Healthy Pizza Packets/ Veg Calzones

Pizzas are favourite to almost everyone.  I love them too though I made them once or twice in a month.  

For my love towards pizzas, I wanted to try pizza packets or calzones.  So I prepared my homemade pizza sauce and pizza dough specially for this recipe.  Then I made the stuffing with my choice of veggies and cheese.. and TADAA!!! got these yummilicious pizza packets.  I made them for the first time and they turned out to be delicious.  Pizza sauce, cheese and veggies were simply bursting out in every bite.  I loved it to the core.

The name sounds not-so-easy kindda dish but its surprisingly easy to make.  To make it a little healthy, I added whole wheat flour to the dough.  Above all, its a baked snack so no frying.  It also has less calories as I stir fried the veggies in just 3/4 tsp of oil  :D

Its a great party starter and kids will love it.  All in all its a must try. So don your aprons and get into the cooking.  Happy Cooking :)

                              

Makes - 6 packets

Ingredients:

For dough:

Whole wheat flour     -      1 cup

All purpose flour       -      1 cup

Instant dry yeast        -      1 1/2 tsp

Olive oil                    -      3 tbsp

Sugar                         -      2 tsp

Salt                            -      1/2 tsp

Lukewarm water       -      as required

For stuffing:

Homemade pizza sauce                           -  1 cup

Processed cheese (grated)                       -   1/2 cup

Cabbage (finely chopped)                       -  1 cup

Capsicum (finely cut lengthwise)           -   2 small

Sweet corns (Boiled)                              -   1/2 cup 

Onion (finely cut lengthwise)                -    1 small

Green beans (blanched)                         -    1/4 cup

Black pepper                                          -    1/4 tsp or to taste

Olive oil                                                 -    3/4 tsp

Salt                                                         -    o taste

Method:

• Dough- Take a large bowl and add in both the flours, salt, sugar and yeast.  Mix everything well.  Add oil and mix with the flour.  Add lukewarm water little by little and make a smooth dough.  Knead it well for 4-5 minutes.  Shift to an airtight container and leave it to rise for about 2 hours.

• For stuffing - Heat oil in a non stick pan.  Add chopped onions and fry for 2-3 minutes on high flame.  Add sweetcorn and beans.  Stir for 2-3 minutes.  Add cabbage and capsicum and stir for another 4-5 minutes.  Add black pepper and salt.  Stir for 1 minute and remove from the flame.  Set aside.

• Preheat oven at 180 degree.  Grease a baking tray and set aside.

• Take the raised dough and punch it down.  Pinch a lemon size ball from the dough and roll out a 1/4 inch round chapati. Evenly spread pizza sauce on half of the rolled chapati.  Spread the fried veggies on the sauce layer.  Finally top it with grated cheese and bring the other half of chapati over it.  Close it from all the corners well with water.  Make more pizza packets with remaining dough and stuffing likewise.  Arrange on the greased baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or till the top gets lightly brown.
• Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Notes:

1. In place of whole wheat flour, you can take 2 cups of all purpose flour.
2. Mozzarella cheese can also be used in place of processed cheese.
3. You can add your choice of veggies in the stuffing.
4. If you are using dry yeast then proof it first.  For that, take the lukewarm water and add in sugar.  Then add the dry yeast and cover it for 5-10 minutes .  After 10 minutes you will see the bubbles have formed.  Add that mixture to the flour and knead as given in the recipe.

Strawberry Oats Bars

I love oats and experimenting with it to make different foods. Today's recipe is also made with oats and is a healthy one.  I got this recipe here and bookmarked it instantly as I found it very easy and ingredients used were also very simple and I must confess that I wanted to finish my strawberry jam too :D  

This recipe was in my TO TRY list and last weekend I finally made it and OMG it came out so yummy.  Trust me guys its seriously addictive.  You can't stop having just one. We finished up the whole batch on the same day and I myself had 70% of it :D  I loved these bars so much that I made a fresh batch again. This is the simplest recipe I ever came across.  Just mix up all the ingredients in one bowl, layer it in the baking pan and bake.  Super duper simple.

