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Naturally Gluten Free - Rice Halwa

The recipe below would serve about 6 to 8 people.

Depending upon whether you are using regular rice flour or roasted rice flour, kindly follow the table below detailing the ingredients and their measures.

INGREDIENTS : Regular Rice Flour

INGREDIENTS : Roasted Rice Flour

METHOD 

• Take a heavy bottom kadai on slow to medium flame
• Add Ghee to the kadai and let it become warm to medium hot, NOT hot.
• Add your selection of nuts and let them fry a bit . They should not change color.

• Add the rice flour and start stirring it slowly but continuously to ensure uniform browning of the rice flour. Continue till the color changes to very light golden brown. 
• While you are doing this keep the water for boiling on the stove or an electric kettle. I find using  kettle a better option as the water along with some rice flour would splatter once the boiling water is added. 
• The step #3 could take about 20 minutes or so if using regular rice flour and 5 minutes or so if using roasted rice flour. Slow browning is the key to a satiating halwa.
• Once the rice powder has been evenly browned well, add sugar followed by the boiling water to be added slowly . 

• Be careful at this stage as to not burn yourself. Now bring the flame to high and as you add water slowly, continue to stir harder using a cooking spoon with long handle. 
• Once all water has been added, continue to stir without stopping (else there could be hard rice balls which don't get mixed up well.
• Continue till ghee starts separating and halwa leaves the sides of kadai.

Best eaten with GF yummy Puris

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All views, opinions and suggestions in this blog are as per my own personal experience or learning . I am not a medical doctor and none of these should be taken as a medical advice. Kindly check with your medical doctor before you try any of the suggestions in these posts. 

Make your own GF Baking Flour blend

Which Gluten Free Flour is the best for baking?

All (well ,almost) GF baking flour blends, available in the market use additives, gums,husks,milk powder and so on… to be able to give you the “Gluten” effect in your GF baking. They do give the right texture and taste, you want to achieve ,but at the cost of your health.  

Take Charge of your health!

                     Make your own GF baking flour!

Sharing with you, the ideal structure of GF baking flour blend and how you can make it yourself, depending upon the ingredients available to you and suitable for your health.

Within each Ingredient Family, you could have your own combination of flours mentioned above. For example, there was a time when I realized my son had problems with any fiber other than coconut. So I made my own blend consisting of : White rice flour (60%) , Coconut flour (10%) ,  Tapioca(20%), Potato starch (10%).

So go ahead,wear your thinking hat and experiment in your lab , kitchen that is :). Make a blend that goes best for your own and your families' requirements in terms of taste, texture and health.

For most Celiacs  and Gluten sensitive population fiber is not a friend and hence is best avoided. Fiber by definition is roughage and for already damaged intestines, roughage is too rough , too scraping . That is the reason I do not include these fibrous flours in my GF Baking Flour Blend. You may or may not do so as per the signs your body gives you .

For more about  my GF Baking Flour Blend and recipes for making cakes , breads and cookies click on the specific recipe link on the right side of the blog.

Hope you all have a wonderful time experimenting and making your own GF Baking flour blend . Please feel free to ask any queries that you may have. . See you again with another healthy recipe for your GF family.God Bless ! 

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All views, opinions and suggestions in this blog are as per my own personal experience or learning . I am not a medical doctor and none of these should be taken as a medical advice. Kindly check with your medical doctor before you try any of the suggestions in these posts. 

GF Healthy Rice Ghee cookies

As in most of my posts, I like to remind my GF friends that Gluten Free is not equal to Healthy. In fact most (if not all )GF foods in the market today , whether they are ready to eat or cook or bake, if they are not naturally gluten free , are not healthy at all.In fact they are unhealthy and could even be harmful to our already sensitive systems. And anybody who is managing a difficult life without gluten is doing so for the purpose of letting their bodies heal of the damage already done.

In this series of making healthy addition to children's regular snacking, I set out for a cookie which can be had with milk.  

