Eggless & Spicy Mexican Brownies

I know that I have been missing from action for the past few days. No blogging or blog hopping due to personal commitments. :)) M has been away on work and I thought of investing the extra free time I had doing some productive work rather than sitting in front of the computer. I zealously decided to clean my two floored, 5 bedroom house in a couple of days. Hasty decision, it was. In my over enthusiasm, I turned upside down the whole home and without a helping hand, the chore soon turned into a long, backbreaking one. The result - I feel sore right now from top to bottom and probably need another two days to get the job done.
And lucky me, it is snowing outside while I am drafting this. In fact, it has been snowing nonstop from the morning. The snow will continue through tomorrow morning and our driveway needs to be cleaned. I have guests coming over this weekend. :)  Now you see, with that physical stress, who needs a computer for timepass?

However dear Kalyani's new event "Magic Mingle" kept echoing somewhere at the back of my mind and so here I am with the post. In this event, two ingredients would be picked each month and the participants have to choose a dish that uses both of them. The interesting combo of "Cinnamon & Chillies" is the theme for the first edition. Many spicy rice dishes came into my mind as soon as I read about this combo but wanted to try something different. And hence these Mexican brownies that I first came to know about in my initial days of blogging. This is not your typical sweet brownie but a spicy version.

I came across an egg based brownie recipe but stuck to it since I had all other ingredients ready. I turned the recipe into an eggless version. By mistake, I deleted the recipe source URL and at this hour, I am not able to locate the source recipe. (I will do it later and provide the link.)
The original recipe recommends to use a 8 inch square pan covered with aluminum foil. I halved the recipe and used two mini baking pans. I had to cut those rectangular loafs into brownies and in the process the beautiful upper layer is gone. It appears as though I have ended up with cake like texture but it is not the case. The 1/2 tsp chili powder gives really a kick in your mouth. If you don't want to experience it, reduce the quantity. The brain kept forgetting that these were spicy stuff and the palate accustomed to a sweeter version kept experiencing the jolts. :) If you totally eliminate the chili powder, you will still be left with yummy brownies.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup almond flour

1/2  tsp chili powder (reduce if needed.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
 A pinch of salt

1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces

2.5 oz semi sweet chocolate

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup yogurt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil, grease it and  dust with flour. Tap out the excess flour.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Turn off the heat and whisk in the chocolate. Let it sit until the chocolate melts, then add brown sugar, yogurt and vanilla. Mix well.
Combine the flours, chili powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients. Pour into the baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. The batter rises and so fill the pan with batter to only a little over half.
Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a moist crumb, about 30 minutes.

This also goes to Vardhini's Bake Fest, hosted by Pradnya this month.

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Sweet Corn - Vermicelli Kheer for CEDD

I am starting the Cook.Eat.Delicious Desserts and giveaway event that I am hosting this month with a simple, Indian dessert. As the event title suggests, it is about desserts and any sweet thing you cook with a vegetable and/or fruit becomes eligible for this event. If you are planning to cook or bake any fresh produce based dessert this month, just remember to send them here. :) I would gladly accept even any archived entries. Check here for Raven's giveaway details and participation rules.

Kheers are versatile in spite of the fact that all of them are prepared basically the same way. I absolutely love kheers for their simplicity and the ease with which they can be made. In fact, kheer is made at least once a week in my kitchen and so, I could not let go the desserts event without a kheer post. If I am preparing it to just satisfy my sweet cravings, I use low fat milk, artificial sweetener and add some raisins directly to milk with out toasting so that I can have a guilt free dessert. 
I saw this vermicelli - corn kheer recipe recently on television and tried it immediately. It sounded like a twist to the regular vermicelli kheer but the flavor of corn is more prominent in this dish as vermicelli - corn is used in the ratio of 1:4 in the original dish. I just tweaked the recipe to suit my taste.

