White Wheat Pistachio Cardamom Short Breads

The minute I tasted this short breads in a local pastry shop , I couldn't resist myself . Is it the soft yet flaky structure , is it the crunchiness or is it the nutty  taste .... I wasn't able to decide. They were very mildly sweet , nothing much fancy on top or as a stuffing. My crazy mind started thinking about rainy evening with a hot masala chai and these short breads as munchkins..... The guy at that pastry shop was kind enough to share his recipe.

After few trials at home , I almost was hopeless on recreating with wheat flour. By this time you must be knowing that I try to avoid All purpose flour as much as I can.

Recently during our evening chit chat time with friends , a friend of mine was telling me about white wheat flour. I tried making naans (Indian Bread) with this flour. I was pretty happy with the result as it was slightly elastic(like All purpose flour) than the regular wheat ones. Ta da ... there striked the idea of making these short breads with white wheat flour. I would say I almost nailed it !!

They turned out to be as soft and  flaky like the one I had from the local pastry. Should I tell you I was literally doing a victory dance ??

Ingredients

White wheat flour ........................ 2 cups
Rice flour ..................................... 4 tbsp, slightly coarse , refer notes
Butter............................................3/4 cup , room temperature
Sugar............................................. 6 tbsp
Salt ............................................. a pinch
Cardamom...................................10  pods
Rose water................................. 1 tbsp
Milk ..........................................1.5 tbsp
Pistachios.................................. 1/4 cup

Method

• Crush the cardamoms , remove the skin and powder the seeds.
• Crush the pistachios into bits and pieces.
• Mix butter and sugar in a wide bowl using a hand mixer.
• To this add wheat flour , rice flour ,salt and cardamom.
• Add in the rose water and little bit of milk at a time to make a sticky dough.
• Take out the dough on a dusted surface and roll them as a log, wrap them in parchment paper and refrigerate them for 2 hrs.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F
• Take out the dough and roll them on pistachios.
• Cut them into 1/4 inch thick .
• Bake them for about 18 to 22 minutes in lower rack.
• These should look golden but not brown.
• Cool them completely and store in air tight container.

Note :

• You can use any nuts of your choice.
• Keep an eye on the oven after 18 minutes .
• You can use regular wheat flour or all purpose flour , if you can't find white wheat flour.
• I used Puttu Rice Flour for slightly coarse texture , you can find this in local Indian grocers.

Whole Wheat Oats and Almond Blondies | Eggless

I love oats in any form. My first experience in cooking oats happened when my mom was diagnosed with diabetes. Every morning I used to make a savory porridge for her. She used to hate that  but I used to love it.

Back in India I haven't cooked much with oats. But here I use it regularly. This is one such quick and fuss free recipe that's close to me.Just whip up and throw in the oven .That's it in 20 - 25 minutes, you will have a dessert ready.But we aren't sweet people. so I make desserts rarely.

It was a  fine morning I was preparing tea and there comes a question from a corner , Do we really need an oven ? Poor me in the mid of crazy morning chores couldn't understand this sarcastic comment for a minute. My ego didn't let me stay cool , sarcastically I  said Why to bother as it came as furnished kitchen? 

After relaxing a bit I realized that I haven't baked anything recently.Later that day ,I baked these blondies as tea time snack.It all vanished in minutes.My food critic (hubby) rated this as one of my best recipes recently.What else I could ask for ?? I was in cloud nine as getting a good remark from him is no easy job.

I care about what I eat so I try to bake mostly with whole wheat. This blondies are no exception, Whole wheat  and oats along with almonds every bite of it was yum. I prefer mine mild sweet you can adjust to your taste buds.

Ingredients

Whole wheat Flour ...................................... 1 cup
Old fashioned Rolled Oats ...........................1/2 cup + little extra
Butter .......................................................... 1/2 cup , room temperature
Dark Brown Sugar ...................................... 3/4 cup
Almond meal ...............................................1/3 cup
Wheat germ .................................................. 1 tbsp
Salt ................................................................ a pinch
Vanilla Extract .............................................. 1 tsp
Yogurt............................................................. 1/4 cup , whole milk
Pumpkin Spice mix ......................................... 1/2 tsp
Baking soda ..................................................... 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder ............................................... 1 tsp

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Line a 8x8 tin with parchment.
• Sift the wheat flour with salt , baking soda , baking powder  and pumpkin spice mix.
• In a mixing bowl  cream butter and sugar with a hand blender, slowly add in the yogurt and vanilla extract.
• Stir in the flour mixture in batches and 1/2 cup oats mix just until they are incorporated well. try not to over mix as it might result in hard blondies.
• Gently add in almond meal , reserving a tbsp .
• Sprinkle the reserved oats, wheat germ  and almond meal on top and gently press them with a spatula.
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• Cut them into squares while they are hot . Cool them in a wire rack.

Notes

• Keep an eye on the oven after 20 minutes, as every oven works different.
• You can use chocolates/ nuts / dry fruits as topping too.
•  If you cant find pumpkin spice, replace with 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1pinch nutmeg and a generous pinch of dry ginger.
• If looking for diabetic friendly choice, replace with any other sweetener.

No bake Berry Cheese cake

Relationships hold a special place in our life and I feel that's what is making our life complete.First comes Mom and Dad followed by siblings . Slowly relatives and friends . Then comes the Life partner followed by kids. With minor additions and subtractions life goes on like this. Even after so many additions Mom and Dad will always hold special place in our heart. Beyond all these is the bonding between a daughter and father. I guess I'm not alone here as many of you might cherish one such with your dad.

