CUMIN/JEERA BISCUITS AND A POST ON A SPICE-CUMIN

CUMIN/JEERA BISCUITS

A POST ON A SPICE-CUMIN

#Edited- This recipe was featured on Joy's love food on 11th April 2016. Check here

Cumin seeds are very small in size and brown in colour. They are mainly used in Indian, middle eastern, north African, western Chinese and in Mexican cuisine. It is the main spice of curry powder. Cumin seeds are used because of its distinctive flavour and aroma. Once it is added to a dish, even when the dish is cold, you can still smell the aroma of this great spice. These days cumin has been globally recognised as a great spice and I have seen chefs in different cuisines using cumin because of its aromatic values and health benefits.

I remember when I was working as a teacher, sometimes I carried my lunch with me to school. I normally took things which I could eat as it is, at room temperature, because in our small department room there was no facility of heating food in the microwave. Whenever I had cumin in my food, my colleagues admired the flavour from my dish. On many incidences, they were complaining that why was I carrying food for myself only. On many instances they told me, “Your food is smelling so nice, you should bring this type of aromatic lunch for all of us”. I really liked their compliments and complaints. I still miss those days, when I was working as a teacher.

Cumin is extremely good for digestion and its many related problems, it means we should include cumin in our everyday consumption of food items. That is exactly the way, cumin seeds are used in Indian cuisine, it is used in almost all curries, lentil preparations, biryani/pilaf, in many vegetable dishes as well as in many savoury snacks and biscuits.

In Indian cuisine, we use cumin seeds in three forms, the seeds. its powder and roasted seeds powder. We lightly dry roast cumin seeds and then grind them in a dry grinder, this roasted cumin seeds powder has an awesome aroma. It is used in many savoury snacks, in vegetable/fruits salads, in different chutneys and raitas/yoghurt preparations. Cumin seeds can be roasted in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or in a frying pan.

Cumin seeds are considered to be a good source of iron, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals. There are varieties of health-benefits of this spice. Check this website-

Cumin is used as medicine in Ayurveda (Traditional healing system of India). In Ayurveda, diseases are cured with natural things available in our nature like fruits, flowers, herbs, spices etc. People in Asia are using and applying the principals of Ayurveda in their life from thousands of years.

According to this website some of the Ayurvedic health-benefits of cumin are that it dispels gas, eliminate toxins, is a mild laxative and is anti-inflammatory. Check this website -

This is a very healthy and simple recipe in which I have used whole wheat flour. These biscuits have a lesser amount of sugar and butter compared to other cookies, and I made them bite size, so they can be enjoyed more. They can be enjoyed with evening tea or coffee.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• Whole wheat flour 1 and 1/4 cup/brown bread flour
• Butter 1/4 cup
• castor sugar 1/4 cup
• Milk 1/4 cup
• salt 1/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds 1 tbs
• baking powder 1/4 tsp

METHOD

• Take whole wheat flour in a big bowl and mix baking powder in it
• Then add sugar, salt, and cumin seeds
• Add butter and mix well, then add milk, mix well and divide the dough into two parts.
• Heat oven to 150 degrees C
• Roll one ball on the flat surface and give any shape using a cookie cutter.
• Spread them on a tray on a parchment paper and bake for 20-25 minutes, till they turn into light brown colour.

I am sending this recipe as a blog post entry for Healthy Happy and green party and for Tasty Tuesday, and Meatless Monday and what'd you do this weekend.and with Way wow link party and Hearth and soul link party, and with Cook blog share and Welcome home Wednesday party, and with My two fav things on Thursday, and with Full plate Thursday, and with Yum yum linky party, and with Sweet inspiration link party.and with Real food Friday and Fiesta Friday with co-host Julie., with Sunday Food and fitness party, and with Bake of the week,

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SEMOLINA MATHRI, CRISPY SAVORY SEMOLINA COOKIES

SEMOLINA MATHRI

CRISPY SAVORY SEMOLINA COOKIES

This is a famous Indian traditional savory snack. My mother always made this dish on festivals like Diwali, Holi etc. In Delhi, India, it is still popular as a weekend breakfast/brunch with potato curry.

I remember, in my youth, in India, how we youngsters enjoyed this mathris during weddings in the family. In those days, whenever we had a wedding in the family, the tradition was to distribute big sized mathri and laddus (sweet balls) to all friends, far and close relatives, neighbours etc. after the weddings. A big amount was also given to the groom's family by the bride’s family as well.

During those days, professional cooks were arranged to do all the cooking well in advance at the bride's house and these items were made on a very large scale to distribute, to offer to guests and family members.

Those days, I had really enjoyed this awesome snack with something like Indian pickle, chutney or potato curry etc. This was one of my favorite morning breakfasts for many days before or after the wedding, LOL, when we are young we eat a lot! As culture and traditions are dynamic, so this tradition has also changed and now at the time of weddings, people prefer to distribute sweets or nuts which they buy ready made from the shops.

