Cheesy Puffy Cups

Ingredients:

Just Rol Puff Pastry Sheet                 - 1 Package
Mix Veggies                                      - 2 cups (Carrot,Peppers,Peas,Boiled Potato,Broccoli)
Grated Cheese                                   - 1 Cup (Filling and Sprinkling)
Frylight Oil Spray                             - few sprays
Pizza Sauce                                       - 4 tblspoon
Seasoning of your choice                  - 1 tspoon


Method:

Take out the puff pastry sheet out of the fridge and keep out on kitchen counter for 10-15 minutes.
Roll - out a little more thinner than the original thickness.
Cut out the roundels out of the sheet.
Grease the 12 cupcakes tray with few sprays of Frylight Oil Spray.
Put the Roundels of Puff Sheet inside the cupcake cavities.

Now we will prepare the filling for cups.
Mix the veggies, seasoning, pizza sauce and quarter of grated cheese in a mixing bowl.
Taste the filling and adjust the salt, pepper and chilli as per your taste. For us after mixing bruschetta seasoning  the filling was perfect. Pizza sauce also have salt and pepper, so more seasoing can make it over powering.

Both the components are ready now we will assemble the cups.
Fill up the puff pastry roundels, which we put into cupcake cavities just like the picture below.

Now sprinkle some more cheese, so that after melting it makes a kind of pastry cover on top of each cup.

Once all the cups are filled and sprinkled, bake these into preheated oven of 200c for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese on top melts and turns golden brown.
Once baked they will look like the picture below. The pastry will puff and the cheese on top will create a golden brown crust.

Let them cool and serve as a starter, brunch or after school snack to kids. These are vegetarian, healthy and perfect for quick fill of those little tummies.

Hope your kids will also love it like mine did. Until next time........Enjoy :) Saumya

Wholewheat Buns Stuffed With Leftover Bhaji

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
Chapati/Whole Wheat Flour                     1 - 1/2 cups
Milk                                                           1/4 cup
water                                                          1/4 cup (add 1-2 tblspoon if more needed)
Active dry yeast                                         3/4 tblsp
sugar                                                          1 tblsp
Salt                                                             3/4 tsp
Olive oil                                                     3 tblsp

For stuffing:
Leftover Bhaji of Pav Bhaji


Method:

Warm the milk,add sugar to it and mix well. Add the yeast to it and mix well. Keep aside.
Take flour and make a dent,add water,olive oil,salt in it and the yeast completely dissolved in the milk.
Mix and make a smooth dough,keep in a warm place covered with a cling wrap for an hour.
Meanwhile to prepare the stuffing, you do not need to do much efforts just dry out the water from bhaji and make it a bit of the paratha style stuffing. Keep it aside to cool down.
By now/after an hour, the dough we prepared would have doubled in size. Take it again and just give it a gentle knead and make 8 equal sized balls.
Take each bun and make a dent in the middle.
put the dried bhaji stuffing inside and pinch all the end towards centre to cover the stuffing, Just like we do while making Kachori.
Roll into smooth bun. Repeat for every bun. Arrange them in the lined baking tray. Keep the pinched joined side down.
Brush them well with olive oil and sprinkle your choice of seasoning on top.

Preheat the oven for 190°C. When the preheat is finished,by the time the buns will again rise a bit.
Bake for 17- 20 mins or until the top crust turns golden brown in colour. (Mine took exactly 20 mins) Smells heavenly!!




































After finished baking,brush them with butter or oil and enjoy with tea/evening snack!
This would also be a great snack for kids after they come back from school!
One more close look at the texture :) Enjoy until next time :)

Spinach Handvo

Ingredients:

Handvo Batter:

Rice                                   - 1 cup
Lentil Mix                                 - 1/2 cup each ( arhar,chana daal )
Fenugreek Seeds           - 1 tspoon
Yogurt                                       - 2 tblspoon
Baking Soda                             - 1 tspoon
Green Chili Paste                     - 1 tspoon
Ginger  Paste                          - 1 tspoon
Garlic  Paste                            - 1 tspoon
Turmeric Powder                     - 1 tspoon
Red Chilli                  - 1/2 tspoon
Lemon Juice/Pickle Gravy      - 1 tspoon  (Optional)
Citric Acid                               - 1/4 tspoon
Baking Soda                            - 1 tspoon
Jaggery                                    - 1/2 cup
Salt                                          - 2 tspoon
Oil                         - 2 tspoon
Spinach                 - 1 cup finely cut and blanched

