Low oil Khasta Parantha

Who doesn’t love Paranthas ! I have even seen English people here having them with all excitement and Fondness. Recently  to our visit to Turkey, we stayed in a hotel where all meals were inclusive and were available in abundance. We went crazy looking at the variety of menu and snacks available at every corner of the Hotel. We all ate off our limits, and rested whole days by the pool. As amazing experience as it was, what made it the best one was that we got to eat Paranthas there. Now, Paranthas in Turkey ??? Well, I am exaggerating a bit obviously. They were not Paranthas exactly , but something similar. It was like rolling the dough into circle and then filling the stuffing in. We all just bloomed up to see that and had the thing in like multiples… J.. I am still tying to search what exactly that thing is called, no luck yet.. do you know ?

These Khasta Paranthas, I love them to the core. The term “Khasta Parantha “ means a crumbly and flaky stuffed Indian flat bread and its achieved using a lot of fat used, either oil or ghee. The problem is, as much as they are tasty, its soo fatty to be indulged into. So, what I often do, is to prepare my own version of Khasta Parantha which does not involve that much amount of Oil to be used still resembles that flaky texture. And this my friend, is a really healthy version.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Whole wheat flour
• 1 cup Cauliflower florets,  washed and chopped
• 2 tbsp Curd
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• ½ tsp Ajwain ( carom seeds )
• 1 onion, chopped very small (optional)

Method:

• Wash and cut Cauli florets small pieces. Boil 1 cup of Water in a pan, and add these florets in it, cook covered for 8-10 min until it gets tender.
• Puree this Cauliflower in a blender when cool off. Mix it with curd, ghee and all the spices.
• Now knead the dough using this Cauliflower mix, do not use further water unless required. You can use damp hands for better kneading and that should be the only water you use.
• Keep the dough aside for 15-20 minutes. Make small balls of equal size and roll them like a usual Chapathi.
• Roast on low flame with little ghee on both sides on a griddle. This will take time to get cooked properly but will be worth the effort.
• Serve hot with Pickle, raita or any side dish of your choice.

Notes:

• Roast the Paranthas on low flame, it will be time consuming but since that’s the secret of flaky texture, it should be done with patience.
• You can add a tsp of Black pepper also in this mixture, for a different flavour.
• I also sometimes add grated radish into this mixture.

Roasted Cauliflower Cheese Soup with Coriander

When I tried this Broccoli Cheddar soup a few days back, this Cauliflower soup was there on my mind and I wanted to mix and match both for the results. But fortunately I didn’t do that and the Broccoli soup itself was tasty enough. I just wanted to make this Cauli soup the next day itself, since I did not want to waste that pack of Cheddar Cheese in the shelf. Finally after two days, I got the chance, S was not gonna eat at home and I had the whole evening to myself

So I prepared this Soup, enjoyed every bit of it and kept the rest for next day’s Lunch. And just a little secret, I kneaded almost half a cup into the Chapathi dough for that night dinner. And it was a different flavour all together. Do you try that, I mean mixing various pureed vegetables in Chapathi Dough. It really tastes nice and you save the dilemma of using leftovers too. Coming back to the recipe, if you like Soups, this one is really a keeper. Although the original recipe called for Fennel to include, I don’t like to use it that much in my cooking so I have used my fool proof Herb, Coriander. Initially I wondered why have we used the roasted vegetable in this recipe, but when tasted the finished p[product, I understood the difference between the bland taste of Cauli and chirpy taste of the roasted version. Next time, I shall roast garlic also along with the Cauli and give it a try.

