Garlic Knots

After April month swap post "Hong Kong Noodle Soup", here comes my second month participation in an interesting event Food Bloggers Recipe Swap hosted by Amber Dawn. For May month, I was paired with an amazing blogger Sapana who blogs at cookingwithsapana.com. The concept of the theme was to select one recipe from my partner's page and recreate the recipe. It took so much time for me to choose one recipe from her page while all her recipes looked so inviting and tempting. Finally tried these beautiful baked garlic knots which was a super hit in my place. These garlic knots are perfect with hot tea and also, can be served as breakfast along with salsa, jam or sauce. The actual recipe calls for the parsley, but I have replaced it with coriander leaves in garlic butter. Thank you Sapana for sharing such a delicious baked snack.

Click HERE to view the actual recipe from Sapana's page. 

Ingredients :

11/2 Cups All purpose flour / Maida + extra for dusting 

1 Tsp Sugar 

1 Tsp Salt 

1 Tbsp Olive oil 

1 Tsp Instant dry yeast 

1 Cup Warm water 

For Garlic Butter :

4 Tbsp Butter, melted 

1/4 Cup Coriander leaves, finely chopped ( Actual recipe calls for Parsley ) 

4 - 5 Garlic cloves, minced

Method :

In a large bowl, mix all purpose flour, yeast, sugar and salt. 

Make a well in the center of it and add olive oil followed by warm water. 

Combine together to form a dough and knead it for about 10 minutes. 

Place it in an oiled bowl and let it rise for an hour or until it doubles in size. 

Now knead the dough again for about 5 minutes and divide into 9 equal parts. 

Roll it into long tubes like and make a knot by folding over and under. 

Arrange the prepared knots in a baking tray and keep it aside for 10 minutes. 

Now bake it for 10 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree C. 

Meanwhile, prepare garlic butter by mixing all the ingredients given in "For Garlic Butter" and keep aside. 

Remove the knots from the oven and brush with garlic butter. 

Bake it again for 5 minutes and remove from the oven. 

Serve warm.

Serving Options :

Serve with Salsa or Sauce.

Pizza Pull Apart Pumpkin Bread

Being Baking as the Theme in Shhh Secretly Cooking Challenge, two delicious ingredients (Pumpkin and Cinnamon) were given as secret ingredients to me by a wonderful blogger Avin S Kohli who blogs at "theyellowdaal.com". And using the ingredients, tried my hands on an easy and yummy tea time snack using Pizza dough. Pizza dough is rolled into a rectangle shape and topped with pumpkin puree, sugar and cinnamon. The pumpkin puree is prepared by roasting the pumpkin in the oven and made into smooth puree but it can also be substituted with a canned ones. Adjust the quantity of sugar according to sweet tooth. Brown sugar can also be added instead of the granulated sugar.

Are you interested in knowing the secret ingredients given by me to Avin S Kohli ? Then click HERE to check out her page now.... She has prepared a lovely and delicious dish which is loved by everyone :)

Ingredients :

1 1/2 Cup All purpose flour / Maida 
1 Tsp Instant Yeast 
1 Tsp Sugar 
1 Tsp Salt 
1/2 Cup Warm water 
1 Tbsp Oil 
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree 
5 - 6 Tbsp Granulated sugar 
1 Tbsp Cinnamon powder 
1 Tbsp Butter for brushing 

Method :

Take all purpose flour in a bowl along with an instant yeast, sugar and salt.

Add warm water to the flour along with oil and combine well to form a soft dough.

Once done, place the dough in a greased bowl and keep it aside in a warm place till it gets double its size.

When the size gets doubled, remove from the bowl and knead it again for 10 minutes. ( use all purpose flour for dusting )

Now roll the pizza dough into a rectangle shape sheet with 1/2 inch thickness.

Spread the pumpkin puree on the pizza sheet and sprinkle granulated sugar evenly followed by cinnamon powder.

Now gently roll the pizza sheet and cut into small pieces using knife.

Take a greased baking tray or line it with a baking sheet and place the pizza bread pieces evenly and stack the remaining pieces.

