Thursday, October 30, 2014

Halloween day is celebrated on 31st October and Pumpkins are very special on Halloween day celebration. Mainly the pumpkins are cut and inside flesh is scooped out and then carved into various shapes and inside a light source such as candles are placed to make Jack-o'-lantern. The dishes prepared using pumpkins are special for Halloween day such as cakes, tarts and cookies..etc.

Today morning i referred here and made these cookies in my way for this year Halloween Day with pumpkin puree and almonds and tried to give a pumpkin like shape. Kids really love these cookies. Perfect sweet delight for the Halloween Party!

Pumpkin Cookies

Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 8-10 cookies

INGREDIENTS:
Butter, softened- 1/2 cup (100g)
Sugar, powdered- 1/2 cup
Pumpkin Puree- 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract- 1 teaspoon
Food colour- orange (two drops)
Almond meal(or) almond powder- 1/4 cup
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt- 1/2 teaspoon
All purpose Flour/ Maida-1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups
Almonds- 8-10 nos
Honey- 2 tablespoon
Pumpkin Almond Cookies

PROCEDURE:

  • Make almond powder if you do not get almond meal use whole almonds or use blanched almonds( If you use almond with peel, drop the almonds in hot boiled water and allow to cook for 5 minutes or the skin starts to loosen. Do not cook long as the almonds starts to soften. Drain almonds from water and peel them and wipe them well without any moisture.)
  • Take the blanched almonds inside the blender and pulse to get a  fine powder. Do not grind and make it as a paste (almond butter)
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees for 15 minutes.
  • In a bowl add the room temperature butter and beat well using an electric whisk or hand whisk.
  • Add the powdered sugar and beat again till fluffy.
  • Now add the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract and food colour (I have added last and find difficult to mix)and beat well for fifteen seconds till the colour mixed well uniformly.
  • Now add the almond meal/powder, cinnamon powder and salt; beat well till combined.
  • Add the all purpose flour 1/2 cup at a time and beat well. When u finish adding 1 cup the mixture will be slightly thick. Now remove the beater and add the flour and mix gently using hands and make a soft dough.
  • Divide the dough into 4 balls and transfer into a fridge and chill for 15 minutes.
  • After that remove the dough and make them in to 8-10 lemon sized balls and keep on a baking tray lined with wax paper. Hold the balls in fingers and give 6-8 incisions the sides using a knife.
  • At the top of each ball press with index finger and make a small depression.
  • In that fix the almonds tapering end.
  • Keep the tray inside the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cookies outside feels hard to touch.
  • When the cookies came out from the oven it looked dull so i brushed them with honey to give them a fresh look. 
Halloween Recipes

Thanks Giving Recipes


Halloween Recipes

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Kollu (or) Horse gram is one of the healthiest pulses as for as i come to know about it. It has so many health benefits and used in ayurvedic medical treatments for renal stones, piles..etc. It is a rich source of Calcium, Fibre and Poly phenols which has high antioxidant capacity and it is diuretic.

So i planned to include this healthy pulse weekly in my meal in one or other way. There are many options to make it in a very tasty way. Some recipes such as Kollu Rasam  to be served with rice, Kollu Sundal for evening Snack and this chutney to pair with Idli or dosa as a side dish. I have to say all these Kollu recipes are really tasty especially this chutney i am sure you will make it whenever you prepare Idli or Dosa.

Horse gram Chutney

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Cuisine: Tamil
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:
Kollu- 1/4 cup
Oil- 1 teaspoon
Jeera- 1/4 teaspoon
Onion, Chopped-1 small
Garlic, chopped- 2 cloves
Dried red chilli- 2
Tamarind - pea size small piece
Coconut- 1/4 cup
Salt- to taste
Water- as required to grind and dilute

To temper:
Oil- 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds- 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves- 1 strand
Horse Gram Chutney

PROCEDURE:
  • Remove any stones or clay present in the kollu which are visible to your eyes.
  • Heat a pan and dry roast the kollu till nice roasted aroma arises and one or two seeds starts to pop.
  • Transfer the kollu into a plate and allow to cool.
  • In the same pan add a teaspoon of oil and add jeera and fry for five seconds. then add onion, garlic and dried red chilli and cook together till the onion  become translucent and the red chillies becomes slightly crisp.
  • Now add the tamarind and coconut and mix well in that heat and cook for ten seconds. Do not cook more.
  • Switch off the gas and allow to cool.
  • Transfer the roasted kollu and roasted onion coconut mixture together inside the blender jar and add salt and pulse to coarsely powder them. Then add some water and grind as a paste coarse paste or fine paste how you like the consistency of the chutney.
  • Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves.
  • Switch off the gas and transfer the tempering over the ground chutney.
  • Add salt or water to dilute the chutney if required.
Kaanam Chutney