Ingredients: (for 2 servings)

2 Tbsp ghee
1 Tbsp each - raisins and cashews
2 Tbsp vermicelli / semya
1/4 cup corn (cook and grind to a paste adding a few spoons of water if needed.)
1.5 cup milk 
2 - 3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Method:
* Heat milk in a sauce pan.
* Meanwhile, heat ghee in another pan and toast the raisins and cashews. Remove them with a slotted spoon and keep them aside.
* Add vermicelli to the same ghee and toast it until golden brown.
* Next add the corn paste and saute for a couple of minutes.
* Add the hot milk to the corn - vermicelli mixture.
* Cook on low flame until vermicelli is cooked. Keep stirring in between to avoid the vermicelli from clumping.
* Add sugar and cardamom powder and continue to cook until sugar melts.
* Turn off the stove and garnish with toasted dry fruits.
* Serve warm / chilled.

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Announcing Cook.Eat.Delicious - Desserts #6 and a Giveaway

We wish all the visitors, friends and our family a joyous and prosperous new year. May all your dreams and wishes come true during 2012. And my blogging starts in this new year with a sweet announcement, literally. :)  

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.  ~ Jim Davis

If you believe the same, then you are at the right place and this event is definitely for people like you. :) I was just kidding and everyone is welcome to cook and eat delicious desserts. Just remember to send them over some to me virtually since I am guest hosting CEDD #6 this month. Yes, Raven's yummilicious Cook.Eat.Delicious - Desserts event comes to VeggiePlatter this month and I am going with "fresh produce" as my theme. Thanks Raven for the hosting opportunity and the beautiful logo.
Another exciting feature of this event is the following book, offered by Raven as prize to a winner chosen by a random drawing. 

500 Seasonal Recipes: Making the Most of Fresh Produce through Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter by Anne Hildyard. This cookbook has all the recipes you need to utilize fresh produce throughout the year to cook up some delicious food! 

Here are the guidelines for participation:
1. Cook / Bake any dessert with "Fresh Produce" as the star ingredient. Use any vegetable and/or fruit of your choice but keep it vegetarian and nonalcoholic. Eggs are allowed only in baking.
2. The event runs thru the month of January and the last day to send entries would be 31st January, 2012.  Please provide a link to this event announcement page and to CookEatDelicious.com in your post.
3. Use of logo is optional but appreciated. It would help to spread the word about the event. 

4. New entries are preferred, with archived ones being re-posted.
5. Multiple entries are accepted with only one going towards the giveaway.
6. Non-bloggers are welcome to send in their entry. Just attach a photo & full recipe.
7. Email me about your entry at toveggieplatter@hotmail.com with the following details.
Your name
Your location
Recipe name
Recipe URL
Photo URL
8. Post a comment in this post after emailing me so that your entry is not missed in my spam folder!

That means all you have to do to participate in this event and become eligible to win the above book is prepare desserts with fruits and/or vegetables of your choice and send it to me. The roundup of the event and details of the winner would be published by the first week of February. I would be waiting for all those mouthwatering desserts from your kitchens. :) 

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Green Peas Curry in Coconut Milk Sauce

Standing on the threshold of new year, this one is going to be my last post for the year 2011. This yummy, mild curry is intended for events hosted by some dear blogger buddies. :)

Ingredients: (Yield 2 -3 servings)
1- 2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 onions, minced
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 tsp chili powder
Salt to taste
1/2 cup coconut milk

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they start to brown, add onion and saute until translucent. Then add the tomatoes and cook until mushy. Next add the frozen peas, salt, turmeric powder and chili powder. Mix well and cook for a couple of minutes. Slowly stir in the coconut milk and cook on low flame. Turn off the heat when it starts to boil.
Let it sit for a few minutes before serving since it thickens after cooking.
Serve this with rotis.

This is on it's way to
Cooking with Seeds - Peas, an event by Priya Suresh.
HLI - Peas, hosted by Veena, an event by Kalyani.
MLLA, hosted by Kiran, an event by Susan.

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Rava Idli / Semolina Idli

Usually the store bought mixes can never compete with homemade stuff in quality or taste. However MTR's rava idli mix is an exception and no homemade mix can beat this. It is obvious of course, since MTR is the creator of rava idli mix.

MTR is such an iconic brand that it hardly needs any introduction among its Indian customers. The abbreviation MTR stands for "Mavalli Tiffin Rooms", a famous restaurant in Bangalore. And for the non locals, the word MTR is synonymous with the delicious instant food mixes the company markets under the same brand name. I had read about the man behind this giant food empire once on a Kannada website and thought about sharing it here.

