Aaha Oho

Whole Wheat Chicken-Feta Pizza (From Scratch) with Spinach-Mushroom Salad

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:46:00 +0000

Don't turn your back on this whole wheat pizza because it didn't taste like cardboard, for sure. The crust is prepared from a mix of wheat flour and APF. Also, i have added few dried herbs to the flour to make the crust even more flavorful. These days everybody is trying to sneak in some healthy stuff into their favorite dishes and one such dish is my pizza. For topping, use the real cheese, but in moderation and skip the low-fat ones. This way, you will feel full and satisfied and also escape from cravings. My next pizza will be 'all WWF, no APF'. I guess so...

Ingredients:

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 cups All purpose flour (Maida), divided

1 1/2 cups Warm Water

1 tbsp Active Dry Yeast

1/2tsp Italian Seasoning (optional)

1/2tsp Pizza Seasoning (optional)

1tbsp Olive oil, more for greasing

1tsp Sugar

1tsp Salt

How to:

Dough:

Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water and let sit for 10 mins, until foamy.

In a big bowl, mix together the whole wheat flour, 1 cup APF, seasonings and salt.

Add the olive oil to the flour mixture and mix it well.

Now pour the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix until dough starts to come together.

Transfer the dough to a floured flat surface and start kneading by slowly adding the remaining 1/2 cup APF and prepare a smooth dough. Knead for 10 mins.

Now transfer the kneaded dough to a clean oiled bowl, wrap it with a kitchen towel and place it inside the microwave oven. (Do not switch on the oven.)

Let it rest for an hour, until doubled.

Once doubled, gently knead the dough for a min getting the air out of the dough.
Divide the dough into equal halves and let rest for another 45 mins in the same warm place.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease a cookie sheet/ baking pan.
Transfer one dough ball onto the greased sheet/pan, gently press with your hands to make desired shape of equal thickness. (You can make 2 thin crust pizzas.)

Toppings:

Pizza Sauce (see the recipe here)

1/2 small Green Bell Pepper (thinly sliced)

1/2 small Red Onion (thinly sliced)

1/2 cup Shredded chicken (already cooked)

1/4 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

2 Fresh Mozzarella balls (sliced and cubed)

Baking:

Spread the sauce over the dough leaving 1/2 to 1 inch from the sides.

Top it with pepper, onion, chicken the cheeses.

Bake for 18 mins, until the crust is golden brown and the cheeses are all melted.

Slice it up and devour.

Spinach-Mushroom Salad:

Ingredients:

2 handfuls Fresh Baby Spinach

2 White Button Mushrooms (thinly sliced)

1/4 Red onion (thinly sliced)

1tbsp Crumbled Feta Cheese

1tbsp Olive Oil

1tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

1tsp low sodium Soy Sauce

1/4tsp Ground Black Pepper

How to:

Toss together the spinach, mushroom, red onion and feta.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce and black pepper.

Pour the dressing over the spinach and mushroom and give it a gentle mix.

Serve as a side with pizza.

Mug Muffin

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:46:00 +0000

'Muffin in a mug' sounds really fun and cool. This muffin will be ready to eat in just 2 mins (including the prep time). I found this recipe from the Dr Oz's show, under the session "jumpstart your day'. I tried this today morning and it tasted really good. It rises up like a soufflé and sinks down a bit, once taken out of the oven. The texture was very soft and light. I ate the whole muffin and the protein and fiber kept me full and satisfied for more than 3 hrs now. The original recipe calls for 1 packet of stevia and 2tsp Cinnamon powder, but i replaced stevia with sugar as i did not have it handy. And the actual sugar substitution is, 1 packet stevia=2tsp of Sugar. This will be a perfect healthy on-the-go breakfast.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Flax meal (Ground Flaxseed)

1 Egg

1tsp Cinnamon powder

1tsp Baking powder

1 1/2tsp Sugar

1tsp Coconut oil (Organic Extra Virgin)

How to:

Pour the coconut oil into the mug, followed by the flax meal, cinnamon powder, baking powder and sugar. Mix well.

Now break the egg, add it to the mixture and beat with a fork.

Microwave for 55 seconds.

With a knife gently loosen the edges and transfer it to a plate.

Serve warm as breakfast to jumpstart your day.

Birthday Dinner at 'LOLA'

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:18:00 +0000

Yesterday, booked a dinner reservation at the Lola restaurant in Seattle to celebrate Senthil's birthday. This was our 2nd time visiting the Lola. It is one of Chef Tom Douglas's restaurants. He defeated Masaharu Morimoto in one of the Iron Chef America episode. We have also been to his other restaurant 'Serious Pie' which is a pizzeria. Ok, enough about the Chef, lets talk about the food.

We started off with an appetizer of Pita bread with a couple of Lola spreads.

Kopanisti~Pistachio, Mavrodaphne : This is made by mixing 80% Feta cheese and 20% blue cheese, topped with pistachio and drizzled with sweet wine reduction.

Fava Skordalia~garlic spread : This is just like hummus, but made from fava beans and not chickpea.

Unfortunately, there is no pic as we were both hungry and didn't bother to click it.

The 2nd course is the Entrée,

I had Chicken kebabs which are skewered and served over charred onions, lemon and a shot of ouzo. Ouzo is an anise- flavored drink that are consumed widely in Greece, which stimulates the appetite. These are served mostly in authentic Greek restaurants.

The chicken simply melted in my mouth. I left my plate clean.

Senthil had Goat Kleftiko, which is like a pot pie, stuffed with carrots, leeks, cipollini onions and feta with a crust. Kleftiko is a Greek recipe for slow roasting a joint of meat with herbs until the meat is moist, succulent, tasty and falling of the bone.

He loves goat and devoured every bite of it.

As a common dish, we had Brussels Sprouts with apple and bacon spiced with Ras al hanout. It nothing but a famous Moroccan spice blend. Ras al Hanout means 'top of the shop' and refers to the mixture of best spices the seller has to offer.

The brussels sprouts were juicy along with the apple and the spices really kick it up a notch. It was sweet, salty and spicy altogether.

The 3rd course is the Dessert,

I had deep fried Mini Donuts with Cinnamon and Sugar along with a side of Vanilla Mascarpone Cheese and Cherry Jam. The donuts were soft and butter and the vanilla mascarpone was the best. The cherry jam was a bit sour for my taste. Btw, this was the dish that Giada De Laurentiis, the celebrity chef had For the Food network's 'The best thing I ever ate- Totally Fried' show.

