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Few days from now and it will be Christmas!! And I will be home with my parents. I may have been raised Hindu but having studied in a Christian School makes me yearn for Christmas and fun & frolic associated with it. I remember as a little kid I would decorate a potted plant in my house 😛 Now that I am a mommy, the spirit of Christmas hasn’t died in me, rather it is coming out in the form of baking and cooking delicious food which makes the festivity more joyous.

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A little while back I had posted Melomakarona : Greek Christmas Cookies and since then the vicious circle of baking is on. The next on my list if to bake my Rum Cake for Christmas. I smell the rum soaked dry fruits everyday and greedily imagine when the cake will be baked. Well looks like I will do that in a day or two, cant wait beyond this 😛 Nevertheless here are my authentic ginger bread man cookies which are made with molasses syrup. It has a distinct spiced flavour to it which makes you warm and feel good about the weather around. Not to mention, its so much fun to decorate them using royal icing. You need a little practice and patience to decorate them perfectly. Clearly I lack both 😉 My kiddo had fun baking these cookies with me. He ate the entire first batch by dunking them in his glass of milk. Definitely, he is mumma’s boy <3

Directions:
1. In a bowl add All Purpose Flour.

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2. Add to it  ginger powder, ground cinnamon and cloves powder.


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3. Add baking soda and salt. Mix all the dry ingredients well and set aside.


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5. In another bowl add butter at room temperature and add brown sugar to it. I used light brown sugar as it was the only thing I had on hand. Add molasses and give everything a good whip until creamy and soft. I used my electric whisk but you can always do it manually.


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6. Add an egg to it whisk again. Now its time to add your dry ingredients little by little till everything comes together in the form of a dough.


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7. Divide the dough into two or four balls and wrap them in a cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour or until the dough is set.

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    8. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celcius (Learn more about Oven temperature and Conversion).Take one ball of dough and let it sit on counter till it is workable. Dust your counter well with dry flour and roll it into a 1/8 inch circle. Cut it into gingerbread man shape using a cutter. If you think your cutter gets sticky you can dip it into flour and continue to cut the shapes. You can buy gingerbread man cookie cutter from our online store The Gourmet Shop

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9. Place them on a baking sheet lined with Oddy Uniwrap Parchment paper. Bake them for 10 minutes in a center rack until they turn a little brown. 

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10. Cool them completely and decorate them with Royal Icing and candies. Learn to make Royal Icing easily at home.  

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11. You can dunk them in milk or enjoy them as it is. Its a treat for kids and you can even gift it to your loved ones to melt their heart this season.

Other Cookies you can try here are:Melomakarona : Greek Traditional Christmas CookiesRagi & Whole Wheat BiscuitsWhite Chocolate Chip CookiesItalian Almond BiscottiPeanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate ChipsCoconut Chocolate Cookies.

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[yumprint-recipe id=’186′]

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Any mother would understand how difficult it is to make your little ones eat. You have to apply so many tricks to handle and control their eating tantrums. The food has to be glamorized so that they at least give it a try. This could be very maddening at times.

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Another challenge is to make them eat healthy and something which is not processed. These days super markets are stacked with frozen snacks which are processed and have no nutritional value. Unfortunately kids are tempted by its appearance and taste. One such snack is Smiley Potatoes by McCain. So I decided I would recreate those smileys at home from fresh products. To my utter surprise they were delicious and tasted almost the same as store bought but many times healthier. I could see the excitement in my kiddos eyes as he grabbed one piece after another. Only a mother would know what satisfaction this brings in.

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes till they are done and peel their skin off.

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2. Mash the potatoes with a Potato masher in a bowl. Add corn Flour and mix with a spoon.

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3. Add ginger garlic paste. Season with salt and red chili powder. If your kids don’t eat chili you can skip it.


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4. Add little turmeric powder and juice of half a lemon.


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5. Mix and mash  everything together till everything comes together in the form of a soft dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

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6. Take a spoon full of potato dough and shape it into a ball.

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7. Flatten it by pressing between your hands about 2mm thickness. In alternate you can use a cookie cutter or small lids to make perfect shapes.

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8. Use a clean pencil back end to make eyes.

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8. And a spoon end to make the smiley face.

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9. Heat oil in a wok or kadai and fry these smileys till crisp and golden.


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10. Absorb the oil on a kitchen paper towel and serve. You can put these as a lunchbox snacks for your kid. 

Other kids recipes you can try here are: Vegan Chocolate Muffins, Whole Wheat Banana Bread, Soya Veggie Vermicelli

Other Potato recipes on The Secret Ingredient: Punjabi Style Dum Aloo, Punjabi Style Aloo Methi, Aloo Patty, Yam Potato Chat, Aloo Anar Raita, Sabudana Vada, Roasted Potatoes with Garlic Rosemary.

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[whohit]Potato Smileys[/whohit]

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[yumprint-recipe id=’168′] 

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Indo Chinese Cuisine  is an adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes. We all like Chinese food but we Love Indo Chinese version because the taste is very homely, very Indian, very warm. I think each country adapts Chinese food to their taste buds. When we lived in Mexico the Chinese food almost tasted like Mexican food, similar salsa and similar seasoning.

The way Indo Chinese food has penetrated in our daily life style its simply amazing.  Be it hakka noodles, manchurian, fried rice and many many other dishes. Infact I make it quite often in my kitchen because my kiddo loves pasta and noodles and with the help of noodles I can make him eat vegetables. I was requested to share recipe of hakka noodles by one of my viewers. I thought I must share this easy breezy recipe. 

Directions:

1. In a large pot boil water till it starts bubbling. Add salt.


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2. Now hold the spaghetti noodles in your hands and twist them from one end and insert it in boiling water. This way you don’t have to break the noodles and it perfectly falls inside the pot. Cook al dente and drain extra water using a colander . Gently wash noodles under cold water and keep them in cold water until use.


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3. Chop Cabbage in length. Make sure you throw away the hard portions.  Also chop capsicum, bell peppers and onions in length. Keep aside.


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4. Thoroughly wash chopped cabbage for any dirt or worm under the tap in a colander. After washing keep it aside to drain off extra water.

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5. In a wok pour some oil and saute onions on a high flame. 

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6. After onions are sauteed add capsicum and bell peppers. Keep tossing the vegetables on high flame till they acquire colour but are still crisp.

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7. Now add cabbage and toss till its crispy but cooked.

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8. Once vegetables are done add noodles after draining the cold water. Add vinegar.

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9. Add soya sauce and Salt and pepper.


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10. Toss everything together ensuring not to break the noodles. Serve hot.

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[whohit]VegHakkaNoodles[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’35’]