After all, a big cookie with milk makes a complete breakfast. As per our Ayurveda combinations ,milk should not be had with anything salty , anything fermented, or anything with any kind of a leavening or rising agent, natural or otherwise .

So effectively the following combinations will be the first to be thrown out of the window:

• Parantha/puri with milk 

• Salty and milk ? bad idea !Now we know why our grand parents and great grand parents always had paranthas with curd , with butter, with buttermilk but not with milk. Puri with lassi or chai, samosa/mathri/kachori with chai. 

• Idly/dosa/khaman/Dhokla/untoasted bread/cake/cookie made with soda or baking powder with milk

• Fermented food and milk ? Another bad idea ! Now we know why Britishers had their bread always toasted for breakfast with milk. Sandwiches are fine when there is no milk in the menu.We did adopt their breads in our daily lives without understanding how to consume and in what combinations. 

While I was looking for something to complement milk and make my son's breakfast complete, first came the GF Butter cashew cookies . While they were perfect in their own way, I still wanted something which was a little less fragile, less buttery and more crunchy and  something that could be dipped in milk /chai without breaking off immediately .

Since wanted these cookies to be consumed  on a regular basis , didn't want to use any starches whatsoever, not even the tapioca and/or potato starch. So I was left with only Rice Flour and Millet flour. 

Now, Millet is a very difficult subject ,after all. If I say here, that millets are not good for anyone who needs a gluten free diet, most mothers/individuals will look at me with denial and suspicion regards my good intentions , or If I may say , lack of them. We all believe Millets are very healthy. Must be . But just like most of us believed that whole wheat flour was very healthy till we were told that they are our biggest enemies, Millets are very abrasive for anybody whose intestines, nerves, glands are not in the best condition.

The only grain which is safest to consume in any ailment is the ubiquitous white rice (Best being old basmati rice). And I took years to learn this. But once I did, there was no looking back and our episodes of unexplained illnesses also reduced dramatically.

The ingredients finally I was comfortable with were sugar , rice flour , ghee, Spices as per your taste and as per the season. You could use Vanilla, cardamom,nutmeg , cinnamon and many others. Some spices taste well as a stand alone while some others go well in combinations. Feel free to make a selection depending upon your own taste and requirement.

Here I share with you ,a recipe to make cookies with these very basic ingredients without any starches /gums/additives/raising agents.


INGREDIENTS:

	Measure	Weight
Roasted rice flour	1+2/3 cups	260 gms
Sugar powdered	½ cup(before powdering)	105 gms
Ghee	½ cup in molten state	96 gms
Milk	4  tbspn cold ( or more )
Spice 1-Elaichi powder	Two pinches
Spice 2-Nutmeg powder	3 pinches

METHOD:

1. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C .
2. Measure/weigh all the ingredients. Ghee needs to be in molten state for the cup measure. 
3. Mix all the dry ingredients.
4. Add cold ghee - using your finger tips rub the ghee with speed with the dry ingredients such that it start coming together before the ghee actually melts completely. It will still be crumbly and may not come together even in a rough ball.
5. Now add cold milk , one TBSPN at a time and using your finger tips very gently get the ingredients together to form a ball which is not too soft. It should be soft enough to make a ball using both the palms . A firm ball that is .
6. At this stage the dough does become a bit soft due to the warmth of our hands touching it again and again. To get a firm dough, you could keep it well covered (airtight) in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes or so. It's ok to skip this step in cold weather.
7. Roll the dough into small balls gently with your palms. You could just keep the ball as it is for baking or could flatten it a bit. completely your choice. It will change the look and the bite a bit. Nothing will change in the taste.
8. Line your baking tray or you could use a cookie tray , as you please. These cookies don't spread so there is not much to worry. 
9. Bake them in the middle rack for about 20 to 25 minutes. The timings could vary depending upon your specific oven .
10. After about 10 minutes of being in the oven, use a fork to press the cooker in the middle and slowly drag the fork pulling it towards yourself.  
11. Continue to bake till the time the color changes slightly , very slightly. Like golden brown.
12. It's best to let the cookies cool down a bit before taking them out . However I end up taking out at least one piece immediately to taste. These cookies don't break easily. They are the best to be dipped in milk or chai .:)
13. I baked my first batch for about 25 minutes and let the  next batch brown a bit more , for about 35 minutes in total. The batch 1( light colored ,ones right in the front in the picture below) were very flavorful (of the spice ) and had just the right crunch. The batch 2 (the ones which are darker in color and are behind the batch 1 in the picture) were more crunchy , had a bit of caramelized taste and rendered less flavor of the spices  added. You could make your own choice and decide which ones you like more .

