Cookielove~ Savoury Cookies~ Mathri

This is the time for love blog hop and the theme for this month is cookie...so get ready for some cookielove. My family loves cookies and I always keep my cookie jar full, my DH and daughter have got sweet tooth and always prefer sweet cookies but I like to munch on savoury ones with my cup of tea. These spiced cookies are called Mathri in India and are generally deep fried. These cookies are very crunchy and flaky, the more the amount of fat used the more crunchy these will be.

Instead of deep frying I have baked these cookies and to make them vegan I have used canola oil instead of ghee (clarified butter).

I have used dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi) to flavour these cookies.

Another spice which I have used is Black pepper..really adds a pep to these cookies. But these spices are optional and can be adjusted according to the tastebuds.

Ingredients: 

Whole Wheat Flour- 1 Cup

All Purpose Flour- 1/2 Cup

Gram Flour (Besan)- 1/2 Cup

Semolina- 2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder- A pinch

Raw Sugar- 1 tsp

Dried Fenugreek Leaves ( Kasuri Methi)- 1 tbsp

Black Pepper Powder- 1 tsp

Cumin Coarsely Crushed- 1/4 tsp

Salt- To Taste

Oil/ Clarified Butter- 1/2 Cup (hot)

Warm Water- 1/2 Cup to make the dough

Procedure:

• Preheat the oven at 200 Degrees C.
• In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients except oil and water. 
• Add hot oil to the flour mix little by little and mix everything together with a spoon. 
• Now add warm little by little and bring the dough together. Do not knead.
• Now transfer the dough on a clean surface and roll with a rolling pin. The dough will not be sticky because of the presence of fat.
• Roll the dough to the desired thickness and cut into round shapes with the help of cookie cutter.
• Arrange in a baking tray and bake on the top rack for about 10 minutes, after 10 minutes turn over the cookies and let them bake for another 10 minutes. 
• Keep a close eye on these as they brown very quickly.
• Let the cookies cool  and store them in an airtight container. These cookies have shelf life of almost a week.

On another important note we celebrated UAE National Day on 2nd December. UAE turned 40 this year. This is a country which has provided good opportunities to many in all the fields along with being a safe and  multicultural nation.

And the kids celebrated the National Day in school with great joy and my daughter came back home singing "Let's salute the UAE on 2nd of December...."

And on this day I am celebrating my first blog anniversary. It had been a fun year filled with lots of good experiences...I got to know so many wonderful bloggers without whom this journey of mine would not have been possible. 

From being Raji who was only a mother and a wife I transitioned into being Raji At Vegetarian Tastebuds and truly cherished each and every day of blogging. Each new post brought me close to new friends. I came to know people from different countries and learnt about their food cultures, I tried my hands on various cuisines which I never thought I would try, I stepped towards a healthy life and I started socializing on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter...what more can I ask? 

I sincerely want to thank each and every reader of mine who has taken time out to read my posts and drop in their comments.A big big thank you.  

Sending these cookies to Vardhini's Bake Fest event hosted by Sangeetha at Spicy Treats and to Radhika's Let's Cook #10 event.

Now Coming to the Cookielove..I am co hosting this blog hop along with-

Badger Girl Learns to Cook/ Kimberly Aime/ @BdgerGrl

Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves/ Becky Higgins

BigFatBaker/ Erin Meyer/ @BigFatBaker

Bloc de recetas/ Salomé/ @Blocderecetas

Bon a croquer /Valerie/ @Valouth

CafeTerraBlog/ Terra Baltosiewich / @CafeTerraBlog

Cake Duchess/ Lora/ @cakeduchess

Creative Cooking Corner/ Karriann Graf/ @KarriannGraf

Easily Good Eats/ Three-Cookies

Georgiecakes /Georgie Kubarych /@georgiecakes

Hobby And More / Richa/ @betit19

knitstamatic / Deb/ @knitstamatic

Mike's Baking / Mike R./ @mikesbaking

Mis Pensamientos / Junia/ @juniakk

No One Likes Crumbley Cookies / T.R./ @TRCrumbley

Oh Cake / Jessica Hose/ @jesshose

Queen's Notebook /Elizabeth Quirino/ @Mango_Queen

Savoring Every Bite /Linda Geiler/ @Spicegirlfla

Simply Reem / Reem /@simplyreem

Soni's Food for Thought / Soni/ @sonisfood

Teaspoon of Spice /Deanna Segrave-Daly/ @tspbasil

That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!/ Liz / @Thatskinnychick

The Art of Cooking Real Food / Laura /@TAofCRF

The Spicy RD / EA Stewart /@thespicyrd

The Wimpy Vegetarian /Susan Pridmore /@chezsuzanne

Vegan Yack Attack! /Jackie Sobon/ @veganyackattack

December is #cookielove month!

