Enveetu Kitchen

Saiyun ji kheerni - Vermicelli Kheerni - Sindhi Dessert

2013-05-19T18:37:00.002+04:00

Kheerni is a Sindhi Kheer made using Vermicelli/Seveiyan or Rice. I chose to make a Dessert for the Last day of Week 3 and was going through some blogs for a Sindhi Dessert. Guess what, i found a Copy-Cat Blog and informed Shobha Keshwani and some other bloggers whose recipes and pictures were copied, An adventurous Sunday i would say.

After all these, i thought of two sweets, kind of stuck between them. Again i checked(read troubled) Vaishaliji for some Clarification and then i thought it would be safer to make Kheerni, instead of making something else that is not Sindhi!!! :)

Ingredients
1 tbsp Thin Vermicelli,Crushed a little
2 Cups Milk
2 tbsp Sugar
2 pods of Green Cardamom, Crushed

1 tbsp Silvered Almonds

1 tbsp Silvered Pistachios
Generous pinch of Saffron

Method

Heat a Pan, add a spoon of Ghee, add the silvered nuts and roast them until brown. Drain on a Kitchen Towel, Keep Aside.
In the Same pan, add the Crushed Vermicelli and roast in a Slow Flame until golden brown. Take care not to burn it.

Once the Vermicelli Turns brown, take the pan out of the flame, add the milk and return it back to the stove. This is because, the pan will be very hot and adding milk to it might cause the milk to sizzle and spill out, Why unnecessary accident while making something sweet!!!! So, take care while adding milk to the hot pan.
Let the Milk Boil in a Medium Flame, Once it boils, reduce the flame. Allow the vermicelli to cook, it might take about 5-10 minutes depending upon the thickness of the vermicelli used.

Once the vermicelli is cooked, add Sugar, crushed cardamom, saffron to the milk. Let it Cook again for 10-12 minutes for the flavors to infuse well. Keep Stirring frequently or else the milk might burn @ the bottom and will spoil the kheerni.
When the Milk reduces to almost 1 Cup, add the roasted nuts, Stir well and take it off the stove.
Serve it Warm or Refrigerate and serve it Chill, either ways it tastes yum!!!

Sending this to Kids Delight - Sweet Treats, happening @ Nivedhanams, Event by Srivalli
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Koki - Karee Mirch Waree/Black Pepper Flavored Koki with Apple-Carrot Raita and Tri-Daali - A Sindhi Breakfast Spread

2013-05-19T09:54:00.000+04:00

The Next on the wagon is Pepper Koki. Koki is a Sindhi Style Flatbread, served as Breakfast or as a Snack. I Chose this recipe from Vaishaliji's Blog!!! Such a sweet person she is, i messaged her twice or thrice asking doubts on the 2/3 recipes, she was very kind and answered my doubts patiently. Thanks a lot vaishaliji!!!!

I saw two varieties in Vaishali's post. One is Pepper Koki aka Kari Mirch Waree Koki and another one is Masala Koki. I tried the pepper koki yesterday. Turned out great. They are Thick and Crisp, like a biscuit. So, we had some for our evening coffee yesterday with our guestand today morning packed some for my hubby's breakfast with Apple-Carrot Raita and Tri-daali Dal. These Koki's/Flat-bread stay good for 2-3 days, so apt for travel. The taste of pepper here and there in a bite, gives a nice kick to this Flat-bread!!!

Ingredients

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Ghee

Salt to taste

1/4 - 1/2 Cup of Water to make the dough

Method

Take the Flour in a wide bowl, add Pepper, Salt and Ghee to it.
Mix the ghee into the flour and it will start to resemble a coarse mixture, Now add water little by little to make a tight dough. Do not add all the water at the same time

Divide the dough into two balls, Roll each ball into a thick Disc, using a knife make diagonal cuts on the disc. Since these bread's are rolled thick, the criss-cross markings on them , make sure they are cooked from the inside too!!!
Heat a tava, cook the disc on the both the sides until brown spots appear on them. Smear ghee on both the sides and cook. Keep the flame in medium and cook both sides until crisp.

We had it with our evening tea. The Koki stays good for 2 days.

Apple-Carrot Raita

Ingredients

1/2 an Apple

a handful of baby carrots or 1/2 a medium normal Carrot

1/2 Cup Whisked yogurt

1/2 tsp Ginger shredded

1/2 a green chili

a pinch of red chili and cumin powder

Salt to taste

Method

Chop the apple into small pieces, Chop the baby carrots into 2/3 pieces each carrot.
Whisk the yogurt, add ginger, green chii and the chopped apples and carrots. Add Salt and Mix well.
Serve with Koki or any other Indian Flat bread.

Tri-Daali Dal

Ingredients

1 Cup Split green Moong Dal/Dhuli Moong

1/4 Cup Split Black Dal/Dhuli Urad with Chilka

1/4 Cup Gram Dal/Chana Dal

1 Large Tomato

1 tsp ginger

1-2 green chilies

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Tempering

1-2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds/Jeera

4-5 Garlic Cloves, Chopped

Handful of Fresh Coriander for Garnishing

Method

Wash and Soak the dal for 30 minutes. Take the dal in a pressure cooker, add the tomatoes, ginger, chili, turmeric powder and salt. Add about 3 cups of water and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
When the pressure releases, Open the cooker and mash the dal roughly with the back of a laddle.
Heat the oil given under "Tempering", add the cumin, chopped garlic cloves, wait until garlic roasts and turn brown, add this sizzling tempering to the dal, add Coriander leave, mix Well and Serve Hot with Roti/Rice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Saayi Dal/Split Green Moong Dal with Garlic Tadka

2013-05-18T17:12:00.006+04:00

The Third Week of Blogging Marathon, I chose Sindhi Cuisine, Wanted to Move out of my comfort zone and try out other cuisines too. So in the order, first comes Sindhi Saayi Dal. A Mild, Comforting Dal, Love the Garlic Tadka in it. Kuttu is a big fan of Dal-Rice, he loved this Saayi dal more than us.

Ingredients

1.5 Cups of Dhuli Moong/Split green gram dal

1 Large Tomato, Chopped

2 nos green chilies, chopped into two

1 tsp shredded ginger

1/4 tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

Fresh Coriander for garnishing

Tempering

1-2 tsp Oil

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 sprigs of curry leaves

Method

Wash and soak the dal for 15 minutes in water.
To this Dal add chopped tomatoes, green chilies, ginger, turmeric and salt. Add 3 cups of water to this and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
When the pressure releases, mash the dal roughly with the back of a laddle.
Heat the oil given under "Tempering", Splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, add curry leaves and chopped garlic.

Let the garlic roast and turn brown, add this sizzling Tadka to the Dal and Serve Hot with Rice.
We Enjoyed this Dal with Hot Rice, Accompanied by Pickle and a Glass of Spiced Buttermilk, Lunch Settled

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Coriander Pesto Vegetable Pizza with Multi-grain Pizza Base for Home Baker's Challenge

2013-05-15T10:57:00.000+04:00

Home Baker's Group, a group of Home Baker's having fun and learning to bake. Every month a host will give her choice of bake and bakers from this group will bake the posted recipe within a month, between 10th -12th of each month we will post our tried recipes in our respective blogs.

