Showing posts with label Baked. Show all posts

Pineapple Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting (Eggless)

Eggless Vanilla cake with fresh pineapple pieces and a light whipped cream frosting!!

How to make eggless pineapple cake recipe, whipped cream frosting, eggless vanilla sponge cake, eggless cake recipe, vegetarian pineapple cake at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com One Teaspoon Of Life

Happy Birthday to the most important people in my life - My husband and my sister!!

Coincidence? Divine plan? No idea, but the two most important people in my life share their birthday with each other. It was last week and they demanded this Pineapple Cake. Normally, I'd bake a chocolate since that's everyone's favorite, but a birthday girl/boy's wish has to be fulfilled.

So Pineapple Cake it was!!

The last time I made this cake was four years ago on my birthday and I almost swore I'd never make it again. I was a novice at frosting cakes back then and I messed it up real bad. First I tried to make the whipped cream frosting with low fat cream by adding butter to increase its fat content. I've heard it works, but in my case I ended up with a gloopy buttery mess. Then I found that there are lots of local dairies around that sell fresh full fat cream and I went in search of that. We had to check out several stores to find the freshest of the fresh lot. And to my back luck, I over whipped it and ended up with lots of vanilla flavored sweet butter. So you understand my trauma when the pair asked for Pineapple while I was trying to steer them towards anything that needed a ganache or a buttercream.

So this time I bought back up packets of cream and guess what? All my back ups are safe in the fridge. I've finally learnt when to stop whipping the cream. My suggestion would be to use cream with at least 40% fat content and not fret about making this cake low calorie. Lets get real, this cake is a treat, and not a low cal diet eat, so close your eyes for once at the calorie count and just enjoy a slice of the delicious Pineapple Cake.

The first time I made this cake, was also the first time I ever bought a pineapple. It is much simpler to use canned pineapple here, but I'm all about using fresh fruit when I can. So I learnt how to peel and slice a pineapple. While I'd have loved to use the fresh pineapple straight away, it ends up getting bitter after a while, hence, stewing it in sugar syrup. You will need to stew the pineapple a few days in advance, at least one day. I made the pineapple in syrup 4 days in advance and it turned out beautifully sweet and soft. The leftover syrup can be used in smoothies or juices to add a subtle pineapple flavor.

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!

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If you liked this, you may also like:

Honey Cake - Bangalore Iyengar Bakery style honey and orange cake. Video Recipe.
Banana Bread - Delicious dense banana bread/cake.
Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Cream - Tart filled with a fresh mango cream and fresh fruits
No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake - Strawberry cheesecake made without egg or gelatin.

Pineapple Cake (Eggless)

Eggless pineapple cake with pineapple pieces and a whipped cream frosting.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 1 Hour
Cook time: 40 Minutes
Yield: One 6" cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1.5 cups All Purpose Flour (Maida)
300 gms Condensed Milk
1 cup Milk
0.5 cups Oil
2-3 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1.5 Tbsp Cornstarch (Cornflour)
1 tsp Baking powder
0.5 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Pinch of salt

For the Whipped Cream Frosting:

200 ml Fresh medium fat cream(40% milk fat)(Chilled)
4-5 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Cornstarch
0.25 tsp Vanilla Essence

Other ingredients:

2-3 slices of canned Pineapple or 2-3 fresh Pineapple slices
1 cup Water (not required if using canned pineapple)
0.75 cups Sugar(not required if using canned pineapple)

Method:

To prepare the Pineapple:

Skip these steps if you are using canned pineapple.
Add the sugar to the water and heat until it dissolves.
Lower the heat and add the fresh pineapple slices.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour the pineapple and the syrup into a glass jar.
Allow it to cool before closing the jar and refrigerating.
Preferably, do this at least 1 day in advance to assembling the cake. I made these 4 days in advance.

To make the Cake:

Sift together maida, baking powder, baking soda and cornstarch at least twice to ensure even mixing
In a large mixing bowl, take the condensed milk, vanilla essence and oil. Whisk until combined.
Add the powdered sugar and salt, mix until combined.
Add the flour by the spoonfuls and whisk until combined. When it gets harder to whisk, add in a little milk. Continue until all the flour and milk has been combined. Do not over mix, the cake will end up hard.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Grease two 6" round pans and line the bottom of the pan with butter paper or dust the pan with flour.
Divide the batter equally between the two pans.
Bake for 30-40 mins until done.
Cool on a wire rack until completely cool before frosting.
The cake can be made a day in advance and frosted later.

To make the Whipped Cream Frosting:

Before making the whipped cream, place the whisk and a steel bowl (in which you will be whisking) in the fridge for 30 mins.
Alternatively, place the steel bowl in an ice bath while whisking.
Pour the cream to the cold bowl and whisk until you have soft peaks.
Now add in the cornstarch, sugar and vanilla and continue to whisk until you get stiff peaks. Be careful not to over whip the cream, else it will turn to butter.