BEFORE

AFTER

Senthil had Goat Cheese Turnover with Pistachio, mint and honey. It looked kind of like our south Indian Somas. The fillings were goat cheese and lots of lemon zest, so it tasted a bit lemony. And it ended up in his not-so-favorite list.

And to wash it all down, Senthil had Espresso-tini. It is made from stoli Vanilla, Espresso, Bailey's, Kahlua and chocolate rim. It was bitter for my taste and i am not a fan of coffee, so i let him drink it.

At the end of day, it was a great dinner. No Complaints.

No Butter Chubby Oatmeal Cookie

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:21:00 +0000

This soft and chewy cookie is a decadent treat for those who watch their waistline. You can have it with your morning cup of coffee as breakfast or to satisfy your late night sweet-tooth. The recipe calls for brown sugar, but I replaced it with equal amount of date sugar. Date sugar is nothing but dehydrated dates ground into granulated form. It is a whole food, high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. I think it is a great substitute and the best part is you won't taste anything different. And here goes the recipe,
Ingredients:

3/4 cup APF/Maida

3/4 cup Rolled Oats

1/2 cup Date Sugar

1/4 cup White granulated sugar

1/2tsp Baking soda

1/4tsp Salt

1 Egg

1/3 cup Canola Oil

1/2tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tbsp Water

How to:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use foil and spray it with oil.
In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and oats.

In another bowl, break the egg and whisk until frothy. Add date sugar and white sugar followed by oil, vanilla extract and water.

Now slowly add the flour mixture into the egg-sugar mixture and blend'em well.

Scoop equal amount of the mixture and place it on the cookie sheet. Then gently press it to flatten the mixture and bake'em for 10 mins.

Cool completely on a cooling rack before storing.

Serve it as a snack or dessert.

Tips:

Date sugar is available online or in specialty food stores.
To make it even more decadent, add chocolate chips, raisin or any dried fruit into the mixture.

Spiced Roasted Nuts

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:14:00 +0000

'A handful of nuts a day keeps your bad cholesterol away'. If you are not into raw nuts, try spicing it up and eat'em to compliment your naturally healthy diet. This is such a simple recipe and makes a great on-the-go snack with a spice kick. You can experiment with the spices and play with the recipe. Also try mixing some sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds along with the nuts. I always eat'em raw with my morning oatmeal bowl. Go healthy! Go Nuts!

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Raw Almonds

1 cup Whole Raw Walnuts

1tsp Chilli powder

1/2tsp Coriander powder

1/2tsp Cumin powder

1/4tsp ground Cinnamon

1/4tsp Black Pepper powder

1/2tsp Salt

1tbsp Olive oil

How to:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, mix together the chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, cinnamon, black pepper powder and salt(i used a little less than 1/2 tsp), followed by the oil.

Now add the nuts and mix well to coat the spicy masala.

Spread the coated nuts on a baking sheet and roast'em for 10 mins by stirring twice in the middle.

Let completely cool and store'em in an airtight container.

Whole Wheat Turtle Bread

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 06:57:00 +0000

Say Hello to my little 'Turtle'.

This is a rustic bread so warm and comforting, perfect for the rainy days(Started raining here in Seattle). It was fun and playful making the turtle. The bread came out very soft, thanks to the egg which makes it light and airy. It is a great accompaniment with a hot hearty soup for lunch or as a snack with your evening cup of tea. You need your carbs for sure. The original recipe calls for no wheat flour, but i sneaked some just for my satisfaction. As usual, the kitchen is filled with a heavenly aroma from the baking of bread. There is no limit to the imagination, so have fun with the shape and here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour + 1/4 cup more

1 pack Active dry yeast

1 Egg

1/2 cup Water

1/3 cup Milk

1tbsp Butter

1tbsp Sugar

1tsp Salt

2 Raisins, for turtle's eyes

How to:

In a big bowl, add the 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, yeast, sugar and salt, mix well and keep it aside.

In a sauce pan, add the water, milk and butter at medium-low heat and let the butter melt untouched.

Then stir and slowly pour it to the flour-yeast mixture, mix, followed by the egg.

Now add the whole wheat flour and start kneading. Add the 1/4 cup all purpose flour little at a time and knead a soft and springy dough. (I kneaded for 6-8 mins.)

Wrap loosely and let the dough rest for 10 mins.

To make the turtle:

Wrap a aluminum foil on a cookie sheet, spray with cooking oil and keep it aside.
Make a 2 inch smooth ball for the turtle's head.
Make four walnut size balls for the turtle's leg.
Make a small 1 inch log for the turtle's tail.
Make the turtle's body with the remaining dough, by making a smooth round ball, slightly flattened and place it on the cookie sheet.
Now attach the head, legs and tail by pinching the edge of each part with the body part of the dough.
Press the raisins on the turtle's head for it's eyes.
Brush the dough with olive oil to prevent it from drying. Wrap it loosely and let rest for 20-30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Once the dough has risen, with a knife make a 1/4" circular cut around the edge of the body and make crisscross cuts to make the turtle's shell.

Bake for 25 mins or until golden brown.
Let the bread cool completely on a cooling rack before storing it.

Store in a ziploc bag tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries with Garlicky Lemon Yogurt Dip

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:34:00 +0000

Fries are one of the addictive finger foods, nobody can stop just eating one. These baked ones taste better than the fried ones with extra crispiness. You can taste the sweetness from the potato and little heat from the spicy seasonings at the same time. Also these sweet potato fries are a great healthy snack option, as they are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin A and C. The dip is made from Greek yogurt and other dried herbs and seasonings. The regular yogurt is strained to remove the whey, that results in thick and creamy textured Greek Yogurt. That is why it is higher in protein and low in carbohydrates and sugar.

These are super easy to prepare and makes a great pair. So dump the fast food restaurant's deep fried french fries and opt for endless baked fries at home. And here goes the recipe,

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

1 Sweet Potato

1tbsp Garlic Olive Oil

1/4tsp Paprika

1/4tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2tsp Cumin powder

Garlic Salt, to taste

Ground Black Pepper, to taste

How to:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and keep it aside.
Cut the sweet potato into strips with 1/2 inch thickness. (wash and dry completely before cutting'em, otherwise it might end up soggy.)

In a bowl, to the sweet potato strips, add all the remaining ingredients and give it a good mix. (You can replace or leave out any of the seasonings, if you don't want to use the listed ingredients.)