For the Month of April, Divya Prakash of Divya's Culinary journey, suggested baking Pizza. We were given 4 different recipes. I chose to bake the Pesto Pizza with veggie topping.

The Joy of Baking something from scratch, it is unexplainable!!! When it turns out so good and everybody @ home enjoys it with oohh and ahh!!! Then all the sweat and toil in the Kitchen, Vanishes into thin air!!!! Loved this Challenge totally. Loved Experimenting with the base and the sauce. Thanks for a lovely challenge.

I Chose to make the base with Multi-grain Atta and since i didn't have time to get basil, i made coriander pesto inspired from Sanjeeta's Lite Bite.

Ingredients

For the Base

2 Cups Multi-grain Atta/Flour

1 Cup Wholemeal Flour

1 packet Instant yeast (2.5 tsp)

1 tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1.5 Cups Warm Water

3 tbsp Olive Oil + Some more for coating the bowl

For Stuffing

1 Capsicum, thinly sliced

1 Onion, Chopped

1 Medium tomato, deseeded, Chopped

1/2 tsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Rosemary

1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder

1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella cheese

For Coriander Pesto : Recipe Inspired from Sanjeeta's Lite Bite

1 Bunch of Fresh Coriander leaves/Cilantro

handful of Walnuts

2 green chilies

4-5 Garlic Cloves

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Method

Preparing the Dough

Take the Flours, yeast, sugar and salt in a Large Bowl. Whisk well to mix. Add Warm Water to this mixture and start kneading the dough. Add Olive Oil as and when required and make a Smooth dough.
The temperature of water is more important while working with yeast. Hot water might kill the yeast and Cold water too does the same. How i determine whether it is in correct temperature? I pour a tsp of water on my wrist, it must be warm enough, but shouldn't scald the skin. The Temperature on the thermometer must read (95-110F).

After making the smooth dough, oil it well and the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and keep it in a warm place to proof. I kept it in my Oven, with the light on. Let it sit this way for an hour. Since i was using Multi-grain Atta, i kept it for 1.5 hours.
After the said time, it will be doubled in size. Punch down the dough, to release the air inside, and fold it inside from all the sides and keep the folded side down and let it rest in a warm place for another 30 minutes.

Making Coriander Pesto

Wash and Chop the Coriander leaves, Keep the stalks, just remove the roots, if any.
Take all the ingredients into the mixer, except the olive oil.
Grind the ingredients to a paste and at the end add olive oil and run it again for a second for it all to combine well.
Transfer it to another bowl.

Preparing the Stuffing

Wash Capsicum and Tomato. Chop them thin.
Chop the Onion thin,
Take everything in a bowl, add the oregano, Rosemary and red chili powder and Toss it well.
I did this for the flavors to infuse well with the veggies also. Keep it aside until use.
You can skip this step and add the veggies straight to the Pizza separately as topping and the herbs also can be added separately.

Making the Pizza

After the second rise, Take the dough out on a kneading platform/Kitchen Counter top.
Preheat the Oven to 220C.
Knead for 5 minutes and Weigh the dough. My dough weighed 900 gms. So i divided the dough into 3 parts each weighing 300 gms.

Take one portion of the dough out and keep other two portions covered.
I don't have a pizza stone, so used my Pyrex pan (20 cm) for baking the pizza. Grease the pan with a tsp of olive oil and sprinkle little cornmeal/Sooji.
Take the dough and spread it on the Pan using your hands. Or else you can also roll it out using a Chapati Roller.
The base will be thick, if you want a thinner base, then stretch it more. Wanted to try the Good Thick-Crust pizza first. Poke the Pizza-base with Fork allover to avoid puffing-up while baking.
Bake the pizza base for 12 minutes. Since i was using Multi-grain base, so i blind-baked the base first.
After the blind bake, take it out. Spread 2 tbsp of Pesto generously over the top. Sprinkle little red chili powder.
Next Spread 3- 4 tbsp of Veggies marinating in the spices. Top it with generous amount of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese on top of the veggies.
Preheat the oven to 200C and bake it for 15-18 minutes until the cheese melts.Let it sit in the hot oven for a minute, then take it out.
Let it cool for 2-3 minutes. Slice it up and Serve with Tomato Sauce.

Verdict/Notes

Since it was a Multi-grain base, we didn't feel like having junk food.
If you want you make it using All Purpose Flour too, then that case, you will need only one Cup of water.
The Pizza Dough can be refrigerated for 3 days maximum. If you are planning to make the pizza within that time, then Roll out the base and Freeze them in Freezer Bags.

Spiced Buttermilk/Neer Mor - Perfect Coolant for Summer

2013-05-12T10:05:00.000+04:00

The main concern during Summer is keeping ourselves hydrated. With the type of Climate here, we have Sand Storm and Dry Day many times in Summer. As Adults, we know how to manage, But Kids, even the small Water bottle you put to school everyday, comes back half-full.

Recently Kuttu got affected with Urinary Infection. The Cause being not drinking enough water/fluids. The Doctor is a Good friend of us and knows kuttu very well. So, he spoke to kuttu and advised him to drink water regularly and drink lots of fluids/juices/thin buttermilk whenever possible. After listening to him, kuttu now drinks water properly, Never say No to fruits/Fruit juices.

I tried this Spiced Buttermilk/Neer Mor for him, he loved it. If your kid prefers you can even add HALF A GREEN CHILI to this quantity and Serve it chill.

Ingredients : Makes One Glass

1/2 Cup Thick Buttermilk/Whisked Curd, CHILLED

1/2 Cup Water

handful of Fresh Coriander leaves, finely Chopped

1/4tsp ginger julienne

1/4 tsp hing

Salt to taste

Method

Take all the ingredients into a blender and blend until frothy. Serve immediately.
If your kiddo doesn't prefer floaty things in his/her drink, then first grind coriander and ginger in a Mixer, then take it to the blender along with other ingredients.
Incase serving for adults, you can add half a green chili to the above quantity of ingredients and blend.

Sending this to Kids Delight - 5 ingredient Fix, hosted by Pavani, Event by Srivalli

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Vanilla Pannacotta with Raspberry Coulis

2013-05-12T09:13:00.002+04:00

We are Pannacotta fanatic. So, here is another pannacotta rcipe with aromatic Vanilla. Got some good quality vanilla extract, so decided to try Vanilla Pannacotta with Rosy Raspberry Sauce,ohho, it was a Match Made in Heaven!!!
Only Complaint from Kuttu was the Color of the Raspberries, why is it pink amma? Pink is for Girls, give me without that Pink on top!!! grrrrr, boys-na, i don't even remember when did he started this color coding?? Even for his brother, nothing should be in pink, not even his rattle!!!!

