A Peek into My Kitchen

Old Fashion Lemonade

2013-06-13T11:20:00.000-04:00

Recipe source: Simply so Good

Ingredients:
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Lemon Juice - 1 1/2 cups (about 7 large lemons)
Water - 1 1/2 cups
Zest of one lemon
Cold water or Sparkling water
Ice cubes
Fresh mint leaves

Method:

In a sauce pan, bring sugar and water to a boil for 5 minutes. Keep stirring.
Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.
Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and the lemon zest to the sugar syrup. Cool completely.
Pour the lemon syrup into a glass jar. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. It can be kept for 2 to 3 weeks.

Lemon - Sugar Syrup

How to serve:

Take a tall glass and put some ice cube and crushed mint leaves.
Pour 1/4 cup of lemon syrup and add 3/4 cup of cold water or sparkling water and stir well.
Enjoy!!!

Palak Paneer ~ Creamy Spinach with Cottage Cheese

2013-06-06T10:13:00.000-04:00

Ingredients:
Spinach - 1 bunch or 16oz (I used organic baby spinach)
Paneer Pieces - 1 1/2 cups
Onion - 1 large, finely chopped
Tomatoes - 2 medium, finely chopped
Green chillies - 3 or to taste
Ginger - 1 TBSP, grated
Garlic - 3 cloves, grated
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Black Salt - 1 tsp (optional)
Kasuri Methi / dried fenugreek Leaves - 1 TBSP
Thick Plain Yogurt - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 TBSP

Method:

Prepare a bowl with some ice and water. Keep it aside.
Boil a pot of water and place the washed spinach in it. Let it simmer for two minutes. Drain and immediately place the spinach in ice water to stop the cooking process and to retain the natural color.
Puree the cooled spinach with green chillies to smooth paste.
Heat oil in skillet or wok. Add the chopped onion and fry for a minute.
Add the grated ginger and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add cumin and coriander powders and fry for a minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes, crushed kasoori methi and black salt (optional). Cook until soft.
Add a cup of yogurt. Mix well and cook until oil separates.
Add the pureed spinach paste and salt. Mix well. Cook in low flame for 7 to 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, Keep the panner pieces in hot water to soften.
Once the spinach is cooked and the drained paneer and garam masala powder to the gravy. Mix gently and bring to a boil.
Transfer into a serving dish and serve hot with naan, roti or steamed basmati rice.

Bialys with Caramelized Onion and Paneer ~ We Knead to Bake #5

2013-05-24T18:33:00.000-04:00

Recipe Source : Aparna

Adapted from King Arthur Flour http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bialys-recipe

Video sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqJLExaX0yc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htF--dsj0o&feature=youtu.be

The bialy (pronounced bee-AH-lee) maybe thought of as a cousin to a Bagel but is quite different from it. For one thing, a Bialy is baked whereas a Bagel is boiled and then baked. A Bialy is round with a depressed middle, not a hole, and typically filled with cooked onions and sometimes poppy seeds. So it is not shiny on the outside with largish puffy bubbles on the inside. Bialys are best when eaten within 5 to 6 hours of making them. In the early 1900s, many Eastern Europeans, including the Polish, immigrated to the US and settled down in New York. Naturally, they also brought their Bialy making skills with them and that is how the New York Bialy became famous.

What lends Bialys their signature chewiness is the use of flour that is high in gluten. So to make Bialys, use bread flour if you can find it. Otherwise use all-purpose flour and add 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (for the 3 cups). If like me, you can find neither bread flour nor vital wheat gluten, go ahead and make it with plain flour. You’ll still have very nice Bialys that are slightly softer, that’s all.

One way to make them slightly chewier is to refrigerate the dough overnight after the first rise. The next day, take the dough out and keep it at room temperature for about half an hour. Then shape the rolls and proceed with the recipe. These Bialys are on the softer side so do not over bake them or they will dry out and become tough.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/4 cup water

3 cups all-purpose flour (use bread flour if you can find it or all-purpose flour + 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten)

1 tsp salt

Milk for brushing the dough

For the filling:

Finely chopped onion - 1 cup

Finely chopped Green pepper - 1/2 cup

Crumbled Paneer - 1/2 cup

Ginger - Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Mango / Amchur Powder - 1 tsp

Chat Masala - 2 tsp

Red chili Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 tsp

Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Let it splutter. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for 20 seconds. Add the onion and salt. Fry until dark brown. Add the green peppers, turmeric powder, mango powder, chat masala, chili powder and cook for 5 minutes. Add the crumbled paneer and saute for 2 minutes. Set it aside and let it cool completely.

Method:

Make the dough first. If you are using bread flour or vital wheat gluten, then your dough will be tougher to knead so if you have a machine you can use, I would say go ahead and use it. Me, I always take the easier way out provided I get good results. If you’re doing this by hand, just adapt the instructions to that.

Put the yeast, sugar, salt and flour in the food processor bowl. Pulse a couple of times to mix and then add the warm water in a steady stream. Knead until the dough comes together as a mass and then let the dough rest for 10 minutes. This will help the dough absorb water. Knead again, adding a little more water or flour (not too much) if you need it, until your dough is smooth and elastic but not sticky.

Shape it into a ball and put it in a well-oiled bowl, turning the dough till it is well coated. Cover and let it rise till about double. This should take about 2 hours. If you’re not making the Bialys right away, you can refrigerate the dough overnight at this point. When ready to make them, keep the dough at room temperature for about half an hour and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour and place the dough on it. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and shape each one into a roll by flattening it and then pinching the ends together to form a smooth ball. (See this video for shaping rolls, if necessary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB908K3Kd6k ) Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover them with a towel. Let them rise for about one hour (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours for refrigerated dough) till pressing with a finger on the top leaves a dent.

Work on one piece at a time, while you keep the others covered so they don’t dry out. When the rolls are ready, pick them up one at a time and using your fingers, form the depression in the middle. Hold the roll like a steering wheel with your thumbs in the middle and your fingers around the edges. Pinch the dough between your thumb and fingers, rotating as you go and gradually making the depression wider without actually poking a hole through.