Bake it for 20 - 25 minutes at 180 degree C in a pre heated oven.

Once done, remove from the oven, brush it with a butter and cool it on the rack.

Serve.

Serving Options :

Serve it with Tea / Coffee. 

Butter Biscuit ( Without Baking Powder / Baking Soda )

Sharing one of my all time favourite and easy cookies using just 3 ingredients. These tasty, buttery and crispy cookies is a perfect evening snack recipe to serve along with a glass of milk. No Baking powder or baking soda is required for these cookies yet it turns out super crispy. These square shaped cookies can also be prepared into round shaped cookies by rolling the dough into round log instead of square.

Ingredients :

170 gms Butter ( I have used Amul Salted butter )
250 gms All purpose flour / Maida
140 gms Powdered Sugar

Method :

Cream butter till soft.

Add powdered sugar to the butter and cream till it turns light and fluffy.

Now add all purpose flour to the butter - sugar mixture and combine together to form a dough.

Transfer the mixture to a working board, knead and divide the mixture into half.

Take one half of the dough and form a square shaped log.

Cover the log with a cling foil and refrigerate it for 2 - 3 hours ( or overnight, if possible ).

Repeat the same for the remaining dough.

When the cookies are ready to bake, remove the square logs and slice them into 1/4 inch thickness.

Arrange the sliced cookies in a baking tray and bake it for 23 - 25 minutes at 180 degree C in a pre heated oven.

Once done, remove from the oven and cool the baked cookies on a rack.

Transfer it into an air tight container and serve.

Serving Options :

Serve with hot Milk.

Note :

If the dough is refrigerated over night, keep it out for sometime and then slice it. This helps to slice the cookies easily without losing its shape.

Peas & Sausage stuffed Pastry Cup

It's almost a month I did blogging. May month was really hectic for me in both health and travel wise but still, the one event which I never miss is my favourite Shhh Cooking Secretly Challenge which happens every month with an interesting theme. Likewise, our May month theme was Stuffed recipes and I was paired with a Wonderful blogger Sharanya Palanisshami from Sara's Tasty Buds. Peas and one ingredient of my choice were given as the secret ingredients by her and I chose sausage as my second ingredient. Likewise, Check out her page too to view an interesting recipe prepared by her using the secret ingredients given by me.

Sausage and Peas stuffed pastry cups is an interesting party snacks filled with pea - cheese puree and grated sausages. The fresh peas are boiled along with garlic pods and made into puree by adding cheese. I have added mozzarella cheese as it gives a nice texture to the puree. The sausages are sautéed along with fresh rosemary herbs which gives a lovely flavour to the snack. The cups are finally topped with more cheese and baked to get a delicious cheesy snack.

Ingredients :

1 Cup Green peas, fresh
4 Garlic pods, peeled
1/2 Cup Cheese, grated ( I have used Mozzarella )
2 Tbsp Oil or Butter
4 - 5 Sausages, grated
1 Tbsp Rosemary herbs, fresh and finely chopped
Salt to taste
Puff Pastry Roll ( I have used store bought Puff pastry Roll )

Method :

Boil green peas and garlic pods in a water.

Once it gets cooked, drain the water and cool it. ( The drained water can be used for kneading roti or used in rasam or sambhar to enhance the taste ).

Grind into puree by adding mozzarella cheese and little salt. Keep it aside.

Heat oil or butter in a pan and add grated sausages along with a little salt and rosemary herbs.

Saute for a minute and remove from the flame. Keep aside.

Now, take a puff pastry and roll into a rectangle shape.

Cut the pastry sheet into 6 equal squares.

Grease the muffin tray ( or use silicon muffin cups ) and place the square shaped puff pastry in each muffin moulds.

Now fill the cups with a little pea puree and then with sautéed sausages.

Finally top it with grated cheese.

Repeat the process for the remaining pastry cups.

Bake it for 25 - 30 mins at 180 degree C in a pre heated oven or till it turns crispy.

Once done, remove from the oven and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Tomato sauce. 

