Eggless Oreo Cookies

I went to a friend's home today, and my daughter got to eat Oreo cookies. After returning from my friend's home, my daughter asked me to buy Oreo cookies for her. I generally do not buy these cookies, as I mostly bake cookies at home for my kids. Though my husband likes to buy these Oreo cookies while going on any fun trip.  Most of the time the big packet would go wasted.  This triggered me to try making these oreo cookies at home.  I googled for eggless Oreo cookies recipe. and finally adapted the recipe from here Gayathri's Cook Spot.

The changes I made to the recipe is to use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour. I had to bake the cookies for approx 15 minutes, but this can vary. The dough was hard to roll and cut, so I made round shape cookies with hand. The first batch of cookies was uneven. The second batch was atleast better in shape, though still not perfect. I placed the cookies in airtight container in the fridge per the notes in Gayathri's blog. Hope you get to make and enjoy these cookies for your kids too!

Sending this to Baked Treat for Kids event hosted by Seduce Your Tastebuds , Thanks PJ
Thanks Srivalli for the Kids Delight Post

Black Chana (Chickpea) Recipe

Kala Chana as it is called in local Indian Hindi language is one kind of legumes that can be cooked in various ways. It is very rich in protein. It is available generally in Indian grocery stores in United States. One can make lentil soup with kala chana, make it as part of salad, and/or make main dish in form of curry.  The trick is to make sure to boil this legume properly. Per my mom, best way to cook this chana is to soak overnight or 6-8 hours before cooking. Soaking kala chana not only doubles the volume but also reduces the cooking time. If one is pressed on time, add water to the chana in pressure cooker, let it boil on medium high heat for 5 minutes, turn off the heat. Let the chana sit covered for approx an hour and then boil as directed below.

Kala Chana/Black Chickpea

There are different ways of making the curry/gravy dish with black gram. One way is to saute in onion-tomato-ginger-garlic paste, and masalas listed below, and pressure cook together the soaked chana with the prepared gravy. 2nd way is to boil the chana and make the gravy separately and then mix/prepare both together as the main dish. Both the above methods give good results. It depends on one style and preference of cooking. My kids love chana in the boiled version, so I saute boiled black chickpea with olive oil, cumin powder, salt, and black pepper as a quick accompaniment for  rice/chapati.

Pressure cooker method:  Soak the chana in atleast 4 cups of water for 6-8 hours. Place the soaked chana with soaked water in pressure cooker, and add approx 3-4 cups of water. If the pressure cooker whistles, cook the chana on medium-high heat for approx 5 minutes, and let the pressure cooker give 3-4 whistles. Then reduce the heat to medium low, and cook for 40-45 minutes. Turn off the heat after 40 minutes, and let the steam go off by itself. This much time is needed to boil the chana to make sure the chana is cooked properly.  During the time chana is getting boiled one can prepare the gravy.

If not using pressure cooker, boil the chana on medium high heat, and then cook on slow heat for approx 1 hour on low medium heat, stirring in between, and adding water as needed until fully boiled.

Ingredients (Mom's recipe)
1 Cup Black Chana
1 medium size onion
1 medium size tomato
1 Tablespoon grated ginger
1 Tablespoon grated garlic
1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon haldi ( turmeric)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon(or per taste) red chili powder
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon amchur or use l tsp lemon
1 teaspoon garam masala
3 Tablespoon Oil
1 tablespoon chooped cilantro to garnish

Method
Chop the onion into small pieces, tomato can either be chopped or pureed using grater. Similarly chop/grate the ginger and garlic. Add oil the pan, add jeera, asafetida, add onion, let it fry, add ginger-garlic, add tomato, coriander powder, haldi, red chili powder, and garam masala. Once the masala is cooked, mix the boiled chana in it. Add salt. Use a spatula to mash some of the boiled  black chickpea well in the gravy. This extra step gives nice taste to curry, and also thickens the curry. Simmer for few minutes, and garnish with lemon/amchur, cilantro, and pinch of garam masala. Serve with rice/chapati.

