Handwa - Baked Version

I wanted to make a snack but was not interested in oily stuff ....recently made poha dhokla using the pressure cooker but I wanted try the same using the conventional oven. I love doing stuff with the oven...since it involves less work...be it cookies, cake or doing pasta...oven is easier. Hence tried handwa (handvo) last Sunday. It tastes like our "thavala adai" but this one uses just rice and toor dhal. This makes me think..I should try our thavala adai also in the oven (the thavala adai also uses lot of oil too..so will try a baked version of thavala adai too very soon). For handwa - bottle gourd is traditionally added but I substituted it with zucchini. If you google the recipe for handwa I am sure you will get lot of hits for the recipe. Even though there are lot of recipes for this I am still posting it. For me "my blog is the recipe book" I keep referring to when I need to try it again. It is a wholesome snack since it is made with rice and dhal(s). Its very yummy if you eat it soon after its done..when its still warm and since I bake it for little bit more time - the crust comes out brown, crispy and yummy.

Recipe..........

Ingredients:

1 Cup Rice
1/2 Cup of  each dhal  - Moong dhal, Toor dhal (add this little bit more than other pulses listed here), Urad Dhal and Channa dhal
Chilly Powder
1 Tsp Mustard
1 Tsp Jeera
1 Tsp Grated Ginger
1 Carrot Grated
1 Zucchini Grated
2 Cups Buttermilk
1/2 Tsp Turmerice powder
1 Tsp Baking powder (you may use baking soda too - I did not have it)
Juice from 1 medium size lemon
Salt
Oil

Method -

1. Grind the rice and dhals coarsely. But grind them separately and mix well.
2. Take 1 1/2 cups from the rice dhal mixture
3. I made this as an evening snack so I mixed the rice dhal in buttermilk in the morning and allowed it to ferment for 8 hrs. Also add the baking powder.
4. Before baking it, take oil in a pan. Add the mustard, jeera and curry leaves. Allow the mustard and jeera to crackle.
(I did not add green chillies since I wanted my son to try it. You may add it if you want it spicy. But saute the green chillies, turmeric powder and ginger separately and add it to the batter)
5. Pre-heat the oven to 375 deg F
6. Mix the batter well. Add salt.
7. Add ginger, turmeric, red chilly powder.
8. Add lime juice, grated veggies, cilantro to the batter and mix it well.
9. Pour it into the greased dish (oven safe dish). I used 2.5 qt oval oven safe corningware dish for this.
10. Sprinkle the mustard, jeera, curry leaves on the top.
11. Put in the oven. It takes about 40 minutes and you can see it turning brown.
12. Wait for it to cool down a bit (warm) and then cut it to the desired shape.
Serve it with mint coriander chutney....but in our house we are "ketch up" lovers!

Eggless Almond Date Cake

I wanted to bake this for the Valentines day but did not find time to bake it on that day...I made it last Sunday to have it with a cuppa coffee.....you can bake a cake on any day right...not just for Valentines day.
I have made the original version of the cake from this blog but this time I wanted to improvise it and make it to suit my taste. It came out good. I like them as is and that way you do not add extra calories by adding frosting. But if you want to make it on any special days - like birthdays or anniversary you may add the frosting of your choice.

Here goes my version of the recipe:

1 Cup All purpose flour
1/2 Stick Butter at room temperature
1/2 Cup Almonds (about 50 pieces)
3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
15 Dates
1 Cup Sugar
3/4th Cup Milk
9 Inch Pan

Method

Microwave the dates by adding milk for about 3 minutes.
Boil water in a vessel and add the almonds (Let the boil well before adding the almonds. Otherwise you will find it difficult to peel the skin).
Peel the skin from the almonds.
Grind the dates and then add the almonds. Add the sugar at the end and grind it along with the dates and almonds.
Preheat the oven to 350 degree.
Sift the flour and baking powder.
Slowly add the flour to the almond date mixture. Mix well without lumps.
Add the butter. Mix it well.
Grease the pan and dust it with the all purpose flour as you may always do.
Pour the cake mixture into the pan and bake till the fork or tooth pick comes without sticking. It gets done in about 30 minutes. Its a super easy recipe...try it without fail.

Butternut Squash Soup

The weather last week was kind of gloomy...should not be complaining too much though...(it does not feel like winter at all....I am hoping we are not in for any surprise). I bought this couple of times last month but ended up making pulusu with it or sambhar with it....this time I wanted to make soup and soup it is....we ended up having just the soup for dinner that day!!

Ingredients:

1 Medium Butternut Squash
1 Small Onion
Black Pepper Powder
1 Bay leaf
1 Tsp Fennel Powder
Olive Oil
2 TBSPN Butter (optional)
Coarsely ground peanuts
Salt

Peel the skin and cut the butternut squash into big cubes. Toss them in olive oil, salt, black pepper powder and fennel powder and coat it well on the veggie.
Preheat the oven to 425 deg F.
Toss the veggie into the oven for about 40 min (varies based on your oven). Take it when it is done and soft. The smell from it...increases your apetitie....
After it cools down. Put in a blender (I use our traditional mixie) and make puree.
Take a pan. Melt the butter (or olive oil). Add the onions and bay leaf. After the onion is cooked.
Add the puree. This puree is very thick so you add vegetable stock (if you do not have it...just go with water) and thin it out.
Let it boil. Add little more salt and pepper powder.
Serve it with by garnishing the peanut powder. Enjoy!