Baked Bhakarwadi

I am always looking for substitutes to frying stuff. As evident from my blog, I bake a lot and I it's really hard to substitute frying with baking when it comes to Indian snacks that can be stored for longer. I tried baking chaklis and they are ok but they are nowhere close to the fried ones. 

The bhakawadi however, turned out amazing!. The combination of the filling and the thin outer layer of dough really held up for a few days and continued to remain crispy too.

Ingredients:
Besan/Chickpea Flour - 1 Cup
All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 Cup
Salt - To Taste
Baking Soda - 1 big pinch
Red Chili Powder - 1 Tsp
Ajwain/Carom Seeds - 1 Tsp
Oil - 2 Tbsp

Stuffing:
Poppy Seeds - 4 Tbsp
Sesame Seeds - 2 Tbsp
Dry Coconut - 1/4 Cup
Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
Green Chilis - 4
Cilantro - a small bunch
Red Chili Powder - 1 Tbsp
Salt - To Taste
Asafetida -A small pinch
Coriander Cumin Porder - 1 Tbsp

Tamarind Paste.

Mix the ingredients for the dough with some water into a soft dough.
Grind the ingredients from Poppy Seeds to Cilantro and then mix the rest in.
Break the dough into 2 and roll into a thin circle. Brush with tamarind paste and sprinkle half the filling and spread thin. Repeat with the other half.
Roll each circle starting from one end into a tight cylinder. Cut into 1 inch pieces and slightly press each piece to ensure the filling does not fall out.

Pre-heat the over to 375. Place the Bhakarwadi onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the Bhakarwadis turn golden and are baked through.

Remove, cool and store.

Mango Overload

Ingredients for Cake:

All Purpose Flour – 1 Cup
Mango Pulp/Puree – ¾ Cup
Baking Soda – A pinch
Baking Powder - 1 Tsp
Salt – A pinch
Sugar – ¼ cup
Oil – 1/3 Cup
Milk – 3 Tbsp

Mix all the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well until you form a smooth batter.

When the mixture is well incorporated, grease a cake pan, and pour the batter into the pan.

Chop the almonds, and top the cake with the chopped nuts.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean. If the cake is not cooked through, the knife will have some batter on it.

Mango Whipped Cream:

Whipped Cream - 1 Cup

Mango Puree - 1/4 Cup

Mix them carefully, folding the mango pulp into the cream. Do not over mix.

When the cake is cooled, cut into squares. Place a square on the plate, top with the mango whipped cream. Top with chopped nuts and place another square of the cake. Top again with the mango cream, the nuts and finally top with some plain whipped cream.

Drizzle some mango pulp for the extra mango burst.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Platter

Here's an elegant and clean meal that is satisfying, filled with protein and delicious. It's perfectly satisfying for the Vegetarians as well as the meat lovers.

It has most of our favorite Mediterranean dishes and dips including:

Hummus

Tzatziki Sauce

Tahini

Falafel Balls

Chicken Kebobs

Fresh Vegetables

Toasted Piza Bread

The recipe for the Kebobs can be found in my previous post. 

These are the fresh vegetables that work best with this recipe:

Cucumbers

Tomatoes

Onions

Lime

Cilantro

Jalapenos

Lettuce

Chop all the veggies, prepare the dips and make the Falafels and the Chicken Kebobs. 

Either of the Kebobs or the Falafels will perfectly work to make this a complete meal, but I was making this for friends, so I ended up making both.

 

Recipe For Sauces:
I added the recipe for the Dips in my previous post as well.

Falafel Balls:
Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans - 1 Cup dry
Onion - 1 small or half big
Jalapeno/Green Chili - 1
Red pepper flakes - 1 tsp
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves
Parsley/Cilantro - A small bunch
Salt - To taste
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 2 tsp

Soak the Chickpeas overnight. All all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the mixture is coarse ground.
Make golf ball sized balls and either fry or bake them.
I love to use the paniyaram pan to make these, since they come out really crispy, just like the fried ones.

Serve with Fresh Vegetables, Toasted Pita and the Sauces.