Dadar Gulung Newtons with Golden Mylk: Guest post by Bou Shin of Shin's Vegan Lovin

Today I'm happy to welcome Bou Shin of Shin's Vegan Lovin' to my blog for a delicious guest post. I clearly remember the first post I ever read on Bou's blog, it was for Oatmilk Yogurt. But I soon discovered her bentos and learnt that they are the prime attraction of her blog.

These adorable bentos are Shin's forte. One can clearly see the whole lot of love, care and creativity that goes into each one. And the themes she generally chooses totally appeal to the geek in me! Can you guess who these three guys are? :D




Once you're done guessing, click on each bento image to be taken to its original post on her blog where you can learn how to make it yourself.

Today's guest post by Shin is a delicious dessert recipe. Well two recipes actually - Dadar Gulung Newtons and Golden Mylk. She has used something called Pandan extract which comes from the leaves of a specific plant which is used in East Asian cooking. This was the first time I was hearing about this ingredient and I was pretty sure it wouldn't be all that easily available to most of my blog readers. So I asked Bou if it can be replaced by something that's more globally accessible to people. She replied that it can be substituted with Vanilla extract, but it should only be half of the amount of the Pandan.

Now on to Shin's post.

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When I was a little girl my favorite cookie to eat was always a Fig Newton (actually, the whole pack...) but as I slowly became more health conscious I lost touch with these soft pillows of tasty goodness. I don't believe that either Newtons can be considered "healthy", but when I decided to take a spin on two of my favorite treats (Fig Newtons and Dadar Gulung, a pandan crepe stuffed with coconut) I was instantly happy. There are two ways to make these treats and to gobble them down with, I've provided some delicious and silky, smooth golden milk.

Dadar Gulung Newton Filling:

4 large Dates, minced (or Date Paste)

1/4 cup of Unsweetened, Toasted Coconut

1 tsp of Raw Sugar

A mix of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom and Allspice

1/2 tsp of Virgin Coconut Oil

Toast all of your dry ingredients together, let them cool partially and then add in your coconut oil. Set aside and make the dough.

Dadar Gulung Pastry Recipe:

1 cup of Oat Flour

1/2 cup of White Whole Wheat

4 tbl of All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp of Raw Sugar

1/4 tsp of Baking Powder (omit if you want them crunchy)

2 tbl of Virgin Coconut Oil (semi-solid)

About 3 tsp of Pandan Extract

Enough Coconut Cream to Mix

Mix your dry ingredients together first, then fork in your coconut oil. Dribble in your pandan extract and coconut cream, then knead your dough until it becomes a smooth ball. Refrigerate for 15 minutes and reminisce about your childhood in the meantime. Roll out to your preferred thinness, taking mind that this will puff up only slightly, and then put your coconut filling in the middle. Pinch your sides up and moisten lightly with the leftover coconut cream, then roll onto the newly formed seam and cut even pieces from your dough log (which should be a rectangle by now). Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cooked to your liking and serve with golden milk



They look like mini-burritos, don't they? If you have any extra dough you can roll it in some chocolate chips and bake for the same amount of time, or you can make a fantastic and pretty healthy pie crust. Even better, you can use them as breakfast cereals and (un-filled) cereal straws as they don't get soggy quickly. It's all up to your imagination!

Golden Milk Recipe:

1 cup of Non-Dairy Milk

1/2 tsp of Turmeric

1 tbl of Raw Sugar or Agave Nectar

Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Allspice and Cloves (to taste)

Warm all of your ingredients together and strain, let cool and strain if necessary.



Thanks for visiting my post and many thanks to Susmitha for hosting me! I hope that you all have enjoyed this short experience as much as I have!

Mango Mint Kokam Juice Cooler

This is one of those totally experimental recipes which I concocted on a whim. Even though the flavours seem like an unlikely combination, I'm very pleased to say it turned out pretty darned slurpable! :)

Kokam juice is a locally available health drink made of Kokam berries. It is most commonly available in a concentrated syrup/squash form which can be mixed with water to make a kind of sherbet. It has a very cooling and hydrating effect on the body and is a perfect drink for hot hot summers, like the one we're experiencing right now.

In this recipe, I've used the Kokam syrup as the sweetener. If you decide to use the Kokam juice that is available in tetra packs (instead of the syrup), just eliminate the water. I don't recommend any additional sweetening though.