Now arrange the potato strips on the baking sheet without touching each other and bake'em for 15 mins, flip and bake for another 10 mins or until crispy.

Serve hot with a dip as a snack or an appetizer.

Garlicky Lemon Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

5.3oz Greek Yogurt

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

1tsp Lemon Juice

1/2tsp dried Parsley flakes

1/4tsp Season salt (it has salt, paprika, celery, turmeric and black pepper)

1/4tsp Cumin powder

Ground Black pepper, to taste

How to:

Mix everything together and make it smooth. Check salt for taste and add fresh herbs if you have it handy.

Serve alongside fries or baby carrots.

Whole Wheat Flax Bread Loaf

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:44:00 +0000

Who doesn't love a warm toasty and buttered homemade bread for their breakfast? This is a soft, light and healthy sandwich bread rich in omega-3 fatty acids. I found this recipe from here. The flax seed has high levels of dietary fiber and helps in lowering cholesterol. Also, flax-seed needs to be ground to make the nutrients available, otherwise they just 'pass through', so make sure you grind your own flax-seed or buy pre-ground flax-seed meal to make the best out of it. And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

2 cups Whole Wheat flour

1 cup All Purpose flour (Maida) + more, for dusting

1 cup Flax seed meal

1tbsp Active Dry Yeast

1 3/4 cups Warm Water

2tbsp Sugar

3/4tsp Salt

1tbsp Canola oil

How to:

Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with oil and keep it aside.
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let sit for 5 mins or until foamy.
To the yeast, add sugar, oil and salt followed by flax-seed meal.

Then add the whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, mix well.
Now add the all purpose flour and start kneading with your hands.

Transfer the dough onto a flat floured surface and knead it for 15 mins.

In a big bowl, spray oil and place the kneaded dough, wrap it with a kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place for 1 1/2hrs or until the dough is doubled in size.

Then punch the dough and transfer the dough to the loaf pan. (Press the dough down to fit the pan.)

Let the dough sit for another 1/2hr or until it rises to 1 1/2 inches above the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake it for 45 mins.
Let sit for 10 mins before you transfer the bread loaf onto the cooling rack.

Bring the loaf to room temperature before you slice'em.

To serve, toast the bread, smother it with some almond butter and devour'em.

To store, wrap the loaf completely with plastic wrap, place it in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate it.

I am Tagged-2 (7 Links Game)

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:10:00 +0000

The 7 links game, wherein each title has to be linked with a recipe that suits the name. And here are my links,

Most Beautiful Post

Limoncello Granita

This is such an sweet, luscious dessert and absolutely beautiful to all your senses.

Eyes see the 'white creaminess with tints of yellow' , Ears hear the 'smacking and licking of your lips', Tongue tastes the 'sweetness and tang', Nose smells the 'lemony flavor', and finally, it's smooth and silky texture feels heavenly.

Most Popular Post

Mushroom Masala (dry)

This recipe has been viewed the most all time.

Most Controversial Post

Unfortunately, there is no recipe under this category.

Most Helpful Post

Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani

Though all my recipes are shown step-wise, heard from quite a few that this particular recipe with all pics helped them in making their biryani.

Surprisingly Successful Post

Basbousa/Hareesa

This is a finger-licking dessert that gave a little shiver and was a bit intimidating. But to my surprise it turned out successfully, just like the store bought.

Attention Deserved Post

Baked Samosa

Well, i expected this recipe deserved a little bit more attention and sadly it wasn't appealing to the viewers.

Post, I'm Proud of

Thick Crust Veggie Pizza

Pizza shops are around you every where. Ready made pizza dough and pizza sauces are available in almost every grocery store. What i am proud about is, that i made everything from scratch and the whole pizza disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Thanks for tagging me to this 7 links game, Shobha. It was really fun to pick the post and reviewing my blog from both reader's and blogger's prospective.

Pesarettu (Green Moong Dal Dosa)

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:57:00 +0000

Highly rich in protein, this moong dal dosa would be the perfect breakfast any day. A couple of these dosas keeps you full and satisfied until noon. If you don't like onions, add some grated carrot or zucchini or beets and make it fun and colorful. Researchers say, foods rich in protein should make your breakfast plate. So, ditch your regular rice dosas/idlies and start your day including more dals and eggs. Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Green Moong dal

1/2 Yellow onion (finely chopped)

1 piece Ginger

2 small Garlic

4 Green chilli (chopped)

1/2 cup Cilantro (chopped)

1 pinch Asafoetida

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

Water

Oil

Salt

How to:

Soak the gram dal overnight or at least for 6hrs. Drain'em and keep it aside.

Grind the dal along with ginger, garlic, green chilli, cilantro, asafoetida, cumin seeds and salt, in a blender/mixie to a smooth dosa like batter, adding some water.

Now heat a griddle or dosa tawa, pour a ladleful of batter and swirl like you would for dosa, sprinkle some onions over the batter and pour drops of oil around the edges and on top.

Cook for couple of mins or until golden brown, flip and cook the other side.

Serve hot with any chutney or sambar.

Whole Wheat Focaccia (Italian Bread)

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:24:00 +0000

Focaccia is a flat italian bread topped with herbs and seasoned with olive oil and salt. It is eaten as a snack in Italy. Here in US, you would normally eat as a sandwich stuffed with cheese and meat/vegetables. It is similar to the making of pizza, instead of rolling the dough thin, it is hand pressed to a even thicker dough and dotting over the unbaked dough(that is making indentations)is practiced. The recipe calls for no wheat flour, so if you want a light airy bread, you can replace the wheat flour with all purpose flour. Pushing to be a bit more healthy turns the bread a little dense. But the bread was very soft and tasty. My food critic complained about the denser side, but he absolutely loved the taste. Feel free to top the bread with your favorites and enjoy the hot bread. Baking breads at home are so comforting and therapeutic and makes your whole kitchen smell heavenly. And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Whole wheat flour

2 cups + 1/4 cup All purpose flour (maida)

1 pack Rapid rise yeast

1/4 cup + 2tbsp Olive oil

1 2/3 cups warm Water

1tsp Sugar

2 1/2tsp Salt

Topping:

1tsp dried Rosemary

few thinly sliced Red onion

How to:

Grease a 15x10" baking sheet with olive oil and keep it aside.
Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water and let sit for 5 mins.

