Vegan Blondies, almost!

I wasn't ever a fan of chocolates till I first tasted some sinfully good Lindt Dark chocolates given by my brother-in-law. Prior to this, I hardly purchased chocolates on my own. Of course, a few indulgences in the gifted ones were always sought after. Ever since I tasted the bittersweet dark chocolate, I have been a fan of them. And what I really like about them is the bitter-sweetness, apt for my taste. The real boost for loving these dark beauties came when I started using them in bakes like that of brownies, cakes and their kinds.

Even as I have loved these, I have not been able to adapt well to the tastes of white chocolates. For the uninitiated, white chocolates are not supposedly chocolates, but are of made up of cocoa butter and milk solids with added sugar. White chocolates lack the cocoa flavor, emitting mostly flavors derived from milk solids and cocoa butter. To me, it tastes almost like thick emulsion of milk powder mixed in butter. I love milk, but this kind of chocolate is not my taste.

One of our trips to Brigades saw us picking a 500g bar of white chocolate from Nilgiris, just to make the sibling of these Brownies, called Blondies. My DH has not shown particular inclination in picking any baking ingredients as that bit of shopping is usually left to me. I am not sure what triggered him that day as he asked me to pick a bar of these. It probably reminded him of the fabulous Brownies that he is fond of. Or probably remembered me referring to Blondies in the past while serving him Brownies. Back home, I had to work on these.

I posted this on my blog a few days ago, but withdrew it immediately and it went back to drafts. It was time for Yogurt Panna Cotta then, but I am posting it again today.

Vegan Blondies

INGREDIENTS

200 gm white chocolate
100 gm unsalted butter / margarine
100 gm silken tofu
50 gm sugar
50 gm all purpose flour
A pinch of salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp baking soda

DIRECTIONS

Melt chocolate with butter in a double boiler over barely simmering water until the white chocolate melts and dissolves with butter. Stir frequently till it is smooth. Set aside for it to cool a little.

Pulse the silken tofu in a food processor, till it's extremely fine and smooth. Add in the rest of the ingredients, like the white chocolate, butter, vanilla extract, the flour and pulse again till the batter is fine and smooth. White chocolate that I had at hand were already sweet, so care for the sugar you use if you are using sweetened white chocolates.

Finally add in the baking soda. I was skeptical if the blondies would get any rise with tofu, so I have used baking soda here. Feel free to skip if you like. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Test with a toothpick. The top would look like a cake, center may be moist. That's how we want it to be. Do not over-bake the brownies. Remove and cool completely. Cut into squares or rectangles. Serve warm as is.

The blondies turned out great! I admit it's not 100% vegan as I was unable to get vegan white chocolate. Using silken tofu often is not the best feasible option as I still haven't been able to procure local ingredient and I rely on the imported ones. My guess for a good alternative to tofu would be homemade cottage cheese. These warm white chocolate brownies or blondies were surely fudgy and good as our evening snack.

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Grape Almond Gazpacho Soup

The city is getting hotter and sweltering under heatwave for the past couple of weeks. Mid-days are bad with temperatures soaring as high as 34 deg C. I have considerably reduced on spice in food to relive the heat. Ceiling fan switches have been turned on after a long time and as we are reeling under the heat, we look forward to eating simple meals with low spices and masala. Kitchen affairs are more of salads, simple curries, vegetable stir-fries, soups, yogurt based meals and many of their likes. Though, I seldom make soups, but whenever I do, it's eaten steaming hot, spooned right off from the stove to the mouth! So I have never been able to capture them on my camera.

After a few doses of cookies and desserts, I am introducing soups on my blog for the first time. Bingo! Good way to go. This soup was my choice for the day from an array of soups, salads and desserts, picked from a cookery book by Radha Rao's 'Soups, Salads and Desserts', that don my bookshelf from past few weeks. A Grape Gazpacho. For the uninitiated, Gazpacho are cold soups commonly made with ingredients of bread, olive oil, water and garlic. Tomato Gazpacho are the most commonly known ones, but this one is a Grape Almond Gazpacho. I was curious! Not quite sure how this combination would work out. With grapes, almonds, garlic, olive oil, I was skeptical if it would really come well together!