Enjoy your chai and biscuit ... hope you all have a wonderful time making and eating these cookies . Please feel free to ask any queries that you may have. Bye for now . See you again with another healthy recipe for your GF family.God Bless ! _____________________________________________

All views, opinions and suggestions in this blog are as per my own personal experience or learning . I am not a medical doctor and none of these should be taken as a medical advice. Kindly check with your medical doctor before you try any of the suggestions in these posts. 

GF Butter Cashew Cookies

Thankfully we never got packaged biscuits and cookies in the house even before our diagnosis. Our son was always more than happy with home made cookies.He had enough variety of course !

 I used to make whole wheat cookies, multi grain cookies , Butter cookies, fudge cookies, crisp cookies and so on so forth...

After eliminating gluten, I didn't bake any cookies for good 6 months , thinking that without wheat and millets it wouldn't be possible. In my observation and as per our food diary, millets were not that good after all,  for our already damaged systems, and hence we were left with only rice.  

This recipe uses the home made gluten free all purpose flour/maida (GF ALP)

The Recipe is very easy and healthy. Healthiest recipe from my repertoire at this point in time . Includes no leavening agent . just butter , sugar , GF ALP, natural essence.

I personally don't think sugar is a problem, if it is not for any medical reasons. Too much of everything is bad .Moderation is the key. And it's not that you can eat a lot of jaggery or honey . They are all natural, true . However even natural things need to be used as per the season as per one's body type etc. This could well be a separate post .So for now Sugar in moderation only.

So Here I present to you .... Healthy Home Made Butter Cashew Cookies :

INGREDIENTS

• 100 gms plus 2 heaped TBSPN home made GF ALP
• Finely chopped Cashewnuts as per taste
• 75 gms butter or margarine softened
• 50 gms powdered sugar
• 1 tspn Real Vanilla powder or extract

METHOD

1. Sieve the flour
2. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C/400 degreesF.
3. Beat butter and sugar very well until light and fluffy and creamy
4. Add extract and beat again
5. Add the  home made GF ALP and mix gently to form a soft dough
6. keep the dough in the fridge for a minimum of  half an hour and a max. of one hour.
7. Form small balls and roll them into the chopped cashew nuts. Flatten them slightly
8. Arrange on a greased tray , keeping them at least 1.5 " apart.You could parchment paper if needed. keeps the tray clean and ready for the next batch immediately.
9. Bake in a preheated oven for 13 to 20 minutes. This time will vary depending upon one's individual oven. 
10. Let them cool on the tray itself for some time till they harden a bit.
11. Remove from tray and keep them in an airtight container.

The Dough will spread in the oven and flatten out. So the cookie size will be big. You may want to make small balls out of the dough if you want small cookies or a big ball to get big cookies. I even made one Big cookie , which took about half an hour to be ready... couldn't click a picture as everybody pounced on it immediately . :)

Wish you all the best for your efforts. May your cookies be the best cookies ever!! 

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This is my first attempt at writing a blog and will request readers to try these recipes and post their suggestions , recommendations in the  comments  section for me to improvise.

GF Bread II

Breads , Breads and more breads .... 

This is what gluten was mainly known for. Helping the breads rise. Helping the dough to be beaten up , twisted & turned for different kinds of breads/Rolls/Croissants/ Bagels/ many more Savories....

