Author: Anandhi

No Bake Chocolate Tart

This 4-ingredients chocolate tart is truly irresistible! A soft crust and a silky filling is nothing but a sheer indulgence, exclusively for a tenderfoot.

I had Oreo in my kitchen and used them, you could use any biscuits/cookies of your preference. Pulse it with a tablespoon of butter and the crust is ready in no time. Likewise, the filling could be a mixture of dark and milk chocolates or just dark or milk chocolate with your favorite fresh fruits, dried fruits or nuts — the options are umpteen.

Dark chocolate and pomegranate are definitely a match made in heaven and I have been loving this duo lately. Give it a try, you will experience the taste like never before.

—Ingredients—

12 Oreo cookies
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

—Process—

Crust
1. Pulse the cookies (with filling) into a fine powder. Add the butter and mix well.
2. Grease the baking/tart pan and press the mixture onto the bottom and sides of the pan. Refrigerate them for 30 minutes or until they become firm.

Filling
1. In a bowl, add in the chopped chocolate and keep aside.
2. In a sauce pan, add the cream and the butter, bring it to boil in a low flame for 4 – 5 minutes. Pour it on top of the chocolate and mix well after a couple of minutes.

Assembling
1. Once the chocolate mixture is cooled completely, pour it over the crust and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
2. Stays well for 3 – 4 days, if covered and refrigerated.

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Granola

Behold, breakfast made better! A few years back, this was my typical breakfast on all the weekdays. By then, I didn’t own an oven; you don’t need one to make this actually. I used to dry roast them every Sunday evening and store for the next 5 days. I’ll say with no qualm, this still makes my mornings healthy and totally delicious. But best of all, it’s easy to make!

I’ve made a lot of changes to this recipe over these years, the one thing that I always love is the crunchy clusters; spiced with a lavish amount of cinnamon and a handful of nuts & dried fruits. For a loose consistency, toss them every 10-15 minutes while baking. If you’re not a great fan of nuts and dried fruits, tailor it with whatever you prefer, like flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, adjust the sweetness, and the flavors are endless as long as you have the ratios same — be your own boss!

—Ingredients—

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup mixed nuts
3/4 cup mixed dried fruits
1/8 cup honey
1/8 cup oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
salt as needed

—Process—

1. Preheat the oven to 150 deg C. Line a baking tray with parchment and keep aside.
2. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together except the dried fruits.
3. In another bowl mix all the wet ingredients and pour it on top of the dry ingredients.
4. Combine them well and spread on a baking tray. Bake until golden by tossing occasionally, approximately 35 – 40 minutes.
5. Let them cool completely, stir in the dried fruits and store in an air tight container.

If you don’t have an oven, mix all the ingredients except dried fruits and dry roast them in a low flame until golden. Let them cool and add in the dried fruits. Transfer it to an air tight container and store up to a week.

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Energy Bars

No cooking and no baking! Sunday is a day of rest isn’t it? These bars are perfect for a Sunday evening snack, pour in a handful of berries, dry fruits and nuts in a blender, give it a blend and they’re ready in no time! The best part is there is no added sugar!

Almonds, dates, walnuts and cranberries are my favorite. You can play around with your favorite dry fruits and nuts, even some poppy seeds, cocoa powder, cinnamon powder and desiccated coconut as add-ins. You know the options are plenty out there but, make sure the ratio is 1 part dates : 1 part nuts : 1 part dry fruits.

I’ve used roasted nuts, you can also use raw ones to have more of a chewy texture. These bars stay fresh in the freezer for a month. You could also shape them into balls. Refrigerate until it becomes firm, then wrap with a cling film for a longer storage.

––Ingredients––

1/3 cup roasted almonds
1/3 cup roasted cashews
1/3 cup roasted walnuts
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)

––Process––

1. Pulse all the ingredients together for 30 seconds. If they’re still chunky, pulse them for another 20 seconds.
2. Scrape the sides and pulse them for another minute or until they clump together.
3. Form a square with the ground mixture, about 1/2 inch thickness. Cover it with a cling film or foil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
4. Cut them into your desired shape and serve. Tastes best straight from the fridge!

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Breadsticks

A classic and crunchy breadsticks are perfect snack for a fine rainy evening.

Homemade breadsticks are always special for me, I remember my brother and I fighting to pick the longer sticks, playing sword fights, conducting symphony, lightsaber fights and pronouncing wingardium leviosa to petrificus totalus — a beautiful childhood memory…

My mom adds carom seeds to enhance the taste and the flavor, you won’t need any dip to accompany. You can also try adding cumin seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, fresh thyme and rosemary. It tastes best straight from the oven. I’m sure it will never see the next day, regardless of the quantity you make.

Finally, never try to make them perfect. The longer and wonkier they are, the better they taste!

—Ingredients—

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons melted butter in room temperature
4 tablespoons olive oil or any flavorless oil of your choice
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons carom seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt

—Process—

1. In a small bowl, add 1/4 cup warm water and sugar. Mix well until the sugar dissolves and add the yeast. Keep it aside and let it bloom, approximately 10-12 minutes.
2. In another bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Pour in the yeast and gently knead the dough.
3. Cover the dough with cling film, aluminium foil or just a plate for 30 minutes or until the dough is doubled in size.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Divide the dough into 15 equal sized balls and roll them into 1/2 – 1 cm thick sticks. If you would like the sticks to be shorter, divide them into tiny balls.
5. Place the sticks in a baking tray, brush them with oil and bake them for 15-20 minutes. Turn them around in a half way to get them evenly baked.

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Pumpkin Coconut Stew/Parangikai Koottu

Looking for a departure from the usual koottu recipe? Try this one – a rich, creamy and sweetish kind!

Yellow pumpkin is one of the few vegetables that I cook time and again, and relish all the time. I like the version my mom makes, which has a fine coconut paste grounded with coriander seeds, cumin seeds and a couple of red chillies. Yet, I wanted to try out a different sort other than the one I’m accustomed to.

Last Saturday, I got my hands on the sweetest coconut I’ve ever had, and this is the first recipe that struck in my mind. Bottle gourd tastes best with this recipe. You could also use snake gourd, ash gourd or chayote.

—Ingredients—

1 1/2 cups yellow pumpkin or vegetable of your choice, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons moong dal
1 1/2 cups thin coconut milk
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
2 green chillies
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 sprig curry leaves
3-4 shallots
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Salt as needed

For tempering
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 tablespoon urad dal
2 red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
a pinch of hing

—Process—

1. Boil the moong dal and grind it to a fine paste along with shallots. In a pan, add a tablespoon of oil, saute the paste for a couple of minutes and keep aside.
2. In another pan, add the cut vegetables, thin coconut milk, green chillies, curry leaves, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt. Close the lid and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the vegetable turns mushy.
3. Add the paste into the boiled vegetables and cook in a medium flame for 3-4 minutes.
4. Pour in the thick coconut milk, give it a stir and switch off the flame in a minute or two.
5. Tempering – In a small pan, add in the coconut oil and mustard seeds. Once the mustard starts spluttering, add the remaining tempering ingredients and pour it atop the curry.

—Tips—

You could pressure cook the moong dal along with rice, by placing it in a small vessel on top of the rice bowl.

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