GLUTEN-FREE EGGLESS BROWNIES

These rich, fudgy, gluten-free, egg-free and refined sugar-free Ragi (finger millet) brownies are guilt-free indulgent treats. Amazingly delicious and much more fudgy than the classical flour brownies. Experimenting with different ingredients and finding similar results of the traditional recipe could be challenging and chances are of failure in your first attempt, but to my surprise my first attempt was a great success. These are super fudgy and moist that your hand won’t stop at just one. I couldn’t resist myself from eating 4 slices in a row... yes you heard it right, “4 slices”!! Damn, they were simply irresistible, but was quiet complacent of the fact that I was digging into some guilt-free indulgence.

These gooey goodness are made with Ragi flour, also known as finger millet, an ancient grain which is a powerhouse of nutrition. It helps control diabetes, weight loss, reverse skin ageing, and a great source of protein and calcium too. Try these and you won’t go back to your traditional brownies. It’s baking time!

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YIELDS: 16

PREP TIME: 15 minutes

BAKING TIME: 30 minutes

PASSIVE TIME: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup ragi (finger millet) flour

• 1/2 cup oats flour

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, room temperature

• 275g semi sweet chocolate chips

• 150g butter, cut into cubes

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup pecan nuts, chopped

For Frosting:

• 125g semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 3 tbsp sour cream, room temperature

For Sugar Glaze (Optional):

• 1/3 cup confectioners sugar

• 2-3 tsp milk

METHOD

1. Grease and line 8x8” square pan. Preheat oven at 180° C.

2. In a heatproof bowl melt chocolate and butter together over a double boiler until they are just melted, gently combine them with a spatula, and remove bowl from the double boiler.

3. Add sugar to the chocolate mix, combine with spatula, let it cool for 2 minutes. Add Greek yogurt and gently fold to combine well.

4. In a bowl, sieve ragi and oats flour and add half the quantity to the chocolate mix and gently fold them with a spatula. Add rest of the flours and fold to combine well. Add pecan nuts to the brownie batter and mix.

5. Now pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake it for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool in pan completely, transfer on a tray or chopping board, upside down.

To Make Frosting:

1. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a double boiler, as it melts remove from double boiler and add sour cream; mix gently with the help of a spatula until it’s well combined and glossy.

2. Let it cool down, about 5 minutes.

3. Pour over the brownie block and spread it with offset spatula. Let the frosting set for an hour and cut it into 16 squares and serve.

To Make Glaze:

1. To glaze the brownies, mix together confectioners sugar and milk and make like a stream dropping consistency, drizzle over the set frosted brownies.

COOK'S NOTES:

• Check if your oat flour is gluten free if you're intolerant as they can often be contaminated in factories (though oat flour is gluten free).

#vegetarian #brownies #eggless #baking #fudgy #dessert #sweet #bakes #glutenfree

RAGI OATS BANANA BREAD

I'm sharing my newly developed recipe of Ragi, Oats and Banana bread, which I made few days ago sparked me to jump out of my bed as I was excited to share this very successful healthy, delicious, gluten free recipe with you all! As promised, I am testing all those new recipes for those of you who are allergic to gluten and also for those who wants to eat just healthy all the way long.

Ragi is a powerhouse grain which is a source of packed full of nutrients. Try out this amazing recipe below!

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SERVES: 4

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

BAKING TIME: 30-35 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 50-55 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup ragi powder

• 1 cup almond powder

• ½ cup oats flour

• 2 bananas

• 2 eggs

• 1/3 cup demerara sugar

• ½ cup cooking oil (sunflower)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ cup pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted

• 2 tbsp golden raisins

METHOD

1. Preheat oven at 180˚ C. Grease 23”/ 4” loaf pan, sprinkle a tbsp of ragi in pan, coat all sides and dust off excess ragi powder.

2. Mash bananas with the back of fork, add eggs and lightly whisk with fork, add sugar and oil and mix well with the help of spatula.

3. In a separate bowl, sift ragi powder, almond powder, oats flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, in two batches add it to the egg banana mix and fold in with the help of spatula to combine and make the batter.

