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Monday, August 24, 2020

Rose Fizz | The Rose Cocktail | Easy Simple Cocktail/Mocktail Recipe With Rose Syrup



This pandemic has made us all realise that all these things around which are lives revolved such as shopping, eating out, meeting friends, going for a movie is all temporary, its only our home and our family that is our safe place. With all the extra time at home people have been baking, reading, excising and catching up all the missed shows and movies on Netflix or Prime. And with all this one habit that has become our partner is ‘snacking’.

What is snacking? Snacking is eating a small portion of food or drink or a light meal, especially one eaten between regular meals. I am a big time snacker. A bowl of popcorn while watching a movie; or some chips when we have karaoke night; or nibbling on some homemade things in the evening-I need snacks. All these snacks we eat are not healthy but since it’s easily available we tend to choose them.



Lately, I tried these seeds and nuts pack from Boundless and it has become our most favourite one. Boundless Nuts & Seeds are activated which means that nuts and seeds are soaked which activates germination. A good soak also removes the bitter phytic acid and protecting enzymes which enables better digestion. Then these nuts and seeds are baked with flavours and a lighter crunch.

Boundless Seeds & Nuts are: - ✓ ACTIVATED    ✓ VEGAN APPROVED   ✓ GLUTEN FREE   ✓ GUT-HEALTH ✓ PORTION PACK   ✓ NON-GMO   ✓ NATURAL INGREDIENTS   ✓ HIGH IN PROTEIN   ✓ GAME-CHANGING FLAVOUR.


Ever since I tried this, I don’t think I am ever choosing unhealthy snacking options anymore. I am just hooked. They have four wonderful and interesting flavours to choose from- Orange, Ginger & Maple, Turmeric & Smoked Paprika, Tamari & Aleppo and Cayenne & Rosemary. Each one of them has different types of seeds and nuts combination and it comes in a sachet of 30 grams which makes it very handy and ideal for snacking.

Orange, Ginger & Maple: - Pecan Nuts, Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Maple Syrup, Ginger, Salt, Orange Peel Powder.

Turmeric & Smoked Paprika: - Walnuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Maple Syrup, Turmeric, Salt, Smoked Paprika, Aleppo Flakes.

Tamari & Aleppo: - Almonds, Cashew Nuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Tamari, Cider Vinegar, Aleppo Flakes, Sesame Oil.

Cayenne & Rosemary: - Almonds, Cashew Nuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Maple Syrup, Salt, Rosemary, Cayenne Pepper.

I feel that each of it has such distinct taste and flavour that I did not wanted to create a recipe out of it. I wanted to enjoy the natural raw taste that Boundless has given them. I felt that I must pair it with something or top it off on something. May be a handful of it on this chickpeas hummus to add that extra crunch or throwing it on the plain old morning porridge. I will surely add it on my burnt garlic pasta or even on this peas and mint rice.

As the sun was gleaming in through my window, I had a sudden urge to whip up a quick drink. Soda, rose syrup, a splash of tequila and ice cubes-all mixed and crafted to make this sunny summery drink. Braced it up with Boundless Nuts & Seeds while we played Uno- an evening well spent. Rose Fizz, lets call it. or The Rose Cocktail.


If you’re after a cocktail, with a gentle pink blush and subtle taste of rose then you can’t do better than this cocktail. Gets ready in jiffy, this a perfect evening refreshing drink to beat your Monday blues of kick start your Friday evening. You can easily skip the alcohol and turn it into a mocktail instead.

Rose syrup or Rooh Afza is widely used in India and that’s exactly what I have used in this recipe. I can vouch that it is a very light, tender and no fuss cocktail. You can use vodka, rum, brandy or even whiskey for this recipe-whatever fancies your taste buds. If you don’t want to use alcohol then simply add in some lemon juice and you are good to go.


Ingredients:

8-10 ice cubes

5 tablespoons rose syrup or roohafza (see notes)

Tequila as per your liking, I used around 1 and ½ ounce

Soda to fill the whole glass

Method:

Throw in ice cubes in the glass.

Pour in rose syrup.