2 Ripe Raspuri Mangos - peeled and diced
1 Small Yelakki Banana - peeled and chunked
Handful Mint Leaves
2T Kokam Syrup
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Pinch of Black Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper Powder
1 C Cool Water

Blend everything together with ice.
Enjoy! :)

Raw Mango Vegan Sour Cream Salad Dressing Dip

It's mango season right now and I'm a huge fan of sour, raw mangos. I relish them even more than the ripe, sweet fruits. So it was came as no surprise that when I decided to make vegan sour cream, the idea to add a green mango into the mix suddenly popped into my head.

Commonly, vegan sour creams are made of a cashew or tofu base and a tangy component like vinegar or lemon juice. They are extremely adaptable and taste rich and delicious whether they are flavoured with just plain salt or with a complex set of ingredients.



This is a very versatile sour cream. It can be used as a spread inside sandwiches and wraps, a dip for raw veggies and tortilla chips, as a creamy salad dressing... so many ways to enjoy it.



Yesterday, I made it as a thick sauce for my dish for the Vegan Bengaluru monthly potluck at Jaaga. I poured it over plain, raw veggies - broccoli florets, sliced baby corn, grated carrot, chopped capsicum and diced naati tomatoes. The broccoli florets did an especially good job of sopping up the cream. It was quite a hit. My friend Arun said that the dish didn't taste like what someone new to it would imagine raw food to be like.



1 Sour Raw Mango
1/4 C Cashew
1/4 C Almonds
1 T Sesame Seeds
2 Dry Dates
2 Dry Figs
1/4 C Fresh Mint
2 Thin Slices Fresh Ginger
6 Cloves of Garlic
3 Spicy Green Chillies
1 T White Wine Vinegar (even regular white vinegar is fine)
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 T Nutritional Yeast (optional)
Black Salt (you could use common salt but I prefer this)

Grind together the nuts, seeds and dry fruits into a fine powder.
Add everything else, except Vinegar, and grind well.
Add a little water at a time and blend into a smooth, creamy paste, with breaks in between to ensure that the grinder jar doesn't get heated up.
Chill for 10-15 minutes in the fridge.
Add the vinegar and whip for a few minutes, until slightly fluffy and airy.
Transfer to an airtight glass jar and chill for half an hour.

Enjoy! :)



I've added this recipe to the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.

Creamy Pumpkin Radish Soup

In the first two weeks of May we had a lot of thunderous rain. The powerful, cooling breeze gave us respite from the terrible heat the preceding days of blazing sun had wrought. It felt amazing!

But the thing about persistently cloudy, rainy days is that they make me want to be constantly burrowing under a cozy blankie, reading Tom Robbins or Wodehouse or cuddling on the couch with hubby, watching episodes of Misfits or Modern Family.

If only I had a genie who'd appear in my kitchen and make those rainy day comfort foods - Deep Fried Bajjis and Bondas, Multi Grain Herbed Loaves, Piping Hot Soups and Stews, Hot Chocolate Brownies, Spicy Masala Chai... Mmmmmmm

Apparently hubby was thinking on the same lines, except he seemed to be under the impression that I was the genie! It was the evening of a particularly rainy day. I had just managed to steam and toast a batch of GF Flatbreads for dinner. I was feeling too lazy to make anything to go with it so my idea was that we would be having it with garlic pickle and chutney pudi mixed with vegan curds. But hubby had other ideas. One look at the bread and he was like, "oooh that would be so nice with some hot, spicy soup".

Normally I might've replied, "yeah I bet it would, but here's the garlic pickle!" But the poor guy had been sniffling all day with a cold (minor dust allergy from the cleaning we'd done around the house on the previous day), so I said, "okay baby, soup coming up soon". Then I proceeded to concoct the easiest, quickest, yet one of the most delicious soups I'd ever made. It's *laziness* that's the true mother of all invention! :D



1 large slice Red Pumpkin
2-3 large White Radishes
1/2 C Almonds
1 tsp each of Cumin Seeds and Black Pepper Corns
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 inch Cinnamon
2 Cloves
Salt
Nutritional Yeast

De-seed and clean the pumpkin. Keep the peel intact and cube.
Toss with salt and microwave in a medium sized glass dish for five to six minutes.
Meanwhile, scrub and wash the radish and slice into roundels.
Add the radish to the pumpkin and microwave for another one minute.
Keep aside to cool to room temperature.

