Instant Oat Flax dosai ~ Oat Alsi Dosa ~ Savory Indian Oat and Flax Crepes

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Every time I read about the health benefits of flax, I feel a little guilty that I do not include as much flax in our diet as I would like to..... don't get me wrong, it's not like I never include flax, I manage to sneak it into our diet as often as a couple of times a week. But since flax is so healthy, I wouldn't mind if I managed to sneak it into our diet everyday :-)

I think my uncle N has the right idea on this, he just eats a couple of spoons of roasted flax each day. Neat ! this way he does not have to worry about sneaking it into the diet every time :-)  Only problem for me, I like my flax disguised in my food and am not quite keen to eat it just by itself. So my solution is to come up with everyday recipes where I can sneak in flax.

In addition to using flax regularly in my bakes and rotis (Indian flatbread), I have also begun to use flax in instant dosais (savory Indian crepes). First I used it in this rava dosai and loved how the flax enhanced the taste and nutrition of it. This time I decided to make a dosai with a combination of flax and oats...... yes I have to admit oats is my other favorite healthy ingredient, so the idea of combining the two was irresistible :-)

I seasoned the dosai with some cumin, mustard, curry leaves and green chilies for some added flavor. The dosai turned out to be very tender and light. Since the rice flour added a touch of crispiness too, I felt this dosai had the perfect balance of softness and crispiness.  I have made this a few times since the first and it makes a perfect breakfast/ or tiffin or even a light dinner.

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Ingredients and Method to make Oat flax dosai
2 cups oat flour ( I powdered rolled oats in my spice grinder to give me oat flour)
3/4 cup rice flour (chawal ka atta/ arisi maavu)
1/4 cup flax seed meal (flax powder/ alsi/ ali virai)
salt to taste
approx 3 1/2 cups water
4 to 5 tbsp grated fresh or frozen coconut (if using frozen, thaw to room temperature)

Seasoning
5 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut very fine(or to taste)
1 to 2 tbsp coconut oil
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
7 to 8 curry leaves cut fine
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

a little sesame oil to shallow fry the dosai

If you have no ready made oat flour, just powder rolled oats in a blender/ mixer/ spice grinder.

In a large bowl add oat flour, rice flour, flax seed meal and salt to taste and mix well.  Add water slowly a little at a time and mix well to form a not too thick, not too thin batter.

Heat oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to splutter add cumin seeds, when cumin begins to sizzle add green chilies and curry leaves and mix once or twice. Pour entire seasoning on the batter and mix well. Finally add grated coconut directly to the batter and mix again.  Allow this mixture to "sit" for 20 mins to 30 mins.

 

Heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa. When hot pour a little batter on the center and quickly make a thin circle. Add a few drops of sesame oil on the circumference of the dosai. When the lower side is cooked to an even golden color, flip over and cook the other side until it gets golden brown spots.

Remove and serve hot with sambar/ chutney of choice/ molaga podi like this one or this one. Proceed with the rest of the batter in the same manner and store unused batter in the refrigerator and use within a few days.
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Notes
If you use the batter a day or two after you first made it, it may thicken a little more, you might need to add a little more water to get the right consistency before using again.

Suggested variation:
Sprinkle a little finely chopped onion pieces on the side facing upwards. Flip over and press down a little and cook until onion begins to get a few brown spots.

Other dosa varieties with oats in this space......


Keerai Oat Dosai ~ Palak oat dosa ~ Savory Indian crepe with spinach and oats


Mixed Vegetable Oat Dosai ~  Savory Indian crepe with vegetables and oats


Instant Ragi Oats Dosai ~ Nachani dosa ~  Savory Finger millet and oats crepe

 
Javarsi Oats Dosai ~ Sabudana oat dosa ~  Savory Oat and sago crepe

 
Keerai Oat Adai ~ Palak dhal dosa ~  Savory Spinach oat barley crepes

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Flax and Peanut Chutney powder

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There is always at least one type of chutney powder/ spice powder in stock in my pantry. When my stock of chutney powder begins to dwindle, I make another batch quickly. I cannot imagine not having some chutney powder at home, not only because these powders are convenient and versatile but also very healthy.

In addition to the traditional use of these powders as instant chutneys, they are also a great way to add spice or flavor to just about anything. When my in laws were visiting we made sabudana khichdi and found that it was not spicy enough, so my mother in law and I decided to add a little of this chutney powder to spice it up  I was a little wary about this fusion of south Indian style chutney with Maharashtrian style khichdi,  but the khichdi ended up tasting awesome. Now I add this powder to my khichdi often:-)

If you too are looking for ways to include the flax in your family's diet than this chutney powder is a great way to do it. As you know flax has immense health benefits, I have already mentioned some when I did my post on another type of flax chutney powder, so I will not get into it again :-) The nutty flavor of flax blends in perfectly with the complementing flavors of peanut, sesame and lentils in this chutney and makes it a fabulously tasty way to incorporate flax in our diet :-)



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Ingredients and Method to make Flax and Peanut Chutney Powder
1/2 cup raw unsalted peanuts (singdana/ kadalai)
1/2 cup brown sesame seeds (til/ ellu)
1/2 cup split yellow chick pea lentil (chana dhal / kadalai parappu)
1/2 cup whole black gram lentil without skin (Whole udad dhal/ muzhu ulandhu) can be substituted with the split variety too
1/2 cup flax seed meal (powdered flax seeds/ alsi/ali virai)
25 dry red chilies (or according to taste) (see notes)
1 inch piece of jaggery (optional)
salt to taste ( I used approximately 1 1/2 tsp salt)

Dry roast each of the above ingredients seperately except salt and jaggery until each of them are reddish brown and aromatic. The red chilies will turn a shade darker and flax seed meal does not change color a lot, but it emits a nutty aroma when done.

