Poondu (Garlic) Rasam

Another simple, healthy & flavorful rasam recipe from the traditional series.

Garlic rasam mixed with hot rice and a dab of ghee is not only comforting, but also has a lot of medicinal qualities especially for the sick & bed-ridden. With garlic & cumin & pepper, you can't find a better home remedy for cold & sore-throat!

But, wait! You don't have to be sick to enjoy this aromatic & flavorful rasam. Hot & spicy garlic rasam makes a perfectly warming soup on any cold rainy day!

Basic Info
Complexity - Simple
Prep time - 5 mins
Cook time - 20 mins
Serves - 3-4

Ingredients
Tomatoes - 3 Medium (ripe, sour)
Cooked Toor dal - 2 tsp (pressure cooked & mashed)
Tamarind - Small marble sized
Water - 2 cups + 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing - 2 pinches
Salt - to taste

To Crush Coarsely
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Pepper corns - 2 tsp
Dry red chilli - 1 no
Garlic - 7-8 cloves (leave the skin on)

To Season
Ghee - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Cilantro - few stalks

Method

Mix 2 tsp of cooked toor dal with a cup of water and keep it ready until use.

Heat a cup of water and soak tamarind in it for 10 mins. Extract about 2 cups of tamarind water from it. Filter the water & discard the pulp.

Using your hands, squish & mash the tomatoes into tamarind water. Add turmeric water, salt, hing and mix well.

In the meanwhile, take a mixer, add cumin seeds & pepper corns and give it a pulse. Next, add dry red chilli and give it a second pulse and finally, add garlic cloves and give it the third & last pulse. The idea is to coarsely grind the ingredients. Alternatively, you can use mortar & pestle and crush them into a coarse mixture.

Add this crushed mixture to the tamarind water. 

Bring it to a rolling boil on medium heat (takes about 10-12 mins). Then, add dal water, adjust salt and let it froth (takes about 2-3 mins).

Remove from heat & cover it completely for atleast 15 mins for all the flavors to be locked inside.

Heat a tsp of ghee, splutter mustard seeds and add it to the rasam. Garnish with curry leaves & cilantro and hot rasam is ready to be served.

Milagu Kuzhambu

When someone in my family is sick, I know where to turn to and how to make them feel better. Thanks to all those comforting traditional recipes that are passed down to us from our ancestors! Especially, last week was so tiring with my entire family was taken down by a nasty flu. Without a doubt, traditional recipes were my only resort. 

It's such a blessing to have known what to use in a traditional recipe, how to cook & when to cook, just the way our ancestors cooked them. Traditional recipes are packed with nutrients and super nourishing especially during sick times. They use no artificial ingredients, no pre-processed foods, but the best food that helps our body to get the maximum nutrition and comfort in every possible way!

Every culture has a nourishing tradition of their own and we, Tamilians also have a rich nourishing tradition that includes a lot of healthy ingredients such as pepper, cumin, ginger, turmeric, hing, garlic, curry leaves, ajwain etc.

Milagu Kuzhamabu (tamarind pepper stew) is one such traditional recipe, where pepper serves as a good decongestant for the stuffy noses & throats. I always remember my mom saying how sweating helps body to cool down during fever and heat from the peppercorns works wonder at that. Curry leaves & hing promotes digestive health, which is supposedly weak during ailment. Milagu kuzhambu was spicy yet very comforting with hot rice and a dash of ghee.

Ingredients

Tamarind - small golf ball sized
Water - 2 cups + 1 cup
Ural dal - 2 tbsp
Whole black pepper - 1.25 tbsp
Hing - a small piece
Red chillies - 2 nos
Gingelly oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp
Dry ginger powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 6 sprigs + 1 sprig for garnish
Sundakkai vathal - 1 tbsp (optional)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp (I used 1/2 tsp of roasted cumin powder)
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 1 tsp

Method

Soak tamarind in a cup of hot water and extract about 3 cups of tamarind pulp. Set it aside.

Heat abt a tsp of gingelly oil and fry hing, urad dal, whole black peppercorns, red chillies until crisp & golden brown. Let it cool and grind it into a fine paste along with fresh curry leaves using very less water (about 2-3 tbsp). Set it aside.

Heat rest of the oil in a deep saucepan. When hot, add sundakkai vathal and fry it for a min. To this, add tamarind pulp extract (caution: oil might splatter), turmeric powder, salt and let it boil for about 15 mins until it reduces to half in quantity.