Please join in on the #cookielove fun by linking up any cookie recipe from the month of December 2011. Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #cookielove event! The twitter hashtag is #cookielove 

Vegan Carrot And Cranberry Breakfast Muffins

Muffins for breakfast...mmm...who would not love them and they are great for lazy and cool weekend mornings when I wake up late and drag myself to the kitchen to make my cuppa and then again curl on the couch trying to steal some more minutes of sleep. On the other hand my DH wakes up at 6 even on weekends and is already finished with his gym and tea even before I get out of my dreams, then he looks at me with a smile expecting to get breakfast soon and I set off to the kitchen to whip up something quick for him. To save my husband from the misery of waiting for his breakfast on weekend,  I made these muffins a day before and refrigerated them to be used for next mornings breakfast.

So the result...a happy husband and a happy me.

When I was clicking the pictures my daughter came back from school and wanted to lend her hands for the shot resulting in this picture.

These muffins stay good for 2-3 days when stored in refrigerator. Just microwave them for a minute and they will be ready for tasty breakfast.

I was inspired by Sukaina of Sips And Spoonfuls to create recipe card.

Click on the recipe card to print the recipe

Cornmeal Dumplings Stir Fry/ Cornmeal Kozhukattai

Giving something healthy and at the same time nothing very heavy to my kiddo as evening snacks is a daily challenge for me. Store bought chips and other snacks are a big no no and I like to make something quick for her.

I usually make dumplings with rice ( ammini kozhukkatai) but this time I tried with cornmeal after seeing the recipe here. Instead of stir frying, these dumplings can be steamed and then seasoned for a more healthier version. 

Ingredients:

For Dumplings-

Water- 1 Cup
Oil- 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder- A pinch
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Fine Cornmeal- 1/2 Cup

For Seasoning-

Oil- 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds- 1/2 tsp
Split Black Gram- 1/2 tsp
Green Chilly- 1 (chopped)
 Dried Red Chilli- 1 (broken)
Curry Leaves- 6-8
Fresh Coconut Grated- 1tbsp

Procedure:

• In a pan heat water and and add oil, turmeric powder and salt. Let the water boil.
• Reduce the heat and add cornmeal into the water. Stir the mixture so that there are no lumps. 
• Cook until all the water is absorbed. Switch off the gas and remove the mixture onto a plate.
• Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, pinch out small portions out of the dough and make marble sized balls. Keep the balls aside in a plate.
• Now heat oil in a wide frying pan and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter add in split black gram. When the gram turns little golden brown add in both green and red chilli and curry leaves. 
• Now gently add in the cornmeal dumplings and cook in medium heat. Do not turn or toss the dumplings at this stage as they may break.
• After 3-4 minutes gently toss the pan and let the dumplings cook again for 2-3 minutes.
• Switch off the gas and season with fresh grated coconut.

Vegan Beet Bundt

Since I took the vegan challenge I had not made any dessert or sweet as most of the Indian sweets I make are made with ghee and milk. But when I saw this vegan bundt cake at Food Librarian's space I was amazed at it's texture and since I had all the ingredients handy, I immediately put on my baking gloves.

The cake turned out to be super moist and had rich flavour. Beetroot gives this cake a wonderful red colour and softness. 

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour- 1 Cup

Beetroot Puree- 1 Cup ( Steam 2 medium beets and purée in a blender)

Canola Oil- 1/4 Cup + 1 Tbsp

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder- 4 tbsp

Vanilla Extract- 1/2 tsp

Packed Brown Sugar- 3/4 Cup

Baking Powder- 1 tsp

Salt- 1/8 tsp

Confectioner's Sugar- For dusting (optional)

Procedure:

• Preheat the oven at 190 degrees C and grease the bundt pan and keep aside.
• In a bowl cream together oil and brown sugar. Add in the beet purée, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and mix together.
• In another bowl sieve all purpose flour, salt and baking powder together.
• Add this dry mixture to the wet beet mixture and mix everything together just until combined.
• Pour the mixture in the prepared bundt pan and bake for 35- 40 minutes or till done. If a screwer inserted in the centre of the bundt comes out clean, the bundt is done.
• Wait for the bundt cake to cool and then invert in a plate.

My husband and daughter liked their cake with generous dusting of confectioner's sugar and I enjoyed mine plain.

Note-Instead of cocoa powder 1/4 cup of any non dairy choco chip can be substituted .And dairy choco chip can be substituted for a non vegan version.

Sending this bundt to National Bundt day at Mary- The Food Librarian's space.

Also linking this to Srivalli's Kid's Delight Event hosted at Cooks Hideout space.

Daal Banjari

I am completing first week of my Vegan challenge and till now have been successful in sticking to the vegan diet. I have replaced my milk tea to soy milk masala tea and now loving it. The breakfast is mostly semolina upma or oats with a dash of soy milk and some fruits or brown rice poha and even Vegan french toasts.

Lunch comprises of lentils with roti or any tofu dish with rotis/ parathas and dinner is mostly dosas/ idlis/ roti subzi. I made these lentils for our lunch and it was super good. This daal belongs from Indian State of Rajasthan. The recipe is adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's tasty eating for healthy living book, earlier I have tried this Daal Lucknowi from that book.