Remember not to press on the edges, or they will flatten out. Once shaped, you should have a depression about 3” in diameter with 1” of puffy dough around the edge, so your Bialy should be about 4” in diameter. Prick the centre of the Bialy with a fork so the centre doesn’t rise when baking.

Place the shaped dough on a parchment lined (or greased) baking tray leaving about 2 inches space between them. Place the caramelised onion, paneer filling in the depressions of each Bialy. Brush the outer dough circle with milk.

Bake the Bialys at 230C (450F) for about 15 minutes till they’re golden brown in colour. Cool them on a rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. I found that the Bialys keep well in an airtight container for a day or two and just need to be warmed up slightly before serving. This recipe makes 8 largish Bialys.

Raw Mango Dal ~ Mangai Paruppu

2013-05-03T11:44:00.000-04:00

Ingredients:
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Raw mango - 1 medium, cut into cubes with skin
Green chilies - 3, slit lengthwise
Chopped Ginger - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Asafetida - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Dry red chillies - 2, broken into pieces
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Few curry leaves
Few springs fresh cilantro, chopped

Method:

Pressure cook door dal with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder in enough water until soft.
Place the cut mango, slit green chilies, ginger, asafetida, curry leaves and salt in a sauce pan. Add water until the mangoes are covered.
Cook until mango is tender and soft.
Add the cooked dal. Bring it to a boil. Add more water for the right consistency of your choice.
In a small skillet, heat 2 tsp oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add urad dal, cumin seeds and dry red chillies. Fry until golden brown.
Pour the tempering over dal and mix well.
Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Serve with hot steamed rice with dollop of ghee (clarified butter).

Edamame Guacamole

2013-04-28T15:50:00.000-04:00

Ingredients:

Frozen shelled Edamame - 1/2 cup

Avocado - 1, pitted

Jalapeno or Serrano peppers - 2 or to taste

White or yellow onion - 1 small, finely chopped

Plum tomato - 1, scoop the pulp out and finely chopped

Cilantro - 1/2 cup

Garlic clove - 1 or 2

Lemon juice from 1 lemon or to taste

Salt - to taste

Method:

Blanch frozen edamame in hot water for 5 minutes. Remove and place it in cold water with ice to stop the cooking process. Strain the water.
In a food processor, add edamame, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Pulse until all chopped and smooth.
Add avocado and pulse until well combined.
Transfer guacamole into a bowl and add the chopped onion and tomato.
Mix well. Check for seasoning. Add more salt and lemon juice, if needed.
Serve with tortilla chips. This can be used as a spread for sandwiches and wraps.

Torcettini - Twisted Italian Sugar Cookies (We Knead to Bake #4)

2013-04-24T13:01:00.000-04:00

This not so sweet, but crunchy, delicious Italian treat, is our baking challenge for this months We Knead to Bake group, created by Aparna.

Recipe copied from Aparna, adapted from A Baker's Tour By Nick Malgieri.

Ingredients:
Warm water - 1/2 cup
Active dry Yeast - 1 1/4 tsp
All Purpose Flour - 1 1/2 cups
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Lime / Lemon Zest - 1 tsp
Cold Unsalted Butter - 2 1/2 TBSP, cut into small cubes
Sugar - 1/3 cup, for rolling the cookies

Method:

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, in a small bowl and keep aside.

Put the flour and the salt in the food processor bowl (or a largish regular bowl if kneading by hand) and pulse a couple of times to mix. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is well mixed and the flour-butter mixture looks powdery.

Add the yeast-water mixture and pulse till it all comes together as a ball. Do not over process or knead. Place the ball of dough in a oiled bowl, turning it so it is well coated with the oil. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rise quite a bit. This dough does not really double in volume, but it should look “puffy” after about an hour or so. When you pinch off a bit from the top you can see the interior looking a bit like honeycomb. Press down the dough and deflate it, wrap it in cling warp and refrigerate it for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.

When ready to make the cookies, take the dough out and lightly roll it out into an approximately 6” square. If the dough feels sticky, scatter a little sugar on it. Using a pizza wheel cut the dough into four strips of equal width. Cut each strip into 6 equal pieces, by cutting across, making a total of 24 pieces. The measurements are not very critical in this part because this just makes it easier to have 24 equal sized bits of dough, as compared to pinching of bits of the dough.

Roll each piece into a pencil thick “rope” about 5” long. Sprinkle a little sugar on your work surface and roll the “rope” in it so the sugar crusts the dough uniformly. Form the “rope” into a loop crossing it over before the ends.

Place the Torcettini on parchment lined baking sheets, leaving 1 1/2" between them. Leave them for about 20 minutes or so till they rise/ puff up slightly. They will not “puff up” much, like bread, but the “puff” will be visible.

Bake them at 160C (325F) for about 25 minutes till they’re a nice golden brown. Cool the cookies completely, on a rack. Store them in an air-tight container at room temperature. Although, I found them best the day they were baked. This recipe makes 24 cookies.

Some tips that might make a difference to your Torcettini –

1. For a variation on these biscuits, you can make them chocolate flavoured. If making chocolate Torcettini, remove 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and add 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder. Also add 2 tbsp powdered sugar and replace the lemon zest with orange zest while making the dough.

2. Once your Torcettini have been shaped, don’t let them rise for longer than 20 minutes. If you do, your Torcettini will more bread-like on the inside due to the extra “rise”.

3. To make sure the Torcettini dough does not rise for more than 20 minutes, it’s a good idea to work on shaping the 2^nd batch while the first batch is in the oven.

4. If you do not want to use parchment paper, you can grease you cookie sheets and place the shaped Torcettini dough on them directly. Just remember to take them off the sheets while they’re still hot. You will need a spatula to the dislodge them, and do so carefully so they don’t break. Once they’re cool, the caramelised sugar on the Torcettini make them stick to cookie sheets and they become difficult to dislodge without breaking them!