Since grapes are in season, I thought it was a great idea to give it a try. Sit back and relish a cold soup, the best way to soothe the high temperatures and beat the heat.

Grape Almond Gazpacho

INGREDIENTS

1 cup green seedless grapes
1 cup diced bread pieces
4 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup blanched whole almonds
1 cup water
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar/lime juice
Salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Soak whole almonds in warm water for 15 minutes.

Wash and clean the green seedless grapes. Puree them in a blender till they are fine. Collect the pulp and the juice. Place the torn bread pieces in a bowl and pour the grape pulp and juice over it so that it absorbs it.

Combine blanched softened almonds (along with water) and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add the bread along with grape juice and blitz again until bread is completely incorporated. Add the vinegar or lemon juice and olive oil and pulse until all is evenly incorporated. Add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as preferred.

Transfer the soup to a container and chill for an hour or more. Gazpacho is best served when cold. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with parsley/coriander and pepper. Serve cold.

Even as I was pouring the soups to their respective soup bowls, I sipped and enjoyed quite a lot of it directly from the jug! It was good enough not to last long! The soup has higher tones of garlic which I thoroughly loved. But, reduce a few garlic cloves if that's not your liking. I served these with bread croutons to complete the soup.

It's a simple aromatic soup made of juicy sweet grapes and nutty almonds, spiced with hints of garlic and pepper. Cool and soothing for a nice sunny day.

I am sending this over to Nithubala's event "Think Beyond the Usual - Fruits".

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Paanaka

Wishing all a Happy Ram Navami. Today being Ram Navami, I bring forward this sweet & spicy, yet refreshing drink called Paanaka, which is a must along with Kosumbari or an Usli served on this festival day. Having celebrated Ugadi on the 15th of this month, but not having published a post with a traditional recipe for that festivity did leave me with a guilty feel. To compensate, I promised myself that I would come back with a traditional recipe for Ram Navami.

Ugadi signifies the beginning of a new calender, the Hindu New Year. Ram Navami is celebrated to signify the birthday of Lord Ram and falls on the 9th day from Ugadi. While in North India, the festival lasts for nine days, beginning from day of Hindu New Year and ending on this day, called as the Navratras. Fasting is observed all along these 9 days. Contrary to North, South India observes feasting ;) Especially in Karnataka, Ram Navami is observed very ritualistically in all pomp and glory in most temples with various programs ranging all nine days.

The delicious spread of prasad generally offered by temples to it's devotees consists of a ginger-pepper drink called Paanaka/Panankam and a green gram salad called Kosumbari, which is most common in Bangalore. Back in my native, most temples offer Channa Usli or Green gram Usli along with Paanaka, which is a must for this occasion. For today, I am sharing our favorite Paanaka here.

Paanaka

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp jaggery
1 cup water
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder

DIRECTIONS

Dissolve jaggery well in water. Then, add the cardamom powder, pepper powder and ginger powder and blend them all into it. Simple and easy. This drink is not just refreshing and good, but also healthy with medicinal properties.

Ginger and pepper have been known to possess immense medicinal values from long. Jaggery is pure and unrefined sugar made from molasses and is also known to possess high nutritive values. This drink has medicinal properties that is excellent for throat infections.

I love to see those settled ginger and pepper powder at the bottom of my glass. Shake it well before you sip! It's common to use watermelon or musk melon pulp for thickness and added flavor.

A simple, healthy, sweet and spicy drink in celebration of Ram Navami. My wishes to all again!

I have been showered with yet another award on this auspicious day! Thanks Suma for showing such affection and love towards Veg Bowl! It's wonderful to receive an award from you! Suma from Cakes and More!!! has some wonderful desserts and more whipped, all to satisfy your craving taste buds. Thanks for the honor. I am having a real tough time to forward it to the deserved! You've hardly left anyone out!

