Foodbuzz

Monday, October 10, 2011

Curry Crackers

After all those sweets last week, I decided I would start with one that is a shout out to all my savory foodie friends.  Believe it or not, I do eat something other than sweets.  We all need some square meals and that is why I peruse around looking at savory stuff.  I have made a lot of great dinners thanks to their posts and my husband is happy that I am expanding his range of food, he grew up on steak and potatoes.  Not that those things are bad, there is just so much more out there.

I keep my spices in a closet in tins along magnetic strips.  Apparently, those tins are not air tight because you get a lot of spicy aroma when you open that door.  After smelling that aroma a few days, I decided it was time to make use of them. This cracker recipe was perfect for that.

These crackers have a lot of great flavor when you bite into them.  After you swallow your first bite...wait for it...then comes the heat in the back of your throat.  Now, do not get me wrong-these are not so hot that you sweat when you eat them, but they have a pleasant amount of heat.  I am not a big habanero fan, but I did like these.

This recipe states that it makes 90 crackers 2 inch in diameter.  When I made them, I ended up with about 65 crackers, 2 1/4 inch in diameter.  The most important thing with this recipe is to make sure the crackers are cooked thoroughly, the center should be crisp before you remove from the oven.  The small batch I cooked to test was about 6 crackers and they did not get done all the way through, but a little while in the microwave saved them.  The rest I cooked longer than the first batch and they turned out fine.  The recipe is below, I hope you enjoy this savory snack!

Curry Crackers
adapted from Fun and Easy Recipes for Delicious Crackers

Ingredients
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp tumeric
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tbs onion,finely minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
3/4 tsp grated ginger
3 tbs butter or margarine
approximately 1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt and more for sprinkling

Lightly grease 2 baking sheets and set aside.

Melt butter or margarine in a small frying pan over medium heat and then add onion, garlic and ginger. Stir and cook mixture for about 3 minutes or until onions are translucent. Then add the spices(cayenne, cumin, coriander and tumeric) and stir until evenly distributed for about 1 minute.  Remove pan from heat.  Using a spatula, scrape all the ingredients from the pan into a heat proof bowl.  Let mixture cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Sift together the flour and salt in a medium size bowl.  Mix in the cooled spice mixture.  Once mixed, flour should be a yellowish color.  Add 1/4 cup of the water and mix.  Then add a tablespoon at a time, stirring until mixture becomes a dough.

Divide dough into 2 equal pieces.  Roll out on a flat surface (flour is not required, dough is not sticky) until it is 1/16 of an inch in thickness.  Using a cutter, make 2 to 2 1/4 inch crackers and place them on the baking sheets.  Prick each with a fork to keep from bubbling up when baking. At this time, you can opt to brush with margarine or butter and sprinkle with salt.  I prepared half of mine with and half without.  The "with" is good for snacking by itself and the "without" is good if you are using with a dip or having with soup.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and slightly toasted.  Remove from sheets and cool on wire rack.
                                   **LAST YEAR: Pretzel Bites**