Healthy Tea Biscuits

These homemade khara(spicy)biscuits are healthy because I have not used baking soda/ powder in this recipe. Instead of maida/all purpose flour mixture of wheat flour & maida is used. I have mixed two spices(cumin seeds and black pepper) while preparing the dough.These two spices are commonly used in Indian cooking.I bet, you will enjoy the aroma of pepper and jeera/cumin while you bake the biscuit itself !!

My intent was to match the taste of tea biscuits I used to have during my childhood days.My father used to bring pepper biscuits from one of the popular bakeries of udupi ie "Sudarshan Bekary". To be frank I couldn't match the taste though my biscuits are super hit in my family.I think I should ask owner of the bakery for a recipe during my next visit to Udupi ... lol :-)

Serve these biscuits along with tea :-)

Ingredients:

Wheat flour /atta/wheizen mehl type 1050 - 1/3 cup (around 50 gms)
All purpose flour/ maida- 2/3 cup(around 100 gms)
[so entire flour to be used in the recipe = 1 cup]
salted butter - 1/2 cup
powdered sugar - 1/4 cup ( you can powder the normal sugar available in your kitchen)
cold milk - 2-3 tsp (if required)
black pepper - 3/4 tsp
whole jeera/cumin seeds - 2 tsp
salt ( if required)

How to Prepare ?

• Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
• Cut the butter into small cubes and keep it aside. 
• Grind the sugar and pepper into a fine powder and keep it aside.
• In a big mixing bowl ,Using your fingers mix  butter and powdered sugar pepper mixture well.
• Now add salt if required. Adjust accordingly if you are using slated butter. Add cumin seeds and mix well for a minute.
  
• Add flour little by little and mix it well and prepare the dough. Now if you feel your dough is too dry add 1-2 tsp of milk and make it soft.Don't add the milk in one go , add the milk only as much as you need to get a desired consistency of the dough.
  
• Now dust the board/area with little flour.Pinch out small portions of dough and prepare small balls.
  
• Using bottom of the glass or wooden block gently press each ball to form a 1/2 inch thick disc.
  
  
  
• slowly remove the biscuits and place on the baking sheet/tray .
  
• Bake in a preheated oven for 15 mins at 180 degree C. You should bake until  biscuit turn light brown. After 15 mins check, if its not done bake it for 5-10 mins more. With the repeated checks bake until biscuits are light brown in color.

                                

• Remove biscuits from the oven and store it in a airtight container after it cools down. 
  

Tips/Alternate:

• Baking tray takes more time than Baking sheet.
•  You can grind the jeera to a fine/coarse powder and instead of adding whole seeds.
•  You can grind the black pepper to a coarse powder separately instead of making fine powder out of it as mentioned in the recipe.
• If the dough is not very soft, then you will get n number of slits automatically around the discs when you press balls gently using wooden block. I love these slits .. It gives a good look to the biscuits. If your dough is very soft then you will not get these slits instead you get a fine discs that look good too.
• You can increase/ decrease the amount of jeera & pepper according your taste.