Choco Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Choco Chip Oatmeal Cookies  

The lockdown has given me the opportunity to dance around my hobby and so I tried to mix my hobby with my principle of a healthy dish. I tried to make oatmeal cookies. These cookies to me seemed to carry the aroma of dreams, taste of lost hobbies and warmth of a family. On a rainy day, when I felt nostalgic and homesick these cookies took me back to my cozy home. On a warm day, when I want to take up my lost hobby these cookies fuel my passion. I have also managed to stick to my healthy food principle by adding oatmeal, substituting wholewheat flour for all purpose flour and using brown sugar and honey instead of sugar. The toppings were of dry fruits that children usually evade. I hope these cookies would be as wholesome as they were for me.

Preparation Time : 10 Min

Cooking Time : 18 - 20 min

Video Link : 

Ingredients :  

• Oatmeal 1 Cup
• Whole wheat flour 1 Cup
• Almond flour 1/2 cup
• Unsalted butter 100 gm (at room temperature)
• Brown sugar 1/4 cup
• Honey 2 tablespoon
• Vanilla essense 3 -4 drops
• Pinch of salt
• Choco Chips 2 Tablespoon
• Baking Soda 1/4 teaspoon
• Baking Powder 1/4 teaspoon 

Procedure : 

• Take Almonds around 1/2 cup in a grinder and coarsely grind it.
• In a bowl take butter and sugar, mix it well till it is light and creamy.

• Now add honey and vanilla essence and mix it well
• In a bowl add wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, mix it well and sieve them 
• Now let's add dry ingredients to the butter and honey mixture. First add flour mixture, then almond flour along with oatmeal and a tablespoon of choco chips 

• Mix all together nicely and you will get a dough kind of texture. 

• Now keep this in refrigerator for 20 to 25 minutes
• Now preheat the oven for 10 minutes 
• On the baling tray place a butter paper or baking sheet take a spoon full of cookie dough, make a round ball and flatten it as shown in picture. Repeat the same steps with rest of the dough. 

• Garnish your cookies with some Choco chips. Now place the baking try in preheated oven and bake the cookies for 15 to 18 minutes at 180 degree C or till these these are golden brown 

• Once it is done remove the baking tray from oven and leave it for 2 to 3 minutes. Now transfer the cookies on wire rack and allow them to cool completely  

• Enjoy with a glass of milk or Cup of tea. 

Tips :  

• Store these cookies in an air tight jar
• If you feel dough is little dry add a tablespoon of milk.

Gajar Ka Halwa

Gajar Ka Halwa  

Our life in 2020 has become very fast and hectic. In order to achieve our goals and evolve with time we are making our habits a mere memory. Gajar ka Halwa is subject to the same destiny. We have cut down its consumption drastically as the preparation is time consuming and has a high calorie intake. Maybe that is exactly why it reminds us of maa ka pyar. In times of homesickness you can use this recipe to relish in the flavour of mom's affection. However, the issue of high calories still exist and we can always cut down our portions. Let's use this recipe to take a break from our reality and travel back to our childhood days.

Preparation Time : 30 min

Cooking Time : 3 - 4 Hours

Ingredients : 

• Red Carrots 500 gm 
• Khoya 500 gm (I used 2 lt full cream milk to make khoya)
• Milk 3 lt (1 + 2 for khoya)
• Sugar 1/2 cup or according to your taste
• Ghee 3 Tbs 
• Almonds blanched and sliced 3 Tbs
• Rasins 2 Tbs
• Pistachio sliced 2 tbs
• Cardamom powder a generous pinch
• Saffron 6 to 8 strands dissolve in 1 tbs milk

Preparation : 

• First of all I prepare khoya in a heavy Bottom pan add 2 lt full cream milk. cook it on medium flame. cook milk till it is properly cooked and give a nice creamy texture and light pink colour. 

• Take a carrot peel it, wash it and grate it nicely and keep a side

• Cut and chop all the nuts and keep a side 

• I a pan add 1 lt full cream milk once it start boiling add grated carrots to this

• Cook carrots on medium flame 

• Now add Saffron and cardamom powder to halwa.

•  Once you feel that milk is reduced then lower the flame and Stir constantly 

• Now add Khoya to this and stir constantly for 5 to 6 min 

• Now add Rosins, Pistachio and sugar mix it well and cook on low flame 

• Take another pan add ghee to this once the ghee is hot add sliced almonds to ghee. Fry almonds in ghee for a minute. Now add this ghee and almonds to gajar ka halwa  

• Now roast the halwa for 5 to 8 minutes. Once you see that the sides are leaving oil with off the gas. 

• Serve hot, garnished with nuts   

Tips : 

• You can add nuts according to your wish
• Be with your halwa specially once you have added khoya and sugar to it. This dessert needs your full attention otherwise it can stick to the bottom of pan.

Moong Dal Veggie Pancakes

Moong Dal Veggie Pancakes 

Recently, awareness for fitness have skyrocketed. People now not only acknowledge the need to pay attention to their body but even put a lot of efforts towards it. This trend caught up to me as well and I decided to have a healthier diet. This decision made me realise there is a reason I had to make this decision in the very first place and THAT is my undying love for my taste buds. So I formed a simple equation:
 
           Health + Taste = Satisfaction.

That is why I came up with this recipe: "THE PERFECT BLEND OF HEALTH AND TASTE" I hope this recipe helps you guys the way it helped me by making you believe taste doesn't come at the expense of health and whenever you want to have something delicious you won't have to give up on your resolution.


If I talk about the benefits of Ingredients this Pancake is healthy combination :

• Moong Dal are one of the best Plant based Protein. It contains essential vitamins, minerals and is rich in fibre.
• In fact, they are high in nutrients and antioxidants.So they protect us against heat stroke, helps in good digestion and weight loss. So it is basically healthy, delicious and very versatile in cooking so we can easily add them to our site.
• Carrots are also rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre. It is good for vision. It helps in boasting our immune system
• Capsicum is again a very versatile vegetable. We can use it in Salads, curries and Stir fry. It is a  a good source of vitamin A, B1, B2 B3, B6, B9, C and E. 

Preparation Time : 20 Min

Cooking Time : 20 Min

Serves  :  4.

Ingredients :  

• Split Green moong dal 1 cup soaked for 6 to 7 hours
• Onion Chopped 1 medium size
• Ginger grated 1 inch piece 
• Green chillies chopped 2
• Carrot 1 medium size grated
• Capsicum 1 small size finely chopped
• Coriander leaves chopped 2 Tablespoon
• Salt according to taste 
• Red chilly Powder according to taste
• Oil for cooking around 2 tablespoon

Procedure :  

• Soak green moong dal for 6 to 7 hours or overnight and keep aside

• Now remove the excess water from moong dal and grind it in smooth paste 

• Finish cutting and chopping of vegetables

• In a bowl take Moong dal paste add chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, carrots, capsicum, coriander leaves, salt and red chilly powder

• Mix all ingredients well and form a smooth mixture as shown in picture

• Take a non stick pan. Pour a spoon of pancake mixture on a pan, drizzle some oil on it.

• Once it is cooked, turn it and cook from other side till it is golden brown from both the sides

• Try to cook pan cakes on medium or slow flame so that it is cooked properly from inside and crispy from outside.

• Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee.