jaggery coated almonds | easy to make natural unprocessed snack

Caramel coated and chocolate coated nuts you must have eaten a lot and must have exchanged as gifts too. Jaggery coated almonds are a better way to consume sweetened nuts without the emulsifiers and preservatives in the industrially produced coated nuts.

Come winter and North India starts stocking up nuts although it is much more sensible to keep eating nuts throughout the year. But there is a tradition of making panjeeris and laddus using an assortment of nuts in all North Indian families, some spices and edible gum etc is added to prepare oneself for the colder climes that we pretend to enjoy a lot.

In fact our winters are just a respite from the dreaded sultry summer that seems to drain all energy from us. Mangoes are the only solace. And then we enjoy our winters with rich foods of all sorts.

I made these jaggery coated almonds for another reason. I added a few spices to the jaggery syrup to help my frequent headaches and I am glad it is proving good. Long back a friend of mine had suggested a panjeeri made of almonds, poppy seeds and pepper corns when she came to know about my migraine. I remember I was breastfeeding Mithi during that time and used to be hungry all the time. I just started taking a few raw almonds, a spoonful of poppy seeds and a few peppercorns and chewing them all together for a while. Making a panjeeri felt too much work but when this mix helped my migraine I started stocking up this panjeeri and religiously had a spoonful everyday with milk.

But then life kept throwing other challenges and I forgot doing all of that, so much so that I couldn't even remember this magical almond panjeeri that had helped me some 15 years ago. Recently I asked friends on my facebook wall about migraine cures and one of those suggestions was about a panjeeri. It took me back in time and brought back my old panjeeri recipe.

I add a bit of nutmeg too to the panjeeri whose recipe is simple. Raw almonds, poppy seeds, black peppercorns and nutmeg are powdered together in mixie and kept in airtight jars. I make about 200 gm at a time and keep refreshing the stock as it takes just about 5 minutes to make it. If you want the recipe of this panjeeri you can ask in comments, I will update the exact recipe here.

This time when I made these jaggery coated almonds I thought of using some of the pajeeri ingredients so this snack helps me with the bigger issue too. The good news is that it has been working fine. But this snack is for everyone and can be made without these spices too.

ingredients 
(enough to last a month for a family of 2 if they eat sensibly)

250 gm raw almonds
150 gm jaggery
50 gm poppy seeds
5 gm (2 level tsp) ginger powder, you can add more
dash or nutmeg powder
dash of clove powder
pinch of salt

procedure 

Dry roast the almonds on very low heat for about 10 minutes. Cool.
You can roast for longer if you like very crunchy roasted almonds.

Chop the jaggery using a sturdy knife. I use my cleaver for this sweet job :-)

Transfer the chopped jaggery to a deep pan (kadhai) and add just 2 tbsp water to wet the jaggery so it starts melting.

Now place the pan over stove and start stirring it once in a while. The jaggery melts and starts simmering. After about 5 minutes the jaggery mix will start bubbling and then frothing.
The syrup is ready.
To test the readiness of syrup you can drop a small droplet in chilled water and check it. The droplet should get solid immediately. Take off the stove.

Now add all the spices and poppy seeds in the jaggery and mix vigorously. Add the almonds too and stir to coat them all. Keep stirring till the mix looks dry and all almonds are coated. It takes just a couple of minutes.

You may get some loose dry jaggery mix at the bottom of the pan but that is okay. It will be like a spiced sugar you can add to your cereal.

This is an addictive snack trust me. Be warned and be prepared for people stealing it from the jar. Keep it safe if you don't want kids getting loosies after eating too much almonds and adults refusing to have dinner after handfuls of jaggery coated almonds for evening snack.

Ration it. All good things are rationed in life. Jaggery coated almonds are precious.

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101 alternative flours : gluten free cookies with a scent of Christmas | water chestnut flour cookies with ginger and cloves

Cookies baked with water chestnut flour is not a usual recipe but this is not the first cookie recipe with water chestnut flour that I have done. I have been working on gluten free recipes for a long time and have worked with many alternative flours to bake cookies, granola bars and even cakes and muffins. Although gluten is not a monster for everyone, not at all to be frightened with especially in the festive season, but one needs to restrict gluten intake at all times for very valid reasons. One of the reasons is that you get to eat many more ingredients having a wider range of nutrients for the body. So start experimenting with water chestnut flour for baking cookies now. You would be pleased with the results trust me. These cookies are very crisp and crunchy, the texture would make you forget maida (white flour) cookies forever. You would wonder why you have been eating the crap till now.

Christmas season is for warm flavours, more nuts and more small nibbles if you ask me. I always need some of the other warm drink whether it is Kahva, Ginger ale, green tea infused with lemongrass or kumquats or peaches, or the good old hot chocolate during these months. Having something to nibble with such hot or warm drinks adds to the winter comfort and what else would be better than spiced cakes or cookies. While the Ginger Honey Ragi cake is my favourite, I bake a few ginger cookies, Sesame-Ginger-Honey bars and Ginger-Jaggery Energy bars too in this season. I find these flavours so rich and satiating that you don't feel like eating a lot. Just like a good quality dark chocolate that satiates in just one small bite, such warm spiced cookies and cakes satiate in small bites and make a great accompaniment to winter drinks.

I baked these ginger and cloves flavoured cookies with water chestnut flour for gifting and wanted to make them prettier but I had very restricted time and had to bake a larger quantity so I decided to bake a sheet of cookie dough and then cut it in squares for the ease and for the purpose of time management. I think it looks alright. But you can always cut the rolled cookie dough using a cookie cutter of a desired shape and bake as you like.

I am sharing the way I bake my quick square cut cookies, patting the dough into a sheet using a trick to make it smooth, baking it till done and then cut it in squares or rectangles and then let the cookies cool down and get crisp. I am sure you would feel lazy to cut your cookies using cookie cutters after seeing this quick method. No I am not trying to make you lazy ;-)

ingredients
(48 regular sized cookies)

water chestnut flour (singhade ka atta) 450 gm
ghee 220 gm
milk 30 ml
natural brown sugar ( I used raw shakkar) 200 gm
fresh ginger root minced 2 tbsp (30 gm)
dry ginger powder 1.5 tsp
clove powder 1/4 tsp
mixed seeds ( I used melon seeds and sunflower seeds) 40 gm
chopped almonds 30 gm

procedure...

I pulsed everything (except the chopped almonds) in my food processor to mix well and make a dough that looks lumpy. Since it is winters the ghee is solid and doesn't need refrigeration before using, but if you are making this cookie is summer months you will need to get the ghee solidified by refrigerating it for an hour or so.

If not using a food processor, you can rub everything together to make a homogeneous mass that looks like a tough dough that binds well if compressed in fist.


Now line a baking tray (size 10"X 11" ) with silpat and spread this dough evenly over it. Press it down to make a smooth compressed sheet. I have never used parchment paper to like the baking sheet for such cookies but you can try doing that and peel off the parchment paper as soon as the cookie dough is half baked, invert on a large wooden chopping board and peel off careful not to break it and then bake again till done.
Preheat the oven at 250 C.

I normally hammer it down with the help of a small rectangular wooden chopping board that I have. The idea is to compress the sheet of dough to make equal thickness throughout.

See the picture below to get an idea what kind of a wooden block I use to hammer the cookie sheet.

Bake the contents of the tray at 150 C for an hour.

Take out, invert the tray on a large wooden chopping board or work surface and make suitably sized squares or rectangles of cookies or bars. Cut the squares while the baked cookie sheet is still warm as it will get hard and crumbly once cold.

Let it cool and store in airtight container. These cookies stay well for a couple of months if stored well. The cookies taste great with warm milk, spiced hot chocolate, warm ginger ale or green teas.

And I am hopeful that you wouldn't think about baking maida cookies once you taste this Water-chestnut flour cookie and the other alternative flour cookies and bars that you must try. Please let me know if you bake these.

