baking,

Dairy Free Paneer Tikka Skewers

December 20, 2019 S Malik 7 Comments

Dairy Free Paneer Tikka Skewers

Almost 12 years ago when my kids were first diagnosed with food allergies, dairy free milk was a very uncommon thing much less dairy free cheese. But thanks to a lot of allergy friendly brands, we now have a variety of plant based cheeses available on the market today and that opens up so much possibilities of making traditional cheese based foods - dairy free, exciting! and that is how this recipe came about.

Dairy Free Paneer Tikka Skewers are easy to make, delicious and vegan. Here I have baked them, but you can grill too. I used cheese sticks but you can use a cheese block and cut it up into cubes. Mozarrella style is preferred or any white dairy free cheese. I used mini bamboo skewers to thread the cheese but be careful of the thickness of the skewers as the cheese might break if the skewers are too thick or maybe cut them into bigger cubes then the ones shown in the recipe.

Paneer is the most common form of cheese used in the Indian subcontinent. It is fresh, soft, white and does not melt easily. It is similar to cottage cheese the only difference is cottage cheese is salted while paneer is unsalted. It also does not require any aging. The process is quite easy so you can make it at home. It is made by curdling milk with lemon juice or vinegar. Paneer is used as a meat alternative for a variety vegeterian dishes quite alot in the subcontinent. One of those recipes is a Paneer Tikka.

Tikka is small cubed pieces of meat such as chicken, beef lamb or even the above mentioned paneer for vegetarian version. These pieces are marinated in spices, threaded on to metal skewers and then grilled.

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  • 2 hrs 46 mins
  • Serves: 4
  • Easy

Ingredients

Adjust Servings:
Marinate
2 packets dairy free cheese sticks or 1 cheese block
1 teaspoon ginger/garlic paste
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1/2 teaspoon tandoori masala powder
1/2 teaspoon chat masala powder
3 tablespoons lemon juice
turmeric powder - a pinch
1 tablespoon olive oil
Vegetables
1/2 chopped capsicum (assorted colors) each, or as required
1 red onion, chopped or as required

Nutritional information

5g
Protein
8g
Carbs
13g
Fat
2g
Sugars
9g
Sat Fat
440k
Calories

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Steps

1
Done
20 sec
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Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.
2
Done
2 hrs
Dairy Free daiya Mozerella style cheese sticks in a packagethe cheese sticks cut into cubesmarinate the cheese cubes in spices for 2 hours
Cut up the dairy free cheese into cubes. Place in a bowl and mix with the rest of the marination ingredients. Adjust seasoning to your liking. Marinate 2 hours or overnight.
3
Done
1 min
When ready to cook, heat the oven to 350 o F.
4
Done
10 mins
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variety of different colored peppers and red onion cut into cubes
Gently rub the vegetables under cold running water. Then cut up the vegetables into cubes. (See cook's note for other other options)
5
Done
10 mins
Take a mini bamboo skewer and thread a cheese cube, then a piece of onion, then a capsicum(each color) then repeat with a cheese cube followed by vegetables. Each skewer should have at least 2 of each - cheese cube, onion and capsicum.
6
Done
25 mins
the cheese and vegetables are threaded onto mini bamboo skewers
Place the skewers on the baking tray or oven safe platter. Now place in the oven to cook for 25 minutes or until the skewers are golden. Turn the skewers every 8/10 minutes. Brush with oil to keep them moist. Once done take out of the oven and serve hot. (See cook's note for other cooking options)
7
Done
20 sec
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Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.

Cook Notes

  • Vegetables Substitution: use your favorite veggies.
  • Spice Level: adjust the chilli pepper and tandoori powder quantity to your taste.
  • Baking Alternative: grill the skewers instead
  • (do make sure you use appropriate skewers to avoid them burning)



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cereal,

No Bake Gluten Free Crispy 'Cupcakes'

December 09, 2019 S Malik 8 Comments

No Bake Gluten Free Crispy Cupcakes

Delicious rice cereal shaped into cupcakes for a gluten, dairy and egg free treat. Topped with dairy free chocolate frosting. These No Bake Gluten Free Crispy "Cupcakes" are super easy to make and are done in no time.

My kids are always excited when we make rice cereal treats and are super helpful too. So I make these quite regularly. Do your kids get excited when making rice cereal treat? Usually when I make these, it's just a piece of square shaped treat but this time I changed things up and shaped them into cupcake with a chocolate layer in between and on top. To give a more realistic cupcake look use a piping bag for the chocolate. I didn't use one because I have a piping tube which broke, so I have yet to buy a new one.

For added flavor I added wow butter, as a peanut butter substitute. The combination of marshmallow and "nut" flavor is just delicious. We almost ate the whole mixture even before we started making these treats. For those of you who do not know what is wowbutter, it is a soy based peanut flavored spread and no this post is NOT SPONSORED by them, I bought the jar of wowbutter myself. You can use any of your favorite allergy friendly seed butter.