As Father's Day is fast approaching , thought of  making a dessert for my dad. I know I can't feed him.Though we stay thousands of mile apart , I strongly believe he is there with me every step of my way.

I still remember the days he used to take us to show the trains when we were toddlers,then slowly he taught us about sports and introduced tennis and cricket.watching Wimbledon and French Open Tennis around 2 a.m in the morning.Everything is still fresh in my mind.

I guess  I was a teenager  that's when I heard my mom commenting "you resemble your dad in every single bit". Slowly , I realized that mom was right. My Dad was a very simple person. Even I'm like that. I don't like heavy costumes and make up . I prefer simple and light weight kind of stuffs.I don't do things at hurry.I slowly and steadily understand a problem and figure out the solution like him. From skin color to structure , from thinking to way of approach , his strong influence is there in me. I'm pretty sure,if my brother and sister reads this post they will nod their heads.

He had been a busy person until his retirement. We're wondering how he would adjust himself for this phase.But that's when I could really see the other side of him. Though he got many opportunities, he was very firm that he would not want to take up them as it might help a youngster.To our surprise  he used to walk and go to the nearby post office or bank and help the rural people write letters and other forms.While coming back, he would visit library and then with a bunch of fresh vegetables from the local market. This really helped him identify the poor and needy people , to whom he would volunteer himself to support financially and morally for their cataract and other eye health related activities. 'Make use of  the time and try to give and not to get' is the best lesson I got from him.This is what made me donate my hair every year for the cancer society.My mom is not happy to see me with a short hair but I'm happy to see the smiles and confidence on cancer survivors.

That was a long story right ? Now time for some sweet .This one is pretty simple and you can make this in a jiffy.

Ingredients

For the crust 

Oatmeal cookies .......................... 6
Butter .......................................... 1 tbsp, melted
Nutmeg ...................................... a pinch

 For the cheesecake

Mixed berries .......................... 1 cup ( I've used Rasberries and strawberries)
Cream cheese .........................4 tbsp , room temperature
Heavy cream ........................... 1/4 cup
Zest of an orange
sugar ................................... 1/4 cup (as the berries were very sweet )
salt ........................................ a pinch


Method

• Crush the cookies in a food processor to resemble breadcrumbs.
• Add butter and nutmeg and give it a blitz.
• Layer them in a serving dish and keep refrigerated.
• Cook berries with sugar , salt and 2 tbsp water.
• Once the berries turn soft , cool them and puree them.
• With a hand blender , blend together cream cheese , orange zest and berry mixture.
• Whip up the heavy cream until stiff peak forms.
• Now gently fold the cream into the cheesecake berry mixture.
• Pipe them over the cookies layer, chill and serve.

Disclaimer

This blog post is part of the monthly “Cooking With Friends” themed blog post challenge. This challenge was started by a bunch of virtual friends united by their love of food, with the aim of tackling a different food related theme each month.
Here is a round up of what I shared earlier.
Crunchy Panko crusted Roasted Asparagus
Strawberry Rose Duo Kulfi 
Jil Jil Jigarthanda
Falafal with Roasted bell pepper Thahini

 If you want to try this month’s theme, please feel free to do so and link your recipe in the comments section. We’d love to check it out.

Meanwhile, check out what the others in the group have come up with this month.
Anjana from At the Corner of Happy and Harried
Dolphia  fromstoryofcooks
Garima from CafeGarima
 Jayashri from My Veg Fare
 Jyothi from Curry Trail
 Madhuri from MADaboutkitchen and
 Subhasmita from The Flavors of Kitchen

Cucumber Lime Cooler | Summer Special

Took a break for a week and I'm back with a summer friendly recipe.Nature is just amazing with its own beautiful creation. Be it trees, fruits, flowers or vegetable , there is something interesting to look forward. And they tend to change every three months from winter to summer.Now I've started enjoying the nature beauty like never before.Thanks to blogging that I met some amazing friends who inspire me to do more. Yes, Simi Jois and Dolphia need special mention here. Whenever I get bored and tired , these two uber talented motivate me a lot .When the former makes me spell bound with her clicks and new attempts, the latter with her pictures and planning.I owe you both a lot :)

Every season gives us such kind of fruits and vegetables perfect for that season.In spring you get lot of citrus fruits so that we can fight against seasonal allergies. Same is the way in summer , you get squash , melons and cucumber to stay hydrated.Now you must have got the clue for my recipe today.

Whenever we go out for trekking, beach or trail walk , I love to pack this along with masala butter milk( will share soon).Perfect for a hot summer day. You can use honey or sugar to sweeten the drink. 

Ingredients

Cucumber ........................................ 1 medium

Lime ................................................. 1 small / 3 tbsp juice

Ginger .............................................. 1/4 tsp, grated

Honey or sugar ................................ to taste( I have used honey )

Salt ................................................... a pinch

Water ............................................... 4 cups

Ice cubes ......................................... as needed

Method

Wash and clean the cucumber.I've picked up some non wax coated ones.

Blend sliced cucumber, grated ginger ,salt and  honey / sugar  with  some water.

Transfer to a pitcher and stir in the lime juice and remaining water.

To serve , add ice cubes and few slices of cucumber and lime and top it with the juice.