O(pen)ATS SESAME, GINGER BARFI for PPCS

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

So how are you all?Girls from POTLUCK PARTY CYBER STYLE ! Are you all ready with the recipe from your partner's blog?

I am here with Nayana's recipe. Actually, she has posted Coffee n White Chocolate Panna Cotta  for the party . But,  sorry dear, my family is allergic to Gelatin and agar agar. I did not wanted to take a chance by preparing your dish. But I will make it some other day when I will be having guests at home.
And to get agar agar is a big problem in my city. I need to search a lot. China grass is available. I have used to many times in making custard but it has not set properly and don't want to spoil the dish. 

I checked her recipe index and most of her Western desserts are with Agar agar.  Then I thought of making some Indian sweets. At first I chose mysore-paak, but when I saw this recipe, I was happy because it has til and ginger which are my elder daughter's favorite and it has oats which makes it healthy. 

Please do visit her page for wonderful recipes.

The link for this recipe in her blog is HERE. 

Coming to MY recipe,

I have reduced the quantity as I had only 1/3 cup(80ml) of til. Still I got 10 medium size barfi.

And my barfi turned out white as the jaggery I used is white one. 

Ingredients :

Sesame Seeds - 1/3 cup

Oats - 1/3 cup 

Jaggery - 1/3 cup

Fresh Ginger grated - 1 1/2" or 2"

Ghee - 1 tbsp(I thought of pampering my barfis little bit)

Method 

Dry roast the sesame seeds till they splutter 

and oats separately for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Grind the ginger for few seconds in a mixi. Add both the sesame seeds and oats. Churn to make course paste.

Grease a small plate with ghee and keep it ready.

Heat ghee in a thick bottomed kadai. 

Add the jaggery and bring it to a boil. 

Check the consistency  by taking a drop and putting it in a cold water bowl. If it hardens immediately then the syrup is done. 

Add the ready paste(or mixture). Mix well. 

Spread it on a greased plate. 

Allow it to cool. Cut into desired shapes.

Your healthy sesame seeds, oats and ginger barfi is ready to serve. 

My daughter and my hubby both enjoyed these barfis,

Thanks Nayana for such an easy and wonderful sweet recipe.

Sending this to Jagruti's event 

Potluck party, Cyber style! - Fun and the Challeng...

Keep Smiling, 

Rice flour and Oats Porridge

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I am blessed with the kids who are not very fussy about the food. The little one is little choosy but always prefers the good food. Both are not much into junk food.

Everyday she should be ready by 7:20 in the morning, I should be always ready with her breakfast before 6:30. Usually I ask her what she would like to have in the morning for breakfast and will make according to that. Am I giving too much choice to her!! But, I feel the breakfast is the first food in the morning and I want her to have it full and enjoy it too. Anyways, her lunch is always my choice so I am not worried about the strict laws.

Coming to today's recipe, my younger one loves this! Porridge :-), I prepare porridge with fine semolina, oats, rice flour, ready idly batter.. She loves everything.

Today is the time to share the recipe of Rice flour and oats porridge. Its very easy and I know many of you also make it.

Here is my version,

The recipe is for one cup

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 1/4 cup

Oats or Oats powder- 3 tbsp

Water - 1/4 cup

Milk  - 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp(do not add if giving for younger children)

A pinch of hing or cumin powder(optional)

Ghee - 1 tsp to serve

Method:

• Take the water and milk in a thick bottomed vessel keep to boil.
• When it starts boiling, add the rice powder and oats, keep stirring as there is a chance of getting rice flour lumps. 
• Once it is mixed well, keep on low flame and cook for few more minutes. Keep watching for the water consistency. Add some more water if you feel the porridge has become more thick or its still not cooked.
• Add hing or cumin powder and pepper powder.
• Remove from the heat, add salt. Mix well.
• Serve hot with ghee.
• Its good for those also who are not keeping well(minus the ghee)
• Serve with roasted paapad and pickle for dinner.

Sending this to three events. 
The First  one is

Nithu's ongoing event:

Event Announcement : Know Your Flour - Rice Flour

 which is started by Jagruti

The Second one is Jagruti's

Announcing JCO event - Super foods~Super Power

The third one is Srivalli's 

Announcing 30 Minutes Meal Mela

Keep Smiling,

Oats, almond and dates granola bars

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

One more recipe followed from DEEBA'S blog.

Again the same problem of not getting few ingredients here. I think there is a plus point in that also. That brings more creativity in me.

The other day Suma Rowjee posted the recipe(.Eggless Chocolate Chip Oat & Whole Wheat Snack Bar..) which she has followed it from Deeba (recipe here) and Deeba has followed it from Megan(here) and everyone with their alterations.

