Spiced Roasted Nuts

'A handful of nuts a day keeps your bad cholesterol away'. If you are not into raw nuts, try spicing it up and eat'em to compliment your naturally healthy diet. This is such a simple recipe and makes a great on-the-go snack with a spice kick. You can experiment with the spices and play with the recipe. Also try mixing some sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds along with the nuts. I always eat'em raw with my morning oatmeal bowl. Go healthy! Go Nuts!

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Raw Almonds

1 cup Whole Raw Walnuts

1tsp Chilli powder

1/2tsp Coriander powder

1/2tsp Cumin powder

1/4tsp ground Cinnamon

1/4tsp Black Pepper powder

1/2tsp Salt 

1tbsp Olive oil

How to:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a bowl, mix together the chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, cinnamon, black pepper powder and salt(i used a little less than 1/2 tsp), followed by the oil.

• Now add the nuts and mix well to coat the spicy masala.

• Spread the coated nuts on a baking sheet and roast'em for 10 mins by stirring twice in the middle.

• Let completely cool and store'em in an airtight container.

Whole Wheat Turtle Bread

Say Hello to my little 'Turtle'. 

This is a rustic bread so warm and comforting, perfect for the rainy days(Started raining here in Seattle). It was fun and playful making the turtle. The bread came out very soft, thanks to the egg which makes it light and airy. It is a great accompaniment with a hot hearty soup for lunch or as a snack with your evening cup of tea. You need your carbs for sure. The original recipe calls for no wheat flour, but i sneaked some just for my satisfaction. As usual, the kitchen is filled with a heavenly aroma from the baking of bread. There is no limit to the imagination, so have fun with the shape and here goes the recipe, 

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 cup  All Purpose Flour + 1/4 cup more

1 pack Active dry yeast

1 Egg

1/2 cup Water

1/3 cup Milk

1tbsp Butter

1tbsp Sugar

1tsp Salt

2 Raisins, for turtle's eyes

 How to:

• In a big bowl, add the 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, yeast, sugar and salt, mix well and keep it aside.

• In a sauce pan, add the water, milk and butter at medium-low heat and let the butter melt untouched. 

• Then stir and slowly pour it to the flour-yeast mixture, mix, followed by the egg.

• Now add the whole wheat flour and start kneading. Add the 1/4 cup all purpose flour little at a time and knead a soft and springy dough. (I kneaded for 6-8 mins.)

• Wrap loosely and let the dough rest for 10 mins.

To make the turtle:

• Wrap a aluminum foil on a cookie sheet, spray with cooking oil and keep it aside.
• Make a 2 inch smooth ball for the turtle's head.
• Make four walnut size balls for the turtle's leg.
• Make a small 1 inch log for the turtle's tail.
• Make the turtle's body with the remaining dough, by making a smooth round ball, slightly flattened and place it on the cookie sheet.
• Now attach the head, legs and tail by pinching the edge of each part with the body part of the dough.
• Press the raisins on the turtle's head for it's eyes.
• Brush the dough with olive oil to prevent it from drying. Wrap it loosely and let rest for 20-30 mins.

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Once the dough has risen, with a knife make a 1/4" circular cut around the edge of the body and make crisscross cuts to make the turtle's shell. 

• Bake for 25 mins or until golden brown.
• Let the bread cool completely on a cooling rack before storing it.

• Store in a ziploc bag tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries with Garlicky Lemon Yogurt Dip

Fries are one of the addictive finger foods, nobody can stop just eating one. These baked ones taste better than the fried ones with extra crispiness. You can taste the sweetness from the potato and little heat from the spicy seasonings at the same time. Also these sweet potato fries are a great healthy snack option, as they are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin A and C. The dip is made from Greek yogurt and other dried herbs and seasonings. The regular yogurt is strained to remove the whey, that results in thick and creamy textured Greek Yogurt. That is why it is higher in protein and low in carbohydrates and sugar.

These are super easy to prepare and makes a great pair. So dump the fast food restaurant's deep fried french fries and opt for endless baked fries at home. And here goes the recipe,

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

1 Sweet Potato

1tbsp Garlic Olive Oil

1/4tsp Paprika

1/4tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2tsp Cumin powder

Garlic Salt, to taste

Ground Black Pepper, to taste

 How to:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and keep it aside.
• Cut the sweet potato into strips with 1/2 inch thickness. (wash and dry completely before cutting'em, otherwise it might end up soggy.)