Some people use white flour to make these mathries instead of semolina. But the taste of the semolina one is much better than the white flour one, as they are crispier and healthier as well. According to Indian traditional belief, semolina which is a cream of wheat is considered much better to use in different recipes compared to white flour because it is the purified form of wheat and is very good for digestion. Many other savory snacks and sweet items are also made with semolina, which is very popular throughout India.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg Semolina, finely coarse
• 2/3 cup oil for the dough
• salt to taste
• 1 tbs Kasoori methi leaves (dry fenugreek leaves)
• 1 cup water or more
• Oil for frying

METHOD

• In a big bowl, mix semolina, salt, methi leaves and 2/3 cup of oil.
• Mix well for ten minutes, add slowly one cup of water or more and make hard dough.
• If you find the dough is too hard you can sprinkle some more water. Cover and leave it for 10 minutes to set.
• Divide the dough into 5-6 pieces.
• Take one piece and divide it into 15 pieces and make around 15 small balls out of it and flatten them on the palm.
• Roll them in round shape and size like small cookies.
• Heat the oil on a slow flame in a big fry pan or wok.
• First, fry these 15, on slow fire till the color is light brown.
• Take it out on a paper towel, leave it to cool.
• Fry all of them like this in batches. Finish the whole dough in 4-5 rounds. Leave it to cool.

Serve hot or cold with tea or coffee. It can be also served with any chutney or pickle of taste or even with potato curry, as a light meal or breakfast time.

Pack in an airtight container, they can last for a month or more, on the shelf. 60-70 mathri can be made with this dough, depending on the size you make.

I am sending this recipe as my blog post entry for meatless Monday, and What do you do this weekend and Sunday Fitness and Food link, with Happy Healthy and green party, and Tasty Tuesday,, and with Cook Blog share and Hearth and Soul blog hop, and with Tuesday Tutorial,, and with Way wow link party, and yum yum linky, and with Fiesta Friday, and with Real Food Friday,, with Full plate Thursday and My two fav things on Thursday

GLUTEN FREE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

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GLUTEN FREE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

# Edited: This recipe was featured at Tuesday Tutorial on 5th Jan 2016, check here.

#Edited- This recipe was featured at hearth and Soul blog hop on 4th Jan 2016, Check here.

#Edited- This recipe was featured at Real Food Friday blog hop on 31 st December. Check here
http://organic4greenlivings.com/real-food-fridays-120-healthy-living-for-the-new-year/

Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy and Safe Christmas

Christmas is around the corner and everybody is busy in shopping, buying gifts for families and planning to bake some cakes and cookies. Last year was the first year I shared my cookie recipe with the other bloggers and I was amazed to see hundreds of varieties of cakes and cookies that other bloggers had baked.

This is my daughter's recipe, and I am very happy and proud to share my daughter's recipe on my blog.

This is obvious that we learn so much from our parents, but it is possible the other way around also. Like in my case, I am learning so many things from my daughter; I feel it is never late to learn anything from anybody.

I am a proud mother of a learned daughter whose knowledge, in many areas, is much more than mine. This is the 21^st century where the young generations are open minded, ready to accept challenges in life and are more exposed to technological advancements. We should be proud of our children and all their achievements.

I remember one funny incidence when my daughter was attending her primary (elementary) school, one day, and I went to pick her up from school. She was sitting in a waiting area with her friends, when I reached there, one of her friends told her, “Oh, your mom looks exactly like you.” I laughed at that innocent comment by her friend.

I had heard from many people about my daughter’s resemblance to me, but this was the first time I heard someone say I looked like my daughter, haha!

But this is true that as we age our identity also changes based on our relationship with other family members, like someone's wife and then someone's mom etc. When I was young, I introduced myself with my name, but later it happened with me many times, that in front of my children's friends, I introduced myself as I am the mother of RG or I am the mother of HG (together with my name). Only yesterday I phoned some friend in my neighbourhood to check my grandson, who went for a playdate with his friend, then I introduced myself on the phone to that lady, and said: “I am D's grandmother, just checking if he is doing fine”.

Coming to the recipe, this is a gluten free recipe in which I have used cream of rice. I know this might be a rare ingredient but you will definitely find it in an Indian grocery store, sometimes labelled as ‘rice semolina’ or ‘rice rawa’. I’ve always used coconut flour which I found at the Canadian store ‘Bulk Barn’, I bought it and thought I will use it in some recipe.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup rice rawa/rice semolina
• 1 cup coconut flour
• ½ cup chickpea flour/besan
• 1 cup sugar/brown sugar
• ½ tsp cardamom powder/cinnamon powder (whichever you prefer)
• 1and ½ cup butter softened/ ghee
• 2 tbs cashew nuts for decoration. 

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees C.
• Combine all the ingredients with 1 cup butter, keep the ½ cup and add a bit by bit, until it all comes together.
• When combined, shape into a log shape and keep into the fridge to solidify a little.
• After 10-15 minutes, the mixture will be cooler and much easier to shape.
• Shape into small cookie and place on a cookie tray a ½ inch apart, decorate on top with half cashew.
• Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins until golden on the edges. Take them out and rest them on a cooling rack.

I am sending this recipe as my blog post entry for What"d you do this weekend, and with Hearth and soul blog hop, and with Cook blog share,, and with Fiesta Friday and Real Food Friday, and with Meatless Monday and Tuesday Tutorial, and with Tasty Tuesday,, and with Way wow community, and with Full plate Thursday, and with Healthy living link party and with Food and Fitness Friday, and with My two fav things on Thursday, and yum yum link party,