I thought of combining all the ideas and creating my own granola bars :-)))), and hey it was a success, I could not stop munching these lovely bars. My younger daughter was so happy to have it, and I was satisfied of giving her some thing healthy. And I never never imagined even in my dream  that I will bake some bars like these...

And the best part of these bars is its made of wheat and oats added to it are almonds and dates. What a perfect breakfast with a glass of milk to start your day. It really keeps you energetic the whole day.

SO THANKS TO ALL THE LADIES FOR GIVING ME THIS WONDERFUL RECIPE.

Please click the above links for their original recipes,

Coming to my version:

Dry Ingredients:

Oats - 1 1/2 cups(I used Saffola Oats)

Whole Wheat Flour - 3/4 cup

Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Flaked almonds - 1/2 cup

Diced fresh dates - 1/4 cup

Wet Ingredients:

Granulated Sugar - 1/4 cup

Brown or Demerara sugar - 1/4 cup

Oil - 1/4 cup

Milk - 2 tbsp

Corn flour - 2 tbsp

Warm water - 2tbsp

Vanilla extract or essence - 1 tsp

for the coating :

Nutella spread 

and toasted flaked almonds

Method:

Pre heat the oven at 180c

Grease and line a 7x11x2 inch tin with baking parchment leaving an overhang.

Take all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Keep aside.

Mix the warm water and cornflour in a bowl and keep it aside.

In a large bowl, add milk, oil, sugar and vanilla. Beat till the sugar is dissolved (it may take 3 to 4 minutes)

Add the cornflour mix. Beat again for a minute. 

Fold in the dry ingredients and mix well. The mixture will be very thick.

Spread it in a tin and level it.  

First time I baked it at 180 c for 30 minutes.

I removed and kept it to cool, but still the bars were soft.

So I cut it into bars and again baked at 200 c for 10 more minutes. And there I got crispy granola bars.

I used Nutella spread  and some flaked almonds to top it with. (I did not had dark chocolate).

My daughters enjoyed these bars.

You can store these crispy bars in an airtight box for a week or so.

Sending it to Jayasri's ongoing event Guest Hosting Tried and Tested event and she has choosen Deeba's Passionate about Baking blog.

(This event was started byzlamushka and is now taken care of by Lakshmi of Kitchen Chronicles)

Keep Smiling,

Whole wheat ,Oat & Chocolate Cookies(T&T)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I always love to participate in the events. If you are regular visitor to my blog, you know it. I get inspired by the themes and I give my best to cook something new according to theme.

This time when I came to know about the T&T guest hosted by Jayasri, it was already late. And when I visited the blog which Jayasri has chosen I was in a world of baking. I browsed the blog for two days and I did not get any recipe for a newbie like me. 

Deeba of  Deeba's Passionate about Baking  is very very creative and I may take years to reach her level when it comes to baking. And the photography!!! no words to explain, I mean it, she is a wonderful blogger with so much passionate about baking. I loved all the recipes, but I had many problems to follow her recipes, 

The first thing was, I am still crawling when it comes to baking, I was not sure about my success in any of the recipes.

 The second thing is ingredients, many ingredients she has used are not available at my place. Even its difficult to get cherries or strawberry also.

When I was browsing for cookies I got this one:

Baking| Whole Wheat & Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies … better late than never!

In this recipe also, I did not had chocolate chips and walnuts. Walnuts were out of stock in nearby shop. And I could not afford the time to visit the city to bring walnuts. I replaced it with Almonds.

And getting Chocolate chips was out of question here in my place. I need to go almost 15 Km to get it and that too not sure about the availability.

I thought of skipping the chips and following the remaining ingredients.

When I was about to start, my daughter came and asked me what I am baking, I told her about the cookies, she made a face that she does not want white cookies. She would love to have Chocolate cookies.

So there was no way for me to keep the original recipe as it is. I thought of adding Cocoa powder instead of half the qty of oats. 

Here is the recipe for the cookies with some alterations(no option for me):

Recipe in my words:

I used half the qty from original recipe(more than a dozen cookies came out with this qty)

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

Whole Wheat flour - 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp

Oats - 1 cup(I used Saffola rolled oats)

Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup

(Original recipe does not have cocoa powder and she has used 1 1/2 cups of oats)

Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Baking powder - 1/8 tsp

half a pinch of salt

Finely chopped  almonds - 1/4 cup(original recipe had walnuts and choco chips)

Wet Ingredients:

Butter - 1/4 cup(I used fresh home made at room temperature)

Egg - 1/2

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Demerara Sugar - 3/8 cup(3 times of 1/8 cup)

Method:

• Take all the dry ingredients in one bowl. Whisk them and keep aside.
• In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar till fluffy.
• Add the egg and vanilla essence. Beat for some more minutes.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix well. 
• My dough became dry. It was like a normal chapati dough(little softer)

 

• Preheat the oven.
• Grease the baking tray or  use the baking sheets.
• Take a tbsp of dough and press to give round shape. You won't get nice shape, but don't worry about the shape. The taste won't differ.
• Bake at 180C for 12 to 15 minutes. I baked it for 13 minutes.
• Remove from the tray, remove to cooling racks.
• Store in a airtight jar.

