Healthy Whole Wheat,Oats and Sesame Crackers

 

Hot, frothy, filter coffee and crunchy, savory crackers on a rainy day evening. Sounds like bliss right?? Right!!! And if they are low fat, loaded with the goodness of whole wheat and oats, its a dieter's wish as well.

I am always wary of 'low-fat' or 'oil-free' or 'baked, not fried' category of snacks and desserts. Very few of these are truly fat- free or low calorie. They are usually, just relatively lower in fat or calories. So I try not to go overboard with the quantities of the low fat stuff, as the total calorie count would probably be more than the calories I would have consumed if the same snack was a regular, fat-laden snack. We then tend to restrict ourselves to a small quantity.   

Undoubtedly, low fat versions of any snack, most of the times are not on par in taste with the deep-fried versions. Its an acquired taste. And again it depends on how much you can compromise on a wee bit of taste for good health in the long run. Before you think I am turning a dietitian, lemme move on..:-))

I saw these crackers on Sharmilee's blog and instantly craved for them. Don't go by the very ordinary picture above, Sharmilee's crackers look super tempting. You can find the recipe on her blog here. Love her super recipes and drool worthy pics. I made these crackers and they turned out quite tasty. The flavor of garlic and the nuttiness of sesame seeds was a great combo and made the perfect accompaniment to my coffee.

Here comes the recipe

Ingredients :

• Wheat flour (Atta) - 1 cup
• Oats - ½ cup powdered coarsely( I used Quaker)
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Butter - 1 Tbsp (add more if you prefer crispy crackers)
• Sesame seeds - ¼ cup
• Garlic paste - 3 tsp
• Salt per taste
• Baking Powder - ½ tsp
• Water - as required to knead the dough

Method:

1. ln a bowl add the wheat flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Add garlic paste, sesame seeds. Combine well.


2. Add oil. Melt the butter and add at this stage. Add water little by little to form a thick chapathi like dough. Keep aside undisturbed for 30mins.


3. Divide the dough into half. Roll each half thin and cut into squares or sticks. Combine the scrapings and repeat the same with the other half too.


4. Preheat oven to 180C for 10 minutes. Place the squares on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 15-18 minutes or until the crackers are crisp. The baking time depends on the thickness of the squares and the oven settings

Store in a air tight container. It can be stored upto a week.I  strongly recommend adding atl east 1tbsp butter.

Hubby who usually doesn't ask for seconds of the baked variety of snacks actually wanted to know I still had any more of the crackers left. A friend of mine, again not so enthusiastic about low fat versions loved the snack.  I think these will also taste good with ajwain in place of the sesame seeds or hing, green chili -ginger paste. You bet I would be making these again!!


This is also my entry to Champa's weekly Bake Off.