Neverthless, he enjoyed the pannacotta less sauce!!! But the sauce definitely takes it to another level. This goes to Kid's Delight - 5 ingredients Fix, hosted by Pavani, Event by Srivalli.

Ingredients

2 Cups Whipping Cream (35% Fat)

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Agar-Agar/China Grass

1/2 Cup Water

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

For Raspberry Coulis

1/2 Cup Raspberries (i used Frozen)

1 tsp Sugar

Method

To Make Raspberry Coulis

Take the Raspberries and Sugar together in a Saucepan, Cook it in a simmer flame. The berries will turn saucy with the sugar and water. Turn it off. Let it cool. Keep it refrigerated until use.
Since i used Frozen Raspberries, i didnt add water to it, if using fresh raspberries, add a tbsp of water.

To Make Vanilla Pannacotta

Soak Agar-Agar in 1/2 Cup Hot Water for 10 minutes. I get Agar-Agar/China grass stalks. Whenever i make Pannacotta, i break them into small pieces and Soak them in Hot Water to ease the process of melting while cooking them.
Take the Agar-Agar Soaked Water to stove, Cook it in a Very low flame, Do not allow the liquid to boil. Keep it low and Stir to combine and melt. It will start melting after 10 minutes on the low flame.
When the Agar-Agar starts melting, Heat the Whipping Cream in another sauce pan in a simmer flame, Do not allow it boil. Add Vanilla Extract to it and Stir to combine.

Now Strain the Agar-Agar liquid into the Whipping Cream and Mix well. Let it sit on the stove for 2 more minutes. Then Take it off the stove, Let it cool for 10 minutes on the Kitchen Counter.
Pour the Vanilla Cream liquid into smaller bowls and Refrigerate for 4-5 hours for it to set.
While Serving, add a tsp or 2 of Raspberry Coulis to the Pannacotta and Serve.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Fudge Using Jaggery

2013-05-10T00:00:00.000+04:00

We all have been in this situation!!! Wondering what to cook with as much as less ingredients possible, that too when your little one is pestering for a sudden snack!!! This Week, for the next 3 days i will be posting on the theme 5 Ingredients Fix, theme for this month's Kid's Delight, hosted by Pavani. Recipes that requires only 5 or less than 5 ingredients. You will be surprised to see so many delights that can be prepped with No Fuss ingredients. Today's recipe is a delight, it has less ingredients and takes less time to cook also. When you have a sudden guest or a your kiddo's Sudden Chocolate Pang or a Sugar Rush, Make this healthy Fudge and Enjoy. These Bars make a wonderful gift too!!! No Gift is better than a Box full of Chocolate treats!!!!

Recipe Source : FoodFood Channel
Ingredients

1 Cup Grated Jaggery (see notes)
1 Cup Grated Dark Chocolate
1 Cup Skinless Peanuts
1 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
2 tbsp Butter + some for greasing the tray

Method

Grease a Square tray with butter and keep it ready.
Take the Skinless Peanuts, in a Microwave Safe Pan, add half tsp of butter and Cook it @ Microwave high for 2 minutes. This is to Roast the peanuts. Take it out and let it cool.
Once Cooled, grind it coarsely. Take care not to powder it, we want it to be coarse. you can even pound it using a Pestle only.
Heat a Shallow pan with 2 Cups of Water. When the water starts boiling, reduce the flame (Double-Boiler Method)

Take the Grated jaggery and butter in a heat-proof bowl and place it over the Simmering Water and let the jaggery melt.
Keep Stirring while it melts, it will take about 8-10 minutes, depending on how fine the jaggery is grated.

Once the Jaggery melts, add the coarsely pounded peanuts and give it a good mix. When the Peanuts are completely coated with jaggery, add the grated dark chocolate and cinnamon to it and mix well to coat.
Take it off the stove, transfer the mixture into the greased pan, smoothen the top using a Spatula or a parchment paper.

Let it cool in the room temperature for 10 minutes. Using a knife make light markings on top for cutting, Refrigerate for atleast 2 hours for it to set.
While serving take it, use a sharp knife break it along the marked lines and Gobble!!!
Once taken out, the chocolate will start melting, so make sure to store in the fridge.

Sending this to 5 Ingredients Fix - Happening @ Cook's Hideout, Event by Srivalli.

Notes

If the jaggery variety you are using is bit dark and more sweet than the regular ones, then reduce the quantity to 3/4 Cup.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Torcettini di Saint Vincent (Chocolate Flavored) - Sugar Crusted Twisted Cookies/Cookies with Yeast - We Knead to Bake #4

2013-05-08T17:24:00.003+04:00

We Knead to Bake#4, a Group of Baker's with an aim to learn ,to bake 12 different Breads, lead of Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen. For the Month of April, we baked Cookies!!! yup, but it was not an ordinary cookie, they are Sugar Crusted Yeast Cookies with a Twist!!! :)

Torcetti/ Torcettini are believed to have descended from Grissini (breadsticks) which were made from the leftover scraps of bread dough. According to one story, a Grissini baker had some leftover butter which he needed to use up. Inspiration struck and he decided to add the butter to the last batch of his Grissini dough for the day. To be able to differentiate this lot of “breadsticks” from his Grissini, he rolled them in sugar and shaped them into loops, and the Torcetti was born. Torcetti/ Torchettini are usually flavoured with lime/ lemon zest or anise.

Belive me, the zest gives a real kick. I made both Plain and Chocoalte and the plain cookies, vanished just like that, i couldn't even save some for the clicks. The Lime Zest and the Sugar was amazingly flavorful, they just linger in your mouth long after the cookies. Though Chocolate Flavor with Orange zest was also good, but i prefered Plain with Lime Zest!!!

Ingredients

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp active dry yeast (or 1-1/4 tsp active dry yeast)

1 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp All-purpose flour

2 tbsp Cocoa

2 tbsp Sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp Orange Zest

2- 1/2 tbsp/40gms unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

about 1/3 cup granulated sugar for rolling the cookies

Method

Take the Flour, cocoa Powder, Sugar, Instant yeast in a Large Bowl and whisk to mix.
Add the butter pieces and mix until the butter is well blended and the flour-butter mixture looks powdery.
Add the water and knead 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.

Some tips that might make a difference to your Torcettini

As i have mentioned, you can make them Plain also. If making plain, use 1.5 Cups of All Purpose Flour and omit the Cocoa Powder and the Sugar.
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”.
To make sure the Torcettini dough does not rise for more than 20 minutes, it’s a good idea to work on shaping the 2nd batch while the first batch is in the oven.
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, So better use Parchment paper.

Kitchen Basics/Spice Powders

2013-05-08T12:12:00.000+04:00

SPICE POWDER

Sambhar Powder - The Kitchen King

Mixed Dal Spice Powder
Multi-Grain Flakes & Flaxseed Spice Powder

Parrupu Podi - Mixed Lentil Powder/Daal Powder

Peanut-Sesame Powder/Verkadalai-Ellu Podi

Instant Mango Pickle

2013-05-05T19:10:00.003+04:00

Summer, Mangoes everywhere!!! Apart from devouring juicy mangoes every day, with guilt though!!! This raw mango pickle is another recipe that is normal in our house-hold!!!!
My father-in-law used to make it almost every single day and he can skip a meal for the Divine Mangoes.