Sending this to the monthly event My legume love affair # 68 hosted by Lisa thanks, and thanks creator of this event Susan 

Onion Crackers

These days, I have been looking to try different varieties of salty/savory crackers. Many recipes on savory crackers have lot of cheese, and butter. I found this recipe at Gayathri's Cook Spot that has onion as one of the main ingredients. Initially I was skeptical to add onion however once baked, I realized that the onions give these crackers a slightly sweet yet salty taste. My friends and S who tasted these crackers could not stop at one:)

Adapted from here (Gayathri's Cook Spot)

Ingredients:
Wheat Flour-1cup
Quick Cooking Oats-1/2cup
All Purpose Flour-1/2cup
Olive Oil-1/2cup
Onion-1(finely chopped; used red onion)
Green Chilly-2(finely chopped)
Baking Powder-1tsp
Sugar-2tsp
Salt-1tsp
Black Sesame Seeds-4tsp (I used white sesame seeds- 3tsp)
Water-1/2cup

Pre heat the oven to 350F. Mix all the ingredients and make a soft dough like a round ball. Next roll the dough on a flat surface, and cut in round shapes using round cookie cutter. Place these round crackers on baking try and prick with fork all over. Bake for 15 minutes and then flip to cook on the other side for again 15 minutes. Once you see the golden brown color, it gives the signal that crackers are ready to be taken out from the oven. These crackers once cooled can be stored in air tight container for 3-4 days.

Masala Crackers

I have been making sweet cookies for a while, though have not posted any recipe on it yet. Stay tuned it will come shortly. Two years before I made this savory crackers during Christmas time from the blog Tadka Pasta. My friends and family who tasted these crackers that time liked it very much.  For long time I did not make these crackers again. This year I made these crackers already thrice, and everyone who tried it says; it taste yum! Curry leaves and sun dried tomato add the zing factor for these savory cookies. You can increase the spice level per your taste.

Adapted the recipe from here (Tadka Pasta)

Ingredients

4 green chillies
2 Sprigs curry leaves
6 Sun dried tomato halves
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1¼ Teaspoon salt
¼ Teaspoon pepper
¼ Teaspoon red chilli powder
½ Teaspoon baking soda
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, soft
¼ Cup olive oil
4 Tablespoon thick yogurt

Mix all the ingredients, and keep the dough refrigerated for 3-4 hours. This helps to cut crackers evenly, and cause less crumbs while cutting the dough.  Pre heat the oven to 350 F. Place the cut cookies on baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on how crisp you would like these crackers. I baked the crackers for 25 minutes for the crispier taste. Baking for 20 minutes yield soft crackers.

Princess Cake

I made this cake when my 3 year old asked me if I can make a Princess Cake for her birthday. I read through blogs, you tube videos, and finally used the Betty Crocker's recipe on high level for the design of the cake. I made 3 eggless vanilla cake using recipe from Divine Taste. Icing is butter cream icing following Wilton recipe. I do bake cakes regularly however icing on the cake is only for special occasions.

Cake design and template adapted from here (Betty Crocker)

Egg less Vanilla cake recipe adapted from here (Divine Taste) 

Butter cream icing recipe adapted from here (Wilton)

Princess Cake

I was apprehensive how the final cake will turn out.  Planning ahead of time, shopping all the ingredients for baking and decoration, doing all the home work of reading recipe again and again helped me bake and decorate the cake.  I started making the cake 2 days before to make sure I have enough time to redo if make any mistakes. First I made the base cake and set in fridge tightly wrapped in cling wrap. Next I made the butter cream icing and colored it to the desired pink color. Somehow I feel, I need to see the color of icing in white light, or day light to make sure I got the desired color icing.

I usually do all the baking  after putting kids to sleep (when I get the undivided attention), I use the refrigerator white light to make sure I got the right color icing, silly may be:) but it worked for me.
The smile on my daughters face after seeing the cake was more than what words could define. I felt happy and content too seeing her smile and that we did not have to rush to buy the cake from store:)

Design of the cake
I made 4 cakes with below sizes;
One , 1/2-quart ovenproof bowl (8 inches across top)--I used the Pyrex Bowl that is oven safe
Three, 8-inch round cake

Cake Recipe
Pre heat oven to 305 F. Prepare the grease pans. Bake  cake at 305 F for 50-60 minutes. I baked 2 cakes at a time (since I have 2 pans), and one cake separately. Then I baked the dome shape cake in glass bowl separately. All these cakes were baked in 2 days. Make sure not to over beat the ingredients as it could result in hard cake. The texture of the cake was perfect to decorate.

Cake Ingredients
11/2 cup All Purpose Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda/ sodium bicarbonate
1 tin/400gm sweetened condensed milk
1 stick butter or 1/2 cup butter melted (I generally keep the butter outside to bring to temperature 4-5 hours before starting to bake)
3/4 cup water/milk (I use half milk and half water)
4 Tablespoon Yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream Icing Recipe (Wilton)
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, and rewhip before using.

