Eggless Mini Quiche

The other day, I was thinking of baking some mini quiche for Neha’s evening snacks. If you check my earlier posts, you will come across an eggless 8 inch quiche and an egg based quiche too. But honestly speaking, I didn’t like the bland taste of these quiche much. Since then I had been thinking of making a spicy a more “desi” version of these quiche and I can say that the below recipe gives a very flavourful and yummy quiche. Also the small size makes it very easy and convenient to pop into your mouth. Plus the base is made of healthy whole wheat flour and semolina. Semolina gives a nice crunch to the tart base. Also I have ensured that I did not use too much butter. But rest assured that the base is quite flaky and crispy. Perfect way to make your kids eat lot of veggies. You can make these in individual tart moulds or your cupcake mould or make a big 6 inch quiche.

Ingredients:

For the tart base:

• Whole wheat flour 65 gm (~1/2 cup)
• Semolina 50 gm
• Salt to taste
• Sugar a pinch
• Cold butter 25 gm
• Cold water 1 tbsp
• Chili flakes to taste (optional)
• Garlic/onion powder 1tsp (optional)

For the filling:

• Broccoli 7-8 small florets
• Corn 1/4 cup
• Boiled potato 1
• Onion 1
• Garlic cloves 3-4
• Bell pepper 1
• Spinach leaves 10-12
• Tomato 1
• Spring onion 4-5 sprigs
• Salt to taste
• Pepper powder 1 tsp
• Red chili flakes to taste

For the custard:

• Paneer 100 gm
• Milk 100 ml
• Salt a pinch
• Pepper powder 1/4 tsp

For the garnish:

• Grated mozzarella cheese 2-3 tbsp

Method:

• Mix the whole wheat flour and semolina in a mixing bowl.
• Add salt, sugar and seasonings and mix. Now cut the cold butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour mixture.
• Mix well using your finger tips till it resembles sand like consistency.

• Add chilled water and assemble to form a dough. Do not knead hard. Just bring the dough together.

• Cover the dough in a cling film or a ziplock bag and refrigerate it for atleast half an hour.

• Meanwhile make the filling.
• Blanch the broccoli florets and spinach leaves in boiling water for 3-4 minutes and put them in ice water water.

• Drain then and chop them into small pieces.
• Finely chop the onion, garlic, boiled potato, bell pepper, tomato and spring onion.

• Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the chopped onion and garlic.
• Saute for 2-3 minutes. Now add the remaining vegetables.

• Add required salt, chili flakes, pepper and any other herbs of your choice.
• Cook on high flame for 3-4 minutes.
• Garnish with finely chopped spring onion.
• Remove from flame and allow to cool.
• After half an hour, remove the dough from the refrigerator and knead for a minute.
• Take a mini cupcake mould and grease it with oil.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for atleast 10 minutes.
• Roll into a disc by placing the dough between 2 layers of parchment paper.
• Take a cookie cutter or a glass and cut small discs.

• Place the discs into the cupcake mould and press tightly.

• Prick holes on the dough using a fork to prevent it from puffing while baking.

• Bake these empty tarts for 10-12 minutes till it looks slightly golden in colour.

• Cut the paneer into small pieces and blend it in a mixer along with milk.
• Add a pinch of salt and pepper powder.
• Take the tarts out of the oven and fill each tart with a spoonful of the veggie mixture.

• Add a spoon of the the paneer milk mixture on top of the veggies and place the cupcake mould into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.

• Take the mould out and again add around half spoon of the paneer milk mixture into each tarts.
• Bake again for 2-3 minutes. Now take out the mould again and sprinkle some grated cheese on top of each and bake again for 2-3 minutes till the cheese melts and turns slightly golden.
• Remove the mould out and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.

• Demould it carefully and enjoy it warm.

Notes:

• You can use any vegetables of your choice.
• The same recipe can be used to make a 6 inch quiche.
• For the version with eggs, replace the paneer with 2 eggs and beat it with milk and add seasonings.
• The veggies can be replaced with minced meat too.
• Basically, make a filling, add it in the tart shells, pour a paneer based or egg based custard and top it with cheese.
• You can even add some cheese to the paneer milk mixture. To make it more richer and creamier, milk can be replaced with fresh cream. I avoided all these to make it not so heavily loaded with fats.
• I preferred these mini version as compared to big sized quiche for the ease of eating.
• The dough might break while rolling, but it’s perfectly ok… Make sure to press the rolled discs firmly into the cupcake mould. Roll the dough uniformly for proper and uniform baking.