Cicily Anthony
Gulmohar
Jessica
Grace
Cooking Rookie
Sarah Naveen
Aparna Mallya
Divya Kudua
Nostalgia
Racheal
FoodLovers
SS

Congrats guys! Well deserved award for some of the fellow bloggers whom I follow often.

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Yogurt Panna Cotta

Little known to this dessert, I was introduced to my first Panna Cotta a month ago on an official luncheon meet from my company at Radha Homtel. There was something really intriguing about this dessert, as the light mild sweetness against the rich creaminess melted through my tongue. The creaminess was definitely on a high as it had a mousse like silken feel to it. From the array of desserts, it was this delicately flavored Panna Cotta that caught my sheer attention. Panna cotta is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. (Ref: Wikipedia)

Not willing to delude myself from the original, but to recreate a healthy and equally delicate flavorsome dessert was my idea of my Panna Cotta for this Sunday. Instead of the heavy cream Panna cotta, I made a nice yogurt one which was not just satisfying, but also light on our tummies.

Simple and easy, this dessert requires few ingredients to bring out a great sweet treat which can steal attention of any gathering away!

Yogurt Panna Cotta

INGREDIENTS

100 ml hung yogurt
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
40 g powdered sugar
1 tsp gelatin / agar-agar
1 tbsp hot water

DIRECTIONS

Prepare yogurt a day before. Or you may use store bought yogurt too. Hang the yogurt in a muslin cloth to collect all the watery portion of it in a vessel placed underneath. Let the liquid separate as much as possible from the curd. Place this in a fridge overnight for the water to drain out. The next morning you will have thick yogurt ready for use. This is commonly referred to as Quark in European region, or German in specific.

Dissolve 1 tsp gelatin or agar-agar in some hot water till it dissolves well. Set aside to cool a little.

Meanwhile, mix the yogurt, the vanilla extract and sugar in a bowl. Whip the yogurt till it is creamy and smooth. Add in the agar-agar and mix really well till it is all a homogeneous mixture. Transfer to serving bowls and refrigerate for the Panna Cotta to set. Let it set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

I served my Panna Cotta in a Martini glass and topped it with some chocolate shavings and a chocolate cigar for the aesthetic look. Fruits can also be a good combination for this yogurt base.

Making this dessert from a store-bought yogurt is way quicker than home-made one as it reduces a lot of time in removing the water from curd. Ensure that the store-bought yogurt is set and really thick. That gives the best result.

Simple and creamy, yet a healthy dessert to treat your family and friends.

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Pudina Paratha

Have you ever felt elated about bargaining and then ending up purchasing, possibly a few bucks lesser than the tagged price, with a feeling of euphoria while walking out of the shop about having won a battle (huh, with the shopkeeper)??? Admit! I do!!! Even that ephemeral satisfaction is such a joyous feeling, despite being just a transient moment!

I love the Wednesday sales in the nearby stores. I await. I rush. I grab. I bill! Any savings? Again I'm elated! A few lady-like traits that I carry at times ;) One such moment was a week ago when the nearby FoodWorld had their Wednesday sale. A bunch each of Spinach, Mint, Coriander leaves all costing as low as Rs 1. Can I ask for anything better than this? I rushed to the spot to find farm fresh aromatic green leaves piled in stacks on their vegetable counters. I picked few bunches of each and they lasted well over few meals, including breakfast.

One such breakfast affair saw this mildly spiced Mint (Pudina in Hindi) paratha. Simple, healthy and flavorsome, it's a satisfying breakfast for any morning. You may use the same recipe to make Puris too.

