Tahini Cookies with Hazelnut & Chocolate

This is the 2nd recipe I've tried from The Big Book of Treats by Bombay's most well known pastry chef Pooja Dhingra.  I made one small change - I used hazelnuts instead of almonds because I didn't have any, and I added chocolate chips.

It doesn't get cold in Bombay, but I imagine this would be great for places that do get cold. It would go perfectly with a cup of hot chocolate.

You'll need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup castor sugar
2 2/3 cup flour (I used gluten free brown rice flour)
180 gm Tahini* 
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup milk
100 gm hazelnuts (I used them whole but you could chop them up)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (another 1/2 cup if you plan to dip the cookies in chocolate)

*I had a store-bought bottle of it but if you can't find one, lightly roast white sesame seeds on a pan and once it's cool, blend it with 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp warm water till you get a smooth paste

Wash your hands before starting because you won't get this done with a spoon.

In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, butter, and sugar till the mixture is crumbly and looks like breadcrumbs.

Add the tahini and lemon juice and again mix well.

Add the milk and mix again till you get a pliable dough.

Finally, put in the hazelnuts and chocolate chips.

Roll the batter into golf-sized balls and then flatten it out about1/4 inch thick.

Place them on a greased baking tray and bake at 165 deg C for 15 minutes.

*For Convection Microwave - I baked at 170 deg C for 20 min on the convection setting

As soon as I took it out of the oven, I found the cookies to be very crumbly (could be because of the gluten free flour), but I gently lifted them onto a wire rack to cool and it set well as it cooled.

Usually I find that cookie recipes turn out to be too sweet for our liking so I reduce the sugar amount. So with this I used just 1 cup but found that I should've added the entire amount required because it wasn't sweet enough. So I dipped the bottom of the cookie in melted chocolate (melted in the microwave in 30 sec bursts) and kept it chocolate-side up till it set to add some sweetness to it. It worked!

Makes: 20 cookies

Peanut Butter and Banana Pancakes

This was such a wholesome and delicious breakfast that it almost made me wish I woke up earlier in the mornings to make it more often. Almost.

You'll need:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup buttermilk*
1/3 cup peanut butter* 
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Butter to cook
1 Banana
Chocolate chips (optional)
Maple syrup

For the buttermilk, instead of using the milk method, I just used half and half of thick yoghurt and water.
For the peanut butter, I used the crunchy variety, but I assume the creamy version would blend better.

Thinly slice the banana and keep aside.

In a bowl mix the peanut butter,  buttermilk, egg and vanilla till they're blended.

Sieve in the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Fold gently till the flour is mixed in well but don't over-mix - the batter should be a little lumpy.

Heat a small pan on medium flame, put in some butter to coat the bottom. Pour in a ladle of batter and gently spread it out.

While the bottom layer is cooking, top the pancake with some banana slices. You can choose to add the chocolate chips now or just top it up while serving.

Turn the pancake and cook for another minute.

Remove from heat and serve with syrup.

Makes: 4-5 pancakes

Cheddar Biscuits

I had these at Red Lobster and they were so delicious that I had to learn to make these at home.
I got a recipe which said use melted butter, but it turned out bread-y instead of biscuit-y. So cold butter, like in the making of pie crusts, is the way to go.

You'll need:
2 cups all-purpose flour*
1 cup buttermilk, cold
1/2 cup butter, cold
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, sharp/mature
1 tbsp baking powder
1tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
Pinch of salt

*I resisted using wholewheat/regular flour because I was afraid they wouldn't rise in the oven.

In a bowl, mix the flour and butter till crumbly.

Fold in the rest of the ingredients gently, putting in the cheese at the very end.

Place tablespoon sized batter on greased baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

For the topping:
1 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp finely chopped coriander or oregano

Mix all the ingredients and brush over the biscuits while they're still hot.

Best served warm.

Makes: 12-15 biscuits

Dum Aaloo (Potato Curry)

I try to avoid potatoes in my everyday meals but that doesn't mean we don't love it. I found this recipe that is a great hit when you have people over. It goes well with pulao or rotis.

For the Masala:

1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander seeds (it has more flavour than the powder)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 green cardamom, whole
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 cloves
1/4 cup cashew nuts

Grind these together and keep aside.

You'll also need:
8 medium-sized potatoes boiled and peeled
1 onion, chopped

Paste of 1/4 inch ginger and 4 garlic pods

3/4 cup yoghurt
1 bay leaf
1 pinch asafoetida
1/4 cup cooking oil

Salt to taste

1/2 cup water

1/2 tbsp kasturi methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
Coriander leaves, chopped to garnish

Halve the potatoes if they are too big, and shallow fry them in a pan till lightly browned. Add some salt and keep aside.

In a large pan or wok, heat the oil and temper with the bay leaf and asafoetida. 

Then add the onions and stir fry. Once they start turning translucent, add the ginger and garlic.

Add the dry masala and cook for about a minute.

Add the yoghurt and mix well, stirring at all times.

Finally add the cooked potatoes, salt to taste, and the kasturi methi.

Add water and let it cook till the gravy is reduced to a desired consistency.