Usal Misal - Taste of Maharashtra

2013-04-12T23:09:00.001-04:00

Ingredients: Usal
Sprouted Mixed Lentils - 2 cups
Pav or Hamburger buns - as needed

I used moth(matki) beans, whole moong dal, black eyed peas and dried white peas. Mix all the beans, wash and soak over night. Next day drain the water and sprout.

Sprouted Mixed Lentils

For the sauce:

Onion - 2, large
Tomato - 2, chopped
Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
White Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp

Boiled lentils (usal), spicy sauce, onion, cilantro,
grated mango and farsan

Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
Red chilies - 5 or to taste
Black pepper corns - 1 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece
Cloves - 5
Garlic - 2
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Asafetida - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 4 TBSP

For the topping: Misal
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Fresh coriander / cilantro - 1/2 bunch, finely chopped
Grated raw green mango (optional)
Farsan, spicy mixture or fine sev - as needed
Lemon wedges - as needed

Method:

Boil the sprouted lentils with enough water and salt in the pressure cooker.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet. Add cumin seeds and let it splutter.
Add cinnamon, cloves, coriander seeds, sesame seeds, fennel seeds, black peeper and red chilies.
Fry for 2 minutes or until it gives nice aroma.
Add the grated coconut and fry until golden brown. Transfer the mixture into a bowl.
In the same skillet, heat 1 tsp of oil and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Let it cool.
Grind the spice mixture, onion and garlic along with chopped tomatoes to a fine, thick paste. Add water as needed while grinding.
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large skillet.
Add the ground paste and mix well. Add asafetida, turmeric powder and salt.
Cover and cook the paste until oil separates.
Add some water to the sauce and bring it to a boil. The sauce should look like a thin soup.
Cover and cook the sauce for 15 minutes.
Assembling:
Place some boiled lentils in a bowl. Pour the sauce over it. Top it with chopped onions, grated mango, chopped cilantro and farsan. Garnish with lemon wedge.
Serve with pav or hamburger buns.

Enjoy!

Vegetable and Fruit Salad

2013-03-25T15:44:00.000-04:00

Ingredients:
Beetroot - 2, shredded
Carrot - 2, shredded
Green Pepper - 1 small, chopped
Apple - 1 medium, chopped
Pear - 1 medium, chopped
Orange - 1, peeled and diced
Chickpeas - 1 can, 15oz
Cilantro - 2 TBSP, chopped
Chat Masala - 1 TBSP
Lemon Juice - to taste
Salt - to taste (It tastes better even without salt)
Chopped nuts of your choice - I used walnuts and almonds

Method:

Mix together all the chopped, shredded veggies, fruits, chickpeas and cilantro in a big bowl.
Add chat masala, lemon juice and salt. Adjust spices according to your taste.
Sprinkle chopped nuts and serve.

We knead to Bake # 3 ~ Hokkaido Milk Bread

2013-03-24T14:59:00.000-04:00

This Months We Knead to Bake challenge:

Hokkaido Milk Bread With Tangzhong

(Original Recipe from 65 Degrees Tangzhong “65C Bread Doctor” by Yvonne Chen, and adapted from Kirbie’s Cravings)
http://kirbiecravings.com/2011/05/hokkaido-milk-toast.html

Recipe copied from Aparna:

http://www.mydiversekitchen.com/2013/03/we-knead-to-bake-3-hokkaido-milk-bread.html

Ingredients:

For The Tangzhong (Flour-Water Roux

All-purpose flour - 1/3 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup

For The Dough:

All-purpose flour - 2 1/2 cups

Sugar - 3 TBSP

Salt - 1 tsp

Powdered milk - 2 TBSP

Instant dried yeast - 2 tsp

Milk (and a little more if needed) - 1/2 cup

Cream (25% fat) - 1/8 cup

Tangzhong (use HALF of the tangzhong from above) - 1/3 cup

Unsalted butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature) - 2 TBSP

Method:

The Tangzhong (Flour-Water Roux):

Whisk together lightly the flour, water and milk in a saucepan until smooth and there are no lumps. Place the saucepan on the stove, and over medium heat, let the roux cook till it starts thickening. Keep stirring/ whisking constantly so no lumps form and the roux is smooth.

If you have a thermometer, cook the roux/ tangzhong till it reaches 65C (150F) and take it off the heat. If like me, you don’t have a thermometer, then watch the roux/ tangzhong until you start seeing “lines” forming in the roux/ tangzhong as you whisk/ stir it. Take the pan off the heat at this point.

Let the roux/ tangzhong cool completely and rest for about 2 to 3 hours at least. It will have the consistency of a soft and creamy crème patisserie. If not using immediately, transfer the roux to a bowl and cover using plastic wrap. It can be stored in the fridge for about a day. Discard the tangzhong after that.

The Bread Dough:

I made this dough in the food processor. This dough can be made by hand but the dough is a bit sticky and can take some time and effort to knead by hand. If you have some sort of machine which will do the kneading for you, use it. Don’t punish yourself. And do not add more flour to make it less sticky either!

Put the flour, salt, sugar, powdered milk and instant yeast in the processor bowl and pulse a couple of times to mix. . In another small bowl mix the milk, cream and Tangzhong till smooth and add to the processor bowl. Run on slow speed until the dough comes together. Now add the butter and process till you have a smooth and elastic dough which is just short of sticky.The dough will start out sticky but kneading will make it smooth. If the dough feels firm and not soft to touch, add a couple of tsps of milk till it becomes soft and elastic. When the dough is done, you should be able to stretch the dough without it breaking right away. When it does break, the break should be form a circle.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl turning it so it is well coated. Cover with towel, and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes or till almost double in volume.

Place the dough on your working surface. You don’t need flour to work or shape this dough. This recipe makes enough dough to make one loaf (9” by 5” tin), 2 small loaves (6” by 4” tins) or 1 small loaf (6” by 4”) and 6 small rolls (muffin tins). Depending on what you are making, divide your dough. If you are making 1 loaf, divide your dough in 3 equal pieces. If you are making two smaller loaves, divide your dough into 6 equal pieces.

