Baked Rice Cracker

Yesterday being a weekend evening, felt like having some quick snack. I fist thought of doing Baked Besan Bonda/ Baked Onion Pakoda, but I didn’t have enough Besan flour. I also didn’t have enough patience to soak and do anything. Suddenly I noticed I had some leftover rice.  One of my friends had once told me that her mom makes Vathal (Fryums) with leftover rice. My mom prepares Vadam with rice flour and tapioca sago, dries them in sun for 2 days and it is deep fried in oil. OMG, I love it.  I wanted to try something similar to my friend’s mom version.  I won’t say it was as crispy as fried version, but soft and a bit chewy snack.

Baked Rice Cracker

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 – 25 mins

Recipe Category: Snack

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice – 1 cup (I used Brown rice, any rice can be used)

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1/4 tsp

Garlic Powder – 1/8 esp

Salt – as needed

Oil/ Cooking spray – to grease (I used cooking spray )

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Place baking paper on baking tray and grease it
• Add cooked rice, lemon juice, garlic powder, coriander powder and salt, and Combine well

• Add water if required and make a dough. Make some balls (Marble size). Gently press them to flat thin circles ( around1/8 inch approximately)
• Bake them for 20 – 25 minutes, turning sides

My Notes:

• Try to make small flat crackers, else the edges will dry out while the centers remain too moist
• Instead of garlic powder, you can add chilli powder, onion powder, cumin powder etc.
• Can make the dough flat and cut with cookie cutter
• Over cooking may tend to dry out the rice completely

Baked Thattai

Thattai is one of my favorite snacks. When my mother in law came to visit us, she used to prepare thattai and put them in big box. We snack them all day. On krishna jayanthi, i wanted to do some thattai. Generally they are deep fried in oil.  After seeing Baked Seedai result, I was confident enough to try my luck with baked healthy thattai. Thattai and seedai are almost similar – for thattai, chilli powder is the additional ingredient. Crispy and yummy thattai without much oil was ready. After Krishna jayanthi, I posted this pic in my FB page. Somehow it took me so such time to draft this post. Thanks to everyone who messaged me in FB for thattai recipe, and sorry for the delay in posting it.

Baked Thattai

Preparation time:  5mins  |  Cooking time: 25 – 30 mins

Recipe Category: Snacks

Ingredients:

Rice Flour- 1 cup

Urad Dal – 2 tbsp

Butter – 3tbsp

Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp heaped (Adjust according to your spice level)

Salt – as needed

Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp

Oil – to grease

Method:

For urad dal Flour:

Take 1/4cup of whole urad Dal and dry roast till they are golden brown. When it comes to room temperature, grind them into fine powder

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper with  oil
• Dry roast the rice flour in low flame for 2/3 minutes. Do not overcook till they change color
• In a wide vessel, add the rice flour and 2 tblsp of urad dal flour and salt. Sieve them for even mixing. Add asofetida and chilli powder to sieved flour and mix well

• Add water slowly and knead them into a pliable dough

• Grease your hands with coconut oil and make small balls (approximately 1 tsp dough). Flatten the balls on greased palm (2-3 inch in diameter) and carefully place on baking tray
• Bake in the preheated oven for 12 – 15 minutes. Then flip over very carefully and bake for another 12-15 minutes

My Notes:

• Cumin seeds, sesame seeds, curry leaves and Chana Dal can be added
• If you are frying, the thatti has to be fried in a medium low flame, as it will help for even cooking. Heat oil in a pan, When the oil becomes hot gently put the thattai to the oil. Cook till the hissing sound of oil subsides.
• I used the store-bought rice flour. Alternatively you can wash and soak the raw rice for 1/2 hours and dry them in a cloth till moisture completely dries, and grind them into fine powder

Oven roasted Cheppan Kizhangu (Colocasia)