In a big bowl, add the flours and salt, mix well, followed by 1/4 cup olive oil.
Once the yeast bowl is foamy, pour'em into the flour bowl and bring it together starting to knead.

Dust the surface by slowly adding the remaining 1/4 cup flour and knead for 15 mins to a soft, non-sticky dough.

Transfer the dough onto the greased baking sheet and flatten'em evenly by pressing with your hands.

Cover the dough with a wet kitchen towel and let rest for 1 1/2 hrs in a warm place to rise.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Meanwhile mix the 2tbsp olive oil with the rosemary and onion and keep it aside.

Once the dough is risen, make indentations all over the dough with your finger.

Now, with a pastry brush, spread the oil mixture on top the dough. Also arrange the left over onion slices and sprinkle a pinch of salt on top.

Bake the bread for 20 mins. Let it cool before you slice'em.

Serve it as a snack, use it for making sandwiches or drizzle some almond butter and gobble it up like me.

To Store, refrigerate the left over bread in a tight container.

Quinoa Pulav

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Quinoa doesn't need much of an introduction. A lot of us started replacing rice with quinoa and experimented different recipes. And one such is this pulav, a spiced and healthy one-pot meal that is so colorful and flavorful that will make you feel full and satisfied. It has a crunchy texture, nutty flavor and turns out very aromatic when cooked with Indian spices. I am sure this recipe is a KEEPER. Check this out and here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa (pre-rinsed)

1/2 cup Carrot (chopped)

1/2 cup Green beans (chopped)

1/2 cup Peas (frozen and thawed)

1 1/2tsp Garlic (minced)

1 1/2tsp Ginger (minced)

1 Spring Onion (chopped)

1/4tsp Turmeric powder

1tsp Coriander powder

1/2tsp Cumin powder

1/2tsp Garam masala powder

1 Black Cardamom

2 small Green Cardamom

4-5 Whole black peppercorns

1/2" Cinnamon stick

2 small Cloves

1 Bay leaf

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

1 1/2 cups Water

1 tsp Lemon juice (optional)

1tbsp Oil

Salt

How to:

Soak the quinoa for 30 mins, drain the water completely and keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep skillet, at medium heat, add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cardamoms.

After a few secs, add cumin seeds, cloves and black peppercorns.

Then add the onions followed by turmeric powder and some salt and saute until translucent.

Now add the ginger, garlic and half of the spring onions and cook until raw smell disappears.

Add the soaked quinoa and roast'em for 5 minutes.

Then add the carrot, peas and beans, give it a quick mix and then add the coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder.

Mix well and pour the water and add salt for taste.

Bring water to a boil and then reduce the flame to low, close the lid and cook it for 30 mins.

Switch off, open the lid, fluff the quinoa with a fork, add the lemon juice and garnish with the remaining spring onions.

Serve hot with onion raita and chips.

Milk Cake (Paalkova)

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:21:00 +0000

Paalkova is one of my childhood favorites. I remember the days, wherein we had this Aavin milk booth next to our house and they sell these paalkovas, packed just like butter sticks. I will eat the whole stick all by myself, licking the wrapped paper for any bits of it. It just melts in your mouth and i get the satisfaction only if i eat it with my hands(no spoon or fork can come b/w me and paalkova, hehe.) Also, don't prepare this sweet with reduced fat milk. (i.e, don't follow my first tip.) Instead, increase your workout time and enjoy this rich, decadent milk sweet as it is. And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

6 cups whole Milk

1/2 cup Sugar

2tbsp Lemon juice

2tbsp Ghee

1/8tsp Cardamom powder

1tbsp chopped Pistachios (For garnish)

How to:

Grease a plate or a bowl with ghee and keep it aside.

Heat the milk along with water at medium heat in a wide, heavy bottomed pan and bring it to a boil.

Let it boil for couple of mins. Slowly add the lemon juice and keep stirring the milk gently. The milk will begin to curdle and the whey starts to separate.

Let boil for 5 mins, once the whey is completely separated, remove 1 1/2 cups of whey from the pan. It helps in reducing the sourness from the lemon juice.

Continue cooking until whey is evaporated and reduce milk turns grainy.

Now add the sugar and cook for couple of mins or until the mixture comes together.

Then pour the ghee and cardamom powder and cook by stirring continuously until it starts to turn slightly golden brown.

Transfer the mixture to a greased plate and press firmly into a square or any desired shape.

Gently press the chopped pistachios on top of the milk cake while its hot.

Once it is set, slice it with a knife and serve warm or cold.

Tips:

You can use 3 cups of whole milk and 3 cups of 2% reduced fat milk or replace it with all 2% reduced fat milk. (The richness and thickness of the cake might vary.)
For garnishing, you can use chopped almonds, walnuts or any other mixture of nuts.

Tofu Egg Fried Rice

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:33:00 +0000

An irresistible one pot meal which is rich in protein and a lot of flavors is ready to dig in. Cooking with sesame oil really brings out the flavor just like the fried rice at the chinese restaurant. You can also add crushed chili flakes along with the chilli garlic sauce to increase the heat level. There are a countless way to prepare this fried rice. So, try this recipe with your twist on it and have fun cooking.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Basmati Rice

14oz Firm Tofu

2 Eggs

3/4 cup Cabbage (shredded)

1/2 Green Bell pepper (thinly sliced)

1 medium Carrot (sliced diagonally)

2tsp Garlic (minced)

1 Green onion (chopped)

1tbsp +1tbsp Light Soy sauce

2tsp Chilli Garlic sauce (Homemade)

1tbsp Sesame oil

Salt

Chilli Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:

5 Dried Red chilies

1/2 cup Hot water

1 1/2tsp Garlic (minced)

1tsp Sugar

1/2tsp Salt

2tbsp White Vinegar

1tbsp Sesame Oil

How to:

Break the dried red chilies and soak'em in hot water for 20 mins to soften.
Then drain the water and grind the chilies in a mixie/blender.
Now add garlic, sugar, salt and white vinegar and grind'em coarsely, and transfer'em to a bowl.
Heat the sesame oil in a skillet until it starts to smoke and pour the oil over the ground chilli garlic sauce.

Mix well and serve the hot sauce as a side or over the fried rice.

How to(Fried rice):

Pressure cook the basmati rice, fluff it with a fork and keep it aside.
Cut the tofu blocks into 8-10 squares and drizzle 1tbsp soy sauce and let'em soak for 10-15 mins.

