Showing posts with label Baked. Show all posts

Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Cream

Crispy gluten free tart shell made of oats and almonds, a fresh creamy mango cream topped with assorted fresh fruits.

How to make eggless fresh fruit tart recipe, vegetarian fruit tart recipe, fruit pie recipe, mango tart recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Long weekend plans got thrashed when Raj came home on friday night and complained of a body ache. Then came the fever and a massive headache. We really did not have any out of town plans thankfully. But I had just booked tickets to go watch the movie of the year - "Baahubali - The Conclusion" and I had no company!!! I actually got a cool discount on the already expensive tickets that made me less guilty about splurging so much for a movie. I was not gonna let that go. I though of putting up my tickets for sale online, but I've been waiting months for this movie!! So while I prayed he recovers, I also began searching for back up options on whom to go with. Luckily for me, my sis in law pitched in for her brother. What fun!!! Absolute entertainer, this movie. We were laughing for most of it. Sometimes you really need a melodramatic over the top movie to take you away from the craziness of the real world.

I had to cancel plans with friends and family because of the sick guy in the house. I haven't also been cooking too many things. Well, that's not true. I went a little overboard on Sunday and made this taste heavy Mahastrian Thali . Poor guy got to just eat the rice and dal, but the rest of us definitely enjoyed the rest of the meal. #MyWeekendThali is an instagram series I'm doing about my weekend meals. Go check it out!!

I have been rambling for three paras now, but I've still not reached my recipe of the day - Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Cream. I did not make it this weekend. Not with all that bodyache and fever around. I couldn't deny that guy so much of dessert. I actually made this around a month ago, but the recipe was in drafts. Note to self --> Clean out drafts!!

So, while it may be a month ago, I remember the taste of this tart as if I'm eating one right now instead of sipping on my ginger tea. The base of this tart, the pastry shell is so simple to make AND it is gluten free and vegan. Oats, Almonds, Dates, Oil, Sugar, Cocoa. I tried to keep it refined sugar free, but the dates I have aren't too sweet and I ran out of them, so I had to add in a little bit of powdered sugar. You can totally avoid the sugar and keep it all natural. Cocoa powder is absolutely optional. Add it if you like a little bit of chocolate bitterness in your dessert. This pastry shell is nothing like the traditional pastry shell, it has a more cookie or biscuity feel to it. And may I suggest, make a little extra of the oats, almond powder, cocoa and dates powder? It tastes SO good!! You can eat spoonfuls of it just like that or may be throw in a little liquid something and make bars or balls of it. You can also store it in this form in the fridge until you are ready to bake. Add in the oil and mix when you are ready to bake.

The Mango cream is simply paneer and mango pulp and of course, sugar. I made it fresh as it ends up being a little creamier when fresh. But you can always use store bought paneer (not the frozen kind) or cream cheese instead of making it fresh. Flavor with cardamom or vanilla if Mango isn't in season or if you want a more neutral cream. I'm a total sucker for Mango, so I use it everywhere when in season.

Once the pastry shells have cooled, spoon in the mango cream and top with assorted fruits. This is the fun part, you can use whatever you like and have fun decorating the tart. Let you kids do it so they feel they helped you make it. Chill chill in the fridge and then serve. If you plan on eating these after a day or two, I'd suggest to not spoon in the mango cream into the pastry shells but to keep them separately in the fridge and to assemble the tart either while serving or an hour before, else the pastry shells may become soggy.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com. I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life is there on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email (How convenient!!)

If you liked this, you may also like:

Tender Coconut Ice Cream - 4 ingredient eggless Ice Cream made with Tender Coconuts.
Maavina Hannu Seekarne - Aamras or flavored Mango pulp is a popular Summer dessert.
No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake - This no bake Strawberry Cheesecake is egg and gelatin free.

Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Cream

Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Cream is a dessert with a n oats-almond crust stuffed with mango cream and topped with fresh fruits.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Total Time: 2 Hours
Yield: 6 tarts

Ingredients:

For the Pastry Shell:

1/2 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Almonds
4-5 Tbsp Oil
15 deseeded Dates
2-3 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Cocoa Powder (Optional)
Water as required

For the Mango Cream:

1 litre full fat Milk
1 Lime
1 Mango
5-6 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

To Assemble the Fresh Fruit Tart:

Assorted fresh fruits

Method:

To make the Pastry Shell:

Soak dates in hot water for 15 minutes.
In a mixer, powder both the rolled oats and almonds until fine.
Add cocoa powder, if using and pulse once so that it mixes with the oats and almonds. Cocoa powder gives a the pastry shell a slightly bitter taste after it is baked, you can skip it if you prefer a sweeter pastry shell.
Add dates and pulse until combined.
Drizzle in oil until you have loose dough. The dough is ready when you can roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball without it crumbling. Add more oil if it is very dry.
Add powdered sugar and knead until combined. If the dough feels very sweet already because of the dates, you can skip the powdered sugar.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
Grease the pie tins. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
Take one ball of dough and press it to the bottom of the pie tin. Using your fingers spread the dough so it is evenly distributed and well packed on the bottom and up the sides.
Bake the pastry shells for 10-12 minutes. The pastry shell will feel soft when hot. Remove them from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack. I baked mine for 12 minutes.

To make the Mango Cream:

Boil the milk until it comes to a rolling boil.
Remove from heat and add the juice of 1 lime and stir vigorously.
Allow the milk to curdle.
Once the milk has curdled and the milk solids have separated to leave a clear liquid behind, strain the milk using a muslin cloth or a fine mesh strainer.
Keep aside for 15 minutes until the liquid has drained.
Peel and puree the mango.
Blend the milk solids with 1 Tbsp of water until smooth.
Add the mango puree and mix well.
Add in powdered sugar by the spoonful until you have the desired sweetness.

To assemble the Fresh Fruit Tart:

Once the pastry shells have completely cooled, spoon in the mango cream.
Top with chopped fresh fruits.
Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Dill and Caramelized Onion Bread Rolls [Video]

These Dill and Caramelized Onion Bread Rolls are sooo good, this is the ONLY recipe you will ever need for flavored bread rolls

How to make dill bread recipe, dill and onion bread recipe, eggless dill and onion bread recipe, how to bake bread rolls recipe, how to bake bread at www.OneTeaspoonOfLife.com

Happy Sunday Guys!!

These Bread Rolls... YUMMMMMM....

If you take it from me, these Dill and Caramelized Onion Bread Rolls are the ONLY flavored bread rolls recipe you will ever need. I made this twice in one week. TWICE!!

I first made them on Sunday, last Sunday, and it was more of a trial batch. And then again on Wednesday. Never done that before. I'm more of a buy-bread-from-store types than bake bread from scratch person. I surprised myself by making it twice in a week. See, the thing was, Raj did not get to eat any on Sunday as he wasn't around. I had nice fresh warm bread from the oven and I had just made butter at home. Yes, I make butter at home almost every week, I just love fresh homemade butter so much. And among Gee and I, we wiped off the entire lot of 7 bread rolls. It was soooo GOOD!! Then I just felt bad that he did not get to even taste one, so I made it again in the week.

I'd first seen a Dill and Onion bread roll recipe in an airline magazine. It used dill seeds and raw onions. Fresh Dill is so much easier to find than dill seeds here in Bangalore, so I swapped that. I love caramelized onions. They are soft, and brown and sweet. Yum! I never miss a chance to use them in a recipe and I always make extra to eat along in the week. This week, I stuffed some flatbread rolls with them. But if you are short of time, just saute the onions for 2-3 minutes and add them in the bread. I don't want you to miss out on eating this bread just because caramelizing onions takes time.

Or like me, you can make them in advance and keep them in the fridge, they stay good for one week in there.

There is one more cheat to save time here - Buy Paneer or Cottage cheese from the store. If buying frozen, let it thaw completely before using. Making Paneer at home can seem daunting, but it is the easiest cheese you can make at home. This recipe does not require you to make paneer completely, just the curds. Drain the curds and blend them into a smooth puree for this recipe. You can also replace with cream cheese.

You know what's the best thing about these rolls? Taste, of course, but the aroma that fills your house when a fragrant herb like Dill is cooking is so heavenly. I just love Dill, and its sharp earthiness, it is my favorite green, right from childhood.

Now that I've made these twice is such quick succession, I'm confident that this is my go to recipe for dinner rolls. They taste great with any gravy, but they taste BEST just by themselves. Slather on some butter and that's IT!! Soft, buttery, fragrant, salty rolls with that little hint of sweetness when you bite into a caramelized onion slice. What more do you really need?

P.S - I have a bonus for you, a VIDEO recipe!!

Video Recipe

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

If you liked this, you may also like:

Tomato Basil Bread - Another wholewheat flavored bread.
Banana Bread - Eggless sweet banana bread.
Breakfast Bruschetta Duo - Bread slices topped with a avocados, olives, tomato and onions.