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why not to use artificial sweeteners? A recipe of parippu pradhaman muffins using unrefined sugar for Indian soul

I know sugary food is often called soul food, it quenches a different kind of thirst, calms down the nerves etc etc. To me that happens only when the sugary treat is home made. Else it just keeps corrupting insulin response and the soul connection is a farce, absolute absurdity. I don't say I don't ever eat ice creams or jalebis but I don't feel a soul connection, rather a generous mouthful makes me feel sick from inside. We eat things for social occasions sometimes, to eat for satiety one needs to work a little extra. Bake some dessert of your own when you really want it and use unrefined sugars or other natural sweeteners.

I see people all around me using artificial sweeteners into their tea, coffee, cakes and pancakes almost everyday. I wouldn't go into details of why artificial sweeteners are bad for the system but it will be good to know that all artificial sweeteners are addictive and have much harmful effects than real sugar. So if you are not diabetic (or if the diabetes is under control, going by your hbA1 readings) and are just trying to keep your weight under control, it is better to have very lightly sweetened beverages and other eatables using real sugar or raw sugar or jaggery rather than depending on artificial sweeteners. You must know even diet soda is addictive for the same reasons.

Having said that, I must add that if you are craving sweets as a habit, it means your insulin has started taking your 'hormone cascade' hostage or has already done it. And mind it, this can be the case even if you are not diabetic. Corrupt insulin discipline in the body doesn't always mean onset if diabetes. It could lead to insulin resistance or hypothyroidism or in a habit of binging and storage of fat in your body, even if you have been eating low fat foods and low cholesterol or 'cholesterol free' foods.

The question I am often asked is, what to eat? I ask, is sugar the only food and sweetness the only taste that makes sense? Why not some zing in the life? Sweetness in the excessive measure corrupts the taste buds and makes your body crave for it more, causing serious imbalances as I mentioned above.

Craving for sweets and cakes is a bad sign, get rid of it.

And if you want to wean yourself from too many sweeteners or you want to bake an occasional treat for a diabetic person in the family, why not bake using natural sweeteners?

 There are a few natural sweeteners and unrefined sugars I use frequently and never feel like adding sugar to my cakes or pancakes or cookies. Yes jaggery and honey are good natural sweeteners but these two need to be used in small quantities to make mildly sweetened dessrts. 

Other great natural sweeteners are ripe bananas, date paste, figs paste, chopped or pureed prunes, apple sauce, sapota puree, raisins and currants, sweet apricot puree, roasted peach puree and mango puree. One can add these to the recipe for baking cakes or cookies and drizzle them with very little honey or home made fruit preserves and the food will be naturally great tasting. The sweetness will be more complex and satisfying and the GI value of the food will be lower, helping your system not to fall prey to craving.

And now coming back to the recipe which is sweetened with unrefined sugar and can be lower GI than a 'white flour artificial sweetener' cake or muffin. Calorie count will be a bit high but being low GI this small muffin would keep you full for quite a long time.

This is my baked rendition of a famous Onam recipe from Kerala called Parippu Pradhaman. Yes, we can bake the traditional puddings that we have grown up loving. Parippu Pradhaman is traditionally a low GI, gluten free desserts but baking makes the recipe convenient for those who are away from home and traditional cooking is not as convenient. This recipe takes 25 minutes to prepare including 20 minutes of baking time. Just 5 minutes to assemble and mix the ingredients. Believe me.

ingredients

(6 muffins)

mung bean flour or chickpeas flour 2/3 cup

powdered jaggery or unsulphured sugar 1/3 cup

coconut milk 150 ml or 2/3 cup

dehydrated coconut chips 1/2 cup

chopped cashew nuts 2 tbsp

preparation

Dry roast the mung bean flour for about 5 minutes. If you don't have mung bean flour you can powder yellow mung dal into a sturdy grinder and proceed. Else us chickpeas flour (besan) but that would compromise the taste.

Mix everything together, saving a few chopped cashews for garnish and make a thick batter.

Pour equal amount of batter in 6 ramekins or lined muffin tray. Sprinkle chopped cashew over these and bake in preheated oven at 200C for 20 minutes.

Serve plain or drizzled with coconut milk. The aroma in the kitchen will just be like you were cooking the traditional parippu pradhaman. Always serve warm although it tastes good even when at room temperature.

