Preparation time: 2.5 hours

Cooking time: 20 to 25 minutes

Yield: 12 dinner rolls and One big loaf

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour – 6 cups
• Vegetable shortening – 1/4 cup
• Granulated sugar – 1/4 cup
• Quick rise yeast – 1 and 1/2 tsp
• Warm water – 2 cups
• Salt – 1 and 1/2 tsp

Method of Preparation:

In a big bowl, add 3 cups of flour and shortening and mix well. Add sugar and yeast. Blend everything together. Add 2 cups of water and stir everything together with a rubber or a wooden spatula.

Now add one more cup of flour and mix well followed by another cup of flour and salt. Mix everything well and transfer it to a clean working surface or counter and start kneading.


Slowly add the remaining flour and knead for 10 minutes until it is smooth and not sticking to the counter or your hands.
Grease a big bowl with some shortening and place the dough and grease the dough with shortening. Cover it with a clean wet towel or plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place to double in size. It takes about 2 hours.

After it is doubled in size, remove the towel and punch it down. Divide it into half. One for making dinner rolls and the other for bread loaf.

Take one half and make it into a nice oval shape by rolling it gently without pressing too much and then place it in a greased loaf pan. You can also divide it into two portions and roll into balls and then place it in a greased pan (just like how I did). Cover it with a clean moist towel and let it raise for another 1 hour.

Divide the other portion of dough into two parts and then stretch it out and cut into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a smooth ball by rolling it gently in anti clockwise motion. Place the rolls in a greased 12″ pan and cover it with a clean moist towel and let it raise for an hour till it puffs up nicely.


It has nicely puffed up. Preheat oven to 400ºF (205ºC) and leave it for 15 to 20 minutes.
Place both the pans in the center rack and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until it is golden brown. Time varies according to your oven.


Remove the freshly baked bread from the oven and brush it with butter and let it cool. Fresh dinner rolls and bread loaf are ready to serve.

© Nithu for Spicy Tasty, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baking, Breads

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My mom used to make this bread sweet during special occasions. She used add condensed milk so that it will be more tasty. I have used evaporated milk and sugar so that it wont be too heavy. It is simple to make and my husband enjoyed it.

Time of Preparation : 45 minutes
No of Servings : 30

Ingredients:

• Bread – 15 Slices
• Ghee – 1/4 cup
• Sugar – 1 cup and 2 tbsp
• Water – 1 cup
• Evaporated Milk – 1 can
• Milk – 1 cup
• Saffron – a pinch
• Cardamom powder – a pinch
• Dry fruits and nuts – 3 tbsp

Method of Preparation:

1. Dry the bread slices for 2 hours.
2. For Sugar Syrup, mix water and sugar and heat it in medium flame. When it starts to boil add the saffron and cardamom powder and remove from the heat.
3. Mix the evaporated milk and the cup of milk and boil until 3/4th of the milk is reduced.
4. Roast the nuts in a tbsp of ghee.
5. In the meantime toast the bread slices with ghee until golden brown.
6. Dip the toasted bread slices in the sugar syrup for few seconds and keep it in a wide tray.
7. Pour the milk on the top of the bread slices.
8. Garnish with the roasted nuts and refrigerate them.

Note:

• You can also deep fry the bread in ghee and leave a extra minute in sugar syrup.
• You can serve this dessert when it is warm too.

© arthi for Spicy Tasty, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: desserts

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Pav Bhaji is a popular Indian fast food dish from Mumbai. It is a mixed vegetable curry with a special blend of spices (Pav Bhaji masala) that you can find in any grocery store in India or the Indian stores in the U.S. It is served with Pav (buns) instead of roti. This dish made its way from street food to restaurants and slowly became popular all over India. The recipe varies from place to place but the general procedure remains the same. Mashed potatoes and sauteed onions and tomatoes with a few other vegetables and spices are blended together to make this dish. Pav is toasted on a griddle with lots of butter. This is a comfort dish and the right place to enjoy is from the street side vendors. Here I am bringing the street food to your home. To enjoy this dish I baked fresh Pav (dinner rolls) at home and it was amazing. Try and let me know how it turns out.