Cool all the ingredients to room temperature and powder them in a spice grinder/ blender.Powder the lentils first coarsely, then add sesame, peanut, flax and red chilies and powder in short bursts. Over powdering after the nuts are added may result in clumping. Add jaggery and give another short churn. Finally add salt and mix well.
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Store this powder in an air tight container. This powder can be kept on the shelf for a few weeks, but if you think it may take you months to use it up, it is recommended to store this in the refrigerator as flax can turn rancid quickly.

Serve a small quantity of this powder mixed with a few drops of sesame oil with either dosai/ adai/ idli , or add this chutney powder to spice up your curries. Alternatively it can be mixed with yogurt to make an instant dip.

Notes
Use dry red chilies as per your taste. My current batch of red chilies are not very spicy so even with 25 of them I only got the chutney powder to be mildly spicy. If you have very spicy red chilies you may have to use far less of them, so do use your judgment on the quantity to be used.

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Potato Curry with Flax and Quinoa

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Before I became aware of concepts like cutting carbs to lose weight , potatoes was one of my favorite vegetables and used to feature regularly in my kitchen. They also functioned as my favorite fall back plan, either when I ran out of ideas or the vegetable drawer in my refrigerator started to get empty. Unfortunately as is the case with many other foods I like...., potatoes too are neither very diet friendly nor superlatively healthy. So it rarely appears in my menu now and even when it does, it is included along with a chock full of other vegetables that satisfy my need for nutrition.

Yesterday though, I had a serious craving for some type of potato curry that I could use as filling for sandwiches that I planned for lunch. My mind refused to budge from the idea of making potatoes, so I decided to try and make it as nutritious as possible. And what can be more nutritious than a combination of sesame, flax, quinoa and peanuts. I dry roasted each of these along with other spices, powdered it and used it to spice up my curry. I absolutely adored how this curry turned out, it was very subtly flavored and tasted fantastic in sandwiches.I am sure this will taste just as good as a side for rice and dhal or stuffing for parathas (Stuffed Indian flat bread) or just to go with plain chapathis or rotis (Indian flat bread)




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Ingredients and Method to make Potato Peas curry with flax and quinoa

4 medium white potatoes cooked and mashed (Yielded 2 cups of mashed potatoes)
1 cup green peas (either fresh or frozen)


For the ground spice mixture
3 tbsp raw or roasted unsalted peanuts
3 tbsp quinoa (see notes)
4 tbsp brown sesame seeds
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds (dhania)
3 tbsp flax seed meal (powdered flax seeds ) (see notes) ( also known as Alsi)
3 dry whole red chillies (or according to taste)
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt according to taste (I used approximately 1 1/4 tsp salt for this quantity)

Cook the potatoes with their skin either in a pressure cooker or on the stove top. Cool slightly, skin the potatoes and mash it roughly. This yielded me about 2 cups of mashed potatoes

In a heavy bottomed pan dry roast each of the ingredients mentioned in the ground spice mixture until it turns reddish/ brownish and exudes aroma. If using roasted unsalted peanuts skip the roasting for the peanuts. Keep the roasted ingredients aside to cool thoroughly.

In the same heavy bottomed pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds to it. When the cumin seeds splutter, add turmeric powder and green peas to it and saute the green peas until it is soft and cooked but not mushy. ( I used frozen thawed green peas so it cooked within a few minutes, fresh green peas may take a little longer to cook. If using fresh green peas sprinkle a little water to cook it faster)

Powder the roasted spices in a spice grinder until it turns into a fairly fine powder and keep aside.

The copyright of this content belongs to Veginspirations.comAdd the cooked mashed potatoes to this, then add salt to taste and sprinkle the spice powder and mix well.

Let this mixture cook for a few minutes until all the flavors blend.

Serve hot with Indian flat bread (roti's) or as a side dish with rice or use it as a filling in sandwiches (as I did.... )

Serves approximately 4

Notes

In case you do not have quinoa try using 1 1/2 tbsp of flax seed/ flax seed meal and 1 1/2 tbsp sesame seed in its place

I used flax seed meal (powdered flax seeds) because I had that available, you could just as easily use flax seeds and powder it fine along with the other spices

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Vegan Instant Semolina crepes enhanced with flax.....

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Phew ! What a lengthy title.... I think this one has to have set the record for being the longest title on this site:-) Rava dosai or semolina crepes are light and lacy crepes made usually for breakfast or as a snack. Unlike other crepes/ dosais these are much more delicate and follow a slightly different technique while being made.

Though traditionally made as a breakfast item, these crepes manage to make their way into our dinner table occasionally, especially when we are in the mood for something light and quick for dinner. As is always the case with me, I could not resist trying to enhance these crepes / dosais and make them more healthier by adding flax when I recently made it.

I was a little nervous about this experiment as I had no other back up plans for dinner and was worried the flax would change the taste of the crepes/ dosai too much, but we all were pleasantly surprised, the flax did not interfere with the taste of the crepes/ dosai at all and in fact it enhanced the taste of the crepes, not to mention the nutrition. I have since made this many many times and have made it for guests as well, everybody loves it and nobody seems to be able to guess that it contains flax.


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Ingredients and Method to make Vegan Rava Dosa with flax

1 1/2 cup medium semolina (rava)
1 1/2 cup rice flour
5 tsps flax seed meal ( powdered flax seed / alsi )
salt to taste ( I used about 1 1 /2 tsp for this quantity)
approximately 4 1/2 cups of water + a little bit more to mix in with flax seed meal

seasoning
2 tsps oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
5 Thai or Indian variety green chillies (cut fine) (or according to taste)
1 sprig of curry leaves cut into little pieces (about 7-8 leaves) (optional)
asafoetida / hing a pinch ( optional)

sesame oil as required to cook the dosais

In a large bowl mix together the rice flour , semolina and salt to taste.

