cake.

This recipe is exactly same as my Cherry Wheat Jaggery muffins recipe. Just skip cherry in it and bake in a cake pan. You get this cake. I am adding this as a separate post so that it is easier for my readers when they search for basic wheat cake.

I also thank my idols Asha Satish Philar mai and Sujatha Umesh mai for skipping cherries from the muffins recipe and baking beautiful cakes. Here are their pictures of the cake.

Hope you all try this cake for your tea time or for your hungry kiddos this vacation. I just baked them yesterday again and the way my kids relish them makes me so happy. Happy and healthy Baking!

Important Note: I understand that wheat flour is also a refined flour but definitely more nutritive than maida/ all purpose flour. Also I know that jaggery has the same calorie count than refined sugar. But it has more nutrition than the bleached sugar and also the flavour is more delicious than sugar. Mainly my kids prefer jaggery than sugar. Finally it’s upto to you to read, be aware and decide.

Sharing the recipe with all of you..

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { 1 Cup = 250 ml }

1 and 1/2 Cups Wheat flour or Atta (I use Pillsbury brand)

1 tsp Baking soda

1/4 tsp Salt

Wet ingredients:

1 Cup Milk, at room temperature

1 Cup powdered Jaggery

1/4 Cup Ghee

1 tsp Vanilla essence

Step by step recipe:

1. Preheat the oven at 180 C for 10 mins.

2. Sieve together wheat flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

3. Now mix together milk and jaggery using a whisk till the jaggery melts in the milk. Add ghee and vanilla essence. Mix well using whisk.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold both the ingredients using a spatula just till no flour specks are seen. Do NOT overmix the batter as it can lead to dense cakes.

5. Now add the batter to a greased (with oil or ghee) cake pan and level using spatula. { My loaf pan is of 20 cm in length and 4 cm in width}

6. Bake in the center rack of your OTG ( or if using a microwave conventional mode oven, just keep both rods on option) at 180 C for 25 to 30 mins till a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and not sticky. Mine gets done at 30 mins exactly.

7. Allow it to cool down completely. Loosen the sides using a knife. Invert, slice and serve.

Notes:

* This cake tastes best the next day. So I always bake at night, for the kids to enjoy the next day. Soon after it bakes, the crust with be slightly hard but as it stays at room temperature, the crust turns very soft.

* Ghee can be substituted with melted butter or oil but when using oil, always remember that the cake will have that aroma of the oil.

* Store in an air tight container free from moisture and the cake lasts well for two days at room temperature. After that, refrigerate and microwave before serving.

* If you don’t like eating cakes as it is, top a slice of this cake up with some fresh cream cheese spread. It tastes heavenly, trust me! {Tried and tested by yours truly! 😬}

* While mixing both dry and wet ingredients, make sure you just fold using spatula and don’t over mix the batter. It will lead to dense cakes. Just mix till you can’t see anymore flour specks.

* I get many questions about oven settings. I always bake in the center rack of my OTG with two rods option at the temperature and time varying according to each recipe.

* If you use a conventional microwave oven, just use bake option (or two rods option) at the temperature and time mentioned in the recipe.

* I have used my loaf pan of length 20 cm and width 4 cm. You can use round pan too.

* Timing varies according to each oven. So keep an eye after 20 mins into the baking time. But don’t keep opening the door before that as it will lead to uneven baking.

* You can also bake these as muffins like I did in my Cherry Jaggery Muffins recipe.

Idli Stand

Broken wheat – Urad idlis | “No rice” idlis

December 10, 2020 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 16 Comments

I have been getting many requests for “No rice” idlis and dosas from my readers who want to avoid rice in their diet being diabetic. As for me, I believe strongly that if you eat whatever your grandparents used to eat, no matter which culture you belong to, you will definitely be eating healthy. But along with that, we need to keep in mind about how active they were with no gadgets to help them. So we need an active lifestyle as well for an overall healthy living (Okay, enough of “gyan” for today 😅).

I happened to try these idlis after making Broken wheat – Mixed dal dosas which is our favorite. They came out so well that I could not wait to share with all of you. It comes out so soft and delicious that you won’t miss rice at all in these idlis. It has an unique flavour due to broken wheat but still very tasty.

Hope you all try and love these idlis too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

It was my birthday on December 8th and I want to share a beautiful collage made by my Amma capturing moments from my childhood. I was born at midnight between 7th and 8th December and that’s why my birthday has always been celebrated by Amma on both these days. Her love for me is my greatest strength and makes me feel that I am precious. Love you a lot Amma ❤️. Thank you for always being there for me. 🙏

After all that nostalgia and some birthday memories 😅, here is the recipe for all of you..

RECIPE:

Ingredients: {Makes about 26 idlis}

2 Cups Broken wheat (Daliya or Gonva khan)

1/2 Cup Urad dal (I use split ones)

1/2 tsp Methi or Fenugreek seeds

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

1. Wash well and soak Urad dal along with Methi for about 4 hours. Wash well and soak broken wheat for about 30 mins. Now drain water from both.