For Tempering / Sprinkle :
Oil                                           - 2 tblspoon
Red Chilli                                - 2-3 whole
Hing                                         - a pinch
Mustard Seed                           - 2 tspoon
Sesame Seeds/Til                     - 2 tblspoon + 1 tblspoon for sprinkle
Peanuts                                     - 1/4 cup
Fried Onions                             - 2 tblspoon

Method:

Making The batter:
Wash and Soak Rice and both lentils along with fenugreek seeds for overnight.
Now grind soaked rice, lentil and fenugreek seeds with the help of water.
Make a thick smooth paste, sprinkle water while grinding.
Do not mix a lot of water to make it a runny batter.

Making Handvo Mixture to Bake:
Mix the batter well.
Now add 2 tblspoon yogurt, 1 tspoon salt and mix well.

Keep it to ferment. If the weather at your place is hot or warm keep the batter for 4-5 hours and if it cold and chilli ferment it for 7-8 hours.

Once fermented add jaggery and mix well to get the jaggery melted very well.
Now we will add the spinach in the batter and mix well to avoid any lumps.
Now its time add the spices.
Add in the green chili, ginger, garlic, red chili, turmeric, salt, citric acid, baking soda, oil and also the pickle gravy or lemon juice.

Mix the batter very well to form lump free batter.
Taste it and adjust the Spices accordingly.

Pre-heat the oven to 190c and grease a 8"-10" pyrex tray.
Now we will prepare the tempering.

Warm the oil in a pan, add in the mustard seeds, sesame seeds, red chilli, hing, Peanuts and let them pop.
Now add the tempering to Handvo Batter and mix well.

Pour the batter into the greased tray.
Sprinkle some more sesame seeds and fried onions over it.

Now bake the Handvo for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool the handvo and cut into desired sized pieces.

Serve with assorted chutney or pickles.
This is a very good option as a breakfast, brunch or starter in a party.

Punjabi Bhatura

As the name says, this is a hearty food. Punjabi food is spicy, tangy and delicious. Chole Bhature is the best known combination of Punjabi cuisine. We often eat Chole Bhature , because my family is a big fan of this dish, even friends come over for the chole bhature party.

Bhatura/Bhature, is made another form of fried bread made from plain flour/maida or sometimes 50:50 ratio of wheat flour and Maida. I make it each way. Some people add semolina in it to get the crunchy texture, but that makes Bhatura to soak a lot of oil, which noone in my family likes.

This recipe of Bhatura is my mom's recipe and tried and tested by me several times. So I totally trust this recipe. My mum keeps the dough to ferment overnight and then knead it again to active the gluten of the flour. Thats what I've learned from her and use her way of making Soft, fluffy and delicious Bhaturas.

Few ingredients, less hassle recipe is the best recipe for me. You also try this recipe at home and leave your feedback in comments below. I would love to hear from you. Until next time............... Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Maida/Plain Flour                   - 1-1/2 cups
Salt                                          - to taste / 1 tspoon
Oil/Butter                                - 1 tblspoon + for deep frying
Yogurt                                     -  1/3 cup
Baking Powder                        - 1/2 tspoon
Baking Soda                            - 1/4 tspoon
Warm Water                            - 1/2 cup to as required

Method:

In a mixing bowl, take the yoghurt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 tblspoon oil, salt  and flour.
Mix well, with the help of water form a soft smooth and pliable dough.

If the yogurt is thick and has it's water/whey in it, probably you don't need all the water.
If the yogurt is thick, then to thin the batter, add more water.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set it aside in a warm place for atleast 3-4 hours to get the fermentation. if the weather is too cold, keep the dough overnight..
The 4 hours later/next day you will see the dough will be more than double in size and has bubbles in it.
Punch and Knead the dough again to make it smooth.

Divide it into 8-10 balls (depending on the size of Bhatura you like)  and roll them into 5-6 inch discs.

