Whole Wheat Cumin Biscuits

These Cumin Biscuits are delicious cookies which are mildly sweet and salty in taste and have distinct flavor and aroma coming from roasted cumin seeds. These egg-less cumin cookies are healthy as they are made using whole wheat flour and refined sugar is replaced with jaggery powder. These crispy crunchy cookies make a perfect tea time accompaniment. However you can serve them with milk or just have them plain as snack during any time of the day.

These jeera biscuits are Indian bakery style cookies. With a mix of sweet and savoury taste and roasted cumin flavor and aroma, these biscuits are very addictive. The golden brown colour of these biscuits is because of the use of whole wheat flour and jaggery powder. If you use refined sugar as a sweetener, the cookies will be off white in colour. You may skip sweetener altogether and make savoury cookies. I have used just 1/4 cup powdered jaggery to 1 cup of whole wheat flour and the cookies are mildly sweet, the way my family loves it. You may adjust the quantity as per your taste. The recipe is very easy and the it takes just 30-35 minutes to make a batch of these flavorful cookies from scratch. These cookies are eggless but not fat free. I have used little ghee in the recipe.

Cumin is a spice that is the second most popular spice after black pepper. Native to Asia, Africa and Europe, Cumin is widely used in cooking throughout the world. Both whole and ground cumin is used as a staple in various Indian dishes for its warm and earthy taste. Cumin is an excellent source of iron, manganese, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous. It is also rich in protein and dietary fibre and contains mineral such as copper, zinc and potassium.  

Cumin aids in digestion and extremely good for treating digestive problems. Calcium lowers cholesterol, prevents diabetes and boosts immunity. Calcium in cumin is good for bone health. It also aids in weight loss and increases lactation. Calcium is rich in iron which helps in increasing haemoglobin levels and thus prevents anaemia. Source

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 12-15 minutes
Serves: 18-20 cookies

Ingredients :

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup ghee
• 1/4 cup jaggery powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 tablespoon milk

Method:

1. Dry roast the cumin seeds on low flame until they turn aromatic. Take care not to burn them.

2. Allow the seeds to cool down completely. Place the seeds on a platform and crush them lightly with a rolling pin.

3. In a bowl take jaggery powder and add ghee to it. Whisk it well until all the jaggery dissolves and the mixture turns creamy.

4. In another mixing bowl take the whole wheat flour. Add 3/4 th of the roasted cumin seeds,salt and baking powder to it. Mix well.

5. Now add the dry ingredients in batches to the creamed ghee jaggery mixture. Blend it with a spatula. Once all the flour is added, use your hands to gather the mixture. Add milk, little at a time and make a smooth dough.

6. This dough was non sticky, hence i started working on it immediately. If it appears sticky, cover it in a cling film and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes so that it is easy to handle. Roll the dough on a working platform to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut it in desired shape using cookie cutter.

7. Place the cookie dough cut outs in a baking tray. Refrigerate this tray for 10 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

8. Next remove the baking tray from refrigerator and place it in a preheated oven and bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Keep at watch after 10 minutes as the temperature may vary from oven to oven. On baking the cookies turn golden brown at the edges. The cookies are a bit soft while hot and harden on cooling. Allow the cumin cookies to cool down on a wire rack.

9. Serve the cookies with milk or tea or as a snack during any time of the day and enjoy !

Recipe Notes:

• You may skip sweetener altogether and make savoury cookies. 
• I have used just 1/4 cup powdered jaggery to 1 cup of whole wheat flour and the cookies are mildly sweet, the way my family loves it. You may adjust the quantity as per your taste. 
• If the cookie dough appears sticky, cover it in a cling film and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes so that it is easy to handle.
• Refrigerating the cookies prior to baking ensures the cookies do not spread while baking.
• The cookies are crisp and golden brown at the edges and soft in the center while hot. The cookies turn a bit hard on cooling.

Taking these delicious cumin biscuits to the #192nd #FoodieMondayBlogHop with #onespiceingredient as the theme for the week. This unique theme was suggested by Sasmita. As per the theme, we had to make an entire dish using just one spice. I chose cumin spice as my star ingredient and made these cumin biscuits. Do check out the posts of my fellow bloggers for some innovative ideas for this theme.

                                             

If you ever try this recipe, do share your feedback with us in the comment section below.

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