Nankhatai / Indian Butter Cookies

My Nankhatai are done. . :)
Tastes like mysore pak cookies. .as I added besan.. After all there is no fun in making a plain butter cookie with ghee .. so the gram flour. :P.. Have given a close up of the crumb. . :) a nice crunchy texture. . Tried Vanilla flavoured.. next time will give it cardamom. .:)

Ingredients
1 cup Maida (all purpose flour)
1/4 cup gram flour
a pinch of Baking Soda
a pinch of Salt
1/2 cup ghee
1/2 cup Sugar, powdered
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sieve 1 cup maida in a bowl, add gram flour, baking soda and a pinch of salt.Mix them with a spoon.
Take ghee and powdered sugar in another bowl and beat them. Add vanilla.
Add sieved dry ingredients.Mix well and make a dough using hand. Do not knead much.
Rest the dough in a cling film wrap.
Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit (180 degree Centigrade) for at least 10 minutes. Divide dough into 12-15 equal portions and make round shaped balls from it. Line an aluminum foil over baking tray. Take each ball and press a little between your palms to flatten and place it over baking tray. If you want, you can make a criss-cross cut using a knife over top surface of each cookie. Top each one with a little bit of finely chopped pistachio or any nuts of your choice and press gently with your finger. Keep enough space between each cookie because it will expand in size during baking.
Bake for about 20 mins.. or till light golden.. keep an eye on it after 15 mins.
Remove baking tray from oven. Cookies will be soft at this stage but they will turn crispy and hard as they cooldown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy...:)

Tiramisu

A delightful italian dessert... I have made it several times with eggs.. but not being a great lover of the yolk flavour.. decided to give it a go without the zabaglione. The pudding has set like a cake good enough to slice.. :)

Ingredients

36 ladys finger biscuits
100 g chocolate

Soaking mix:
300 ml boiling water
2 tblsp instant coffee granules
6 heaped teaspoons of sugar
1 tblsp vanilla extract
3 tblsp baileys Irish cream

Cheese filling:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
10-12 tsp sugar
500 g cream cheese
1 tblsp vanilla extract
3 tblsp baileys irish cream

Prepare the coffee soaking syrup by dissolving the coffee granules and sugar in boiling water. Cool and add vanilla and irish cream.

Beat the cream cheese with half the sugar and irish cream.

Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla till soft peaks form.

Fold 1/3rd of the cream into the cheese mix to lighten. Then the rest in two batches folding in gently each time.

Refrigerate until use.
Prepare a 10 inch springform pan lined with cling film. (it will help in the easy removal of the ring.)

Dip the biscuits in the coffee syrup one by one and arrange at the bottom.(just dip..  Do not drench)

Spread half the cheese mix over the biscuit layer.

Grate some chocolate over it.

Layer the biscuits dipped in the coffee syrup again.

Spread the cheese mix over it... decorate with more grated chocolate. Refrigerate for atleast 6 hours. Remove the ring and cling film gently.

Serve cold... and enjoy!!

Shawarma Sauce

Everyone loves shawarma... The meaty saucy middle eastern wrap with fresh crisp veggies.. :) I am yet to come across someone who can say no to this wonderful sandwich.. :P and the garlicky sauce that goes with it is what makes this mouthwatering delight complete.. :D
I have picked the yoghurt based tahini sauce.. and flavoured it according to my tastes.. Each batch is different though..:)    
Here is a recipe without the yoghurt   http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2010/01/tahini-sauce/                   

Ingredients

1/2 cup of thick yoghurt
3 tablespoons of tahini
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
a clove or two minced garlic/paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
*optional: chilly flakes/ pepper/chilly powder/ketchup
*Here I have used 1/2 teaspoon chilly powder and a tablespoon ketchup

Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl till thick and even.. :)
The lemon juice can be added according to taste.
Enjoy as a dip or spread on your shawarma/ sandwich instead of mayo.

    

Custard Powder Cake

What would you do if a very dear friend gets transferred...... to some place miles and miles away... and you miss them so badly....
:) I usually have a habit of baking something to push away the gloom..(believing that the process of creating something takes my mind off the subject...:) Anyway...I decided to bake a cake (with some custard powder she had given me) and after searching the net for a recipe, I came across this one ..(and several others which were almost similar)... All recipes were eggless ones, very easy to make as you just mix all the ingredients together..no creaming, folding, etc...
The cake came out pretty well..not too sweet, rose well considering the fact that it contains no eggs..you can call it an eggless yellow cake. It can be layered with jam or some preserves and frosted with buttercream and made into a special dessert.
I think I'll try variations of this..maybe with an egg or some coffee flavour and let you know. Now I am posting this recipe which I picked from https://www.mydiversekitchen.com/recipe/egg-free-custard-powder-snack-cake-recipe  ...

 

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup vanilla flavoured custard powder
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1  tsp vanilla extract
• 150 gm butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk

This recipe makes one 8” cake or 8 to 10 servings.

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease an 8" cake tin with butter and line the base with wax paper.
   Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon and mix well.
2. Add the milk and the butter and beat with the spoon until you get a smooth batter.
3. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake at 180C (350F) for about 45 minutes to an hour or till the cake is done and a skewer poked into the cake comes out clean. Sometimes, depending upon your cake tin and the oven, this cake might take about an hour to cook especially in the middle.
4. Cool on a rack and serve.snack