As we all know it’s been a crazy time recently with Covid19 where some of us have so much spare time that we’re not use to. This is the perfect opportunity to do what you love or even pick up a new interest or skill. I have always been a big baking enthusiast and also known as ‘the feeder’ of the British Bindi crew (Which I definitely am and love ha).

I have used this time to bake a range of different things which I wouldn’t usually have
time for such as triple chocolate cookies, battenburg and mustn’t forget the queen of quarantine bakes…The banana bread (By the way I still don’t get why this has been trending lol). Baking is very therapeutic to me and with endless amount of time on my hands there’s no need to rush as I’m able to take in every moment and enjoy it to the fullest.

We love Tea India

As you may know we have partnered up  with the delicious tea brand ‘Tea India’, who offer a range of authentic Indian blends of tea e.g. Masala Chai, Cardamon, Coconut and many more. To find out more about Tea India’s delicious blends and our favourite flavours click here.

As I’m drinking more chai I was looking for a sweet treat that would accompany my tea drinking evenings perfectly. That’s when I discovered spiced vegan biscuits created by the talented Chintal. The ingredients included everything I could buy from my local asian shop such as Ground Cardamon, Saffron and Semolina, or if you’re lucky enough you might already have these in you kitchen cupboards. Unfortunately because of the craziness of Covid19 I wasn’t able to buy vegan butter, therefore I used dairy butter which works just as well.

Spiced Biscuits

I found the recipe very easy to make and would describe the biscuits as a fragrant spin on the traditional butter biscuits which I love! Around 5 minutes into baking the aromas in the kitchen fill up with the delightful smell of cardamon, a scent that I didn’t want to leave. Once the biscuits were done I couldn’t wait to sit down and enjoy them with my Tea India Cardamon Chai.

The delicate flavours from the crumbly and melt in the mouth biscuits go perfect with the intense cardamon taste infused in the tea. I couldn’t imagine a better pairing and wish I could share the buttery biscuits with all my friends and family. However for now, myself, mum, dad and brother will be indulging on these delightful treats.

I’ve included the recipe below for anyone who would like to bake these simple but beautiful biscuits. If you would like a vegan alternative simply use vegan butter.

Chintal’s Spiced Biscuits Recipe

Ingredients:
125g Caster sugar
250g Vegan butter/Dairy butter for baking at room temperature
300g Plain flour
75g fine semolina
1/2tsp ground cardamom
Few strands of saffron

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until creamy/fluffy. 

2. Fold in the flour, semolina, cardamom and saffron and bind the mixture to a soft dough. Try not to work the dough too much.

3. Transfer dough to cling wrap, wrap tightly and chill for 30 mins or even overnight if required.

4. After 30 mins or when you are ready to roll your dough, preheat oven to 160 degree fan.

5. Unwrap your dough and transfer onto floured surface, sprinkle some flour onto the dough to. Prevent it sticking on the rolling pin. Roll out the dough to about 0.5 cm thick. Use round cutters or any shape cutters to cut out your dough

6. Place on baking trays and bake in the oven for roughly 20 mins or until golden brown.

7. Once baked, remove form the oven and transfer to wire rack to cool down.

8. Store these in an airtight container and they will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Top Tips
1. You can use normal dairy butter if you don’t want vegan option
2. Don’t have semolina? No fear, you can just use plain flour or add almond flour as a
substitute say around 30g and the rest plain flour.

Checkout more of Chintal’s beautiful bakes and recipes on Instagram @chintalkakaya