Baked Diamond Cuts/Biscuits

Ingredients:

Whole wheat  flour	1 cup
All purpose flour	¼ cup
Oil	3 tblsp
Chilli powder	as needed
Salt	as needed
Cumin seeds	½  tsp

Method:

• Take both the flours in a bowl.Add the oil and mix well with your finger tips so that it coats the flour well.Once mixed it should be like bread crumbs.
• Add the salt,chilli powder and cumin seeds.Slowly add water little by little to form a stiff dough.Don't knead the dough too long.Cover and keep the dough aside for 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 190 ºC .
• Now roll the dough to a big circle or oval shape. Make diamond shapes using a knife.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil or parchment paper.
• Slightly grease with oil. Now keep the diamond pieces on the tray and bake for about 15 to 20 mins till the diamonds become light golden in colour.
• Remove from the oven and let it come to room temperature and serve.

Note:

• I have added little all purpose flour.You can make with full whole wheat flour too but there will be slight difference in texture.
• Mixing the oil well is important to get crunchy biscuits.
• You can use kasoori methi or ajwain(omam) instead of cumin seeds to get a different flavour and taste.

Corn Cheese balls

Corn cheese balls is a popular appetizer which is quick and easy to make.The cheese added gives a lovely flavour and taste to this recipe.Here is the recipe..

Ingredients:

Potato	2 medium
Cheddar cheese grated	½ cup
Sweet corn kernels	½ cup
Corn flour	1 tblsp
All purpose flour(maida)	1 tblsp
Green chilli finely chopped	1
Pizza seasoning(optional)	½ tsp
Salt	as needed
Oil	to deep fry

Method:

• Boil the potatoes and sweet corn kernels.
• In a wide bowl,add the boiled and mashed potatoes,sweet corn kernels,grated cheese,corn flour and all purpose flour,chopped green chilli,pizza seasoning(if using) and required salt. Mix well with your hands.The mixture should not be too mushy.if so adjust the consistency by adding little flour.
• Now divide the dough into lime sized balls.Take some corn flour in a plate and roll the prepared balls in the flour.Refrigerate the cheese balls for 30 mins before frying.
• Heat oil in a fry pan and once the oil is hot,gently drop the cheese balls and fry in medium flame till golden in colour.Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil.Serve with Tomato ketchup.

Note:

• I have used processed cheddar cheese.

Bajji

Bajji is a tasty deep fried snack made using Gram flour and Vegetables.It is a quick recipe and if you have all the ingredients ready you can make it instantly.It serves as a perfect evening snack along with Coffee/Tea.

Ingredients:

Gram flour(Besan)	1 cup
Rice flour	1/2 cup
Baking soda	a pinch
Asafoetida	¼ tsp
Red chilli powder	as needed
Salt	as needed
Ajwain seeds/Omam (Optional)	½ tsp
Oil	For deep frying

Method:

• Slice the vegetables.
• Take a bowl,add gram flour,rice flour,asafoetida,red chilli powder,salt,ajwain seeds and baking soda.Mix well and add water to get thick dropping consistency.
• Heat oil in a fry pan and when its hot,dip the sliced vegetables in the bajji mixture one by one and fry in oil till it turns golden brown.Drain on paper towels and serve as such or with Coconut chutney/ketchup.

Note:

• The vegetables used are purely of your choice.You can make it with only one vegetable also.I have used Plantain,Onion,brinjal,capsicum.
• If you are using Plantain/Brinjal keep the sliced ones in a bowl containing water to prevent them from turning dark.
• Adding Ajwain seeds is optional,you can skip it if you don't have.
• Use little kashmiri chilli powder to get nice colour.

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

Corn Tortilla chips was in my to-do list for a long time and I made this for Day 3 of BM #22 .To make it healthy, I decided to bake them instead of deep frying and I am quite happy with the results.I couldn't roll the tortillas too thin as I wished but it tasted great with homemade Tomato salsa.I would like to try the deep fried version once to compare them.

Ingredients:

Corn Flour(Fine cornmeal flour)	¾ cup
All purpose flour	¼ cup
Salt	As needed
Baking powder	A pinch
Oil	2 tblsp
Chilli Powder	As needed

Method:

Corn tortillas:

• Take a bowl and mix Corn flour,All purpose flour,baking powder and salt.Add 1 tblsp oil and mix well.
• Slowly add lukewarm water and make a soft dough.Cover and keep aside for 15 mins.
• Dust some flour and roll them to circles.
• Heat a fry pan and cook both the sides till light spots appear.

Corn Tortilla chips:

• Stack the corn tortillas and first cut them half to make two semi circles. Again cut each semicircle to 4 triangles as shown in the picture.I used kitchen scissors to cut them easily.
• Brush both sides of the cut tortillas with little oil,sprinkle salt,chilli powder.Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for around 10-12 mins till it turns light brown and crisp.
• Enjoy the baked Tortilla chips with Salsa or any dip of your choice.

Note:

• The baking time differs with each oven and so keep an eye on the chips and bake accordingly.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#22.

Sending this to Kid's Delight- Healthy MakeOver hosted by Rasi and started by Srivalli.

Savoury Veg Loaf

I would like to share about a savoury loaf baked by my friend.Its very healthy and nutritious packed with the goodness of the dhals,veggies and greens.You can snack it anytime as its guilt free.Thanks a lot to my friend for this recipe.