Preparation time: 50 minutes

No. of servings: 8

Spice level: 4 out of 5

Ingredients:

• One big onion finely chopped (about 2 cups)
• Tomatoes – 2
• Green bell pepper – 1
• Big potatoes – 2 (cubed and boiled)
• Finely chopped or grated cauliflower – 2 cups (6 to 8 big florets)
• Fresh or frozen green peas – 1/2 cup
• Oil – 2 tsp
• Green chilies – 4
• Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Chili powder – 1 tsp
• Pav bhaji masala – 1 and 1/2 tbsp
• Butter – 3 tbsp
• Chopped cilantro for garnishing
• Juice from half lime and a few lime wedges
• Salt to taste
• Chaat masala – 1 tsp

1. Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and a little salt. Saute until translucent.
2. Add chopped green chilies and ginger garlic paste and saute for another 2 minutes.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and saute till it is completely mashed.
4. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, salt and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Wash and boil green peas with some water until soft, for about 2 to 3 minutes in the microwave.
6. Now add all the vegetables to the onion tomato gravy and mash with a potato masher and mix well.
7. Add Pav Bhaji masala and 3/4th  cup of water. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. Stir and mash for every 5 minutes. Add some more water if required.
8. Add 3 tbsp of butter, mix and cook for another 5 minutes or until all the vegetables are mashed and a nice consistency is obtained.
9. Transfer it to individual serving bowls and add a dollop of butter (optional), sprinkle some chopped onions, a pinch of chaat masala, some cilantro and lime juice.
10. Heat a tsp of butter and sprinkle some chili powder and toast the Pav or buns. Serve with the prepared bhaji.

© Nithu for Spicy Tasty, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
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Chakkarai Pongal or Sakkarai Pongal is sweet rice pudding from India and is made during festival times (specially Pongal festival) and other special occasions. We can either add jaggery (unrefined whole cane or palm sugar) or sugar for preparing this dish. Today I have prepared this dish with sugar which is why it is called Kalkandu Chakkarai Pongal (crystallized Sugar Pudding). My mom makes it often since it is my dad’s favorite. She makes it in an open bronze pot (vengala paanai in tamil) which gives a unique and authentic touch to this dish. But my version is a pressure cooker and non stick pot method. Some people even prepare this dish in mud pot and it is amazing. I have always wanted to cook food in mud pots and pans. Hope I will do it some day.

Okay coming back to this dish, it is one of the delicious and easy dish as well as wonderful to serve for any occasions. I made this dish for today’s Tamil New Year (Varusha Pirappu) and it came out so good. Try this dish and let me know your comments.

Iniya Tamil Puthandu Vazhthukkal (Tamil New Year) and Happy Vishu Kani to all our readers…

Ingredients:

• Raw rice – 3/4 cup
• Moong dal – 3 tbsp
• Channa dal – 2 tbsp
• Sugar – 2 cups
• Cardamom – 4 to 5 pods
• Ghee or clarified butter – 1/4 cup
• Cashew nut and raisins for garnishing

1. Wash rice and dal and drain it completely.
2. Heat a tsp of ghee in pan and add rice and dal and fry it for a2 minutes until it is nicely coated with ghee.
3. Pressure cook rice and dal with 4 cups of water for 4 to 5 whistles.
4. Add sugar and a little water to a pan over medium heat and keep stirring until one string consistency of sugar syrup is formed. Add ground cardamom.
5. Mash cooked rice and add it to the sugar syrup and mix until a thick but flowing consistency is obtained. Add 2 tbsp of ghee and more if required. Mix well and remove from heat.
6. Heat the remaining ghee in a small pan and add broken cashew nuts and raisins. When cashew becomes golden brown, add this to the prepared dish.
7. Chakkarai Pongal is ready to serve.