Heat 1tsp of oil in a wide skillet and sear the tofu squares to golden brown.

Heat the sesame oil in the same skillet, add the minced garlic and saute for a min.

Add the carrot, saute for a couple of mins and then add the bell pepper and cabbage along with some salt.

After another couple of mins, push the veggies to the side and break the eggs. (I added 1 whole egg and 1 egg white.)

Scramble the eggs, then add the seared tofu and cooked rice together. Mix well.

Slightly increase the flame, pour the remaining soy sauce and the homemade chili garlic sauce over the rice and give it a good mix.

Check salt for taste and cook until rice is heated through.

Switch off and sprinkle the chopped green onions.

Serve hot with more hot sauce as a side.

Rice Kheer

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:00:00 +0000

A warm, rich and lightly sweetened kheer with a hint of saffron. This is such a simple dessert that is scrumptious enough for your taste buds to scream 'whoa'. With a few ingredients from your pantry, you can pull this together in no time. Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

2 cups Milk

1 cups Long grain/Basmati Rice (cooked)

3tbsp Sugar

1tbsp Raisins

1tbsp Pistachios (chopped)

1tbsp Almonds (chopped)

1/8tsp Cardamom powder

1 pinch Saffron

How to:

Soak the raisins in water to puff'em up.
Crush and grind the saffron with 1 tsp of sugar using a mortar and pestle.

Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed pan on medium flame. (I used 2% reduced fat milk. You can replace with whole milk for a rich consistency.)

Add the rice and heat it through, stirring occasionally.

Now add the crushed saffron and sugar and cook'em until the milk is reduced and thickens.

Then add the chopped nuts and raisins, mix well.

Switch off the flame and add the cardamom powder.

Serve it warm or cold garnishing with chopped nuts.

Instant Savory Spring Onion Dosa

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:56:00 +0000

I know, 'Instant' sounds always good. No soaking, no grinding and no fermenting, totally free from all these time consuming process. This is such a dosa where you can whip up the batter with a few ingredients already available from your pantry. This savory dosa had a great crunch from the spring onions and a spicy kick from the green chilies. You can also add grated carrot or zucchini and make it more colorful and healthy. And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 cup Besan flour

2tbsp Sooji (Rava)

1tbsp Rice flour

1/4tsp Turmeric powder

1/4tsp Ajwain seeds

1 pinch Baking soda

1/4 cup plain Yogurt

1 cup Water

1tsp minced Ginger

2 small Green chilli (minced)

3 stalks Spring Onion/Green Onion (finely chopped)

1tbsp Cilantro (chopped)

1tsp Salt

Oil

How to:

In a big bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: besan, sooji, rice flour, turmeric powder, ajwain and salt.

Add yogurt and water and whisk well to form a lump-free batter.

Now add the green chilli, ginger, cilantro and spring onions, and mix'em well.

Let the batter sit for 15-20 mins. Add baking soda just before using the batter.

Apply oil on a hot tawa/griddle, pour a ladle full of batter and spread it out.

Cook for 2-3 mins or until evenly browned and flip the dosa.

Continue cooking for another couple of mins and serve hot with chutney or sambar.

Anaheim Pepper Stir-fry

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:24:00 +0000

Anaheim pepper is a very mild variety of chili pepper. These peppers are mainly used in mexican dishes for stuffing the cheese and frying the same. In our cuisine, this is a perfect crunchy stir-fry for accompanying our rice dishes. With a few ingredients, you can make the mild peppers spicy and flavorful. Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

4 Anaheim Peppers (de-seeded & chopped)

1/2 Red Onion (finely chopped)

5-6 Curry leaves

1/4tsp Turmeric powder

1tsp Coriander powder

1tbsp Masala powder

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

1/2tsp Mustard seeds

1/2tsp Urad dal

1tbsp Oil

Salt

Masala powder:

4 dry red chilli

1/2tsp mustard seeds

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

1tbsp Coriander seeds

1tsp urad dal

2tbsp peanuts

6-7 curry leaves

In a pan, dry roast the following in the same order: dry red chilli, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, urad dal, peanuts and finally curry leaves.
Now let the mixture cool and coarse grind it.

How to:

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and urad dal.

Then add the onions and curry leaves, followed by salt and turmeric powder.

Now add the coriander powder, saute for a min and add the peppers.

Add another pinch of salt and the masala powder and cook for 3-4 mins or until the peppers are tender.

Check salt for taste and switch off.

Serve hot with dal or sambar rice.

Basbousa / Hareesa

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:49:00 +0000

Basbousa or Haressa is a sweet cake made of semolina and coconut soaked in syrup. It is famous dessert in Eastern mediterranean cuisines which has a variety of names. The syrup makes the cake super moist and juicy. Just like the different names, there are a few different recipes to prepare it. Actually it is quite simple to make and really delicious. I first had this dessert at our usual eatery 'Aladdin gyro-cery' here at Seattle. Its a treat for your sweet tooth. Its open on all days until 3 am i guess. We love our late night dinners there, and i mean really late, like 2am after finishing our road trip. Oops! got carried away with my story. And here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups Semolina/Rava

1/4 cup All purpose flour/Maida

2 1/4tsp baking powder

1/4 cup +1tsp shredded Coconut (frozen and thawed)

1/4 cup Ghee(melted)

1/4 cup Olive oil

1/2 tsp Almond extract

1/4 cup + 2tbsp plain Yogurt

1/4 cup Sugar

15 raw Almonds

For Syrup:

3/4 Sugar

1/2 cup Water

3/4tsp Rose water

How to:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a baking dish/cake pan and keep it aside.
Roast the shredded coconut in a medium flame until dry and keep it aside. (Instead you can use store bought dry coconut flakes.) Also dry roast the almonds.
In a bowl, mix together the semolina, flour, baking powder, sugar and the roasted shredded coconut.

Then add the wet ingredients; ghee, olive oil, yogurt and almond extract. (The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup butter, but i used 1/4 cup each ghee and olive oil. Its up to you to use whichever you prefer.)

Knead into a soft dough and transfer it to the baking pan.

Press and spread the dough with you hands to equal thickness.

Sprinkle the roasted 1tsp coconut flakes over the top and place the almonds pressed over it.

Bake the cake for 35 mins.

Meanwhile, lets prepare the rose water syrup.

