Eggless chocolate chip cookies | Whole wheat chocolate chip cookies

Its raining cats and dogs here in Chennai. These days when it rains, is it just me or everyone who feels like munching on something. These cookies turned out well. Cookies are my favorite and this was really quick to make. 

Eggless Mango Ice cream |No ice cream machine/No churn mango icecream | 3 ingredient Mango icecream

Who doesn't like icecreams? And if it has mango then we double like it!This year for school summer holidays we went to Dubai visiting my parents.My sister joined us too.The kids and us had a lovely time.We were on a mega eating spree all month long.Kids and us elders couldn't have more and more of icecream we had baskin robins which is truly amazing.But when i saw the freezer section of the supermarkets i wanted to just live there.Why?fresh dairy cream stacked from top to bottom!!

Eggfree Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake in a Cup|No bake No gelatin| Do it ahead desserts

I have a new found love for desserts in a cup I have tried to make a few earlier and its nice to always have a share just for each one of you than bowls of dessert lying around not that anyone is complaining!This one is truly heaven in a cup first time I ignored the calories going into this one cup of goodness I must say.

No flour almond butter coookies

Happy Easter to everyone.We had a fun filled day with the kids and going out shopping.Even though I didn't bake anything as i intended I want to share this quick yummy recipe which makes a quick and healthy snack for the kids for the vacation.We leave for our holiday in two days and I'm trying to do everything I can to clean up this place and schedule a few posts so I can feed the blog while i'm not here.Hopefully I can make a few posts from there and be in touch with you.

Eggless Chocolate chip cookies pancakes

I don't have anything planned for V day its not a huge thing here in our house but I just wanted to make something for my lil ones and this is what I felt like because I have a whole lot of cookies sitting here at any point of time.

Both the kiddies loved it!So my V day plans were a huge success.These will work beautifully for a simple breakfast or tea time snack.So enjoy in simple pleasures!

It is so difficult for me to blog these days.Can you see the tiny hands coming to pick the fork I hardly find time to make any great set up before just taking a few clicks.And now while threatening my LM to take a nap I am hurrying through this post.

This is a really simple recipe that i just mixed and made in less than 10 minutes.

 You need

Makes 6-7 pancakes

Flour half cup
Milk one and half cup (approx)
Oil/melted butter 3 tablespoons
Sugar 2 tablespoons
Baking soda a pinch
Baking powder half tsp
Chocolate chip cookies crumbled 4-5(or more)

To serve chocolate sauce or melted chocolate mixed with milk and sprinkles or chocolate chips.

- In a bowl mix all of the above ingredients.Allow to rest for few minutes.

Heat a nonstick pan, pour ladle fulls of batter and wait for bubbles to appear on the top side once thats done flip over and cook on the other side for a minute.

Serve hot with chocolate sauce and chocolate chips or any sprinkles of your choice.

This was my Valentine's treat to my lil angels both of them loved it.

Eggless Chocolate chip cookies pancakes

I don't have anything planned for V day its not a huge thing here in our house but I just wanted to make something for my lil ones and this is what I felt like because I have a whole lot of cookies sitting here at any point of time.

Both the kiddies loved it!So my V day plans were a huge success.These will work beautifully for a simple breakfast or tea time snack.So enjoy in simple pleasures!

Rosme's - Eggless chocolate Brownies

Its another guest post from my friend Rosme.I had to wait for a long time but then I was happy to see what she'd sent me worth the wait recipe!

We met when we were in 11th one of the first friends I made since we stayed in the same building and went to the same school and same class same bench too!!Rosme is an Ayurvedic Doctor by qualification and a practising astrologer now.A mother of two now settled in Delhi - She's a very talented woman, a voracious reader,,a dancer and many more can be added to that list :)


Rosme sent me these eggless brownies recipe as she's a staunch vegetarian i have to expect a vegetarian dish from her.

The recipe is as follows

Ingredients

Dry ingredients
All purpose flour/Maida- 1 cup
Cocoa powder- 3 tbsps
Sugar- ¾ th cup
Coffee powder- 1 tbsp
Baking powder- 1tsp
Baking soda-1/4th tsp
Chopped pistachios (optional)-as required

Wet ingredients
Oil-3/4th cup
Vanilla essence-1 tsp
Yogurt-2 tbsp
Vinegar- 1tsp
Milk- 1 cup

• Pre heat oven to 180*C
• In a bowl sift together  the flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking powder,and baking soda.
• Heat 2 tablespoons water.dissolve the sugar in this water. Then whisk in oil. Subsequently add oil , yoghurt and the vanilla essence to this mixture. Then add in milk and a tsp of vinegar.
• Now add the dry ingredients to this mixture and fold in gently.
• Transfer this to a greased baking pan and decorate with chopped pistachios(optional)
• Bake for 25 mins till a skewer comes out with very few crumbs.
• Allow it to cool before cutting.

