Mini Custard Cookies

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 50 g
Custard powder - 15 g
Unsalted butter - 50 g
Powdered Sugar - 30 g
Milk - 1 tbsp
Elaichi powder - a pinch

Method:

• In a bowl add in butter and sugar.
• Cream this well.
• Add in custard powder, elaichi powder.
• Add in flour and gather the dough.
• If it crumbly add in a tbsp of milk and gather the dough.
• Use nozzle of your choice and fill the dough in piping bag.
• Pipe the cookies on a lined baking tray.
• Bake this in a preheated over (OTG) at 180°C for 8-10 mins.
• Yields 12-15 mini cookies.

Almond Tutti Frutti Cantucci / Biscotti

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 125 g
Tutti Frutti - 55 g
Almonds - 20 g
Butter - 3 tbsp
Sugar - 65 g
Vanilla Esc - 1 tsp
Egg - 1
Baking powder - 3/4 tsp

Method:

• In a bowl cream butter and sugar.
• Add in esc.
• Add in egg and whisk well.
• Add in flour, baking powder and whisk well.
• Add in tutti frutti, almonds and fold it.
• Gather the dough.
• Shape this to a log.
• I made two logs as I wanted small sized cantuccis.
• Place them in lined baking tray.
• Bake this in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 25-28 mins.
• Set this aside to cool completely.
• Once cooled, cut them into slices.
• Arrange them in lined baking tray.
• Bake this in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 7 mins.
• Flip the cookies and bake for 7 more mins.
• This is to ensure even baking(crispness) on both side.
• Yields 24 cantuccis.

Vazhakaai / Plantain Vadai

Ingredients:

Vazhakaai - 1
Onion - 1 (fine chop)
Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Channa dal - 1/2 cup
Dry Red Chilly - 3
Green Chilly - 1
Ginger - Small piece
Garlic - 4
Fennel seeds - 3/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - a sprig
Salt, Oil, Water - As reqd

Method:

• Roughly cut and pressure cook plantain for a whistle.
• Carefully peel the skin off and add the plantain pieces to a bowl.
• Add these pieces to strainer to remove excess water.
• Now add this to bowl and mash it.
• Soak the dal in water for.
• To the blender add in chilly, garlic, crushed ginger.
• Add in salt and fennel seeds and blend it.
• Strain the water from dal completely.
• Add this to blender and blend coarsely.
• Add this to mashed plantain.
• Add in fine chopped onion, curry leaves.
• Mix this well.
• Heat oil in pan and fry these vadas.
• Server hot with chutney or sambar.
• Yields 20-22 vadas.

Banana Halwa

Ingredients:

Banana - 3
Jaggery - 45 g
Milk - 1 tbsp
Elaichi powder - a pinch
Cashews - 4-5 (fine chop)
Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method:

• In a pan add in jaggery and little water.
• Let it boil till jaggery melts.
• Stain this and set aside.
• To the blender add in peeled bananas and blend it.
• Add in a tbsp of milk and blend it to smooth paste and set aside.
• The puree weighed app 160 g.
• Heat little ghee in pan and add in banana puree.
• Cook in low flame for 2 mins.
• Add in jaggery syrup and mix well.
• Add in ghee and add in rostsed casshews.
• Mix well.
• Once it starts to leaves edges (will take only few mins), add in elaichi powder.
• Mix well and serve hot.

Note:

• Use ripen bananas.
• Adjust sweet according to your taste.

Leftover Idly cutlet

Ingredients:

Idly - 5
Onion - 1 (fine chop)
Carrot  - 1 (grated)
Peas - 1 tbsp (boiled)
Sooji - 2 tbsp
Kashmiri Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Coriander leaves - Little (fine chop)
Salt, Oil - As reqd

Method:

• In a bowl add in idly and mash it.
• Heat oil in pan and add in onion and saute for a while.
• Cook in medium flame.
• Add in spice powders and salt and mix well.
• Add in grated carrot and boiled peas and mix well.
• Mash well using a spatula or a masher.
• Add this to bowl.
• Add in mashed idly.
• Add in fine chopped coriander leaves.
• Add in sooji and mix well.
• Make small balls and gently press it.
• Heat oil in pan and fry them in medium flame.
• Server hot with ketchup.

Note:

• I used leftover idly, you can also use fresh idly.
• Can also use rava idly, in that case skip adding sooji.
• I also added a pich of spicy idly podi.