Now, add the ground paste, dry ginger powder, curry leaves (from 1 sprig) and let it boil for another 5 mins. Remove from heat. Fry cumin seeds in a tbsp of ghee and add it to milagu kuzhambu at the end.

Yummy, flavorful milagu kuzhambu is ready to be served.

Note

You could also grind tamarind along with the other spices, add water and bring them all to a boil until the mixture starts to thicken and the raw smell of tamarind goes away!

Cucumber juice

Gearing up for the Summer?! Well, here's a simple 10-min juice recipe that can rejuvenate you from the inside out! Cool & refreshing cucumber water with a minty-citrusy-gingery note - this perfectly light & bright drink can help you get going even during those hottest months of the year!

Basic Info
Complexity - Simple
Prep time - 5 mins
Cook time - 5 mins
Serves - 1

Ingredients
Cucumber - 10 nos
Mint leaves - 10 nos (optional)
Lime - 1 no
Dry ginger powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Water - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Ice cubes - as required

Method
Peel the outer layer of the cucumber and chop them into bigger chunks.

Blend chopped cucumber, mint leaves into fine paste without adding water. Using a fine seive, filter just the juice. Press the juice through the sieve using back of the spoon and discard pulp.

Stir in lime juice, dry ginger powder, salt and mix well. Add ice cubes & serve chilled.

Paneer Aloo Matar

A classic punjabi recipe that goes so well with poori or any other Indian bread.

We loved this recipe so much that I thought every single ingredient in this recipe is there for a reason. Adding methi leaves to the recipe gives it a remarkable flavor boost. We liked this curry on the drier side, but you can always add more water and make it gravy-based.

Basic Info
Complexity - Medium
Prep time - 20 mins
Cook time - 25 mins
Serves - 3-4

Ingredients
Green Peas - 1/2 cup (fresh/frozen)
Paneer Cubes - 1/2 cup
Potatoes - 2 nos (medium sized, boiled and cubed)
Onion - 1 no (large, finely chopped)
Garlic - 2 pods (minced)
Ginger - 1 inch (grated)
Tomatoes - 2 nos (medium sized, ripe)
Cashewnuts - 1 tbsp (heaped)
Kasoori Methi - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method

Use a mixer and grind tomatoes & cashews into a fine paste (without adding any water). Keep it aside until ready to use.

Boil potatoes until 3/4th cooked. Drain water and chop them into 1 inch cubes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan. When hot, add boiled & cubed potatoes and shallow fry them until for 2-3 mins. Drain and keep it aside.

Also, shallow fry paneer cubes in the same pan until golden brown. Drain and keep it aside.

Now, add onion into the same pan and saute until translucent. Saute grated ginger & minced garlic for a min. Add tomato + cashew puree and let it cook for 3-4 mins.

Next, stir in all the dry masala powder - turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, kasoori methi (crush into powder with hands) and cook for a min.

Add, potatoes, paneer cubes, peas and cook for another min on medium. Then, add 1/2 cup of water and let the mixture cook on low heat for about 4-5 mins until it reduces to required consistency.

Remove from heat and serve it with poori/rotis.

Notes

Since I added frozen peas, 4-5 min cooking at the end was enough. Incase you are using fresh peas, make sure to cook them 3/4th before using in the last step of the recipe.

Bhel Puri

With green chutney & tamarind chutney as my previous posts, can you guess what this post is going to be?! Alright, chaat item it is!

Bhel puri, a classic north Indian street snack that is low-fat, nutritious & delicious too! What more can you ask for in a snack? Crispy puffed rice, crunchy namkeen, soft potatoes, refreshing mix of cucumbers & tomatoes combined with spicy-tangy-sweet chutneys and garnished with cilantro - whoa, what a lovely mix of colors, flavors & textures! Bhel puri is a pure treat for both eyes & tummy!

Bhel puri has to be served immediately as soon as it is mixed. Otherwise, juices from the veggies and the chutneys makes it really soggy & unappetizing. Fill your plate with a big mound of bhel puri, garnish with sev poori / cilantro / chaat masala on top and what else? Just dig in!

