Eggless KulKuls Recipe-Kalkal(Gul Gul)-Goan Christmas Recipes

I was thinking to make some special Christmas recipes apart from cakes and cookies. Last year I shared Kerala’s Achappam/Rose cookies recipe. Similarly this year I wanted to try something interesting and unique. So I asked Raksha’s Christian friend Reena’s mom. She told me about this kulkul/Kalkal recipe which is most commonly made in all South Indian Christian houses during Christmas. I browsed for the recipe and found Kulkuls (Gul Gul,Kidiyo,Kidyo, Gala Gala, Kala Kala in Tamil nadu) is a Goan special Christmas sweet recipe. This sweet is most popular among the Anglo Indians as well.

 Traditionally the Christmas goodies, called kuswar are specially prepared by the Catholics in Goa and are distributed to neighbors, friends and relatives during Christmas. It is a deep fried sweet recipe made of maida/All purpose flour,sugar,eggs,semolina and coconut milk. Being a Vegetarian, I was looking an easy, eggless version and found the recipe from HERE. It came out very well with a crispy & crunchy taste.

Raksha & Sendhil loved it a lot and finished the whole batch in few minutes. This recipe din’t disappoint me even if it’s a first attempt. So Friends do try this easy,yummy & unique kulkuls recipe during this Christmas. I am sure your family members would enjoy it to the core. Lets see how to make this Goan special Christmas sweet recipe – KULKULS with stepwise pictures !!

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Easy Shortbread Cookies Recipe - Eggless Butter Biscuits - Christmas Recipes

Hope I am not late in sharing Christmas Recipes 2015.For the past one week,I had been trying various cookies and cake recipes.From today,I will share them one by one till Christmas.To begin with,here is the most popular cookies that everyone must try during this season.Yes,Its melt in mouth,crispy Shortbread cookies(Eggless version).We call this as Butter biscuit/ butter cookies.I browsed through few recipes and came up with this version.This is my first attempt in making these cookies and I must say”It came out PERFECT”. I am completely happy with the results.The ingredients and measurements are very easy to remember.It’s a fool proof,beginners cookie and anyone can bake it easily.Its perfect for Christmas & New year Gifting.With buttery soft and melt in mouth texture,it tastes awesome.You won’t and you can’t stop with one even if you are calorie conscious.I saw few recipes with cornstarch/corn flour and few with a combination of wheat flour & maida.I am sure it works in all the ways as the butter makes the magic here.I have shared all the possible tips and tricks in my Notes section.Do peep into it before you start.Friends,How come a cookie with so much of butter goes wrong.Do try it confidently and surprise your family members by showing your expertise in bakingYou will be showered with praises!!
Lets see how to make these delicious Christmas special Shortbread Cookies with stepwise pictures and a VIDEO !!

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Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe without condensed milk - Moist, Spongy Vanilla Cupcake Using Oil

Here is an Eggless vanilla cupcake recipe without butter (with oil) and without condensed milk. It comes out super soft, spongy and moist in texture. Yesterday my daughter Raksha told me to bake a cake using Vanilla essence as its her favorite flavor. She told ” Mummy, when I come back from the school, I should see a cake in your hand”. Its been months since I baked a cake in my kitchen.

For the past few months, I have been making only microwave mug cake recipes(refer side bar) for her after school snacks very easily within minutes. I think she got bored of them. So she badly wanted me to bake a regular cake this time. As I had already bookmarked some good cake recipes, I quickly browsed through them and tried this eggless vanilla cupcake. This recipe uses simple ingredients.

The cake raised beautifully and tasted great with moist, soft and spongy texture. I couldn’t feel its a no egg, no butter, no condensed milk cupcake. You can dare to try this recipe even if you are a beginner in baking. I have used choco chips in this cake to attract my daughter. You can add chopped nuts or even decorate the cake with simple chocolate frosting or buttercream frosting if you are interested. 

Lets see how to make this super moist cupcake from scratch.

Check out my eggless, butterless Chocolate cupcake recipe & Banana walnut muffin recipes too !

If you are eager to know the differences between a cupcake & muffin, here you go

• Cupcakes tend to be sweeter than muffins; there are savory muffins such as cornbread.
• Cupcakes are often iced or frosted, whereas muffins tend to have no topping, or a simple crumb topping.
• Cupcakes usually have a head or top no larger than the body of the cupcake; muffins are often encouraged to overflow their baking cup, so that their top is larger in diameter, giving them somewhat of a mushroom shape.
• Cupcakes are almost always, well, cupcake shaped; muffins can be made as just muffin tops.
• Cupcakes are almost never crispy or crunchy; muffins are often encouraged to brown and develop texture, especially on the top.