Ingredients

2 nos Raw Mango ( i used Thothapuri Variety)

1/8 tsp Fenugreek seeds

1 tsp red chili powder

Salt to taste

Tempering

4 tbsp Gingely Oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

2 red chilies (long variety, broken)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp hing

Method

Wash the mangoes, Cut the cheeks and chop them into bite-size pieces.
Heat a small kadai, throw the methi seeds, let it roast for a minute. Take care not to burn the seeds.

Take it off the stove, and powder it using a mortar-pestle.
Heat the same pan again with oil, when it is hot enough,throw the mustard seeds, let it crackle. Follow it by red chilies, hing, turmeric. Add the red chili powder to the this.

Pour this sizzling tempering over the mangoes, add salt and Mix well.
Store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. It stays good for 3-4 days.

Enjoy it with Good old Thachi Mamu/Curd Rice

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Kesar Aam Ras/Saffron Flavored Mango Pulp

2013-05-04T19:41:00.002+04:00

Today's recipe is most easiest and the tastiest one. Simple to make, but rich on taste and also on the Dinner Table. Aamras/Mango Pulp, traditionally served with poori's. But tastes heavenly when had as such too!!!

We enjoyed them yesterday after Lunch, perfect light-dessert. Sending this to Kids Delight - 5 ingredients fix, happening @ Cook's hide-out.

Ingredients

2 Ripen Mangoes ( i used Rajapuri mangoes)

a generous pinch of saffron, soaked in 1 tbsp of warm water

3 tbsp of sugar

a handful of almonds (optional)

Method

Cut the cheeks of the mangoes, scoop out the flesh.
Take all the other ingredients together with the scooped flesh in a blender and whoooooooshhhhhhhh!!!!

Rich n Creamy Aamras ready in minutes. Transfer them into small bowls, cling-wrap and refrigerate until use.
Can be served with Roti's/Poori's or best have it as such!! Simple pleasures of life!!! :)

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Kesar Aam Pannacotta/Saffron Mango Pannacotta, Gelatin-Free

2013-05-03T20:43:00.001+04:00

Panncotta, I love them simply for the versatility of it!!! You can make them with anything you want to!!! I already have Saffron Milk, Coffee, Carrot-Raisin, Apple Pannacotta recipes in my Recipe index. It is made by simmering Cream, milk and sugar together and gelatin/Agar-Agar is added to set the dessert. In my view, pannacotta is one of the best way to hide fruits into kids diet!!! :)

Since this is Mango Season, I tried my hands on Saffron flavored Mango Pannacotta, Oohhhooo, it was awesome when served with freshly cut mangoes and a dollop of cream, Divine heaven!!!!!

I m doing Blogging Marathon again with Valli and some super-enthusiastic bloggers. This week i will be posting under the theme Man Goes, lalala for ......, yes Mangoes!!!! :)

Ingredients
2 Cups of Whipping Cream (35% Fat)
1/4 Cup Agar-Agar/China Grass
1/2 Cup Hot Water
3 Ripen Mangoes (Cheeks alone)
1/2 Cup Sugar
a generous pinch of saffron soaked in 1 tbsp of Warm Water
some fresh mango slices and some whipped cream for garnishing, optional

Method

Soak Agar-Agar in 1/2 Cup Hot Water for 10 minutes. I get Agar-Agar/China grass stalks. Whenever i make Pannacotta, i break them into small pieces and Soak them in Hot Water to ease the process of melting while cooking them. In another small cup, soak the saffron strands in 2 tbsp of warm water.

Cut the Cheek part of the mangoes and scoop out the flesh. I used Badami Variety of Mangoes, you can use any Sweet Variety Ripen Mangoes. Take the Scooped-out flesh in a blender along with soaked saffron in a blender and blend to combine. Keep it aside until use.
Take the Agar-Agar Soaked Water to stove, Cook it in a Very low flame, Do not allow the liquid to boil. Keep it low and Stir to combine and melt. It will start melting after 10 minutes on the low flame.

While Agar-Agar is melting, Take the Whipping Cream in a Saucepan, Heat in a slow flame. Do not allow the cream to boil, when it is hot and about give a boil, add the blended mango-saffron puree, sugar and Stir well to combine.

Let it cook for 5-8 minutes in a low flame, keep stirring. Now using a tea-strainer, add the Agar-Agar melted water to the Mango-cream mix and stir well to combine.

Take it off the stove, Let it cool for 10 minutes. Pour them into small bowls, Refrigerate to set for at-least 6-8 hours.
While Serving, run a sharp knife around the edges of the pannacotta, and unmould them onto a serving plate, garnish with some fresh mangoes and cream and Serve.

Sending this to ONLY Chilled n Frozen Desserts, happening @ Foodelicious.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Eggless Tiramisu from Scratch with Eggless Savoiradi Biscuits and Creamy Mascarpone Cheese

2013-05-02T15:19:00.000+04:00

Tiramisu an Italian dessert literally meaning "pick me up" or "lift me up". It is made of ladyfingers(Italian: Savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone cheese, and flavored with Marsala wine and cocoa. The real challenge in here was to make the savoiradi. Making Mascarpone was a real dream, Once you are ready with the biscuits then it is very easy to assemble the tiramisu and then comes the toughest part, waiting for it to set well, flavors to infuse!!!!!

This month Baking Eggless Challenge was chosen by Soumya of Nivedhanams Foodblog, she picked up "Pick me up" aka Tiramisu!!!! Wonderful Challenge, enjoyed making it from scratch and the proud feeling after the tasting it was priceless!!!! :)
Thanks to Gayathri and Soumya for an amazing challenge.We are very happy with challenges we meet and the way we are getting tough every month, Three Cheers to the Baking Eggless Group!!!!

Source : Baking Obsession
Ingredients : For Making Mascarpone Cheese

500ml Whipping Cream

Juice of a Lemon

Method

Take the Whipping cream in a heat-resistant bowl. Heat a large shallow-pan with water. When the water starts to boil, reduce the flame and place the whipping cream bowl on top of it. Let the cream simmer in this double-boiler method. Keep Stirring to avoid burning.
After 20 minutes of simmering, add the lemon juice and keep stirring until the cream curdles. You wont find whey separating like it does for Cottage cheese. All that would happen is, the cream will start thickening, you will be able to notice the change, it will coat the back of the spoon very thick. Keep Stirring.

After 10minutes of stirring you might notice mild streaks of whey as you stir. Meanwhile line a sieve with 4 cheese cloths. Take the cream off the stove, Let it cool for 10 minutes. Pour the cream on to the Cheese-cloth lined sieve. Let it sit in the fridge for a day. Creamy Mascarpone Ready.
If not using immediately, then cling wrap it tightly and store in the fridge. It will be good this way for a week. But if not going to use it within a week, better store in the freezer. The Cheese is costly if you buy it outside, so to save you from guilt, Store it in the freezer!!!!