Ever since childhood days Cheppan kizhangu fry is one of my favorite side dishes. With a crispy outer layer and soft inner layer, Cheppan kizhangu fry is so addictive. When my mom came to visit us, I asked her to prepare this. While she was cooking i was standing behind her and told her to add less oil.  Generally I am the one who tells her to add more oil and make a crispy fry, but oven cooking has influenced me a lot. That day she casually asked if we can bake this. Then I was wondering why had I not tried baking Cheppan kizhangu. Next time when I bought this, I baked it, and was happy with the result. From that day onwards, I started baking for two reasons – less oil, and I need not spend much time in the kitchen

Baked Cheppan Kizhangu fry:

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time :  30 mins | Serves : 2

Recipe Category: Side Dish

Ingredients:

Cheppan Kizhangu (Arbi/Taro Root/Colocasia)– 4 (I used big Arbi)

Chili powder/ Sambar powder – 1/4 tsp (I used sambar powder, Adjust according to your spice level)

Hing – a generous pinch

Salt – as needed

Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1/4 tsp

Cumin powder – 1/8 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp

Chickpea flour/ Gram / Besan flour – 2 tsp

Rice flour – 1/2 tsp (optional)

Cooking Spray (I used PAM olive oil spray)

Method:

• Wash and cook Arbi. I steamed them for 10 minutes. Cook till they are fork tender. Cool them, peel and cut into pieces (Generally it is cut into circles, but since the arbi I used was big I cut them into cubes)
• In a bowl, add Arbi, sambar powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder. Coriander powder, rice flour, gram flour olive and salt. Combine well and refrigrate them for 10 minutes
• Preheat the oven 400 degree fahrenhait
• Take a baking tray and place aluminum foil. Grease with a cooking spray and spread the marinated Arbi mixture
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning the Arbi slices after about 10 minutes

My Notes:

• Adjust baking time according to the texture you need for the Arbi

 

Baked Plantain Chips

After trying Microwave potato chips, I always wanted to try some baked chips. I felt like having Banana chips, and instead of deep frying, baked it 🙂  Crispy and healthy snack. I prepared it in two batches, one with just salt and one with salt and chilli powder.

Baked Plantain Chips

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time :  15 – 20 mins | Serves : 2

Recipe Category: Snack

Ingredients:

Plantain – 1, peeled and thinly sliced

Chili powder – 1/8 tsp (Adjust according to your spice level)

Salt – as needed

Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Cooking Spray (I used PAM olive oil spray)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit
• In a bowl, combine plantain, olive oil, chilli powder and salt
• Take a baking tray and place parchment paper. Grease with a cooking spray and spread the plantains
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, turning the plantain slices after about 8 minutes

 

Honey-Glazed Almonds

Once when we were shopping in Sam’s Club, we tried a sample of cinnamon-glazed cashews.They had a variety of nuts, both savory and sweet. I liked them and bought some of the cinnamon-glazed cashews. Its a good snack to munch on, but very high on calories 🙂 Next time when we went to Sam’s, it wasn’t available. Since then, I have been thinking of making some glazed nuts. Made some changes to the  FoodNetwork recipe, and was happy with the result! This is a Healthy snack, with nutty texture, and with the flavor of honey and cinnamon.

Honey-Glazed Almonds

Preparation Time: 5 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins

Recipe Category: Appetizers & Snacks

Ingredients

Almonds – 1 cup

Honey – 2 tbsp

Sugar – 1/4 tsp (Optional)

Cinnamon – 1/4 tsp

Orange Zest – 1/8 tsp

Cooking Spray/Butter – to grease (I used PAM cooking spray)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Combine Almonds, Cinnamon, Honey and orange zest in a bowl, mix well. Take baking tray and cover it with parchment paper. Grease with Cooking spray and spread the almond mixture

• After 10 minutes sprinkle some sugar

 

• Bake for 15 to 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool and store in an airtight container

My Notes:

Same preparation can be done for walnut, peanuts, cashew and pecans

 

 