Dill and Caramelized Onion Bread Rolls

Dill and Caramelized Onion Bread Rolls are fragrant flavorful bread rolls made with fresh cottage cheese, dill leaves and sweet caramelized onions.

Recipe Type: Bread
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 3 Hours
Cook time: 1 Hour
Yield: Makes 14 rolls

Ingredients:

For Caramelized Onions:

3 Onions
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Sugar or Jaggery
1-2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp Water
Pinch of salt

For Cottage Cheese / Paneer:

1 litre Milk
2 Tbsp Lime Juie
3-4 Tbsp Water

For the Dill and Caramelized Onion Bread Rolls:

2 cups Wholewheat flour (Atta)
1 cup All purpose flour (Maida)
1.25 cups Water
3-4 Tbsp chopped Dill leaves
2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

To make Caramelized Onions:

Heat oil in a pan and add sliced onions.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt and mix well.
Allow the onions to cook on medium to low heat until they are slightly brown.
Add sugar or jaggery and balsamic vinegar.
Add little water to prevent the onions from sticking to the pan.
Remove from heat once the onions are dark brown and sweet. This takes around 30-40 minutes.

To make Cottage Cheese / Paneer:

Boil the milk until it comes to a rolling boil.
Turn off the heat and immediately add the lime juice and mix well.
Once the milk curdles, strain it and keep aside for 15 minutes allowing the water to drain from the cheese curds.
Once the cheese cools, blend it along with a little water to a smooth puree.

To make the Dill and Caramelized Onion Bread Rolls:

Heat 1.5 Tbsp Oil in a pan and add 1/4 cup water.
Add the cheese puree, chopped dill and caramelized onions. Mix well.
Simmer on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool.
Heat 3/4 cup of water until lukewarm. Add the active dry yeast to it and allow the yeast to bloom.
Once the cheese mixture is cool, pour it into a clean bowl and add the yeast.
Add salt, 1.5 cups whole wheat flour and the all purpose flour.
Knead until combined. Add more whole wheat flour if the dough is very sticky.
Take another large clean bowl and grease it slightly. Move the dough to it. Rub the dough with oil. Cover and allow it to rise for 1-2 hours until doubled.
Once the dough has risen, divide the dough into 14 equal balls.
Grease a baking tray. Shape the rolls and place on the baking tray leaving at least 1" gap between rolls.
Cover and allow it to rise a second time for around 45 mins to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 250 degree C.
Bake the rolls for 12-15 minutes until browned.

Vegan Zucchini Kale Lasagna

I've had an Italian start to the weekend - Pizza for Friday night dinner and this awesome Homemade Vegan Zucchini Kale Lasagna for Saturday lunch.

How to make vegan gluten free lasagna pasta recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com How to make zucchini pasta recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life

I'll be honest, this is my first time trying to veganize a dish that has Cheese in it. I'm never vegan when it comes to Italian food either. I'm more than liberal with cheese, usually adding more than what the recipe calls for. I'm a big fat LOVER of cheese. I've been known to eating cheese cubes the way other's eat chocolate. Sometimes, I like it over chocolate...

So what converted me? While I'm not converted, I'm definitely trying to reduce dairy. I'm also very excited to try a new range of cheese that I can make at home. I've always wanted to make my own cheese - sounds super exciting. I've looked around endlessly for vegetarian Rennet, but I'm yet to find it in Bangalore. Bangaloreans out there, any tips? So I gave up the idea of making my own cheese except Cottage Cheese or Paneer. And now I can make my own cheese - no rennet or any bacteria needed.

When I stumbled upon a recipe for vegan Mozzarella, no one could stop me. I HAD to try it!

While my cheese wasn't as stretchy as Mozzarella is meant to be, it tasted good and added the required creaminess to the Lasagna. I did not use Pasta sheets. I make Lasagna very rarely and I usually end up throwing out half the box of lasagna sheets as they are way past their shelf life. So I did what everyone is doing these days - used vegetables as pasta. I see new recipes for Zoodles almost every other days.

Zucchini works so well in Italian food. Lightly steamed zucchini tends to have the al-dente texture that pasta demands. I used thinly sliced baby zucchini to replace the pasta sheets for the lasagna. I also used Kale as I like the pepperyness it adds. If you cannot find Kale, use spinach. I used raw Kale cut into large pieces, you can steam it to soften them and then use it. I layered slices of Tofu too. That's just cause I had it and I love the texture of Tofu. I know, I'm weird, but I really do love Tofu.