Here's what we need:

1 bunch Pudina (mint leaves)
1 green chilli
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
2.5 cups wheat flour
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
Wheat flour for dusting
Salt (if you prefer)
1 tsp ghee/clarified butter (if you prefer)

Wash and clean the mint leaves. Pulse them along with a green chilli to puree in a food processor. Prepare the dough with wheat flour, mint puree, salt, adding little water, till everything comes together to form a soft dough. Knead well and set aside for 30 mins.

Keep some wheat flour aside for dusting the dough while rolling it out. Using the rolling pin, take a large lemon sized dough and roll it out in a circle of about 6 inches. Dust the dough if it sticks to the rolling pin. Once rolled out, place it on the hot iron skillet. Turn it over the moment you see small bubbles forming. Wait another 30 secs to a minute till the other side is partially cooked. Now turn it over again. At this point, drizzle a little butter or clarified butter (ghee) or oil around the sides of the paratha. Flip again and cook the other side too. Remove from the skillet. Brush the roti with ghee or butter for enhanced taste.

P.S. These photographs may not be the best and won't probably do sufficient justice to these parathas, but don't go by looks of it. I had the least patience to capture them on my camera as they were for my breakfast and I am particular about eating them hot!

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Rasgulla

Happy Birthday my dear bloggy... ! Veg Bowl! turned a year old this month. Time is fleeting. With what began a personal diary of few recipes went into public later last year. I am touching my 85th post with this one and it feels really nice.

Ever since the inception of my blog, Veg Bowl! has gone through several changes. It's close to a year since this blog was initiated and I have been constantly striving to improve it. The blog has been through constant amendments from its look to food, photography, matter, presentation and much more.

For the ones who have been in constant touch with my blog would know how much the site has transformed. It is getting to a good shape considering what it was earlier. Themes and backgrounds have been changed a couple of times. I had to change the previous ones as I thought they were a little too loud for my taste. I preferred simple looking blog with easy to navigate links, keeping it to the bare minimum, least to confuse the readers.

Though I have changed it to a considerably simple and elegant one now, I was not thoroughly happy with it earlier. I am still working around with options, positioning widgets, playing around with css codes, all trying to bring best out of it. I am finally done with the herculean task of completing the format as I had visioned it. Widgets have been changed, added, positioned, new tabs included, font, text, hovers and photos have been customized. It's been a very tedious task, having spent hours over this to transform to it's new look. With a complete make-over, I am now feeling satisfied with how it has come out. A few tit-bits are yet to be taken care, but that will happen over time.

As my bloggy baby turns a year old, I wanted to have a simple sweet dessert to celebrate her birthday. A rustic, simple Indian dessert which carries the Bengali elegance. Rosogolla, which is most commonly known as Rasgulla, is essentially a Bengali sweet made from paneer or Indian cottage cheese.

Coming to making these at home, in my opinion I am more better off taking pleasure in the store bought ones. A little tedious at task, you need to be really careful while making these. I had a disaster in my first attempt. They tore apart floating like clouds in sweet water, so they never reached this space. With the second one though, I was extremely careful to follow the instructions as is. Being successful at it, I was glad the way they turned out to be.

Rasgulla

To make Cottage Cheese/Chenna

1/2 lt milk
1 tsp lemon juice

Heat the milk till it comes to a boiling stage. Add the lemon juice till the whey separates away from curd. Give 5 minutes standing time to let the curd separate well. Hang the curd in a muslin cloth to let the whey drain away. Holding the ends of the muslin cloth, squeeze the water away to form coagulated mass.

With the heel of your hand, mash the paneer/cottage cheese/chenna repeatedly to make it dough like. This task is not easy as the cheese needs to be really well knead. It has to be mashed well repeatedly. I used mixie and it came out very fine. Gather it together and knead again like dough. Add 1/2 tsp Baking powder for a better rise. Allow to rest 15 min. Meanwhile prepare the sugar syrup.

To prepare the syrup

1 cup sugar
2 cups water
Strands of saffron
Few pistachios and cardamom powder for garnish

The ratio is of 2 cups water to 1 cup sugar. Add 1/2 cup sugar to water to start with. Bring it to a boil. Pinch the cheese balls to make 1/2" diameter balls each. Carefully drop the balls in boiling syrup. The balls will swell in about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove them once they puff up.