Eggless Savoiardi/Lady Finger Biscuits

Source : Confusion Cook

Ingredients

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

200gms Unsalted Butter, Soft

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/2 cup Coarsely ground Almonds

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Powdered Sugar (for coating)

Method

Preheat the oven at 160 C
Cream Butter and Sugar together.Add Vanilla Extract and Mix again. Followed by Flour.
Blend all the ingredients well, add the coarsely ground nuts last.
Scrape the batter into a piping bag. I used my freezer bag and cut out a small opening @ the end and piped the dough out.
i measured the pan in which i was going to assemble the Tiramisu and piped the biscuits accordingly, which was the length of the fore-finger.
Bake them for 35-40 minutes till they start turning slightly brown at the edges.

When done, remove from oven & cool on a tray for about 5 minutes and then move the biscuits to a cooling rack.
When slightly cool, roll them in powdered sugar. (I completely forgot this step)
Store them in an air tight container till required. They say it stays good up till a week, but i used them up in 2-3 days of making.

Ingredients : For Assembling the Tiramisu

500gms Mascarpone Cheese

36 nos Savoiardi Biscuits

250ml Whipping Cream

2 Cups Strong Black Coffee, a bit Warm

2 tbsp Cocoa

Dark Chocolate Shavings, as required

Extra Cocoa for sprinkling on top of the Tiramisu
Dark Chocolate Shavings for garnish

Method
Preparing Cheese/Frosting

Prepare the Tin in which you are planning to arrange the tiramisu. I used 2 small rectangular tins, greased them with little oil and laid cling wrap from the bottom, covering the sides with some cling-wrap hanging outside the tin, to make it easier to remove.
Take the Mascarpone Cheese out of the refrigerator and into a bowl. Whisk it well to a smooth texture, using a spoon. Dont do vigorously, or else the cheese will curdle. In case in curdles, keep it in a warm water bath and stir it will be back to creamy texture.
Now take the whipping cream in another bowl and whip it well with an electric beater until stiff peaks form. Mix the whipped cream with the mascarpone cheese. Stir well to incorporate both together.
Divide this into three portions, to one portion add 2 tbsp of Cocoa Powder and mix well to get the chocolate frosting.

Assembling the Tiramisu

Dip each Lady Finger Biscuit into Black Coffee for a second, turn and dip again, then layer it into the prepared tin. My tin accommodated 6-7 biscuits in the bottom.
Next Layer it with Mascarpone-Whipped Cream mix, follow again with coffee-coated Ladyfinger biscuits. Next layer it with Chocolate Frosting.
Now again follow it with Coffee-dunked biscuits and finally with Mascarpone-Whipped Cream mix.

Using a Tea-strainer, sprinkle some Cocoa Powder on top . Sprinkle some Dark Chocolate Shavings on top.
Let it sit in the refrigerator for atleast 5 hours, before getting devoured!!!! The taste of tiramisu will be more mesmerizing, if it is tasted after 24 hours of its making, allowing the flavors to infuse well.
We had ours for 3 days, everyday after school and after office both my hubby n kiddo will enjoy a slice with a oooohhhh, aaaahhhh!!! :)

Panakkam/Panagam/Jaggery Water and Paruppu/Moong Dal Salad for RamNavami

2013-04-18T15:04:00.002+04:00

Sri RamNavami, Happy Birthday to Lord Rama, celebrated during the Tamil month Chitrai(14th April - 14th May) on the 9th day following the New Moon. The Offering/Neivedhiyam to Lord is Simple/Humble Panagam or Jaggery Water, Butter Milk and Moong Dal Salad. Both the recipes makes a Delicious and healthy Snack anytime.

Ingredients

1/3 Cup of Powdered Jaggery

1.5 Cups of Water

juice of half lemon (optional)

3 pods of Cardamom, Crushed

1/2 tsp Dry ginger powder/Sukku Podi

Method

In a Bowl, add Jaggery, Water, Dry Ginger Powder, Lemon juice(if adding),Let it sit for 15-20 minutes, until jaggery dissolves completely in the water.

Using a Strainer, strain the jaggery water into another bowl, add the crushed cardamom and mix well.
Serve Chill.

Vadai Paruppu/Moong Dal Salad

Ingredients

2 tbsp Moong Dal

2 tsp freshly grated coconut
1/2 tsp shredded ginger

Tempering

1 tsp Oil

1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds

1 or 2 green chili, finely chopped

4-5 curry leaves

hing and turmeric, each a pinch

Additional Dressings

2-3 tbsp Chopped Raw Mango

2-3 tbsp chopped Cucumber

2-3 tbsp Shredded Carrot

Method

Soak Moong Dal in 1/4 Cup Water for an hour. By this time, the dal would have absorbed most of the water and become soft. Now, Drainthe excess water completely.
Take the dal in a bowl, heat oil given under tempering,add mustard seeds and let them splutter, add the chopped green chillies, curry leaves, hing and turmeric.
Pour the sizzling tempering over the dal, add the freshly grated coconut and adjust the salt and mix well.
Traditional Neivedhiyam/Offering for Ram Navami doesn't include the additional dressings. If you prefer to add, then you can also include grated carrot, raw mango and chopped cucumber to the above tempered Dal and make a Delicious and Filling Salad that makes a yummy and healthy snack.

No Bake Mango Cheese Cake

2013-04-17T17:24:00.001+04:00

Baking Partners this month, Swathi chose to make Cheese cake, she gave us four recipes to choose from and i chose Sweatha's suggestion No Bake Mango Cheese Cake from Divine Taste.

Though i got all the ingredients ready the same week, but then my lil one got sick, Viral Fever for 2 weeks, so totally got tied up and couldn't do the bake on time. Then finally last weekend, i made it for Dinner and man, we enjoyed it a lot!!!! I had to save few slices for the Click the next day, it was that yum!!

Ingredients

For Crust

1 1/2 cups digestive biscuits/plain sweet biscuits, crushed

1/2 cup butter (preferably salted butter), chopped

For Filling

1/2 cup fine sugar or powdered sugar

3 cups thick full cream yogurt

2 cups Homemade paneer/Cottage Cheese

1 cup water

1/4 Cup Chinagrass or Agar Agar

2.5 Cups of Mango Puree, i used canned mangoes, Fresh Mangoes can also be used

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Mango Glaze

1/2 cup Mango Puree

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp lime juice

Method

Hung Yogurt n Paneer

Place the yogurt in a cheesecloth lined colander over a container and allow to drain overnight to get half the quantity thick yogurt.
For making Paneer, boil 2 litres of Milk, add a juice of lemon when it starts to boil keep stirring until the whey separates completely. Add 7-8 ice-cubes, take t off the stove. Strain it over a cheese-cloth lined colander. Collect the whey completely.

