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Baa’s Biscuits

DSC_0174 DSC_0193I have mentioned before that my Mum is probably one of my biggest influences when it comes to cooking. But there is one person who I probably regard as the top dog who my Mum learnt much of her cooking skills from, and that’s my Grandma, Baa. She was the Queen Bee, or should I say the Queen Baa, in the kitchen and I still crave some of the treats she used to make.

DSC_0179 DSC_0180So Baa was my Dad’s Mum and she lived with us up until she passed away, when I was 6. As I was quite young there are only a few key memories I have of her. She was a short, round, jolly lady who made the best food, gave me cuddles when I got told off and let me drink out of my sippy cup when I was supposed to use a normal cup. She was your typical Grandma and no matter what I did, if I got told off she would be there to give me a big hug and a tonne of sympathy. As she was a rather larger lady, her hugs were the best.

Biscuits DSC_0188There are a few things I really remember her making and these biscuits are one of them. We used to just call them “homemade biscuits”. They are laced with your favourite indian flavours including ginger and cardamom and taste delicious dunked in some proper ginger chai. As I was not much of a tea drinker when I was 6, I used to use and abuse my dad’s cups of tea leaving behind chunks of biscuit at the bottom for him to find later. Thankfully my Mum learnt to make many/most of the things we loved Baa to make so I got her to help me out with this recipe.

DSC_0192 DSC_0186When an Indian girl gets married, it is customary for her to adopt her mother-in-laws cooking style as this is what her husband is used to and more often that not, she will be living with her in-laws. It was no different for my Mum. Her Mother, Maa, would’ve taught her to cook but the way Baa cooked was different and therefore my Mum learned to make things Baa’s way. When we go visit Maa and Dada (my Mum’s Mum and Dad), there are certain things I look forward to her making as she makes them differently.

I’ve been told Baa would a big fan of all the sweet treats I bake and I do think of her a lot when I bake/cook, so I dedicate this post and every sweet treat I make to my Baa! I should probably tell you all now that full credit for this post must go to my Mother dearest as she made the biscuits, I simply photographed them(actually my Dad took a couple eeee)! So thanks Mum!

Scan 7

Baa & I

Recipe 

In summary, these biscuits are tea dunkers spiced with cardamom and ground ginger! They are a Bharti family recipe so 100% original.

Serves: 30ish
Prep Time: 20mins
Baking Time: 20 mins
Skill Level: You got this
Equipment
mixing bowl
sieve
rolling pin 
biscuit cutter (7/8cm)
baking tray x2/3 (lined with baking parchment)
Ingredients
115g butter (softened)
170g caster sugar
300g plain flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cardamom
ยฝ tsp bicarbonate of soda
30g semolina (coarse)
30g desiccated coconut
80ml milk

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 6
  2. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Sieve dry ingredients (semolina and coconut may be too coarse so just add on top) into creamed mix and then carefully fold  to combine.
  4. Add milk and mix until combined to form a soft dough.
  5. Roll out dough until about 0.25cm thick.
  6. Cut out biscuits using a cutter and place on lined tray a couple of cm apart.
  7. Bring together the scraps, roll out, cut out biscuits until all dough has been used (you can make teeny biscuits with whatever is left).
  8. Bake in preheated oven for about 20mins or until golden brown.

DUNK ‘EM IN YOUR CUP OF CHAI

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This technically isn’t a song but I’ve watched it at least 20 times since I first saw it yesterday. It’s Bad Lip Reading’s latest endeavour involving little old Yoda…


KB x 

COMMENTS

  • 25/04/2020
    reply

    rid

    I tried making these today and they were absolutely wonderful – authentic Indian biscuits!

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