Though the use of butter is not there and I have used minimal oil, still all the fat is derived from the Cheddar Cheese. And also, I have used 1 cup of Skimmed Milk in place of ½ cup double cream. So you can make your choices and play around

Ingredients:

• 1 small headed cauliflower, cut in florets and soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar Cheese
• ½ cup chopped Cilantro
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic pods, minced
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 tbsp Oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds

Method:

• Drain the cauli florets and place them in a greased baking dish with Salt and pepper sprinkled and coated well. Roast them for 25-30 minutes and keep them aside.
• When its down to some temperature, heat the oil in the pan. Crackle Cumin seeds and add onion. Saute for 2-3 minutes till it turns light brown.
• Add minced garlic and fry for a minute
• Next, fold in the roasted cauli florets and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Turn off the flame and let it cool down further.
• Puree the mixture as per your taste and choice and pour in the pan again. I kept it a little course in texture.
• Simmer for next 20 minutes and keep stirring in between. Keep the flame to low and add Milk and Cheddar Cheese to it. Simmer for next 2 minutes and keep stirring. Turn off the flame.
• Throw in the cilantro leaves and mix in. Serve hot !

From Fried to Fav : Part 1

Hi All,


I am very excited to start with the brand new episode of my blog with this event today " From Fried to Favourite". It was a challenging and time taking task to look for the alternate recipes for the two Dishes we selected last month. And I appreciate my fellow Group members to accept the challenge and initiate this Month's  Episode of trying the usually fried Snacks into healthier alternatives. The two dishes for the trial this month were :


Samosa
Onion Rings


I cant wait with much patience to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with. If you want more information on this Group, click here... And to be a member, please email me at : nupurs.kitchen@gmail.com


With no more words left, lets move onto the Magics we have created this time in our kitchen :

Eggless Cottage Cheese Mint Buns

Its been a while, while I have been looking at the buns bloggers make and I curse my laziness for not trying them out. They look so tempting and I wanted to just grab one and taste it with my cuppa.. And the stuffed ones, they were raising my temptations even more. I have been a "Bun" fan since my childhood, couldnt resist that Sunday treat of Tea with Britannia fruit Bun, just yummy !!!

Anyhow, with this Magic-Mingle, I thought of trying these stuffed buns with the combo of Paneer- Mint.. Quite unusual, huh !! I was so skeptical to try this, cant tell you how I made up my mind to get on with this.. From the time I kept my dough to rise till the moment I took out them out from the oven, every second was filled with curiosity and doubt. Working with yeast had never been my specialty you know.. But the second these were out, I literally fell in love with them. They were perfect flaky from outside, and amazingly soft and fluffy from inside. My first attempt with the stuffed variety went good after all :)

I adopted this stuffed Buns recipe from here, and followed it to the T. With just little changes off course to the stuffing and poppy seeds on top. And yes, adding mint at last proved to be a flavorful addition to my taste buds. I dont like having mint that much although am aware of the health benefits, but in this Bun it was a taste booster for sure. A nice combo I would like to try in Cutlets as well.

Ingredients:

• 3 cup All purpose Flour
• 3 tsp Rapid Action yeast
• 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Milk  + 1 tbsp to brush on top
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Melted butter
• 1 tbsp Poppy seeds ( to spread on top, optional )

For the stuffing:

• 1 cup grated Paneer ( I made fresh at home )
• 1/2 cup chopped Mint leaves
• 1 potato, boiled and mashed
• 1 medium Onion, chopped small
• 1 tsp Oil
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 garlic pods (optional)
• 1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)

 Method:

• We will go step by step here.. So first mix Flour, Yeast, Salt, Sugar and Butter and mix with your finger tips till it resembles Bread Crumbs.
• Mix together water and milk and gradually add it to the flour mix, stirring with a spatula to bring everything together. Give a gentle knead with hands or just 3-4 pulses in a food processor. Do not overknead it at this stage.
• Keep it covered with a damp kitchen towel in a warm place for 1-2 hours till it doubles in size. I kept it for almost 90 minutes and it worked for me.

Meanhile, we will get the stuffing ready.

• For the stuffing, heat oil in a pan, fry onion and garlic into it till turns brown. Add spices and grated paneer. cook covered for 2 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and mix chopped mint into it. Mix everything well and keep aside. 