Prepare the crust

Place all the biscuits in a sealed plastic bag (Zip loc) and with a rolling pin beat until the biscuits are powdered or use your blender to do the job.
Once this is done put the biscuits in a large mixing bowl. Put in the butter and rub with your hands until the mixture is well mixed. Alternatively, process the biscuits in a food processor until fine, drop in the butter and process again until the mixture is properly blended.
Remove the mixture and press it evenly into the base of an 8” deep round spring-form pan or any pan with a removable bottom or a 9” regular round pan. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Prepare the filling

Break the china grass into small pieces and soak in 1 cup warm water for about 10 minutes until it becomes soft.
In a food processor fitted with the metal blade or blender place the strained yogurt and paneer cheese or cottage cheese and process until smooth and creamy. Transfer this to a mixing bowl.
In a sauce pan, heat the mango puree over a medium flame. Do not allow this to boil. In another saucepan place the china-grass and water mixture and stir on low heat until it melts completely, about 10-12 minutes. Do not allow this to boil.
After the china grass melts completely, pour the hot china grass solution into the hot mango puree, stirring all the while.
Slowly add the mango mixture into the yogurt and cheese mixture, stir in the sugar and vanilla extract and beat well with a wire whisk until well blended.
Pour this mixture over the prepared crust, level with a spoon and chill in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours.For the Mango Glaze
Place all the ingredients for the glaze in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. When it begins to boil, reduce the flame and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more. Allow to come to room temperature and then spread the glaze over the cheesecake with a spoon.
Allow the glaze to set over the cheesecake for 2 to 3 hours or more before slicing it. Allow the cheesecake to set for an hour or so before spreading the glaze over it.

French Beans Curry/Dry Subzi

2013-04-13T22:36:00.000+04:00

Beans Curry/Dry Subzi a simple saute which can be made either with moong dal or with Coconut. But i usually make it with both. In our place, this curry will also be part of a Festival Menu where the spread is like 2 Curry, Dal/Kootu, Sambhar, Rasam, Vadai and Payasam. Coz mostly one of the curries will be deep-fry and other will be a simple saute. It is an Easy to make, quick recipe that serves as a tasty accompaniment with Rice/roti or even with my Morning Breakfast Dosa!!!

Ingredients

2 Cups Chopped French Beans

3 tbsp of Moong dal

3 tbsp of freshly grated coconut

1/2 cup Water

Salt to taste

Tempering

2 tsp Vegetable Oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

2 sprigs of curry leaves

3 green chilies (i have used 2 Thai red chilies) , slit lengthwise

1/4 tsp hing/asafoetida

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Method

Heat a pan/kadai, with oil given under "Tempering", Splutter mustard seeds, add hing, turmeric powder, curry leaves and slit Chilies, and Saute.
Next add the Chopped Beans to the Tempering and saute for a minute or two. Next add 1/2 Cup Water, Grated Coconut, Moong dal to it . Close and Cook for 10-12 minutes.

After the given time, if the beans is cooked, remove the lid and cook till it is dry. It takes another 3-5 minutes. If the beans is still uncooked after 12 minutes, then cover and cook for some more time.
Take it off the stove and Serve Hot with Rice/roti. I even have it with Dosa's.

Wishing you all a Very Happy Tamil New Year

Mixed Vegetable Raita/Thayir Pachadi

2013-04-09T10:04:00.000+04:00

Summer is here officially, it is tough to stay inside with out Air-conditioning. Outdoors are very sweaty and not to mention the crazy climate over here, Morning it was dusty, hazy Sand-storm and evening it is raining like crazy!!!! So, these days a raita or simple chopped cucumbers are sure in our daily meal. Made this Raita for my Hubby's Lunch-box last week to go along with Roti and Side-dish. An Easy to make summer coolant. A Perfect combo to One-pot meals and Stuffed Parathas.

Ingredients

1 medium-sized cucumber

1 medium-sized carrot

1 medium-sized onion
1 medium-sized Tomato

1 green chilli, Chopped fine

1 tsp shredded ginger

1/2 Cup Yogurt

a pinch of red chilli powder

a pinch of cumin powder
few Coriander leaves for garnishing

Salt to taste

Method

Wash, Peel and chop Cucumber and Carrot thinly. Chop Onion and Tomato Finely. Take all the veggies in a bowl.
To this bowl, add chopped green chili, shredded ginger and mix well.

Whisk the Yogurt well, add it to the veggie bowl. Stir to combine. Refrigerate until use.
Add salt just before serving.

Notes

If packing this raita for lunch, make hung curd instead of yogurt. Take the yogurt in a strainer and leave it for an hour or two for all the whey to strain out. Then add the veggies n keep the salt separately.
You can Mix and Match your veggies here, the aim is to have Fresh/raw Veggies with all its Nutrients as such. You can even add Capsicum to this.

Home-made Sambhar Powder/Sambar Podi

2013-04-05T23:12:00.006+04:00

Traveling abroad for the first time after marriage, first thing my amma worried was about Sambhar Powder and Rasam Powder. We don't have Flour Mills here like we have in India. We have in some areas but,they grind large quantities and they also don't do it as fine as we do back home. So While coming for the first time, i brought a packet of Sambhar Powder from amma, which lasted for 3 months.

But after that, I wasn't comfortable to ask somebody coming from india, to bring us the packet which amma prepares. So, i started grinding at home with my mixer. This measurement is what i follow, taken from my Amma and from my Father-in-Law, yeah you read right My FIL!!! It works fine for me for the past 8 years.

Ingredients

200gms Whole Coriander seeds/Dhaniya

200gms Round Chillies

100gms Toor Dal/Pigeon Peas

100gms Chana Dal/Gram Dal

25gms Methi Seeds

25gms Black Peppercorns

half of a Copra/Khopra/Dried Coconut, Thinly Slcied

1 Cup of Curry Leaves (Loosely Packed)

Method

In a Hard-Bottom Pan, Dry Roast the given ingredients one by one, except Copra/Khopra/Dried Coconut.
After Dry roasting, spread them on a wide plate all together.Let it cool or come to room temperature.

In the Dry-Grinding Jar of your Mixer/Food Processor, Grind roasted ingredients,in batches to a fine powder.

Spread the ground Powder on a Newspaper/Wide Plate to Cool. After 30 minutes or an hour, Transfer the Sambhar Powder in a Clean Jar.

The Above Given Quantity of ingredients, i get sambhar powder which comes around a month for me. I use Sambhar powder even for my Dry Curries/Subzi's. Next time i wil try to weigh the sambhar powder and let you know the amount exactly.

Eggless Dinner Rolls/Avocado Pull-Apart Rolls

2013-03-31T21:49:00.001+04:00

For this month's Baking Eggless Challenge, i suggested we bake Dinner Rolls. Co-incidentally all the baking challenges this month, is to Bake Bread, one or the other kind. While going through Foodgawker, i came across this dainty Dinner rolls, from Cooking Clasy, and i suggested Gayathri as part of Members recipe Suggestion. Thanks to Gayathri, she scheduled these Dinner rolls for this month challenge.

