Khara Biscuit Recipe / Masala Biscuits - Savory Cookies

I love Bangalore Iyengar Bakery’s Khara buns & Khara biscuits more than Benne biscuits.But I usually bake benne biscuits/Nankhatai as its my family’s favorite.This morning I tried savory biscuits/Masala biscuits for the first time by referring this recipe.Actual recipe called for using butter or Vegetable shortening.In bakeries,they use vanaspati/Dalda.But I halved the recipe & used cooking oil(refined oil) to cut down the calories.I was really skeptical about the result.But good biscuits came out very well with melt in mouth texture & crispiness.I was so happy about this bake and enjoyed it with my tea.Friends,do try this bakery style Masala biscuits/Khara biscuits and enjoy your tea time ! Color of this biscuit may vary slightly based on the time of baking and quantity of spices used.But the taste would be gr888 !

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Iyengar Bakery Bread Toast - Bangalore Style Masala Vegetable Sandwich Recipe

 Iyengar Bakery’s masala vegetable bread toast also known as open sandwich is very popular in Bangalore. I have tasted this many times but never thought of sharing this simple and easy bread recipe here.You can call this as “Indian Bruschetta”, hehe. Yesterday I bought a pair of toast from the bakery and relished it with tea. I got tempted to make it at home. This morning I made it for Raksha and Sendhil’s lunch box. Yes, this sandwich tastes good even if it cools down. The spicy vegetable masala used here is a very simple one with onion,tomato and grated carrot. So no kid would say NO to this combo. I have made it as an open sandwich. You can even grill this sandwich recipe.I am sure it would taste great in all the ways. Last year I shared Iyengar bakery style benne biscuit recipe which is super hit in my blog. I am happy to share yet another Iyengar Bakery style recipe in my blog. I have made this sandwich with milk bread.You can also replace it with whole wheat bread.I hope you will try this recipe and like it. Lets see how to prepare this yummy and easy bread sandwich recipe.

Iyengar Bakery Bread Toast Recipe

Masala vegetable toast - Iyengar Bakery Style Recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Snacks

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Bread slices - 5 no Carrot - 1 big Big onions - 2 nos Tomato - 1 no Green chilli – 1 no Capsicum - 2 tbsp ( chopped) Curry leaves - few Grated cabbage - a fistful ( optional) Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp Cumin powder – 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Tomato ketchup / sauce - 1 tbsp Salt - as needed Cooking oil - 2 tbsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Ghee or oil - to toast the bread

HOW TO MAKE IYENGAR BAKERY MASALA TOAST - METHOD

Wash and grate the carrot using a grater.Slice the onions and chop the tomatoes. Chop & slit the green chilli. Set aside. Heat oil in a kadai, splutter cumin seeds and saute the onions,green chillies, capsicum, curry leaves, grated carrot together. Lastly add the tomato pieces and mix well till it starts to turn mushy. Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, tomato sauce and mix well. Heat a dosa pan and toast the bread slices by adding oil or ghee. Apply the masala on one side.Serve hot ! Enjoy !

Note

Adding grated cabbage is optional. If you don’t want to add onions, you can use cabbage in place of it. I used more carrot for my daughter’s sake. But in Iyengar bakery original recipe,they had used more onions than carrot. So change the quantity of ingredient as per your liking. You can replace garam masala powder by chat masala powder.

Enjoy this easy sandwich for your tea time !

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Eggless Rose Cookies/Achu Murukku Recipe - Kerala Achappam Without Egg

As far as I know achu murukku/rosette cookies/rose cookies is very popular in Kerala and is called as achappam in Malayalam. Recently when I was browsing for some Christmas special recipes, I found achu murukku without egg is made for Christmas by people in and around Nagercoil. And this is my most favourite snack too. I just love its mild sweetness with flavour of coconut milk.

Whenever my neighbour Mrs. Prema visits her native place in Kerala, I tell her to buy a packet of achappam and coconut oil halwa especially for me. As a big fan of this achappam, I wanted to try them in my kitchen for long time and bought achu murukku mould from Salem, Tamil nadu long back. I tried once some months ago but I couldn’t make it properly. 

