Veggie Platter: Search results for khara biscuits

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Monday, February 4, 2019

Spicy Bajra Biscuits / Spicy Millet Flour Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan Baking)

Theme: Paleo / Vegan / Gluten-Free Recipes

Vaishali posted bajra biscuits some weeks ago and I had to try them for two reasons. We are on the millet wagon for quite sometime now and so needless to say that I keep looking for new ways to include millet in our daily diet. Any interesting recipe that catches my attention gets cooked immediately in my kitchen. The second reason being my husband who enjoys spicier biscuits / cookies to go along with his coffee / tea.

I made them along the lines of a khara biscuit, on a spicier side to suit his taste buds. Thanks to Vaishali, we enjoyed these healthy and flavorful biscuits. These millet flour based biscuits are gluten free, vegan (free of eggs and dairy) and in a nutshell, guilt free. The flavors can be customized according to one's preferences. If looking for spicier cookies, my chickpea flour cookies and khara biscuits may interest you.

Ingredients:
1 cup millet flour / bajra flour
1 tsp. ginger - green chilli paste
2 pinches of asafoetida
Salt to taste (I used a little over 3/4 tsp. salt.)
1 tbsp. finely minced curry leaves
1 tbsp. cilantro
2 tbsp. oil
1/4 cup warm water

Directions:
* Grease or line a baking sheet. Also grease two plastic sheets on one side each. Or cut open a ziplock bag on sides so that you would end up with a large rectangle sheet and grease on one side and keep it aside.
* Preheat the oven to 300 deg F / 150 deg C.
* Combine all the ingredients except oil and water in a mixing bowl. In case you can not paste the ginger and chillies, just run them in a food processor along with the flour. Add oil and rub into the mixture. Next add water in small increments and mix until a dough is formed. Add a tsp. or two extra water if needed.
* Divide the mixture into two portions. Place one of the dough balls between two greased plastic sheets. (Or on one side of the greased ziploc sheet and fold the other end over it). Roll the dough into 1/8 inch thick circle.

* Cut the dough into desired shapes using cookie cutters and prick them all over with a fork.
* Place the cut biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake them until golden brown and crisp. (Vaishali recommended about 15 minutes of baking. My biscuits were 1/4 inch thick ones and so I had to bake for about 25 minutes flipping them in between since they were not browning. I left them in the oven few extra minutes after the oven was turned off. I went with checking the crispiness rather than the color for these biscuits to see if they were done.
* Cool and save them in an airtight container. Serve them with coffee or tea.

Notes:
* The biscuits pictured here are 1/4 inch thick ones. 1/8 inch thickness gives crispy biscuits while 1/4 inch thick ones gives flaky and crumbly kind ones. We liked both but I would recommend 1/8 inch thick ones if not finishing them immediately. 1/4 inch thick ones kind of lost some of the crispiness the next day.
* I used a 1.5 inch size diamond shaped cookie cutter and got around 30 biscuits of 1/4 inch thickness. One can make them into thin, big circles.

bmlogo

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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Iyengar Bakery Style Khara Biscuit ~ ICC

Srivalli chose Champa's Iyengar bakery style Khara biscuits or in short, savory shortbread cookies for this month's Indian Cooking Challenge. I wanted to do a happy jig since I don't know how many loads of good stuff I have consumed from these bakeries while growing up. Khara puff (Spicy vegetable puffs), benne biskathu (Butter biscuits), salt biscuits, rusk, dilpasand / chowka bun stuffed with a sweet coconut and dry fruit filling, the sticky, orange honey cake slices, sweet pastries, palya bun and all the good stuff I ate just passed by in front of my eyes like a motion picture. I know I am exaggerating but that's what happens when nostalgia kicks in. J
Iyengar bakeries need no introduction to South Indians. At least in the parts I grew up and familiar with, there was never any dearth of good Iyengar bakeries. Bakeries used to be tucked away in every nook and corner of the suburbs (not exaggeration), catering to the needs of hungry souls, especially popular with the evening crowd. I am sure these bakeries can evoke fond memories in each one of us. A bakery those days would just be called 'Iyengar bakery' or 'Bangalore Iyengar bakery' or something on similar lines and the stuff available at these stores would be almost the same though they were never part of a franchise. And especially they used to sell egg less goodies.
I am talking in the past tense since Bangalore, the city where I grew up looks like an unfamiliar zone to me now because of the tremendous changes the city has gone through. May be that is the case everywhere, with modernization engulfing even the remotest part of the country. No offense but I cringe to think about the eateries that sell pizzas / burgers / sandwiches taking over our culinary joints and becoming a fashion statement for the modern Indian youth. I really feel sad to see the new phase (at least in metro cities.) though I respect the 'globalization' effect. (I know this topic needs another post.)
I don't know how many laid back suburbs still exist at this point of time but they do remain evergreen in my memory. And here is a post to relive the past.
These biscuits are not to be confused with the American version that is served with gravy. They are equivalent to American 'cookies'. Khara biscuit literally means spicy cookies in Kannada and are quite unlike the sweet versions of the western world.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour / maida (or 250 gms)
1/3 cup (or 5 TBSP + 1 tsp) softened butter
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
6 Green chillies, chopped fine (or to taste.) / 1 Tbsp pepper powder
2 Tbsp minced cilantro
3 Tbsp Yogurt (See notes.)