Add the remaining one cup of sugar and heat till all the sugar is dissolved. Add rose water if you have. They impart great flavors. Let it cool and then add the rasgullas to the sugar syrup again. Garnish with shaved Pistachio & nuts. Chill in fridge for an hour or more. They are best served cold or at room temperature.

A few tips which can help you a long way in making great tasting (and looking too ;)) rasgullas can be taken from here. These Rasgullas have fragrance from cardamom, pistachios and saffron. Saffron imparts a nice mild flavor, but can be skipped if you don't have any. These are sure to be loved by all.

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Phulkas/Roti

Like every other Indian home, Phulkas or rotis are staple even at my home, especially since my in-laws hail from North India. It's so basic that without it, the meal seems incomplete. Back home, amma makes phulkas almost everyday for breakfast with either a dry or gravy subzi. As kids, she would pack the same meal for our lunch box as they were not just healthy, but also mess free and easy to handle. This is similar to bread, but more healthier as it uses wheat flour. These unleavened Indian breads are dry and healthy as they are fairly oil free, made of just flour and water. I know it's too basic to probably share the recipe for rotis and phulkas, but I thought it would still be good idea to share the recipe and steps for those beginners and bachelors who get goosebumps just by the thought of making it!

For the ones wondering what's the difference between rotis and phulkas, here's the answer. Ingredients are basically the same for both. Phulkas are thin disks of rolled and flattened dough, which are par-cooked on a heated tava/griddle and then on an open flame to puff well, while Rotis are cooked only on heated griddle on both the sides, generally using a cloth to pat the par cooked dough gently to let the steam build up between the two thin layers, resulting it to puff up. I am sharing the steps for both roti and phulka here.

Phulkas/Roti

INGREDIENTS

2.5 cups wheat flour
1 cup water
A little wheat flour for dusting
Salt (if you prefer)
1 tsp ghee/clarified butter (if you prefer)

DIRECTIONS

For every 2.5 cups wheat flour add 1 cup water. Salt can be added or avoided as per your preference. It doesn't really make much difference as the curry served with it compensates the requirement. Knead well to make a dough. While kneading, if the dough is too sticky, add more dough. Leave it covered with a damp cotton cloth for about 30 minutes. Rotis are traditionally made in a cast iron skillet which is oiled.

In a large plate take some wheat flour for dusting the dough while rolling it out. Using the rolling pin, take a large lemon sized dough and roll it out in a circle of about 6 inches. Dust the dough if it sticks to the rolling pin. Once rolled out, place it on the hot iron skillet. Turn it over the moment you see small bubbles forming. Wait another 30 secs to a minute till the other side is partially cooked. Now turn it over again. Using a padded cotton cloth, press on the rotis to cook well. You should see that the roti will now rise, similar to a balloon with hot air :). Remove from the skillet. Brush the roti with ghee for enhanced taste.

To make phulkas, the steps remain almost the same. When the rolled dough is transferred to the tava/skillet, wait till the moment when you see small bubbles forming on the top. Turn it over the moment you see small bubbles forming. Wait another 30 secs to a minute till the other side is partially cooked. Now remove the par-cooked roti from tava and roast it directly over the flame till it puffs up well. Cook both the sides by flipping over. Be brisk and careful not to burn or char them. Remove and serve hot with curry.

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Another Award in my Kitty!

A note of thanks to Madhuri of Cook-Curry Nook for conferring upon me this award. Madhuri from Cook-Curry Nook is a fellow blogger from Bangalore and has an amazing variety of dishes churning from her blog almost everyday.

Veg Bowl! is getting close to completing a year and getting a status of this sort from fellow bloggers is remarkable. Thanks for all your support, feedback and appreciations guys, without which it can never succeed.