Basic Info

Complexity - Simple

Prep time - 25 mins

Cook time - 10 mins

Serves - 3-4

Ingredients

Puffed rice - 3 cups 

Papdi / Sev / any kind of namkeen that you like - 2 cups (I used Surati Bhel mix)

Cucumber - 2 nos (small, chopped into small pieces)

Tomatoes - 2 nos (small, deseeded, chopped into small pieces)

Potatoes - 2 nos (small, boiled & peeled, chopped into small pieces)

Cilantro - 2-3 tbsp (finely chopped)

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Green Chutney - 1.5 tbsp (adjust to your spice level)

Tamarind Chutney - 1.5 tbsp (adjust to your taste)

Fine Sev - as required (for garnish)

Chaat masala/amchur powder - as required (for garnish)

Method

Dry roast puffed rice for couple of mins until crisp (helps in bringing back crispiness & freshness).

Mix puffed rice and namkeen together. Set it aside until ready to serve. Mix cucumber, tomatoes, boiled potatoes, salt and set aside.

When ready to serve, mix dry ingredients & veggie mix together along with green chutney & tamarind chutney. Adjust chutneys to your taste while making sure that it coats the entire bhel puri.

Garnish on top with sev puri, sprinkle of chaat masala/amchur, cilantro and serve immediately.

Notes

• In addition to other vegetables, you can also add finely chopped onion. I skipped it.
• Add about 1/2 cup of mixed sprouted lentils to make it a protein-rich snack.
• Add about 1/2 cup of roasted peanuts for that extra crunch in texture.
• Too much of chutneys will make the bhel puri soggy.
• Do not mix dry & wet ingredients together until ready to serve.

Tamarind chutney

Popularly, called as sweet chutney, adds a sweet & sour flavor to chaat varieties. Tamarind, being the main ingredient of this chutney gives a nice tangy taste. Chutney gets it sweetness from one of these - jaggery/dates/raisins/sugar. I have used jaggery in this recipe. This sweet & sour chutney can also be served alongside samosas, cutlets etc.

Basic Info

Complexity - Simple

Prep time - 20 mins

Cook time - 5 mins

Serves - about 3/4 cup

Ingredients

Tamarind - 1/4 cup (packed)
Powdered jaggery - 1/4 cup
Water - 1 cup
Roasted ground cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Ground black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp

Method

Bring 1 cup of water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and soak tamarind in the boiling water for atleast 15 mins.

Let it cool and use your hands to squeeze and extract as much pulp as you can from the tamarind (do not add water). Use a sieve to strain just the pulp. Discard seed & membranes.

To this filtered tamarind pulp, add rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Green Chutney

This vibrantly green, cilantro & mint based chutney is easy to make and very flavorful. Chaat varieties are considered to be incomplete without this chutney. Perfect accompaniment for crispy Indian snacks.

Basic Info

Complexity - Simple

Prep time - 5 mins

Cook time - 5 mins

Serves - about 3/4 cup

Ingredients
Cilantro - 1/2 cup (packed)
Mint - 1/2 cup (packed)
Green chillies - 2 nos
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Ginger - 1/4 inch
Salt - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Hing - a pinch

Method

Use a mixer and grind everything together into a fine paste (without adding water).

My First "Liebster" Award

My blog has been nominated for a Liebster award. If you 're like me, you might probably be wondering what a "Liebster award" is. So, the curious in me set to find out what "Liebster" means & what the award is meant for.

"Liebster" in German means "beloved/favorite/dearest". Liebster award is an award nominated to a blogger (nominee, with less than 200 followers) by a fellow blogger (nominator) who follows/enjoys nominee's blog. The nominee has two options, either to accept the award & pass it on (or) refuse the award. Though there are no judges / no special rules, this is what is religiously followed across the blogs. 

• Share 11 random facts about you.
• Answer the 11 random questions asked by the nominator.
• Pass it on to 11 fellow bloggers with 11 new questions.

Honestly, I have no clue about the connection between "Liebster" and the number "11". Having said that, Liebster award is basically to encourage the fellow 'newbie' bloggers, increase the blog traffic and keep the chain going! It's as simple as that!!

So, I was nominated for "Liebster award" by a wonderful fellow blogger, Naaz Mateen of Ammi Rasoi. First of all, let me 'Thank you' Naaz Mateen, for choosing my blog for the award. This award is so encouraging & exciting as I am still taking baby steps in the food-blogging world. So, I have decided to accept the award and pass it on!