I made a few changes in the original recipe like I used thinly granulated brown sugar and castor sugar, reduced the quantity of butter, used vanilla essence in the base mixture and before baking topped the dish with chopped walnuts and I am glad I made those changes :)  Addition of walnuts and vanilla gave it a nice crunch and flavour. I also substituted strawberry preserve with strawberry jam. The final product was surprisingly divine.  (That is the beauty of experiments).

While layering the dish in the baking tray I didn't put a thick layer of strawberry jam as I wanted to have both outer crust and jam flavour equally.  You are free to use as much jam as you like.  After cutting and cooling the bars I shifted them to an airtight container and kept in the fridge.  I loved these bars even more on the following day as they became more firm and crunchy due to cooling.  I strongly recommend to store these bars in the fridge.

Its a delicious and healthy anytime snack for kids as well as adults.  Even you can have it as breakfast too with a glass of milk.  I can bet you would love to make it again and again because of its simplicity and taste.  The biggest proof of its deliciousness is that I have bought a fresh bottle of strawberry jam again ... just to make these bars :D

I am so happy with this recipe and so here sharing the recipe.  Do try and enjoy.  Happy Cooking :)

Recipe adapted from thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients:

All purpose flour	¾ cup
Quick cooking oats/Rolled oats	¾ cup
Salted Butter (cold)	6 tbsp
Brown sugar	¼ cup
Castor sugar	¼ cup
Baking powder	½ tsp
Vanilla essence (optional)	¼ tsp
Chopped walnuts	2 tbsp
Strawberry jam	As required (I used 4 tbsp)

Method:

• Preheat the oven at 175 degree.  Grease a square pan with butter and keep aside.  
• In a mixing bowl, take all purpose flour, oats, baking powder, brown sugar, castor sugar and mix everything well.  Add butter and mix with your hand until the mixture becomes crumbly.  Add vanilla essence and mix again.
• Take half of the mixture and spread in the greased pan.  Cover the bottom of the pan with the mixture equally and press to make it firm.
• Layer the strawberry jam evenly on the prepared base of oats mix.  Cover it with remaining oats mix and lightly press the layer.  Sprinkle chopped walnuts and press them lightly.
• Bake it for 35 minutes or till it gets golden brown on the top.
• Remove from oven and let it cool down.
• Cut into squares and serve.
• Store the remaining bars in an airtight container and keep in the fridge.

Notes:

1. You can top it with any nuts of your choice.
2. Instead of walnuts you can use chopped cashews or almonds.
3. White sugar can be used in place of brown sugar and castor sugar.  If using big granulated sugar, grind it slightly.
4. Layer as much jam as you want.
5. Do not over bake.

Fruity Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemony Hung Curd Icing

My toddler is getting fussy day by day.  One day she likes homemade food and the other day just junk food.  I try to combine different things to make something healthy that could also make her taste buds happy.  These cupcakes are the result of my one more experiment for my little one.

She likes fruit flavoured muffins and corn puffs of a local brand here.  I must say her choice is excellent :) I too relish her favourite junk foods.  Those muffins and corn puffs are really delicious.  In the muffins, vanilla and fruit flavours comes out very nicely and I love it.  

Last week, before throwing the empty packet of muffin, I read the ingredients on the pack and decided to make it at home.  I had no idea how the fruit flavours came in the muffins as no essence or fruits were there in the ingredient used.  So I added orange, pineapple and vanilla essence.  I didn't add any fresh fruit.  

I was very apprehensive about the results as I had no measurements and moreover I was using some additional ingredients too.  But finally, when I tasted them, I was on cloud nine :D  They came out so well.  The sweetness, the flavour and the texture was just perfect.  I loved them and so did my baby.  

After having few cupcakes, I thought to have them with some icing.  Instead of cream, I decided to make the icing with the thick hung curd.  It was a healthy option too.  One lemon was also sitting in my fridge so I used up that too and made a lemony icing.  The final result was yummy, creamy, lemony curd icing that took my cupcakes to another level.  The combination of both (cupcakes and icing) was just mind blowing.  Now there is a guilt free icing that we can relish anytime..  isn't it awesome.?  

