EGGLESS GINGER BREAD MEN COOKIES

Hello everyone

I know , I am a bit late for this post but no worries new year is coming so why not give it a try to cherish our new year celebrations. Anyhow there is no particular time to gobble up your favorite cookies , isn't it☺️. I tried this recipe using my mix and match of ingredients and it turned out definitely superb. This is so easy to prepare and have tendency to fascinate not only kids but elders too. I was always thinking to try this atleast once but after tasting it in a mall at Christmas celebration , I started craving for it. And finally tried and succeeded to , not exactly replicate, but near to the original one. Step wise recipe is given below, hope you will try it and let me know , how it turned out for you😊.

Recipe inspiration: spiceupthecurry 

EGGLESS GINGER BREAD MEN COOKIES

Yield: 18-20 cookies

Time: 30 mins ( leaving chilling time)

Ingredients 

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter/ margarine ,at room temp.

2 tbsp oil

1/3 cup brown sugar or jaggery

1/4 cup molasses or honey or maple syrup or dates syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 pinches baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp ginger powder

1/8 tsp nutmeg powder

1/8 tsp clove powder

For icing:

1 tbsp hot milk

1 tsp sugar 

3-4 tbsp milk powder

1/4 tsp molten butter/ghee

2-3 drop vanilla essence

Edible colors ( optional)

Method:

First of all take butter/ margarine, oil and brown sugar/ jaggery in a deep bowl and beat till nice fluffy. 

Now add molasses/ substitutes and again beat to incorporate all well. 

Now in a separate bowl add all dry ingredients together and mix well or sieve together.

 Now add flour mix to butter mix in batches and keep mixing. When all flour is mixed , it will look like bread crumbs. 

Now using your finger make dough without applying much pressure. Now roll the dough in 1/2 cm thick chapatti. 

Cut cookies using cookie cutter. If you find your dough delicate to handle then let it chill for 30 -60 mins in fridge then roll and cut. In this way cut all the cookies by repeatedly rolling , cutting and collecting scraps. 

Now place cookies in a baking tray lined with butter paper. Keep all cookies at some distance as they expand a little while baking. Now cover it with cling wrap or plastic sheet to avoid drying, and keep it in fridge for 2-3 hrs or in freezer for 30-40 mins before baking. Now bake it in preheated oven at 180degree C for 8-12 mins. Keep an eye on it after 8 mins , as soon as its edges start to change color,keep it out and cool on a wire rack . 

If you like more crunchy cookies then let it bake for little longer as mine are little soft yet crumbly, the perfect texture for ginger bread men cookies. Let it cool completely before icing. 

For icing : 

Mix sugar in milk and stir till dissolve. Now add essence,butter/ ghee and stir. Now add milk powder little by little and stir to mix properly and without lumps. Use as much milk powder as needed to form a smooth batter that can be piped easily, neither too runny nor too thick . 

Add desired color and mix well ( I skipped). Now fill the icing in icing bag and with thinner nozzle make designs of your choice.

 Let it dry for atleast 1/2 - 1 hr, then store in an airtight container.

Your yummy kids friendly cute ginger bread men cookies are ready to serve.

You can use any substitute mentioned in recipe but then it may make a difference in taste, but be sure in every way it will taste great. I used jaggery and dates syrup in my recipe. 

If you don't like spices , then substitute it by cocoa powder to get chocolate flavored ginger bread men cookies. As small kids generally don't like spicy flavours in their cakes and cookies, like my younger one😐.

Though these cookies are Christmas special delicacy but you can make and enjoy these any time and at any occasion specially at kids birthday party, as kids love to relish on these beauties any time.

Hope you all will give it a try and definitely love it. Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

NO GRIND PALAK PANEER

Hello everyone

Serving new dishes daily on your dinner table is really a challenging job for anyone. Specially when you have fussy eaters at home. Yesterday I had spinach in bulk sitting in my fridge but not willing to have it as normal aaloo palak or palak dal. So scratching my head for almost half an hour , decided to go for corn palak but in half way of preparing my dish , I discovered that I ran out of my corn stock😱 now what to do what to do....... Thought to replace corn by cottage cheese ( paneer) as my kids and even we two are also fan of paneer dishes. So in this way , new avataar of palak paneer got discovered😂😜. But it was really worth this experiment, we just loved each and every bit of the dish . It came out delicious and definitely a pleasant new taste than regular palak paneer. I suggest you to atleast try it once you will definitely fall in love with it.

Excuse me for not giving stepwise pictorial recipe as it was not pre planned and just an experiment. But be sure to get detailed and explained written one as it's so easy and quick to prepare that you will not miss pictures here any more☺️

NO GRIND PALAK PANEER

Serves: 3-4

Time: 25-30 mins

Ingredients

2 cups spinach, finely chopped

1 cup cottage cheese( paneer), cubed

2 medium size onions, finely chopped

2-3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

4-5 green chilies, finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp asafetida (heeng)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chicken masala( optional)

1 tsp kitchen King masala

2 tsp kasoori methi, crushed in between palms

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a wok, add asafetida and cumin seeds. Let it crackle then add chopped onion and green chilies. When onions get golden then add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2-3 mins then add all dry masala powders except kasoori methi. Saute for 1 min then add chopped tomatoes and little salt. Let it cook till nice mushy and cooked well. Now add chopped spinach and let it cook for 4-5 mins or till it shrinks properly. Now add milk, slowly and stirring constantly to avoid cuddling. Let it boil then add some water ,if needed, to achieve your choice of curry consistency. Let it boil, add paneer cubes and salt. Let it simmer for 5 more mins and add crushed kasoori methi, mix well and switch of the flame. 