The person who was responsible for the growth and the tremendous success and popularity of MTR is late Mr. Yagnyanarayana Maiya. Born in a poor family as one of the 9 kids, he could not pursue education because of his family circumstances. He began cooking at weddings and other functions when no choice was left and thus began his career in the food industry.

In the meantime, two of his brothers who were also cooks started "Brahmin's coffee club" on Lalbagh road, Bangalore in 1924. It became quite popular in a short period of time but when one of his brothers passed away, Mr. Yagnanarayana stepped in, to fill in his place.

Besides being an expert cook, he was strictly disciplined and honest in his work. He had set standards for himself that his hotel would be not one among others but it would be the topmost. He gave utmost importance to hygeine and the taste of the food. To him, nothing was important than customers' happiness. He would diligently pick all the ingredients needed for cooking at his hotel.

During 1950,  his European tour to study the restaurants there, had further strengthened his beliefs in serving hygienic, high standard food to his customers. After his trip, he revamped his hotel,  changed the name to "Mavalli Tiffin Rooms" which became popular as MTR.

One of the interesting tidbits I read about him was he would never allow to use the rice batters ( like the idli batter) after 9 am since it starts to go sour at that time. He would throw away the batter in the gutter instead of serving his customers sour idlis.

Being a creative person, he came up with this rava idli mix during second world war when there was shortage of rice. Up until then people knew only about rice - urad dal idlis.

Ingredients: (Yield 16 idlis)

Semolina / Sooji / Rava - 1.5 cups

Salt to taste

2 - 3 Tbsp fresh/frozen green peas

2 - 3 Tbsp grated carrot

1 Tbsp minced cilantro

1 to1.5 tsp baking soda

1 & 3/4 cups yogurt (Fatfree yogurt will do. Half the quantity of yogurt can be substituted with water but don't skip the yogurt. )

For tadka:

2 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp chana dal / Bengal gram

 1 Tbsp urad dal / Black gram

1 Tbsp mustard seeds

2 Tbsp cashews

 1/2 tsp grated ginger

 Few minced curry leaves

1 - 2 finely minced green / red chillies (optional)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the ginger. Fry until it turns golden brown and then add the other tadka ingredients.

2. When the dals turn reddish, add semolina and fry on medium flame until it starts to change color. Add salt and mix well. Let cool.

* If idlis are not prepared immediately, this mix can be stored for months in a closed container. Add baking soda while making the batter.

3. To the mixture that has come to room temperature, add yogurt (or yogurt + water) and baking soda and mix well. Leave the mixture to rest for about 5 - 10 minutes. Then add the grated carrot, peas and cilantro to the batter and combine well.

4. Grease the idli plates and pour the batter into idli moulds. Steam them until done.

Serve with saagu as they do in Bangalore restaurants or with chutney or sambhar.

Rava idli is my "most favorite" among idlis and so, I thought of posting it on last day of BM#11 under the theme "idlis". Check here to find out what my fellow marathoners are cooking during this marathon.

And my posts during this BM with "Mix and Match" themes.
Lunchbox - Quinoa Khichdi
Bihari Cusine - Thekua
Kids Delight - Color Palette - Cilantro Carrot Rice
Eggless Baking - Eggless Brownie Cookies
Holiday Cooking - Eggless Almond Moon Cookies
Preps & Preserves - Chhena & Chhena Halwa

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Homemade Chhena & Chhena Halwa

We are still in fall season just entered winter season but as usual we already had our share of bone chilling temperatures and snowfalls (though less than usual). Chicago's notorious gusty winds makes it further worse. What do weather has to do with my blogging, you ask? Then read on. I prefer to take pictures in natural light and it gets quite crazy in this season. I should say that it would be hell up until March, if you decide to take pictures outdoors. There would be more cloudy days than sunny ones and in either case, one wants to curl up on the couch than being outdoors. My inexperience in taking pictures indoors, lousy weather and my basic camera are not helping. It was around minus 7 deg C on the day I took the pictures for most of my posts during this marathon. I decided to take the pictures for many dishes that day just because it was very sunny. I went out into my kitchen balcony to take shots without the gloves on. Within 30 seconds, I was turning hot water in the kitchen sink to help my hands that have gone numb. It was that chillingly cold and my husband couldn't understand why I was torturing myself in the name of blogging. :) That is the reason why I couldn't post any good picture for bread crumbs last week or for today's chhena post. And so kindly bear with me.