The recipe uses one Egg and i have tried using Avocado as an Egg Replacment. Wow, the rolls came out super soft and fluffy. I made some Chickpeas Gravy to go with these soft rolls and it was a match made in heaven.

Ingredients

3-1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 tsp Instant Yeast

3 tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

25gms Butter, Softened

3/4 Cup Warm Water (i used 1/2 water and 1/2 Milk)

1 Ripe Avocado @ Room Temperature, Peeled, pitted and Mashed (instead one Egg)

1 tbsp Cream for brushing the rolls (you can use Milk-Oil Mixture also)

Method

Peel, Remove the pit and Scoop the flesh out of the avocado and mash it well or run it in the mixer and puree it. If the Avocado was in the fridge, please take it out and keep it on the counter to reach room temperature.
In a Big Bowl, Combine Flour, yeast, Sugar and Salt. Make a well in the middle, add pureed avocado and half the warm Water-Milk mixture and start kneading the dough. The Dough will be sticky to begin with. Add Water/Milk little by little as needed.
Add Butter and knead well for 8-10 minutes to get a smooth, elastic dough.

Keep the dough in a well-oiled bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel and leave it to proof/rise for an hour. I left it in my Oven with the lights on. After an hour, the dough would have doubled in size.
Take the dough from the bowl. Place it on a flat surface, punch down the air inside. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Again, divide each part into three equal parts. So, totally you will have 12 parts of dough.

Shape each part into a ball and Arrange them in a baking tray, greased with oil. Brush the shaped balls with cream and let it sit in a warm place for another 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes the balls would have doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 170C for 10 minutes. Bake the Dinner rolls for 25-30 minutes or until the tops has browned well.
Let it be in the Baking tray for 5 minutes then remove them to the wire rack, let it cool completely.

Serve them drizzled with warm butter along with a spicy gravy or just cheese and jam. We enjoyed with Spicy Channa Curry.

Barley Dosa - Breakfast Recipe

2013-03-30T00:57:00.000+04:00

After buying Barley, i tried them in soups and stews and now i have started using them regularly in our Breakfast menu. All these days the only dosa's i make was Rice/Rawa/Pesarattu. All these involves a little or more of Rice. I came across this recipe @Pavithra's Space,and i tried making these Barley Dosa. I tried this with a little doubt, whether will it be crisp and suit our taste-buds and moreover will Kuttu enjoy this???

To my surprise, they came out very well and even kuttu our "Dosa Master" enjoyed them well and now i make these at-least, once in every 10 days.

Recipe Source : Dishes from my Kitchen

Ingredients
4 Cups Barley
1 Cup Urad Dal

Salt to taste

Ghee/Gingely Oil for making Dosa's

Method

Soak Barley for 6 hours and urad dal for 2 hours. Drain the excess water from both.
Grind urad dal separtely to a fine batter. Next grind barley to fine batter. While grinding the batter for the above mentioned quantity i use my Grinder, and while making half the quantity mentioned above i use my mixer for grinding.

Mix both the batter together and ferment overnight or for 8-10 hours. Since it is summer now, i just leave the batter on the Kitchen counter overnight. If climate is a problem for fermenting, then leave the batter inside the oven overnight, with the lights on.
Next day morning, Add Salt and mix the batter well.

To make Dosa/crepes

Heat a Non-Stick pan, Pour a ladle of batter in the middle and spread it in to a circle using back of the ladle .

Dot the edges with a tsp of ghee/Gingely oil. Flip and cook both sides until crisp.
Serve hot with 3 nuts chutney or Flax-seed Spice Powder

Hokkaido Milk Bread - We Knead to Bake#3

2013-03-27T22:52:00.000+04:00

Its been a Bread Baking Month, yup, i already made 2 breads, now this is the 3rd one and i have one more to go. But loving it totally. This Month for We Knead to Bake#3, Aparna chose an easy recipe, since it was croissants last month, which involved loads of butter and also lotsss of exercise, this month she thought of making it easy for us and chose to bake Hokkaido Milk Bread.

Another bread with Tangzhong Method. The TangZhong method is to mix 1 part of bread flour with 5 parts of water (by weight) at 65°C (149 °F) to form a paste/wet dough. At 65°C, the gluten in the bread flour and water mixture would absorb the moisture and become leavened. Thus, when the TangZhong is added into other ingredients of a bread dough, it will be heightened and produce fluffier bread.

The Hokkaido Milk Bread is known for its soft cottony/ pillowy texture. Apparently it’s very popular bread in South Asian bakeries across the world. It is also known as Asian Sweet Bread and Hong Kong Pai Bo. Some people say this is a Japanese bread while others say it’s because the milk used in this bread is from Japan while some others have suggested its pure white colour and the texture resemble the pristineness of Hokkaido!

Ingedients

The Tangzhong (Flour-Water Roux)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

For The Dough

1 Cup Wheat Flour

1and 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp Custard Powder /Milk Powder (optional)

2 tsp instant dried yeast

1 cup warm milk

2 tbsp cream (25% fat)

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

2tbsp / 25gm unsalted butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)

Method

Making Tangzhong

Mix flour in water and milk mixture well without any lumps. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon, whisk or spatula to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.

The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some “lines” appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon. It’s done. If you want to check the temperature of tangzhong it is 65 C/149 F.Remove from heat.

Making the dough

Put the flour, salt, sugar, powdered milk and instant yeast in a bowl and mix well with a whisk, to ensure even mixing of all the added ingredients. In another small bowl mix the milk, cream and Tangzhong till smooth and add to the Flour-Mix bowl. Start kneading the dough. The dough will start out sticky but kneading will make it smooth. Now add the butter and process till you have a smooth and elastic dough which is just short of sticky.
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 a towel, and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes or till almost double in volume. I left it for an hour and half. (1.5hrs)

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.
I made two batches of dough and made One Loaf with the first batch and 6 Stuffed buns with the next batch.

For the Loaf

Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Roll out each portion of 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. Do this with each of the three larger pieces and 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.
i used my Aluminum-foil for baking the bread, so rolled the dough and arranged them in the foil and left it in the oven with the lights on for rising.

For the Stuffed Buns
Ingredients
1 Cup Peanut butter chips
50gms Butter
1 tbsp Cinnamon Powder

After the first rise, Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Flatten each portion, apply a spoon of butter, sprinkle Cinnamon and a handful peanut butter chips.

Bring the edges together and shape them into ball.Arrange them in a Baking tray, cover with a kitchen towel and leave it to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes for the second rise.

Baking the Bread/stuffed buns

After the second rise, Carefully brush the tops of the rolls and the loaf with milk/cream and bake them at 170C (325F) for about 30-40 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. Serve or else store in a bread bin.

Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothie

2013-03-26T23:12:00.003+04:00

For the last day of the marathon i m revisiting my Crunchy Berry Smoothie Recipe. Seriously now seeing those snaps, i realize how bad i am, in clicking food in Glass or should i say Food in general. Thanks to all those Bloggers and their Photography tutorial blogs and to my friends, with whose help i m able to click Food Decently and present it little pleasing.