My both the daughters enjoyed the cookies with their favorite song and dance. Thanks to Deeba for such a lovely recipe and thanks to Jayasri for selecting this blog.

Sending it to Jayasri's ongoing event Guest Hosting Tried and Tested event and she has choosen Deeba's Passionate about Baking blog.

(This event was started byzlamushka and is now taken care of by Lakshmi of Kitchen Chronicles)

Keep Smiling,

A Quick Egg Cutlet

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Being a mother of two growing kids and a person who never likes to waste the food,  I am always in search of reusing the leftover food. Here is another recipe from leftover boiled potato. Whenever I boil potato for something, I have a habit of boiling one or two extra potatoes. Potatoes always come in handy for any quick preparation. prepare a salad with it, turn it  into jeera aloo, pakodas, mix with some vegetable to make it gravy.. 

The other day, when I prepared aloo paratha, I had kept one big boiled potato in the fridge. And afternoon, I told my daughter to bring eggs from nearby shop to make egg kurma for the night. She brought the eggs with one  broken..

I did not wanted to waste it, I transferred it into a bowl and thought of making an omelet. Then I saw my potato in the fridge, thought of adding it to the omelet. I mashed the potato and added in to the egg and went on adding few more things and finally came out with this nice cutlets..... Roll down for the recipe ..

Ingredients:

Boiled Potato - 1 big

Egg - 1
Green chilly - 1 finely chopped(less if for kids)
or 
dry red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Dhania powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil- 1tsp
Fresh coriander - 1/8 cup, finely chopped
Oats - 1 cup


Oil to shallow fry

Method :

• Beat the egg. 
• Add the mashed potatoes and add all other ingredients EXCEPT OATS and oil to fry.
• Mix well, adjust the seasoning, 
• Heat tawa, Till it becomes real hot,
• Take a big spoon of ready mix, give a pressed,round shape, roll it into oats to cover the cutlets on all the sides.
• Make all the cutlets ready and keep.
• Spread the oil, keep 2 to 3 cutlets on tawa and fry on all the sides. Repeat with other cutlets.
• 
  
• Serve HOT with sauce.

Its perfect healthy snack for kids. But try to serve it hot as it it tastes like rubber once its cold.

Keep Smiling,

Oats and Rawa payasam(sheer Khurma style)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I always wait for every Thursday! Two reasons for that. One is its a day I do special prayers to Shirdi Saibaba and this is the day I make sweet to offer. Each week, I try to make new desserts. And today was the day for making something simple but delicious. 

Here is a simple sweet but a healthy one.

Ingredients:

Fine Semolina or rawa - 4 tbsp

Oats (regular) - 4 tbsp

Sugar - 1/2 cup or little more according to your taste.

Ghee - 1tsp

nuts - 2 tbsp(chopped cashew, almonds, raisins, ker beeja) 

Grated dry coconut - 2 tbsp

Kesar or Saffron strands - 3 to 4

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Water - 1 cup

Milk 2 cups

Method:

Add 1 tbsp ghee to the thick bottomed kadai and make it warm. Add the rawa and fry for half a minute. Add the rolled oats and fry another half a minute.

Remove and keep it aside.

Mix the water and milk and keep it to boil.

Once it boils, add fried rawa and oats. Cook for a minute, add sugar and all the other ingredients except saffron strands.

Soak the saffron strands in very little milk.

Keep on stirring and boil for 5 minutes. Add the saffron strands. Boil for a minute.

Remove and serve hottttttttttt......

Sending it to many events:

One is My event 

Event Announcement "Only Original Recipes" and Giveaway :-)))

A brain child of Pari.

My one more event 

Priya's(Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal) ongoing event  

Celebrate Sweets - Warm Desserts

(event started by  Me ) 

And

Dr. Sameena's(My Culinary Creations)

Oats recipes..

Keep Smiling,

This is how Oats is used in my kitchen...

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Without much introduction about oats and its preparations I will give the recipes.

