Sweet 'n' Savoury: Caramelized Onion Tarts

The Pudgy little hands that stole my tart!!

Family time is the best vacation!

A sudden vacation is not exactly what I had planned especially having to travel with a 20 month old baby but the incentive of having to spend some great time with family(and an extra nudge from hubby) made me pack my bags and leave for Punjab and Allahabad. I had a wonderful time in Punjab being pampered by Nani and Masi's, gorged on fresh produce of vegetables and dollops of homemade white butter on yummy paranthas. Vaanya had a super time bonding with everyone and running around in the extra spacious houses.

The next part of our vacation was homecoming to Allahabad. Our house is a 'Heaven Haven' for me. A place where I can leave behind all my worries and just soak myself in the luxury of the palatial house and the most beautiful garden. An amazing vegetable patch adds to the charm with fresh and unadulterated veggies being enjoyed everyday. The house was full on our arrival and we had the loveliest time with everyone except Vishal(hubby) who was missed terribly. One of the things I love and look forward to do here apart from relaxing and enjoying the yummiest food made by Amma(mother-in-law) is to bake!! My Baker's fingers jumped on to the recipe that I am sharing today to get warmed up and carry on my love to bake.
I chose tarts as I love making and eating them and the best part is that once the shell is prepared you can play around with the filling to your liking, making it sweet or savoury.

Ingredients:

For 6 tarts

1/2 cup all purpose flour
30 gms butter(cold)
A little cold water for kneading

For Filling

2 medium sized onions, sliced
1 tbsp vinegar
1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
1/4 tsp green chilli sauce
a pinch of sugar
a pinch of salt

For Garnishing

tomato slices/pieces
coriander sprigs
fresh cream/mayonnaise

Procedure:

Tarts:
Take flour and butter in a bowl and rub the butter cubes with the flour till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (in texture).
Now add cold water 1 tbsp at a time and knead to get a smooth dough. Do not over knead.
Wrap this dough in a plastic sheet and refrigerate for half an hour.
Take out the dough and roll it with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Roll it roughly to the size of the chosen tart tin with 1/8" thickness.
Gently press the dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the tart tin. Trim excess dough.
Line all the tart tins the same way. Make holes on the sides and bottom with a fork and refrigerate for another half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Bake the tarts for 15-20 mins or till they get a light brown colour.
Take them out and let them cool.

For a detailed step by step illustration refer here

Filling:

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt. Lower the flame and let the onions cook stirring occasionally till they attain a brown colour. This is called Caramelization where the sugar in the onions oxidizes resulting in a golden brown colour.

Add vinegar, soy sauce, chilli sauce and sugar and stir well.

Remove from heat and let it cool.

Assembly:

Take a spoonful of the caramelized onions and fill in the tarts.

Garnish with a drop of fresh cream/mayonnaise, a small piece of tomato and coriander leaf.

The most difficult part in the entire process was taking pictures!! The moment I would try and take a pic, my daughter Vaanya would come to pick one up!! It was such a difficult task, keeping her chubby pudgy fingers away. Here she is, caught in the act.