All that I talked about already is the texture component of the lasagna, the taste is entirely due to this super easy chunky Tomato Sauce. You've gotta try this sauce, even if you are not making the lasagna. I can have bowls of it with anything - Bread, Roti, Rice, Noodles. And it is so simple to make too. Just fry onions, garlic, carrots and peppers in olive oil. Add tomato puree and all the herbs and spices. Cook until you have a nice thick chunky sauce all perfect to layer on that Lasagna. Job done!!

Bake it until the cheese brown a little and the zucchini and kale are cooked, about 15 minutes. You have to eat this immediately, just because it tastes amazing when hot.

And if you are not a fan of vegan cheese, just replace the cheese with regular Mozzarella, I bet it tastes just as great.

Tag me on Instagram @oneteaspoonoflife when you make this recipe. Happy Lasagna Weekend to you, Ciao!!

If you liked this, you may also like:

Gobi Manchurian Pizza - Fusion pizza topped with fried Cauliflower and Indo-Chinese Manchurian Sauce.
Curried Brown Rice Zucchini Fritters - Fritters or Tikkis made with mashed Brown Rice and grated Zucchini. Spiced with Garam Masala and pan fried.
Eggplant Pizza - Pizza made with Eggplant as the base and topped with homemade tomato basil sauce and cheese.

Vegan Zucchini Kale Lasagna

Zucchini Kale Lasagna is a vegan and gluten free pasta dish made using zucchini, kale, vegan mozzarella cheese and a chunky tomato sauce.

Recipe Type: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

5-6 baby Zucchini
5-6 large Kale leaves
100 gms firm Tofu

For the Vegan Cheese:

1/2 cup Cashew nuts
1/4 cup Tapioca Flour
1/4 tsp Mustard Powder
1/2 tsp Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Water

For the Tomato Sauce:

1.5 cups Tomato Puree
1 large Onion
1 small Carrot
1/2 green Capsicum
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Sugar
2 tsp dried Basil
1 tsp Thyme
1 Tbsp minced Garlic
1 tsp Celery Salt
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
Salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

To make Vegan Cheese:

Boil the cashew nuts in 1 cup of water for 8-10 minutes until soft.
Drain and keep aside to cool.
Blend together cashew nuts, tapioca flour, mustard, vinegar and salt along with 1/2 cup water.
Heat a non stick pan and add the blended paste to it.
Stir continuously until it thickens. Adjust salt and water.

To make Tomato Sauce:

Heat olive oil in a pan.
Add finely chopped onion, carrot, capsicum along with minced garlic. Saute for 4-5 minutes.
Add tomato puree, celery salt, red chilli powder, basil, thyme and sugar.
Simmer for 7-8 minutes. Add water if required.
Add salt to taste and mix well.

To Assemble the Lasagna:

Take a deep baking dish and layer with chopped kale, sliced zucchini and sliced tofu.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper.
Spread the tomato sauce.
Spread the vegan cheese.
Similarly, make another layer of the vegetables, sauce and cheese.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the cheese browns.

Notes:

Replace the vegan cheese with regular Mozzarella for a non-vegan version.
In case you don't have Tapioca Flour, you can grind sabudana or sago pearls in a high power mixer to get a fine powder.
Kale can be replaced with spinach (palak). You can steam the kale or spinach before using it in the lasagna.
If you don't have celery salt, add chopped celery to the sauce along with the onions or just use regular salt.

Karachi Bakery Inspired Fruit Biscuits

Have you ever tried Hyderabad's famous Karachi Bakery Fruit Biscuits?

No? I suggest you go get yourself one packet right now, girl.

Yes? Aren't they super delicious? I absolutely love them... So I made them at home... Really!! Read on!

How to make vegetarian eggless Karachi Bakery Fruit Biscuit rose cookies cranberry cookie recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

I had no idea I liked Rose flavored cookies until I tried the Karachi Bakery Fruit Biscuits. A colleague once got them from Hyderabad and I missed the first batch. Just to make up to all those late comers like me, he got more the next day. And I was converted!! Until then I thought I was a lover of all things chocolate, but rose suddenly rose to the top (hee hee... see my little pun there? okay, ignore it).

I absolutely love roses, not generally as a flower, I find them "meh" and over rated. But I love rose flavor! I'm all for Rose Faluda, Rose Lassi, Rose Ice cream and of course anything with Gulkand in it (Indian Rose Jam). And now Rose Cookies are added to the list.