I made one big roll. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape, about 1/8” thick. Take one end of the dough from the shorter side of the oval and fold it to the middle of the oval. Take the other end and fold so it slightly overlaps the other fold.

Roll this folded dough with the rolling pin so the unfolded edges are stretched out to form a rectangle. Roll the rectangle from one short edge to the other, pinching the edges to seal well. Place them, sealed edges down, in a well-oiled loaf tin. Cover with a towel and leave the dough to rise for about 45 minutes.

Carefully brush the tops of the rolls and the loaf with milk (or cream) and bake them at 170C (325F) for about 20 to 30 minutes till they are done (if you tap them they’ll sound hollow) and beautifully browned on top. Let them cool in the tins for about 5 minutes and then unmould and transfer to a rack till slightly warm or cool.

Tiramisu Custard

2013-03-21T23:18:00.001-04:00

Ingredients:
Heavy whipping Cream - 1 cup
Powdered Sugar - 1/4 cup
Ricotta Cheese - 1 cup, andy variety (I used part skim)
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 1 TBSP
Marsala Cooking Wine - 1 TBSP
Instant Coffee Powder - 1 tsp

Method:

Combine whipping cream and powdered sugar in the food processor and process until cream is stiff.
Transfer it to a bowl. Set it aside.
In the same processor bowl, combine ricotta cheese, cocoa powder, marsala wine and instant coffee. Process until well blended.
Add the cheese mixture to the whipping cream and fold gently with rubber spatula.
Spoon into dessert cups.
Refrigerate for 2 hours and serve.

Dill Leaves and Cabbage Rice

2013-03-04T17:02:00.002-05:00

Ingredients:
Cooked Rice - 2 cups, basmati or long grain
Dill Leaves - 2 cups, washed and chopped
Cabbage - 1 cup, shredded
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 2 tsp
Grated Ginger - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
MTR Vangibhath Powder - 2 TBSP
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Oil- 2 TBSP
Ghee - 1 TBSP

Method:

Heat oil in a skillet. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let it splutter.
Add urad dal and fry until golden brown.
Add the shredded cabbage and mix well.
Add the grated ginger, turmeric powder, curry leaves and asafoetida. Mix well, cover and cook until the cabbage is half cooked.
Add the chopped dill leaves, MTR vangibhath powder and salt. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes or until the leaves and cabbage are fully cooked. Turn off the flame.
Add the cooked rice and 1TBSP ghee. Mix thoroughly.
Serve hot with raita.

Variations:
Thinly sliced onions can be added in place of cabbage.
Add chickpeas (cooked chana) or kidney beans for some protein.

Classic Croissants - We Knead to Bake #2

2013-02-24T19:43:00.001-05:00

This is my first time experience in making croissants. And I thoroughly enjoyed making these utterly, butterly, flaky delicious delights for this month's We Knead to Bake challenge by Aparna.

Here are some easy to follow step-by-step recipe links:

Link to original recipe - http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/classic-croissants.aspx

Link to video on making croissants - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot3jKnkTfPY&feature=player_embedded

Aparna"s post:

http://www.mydiversekitchen.com/2013/02/we-knead-to-bake-2-classic-croissants.html

(Adapted from Jeffrey Hamelman’s recipe at Fine Cooking)

Ingredients:

For the dough:

4 cups all-purpose flour, and a little more for dusting/ rolling out dough

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp cold water

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp cold milk (I used 2%)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

40gm soft unsalted butter (2 TBSP)

1 tbsp plus scant 1/2 tsp instant yeast

2 tsp salt

For the butter layer:

250 gm cold unsalted butter (2 sticks)

1/4 cup of cold milk (or 1/8 cup of cream + 1/8 cup cream) to brush the dough

Or 1 egg for egg wash

Method:

Day 1:

Make the dough (and refrigerate overnight)

Combine all the ingredients for the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. You can also use a food processor with the plastic blade, or do this by hand.

Mix everything on low speed for 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the mixing bowl once if necessary. Then mix further on medium speed for 3 minutes. Lightly flour a 10-inch pie pan or a dinner plate. And place the ball of dough on this.

Gently shape the dough into a flat ball by pressing it down before storing it in the fridge, this makes rolling out next morning easier. Making a tight ball will strengthen the gluten which you do not need. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and wrap well with plastic so it doesn’t dry out. Refrigerate overnight.

Day 2:

Make the butter layer

The next day, cut out 2 pieces of parchment or waxed paper into 10” squares each. Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Place these pieces on one piece of parchment/ waxed paper so they form a 5- to 6-inch square. Cut the butter further into pieces as required to fit the square. Top with the other piece of parchment/ waxed paper.

Using a rolling pin, pound the butter with light, even strokes. As the pieces begin to stick together, use more force. Pound the butter until it flattens out evenly into a square that’s approximately 7-1/2”. Trim the edges of the butter to make a neat square. Put the trimmings on top of the square and pound them in lightly with the rolling pin. Refrigerate this while you roll out the dough.

Laminate the dough

Unwrap and lay the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out to a 10-1/2-inch square, and brush off the excess flour. Take the butter out from the refrigerator —it should be cold but pliable. If it isn’t refrigerate it till it is. This so that when you roll out the dough with the butter in ti, neither should it be soft enough to melt, or hard enough to break. Unwrap the butter and place it on the square of dough in the centre, so that it forms a “diamond” shape on the dough.

Fold one flap of dough over the butter toward you, stretching it slightly so that the point just reaches the middle of the butter square. Bring the opposite flap to the middle, slightly overlapping the previous one. Similarly repeat with the other two so that the dough forms an envelope around the butter. Lightly press the edges together to completely seal the butter inside the dough to ensure the butter doesn’t escape when you roll out the dough later.

Lightly flour the top and bottom of the dough. With the rolling pin, firmly press along the dough uniformly to elongate it slightly. Now begin rolling instead of pressing, focusing on lengthening rather than widening the dough and keeping the edges straight.