Notes :

I bake it at 180*C for 25 mins and then at 150 *C for a couple of mins. This lends an amazing texture to the dish.

Thank you Rosme for sending me these lovely egg free brownies!

Rosme's - Eggless chocolate Brownies

Its another guest post from my friend Rosme.I had to wait for a long time but then I was happy to see what she'd sent me worth the wait recipe!

We met when we were in 11th one of the first friends I made since we stayed in the same building and went to the same school and same class same bench too!!Rosme is an Ayurvedic Doctor by qualification and a practising astrologer now.A mother of two now settled in Delhi - She's a very talented woman, a voracious reader,,a dancer and many more can be added to that list :)


Rosme sent me these eggless brownies recipe as she's a staunch vegetarian i have to expect a vegetarian dish from her.

The recipe is as follows

Ingredients

Dry ingredients
All purpose flour/Maida- 1 cup
Cocoa powder- 3 tbsps
Sugar- ¾ th cup
Coffee powder- 1 tbsp
Baking powder- 1tsp
Baking soda-1/4th tsp
Chopped pistachios (optional)-as required

Wet ingredients
Oil-3/4th cup
Vanilla essence-1 tsp
Yogurt-2 tbsp
Vinegar- 1tsp
Milk- 1 cup

• Pre heat oven to 180*C
• In a bowl sift together  the flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking powder,and baking soda.
• Heat 2 tablespoons water.dissolve the sugar in this water. Then whisk in oil. Subsequently add oil , yoghurt and the vanilla essence to this mixture. Then add in milk and a tsp of vinegar.
• Now add the dry ingredients to this mixture and fold in gently.
• Transfer this to a greased baking pan and decorate with chopped pistachios(optional)
• Bake for 25 mins till a skewer comes out with very few crumbs.
• Allow it to cool before cutting.

Notes :

I bake it at 180*C for 25 mins and then at 150 *C for a couple of mins. This lends an amazing texture to the dish.

Thank you Rosme for sending me these lovely egg free brownies!

Kalkals-Sugar coated fritters

Kalkals are Anglo-indian speciality sweets typically made during Christmas to share the joy of the season with friends and family.Typically the kalkals are shaped like curls, deep fried and sugar coated.

I know its way past Christmas now,but I thought i'd share this recipe for the Easter Season :) I first tasted kalkals when my neighbour a mangalorean aunty used to share them for Christmas.They had a whole array of specialities for the Christmas season.I really miss those days when we used to get some goodies for all the festivals-Diwali,Vishu,Eid,Christmas :)

Now to the recipe, this is the eggless version i have seen people using eggs too.

You need

Maida/all purpose flour 2 cups

Rawa/semolina 1tablespoon

Dalda/butter 1/4cup

Salt a pinch

Sugar 3/4cup

Water 1/8th cup

Vanilla essence 1tsp

Icing sugar/powdered sugar about 1 cup (enough to coat the kalkals )

Oil to deep fry

• Mix flour,rawa,salt,sugar in a bowl.Slightly melt the butter and add to the flour and mix it to make a smooth dough.Add water little by little to make the dough.

• Leave the dough for 15 minutes.
• To make the kalkals, pinch a small ball of dough and place it on the back of a fork,press with your finger so the impressions form on the dough then roll into a curl.Repeat for all the dough.
• Deep fry the kalkals until golden brown and once you remove it from the oil drop into a dish with icing sugar/powdered sugar and coat well.

• Crispy sweet kalkals are ready to be served.These can be stored in air tight containers for 2 -3 days.

Note:

- I needed a little more than 1/8th of a cup of water use as per your requirement.

- Some people make a nice thick sugar syrup and pour it over the kalkals so they have a thick sugary layer.I thought this was good enough sweet and had a crunch of sugar.

Kalkals-Sugar coated fritters

Kalkals are Anglo-indian speciality sweets typically made during Christmas to share the joy of the season with friends and family.Typically the kalkals are shaped like curls, deep fried and sugar coated.

Falafels and wraps~Guest post for Edible Entertainment

I was super thrilled when Kavitha@Edible entertainment asked me to make a post for her 'Cooking with Kin ' series! Its always special to do something for friends.

Thanks Kavitha for giving me my first guest post :) Kavitha has a gallery of interesting and healthy dishes.I loved her recent post on chocolate-really informative.

Falafels have been my childhood favourite.Being brought up in the middle east, shawarmas are an all time favourite.Falafels are deep fried patties/balls made of chick-peas and served with pita bread,salads and tahini based sauces.Read more about falafels here.

healthy wraps with falafels

Check out the step by step recipe posted here at Kavitha's space.