So my dear readers, here is the recipe of my yummy cupcakes and delicious icing.  Do try and see your kids jumping with joy... Don't forget to read the notes first.  Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients
(Makes 6 medium and 6 small size cupcakes)

All purpose flour/Maida	1 cup
Cornflour	1 tbsp
Milk powder	2 tbsp
Egg	1
Baking powder	½ tsp
Baking soda	2 big pinch
Castor sugar/powdered sugar	½ cup
Oil	¼ cup
Mixed fruit juice	1/8 cup
Soda water	1/8 cup +1 tbsp
Orange essence	1/8 tsp
Pineapple essence	¼ tsp
Vanilla essence	1/8 tsp

Lemony curd icing
Ingredients:
(For icing 4 cupcakes)

Thick hung curd**	½ cup
Lemon zest	½ tsp
Fresh lemon juice	½ tsp
Vanilla essence	1/8 tsp
Icing sugar	5 tsp

Decoration:

(For 4 cupcakes)

Thinly sliced lemon peel	8 strings
Glazed cherry	1
Colored sprinkles	1 tbsp

Method:

• In a bowl, take all purpose flour, corn flour, milk powder, baking powder and baking soda.  Mix well with a spatula.  Set aside.
• Preheat oven at 180 degree.  Line a muffin tray with paper cupcake liners.
• In a mixing bowl, take sugar and egg.  Whisk well till fluffy. Add in oil and whisk again.  Add vanilla essence, pineapple essence and orange essence and mix well.  
• In a cup, take soda water and fruit juice and give a stir.  Pour a little of it in egg sugar batter, mix it and add a little flour mix.  Mix well to avoid formation of lumps.  Add some more soda fruit juice mix and little more flour.  Mix well again.  Finally, add remaining soda juice mix and remaining flour and mix again.  The batter should be smooth and not too thick.  If you find that the batter is a bit thick add 1 tbsp milk
• Fill the moulds/paper cupcake liners with the prepared batter till half and bake for 20 minutes or till the cupcakes gets golden brown on the top.
• Remove from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.

Icing 

• Take the hung curd in a mixing bowl, add in icing sugar and whisk well.  Add in vanilla essence, lemon juice and lemon zest and whisk again.  Don't over mix.
• Icing ready.

Icing the cupcakes:

• Take one cupcake and put 2 tbsp icing on the top of it.  Spread the icing all over it with the help of a small spoon.
• Decorate with lemon peel strands and sprinkles.  Top it up with glazed cherry.

Notes:

1. Any dried fruits or fruit mix can be added to the cupcake batter.
2. You can use your choice of fruit essence in the cupcake batter.
3. Do not leave the cake batter for long.  Bake it as soon as you make it.
4. Let the cupcakes cool down completely before icing them.
5. The curd should be very thick.  Hang it overnight to get the required thickness.
6. You can adjust the level of sugar in the icing.
7. Icing can be made of any flavour of your choice. 
8. You can decorate the cupcakes with your choice of stuff.
9. Baking time varies from oven to oven so keep checking the cupcakes after 15 minutes. If you find them getting over brown, remove from the oven.  If you find that even after 20 minutes the cupcakes are white on the top, bake them for another 5 to 10 minutes or till they get the desired browning.

** To make hung curd you can use a simple method. Take a big tea strainer and arrange it over a deep bowl.  Pour the curd in the strainer and put it (with the bowl under it) in the fridge for overnight.  Next day you would get the thick curd.

Eggless whole wheat cumin walnut cookies

Today's recipe is specially for kids.  I made these cookies for my 16 months old toddler.  She is a fussy eater so I always try to make something new for her.  I experiment with healthy ingredients and different flavours to make her take the food.  Sometimes it goes well and sometimes she doesn't even take it to her tiny mouth.. :D

This week I thought to try out some soft and healthy cookies for her to take as snacks and I made these cookies.  Yippy!! she loved them.  Mission Successful :D

These cookies came out very tasty and the texture (as I wanted it to be) was a bit cakey and soft.  I used whole wheat flour with all purpose flour to make it healthy.  My baby loved them so much and so did I.  Its a healthy snack for adults too for that odd time hunger pangs.