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Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

Today's post is going to be simple, short and sweet ;) On a Monday, as I am gearing up for the week, I am going through Monday blues with piles of work load and stress at work. Honestly, I am not in a mood to post much here, except for a good recipe to keep your week going good. Hopefully, healthy too with these Whole Wheat Sugar cookies.

I baked a batch of these earlier today and they turned out really good. With a cup of my morning milk, I munched on these to satisfy my sweet cravings. These are effortlessly made simple vanilla flavored cookies. I am not sure if I should say these are cookies or biscuits? Since I like them very crisp, just like what a biscuit would be, I should rather call them biscuits!

I made 2 batches of these. One with plain white granulated sugar and another with brown sugar. Also, using of whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour was to make it more healthier. Just being experimental at it. The plain white sugar came out the best. The brown sugar wasn't bad too and had a slightly lower tones of sweetness. Give it a try.

Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1/4 cup veg oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Sift together whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and keep it aside. Cream together the oil and sugar. It will not turn as light and fluffy as butter. Introduce the vanilla extract to it.

Add the flour mixture gradually until the flour is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and uniform. Wrap up dough and refrigerate for 2 hours if you are using butter instead of oil (can be skipped as no butter is involved). Remove when you are ready to bake the cookies.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease the cookie tray. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and dust with more flour. Gently roll out the dough using a dusted rolling pin to 1/8" thickness.

Using a cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place on sheets about an inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden brown. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Once cookies are cooled, you may dust them with icing sugar or serve as is.

Sometime simple flavors can really give out the best, just like these cookies. I love that mild flavor emitting from vanilla. You may opt to leave them and keep them even simpler. Try lemon zest instead, would work great with citrus flavors.

I like the flecks of granulated sugar on these cookies. They look really nice, like that on Bourbon biscuits. These are light on sweetness and the hints of vanilla flavor is the binge take-away on these. If you need a company with a cup of tea or coffee or simple plain milk, then these can be your best bet.

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Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies

Since my previous posts on cookies and success with egg-less ones, I have been splurging with more and more of them in my little kitchen. A lots more awaits in future to come. After having tried the healthy Granola bars for breakfast, I hadn't experimented much with the good old oats for long now. So it was time for these Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies.

Rolled oats have been very popular with people on diet, given that oatmeal is well known to lower the cholesterol levels, thus control cardiovascular diseases to an extent. It has high content of carbohydrates, is a good source of protein and fiber which encourages slow digestion and stabilizes blood-glucose levels. Considering so many health benefits, it's a good idea to consume a cup of it a day. Raisins too have a good nutritional properties. They have antioxidant properties and being high in calories, but not fats, raisins are very good source of energy. I have seen my mom, aunts and grandma soak few raisins in water overnight and consume them the following morning. It is said to boost blood generation process.

Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies has been traditional and quite popular in America. I have used Quaker oats, which are the regular rolled oats used for porridge or breakfast muesli. If you find difficulty in fetching brown sugar, use jaggery or honey instead. The flavor would change a little, but it's still fine that way.

Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Quaker Oats (uncooked)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup butter/margarine, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp flax-meal
3 tsp water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Mix flax-meal with water and allow it to stand for about 30 mins to an hour. It will result in an egg-like gooey mix.

Whisk the butter/margarine and both the sugars in a bowl till they are frothy and creamy. Add in flax-meal water and vanilla and beat them well.

In another bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add this to the above wet mixture. Next add the raisins and fold all together till they come together to a rough dough. Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto baking tray and bake at 180 deg C for 15 mins or till they brown. Bake them longer if you prefer crispy cookies.

I love oats in this form. They are my best bet! Not being too sweet, they suit my taste way too well. I relished about 4-5 cookies in one go! They were damn good. A big batch of these freshly baked goodies disappeared in no time.

A few crispy edges, a few chewy middles, this bake filled with the goodness of healthy oats and raisins made up a good pair for my breakfast tea and the sunny noon snack. Truly a vegan treat!

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