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To learn more about the Plate it Safe initiative and what the icons in the recipe stand for click here.

  • 45 mins
  • Makes: 18 mini cupcakes
  • Easy

Ingredients

Adjust Servings:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons coconut oil or dairy free butter, divided
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter substitute
1/4 cup dairy free milk
1 cup dairy free semisweet chocolate chips
6 cups crisp rice cereal
1 package (10 1/2 ounces) marshmallows

Nutritional information

3g
Protein
36g
Carbs
12g
Fat
27g
Sugars
7g
Sat. Fat
267k
Calories

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Steps

1
Done
1 min
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Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2
Done
10 mins
  • marshmallows ready to be microwaved
  • marshmallows melted in microwave
  • wowbutter and melted marshmallow mixture
  • rice cereal added to the marshmallow mixture
Place the 2 tablespoon of oil/butter in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until melted. Add the marshmallows and stir to coat with the oil/butter. Microwave on high for 1 minute then stir until melted. Stir in peanut butter substitute until well blended. Then mix in the cereal.
3
Done
15 mins
the gluten free and peanut free marshmallow and cereal mixure spread on a baking tray
With the help of waxing paper, spread the mixture on the prepared baking pan. Let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes or until set.
4
Done
5 mins
melted dairy free chocolate mixture
Place the coconut oil and chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 40 seconds, takeout and stir. Microwave additional 15 seconds until melted. Now beat in the sugar and milk until well blended.
5
Done
15 min
rice cereal cookies cut with a cookie cutter
Spray a 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter with nonstick cooking spray. cut out 35 circles from the spread cereal mixture. Place a small dab of the frosting on 18 circles, top them with the remaining 18 circles. Pipe/spread the frosting on top.
6
Done
20 sec
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Wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds.

Cook Notes

  • Place the "cupcakes" in paper baking cups.
  • Pipe the frosting on top for a real cupcake look.
  • Use a different shape of cookie cutter to give different shapes.



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baking,

Allergy Friendly Vegan Chocolate Pretzel Cookies

December 01, 2019 S Malik 4 Comments

Allergy Friendly Vegan Chocolate Pretzel Cookies

The Chocolate Pretzel Cookies from Pamela at Brooklyn Farm Girl get a makeover and go wheat, dairy and egg free. They become Allergy Friendly Vegan Chocolate Pretzel Cookies. When I saw Pamela's recipe I loved the cute little pretzel shaped cookies and attempted to make them with my children's dietary restrictions in mind. The result was not exactly as I had visioned as I changed up a few things, but they were still delicious, soft and chocolate-y. I was only able to make 9 cookies not 20 as the original recipe, maybe because I made the cookies a little bigger in size. This is because I was working with a gluten free flour which sometimes is hard to work with.

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making the recipe wheat/gluten free:

For the flour in the original recipe I substituted it for equal amount of gluten free flour. You can use any gluten free flour blend that you like.

making the recipe dairy free:

The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup butter. I used same amount of extra virgin coconut oil. If you consume coconut, use a dairy free alternative of your preference, for butter.

making the recipe egg-less:

Just before baking the pretzel cookies are brushed with an egg wash but since we cannot have eggs, I brushed on dairy free milk instead of eggs. Use any dairy free alternative of your choice. You can even use an egg replacer but I dont know if it will work the same way, let me know in the comments if you have ever used an egg replacer for an egg wash.

substituting the coarse sugar:

I replaced the coarse sugar, for topping, in the recipe with Misri sugar or rock sugar as I only had that at home and also because it resembled the coarse sugar. Misri is basically an unrefined form of sugar.

I used a little extra flour than required in making the pretzel shape, that is why some of the cookies look a little more white than others. The original recipe calls for dutch processed cocoa powder but I had some chocolate chip melted in the refrigerator from a previous recipe. I used that as the base.

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To learn more about the Plate it Safe initiative and what the icons in the recipe, stand for, click here.


  • 1 hr
  • Makes: 9 cookies
  • Easy

Ingredients

Adjust Servings:
1/2 cup powdered confectioners sugar
3/4 cup coconut oil or dairy free butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup dairy free semisweet chocolate chip (see cook's note)
1 1/4 cup gluten free flour
2 tablespoons dairy free milk or as required (for glaze)
coarse or rock sugar, as required (see cook's notes)