You can see this recipe doesn't need anything that needs too much work. Fresh coconut can be used and would result in a better taste but using dehydrated tender coconut chips is not bad.

The chopped cashew nuts get browned and taste really good with the dry version of parippu pradhaman.

I have posted a baked version of traditional north Indian besan ki pinni where I use baking as a convenience procedure, the taste of the traditional pinni is not compromised.

Another baked version of a traditional Indian (north) dessert is baked sevaiyyan that is my effort to make Eed ki sevaiyyan more convenient for the modern kitchen..

Many Indian mithais can be converted into baked version for the ease of cooking as well as to control the amount of cooking fat and the sweeteners used. I even use Microwave oven to make an instant apple kalakand.

Hope you like this baked parippu pradhaman (muffin) as much as I liked them.

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101 alternative flours: ragi or finger millet waffles with jaggery and ginger syrup

Cooking or baking with alternative flours is a bit tricky most of the times. The millet flours, the nut flours and the pseudo grains all behave differently when mixed with liquids or when cooked. One has to know them well before working on complex recipes but making simple flat breads, pancakes is easier. If you are one of those people who are scared of using millet flours, use them for rotis and other flat breads to start understanding these flours and then make pancakes to know how they would rise when combined with leavening agents. Most of them behave alright.

Ragi is also called Mandua in the hills as well as central plains of India. In Maharashtra it is called Nachni but the English name is Finger millet and most people would be able to find this flour in health food stores of those who stock organic flours.

I made waffles with ragi flour some time ago and have repeated it a few time already. Ragi flour does not make a good batter that can rise much, but addition of eggs or plain buttermilk solves the problem
and it cooks just like any other pancake or waffle. Gluten free waffles are so easy to do.

If you don't have a waffle iron I recommend you make a pancake and let the pancake get crisp on the surface. Ragi flour is dark in colour so you wont see the colour of the surface changing mush but you would get the idea as soon as the pancake or waffle starts leaving the cooking surface. Knock it using a knife and you would feel a thud that indicates the waffle or pancake is crisp on the surface.

ingredients
(for 3 waffles)

ragi (finger millet flour) flour 1 cup
3 eggs separated
whole milk 1/2 cup
grated jaggery or raw sugar 1/4 cup
dry ginger powder 1 tsp
butter 2 tbsp
baking powder 1/4 tsp
baking soda 1/4 ts

for the syrup

dry ginger powder 1 tsp
grated fresh ginger root 2 tsp (optional)
grated jaggery or raw sugar 1/4 cup
water 1/4 cup
pinch of nutmeg powder

procedure

Make the syrup first. Simmer everything mixed together till you get the syrup consistency that can be poured or drizzled easily over the waffle. It takes about 10 minutes on low flame.

Add nutmeg and mix, pour in a small milk pot with beak.

Mix the flour with the baking soda and baking powder, sieve the flour mix so it gets mixed nicely.

Now whip the egg yolks, milk, butter and grated jaggery together. Add the flour mix slowly using a sieve and keep whipping. Add a little more milk if required to get a thick batter.

Now whip the egg whites (placed in an absolutely dry bowl, using dry whipping blades) till soft peaks. Fold into the batter with gentle strokes and make the waffles immediately.

To make the waffles, pour 1/3rd of the batter over preheated and greased waffle iron and cover with the lid. Bake till the cover comes out clean and the surface is crisp. Repeat to make the other 2 waffles as well. Serve hot.

You can serve this waffle cut into quarters or whole, drizzled with the jaggery and ginger syrup. Some clotted or whipped cream on the side will be great if you don't have reservations.

Waffles can be served like desserts in small servings, with whipped cream and fruit preserves to garnish.

Let me know if you try this ragi waffles with jaggery and ginger syrup. Of course you can make pancakes too as I mentioned. Keep using more millets in your everyday food.

Note: if you want to make egg less ragi waffles, make the batter using buttermilk and whip the wet mix with a little flax meal (1 tbsp) slurry. The results will be good.

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