• When the dugh is proved enough, punch it with your palm to take the air out. Divide the dough in 8 equal size balls.
• Flatten them with your plam and fill the vegetable stuffing in between. Roll it back again into a ball and place in a greased Baking dish. Repeat the same with all the balls.
• Let the buns rest again for 15-20 minutes. they will prove again a bit.
• Before sending them into Oven, brush n top with Milk and spread the poppy seeds over it.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes untill they turn Golden brown on top. Mine took around 20 minutes to get that perfect brown face :)

Notes:

• Water or Milk should not be very hot or cold, else the Yeast will not rise. It should be at room temperaure or better a little warm.
• Make sure the grated Paneer is not full of moisture else thebuns will get soggy
• Make sure to leave space between the buns while baking to let  them have their own rising space evenly.
• Do grease the baking dish well, else they will stick to the bottom.
• You can also use Egg in this recipe, keeping all the contents same. That will result in much softer Buns, although these ones are more than good for me.

 Off to Kalyani's Magic mingle this month , Reposted for Kalyani's Bake Fest hosted by Pumpkin Farm this month, Radhika's Baking Breads, Lets Party - Go Bake from My Cook Book,  Love Lock with Breads

Black Chickpeas Stir Fry : Kale Chane Ki Sbazi

Do you remember Navrati celebration. In every state of India, there are different ways and customs related to the auspicious festival. Some keep fast for complete 9 days, some make it feast for themselves. Like a neighbour of mine, who used to crib whole year that during  Navratri time, she loose a lot of her weight and hence energy too. But since she feel so highly devoted towards ‘’Maata Raani’’, the goddess, and she has maintained this since her childhood, she cannot skip these fasts now. Well, such good thought that is !!  But if you see her eating during those days, it was like she is giving a treat to herself, with all those fat dense Halwas, heavy Kuttu Puris and ghee laiden fried potatoes.. Ohh la laa.. As kids, we used to spend a lot of time in her home since we also got to have a lot of them while she was preparing in the kitchen. I know that was evil of us to take advantage of her like that. But c’mmon .. we were kids and loved the stuff she used to prepare.. all smelling amazing and fresh.

Sorry Anty, if you are reading this. We really loved your food :)

Anyways, coming back to the festival. What I meant to express with this example was.. People keep different priorities during those 9 days. Like at our home, Mum kept it in the simplest form it could be. She used to prepare food with as minimum oil as it could be, mostly keeping fruits for snacks, with no onion, garlic at all used in food. There was a different sort of fun in having that food and we used to wait for it whole year.. The purpose to keep things simpler was only to devoid our mind and soul from as many processed things as we can. And devote ourselves completely to natural things, for God. And that was her idea of celebrating Navratri and paying devotion towards goddess. On the last day of the fest, she kept fast and distribute food among kids. This recipe of ‘’Black chickpeas a.k.a. Kale Chane ki sabzi’’ was given as Prasad along with Semolina Halwa. And with this, we used to end our 9 day simple living and indulged into feast Mum prepared.

So again, this recipe is dedicated to her ideas and thoughts, and although I don’t follow them anymore, it used to be a memorable experience for over the years. I have prepared this one just as she used to, without onion, garlic and any heavy spices like Garam Masala. Though you can twist it according to your own taste, I would still recommend trying this version at least once. Am sure you will like it as much as I do, for those days when you just want something light to eat.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Black chickpea ( soaked overnight)
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 tsp red chili powder, coriander powder each
• ½ tsp Panch phoran
• 2-3 dried red chilies
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• Handful of coriander leaves, chopped
• ½ tsp Asafoetida
• 1 tsp Oil
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Pressure cook black chickpeas for 3-4 whistles. They should be tender enough to be mashed when pressed between fingers.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry asafoetida and sauté for half a min. Splutter cumin seeds and add red dried chilies along with grated ginger. Fry it all for a minute.
• Next, add  chopped tomatoes along with rest of the spices. Cook it covered for 4-5 minutes till tomatoes get tender and mushy.