• In a bowl, to the sweet potato strips, add all the remaining ingredients and give it a good mix. (You can replace or leave out any of the seasonings, if you don't want to use the listed ingredients.)

• Now arrange the potato strips on the baking sheet without touching each other and bake'em for 15 mins, flip and bake for another 10 mins or until crispy.

• Serve hot with a dip as a snack or an appetizer.

Garlicky Lemon Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

5.3oz Greek Yogurt

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

1tsp Lemon Juice

1/2tsp dried Parsley flakes

1/4tsp Season salt (it has salt, paprika, celery, turmeric and black pepper)

1/4tsp Cumin powder

Ground Black pepper, to taste

How to:

• Mix everything together and make it smooth. Check salt for taste and add fresh herbs if you have it handy.

•  Serve alongside fries or baby carrots.

Whole Wheat Flax Bread Loaf

Who doesn't love a warm toasty and buttered homemade bread for their breakfast? This is a soft, light and healthy sandwich bread rich in omega-3 fatty acids. I found this recipe from here. The flax seed has high levels of dietary fiber and helps in lowering cholesterol. Also, flax-seed needs to be ground to make the nutrients available, otherwise they just 'pass through', so make sure you grind your own flax-seed or buy pre-ground flax-seed meal to make the best out of it. And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

2 cups Whole Wheat flour

1 cup All Purpose flour (Maida) + more, for dusting

1 cup Flax seed meal

1tbsp Active Dry Yeast

1 3/4 cups Warm Water

2tbsp Sugar

3/4tsp Salt

1tbsp Canola oil

 How to:

• Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with oil and keep it aside.
• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let sit for 5 mins or until foamy.
• To the yeast, add sugar, oil and salt followed by flax-seed meal.

• Then add the whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, mix well.
• Now add the all purpose flour and start kneading with your hands.

• Transfer the dough onto a flat floured surface and knead it for 15 mins. 

• In a big bowl, spray oil and place the kneaded dough, wrap it with a kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place for 1 1/2hrs or until the dough is doubled in size.

• Then punch the dough and transfer the dough to the loaf pan. (Press the dough down to fit the pan.)

• Let the dough sit for another 1/2hr or until it rises to 1 1/2 inches above the pan.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake it for 45 mins.
• Let sit for 10 mins before you transfer the bread loaf onto the cooling rack.

• Bring the loaf to room temperature before you slice'em.

•  To serve, toast the bread, smother it with some almond butter and devour'em.

• To store, wrap the loaf completely with plastic wrap, place it in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate it.

I am Tagged-2 (7 Links Game)

The 7 links game, wherein each title has to be linked with a recipe that suits the name. And here are my links,

• Most Beautiful Post

Limoncello Granita

This is such an sweet, luscious dessert and absolutely beautiful to all your senses. 

Eyes see the 'white creaminess with tints of yellow' , Ears hear the 'smacking and licking of your lips', Tongue tastes the 'sweetness and tang', Nose smells the 'lemony flavor', and finally, it's smooth and silky texture feels heavenly.

• Most Popular Post

Mushroom Masala (dry)

This recipe has been viewed the most all time.

• Most Controversial Post

Unfortunately, there is no recipe under this category.

• Most Helpful Post

Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani

Though all my recipes are shown step-wise, heard from quite a few that this particular recipe with all pics helped them in making their biryani.

• Surprisingly Successful Post

Basbousa/Hareesa

This is a finger-licking dessert that gave a little shiver and was a bit intimidating. But to my surprise it turned out successfully, just like the store bought.

• Attention Deserved Post 

Baked Samosa

Well, i expected this recipe deserved a little bit more attention and sadly it wasn't appealing to the viewers. 

• Post, I'm Proud of

Thick Crust Veggie Pizza

Pizza shops are around you every where. Ready made pizza dough and pizza sauces are available in almost every grocery store. What i am proud about is, that i made everything from scratch and the whole pizza disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Thanks for tagging me to this 7 links game, Shobha. It was really fun to pick the post and reviewing my blog from both reader's and blogger's prospective.