Heat oil or ghee in heavy Karahi/Pan and deep fry the bhaturas, same way as Poori or Kachori.

Bhaturas are the best companion of Punjabi Chole. Serve them Hot with Chole, Raita, Salad and Chutney.

Whole Wheat Sesame Seed Crackers

Since I have figured that baking is not "Complicated" , I've become a fan of baking. Cookies and crackers are another step towards my baking journey. I nowadays try to make new recipes of cookies and crackers. I choose to make them in little quantity, so that I get another chance of making new flavour of them.

I use to buy sesame seed cracker from shops, as I do LOVE them with my tea. So thought to try baking them myself and with wheat flour. Aim was to get right crunch and flavour. So tried my hands on this recipe and thankful to say that I got almost there.

I still feel it needs a bit of tweaking, which I need to figure out. I'll update the changes, once I'll perfect the taste I want. Kids and family was happy with the way I made them, as they liked the subtle flavour of black pepper and seeds.

Very easy and quick recipe for any teatime gathering. You can top them with different topping of cheese, condiments or dips. Try the recipe in your kitchen and leave your feedback in the comments below..............Until next time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour                               - 1 cup
Baking Soda                               - 1/4 tspoon
Baking Powder                          - 1/2 tspoon
Salt                                             - 1 tspoon or to taste
Sesame Seeds                             - 2 tblspoon
Poppy Seeds                               - 1 tspoon
Black Pepper                              - 1 tspoon
Butter                                          - 2 tblspoon
Milk                                            - 4 tblspoon


Method:

In a deep bowl, Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl, then mix in the sesame seeds, poppy seeds and black pepper.

Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Or in the Stand mixer use the paddle attachment and ad the but, now mix on low speed until it looks like crumbs.

Make a well in the centre, then add cold milk.
Now mix it with your hands to make it a smooth dough. Don’t overmix.

Chill the dough for 15 minutes in the fridge.
Meanwhile Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking tray with parchment paper.
Roll the dough into 1-2mm thick circle. Prick it all over and cut the choice of shapes out of it.

Place them on the baking sheets. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Bake the crackers for 20-30 minutes or until lightly golden.
Once starts to turn golden take them out from oven and move on to a wire rack to cool down completely.

You can serve the crackers with various toppings or plain with your choice of Tea-Coffee.

Wholewheat Banana Orange Almond Loaf

Cake, Cupcakes, Pastries, Muffins, Cookies!!!!! Thats whats in my mind nowadays. How strange is that ? When you want to stay away from Carb you just think about Carb but Carb. I'm on to mission of baking cookies and cakes with wholewheat. I just want to finish everything in my pantry and want to shop again. It's like spring cleaning of my pantry. Whatever I see as a leftover packs, I feel like making/baking something with that, Specially nuts and berries.

Once I read somewhere that women who eat whole wheat weigh less and that stuck in my mind. Whole grains, if used intelligently in the diet, helps in lot many everyday problems in women's health. Improvement in Metabolism, Prevention from Type-2 diabetes, Prevents gallstones, Relief Chronic Inflammation, Helps in prevention in breast cancer and what not. Women should thankful to Wheat/Wheat Flour/Whole Wheat grains, as they are really helpful for their well-being.

Nuts, specially Almonds have always been known for their goodness of good fat and brain development. They help in lowering your cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, Prevents your body from cardiovascular diseases and what not. If eaten with it's skin, you increase the benefits of Almonds for rejuvenating your skin health. Some research says, Almonds help you maintain your weight loss as well, as Almonds good fat helps release the energy from body and keeps you going for long time.