• Add chickpeas along with ¼ cup water and cook covered for 10-12 minutes stirring in between.
• Open the pan and cook it uncovered for a few minutes if there is any water remaining, so that it gets dried up.
• Turn off the flame and sprinkle cilantro leaves for garnish on top.
• Serve it hot with chapathis or Dal –Rice combo along with pickles and Riata,…

Off to Srav's CC- Moms Recipes,     Sangee's HITS - Iron Rich Food hosted by Julie,

Sprouted Moong Dosa

God !! How fast does time flow by. Last month, I  was looking into Vaishali's Blog getting tempted over the variety of posts she has. And then now, this is another Month and I am paired with Veena of Veg Junction. Once I started going through her blog, she had a number of South Indian recipes in her posts. Yay !! Thats what I wanted, a good blog with a number of South Indian recipes.. Hmm.. the Dilemma, which one to try first. I saw her Thalis for Blog Marathon, All equally good and different from each other. Now What ?? Uff, it was a daunting task just to settle for one score. And yet, I got the clue, this Dosa is a  perfect combination of Health and taste. Loved the colour and loved the flavor too. I did want to try this version for quite a long time but never got a chance too, and now with the recipe in hand.. I just couldnt resist the urge of getting the thing right on my table. 

I am gradually getting better in the art of Dosa Making, getting those perfect crispy spiral Dosas is one of my favorite tasks these days. When I swirl the laddle in a circular motion on that griddle, I dont know, I just feel so good.. Some how... I love making crepes, in a similar way. Anyways, coming back to the Dosa, I always used to think how to keep the proportion of Rice and Daal in the usual version. And I did try it few times, but the best Dosa comes out only with the proportion of the traditional Combination. This Dosa, however, has equal proportions ofr Dal and Rice and hence liked by me even more. And the best part is, it doesnt require Fermentation as well. Off to the recipe now :

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Sprouted Moong 
• 1/2 cup White Rice 
• 1/2 cup brown Rice
• 1 tbsp grated Ginger
• 1 tsp minced green chilies
• Salt to taste 
• 1 tsp Garam Masala 
• 2 tbsp Chana Daal 
• Oil for roasting

Method:

• Soak the White rice in warm water for atleast 3 hours and Brown Rice atleast for overnight. 
• Grind both rice together and Sprouts Moong separately with enough water to make it dropping consistency. 
• Heat and Grease  a non stick Griddle with enough oil. First Crepe will absorb a little  more oil. 
• Pour a ladleful of batter onto Griddle and spread it in spiral motion. Keep the flame low to make thin crisp dosa. 
• When the Dosa pulls itself from the side and gets browned from the edges, drizlle a little oil around and turn over, cook the other side. 
• Take off from the Griddle when it gets brown spots on the sides. 
• Serve with Hot Chutney or Sambhar. 

Notes:

• I used a little Red chili flakes to keep the Dosa spicy
• You can skip the Garam Masala, it just added to the spice of the Crepe. 

Off to Radhika's Blog Hop Wednesday 

From Fried to Favourite and a GIVE AWAY ..

In whatever part of world I have travelled, I have seen the love for fried food. If not deep fried then infused heavily with butter and cream. Take any cuisine of the world, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Greek, even the most acclaimed Thai food has its own range of Fried or loaded food items which are highly treasured by the food lovers. And not to forget our own Indian Fritters ( Pakora/ Bhajiyas ) have raised their standard high in the International Food Market. Who doesn’t know Indian Samosa now, English people love it here. And to talk about Sweet tooth, they are in fact ahead in this pursuit of taste, bursting out with flavour and FAT. He He, I know how much I have evoked your taste buds now.

Being health conscious, we all try to feed our families and selves with maximum possible nutrition. We select fresh vegetables, we struggle to provide them home made food, we strive to keep the ‘’bad’’ fat quantity as low as possible. In short, we do everything we can to churn out the best possible combo of taste and health for us. Am sure at least once in this race, we all must have cursed the heavenly taste of deep fried goodies and sweets. Haven’t you done that :)

Anyways, we Indians still master the techniques of making these things lighter for our families in various ways. And the best of them are baking and steaming. We all have tried baking those Fritters and Pancakes using minimum oil we could, and what about those steamed balls we use in our Kofta curries. hmm...

We know that most of the fried food is deliciously tempting. We keep on mixing and matching the fried foods with the non-fried ones to keep a balance in our menus. And in this quest, we also try different methods of converting Fried Food into either baked, shallow fried or steamed version and most of the times, we do succeed in getting a good result. With this never ending tale of experiments and assessment, I am willing to add up new recipes to your Account. So, here is a commemoration to us for making things healthier and still keeping them lip-smacked.