I'm sorry that although the title says Fruit Biscuit, all I'm talking about is roses. While the biscuits or cookies have little bits of fruit in them, rose is the predominant fragrance and flavor in them. The fruit component of the biscuit is Tutti Fruiti. Tutti Fruiti are colored sweetened bits of dried papaya. Very popular in Indian desserts. If you cannot find it anywhere, you can add any dried berry like cranberries. Actually, this recipe is very similar to the Cranberry Cookie recipe with the addition of few very Indian ingredients.

One of those ingredients is the Vanilla Custard Powder. Traditionally custard is made with egg yolks, but ask any Indian how to make custard (well, almost any) and he/she will show you a little carton of Custard Powder that is completely eggless and allows any vegetarian to enjoy the flavors of a custard. There are several brands and flavors available, and while you can use any brand, I strongly recommend sticking to the vanilla flavor. If you cannot find custard powder, replace it with either milk powder or corn starch /flour. If using sweetened milk powder, remember to reduce the amount of powdered sugar used, else you may end up with a super sweet biscuit.

My recipe of fruit biscuit is a very simple recipe that any baking newbie can make. You start by creaming together butter and powdered sugar. I cannot emphasize the importance of room temperature butter enough. To get the right consistency of the dough and eventually the biscuit, you have to have butter at room temperature. Salted vs unsalted is a whole other argument. I've always used unsalted butter in baking so I cannot comment on how salted will work in this case. I assume they have the same texture, but using salted will just add a little saltiness to your biscuits. Whisk the butter and sugar until the butter is white, soft and fluffy. Then just add all the flours, tutti fruiti, cashew nuts, milk and rose essence and knead until combined. Shape into logs or into a large rectangular block like I did. Wrap it in cling wrap and store in fridge to harden a little. This just makes it easier to cut and get even shaped biscuits.

Bake at 180 degree C until the sides are slightly brown. Cool completely before storing in an air tight box. They will last you easily for 1-2 weeks. I really did not get any time to test the shelf life as these were over by day 4.

I can assure you the flavor of these biscuits is spot on with the Karachi Bakery Fruit Biscuits. The texture is slightly different. Mine were not as flaky and crumbly as the bakery ones, mine were more dense and crunchy. This could be because I have not used any leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. My family loves crunchy biscuits that stay intact when dipped in tea over the crumbly ones, so we loved the texture. If you want softer ones, I suggest adding a little baking powder to a small batch of dough and seeing how it goes.

If you like this, you may also like:

Almond Cookies - Easy to make eggless almond cookies / biscuits.
Butter Cookies - Beautiful swirly eggless butter cookies.

Karachi Bakery Inspired Fruit Biscuit

Karachi Bakery inspired Fruit Biscuits are rose flavored biscuits or cookies made with dried papaya pieces called tutti fruiti.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 2.5 Hours
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Yield: 30 biscuits

Ingredients:

100gms unsalted Butter
1 cup All Purpose Flour / Maida
1 cup + 1 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup Vanilla Custard Powder
3 Tbsp Tutti Fruiti
8-10 Cashew nuts
2 Tbsp Milk
1 tsp Rose Essence

Method:

Cream together butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl until soft and fluffy. Around 5-10 minutes with a electric hand mixer.
Sift in the all purpose flour and custard powder.
Add tutti fruiti, chopped cashew nuts, rose essence and milk.
Knead until combined.
Gently roll into logs using your hands and wrap in plastic cling wrap. Refridgerate for 2-3 hours until stiff.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
Slice the dough into biscuits, about 5-6mm thickness.
Line the baking sheet with butter paper or parchment paper.
Place the biscuits on the sheet leaving enough space between the biscuits.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the sides are slightly browned.
Cool on a wire rack.
Store in an air tight box.

Vegan Coffee Walnut Brownies

This is my LAST post of 2016 and it's been a wonderful year, definitely better than the last 2. The year had me complaining a lot about hectic schedules but it also had me winning an award at work (yay!!), completing 5 years of a wonderful marriage, taking a memorable vacation to Cambodia with the people I love the most in the world. It has also been the year where I have blogged the most. This is my 70th post of the year. It is much less than how often I would like to write but it is a start. So while I sign off this year, I'm leaving you with a little treat to celebrate 2016 and here's wishing you all a very Happy New Year!!

How to make vegan chocolate cake brownies recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Coffee+Chocolate+Walnuts = AMAZING moist stimulating brownie.

These brownies are good for you, really. Waaah, you think I'm just throwing it around, don't you?