Sending this over to Cooking with Kin@Edible Entertainment,WTML@Gayathri's Cook Spot,CC@Srav's Culinary Concepts,Holi Hai@My Cook Book,Cooking with spices-Coriander seeds-hosted by Sizzling tastebuds and started by Anu, Kabab mela@Cooking 4 all seasons

Falafels and wraps~Guest post for Edible Entertainment

I was super thrilled when Kavitha@Edible entertainment asked me to make a post for her 'Cooking with Kin ' series! Its always special to do something for friends.

Thanks Kavitha for giving me my first guest post :) Kavitha has a gallery of interesting and healthy dishes.I loved her recent post on chocolate-really informative.

Falafels have been my childhood favourite.Being brought up in the middle east, shawarmas are an all time favourite.Falafels are deep fried patties/balls made of chick-peas and served with pita bread,salads and tahini based sauces.Read more about falafels here.

Healthy Veggie muffins for breakfast

Radhika of Tickling palates has once again come up with a bright idea 'I love baking'.I wanted to make some muffins but the sweet somethings are getting a bit too much these days, so while i was thinking of what to bake, i started looking online for savoury muffins.I'm a little dreaded with the yeast monster these days since it ditched me so no breads!

I whipped these muffins in about 10 minutes and they were on the way to the oven.They are eggless, healthy and as easy as a cupcake!You have to believe me this is one super duper breakfast in a cup!These are eggless so it was all the more easier to mix up and bake too!I tried a small quantity and didn't bother to use my muffin tray, i just greased some metal bowls and baked them.

Preparation Time:10 mins (mixing time) + 25 mins (baking time)
Makes 10 mini muffins

You need
All purpose flour 1cup
Oats+wheat flour 1/2 cup(i used a handful of each)
Curd/yogurt 1cup
Vegetable oil 1/3 cup
Baking powder 1tsp
Baking soda 1/2 tsp
Finely chopped vegetables (onions,tomatoes,capsicum) 1/2cup or more
Chopped cilantro 2 tablespoons
Salt to taste

• Preheat oven to 250C and grease or line muffin tins and keep aside.
• In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients and set aside.In another bowl, mix the yogurt and oil until well combined.
• Add the vegetables to the yogurt and oil mix and stir well.
• Combine the dry ingredients with the wet vegetable+curd mix.Mix well until the flour is well combined with the curd oil mixture.
• Fill the greased/lined tin until 3/4th full.
• Bake for about 45 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.

• Soft and fluffy veggie muffins are ready for a healthy breakfast.

• These muffins store well for 2 days refrigerated.Reheat before serving.

Sending this to
Healthy-diet-event-baked-goodies@Vegetarian tastebuds

Healthy-hearty-event@Pages

Comfort-food @ Daily Cuppa

I love baking series @tickling palates

Healthy Veggie muffins for breakfast

Radhika of Tickling palates has once again come up with a bright idea 'I love baking'.I wanted to make some muffins but the sweet somethings are getting a bit too much these days, so while i was thinking of what to bake, i started looking online for savoury muffins.I'm a little dreaded with the yeast monster these days since it ditched me so no breads!

My 100th post - Tiramisu-Eggless version

I can't believe how soon i have reached my 100th post.I started this blog with premonition, unsure of what the response would be.Since I'm still going on, I'm loving this blog and everything that takes to making my dream a reality.
I must especially mention all those who come by Spicy foood and drop in their valuable thoughts which is absolutely necessary to better myself and keep spicyfoood going on.Keep coming and giving me your beautiful words of encouragement.

Celebrations call for sweet dishes, and what better way to celebrate!I want to share with you this world renowned dessert - Tiramisu.Ever since I decided to make this dessert, I have literally been dreaming of this(I know how jobless could i be!).So I thought enough of losing sleep and lets get down to making it.

The original recipe calls for raw eggs (like many of u already know), but don;t let that stop you from making it.I haven't seen many kinds of cheese in India(except the normal cheese slices), so I searched and searched to conclude hung curd will do justice to the cheese part of the dessert.This may not be the traditional way to make it but I think i'm going to stick to this :)

Here's how i made it....

Preparation time:  30 minutes(+ preparation of hung curd, etc)
Makes 3 glasses.

You need :
Hung curd made from half cup of curd
Cream (Amul fresh cream) Half cup (whipped) + another 4-5 tablespoons(to melt the chocolate)
Sweetened Condensed Milk 1/2 cup (or as much sweet as you need)(I used Amul Mithai Mate)
Milk Chocolate 2 tablespoons(chopped roughly)
Lady finger Biscuits 10 nos (or vanilla sponge cake)
Coffee Decoction 1 cup(brew it strong i used 1 cup of water and 3 tsps of Bru powder)
Vanilla Essence 2 tsp

