Wholewheat Mocha cookies

Whole wheat Mocha Cookies-celebrating spring

   It is the end of February and the warms gusts of wind are force shedding the old leaves off the trees.It is a small fortnight of an autumn that is typical to Bangalore which then lifts the curtains to a new spring. As I jog this morning I notice the myriad shades of bougainvillea smiling down, spreading cheer to all the onlookers.The Tabebuia buds are beginning to bloom and in another ten days ,the gorgeous  flowers will paint the town pink. It is such a profound change from dark dusty brown to delicate pink cheer...that one cant help appreciating the mystery of this converting change. The same elements in life change from challenge to joy, from definite closures to new beginnings.I remember this beautiful poem in my head as my eyes feast on the colorful spectacle of Spring. 

 The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again
And we grow old?No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In full grown thickness every May.
Last year is dead,they seem to say,
Begin afresh,afresh afresh.
                         Philip Larkin 

These chocolate cookies are great for packing for a trip or for lunch boxes too.The wholewheat flour makes these cookies less sinful while giving a little nutty flavour .

 I baked these cookies mainly for my son so that he can munch on something healthy when he returns from his play. He seemed to like it as he gobbled two in one go, so I packed him some for his snack time at school today. The cookies are very crispy in texture and light in taste. One can also add a dash of cinnamon to enhance the chocolate flavour. Although I did not do that .

 

Ingredients

. 1/2 cup softened butter

. 1/2 cup powdered sugar

. 1 cup whole wheat flour

. 2 tsp cocoa powder

. 1/2 tsp baking soda

. 1 tsp instant coffee powder dissolved in one tsp boiling milk and cooled

. A pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 165 degrees and grease the cookie tray.
2. In a big bowl cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
3. Sieve the flour,cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together and add this mix in batches to the butter. Add the coffee liquid and knead a soft dough. If the mixture feels too dry use another tablespoon of milk. However refrain from adding too much liquid as the cookies will turn out hard.
4.Shape the cookies with the help of cookie cutter and place it on the greased cookie tray
5. Bake at 165 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes. The cookies will be soft when  you take it out of the oven but will turn crispier as they cool.

Happy Healthy Valentine - Yoghurt cheesecake with Pomegrante Cranberry Compote and Ragi Biscuit Base

Happy Healthy Valentines - Yoghurt cheesecake with Pomegranate Cranberry Compote

   It is Valentines day on Sunday..Sunday being a busy day for other reasons, I decided to celebrate the emotion of love a little earlier..Going back to this year's resolution to make things healthy, the bake had to be good not only in taste but bring some nutritional benefit to the consumer. With very limited stuff available in my pantry, I had a tough time planning my recipe. But once decided, it was a breeze to make it. It is absolutely divine in taste and importantly pretty healthy too.

Everyone associates cheesecakes with cream, cheese, butter, gelatin and everything heavy and costly. This recipe is everything opposite, super light, yummy ,and very economical. And there is nothing cheesy about it...honsestly:)
Earlier in the week, I had a failed experiment with chocolate Ragi biscuits.
I thought I had done a fine job but the family thought it was too dry in texture and no one asked for a second one.My perspective was that it is difficult to shift one's palate to healthy choices after years of sugar laden maida biscuit consumption.Anyhow the biscuits were lying in the cookie jar, staring sadly  from the top shelf in the kitchen, when an inspiration kicked in.
I have used these ragi chocolate biscuits as the base for my cheesecake. I crushed them in the food processor and added two tablespoons of milk to get the powder together...softened butter is the conventional route but a fat one too..hence I chose to add milk..You can choose biscuits of your choice..digestive oats biscuits would be great too.

For the main cheesecake I used hung curd. I had prepared hung curd for a salad dressing but used it here instead.Again you can use the traditional route for making hung curd by tying up the curds in a muslin cloth and waiting for the water to drip away.I use store bought curd, so I just pricked some holes in the aluminium foil cover of the yoghurt box and kept it inverted over a mug in the fridge for a night.Which ever way you use to make hung curd, make sure the residue curd should not have any water and should be very thick in consistency.