1) Walnuts are good for your brain. They also shaped like them. They help in improving memory, etc etc. Well, point to be noted is they are good for you.

2) These brownies are perfect energy boosters with the added Coffee.Some think that may be bad for you, but we don't associate with coffee haters anyway. I mean, is there a tastier way for you to have coffee, than in a Brownie?

3) Everybody says chocolate is good for you, don't they? Well, here's some nice dark chocolate. Cheers for our health!!

Have I convinced you? I do hope I have because I wouldn't want you to miss out on this little piece of heaven.

For once, I simply made the brownies. No birthday, no celebration, no potluck, no get together. Just cause I wanted to treat myself, (yes, myself) to a dark moist chocolatey brownie. I've worked hard all year and I deserve it. So do you!! And when something tastes so good, it really does not need excuses or occasions. Of course, I shared this with family, but it was I who cut into them while still warm (not advised, but let's be honest, who can resist warm brownies) and ate to my heart's content before sharing it with anyone.

I feel happy and good when I eat things I love and chocolate usually ranks high on the list of foods that make me happy. What is it that you love to eat? What makes you happy? Let me know, may be I have a recipe just for that.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Vegan Coffee Walnut Brownies

Vegan Coffee Walnut Brownies are moist cake like brownies made from chocolate, coffee and walnuts.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Yield: Makes 9

Ingredients:

100gms Semi dark vegan Chocolate (grated)
3/4 cup Flour (Maida)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp Water
3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
8 tsp Oil
2 Tbsp Flour
3 tsp Coffee Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
3 Tbsp chopped Walnuts

Method:

Microwave the grated chocolate and 1/2 cup water on high for 30 seconds until the chocolate is soft. Whisk to combine the chocolate and the water. If doing this on the stove top, do it on low heat.
Add the coffee powder and oil to the chocolate and mix well.
Add 1/2 cup sugar and mix well.
Sift the flour and baking soda together.
Add the flour to the chocolate and mix until combined.
Add more sugar or water as required. The batter should be sticky and thick.
Add half the chopped walnuts and mix.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
Grease and line the baking tin with parchment paper.
Pour the batter into the tin and sprinkle the remaining walnuts on top.
Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Remove from the tin after 10-15 minutes and pull out the parchment paper.
Allow it to cool before cutting into squares.

Beetroot Capsicum and Blue Cheese Tart

I promised, and here it is - Beetroot Capsicum and Blue Cheese Tart...

How to make eggless vegetarian beetroot and blue cheese quiche at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

But first, how was Diwali? I hope you all had a safe and fun Diwali. Belated Diwali wishes for all those who missed my wishes on Facebook.

Did you eat sweets till your tummy hurt? I'm so used to doing that on Diwali. The whole month's diet goes for a toss on a single day, and yet, it is totally worth it. But this year, I'm missing that. Did you forget, I'm on my super-duper-awesome trip to Cambodia? Read all about my plans here and get my latest updates on Twitter.

Back to my recipe of Beetroot Capsicum and Blue Cheese Tart.

When I made Caramelized Onion Mushroom Tart for myself and Gee, I made this Beetroot Capsicum and Blue Cheese Tart for Raj. The whole idea of making either of these tarts actually started when I went ahead and finally bought "Blue Cheese". I like blue cheese, but I've never bought any. I've had it in restaurants or cheese platters elsewhere, but never at home. I'd been toying with the idea of buying it for a long time. I knew I liked it, but I definitely cannot eat the entire slab, and I wasn't sure Raj would like it, he really isn't into funky foods. He finally got fed up of seeing me standing at the cheese counter eyeing blue cheese and forced me to buy some. Yay!!

Tangy salty blue cheese and sweet beets work wonderfully well together. For this tart, the beetroot was first cooked until almost done. Then peeled and sliced into bite sized pieces. After that I fried it with little oil in a frying pan along with some sugar, pepper and balsamic vinegar, just to caramelize it. Hey, I was having caramelized onions, he deserved caramelized beets. Just the beets and the blue cheese taste great together so skip everything else if you want. I added sauteed capsicum and strips of fresh basil just to oomph up the tart.

You may notice I haven't added a lot of the blue cheese. I wanted to, but it was his first time having blue cheese and I definitely did not want to overwhelm him, so I kept it to a minimum, where there is a hint of the tang and the salt, but it is subtle. If you love blue cheese, go on and replace the regular cheese with more blue and it should be your little mouthful of cheese heaven.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Caramelized Onion Mushroom Tart - Tart made with sweet caramelized onions, pepper sauteed mushrooms, an easy vegan pastry and creamy rich cheesy white sauce.
Beetroot Burger - Spiced beetroot, cauliflower and beans patty combined with some eggless mayo to make a Veggie Burger.
Stuffed Potato Skins - Baked potato skins stuffed with an instant tomato sauce, fried green Capsicum and Mozzarella cheese.

