Almond crinkle cookies

After a really long time I took my camera out to take some pics only to realise there was absolutely no motivation. But since it was a sunny day (for a change) and since I didn't have anything in my drafts to post, I decided to bake and make use of the lighting to take some pics.

I had bookmarked a recipe for almond crinkle cookies, but then the measurements seemed a bit confusing and so I ended up doing my own thing. I was 90 percent sure it wouldn't work out, but was pleasantly surprised at the end result. I made chocolate crinkle cookies a long time back and it is one of my most popular posts on the blog. They are an absolute crowd pleaser and perfect gifts- especially Christmas, because those powdered sugar tops make them look like snow mountains.

 

Anyways, we are not here to talk about the chocolate crinkles are we? The star here are the almond crinkles which are not bad at all, in fact I like them better than the choc crinkles and hot out of the oven, they are delish. I also thought they were easier to put together compared to the choc ones- the entire process was done in half an hour. Its a one-bowl, no-fuss recipe which I'm sure I'll be making again.

The pictures however, are horrible. Once I was done with baking, my mind just went blank. I just didn't know how to style them and make them look great. Even the perfect lighting couldn't inspire me. So I just chucked them all in a bowl and did the easiest possible thing...used a white background and back lighting to take boring pics. That said, I took 125 pics of the same damn thing in different angles. Transferred them on to the computer only to realise most of them were out of focus and the harsh lighting was hurting my eyes. So I had to re-do the whole setting with diffused lighting and then cleaning up the mess just made it so exhausting, I stayed away from pictures and editing and writing for two days. Hence the delay in posting the recipe after teasing you all with the picture on fb. Apologies!

Makes 20 small cookies

Egg- 1 medium

Granulated sugar- 63 grams

Lime juice- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Ground almonds- 150 gms

Fine semolina- 40 gms

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Vegetable oil- 1 tbsp 

Powdered sugar- to roll the cookies

Beat the egg and sugar together in a mixing bowl till pale yellow. I used my hand whisk to do this, but feel free to use a hand blender if you please.

Add the lime juice and vanilla extract to it and continue whisking till well mixed.

Throw in the ground almonds, semolina and baking powder one after the other and fold it all in using a spatula. The mix would be slightly coarse, but that's ok. Just make sure you mix it well.

Pour the vegetable oil and give a thorough mix till they all come together.

You can either chuck the bowl into the refrigerator for a couple of minutes for the dough to set which would make it easier to roll, but I didnt need to do this as the dough was of perfect consistency.

Even after you have refrigerated, if your mix still is a little too loose, just add more semolina, or if its too thick, loosen it up with a few drops of milk.

In the mean time, preheat your oven to 160C and get the baking tray ready with baking paper.

Put a couple of spoons of powdered sugar on a plate and start rolling the dough.

Wet you hands lightly and make small balls with the dough (about half tbsp per ball) and roll in icing sugar. The ball should be completely covered with icing sugar.

place them about an inch apart on the baking sheet. The cookies expand when baking and the icing sugar cracks giving it that crinkly top effect.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and cool for about 5 minutes after which you can (eat them non stop or) transfer on to a wire rack and cool completely before storing in air tight containers or zip lock bags.

Notes: Feel free to double the recipe for a larger batch
I used gluten free baking powder.

The cookies are not really crunchy, but more cakey in consistency (in a nice sort of way, I promise). bake them a little longer if you want them crunchy

Stir fried rice noodles and Pork Vindaloo

I was not that big of a pork fan till I somehow ended up making a pork fry once. The meat was so tender and it tasted so damn good, I made it again and again....but just that one preparation and that too with pork shoulders and none of that immensely greasy pork fat which I despise, and Ro loves. Its the same case with my mom as well. She makes yummy pork curries and stir fries, but has only the gravy. So the other day we were casually talking and then she suddenly blurt out that she'd made this amazing Pork Vindaloo and it was so good even SHE ate it. That was a revelation and so I decided to give it a go as well. I took down her recipe but got side tracked and came up with a more complicated recipe but the outcome was simply marvellous. 