In a sauce pan, add sugar and water and bring it to a boil at medium heat.
Simmer for 5 more mins, pour the rose water and switch off.
Let the syrup cool down.
Remove the baked cake from the oven and immediately make squares with a sharp knife.

Now pour the syrup all over the hot cake to absorb it.

Allow the cake to sit for 2-3 hours to soak up all the goodness before you serve it.

Spicy Bread Upma

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:00:00 +0000

Wake the sense of smell and taste and spice up your morning by swapping the daily toast to this simple savory bread upma. Turn your dry bread pieces into soft and spicy bites. This is a dish you can make in a snap as it takes hardly 10 mins of your time and its guaranteed that the plate is gonna be emptied once served. Here goes the recipe and have a great morning.

Ingredients:

4-5 Whole wheat bread (1" pieces)

1/2 medium Yellow onion (finely chopped)

1 Roma tomato (finely chopped)

4-5 Curry leaves

3 dry red chilli (broken)

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/2tsp Mustard seeds

1/2tsp Urad dal

1 pinch Asafoetida

1tbsp Oil

Salt

How to:

Heat oil in a skillet, add the mustard seeds, dry red chilli, urad dal and asafoetida.

Then add onions and curry leaves along with some salt, followed by turmeric powder and saute until tender.

Now add the tomatoes and cook until its completely mashed up.

Add the sliced bread pieces and mix well to coat the bread with the mixture.

Saute for 2 -3 mins, switch off and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Limoncello Granita

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Thu, 19 May 2011 05:26:00 +0000

This is a sweet-smelling lemony dessert, smooth and creamy, that you can't stop licking the spoon. It is perfect after a heavy meal as the limoncello helps in digestion. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur, made from lemon peels. One of our very good friend gifted us this fine bottle, after their visit to Italy. It has strong lemony flavor without any sourness or bitterness from the lemon. Granita is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and other flavorings like lemon, orange, coffee, chocolate and so many. The texture of this frozen mixture will be semi-solid and creamy like yogurt, and the lemony flavor will leave you light and refreshing. The lemon zest gave the dessert nice yellow hue here and there, and every bite was absolutely yummy.

Come on, its cheese, liqueur and sugar, you cannot go wrong. Senthil gave 2 thumbs-up and me, very happy :)

Ingredients:

1 cup Mascarpone Cheese (8oz)

1/2 cup Limoncello

1 1/2 cups Lemon simple syrup

9x13 Baking dish

For Lemon Simple Syrup:

1 Lemon's Zest

3tbsp Lemon juice

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Water

How to:

Heat a saucepan at medium heat, add the sugar, water, zest and lemon juice. Gently stir and bring it to a boil.

Then reduce the heat and simmer it for 5 mins. Switch off and bring it to room temperature.

For Granita:

Add the room temperature mascarpone cheese, limoncello and the lemon simple syrup and process until its smooth. (I used mixie and pulsed it 3 times. I guess food processor works even better.)

Pour the mixture into the baking dish, wrap it and freeze it for at least 4 hrs.

For serving, scrape the top layer with a fork or spoon and serve it immediately.

Tiramisu

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:41:00 +0000

A heaven in your mouth. Tiramisu is a popular Italian cake, made of biscuits (usually savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone cheese, and flavored with liquor and cocoa. After going through quite a few recipes, i picked Ina Garten's (from Food Network) Tiramisu and the recipe is quite simple to follow. It is crucial for the ingredients to be at room temperature for the tiramisu to turn out perfect. I made a couple of changes in the recipe after reading the reviews. First, i reduced the rum to half of what the recipe calls for and added kahlua to get more of the coffee flavor. Then, i used instant coffee powder to make strong coffee instead of espresso. I know its not Italian to use coffee, but it wouldn't hurt. The Tiramisu turned out absolutely moist and delicate, every bite just dissolved in our mouth. Mmm mmm 'licking the spoon' good!

Ingredients:

40 Savoiardi (Lady Finger Cookies)

16 oz Mascarpone cheese

6 Egg yolks

1/4 cup Kahlua (divided)

1/4 cup Dark Rum (divided)

1 1/4 + 1/4 cups Strong Coffee

1/4 cup +1 tbsp Sugar

Cocoa powder (unsweetened)

(1/4 cup=4tbsps)

Also required:

Stand mixer/Hand mixer

13x9 Baking dish

Small Sifter (to dust cocoa powder)

Spatula (to spread out the filling)

How to:

Bring the mascarpone cheese and the separated egg yolks to room temperature.
Prepare strong coffee by dissolving 2 tbsp instant coffee powder in 2 cups of hot water and bring it to room temperature. (making an extra 1/2 cup of coffee, in case you run out of it)
Add 1/2 of the sugar to the egg yolks and beat gently, until the sugar is melted.

Cook the egg yolks in the double boiler for a min or two, i.e., by placing boiling water in a sauce pan on the stove and cook the egg yolks over the steam in a heat-resistant bowl, continuously whisking. (Careful, the egg yolks bowl should not touch the boiling water.)
In a big mixing bowl, add the mascarpone, remaining sugar, 2tbsp rum, 2tbsp Kahlua and beat it with a hand mixer for a min.

Then add the egg yolks-sugar mixture along with a 1/4 cup coffee to the mascarpone mixture and beat it in a medium speed until it starts to thicken. (This would be the filling)

Dipping liquid mixture: Mix the remaining 2tbsp rum and 2tbsp Kahlua to the 1 1/4 cups of coffee in a shallow bowl.
And its layering time. Make sure you have enough cookies, filling, dipping mixture and cocoa powder. We are ready to go.
Arrange the cookies in the baking dish, by dipping each one in the dipping mixture for a second. (It absorbs the liquid quicker than you think. The longer you soak, the cookie will become soggy and break.)

Now, transfer half of the mascarpone filling and spread it out evenly. Dust the top with cocoa powder.

Make another layer with cookies and the filling in a similar way and dust it with lots of cocoa powder.

Wrap it up and refrigerate it for up to 8 hours or overnight.

Serve chilled and topped with more cocoa powder or shaved dark chocolate.

Paneer Bhurji & An Award

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 04:05:00 +0000

Paneer is one of my best-loved thing, that i can't have enough. Before i go grocery shopping, i always make sure that i have paneer in stock. The other day, i bought this twin pack of paneer at costco and I couldn't wait to try a new dish to eat'em up. When i came across the recipe for bhurji, i certainly know that it would be a big hit. Boy o boy, no words to explain the taste of these spicy, delicate bites. I guess chaat masala is the secret ingredient. Though i have tried different paneer dishes and loved'em all, bhurji is on top of the ladder and a keeper for sure. I am sure many of you had tried and tasted it before, but if you haven't, i insist to cook'em for your next dinner and you would love it just like we did.