Mashed Potato Muffins / Savoury Muffins

Have leftover mashed potatoes and looking for an innovative recipe... then, bake these delicious and flavourful muffins to enjoy your breakfast with a cup of tea. More than a sweet muffins, I love baking savoury ones as it can be served for breakfast too. In this recipe, the mashed potatoes are mixed up with the dry and wet ingredients is further baked for about 25 - 30 minutes to get a delicious muffins. Tomato sauce or mayo goes well with these yummy muffins.

Ingredients :

3 Potatoes, Medium sized, Boiled 
1 1/2 Cups All purpose flour / Maida
2 Tsp Baking powder 
1 Egg
3/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Olive oil 
1/4 Cup Butter, melted 
1 Tbsp Cheddar cheese powder
1 Tsp Dried Basil 
1 Tsp Dried Oregano
1 Tsp Red chilli flakes  
Salt to taste 

Method :

Mash the boiled potatoes without any lumps. ( The texture of it should look creamy ).

Add egg to the mashed potato and mix well.

Now add the measured cup of milk followed by oil and butter.

Mix well and keep aside.

Sieve the all purpose flour and baking powder together and add it to the potato - egg mixture.

Add the seasonings ( basil, oregano, red chilli flakes and salt ) followed by cheese powder and fold well to get a batter consistency.

Line the muffin cups in a muffin tray and fill it with 3/4th of batter.

Bake it for 25 - 30 mins at 180 degree C in a pre heated oven.

Bake till the top of the muffins turns into light brown colour.

Once done, remove from the oven and cool the muffins in a cooling tray.

Serve.

Serving Options :

Serve with Tomato sauce or Mayo.

Mango & Pineapple Salsa in Apple Chips

Summer in India is a season to enjoy mangoes and luckily we got this seasonal ingredient as our may month theme in our shhh secretly cooking challenge group. In this May month, I got paired with an amazing blogger Veena Krishnakumar from www.veenasvegnation.com . Apart from the main ingredient ( Mango ), we had to share to couple of secret ingredients and I got Apple and Pineapple as my secret ingredients. Using these three amazing healthy fruits, I prepared a tasty and easy party snack mango and pineapple salsa. Generally salsa is served in a canapes or biscuits, I had given a twist by served these salsa in apple chips as apple is one of my secret ingredient. I have to mention that this snack is a blend of mixed taste, as it contains sweet, sour, spicy, mild masala and mild bitter from apple chips. Innovative and healthy way to serve this for kids or during parties...

Ingredients :

10 Baked Apple Chips ( Click HERE for recipe )
1 Cup Mangoes, Ripe, Finely chopped
1 Cup Pineapple, finely chopped
1 Onion, Finely chopped
1 Tomato, de-seeded, finely chopped
2 Green chillies, finely chopped
Less than 1/4 Tsp Chat masala
A pinch of salt
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method :

Add the finely chopped mangoes in a bowl followed by pineapple, onion, tomato and green chillies.

Add chat masala and salt to the salsa.

Mix well and keep aside.

Arrange the baked apple chips in a tray and spoon in the salsa on each chips.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Serving Options :

Serve with fresh juice.

Roasted Beetroot Lassi / Summer Special

Lassi is an excellent option to consume during summer days and it is nothing but the blend of yogurt with spices and water. Fruits can also be added to make it yummy and in my today's recipe, I have included healthy veggie beetroot. Instead of cooking the beets, I have roasted it in an oven by wrapping it using aluminum foil and made it as a savory lassi. The color itself makes the drink appetizing and absolutely nutritious. Green chillies can also be added while grinding beets to make this a spicy beetroot lassi.

Ingredients :

3 Beetroots, medium sized
2 1/2 Cups Thick curd 
1/2 Tsp Jeera / Cumin powder 
Salt to taste 
1/4 Cup Water 
Few fresh mint leaves 

Method :

Wash beetroots and wrap it in an aluminum foil.

Brush it with olive oil and seal it tightly.

Roast it for 50 minutes at 180 degree C or until the beets turn firm.

Once done, remove from the oven and cool it.

Peel the skin and chop them into pieces.

Add the chopped beets along with mint leaves, cumin powder, salt and water in a blender.

Blend it to a fine paste and strain the juice.