Roll the dough into an 8” by 24” rectangle. If the ends lose their square shape, gently reshape the corners with your hands. Brush off the excess flour. Mark the dough lightly equally into three along the long side. Using this as a guideline, pick up one short end of the dough and fold 1/3^rd of it back over the dough, so that 1/3^rd of the other end of dough is exposed. Now fold the 1/3^rd exposed dough over the folded side. Basically, the dough is folded like 3-fold letter before it goes into an envelope (letter fold). Put the folded dough on a floured baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 15 to 20 minutes to relax and chill the dough.

Repeat the rolling and folding, this time rolling in the direction of the two open ends (from the shorter sides to lengthen the longer sides) until the dough is about 8” by 24”. Once again fold the dough in thirds, brushing off excess flour and turning under any rounded edges or short ends with exposed or smeared layers. Cover once again with plastic wrap and freeze for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Roll and fold the dough exactly in the same way for the third time and put it baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap, tucking the plastic under all four sides and refrigerate overnight.

Day 3:

Divide the dough

The next day, unwrap and lightly flour the top and bottom of the dough. Cut the dough along the longer side into halves. Cover one half with plastic wrap and refrigerate it while working on the other half.

“Wake up the dough up” by pressing firmly along its length with the rolling pin. Don’t widen the dough but simply begin to lengthen it with these first strokes. Slowly roll the dough into a long and narrow strip, approximately 8” by 22”. If the dough sticks as you roll, sprinkle with flour.

Once the dough is about half to two-thirds of its final length, it may start to resist rolling and even shrink back. If this happens, fold the dough in thirds, cover, and refrigerate for about 10 minutes; then unfold the dough and finish rolling.

Lift the dough an inch or so off the table at its midpoint and allow it to shrink from both sides and prevent the dough from shrinking when it’s cut. Check that there’s enough excess dough on either end so that when you trim the edges to straighten them, you have a strip of dough that is 20’ inches long. Now trim the edges so they’re straight.

If you’re good at “eyeballing” and cutting the dough into triangles, then forget the measuring rule, marking and cutting instructions. Otherwise, lay a measuring rule or tape measure lengthwise along the top length of the dough. With a knife, mark the top of the dough at 5-inch intervals along the length (there will be 3 marks in all). Now place the rule or tape measure along the bottom length of the dough. Make a mark 2-1/2 inches in from the end of the dough. Make marks at 5-inch intervals from this point all along the bottom of the dough. You’ll have 4 marks that fall halfway between the marks at the top.

Make diagonal cuts by positioning the yardstick at the top corner and the first bottom mark. Use a pizza wheel/ pie wheel or a bench scraper and cut the dough along this line which connects each top mark to the next bottom mark and then back to the next top mark and so on. This way you will have 7 triangles and a scrap of dough at each end.

Shape the croissants

Now work with one piece of triangular dough at a time. Using your rolling pin, very lightly roll (do not make it thin but only stretch it slightly) the triangle to stretch it a little, until it is about 10” long. This will give your croissants height and layers. You can stretch it by hand too, but if you don’t have the practise, your stretching could be uneven.

Using a sharp small knife, make a 1/2- to 3/4-inch-long notch in the centre of the short side of each triangle. The notch helps the rolled croissant curl into a crescent.

Place the triangle on the work surface with the notched side closest to you. With one hand on each side of the notch, begin to roll the dough away from you, towards the pointed end.

Flare your hands outward as you roll so that the notched “legs” become longer. Roll the triangle tight enough but not too tight to compress it, until you reach the “pointy” end which should be under the croissant.

Now bend the two legs towards you to form a tight crescent shape and gently press the tips of the legs together (they’ll come apart while proofing but keep their crescent shape).

Shape all the triangles like this into croissants and place them on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet leaving as much space between them as they will rise quite a bit.

Proof the croissants

Brush the croissants with milk (or a mix of milk and cream). If you use eggs, make an egg wash by whisking one egg with 1 tsp water in a small bowl until very smooth. Lightly brush this on each croissant.

Refrigerate the remaining milk/ milk+cream (or egg wash) for brushing the croissants again later. Place the croissants in a cool and draft-free place (the butter should not melt) for proofing/ rising for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. They might need longer than 2 hours to proof, maybe as much as 3 hours, so make sure to let croissants take the time to proof. The croissants will be distinctly larger but not doubled in size. They’re ready if you can see the layers of dough from the side, and if you lightly shake the sheets, the croissants will wiggle.

Bake the croissants

Just before the croissants are fully proofed, pre-heat your oven to 200C (400F) in a convection oven or 220C (425F) in a regular oven. Brush the croissants with milk/ milk+cream (or egg wash) a second time, and place your baking sheets on the top and lower thirds of your oven (if regular) or bake one tray at a time in the convection oven.

Bake them for about 15 to 20 minutes till they’re done and golden brown on top and just beginning to brown at the sides. In a regular oven, remember to turn your baking sheets halfway through. If they seem to be darkening too quickly during baking, lower the oven temperature by 10C (25F). Cool the croissants on the baking sheets on racks.

Serve warm. This recipe makes 15 croissants.

Notes from Aparna:

After lamination and overnight refrigeration, you can cut the dough in half and bake them in two lots if you like if you don’t need 15 croissants at one go. I baked one batch of 7 croissants and some minis (small ones) with the scraps and refrigerated the remaining half (you could wrap it and freeze it too) after 2 days.

Some tips that might help:

Ensure that your butter is cold – cold enough that it is pliable enough to smoothly roll out; not hard (or it will break) or soft (it will melt). If the butter is too hard and breaks while rolling out the dough, you will not get the layers in the croissants.

Do not over-knead / develop the dough too much, too much gluten will not help during the lamination process. The lamination process itself is a kind of stretch and fold anyway and will strengthen the dough. So keep to the 3 minutes the recipe says. You want a soft dough, not an elastic one.

When you cover the butter square with the dough, make sure you seal the dough well, otherwise the butter will leak out when you roll out the dough, and there’s no way you can manage to put the butter back in. You will also end up with butter leaking during the baking.