Today's post comes under "preps and preserves" theme. Sometimes I end up with fullfat milk that is past due date. I have read somewhere that it is safe to use for a couple of days more the past date since the date mentioned on the can is the selling date and not the expiry date of the milk. Only kids drink fullfat milk at my home and so, if any milk is past sell date or starts smelling / tasting different even before that date, I just make paneer or chhena with it and stash it in the freezer.
Paneer is the only cheese native to Indian subcontinent and is vegetarian. Paneer and chhena are the base ingredients for many Bengali desserts and preparing them at home is quite a simple process. They both involve the same steps of preparation except that the paneer is drained and pressed for long while chhena is the crumbly and moist form of paneer.

Ingredients & utensils needed:
1 litre of whole milk
1 Tbsp of vinegar or juice from a lime / lemon
A saucepan to boil the milk
A colander / strainer
Cheesecloth or a thin cotton cloth

Method:
* Bring the milk to boil in a saucepan.

* Lower the heat, add the vinegar or the lime juice to the milk and stir. The solid part, chhena starts separating from the liquid part which is called whey.

* When the chhena completely separates, turn off the stove. Let it sit for a couple of minutes.

* Then line a colander / strainer with the cheesecloth or the cotton cloth and pour the mixture into it. Bring the corners of the cloth together (with the chhena filtrate in it) and hold the bundle under running water to wash away the vinegar / lime juice residue.
* Collect the chhena filtrate and use as needed.

And here is a bonus recipe for today. This is one of my favorite sweets from childhood. Whenever the milk split & curdled at home, my mother used to prepare this yummy halwa.

Ingredients:
Chhena - 1 cup
Semolina / rava - a little less than 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Food color - A pinch (Optional. I happened to use it only because the color was next to the cardamom bottle. :))

Method:
Just mix all the ingredients in a nonstick pan and cook on low flame until semolina is cooked. It is that easy but make sure that you haven't drained all the liquid from the chhena during the filtering process since the moisture from the chhena is needed to cook the semolina.

This is going to be my day 6 post in BM#11 with "preps and preserves" theme. Check here to find out what my fellow marathoners are cooking during this marathon.

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Eggless Almond Moon Cookies

Love at first bite. :)

It is hard to escape from the magic of festivities and the baking spree going on in the blogosphere during this holiday season. And yet this post is here not for that reason. The month of December and Christmas are special to me too, though not for the obvious reasons. I was brought into this world by my wonderful mother on Christmas day and my blog was also born this month. While I turned 30+ something this Sunday, my blog turned 5 a couple of weeks ago. And I thought of celebrating the occasions with these delicious, melt in the mouth kind cookies.

First of all I would like to mention that I am not good in gushing about things I have come to love in this culinary journey or present a dish emphatically / humorously to convey the "awesome"ness (if there is such a word) of a recipe. It is really hard for a person like me who loves to live in her own cocoon but still I would unabashedly love to proclaim that these cookies are really awesome. Just a bite into it, I knew that this is going to be one of those cherished recipes one would love to treasure. One of the local shows on TV featured these cookies as a part of holiday celebrations and I was instantly attracted to the recipe since they were eggless. After trying these cookies, I was so glad that I did not miss the show that day and could get hold of this amazing recipe. They are crunchy and at the same time have a crumbly and melt in mouth kind of texture. Just try them once and I am sure this would find a permanent place in your recipe repertoire.
Don't skip the sugar dusting; without it the cookies are barely sweet. At first bite, you think they are just subtly sweet but after completing the cookie, you realise that that is the right amount of sweetness you need in a cookie.

Ingredients: (Yield 28 cookies. I halved the recipe and got 15 cookies.)
Unsalted butter, warmed to room temperature - 2 sticks (16 tablespoons or 1 cup)
Confectioners' sugar or powdered sugar 1/4 cup + 1 cup for coating the cookies after they're baked (I used about 2 - 3 Tbsp for coating)
All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Almonds, slivered, finely chopped - 1 cup

Prep work:
1. Put the butter out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before the cookies are made. Or nuke the butter in a microwave just to soften it.
2. Grease the baking sheets.
3. Sift the all purpose flour and sugar seperately. Keep aside.
4. Toast and chop the almonds.