Add thick curd to the strained juice and churn it using manual or automatic churner.

Transfer it to a bowl and refrigerate it to serve chilled lassi.

Serving Options :

Serve it in a tall glass with hot samosa.

Corn & Mixed Millet Baked Pakoda Kuzhambu / Diet Friendly Recipe - 97 / #100dietrecipes

Pakoda kuzhambu is one of our family's favorite kuzhambu which is prepared using fried pakoda. To make this kuzhambu healthy, I prepared it with the baked corn and mixed millet pakoda and served it with hot brown rice.Personally, we don't prefer any side dish as it contains pakoda, but any veggie stir fry or microwave papad can be served along with this kuzhambu.

Ingredients :

15 pieces Corn & Mixed Millet Baked Pakoda 
1 Tbsp Olive oil / Gingelly oil
1/2 inch Cinnamon stick 
1 Tsp Saunf 
2 Bay leaves
2 Spring Curry leaves
5 Garlic pods, sliced
1 Cup Onion, Finely chopped 
1/2 Cup Tomato, finely chopped 
2 Green chillies, slitted 
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 
2 Tsp Red chilli powder 
3 Tsp Coriander powder 
1/4 Tsp Garam Masala powder 
Salt to taste 
Lemon sized Tamarind 
2 Cups of Water

Method :

Soak tamarind in one cup of water before starting the cooking process.
 
Crush cinnamon stick and saunf. keep aside. 

Heat oil in a pan / kadai and add bay leaves followed by crushed cinnamon stick and saunf.

Add the sliced garlic pods followed by curry leaves, green chillies and finely chopped onion.

Saute till the color of onion changes and add the chopped tomatoes.

Saute and cook till the tomatoes turns soft.

Now add all the masala powders ( chilli, coriander, turmeric and garam masala ) along with the required amount of salt.

Add one cup of water and let it boil in a medium flame.

Meanwhile, extract tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind.

Add the tamarind juice to the boiling kuzhambu along with one cup of water.

Cover and cook till the raw smell goes off.

Now add the baked pakodas and switch off the flame.

Garnish with curry leaves and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with hot rice. 

Corn & Mixed Millet Vada / Pakoda / Diet Friendly Recipe - 96 / #100dietrecipes

Wanna have healthy and guilt free snacks during dieting ?

Then, try these complete nutritious vadai which is prepared using fresh corn kernels, chana dal and mixed millets. Though the process is little bit lengthy, the pleasure of enjoying guilt free snacks takes away all the pain of preparing. The same recipe can be prepared like pakodas instead of preparing vadas by just placing little corn - millet mixture on a baking sheet without perfect shape. This can be served as evening snack along with mint or roasted gram chutney and green tea.

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Chana dal / Kadalai parupu 
1 Cup Fresh sweet corn kernels 
1/2 Cup Mixed Millet 
4 Green chillies
Small piece of Ginger
1 Tsp Saunf 
3/4 Cup Onion, Finely chopped 
3 Springs of Curry leaves, chopped
1/2 Tsp Chilli powder 
Salt to taste

Method :

Wash and soak channa dal for 2 -3 hours.

Dry roast the mixed millets and grind into fine powder. Keep aside.

Grind green chillies and ginger without adding water and keep aside.

Drain the water from the soaked chana dal and grind it coarsely.

Transfer it to a bowl and grind fresh corn kernels coarsely.

Transfer the ground corn to the same bowl and add ground chilli - ginger paste followed by onion, curry leaves, saunf, chilli powder and salt.

Add the ground millet powder tp the corn mixture.

Combine the ingredients, divide the mixture and make equal sized balls.

Take one ball and gently flatten it using palm ( like cutlet ).

Arrange all the flatten vadas on a baking tray lined with baking sheet.

Bake it for 15 minutes in a pre heated oven at 200 degree C.

Flip the other side and bake it again for 15 minutes at 200 degree C.

Once done, remove from the oven and brush it with little olive on one side.

Change the settings to grill mode and grill it for 5 minutes.

Flip the other side again and brush it with little olive oil.

Grill it for another 5 minutes or till it turns crispy and brown color.