Your super yum , no fuss healthy side dish is ready to serve with roti , naan,rice or pulao . 

You can also replace paneer with corn or peas but then it will be called corn or peas palak and definitely taste will also suffer. But be sure in each way it will taste delicious.

Just prepare whenever you want to make something different but without much effort and gadgets. Can be served to guests too , and believe they will definitely love this.

Hope you all will love this easy peasy healthy yet yummy side dish. Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS SPARKLING SPRINKLES FOR CAKES AND COOKIES

Hello everyone

Today I have a very easy but interesting decoratives recipe for cakes and cookies. Who don't like cakes, cupcakes or cookies decorated with sparkling glittery sprinkles. Specially kids love to relish on decorated stuffs more than naked ones. But in market these decoratives are too expensive and generally available with eggs. So why not give it a try at home also, with easy available ingredients, eggless and in minimum time and effort. Today I am sharing glittery sparkling colored sugar sprinkles recipe, many more are coming in further days. Till then try and enjoy these super easy and attractive sprinkles at home and win your kids heart. Hope you all will definitely give it a try. 

Stepwise recipe is given below, do try and let me know how it turned out for you.

EGGLESS SPARKLING SPRINKLES FOR CAKES AND COOKIES

Yield: 2+ tbsp 

Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

2 heaped tbsp fine granulated sugar

1/4 tsp edible liquid color ( your choice)

2 drops vanilla essence ( completely optional, I skipped)

Method:

Mix sugar, colour and essence well. 

Spread in thin layer on a baking tray lined with butter paper .

Now bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 10 mins.

Now break all the lumps formed in sugar with oven mitt when it's still warm. Or you can also use rolling pin to separate sugar granules. But use light hands to avoid powdering your sprinkles. Once cooled , keep it in airtight containers.  I made six colors red, blue, green, yellow ,orange and purple by mixing red and blue colors. Your glittery sparkling sprinkles are ready to use. 

You can use any color of your choice or can also mix and match different colors to get different shades of your choice.

Try to use fine granules sugar, neither powdered ones nor too big granules, to get nice glittery texture.

Avoid adding too much of color, it may make lots of lumps and also ruin taste of sprinkles.

You can prepare these in bulk and store properly to use later whenever needed.

Now decorate your sweet treats with these sparkling beauties and see the eyes of your munchkins glittering with happiness. 

You can also use these on your puddings, ice creams or others sweet dishes to add extra attraction and crunchiness.

Hope you all will love this eggless sprinkle recipe and please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

HOT N SOUR VEG NOODLE SOUP

Hello everyone

I am here again after almost one month of gap as was busy in relishing family time. But I am back with a very delicious and kids friendly soup recipe , just perfect for winter season. As kids love noodles in their every meal so added these with lots of healthy veggies to make sure that kids get more and more healthy diet along with yumminess. This is so easy to prepare and less time consuming, so serve hot to comfort everyone in this chilling winter. Hope you will like this easy yet healthy yummy soup. 

Stepwise recipe is given below, do try and let me know how it turned out for you.

Recipe adapted from yummy tummy.

HOT N SOUR VEG NOODLE SOUP

Serves: 4-5

Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

3/4 cup finely chopped veggies ( beans, carrot, capsicum)

1 cup finely chopped cabbages( red and white) and spinach

1 medium onion, finely chopped 

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 spring onion, finely chopped

50 gms or as per like, Spaghetti noodles

1 1/2 tbsp corn flour

1 tsp vinegar 

Soya sauce, red chilli sauce, tomato sauce, black pepper and salt , as per taste

Method:

Heat some oil in a wok, add minced garlic. When it get golden then add chopped onions and fry till transparent.

 Now add chopped veggies and saute for 3-4 mins. Add chopped cabbage and spinach, saute for 5 mins. 

Add spaghetti and 4 cups water. Let it cook for 6-8 mins at medium flame or till spaghetti gets cooked.

 Now add all sauces,vinegar, salt and black pepper as per your taste. 

Now add cornflour in 1/4 cup water and add to soup. Keep stirring and let it cook for another 5 mins. Switch off the flame and add chopped spring onions and mix. 

Your yummy hot and sour soup is ready to serve. 

You can use any veggies as per your like and availability. Add sauces as per your taste as everyone has his/her own unique taste buds. 

I like it quit hot and tangy so added chilli and soya sauce in plenty rather than tomato one. If you like sweet side , then add more tomato sauce or add some sugar to your soup.

You can also use water as per your preference of consistency of soup.

Enjoy this comfortable soup with your family or serve to guests in this chilling winter, they will surely gonna love it.

 Hope you all will like this simple yet delicious soup recipe and definitely going to give it a try. Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....