Baked Besan Bonda

After preparing Besan Bonda I started thinking about a particular snack place in India. We stayed in Mambalam in Chennai, and there is one “Venkatramana Boli Stall”. Thinking about that place makes me drool.  Everyday evening they prepare fresh snacks, and it will be over in no time. Their Carrot Halwa, Puran Poli and Besan Bonda are my favorites. Being so addicted to their snacks, I still remember those days when almost every Sunday Sis and I would send my father to buy. If Appa is not going there any weekend, it means Amma has prepared something at home. This Besan Bonda can be prepared easily, and is a modification of yet another recipe from my Amma’s cookbook. Amma fries it deep in oil, but I wanted to prepare a healthy version, so baked it!

Baked Besan Bonda

Preparation time: 5 Minutes | Cooking time:  20 – 25 Minutes | Makes : 8 pieces

Category: Snacks

Ingredients:

Besan flour/ Chickpea flour/ Garbanzo bean flour/ Gram flour- 1/2 cup

Rice flour – 2 tbsp

Red chilli powder – 1/4 tsp (Adjust according to your spice level)

Big onion – 1 no , finely chopped

Carom Seeds/Ajwain – 1/8 tsp

Curry leaves – few

Asofoetida – generous pinch

Baking  soda – 1/8 tsp

Baking powder – 1/8 tsp

Ghee/oil – 1 tbsp (I used oil)

Cooking spray/Oil – to grease (I used Oil)

Method

• Preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit
• Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and water to make a thick paste. Grease your hand with oil and make small ball-shaped pieces

• Take a muffin tray and grease it  and place the small pieces. Put the tray in the preheated oven. After 10-12 minutes, turn sides and bake for another 10-12 minutes

My Notes:

• You can also deep fry
• You can add any veggies of your choice

Potato Wedges

Once in a week, some form of potato recipe will be made in our home. And with a crispy outer layer and tender inner layer, potato wedges is such a comfort tea time snack. You can either deep fry them or bake it in oven. I prefer baking as it requires less oil and doesn’t require me to stay in kitchen for a long time:)

Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 4

Olive Oil –  4 tsp

Salt – as neded

Dry Basil – 1/4 tsp (optional)

Italian Seasoning/pepper powder – 1/4 tsp (I used Italian Seasoning)

Cooking spray/Oil – as required (I used cooking spray)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
• Wash & cut potatoes into wedges, by cutting lengthwise in half then slice each half into slices depending on the potato size
• Place potatoes in a bowl of cold water and rest for 10  – 15 mins. Pat dry them. In a mixing bowl add potatoes, olive oil, basil, salt and Italian seasoning, and combine well

 

• Place seasoned potatoes on the baking tray and bake for 15 – 20 min (or until the potatoes are cooked through). They should be brown and crispy on the outside and tender inside. Turn in between for even cooking. Serve with Ketchup/Ranch

 

My Notes:

• Instead of adding basil before baking, you can also add after baking
• Parsley can be used instead of basil
• The same recipe can be done with sweet potato as well

Potato Tikka

When we were in London, one of our friends invited us for lunch, and prepared potato tikka. Till then, when I have potato, I always prepared dry curry or put it in some gravy, but never tried potato tikka. Now I started preparing potato tikka regularly, sometimes as a starter and sometimes as a side dish.

 

Potato Tikka:

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Marination time : 2 hours | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2

Recipe Category: Appetizer

Ingredients:

Potato – 1 cup + 1/2 cup (Baby potatoes preferable. As I didn’t have them handy, I used diced

potato)

Hung Curd/Sour Cream– 3 tbsp (I used Sour cream)

Pepper Powder/Chilli powder- 1/8 tsp (I used pepper powder)

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Garam Masala powder – 1/2 tsp

Tandoori Masala  – 1/2 tsp (optional)

Chat Masala – 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice / Amchur Powder – 1/4 tsp (I used Amchur Powder)

Ginger garlic paste – 1/4 tsp

Oil – 1 tsp

How to make hung curd:

Hang 1/4 cup curd in a muslin cloth or any thin cloth for an hour to make the required hung curd.

