khandvi / Gujrathi snack

Ingredients:

For the rolls:

Besan / Gram flour / Chick pea flour        - 1 cup

Curd                                                                      - 1/3 rd cup

Salt                                                                         - to taste

Turmeric powder                                             - 1 tea spoon

Water

For the seasoning:

Oil                                                                           - 3 tablespoons

Mustard Seeds                                                 - 1 table spoon

Asofoetida / Hing                                             - 1 teaspoon

Green chillies                                                     - 3-4 slit / finely chopped

Cilantro / Coriander                                        - chopped (optional)

Method:

There are more than 1 methods of preparing khandvi, we will go for the easy one.

Take a large bowl  and add the gram flour, curd, salt, turmeric powder and enough water to get a thin consistency. Blend it properly without any lumps. Take a pan and apply oil to the surface of it. Spread the oil evenly by brushing the oil gently all over the surface. Now pour the mixture we made onto the pan and spread it like a thin dosa. Cook it on a very low flame. You will know when it’s done as the color changes pale and the floury texture disappears. Once done take the pan off the stove and let it cool down completely for about 6-7 minutes.  

Now take a knife and carefully cut it into vertical sheets of about 1-1.5 inch each without actually removing it from the pan. Now, carefully roll each sheet and place it on the serving plate.

In a separate pan, add oil. When the oil becomes hot, add mustard seeds, hing, green chillies one by one. Once they are fried, take it off the flame and pour it over the rolls.

Khandvi is ready. It can be served with ginger chutney. 

Khandvi

Sweet shells / Gavvalu

Ingredients:

White flour                     -        2 cups

Sugar                              -        1 cup 

Cardamom / Elaichi        -        2-3 (finely ground)

Salt                                                  

Water                           

Oil                       

Method:

We will start with the preparation of the shells first.

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt, about 2 table spoons oil and enough water to knead this into a soft dough. Start by rolling the dough into small balls of about a 1-2 cm diameter. Take a wooden sweet shell maker and press these balls against the wooden board to get the shape of sea shells. Once, you are done preparing these shells. Deep fry them in oil until golden brown.

Shell Maker

Now, for the caramel, add 1/4^th cup water to the sugar and put the pan on a medium flame. When the sugar dissolves completely and starts boiling, add the cardamom powder. When you see the caramel is almost done, add all the shells and mix it carefully without breaking the shells. 

Your sweet and crispy snacks are here to stay for as long as 3-4 weeks.

Make sure to store them in a dry air-tight container after they are completely cooled down.

Strawberry sponge cake

Ingredients:

White Flour / Maida                        -              300 gms

Sugar Powder                                    -              200 gms

Baking Powder                                  -              2 tea spoons

Strawberry Essence                        -              1 teaspoon

Strawberry color                              -              1 teaspoon

Eggs                                                       -              3

Water                                                   -              1 cup

Butter                                                   -              50 gms

Vegetable oil                                     -              2 tablespoons

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170° C.

Mix the baking powder into the flour and sieve this mixture.

Beat the eggs along with the sugar powder, strawberry essence and strawberry color.

Take pan, grease it completely (with butter or oil) and sprinkle some flour onto the inside surface of the pan. This is done so that our cake when done, can come out easily without sticking to the pan.

Now add flour, butter, oil, water one by one to the beaten eggs and beat this mixture well so that there are no lumps formed. Immediately pour this mixture into the greased pan.

In convection mode of 180° C, an oven will take around 45-50 minutes to bake the cake.

However, baking times vary slightly depending on the power and make of your oven.

To check if the cake is done, insert a knife into the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is done.

Welcome to the pink world of Strawberries <3

Chikky

What you need:

Cashew nuts / kaaju                        -              (roasted)

Peanuts / ground nuts                   -              (fried and peeled)

Seasame seeds / til                         -              (roasted)

Jaggery                                                 -              (amount depends on the quantity of
                                                                                caramel you require which again
                                                                                depends upon the amount of nuts
                                                                                you add. Buy good quality jaggery
                                                                                 to get a tasty chikky)

Caradamom / Elaichi                       -              (2-3 finely powdered)

Water                                                   -              (for preparing the caramel)

How to make it:

You have got to prepare caramel first. Initially, add grated jaggery to tawa and add enough water to

dissolve it. Turn on the flame and let this jaggery-water mixture turn into a caramel on medium flame.

Keep stirring the mixture so that it is uniformly done.

Caramel Test : To be sure that it is done take a bowl of water and drop some caramel into it, If this

doesnot get dissolved in the water, your caramel is done.

Just before it turns too  hard add the caradamom / elaichi powder and all the nuts and stir for about 1

minute on a low flame. Now, turn off the flame and  immediately empty the contents onto a greased

plate. You can cut it after 30-45 seconds  (before it cools down completely and turns very hard).

What’s in it for me ??

Jaggery is high on calcium which is required for maintenance of bone strength. It is also a good source of

iron and that is the reason why chikkies are recommended for anemic people. 

  

OaTs, healthy but not tasty ?!?!

Here's a 'tasty' and 'easy to make' oats recipe.. So, now you can burn calories in a tasty way !!!...
Ingredients:
Oats - 1 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2-3 table spoons
Badam Powder ( preferably MTR badam powder ) - 1 tea spoon
Dry fruits ( optional, for garnishing ) 1-table spoon

Method:
Boil the oats in water for 3-4 minutes, then add the milk. Keep stirring this mixture (3-4 min) till the texture is creamy or semi-solid. Now, take the vessel off the flame and add sugar and badam powder to it and then it's done :).

For not so fat people -- you can add dry fruits like almonds to it to make it more nutritious. { I prefer soaked, peeled and chopped almonds, they are very tasty )

your suggestions/comments are always welcome :)

P.S. More recipes coming up bloggers, so keep visiting, buh-bye