Yesterday I tried it again after referring this and this recipe. I made some slight changes in ingredients as per my convenience and taste. To my surprise, it came out really well and I was so happy and proud that I could make it well without eggs.

To make a perfect eggless rose cookies, the consistency of batter and heating point of oil is more important. I have explained them in Method section below. Also go through my notes before you start if you are a beginner. Ok, Lets see how to make this eggless rose cookies/Achu murukku/Kerala achappam without egg at home easily.

Eggless achu murukku recipe/Rose cookies recipe

Eggless achu murukku recipe/Rose cookies recipe for Christmas Celebration.

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: 15 nos

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 5 Minutes

Total time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Raw rice flour - 1/2 cup Maida - 2 tbsp Powdered sugar - 3 tbsp ( use 1/4 cup for more sweetness) Salt - a pinch Cardamom - 2 nos Water + Coconut milk - 1/2 cup +1/4 cup ( 1-2 tbsp more of water)

HOW TO MAKE ACHAPPAM - METHOD

Powder 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 cardamom seeds together. Measure 1/4 cup from it and set aside. In a deep bowl, sieve the maida, rice flour, salt and sugar powder. Mix water + coconut milk and add it to the sieved ingredients. The consistency of batter should be slightly thinner than dosa batter. Add little more water to adjust the consistency if needed. Heat oil in a kadai and dip the mould in oil till use. The mould should be hot. Add a pinch of batter to check the heat of oil and as soon as it rises, keep the flame completely low and dip 3/4th of the mould in the batter. When you dip the mould in batter,u should get a ssshhh sound. Immediately keep the mould in oil. Do not touch the mould till bottom of kadai as it may stick. As soon as you keep the mould inside the oil, it will become foamy and the batter starts to cook. Leave it for 30 seconds in very low flame. Do not wait for the murukku to half cook because you may not be able to release it. You can shake the mould and release the murukku OR hold the mould in one hand and release the corners of murukku from the mould using a knife in other hand. You need to do this way for 3 to 4 murukku. After that Murukku will release in oil and gets cooked. Cook for 30 seconds and flip the murukku. Again cook for 30 seconds till bubbles cease n murukku turns golden brown lightly. Murukku will be soft while you remove but it turns crispy and hard as it cools down. Remove in a tissue paper and drain the oil. Store in an air tight box after it cools down. Again keep the mould in hot oil and increase the flame. Keep it for few seconds and dip in batter. Reduce the flame and cook it as mentioned above. Repeat the same process. Remember to cook in low flame to get nice color. Also increase the flame as soon as you remove the murukku from the flame. By doing this way, you can adjust the heating level and murukku cooks uniformly. I would like to mention one more point here..i.e the top portion takes more time than the bottom. So cook the top portion for more time, 45 seconds and then flip, cook the other side.  It stays good for weeks but I bet the box would be empty before that.

Note

Adding the correct quantity of water/coconut milk is more important to make perfect achu murukku. If you add less water,batter will be thick and rose cookies will be hard n chewy. If you add more water, batter will become thin and it won’t coat properly in the mould. So the consistency of batter is much more important. The heating point of oil is also more important. If it is too hot, color of achu murukku turns dark brown. So you should cook in low flame at perfect heating point. Some recipes have suggested to shake the mould after dropping in oil to release the murukku. But I felt the shape of murukku gets changed while shaking the mould. So I followed knife method. The batter won’t coat the mould if the mould is not hot. So don’t forget to heat the mould every time before dipping in batter.

Do try these yummy eggless rose cookies for this Christmas and have a great celebration !!

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BENNE BISCUIT RECIPE - KARNATAKA IYENGAR BAKERY STYLE BISCUITS

Nankhatai( Indian butter cookies) is called by different names in different languages. In Tamil nadu, we call it as”shrewsbury biscuit”. In Karnataka, it is called as “Benne biscuit”. But whatever be the name its a very popular biscuit all over India which you can find in all the bakeries. Here in Bangalore, Iyengar bakery is very famous for Benne biscuit, Khara biscuit, open sandwich, khara bun and many more.

