Whole wheat crackers

Hi friends, we often munch on cheese crackers - what if we can replicate them home-styled and healthier as well?  Yes, we can!  When I came across the texanerin site, I could hardly resist these without a try.  If you kids like cheese, they may end up liking these crackers as well.  They are whole-wheat based and can be an ideal snack box option.  

After baking, they were crunchy and had a peppery taste.  You can play with spices and bring out your own flavours as well.  So, yes do try and let us know your feedback.  

Ingredients required

• 170 gram grated Cheddar Cheese
• 50 grams unsalted Butter, melted
• 100 grams of Wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Method

Add flour, salt, pepper and cheddar cheese in a dry bowl.  

Add in melted butter and mix them well. 

Now knead this using hands into a tight dough.  Let it rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 180 degree celsius.  

Roll them to  a sheet of 1/8 inch thickness.

Cut them into thin strips vertically.  

Repeat the same horizontally.  

Using a wooden dowel, prick a hole in centre of each square, this helps in non-rising of crackers during baking.

Bake them for about 10 minutes till they turn brown around the edges.  For ultra thin crackers, make sure you roll the dough with equal thickness.

Cool them on wire rack.  Store them in air-tight container

Happy Baking  :)

Shepherd's pie

   Shepherd's pie has a meat filling and is  lined with the crust made of mashed potatoes.  This savoury pie was traditionally devoured whenever there was  left-over of grilled meat.  I can also say that it's a comfort food.   With so much humidity around, all you need is a piping hot shepherd's pie and a good book to mark a great day.

I got this recipe from my mom's Morphy Richards oven guidebook.  They have beautifully twisted it according to our Indian palette.  This dish is a layered dish.  The layers start with  thinly sliced potatoes, followed by vegetable mince, lamb mince and topped with mashed potatoes.  This, in turn, is brushed with melted butter and some crumbled cheese.  When these layers are baked, all you get is aromatic and a crispy potato crust top, followed by soft layers of vegetables and meat mince and ends with potato slices. I flavoured meat mince with dill and totally  this pie had such complementing flavours that I ended up devouring them as such.  Alternatively,  you can dig them with roti as well.  

  The round  casserole, I used here is 15 cm in diameter and 5 cm depth.  The filling measurements are made accordingly.  You may have to twist the measurements according to your casserole's size. 

So, let's get started. 

Mascarpone Cheese - from scratch

   Mascarpone cheese is a soft, creamy cheese.   Originating from Italy, this cheese is the main ingredient in Tiramisu.  They are also used in other recipes like Cheesecake and pasta.  Provided they are very costly and are very rare to find, it is best to prepare them at home.  So, given below recipe is my interpretation, as derived from Wikipedia.

Ingredients required

• 200 ml Amul fresh cream
• 1 tsp lemon juice

This batch yielded me about 125 grams of mascarpone cheese, 

Method

Heat Amul cream in a milk pan, till they bubble up on the sides and is hot to touch.

Add in lemon juice and stir them well using the spatula.

Simmer the flame, You will notice that within few seconds, the cream will get thick and start bubbling.  This will coat  the back of the spatula.  

Pour them on muslin cloth lined bowl.  

Tie the muslin cloth and hang them over the counter.  

Let it drain for 2 hours.  You can use the whey for cooking purpose.

Store them in  an air-tight container and use within a week.  

Happy Baking  :)  

Cheesy sambhar cake

This is an savoury cake, sandwiched between an layer of cheese and an layer of potato, seasoned with sambhar spices.   The taste was heavenly, and for an savoury-lover like me, every bite was mesmerizing.  Hubby, being an sambhar-aholic, thumbs uped this one.

This is, like, one crazy experiment which turned an best shot.   Yes, though, I wanted to bake buns with aloo masala filling, I settled for this one.  One advantage is that you can add any filling you want.  I made two fillings with the yeast-raised dough.  First one was cheese and second was potato.  I could'nt forsake this vegetable as this had its closest proximity with sambhar.  So making an sambhar flavoured potato was an better idea and sandwiching them between cheesy layers got the taste right.  

BHAJJI KI MINI PIE

  Well, what can I say about this cheesy n soft (vegetable) bhaji stuffed pies??  They are a divine fusion of Indian chaat with England-based dessert.  Since bhaji goes excellent with pav, their combo with buttery pie crust was good too :)  I made them when I desperately needed a savory snack. I am always a savory lover...  so when this 'fusion' idea struck me, I no longer resisted myself to bake :)   Yes, I don't know why baking is very mesmerizing and these days I am getting bakeaholic :D  :D

When it came for filling, I needed them a bit cheesy with  a different seasoning.  So, I went for oregano with mozzarella combination.  You can use any dry herbs seasoning (or replace them with a couple of fresh herbs and chili flakes you have).  If you want a classic 'cheesy' look, you can replace quarter cup of cheese to almost 1 cup.  (Trust this one, you will get a 'classic temptation')  These pies are better had straight from the oven, piping hot.  :D  :D So, with freezing climate here, they were a 'pleasure to intake' :D  :D

I got a lot of credits when I shared this pie with my neighbor :D :D  She especially appreciated the filling.  This has given me a lot of confidence, yes I am going to try this filling with more of savory types.  On the other hand, I had to admit that making these pies were a bit time-consuming.  It is best to prepare the dough before a  day and refrigerate them if you are in short of time. 

