Almond Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1. ½ cup of granulated sugar

2. ½ cup of brown sugar

3. ½ cup of peanut butter (chunky optional)

4. ¼ cup of shortening

5. ¼ cup butter softened

6. 1 egg

7. 1 ¼ cup of all purpose flour

8. ¾ tsp baking soda

9. ½ tsp baking powder

10. 1 cup of sliced almonds

11. ¼ tsp salt

Directions

1. Mix wet ingredients peanut butter, shortening and egg and butter in a bowl.

2. In a bigger bowl add sugar, salt and flour and almonds.

3. Add baking powder and baking soda into the dry ingredients.

4. Now mix all wet ingredients in dry ingredients, add slowly and mix well.

5. Form the dough, cover it and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

6. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

7. Take the dough in 1 tsp of round spoon and keep dropping on ungreased cookie sheet.

8. After all the balls are made, flatten with fork in crisscross pattern.

9. Bake the cookies for about 9 – 10 minutes or until the sides are golden brown.

10. Cool for 5 minutes and then remove from cookie sheet.

11. Store in air tight containers and serve with milk, tea or coffee

-Chitra

Saffron Besan Halwa

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of besan ( gram flour)

2. 2 cups of sugar

3. 1 tbsp of saffron soaked in 1 cup of water

4. 2 green cardamom seeds(break it down)

5. 1 cup of toasted almonds and cashews

6. ½ cup of kish mish

7. 1 ½ cup of desi ghee / clarified butter

8. 1 tbsp of rose water

Directions

1. In a non stick pan roast the besan until dark orange yellow on medium low heat.

2. Now add ghee and cardamom and roast until brown.

3. Add sugar, and mix it well.

4. Does not increase heat instead reduce it to low heat now and let it cook for 2 minutes.

5. Now add kishmish and half of cashews and almonds.

6. It’s time to add saffron water along with saffron soaked and additional 2 ½ cup of water. While adding the water stir continuously. Be careful halwa does not stick and cook till it leaves ghee alongside the pan.

7. When cooked turn down the heat and transfer in bowl.

8. Garnish with rose water and rest of almonds and cashews.

-Chitra

Orange Cake

 

Ingredients

1. 1 big ripe orange, zested and juiced

2. ½ tsp of vanilla essence

3. 2 eggs

4. ¼ cup sugar

5. ¼ cup all-purpose flour

6. ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

7. ¼ tsp of soaked saffron in ½ cup of water (use only water)

8. ½ cup of skim milk

9. ½ cup ground blanched almonds sliced thinly

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray the baking loaf tray with nonstick cooking spray

2. In the mean time, set 4-5 cups of water over medium heat.

3. Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a separate bowl and egg yolks in separate bowl.

4. Using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks and set aside.

5. Add the sugar and ½ tsp of vanilla essence to the yolks, and beat until the sugar is dissolved and the color has turned a pale yellow.

6. Sift in the flour and salt and mix well.

7. Add the milk and stir until combined with hand mixer.

8. Add the orange zest and juice and saffron water and mix well.

9. Now fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture.

10. Mix egg mixture into flour mixture and add almonds. Toss into the mixture well but do not over mix it.

11. Pour the batter in a baking loaf tray. Place the tray into slightly baking dish and pour in hot water until iin t reaches halfway up the sides of the baking loaf tray.

12. Bake the cake until set, about 20 to 22 minutes.

13. Remove the tray from the water bath and let cool a bit before serving.

14. Slice them and serve with hot tea or coffee.

Chitra

Badaami Moong Daal Halwa

Ingredients

1. 1 ½ cup of Yellow Moong soaked overnight (split yellow lentils)

2. 1 cup of Sugar

3. 1 cup of soaked overnight Almonds

4. 1 stick or 1 cup of Unsalted Butter / Desi Ghee ( Clarified Butter)

5. ½ tsp. of Cardamom powder

6. ½ cup of sliced Cashew Nuts and Raisins ( Kaju /Kishmish)

7. ¾ cup of Water

Directions

1. Grind soaked Almonds into paste.

2. Grind soaked Moong Daal into paste.

3. Heat sugar and water to boiling level and add cardamom powder.

4. Stir the mixture till it turns little thick and add half almonds paste to the sugar mixture / chashni.

5. Now heat Butter / Ghee in a non stick deep dish pan on a medium heat.

6. Add slowly all Moong Paste into the pan and stir it continuously till you can start smelling from other room or till it starts leaving oil in sides.

7. When Moong turns little orangish brown add half almonds paste to it and stir it.

8. Now add cashew nuts and raisins.

9. After 2-5 minutes when the mixture turns fully cooked add sugar mixture to the moong daal paste.

10. Stir it continuously till it turns thick and all water is evaporated.

11. Serve hot or cold with grated almonds garnished.

Note :- Mung bean, also known as green bean, mung, moong, mash bean, munggo or monggo, green gram, golden gram, and green soy, is the seed of Vigna radiata which is native to India and Pakistan.