11 random facts about myself my blog

(I decided to state 11 random facts about my blog which I think is more appropriate)

1. My first post was on November 28, 2011.
2. I have published 177 recipes so far.
3. Incidentally, I have made sweets/desserts for all the milestones (50th, 100th, 150th posts).
4. My most popular post till date is "Seppankizhangu Roast" followed by "Potato Sagu".
5. Only, recipes that are approved by my husband & my kiddo make it to the blog.
6. For taking pictures, I use Samsung PL120 digital camera.
7. Most exciting recipe - Ice cream. I wasn't even aware that ice cream can be made at home, so it was definitely a thrilling one for me!
8. Most complex recipe that I have tried for more than 5 times, and still unable to perfect it - "Mughlai Dum Biriyani" (still working on it).
9. Eggless dates cake was definitely a reviving recipe from my 5 month long dormant period.(between Feb 2012 & July 2012)
10. What drives me to do more & more is when someone writes to me / tells me how good my recipe turned out for them and how much their family enjoyed it.
11. Recent feedback that I got from my friend 's circle (after trying the recipe) is for "Pulikaichal".

11 questions from Ammi Rasoi, my nominator

1. What do you like to cook? Anything that my family will love to eat.
2. What is your favorite food? Hands down, south Indian vegetarian.
3. Why did you start blogging? Mainly to save the recipes for my son/daughter & future generations to come.
4. What are the best five words that describe you? Honest, sincere, hard-working, emotional, short-tempered.
5. Do you have some other food blogs that you recommend? food viva, veggie belly, rak's kitchen, chefinyou, recipris, acurryofalife, sharmispassions, manjulaskitchen  and a lot more out there!
6. How do you click your photographs? In natural light with samsung PL 120 digital camera.
7. What is your weakness? My family.
8. Your favorite weekend outing? Place doesn't matter, but it has to be with my family.
9. What was your first comment on the other blogs? "This is so tempting :) 'll try this & let you know .."
10. What do you love about blogging? How it extends my boundary in learning various cuisines.
11. Are you an extrovert or introvert? mix of both! Shy yet very out-going!!

My 11 questions

1. How long have you been blogging?
2. Who is the biggest inspiration for your food blog?
3. What is the most impressive dish you have ever made?
4. What is 'comfort food' for you?
5. What is your favorite dish?
6. What is your favorite dessert?
7. Sweet (or) Savory?
8. Bland (or) Spicy?
9. Coffee (or) Tea?
10. Who is your most favorite celebrity chef and why?
11. If you were to host a show in any food channel, which show would you like to host & why?

My nominations

1. Colleen Mahal of "A Curry of a Life" - Adore the way how Colleen writes about Indian food. Kudos to all the effort she 's taking to learn them & more so, blogging them. My go-to blog whenever I need traditional Punjabi recipes.
2. Jayashree Govindarajan of "Thalikkum Osai" - Love the touch of humor that runs right from her "Intro page" through the entire blog. It was so inspiring to see a blog in Tamil. I am not sure if she is still blogging, but this award is just to let her know how much I like her blog and encourage her to continue from where she 'd left.
3. Savithri of "Married to a desi" - This is one of the blogs that I used to visit often even before I started blogging. Used to love the way she presents a recipe, her story and her clicks. Again, I don't know if she still writes, but would love to see her continue.
4. MD of Veg Bowl - Love, love, love her pictures. There are days when I have simply sat in front of my laptop and drooled at her pictures.
5. Vidhya Subramony of "Sweet Karam Kapi"- I am a big fan of her cover with coffee beans & coffee cup in the background. Infact, that's what got me into following her blog.
6. Shweta of Shweta in the Kitchen
7. Rajani of My Kitchen Trials
8. Champa of Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen
9. Princy Vinoth of Spicy Food
10. Shobana Arunkumat of Shobs Kitchen
11. Shanthi Muthuvel of 7aumsuvai

Minestrone

Are you vegetarian? Are you new to the place (USA)? Are you adventurous to try different cuisines? Are you surrounded by family/friends who's already living here for few years now? Then, you must be a raving fan of Olive Garden 's minestrone by now.. I bet!

After all, who could resist their hearty soup with freshly baked garlic bread sticks & garden salad on the side. Especially with their 'unlimited soup & salad' option, you can keep going bowls after bowls.. it is that good! 

And, this is my humble attempt in recreating Olive Garden 's vegetarian classic. And, it was amazingly close to the original .. how couldn't it be, when my 'super-critic' husband gave a 9/10 for my version of the soup! Seasoned rightly with pepper & parmesan and perfectly warming for the cold evening, we went for seconds & thirds even with this home-made version.. how characteristic of minestrone!!

Incase you don't know, minestrone is a delicious & healthy soup of Italian origin, made with vegetables, pasta, lentils and cooked in a light vegetable broth.

Basic Info
Complexity - Simple
Prep time - 15 mins
Cook time - 1 hour
Serves - 3-4 cups

Ingredients
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Garlic - 3 pods (minced)
Tomato - 8 nos (about 2 cups, blanched & outer layer peeled, chopped)
Carrot - 1 no (chopped into 1 inch cubes)
Beans - 10 nos (about 1 cup, chopped into 1 inch bits)
Uncooked shell/elbow pasta - 1/2 cup (uncooked, or any type of small pasta)
Kidney beans / Rajma - 1 cup (soaked overnight & pressure cooked just until tender)
Vegetable broth - 4 cups (I used organic & low-sodium)
Water - 2 cups
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp (mix of oregano, basil, marjoram, sage & garlic, pre-packaged, store-bought)
Dried basil leaves - 1 tsp (can be substituted with fresh basil leaves)
Pepper - 1 tsp (adjust to your taste)
Salt - 1.5 tsp (adjust to your taste)
Spinach leaves - 1 cup (packed, de-stemmed)
Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Method

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a deep saucepan. Add chopped onion & garlic and saute for 5 - 7 mins until onions are browned. Add carrots, beans, tomatoes, vegetable broth, water, italian seasoning, dried basil leaves, salt & pepper and bring it to a boil.

Reduce heat, and let it simmer for 20 mins. Then, add cooked kidney beans, uncooked pasta, spinach and let it simmer for another 15 mins or until pasta is tender & cooked.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese & pepper on top and serve hot!

Notes

• There are no limitations on the vegetables. You can add as many vegetables of your choice.

Events

Linking it to the event 'Healthy food for healthy kids - Italian' hosted by Nivedhanams and Nithu's kitchen.

Karadaiyan Nonbu Adai (Sweet/Savory)

"உருகாத வெண்ணையும் ஓரடையும் வைத்து நோன்பு நூற்றேன் 

ஒருக்காலும் என் கணவர் என்னை விட்டு பிரியாது இருக்க வேண்டும்."

Each & every south-Indian wife recites the above verses and prays for the well-being of their husbands on the auspicious day of "Karadaiyan Nonbu" that falls exactly at the start of the Tamil month "Panguni". 

The history behind this festival dates back to the earliest times of Mahabaratha, where Savitri, princess from a place called Madra, Asvapati chooses to marry Satyavan even after knowing that he had just one year to live after their marriage. Savitri who is bound and determined to save Satyavan from Yama (God of death), maintains strict fasting and vigil in an effort to save her husband. On the day when Yama arrives to claim the soul of Satyavan, Savitri impresses Yama with her dedication and arguments to save Satyavan. Finally, Yama is forced to admit his defeat over Savitri's wisdom and grants back Satyavan's life.

The connection between the story & the festival is that Savitri fought with Yama and brought back her husband to life exactly at the time when the Tamil month "Masi" ends and the following month "Panguni" begins. Inorder to commemorate this incident of the past, we observe fasting on this day, tie sacred thread around our neck and pray for long life of husbands. We also make two types of adai (sweet & savory) for neivedhyam (offerings).

Young & unmarried girls also observe this fasting & tie sacred thread and pray for ideal husbands.

Basic Info

Complexity - Medium

Prep time - 15 mins

Cook time - 30 mins

Serves - 23-25 adai of each version

Ingredients

To make rice flour

Sona masoori rice - 2 cups

Savory version

Rice flour - 1 cup

Water - 1.5 cups

Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Cooked karamani (black eyed peas) - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp

Broken urid dal - 1 tsp

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - 6-7 nos (finely chopped)

Green chillies - 1 no (finely chopped)

Dry red chillies - 1 no (finely chopped)

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp
Coconut oil - 1 tsp

Sweet version

Rice flour - 1 cup

Jaggery - 1 cup (grated / powdered)

Water - 1 cup

Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Cooked karamani (black eyed peas) - 2 tbsp

Method
Soak about 4 tbsp of karamani/cowpeas overnight covered in water. Cook the peas in boiling water, until they are tender but not mushy. Drain the peas and set it aside.

