Category: sweet

Custard Biscuit Relish

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas 🎄 and a Happy and blessed 2023 .
Tried this new dessert today which has no added sugar.
I have used sugar free wheat digestives as a crunchy base for the silky smooth custard topped with fruits and toasted Nuts and raisins.

It’s a simple and easy Peasy recipe. Do try it in your kitchen and enjoy with family.

Ingredients:

Digestive Biscuits – 8-10

Butter – 2 table spoons

Custard powder – 2 table spoons.

Milk – 2 cups

Honey -3 table spoons

Black Grapes – 8-10

Sliced strawberries -4


Dry fruits – Almonds, Cashew and Pista bits (toasted) for garnishing

Method:

Crush the biscuits using a rolling pin and transfer it to a glass container.


Melt the butter and pour it over the biscuit mixture.
With the help of the spatula spread and flatten the mixture in the bowl. Keep it in the freezer for about twenty minutes to set.


In a saucepan heat milk .
Now add a few tea spoons of milk to the custard powder and mix well.
Add it slowly to the hot milk stirring continuously to avoid lumps.

once it thickens put off the flame.
Allow to cool.
Now add the honey and vanilla essence . With the help of a whisk mix well to get a smooth consistency..


Now pour the thickened custard mixture over the set biscuit mixture .



Now garnish the strawberry slices, grapes and tossed nuts and raisins and cover the container with a cling wrap or a foil and refrigerate for another two hours.
Enjoy with family.

namithaskitchen

Nankhatai

Nankhatai are soft delicious cookies prepared in almost all homes in India. The aroma of ghee fills in as they are baked.

One does not need an occasion to bake these melt in the mouth desi Indian treat.

We don’t need an oven to make them. They can be baked over a thick bottomed pan and come out as good as the baked one.

Do try them as this is a simple and quick recipe.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour – 1 cup

Ghee – 1/2 cup

Semolina – 1/4 cup

Chick pea flour (Besan) – 1/2 cup

Powdered Brown Sugar – 3/4 cup

Slivered nuts – 1 table spoon(almond, pista and cashews)

Powdered Cardamom 1/4 spoon


Baking soda -1/4 spoon

Method:

In a deep bowl over a strainer add in the Besan, wheat flour and baking soda and strain them into the bowl.

Now add the powdered sugar, semolina, cardamom and the powdered sugar and mix well.

Finally add the ghee (liquid) and mix lightly with the fingers to make a soft dough.

Now divide the dough into even sized balls and flatter each ball lightly with the help of one’s palms and garnish each cookie with the bits of the slivered nuts and press lightly.

Preheat the oven for ten minutes at 150 degrees.

Once the oven is ready place the Nankhatai leaving enough space between them so that they rise and do not stick to each other while they are baked.

Now bake them for 10 to 15 minutes at 150 degrees Celsius.

Do check them after 10 minutes as sometimes depending on your oven settings it can be ready after 10 minutes.

Once done allow to cool and the cookies are ready to be enjoyed😋

namithaskitchen

Peach 🍑 Crisp

Fresh Peaches when in season tempt you to try out a variety of desserts. Most of the ingredients are similar to Peach cobbler. The only variation is that in a cobbler the peaches are at the bottom and in the crisp the peach slices are spooned on the top of the crisp layer of l rusty base.

One can use fresh or canned peaches. I have used one big sized peach and since they were sweet I have reduced the sugar slightly.

This

Ingredients:

Oats – 1/4 cup

Brown Sugar -1 + 4 table spoons

Whole wheat flour – 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence – 1/4 spoon

Fresh Peach – 1 big one

Wheat crackers -2

Nutmeg powder – less than 1/4 spoon.

Lemon juice – 1 spoon

Butter – 2 table spoons

Pecans – 4 cut into bits

Method:

Preheat the oven for about ten minutes at 180° Celsius.

Now add a table spoon of brown sugar granules to the sliced peach and keep aside .

Take a deep bowl and add 4 table spoons of brown sugar, butter and with the help of your fingers lightly mix it.

Add in the whole meal flour and the oats and oats and lightly run in with your fingers.

Add the nutmeg powder and the crushed wheat crackers and mix well.

Now coat the baking pan with a little butter and spoon in the mixture into the pan and pat them evenly.

Now pour the peach slices to which brown sugar and vanilla was added, into the baking pan.

Spread it evenly.

Add the pecan bits on the top.

Bake the Peach Crisp for about 25 to 30 mins.

Enjoy hot with some Vanilla ice cream.

namithaskitchen

Banana & Walnut Muffins


When you have ripe bananas in your fruit bowl and your neighbor gives you some more then you make the best use of those bananas by trying out new recipes.Have made muffins earlier too. These bananas ripened overnight and taste wise they were too sweet and that’s when I decided to bake these muffins.
I have added a bit of jaggery to get the right texture.They turned out awesome both in taste and texture.


Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
Bananas – 5 ( small ellakki bananas)
Baking powder – 1/4 spoon
Baking soda – 1/4 spoon
Jaggery powder – 1/4 cup
Curd – 1/2 cup
Walnuts – 1/4 cup(bits)
Vanilla essence – 1/4 spoon
Oil – 1/4 cup
Method:
Preheat the oven for 10 minutes setting the temperature at 180 degrees Celsius.
Take a deep bowl and mash the peeled bananas one by one.
Add in the curd to which a few pinches of salt is added.
Add the oil and jaggery powder and mix well.
Now take a big bowl and pass the baking soda, baking powder and the whole wheat flour through a seive.
Slowly spoon in the mixture into the curd and jaggery mixture using the cut and fold method.
Add the vanilla essence and the walnut bits and then mix it lightly.
The batter should be of thick consistency.You may add a table spoon or so of milk if the mixture is too thick.
Lightly grease the muffin pan and spoon in the mixture into the moulds one by one.
Bake for about twenty minutes at 180 degree Celsius.
I could make 6 muffins from the above given measure.

namithaskitchen

Wheat & Oats Cookies.

Lockdown has led to cravings for sweets and savouries.

Tried these delish looking cookies and they tasted heavenly!!!

The aroma that filled the kitchen was so refreshing and tempting that within minutes of baking the cookies disappeared.

My family loved them so very much.

Would bake more of such cookies with some variations

.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour – 3/4 cup

Oats flour -1/4 cup

Butter – 1/4 cup

Almonds bits – 2 table spoons.

Vanilla essence – 1 small spoon.

Jaggery powder – 1/2 cup.

Baking powder – 1/2 t spoon.

Salt – less than a quarter spoon.

Milk – 1.5 spoon.(Room temperature)

Method:

In a deep bowl pass the wheat flour, oats flour and baking soda through a sieve and sift them twice.

This step is important to get a good texture.

You may use the normal oats and powder them.

Keep the sifted dry ingredients aside.

Now in another deep bowl, beat the melted butter slowly using the manual beater.

Add the jaggery and beat until it gets fluffy.

This will take less than five minutes.

Now add the vanilla essence and salt.

Now slowly add the sifted flour to the butter and sugar mixture and make a dough using the milk.

Divide the dough into 12 to 13 small balls.

Flatten the balls with the help of your palms.

Now grease the baking tray and keep a parchment paper on it.

Place the slightly flattened cookie balls on the parchment paper leaving an inch of space as they rise a bit while baking.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees for 10 minutes.

Now bake the cookies at 170 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.

Allow to cool and then store them in airtight jars .

Enjoy them with family , with tea coffee or milk.

Note:

You may use plain or brown sugar in place of jaggery.

namithaskitchen2 Comments

Pointed Gourd Rolls

Pointed Gourd also known a Parwal is mostly grown in india and some of the Asian countries.

It aids digestion, detoxifies the body and also purifies the blood.

It has many health benefits and is easy to cook. It’s rich in vitamin C sand B. Helps aid digestion.

Today I tried making some pointed gourd rolls which I was glad I tried. It turned out perfect and yummy. My family enjoyed them.

Ingredients:

Milk Powder – 1 cup

Powdere sugar – 2 table spoons.

Ghee – 2 table spoons

Cardamom powder – 1/2 spoon

Pista flakes – 2 table spoons

Pointed gourd – 4

Soda bi carbonate -1/4 spoon

Water – 1 cup

Cashew nut powdered – 2 spoons

Milk – 1/2 cup( cold )

Method:

Peel the pointed gourd and slice them into tiny bits.

Add them to boiling water to which soda bicarbonate is added.

Blanch them for 2-3 minutes and drain the water.

This step is essential to retain the green colour of the pointed gourd.

Now put them in cold water for a minute and strain them. Pat them dry on a dry cloth or tissue.

In a bowl add the cup of milk powder and ghee.

With the help of your fingers lightly rub the mixture to get a grainy texture.

Once it turns grainy in texture add in the powdered sugar, cardamom powder, cashew powder and the blanched pointed gourd bits.

Now add in the milk spoon by spoon to get a soft dough.

Heat a pan and sauté the mixture for 5-6 mins on low heat until the mixture turns into a ball and leaves the pan

You may grease your hand with some ghee so that it does not get sticky.

Wrap the dough in a foil or cling film and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes.

Roll each piece over the slivered pista or pista flakes.

Refrigerate for another half and hour or so.

Please note the amount of milk to knead may be less than what is mentioned.

Also you may increase the sugar as per your preference.

namithaskitchen