Always, always make sure your dough and butter inside it are cold. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Once the butter has melted, it is difficult to get the dough to produce layers because the dough tends to absorb the butter and will make greasy croissants. So, while working with the dough, or when rolling it out, if at any point you feel the dough becoming warm and soft, put it back in the fridge immediately. Also work as quickly as you can so the butter stays cold.

During the lamination of the dough (rolling and folding repeatedly), chill the dough in the freezer and NOT the fridge. The overnight refrigeration is to be done in the fridge NOT in the freezer. Resting the dough is an important part of the croissant making process.

Plan ahead and make sure you do all this when you have the time for it. You will need more time than you think you, believe me. You cannot leave this and attend to something else, unless you want to set yourself for failure!

You also need a lot of patience to keep rolling out the dough with just enough pressure to stretch it. The rolled out dough before shaping should be somewhere between 1/4” and 1/8” thick.

Make sure your dough is shaped with straight lines and square-ish corners. All the time you are rolling your dough out, keep this in mind. This way you will minimise waste of dough. More importantly, the edges where there is no butter would get folded in during lamination and affect your layers. So trim off those bits if you have any of them.

Keep lightly flouring your work surface (not too much), just enough to keep working smoothly without tearing the dough. However, dust with a light hand or you could end up adding more flour than desirable.

Do not be tempted to fold more than three times. A fourth fold will give you more layers, but thinner butter layers between them, and your croissants will not puff of as much as you would like them.

And most important, as funny as it sounds. If you like to and do wear rings on your fingers like I do, take them off while working with this dough and the dough will thank you! Rings have a habit of inadvertently tearing the dough. If the butter comes out, patching it up by dusting a little flour can help but doesn’t always work.

Cardamom Flavored Corn Bread - Eggless

2013-02-20T15:19:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:
Yellow Cornmeal - 1 cup
All Purpose Flour - 3 cups
Sugar - 1 1/3 cups
Baking Powder - 2 TBSP
Salt - 1 tsp
Vegetable / Canola Oil - 2/3 cup
Melted Butter - 2/3 cup
Apple Sauce - 1/2 cup
Plain Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 1/2 cups
Cardamom Powder - 2 tsp
Sugar - 4 TBSP

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom powder and salt.
In an another bowl, whisk together the oil, melted butter, apple sauce, yogurt and milk.
Pour the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and stir until combined.
Pour the batter into the greased baking dish. Sprinkle 4 TBSP of sugar on top of the batter and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove from the oven. Serve Warm.

Brown Rice and Whole Black Urad Dal Idli

2013-02-15T12:03:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:
Brown Rice - 3 cups
Whole Black Urad Dal, with skin - 1 cup
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 TBSP
Brown Aval / Poha / Flattened Rice - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste

Method:

Wash and soak both the rice together and urad dal with fenugreek seeds separately in enough water overnight.
Wash the poha and keep it for 5 minutes before grinding.
Using a wet grinder or blender, grind the dal first till smooth and frothy, adding water very little at a time.
Remove the dal batter. Add rice and the soaked poha and grind to a fine and thick consistency.
Mix dal and rice batter in a large container. Add salt and mix well with hand.
Make sure to keep it in a large container, so that there is enough space for the batter to rise.
Keep the batter in a warm place for 8 hours to ferment and rise. I keep my batter in the oven with the lights on overnight.
Next day, mix the fermented batter gently and pour into a greased idly plate and steam for 7 to 8 minutes.
Serve hot with chutney of your choice and milagai podi (spicy dal powder).

Vaazhaipoo Vadai ~ Banana Flower Fritters

2013-02-13T11:15:00.001-05:00

Ingredients:
Vaazhaipoo / Banana Flower - 1
Channa Dal / Yellow Split Peas - 1 1/2 cups
Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
Urad Dal - 2 TBSP
Dry Red Chilies - 6 or to taste
Green chilies - 2
Fennel Seeds / Sombu - 1 TBSP (optional)
Ginger - 1 small piece
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Few Curry Leaves
Oil - for frying

Refer Radhika's step-by-step post for how to clean the banana flower.

Method:

Wash all three dals (channa, toor and urad) thoroughly and soak it for 2 − 3 hours.
Clean the banana flower and keep it aside. Do not chop the flowers at this time.
Drain the soaked dal.
In a food processor, first grind the chilies, ginger and fennel seeds with a handful of soaked dal until smooth. Do not add any water when you are grinding.
Add the remaining dal and grind to a coarse paste. Add curry leaves, salt and asafoetida and pulse for couple of times.
Remove the paste and place it in a bowl.
In the same food processor, chop the banana flower coarsely.
Add the chopped flower to the ground dal and mix thoroughly.
Heat oil in pan or kadai. Keep the flame to medium.
Take a golf ball size dough, flatten into small discs and fry them in hot oil until golden brown.

Methi ~ Aloo Paratha / Fenugreek Leaves and Potato Stuffed Flat Bread

2013-02-05T14:48:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:
For the dough:
Wheat flour - 2 cups
Salt - to taste
Water - as needed

For the stuffing:
Potatoes - 3 (boiled, peeled and mashed)
Methi / Fenugreek Leaves - 2 cups (washed and chopped)
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
Chopped Green Chilies - 4
Chat Masala - 2 tsp
Amchur / Dry Mango Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Oil / Ghee for making Parathas
Some flour for dusting

Method:

In a large bowl, place the flour and salt. Add enough water and make soft dough. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.
Mix together the methi leaves, cumin seeds, ginger, chilies, chat masala, amchur powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Add the mashed potatoes and mix well. Make sure the potatoes are soft and without any lumps. This helps to roll the parathas easily.
Make a lemon size balls and keep it aside.
Knead the dough one more time.
Take a lemon sized dough and roll into a thick disc.
Place the potato filling in the center and cover the edges. Flatten the dough ball and dust with some flour.
Roll into a large, thick circle.
Heat a skillet and place the rolled disk. Cook until the brown spots appear on the bottom side.
Flip to the other side to cook.
Apply oil / ghee to the cooked side. Flip and do the same to the other side.
Cook until both sides are brown. Remove from the skillet.
Serve hot with yogurt, raita or/and pickle.