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Grease the baking sheets and set aside.
* Add flour and salt to a bowl and whisk together. If using pepper powder add that as well.
* Cream the softened butter and sugar in another bowl. Add about 2 Tbsp yogurt and continue to beat. Next add the dry ingredients, chopped cilantro, chillies and 1Tbsp of yogurt. With out applying much pressure, work the dough with your hands. Add any extra yogurt if needed, to form a firm dough.
* Roll the dough into about 1/4" thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes.
* Place them on the prepared baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes or until done. Rotate the trays halfway through. These cookie tops don't brown but the bottoms turn golden brown when done.
* Let cool and store in an airtight container. They get firmer once cooled and stay fresh for about 4 days.

Notes:
1. I had to use about 5 - 6 Tbsp of yogurt though the original recipe mentions to use 2 - 3 Tbsp.
2. I baked for 20 minutes and allowed them to cool. They were soft and I had to bake them again for another 10 -12 minutes to attain the desired texture.
3. Mint / curry leaves can be substituted for cilantro.
4. A tbsp of cumin / sesame seeds can be added for extra flavor.

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Thursday, March 12, 2020

A - Z Karnataka Recipe Series ~ I for Iyengar Bakery Style Masala Toast

So far in my A - Z Karnataka Series
A - Akki Halbai
B - Biscuit Roti
C - Congress Kadalekayi
D - Davanagere Benne Dose
E - Ellu Pajji
F - Field Beans / Avarekalu Payasa
G - Girmit
H - Hitakida Avarekalu Huli

We move to "I' in the series which was a difficult alphabet to pull off, if I got stuck to picking a dish that started with a 'I' sounding regional name. The only options that I could think of were idlis, which were generically a south Indian breakfast dish or something from an Iyengar Bakery. I chose to go with the latter, which have been an integral part of my life, like millions across in the state. I have always enjoyed and still enjoy their delectable treats and could not miss this opportunity to include one of their dishes in the series.

It is norm to find an Iyengar bakery in every neighborhood in and around Bangalore and for that matter, in towns around south India whether they are authentically an Iyengar bakery or not. The Iyengar bakeries, not a franchise but is an iconic chain of small food joints sell fresh and delicious baked goods. The first one, 'Bengaluru Brothers Bakery' started in the bustling Chickpet area in Bangalore and after a century and later, Iyengar bakeries dot every community in the city. You are sure to find one near most of the bus stations. People flock around to buy their iconic vegetable puffs, palya buns (curry buns), kobri biscuits (coconut biscuits), khara biscuits (spicy biscuits), dilpasand, bread and so on irrespective of the strong competition from the modern day pizza - burger joints.

This masala toast, an open sandwich with a spicy vegetable curry spread is one of their popular dishes. I wouldn't call my recipe an authentic one as the original recipes are close guarded secrets.The below recipe is an attempt to try their iconic and delicious dish. I have added capsicum and carrot to the curry but even a handful of grated cabbage can be added to the curry. Some add a tbsp. of tomato ketchup or tomato sauce in the curry but I don't think they were a part of the original version. This curry is a simple and easy preparation and can be cooked in advance. It can be refrigerated to use for breakfast in the morning which makes a quick and filling meal. I have used a whole grain bread here instead of the usual white bread. This toast can be served for breakfast or as an afternoon snack or even as a light meal.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 small green chillies, finely minced
1 onion, chopped finely
1/2 small sized capsicum, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 tomato, finely chopped
1/8 tsp. ground turmeric
Salt to taste
Chili powder to taste
1/4 tsp. garam masala
1/4 tsp. chaat masala
Finely minced cilantro to garnish
4 Bread slices
Butter for toasting

Directions:
* Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds start to splutter add green chillies and onion. Saute and cook until onion almost turns translucent.
* Next add capsicum, carrot and tomato. Stir well and cook until the vegetables are done.

* Add turmeric, salt, chili powder, garam masala and chaat masala to the pan. Mix well and cook for few seconds. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

* Heat a tawa / griddle. Apply butter on both sides of the bread slices. Toast each slice on medium flame until golden brown and crisp on both sides.
* Spread about 2 tbsp. vegetable filling on one side of each bread slice and serve along with a hot cup of coffee.

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Thursday, April 9, 2015

Thursday Teatime ~ Cumin Cookies

I baked around half a dozen variety of cookies for this marathon without any prior planning as such and since the other adult at home is used to having cookies along with his evening tea, a couple of them were chosen to be on the 'not sweet' side. These cumin flavored cookies adapted from here is one of those. I cut down the butter and sugar by half from the original recipe and the resulting cookies were crispy and flaky like the khara biscuits and we enjoyed them as a evening snack.

Ingredients I used: (Yield 15 cookies)
4 tbsp. butter + 1 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. sugar
1 cup flour
1 tbsp. toasted cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk

Method:
* Cream together butter and sugar. (One can use the hand mixer since the quantities are less to use a stand mixer.) Add flour, salt and cumin seeds to the butter - sugar mixture and mix until the dough is formed. Use the oil and milk if the dough is not coming together. (I added oil and milk for binding in place of butter, the original recipe had.)
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.

* Shape the mixture to a disc and roll it into 1/4 inch thickness. Cut them into desired cookie shapes.
* Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 30 - 35 minutes.