Diaper Cake

I stumbled upon what a diaper cake is, while searching for something else on internet, Ah moment! These diaper cakes are inedible, yet sweet, calorie free treat to cherish and remember. The diaper cake serve the dual purpose. One, these truly serve the best usable gifts for expecting parents. Second, they serve as nice decoration center piece for a baby shower catching everyone's attention.
There are numerous YouTube videos, and blogs that can help one get creative ideas for decorating this cake.
I used this YouTube video as it teaches in a very simple way how to assemble the diapers for the diaper cake.
I have made 2 diapers cakes for 2 different baby showers.  I completed the diaper cake over period of three days spending 15-30 minutes/day. The maximum time is spent to roll and tie the diapers with rubber band. Decorating the diaper cake is more fun, and can be finished relatively very quickly. The first diaper cake took a little longer to complete because I was doing it for first time, however, the second one was done in less than 20 minutes because I had learnt the technique already.

I had collected all the decoration stuff for the diaper cake beforehand, so that I do not have to wait till last minute on how I would need to decorate the diaper cake. I used decorative ribbons to hide the rubber bands and the ribbons added a  nice look for the diaper cake. I made a bow with ribbon  to tie each layer together, and did not have to use the glue gun. I used the paper towel round long cardboard to hold the diapers together in the center. I placed the diapers on a cake decorating board. I used Pampers size 2 diaper pack, and made 3 layer diaper cake using 68 diapers. Top layer has 8 diapers;  Middle layer has 20 diapers with  8 diapers in center and 12 diapers outside; Bottom layer has total of 40 diapers with 8 diapers in center, 13 diapers around 8 diapers, and 19 diapers in the outermost circumference.

                                             

Focaccia Caprese (Italian Bread) We Knead to Bake #13

Focaccia Caprese  (Italian Bread) We Knead to Bake #13

My first recipe on the blog is a Italian bread baking recipe.
I have been thinking of starting my blog for long time.  Aparna's "We Knead to Bake Group" gave me the right opportunity to start the blog. I enjoy being part of this group as it gives me the needed push to not only try but also post at-least once a month! ( Thanks Aparna).

I was not spelling the name of this bread correctly, until I was being corrected by a friend of mine.
Focaccia is spelled as fo·cac·cia.

I followed the exact recipe, from here  (Aparna's Diverse Kitchen)and the bread came out with the perfect texture and color. Full recipe from the source listed below.

The main part I felt was to make a soft dough, and my Cuisinart hand mixer does a great job to make soft dough while I can do other preparation work for the bread.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

2 tsp instant yeast

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

3 1/2 cups bread flour*

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil (preferably olive oil)

1 to 1 1/2 cups warm water

A little more olive oil for brushing dough

For the Topping:

4-5 larg-ish tomatoes, sliced thin

1 6-7” round piece of fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut into1/4” slices**

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

For the Herbed Oil:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano  (I used 3/4 tsp)

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 to 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

1/2 tsp finely minced garlic/ paste

Salt to taste

Fresh basil leaves for garnishing

Note:

* If you cannot find bread flour, you can add 1 tbsp of Vital Wheat Gluten to 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and mix together well. 

Otherwise just use 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.

**I used this BelGioioso Pre-Sliced Mozzarella cheese available at Sams club or any other grocery stores.

Method:

First make the herbed oil. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. Keep aside till required.

The dough can be mixed and kneaded by hand or machine. Put the yeast, sugar flour, salt and oil in the bowl of the processor and pulse a couple of times to mix well. Then add 1 cup of warm water (and as much more as you need) and knead until you have a soft elastic dough that is just short of sticky.

Remove the dough from the processor bowl, shape into a round and place in a well oiled bowl turning the dough around so it is coated. Cover and let it rise till almost double in volume. This should take about an hour.

You can make this as 2 medium sized Focaccia or 4 smaller ones like I did. For the rectangular Focaccia, take two rectangular pans/ jelly or Swiss roll pans (I used an 11" by 7" tins) and oil them well. Then divide the dough into two equal portions and lightly roll them (or press out) out into approximately 11” by 7”. If making 4 Focaccia, then divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion out (or press out) evenly into approximately 5” by 7”. It alright if it’s an odd shape because Focaccia is really a “rustic” bread.

Lightly drizzle some of the Herbed Oil over the Focaccia and then evenly arrange some slices of mozzarella over the bread, leaving very little space between them. Arrange the tomato slices over this and a little sprinkle the chopped basil over this. The topping should cover most of the surface of the bread.

Drizzle some more Herbed Oil over the topping and return the bread to the oven. Bake the Focaccia for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese has just melted. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Cut the Focaccia into slices and serve while it is still hot. This recipe should serve 4 if served alone or 6 if served with a side.