Eggless Nankhatai#SundayFunday

Vanaspati Ghee is used which is also called clarified butter  with this  the nankhatai's are pure white. This is traditional East Indian cookies that is must for our Christmas sweet's platter and this my mother's recipe. The flavoring I, have used is cardamom powder. 

Also made 4 batches of these Eggless Nankhati's for the cute, unconditionally loving physically challenged children, that I work with, they called them snow cookies, since these are pure white.
Makes 18 to 20 
Ingredients
80 Grams Sugar - powdered

1/4 Teaspoon Cardamom powder
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg powder
125 Grams All Purpose Flour
100 Grams Vanaspati Ghee - melted and chilled
A pinch of Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking powder
Nuts of choice as required

Method
Pre-heat oven to 180°C.

Sieve the cardamom, nutmeg, baking powder and flour, keep aside.

In a bowl add ghee, salt and sugar, beat it till light and fluffy and turns whitish. Add sieved flour and mix till it represents bread crumbs. Lightly start mixing with your hands to form a dough.

Make small marble size balls and press them down gently. Place them in the prepared baking tray with about an inch apart and gently press with a piece of nut. 

Bake in pre-heated oven for about 15 to 18 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown at the bottom.

Cool on wire rack. Store in airtight container.

My Notes

You can adjust the sugar as per your taste. 

You can flavor them using orange or lemon zest. 

You don’t need any additional liquid to bind it into a dough. Only the ghee binds the dry ingredients. You can also use softened butter, just in case you prefer the butter’s flavor.

Labels : Eggless, East Indian, Biscuits & Cookies, Vegetable shortening, Vegan, Christmas Sweet ,Festival Sweets, Baked, Sunday Funday 

For our event called Sunday Funday, wherein we share recipes our families will love to enjoy on a Sunday. I thank our host for this week's event Wendy Klik of   A Day in the Life on the Farm 
Sunday Funday: Cookies for Santa! >

• Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Aztec Blueberry Linzer Cookies
• Food Lust People Love: Brown Butter Shortbread 
• Our Good Life: Chocolate Chunk Shortbread with Sprinkles
• Sneha's Recipe : Eggless Nankhatai 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies with Nutella Filling 
• Cooking With Carlee: Krumkake 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Macaroon Kiss Christmas Cookies 
• Making Miracles: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Cookies 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Salted Honey Pecan Thumbprint Cookies 
• Palatable Pastime:Toffee Coffee Bars

Besan Almond Ladoo

These ladoo's are my hubby's favorite, he simply loves them. I have already posted a recipe of the these ladoo's , but, this is with almond meal, it has a nutty taste.
Ingredients
3/4 Cup Ghee
2 Cups Chickpea Flour/Besan
1/2 Cup Ground Almonds/Almond meal
1/2 to 3/4 Cup Caster sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Cardamom powder

Method

Heat the ghee. Stir in the chickpea flour and cook over low heat until the chickpea flour is toasted and the mixture smells fragrant, about 10 to 15 minutes. The mixture should be pasty, not powdery. Remove the mixture from the heat and cool slightly. Add the ground almonds, caster sugar, ground coconut, and ground cardamom to the pan and mix thoroughly. Taste for sugar, add according to the sweetness you require. While the mixture is warm, shape it into balls.

Store the ladoo's in an airtight container and they can be eaten immediately, but taste better after several hours.
Labels: Almond Meal, Besan, Diwali Faral, Festival Sweets, Maharashtra, Sugar, Ladoo

Gluten Free Red Rice Sev

Sev is a popular Indian crispy, savory snack food consisting of thin deep fried crunchy noodles. These are gluten free and so tasty, are made with unpolished red rice. Great for kid's tiffin.

Ingredients
2 Cups Red Rice Flour
½ Cup Urad Dal Flour - lightly roasted
½ Teaspoon Red Chilly powder
1-1½ Cup Hot Water
3 Tablespoons Melted Ghee
½ Teaspoon Sea Salt
½ Teaspoon Sesame Seeds
¼ Teaspoon Ajwain / Carom Seeds

Method

In a large bowl add the rice and urad flour, salt and red chilly powder and sieve them well, Then add the ajwain and sesame seeds, mix it well. Then add melted ghee and mix well till it forms bread crumbs. Then add hot water ¼ cup at a time and start to knead into soft and smooth dough , yet firm dough. Cover and keep aside for 10 minutes. 

