Easy wholewheat flour & ghee biscuits (eggless)

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself baking biscuits! But, as someone wise once said, "necessity is the mother of invention." Well, I can't really call this an invention. But necessity is what turned me into a good cook and now I am experimenting with baking.

The culprit...err...the credit for this transformation goes to the overprotective father in my house - Mr. Hubby. Ever since he became a dad, he surprises me with his awareness levels regarding food safety and health. One of the first things toddlers begin to snack on is biscuits. But, when I enthusiastically bought packets of various Glucose and milk biscuits Mr. Hubby said little S won't be given all this. As I grumbled in frustration, Mr. Hubby asked me to have a look at the ingredients. I couldn't argue with him on this one as I did notice the amount of vegetable oil and maida. "If you are so keen on feeding him biscuits, why don't you bake at home?"

This awakened the Mother India inside me. So, last weekend I did debut on the biscuit front. I did keep it simple though, for I didn't want little S to outrightly reject my labour of love. When little S did savour them with pleasure, the Mother India was elated, for the biscuits had the goodness of wholewheat flour and desi ghee! This is how I made these yummy biscuits.

Ingredients

Wholewheat flour (Atta) - 1 cup

Vanilla Custard Powder - 2 tbsp

Clarified Butter (Desi Ghee) - 1/2 cup

Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup

Salt - a pinch

Milk - 1/4 cup 

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, take wholewheat flour and desi ghee and mix well to form a crumble. 

2. Add the powdered sugar, cardamom powder and mix well.

3. Add the custard powder and mix well.

4. Slowly add milk and bind the mixture together to form a soft dough. 

Note : Do not over knead the mixture else the biscuits will come out hard. Use only as much milk as the dough requires. There is no compulsion to use all the milk. 

5. Roll the dough into a thick roti. Using a cookie cutter (I used the lid of my baking powder!) cut discs in shape of your choice.

6. Line the discs in a greased baking tray. Keep some distance between the discs.

7. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees. Bake the biscuits for 20-22 minutes at 180 degrees at convection mode. Remove once the biscuits become golden brown and let them cool on cooling rack for 15-20 minutes. If you press the biscuits, they will appear tender. However, don't be tempted to over bake. Once the biscuits cool down, the texture will be just fine. 

Next on my wish list is Good Day biscuits. Let's see when that happens...

Wholewheat flour eggless pancakes - healthy recipe

When we were newly married, my hubby used to make impromptu demands for something sweet post dinner. Let me tell you, he isn't the types who you can please with cakes and mithai stored in fridge. He is very picky about food, which has been a blessing in disguise for me. For, had it not been his tantrums, I wouldn't have focussed so much on getting my dishes right.

Well, coming to pancakes. Pancakes in my life reinforce the saying "practice makes a man woman perfect!"I love pancakes so much that I can prepare them anytime of the day. These wholewheat pancakes in particular are my hubby's favourite. Each time he would demand for them post dinner, my MIL and I would give him dirty looks but eventually, he would have his way!

Now my son too loves them. I am posting the basic recipe here. You can add mashed banana, nuts etc as per your choice.

The saunf and jaggery are very good for digestion and wholewheat flour too is easy on the tummy!

Ingredients (Makes 3-4 pancakes)

Wholewheat flour - 2tbsp

Jaggery - 1 1/2 tbsp or to taste

Water - 1 Cup or as required

Fennel Seeds/Saunf - 2tsp

Oil - 1tbsp

Method

1. Dissolve jaggery in water. 

2. In a bowl, take flour. 

3. Slowly add the jaggery water and mix well to form a slightly thick batter. The batter is slightly thicker than the pancake batter else the pancakes will stick on the tawa.

4. Add the saunf and mix well. 

5. Heat a tawa and grease well with oil.

6. Pour the batter in circular motion. 

7. Pour oil from sides. Flip only when one side is cooked well and cook from the other side as well.

8. Serve hot. You can sprinkle some castor sugar or honey or syrup on top but I didn't as my son loves these pancakes just like that. 

Few Tips and tricks

1. I am used to preparing this on an iron tawa however, if you are a beginner, I suggest play safe with non stick pan.

2. Many a times my pancake used to stubbornly stick to the tawa despite the temperature being right. I then discovered that excess sugar led to this. So, ensure the sugar quantity is not too much.

3. The key to a good pancake on iron tawa is the right temperature. Too much or too less can lead to a broken pancake. Heat the tawa adequately before pouring the batter and then reduce the flame to medium. Then once one side is done, flip and cook on medium to low flame. 

4. You can add mashed banana, nuts, cardamom powder and many other variations as per your choice.