In a small cup mix together the flax seed meal in a few spoons of water and whisk together thoroughly until it blends a bit.

Add approximately 4 cups of water to the mixed flours slowly, mixing thoroughly as you add water .

Add the flax seed meal + water mixture to it too and mix well.
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The batter should be only slightly thicker than milk so adjust the water as required to achieve that consistency.

Heat oil in a small pan, add cumin seeds to it, when the cumin starts to splutter add green chillies and curry leaves to it. ( If using asafoetida add at this time) , when the green chillies and curry leaves splutter add the entire mixture to the batter and mix well.

Heat a griddle/ tawa/ skillet. When hot, pour a ladle of this batter in a large circle, avoiding the center. The batter will kind of spread to the center with some gaps in between, which is fine as this is how this crepe looks like. Add half a spoon of sesame oil around the crepe and let it cook for a minute or so. When the lower side starts to brown, use a spatula to flip it over and cook the other side.

When brown spots appear on the other side, remove and serve hot with chutney or sambar of choice.

Leftover batter can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Yield will depend on the size of the crepes.

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Peanut and Flax ladoo

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Ever wished your day had a few more hours in it so that you could get more done each day. I have to admit that thought crosses my mind routinely.  With so many things vying for my time, usually things that have to be done win over things that I want to do, making me yearn for more time each day. Blogging is one of those things that falls in the latter category for me, I want to devote more time to it but I am not able to devote as much time to it as I want...... sigh !!

If you were given a choice of being able to forget about one mundane task or chore each day in favor of doing something you enjoy more, what task would you choose? For me, the choice would easily be either cleaning or doing the dishes :-) Both these tasks seem never ending and sometimes I  wish I could just be done with these tasks so that I can do something more interesting :-( 

Anyway here is something that did not  take too much of my time, it was quick, simple and delicious.One day when I was thinking about flax, I realized that I have never used it in a sweet yet. I immediately decided to try it in one, I added peanuts and almonds along with the flax for additional nutrition and shredded coconut for added flavor.  This really was a very sweet and delicious way to include some flax in our diet and I plan to make this again really soon :-)



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Ingredients and Method to make Peanut and Flax Ladoo
1/2 cup skinless raw peanuts (mungphali/kadalai) dry roasted (see notes)
1/2 cup whole raw almonds (badam) dry roasted
heaped 1/4 cup flax seed meal dry roasted (powdered flax seeds/ alsi/ ali virai)
1 cup shredded coconut (nariyal/thengai) roasted lightly
1 cup sugar (shakkar/sakkarai)
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp cardamom seed powder (elaichi/elakkai)

Dry roast skinless raw peanuts and whole almonds separately, very lightly until it loses its raw taste. Remove from heat and spread on a plate to cool.
Dry roast shredded coconut until it turns a little creamy pinkish kind of color. Remove and keep aside.
Dry roast flax seed meal very very slightly, just for a few seconds until it is a bit warm. Remove and keep aside.

When the roasted nuts have cooled to room temperature, powder in a spice grinder/ blender/mixer using short bursts of power until the nuts become fine powder.

In a large heavy bottomed pan, add sugar and water and place on heat. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes. Pour a drop of the syrup on a plate and allow to cool a little. Take the syrup between thumb and first finger and check to see if it forms a very light thread. If a light thread is formed, then add powdered nuts, flax seed meal, shredded coconut and cardamom seed powder and mix well.
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Remove from heat, allow to cool until touchable and make small balls of desired size. When completely cool store in an airtight container. It stays fine for a few days without refrigeration, if you plan to keep this longer do refrigerate it. Enjoy the snack with your tea/ coffee or as an anytime snack.

Notes:
This ladoo has a very soft and fudgy consistency, if you like your ladoo harder then allow the sugar syrup to achieve a stronger one string consistency.

Skinless peanuts can be substituted with peanuts with skin, when ground the difference is not very obvious.

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Flax Chutney Powder

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Flax seeds are literally a kind of wonder food. These tiny seeds are said to have amazing capabilities like improving the immune system, decreasing risk of Alzheimer's, reducing cholesterol and high blood pressure and stabilizing blood sugar levels.  These seeds are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids and high in both soluble and insoluble fiber. 

Given that this is such a healthy food, it should be a no-brainer to include this in our diet. Having said that, actually including it in our diet has proven to be a little more challenging than I expected. I usually use flax seeds in my bakes as I did when I made these sweet potato rolls . But since I do not bake every day or even two or three times a week (though I would love to) just using them in bakes makes me feel like I am not using enough of it. So when I came across this recipe on Archy's site, I was thrilled with the idea of using flax seeds in a spice/ chutney powder. I adapted the recipe and added a few ingredients that I thought would enhance the taste.

This powder is very versatile and can be used to spice up yogurt to make an instant dip or used along with a few drops of sesame oil to make a chutney to go along with savory crepes/ dosai. You can add a little to cooked rice to make an instantly flavored rice. I have even used it to spice up my curries with thoroughly enjoyable results.

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Ingredients and method to make Flax chutney powder

1/2 cup flax seed meal (also known as Alsi ) (see notes)

1/4 cup raw unsalted peanuts

1/4 cup unsalted split roasted chick pea (dalia/ pottu kadalai)

1/2 inch tamarind

1/2 tsp brown sugar

20 curry leaves

15 dry red chillies (or according to taste)

1/4 cup brown sesame seeds

1 1/4 tsp salt (or according to taste)

Dry roast flax seed meal, raw peanuts, curry leaves, dry red chillies and brown sesame seeds SEPARATELY and keep aside to cool.