I, as you all know, am a big fan of whole grains, nuts and berries. So to finish my left over almonds and mix berries, I chose to make some whole wheat almond loaf for teatime. I was left with ripe bananas, Almonds, and 1 orange on the worksurface. So here goes my hands and brain to start the recipe and bake a delicious eggless loaf to with evening tea. Recipe of this loaf is very easy and can be made with everyday ingredients in your kitchen. Try your hands on this recipe and enjoy a wholesome delicious and healthy Cake with your choice of drinks.......................... Until next time, Happy Cooking friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour                                           - 1-1/2 cups
Ripe Bananas                                         - 3 medium
Orange Juice                                          - 1/4 cup
Brown Sugar                                         - 1/4 cup
Oil                                                         - 1/4 cup
Baking Powder                                     - 1 tspoon
Baking Soda                                         - 1/2 tspoon
Orange Essence                                    - 1 tspoon
Salt                                                       - a pinch
Chopped Almonds                               - 1 cup
Mixed Berries                                      - 1/4 cup (optional)


Method:

Preheat your oven to 180. Grease a loaf pan with butter and keep aside.
Peel and mash the bananas with a fork or you can use a blender.  Blend in the orange juice with bananas.
Mix in the Essence, Oil and Sugar in the banana and orange puree.
Add in the dried mix berries. This is an optional step, I just saw them and added them.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in big mixing bowl, keep aside.
Coat 3/4 cup of Almonds in the flour mixture.
This ensures that the Almonds do not sink to the bottom of the pan while baking.
We will use the remaining almonds for garnish.
Fold in the coated Almonds with flour mixture.
Now gently mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients with the help of a spatula, making sure not to over mix.
Pour the batter in the greased pan and give it a gentle shake/ tap on work surface to take out any air bubbles.
Garnish with the remaining almonds on top of the Loaf.
Bake the loaf for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center on the bread comes out clean.
The cooking time depends on the oven temperature.
Let the loaf cool at the kitchen counter for 5 minutes in the pan and then place it on the cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
This Loaf can be stored upto 3-4 days in an airtight container.

Leftover Vegetable Pulao and Cheese Patties

I quite "not throw" but use the leftover food most of the time, especially the dinner leftovers. Most of the dinner leftovers make very good Breakfast Dishes. I always look for the "leftover Rice and Chapati" to use in making something delicious for breakfast.

For instance, from one of the dinner recently, I was left with 1 and 1/2 cup of Vegetable Pulao. I was thinking it's not even a full portion for someone. So thats going to be converted into something else. Kept it carefully in the fridge and next morning i was up with a recipe in mind for a tasty breakfast.

I gathered all the ingredients, in my mind for this breakfast treat. Mixed it all up along with the leftover Pulao, shallow fry that and we have yummy, tasty, delicious Patties to go with Buns, Cookies and morning drinks for breakfast.

Here's presenting Leftover Vegetable Pulao and Cheese Patties. Kids simply loved eating them with out any fussy morning face, Hubby asked me to make them again whenever we have any leftover pulao and me so happy to see them having something they liked.

Try this quick, simple and easy recipe in your kitchen and see your family members face lighting with joy and mouth singing praises for you. Let me know your feedback in the comments below.................... Until Next Time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Leftover Vegetable Pulao                     - 1 - 1/2 cup
Gram Flour                                           - 3 tblspoon
Grated Cheese                                      - 2 tblspoon
Desiccated Coconut                             - 1 tblspoon
Salt                                                       - to taste / optional
Red Chili Flakes                                  - to taste / optional
Lemon Juice                                        - 1 tblspoon
Oil                                                       - 2 tblspoon to shallow fry

Method:

In a heavy bottom pan, dry roast the gram flour for 3-4 minutes.
Tip over the roasted gramflour into the Pulao bowl.
Now add cheese, salt, chili flakes, lemon juice and coconut into the same bowl.
Mix well with your hand to give it a texture of loose dough. Refer the picture.

Divide the Pulao dough into 8-9 equal pieces with greased hands.
Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium heat.
Grease your hands again and shape the dough balls into patties.
Shallow Fry the Patties , 4-5 at a time, giving them space to cook properly.
Fry them until golden from both sides, flipping carefully in between.
Once all of them are done, Patties are ready to be served, as a starter, light lunch with salad, tea-time snack or breakfast as we did.
You can also sandwich them with buns, baps or Pav with Chutneys, Condiments or sauces.
Enjoy the light, crunchy and filling patties.

Notes:
You can also use Oats powder, but I was run out it so used gram flour.

You can replace Cheese with crumbled Paneer.

Coconut is totally optional.

Spices are also optional, if the Pulao is spiced and floured extremely hot.