Method:
1. Put the greased baking sheet(s) in the freezer. (I did this eventhough it was not mentioned. Somewhere in the prep work, it was mentioned that doughballs need to be placed in the refrigerator but I did not see the step mentioned in the recipe given. I therefore chilled the baking sheet.)
2. Cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. You can use a stand mixer / hand mixer.
3. Slowly add in the 1/4 cup sugar,  the flour, and the vanilla. Mix until well combined.
4. Turn off the mixer and slowly add the chopped almonds. Mix until the almonds are just combined, about 1 minute.
5. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
6. Use the cookie scoop to scoop out balls of dough, and place those balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Try not to touch the dough balls, as doing so will warm the dough. (I did not have a cookie scoop and so I just used a tablespoon. I quickly patted the dough into the measuring spoon using my fingertips and it did not matter.)

7. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly brown.

8. Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack. Pour the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar into a low bowl and roll the cooled cookies around in it until covered.

9. If they are not gone by the day they are made, take the trouble to store them in a sealed, airtight container at room temperature.

Note:

The cook mentioned that the dough can be frozen upto two months.

This is going to be my day 5 post in BM#11 with "holiday cooking" theme. Check here to find out what my fellow marathoners are cooking during this marathon.

These are being sent to the following events -
Bake Fest # 2, hosted by Sangee, originally started by Vardhini
Bake With Your Heart by Khushi
CC - Holiday Baking by Sravs
Christmas Delicacy by Julie
Let's Cook - Baked Goodies, an event by Radhika.

Sinful Delights hosted by Vardhini

Sweet Baked at Krithis and Dennys.

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Eggless Brownie Cookies

This is one of cocoa recipes that I bookmarked recently to try. If my memory serves me right, it must be from diabetic living website. The recipe attracted me since it was mentioned that these cookies taste like rich brownies and to top that, they were eggless. The recipe is quite an easy one and so I tried them around 11 pm last night when I was not feeling sleepy. :)
The recipe mentioned that the cookies would be set by 8 - 10 minutes. The scoops of dough remained unaltered in shape until the sixth minute and so my daughter and I sat in the kitchen thinking that they would be ready by the next couple of minutes. However, after that period, they started to spread and began to become almost gooey. I thought that this experiment was going to end in a disaster and started to curse myself for trying those at the middle of the night. However, I kept them baking for around 8 - 10 minutes more and removed them thinking that probably they would end up in trash.
Nope, I was wrong. They were absolutely delicious and crispy. I forgot to sprinkle the powdered sugar at that hour but they were absolutely good. They are very dark brown in color, just like brownies but were perfectly done. They were more like chocolate cookies than brownies and received more than a seal of approval from my kids. I need to bake one more batch this week. :)

Ingredients:
(The following ingredients yield 24 cookies. If you want to halve the recipe to get a dozen cookies, use the ingredients mentioned in the parentheses / brackets. )
1 cup all-purpose flour (1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (1/4 tsp)
1/4 cup butter (2 Tbsp)
2/3 cup sugar (5 Tbsp)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Heaped 2 Tbsp)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (2 Tbsp)
1/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk* (2 Tbsp)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Nonstick cooking spray
1 tablespoon sifted powdered sugar (I didn't use it. )
Note
* To make 1/4 cup sour milk, pour 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar to a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1/4 cup total liquid; stir. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes before using

Method:
1. Combine flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan and stir in sugar, cocoa powder and brown sugar. Add buttermilk, vanilla and flour. Stir just until combined. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour. When you remove the dough out, it would be firm. 
2. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.
3. Drop chilled dough by rounded teaspoons onto a greased cookie sheet. The cookies will spread while baking and so space them accordingly.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set. (Actually I baked around 16 - 18 minutes since they were not set by 10 minutes and were almost at semi liquid stage.)
5. Transfer to a wire rack after a couple of minutes and let cool.
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This is my day 4 post in BM#11 with "eggless baking" theme. Check here to find out what my fellow marathoners are cooking during this marathon.