Healthy Recipes

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Halloween Day is around the corner and all are making ready for the Halloween costumes, food and settings for the Halloween day party. Spooky scary foods are special for halloween day and pumpkins are very special. So i planned to prepare a pumpkin cake for this Halloween day. Pumpkin cake finally i made it in pumpkin shape.

Easy to prepare cake and the icing too super easy just mix and whip. About the taste of the cake it is soft and moist, mildly spiced with nuts and raisins. So flavourful cake similar to a fruit cake. Nutty and Fruity Halloween Delight!!!


Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS:
Pumpkin puree (fresh/ tinned) -2 cups
Walnuts- 1 cup
Golden raisins-1 cup
Eggs-4
Sugar- 1 and 1/2 cups
Oil- 1 and 1/4 cups
Vanilla essence- 1 teaspoon
All purpose Flour-3 cups
Baking powder- 1  teaspoons
Baking Soda- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Clove powder 1/4 teaspoon
Nutmeg- 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
Dry/ fresh ginger powder- 1/4 teaspoon

For Frosting:
Ice cream cone-1
Cream Cheese- 1 (200 g packet)
Thick cream- 1(125 ml packet)
Sugar- 4-5 teaspoons


Pumpkin Cake

PROCEDURE:
  • Peel the pumpkin and cut them in to pieces.
  • Add water and cook till soft for about 10 minutes. When it becomes soft to touch drain the water and allow to cool.
  • Transfer the pumpkin pieces into a blender and finely puree them; set aside.
  • In a separate bowl sift/ sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda together.
  • Add in the spices cinnamon powder, clove, nutmeg and ginger powders; mix well.
  • Take a tablespoon of flour from this and coat the raisins and walnuts (to prevent sinking inside the batter);set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 160  degrees for 15 minutes.
  • In a bowl beat the eggs till frothy using electric beater or hand whisk.
  • Powder the sugar and add into the egg mixture.
  • Add the cooked pumpkin puree and oil and vanilla essence; blend well.
  • Add this spiced flour mixture half a cup at a time and mix well repeat the process till the whole flour mixture get incorporated with egg mixture.
  • Fold in the raisins and nuts inside the cake batter.
  • Grease the pan (Use one bundt pan or two 20 cm round cake tins)with oil or butter and dust with a tablespoon of flour by tapping the pan and coat the pan without touching with hands.
  • Pour the batter evenly on the cake pan and level the top and tap slightly to remove any air bubbles.
  • Bake the cake for about 1 hour or till the inserted skewer comes out clean from the cake.
  • Allow the cake to cool down completely before icing.
  • Frosting:
  • In a bowl add cream cheese, thick cream and powdered sugar. Beat till well combined.
  • Take a tablespoon of icing and add green food colour. Add orange food colour in the remaining icing; mix well.
  • Apply the green icing on the ice cream waffer cone for the pumpkin stem.
  • Fill the cake's cavity with anything edible or fill with tissue or foil paper and keep the stem on top.
  • Apply orange colour icing on the cake.





Saturday, October 25, 2014


If you are bored of making spooky fingers or bloody drinks and really want to impress your friends this  Halloween look no further. Bake these intricate Owl cookies and i am sure that would inspire you this Halloween. Owl cookies with cardamom flavor is a flavourful crispy and soft cookies. Referred here for make this cookies and modified the recipe according to my needs.

You can make this recipe with limited ingredients. So appealing and scary cookies. Kids love these cookies because of the shape and also the taste. Halloween's night rider the owl- cookies....

