Small batch chocolate chip cookies

chocolate chip cookie

Don't you just love chocolate chip cookies? My family loves it but most recipes make 30 or more large cookies. We get addicted to chocolate chippers when they are there... So this is from the same book (Small batch baking) as the White chocolate blondies, I made sometime back. This recipe just makes around 8-10 smallish cookies or 6 large cookies.

Now you want to know the texture- it is perfect, according to me. Crispy on the outside, soft-chewy on the inside.

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Adapted from Small Batch Baking.

2 T plus 2 t butter (room temp)
2 T brown sugar
2 T granulated sugar
2 T egg, well beaten
1/4 t vanilla
1/4 cup plus 2 T flour
scant 1/4 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars, mix in the eggs and vanilla, stir in the dry ingredients, then the chips. Bake at 375 for 8-11 minutes.

Ragi Puttu

Ragi puttu

We make rice puttu for navaratri. Raagi puttu is vey famous too. I had purchased some raagi flour for making Ragi dosa. So I decided to try this also. One thing about ragi flour is it turns stale quickly. Since I got the flour in USA, it probably is already stale and not as tasty as the ones ground in India. Surprisingly, it tastes very close to the rice puttu I am used to and it is so much better for you.

I followed this recipe but like some other recipes, I slightly roasted the flour until aromatic. It drives away any stale odor your flour might have.

It stays for upto a week in the refrigerator. It tastes great with a little ghee on top.

Mysore rasam

A slightly complicated rasam, with all the goodness of arachuvitta sambar but as comforting as a nice, tangy rasam- that is what Mysore rasam is. Like I always wonder with Mysore bonda, I don't know if this is made in Mysore or what. But it totally suits tamilian taste-buds and everyone else's too...

Mysore rasam

2 Tbsp tur dal, cooked

1 lemon-sized tamarind
1/2 tsp Turmeric
salt
1 tomato, finely chopped

For powder:

1 tbsp tur dal
2 red chilies
5-6 peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chana dal
1 .5 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp coconut
a pinch of Hing

Fry all this in a little ghee until reddish. Grind to a coarse powder (some people do make a coarse paste of it, that is fine).

Boil diluted tamarind water with tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Add the powder or paste and then the cooked tur dal. Bring to a boil. When a nice aroma emanates, it is done. Season with mustard, curry leaves and cumin using ghee.

A nice rasam for those days when you don't want to make sambar but paruppu rasam is far too simple (read boring) for you.