First is 

Oats and Poha dosa:

Ingredients:
Oats - 1 cup
Thick or medium Poha - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Wheat flour - 2 tbsp
Fresh curds - 1/4 cup
Method:
Put the oats and poha in a grinder and make it a powder.
Add salt, wheat flour and  fresh curd. Add the powder and mix well.
Keep the tawa to heat.
Take big spoon of batter and spread it on tawa. 
Cover and cook both the sides.
Second is 
Oats and onion pakoda: Avery common snack which is posted in most of the blogs, here is my version(many of us follow the same recipe) which I love to make for a quick snack with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients:
Oats - 1 cup
Gram flour -1 cup
Onion - 1 big, finely chopped
Curry leaves few
Fresh coriander - handful
salt to taste
Green chilly - 1 or 2 big, finely chopped
turmeric powder  a pinch
Hot oil - 1 tbsp


Oil to fry
Method :

Mix all the ingredients(Except oil to fry) in a bowl with little water to make thick batter.

Heat oil. 

When its very hot, reduce the flame and take small portion of the batter and put into the oil. Fry the pakodas till golden color. 

Remove on a kitchen tissue and serve hot.

Third one is 

Rava and oats Dosa

Ingredients:

Fine semolina or rava - 1 cup

Oats - 1/2 cup

Jowar atta - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Water to make the batter.

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp(optional)

Oil for each dosa - 1 tsp

(The onion kept aside, helps for dosa to spread properly, a very old tip from granny)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with more water to make it very thin batter.

Heat tawa. 

Spread or actually you should throw the batter on a very hot tawa to get thin dosas. YOU CAN NOT SPREAD THIS BATTER WITH A SPOON.

Put oil. 

Cook both the sides till crispy on  medium flame.

Serve with potato sabji.

The last one (As I have time limitations :-(  ) is
I know I have given 3 dosa recipes, but I feel its the best way to feed my kids the oats.
Oats uttappa:
Ingredients:

Idly batter - 1 cup( a day old is also fine, best way to finish the batter)

Oats - 1/4 cup

Onion - 1 big, finely chopped

Green chilly - 1 finely chopped

Curry leaves - few, chopped finelly

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp(optional)

Grated ginger - 1 tbsp(my daughter loves the taste, you can skip if you don't want)

Oil for each dosa

Method:

Again

Mix all in a bowl except oil.

Heat tawa, spread the batter to make thick uttappa.

Cover and cook on both the sides.

I enjoy it just like that with a spoon of ghee over it :-))))))'

Even though there are three recipes for dosas, each dosa tastes different.

I wanted to post few more recipes as oats is very common thing for me in the kitchen. 

But sorry, I am not able to manage the time to post the recipes.

Hopefully, will post few more in coming months.

The last minute entry to 

Priya's Announcing Cooking With Whole Foods - Oats 

(Which was started by Kiran.. )

Keep Smiling,

Oats and Pea Nut Masala

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Oats, the healthiest intake at any time of the day. And you can be more creative with it instead of sticking only to the porridge recipe.

I always try to add Oats in the food whenever and where ever it is possible. In my kitchen Oats usually goes into chapati atta. I add it with instant dosa batter, I add it with idly batter, I make oats idli, oats dosa(Powdered oats as a main ingredient) I tried it adding in parathas, cookies. But I don't know why I was reluctant to use it in Upma or masala. When ever I saw the recipes in my blogger friend;s blog, I always saved the recipe to try it soon, but that soon never came!!

Last week when I came across This  recipe, I decided to make it the same day. But oats was over in the kitchen(First time my kitchen was Oatsless!! )  I rushed to the MORE got 2 packets and before my daughter was back from school it was ready. I loved it. My daughter was not much happy as she does not like the taste of pea nuts. But I am sure if I replace the pea nuts with almonds next time, she will love it.
Thanks Dershana for sharing this wonderful recipe.

Here is the photo and the recipe:

(The original recipe has Jumbo oats and the normal one.)

Ingredients :

Oats - 2 cups

Roasted peanuts - 2 tbsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped

Green Chilly - 2 Slit into two

Curry leaves -few

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Lime juice - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Fresh or dry coconut - grated, 2 tbsp

Fresh coriander - handful

Method :

Add 1 tbsp oil to the thick bottomed kadai, Keep it on flame. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. After half  minute, add chopped onions, fry till transparent. Add green chilly and roasted peanuts. Fry for a minute. Add Salt and lime juice. Mix well. 

Add the oats. Mix well and fry for few seconds. Add sugar and sprinkle some water(2 tbsp) Close the lid and cook for 2 minutes. Open the lid, add dry coconut and fresh coriander. Adjust the seasoning.  Mix well and cook for 2 more minutes.

Remove from the fire. Serve it with hot cup of tea or coffee.

Sending it to 

Priya's Announcing Cooking With Whole Foods - Oats 

(Which was started by Kiran.. )

Keep Smiling,