Add in tequila and mix it gently.

Finally fill the glass with the soda and serve chilled.

Notes:

The recipe can be changed as per your preference. You can add in lemon juice, mint leaves and also use any other liqueur such as vodka, rum or brandy.

Rose syrup is easily available in Indian grocery stores. I used this one from HMD.

Disclaimer: I was not paid or told to write positive review. The post is based on my experience and is unbiased. Thanking Boundless  for sending seeds and nuts packs for review.

Monday, August 10, 2020

Whole Wheat Oats Chocolate Chunk Cookies | Dark Chocolate Cookies | Eggless Cookies | Chaki Atta, No Maida Cookies


Who doesn’t like a bit of sweet after dinner? We all need that little dessert after meals isn’t it? Most often we would sneak in the kitchen drawers looking for chocolate bars and cookies jars, m&ms, sweets or candies. Or we would open the fridge to look for ice-cream, a jar of nuttela or lollies. That’s why it’s so important to have ‘something sweet but something healthy’ to eat.

Indian desserts are loaded with milk, fats, ghee, sugar and a lot of frying goes in the process; so I decided to make cookies for that ‘something sweet but something healthy’ to eat. Whole Wheat Oats Chocolate Chunk Cookies.


What makes these cookies healthy?

  • The choice of flour. These cookies are made with whole wheat flour (chakki atta or chapatti ata) and thus it’s much healthier compared to the ones made with all purpose flour (maida).
  • I used oats as another main ingredient. Oatmeal cookies provide a small amount of protein that is not present in other cookies. Oatmeal cookies have a high fibre content compared to normal sugar cookies.
  • Dark chocolate. I used 70% dark cocoa chocolate which is a very healthy alternative compared to milk chocolate or white chocolate chips.
  • Less sugar. Because you added chocolate you wouldn’t have to add extra sugar to make your cookies sweet. The chunks of dark chocolate will make the cookies sweet and will also make it gooey.
  • You can also add a whole lot of nuts like cashews, almonds, walnut or raisins to increase the health quotient of these cookies.

What is the healthiest cookie ever? How to make healthy cookies? Recipe for healthiest cookies?

  • There is nothing called as healthiest cookie, but yes with some changes and better alternatives you can make cookies healthy. Use healthy flour such as whole wheat, rye, ragi or sorghum (jowar) flour. You can check Jowar Chocolate Cookies here.
  • You must try and use healthy side ingredients too such as flaxseeds, sesame seeds, nuts or oats. All these ingredients help to bind the dough and give you those crunchy cookies without compromising health factor.
  • Cut down on sugar; instead use honey, brown sugar, coconut sugar, applesauce or chocolate. I love to use 70-80% dark chocolate in the cookies-chocolate makes everything sweet and thus I have to add very little sugar in the whole process.
  • Reduce the fat. Try to add less butter, oil or ghee in the recipe. I would say chocolate plays a good role here too; it adds both sweetness and buttery touch to cookies. I try to add in very less fat and add healthier alternative such as milk or yogurt to recipes; it not only binds the dough, the natural fat in milk and curd makes the cookies soft.

Ingredients:

¾ cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup rolled oats

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup butter

½ cup dark chocolate chopped into chunks

4 tablespoons sugar (I used brown)

4-5 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoons yogurt

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, oats, baking soda, sugar, butter, chocolate chunks well. Try to form dough.

You will notice that dough is too hard so add yogurt and mix again.

Slowly add milk one tablespoon at a time and then keep forming dough. You should be left with hard and yet workable dough. This means that everything should be combined well and no crumbs must fall.

Keep the dough in the fridge for 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 170 C for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, line a baking tray with parchment paper/butter paper. Take a tablespoon from the dough and start making cookies. I made disc shaped cookies.

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Let it cool and serve.


Notes:

Milk, yogurt and chocolate chunk must be used right from the fridge. Rest all the ingredients must be at room temperature.

You can also use chocolate chips (milk chocolate on white chocolate) in this recipe instead of chunks.

Feel free to add chopped walnuts or almonds too.