Eggless Oats Cookies

             A healthy snack... I have tried so many dishes using Oats. One such recipe is Oats Cookies. They can be a healthy way to fill your stomach but in small quantities since they also contain Maida. One such cookie a day can keep your cravings away for Bakery food...:P

I have made this simple recipe in a microwave.

Ingredients:

Maida - 3/4 cup
Oats - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Butter - 3/4 cup
Salt - 1 pinch
Milk - 2 tsp
Oil or butter - for greasing the pan.

This makes around 20-25 cookies.

Method:

Preheat the microwave in convection mode to 180 degrees.

Take the butter and mix it with the sugar. The butter needs to be in the room temperature.

Add maida, oats and salt to this mixture and mix well with your hands. Add milk if required to form a dough.

Grease the pan with oil or butter. You can also use a butter paper so that the cookies come out well.

Make small balls of the mix and flatten. Place them in the pan with some space between them as they expand  when being baked.

Microwave them at 180 degree centigrade for about 7 minutes. Later again at 120 degree centigrade for about another minute.

Remove them and allow them to cool. Store them in air tight boxes after they are cooled completely.

Serve them as a tea time snack. Enjoy Cooking !!

Note:

1. There can be slight variations in different microwave settings. Please keep checking the cookies every two minutes when you are baking it for the first time. This helps them from being burnt.

2. The last minute of baking them at lower temperature gives a crisp golden colour.

3. The cookies appear to be little soft after you remove them from microwave. But then they harden after cooling.

4. Do not store them when still hot. This makes them soggy and very soft.

Diwani Handi

Diwani Handi is a North Indian mixed vegetable side dish cooked in Spinach gravy. It tastes best with Poori and Phulka.

Ingredients:

Mixed Vegetables Chopped (Capsicum, Haricot Beans, Carrot) - 1 bowl
Green Peas - 1/2 bowl
Chopped Spinach - 1 bunch ( 2 bowls )
Onion - 1 med size
Green Chillies - 2
Garlic - 2 pods
Ginger - 1 inch
Milk - 4 tbsp
Cream -  2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Masala:

Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Cloves - 2 to 3
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch

Method:

Blanch all the vegetables along with green peas. Blanching means cooking the vegetables in salt water for 5 to 10 mins till they are half boiled. Once they are half cooked wash them in cold water and keep aside.

Repeat the same procedure with Spinach leaves. Blanch them for 5 mins and keep aside. Grind the blanched spinach leaves, onion, ginger, garlic and chillies to smooth paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Add the mixed vegetables and mix well.

Add the ground paste to this. Add half cup of water, milk and cream to the pan. Cook on medium heat till the oil starts to separate and the gravy starts to thicken.

Now add the cumin, coriander powder and garam masala. Add salt as required. Mix well. Serve hot.

Note:

If you are on a diet and would like to include this recipe in your diet, cream can be excluded and use less oil.

The dish still tastes its best.. Enjoy cooking.. :) 

Mysore Pak

Mysore Pak is an authentic sweet dish of Karnataka, first created in the royal kitchens of Mysore Palace.
One of the very famous sweet dish with very few ingredients and generous amount of ghee.

My first attempt of Mysore Pak turned out really good. Here is the recipe.. Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Gram Flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 3/4 cup
Ghee - 1 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup

Method:

Mix two table spoons of ghee with the gram flour.

Heat water in a pan and when it starts to boil, add sugar to it and mix well. The sugar dissolves completely and starts forming syrup. Now add half cup of hot ghee to this and mix well.

Add the gram flour to the pan while stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. Now keep adding little  ghee each time and keep stirring the mix.

When the gram flour starts to thicken, the excess ghee is released on the sides. Rub a plate with ghee and pour the mix onto it and spread. After two minutes, when the mixture is still hot, cut it into pieces.

Aloo Methi Rice

Simple and one of the best lunch box recipes.

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 3 cups
Potatoes - 2
Methis leaves (Fenugreek leaves) - 1 large bunch
Sambar Masala - 2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5 to 6
Chopped Coriander - for garnish

Method:

Cook the potatoes in the cooker for two whistles. Peel the potatoes and chop them into small cubes and keep aside.

Chop the methi leaves finely and wash them. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the channa and bengal gram dal. Also add turmeric and curry leaves.

Add the methi leaves and shallow fry for 5 minutes until the leaves turn soft. Now add the chopped chunks of potatoes to it. Mix well. Add the sambar masala, coriander, cumin and chilli powder. Also add salt.

Mix well and leave it for two more minutes on low flame. The potatoes take on all the flavours.

Take the cooked rice in a large pan and add the cooked aloo methi masala to it and mix well. Garnish with coriander and serve.

Note: You can also replace Sambar powder with Garam masala. That tastes good too.

Happy Cooking... :)