Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies (Egg less)

Ingredients
1. 1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour
2. ½ cup of all purpose flour
3. 1 cup of sweetened chocolate chips
4. 1 cup of Sugar
5. ½ cup of unsalted butter melted
6. ½ tsp of Baking Soda
7. 1 tsp of Vanilla essence
8. ½ cup of Buttermilk

Directions
1. Mix Flour, Baking Soda and Sugar in one bowl
2. Mix Butter with 1 tsp of Sugar
3. Mix Vanilla essence in Butter slowly and keep stirring.
4. Preheat the Oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.
5. Mix all wet ingredients in dry ingredients slowly and stir it continuously
6. Now add Chocolate chips
7. After they are mixed the ingredients will be little dry still.
8. Now start adding buttermilk slowly and keep on stirring the mixture till it is smooth.
9. Take one table Spoon and keep on adding on Cookie sheet or parchment paper or greased foil paper.

10. Now bake the cookies for 30 minutes or till they are golden brown at 350.
11. Take out the cookie and let it cool for at least 15 minutes and then serve
12. These eggless cookies, whole wheat cookies are healthy for your family, you can serve them with milk.
-Chitra

Valentine’s Day Special Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies

 

I recently saw lots of recipes for Nutella cookies, which I absolutely love, but this time I picked up new Hershey’s Spread (chocolate and hazelnut flavor), so I thought why not try this recipe with a new ingredient.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of Flour

2. 1 cup of Hershey’s spreads chocolate hazelnut (can use Nutella)

3. 1 Egg

4. Pinch of Salt

5. ¼ cup of M&M of your choice (I used Peanut)

6. 1 tbsp. of Thick yoghurt

7. 2 tbsp. of sugar

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven for 350 degrees F.

2. Crush the M&M with help of any heavy spoon or kitchen tool. I used Peanut M&M as my valentine loves this one. You can use any M&M you want.

3. Mix all the dry ingredients first, Flour, crushed M&M , pinch of salt and sugar.

4. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl, egg, yoghurt and Hershey’s spread (main ingredient), you can use Nutella also.

5. Whisk together well and then mix the dry and wet ingredients well.

6. Make your cookie sheet ready with parchment paper or foil paper.

7. Bake them for 8-10 minutes, depending on your oven.

Viola ! your delicious , sumptuous cookies are ready for your date night with your special someone.

Psst.. If you don’t have anyone for your valentines, make it for yourself and share with your friends and family and celebrate your day. You will soon get onesweet like this.

Please let me know if you try this and share this recipe with your friends and family.

-xoxo Chitra

Marble Cake

 

Ingredients

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour

2. 2 tsp. baking powder

3. 2 tbsp. of unsweetened cocoa powder

4. ½ teaspoon salt

5. 1 cup sugar

6. ½ cup of unsalted butter

7. 2 eggs

8. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

9. 1 cup milk

1. In a mixing bowl add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk.

2. Beat it well until the mixture is smooth.

3. Grease and flour a 9 inch round pan.

4. Reserve ¾ cup of batter; pour the rest into pan.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

6. In the reserved mixture, stir cocoa.

7. Drop the cocoa mixture with the help of spoon over top of white batter. Using a knife, swirl the cocoa batter into the white batter to incorporate it in a marble effect.

8. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until an inserted wooden pick comes out clean.

-Chitra

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

 

Ingredients

1. 3 cups all-purpose flour and some for the pan

2. 2 cups of sweetened chocolate chips

3. 1 cup milk

4. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5. 2 ½ sticks of butter

6. ½ cup vegetable shortening

7. 3 cups sugar

8. ½ teaspoon fine salt

9. 5 eggs

10. ½ teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a mixer, mix the shortening and 2sticks of butter.

3. Now add sugar little by little.

4. Now after creaming the butter add all the eggs one by one and beat it well.

5. Now add milk into the mixer.

6. In a big bowl, stir salt, flour and baking powder and add to mixer slowly slowly.

7. Now add vanilla and stir.

8. Now turn off the mixer and add chocolate chips into the mixture and stir so that it is evenly spread in mixture.

9. Grease the ½ stick butter to the baking foil pan and sprinkle some flour into it.

10. Pour in the mixture and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

11. When the cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes.

12. Wrap well and store in the refrigerator.

Serve the sliced topped with ice cream of your choice yummy.

-Chitra

Happy Valentine’s Day

A sweet treat for all of you :)

Some of my dessert Recipes for your Valentine’s evening. Share with you loved ones and have a pleasant evening.