Assembling the cake:

Allow the vanilla sponge cake to cool completely.
Level the cake as required.
Spoon the pineapple syrup on both the halves.
Spread a part of the whipped cream on the lower half of the cake.
Cut the pineapple into small pieces and spread on the whipped cream.
Place the upper half on the cake on top.
Spread the whipped cream all over the cake.
Decorate with the remaining pineapple slice.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Cornflake Chocolate Cookie

Dessert for breakfast or breakfast for dessert? Enjoy both with these Cornflake Chocolate Cookies!!

How to make cornflake choco chip cookies recipe, eggless cornflake biscuit recipe, eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

There is no joy like dunking a homemade warm buttery cookie into a cup of tea or a glass of milk. Especially when you bake those few times. Don't get me wrong, I love baking, seeing the fruits of your efforts bloom and rise in the oven and fill the entire house with those heavenly aromas is something I simply cannot get enough of. But, I just fail to make the time to bake very often. So whenever I do, I celebrate the finished product. And what a celebration this was - rich chewy cookie with bits of crunchy cornflakes and soft blocks of my favorite dark chocolate. Try resisting that!!

There is only one thing to blame for this Cornflake Chocolate Cookie goodness - the idiot box!! As every other person obsessed with food, I too binge watch food channels on TV. And one of them repeatedly played these "quickies" or "shorties" of a cornflake chocolate chip cookie recipe. As far as I was the only person watching it, it was okay, I've learnt to contain my excitement now, but this video was watched by Raj and Gee and had them all excited. Their excitement rubbed off on me, and these cookies made it into this world from my tiny little oven. When I say tiny, I mean it, I had to bake them in 3 batches. Also, another reason I bake less. The first thing I buy when I buy my first house, will be a BIG bad oven!!

I'm usually a fan of crunchy biscuits or cookies, and this was the first of my chewy lot. I LOVED loved loved every little crumb of it. It tasted of butter, dark Bournville chocolate and Corn Flakes. Raj, true to his self, grabbed one each time he entered the kitchen and Gee, true to her self, found the cookies too rich (pure butter is so wasted on some people), yet managed to down a few.

Making these cookies was actually a breeze. Just cream together the butter and sugar until well mixed, then add everything else to it and mix until combined. No chilling or shaping, just spoon them onto the baking sheet and bake them until slightly brown. The cookies will be soft when just out of the oven, they will crisp up on the outside as they cool. Keep enough space between the cookies while baking as the butter in the dough will melt causing the cookie to spread. If you want to bake later, just wrap in cling wrap or plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Remove from fridge and slice and bake it when ready.

Use flavored cornflakes and different types of chocolate to get more variety from the same recipe.

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

Almond Cookies - Easy to make eggless almond cookies / biscuits.
Butter Cookies - Beautiful swirly eggless butter cookies.
Fruit Biscuits - Karachi Bakery inspired rose flavored fruit biscuits.

Cornflake Chocolate Cookie

Cornflake Chocolate Cookies are chewy biscuits made with flour, plain cornflakes and dark chocolate.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield: 22 Cookies

Ingredients:

100 gms unsalted Butter
1 cup Flour (maida)
1 cup powdered Sugar
1.25 cups Corn flakes
80 gms Dark Chocolate bar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
0.5 tsp Baking Powder
1-2 Tbsp Milk

Method:

Cream room temperature butter and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar until combined.
Add the flour, baking powder and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Cut the cholocate bar into small chunks and add to the dough.
Add the cornflakes into the dough and mix until combined.
If the dough is crumbly, add the milk.
If the dough needs sugar, add the remaining powdered sugar.
If you do not plan to bake immediately, wrap the dough in cling or plastic wrap and store in fridge until ready to bake.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
Grease a baking tray and roll the dough into little balls and place on the sheet.
Leave at least 2 inch space between two cookies as they tend to flatten and expand.
Bake until slightly browned on the edges or for 12-15 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack.
Store in an airtight container once completely cool.

Honey Cake (Video Recipe)

Bangalore Iyengar Bakery style Honey Cake is made by soaking an orange sponge cake with honey syrup and then topping it with a jam-coconut frosting

how to make honey cake recipe,how to make bangalore honey cake recipe, how to make iyengar bakery honey cake recipe, eggless cake recipe, eggless baking at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Flashback to April 2002, 15 years and 1 month ago, I was in Bangalore with my dad, all set to answer the Common Entrance Test (CET) that would give me a chance to study Engineering in Karnataka. Because I took so long to decide that I want to answer CET, all the hotels we knew of were full. My aunt came to our rescue and arranged for us to stay at her sister's place. Her family was extremely hospitable, so before we left, we asked them what their favorite sweet was so we could it buy it for them as a gift. Their response was - Honey Cake, a complete novelty to me.

