Monday, December 21, 2015

When Hunger Strikes...Healthy Onion Crackers (Eggless)

(Adapted from a video recipe on Youtube)

Once the baking bug strikes, it is very difficult for me to keep away.

Today's recipe is a healthy one. Crispy crunchy eggless onion crackers with whole wheat.



You can find the video link here: video link

Here is how I made it:

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 1 and a half cups
APF (Flour): 1/2 cup
White oil: 1/4 cup
Caraway seeds: 1 tsp
Unbroken wheat dalia: 2 tablespoons
Salt: 1 tsp
Sugar: 2 tsp
Baking soda: 1 tsp
Onion (chopped): 1/2 cup
Green chillies: 2 (chopped)

Process:

1. In a bowl take all the ingredients. Add enough warm water to make a stiff dough. Try to as less water as possible.


2. Take a portion of the dough. Roll it into a thin roti. Using cookie cutter/ a glass cut out circles.


3. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C for 10 minutes. Place the cookies on a tray and bake for 22-25 minutes. The underside of the cookies should be golden - brown. (After 10 minutes, you should flip the cookies for even cooking.)

4. Serve hot with a cup of tea.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Winter Evenings....and Chicken Pot Pie

(Adapted from Niru Gupta's Chicken Pie Recipe)


After a lot of dilly-dallying winter is finally here in Kolkata. I was also in the deep freezer mode as far as cooking and blogging was concerned. Haven't tried any new recipe in quite a while.

With the advent of winter, the hubby man has been giving me gentle reminders that I need to bake regurlarly. (Since, I am on the weight loss mode, I was trying to avoid baking yummy goodies.) Cakes and cookies though fabulous in taste are not good for one's waist. (Hee! haw!)


Anyway, I was planning to bake something savory this time. And to answer my prayers, the hubby man bought me a pie-tin this weekend. I tried my hand at making a simple chicken pot pie. This is the pie in all its golden glory.






You can find the original recipe here: recipe link

Here is how I made it:

Ingredients:


To make the dough:

2 cups refined flour (APF)
3/4 cup butter
1 tsp vinegar in an egg or 1/4 cup cold milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder


To make white sauce:

2 cups milk
2 Tbsp refined flour
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt

To make chicken filling:
500 grams chicken- boneless, cooked and diced

1/4 tsp white pepper/ black pepper powder
A pinch of rosemary (optional)
1 Tbsp slightly beaten egg or milk to glaze the pie


Process:

1. In a mixing bowl/plate add flour and butter. Mix the butter thoroughly with the dry flour using your fingers. The flour texture will become like breadcrumbs.

2. To the flour, add vinegar, egg, salt. Add some milk to knead the dough. The dough will be soft. Keep aside in the fridge.



3. Now, heat butter in a pan. Add 2 tbsp APF and stir fry. Now slowly add milk and stir till the sauce becomes thick. Do not let lumps form.




4. To make the chicken filling, heat 2 tsp white oil. Add half teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste and 1/2 cup of chopped onions. Saute lightly and add some chopped vegetables of your choice. I added chopped carrots and tomatoes. Now add the chicken mince. Stir fry for a minute. Add a dash of mixed herbs and rosemary. Add salt and pepper powder to taste. 

5. Once the chicken mince is cooked, add the white sauce to it and lower the flame. Keep stirring from time to time. The sauce with thicken further and you will get a thick creamy filling. Turn off the gas.



6. Take the dough out of the fridge. Divide it into two parts. One part should be bigger than the other.

7. Roll the bigger ball of dough into a thick roti. Here is my 8-year-old rolling out the dough.

9. Grease the pie tin. Place the roti carefully on the tin.


10. Pour the chicken filling on top of this base (roti).

11. Now roll the other piece into a roti and place it on top of the pie.


12. Prick tiny holes on the pie surface using a fork and brush with egg white. Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C for 10 minutes.

13. Bake the pie in the oven for 45-50 minutes. The top crust should turn golden.

14. Remove form the oven and serve hot!