Nutritional information

2g
Protein
34g
Carbs
24g
Fat
18g
Sugars
18g
Sat Fat
350k
Calories

Steps

1
Done
1 min
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Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Preheat oven to 350 o F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2
Done
10 mins
melted dairy free chocolate chips with coconut oilmixing gluten free flour, salt, vanilla and icing sugar togethermixing the ingredients to form a dough
Place the coconut oil and chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 40 seconds, takeout and stir. Microwave additional 15 seconds until melted. See cook's notes for substitution. Now add in flour, sugar, salt and vanilla, mix until a dough is formed.
3
Done
5 mins
wheat free dough ballshaping the ball into a rope
Break an inch of the dough. Now on a floured surface roll the dough so it becomes a rope shape.
4
Done
5 mins
turn the rope into a letter u shapecross over the ends to make a loopdo the previous step again
Turn the rope into a U shape. Then crossover the two ends so that they overlap each other, twice.
5
Done
15 min
  • flip over the ends to make a prestzel shape
  • lift the allergy friendly cookie with a help of a spoon
  • Place the egg free cookie on a baking sheet
Take the two ends and flip them over to the bottom making a pretzel shape. Then press the ends gently. Place the cookie on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat from step 3 until all the dough is used.
6
Done
5 mins
to make an eggless wash use dairy free milk to brush on top of cookies
Now pour the milk in a bowl and brush the cookies with it.
7
Done
20 mins
Sprinkle coarse sugar on topfreshly baked cookies out of the oven
Sprinkle with the rock sugar (see cook's notes). Bake for 20 minutes. Take out and let them cool for a few minutes, enjoy!
8
Done
2 mins
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Wipe clean the floured surface and wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds.

Cook Notes

  • Chocolate chips Substitution: original recipe uses cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate chip - you can skip the microwave part in step 2 and mix the cocoa powder with the rest of the ingredients.
  • You might end up with more than 9 cookies depending on how much dough you use in each one.
  • Coarse/Rock Sugar substitution: sprinkle with rainbow or chocolate sprinkles.
  • Leave out the topping sugar altogether and sprinkle with icing sugar once the cookies are baked and cooled.



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appetizer,

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Baked Potatoes

November 19, 2019 S Malik 10 Comments

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Baked Potatoes

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Baked Potato is an easy to make side dish. My kids love these potatoes and my son for some reason calls them potato puppies 🤷‍♀️. It is quite a simple recipe, basically you bake the potatoes and then scoop them out, mash them, add seasoning and veggies then put them back into the potato skin to serve, yum!

In this recipe, I used russet potato because it is the best for baking. The flesh is very dry, and the skin is thick, so you can bake it up crisp on the outside and the inside turns is soft and fluffy, which perfectly soaks up the oil and dairy free milk. However, you can use any kind of potato you like. Also for the topping, I have served it two ways as you will see in the pictures, one is with dairy free cheese the other is without and both ways its delicious!

Plate it Safe Logo for food safety

I am also happy to bring attention to food safety for the home chef from my collaboration with Plate it Safe, an initiative of The Water Quality & Health Council (USA). In this recipe, I will incorporate icons next to the steps where proper care needs to be taken to prepare food safely. To learn more about the Plate it Safe initiative and what the icons stand for, click here.


  • 1 hr 30 mins
  • Serves: 2
  • Easy

RECIPE CONTAINS:

label alert for corn ingredients
Substitutions

Ingredients

Adjust Servings:
3 medium russet/baking potatoes
1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup frozen corn (see cook's notes for substitution)
1 tablespoon olive oil or dairy free butter alternative
dairy free milk, as required
1 green onion, chopped
dairy free cheese, as required (optional)

Nutritional information

6g
Protein
47g
Carbs
10g
Fat
3g
Sugars
2g
Sat Fat
294k
Calories

Steps

1
Done
1 min
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Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Preheat oven to 350 o F.
2
Done
5 mins
logo for produce washing
Scrub potatoes with a clean vegetable brush under running water. Cut three pieces of foil to completely cover the potatoes.
3
Done
1 hour
Russet potato washed and ready to be wrapped in foilthree potatoes wrapped in foil
Place one potato on a foil piece and wrap, repeat until all the potatoes are wrapped. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour.
4
Done
10 mins
After the potatoes are done, take out from the oven and let them cool down enough to handle easily without burning hands.
5
Done
1 min
While the potatoes are cooling down. Put the corn in a microwaveable bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook the corn for 15 seconds, take out and mix with a fork. Cook for another 15 seconds. Take out and set aside. See cook's notes for substitution
6
Done
5 mins
potato cut in half after bakingscooping out the baked potato flesh potato skins on a plate ready to be filled again
Cut each potato in half and scoop out the flesh into a bowl with a help of a spoon. Place the skin on a plate, DO NOT DISCARD.
7
Done
2 mins
mashing gluten free potatoes
Add the oil, milk and seasonings to the bowl and mash the potatoes.
8
Done
5 mins
scooping in the filling of mashed potatoes, corn and green onion
Add the corn and the green onion, mix again. Then scoop a tablespoon of the potato mixture and fill the potato skins with the mixture, until all of them are filled.
9
Done
10 mins
filled potato skins with dairy free cheese and milk ready to be rebaked
If using cheese then sprinkle it on top and place back in the oven and cook until the cheese melts. Serve as a side and enjoy!
10
Done
20 secs
logo for handwashingicon for reminding to store the food properly
Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within two hours of cooking, and dispose of leftovers after 3-4 days.

Cook Notes

  • Corn Substitution: leave out or substitute with any favorite veggies such as peas etc.



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