'Farm - bread' cookies

I tasted these cookies for the first at a small local food exhibition/competition. Most of the foods displayed there were typical Slovene ‘farm’ food. And these ‘farm - bread cookies’ were among them. They looked exactly like little farm baked brown breads with nice cracks on top and dusted with flour, and hence the name. They were delicious, and I wanted to have the recipe so badly. Blaž’s grandma and mama did not know it. So, when we went to Blaž’s aunt’s place last weekend, I asked her if she knows. And she did!! She had got the recipe in some booklet that came with newspaper during Christmas one year with recipes of cookies and cakes, and had made it before. The cookies take very little time to prepare and bake. A clean simple recipe it is. They look so tempting. And taste so wonderful. The outside is very crunchy, and then inside, the flavors melt in the mouth. An interesting combination of textures, crunch, and melting flavors these cookies are.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Makes ~50)

3 egg yolks

250g coconut flour

120g chocolate powder

120g ground walnut

3 egg whites

200g sugar powder

For coating: 100g sugar powder

METHOD:

1.      Mix well the egg yolks, coconut flour, ground walnut and chocolate powder.

2.      Beat the egg whites to form hard peaks. While beating, slowly add the sugar powder.

3.      Gently fold the beaten egg white into the coconut flour mix to form a uniform mass.

4.      With wet hand make little balls (~2cm) and roll them in sugar powder.

5.      Bake in pre-heated oven at 175°C for around 15 minutes (on the middle rack). While baking, the cookies will crack like farm-made bread.

6.      After cooling, they should be crunchy outside and soft inside.

Jhinge boti (Ridged gourd with coconut)

Boti is the name of any vegetable dish in Bengal cooked slowly with cover until it is cooked into almost mash. We eat ridged gourd in all different ways, the most famous being the one with poppy seeds paste. However, this particular preparation with grated coconut is also one of my favorite. It has this very subtle taste of the ridged gourd and the hint of crunch from coconut. Very refreshing and delicate dish for hot summer noon. And it is so easy to cook!

 You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

 

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

2 ridged gourds

1/2 cup freshly grated coconut

1/4sp nigella seeds

1pinch turmeric

Salt

Sugar

Oil

METHOD:

1. Peel the ridges of the ridged gourd. Cut into small cubes.

2. Heat oil in wok. Rub the nigella seeds in your palm and put in oil. Let them crackle.

3. Add the ridged gourd, a pinch of turmeric, and salt.

4. When the gourd leaves water, cover it and cook it on low heat until almost done.

5. Add the coconut, and a pinch of sugar.

6. Cook until it is done, and still moist but not watery.

NOTE:

If the ridged gourd doesn’t leave water, add very little water to it, and this will tirred the ridged gourd to leave more water.

Rubbing the nigella seeds before putting into oil helps to release its flavor.

You can add more grated coconut if you like. I like to do so!