Sunday 2 June 2019

Easy Eggless Ragi Biscuits

Getting Ragi in my daily routine had been on my wish list for quite sometime, especially after moving to Maharashtra and getting to know about the benefits of this superfood. 

My chai is incomplete without biscuits, be it any time of the day. In my quest to adopt healthy lifestyle, I recently realised that I was eating about 5-6 Marie biscuits per cup of tea! 

Even though packaged Marie biscuits look innocent and the labels try to further convince you they are healthy, the fact is that they are loaded with hidden calories. I realised it more when I began my attempts to bake my own biscuits. I could never get the perfect texture or finish and I would wonder how the packaged biscuits get it right in every single piece! Well, the secret lies in the various chemicals masked under the head raising agents mentioned in the ingredients. Don't believe me, read one yourself! Except for Amul biscuits, I have hardly seen biscuits that use even pure good butter. Mr. Hubby once ordered online some nice homemade biscuits made with wholewheat flour, jaggery and ghee. However, after reading the price label, I couldn't even eat one!

Necessity is the mother of invention. So, after various failed attempts and learning from my mistakes, I finally got them right. 


Here's the recipe

Ingredients

Ragi/Finger Millet Flour - 1/2 Cup
Wholewheat Flour - 1/2 Cup
Butter (Cold solid) - 1/3 Cup, cut into cubes
Powdered Sugar - 1/2 Cup (U may even use powdered brown sugar/jaggery powder)
Baking Powder - 3/4 tsp
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Cold Milk - 1-2 tbsp
Oil - for greasing the baking tray

Method

1. Roast the Ragi flour on low-medium flame till you can notice the aroma. We do not need to roast till the colour change. Just enough to let go of the rawness. Once done, remove and set aside to cool.



2. Sift together the Ragi Flour, Wholewheat Flour and baking powder and mix well.



3. Sift in the powdered sugar into the flour mixture and mix well.

4. Add the cold butter cubes and rub with the flour using fingers until the mixture gets a crumble like texture.




5.  Make a bay in the centre and add the vanilla essence.

6. Slowly, add little by little milk and bind the mixture. Do not knead. Just enough milk to bind the mixture will do.



7. Refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes or till it gets firm.

8. Dust a working table. I have used my granite Chakla on which we prepare Chapatis. Gently roll the dough into a 1" thick sheet. Honestly, I used my hands to do most of the flattening. However, it depends on one's comfort.

9. Using a cookie cutter, cut the biscuits in desired shapes. I used the lid of the baking powder bottle.

10. Arrange the biscuits on a greased baking dish and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

11. Remove and keep on a wire rack for cooling. The biscuits will appear soft when hot however, please dont be tempted to overbake or you will end up with jaw breaking biscuits (been there, done that!). They will automatically get firm once they cool.

12. One cool, store in an airtight container and enjoy guilt free!


Sunday 20 January 2019

Easy Eggless Mawa Suji Cake

I discovered Mawa Cake after moving to Mumbai. Once you eat Mawa Cake, you will realize you never had anything like this before. Soft, crumbly and aromatic, a Mawa cake is the perfect accompaniment for teatime. While initially I pampered myself to the Mawa Cake from the local Bangalore Iyenger Bakery nearby, once I discovered this recipe on Gayathri's blog, I decided to give it a try albeit tweaking the measurements a bit. The cake came out great and was happily finished the same day by my family.

This is how I made Eggless Mawa Suji Cake



Ingredients
Fine Rawa - 2 Cups
Mawa - 3/4 Cup
Curd - 1/4 Cup
Milk - 1/3 Cup or to taste
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Cardamom Powder - 1.5 tsp
Butter - 1/2 Cup
Powdered Sugar - 1 Cup, or to taste
Chopped Nuts - 1/3 Cup

Method 

1. Cream melted butter and sugar until light and frothy.



2. Add the mawa and mix well. 


3. Add curd and cardamom powder and mix well.



3. Add the Rawa and baking powder and mix well. The mixture should neither be too tight nor runny. Slightly dense is how I would describe it.





5. Transfer to a baked cake tin and bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees for about 45-50 minutes.

I cannot describe the heavenly aroma in my kitchen when the Cake came out of the oven. The cake was yummy and soft.