Even while clicking these pictures today, i was not so confident, but compared to the old post, i m happy that i am learning and able to put that in practice.

My Old Pic

Today's recipe is a Simple Smoothie, which can be had as a Breakfast Smoothie or also as a Snack. i used frozen Wild Blueberries. Googled to find out what is a Wild Blueberry, these are harvested from natural bushes or should i say berries which are not cultivated or grown in a farm. Whatever it is, but tasted great. Kuttu was waiting for me to finish clicking pictures. He loves blueberries in Cakes, and was so tempted by the color of this Smoothie!!! Try it, your kids too would love it!!! :)

Ingredients (approximately 3-4 wine glasses)
1 Cup Frozen Wild Blueberries
1 Cup Cold Milk
1/4 Cup Yogurt
3 tbsp Quick Cooking Oats
Sugar/Honey as per taste

Method

Take them all together in a blender, Blend until smooth.
Serve immediately.

Sending this to Bon Vivant#13 -Kids Delight, happening @ Sumee's Culinary Bites, And also to Lets Cook for Kids, happening @ Simply Food

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#26

Colorful Capsicum Rice

2013-03-25T22:38:00.000+04:00

Mixed Capsicum Rice/Colorful Capsicum Rice, another regular recipe in my home. Whenever i go for Grocery shopping, i tried to pick a pack of these Colorful n Nutritious Veggies. Kuttu loves these Mixed pack of Capsicums.

My Old Pic

They make a wonderful Lunch Box recipe with Rice/Roti. Once done, this spicy curry makes an Awesome Combo with Roti's/Idly/Dosa too. You can make the same recipe with simple Green capsi's too. But for the sake of this lovely color i try to make them with Mixed Colorful Bell peppers.

Ingredients

3 Cups Cooked Rice

4 Medium Bell Peppers (preferably in different colors), thinly sliced

1 Medium sized Onion, Finely Chopped

1 small Tomato, chopped or 1 tsp Tomato paste

1 green chili, slited lengthwise

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp Red Chili powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder

1 tsp Grated Fresh Ginger

Fresh Coriander leaves for garishing

Salt to taste

Tempering

1 tbsp Gingely Oil/Groundnut Oil (i prefer Groundnut, for its unique aroma)

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp hing

a Sprig of Curry Leaf

Method

Heat Oil in a Pan splutter Mustard seeds/Cumin seeds, add curry leaves.
Next Add Onions, garlic and slited green chili.Saute unitl onions turn translucent. Next add Chopped Tomatoes/Tomato Paste and 1/4 Cup Water.I have used Tomato Paste
Add Red Chili and Dhaniya powder along with the tomatoes. Let it Cook and ooze out oil.

Now Add the Sliced Bell Peppers and saute in a low flame, Add salt, Cover and cook in a slow flame for 2-3 minutes. Do not cook for more time, We do not want the Capsicums soggy n soft. Some Crunch in the veggie will be good.
Add Garam Masala to the Curry, give it a toss and Remove from flame.
Mix with Cooked Rice, Adjust the salt and Garnish it with Coriander leaves and shredded ginger and Serve with any Raita.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#26

Kathrikai Saadam/Brinjal Rice

2013-03-24T22:14:00.000+04:00

For the last week of the marathon, i am gonna Revisit my old posts and refurbish them with new coat of poly!! ha, effects of watching Cars, Cars2 for a 7 days!!! :) Holidays on, for my kiddo so t is Movies, Park, Play all the time!!! :)

My Old Pic

For the next 3 days, i will be editing my old posts with new pics. i have chosen recipes, which i make often. Once such is, Brinjal Rice, Quickie Mixed Rice, if you try once, you will definitely make it often, for its combo of masala's and even the brinjal-hating kiddo's too would love it for that Kick of spice.

Ingredients

2 Cups cooked Rice,

5-6 Brinjals

1 medium onion

1 medium tomatoes

2-3 tbsp Oil

Curry leaves a few

Salt to taste

1 tsp shredded ginger

Fresh Coriander for garnishing

Roast n Grind

2 tbsp Chana Dal/Gram Dal

1 tbsp Coriander Seeds

1 tbsp Skinned Peanuts

1 tbsp Fresh grated Coconut

5-6 Red Chillies

marble-sized tamarind

Method

Spiced Youghurt

1/2 Cup Yoghurt

1/2 tsp of shredded ginger

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp each, cumin powder and Red Chili Powder

Whisk the curd well. Add Ginger, cumin and red chili powder, Mix well.
Add Salt just before serving, mix well and Serve along any mixed rice.

Making the Brinjal Rice

Dry Roast the ingredients under Roast n Grind, except tamarind and coconut. Grind the roasted ingredients along with tamarind and coconut Coarsely.
Remove the stem of the brinjals and slice them lengthwise.
Heat oil in a Non-stick Pan, Splutter mustard seeds, add hing and Curry leaves.

Add onions and saute until translucent, next add tomatoes, add 1/4 cup water and let Tomatoes Cook and become soft and ooze oil.
Next add Brinjals, Mix well.Cover and cook in a low flame for 10 minutes.
When the Brinjals are half-cooked, add the grounded masala powder and salt to it.Mix well.
Cover and Cook in a Simmer flame until done, takes about 8-10 minutes.
Take it off the stove, Add the Cooked Rice and mix well. Garnish with Coriander leaves and shredded ginger. Serve Warm with Spiced Yogurt.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#26

Creamy Carrot Soup

2013-03-19T19:10:00.000+04:00

The Last day of Blogging Marahthon#26, Week3, i m posting a simple, easy to make, Carrot Soup. During my childhood days, Soup is something we taste only in hotels. So, whenever, we get a chance to go to hotels, the first thing we order would be Tomato Soup. The thick orange-y red soup with 4-5 bread croutons on top, we loved it a lot.

Growing up in a Tamil-Brahman Family, the only soup we tasted was amma's Tomato rasam, ohhh!! what a flavor and aroma it still has!!! So, me too followed the same tradition of making the humble rasam or the Osaman as the soup. But then recently for the tried n tasted announced by priya, i tried Carrot Soup from Sharmi's Space, it came out so well, now i make this very often, but in my issshhhtyle!!!!

Recipe Adapted from Sharmi's Passions
Ingredients
1 Medium Carrot
1 clove of garlic, half of one medium sized Onion
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Milk
1/4tsp Pepper, freshly ground (increase to 1/2 tsp, if you need more)
1 tbsp butter
Salt to taste

Method

Chop onion and garlic finely. Peel the carrot and chop it roughly.
Heat a pan with butter, saute onion and garlic until pink. Add carrots and saute for a minute or two.
Add Water and let it cook for 10-15minutes.

Once done, Let it sit to cool. Once cooled, Blend them together with milk.
Take the blended soup to stove again in the same sauteed pan. Wash the blender with half cup Water and add it to the soup.

Let it cook for 5-8 mins, add the freshly ground pepper and Serve Warm. If serving for kids, add some cream and serve.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#26