Vegetarian tart

With November comes cold weather, Thanksgiving , pies and tart baking.
While browsing for savory pies I came across a recipe "Autumn tart" which I baked for a friendsgiving pie/baking contest which I eventually couldn't attend.

Tart Crust:

1 1/4 cup Besan/Chickpea flour
2/3 cup    Maida/All purpose flour
2 Tbsp     Corn Starch
1 tsp         Dry Thyme
3 tsps       Black pepper powder
1 tsp        salt
6 tbsps    canola oil
6 tbsps    Ice cold water


Filling:

Red Onions      1/2 cup(finely chopped)
White Onions   1/2 cup(finely chopped)
Celery               1/2 cup ( chopped)
Mushrooms       6 (finely chopped)
Leeks                 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
Garlic greens     1tsp (finely chopped)
Carrots               1/2 cup (finely chopped)
Salt per taste
Spice powder      1 tsp ( I used homemade sambar powder)
Oil for sauteing vegetables


Making the crust:

Mix the flours, corn starch, salt , spices with your hands . Add the oil and water slowly to form a dough. Make it into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes preheat the oven to 400 F. Grease the baking pan and press down the tart dough evenly along the pan. Use dry flour if dough is sticky. Prick the bottom with a fork to allow ventilation to prevent the dough from puffing up. Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is light brown.

Filling:
While the crust is baking,  heat a pan. Once the pan is hot add oil. Add the onions and saute till light brown. Then add the chopped celery , mushrooms and celery  with the salt and spices. Saute for about 5-7 minutes until the mushrooms well sauteed. Then add the carrots cook covered until it softens.
When the tart is done remove from the oven, let it cool. Fill the tart with the filling, add some cheese.
Toast for about 5 minutes until cheese melts and serve.

Tips:
1.Use some dry flour on a cutting board to roll into dough if too sticky before refrigeration.
2.The vegetables can be what is available during the season.
3. I flattened out the leftover dough to make some snack bites.

Apricot Plum cake

It has been a long dormancy for the blog.
What better way to break it with a homemade apricot plum cake.
Belated July 4th to my American readers.

I made this cake for July 4th to celebrate America's 243rd year of Independence.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour             - 1 1/4 cup
Atta( whole wheat flour) - 1/2 cup
Plums                              - 4 ( peel off skin , scoop out the flesh)
Apricots                           - 2 ( peel off skin , scoop out the flesh)
Yogurt(curd)                    - 1/2 cup
Sugar                               - 1/2 cup
oil                                     - 2/3 cup
Baking powder                - 1 tsp
Baking soda                    - 1/2 tsp
Apple cider vinegar         - 1 tbsp
Cardamom powder          - 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg powder               - 1/4 tsp 
Salt                                   - 1/4 tsp
Almonds                           - 1/2 cup(chopped)

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients - the flours, baking powder, salt, cardamom, nutmeg and sugar in  a bowl.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a baking pan.
In a separate mix the oil/butter/yogurt/vinegar and the fruits together. Fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients taking care not to beat the mixture too much. At the end fold in the almonds.
Add the baking soda and mix gently. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until done.
I baked mine in 2 pans.

Tips:
1.The original recipe used soy milk and vinegar. I replaced it with yogurt and half the quantity of vinegar.
2. I used a mix of oil and melted butter in the ratio 2:1.
3. My plums and apricots were very ripe so i was able to scoop the flesh out. you can chop them if they are firmer as per the original recipe.
4. I used a little more flour than the original recipe to make it the right consistency for a cake batter.
5. Flavoring with unsweetened chocolate or cocoa powder will add to the taste of the cake.

Recipe source
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/eggless-plum-cake-recipe/

Banana corn muffins(dairy free)

With some help from my 5 year old I made these dairy free muffins.

Dry ingredients:
Whole wheat flour                  - 1 cup
Cornmeal                                - 1 cup
Unsweetened Cocoa powder  - 2 tbsps
Salt                                         - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder                       - 2 tsps
Baking soda                           - 1/2 tsp
Wet ingredients:
Ripe Bananas                          - 2 (mashed)
Egg                                          - 1  
Fresh ginger                            - 1/2 tsp(chopped)
Rice Milk                                 - 3/4 cup
Agave                                      - 1/8 cup
Apple sauce                             - 1/4 cup (home made)

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl.Whisk the dry ingredients into  the wet ingredients without mixing too much.
Pour the batter into the regular sized muffin pan filling each 2/3 of capacity. Bake them for about 20-25 minutes or until done.I got 12 regular sized muffins.

Home made apple sauce

Cook half apple(chopped) with a tsp of water and 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder in a covered pan until it becomes soft.Once cooked mash it well.

Tips :

1. You can replace 1 egg with 1/4 cup yogurt

2 Agave can be substituted with sweeteners like honey or sugar(1/2 cup)

3. I mixed 1/4 cup of toasted cashew nuts with half of the batter(6 muffins)

4.Any other non-dairy milk or regular milk can be used instead of  rice milk.

Corn Bread

Ingredients

Corn grits - 3/4 cup

All purpose flour - 3/4 cup

Oil- 1/2 cup

Yogurt/curd - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Baking powder -1/2 tsp

Spices( turmeric,red chilli powder)

Chopped carrots, cilantro( coriander leaves)

Mix dry ingredients together, chopped vegetables and mix well. Then add the Curd and the oil to liquid batter consistency(dosa batter).

Pour in a greased baking dish and bake at 400 F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.