And when we don't have this very gluten in our permitted foods anymore, how do we get these savories ......??

They are very very easy to get by replacing the gluten effect with gums and seeds and more. There is NO HARM in using these gluten replacements on rare occasions . However on a regular basis it is safer to stay away from them... In fact we should stay away from even breads on daily basis as yeasts are not our guts best friends either ! 

However for days when we gluten free people do indulge ,( Oh Yes, even we indulge ... and why not ?) here is a recipe of a GF bread ,I find difficult to give a name to . It tastes quite nice when it is raw, tastes out of the world when toasted and to top it up it is healthy  . It does not use anything which can irritate your gut. And thank God that the world over , people have started believing that all diseases begin in the gut. Something that Indian Vedas knew for ever !!

Our Bread  did not last even 24 hours ,thanks to our son who loves his bread . Since I bake a bread only once a month , he can't get enough of it ever!! God bless him and all other lovely children out there who have special needs , be it  diet or otherwise. 

Alrighto ... Now the making of this yummy bread :

INGREDIENTS	QUANTITY	Weight(gms)
Home Made Healthy Gluten Free All Purose Flour /Maida	3 cups	470 gms
Sugar	3 TBSPN	42 gms
Instant Yeast	2 tspn	6 gms
Warm Milk	1 Cup	200 ml
Softened Butter	4 TBSPN	70 gms
Large eggs	3	3
Salt	1-1/4 tspn	1-1/4tspn(didn’t weigh)

1. Take a Mixing Bowl and add the following :


• Home Made Healthy Gluten Free All Purpose Flour/ Maida
• Sugar
• Yeast
• Salt
2. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly using a whisk.
3. Add warm milk gradually while beating continuously. The mixture will look very crumbly to start with. By the time the entire milk is added, the mixture seems to be coming together pretty well.
4. Add softened butter and beat very well till it blends well with the mixture to form a rough dough.
5. Now let’s start adding eggs, one at a time. Each time an egg is added, beat at high speed for good 3 minutes to 5 minutes for enough air get added up. Continue adding eggs one at a time followed by beating well, till all the eggs are added and the batter/dough looks smooth , thick and a bit flowy.
6. It will be very sticky and yet a bit flowy.
7. Here you have a choice to make, you can let the dough rise directly in the loaf pan and go ahead with just one rising cycle OR you could let the dough rise in the mixing bowl  itself ; shift it to the loaf pan and let it rise again .
8. I let the dough rise only once – directly in the loaf pan. In my experience In GF baking:
• The Bread is lighter and yummier when allowed to rise only once
• The Bread is denser when allowed to rise twice.
9. Towards the end of your rising time, preheat the oven to 180 degrees (at least a minimum of 15 minutes)
10. Place the loaf pan with risen dough in the oven with bake setting. I usually use only the lower rod turned ON. After about half an hour of placing the dough in the oven, I turn on the top rod for the top of the bread to brown.
11. It takes about 30 to 50 minutes for this bread to be ready depending upon individual oven settings.
12. You can check the readiness by pricking in the middle using a thin wooden skewer . If it comes out clean, the bread is ready to be taken out from the pan. Once it is ready it should leave the sides of your bread pan. That way this is no mess bread.
13. Let it cool a bit (about 5 minutes) in the bread pan itself and then keep it on the wire tray for cooling down

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• This Bread tastes well raw as well as after toasting.However add extra 100 gms (half a cup) milk for a softer version of this bread . However that softer version will take longer to be toasted in case you wish to . 
• Even the softer version which takes more liquid will hold itself very very well.
• This bread does not crumble easily, which is a challenge with most GF breads.
• Tastes the same even after 4 days in the fridge (didn’t try more than that . I prefer the bread to be finished within a day).
• It toasts so well that a good bread pizza can be made with it.
• A Bruschetta made using this bread-- again does not fall apart .
• French toast comes out perfect.