 Though Iam in Bangalore for more than 10 years, I had tasted these bakery stuffs only a few times. But every time when I come across Iyengar bakery style recipes in my fellow bloggers blog, I feel like trying them immediately but somehow I didn’t. Yesterday I was tempted very badly by seeing this recipe. The comments & feed backs from the readers made me try the recipe immediately. Actually it was titled as Benne biscuit(butter cookies) but ghee was used in the recipe. I doubted & browsed through so many benne biscuit recipes and most of them had ghee or oil. And finally I got the explanation for its name from here.  

As this biscuit has a smooth & melt in mouth texture like butter, it is called Benne biscuit & not that its made of butter (Benne means butter in Kannada). Of course in bakeries they do use dalda or vegetable shortening. So without researching further, I just tried it. In the next 20 minutes, biscuits were ready in my hand & Yes, it was a big hit in my home & among my Kannadiga friends too. But my friends told cardamom is optional to use otherwise it is perfect ! My in-laws and myself loved it very much. I had already posted Multi grain Nankhatai recipe with oats,ragi & wheat flour using oil. But this recipe uses ghee. How come it tastes bad when you add so much of ghee??. Even Beginners in baking can dare to try this recipe. U will get the perfect result , Iam sure..

Ok, lets see how to make this iyengar bakery style eggless benne biscuit/Nankhatai at home easily.

Benne biscuit/Nankhatai recipe

Easy,bakery style nankhatai recipe for tea time!

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Baking

Serves: 10 

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 12 Minutes

Total time: 22 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Homemade ghee - 3.5 tbsp ( use 4 tbsp max)  Maida/All purpose flour - 1/2cup Powdered sugar – 1/4 cup Crushed cardamom + clove – 2 + 1 no (optional) Baking powder - 1/4 tsp

HOW TO MAKE BENNE BISCUIT - METHOD

Powder sugar adding cloves & cardamom very finely. Melt ghee & bring it to room temperature. In a wide bowl, take the flour,powdered sugar, baking powder. Mix well. Add melted ghee at room temperature little by little and make a dough. Dough should be non-sticky and soft without cracks . But it won’t be too soft & pliable like chapathi dough. So no need to add more ghee. Initially dough would look crumbly but as you roll it tightly, you will be able to make a soft dough. Now take a cookie tray & grease it with little ghee. Take big gooseberry sized ball and press it lightly. Do not press it flat. These biscuits are meant to be small & round. Hope you know it. But by mistake, I flattened it bit more. Cracks may form. Pat it and seal the cracks. Arrange all the biscuits in the tray. Preheat oven in convection mode for 10 minutes in 180c. Then keep the cookie plate and bake the cookies in 180 c for 12 minutes. Switch off, remove and set aside for 5 minutes. Now try to move the cookies. If they move, it is done. Else cookies will be sticking to the plate and it will break. Let it cool completely. When the cookies are hot, it would be very soft. Cracks are unavoidable. It shows the cookies are done. May be if  you add 4 tbsp ghee, cracks might be less. Do not brown it. It will be cooking even after you remove from oven. So be patient & allow it cool completely. Remove, Serve & Enjoy with tea !

Note

I used ghee with sediments.So mine turned out slightly yellow in color. Otherwise it should be white. No problem if the cookie dough is slightly crumbly. Just roll it tight and make balls. If you feel the dough is cracking too much, add little more ghee say 1/2tbsp. In the actual recipe, it was told to rest the dough for 2 hours before baking but I din’t do it. U can always replace ghee with oil or butter.But quantity may vary. Never add frozen ghee. It won’t work. U should use melted ghee but it should not be hot. It should be in room temperature.

Enjoy this bakery style melt in mouth benne biscuit with hot milk or tea !

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CAKE RUSK–STEP BY STEP RECIPE

Recently I started my experiments in baking and I have tried some cakes ( Yet to be posted) n cookies ..I am a big fan of rusk. I love its mild sweetness, flavour and crispness. 

