Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars

The January 2010 Daring Bakers were presented with one of the most interesting challenges to date: Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars. Graham crackers are quite readily available in the supermarkets here and so are the English-style digestives - while the former is perfect for milk, the latter were made for a cup of hot tea! Both, of course, are quite commonly used as a biscuit base for pies and cheesecakes. As for Nanaimo Bars, I had encountered a version of these some time back in England, where goodie bags from Canada made some of my lovely Canadian friends ecstatic :)

Nanaimo Bars are a classic Canadian dessert created in Nanaimo, British Colombia. Pronounced as Nah-nye-Moh, these very rich yet addictively delicious bars have 3 layers: a base containing graham crackers, cocoa, coconut and nuts, a middle custard layer, and a topping of chocolate.

The recipe for Graham Wafers comes form 101 Cookbooks and the recipe for the Nanaimo Bars comes from the website for the City of Nanaimo. I made only half the recipe suggested. For the Graham Wafers, I used a combination of whole wheat, wheat bran, and rice flour, and for the bottom layer of the bars I substituted the egg with flax seed powder and warm water. I restructured the custard layer of the Nanimo bars almost entirely to cur out sugar and butter. I used a combination of thick Greek yogurt, pureed dried peaches, custard powder, and very little sugar and butter. The result was an amazingly yummy layer with a tang that balanced the flavours, sweetness, and richness of these bars. The fruit layer also added a more coarse texture and chewy feel to the bar.

This was a great DB Challenge. The Graham wafers are superb and I will be making them quite often. The bars though very very rich are very very good. Though even half the recipe was too much, I have popped some in the freezer for a treat sometime later!!

Post Script: The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2010. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Ragi and Zucchini Chila (Finger Millet Pancakes)

We like our breakfast around here - especially so on the weekends when its more relaxed and I can be more experimentative!! Newspaper in one hand, tea cup in another, sunshine streaming in the kitchen window. Newspaper you ask - yes, well we must be the last of a rare and quickly disappearing breed of newspaper subscribers - though I must admit we get only the weekend papers. But then - what's a weekend without the paper!!

As for the breakfast - hardly need to convince anyone to eat pancakes? But they do get quite heavy and one can get all carried away with the butter, cream, and syrups. Besides eggs are generally not very popular around here and I use only egg whites when absolutely unavoidable. So, as a rule I tend make the lower-calorie, very simple Indian-style pancakes, which often use multiple flours and spices. I must point out here that these are savoury pancakes and taste great with a salad, yogurt or a soy substitute yogurt.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup Ragi flour
1/2 cup wholewheat flour
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup zucchini, grated
Pinch turmeric
1/2 tsp hot paprika
Salt, to taste
Water, as required
Oil, as required

Method:

1. Place the flours in a mixing bowl. Add the cumin seeds, paprika, turmeric, salt. Sift together.
   
2. Add the zucchini, and then pour in enough water to get a batter of dropping consistency. Set aside for about a half hour.
3. Heat a griddle. Dot with oil. Pour a ladleful of the batter - spread gently.
   
4. Let the pancake set on the griddle side. Then turn over and cook the other side.
5. Repeat for the remaining batter.
   

These Ragi and Zucchini Chila/Pancake make for a delicious yet filling power-packed breakfast. Serve warm with Cucumber Salad with Peanuts or Gajar Koshambir. Madhuram's Eggless Cooking is hosting JFI this months and the theme is Ragi/Finger Millet. Do visit for more recipes posted for this even by my fellow food bloggers :)

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2010. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Spicy Carrot, Spring Onion, & Black Sesame Rolls

After many many months I am back to baking regularly - breads, cookies, cakes, bakes, you name it!! Somehow I think winter and baking go really well together. The other day I had planned on Pav-Bhaji for dinner. Though I generally make my own pav bread - the store bought rolls just don't cut it - I wanted a to try a more nutritious version of the same. After a bit or research and some creativity, here is what I came up with!!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk, warm
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 sachet active dry yeast
1 cup grated carrot
6 spring onions, chopped fine
1/5 cup corn meal, fine
2 cups wholemeal flour
2 tsp salt
11/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
3-4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp black sesame seeds

Method:

1. Pour the warmed milk into a bowl. Stir in the yeast, let proof.
2. Measure the flours, salt, spices and butter into a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the lumps have vanished, then add the carrot, onions, buttermilk, stir well and leave for 10 minutes.
   
3. With well-oiled hands and on an oily surface, knead the dough for 10 seconds, then return to the bowl. Leave for 10 minutes. Knead twice more at 10-minute intervals.
4. Cover the dough, leave for 45 minutes, then divide into six equal pieces. Shape into balls and leave to rise on a tray lined with nonstick baking paper until risen by half.
   
5. Heat the oven to 425F, brush with water, sprinkle with seeds and bake for 25 minutes.
   

Though I made these for pav-bhaji , these rolls are perfect for burgers. They are beautifully soft, with a lovely dense texture, which of course makes them rather hearty. Needless to say they are nutritious, tasty, and will perk up any packed lunch. Baked in a smaller size, they would make lovely mini-burgers or canape bottoms for any party too. They go out to Jamie @ Life's a Feast for Bread for a Birthday Party, the January theme for Bread Baking Day created by Zorra of Kochtopf!

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2010. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.