The Pomegrate and cranberry compote gives a sweet and sour punch to the creamy cheesecake. A dash of chilli gives the required extra heat and balances the sweetness of the dish very well. The rich crimson color of the compote not only adorns the dish ,it is also very good for your heart...Bake away...love

 

Ingredients

 for the base

· 20-25 Ragi biscuits
. 2-3 tsp of milk

for the cheesecake
. 2 cups hung curd
. 2 eggs
. 1/2 cup sugar
. 1 tsp vanilla custard powder/plain cornflour
. 1 tsp vanilla extract
. a pinch of salt
for the Compote
. 2 cups of fresh pomegranate juice
. 2 tsp of sugar
. 1/4 dries cranberries chopped
. 1 tsp cornflour
. A dash of chilli flakes

Instructions

1.Take a cheesecake mould with a loose bottom. Crush the biscuits in the mixer and add the milk. Mix it well and press it in the cake mould.Place the mould in the refrigerator till further use.
2. Blend the hung curd, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together in a food processor or mixie.Add custard powder/corn flour and salt and blend again. Pour this mixture over the earlier prepared biscuit base and bake in a preheated oven for half an hour at 180 degrees. After half an hour the cheesecake would have set and maybe the centre is still jiggly. Don't worry and leave this in fridge for 2to 3 hours.
3. For the compote, heat the pomegranate juice, sugar and chopped cranberries in a pan. In the meanwhile, mix one tablespoon of cornflour with one tablespoon of water. Add this mix to the juice when it starts boiling.Add red chilli flakes and keep stirring. Very soon the sauce will thicken and you can take it off the heat now. Cool this sauce before using.

Mushroom, Spinach and Paneer Calzone with wholewheat and oats' flour crust

Mushroom, Spinach and Paneer Calzone with Wholewheat and Oats' flour crust

   One of the resolutions this year was to focus on healthy eating and making sure the husband takes his dabba rather than eat in the office cafeteria.
Of course it means better menu planning, extra focus on making the ingredients healthy, making the meal more visually enticing and a little less shuteye in the morning.But a hasty kiss, a loving thank you and an honest compliment on your hard work in the kitchen makes it all worthwhile. This calzone is bound to get you all the compliments and love to send you back in the kitchen to make double the quantity immediately. ...

It is an easy peasy  no fuss recipe.But the outcome is lipsmacking good.
You can change the filling ingredients for more variation, something that I will do too when I make it again next week. I packed this for lunch with a beetroot and carrot salad on the side and it became a very filling and wholesome meal in itself. For better time management , I made the filling in the night and put it in the fridge. The next morning, I kneaded the dough, left it to prove and went for a jog. Came back from the run, formed the calzones ,dunked them in the oven to bake and went for a shower. With the jog ,a healthy breakfast and lunch packed in time...I felt like a winner throughout the day. ..do try this winner of a recipe.

Ingredients

 for the crust

· 11/2 cup wholewheat flour
. 1/2 cup oats flour(just pulse the quick oats in the grinder for a few seconds)

. 3/4 tsp salt
. 1 tsp sugar
. 1 tsp active dry yeast 
. 2 tsp olive oil

. 1 cup lukewarm water

for the stuffing
. 2 cups button mushrooms(cleaned and sliced)
. 1 small onion (finely chopped)
. 4-6 cloves garlic (minced)
. 1 cup paneer
. 2 cups spinach (cleaned and chopped)
. 1 tsp olive oil
. 1 tsp chilli flakes
. salt to taste
. 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese grated
. 4-5 tsp pizza sauce 

Instructions

1.Take a big mixing bowl. Put the wholewheat flour, oats' flour, sugar, salt and yeast and give it a good stir.
2. Add lukewarm water and knead a soft smooth dough.I used about 3/4 cup water for this.Add olive oil and knead for another five minutes.Keep this dough covered, in a greased bowl for an hour to double up.
3. For the stuffing, heat the oil in a wok. Add onions to the hot oil and cook till soft. Add garlic now. Just as the onion and garlic start changing color , tip in the mushrooms. The mushrooms will leave a lot of water. Add salt and chilli flakes and cook till the water dries up.Add the chopped spinach and take it off the heat just as you see the leaves wilting. If you miss this quick important moment, the spinach will also let out a lot of water and you will have to cook again till the water dries because we do not want a water laden stuffing here. I like to be swift and vigilant here otherwise the extra cooking of spinach means losing more time and unfortunately more nutrients.Lastly add the paneer and give everything a good mix and keep aside for later use.

4. Take the dough out, gently deflate it with your hands and divide it into 4-5 pieces. Take one piece,form a ball and with the help of a rolling pin , roll out a circle/chapati of 1/4 inch thickness.

5. Smear the round disc with pizza sauce leaving half inch on the edges. Put two spoonful of stuffing and one spoonful of mozarella cheese on one half of the circle.Bring the other half over the filling to close it like a half moon.
    You may like to seal the edges with moistened fingers so that its done perfectly and not opens up during baking. Roll, stuff and shape the calzones for other pieces of dough too. Rest these for twenty minutes.

6.Make slashes on the top of the calzones, for the steam from the filling to escape. Bake the calzones at 200 degrees for twenty minutes or till you see them nicely browned. I like to brush them with melted butter or ghee immediately after taking them out from the oven. This not only gives a nice sheen to the calzone but seals in the moisture.