• You need a little prepping up for this dessert, I have used hung curd(instead of mascarpone cheese)(pour the curd into a muslin and let the whey water separate) we need the creamy portion in the cloth.Set this aside.(this will take about 5-6 hours)
• Whip cream for about 20 minutes(I did it with a fork and since it was my first time with cream/whipping cream, I stopped after 20 minutes).
• Now fold in both the hung curd and whipped cream with the condensed milk.And add the vanilla essence to this mix and fold it in until mixed well.Leave in the refrigerator for 2 hours.(lets call this the white mix)

Lady-finger biscuits; Brown and white mixes

• Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate with 5 tablespoons of cream.This will be done in about 5 minutes.Set aside to cool/refrigerate.( this the brown mix)

Assembling the Tiramisu:

• I used glass tumblers as I just wanted small portions,you can set it in any pudding bowl.
• Soak the lady fingers in coffee and set it at the bottom of each glass, now spoon a layer of the white mix, followed by brown mix.Repeat with coffee soaked ladyfinger biscuits,white mix,brown mix.You get the idea!
• Repeat for each of the glasses.
• Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

• Serve the tiramisu with chocolate shavings!

Tips:

1. I made the hung curd in the morning and even though it was a little wet I thought it was fine.
2. Any semi sweet biscuits like Marie biscuits could do justice or plain vanilla sponge cake.
3. After the first set of layering ie biscuits,white and brown parts, i put the glass in the refrigerator until i did the other two glasses, then repeat the procedure for the next layer.
4. I got 2 sets of layers in each glass!

Sending this Sinful Delights@Zesty Palette, Love Lock with sweets@Sweetkaramkapi,ChristmasNewyeareve@Hema's and Christmasdelicacies@Erivumpuliyumm,Jingle All the way@Edible entertainment

My 100th post - Tiramisu-Eggless version

I can't believe how soon i have reached my 100th post.I started this blog with premonition, unsure of what the response would be.Since I'm still going on, I'm loving this blog and everything that takes to making my dream a reality.
I must especially mention all those who come by Spicy foood and drop in their valuable thoughts which is absolutely necessary to better myself and keep spicyfoood going on.Keep coming and giving me your beautiful words of encouragement.

Ma'amoul - Stuffed date cookies

I've been eating these stuffed beauties for a long time now, not home made ones though.Recently I got anxious to make it at home.When i started searching the internet, i found innumerable recipes and with an array of interesting fillings.These are pretty popular in the Gulf.

Ma'amoul are small shortbread pastries filled with dates, pistachios, or other dried fruits.Read more about them here.

My DH acclaimed they were as good as the shop ones.I have generously followed the recipe from here

Here's how i made it.

For the Filling:

• Dates paste 2 tablespoons (pitted dates about 15 to 20)
• Sugar coated ginger candy 5 6 pieces ( or dry ginger powder 1/4 tsp) (optional) 
• Water 2 tablespoons
• Salt a pinch
• 
  
• For the Cookie Dough:

Flour  2 cups (= 1 cup wheat flour + 1 cup All purpose flour)

• Baking powder 1 tsp
• Confectioner's sugar 1 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons for dusting (powdered sugar)
• Salt a pinch 
• Butter 1/2 cup
• Vegetable oil 2 tablespoons
• Milk (boiled and cooled) 1/4 cup

To make the filling:

• Puree the dates and ginger candy with 2 tablespoons of water.Add a pinch of salt and blitz to a smooth paste.Leave it aside.

the beautiful filling...

To make the cookie dough:

• In a bowl, sift both the flours and add the salt,baking powder, butter and oil and mix well to a crumbly mix.Add the oil and bring knead well to bring into a nice smooth dough.
• Add the milk and make a smooth dough.
• Cover with cling film and refrigerate for an hour.
• Now divide into small lemon sized balls (makes about 20 cookies)

 To make the cookies :

• Preheat the oven at 250C.
• Take a ball of dough and roll into a circle the size of your palm(almost). Place about a teaspoon of the filling.
• Repeat above step for the rest of the dough.OR if like me make some plain short bread cookies in any shapes you like of the plain cookie dough too.And sprinkle with powdered sugar.

make them in any shape you want

• Place the cookies about a few cms apart from each other (they do expand a bit).
• Bake these cookies at 220C until the tops are whitish and the bottoms are lightly brown for about 22-25 minutes.

• Cool for 10 minutes and they are ready to go...beautiful Ma'amoul cookies!!

Tips:

• The original recipe doesn't call to refrigerate the cookie dough, but i refrigerated it for an hour because of some work i couldn't avoid, and realised it was much easier to handle the dough once cool.
• Don't get worked up(like me) on stuffing a huge lot into each cookie, the maximum you can place would be much less than a teaspoon.

Linking this to 


Bake fest @ Zesty Palette

Christmas Delicacy @ Erivum Puliyum

Winter carnival @ Tickling tastebuds

Global Food fest @ Sizzling tastebuds

Bake with your heart @ A girl's Diary


Thursday Potluck @Show and tell