4. Reserve 1 tbsp of pumpkin seeds and add the rest to the batter along with raisins; mix them gently in the batter.

5. Now pour batter in prepared pan, sprinkle reserved pumpkin seeds on top and bake it in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the skewer inserted in the bread comes out clean.

COOK'S NOTES:

• Check if your oat flour is gluten free if you're intolerant as they can often be contaminated in factories (though oat flour is gluten free).

#vegetarian #bread #glutenfree #baked #baking #healthy #ragi #oats

PUNJABI PAKORA KARDHI

Thought of treating you guys with this golden glory, ‘Punjabi Pakora Kardhi’. Made it yesterday for my daughter, as it’s her favourite dish. I still can’t forget the day when she was just 5, she came back home from school and had 3 plates of Kardhi and chawal (rice) and was still asking for more! Her dire love for this dish has become a memorandum in the family, and I hope you can make similar memories with this dish for yourself!

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SERVES: 6

PREP TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 45 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

For Kardhi:

• 1 ½ litre Laban/Buttermilk

• ¾ cup Besan (Gram Flour)

• 4 cups Water

• 2 tsp Salt

• 1 ½ tsp Turmeric

For Tempering:

• 1 tsp Coriander Seeds

• ½ tsp Methi (fenugreek) seeds

• 4-5 Whole Red Chillies

• 2 tsp Coriander Powder

• ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder

• 2 Green Chillies

• 1 large Onion, chopped

• 4 cloves Garlic

• 1” piece Ginger, chopped

• ½ tsp Garam Masala

• 1 tsp Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek)

• 1 tsp Green coriander, chopped (to garnish)

• ½ tsp Salt

• 3 tbsp Oil

For Pakoras:

• 1 medium Onion, chopped finely

• 1 small Potato, chopped finely

• 1 Green Chilli, chopped

• ¾ cup Besan (Gram Flour)

• 1 tsp Coriander seeds (hand crushed)

• ½ tsp Pomegranate seeds (anar dana)

• 1 tsp Ginger, finely chopped

• 1 tsp Salt

• ¼ tsp Red Chilli Powder

• ½ tsp Ajwain (Carom Seed)

• 1 tsp Coriander Powder

• ¼ tsp Garam Masala

• ½ cup (approx.) Laban

• ½ cup (approx.) Water

• 1 ½ cup Oil (for frying)

• 1 tbsp Chopped Coriander leaves

METHOD

To Make Kardhi:

1. In a large deep cooking pot, pour laban, add besan, 2 tsp salt and turmeric.

2. With a wire whisker, whisk them together and make lump free batter; add water and mix well.

3. Simmer on a low flame for 25-30 minutes, stirring frequently.

To Make Pakoras:

1. In a bowl sift besan, add onions, potatoes and all the other dry pakora ingredients, pour water and laban, mix well to make soft batter. Leave to rest for 15 mins.

2. Heat oil in a pan on medium high flame, pour the batter in small dollops (approx. 1 tbsp each).

3. Deep fry pakoras until golden brown on both sides. Drain on absorbent paper.

To Make Tempering:

1. Crush garlic, ginger and green chillies with ½ tsp salt in mortar and pestle and make paste.

2. Heat oil in a fry pan over medium-low heat, add coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and whole red chillies, sauté for few seconds, add garlic, ginger and green chilli paste, stir for a few seconds, add onions, raise heat and fry them until golden brown.

3. Add coriander powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and salt, sauté for few seconds and add it to the simmering kardhi.

4. Add pakoras in the kardhi. Cook it further for another 5-7 minutes at low heat, taste and add salt if required.

5. Rub kasuri methi in your palms, add it to the kardhi and stir to mix.

6. Garnish with garam masala and coriander. Serve hot with steamed rice.

COOK'S NOTES:

• You can also use 2 cups of sour plain yogurt instead of laban or buttermilk. To get the right tartness in kardhi, use 2 days old yogurt.

#vegetarian #indianfood #northindianfood #punjabifood #meals #mains #glutenfree #kardhi #kadhi