Ingredients:

Whole Black Gram with Skin( Urad daal)- 2/3 Cup (soaked)

Split Bengal Gram- 1/3 Cup (soaked)

Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Onions- 2 Small chopped

Cloves- 2

Cinnamon Stick- 1 Inch

Dry Red Chillies- 2

Ginger- 1 Inch Piece (crushed in mortar)

Garlic- 2 cloves (crushed in mortar)

Coriander Powder- 1 tsp

Green Chilly- 1

Black Pepper Powder- 1/4 tsp

Coriander Leaves- to garnish

Oil- 1 tbsp

Procedure:

• Pressure cook both grams together with turmeric powder, salt and 3 cups of water till 4-5 whistles.
• Heat oil in a pan, add cloves, cinnamon, onions, crushed ginger and garlic with dried red chillies and green chilly and sautè till onions turn golden brown.
• Add the cooked grams, black pepper powder and coriander powder. Boil for 5-10 minutes. Check seasoning.
• Transfer to a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

Lauki Ka Kofta

I have been a Lacto Vegetarian all my life and now slowly trying transitioning into being Vegan. This is going to be very very difficult for me as I love my masala chai , paneer dishes and all the ghee laden Indian sweets like mysore pak to its core. So to give myself a boost I have joined 21 Days Vegan Kickstart India challenge and hope I can stick to it. 

Most of our Indian gravies and curries are vegan, that is if we don't add ladles and ladles of cream or ghee tadka to make it rich. One such gravy dish which is my favourite is Lauki Ka Kofta. I love those kofta balls floating in delicious gravy. I have made the kofta balls in non stick aebleskiver pan ( appam pan) with very less oil and have not added any cream in the gravy, thus it's completely vegan.

Ingredients:

For the kofta balls-

Bottle Gourd/ Lauki/ Opo Squash- 2 Cups grated

Chick Pea Flour( Besan)- 1/2 Cup

Salt- To taste

Red Chilli Powder- As per taste

Amchoor (Dry Mango Powder)- 1/4tsp

Green Chillies- 2( Optional)

Canola Oil- To shallow fry in aebleskiever pan

For the gravy-

Onion- 1 Large

Ginger- 1 Inch Piece

Garlic- 2 or 3 Cloves

Tomatoes- 3 Medium Sized ( ground)

Whole Dry Red Chillies- 2

Green Chilly- 1(optional)

Salt- To Taste

Red Chilli Powder-1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder- 1/2 tsp

Canola Oil- 2 Tbsp

Procedure:

• Add salt in the grated bottle gourd and keep aside for few minutes, then squeeze out the water.
• Mix with it chick pea flour, red chilli powder, dry mango powder and make a dough out of it.
• Make 12 equal balls of the dough. In the appam pan put few drops of oil in each section and then put the kofta balls for shallow frying. 
• Keep the pan covered and once the bottom side turns light brown turn it over and cook covered the other side as well.
• Take out the kofta balls from the pan and keep aside. 
• For the gravy grind onions, ginger, garlic and red chillies together. 
• Heat oil in a deep pan and once hot add in the onion paste and fry till raw smell disappears.
• Add in the tomato paste along with turmeric powder, coriander powder, green chilly, salt and red chilly powder. Fry till the mixture starts leaving oil from the side.
• Add in 2-3 cups of water and bring to boil. Now keep the gravy in simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Add in garam masala and switch off the gas. 

Before serving add the kofta balls in the gravy and heat it for another minute or so. Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

Linking this to Squashlove blog hop 

Oats And Honey Bread

After devouring all the Diwali sweets and snacks I have developed an aversion to sweets....but I know it's going to be temporary and soon I will again enjoy sweet treats. 

So for a change I baked this bread and I was really impressed by it. It has got beautiful crust and soft insides and tastes excellent with either honey or even butter. My kiddo enjoyed this with spoonfuls of honey and has ordered me to make this more frequently. I was quite surprised at her request since the only bread she eats is white milk bread. And this bread is now going to feature regularly in my kitchen.

Recipe Source: Allrecipes

Ingredients: 

All Purpose Flour- 3 Cups

Rolled Oats- 1/2 Cup + little more for sprinkling on top

Honey- 3 tbsp

Unsalted Butter- 2 tbsp (at room temperature)

Salt- 1 tsp

Active Dry Yeast- 1 1/2 tsp

Warm Water- 1 1/4 Cup

Milk- For brushing the top

Dried Melon Seeds, Sunflower Seeds- little for sprinkling (optional)

Procedure:

• Combine flour, oats and salt in a large bowl and keep aside.
• In the warm water add in butter, honey and yeast. Mix till dissolved and leave aside for a couple of minutes till the yeast turns frothy.
• Add the yeast mixture to the bowl containing the dry ingredients and mix.
• Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes till the dough turns smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to another bowl and cover the bowl with a greased cling film. Leave the dough to rise for about an hour.
• Punch back the dough and knead for a couple of minutes.
• Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and roll each piece in a ball. Arrange the balls in a greased baking dish and cover again with cling film. Leave it to rise for another 45 minutes.
• Remove the cling film and brush the top with milk and sprinkle oats and seeds on top.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C for 10 minutes. Bake the bread for 35-40 minutes or till the crust turns golden brown.

Serve the bread warm with honey....it tastes divine.

Sending these to Radhika's Winter Carnival and Vardhini's Bake Fest#1