The stir fried rice noodles also kinda happened by fluke. I have this bad habit of grabbing things at the supermarket and piling it up in my cart with the intention of making something with it, but the moment I get home I forget and end up throwing it out once other life starts growing on it. Yes these noodles were once part of that scenario, but this time Id done proper research on what to do with it and so it didn't get chucked. They came already cooked in these small packets (one of the reasons I picked it up in the first place) and all you need to do is stir fry it with whatever veggie or meat you want for 2 minutes and you're good to go. I decided to do a South Indian version (upma as its called). But once I tasted it, I wasn't too impressed. Its alright, not out of this world. So that's not really gonna make its way back into my kitchen that often, but the pork vindaloo..definitely a YES and strangely the combo was a good one.

Stir fried rice noodles (rice noodle upma)

(loosely adapted from here)

Rice noodles- 300 gms (cooked as per instructions)

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Dry red chillies- 3

Urud/ chana dal- 1 tsp

Onion- 1 small, chopped into tiny pieces

Green chillies- 3, slit lengthwise

Ginger- 1/2 inch piece, thinly sliced

Frozen green peas- 1/4 cup

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

In a wok heat the oil and splutter mustard seeds.

Add the curry leaves, dal and dry red chillies and sauté for 5 seconds.

Add the onions, green chillies and ginger to this and saute on medium heat till the onions turn a little brown. Not too much though.

To this add the frozen green peas, salt and cooked rice noodles and on medium- high heat stir fry for a few minutes, making sure the masala is evenly coated.

Take it off the heat and serve hot with any curry of your choice.

Notes: You can add any veggie of your choice..carrots, beans etc.

I cut the long cooked strips of noodles randomly so i got smaller easier to handle strips before throwing it into the wok.

Pork Vindaloo

(a mix of Anjum Anand's recipe and Yummy o yummy's recipe)

Diced pork shoulder or any cut you please- 450 gms

Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

To grind:

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tbsp

Cinnamon sticks- 1/2 inch piece

Cloves- 2

Cardamom seeds- from 3 cardamom pods. Lightly crush them and take off the seeds

Dry red chillies- 4

Whole black peppercorns- 1/2 tsp

Black mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp (I only had fenugreek powder so used about a 1/4 tsp)

Onion- 1 large, roughly chopped

Ginger paste- 1 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

White wine vinegar- 2 tbsp

Brown sugar- 1/4 tsp

Oil- 1 tbsp

Marinate the cleaned pork cubes with pepper powder and enough salt. Keep aside.

Grind together all the ingredients under the 'to grind' section. Mix the white wine vinegar and brown sugar to the ground spices. Keep aside.

In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and sauté the onions on medium heat till they become slightly brown. About 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside to cool slightly.

Once cooled, combine it with the spice-vinegar mix and blend to a smooth paste like consistency.

In the same pressure cooker, add some more oil if required and sauté the ginger and garlic paste till the raw smell goes.

Add the coriander powder and turmeric powder and stir for a further 2 minutes.

Finally add the ground spice-onion mix and sauté on medium heat till the oil starts separating.

Throw in the diced pork, salt and give a generous stir, making sure the masala coats all the pork cubes well.

Add about 2/3rds of a cup of water, give one more stir and close with the lid.

Once the steam appears, place the weight and cook for 3 to 4 whistles.

Wait till the steam releases on its own and then open the lid. Do a taste check, add salt if required.

There will still be some liquid left. Either leave as it is or if you want it dry, transfer the same to a frying pan and fry till you get the required consistency.

I paired it with the rice noodles and so I preferred some gravy.

Notes: You can make the same with beef, lamb or even chicken.

The curry was extremely spicy and I think the next time I'll reduce the red chillies to 2.

Its one of those curries that taste extremely good the next day.