When I was having my tea with a rusk, my husband told me about the cake rusk he had in a bakery.He told it was very nice and he loved its taste. From then my search started and it ended up here and here. I got attracted by the pictures and  tried it. I referred both the recipes and made some changes as per our taste.

 I was searching for an eggless recipe but i dint get it. So I used eggs in my kitchen for the first time to try out this yummy stuff. YES, it was a big success. Being a beginner in baking , I felt proud and happy after seeing the result.. Thanks a lot !!  

Beginners like me can dare to give this a try. !! This recipe yields nearly 15-20 pieces of cake rusk. But i used half of the cake to make the rusk . So i got only 10 pieces. By the time i clicked , i had only 3 pieces left over in my hand . So the shapes may not look good but believe me it tasted great.

A small intro to cake rusk for those who are not aware of: Cake rusk is an asian dessert  and is a kind of double baked cake which goes well with chai/ tea.It is light brown in color & crispy in texture and taste.These crispy browned cake rusks are quite popular in Pakistan.

INGREDIENTS
1cup - 200ml

All purpose flour / Maida – 1.25 cups (1 + 1/4 cup) Sugar –  3/4 cup ( 1 cup minus 3 tbsp) Cooking oil – 1/2 cup Eggs – 3 nos Vanilla essence – 1/2 tsp Salt – 1/4 tsp Baking powder – 1/4 tsp Yellow food color – A pinch (  I used yellow powder. If u have the liquid add few drops in egg mixture) Cardamom powder – A pinch  ( Optional) ( I dint use)

METHOD

Sift maida , baking powder, salt and food color together.Set aside. In a wide bowl take the sugar and cooking oil. Mix well till sugar dissolves.Add the vanilla essence and mix well. . Then add the eggs one by one and beat well till u get a fluffy mixture. ( I used hand whisk.But i felt electric whisk would do well) After adding all the eggs beat for another 8-10 mins.Now add the sifted maida slowly and keep stirring the mixture. No need to add water or milk. U’ll get the correct consistency if u follow the same quantity of ingredients as i mentioned.Now transfer the dough into a greased  square shaped cake pan.Pat on all the sides of cake pan for even spreading. Pre heat the oven to 180c for 10 mins in convection mode.Then place the cake tray and bake the cake for 30-35 mins . Mine exactly took 35 mins. But it depends on the power of ur MW. So keep an eye after 20 mins. Check whether the cake is done by inserting a knife or spoon .If it comes out clean , ur cake is done. Transfer the cake to a wire rack or a plate and keep as such for 15-20 mins.Then invert the tray , the cake will come out easily.Remove the extra upper crust part and make a square shape cake. After it completely cools down , cut the cake into the desired rusk shape. (ie, Lengthy 1 inch thick slices) Again transfer the slices into a greased cookie tray . Arrange and bake them again in a pre-heated oven in 180c. Bake in convection mode at 180c for 10 mins. Turn it once and bake for another 10 mins.Please keep an eye after 5 mins. If u get the desired brown color , please remove and let it cool.I baked it in two batches.

NOTES

• If u want to make a eggless version  try replacing the eggs by egg substitute powder or follow the eggless sponge cake recipe . Hope it will work. As i tried for the first time i dint want to take risk. So i halved the original recipe and followed as such. Soon i’ll make an eggless version and update it.
• While baking the cake , keep checking after 20 – 25 mins whether the cake is done.
• While baking the rusk, keep an eye as it tends to brown faster and it gets burnt. Make sure the center portion should be slightly browned not much like the sides..
• First keep the rusk for 10 mins and then change the other side. Set another 10 mins.
• After 10 mins , remove the plate and touch the center portion, If it is too soft , switch off the oven and allow the plate inside the hot oven.
• It gets roasted by the heat inside the oven . I did the same. If u feel it has to be roasted , again bake it for 5 more minutes.
• I used half portion of cake as such for my doter and we enjoyed eating it. It was very soft and spongy. Here is a picture of cake. So if u wanna make a sponge cake , u can surely try this recipe

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