Once done, remove from the oven and serve hot.

For pakoda, just take little corn & millet mixture and place it on the baking tray lined with baking sheet / paper.

Remaining procedure is same as the baked vada.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with chutney. 

Beetroot Chips / Diet Friendly Recipe - 90 / #100dietrecipes

Guilt free, zero oil and healthy snack to munch along with green tea as mid morning snack or evening snack. Very easy to prepare and in this recipe, I have not used any seasoning expect salt. But to enhance the flavor, Italian herbs or Indian spices can also be added.

Ingredients :

2 Beetroot
Little Salt to sprinkle 

Method :

Peel the skin of beetroot and slice them thinly ( like we do for potato chips ).

Place the sliced beetroot on a kitchen towel and sprinkle little salt on top.

Keep it aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pre heat the oven at 180 degree C for 10 minutes.

Line the baking tray with baking sheet and arrange the beetroot slices.

Bake it for 12 minutes at 180 degree C and flip the other side.

Bake it again for another 12 minutes at 180 degree C.

Bake till the beetroot turns crispy, remove from the oven and keep aside.

Store it in an air tight container and serve with green tea.

Tofu & Olives Savory Muffin / Diet Friendly Reicpe - 74 / #100dietrecipes

Are you bored of regular diet recipes, then give a break to that and munch couple of these savory muffins for breakfast and feel guilt free. These muffins are completely healthy as it is prepared using wheat flour, oats and tofu. In addition to this, these are butter free muffins as I have used only olive oil in this recipe. Yummy and tasty muffins can be served with Tomato sauce or little low fat mayo ( not too much ;) )

Ingredients :

1 Cup Wheat Flour
1/2 Cups Oats
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Tofu, Finely grated
1/2 Tsp Oregano, dried
2 Tsp Red chilli flakes
6 Black olives, finely chopped 
3/4 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Egg

Method :

Mix all the dry ingredients ( wheat flour, oats, grated tofu, chilli flakes, oregano, baking powder, olives and salt ) in a large bowl.

Break egg in a small bowl and beat lightly.

Add milk and olive oil  to the beaten egg and mix well.

Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix it to get a thick batter.

Line the muffin tray with muffin cups and fill it with 3/4th of batter.

Bake it for 25 - 30 minutes at 180 degree C in a pre - heated oven.

Bake till the top layer of the muffins turns light brown color.

Once done, remove from the oven and cool it completely.

Serve.

Serving Options :

Serve it with Tomato sauce or honey mustard or low fat mayo.

Oats & Sprouts Baked Vadai / Diet Friendly Recipe - 57 / #100dietrecipes

After posting my " Baked Masala vada ", tried another delicious and crispy vadas using different set of healthy ingredients. Channa dal and Moong dal are soaked and added to mixed sprouts along with oats and spices is made into vada shape is further baked to get a crispy and tasty snack. This snack goes yummy with any variety of chutney.

Ingredients :

1/4 Cup Channa dal / Kadalai Parupu 
1/4 Cup Moong dal / Pasiparupu 
1 Cup Mixed Sprouts ( Black chickpeas, horse gram, cow pea and green gram )
1/2 Cup Oats
1/2 Cup Onion, Finely chopped
3 Green chillies
1 Tbsp Ginger, Finely chopped
Salt to taste
3 Springs of Curry leaves
1 Tsp Saunf / Perunjeeragam 
1 Tbsp Olive oil ( For brushing )

Method :

Wash and soak channa dal and moong dal for couple of hours.

Drain the water and add it to a mixer jar along with sprouts, green chillies and ginger.

Grind it coarsely ( add water if necessary ) and transfer it to a bowl.

Add chopped onions followed by oats, curry leaves, saunf and salt.

Combine together and divide into 8 - 10 equal sized balls.

Take one ball and gently flatten it using palm.

Vada should should not too thick else the inner part of vadai will not get cooked.

Repeat the process for the remaining balls.

Place a baking sheet on a baking tray ( to avoid oil ) and arrange the flatten vadas.

Bake it for 12 minutes in a pre heated oven at 180 degree C.