Combine the whole spices in a small glass dish and microwave for one to two minutes, until they emit a nice aroma.
Allow to cool for a few minutes.

Grind the almonds and the roasted spices together into a find powder.
Mix in the cooked veggies and blend into a smooth paste, using a little water at a time.
Add more water to reach desired consistency and blend well.

Pour the mixture back into the glass dish used to cook the veggies and microwave on medium heat for two to three minutes.

Ladle into large soup bowls, crush more pepper on top, sprinkle some nooch and serve hot with some toasted vegan, gluten free pearl millet flatbread.

Enjoy! :)

Simple Healthy Vegan Gluten Free Coconut Almond Bajra Cookies Biscuits

A few weeks ago, hubby and I decided to try a GF diet for a while, just to see how we'd feel. After 3 weeks of this, we didn't really see any marked differences in our health (probably because we are already pretty healthy to begin with) but since it is a healthy diet anyways we decided to switch to an as-Gluten-Free-as-possible diet. This means, we do indulge in wheat products once in a while, but mainly stick to other grains.

In this period of being GF, I've cooked and baked with a variety of local millets and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Luckily for us, we even had a Millet Mela (Fair) during this period where we could stock up on a variety of grains and flours.

Among the flours, the one that seems to be best suited for baking is the Pearl Millet flour. Pearl Millet is known as Bajra in Hindi and Sajje in Kannada (my language). It is native to regions which are prone to drought and cannot support the growth of wheat, rice or other such grains which require a high water content. I've tasted Sajje Rottis, a sort of thin, crispy flatbreads made of Pearl Millet, as a child. One of my aunts, who is from the Northern part of Karnataka (a fairly dry area), used to bring them back whenever she visited her hometown and all of us kids used to delight in eating it dipped in a spicy peanut powder and yogurt mixture.

Until I attended the Millet Mela, I didn't know that Sajje was in fact Bajra and that it could be used to make anything, other than the Sajje Rottis. haha But once I did learn this, I've bought a lot of Sajje flour and have been experimenting with it, as you can see in my GF Flatbread post from 2 weeks ago. Since the grain itself has a really nice flavor, whatever I've made with it has turned out pretty tasty. But the most delicious of all are these Healthy Coconut Almond Bajra Cookies/Biscuits.



I started with Dr.Nandita Shah's Healthy Cookie Recipe from the SHARAN India website. It's a an extremely simple, quick and very versatile recipe. I made a few changes to it based on the ingredients I had on hand and came up with this one. It really hit that cookie craving spot. :)

Plus, because it has no refined oils, white flour or baking powder, hubby and I could stuff our faces with as many as we liked. The sugar syrup is the only 'unhealthy' ingredient in my recipe because I don't like Date Syrup or Jaggery in my baked goods. I would have preferred Agave or Maple Syrup but I had run out of them.

Simple Healthy Vegan Gluten Free Coconut Almond Bajra Cookies Biscuits

1 C Dry Coconut Powder (Desiccated Coconut)
1 C Almonds - ground into a coarse powder
1/2 C Bajra Flour
1/2 C Sugar Syrup
1 Tbsp Tahini (Sesame Butter)
Salt (a small pinch)

Mix everything together in a bowl.
Lick a few fingerfuls of the yummilicious cookie dough.
Wash hands. :oP
Form half inch balls of the dough between your palms.
Flatten slightly and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet.
Bake at 250 C (480 F) for 10-15 minutes, until the edges and top have browned.
Press the top of a cookie with your fingertip to check for doneness. If it's slightly soft it's okay but it shouldn't be doughy.
Let it cool in the turned off oven for a few minutes.
Transfer to cookie racks and cool completely.
Enjoy! :)



Before I end this post, I'd like to request all of you to please visit Richa's Fundraiser for VSPCA.



VSPCA is a wonderful organisation, doing amazing work for the animals! It is an organisation that is very close to my heart and the preferred charity for my Art by Susmitha etsy store. I've donated a few of my jewelry creations to this fundraiser.







So please visit the fundraiser page and pitch in by bidding on the many, many beautiful and delicious offerings.