I am sending these to the following events -
Bake Fest # 2, hosted by Sangee, originally started by Vardhini
Bake With Your Heart by Khushi
CC - Holiday Baking by Sravs
Christmas Delicacy by Julie
Let's Cook - Baked Goodies, an event by Radhika.

Sinful Delights hosted by Vardhini

Sweet Baked at Krithis and Dennys.

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Cilantro - Carrot Rice

For day 3 of blogging marathon#11, here is a delicious idea for lunchbox. Aromatic cilantro, healthy carrot and flavorful spices combine in this yummy rice. No need to alter the ingredients if serving older kids and for younger ones, just reduce the spice levels. This is going to Veena's "Kid's Delight - Color Palette", an event originally started by Srivalli.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups rice (Preferably Sona masuri)
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp grated ginger
3 one inch pieces of cinnamon
6 cloves
2 green chillies (I used Serrano Peppers. Adjust the quantity if using other variety.)
1/4 cup grated, fresh / frozen coconut (Thaw if using frozen.)
2 cups packed cilantro leaves
2 carrots (about 1.5 cup peeled and grated carrot)
Salt to taste
For Tadka: 1 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp chana dal / Bengal gram, 1 tsp mustard seeds, few cashews / peanuts

Method:
* Cook rice adding 3 cups of water. Let cool and fluff.

* Heat 2 Tbsp of oil and add ginger to the same oil and fry until golden brown. Then add cloves, cinnamon and chillies to it and fry them for a few seconds. Then add cilantro leaves and fry until they are wilted. Turn off the stove and let cool. Add coconut to it and grind into a paste without adding any water.

* Heat a Tbsp of oil in a pan and add chana dal, peanuts/cashews and mustard seeds. Fry until peanuts and chanadal turn golden brown and then add grated carrot. Cook until it is done.
* Next add the cilantro - coconut paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the cooked rice and salt. Stir well to combine.

Check here to find out what my fellow marathoners are cooking during this marathon.

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Bihari Cuisine ~ Thekua / Khajur

I had prepared thekuas for this month's Indian Cooking Challenge in advance but unfortunately could not post it on time. The day I was supposed to post them, I hurt my hand and couldn't draft the post. My hand was jammed in between while accidentally our van door closed. Literally my right hand was half inside and half outside when the door was locked. I had to thank God that my hand was not broken that day.
I thought of posting it today since it fits both "Bihar dishes" & "Holiday cooking" themes. Holidays are "festivals" in India and we Indians have no dearth of them. One or other religious celebration would be waiting for us on turn of each page of calendar, if we really care to accommodate them in our busy schedules. And obviously like other cultures, Indian celebrations too revolve around good food. When taking about good food, sweet dishes steal the show like the other regions of the world. However most of the stuff is deep fried and there are hardly dishes involving baking since ovens are not part of a traditional Indian kitchen setup. Since cookies, cakes and other decadent desserts are reigning the blogosphere this month, today I thought of posting thekua, a regional cookie from India. Thekua, also known as khajoor or khajur is from Bihar and Jharkhand regions and is one of their revered prasads, offering to gods. This sweet and crispy dessert is prepared with whole wheat flour, sugar and coconut. It can be stored for a few days and hence an apt one to carry during travels.

Ingredients to make 20 thekuas:
2 cups wheat flour (atta)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 Tbsp grated, dried coconut / copra (or cut into tiny bits)
3 Tbsp solidified ghee
1/4 cup semolina / sooji / rava
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar, powdered
Water / milk to make the dough (I used 1 cup minus 2 Tbsp of water.)
2 cups oil / ghee to fry the thekuas
(A special mould is used to shape these cookies.)

Method:
* Combine wheatflour, semolina, cardamom, sugar and coconut in a bowl. Add ghee and mix to form a crumbly mixture. Then add water little by little to form a stiff dough.
* Roll out the dough into 1 '' thickness and cut out into shapes desired.
* Heat oil / ghee in a small wok or kadai. When it is hot, drop them gently into the oil and fry them until golden brown on low flame.
Remove them with a slotted ladle and drain them on paper towels. Let cool and store them in an airtight container. 
  
Verdict:
They have a melt in mouth kind texture and very addictive. We all enjoyed them.

Check here to find out what my fellow marathoners are cooking during this marathon.

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