Flip the other side carefully and bake it again for another 12 minutes.

Once done, remove from the oven, brush it with olive oil on one side.

Change the setting grill mode and grill it for 4 minutes.

Repeat the same for other side and grill again for 4 minutes.

Grill till the vadas turn crispy and light brown color.

Once done, remove from the oven and repeat the process for the remaining flatten balls.

Serve hot. 

Serving Options :

Serve hot with any variety of chutney. 

Spicy Roasted Green Gram / Diet Friendly Recipe - 44 / #100dietrecipes

The worst part of dieting is craving for some mid morning or evening snacks to munch along with green tea or tea. Boiled veggies, Sundal varieties, Soup etc can be served as snacks but the happiness of munching the crispy fried ones will be missed right. Yeah ! So, no more longing for fried ones, just roast a healthy dal with a teaspoon of oil along with spices and munch without guilt. I have used green gram or green moong in this recipe which is an excellent ingredient for weight loss, as it is low in fat and rich in protein and fiber. This curbs our craving and keep us full for long time. It lowers cholesterol and rich in vitamin A, B, C and E.

Here comes the recipe for spicy and tasty diet friendly snack...

Ingredients :

1 Cup Green gram / Pacha payir / Green Moong
1 Tsp Olive oil
1/2 Tsp Chilli powder
1/2 Tsp Chaat Masala powder
3 - 4 Garlic pods, with skin
Salt to taste

Method :

Wash and soak the green gram for 5 - 6 hours or over night.

Drain the water and spread the soaked green gram on a kitchen towel to remove the extra moisture.

Once the dal is completely dry, remove from the towel and keep aside.

Place a foil on a baking tray and spread the green gram on it.

Add olive oil followed by chilli powder, garlic pods, chaat masala and salt on the green gram.

Mix well and spread evenly.

Preheat the oven and place the baking tray to roast it in a grill mode for about 20 - 25  minutes.

Remove and toss the baking tray in middle of roasting to get the crispness evenly.

Keep an eye on the last stage of roasting to avoid getting burnt.

Once the green gram gets its crunchiness, remove from the oven, cool and store it in an air tight container.

Serving Options :

Serve it with green tea or regular tea.

Zucchini - Red Poha Baked Cutlet / Diet Friendly Recipe - 31 / #100dietrecipes

Include this guilt free snack for your New year party and welcome new year in a healthy way. In this recipe, I have used thick red poha and that is the main reason of soaking it for 15 minutes. Soaking time will be less, if the regular ones are used. The soaked poha is cooked along with the sauteed zucchini mixture and further mixed up with wheat bread to make a delicious cutlets. Mint chutney is an excellent healthy choice of side dish but also can be served with tomato sauce.

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Red Poha ( Thick )
2 Whole wheat bread slices
1 Big Onion, Finely Chopped
1/2 Cup Zucchini, grated ( I have used yellow zucchini ) 
2 Green chillies, Finely chopped
2 Tbsp Coriander leaves
Salt to taste
1 Tsp Olive oil 
Bread crumbs for outer covering

Method :

Soak the red poha before starting the cooking process. ( Approx 15 minutes ).

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped chillies followed by onion.

Saute till the color of onion changes and add the grated zucchini followed by coriander leaves.

Saute for a minute in a medium flame.

Meanwhile, drain the water from poha and add it to the zucchini mixture along with required amount of salt.

Mix well and cook till the mixture becomes dry.

Switch off the flame, transfer it to a bowl and cool it completely.

Take bread slices, dip it in water and squeeze the water.

Add the bread to the zucchini - poha mixture and mix well. ( Adjust salt ).

Divide the mixture into 8 - 9 equal sized balls.

Take one ball, gently flatten it using palm and shape it like a circle ( round cutlet ) or any shape.

Coat the cutlet with breadcrumbs and arrange in a greased baking tray. ( Instead of greasing, I placed a baking sheet on a tray ).

Bake it for 20 minutes for 10 minutes on each side in a pre heated oven at 180 degree C.

Bake it till the top layer turns crispy.

Once done, remove from the oven and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Mint chutney.