Ingredients:

1(14 oz) Paneer (store bought)

2 or 3 Roma Tomatoes (chopped)

1 medium Yellow Onion (chopped)

2tsp Garlic (minced)

2tsp Ginger (minced)

3 small Green Chillies (chopped)

1/4tsp Turmeric powder

1tsp Coriander powder

1/2tsp Chilli powder

1/2tsp Cumin powder

1/2tsp Garam Masala powder

1/2tsp Chaat masala powder

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

1tbsp Oil

Salt

How to:

Slice up the paneer and crumble'em with your hand or pulse'em in food processor (not in mixie or blender).

Heat oil in a skillet, add cumin seeds, followed by onions.

Saute'em for a couple of mins and then add turmeric powder, ginger and garlic.

Continue sautéing until the raw smell disappears and the onions are tender.
Add the tomatoes, green chillies and cook for 3-4 mins until they are soft. (Do not let'em mash up.)

Now add all the masala powders along with salt and cook for another min.

Then add the crumbled paneer, mix well to coat the masala and cook for 3 mins with lid closed.

Check salt for taste, switch off and garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot with chapathi of naan.

Thank you Shobha for making such a beautiful tag for me and sharing the award with me.

Pistachio Custard/Pudding

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:41:00 +0000

This is a dessert i have been wanting to make at home for quite sometime. Whenever i think of custard, i remember my PG hostel days, wherein we get a small fruit custard bowl as dessert for lunch every Wednesday. Who could resist eating just one? So, we (me n friends) sneak and take away (decent way to say 'steal', hehe) 3 or 4 bowls, when the person at the hostel food counter turns her back. The custard tastes even better this way. It will be super sweet and totally irresistible. Here, when i get to taste Crème brûlée at first, i felt the same spongy custard that just melts in my mouth. I can never have enough of it. I didn't know custard is that easy to prepare until i landed vahrehvah's Caramel Custard recipe. It turned out so delicate with mild sweetness and soft texture thats simply yummylicious. Here goes the recipe for you to try it out,

Ingredients:

2 cups Milk

3 Eggs

1/4 cup + 3tsp Sugar

1/4tsp Vanilla Extract

1tbsp Water

1tbsp Pistachios (chopped), for sprinkling

Food color (optional)

How to:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Set a small baking pan inside a big baking dish half filled with water.

Heat the 3tsp sugar in a pan along with water and let it caramelize in a medium-low flame. (I tried twice and didn't get the caramelization, instead the sugar dried up and became hard, hehe. So i just spread the lumps inside the small baking pan and kept aside.)

Break the eggs in a bowl and whisk'em along with the 1/4cup of sugar.

Then pour the vanilla extract and milk, and continue whisking until everything blends.

Now pour the milk mixture over the sugar that has been spread and bake for 45 mins.

Remove and let sit for 20 mins. With a knife or spoon run the sides and separate the custard sticking to the sides.

With a plate placed upside down on the baking pan, carefully transfer the custard onto the plate.

The sugar would have melted and runs over the custard. Refrigerate it, sprinkle the chopped pistachios and serve chill.

Sending the treat to Lisa's Sweet as Sugar Cookies event.

Our Trip's Dining Experience

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:17:00 +0000

The road trip was from Seattle to LA and it took 3 days and 2 nights(each way), the driving time was roughly 7 hours/day.

Our first food stop was Red Robin burgers(Oregon), where i had a Chicken burger and melon slices. This may sound weird, but believe me it was my first burger in the 3 years of my US life. I don't know, for some reasons i hated burgers without even tasting and i didn't like the chicken burger that i had that night. Maybe i should have ordered what Senthil was having, because he loved his burger, always love'em.

Next food stop was Bistro Jeanty, a fine French Bistro in Yountville, CA. The appetizer we shared was Terrine de Lapin. It was a rabbit pâté with a celery root apple salad and mustard dressing. Pâté is a mixture of ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste. Common additions are vegetables, herbs, spices, and wine. For the main course, i had Sole Meunière. It was a Sole fillet on mashed potatoes with lemon-caper butter sauce. The fish was very light and flaky with a salty bite from capers and the drizzled lemony butter sauce was rich and refreshing. Senthil had Bone marrow, which was a 'special of the day' dish. He enjoyed it to the last bite. Then for the dessert, we shared Mousse au Chocolat Brûlée. Its a chocolate mousse crème brûlée.

Here comes HSB (Saravan Bhavan), a South-Indian vegetarian restaurant in Sunnyvale,CA where we had our brunch. Started off with crispy vadas as appetizer. Senthil ordered Sambar vada (in a bowl), his all time favorite and a plain lassi. I had vadas with sambar and coconut chutney as a side in a plate and Mango lassi. We both gobbled and emptied the plate in secs. Moving on, i had Onion Rava dosa, it was super crunchy, loved the tomato chutney and sambar very much. Senthil had Onion-Chilli dosa. The dosa was folded and filled with finely chopped onions and serrano peppers. The peppers were hot as they were raw, so he moved the peppers aside and had the dosa with onions. Also he ended the meal with a cup of hot Madras Coffee.

Then it was lunch time, well, a very late lunch around 4.30 pm, we visited Sri Muniyandi Vilas in Santa Clara, CA. I had Egg Kothu Parota and Senthil ordered Mutton Biryani and Mutton Pepper fry. Both comes with raita and salna/kurma. This was the best spicy and hot dish, we had ever tasted in Indian restaurants(in US). It was finger-licking good and irresistible, just like home. We wish, we had a Muniyandi Vilas in Seattle too.

We stopped by Rosine's Meditteranean restaurant in Anaheim,CA for dinner, hehe not on the same day, we would have bursted if it were the same day. It was couple days later and we were super hungry after a long day at Disney, we ordered for a hot appetizer, it was Eggplant Napolean with Quail. It looked super yummy and i was starving, so missed the click. It had layers of grilled eggplant, feta cheese and fire roasted peppers, topped with fried quail. The quail was the yummiest part. For the entrée, i ordered Chicken Kebab with Cayennaise sauce. Not crazy about the cayannaise sauce, so i ordered some Garlic sauce as a side. I always loved garlic sauce/spread and it was totally awesome. After filling my stomach, i remembered to click it and so my plate would be half empty, bear with me. Senthil ordered Lamb shank, it comes with Rice pilav and rosemary juice to drizzle over the lamb. Ended that evening with a juicy baklava layered with ground pistachios and soaked in rose water.