With this new Event my motto is  ‘’Say NO to Fried’’. Off course not completely ( God ! How can I think that :P ) But here in this group we all will try to convert the famous, tempting and delicious recipes of the world cuisine into our own ways of either Baked or Steamed ( Shallow fried is also Allowed for some recipes ). So are you ready for being a part of this Health sprint with me ? I assure you it will be an interesting Journey with many interesting recipes from around the world and different regions of India.

Rule are very simple :

• On the first of every ‘’second ‘’month, I shall post two Deep fried dishes with some links to their Original recipes. You will then have to select either one of them, or both if you wish and  cook them without using the Fried method. You can either bake them or steam them, Shallow frying is also allowed if you are using little oil for that.
• Once you select the dish you want to make, you will have 45 days for preparing the dish. Let’s say, I have posted the announcement on 1st April, and the time has been given till 15th May to prepare the non-fried version.
• On 15th of the next month, you will then post the recipe and link it to the announcement page where I will open the Linky tool for your ease. Within next five days, you will have to link the recipes and the linky will be closed on 20th Night.
• You can post as many versions as you like. Say, if you have prepared a dish with both baking and steaming methods, you can  post them simultaneously or a day after other and link it. Same way you can also select both the recipes and link it one day after the other.
• If you are a non-blogger, please send your recipe at my email id : nupurs.kitchen@gmail.com along with the picture and recipe.
• I would sincerely appreciate more involvement from you guys. If you have any suggestion to make this deal better or a recipe which you think will fit in the criteria, please mail me. I will sleep on it and will give you due credit in my posts.
• If you require any help regarding the recipe, please do not hesitate to ask me. I will do my bit of research on the recipe and will make sure you get proper guidance or help in getting the right version of your choice.

Now the Best part :

• With every Round-up, one random winner will be declared and will provide you a badge to place on your blog.
• Every year, that is after 6 round ups, I will display an yearly round up of the 6 winners. You will then have the chance to vote for your favourite recipe out of  those six.
• I will then post the winner an exciting Giveaway which I have not decided yet. But that will include a Cook book and a cooking Equipment as well to any part of the world.
• For participating in the Giveaway, you will have to qualify on these simple parameters:

1. Follow my Blog publicly
2. Like my Page on Face Book
3. Leave me a comment once you have done that

NON-MEMBERS for this group can also PARTICIPATE in the GIVEAWAY, But the gifts will be different. Just follow the Parameters and leave me a comment or email me. Both the winners will be announced together. 

Here is the Logo I prepared after long hours of toiling, so have kept it Madetory for the members to place it in their posts. You could also place it in your space if you like....

If you want to be a member of this group, please email me at nupurs.kitchen@gmail.com and I shall add up your name in the list. The first two dishes have been announced on 1st April, and the running round up shall be published on 15th -20th May. What are these recipes ??? Well, for that... get in touch with me .. or wait for the round up :)


Happy Blogging Ladies !

Dark Chocolate Truffles

I have never really adored Chocolate. They say ‘’Chocolate is a Girl’s Best friend, after diamonds’’… Seriously ??  I am not sure about the answer..

I liked them  when I was in school, but never actually was crazy for it. And that is the reason why I always preferred Pineapple cake over chocolate ones.. All my friends loved Chocolate cakes so when it was birthdays times, had to had it, that’s another thing.

The other day I got this Book of chocolate recipes from the Library, and it has been like 2 months now and I have not even tried a single recipe. Bizarre, but true.. I don’t muster courage for preparing a recipe with core Ingredient as Chocolate. I know it may sound offensive to many readers, including some of my own friends. But that’s what I am like.. willing to change though since Chocolate is a very flexible ingredient for cooking. Hence I started with one recipe from that book and finally .. like it  too :)

A very simple recipe, made with Chocolate Ganache. Actually I started with Ganache to bake a cake next day. But I didn’t get time and it got untouched. To finish it off, I rolled these Truffles and made hubby happy :) These truffles imparted the real dark taste of Chocolate with smoothness of cream. Well, it is unhealthy and full of fat.. but its Chocolate :)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Chocolate ( I used half Dark Chocolate, half Milk chocolate )
• 1 cup double cream
• 1 tbsp Melted butter
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup Icing Sugar

Method:

• Break the chocolate into very small pieces and place in a large mixing bowl 
• Bring the cream almost to boiling point, add butter and vanilla extract to the hot cream,  then slowly pour the cream over the chocolate and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or balloon whisk, until the chocolate has completely melted and well blended. Chocolate Ganache is ready.

