Methi Tikki

It has been a very long time since I have last blogged....there has been a lot going on in our lives....and this has put me off my stride....have been meaning to get back to it for quite a while - but have found that once I am off - it is almost forgotten....weird right...considering how into it I was once...

Anyways after ages, I actually baked something...muffins with figs and cashew nuts....sounds very yum....somehow it did not turn out that good - there was some problem either with the recipe or the method - or with the usual substitutions that I tend to bring to any recipe I read...so whatever ...the end result was not truly professional ( it was ok for me and my family...)...so though we all ate & relished it up - I did not feel like I could write about it - maybe after I tweak it some more...

Then a couple of days later - a bunch of methi leaves which were sitting in my fridge and nagging me to do something...got me started in the thinking, planning, recipe reading etc...mode....
After a lot of thought decided to go ahead with the making of tikkis...had all the necessary ingredients on hand...and it had been a really long time since I had last made it...
Then had to choose between the more healthy option of baking...or the more tasty option of fried...went with the fried for this time...

Somehow during the making of this, I kept remembering my mother-in-law, an amazing cook and an avid foodie herself - even ill health ( towards the later years ) did not keep her from getting involved in the process of any special dish being prepared...
One such memory still lingers, of her removing the leaves of the methi - then after the dough was put in the dish - she supervised the amount of oil to be added and mixed it herself - and saw to the addition of the spices and leaves, left the final kneading and frying to the cook, she was so particular about how it is to be prepared....esp. if it was being prepared for her loved ones...
Though she has told me how she used to do this ...and I have prepared it too earlier as per her recipe - this time around I did not remember all the details - so looked up the net for a few different options ( will check it out later to see how it differs from m-i-l's version )...

Healthy hearty bread

The current trend is to eat healthy -anywhere and everywhere you read, there is talk of how to make the food that we eat more healthier, 
There are so many things that are considered bad for you,  that finally we may have to give up eating all together...[ though that may not be so bad, I hear fasting is good for you :) ]

The most confusing part is that the powers that be keep changing the rules of the game...how do we keep it all straight ?

Sometimes it is wine that is bad, now a glass of red is considered good..chocolates were bad...now dark chocolate has the nod...whole wheat flour was considered better than all purpose flour or maida...oh wait...that is still considered  to be so...but now there are a whole bunch of other flours which is said to be better that WWF...millet flour, sourgham flour, soyabean flour, amaranth flour.....

After going through the net I found some recipes for rotis, chapatis with a combination of all these above along with a little bit of  flax seed, sesame seeds, fenugreek seeds all powdered...
tried various combinations and now try to make it the healthy way most of the times.

Then of course the natural progression was from rotis to breads...got some recipe for healthy bread...tweaked it a bit to make it more healthy and also added some fruit pulp, either banana or apple ...along with some nuts ( love the crunchiness in all baked goods )...
This also contains oats ..yogurt, milk and honey ...with so much goodness ....it would be hard to improve upon...but that did not stop me !?
So here's the healthy hearty bread recipe...

Ingredients :

1 cup oats + 2 Tblspns
11/3 cup wheat flour
1 cup AP flour
1 cup yogurt
3/4 cup milk
2 tsps Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 banana mashed
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup chopped nuts - I used almonds

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 F or 190 C.
Coat a 9 x 5 pan with oil and sprinkle one tablespoon of oats all around it.
Mix the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a bowl with a whisk
Mix all the wet ingredients along with 1 cup of oats.
Mix the flour mixture with the oats mixture stirring gently - do not overmix - put in the chopped nuts, vanilla essence and mix gently.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes - 1 hour or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool for 10 mins in the pan - and after removing for another 15 mins on the rack.
Enjoy !!!

Tips : You can make it healthier by reducing the oil and adding applesauce.
I reduced the 1 cup of AP flour to 1/2 and substituted the remaining 1/2 with a mix or millet flour, sourgham flour, a tablespoon of soya flour...

Sukhadi

The aroma of roasted wheat has filled the entire house bringing with it memories of Dasera spent at my sister-in-law's co-sister's place ...confused ?....

Well I am not sure whether it is a common term but in South the term co-sister is used for wives of 2 brothers...so my husband's sister whose brother-in-law's wife ...the one I am referring to here is her co-sister...

Now I think I am confused too....so anyways moving on...let's call her S....we had all gathered at  S's  place for Dasera and she had made the most amazing, mouth-watering Gud papdi or as it is also referred to as Sukhadi...

And even though we are all now conscious of what (& how much )sweets we have ....we could not resist it and it was soon polished off...

I asked her for recipe and have since made it many times with delicious results and here I go making it once more...while it is cooling on the kitchen counter I decided to log it in ...the recipe given below....

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup jaggery
1/2 cup ghee
1/2 nuts powdered - (optional) ( I used a mix of almonds and walnuts )
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
broken cashews to garnish

Method:
1) Melt ghee in a non-stick or heavy bottomed pan

2)Roast the wheat flour and powdered nuts together till it changes colour to reddish brown - it will also give a heavenly aroma at this stage - and you will also see the ghee starting to separate a bit.
This takes about 10-15 minutes approx.

3) At this stage add the jaggery ( jaggery should preferably be grated )
4) Stir till it is all blended well - you will see that the mixture starts coming together - switch of the flame and put the mixture in a greased thali or baking dish.
(After adding the jaggery - you do not have to keep it all flame for long - just till it all mixes in and the mixture comes together - about 1 minute.)

5) Sprinkle cardamom powder over it - cool it for about 10 minutes then cut into diamond shapes...decorate with cut cashew pieces...
6) Let it cool further completely before removing from the pan and storing it in an airtight container...
Enjoy !!!

Tips: You can put a little less ghee if you would prefer - but then you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of milk in the end for the sukhadi to hold it's shape...

The addition of powdered nuts is optional - but it does raise the level of the sukhadi and brings out the nutty flavour of the roasted wheat...besides increasing it's nutritive value.