Strawberry Sorbet ; Walnut Coffee Biscotti with Orange Chocolate drizzled ; Firni; Tiramisu; Rabri Faluda

Enjoy Chitra

Cashew Brownies

Ingredients

1. 1 box Ghirardelli brownie mix ( if you don’t have Brownie Mix then make you own, refer recipe below)

2. ½ cup of semi chocolate chips (milk or white)

3. 1 ½ cup chopped cashew nuts.

4. 1 tsp of vanilla extract

5. 2 Egg white

6. 1 cup of olive oil or 1 stick of unsalted butter

7. 2 tsp of fat free yoghurt ( to make brownie softer)

Directions

1. Mix Ghirardelli brownie mixture with egg whites, oil or butter, yoghurt and vanilla slowly one by one.

2. Grease an 8* 8 inch pan with little butter or oil and preheat the oven at 350 for 10 minutes.

3. Pour ¼ of the mixture in pan and spread add chocolate chips.

4. Pour little brownie mix again.

5. Now add cashew nuts and spread all over.

6. Now pour rest of the brownie mixture.

7. Now bake it for 20 minutes or until the fork comes out clean if you dip in the mixture.

8. Cool it down for 15 minutes and cut into pieces.

9. Dust the sugar if you want.

10. Enjoy with coffee or tea and remember they are low fat as you have decreased little fat with egg whites and butter.

Brownie mix: - Add all ingredients. 1 cup all purpose flour, 3 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt, 1-1/4 cup sugar (or adjust to your taste)

-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

Veggie Paradise Pizza

Who does not love pizza..........It is not Italian favorite anymore, but everyone loves it......kids love it and adults enjoy as much as kids.

So, here we make our own fresh veggie pizza at home in just 30 minutes.

All ingredients

Ingredients

• Store brought fresh pizza dough
  
• ½ cup diced red bell peppers
  
• ½ cup dice green bell peppers
  
• ¼ cup of sliced red onion
  
• ½ cup black pitted and diced olives
  
• ½ cup of mushrooms sliced thinly
  
• ½ tsp. of oregano
  
• ½ cup of skim milk/ low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
  
• Red chili flakes to taste
  
• 1 tbsp. of olive oil
  
• 2 tsp. of pizza sauce or you can make your own (recipe follows)

Directions:-

• Roll the Dough with some dry flour on wooden base or kitchen counter until it is your desired shape (round or rectangle)
• Preheat oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.
• Spray some Oil on baking sheet and out your pizza on it.
• Spray some olive oil or brush olive oil on first side and dig small little holes with the help of fork in pizza so that olive oil flavor can come in bread.
• Repeat this with the other side after one side has been cooked or turned light pink brown (usually takes 10 minutes each side on 450 degrees)
• Now take the pizza bred out and cover the top with sauce and some cheese, heat this for 10 minutes or till the cheese melts.
• Now at last is toppings time, which are vegetables or Chicken etc. and some more cheese. This recipe is for All Veggie Surprise, but if you want you can use Chicken or Pepperoni. It is just cooking time of vegetables will be lot less then any kind of meat.
• When the vegetables turn little brown and cheese melts you pizza is ready.
• Take out the Pizza and let it sit for 3-4 minutes, it will be hot to slice it. I know it is not easy to wait after that. Grab your slices and enjoy with your family.

Pizza Sauce: - Heat 3 tsp. olive oil and add thinly diced onions and two cloves of garlic. When Onions turn little brown add can of diced tomatoes. Let it cook for 10 minutes until sauce is little reduced and then add salt and add 1 tsp. of oregano and red chili flakes. Let the mixture to cool down and now mix it well in your blender with 1tsp. of hot sauce and salt and pepper to tatse. Your sauce is ready. Store it in glass bottle or can. You can use the same as any kind of pasta marinara.

You can get your kids involve in choosing and putting the toppings on your bread, it will be family Pizza time and for health conscious people now you know how much fat and calories you are serving your family. If you are living alone, it can be treat for yourself doing something great or celebrate anything, it can be bad day as cheer up day, njoy :)


-Chitra

Asian Style Fish Sticks / Pakoras

Ingredients

· Two wheat bread
· 2 tsp of Olive Oil or olive oil spray
· One Lemon
· One tsp of fresh cilantro/dhaniya

For Marinating

· 1/2 cup soy sauce (preferred-low Sodium)
· 2 cups of fresh orange juice
· 2 tsp. of sugar
· 2 tsp. of fresh chopped cilantro
· 1 tsp. of fresh chopped ginger
· 2 cloves of minced garlic
· 2 fresh fillets of Salmon (preferred – Atlantic)
· 1 teaspoon of hot sauce
· 1 teaspoon of hot chili flakes or red chili powder

 

Marinated Fish in Sauce

Directions:-

• Cut two fillets into bite size pieces (approx. 6-7 pieces)
  
• Marinate them into zip lock bag or plastic container from 4-24 hrs and keep it aside in fridge (preferred overnight)
  
• Take out the fish 20 minutes before cooking to allow them to come in room temperature.
  
