We, Konkani people, prepare varieties of dishes for breakfast made up of rice. On fasting days we do not eat rice preparations. On such days, wheat preparations are allowed. Wheat rava( Ganva rave ) bhakri is one such preparation which fills the gap. It is not only delicious but also nutritious. As the glycemic value of wheat is lesser than rice, it is also good for diabetics – transformation of wheat to glucose takes more time than rice to glucose. This bhakri is very fast to make, so I make it very frequently at home.
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups wheat sooji 1/2 cup fresh/frozen coconut 2 tea spn green chilli pieces 2 tea spn ginger pieces 2 tbl spn yogurt/curd Salt 1 tea spn Sugar (optional) Ghee or oil
Method: Roast rava on a medium flame, without adding any oil, till it gives a nice aroma. Keep it aside to cool to room temperature. Mix all other ingredients except ghee . Add some water to the mixture to bring it to the consistency of idli batter. Leave it aside for about 10mins. Heat tava and apply some ghee or oil to the tava and spread the batter on it (about 1/2 inch thickness). Cover it with a lid and let it cook on medium heat. Turn it after five minutes. If necessary, apply oil or ghee to the sides of the bhakri which gives nice aroma and taste. Serve hot.
I made these cookies a while ago when my cousin visited us. It was derived from a marble cookie recipe that I found somewhere. I changed them completely to make them eggless. They are also very mildly sweet, the way I like them. They were bit on the harder side, but still I loved the taste.
Vanilla part: 1 cup all purpose flour 1/4 tea spn salt 1/4 cup sugar 4 tbl spn butter 1/2 tea spn vanilla extract 1/2 tea spn baking powder 1/4 cup milk
Method: Beat together butter and sugar till they are well incorporated. Add vanilla extract, milk and beat again. Add salt, flour and baking powder. Mix well into a dough.
Chocolate part: 1 cup all purpose flour 1/4 tea spn salt 1/4 sugar 4 tbl spn butter 1/2 tea spn vanilla extract 1/2 tea spn baking powder 1/4 cup milk + 2 tea spns 3 tbl spn cocoa powder
Method: Beat together butter and sugar till they are well incorporated. Add vanilla extract, 1/4 cup milk and beat again. Add salt, flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Mix well into a dough. If required, add remaining milk 1/2 tea spn milk at a time to make a soft pliable dough.
Putting together the cookie: Knead both the doughs separately. Preheat the oven at 375 F. Make about 2 inch thick diameter ropes from the dough. Flatten the rope a bit by pressing down the rope a bit. Keep the chocolate flavored rope down and on top of it, keep the vanilla flavored dough. Dip a sharp knife in loose floor(to avoid sticking to knife) and cut the dough into as thin rings as possible (you can shape them into rounds again, but I liked the shape, so left them as they were). Keep the rings on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 10-13mins. When they are cooled to room temperature, store in airtight containers.
PS: These are very mildly sweet. So I sprinkled some loose sugar on top before putting the cookies in oven.
