Sports Days & Gluten-free, butter-free Brownies ( Millets-Amaranth)

For the first 12 years of my school life , I went to a school that did not have its own field. It was the best school that I could have gone to – inclusive , close-knit, encouraging and warm. But we didn’t have a field that we could call our own – our Sports days were conducted in the field of another school. Our ‘heats’ and practice races were conducted in a large maidan / public ground. All that came rushing back to me as I sat in the pavilion and watched the field being prepared for the Sports Meet for my son’s class.

The way he would come and describe his field practice each day lifted my heart. The way he spoke about how they were running the races , made me smile immediately. The thrill of being in an open space , running a race , with your friends , the march-past , the flags , the dust-covered sports shoes. A child who didn’t care that the field didnt belong to her school when she ran. A child who didn’t care that the field did belong to his school when he ran.

It was as if Calcutta 1988 had merged into Bangalore 2018, seamlessly, from one childhood to another. From one field that we couldnt call our own, to one that we could.

We just loved the thrill of running a race, then and now 

 

Alongside that we also love a Butterfree , white sugar-free , Gluten-free Brownie that melts in the mouth.  Yup, that’s what a treat should be.

Superfood Amaranth ( if you didn’t know it already, it is my favourite flour ) in the form of grains mingled with dark chocolate – who says we need sugar or butter to make life happier ? 🙂

Recipe –

• 170g Dark Chocolate ( I used Bournville-  50% Dark)
• 50 ml Sunflower Oil
• 80 g Raw Sugar or Coconut Sugar
• 50g Sorghum / Jowar Flour
• 25g Amaranth Seeds , coarsely ground into a flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

 

Mix the chocolate and oil, and  melt over a double boiler. Let it cool. Whisk together the sugar, the flours, baking powder. Preheat oven to 170°C.

Beat the eggs well and then add them to the melted chocolate-oil mix. Add the vanilla. Beat well. Pour the batter into your brownie pan or square tin which is lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.

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