• Keep the mixture in Fridge for atleast an hour till it gets chilled off. Take off from the Fridge after its chilled completely and scoop it out little by little. 
• Mix cocoa powder and Icing Sugar in equal quantities and roll the scooped Chocolate bites over it. 
• Its ready to serve, keep them at low temperature and take them out only when serving fresh.

Notes:

• Use a round spoon to scoop the mixture out and roll them with your palms. 
• You can spread some icing sugar or chopped nuts to give them a crunchy bite. 

Eggless Butter Tarts : Pure Delight

I have never had made Butter Tarts before, or let alone any kind of Tarts. Neither any sorts of Pies or Crust pastries.. I now think, how did I afford not to pick them up for my weekend baking programme. Hmm… may be since they are so full of butter and Fat. Yes, that could be the reason, but still I was such a naïve, not to experience the beauty of these startling bakes. Well, now when I have done that once I hope to see more such small wonders coming out of my oven pretty soon :D

Thanks to Gayathri ''Baking Eggless" Group, I got the chance to try these on for the first time. Initially, I did a lot of search over net but could not get the eggless version of these Tarts. And I really wanted to taste one before making to get to know the difference. Last Saturday, I went to the local bakery and got one Bakewell Butter Tart.. mmm.. such melt in the mouth taste it had, with wonderfully crumbled crusty shell.. Truly heaven taste ! I got so confused what to add for this melting taste if not eggs. Hell, Gayathri, what a challenge !!

Then I recalled how I made the eggless version of Custard adding corn-starch a few days back. Thought I could try that atleast, so added a bit of bread for sticking it  together and here we are.. the Lovely eggless version of the popular Canadian Dessert. I did do some variations of my own during the whole process and now I am desperately waiting to find out what the other group members do come up with, to get this piece together. Is there somebody out there, sharing this idea with me ??

Ingredients:

For the pir Crust : 

• 1 ½ cup APF
• 1 tbsp White Sugar
• ½ cup of Butter, COLD and cut into pieces
• 3-4 tbsp of Chilled water
• A pinch of Salt

For the Filling:

• ¼ cup Milk
• 1 ½ tbsp. Corn Starch
• ½ cup Double Cream
• ¾ cup white Sugar
• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar ( for sprinkling on top )
• ¼ cup chopped nuts ( Raisins + Walnuts )
• 2 bread pieces ( I used usual brown bread )
• 1 tsp Vanilla essence

Method:

• For making the Tart base, mix flour with the sugar and salt.
• Now add the cubes of COLD Butter and start mixing with hands or give it a pulse in the processor, till it gets crumbly.
• Start kneading it with the help of little cold water adding gradually, spoon by spoon. You will a good pliable dough at the end.
• Transfer the dough mass in a bowl, cover it with a cling film and keep it in the Fridge at least for an hour. I kept it overnight.
• Next day, take it out and roll it into medium thin circle. Cut out the circles with the help of a cookie cutter or a glass.
• Grease a muffin pan and line these circles inside the holes. Keep it inside the Fridge for the time we are preparing the filling.

• Now, mix cornstarch with the milk and keep aside. Milk should be a little cold and not warm or at room temperature. Can straight of the Fridge will do the work.
• Pulse the bread in the processor to get the fresh crumbs, keep aside.
• Now, beat the cream a little bit along with the sugar and Vanilla essence. Add bread crumbs and milk-corn starch mix and mix well.
• Add nuts and mix.
• Take the muffin tray out of fridge, pour this mixture into the tart cups up till 3/4th level. Sprinkle some brown sugar on top and Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.
• Take them out, cool on a tray for a bit and have them warm….