Cardamom Flavored Cookies

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes
Makes: 12-15 nos

INGREDIENTS:
Butter, softened- 1/2 cup
Sugar, powdered- 1/4 cup
Cardamom pods-6 (or)powder- 1 teaspoon
Vanilla essence- 1 teaspoon
All purpose flour/ Maida- 1 cup
Corn flour- 1 tablespoon
Salt- 1/4 teaspoon
Milk-2-3 tablespoons
Chocolate chips- 30 nos
Almonds- 15 nos


PROCEDURE:
  • In a bowl add the softened butter and beat well using spoon or electric whisk.
  • Powder the sugar in a blender if you are adding whole cardamom pods add with sugar and make it as a fine powder.
  • Beat the softened butter as fluffy using hand blender or spoon.
  • Add sugar and vanilla essence with the butter and beat again till incorporated well.
  • In a separate bowl add all purpose flour, corn flour and salt; Mix well and strain it, if needed.
  • Add the flour moisture into the butter mixture in two batches and mix well in between.
  • Make it as a dough by adding little milk as needed. Divide this in to small two or three balls and allow to chill inside fridge for 30 minutes (or) in freezer for exactly 10 minutes wrapped thoroughly in cling film or in a sealed air tight container.
  • Take the dough and roll it as a thin sheet using a rolling pin.
  • Cut the sheet using 2 inch round cookie cutter in to 12-15 rounds.
  • Pinch 2 nos small pea sized pieces for each cookie and roll them like small peas using your palm for the owls eyes.
  • For eye balls use chocolate chips by pressing the pea sized dough slightly.
  • For the nose place an almond in between eyes facing tapering side faces down.
  • For the wings press the curved edges of the spoon.
  • For the wings press the mark using a tip of the fork. Do not press all the way down which will break the cookies.
  • Bake them in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes.
  • Bake the cookies for about 15- 20 minutes depends on the thickness of the cookies.
  • Remove the tray once the cookies starts to get brown in colour.
Owl Cookies

Halloween Recipes


Thursday, October 23, 2014

These peanut butter spider cookies are so creepy and delightful for the Halloween day party. Yes these are slightly sweet,  a bit salt cookies with a nutty flavor and taste. Super soft,  tasty and it does looks frightful. I have referred here for the recipe and i modified the recipe to an egg less version. It is quite easy to prepare and is with less calories.

I'm sure everyone is going to love this cookie for its looks as well as  for the nutty taste. Making these cookies are fun and for others (especially kids) it sure is frightful. It is an easy to bake recipe for the Halloween party.

I made this with home made pea nut butter you could make with store bought ones. At the finishing stage i did get a doubt whether that it look like a spider? A Little later my son saw them and sung "Itsy Bitsy spider.. " Then i felt okay :-)

Peanut Butter Cookies

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time:20 minutes
Makes:12 nos

INGREDIENTS:
Butter, softened-1/4 cup (50 g)
Peanut butter, smooth- 1/2 cup
Sugar, powdered- 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence- 1 teaspoon
All purpose Flour- 3/4 cup
Baking powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Baking Soda- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt- 1/2 teaspoon
Maltesers Chocolate balls- 12 nos (37g packet)
Chocolate chips/ chocolate bar-1/4 cup
Sugar pearls/ Candy eyes-24 nos

Halloween Recipes


PROCEDURE:
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degree for 10 minutes.
  • In a bowl take the softened butter and peanut butter. Beat well using a whisk or spoon.
  • Add the powdered sugar and vanilla essence. Mix well again.
  • In a separate bowl add the all purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda and salt; Mix well.
  • Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture in two batches and mix well.
  • From the dough roll 12 even sized round balls.
  • Spread a baking paper on top of baking tray and keep the cookie balls over it.
  • Bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
  • Take the tray out from the oven and press on each cookie's middle with a end of a pestle or wooden ladle. (I used mini rolling pins end)
  • Again place the tray on oven and bake the cookies to 10-15 minutes or until the cookies starts to get golden colour.
  • Remove the cookies from oven and allow to cool. When its warm keep the chocolate balls inside the dimple to stick with the cookie (Do not keep when the cookies are hot as it would melt the chocolate).
  • In the microwave oven melt the chocolate chips for 30 to 40 minutes. Stopping at each 10 seconds and stirring to avoid burning.
  • Keep the eyes of the spider using sugar pearls or candy eyes on the chocolate balls by pressing them or glue them using melted chocolate. Mark eye balls using black or brown food color if  you use sugar pearls. This step is optional you can leave it as such.
  • Transfer the melted chocolate in to a piping bag or zip lock bag and snip the edge and pipe the legs for the spider.


Peanut Butter Cookies




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