Eggless Tutti Frooti Panettone | DB December 2011

Absolutely loved this Challenge!! I have always wanted to make Panettone but was put off by the idea of so many eggs in the dough. But the fact that the Daring Bakers decided to make this lovely holiday bread encouraged me to think of ways of making an eggless version of the same. Just back for a a long vacation I set to work on the recipe and find ways of eliminating eggs from the recipe. After several permutations I managed to replace the eggs with either milk or a mix of water and flax meal. But then I realised that this bread uses a lot of butter too. I decided reduce the butter by half in the recipe, and then replacing half of that with oil.

Rava Laddoo | Rava Laddu | Suji Laddoo: Indian Festival Sweets

Oftentimes we are in a great hurry and find it difficult to spend time in the kitchen laboriously making sweets. This is all too true during the festival period when there are so many activities at home and events elsewhere that attract our attention. Yet the thought of store bought mithai is so depressing, especially to many of us who have homes on other continents! All sweets tend to taste the same - full of sugar and no flavour of their own, so much so that it becomes impossible to distinguish one from the other!!

Kaju Pista Modak | Cashew Pistachio Modak (Sugar Free)

This morning I made Modaks for Ganesh Chaturthi. The last time I made these beauties, I had tried them with the traditional jaggery and coconut filling. This time I wanted to make something different. These modaks are sugar free, as they are made only with dried fruits and nuts, NO ADDED SUGAR!! They came out incredible well and the filling was mellow but delicious.

You may notice that some of the modaks are a deep brown. That's because that are made with a ragi flour covering! Both kinds turned out really well. I will post the Ragi Flour recipe shortly.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour
1 tbsp ghee
Warm water as needed

For Filling:
1/4 cup raw pistachios
1/4 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup golden raisins
1 tbsp ghee

Method:

1. Sift the rice flour into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the ghee, and rub into the flour.
3. Now pour the warm water, just a little at a time.
4. Using a wooden spoon bring together the flour and water.
5. Allow this mix to sit for 10 minutes, then using your hands, turn it into a soft but pliable dough.
6. If needed at this stage sprinkle a little extra rice flour or water on the dough to get the correct consistency.
7. Dry roast the pistachios and cashews, the grind them into a fine powder.
8. Pour the ghee into a pan, heat, then add the raisins. Fry on a low heat. The raising will puff up and become soft. Remove from the heat immediately, cool completely.
9. Give the raisins one spin in the food processor.
10. Combine them and any ghee remaining from the frying process to the nut powder.
11. To put the modaks together, divide the flour into 10 balls of equal size.
12. With a little ghee on the palms of your hands, pat one ball flat. Place a level tablespoonful of the fruit and nut mixture in the centre, then bring together the edges. Form a circle. 
13. Place this on a greased steaming tray. Repeat for remaining dough and filling.
14. Steam for 15-17 minutes. Remove and enjoy warm.

Vegan Substitute: Replace the ghee in this recipe with canola or raw sesame oil.

Like this recipe. Tried it. Leave me a comment:) 

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Delicious Apple Pecan Crumble

Its apple season here, and we getting a wonderful variety of local apples at the many orchards that dot the countryside. While some orchards have a pick your own policy, some do all the hard work for you and you can just walk into the barn and get a 5lb bag of you favourite fruit or even a bushel if you fancy!! 

Besan Laddoos & Sabudana Khichiri

Besan Laddoos make a beautiful and tasty naivedyam. Its also one sweet that stays well and stores well too. This year I decided to make besan laddoos for Ganesh Chaturthi. This is a really tasty recipe - and makes a delicious festival food.