Eggless vanilla cupcake recipe

Eggless,moist cupcake recipe - Easy to make n bake !

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Baking

Serves: 8 

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 15 Minutes

Total time: 25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml Maida/All purpose flour - 1.25 cups ( 1 + 1/4 cup) Baking powder - 1 tsp Baking soda - 1/4 tsp Sugar - 3/4 cup Milk - 1 cup Refined oil - 1/3 cup  Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Vinegar - 1 tbsp ( synthetic vinegar) Salt – a small pinch Choco chips – 2 tbsp

HOW TO MAKE EGGLESS VANILLA CUPCAKE - METHOD

In a wide bowl sieve maida, baking powder & baking soda and a pinch of salt. Add choco chips to it. Mix well and set aside. In another bowl,mix the vinegar & milk. It will curdle slightly (U can replace vinegar with lemon juice. But I used vinegar).To this add oil,sugar and vanilla essence. Mix well till sugar dissolves.  Add the sieved flour to it and mix in one direction. It will become a thick batter. It should flow like a ribbon. If you feel, the batter is too thick, add 1-2 tsp of milk. Do not add more milk because cake will become sticky. Line a muffin tray with muffin papers. Pour the batter till 3/4th of the cup. Preheat the oven in convection mode at 180c. Bake the cupcakes for 15 minutes at 180c. Remove and check it with a tooth pick. If the tooth pick comes out clean, cake is done else keep it for 1-2 minutes more. Do not over bake. Remove the cake from the tray and enjoy with tea !

Note

Add 1-2 tbsp more sugar & extra vanilla essence for more sweetness & flavor. You can bake this as a regular cake instead of cupcakes. I guess it will work. Do not over bake the cake because the outer layer will turn chewy. You can use lemon juice if you don't have vinegar in hand.

Enjoy this easy, spongy cupcake recipe with tea ! Tastes yum !!

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Microwave Fruit Cake | Eggless Microwave Plum cake recipe in 3 Minutes

I wish all my friends and readers merry Christmas and a very happy New year. I should have posted this eggless, microwave fruit cake recipe without alcohol/ rum before Christmas. But I couldn't do it as I was busy with some personal work. Better late than never. Here is an easy microwave plum cake/ dry fruit cake recipe that can be prepared under 3 minutes for you all. Try this cake for your kids as evening snacks or for this New year and have a great celebration. 

I tried this eggless microwave plum cake recipe from “The Hindu” Christmas special recipes edition. I made some changes in the actual recipe to make it more soft n flavourful. It came out really spongy and crumbly as well. I tried this cake twice with and without cocoa powder too. Both came out well but I liked the one without cocoa powder. Its a very easy and awesome plum cake recipe that can be made in 3 minutes using a microwave. It can also be done in pressure cooker I guess.

Please check this link for my eggless cooker cake recipe to get some idea.  Lets see how to make this easy, yummy, eggless,  no butter, no condensed milk, alcohol free microwave fruit cake recipe in 3 minutes at home easily !

Also check out my Christmas fruit cake recipe using convection oven and my eggless Christmas fruit cake recipe in a pressure cooker !

Microwave plum cake recipe/Fruit cake

Microwave plum cake/Fruit cake recipe for Christmas !

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Cakes

Serves: 10 

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 3 Minutes

Total time: 13 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

For 1 cup = 240 ml All purpose flour/ Maida - 1 cup Sugar or brown sugar - 1/2 cup ( 100 gms ) Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Curd - 1 tbsp ( semi solid,fresh) Cooking soda /baking soda - 1/2 tsp Baking powder - 1/4 tsp Oil - 1/4 cup / 60 ml Lion dates syrup - 4 tbsp Water - 1/2 cup/125 ml + (2 tbsp extra,only if needed) All spice powder OR powdered cinnamon,cloves & nutmeg – 1/2 tsp Cocoa powder – 2 tbsp (optional) **Finely chopped dry fruits n nuts - 1/3 cup (add more if u wish) Orange zest - 1 tbsp ** I used cashews,badam,pista,walnut,plum,cherries,tutti frutti,raisins