Capsicum and babycorn pizza

   Saturday evenings are too lazier and I demand for any sort of snack.  This idea of making pizza struck me when I saw an ready-made pizza base in a shop.  I also bought pizza cheese and happily walked home.   If you want to know recipe for home-made base, kindly click here

The pizza came out soo good and it got finished within minutes, so let us move off to ingredients. 

Ingredients required

• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 tsp of crushed dry herbs
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tbspn of dry yeast
• Pizza base - 5 tbspn
• Grated cheese - 1/2 cup
• Baby corn and capsicum slices - 1 cup

Lasagna

      Lasagna is an baked Italian dish layering  ribbon-shaped pasta sheets  with white sauce, meat/vegetable mince with tomato sauce and cheese.  I had eyed this dish  nearly a month ago.. After extensive study, research and videos, (for two weeks)  I, finally am coming up with this recipe... Here I will be discussing how to prepare  & cook Lasagna sheets, preparation of two sauces (Bechamel sauce, Bolognese sauce) , Assembly, Baking and lastly how to store & reuse.  I am also presenting Lasagna cups, a new variant of   quick lasagna...

How to prepare &  cook Lasagna sheets

Mini garlic pizza

Garlic is my all-time-favourite.  So, I just tried out the same with pizza and I luved it!!  The combo with pizza, cheese worked out quite well!!!

Ingredients required

• Readymade pizza base-1
• Cubed paneer and capsicum - 1 cup
• Amul cheese slice - 2 (or as required)
• Garlic finely sliced - 25 pods
• Soy sauce - 1/4 tsp
• Chilly sauce - 1 tsp
• Tomato sauce - 2 tsp
• Pinch of salt
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Oil, as required

Hyderabadi Vegetable Sandwich Recipe | Spicy Indian Vegetable Cheese Sandwich

Hyderabadi Vegetable Sandwich is a delicious Indian-style sandwich prepared with a spicy and flavorful mixed vegetable filling, aromatic spices, tomato puree and cheese. The vegetable mixture is cooked until completely dry and then layered between toasted bread slices for a crispy, satisfying snack. This easy vegetarian sandwich is perfect for breakfast, evening tea, school lunch boxes or a quick snack.

Ingredients

For Tempering

• 3 teaspoons oil
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies

For the Vegetable Filling

• 4 teaspoons finely chopped onions
• 2 teaspoons curd
• A pinch of turmeric powder (haldi)
• 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
• ½ teaspoon salt, or according to taste
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder (jeera powder)
• ½ teaspoon coriander powder (dhaniya powder)
• ½ cup tomato puree
• 1 cup boiled mixed vegetables, such as cauliflower, potato, carrot and beans
• 3 teaspoons grated cheese
• 4 slices milk bread

Method

Prepare the Vegetable Filling

1. Heat oil in a kadai or pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter.
2. Add the finely chopped green chillies and sauté for a few seconds.
3. Add the chopped onions and cook until they become soft and slightly translucent.
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté until the raw aroma disappears.
5. Add turmeric powder, salt, garam masala, cumin powder and coriander powder. Mix well.
6. Add the curd and stir continuously so that it blends well with the spices.
7. Pour in the tomato puree and mix everything together.
8. Add the boiled mixed vegetables and gently combine with the masala.
9. Cook the mixture until the vegetables are well coated with the spices and the excess moisture has completely evaporated.

Important tip: The vegetable filling should be thick and completely dry. If the filling is watery, continue cooking until all excess moisture evaporates. A wet filling can make the bread soggy and affect the texture and appearance of the sandwich.

Assemble the Sandwich

10. Heat a tawa or flat pan and lightly toast the bread slices on both sides.
11. Spread an even layer of the prepared vegetable filling over one toasted bread slice.
12. Sprinkle grated cheese generously over the vegetable filling.
13. Cover with another bread slice and gently press the sandwich together.
14. Toast the sandwich on the tawa until both sides are golden brown and crisp and the cheese has melted.
15. Remove from the pan, cut into halves or slices and serve hot.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this Hyderabadi Vegetable Sandwich hot with tomato ketchup, green chutney or your favorite sandwich dip. You can also serve it alongside a cup of hot tea or coffee for a delicious evening snack.

Recipe Tips

• Make sure the boiled vegetables are well drained before adding them to the filling.
• Cook the vegetable mixture until it becomes dry to prevent soggy sandwiches.
• You can adjust the green chillies according to your preferred spice level.
• For a richer sandwich, add extra grated cheese before toasting.
• Brown or whole-wheat bread can be used instead of milk bread.
• The filling can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated for quick sandwich preparation.