2. Grind Urad dal- Methi mixture with about a Cup of water to a smooth paste. Pour into a large steel vessel.

3. Grind broken wheat with about 1/2 Cup water just slightly and not completely so that it just crushes down yet have that semolina or rava kind of consistency. Mix it with the Urad dal batter.

4. Cover and keep it at room temperature for about 8 hours or overnight for the batter to ferment. Might take longer in cold weathers.

***Love the colour of this fermented batter*** 😍

5. Add to idli molds and steam for about 20 mins or till a knife inserted in the center of the idli comes out clean.

6. Allow to cool completely and then remove from the idli molds. Serve with a chutney of your choice.

Notes:

* Since these idlis don’t contain rice, they are very soft. You need to wait for it to cool completely to remove from the idli molds or else it might break off.

* I use Patanjali brand of Broken wheat or Daliya.

* Don’t make the batter very watery. It needs to be slightly thick just like regular idli batter to get perfect idlis.

* Don’t grind the broken wheat completely. Just pulse to get it to semolina or rava consistency.

* I make Peanut Chutney with these idlis. To make this chutney, fry about 2 Tbsp de-skinned peanuts along with 3 to 4 red chillies in little oil. Cool and grind along with 3/4 Cup Coconut, a pinch of Hing and 1 tsp Tamarind paste, salt and water to a smooth paste. I don’t add seasoning to my chutney as my daughter does not like mustard seeds. You can season with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

* You can also try this Urad dal – Moong dal Idli which is also without rice. You can make dosas too with this batter.

* These “no rice” Broken wheat – Mixed dal dosas also come out really delicious.

Cakes and Bakes, Cookies, Snacks

Almond Butter Cookies | Easy 4 ingredient healthy recipe using wheat flour and jaggery

December 4, 2020 Healthy Cooking with Mitha 21 Comments

When I posted the Ragi Butter Cookies which was my friend Anvy’s recipe, she asked me if I had tried the almond cookies that she had shared on her Insta handle, Homemade by Anvy. I told her I don’t have almond meal with me (it sounded so exotic 😬) but I did have loads of almonds with me (which I had bought to eat daily to increase my memory. Now if anyone would remind me to eat them 😂).

So she told me almond meal was nothing but powdered Almonds (my plinggg moment!! 🤣). So I had to try it and imagine my happiness when it came out so good. I already made them thrice in the past week as it tasted so heavenly and since it was so easy to make with only 4 ingredients. Also, never knew homemade almond cookies could turn out so pretty. Could not keep the beauties down. 😍

Off they went into my kids’ “choti bhook waala dabba” (their snack box for mid meal hunger and mine too for my sweet tooth 😬).

It has been only an year since I joined Instagram and as much I like it, there have been times when I wanted to just come out of it as I had a tendency of over sharing stories. Finally, got rid of that habit ( some self control that was 😄) and now just using instagram to post my recipes while following some amazing accounts like that of Anvy’s.

Thank you so much dear Anvy @homemadebyanvy for yet another great recipe of yours. We absolutely love it! ❤️

Hope you all try it too. You will definitely love it. Happy and healthy baking!

RECIPE: { My 1 Cup = 240 ml }

Ingredients: { Makes about 12 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 Almonds (or Almond meal)

1/4 Cup Jaggery powder

Sliced Almonds for garnish (optional)

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 and mix both together using a spatula till they combine. Also add the finely powdered Almonds.

2. Now add wheat flour and mix using hands till it forms a dough. It will come together and will be slightly sticky. Refrigerate for about 15 mins. It will turn firm.

3. Meanwhile preheat the oven at 180 C for 10 mins. Take small balls of the dough and flatten with your fingers. Place them on a greased (with ghee/butter) oven proof tray leaving space among them as it increases width on baking. Decorate each with slices of almonds.

4. Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius (350 – 375 F) for 10 to 14 mins in the center rack of your oven or with both rods on in your conventional oven. Mine gets done at 14 mins.

The colour of the cookies are brown and not the colour above. It is due to the reflection of my kitchen lights that the cookies have a light shade in the picture. I still added it to show how much the cookies increased in width after baking.

5. Remove and allow it to cool completely. As you keep it to rest, it turns hard but not very hard as butter cookies are supposed to be melt in the mouth and on the softer side.

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 soda nor 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.

* For making powdered Almonds, just put the almonds 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.

* Garnishing with almond slices are optional. Avoid the slices if making for kids less than 2 years as it can be a choking hazard. Else just finely chop and garnish. Anyhow, the cookies tastes good even without it.

* You can check my Healthy Cakes and Cookies compilation.

* For beginners in baking, you can check my Baking Basics for beginners post.