Sooji Toast | Suji Toast | Semolina Masala Toast Recipe

Sooji Masala Toast

`I always prefer quick breakfast recipes most days than complex ones that calls for extra dishes to wash up and extra work at chopping/ grinding. Irony is that I end up making the latter most times since in India most times we cannot skip breakfast and it becomes an ideal part of beginning the day right. But I do have my kinda breakfast twists once in a while, so the other day I had a loaf of bread and made these instant Sooji Toast that are simple and quick to do almost in a jiffy. Semolina Masala toast can be made as a snack with evening tea too. The only best combination to them is tomato ketchup according to me. 

Soft & Easy Coconut Macaroons ~ a coco-nutty love affair

Today was a dull day for me and I was so clueless what to do. From morning I was in a not so good mood, well lets not talk about it.. Past few days my hubby had been asking me to make Coconut 
Burfi and I was keeping this in mind but felt like trying something different (sometimes want things my way). I also wanted something that will be simple and take less time (asking too much), my quest ended up in this ~ Soft & easy Coconut Recipe. They are the most yummy and delicate darlings that one can taste. So much so my hubby came after work and was totally surprised and truly loved it

I remember back in India we used to get coconut macaroons in ‘old-fashioned bakeries’, where they used to make these fat chunky coconut biscuits that were hard to chew and you can literally feel the chunky coconut bits (which I totally dislike). Let me tell you that these are not so, they are little firm on the outside and soft in the inside. If you are someone who loves the chocolate Bounty or any other coconut based chocolate you will definitely love this one.

Prep & cook time ~ 25 mins

Makes ~ 12-15 small macaroons

Recipe Source ~ food.com, slightly adapted to my own

Ingredients 

Fine desiccated coconut - 2 2/3 Cup

All purpose flour/ Maida - 1/4 C

Sugar - 2/3 C

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Egg whites - 4

Almond Extract - 1 tsp (this gives a lovely smell & taste)

Method

- Pre-heat oven to 180C/325 F

- Add the flour, sugar and desiccated coconut in a mixing bowl

- In another bowl beat the egg whites and almond essence until its smooth and combined

- Add the wet ingredients to the dry one little by little, use a wooden spoon and mix well

- In a baking tray add parchment paper and start spooning the mixture and drop 1 tsp at a time to form small cone shape

- Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown

Tips & Tricks 

Never put more than 1 tsp as they taste great when they are small

Linking this recipe to Priya Suresh aks Valentine's Day Recipe Event

Fruit & Nut Biscotti Bars~ yummers

My love for fruit and nut chocolates and biscuits has led me to try this. Who doesn't like a crunchy bar for an evening snack with some coffee? Sometimes I used to wonder if I could find something as tasty as cadbury's fruit and nut and nothing can replace that. But since this is a better calorie version I gave it a try. They are crunchy, nutty, fruity and taste like the biscotti we get in starbucks.

Prep & cook time ~ 40 mins

Makes ~ 5-6 chunky bars

Recipe Source ~ adapted from Joy of Baking( it tried to alter to my taste)

Ingredients 

Nuts - 1 cup, coarsely chopped (i used cashew, walnuts and badam)

Dry fruits - 1/2 cup (green& black)

Plain Flour - 1/3 cup

Dermerara Sugar - 1/2 cup (this adds the color, i did not add coco powder)

Baking powder - 1/3 tsp

Baking soda - 1/3 tsp

Egg - 1 medium

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Salt - pinch

Method

• Prepare a baking dish by lining it with foil on all sides and Pre-heat oven to 200 C, place the baking dish on it
• In a mixing bowl sieve the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, add the chopped nuts and raisins to this and coat them evenly, next add the sugar and mix well
• In another bowl beat the egg and vanilla essence till it becomes think and changes color
• Add the wet mixture to the dry one and mix  well with a wooden spoon
• Now take the baking tray and fill in the mixture and flatten it with the wooden spoon. Make sure that the mixture is 3-4 cms thick 
• Place it in the oven and bake until you see a golden brown coating on the top or till 20 minutes
• Take the baking tin and place the foil on a wire rack to cool.
• After 15 minutes cut them into horizontal bars and enjoy

Tips & Tricks

• Go by your own taste and replace nuts and fruits as per your taste
• You could replace the sugar to any other version, I used dermerara since its unrefined, brown sugar also should be good
• You could also use the ready made foil trays available

Easy Fish Cutlets/ Fish cakes (shallow fry) ~ for the taste buds

My mouth actually waters seeing this picture, trust me these cutlets/ cakes are pure indulgence. Its a complete people pleaser. My husband loves them and for sure the 'way to a mans' heart is though is belly'. To tell you more about the taste I would say that it is a moist, crunchy outside, soft & juicy inside, I know we don't make this quite often at home thinking we need too much oil, but I have pre-cooked the fish hence all that needs to be done is shallow fry the outside. Now lets get going with the recipe. I am linking this to hearth & soul blog hop.

Source ~ Own

Prep & cook time ~ 30 mins

Makes ~ 6-7 cutlets (medium sized)

Ingredients

Any white fish (bone/boneless) - 3 fillets/ 300 gms

Onion - 1 large, finely chopped

Green chilli - 4-5, finely chopped (based on spice tolerence, optional)

Bread crumbs - handful

1 egg - for coating (optional, can be replaced with little flour mixed withwater)

Red chilli powder - 1/2-1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Pepper - 1/3 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 spoon

Salt - to taste

Oil (sunflower) - for shallow frying

Method

Fish - 

First in a saucepan boil some water with salt and boil the fish for 5 mins, once its done pour out the water and let the fish cool down. When its cooled down with a spoon/hands try and break the fish into small pieces. Leave some small bits to give the cutlet some texture

Bread crumbs-

No need to toast them, take some left over bread and blend it in a mixie once its powders spread it in a plate to be used later

For the Fish Masala-

In a wok/ non-stick pan, heat 2 tsp of oil and add the chopped onions and let them sweat, then add the green chillis and ginger-garlic paste, let it cook well

Next add the spices/masala and combine well, add the fish and let it cook for 2 mins

Transfer the contents on wok to a plate/ bowl and let it come to room temperature.

Add some bread crumbs to this if you feel the mixture is wet. Roll the fish mixture into small goft size balls and try to press them firmly so that they stick well and place them in a plate to be fried later, let this sit in the refrigerator for 15 minutes for the juices to release, You could also leave it over-night to be done later

Frying-

Heat oil in a pan

Keep the breadcrumbs and egg/flour mixture ready and dip the cutlets into the wet (egg/flour) mixture and then in the bread crumbs and place it in a plate, dust the excess breadcrumbs

Once you have completed dusting the cutlets, let it sit in the pan for frying, until all sides are cooked and turn brown

Serve hot with tomato ketchup. Enjoy!

Tricks & Tips

-Do the cutlet patties the previous night for better flavor

-Spices can be avoided if you want them just to be plain

- bread crumbs can be keep outside for 10 days, you could use any soft bread that you fancy