 Notes:

• I actually blind baked the Tarts in the first batch, which resulted in a slight distorted shape which is visible in the pics as well. But then I baked a second batch of only 3 tarts without blind baking the tart cups and it was perfect in shape. The difference was that the first batch was more crumbly in texture from inside, while the second one was a bit softer. You can pick your bet, I preferred the second batch more.
• To blind bake the tarts, instead of putting them in Fridge after lining, bake them in preheated oven at 170 degrees for 6-7 minutes. Take them out and pour the mixture and follow the usual process after that.
• You can skip the bread completely, I felt it was a good addition for bringing up the egg like fluffy texture.
• You can also add Cardamom or cinnamon for a different flavour altogether.

Be My Guest Vardhini : Urad Dal Fritters

So, its another episode for the Series ''Be My Guest'' and my guest of honor this Month is Vardhini. Vardhini has not been that old on the block, but looking at her wonderful Space, you can never guess. It’s just an year she is here and is already one of those we look up to for good recipes and inviting clicks. A software professional by career and a wonderful cook by choice, she is basically from Chennai and currently staying in US. Her blog ‘’Cooks Joy’’ represents her inner joy while cooking and also the desire to make it a joyful place for the people who share similar thoughts. 


As it goes for almost all of us, she started blogging just to document the recipes she tried and now this has grown into her Passion and love. She says she has been giving generous time to Blogging lately and the feedback and comments from her readers keep her driven and motivated. Her favourite cuisine is Indian ( off course ! ) and when I asked her to pick some of her favourites from her own blog, she got all jumbled up (Well, so did I when I went through her posts )and lastly picked these few:

Low fat Dahi Vada
Simple Spinach Dal
Kuzhi Paniyaram
Tamarind Rice

When I asked for any message for the readers, she was spirited enough to advise on sticking to your hobbies, never say ‘’ no time’’ since we have to create time sometimes.. Well Said dear !!
It was a tough job going through her recipes and selecting those which fits all the parameters equally, in terms of inviting pictures, perfectly turned out recipes and innovative attempts keeping the tradition alive. Pheww !! Almost every recipe I went through depicts all the above things inone or other ways, but somehow I managed to get through the enormous task and finally listed down the five recipes I loved most from her. Highly recommended from me , do give them a go.. Well, I will !


Buttermilk Biscuits. Look at the wonderfully described step by step recipe
Eggplant Parmesan I always wanted to bake this, amazing clicks
Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread.. Wow !! The lovely colorful bites
Badam Halwa .. making me drool over and those clicks.. are just soo inviting
Masala Vadai .. Cant believe these tempting bites could be amazingly healthy

Over to Vardhini now:


When Nupur asked me to be part of her "Be My Guest" series, I gladly accepted. She has a wonderful blog with interesting recipes. Thanks Nupur for having me as your guest. I chose this snack that is loved by kids and adults and is also easy to make.

I normally try a low fat version of any snack using the kuzhi paniyaram pan and did the same for bonda too. But, though the bonda was cooked properly it did not puff up. So I stuck with the deep fried version. The kids loved it and I had a hard time clicking the pictures because they were standing right next to me asking for bondas :). They were glad when I announced that the photos were done and the next minute the bowl was empty. The best accompaniment to bonda is coconut chutney. Off to the recipe.






Ingredients

• 1 cup urad dal (Ulutham paruppu)
• Salt
• A pinch of baking soda (optional)
• 1 green chilly thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp peppercorns (slightly crushed)
• 1 tbsp rice flour
• Oil to deep fry

Method:


Soak urad dal for 2 hours
.

Grind using very little water. (Just enough water for the grinder stone to move.) You can also use a mixie to grind.                    






To the ground batter, add salt.              




Add a pinch of baking soda if using.         
 



Add green chillies and pepper corns.          




Add rice flour. Mix.           




Heat oil and take small portions of the batter and drop in oil. Shape does not matter.



When they have a nice brown color, they are done.            
 



Bondas were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They were all gone in a matter of minutes.



Enjoy!