In the meantime heat oil for deep frying in a kadai and heat on medium  flame. Take a fine round holes disc in the murukku / sev press. 

Fill the murukku press with the prepared dough. Now slowly press the sev maker over the hot oil. Deep fry them on a medium  flame until golden color, turn over to fry on both sides evenly. Drain over paper towel and let them cool completely. 

Store in an airtight container. These stay good for a month.

Labels :  Sev, Festival Sweets, Diwali Faral, Gluten free, Deep Fried, Kids delight, Red Rice

Patholi/Steamed Rice Crepes in Turmeric Leaves - Goan Recipe

        

Goan's Christians prepare prepare Patholis in turmeric leaves on 15th August for Our Lady of Assumption Feast. The non christians make these for festivlas like Narli Poornima, Ganapati they call it Patolya/Haldichya Panachi Patolya.
Patholis are sweet, rice crepes steamed in turmeric leaves with coconut jaggery filling. 

The turmeric leaves are also called haldi paan impart their heavenly fragrance and flavor to the Patholi. These leaves are from my garden.

The sweet coconut filling makes these absolutely delicious. If you do not have turmeric leaves then you can use banana leaves. I made both. The leaves are then peeled off on after steaming and the patholis are had hot with desi ghee on top which is optional. Patholis are also called Haldi Panna Patholi in Konkani. They are usually served had as a dessert for breakfast or as an evening snack. 

Do use you Idli Rice and the poha, because, I. have made them many times and this recipe is the best the covering is soft and mouth melting. You can increase the sugar jaggery in this if you want it more sweet, but, for us these were perfect!

Makes  8 to 10
Ingredients
8 - 10 Turmeric leaves / Haldi Paan - or as required
For The Batter
1 Cup Idli Rice - I used Idli Rawa
2 Tablespoons Poha/Flattened Rice Flakes
Salt to taste
For The Coconut filling
1 Cup Packed Freshly Grated Coconut
1/3 Cup Packed Grated Jaggery - I used organic
½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Cardamom powder
A Pinch of Salt

Method
For The Batter

Wash and soak rawa for an hour and half ( for rice soak it for 3 -4 hours). Drain all the water and grind it in a small jar in batches so that not much water is required while grinding to a fine paste, add the poha, salt to taste and using very little water grind it to a fine thick paste. Keep this a side. If your batter gets watery, it will flow off the turmeric leaves.
In the meantime let's make the filling
In a pan add the jaggery, salt and coconut and cook on low flame till the jaggery melts and moisture evaporates, it filling should be moist and soft so do not cook it too much, 3- 4 minutes and its done on medium low flame. Add the cardamon powder mix well. Keep aside to cool.

Wash the turmeric leaves carefully, drain all the water and wipe them dry using a cloth. Take care not to tear the turmeric leaves. Keep them aside.

If the turmeric leaves are longer than the size of your steamer then chop off the stem portion of the leaf or else its a hassle while placing the patholis inside the steamer for steaming.
If the behind stem is also thick then just trim it a little so that it folds nicely.
Making Patholis

On a clean working surface place a turmeric leaf and then place a small ladle of rice batter at one end of leaf. Spread it across the length of the leaf using your fingers or a spoon. Leave out the edges of the leaf to avoid spilling out of the batter when you press them closed. The rice batter should be applied as thin a layer as possible.

Place the inner filling mixture along the spine of the leaf, right in the center, in the middle of the leaf. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of the batter.

Fold the leaf vertically into half, along the spine. Continue this process until all the leaves/rice batter is used up.

Here they are ready!!

Cut them to fit the size of the steamer 

Or else they will fold in it and will open while steaming.

The same way of made of banana leaf, Cut the leaves in big pieces  

just heat on the gas for two to three seconds only, so that, banana leaves soften, thus

they become easy to fold and do not tear while folding.

Place a steamer with sufficient water on a high flame. When the water comes to boil, place the patholis inside the steamer. You can stack them up or place them evenly so that all of them get steamed evenly. Cover and steam for 15 minutes on a high flame. 

Remove them from the steamer and serve them in the leaf itself. Each one will peel off the leaf and enjoy a hot Patholi, I made these for breakfast. These are also served as a dessert.

Enjoy the simple pleasures of life!!