Beetroot Capsicum and Blue Cheese Tart

Beetroot Capsicum and Blue Cheese Tart is an eggless tart made with caramelized beetroot, sauteed capsicum, basil and a creamy rich blue cheese sauce held together in a crispy pastry.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast / Snacks
Cuisine:   International
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Yield:   6 Tarts (3.5" each)

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:

1 cup All Purpose Flour
0.25 cup Olive Oil
0.5 cup cold Water
0.25 tsp Salt

For the Sauce:

3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1.5 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1.25 cups Milk
25gms Cheese or 2 Cheese Cubes
2 Tbsp Blue Cheese
3-4 cloves Garlic
0.25 tsp Nutmeg
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Filling:

1 small Beetroot
0.5 Capsicum
8-10 Basil Leaves (Optional)
0.5 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Jaggery Powder or Sugar
5-6 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Water as required

Method:

To make the Pastry:

Whisk together 0.25 cups of water and the oil to form an emulsion.
Take the flour in a large bowl, add salt.
Add the emulsion to the flour and mix with a spatula or hands until combined.
Fold the dough 4-5 times, do not knead.
Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200 degree C.
Grease the tart tins.
Divide the pastry into 6 equal parts. This recipe uses 6 individual tart tins of 3.5" diameter. If you plan on making one large tart, do not divide the dough.
Dust the counter with flour and roll out the pastry until it is big enough to cover the tart tin.
Place the rolled out pastry in the tin and gently press the pastry in tin. Remove any excess pastry from the sides.
Put in baking beans and bake the pastry for 12-15 minutes or until done.
Allow them to cool a little and then remove the pastry shells from the tins and keep aside.

To make the Sauce:

Heat oil in a pan.
Once the oil is hot, add in the flour and fry for 45-60 seconds.
Add the milk and allow it to come to a boil.
Lower the heat and add the salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Continue to simmer for 1-2 mins until the sauce thickens.
Grate the cheese into the sauce and mix well.
Simmer for another 2-3 mins and remove from heat. If the sauce has become very thick, add 1-2Tbsp milk to loosen it.

To make the Filling:

Boil the whole beetroot without peeling it.
Once the beetroot is almost cooked, remove it from water and allow it to cool.
Once it is cool enough to handle, peel it and cut it into small chunks.
Heat 2-3 tsp oil in a pan.
Once it is hot, add the beetroot. Add a pinch of salt and mix well,
Fry the beetroot on low heat until cooked.
Add the balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar or jaggery and mix well.
Cook for 2-3 mins and remove from heat.
Cut the capsicum into small pieces.
Heat oil in a pan and when it is hot, add the capsicum.
Add salt and pepper.
Saute the capsicum for 2-3 mins and remove from heat.
Julienne the basil leaves into thin strips.

Assembling the Tart:

Preheat the oven to 200 degree C.
Place the beetroot, capsicum and basil in the tart.
Spoon in the sauce.
Sprinkle another layer of beetroot and capsicum on top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the top browns.

Caramelized Onion Mushroom Tart

Sweet Caramelized Onions + Peppery Sauteed Mushrooms + Crisp Pastry + Creamy Cheese Sauce = Yum yum YUM!!!

How to make eggless vegetarian mushroom quiche recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

If you've ever enjoyed this combination, I need not say more. If not, then you are definitely missing out on something. Raj definitely did, the guy just won't eat mushrooms. I had to make something else for him, but that's a recipe for another week. But for now, it's all about this individual sized portion of rich cheesy heaven.

This Caramelized Onion Mushroom Tart is perfect for the cold winter days. Winter always makes me want to have rich warm food. I'll give you two options - wait for winter. When the nights are cold, snuggle up under a blanket on the sofa or next to the heater and eat a warm hearty sized portion of this amazing Caramelized Onion Mushroom Tart, OR, say why wait for winter when I can have this piece of yummy goodness right now.

Read on to find out why you should be choosing option 2.