Flax meal needs to be roasted until aroma arises from it, peanuts until they change color and lose rawness, curry leaves until they become dry and crisp.

Powder all the ingredients along with the tamarind, brown sugar, and roasted chick pea until mostly fine.

Add salt to taste and give it another turn in the spice grinder. 

Store this in an airtight container and use as required

This powder will stay for about a month or maybe more without any refrigeration.

Notes

Flax seed is known as Alsi in India. Flax seed meal is just powdered flax seeds, so if you have the seed you can powder it in your spice grinder.

Instead of raw unsalted peanuts you can use unsalted roasted peanuts too, if you use roasted peanuts you can skip roasting the peanuts step.

You can grind this powder to a very fine texture too if you like, I make it reasonably fine and allow a little coarseness because I like to taste the bite of some of the ingredients and it also gives me a more molaga podi  like texture this way

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Eggless Pudding Cookies

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Recently I discovered that the baking powder I have been innocently adding to so many of my bakes contains aluminum in it. I researched on this topic a little and my research did not specifically yield any issues from ingesting this aluminum contained in food, yet I felt it was an unnecessary additive in my food that I was not keen to include in mine and my family's diet. So I switched to aluminum free baking powder. If you, like me think you do not want to include this unnecessary additive in your food, look for aluminum free baking powder, this is available in almost all grocery stores.

While on the topic of baking powder,here are some tips for buying and checking effectiveness of baking powder. Since baking powder has a short shelf life it is better to buy the baking powder in small quantities each time. Also to check the effectiveness of the baking powder already lying in your shelf, stir in 1 teaspoon of baking powder into 1/3 cup of boiling water, if it gently bubbles than the baking powder is still effective and can be used.

Moving on...I came across this cookie on Madhuram's Eggless cooking site. From the very first time I saw this simple and elegant recipe I knew I would not be able to resist making this. I made two batches of these cookies, one with butterscotch flavor and the other with pistachio flavor. In place of all purpose flour I used a combination of ground flax cereal, almond meal and semolina flour in the first and a little milk powder instead of semolina flour in the second.

Both of these turned out fantastic and if you gave it to someone and asked them to guess the ingredients they would not be able to guess that they were actually consuming something as healthy as flax cereal and almond meal in their cookie. I also reduced the quantity of butter, then started getting nervous while the cookies were baking that they would get messed up because I did so, luckily it was fine and we thoroughly enjoyed these quick and yum treats. I particularly loved the pistachio flavored one because I used a little milk powder in that and loved the taste of pistachio and milk together.




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Ingredients and method to make Pudding cookies Variation 1

1/2 cup finely ground flax cereal ( See notes below)

1/2 cup finely ground almond meal ( See notes below)

1/4 cup fine rava (semolina flour)

1 pkt 3.5 oz of Jello Pudding and pie filling (butterscotch flavor)

1/3 cup Smart balance light (or butter)

Preheat oven at 375 deg F

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and keep aside

Process flax cereal in food processor/ blender until fine, keep aside

Process almonds with skin in food processor / blender until fine, keep aside.

In a large bowl, mix flax cereal, almond meal and semolina flour and keep aside.

In another bowl, cream together the butter (or smart balance) and jello pudding and pie filling until smooth and mixed well.

Add to this the ground flax cereal + almond meal + semolina flour mixture and mix well until it is well blended.

Roll the dough into little balls and place on cookie sheet and flatten gently.

Bake in the oven for about for 15 mins.

Remove and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

This yielded about 16 cookies small

Notes: I used the flax cereal from Trader Joe's which is not very sweet, you could probably use any type of cereal here that is not very sweet.

Or you can use replace the quantity of ground cereal with all purpose flour (maida)



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Ingredients and method to make Pudding cookies Variation 2

1/4 milk powder
3/4 cup fine powder of flax cereal
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup smart balance light (or butter)
1 pkt 3.5 oz Jello instant pudding and pie filling pistachio flavor

Preheat oven at 350 deg F

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and keep aside

Process flax cereal in food processor/ blender until fine, keep aside

Process almonds with skin in food processor / blender until fine, keep aside.

In a large bowl, mix flax cereal, almond meal and milk powder and keep aside.

In another bowl, cream together the butter (or smart balance) and jello pudding and pie filling until smooth and mixed well.

Add to this the ground flax cereal + almond meal + milk powder mixture and mix well until it is well blended. Add milk and mix some more

Roll the dough into little balls and place on cookie sheet and flatten gently.

Bake in the oven for about for 15 mins.

Remove and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

This yielded about 20 really small cookies

Notes: You can easily replace the quantity of ground cereal or any of the other two items like almond meal or semolina flour (or even all three if you choose ) with equal quantity of all purpose flour.(maida)

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Vegan Orange Cranberry Wheat Bread

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For some time now I have been wanting to try different egg substitutes that I haven't used yet, to see what kind of results I get with each of them. Usually my default egg substitute is flax, because it is both healthy and works as a great binding agent in bakes. In the past I have also used corn starch, soy flour, bananas and other fruit purees as egg substitutes successfully.

I came upon a reference to apple cider vinegar as an egg substitute in some book some time back, but I am not able to recall the name of the book and decided to give it a try in this bread. I loved how the vinegar gave the bread a very light and airy texture which was great but just vinegar by itself is not too much of a binding agent and resulted in a more crumbly bread.