HOW TO MAKE MICROWAVE PLUM CAKE - METHOD

Heat 1/2 cup ie 125 ml of water in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Put the finely chopped nuts & dry fruits in water and let it soak for 10 minutes. In the mean time, sieve maida,cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and set aside. To the soaked dry fruits mixture, add sugar, oil, curd, vanilla essence, orange zest and lion dates syrup. Mix well till sugar dissolves. To this, add the sieved maida mixture & all spice powder .Fold it well in one direction.Cake batter would be slightly thick but pourable.If u feel the mixture is very thick,add 1 –2 tbsp of warm water to it and mix well. Grease a microwave safe bowl with oil generously and pour half of the cake batter till half of the bowl.Cake will rise till the rim.So you should bake in two batches. Microwave in high power for 2-3 minutes ( mine is 800w.It took 3 minutes ). Please keep an eye after 2 minutes based on the power of your microwave.If u over bake it,cake will burn or the sides will be dry n chewy. Please be careful. Remove the bowl after 2 minutes & insert the back of spoon. If the spoon comes out clean or with little crumbs, cake is done. If you see the uncooked batter in the spoon,keep it for another 30 seconds and test it again. If not done, keep it for 30 seconds more. Cook till your cake is done. Remove the cake bowl from microwave as soon as its done and keep it outside for 5 minutes. Run a knife all through the sides and loosen it. Invert it in a bowl. Cake will come out easily. Some of the portion might be sticking to the bowl. But that’s fine. Serve hot if you like or keep the cake completely covered and set aside for an hour. It tastes the best when served after 1-2 hours as the cake needs some standing time for all the flavour to infuse well. But don’t keep the cake open. It will dry soon. If you want to make the cake without cocoa powder, do refer the pics below. U will get some idea. Also check out the cake batter consistency which is missing in cocoa version. No need to refrigerate the cake. You can keep it outside for 2 days but keep it covered else cake will become dry.( I always store my cake covered with a lid inside the oven after it cools down because that is the safe place to avoid ants) Enjoy !

Note

This cake takes maximum of 3 minutes to cook in microwave 800w power. So keep an eye after 2 minutes if yours is more than 800w. Over baking makes the cake hard n chewy. Take care. This cake remains soft even for two days if properly covered and stored. Else the outer layer will turn dry. Adding cocoa powder is optional. U can skip it and use the other ingredients as given above. No need to reduce the quantity of water or oil.

Try this easy microwave cake recipe for New year. Have a fantastic year ahead !!

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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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Eggless Tutti Frutti Cookies Recipe/Fruit Cookies-Christmas Recipes

When I posted eggless tutti frutti cake recipe, I got request from some of my readers to post tutti frutti cookies too. Even I wanted to give it a shot for long time. So I tried it yesterday for the first time by searching the net. As most of the recipes were similar, I tried it confidently without any confusion. It came out really well and it was tasting more like butter cookies. I am happy to share this yummy, buttery cookies recipe for this Christmas and it is perfect for parties & other celebrations too. Try this for your kids. They will enjoy it !

Eggless tutti frutti cookies recipe

Eggless tutti frutti cookies for Christmas celebration

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Baking

Serves: 15

Prep time: 50 Minutes

Cook time: 15 Minutes

Total time: 65 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 240ml Maida/All purpose flour - 1 cup Unsalted Butter - 6 tbsp ( softened, at room temperature) Tutti frutti – 1/2 cup Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup Milk powder - 1 tbsp ( optional) Milk - 1/2 tbsp - 1tbsp Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

HOW TO MAKE TUTTI FRUTTI COOKIES - METHOD

Take powdered sugar & softened butter in a bowl. Mix well with a whisk until creamy and soft peaks appear. Beat it well for 5 minutes. In a bowl,mix maida, tutti frutti and milk powder(optional). Add this mixture to the beaten butter mixture. Mix well and make a crumbly dough. Add 1/2 or 1 tbsp of milk and knead a soft non-sticky dough. Roll the dough to a log shape and wrap in a plastic sheet.Freeze it for 45 minutes.Remove and cut into 1/2 inch thick cookies. You can also roll the dough in a polythene sheet and cut in desired shapes. Preheat oven in convection mode for 180c. Arrange in the cookies in a butter greased baking tray. Bake it for 15 minutes.The sides of cookie will turn slightly brown. Remove the cookie tray and let it cool. Initially they look soft when hot but it becomes crunchy after cooling down completely. The cookies will come out without sticking to the plate. Suppose if it sticks to the plate after it cools down, bake them again for 2 minutes & then remove, let it cool.You can find the actual taste of these cookies only after they cool down completely. Store in an air tight box. Hope it stays good for 3-4 days. Enjoy !

Note

Adding milk powder is optional. Adjust the quantity of tutti frutti as per your wish. But if you add more, cookie may turn soft and chewy. So take care.  If you don’t have tutti frutti in hand, replace it with finely chopped dry fruits. You should bake the cookies till the sides of cookie turn golden brown as you see in the picture.

Try this yummy, colorful tutti frutti cookies for this Christmas & let me know your feedback.

Merry Christmas !!

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