So sharing this recipe here.  Enjoy.  Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour	¼ cup
All purpose flour / maida	¼ cup
Cornflour	1 tbsp
Salted Butter	¼ cup
Brown sugar or white sugar	¼ cup + 1 tbsp
Baking soda	1 pinch
Milk	1 tbsp
Vanilla essence (optional)	3-4 drops
Chopped walnuts	½ tbsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera	½ tsp

Method:

• Take all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cornflour and baking soda.  Mix well.  Sift them twice.  Keep aside.
• Preheat oven at 180 degree.  Take a baking tray and line it with aluminium foil.  Grease the aluminium sheet with oil.  Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, add butter and sugar.  Mix well and add milk.  Mix till fluffy. 
• Add flour mix to the butter mix little by little. (If you find the mixture a bit dry, add one more tablespoon milk).
• Add cumin seeds and mix again.
• Cover the dough with cling film or put in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Take the dough out and pinch a little portion from it.  Make a ball with it and press a little with your palms.  Make all the cookies in the same manner and arrange in the greased baking tray.  Press chopped walnuts on the top of the cookies.
• Bake for around 18 minutes.
• Take out the cookies from oven and shift to a wire rack.  Let them cool for about 10-15 minutes.
• Enjoy.  
• Keep the remaining cookies in an airtight container.

Notes:

1. My cookies got brown color as I used brown sugar.
2. If using white sugar, powder it first.
3. If using unsalted butter add 1/8 tsp salt to the flour mix.
4. You can use cookie cutter to shape the cookies.
5. Cookies would be very soft in texture while hot.  Don't bake them again.  Let them completely cool down, they would become a bit firm.  
6. Cookies would be soft and cakey in the final texture.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

Hi friends.  Marry Christmas to all of you.  I know its a bit late but there is no time constraint for sharing the good wishes :)

I had planned to make a fruit cake on this Christmas but couldn't manage the time for the same so now I will make it for the new year.  It would be an easy peasy recipe with no fuss.  No alcohol and nothing fancy going around.  So keep checking my space for the recipe.

Getting back to today's recipe i.e. whole wheat peanut butter cookies.  I had a bottle of peanut butter which I bought for some baking recipes.  I like peanuts but I can't have peanut butter on the bread.  So the bottle was almost full. Yesterday I was in baking mood so I mixed up different things with peanut butter and got these nice peanut butter cookies.  I added healthy flours to make it anytime craving snacks.  Fat is also very less.  Crushed peanuts gave a nice crunch to these cookies.  I used brown sugar for the deep brown color but you are free to use white sugar instead.  You can also decrease the sugar level, there wont be any compromise with the taste I bet.  We enjoyed these cookies with tea.  You also try out.  Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour	½ cup
All purpose flour / Maida	½ cup
Oats flour	¼ cup
Brown sugar	¾ cup
Peanut butter	½ cup
Dessicated coconut	2 tbsp
Baking soda	¼ tsp
Roasted peanuts (crushed)	2 tbsp
Golden syrup	1 tbsp
Cardamom (crushed)	1
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
Ghee/butter	3 tbsp
Water	3 tbsp

Method:

• Take a bowl and mix together wheat flour, all purpose flour, oats flour,coconut, baking soda and cardamom powder.  Keep aside.
• In another bowl, take brown sugar, peanut butter, golden syrup, vanilla essence and water.  Mix well and keep aside for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, mix together sugar batter and flours.  Add butter little by little. Add crushed peanuts and mix again.  Check the consistency.  The mixture would come together if you press it with your fist but it would not form a soft dough.  The texture would be a little crumbly. 
• Take a small portion of mixture and form a ball and press it between both your palms and shape it into cookies.  You can use a cookie cutter also as I did.  As the mixture is crumbly, forming cookies would take a little more time.

 

cookies ready to go in the oven

• Preheat the oven at 180 degree. Take a baking tray and line with an aluminum foil.  Grease the foil with butter.
• Arrange the cookies in the tray and bake for 15 minutes or till the cookies start getting brown.  Do not bake for more than 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest for 2 minutes. 

Just out of the oven

• Shift the cookies to cookie rack and let them cool for 15 minutes.
• Enjoy with tea or coffee.

Notes:

1. Sugar level can be adjusted according to your taste.
2. White sugar can be used.  Brown sugar will give the deep brown color to the cookies.
3. Use the butter/ghee at room temperature.
4. If you find the mixture is too crumbly to shape into cookies you can add some more butter.
5. Do not over bake the cookies else they would burn.