Serve hot garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

All Reds Soup

I was very sceptical of using beets in my regular tomato soup because I have tried it in a smoothie with a lot of other ingredients to mask it and still didn't like it much. But this soup came out delicious and full of healthy goodness.

This makes soup for 2 healthy servings.

You'll need
3-4 large tomatoes
2 medium carrots
1 beet
1 cup water/stock
1 tsp garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp crushed black pepper
1 tbsp roasted ground cumin
Salt to taste

Boil, purée, and strain the tomatoes, carrots, and beet. Add the water or stock for a soupy consistency.

In a saucepan, add the oil then the butter.

Once it's hot, add the crushed pepper, bay leaf, and garlic.

Add the purée and salt to taste. Add the roasted cumin powder and bring to boil.

Remove the bay leaf before serving it hot.

Mango Cheesecake

Even after eating mangoes to my heart's content during mango season, I keep a small container of purée in the freezer just in case it wasn't enough.

Also, I don't find plain gelatin here - only the flavoured variety. On my last trip abroad, I stocked up on Agar Agar which is a vegetarian option.

This recipe is easy but with some effort in presentation it looks like you've slaved over it for hours.

For the crust

15-20 McVities Ginger biscuits (you can use regular Digestive biscuits as well)

2 tbsp melted butter

Grind biscuits into crumbs in a food processor. I prefer it to be coarse without any big pieces. Add the butter into it and with your hands mix well. The crumbs should be evenly coated.

Line a 9-inch springform pan. I like this way of presentation better because you can remove the sides to reveal the perfectly set layers, without disturbing the base. You could also use a flat-bottom glass casserole but it's a little tricky to take out a clean slice of cake. If you have enough, you could use shot glasses and make individual servings as well.

Place the crumbs in the container of choice. Gently press down with your fingers or the back of a spoon for an even layer about 1/4 inch in thickness. Pat down the edges so they're smooth. Refrigerate for an hour.

For the filling

1 cup cream cheese

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup mango purée

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar (adjust according to taste)

2 tsp Agar Agar powder

1/2 cup water

If you have a hand whisk use that but since I had my blender out I used that instead. Mix in the cream cheese and cream and blend for 10 seconds. Add the mango purée, sugar, and lemon juice. Blend for another 10 seconds.

In a saucepan, boil the water. Add the agar agar powder and mix well till dissolved. Transfer the mango cream into the water and mix well. Pour into the container with the biscuit layer put it back in the fridge to set and cool for at least an hour or two.

When ready to serve, place the pan on a serving plate. With a knife just go around the edges to separate the cake. Remove the edge of the pan. Let the base remain. 

Options for the topping

Fresh mango slices

Sliced fruits like oranges, kiwi, pomegranate seeds, cherries, berries, apricots

Crumbs of honey-roasted nuts

Chocolate flakes

Edible flowers

I've used fresh nasturtium flowers. They have a mild mustard taste. That and the slight crunch of the stems went well with the soft cake.

Veggie Burgers with Beets and Carrots

I found another way I can include beets in my diet - apparently it tastes good to me when it is masked by several other flavours.

I usually use beans instead of potatoes in my burger but this recipe tastes better with potato. I also added eggs to keep it moist and to bind it well, but it can be skipped. If you feel it doesn't mould well without the egg - just add more potato.

This recipe made 10 medium-sized patties

You'll need
2-3 large potatoes, peeled and boiled
2 small beets, peeled and grated
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 bowl of stringed beans, finely chopped 
2 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I just used crushed bread sticks)
2-3 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
2-3 tbsp oil to cook
Seasoning

In an oven, grill the beets, carrots, and beans till soft. I used a convection microwave on grill setting and it took me 14 minutes - at the halfway mark I took out the plate to stir so that the top layer doesn't get too dry.

Mash the potatoes, add the grilled vegetables, eggs, garlic, half of the breadcrumbs, and the seasoning. I used white pepper and salt.

Divide these into palm-sized balls and flatten them with your hand to about 1/2 inch thickness.

Coat each patty with the breadcrumbs.

If you're grilling them on a pan, heat some oil and gently place the patty in. Cook each side for 2-3 minutes. Don't keep turning it.

If using a convection microwave oven, use a baking-safe flat tray and drizzle with some oil. Brush some oil on the top as well On the grill setting, grill for 8-10 minutes. Then take out the tray, flip the patties and if they seem too dry then drizzle some more oil. Cook for another 8-10 minutes till the it is golden-brown.

For the assembly
10 burger buns
10 leaves of lettuce
Slices of onions and tomato (or use caramelized onions)
Mustard sauce
Pesto
Cheese slices

If you don't mind soft buns then you can just assemble the burger like a sandwich. I prefer the buns toasted.

Slice the buns, and toast them on a pan. If using the grill, place the lower half of the bun facing up with a slice of cheese, and place the top half facing down. Grill for 3-4 minutes making sure they don't get too toasty or it'll break up when you eat.

You can use either pesto or mustard, or both on each side of the bread. Add in the other elements being careful not to overload.

Serve immediately. Don't keep it assembled too long or it'll get soggy.