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All views, opinions and suggestions in this blog are as per my own personal experience or learning . I am not a medical doctor and none of these should be taken as a medical advice. Kindly check with your medical doctor before you try any of the suggestions in these posts. 

Gluten Free Gulab Jamuns

Gulab Jamuns are my son's most favourite among all sweets , second only to jalebis . I still haven't cracked Gluten Free Jalebis and hence GF Gulab Jamuns are my best bet to please him . 

My husband ( who has no problem with gluten) loves these Gulab Jamuns too  . In fact I make them for festivals and do not mention them to be gluten free at all . I get multiple requests from friends and relatives asking for the recipe . 

A recipe which is so so simple , and which I love to share with all.

A NOTE ON A2 DAIRY:

Dairy in our house is only A2 Milk . A2 Milk is healing in nature and the very fact that we need to be on a gluten free diet means that there is some damage to our  body which needs to heal . Be it the GI Tract, Nervous system issues, or any other. Healing foods are good to have !

Since I am very particular about not consuming A1 dairy at all , I do not even buy khova from the market and make it in house using my A2 milk . 

Can Read more about A1  and A2 Dairy here : Why A2 Milk is better ?

and here :  NDTV says this

For those who don't mind having A1 dairy , can buy readymade khova from a place/brand you trust . 

INGREDIENTS:

• Khova - 100 gms
• GF Baking Powder one pinch 
• Home Made Gluten Free Maida :15 gms
• Milk ,Boiled and Cooled - 50 gms ( required only for kneading)
• Oil/Ghee for frying
• Sugar -150 ml
• Water -150 ml

METHOD:

For the Jamuns - Making the dough

1. Whisk together the Home Made Gluten Free Maida and baking powder well .
2. Rub the khova with your finger tips in such a way that the grainy texture of khova changes to a very fine , soft like cotton texture. Do this for good five to ten minutes . Ensure that you use only your finger tips as it needs to be handled very gently .
3. Mix khova with the Home Made GF Maida & GF baking powder mix .
4. Again knead using finger tips . Add milk half a tspn at a time and continue to mix gently using your finger tips only.
5. Continue the above step untill you reach a stage where your dough comes together fairly well and it is silky soft at the same time.
6. Now let the dough sit on the counter , covered well for some time ( about half an hour to one hour)
7. Now knead the dough one last time and make balls to fry as Jamuns

For the Chashni ( Sugar Solution):

1. Mix together Sugar and Water in a wide pan and keep it for boiling in the stove.
2. Let it boil till sugar and water mix very well and the solution thickens a bit. The consistency should be a stage before it reaches one thread consistency.
3. Some Elaichi/ Cardamom powder can be added to the solution for added flavor.

While the sugar solution gets ready let's get going with frying the Jamuns. We will add all these Hot Jamuns to the still warm sugar solution.

Frying the Jamuns:

1. Take a wide mouth vessel with sufficient oil/ghee and keep it on  medium flame. Once the oil is medium hot, reduce the flame.
2. Make a few balls at a time and fry them at  medium low flame. Too low will make them hard by evaporating all the moisture and too high will make them look cooked while still uncooked inside.
3. The balls will rise to the top of the oil /ghee as they are fried. It is important to keep turning them over and around so that they are evenly browned on all sides. Once they reach a shade darker than golden brown color all around, remove them using a laddle and place them on kitchen towel for the oil to drain.
4. Now place the still hot jamuns in the sugar solution .
5. You may  at this stage itself place the sugar solution along with the jamuns on the stove on low flame for the jamuns to absorb the liquid and become soft. Be careful not to keep it for long so that they don't break open.
6. Step 5 can also be done after letting the sugar solution with added jamuns sit on the kitchen counter for a while as they absorb the liquid on their own , and later simmer them to turn softer.

Wish you all ,all the very best in making yummy home made Gluten Free Gulab Jamuns . 

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This is my first attempt at blogging and will request readers to try these recipes and post their suggestions , recommendations in the  comments  section for me to improvise.