Jalapeno - Cheddar Pull-Apart Bread / We Knead to Bake #1

2013-01-24T09:35:00.000-05:00

This is my first bread for the baking project called We Knead To Bake, created by Aparna, of My Diverse Kitchen. This months theme is Herb & Cheese Pull-Apart bread. I thoroughly enjoyed baking this bread and looking forward to bake my next bread recipe. Thanks Aparna.

Ingredients:
Warm Milk - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Active Dry Yeast - 2 tsp
All Purpose Flour - 2 3/4 to 3 cups
Butter - 2 TBSP / 25 g at room temperature
Milk - 3/4 cup
Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

For the filling:
Chopped Jalapenos - 2 or to taste
Shredded Cheddar Cheese - 1/2 cup
Dried Oregano - 2 tsp
Dried Basil - 2 tsp
Ground Black Pepper - 1tsp
Melted Butter - 2 TBSP

Method:

In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast in 1/2 cup of warm milk.
Keep it aside for 5 minutes for the yeast to proof.
In a large bowl, add the flour, butter and salt. Mix well.
Add the yeast mixture and 3/4 cup of milk and knead until you get a smooth, elastic dough.
Place the dough ball into a well oiled bowl. Cover the dough completely with oil.
Cover and let it rest for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Mix the chopped jalapenos, cheddar cheese, black pepper and oregano.
Once the dough has risen, roll the dough into a rectangle, approximately 12 inches x 20 inches.
Brush the melted butter over the dough.
Sprinkle the cheese mixture evenly over the dough. Press gently.
Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, carefully cut the dough into 6 even strips.
Lift and stack the strips on top of one another. Gently roll the strips with a rolling pin.
Now cut the dough into 6 square pieces.
Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and place the cut pieces side ways.
Cover the pan and set aside to rise for 1 hour.
Once the dough has risen, brush it with some milk.
Bake at 350 degree F for 30-40 minutes or until browned.

Kathirikai Pachadi / Eggplant Raita

2013-01-18T17:15:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:
Eggplant / Kathirikai - 1 large
Yogurt - 2 cups (Greek or Home made)
Sour Cream - 1/2 cup (optional)
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Asafetida - 1/4 tsp
Broken Red Chilies - 2
Salt - to taste
Curry Leaves - few
Oil - 2 tsp for tempering

Method:

Rub eggplant with some oil and cover with foil. Place it in 350 degree F oven and bake it for 30 minutes or until soft.
Alternatively you can roast it over open flame or in the microwave.
If you are using a microwave to roast, just poke the eggplant 4 or 5 places and place it in a microwave safe plate.
Cook it on high for 5 minutes, turn, and cook for another 5 minutes or until soft and peel-able.
Once the eggplant is cooled, remove the skin and scoop out the flesh.
Roughly chop the cooked eggplant and place it in a large bowl.
Add the yogurt, sour cream (if using), and salt. Mix well.
Heat oil in a small skillet and add the mustard seeds. Let it splutter.
Add the broken red chilies and urad dal. Fry until golden brown.
Add asafetida and curry leaves.
Pour the tempering in the eggplant mixture and mix well.
Sprinkle some red chili powder and black pepper.
Serve with rice or roti.

Pomegranate ~ Pineapple Rasam / Lentil Soup

2013-01-11T12:44:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

Toor Dal - 1/4 cup, cooked
Pomegranate - 1 cup
Pineapple Pieces - 1/2 cup
Roma Tomatoes - 2 chopped
Green Chillies - 4 chopped
Chopped Ginger - 1 tsp
Asafetida - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chopped Fresh Coriander - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Ghee / Clarified butter - 1 tsp

Method:

Place 1/2 cup of pomegranate arils in a blender with some water. Blend to extract the juice and strain to remove the seeds.
Grind cooked toor dal and keep it aside.
In a large pot, add the ground door dal, pomegranate juice and 2 cups of water.
Add the pineapple pieces, chopped tomatoes, chillies, ginger, curry leaves, asafetida and salt.
Boil for 5-7 minutes. Remove from flame. Add the other 1/2 cup of pomegranate arils and mix well.
Heat ghee in a small pan and splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Pour over the rasam.
Garnish with chopped fresh coriander.
Serve hot with rice or as a soup.

Samosa

2013-01-04T10:33:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

For the dough:
All purpose flour - 2 1/2 cups
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Ajwain / Bishop's weed / Carom seeds - 1 tsp
Ghee / Clarified butter - 3 TBSP
Oil - 3 TBSP
Salt - to taste
Water - 3/4 to 1 cup

For the filling:
Boiled, mashed potatoes - 3
Green peas, cooked - 1/2 cup
Ginger, chopped - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Amchur / Dry Mango powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Kasoori methi / Dried fenugreek leaves - 1 TBSP
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp

Oil - for deep frying

Method:

In a large bowl, combine all purpose flour, rice flour, ajwain and salt.
Add the ghee and oil. Mix well until crumbly. Rub the mixture between your palms for best result.
Add water little at a time and make a soft but a little tighter dough.
Knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tsp oil in a pan.
Add cumin seeds. Once they start to brown add the chopped ginger.
Add the mashed potatoes, peas, garam masala, mango powder, chili powder, kasoori methi and salt.
Mix thoroughly to coat and cook for a minute. Let it cool.
Take a lemon size dough and roll into a thin circle. You can apply little oil on the rolling surface for easy rolling.
Cut the circle into half to form a semi circle.
Take one of the semi circle and apply water to the straight edge.
Now fold both ends to the center to form a cone.
Stuff the cone with potato filling.
Apply water around the cone and seal the edges. Repeat the process with rest of the dough.
Heat oil in a large pan or deep fryer. Oil should be warm to ensure crispy outer layer.
Drop in the prepared samosas and fry in a warm oil, slowly increasing the temperature until golden brown.
Serve hot with mint, cilantro and tamarind chutney.