So for my second try, I made this bread with both flax and apple cider vinegar and it worked out perfectly. If you liked this Orange flavored oatmeal bar then you will surely like this bread too, so go ahead give this one a try, it is really quite simple to make despite its long list of ingredients that  make it seem quite daunting:-)




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Ingredients and Method to make Orange cranberry wheat bread

Dry Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup whole white wheat flour ( Read more about this flour here)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp powdered dried orange (optional) (see notes)
3/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp orange essence

In place of 1 egg
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar+ 1 tbsp oil + 1 tsp baking powder (whisked together)

In place of the second egg
1 tbsp flax seeds/alsi + 3 tbsp water (flax seeds powdered fine and whisked together with 3 tbsp water)

a few extra drops of oil to grease the loaf pan

Pre heat oven to 350 deg F. Grease a loaf pan and keep aside.

In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients and mix well.

Powder 1 tbsp flax seeds in a spice grinder and whisk it with 3 tbsp water and let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl mix together orange juice, orange essence and oil.

Then whisk together apple cider vinegar+ oil + baking powder together and add to this mixture.

Add the flax seeds + water mixture to this and mix well.

Quickly add this entire wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix in gently with a spatula.

The resultant mixture looks lumpy and just enough wet.

Pour this mixture into pre greased loaf pan, place in oven and bake for 35 to 40 mins until toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes clean.

Remove from oven and cool thoroughly before slicing and serving. Use within a couple of days. Refrigerate or freeze the balance of the bread if you will not use it up within a couple of days.

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 Notes

I regularly keep a stock of sliced oranges dried in the oven at 200 deg F for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, read more on how to do this here So for this recipe, I just powdered one such slice and added it to the dry ingredients for a more orangey flavor. The earlier time I made this I tried it with only 1 tsp orange essence for flavor and it worked well too, so the powdered dried orange is entirely optional.

The first time I made this I used just apple cider vinegar, oil and baking powder to replace eggs and found that the resulting bread was quite crumbly so I would suggest using at least one tbsp of flax + water and not replacing both eggs with apple cider vinegar + oil combination.

This bread turned out soft fluffy and just right as far as moisture is concerned for me. If you want to have a more moist bread, replace apple cider vinegar + oil mixture with another tbsp of flax seeds + 3 tbsp of water,to be powdered and whisked with water, as has been described earlier.

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Avocado Flax Roti (Indian Flatbread)

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It has been a long while since I posted any kind of roti in this space. In fact I just checked and was surprised to see that the last roti post in this space was in august of last year. Wow, how time flies !! Of course this doesn't mean that I haven't been making rotis for the last six months, only that I haven't been making many new types of rotis, just the ones that have already been posted here :)

 My most favorite way to include avocados in our diet is usually in rotis. I had posted two versions of avocado roti on this site earlier, you can find the posts here and here. This time I combined avocado with methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and also added a good bit of flax seed meal for added nutrition. Loved how this roti turned out, its taste reminded me a little of this methi thepla probably because of the methi and the spices used in this roti. The addition of avocado always makes rotis really soft without any additional fat or oil which is a big plus in my book :) So if you are looking for a way to sneak in some avocados and flax in your diet, this roti may be something you would like, give it a try and let me know what you think :)

 

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Ingredients and Method to make Avocado Flax Roti
2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (atta/godumai maavu)
1/4 cup flax seed meal (powdered flax seeds/ alsi/ ali virai)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (can be substituted with cayenne powder)
salt to taste
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 heaped tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) (soaked in a few spoons of hot water for 10 to 15 mins)
1 ripe avocado (deseed, remove skin and mash) (yielded approx 3/4 mashed avocado)
a little extra flour for dusting
a few drops of oil or clarified butter(ghee/nei) (optional)

Soak dried fenugreek leaves in hot water for 10 to 15 mins.
In a large bowl assemble all the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the fenugreek leaves along with the water it was soaked in and mix into the flour.

Add mashed avocado and mix into the flour. Add water as required and knead to make a soft and non sticky dough. Keep the dough covered and let sit for at least 30 mins.
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Divide the dough into equal lemon sized balls. Using a little flour for dusting, roll the dough into an even circle of desired thickness.
Place a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa on heat. Place rolled out dough on the flat pan and cook until the lower side gets small brown spots. Flip over and cook the other side until it has small brown spots on it.

If you plan to use oil smear a little oil on the top side of the roti while the lower side cooks and flip over and cook the other side. I did not use any oil at all because the avocado makes the roti pretty soft on its own and I don't feel that it needs any additional oil for softness.
Proceed with the rest of the dough in the same manner. Serve hot with any curry of choice.

Refrigerate the balance of the dough if any and use within a few days for freshest taste.
Yielded approximately 12 to 14 rotis (yield will depend on size and thickness of each roti)

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Quinoa and Flax Spice Powder (Chutney powder)

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Quinoa with its numerous health benefits is beginning to appear more frequently in my dishes as I learn new ways to sneak this super healthy grain like seed into our diet. After trying potato curry with quinoa and flax I decided I would love to have quinoa in a chutney powder.

Chutney powders like this spice powder(molaga podi) are an essential part of my pantry. A few drops of sesame oil transforms dry chutney powder to a perfect accompaniment for dosas or idlis (crepes and steamed cakes) and this lasts a long time without refrigeration making it perfect for emergency " I don't know what to make to go with this " days :-)

Despite my wariness about the result of this experiment, this quinoa spice powder turned out very well. Its spicy and slightly nutty taste worked very well when I used it in place of the above mentioned Spice powder(molaga podi) . It was also versatile enough that it can be used to spice up curries, to spicing up sandwiches and can even be mixed with plain yogurt to create a quick healthy dip.




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Ingredients and Method to make Quinoa dry spice powder

1/2 cup quinoa
1/4 cup split black gram lentil (udad dhal)
1/4 cup split chick pea (chana dhal)
1/4 cup flax seed meal
approximately 35 dry red chillies or according to taste (see notes)
salt to taste

Dry roast each of the ingredients separately (quinoa, split black gram lentil, split chick pea lentil) until reddish, remove from heat and keep aside seperately.