Labels: Sweets & Desserts, Goa, Turmeric leaves, Festival Sweets, Patholi, Coconut, Jaggery, Steamed, Healthy

Milk Cream - East Indian

A dainty, delicate, taste so good, looks elegant , melt in mouth and is irresistible milk sweet. 

Milk cream is a must Christmas sweet in every East Indian household. Loved by all -  children as well as adults.   Its a sweet made with milk,  the process is tedious and requires lots of patience but the end product is really worth the effort taken.  Again this is another sweet which has no eggs, a complete vegetarian and gluten free.
Ingredients
A Liter Of Milk - (I used full cream milk)
425 Grams Tea Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cashew nut powder
1 Tablespoon Rose water
1 Tablespoon Ghee

Method

In a heavy bottomed base kadai or pan boil the milk and reduces half of its quantity on a very low flame stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, taking care it doesn't stick to the bottom. Add the sugar,  continue stirring till the sugar melts and again reduces , half of its quantity, now add the cashew powder and keep stirring it continuously, till it thickens, add ghee, continue stirring.

Once it starts leaving the sides take a  teaspoon full and check if you can roll it into a soft ball if its rolled easily,  the mixture is now ready or  when touched does not stick to your hand.

 Transfer to the greased plate and before it cools completely, form  small balls and press into  silicon moulds - shapes of your choice.  Take them out of the mould and store in a airtight container,  4 to 5 days at room temperature and then refrigerate (not in the freezer)..

My Notes

Stir this continuously on very low flame, to achieve a beautiful white color. 
Do not add too much of cashew powder if you want it white and creamy.

Labels: Milk, Festival Sweets, Christmas Sweet, East Indian, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Cashew Meal, Festival Sweets

Chirote - Festival Sweet / Snack

This is a sweet snack made from flour and dusted with powdered sugar. It is a Diwali special snack of Maharashtra. Its so flaky and mouth melting, that you can't stop at one!

Makes 25 - 30 Chirotes

Ingredients   

2 Cups Heaped All purpose flour 

½ Cup Fine Semolina /Rawa 

½ Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Powdered Sugar 
5 Tablespoons Hot Melted Ghee
2/3 Cup Water or as needed
For the Paste / Satta 

4 Tablespoons Ghee - at room temperature
2 Tablespoons Level Rice flour
For the Coating  

1 Cup Powdered Sugar
Ghee + Oil for deep frying
Almonds & Pistachios for garnishing

Method 

For the Dough

To make the dough in a large bowl add all purpose flour, semolina & hot ghee. Mix everything well with a spoon.
Then add water as required to make a soft dough. 

Keep this dough aside for 20 minutes.

In the meanwhile let's make the Paste/Satta

In a small bowl add ghee. Mix the ghee with your palms to make it creamy. - Then add rice flour and again mix well. Make a creamy and smooth thick paste. Keep this paste aside.

Take the dough and divide it into  equal parts. divide the dough in same size balls... you should make balls in multiples of 3. 

Start rolling out thin chapatis from each dough.Cover the rest of the balls while you are rolling the first one. Make the very thin chapati ... as thin as possible ... it should be almost paper thin. 

Slightly flour these and carefully set them aside.

Now take one chapati, apply the paste/satta on it evenly with your hand. Then place the next to chapati on top of it and again apply paste/satta on it evenly. 

Then then third one as shown and with a rolling ping lightly roll it. 

Now apply the paste/satta on it evenly on top.

Roll this 

into a tight roll.

Likewise make the other two rolls and cover them and keep aside for at least 15 minutes. 

Cut equal size pieces about an inch thick. 

See the layers..

Press one piece vertically so that all the 

layers of the roll look like this

Likewise make the other's and cover with a damp cloth and keep aside till all are done.

In the meantime place ghee/oil ( I used half ghee and oil) in a kadai.

 Start frying when the oil it medium hot on medium low flame two chirotes at a time on low flame by pouring oil on it till one side is done then flip and till done or just till it starts getting a light golden. 

Each layer should be nicely separated and crisp.

In a bowl add powdered sugar. 

Dip the chirote in the powdered sugar. Make sure they well coated with the sugar.

Garnish the chirote with almonds and pistachios.

 Serve these to neighbors and friends and you too enjoy the delicious and mouth melting chirotes.

Labels : Chirote, Diwali Faral, Festival Sweets, Maharastrian Cuisine, Flaky, Deep Fried