• In the mean time grate the bread slices into fresh bread crumbs and take them out in separate bowl or tray.
  
• Heat oil in a non stick pan/skillet.
  
• Take out the fish and roll it over bread crumbs until they are all coated with it.
  
• When the pan has turned hot turn down the heat to medium and put the fish piece one by one. Turning heat to medium will not smoke into your kitchen.
  
• Do not flip the fish until it has been cooked to 5 mins. Or the breaded fish has turned golden brown each side.
  
• Take another small pan and pour the marinating sauce into it and reduce it till it turns thick.

When the fish is cooked sprinkle fresh cilantro/dhaniya and lemon juice over it and place it over the marinating sauce. Serve hot.

-Chitra

Grilled Atlantic Salmon with Tangy Tomato Rice or with a Tasty Side of Hot and Sour Vinegar Sauce

Two in One Recipe :-

This recipe is for Grilled Salmon served with tomato rice or with a tasty side dish of tangy bell pepper sauce. It’s just few more ingredients and you can make a little variation in your next dinner or lunch.

Serve it to your loved ones instead of waiting to go a fancy restaurant for this fabulous dish or invite your friends over and believe me they will be your fan after this.

Ingredients

· Two cups of soaked rice ( soak only for 30 minutes before cooking)
· 1 cup of tomato sauce
· 1 cup of fresh mix vegetables- for different colors ( Capsicum, Carrots, Peas, Corn)
· Vegetable/Olive Oil
· 1 tsp. Cumin/Zeera powder
· Salt to taste
· 1 tsp of red chili powder
· Fresh chopped cilantro/coriander/dhaniya

For Marinating Fish:-
· Two Fillets Atlantic Salmon (cut in two pieces each- Dinner for four)
· Juice of 1 Lemon, and take lemon zest for same.
· 1 tsp. lime zest
· 2 garlic cloves minced very thinly
· Salt & Pepper to taste
· 2 tsp. of Olive oil
· ½ tsp. of red chili powder
· 1 tsp. of vinegar1 tsp. hot sauce.

Directions

Rice:-
· Mix all the ingredients for marinating and marinate the fish for 1 night before
or 7-8 hrs before you cook.
· Take a non stick skillet and add zeera/cumin seeds to 2 tsp of vegetable/olive oil.
· Now add salt and red chili powder.
· Add mix vegetables and let them cook till they turn crispy light brown.
· Now add tomato puree/sauce to it and let it cook for 2-5 minutes.
· Add soaked rice to it without water and stir it for two minutes until each rice grain is

coated with your mixture.
· Now add 1 to 1 ½ cups of water and let it cook till 15-20 minutes.


Cooking Fish:-

Till Rice cooks start with fish.
· Spray non stick oil spray on a grilled pan/plate (if you don’t have a grilled pan you can

use non stick skillet also)
· When it is medium heated add the fish, do not add sauce just fish. Let the fish cook on

each side for 3-5 minutes until it is golden brown. If you flip before this fish will not be

cooked properly and will break while flipping. For Sauce
· Heat on low heat leftover marinating sauce and 2 tsp of vinegar and 1 tsp. of
vinegar.

Serve rice with Salmon in individual plates and garnish with spicy and sour sauce on it.

Next Day Lunch or Dinner :-

Now you can make this as next day lunch or next day dinner with slight additions. Cook Fish as referred above and cook tasty side dish with it.

Ingredients

For Sauce:-
· 1 yellow and 1 green bell pepper chopped roughly in size
· 2 tsp of vinegar
· 2 tsp of hot sauce
· Vegetable/Canola/Olive oil (except mustard oil)
· ¼ cup of Water

Directions

. Take another non stick skillet, add ½ tsp of oil.
· Add chopped bell peppers.
· Now let them cook 5-10 minutes till they turn little pink brown on low heat.
· Now add ¼ cup of water and let it cook for 5 minutes.
· After they are cooked keep them aside and add salt and pepper to taste and let it sit

till pulao is ready.
· Now add hot sauce and vinegar to them and stir it so that each bell pepper is coated with

Sauce.

Serve with Grilled Salmon on hot and sour bell peppers bed and garnish with the sauce.

This could be romantic dinner special for Valentine's Day :)

-Chitra Pal