-Chitra

Chocolate Almond Biscotti (Italian)

Biscotti is Italian for "biscuits". In North America, the word has been taken to refer to a specific type of biscuits.

It is very popular in coffee shops, often eaten as a snack.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of chopped Almonds and Cashew nuts.

2. 1 ½ cup of All purpose flour/Maida

3. 2 cups of Chocolate melted

4. ¼ cup of melted Unsalted Butter

5. 1 cup of Sugar

6. 1 tsp. of Vanilla essence

7. ½ tsp of Baking Soda

8. 2 Eggs without yolk beaten

9. 2 tsp of flour

Directions

1. Mix Flour, Baking Soda and Sugar in one bowl with fork.

2. Melt Chocolate in microwave or melt it on stove top. Boil 3 cup of boiling water and keep another bowl on top of it with chocolate cubes to melt.

3. Till Chocolate is melting start melting butter.

4. Add 1 tsp of Vanilla in butter now. Mix Vanilla essence in Butter slowly and keep stirring until whole mixture is smooth.

5. Beat the Egg white and slowly add sugar till it turns little foamy.

6. Preheat the Oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.

7. Mix all wet ingredients in dry ingredients slowly one by one and stir it continuously.

8. Now add Cashew nuts and Almonds.

9. After they are mixed the ingredients will be turn it dough, if it sticky add little dry flour.

10. Now form the dough into two vertical loaves and keep on adding on Cookie sheet or parchment paper or greased foil paper.

11. Bake it until it is golden brown for 20 - 30 minutes.

12. After it is baked take out and let it cool down for 5 minutes.

13. Now cut the loaves into diagonal pieces and bake for another 5 minutes.

14. Cool down and serve with Milk, Coffee or Chocolate milk. You will forget the store bought Biscotti.

-Chitra

Banana Bread - Low Calorie cake

You will never regret it, it's nutritious and low calorie as it is made with whole wheat flour, you will never go to any store to buy, as you can make better now.

Ingredients

· 1 ½ cup of whole wheat flour
· 1 tsp. of Baking Soda

· ½ tsp. of Salt

· 1 ½ cup of Sugar

· 3 eggs lightly beaten with 3 tsp. of Sugar

· 2 large banana’s mashed

· 1 cup of canola oil

· 2 tsp. of orange Tang flavor

· 1 tsp. of chopped almonds

Directions

· Preheat oven at 400 degrees।

. Take one bowl and combine eggs and sugar till they are bright golden color and thick.

· Now combine mashed bananas to eggs and stir gently.

· Take another dry bowl where mix all dry ingredients wheat flour, baking soda, salt and
sugar with fork so that you don’t have any lumps.

· Now mix Oil slowly and keep on stirring to dry ingredients.

· Now add Eggs and Bananas to the mixture and stir continuously so there are no lumps.

. Add almonds to it and stir.

· Pour the mixture to greased loaf pan.

· Sprinkle sugar on top of the mixture for crusty texture on top.

· Bake until lightly browned and bread bounces back to the touch, about 55 minutes to 1
hour.

· Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before turning out in a plate to cool
completely.

· Enjoy with tea, coffee or have as a snack.

-Chitra

Ras Malai

A very easy homemade Indian Dessert with a fancy name. A special dish for all Sweet tooth people. If you make with zero calorie sugar and Skimmed Milk then it will be low calorie dessert:).Everyone is so fascinated with this name and they think it’s too difficult to make but with this recipe you can make and serve in just a very less time with very few ingredients.

Ingredients

· One liter Milk (low fat/Skim Milk)
· Cardamom/Eliachi seeds powder
· 1 ½ cup Sugar (Zero Calorie)
· A few saffron strands (10) soaked in 1 cup of water.
· ½ cup almonds grated
· 2 tsp. condensed milk (low fat)
· One big whole lemon or 4 tsp. of fresh lemon liquid

For Garnishing
· ¼ cup sliced Almonds/badaam
· few drops of Kewra liquid


Directions

1) Pour the milk in a pan and keep it in medium low.
2) Add sugar, cardamom powder, grated almonds mixture.
3) When milk is ready to boil add saffron water along with saffron strands.
4) Boil the milk and separate it in two portions.
5) Separate 1/4 cup milk from the pan and heat separately in low flame.
6) Add condensed milk till the milk thickens.
7) Cool down the milk and refrigerate it.
8) To the rest of the milk (3/4 portion), add lemon. After milk is all curdled up and is all separated from water, sieve the cheese and take out in an oven tray.
9) Place the cheese in the oven for 15 minutes 350 degrees or less depends on oven to oven (cheese should not change brown color).
10) Take out the cheese and rest it for 10 mins till it cools down, then cut the cheese in circles with help of cookie cutter or any round shape cutter.
11) Put 1-2 drops of Kewra liquid on each and every cheese balls and refrigerate them for an hour.

Serve in Individual Bowls with thickened milk and garnish with few saffron strands and chopped almonds.

- Chitra