To make rice flour

Wash rice (do not soak) and drain the water completely. Now, roast washed & drained rice in a pan until crisp and has slightly changed its color. Let it cool and grind it into a fine powder.

 

Savory version

Heat oil in a small saucepan. When hot, splutter mustard seeds, roast urid dal until golden brown, fry hing, curry leaves, red chillies, green chillies briefly for few seconds. To this, add 1.5 cups of water and bring it to a rolling boil. Now, add cooked karamani, grated coconut, 1 cup of rice flour, salt, coconut oil and mix well. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens. Keep it aside to cool.

Sweet version
Bring equal parts of jaggery & water to a rolling boil. To this, add cardamom powder, coconut, rice flour, cooked karamani and keep stirring until the mixture thickens. Keep it aside to cool.

How to make adai's

Take abt 1.5 tbsp of sweet/savory mixture, roll it into a smooth ball, press it lightly between your palms, slightly indent on top with your index finger. Repeat this with the rest of the mixture and cook them in batches using a idli cooker for 2-3 mins. Do not pressure cook.

Serve with butter on the side.

Now, nothing can beat this divine combo! Enjoy!!

 

Notes

• I did not have karamani in hand. So, used whole black urid dal instead. No changes to the cooking procedure though.
• Incase the sweet/savory cooked mixture is too dry to make adai, sprinkle little water and losen the mixture.

Florentines

A delectable dessert that elegantly fits into an Italian themed menu! 

Floretines are delicate, crispy, lacey cookies made of almonds coated with a sweet mixture of sugar & honey. These cookies are great for give-away as gifts especially during the holiday season.

I remember seeing Giada making this recipe in one of her "Food" network shows. Frankly, it didn't strike a right note for me then and I kind of forgot about it! Last week, as I was searching for an Italian dessert recipe, I stumbled upon this one. Though unsure about the outcome and taste, I decided to give it a try simply for its not-so-intricate details & ingredients.

Nevertheless, the cookies came out wonderfully baked - sweet, nutty, crunchy, chewy - perfect mingle of texture & flavors. Orange zest made all the difference by adding a deep flavor and gave an extra zing that the cookie needs!

These cookies are so good that you wouldn't want to stop after munching on one. So, make plenty of them. All my cookies were over in just few hours.

Basic Info

Complexity - simple
Prep time - 20 mins
Cook time - 20 mins
Serves - 25 cookies

Ingredients

Whole walnuts - 1/4 cup
Blanched whole almonds - 3/4 cup  (couple of nuts here or there doesn't matter)

All-purpose flour - 1.5 tbsp

Orange zest - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1/8 tsp

Sugar - 1/3 cup

Heavy cream - 1 tbsp

Honey - 1 tbsp

Unsalted butter - 2.5 tbsp

Pure vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F for atleast 15 mins.

Pulse almonds & walnuts in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Combine the nuts, flour, orange zest, salt in a big bowl. Set it aside.

In a small saucepan, cook sugar, heavy cream, honey, butter over medium heat. Cook the mixture until it comes to a rolling boil and the sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for another 1 min. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour it over the almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside to cool.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take about a tsp of the batter and make small balls out of it. Place them on the baking sheet leaving about 2-3 inches between each cookie, as it spreads out in the oven.

Bake for about 10 mins until the cookies are thin and evenly browned, rotating the baking pan in between (after 5 mins).

Cool on the baking sheet for 15 mins or more. Enjoy!

Notes:

• Let the cookies cool completely before removing from the parchment paper, otherwise they stick to the paper and don't come off easily.

Serving suggestions: (optional)

• Chocolate sandwich: Spread about 1/2 tsp of melted chocolate onto the flat side of a cookie, cover it with the flat side of another cookie and let the chocolate set.
• Ice cream sandwich: Mound about half a scoop of chocolate (or any other flavor) ice cream; spread it gently with a spatula, top it with another cookie. Freeze & enjoy.

• Chocolate decor: Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines and let the chocolate set at room temperature.

Events
Linking it to the event 'Healthy food for healthy kids - Italian' hosted by Nivedhanams and Nithu's kitchen.