Chewy Ginger Cookies with Raisins

2012-12-20T12:31:00.001-05:00

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour - 2 cups
Ground ginger - 1 TBSP
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted Butter - 1 stick (1/2 cup, at room temperature)
Sugar - 1 cup
Freshly grated, peeled fresh ginger - 1/4 to1/3 cup
Flax seed powder - 1 TBSP (mixed with 3 TBSP water)
Unsulfured Molasses - 1/3 cup
Raisins - 3/4 cup
Sanding Sugar for rolling ( I used regular turbinado - raw sugar)

Method:

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, baking soda and salt.
In an another large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy.
Beat in fresh ginger, flax seed mixture and molasses.
Beat in flour mixture. Fold in raisins.
Scoop dough into 11/2 - inch balls onto a parchment - lined baking sheet.
Refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
Roll balls in sugar and place 2 inch apart on baking sheets.
Bake until centers are just set, about 15 - 20 minutes.
Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes.
Transfer cookies to racks and let it cool completely.
Store in airtight container.

Recipe Adopted and modified from: Everyday Food

Paavakkai Thokku / Bitter Gourd Pickle

2012-12-07T21:14:00.003-05:00

Ingredients:
Bitter Gourd - 1lb, about 7 to 8, washed, de-seeded and chopped into bite size pieces
Tomatoes - 3 medium sized, chopped finely
Mustard Seeds - 1tsp
Urad Dal - 2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Asafetida - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind - Small lemon sized, soak it in warm water for 15 minutes and squeeze out the pulp
Powdered Jaggery - 1 TBSP
Salt - to taste
Curry Leaves - few
Oil - 4 TBSP

For the powder: Dry roast and make a fine powder.
Raw Rice - 1 TBSP
Toor Dal - 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a wide bottom pan. Splutter mustard seeds.
Add urad dal and fry till golden brown.
Add the chopped bitter gourd, asafetida and turmeric powder. Fry until soft.
Add the tomatoes, chili powder and some curry leaves. Cooked until tomatoes turn soft and mushy.
Add the jaggery, tamarind pulp and salt. Cook until it becomes thick and the oil separates from the sauce.
Now add the rice powder and curry leaves. Mix well. Cook for 2 minutes and remove from the heat.
Serve with Idli, Dosa or yogurt rice.

Eggless Cinnamon Rolls

2012-12-07T16:40:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:
For the dough:

Out from the oven

All Purpose Flour - 3 cups
Butter - 2 TBSP, room temperature
Milk - 1 cup
Active Dry Yeast - 1 pack
Sugar - 1/3 cup plus 1 TBSP

For the filling:
Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon Powder - 4 TBSP

Smeared with frosting

Melted Butter - 2 TBSP

For the frosting:
Cream Cheese - 4 oz
Butter - 2 TBSP, room temperature
Powdered Sugar - 1 cup
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Warm Milk - 2 to 3 TBSP

Method:

Heat milk to lukewarm and add yeast and 1TBSP of sugar. Mix well. Keep it aside for 10 minutes or until frothy.
In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, 1/3 cup sugar and mix well.
To the yeast mixture, add the butter and mix well.
Now add the wet mix to the flour mix and form a dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Use more flour as needed. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let it rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F.
Butter a glass or non-stick baking tray and keep it aside.
Mix brown sugar, sugar and cinnamon powder.
When the dough is doubled in size, punch it in the middle.
Roll out on a floured surface into a 15x9 inch rectangle.
Spread melted butter all over the dough.
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough.
Roll the dough lengthwise and pinch the edges to seal.
Cut into 12 to 15 slices.
Place the cinnamon roll slices in the pan and let it rise until dough is doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake the doubled cinnamon rolls in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the frosting.
Add all the ingredients for the frosting in a bowl and beat until creamy with a hand mixture or a whisk.
Once the cinnamon rolls are out from the oven spread the frosting over the hot rolls.
Let it cool down for 5 minutes and serve.
Enjoy!!!

Mint Pulav with Paneer

2012-11-14T19:15:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cups
Onion - 2 (thinly sliced)
Frozen Peas and Carrots - 1 cup
Paneer Cubes - 1 cup
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 stick
Cloves - 5
Bay Leaves - 3
Salt - to taste
Ghee and Oil - 2 TBSP each

To grind:
Mint Leaves - 1 cup
Green Chilies - 5
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 2 cloves (optional)

Grind the above ingredients with little water into a smooth paste. Keep it aside.

Method:

Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes and pressure cook it with three cups of water.
Steam cook or microwave the frozen peas and carrots until tender.
In a wide non stick pan, heat oil and ghee.
Add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves. Fry for 30 seconds.
Add the sliced onion and fry till it turns translucent.
Add the ground mint paste and fry for 10 minutes or until the oil separates.
Add the carrots, peas and salt. Mix well. If the mixture is dry add 1/4 cup water.
Add the paneer pieces and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the flame.
Add the cooked rice and mix gently to coat.
Serve hot with raita.

Ribbon Pakoda

2012-11-10T11:03:00.001-05:00

Ingredients:
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Gram Flour / Besan / Kadalai Mavu - 1 cup
Melted Butter - 2 TBSP
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp or to taste
Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
Sesame Seeds - 1 TBSP
Asafetida - 1 tsp
Oil - for frying
Salt - to taste
Water - as needed

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, sieve both the flour.
Add the butter, red chili powder, black pepper, sesame seeds, asafetida and salt. Mix well.
Add water little by little and form a stiff but smooth dough.
Heat oil in a skillet.
Grease the murruku achu with a ribbon plate, and fill it with the prepared dough.
Press the dough in a circular motion directly in to the hot oil.
Cook until golden brown on a medium to low heat on one side and flip and cook on the other side.
Remove and place it on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Repeat the process.
Store it in a air tight container once it cooled completely.