Ingredients:

Green Moong dhal	¼ cup
Yellow moong dhal	¼ cup
Channa dhal	¼ cup
Toor dhal	¼ cup
Raw rice	¼ cup
Urad dhal	1/8 cup
Olive oil	¼ cup
Red chilli	As needed
Green chilli	As needed
Mustard	½ tsp
cumin	1 tsp
Saunf	1 tsp
Asafoetida	¼ tsp
Sesame seeds	2 tblsp

Method:

• Soak all the dhals and rice together for 2-3 hours.
• Grind them along with Red chillies,Green chillies and Ginger to a consistency slightly thicker than Adai batter.Use Yoghurt while grinding.Don't use water.Add required salt and allow to ferment for 2 hrs.
• Next comes the veggies .You can add any vegetable like grated carrot,Green peas,Corn and greens like chopped Spinach,Coriander,Parsley,methi etc.
• Add peanuts,nuts,dried cranberries etc of your choice too.These are all optional and You can add if you prefer.
• Heat olive oil,add mustard seeds and once they crackle add Saunf,Cumin seeds and Asafoetida powder and add it to the batter.
• Pour on a greased loaf pan.Sprinkle Sesame seeds on top and bake in a preheated oven at @ 200°C for 45 mins to 1 hr. keep checking after 30 mins and if a knife inserted comes clean its ready.

Black Channa Sundal

Its raining Sundal everywhere for Navarathri and I am posting this simple and healthy Black Channa sundal.

Ingredients:

Black channa	1 cup
Coconut grated	3 tblsp
Asafoetida	¼ tsp
Salt	As needed
Green chilli	1
Red chilli	1
Curry leaves	Few
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Lemon juice	½ tblsp
Oil	2 tsp

Method:

• Soak channa in water for 8 hours.
• Rinse well and transfer to a vessel and add water till the channa is fully immersed in water.
• Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.Once cooked,drain the water from the channa and keep aside.
• Heat a kadai,add oil followed by Mustard seeds.Once they start crackling add Asafoetida,slit green chilli and red chilli,curry leaves and add the cooked channa.
• Add the required salt,coconut grated,lemon juice and stir for 2-3 mins and the channa sundal is ready to serve.

Corn flakes Mixture

I like to make snacks which is healthy as well as easy to prepare.This Cornflakes mixture is one such snack which is different from the regular mixture which is deep-fried.Here I have roasted all the ingredients using minimum oil.Try it and am sure you will like it too.

Ingredients:

Corn flakes	½ cup
Poha(Rice flakes) Thin/Medium variety	½ cup
Peanuts	¼ cup
Roasted gram dhal(pottukadalai)	2 tblsp
Golden raisins(kismis)	2 tblsp
Curry leaves	Few
Salt	as needed
Chilli powder	as needed
Turmeric powder	A pinch
Asafoetida	A pinch
Oil	3 tsp

Method:

• Heat a pan and add 1 tsp oil and add the Poha(rice flakes/Aval) first.Spread it out evenly and fry till they pop up a bit and turn slightly golden.Transfer to a plate.
• Add 1/2 tsp oil and fry the cornflakes in the same way till they puff up a bit.Transfer to a plate.
• Add little oil and fry the peanuts and keep aside.
• Fry the Raisins till they plump up and keep aside.
• Finally add 1 tsp oil and add the roasted Gram dhal followed by Asafoetida and chopped curry leaves.Once the Gram dhal is roasted add all the previously roasted items Poha,cornflakes,peanuts,raisins.Add salt,chilli powder,turmeric powder and mix well.Corn flakes mixture is ready.Store in an air-tight container.

Note:

• Roasting in a Fry pan is easy than roasting in a kadai as the fry pan has flat surface we can roast them quickly and evenly.
• Adding cashewnuts or other nuts is optional.I din't add any.I used store bought cornflakes (kellogs) regular one.

Baked Masala Peanuts

This baked version of Masala Peanuts is not only easy to prepare but tasty and healthy too.Lets see how to make these crunchy,spicy Masala peanuts.

Ingredients:

Peanuts	1 cup
Gram flour(Besan)	3 tblsp
Rice flour	1 tblsp
Chilli powder	¼ tsp
Saunf(optional)	¼ tsp
Asafoetida powder	a pinch
Salt	as needed
Water	as needed
Oil	2 tsp

Method:

• Take the Besan,rice flour,chilli powder,saunf,salt,Asafoetida in a bowl and mix well.
• In a wide bowl take the peanuts and sprinkle water (2-3 tblsp) slowly so that all the peanuts become wet.
• Now add the dry flour mix to the peanuts and mix well with your hands.If you feel its very dry you can sprinkle little water.Finally add 2 tsp oil and mix well.
• Spread this on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 200 ° C for 10-12 mins.
• Once done take the tray out and cool it on the counter.Crunchy peanuts are ready to enjoy with your Tea/Coffee !

Note:

• Don't add any water to the flour mix.Add water only to the peanuts so that the dry flour mix can easily coat the peanuts.
• I have given the approximate time only.Once you start hearing crackling sound of the peanuts be alert and check for its doneness.

Sending this to Fast Food not Fat Food  hosted by  Archana and Cooking with Seeds-Peanuts event by Priya.