Dry roast flax seed meal until aroma from it releases and keep aside.

Dry roast dry red chillies until it starts to turn darker and seems crisp, keep aside.

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When all of the above ingredients are cool, powder them in a spice grinder separately at first until it forms a coarse powder.

Then add everything together and grind to a finer powder.

Add salt and give it another turn in the blender/ grinder until it mixes well.

Cool thoroughly and store in an airtight container. This will keep for a few weeks easily without refrigeration, in case you want to store longer keep it in the refrigerator as flax seeds get rancid quickly.

Use this spice powder to spice your curries, or use in place of molaga podi (spice powder ) with a few drops of sesame oil along with dosai/ idli or add it to your soups or sandwiches to spice them up.

Notes
You can skip the flax seed meal and increase the quantity of either of the lentils instead. In case you skip the flax seed meal you can store this without refrigeration.

The red chillies I have right now are not at all very spicy and so I have to use quite a bit of them to get a little spice. Please adjust the quantity of red chillies according to taste and the level of heat you want from this powder.

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Vegan Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Bar

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The idea of making oatmeal bars has been brewing in my head for a while now but there was always something else that needed to get done. Finally I got around to trying it out for the first time. I have been wanting to experiment using nut butters in my bakes and this oatmeal bar seemed like a good place to start. I decided on almond butter over other nut butters simply because I felt that almond would blend in better. And I have always loved the combination of orange flavor with cranberries so I went with orange flavor rather than vanilla as I initially thought. The verdict, this extremely tasty, chewy and healthy bars have been so well appreciated that I have already made this a few times since the first time I tried it.

 

These bars are an ideal snack for the family,they are quick to make, taste awesome and are great to pack and take along on long drives, picnics or even for a quick breakfast. Packed with the goodness of oatmeal and an extra burst of protein and nutrition from almond butter and cranberries, you just cannot go wrong with these bars.

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Ingredients and Method to make Cranberry Oatmeal Bars

1 cup oat flour (see notes)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries ( I used craisins) (or dark raisins/kismis)

1 tsp aluminum free baking powder (or any other baking powder)

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp orange extract

2 Tbsp flax seed meal ( powdered alsi/ ali virai ) + 6 tbsp water (see notes)
2 Tbsp oil 

Pre heat oven to 375 deg F (approx 190 deg C)

Grease a 9" X 9" pan, or line it with parchment paper and keep aside

In a large bowl, place oat flour + rolled oats + baking powder + dried cranberries or raisins and mix well.

Whisk flax seed meal + water until it is gelatinous and keep aside. 

In another bowl, cream together the almond butter and  sugar until well blended. Add flax "egg" to this and mix well. Add oil and mix again.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and slowly mix to form a dough. 

Add orange extract and mix again.

Spread this mixture evenly in the pre greased tray/ pre lined pan. I put the mixture, then place a small piece of parchment paper and with the help of a spatula, smooth out the mixture a little. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 mins or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool thoroughly before cutting into squares or  rectangles as preferred and store in an air tight container.

Tastes best within 2 to 3 days ( if it lasts that long :-) )

Notes

I processed rolled oats in a spice grinder until I got fine powder (but you can use store bought oat flour too )

Flax seed meal just means powdered flax seed. In India flax seeds are known as Alsi

The baking times will vary depending on the material of the tray and the size of it. If you have spread the mixture very thin it could be ready in 5 to 10 mins too, so do keep that in mind when you are assessing baking times.

If you are looking for Oat Bars / Energy Bar/ Bites recipes, here for a few more

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Bar

Sugar-Free Oat Nut Energy Bites

Muesli bar

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Instant Buckwheat Dosai ~ Savory Indian crepes ~ Kuttu atta dosa

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Ever since I tried this buckwheat upma ,  I have been devising ways to use buckwheat in traditional cooking in my mind. Buckwheat is so healthy that I have been wanting to include it more often in our diet. To learn more about the health benefits of buckwheat, check out this post. Initially I thought I would try to powder buckwheat and see how it works out in dosais. Conveniently before I made the effort, I came across some buckwheat flour in my local grocery and happily purchased it.

The very next day after I purchased the flour, I tried an instant dosai with it and I have to admit I was blown away at how awesome it turned out. The dosai was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, just the way I love it :)  It was obviously quick, cannot get quicker than instant in dosais, and between the buckwheat and the flax it packed in a good bit of nutrition too :)  I've made this a few times since the first time I tried it and have enjoyed it every single time. This last time I made it with some of this potato curry (potato masala curry) and loved the combination. So far buckwheat has been a huge winner in our home, cannot wait to try it in some more traditional Indian recipes :)




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Ingredients and Method to make Buckwheat dosai (savory crepes)

1 cup buckwheat flour (kuttu ka atta)
1/2 cup rice flour (chawal ka atta/ arisi maavu)
1/4 cup flax seed meal (optional, see notes) (powdered alsi/ ali virai)
salt to taste

Seasoning
1 to 2 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 Thai or Indian variety green chili cut fine (or to taste)

a little sesame oil to shallow fry the dosai

In a large bowl mix together buckwheat flour and rice flour well.  Add flax seed meal if using and mix well. Add water a little at a time to make a thick batter of pouring consistency. Buckwheat flour seems to get a slightly gelatinous quality when water is added to it, not too much just a tad bit, but this quality makes it easy when making the dosai / crepe. When in doubt err on the side of a thicker batter, you can always add a little more water later to achieve desired consistency.