Next stop was Yang Chow, a chinese restaurant in LA for lunch. As for starter, we ordered the Egg drop soup and within secs, we had a big bowl, really big bowl of hot soup on our table. There was no salt and pepper shakers on any of the table, so we assumed to sip the soup without pepper. It was quite bland for my taste and am not a big fan of it. Then we ordered for Yang Chow Fried Rice (chicken) and Kung Pao Chicken with Orange peel sauce. Didn't actually see the orange sauce written within braces. It was sweet and definitely not for us. The fried rice was excellent tasting, we asked for hot oil as a side and it was perfect for our taste. We both are a big fan of hot oil. Twice bought a bottle mentioned hot oil in the Asian store, but it didn't taste like the restaurant one. If anyone knew the exact recipe or a place we could buy it online or at store, please comment on it.

Then comes Mario Batali's Pizzeria Mozza in LA for dinner. We had to wait for 20 mins, for not having a reservation. The place was crowded on a weekday night too and we get to sit at the bar, as tables are for people who reserve it. We ordered an appetizer and had no idea what it would look or taste until it gets to the table. It was Pane bianco with olio nuovo, means oven-roasted bread topped with olive oil. The bread was super soft at the center and tasted buttery and garlicky with a rich flavor from olive oil. It was simply fabulous. Then its pizza time. I ordered Stracchino with artichokes, lemon and olives. Stracchino is a type of Italian cow’s-milk cheese, typical of Lombardy. It is eaten very young, has a soft, creamy texture and normally a mild and delicate flavour. It is normally square in form. Senthil ordered Bacon, salami, fennel sausage, tomato and mozzarella. He said, it was the best pizza he had so far in his life. He loved the fennel sausage so much and gobbled up the whole pizza. We really didn't have empty space for any dessert that night.

Next day, stopped at the bld restaurant in LA for brunch. I ordered Ricotta Blueberry pancakes with Maple syrup. The maple syrup comes in a small can and it was hot. I couldn't finish 1 whole pancake, had to box it up. Senthil ordered Spanish frittata. It had chorizo, smoked paprika, fingerling potatoes, roasted piquillo peppers, manchego cheese and comes with choice of bread and potatoes. He loved it as usual and finished the frittata.

On the way back to Seattle, another round to HSB (Saravana Bhavan). This time i had 14 Idlies in sambar as a starter. Then ordered Onion Uthappam with 3 different chutneys and sambar as a side. It was so yummy and tasty, but could't finish it. Senthil ordered his favorite Sambar vada again, followed by Onion Masala dosa. He was not fond of the masala but almost finished the dosa. Then he had the Madras Coffee to end the brunch.

The next stop, you guessed it right, Sri Muniyandi Vilas. We had to start early and no time to sit and eat at the restaurant, so we had everything to-go. We ordered the same Mutton Biryani and with Mutton curry as a side. Later that evening, stopped in a rest area and shared the hot and spicy biryani. It was really really really good.

Then, a stop again in Red Robin burgers (forgot the location). I ordered Chicken Caprese sandwich and it was YUM (just like the ad says). It had tender grilled chicken breast topped with fresh Mozzarella cheese, balsamic marinated tomatoes and crisp romaine lettuce with pesto aioli.

A couple of days we had our brunch at Denny's. I ordered up Wheat pancakes, Egg whites, Wheat toast and Hash browns. We equally enjoyed the food along with the fun in our whole trip.

Nan Khatais (Indian Butter Biscuits)

noreply@blogger.com (NIDHYA) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:20:00 +0000

The treats are packed up and we are ready to hit the road tomorrow. We are going to California on a road trip and meet a couple of our friends and cousin on our way. I am very excited to see'em and happy to deliver these home made biscuits in person. Well, to talk about the biscuits, these are light, buttery sweetnesses that literally dissolves in your mouth. The nuts are so rich and crunchy, that makes irresistible and you can't stop just munching one. And these are egg-less cookies that are very popular and called biscuits in India. They are served as a evening snack along with coffee or tea. The buttery aroma while baking, smelt heavenly and perfumed the whole kitchen. Also, i have made two versions of butter biscuits here, other than flour combination, the methods are pretty similar. Here it goes,

This is a pistachio butter biscuit, topped with chopped pistachios and made from a combination of three flours. This one was Senthil's pick among the two.
Ingredients:

1/3 cup APF (Maida)

1/3 cup fine Semolina (Rava)

1/2 cup Gram Flour (Besan)

1/2 cup unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

2/3 cup Sugar

3 green Cardamom Seeds (powdered)

1 pinch Baking Soda

1-2tbsp Pistachios (coarsely chopped)

How to:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Mix together the maida, semolina, gram flour, cardamom and baking soda.

In another bowl, blend the butter and sugar together.

Now, blend the flour mixture in batches to the butter-sugar mixture.

Divide the dough into small lime size balls, smoothen'em with your palms, make a grid or star with a knife and gently press the chopped pistachios.

Do the rest of the dough in a similar manner and arrange'em on the baking sheet.

Bake for 13 mins or until they turn golden brown on top.

Remove the baking sheet and let rest for 3 mins, before you transfer'em to cooling rack. (The half bitten biscuit, that was me hehe, couldn't resist)

Serve as a snack or dessert.

Almond Pressed Butter Biscuit:

This is an Almond Butter Biscuit, made from maida (APF) and warm butter with an Almond pressed on each of its center. This one is the winner in my taste testing.

Ingredients:

1 cup APF (Maida)

1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup unsalted Butter (melted)

1/4tsp Baking Soda

3 Green Cardamom Seeds (crushed/powdered)

1 pinch Salt

8-10 Almonds (for garnishing)

How to:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Mix together the dry ingredients: APF, sugar, baking soda, cardamom and salt.

Pour the butter over the flour mixture and knead, resulting a soft dough.

Divide the dough into 12 equal parts, smoothen in between your palms and press the center with your thumb and place an almond.
Follow the same procedure for the remaining dough and arrange it on the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 mins and cool in a cooling rack.

Serve the biscuit as a snack or dessert.