Method:

• Par boil potatoes (I microwaved potatoes for 5 mins) and mix the rest of ingredients and keep refrigerated for 2 hours (minimum an hour)

• Preheat the oven at 400 deg F and arrange the marinated potatoes in the baking tray and grill the potatoes for 15-18 mins, turning over the potatoes in between for even cooking

My Notes:

• If you are having as a starter, serve it with green chutney
• Instead of oven you can even cook it in a skillet
• If you are using wooden skewers, immerse them in cold water for 15 min to avoid browning

Checkout my other tikka recipe,

Tofu and Grape Tomato Tikka

Bread Upma

Bread Upma is my all time favorite dish. I still remember my childhood days, whenever Amma buys a loaf of bread, she prepares bread butter jam, bread sandwich and bread upma. Amma’s Bread upma is simple and tastes yummy. To give a crispy texture to the bread I have baked the bread and added Checkout my other recipes using bread

• Guacamole Sandwich
• Black Bean Sandwich
• Wheats Oats Banana Bread (Eggless)
• Bread Savory Pancake
• Baked Bread Roll
• Baked Bread tikki
• Garlic Bread
• Bruschetta

Bread Upma: Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Baking time : 14 mins | Serves : 2 Recipe Category: Breakfast Ingredients: Bread – 8 slices (I used wheat bread) Onion – 1, finely chopped Tomato – 1, finely chopped Frozen Green Peas – 3 tbsp Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp Coriander Powder – 1 tsp Cumin Powder – 1/2 tsp Garam Masala – 1 tsp Sambar Powder – 1/8 tsp Curry leaves -few Salt -as needed Cooking spray / oil – to grease the baking tray (I used cooking spray) Oil – 1 tsp Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree F, and place the bread in oven. Bake on both sides (around 7 minutes each and turning the bread in between) or until bread becomes crispy.  Turn off the oven and let the bread stays in the oven

• In a pan heat oil and when the oil becomes hot, add curry leaves and onion, saute till onion becomes translucent,  then add tomato and cook
• Once onion and tomato are cooked, add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, sambar powder and garam masala and cook for 2-3 minutes

• Take the bread from the oven;cut into pieces

• Add the bread pieces to the masala, gently mix until the masala coats well.  Serve hot to enjoy the crispy bread upma

My Notes:

• Baking bread is optional. You can even toast/ grill the bread
• Baked Bread upma tastes great if served immediately
• You can use plain bread and make upma  avoiding baking
• Ginger garlic paste can be added
• Usually i temper the upma with mustard seeds and channa dal,  missed doing that, while taking the picture
• You can bake the bread and keep it in the turned off oven for 45 minutes – 1 hour and  quickly saute the bread with the masala before serving. By doing this way Bread upma will be crsipy instead of soggy texture

Baked Idli Fry

I have never been a fan of idli. Whenever my mom makes idli, I will crib so much, and she will eventually make Idli Upma and Kunku (Adding onion,chili and coriander to idli batter and frying the idly). Day before yesterday while talking to Amma, she told that she had prepared kunku. After hearing that, I felt like having fried idli. Instead of deep frying, I baked the idlis, and still managed to get a crispy outer layer. This helps in using minimal oil, with no compromise in taste.

Baked Idli Fry:

Prep Time: 5 mins    |  Cook time: 20 mins    |  Serves: 3

Recipe Category: Appetizers

Ingredients:

Idli – 20 mini idli

Sesame oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400F
• Apply an even sesame oil coat to the idlis
• Arrange it in a baking tray and bake it for 10 minutes. Take it out and turn the idlis over. Bake for another 10 minutes. Serve it with ketchup/ idli podi/ garlic podi

 

Check my other recipes using Idli/Dosa Batter,

Masala Idli

Idli Upma

Kaima Idli

Masala Paniyaram

Vegetable Waffle Dosai