Add salt to taste to the batter and mix well. In a small pan, heat oil add cumin seeds, when the seeds sizzle add green chilies. When the green chilies splutter a little pour the entire seasoning on the batter and mix well.

This batter can be used immediately or can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.
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To make the dosai / crepes
Heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa on medium heat. When hot pour a ladle of batter in the center and quickly spread into a circle. Spread very thin for a crispier dosai and a little thicker if you want a soft dosai. Add a few drops of oil around the circumference of the dosai.  When the lower side is golden brown flip over and cook the other side until it has small brown spots.

Remove and serve with chutney of choice or with this potato curry for a little more filling meal or with this spice powder or this sambar or any combination of the above four choices :)

Notes:

The flax seed meal is completely optional, I have made this dosai both with and without the flax seed and it does not impact taste substantially and it is not added for binding in this crepe as well, just for added nutrition. So you can leave it out completely if you wish.  Additionally for this quantity of buckwheat flour you can add anywhere from 2 tbsp to 1/4 cup of flax meal as per choice. 

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Punjabi Kadhi aka Kadhi Pakora made healthier

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Punjabi Kadhi or Kadhi Pakora can simply be described as chickpea dumplings in buttermilk gravy curry. This dish originates from north Indian cuisine. Traditionally these dumplings are deep fried and then added to the gravy. But since we have somewhat of an aversion to deep frying in our home and avoid it whenever possible, I make these pakoras using my aebleskiver pan (appa kaarai). This allows me to use just a couple of drops of oil per ball and gives me the same results. It is a bit slower than deep frying but I feel it is worth it to spend a few extra minutes at the stove rather than working out a few extra hours trying to burn the excess fat from the oil :)



Since I started using my aebleskiver pan, I have started making this dish more frequently and tweak it regularly to make it even healthier. One of my favorite tweaks is to add flax seed meal to the dumplings. Trust me, no one ever guesses that flax has been added to the dumplings, because the nutty flavor of flax blends perfectly with the flavor of chick pea flour. And it becomes an easy way to include some healthy omega in our diet. So if the idea of making this traditional dish with a healthy twist appeals to you, give this one a try. As always I look forward to your feedback on it :)

 

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Ingredients and Method to make Kadhi Pakodi

For the pakora (dumplings)
1/2 cup finely cut onions
3/4 cup chick pea flour (gram flour/ besan)
1/4 cup flax seed meal (powdered flax seeds/ alsi/ ali virai)
2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut very fine
salt to taste
1/4 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
pinch of soda
water as needed
a few drops of oil

For the kadhi (buttermilk gravy)
3 tbsp chick pea flour (gram flour/ besan) mixed with a little water
2 cups plain unflavored yogurt
1 cup water or as required to achieve desired consistency
salt to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala (can be substituted with any other curry powder) (If you want to make your own garam masala here is the link to my recipe )
1/4 tsp cumin powder (jeera pwd)
1/4 tsp coriander powder (dhania pwd)

Seasoning
1 tsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut very fine (or to taste)
pinch of asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam) (optional)

Optional garnish
a few tbsp of finely cut cilantro leaves (coriander leaves)

In a medium sized bowl assemble chick pea flour, flax seed meal, salt, finely cut green chilies, salt to taste (not too much since it will be added to the gravy too) , red chili powder if using and mix well. Add finely cut onions and mix again. Then add water a little at a time and mix into the flour making a thick batter that is of dropping consistency. If you are familiar with bajji batter, this one is of the same consistency. If in doubt err on the side of a thicker batter, it can be corrected more easily if required. Add pinch of soda and mix well.

Heat an aebleskiver pan (appa kaarai) and add a couple of drops of oil in each mold. For a picture of the appa kaarai check out this link. Spoon mixture into each mold, cover with a lid and cook on low to medium low heat until the lower side becomes an even golden color, flip over and cook the other side until it turns golden too. Remove and keep aside, continue with the rest of the batter in the same manner in batches.
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For the gravy
Add water to chick pea flour and mix well making sure there are no lumps formed. Whisk together yogurt and water, then add chick pea flour + water mixture and whisk well again until well mixed. Add all the spices and place on low to medium low heat. When the mixture heats through add the dumplings to the gravy and allow to simmer for a few minutes (I usually simmer for around 3 to 4 minutes). At this point if it thickens too much add a little more water to achieve desired consistency and simmer for another couple of minutes.

In a small pan heat oil, add cumin seeds to it. When cumin seeds begin to sizzle add finely cut green chilies. Stir a couple of times, then add asafoetida powder and stir once or twice. Pour entire seasoning and add to the simmering gravy.

Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro if using and serve hot with plain steamed rice, or rotis/ parathas of choice.

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Whole Wheat Bread Upma with Flax

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Upma is a type of seasoned savory snack/breakfast/tiffin item from south Indian cuisine usually made with semolina and some vegetables. Just like other dishes there are many variations of upma, made with different ingredients. One such variation is bread upma. Bread upma is a great way to use up leftover bread and is one of the simplest and most basic dishes that can be prepared in a jiffy.

There are many variations to bread upma too......... this recipe here, is just my take on this dish. I have been making bread upma in more or less the same manner for quite a while now. The only change is that recently I started adding flax meal to it. I find that flax meal blends surprisingly well in this and is a nice way to sneak in a little extra omega 3 in our diet.......