Honey Cake is a Bangalore special. It is not something you will get in the gourmet high end bakeries, it is something that is available in the humble Iyengar Bakeries that dot the old city. A simple orange sponge that is soaked in a sweet honey syrup, topped with a jam coconut frosting is what this sweet treat is all about.

I had completely forgotten about this beauty until I went to the bakery randomly to buy some bread and saw them bring out a tray full of fresh honey cake. I had to have it!!! Unfortunately, the cake wasn't eggless and that prevented us from enjoying it then and there. So the food blogger was given the task of making the cake at home so all could enjoy it. I'm happy to say I did not disappoint. The cake was very similar to that memory of 2002. The only little tip I have is let that cake soak for a few hours. The syrup needs to soak up the entire cake and not just the bottom. Eating it immediately (like we impatient bunch did), will not let the honey permeate through the cake. If you cannot resist the cake (like us, again), just keep a bowl of syrup nearby and just drizzle it over the sides of the piece of cake while you eat.

Soooo, let's break down the Honey Cake:

ORANGE SPONGE CAKE - The base of the whole cake, well, is the cake. This orange sponge was sooo delicious that I could eat it just like that over a cup of tea. In fact, I will, very soon, just when I feel I've denied myself of sufficient number of calories to bake a cake again. Until then, I just live with the memory of this yummy orange sponge. This sponge is so simple to make, you could have a kid do it. No creaming butter until your arm aches. Just 6 simple ingredients, hand whisked until combined. I used freshly squeezed Orange Juice in my cake, 2 not so juicy oranges gave me half a cup of OJ. Use more to get a more pronounced Orange flavor. I know I will. If you dislike oranges, however, just skip it and use water in place of it.

HONEY SYRUP - This syrup isn't like your regular syrups. It is not boiled until you get a certain thread consistency. Just mix honey in warm water and your syrup is ready. Tastes purely of honey.

JAM COCONUT FROSTING - Use whichever jam you want. The cake you get in bakeries seem to use mixed fruit, so I used mixed fruit. But I know I would love a mango jam to go with this cake. Heat together the jam and desiccated coconut (dry) along with a little water or honey syrup to make the frosting. The consistency should be slightly loose so it is easy to spread. You can buy desiccated coconut from the supermarket or you can just grate dry coconut using a fine grater to make your own. Top the frosted cake with more of this desiccated coconut to make it more coconut-y.

I have a Video Recipe for you too:

Video Recipe

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If you liked this, you may also like:

Banana Bread - Eggless banana bread.
Coffee Walnut Brownies - Vegan coffee flavored brownies with chopped walnuts.
Almond Chocolate Brownies - Eggless brownies with almonds.

Honey Cake

Bangalore Iyengar Bakery style Honey Cake is made by soaking an orange sponge cake with honey syrup and then topping it with a jam-coconut frosting.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Yield: Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

For the Orange Sponge Cake:

1.5 cup all purpose Flour (Maida)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp sweetened Condensed Milk
0.5 cup fresh Orange Juice
0.5 cup Oil
1 tsp Baking Powder
0.5 tsp Baking Soda

For the Honey Syrup:

0.5 cup Water
3 Tbsp Honey

For the Jam Coconut Frosting:

2 Tbsp mixed fruit Jam
1.5 Tbsp Water or Honey Syrup
3 Tbsp dry desiccated Coconut

Others

3 Tbsp dry desiccated Coconut

Method:

To make the Orange Sponge Cake:

Add baking powder and bakind soda to the flour and mix well.
Add orange juice, oil and sweetened condensed milk and mix until combined and smooth.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Grease a cake mould or baking tin and dust it with flour until coated. Remove the excess flour by upturning the tin.
Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until done. Test by inserting a toothpick in the center, if it comes out clean, the cake is done, else, let is bake a little longer.

To make the Honey Syrup:

Mix the honey in warm water and keep aside.

To make the Jam-Coconut Frosting:

Heat the jam in a pan and add the desiccated coconut.
Loosen the jam-coconut mixture by adding a little water or honey syrup.
Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. The frosting should be smooth without any lumps of jam in it.

To assemble the Honey Cake:

Remove from heat and keep aside.
Prick the cake with a toothpick or a fork to create holes.
Pour half to 3/4th of the syrup onto the cake and allow it to soak. You can keep the cake aside at this point for 30-60 minutes and then pour the remaining syrup on the cake.
Spread the jam-coconut frosting on the cake.
Top with more dry desiccated coconut and chill until ready to serve.

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

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.