Caramelized Onions are super delicious. Sweet, soft, rich brown is the way to go. Caramelizing onions is a slow process, you have to lovingly delicately coax those pungent crisp onions into sweet submission. But here's the good part, you can caramelize them in advance and stock them in your fridge. After that they can go into sandwiches, on top of crackers or soups, or you know, eat them just like that standing in front of your fridge. They taste great anyway. To caramelize the onions, slice the onions into slices and then gently fry them on low heat with a pinch of salt until they brown slightly. Then add balsamic vinegar, sugar or jaggery, and a little bit of water or stock and let them cook until they are sweet, soft and dark brown. Just make sure they never burn or they will turn bitter. I promise you this is the only time bit of the tart that actually takes some effort.

Mushrooms - The easiest part of the tart. Clean them, slice them, saute them. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper and they are done. My favorite thing about mushrooms is how quickly they cook. Don't you just love it. I prefer when my mushrooms still have texture and bite to them, so I tend to undercook mushrooms. You go ahead and cook them how you like them. Remember, they also cook in the oven when the tart is baked after assembling.

Pastry seem daunting to you? All that rubbing cold butter with flour until it resembles sand? Keep that for another day. What I have here is a vegan pastry that can be made in under 5 minutes. Well, except the baking part, of course. Here's a recipe I learnt a long time ago - whisk cold water with oil and it combines to form a smooth emulsion. Add flour and salt to this and gently fold in. No kneading required. In fact, the recipe asks you to not knead. Mix until combined and then refrigerate it for 15-20 mins and then roll out and blind bake them for 15 more minutes until they are done. Wasn't that the easiest pastry you ever made?

The last bit is the Sauce. It is creamy, rich and cheesy. This sauce is what brings together the whole tart and also imparts the maximum flavour. It is a basic white sauce, may be slightly thicker than usual with added cheese. This sauce needs to be thick cause the tart does not contain any eggs, so a thin sauce will make your pastry soggy and the tart runny. To make the sauce, just fry flour in oil or butter and add milk. Add in the garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg and simmer until you get the desired consistency. Then just mix in grated cheese and allow it to cool slightly before adding to the tart.

The number of steps may look a lot, but then good things need some effort. Let's be realistic, I don't see you caramelizing onions or making a cheesy white sauce on a busy weeknight, but if you get a free night or weekend when you decide to sit at home and watch classic movies on TV, then give this Caramelized Onion Mushroom Tart a try, and I promise you will not regret the effort you put in. And when you are as well putting in the effort, let me tell you, make how much you think you will eat, and a little more, cause these tarts are DIVINE!!! Thank me later :)

If you liked this, you may also like:

Vegetable Quiche - Mixed vegetable tart
Eggplant Pizza - Guilt free pizza made with grilled eggplant as the base, topped with tomato sauce and cheese.
Stuffed Potato Skins - Baked potato skins stuffed with an instant tomato sauce, fried green Capsicum and Mozzarella cheese.

Caramelized Onion Mushroom Tart

Caramelized Onion Mushroom Tart is a tart made with sweet caramelized onions, pepper sauteed mushrooms, an easy vegan pastry and creamy rich cheese-y white sauce.

Recipe Type: Breakfast / Snacks
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Yield: 6 Tarts (3.5" each)

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:

1 cup All Purpose Flour
0.25 cup Olive Oil
0.5 cup cold Water
0.25 tsp Salt

For the Filling:

2 large Onions
10-12 button Mushrooms
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
2-3 Tbsp Water
2 tsp Jaggery Powder or Sugar
1.5 Tbsp Oil + 2-3 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

For the Sauce:

3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1.5 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1.25 cups Milk
25gms Cheese or 2 Cheese Cubes
3-4 cloves Garlic
0.25 tsp Nutmeg
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Method:

To make the Pastry:

To make the Sauce:

To make the Filling:

Slice the onions lengthwise.
Heat 1.5 Tbsp Oil in a frying pan.
Once it is hot, add the onions. Add a pinch of salt and mix well,
Fry the onions on low heat until they are golden brown. Caramelizing onions takes time, this may take around 18-20 minutes.
Add the balsamic vinegar, sugar or jaggery and 2 Tbsp of water and allow to cook for another 8-10 minutes.
When the onions are brown, sweet and soft, remove from heat and keep aside.
Slice the mushrooms.
Heat oil in a pan and when it is hot, add the mushrooms.
Add salt and pepper.
Saute the mushrooms for 4-5 mins until soft and remove from heat.

Assembling the Tart:

Preheat the oven to 200 degree C.
Place the caramelized onions and mushrooms in the tart.
Spoon in the sauce.
Sprinkle another layer of onions and mushrooms on top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the top browns.