Eggless Butter cookies

I am sure all of us remember the butter biscuits from the bakery. They are also called egg-biscuits due to the strong eggy flavour and smell. But they are such a melt in the mouth snack, that I would consume large quantities of it in one go. I came across this recipe for the eggless version on Anshruti's blog. Her photography and presentation skills are simply awesome. Please do not compare my version of the cookies to hers :)

I made some changes to the flavour and the oven settings.

Here are the changes I made to the recipe:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup plain flour
2 tbsp cornflour (I used vanilla custard powder)
1/2 cup icing sugar (I pulsed 1 cup of granulated sugar with 2.5 tbsp of cornflour for 30 seconds, and scooped
out 1/2 cup from there)
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp milk (I added only 1.5 tbsp)
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used pineapple extract)

Method:
Sieve the flour and the cornflour together into a bowl.

In another bowl mix in the butter and the sugar with a fork until smooth and creamy.

Put in the flour mixture, vanilla/pineaple extract and mix until smooth and there are no lumps. Add 1/2 tbsp of milk at a time to make the mixture creamy. Stop when you reach the right consistency.

Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade.

Put the entire mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe into swirls on a lightly greased baking tin or a tin lined with baking parchment. Alternatively make small balls, flatten lightly with your palms and bake.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies turn golden brown at the edges. 

Verdict: The cookies turn out with a perfect melt-in-the mouth texture. This one is truly a hit with folks at home. and I see myself  baking this often with variations :).

  

Tomato Rasam

We don't use tamarind in our dishes as much as possible. This started with the requirement
for dad's diet, and I got used to it. After marriage, I realized hubby dear is not used to tamarind
at all and anything too tangy he simply refuses to eat/drink.

So we don't add tamarind for rasam either. The tanginess usually comes from a medium sized tomato.

Mom usually adds dal water and makes it taste so wonderful. I can never replicate mom's sambhar or
rasam even though we use exactly the same ingredients and follow the same procedure in the same kitchen ;).
She is just the best when it comes to south indian dishes.

When we don't make dal, then we go for slight variations with rasam. Sometimes we add a few drops
of lemon juice or puree the tomatoes.

Here is my version of tomato rasam:

Ingredients:

Tomato - 1 large or 2 medium sized

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Water - 3 cups

Tadka (tempering):

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Whole urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Cumin (Jeera) - 1/2 tsp

Red chillies - 2 (broken in half) (optional)

Curry leaves - 6-8

Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

Cut the tomatoes in 4 and add it to 1 cup of water in a pan. Bring to boil and allow for 5 minutes. Allow it to cool. Peel the tomato mash it with hands. Add the spices powder, garlic paste and remaining water and bring to a boil for a few minutes. 

Heat the oil and add the tadka items, when they start to splutter, turn off the flame. Add the tadka to the rasam and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot as soup or eat with rice and papad.

Verdict: This is a sure hit. Make this anytime on a cold day and have it as soup.

French toast

I am really hard pressed for good breakfast options. Hubby dear is not a fan of cereals, upma or any of the rava based tiffin items. I have very few choices - idli/dosa with sambhar (not chutney), paratha/chapati, bread omlette. So when I came across this frech toast recipe on joyofbaking.com, I was overjoyed :).
Mom used to make this for breakfast when we were young, but I had completely forgotten about this option.
There is a lovely video of Stephanie making these toasts on joyofbaking.

Here is the recipe:

3 large eggs

3/4 cup (180 ml) milk or cream (I used milk)

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional) ( I did not add this)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

6 slices of good quality, day old bread (cut into 1/2 inch slices) (1.5 cm)

Butter for frying

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon (if using). Transfer the egg mixture to a large shallow glass or ceramic dish. Dip both sides of each slice of bread into the egg mixture. 

Meanwhile, in a large non-stick frying pan, over medium to medium-high heat, melt about one tablespoon of butter. Fry the slices of bread until golden brown on one side and then turn and fry the other side. If not serving immediately, keep warm in a 250 degree F (130 degree C) oven. Continue frying the other slices of bread, adding more butter as needed.

Serve immediately with a dusting of powdered sugar and pure maple syrup or fresh fruit. Preparation time 10 minutes.

Serves 2-3.

I chose to serve this with maple syrup and fresh bananas and mangoes. 

Verdict: Well it turns out, the toasts though delicious were not that much a hit with hubby dear. He basically is not too fond of bread either :(. Anyway I shall keep trying various options.