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Ingredients and Method to make wheat bread upma
Half of a loaf of day old or a little older whole wheat bread broken into small pieces (I used this bread) (see notes)
1 tbsp oil
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
3 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut very fine (or to taste)
1 large onion cut fine
salt to taste (very little, since bread already has some salt in it)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp flax meal (powdered flax seeds/alsi/ ali virai)
1/4 cup or less water (see below)
1/2 tsp red chili powder or cayenne powder (or to taste) (optional)

Make small pieces of half a loaf of day old or 2 day old bread and keep aside

Heat oil in a heavy pan, add mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to splutter, add cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds begin to sizzle add green chilies and stir a few times. Then add onions and saute until the onions turn tranparent.
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Add turmeric powder and the bread pieces and mix well. Add flax meal, salt to taste, red chili powder if using and mix well again. Add a little water if the bread is too dry. Add just one tablespoon at a time and mix well. The upma should not be very moist and mushy, it needs to be just a little moist but mostly dry.

Serve hot with ketchup/ sauce or chutney. Serves approximately 2 to 3 

Notes
Breads like ciabatta / sourdough/ multi grain work great for this upma. Avoid using breads that are sweetish because it doesn't work well in this savory dish.

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South Indian mixture with a healthy twist.

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Mixture is a term commonly used in south Indian cuisine with reference to a mixture made out of a variety of deep fried fritters made of chick pea flour in various shapes. These deep fried fritters are mixed together with fried peanuts, raisins and flavored with salt and spices to make the most delicious and crunchy snack. In the past I had adapted chivda  (a snack from Maharashtra) and given it my own spin with the use of rice krispies. Similarly I have been trying to duplicate the taste of the south Indian mixture using more healthy ingredients and without the frying of course :-) 

I tried it with a variety of ingredients and this has been the closest I have come to the taste of the original mixture. The major difference between my past attempts and this one was that this time both the cereals I used were not very sweet making it easier to blend with this taste, additionally I crushed the cereal slightly which helped a great deal too.The other thing I have noticed is that dry roasting the red chillies and curry leaves and grinding it makes a huge difference to the taste, using red chilli powder does not have the same impact. So if you plan to try this, do try not to skip this one step, trust me it makes a lot of difference to the final taste.So what are you waiting for, go ahead and give this one a try and enjoy it with a nice hot cuppa tea :-)

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Ingredients and Method to make the Healthy south Indian mixture

1 cup golden flax cereal (uncrushed) loosely packed ( I got this at Trader Joe)

3 cups organic corn flakes (uncrushed) loosely packed( I got this at Trader Joe)

3/4 cup dry roasted peanuts

1/2 cup roasted chick peas (pottu kadalai/dalia)

1/2 cup raisin

2 tbsp corn oil (or any other oil)

3 red chillies

6 curry leaves

1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing)

salt to taste

Dry roast red chillies and curry leaves for a few minutes until the chillies start turning darker and the curry leaves look a little dried out. Keep aside to cool.

In a large bowl add the flax cereal and roughly crush it up into smaller pieces. I used the bottom part of a small bowl and used that to press the flax cereal until it broke into little bits.

Keep the flax cereal aside and in the same bowl repeat the process with the corn flakes. Mix together the corn flakes and flax cereal.

Grind the red chillies and the curry leaves in a spice grinder. Add to this, salt and asafoetida and give it a another spin in the spice grinder. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, add peanuts, roasted chick peas and raisins to this and saute for a few seconds.

Add the cereal mixture and the ground spice mixture and mix well.

Cool thoroughly and store in an airtight container.

Notes

In case you want you can use any other plain unflavored cereal which is not sweet in place of the cereal I have used.

Additionally you can add some dry roasted cashew nuts too along with peanuts

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Microwave Chocolate Oatmeal Bar

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In the past when I posted this and this version of oatmeal bar, a lot of readers sent emails mentioning that they were unable to try the recipes because they do not have a conventional oven and requested me to post a microwave version. Finally, a few days ago I got a chance to try a microwave version of oatmeal bar. I referred to this recipe as a guide but tweaked it by reducing the quantity of butter and chocolate, skipping the corn syrup entirely and adding flax to provide some binding and to make it healthier :-)



The verdict......this oatmeal bar was delicious, the slight amount of chocolate really enhanced its taste. I was also impressed with how quickly this oatmeal bar could be made, it took me around fifteen to twenty minutes from start to finish including prep time but without taking the freezing time into account. This makes a very convenient travel or "on the go " snack and is a great way to add some oatmeal in our daily diet :-)

 

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Ingredients and Method to make microwave chocolate oatmeal bar
2 cups 1 minute oatmeal (quick cooking oats)
1 tbsp flax meal (powdered flax seeds/ alsi) + 3 tbsp water
Additional 2 tbsp water
1/2 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter melted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels ( I used 1/4 cup) 
a little extra butter to grease the baking dish.

Grease a 8 inch round glass dish with a little butter and keep aside

In a large bowl mix together sugar and oatmeal.Whisk flax seed meal with water together for a few seconds until it turns gelatinous. Keep this aside.

Melt butter and pour over the oatmeal + sugar mixture and mix well. Pour the flax seed mixture over it as well and mix again. Add additional 2 tbsp water, vanilla extract and mix once more.

Spoon this mixture onto the pre greased dish and press down with the back of the spoon.

Microwave on high in 1 minute increments, rotate the dish every minute (if your microwave plate does not rotate) to ensure even cooking. It took me 4 minutes.
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Remove and spread the chocolate morsels on top of the oatmeal mixture and on 30 percent power cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until the morsels turn shiny. (it took me 2 minutes because I only used 1/4 cup of morsels)

Spread the morsels with a knife and allow this mixture to cool a little. Place the dish in freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cut into rectangle bars or small squares and place in an air tight container. Use within a few days for best freshness. I used this up in one weeks time.

Notes:
Because of varying wattage in each microwave, cooking times will vary in different microwaves. Also if you use a slightly larger or smaller dish, it will also impact the cooking times. So please use the times given in this recipe only as a guide. It may take a little lesser or more time to cook depending on your microwave and your dish.

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