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Poricha Kuzhambu is a traditional dish from Tamil Nadu which is prepared from lentils, spices and vegetables and served with cooked rice. There are different versions of this dish. This one is a simple and yummy recipe from my mom and one of my all time favorite dish. Different type of lentils such as toor dal, moong dal and channa dal can be used for this dish. Today I am going to make it with channa dal and moong dal (protein rich).  The perfect combination for this dish would be paruppu usli or potato fry (urulai fry). My mouth waters when I imagine that…

Method of Preparation:

1. Wash channa dal and moong dal and pressure cook or boil with two cups of water, turmeric powder, a pinch of asafoetida and a few drops of oil.
2. Also pressure cook chopped snake gourd with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt in a separate bowl along with the dal or you can cook them in a separate container by boiling with a little water.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add coriander seeds followed by channa dal, urad dal and dry red chilies.
4. When dal becomes golden brown, add coconut and turn off heat.Toss for a minute and let it cool.
5. Grind with some water to form a coarse paste nd then mix it with the cooked dal.
6. Combine cooked snake gourd, dal mixture and a little water and bring it to a boil in a sauce pan and remove from heat.
7. In a small pan heat oil and add mustard seeds and let it splutter. And them add urad dal, curry leaves and asafoetida. When urad dal becomes brown add this to the prepared gravy. Poricha Kuzhambu is ready.

© Nithu for Spicy Tasty, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Gluten free, kozhambu, Lentil recipes, sambar, veggie

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For Vendhaya Dosa:
Ingredients:

• Par boiled rice – 2 cups
• Urad dal – 1/2 cup
• Fenugreek seeds – a handful (1/4 cup)
• Salt – to taste
• Sesame oil – to taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Soak the urad dal and fenugreek seeds together atleast for 4 hours.
2. Soak the par boiled rice for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
3. Grind the urad dal and fenugreek seeds by adding little by little until you get a smooth and soft batter.
4. Transfer it to a tall or wide container and then grind the par boiled rice.
5. Grind it like how you grind for dosa batter and then mix it with the urad dal.
6. Add salt and mix them with hand completely.
7. Let it ferment atleast for 8 hours.
8. After it is fermented, it is ready to use.
9. Heat tawa and add little water to the batter if needed (it should be like dosa batter consistency)
10. Take half a laddle full of batter. Pour and spread it a little.
11. Take little oil and pour around the corner.
12. When it is cooked on one side, turn it to the other side.
13. Remove it from heat after 3 minutes.
14. Serve hot with poondu podi or spicy chutney.

For Poondu Podi:

• Garlic – 4 full garlic (around 3 cups peeled)
• Red chillies – 25 (approximately)
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 4 tsp
• Sesame oil – to taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and fry the red chillies and keep them aside.
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in the same pan and fry garlic until they turn light golden color.
3. Grind the red chillies first and then add the garlic and salt and grind coarsely.
4. While eating add sesame oil to it and enjoy with Vendhaya dosa.

Note:

• The addition of sesame oil to the dosa and poondu podi will definitely give extra flavor.
• Poondu podi can be stored in an airtight container for even 1 month.
• Dosa wont be good if you try make it crispy. It should be soft.

© arthi for Spicy Tasty, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: breakfast, tiffin

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Happy Easter!!

Hot Cross Buns are made on Good Friday, the Friday before Easter Sunday. These buns are sweet and spiced perfectly and filled with currants, raisins and sometimes with candied fruits.

Wikipedia says: In many historically Christian countries, buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the Crucifixion. They are believed by some to pre-date Christianity, although the first recorded use of the term “hot cross bun” was not until 1733. It is believed that buns marked with a cross were eaten by Saxons in honour of the goddess Eostre (the cross is thought to have symbolised the four quarters of the moon); “Eostre” is probably the origin of the name “Easter”. Others claim that the Greeks marked cakes with a cross, much earlier.

English folklore believed that buns baked and served on Good Friday will not spoil or become mouldy during the subsequent year. Sharing a hot cross bun with another is supposed to ensure friendship throughout the coming year, particularly if “Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be” is said at the time. Because of the cross on the buns, some say they should be kissed before being eaten. If taken on a sea voyage, hot cross buns are said to protect against shipwreck. If hung in the kitchen, they are said to protect against fires and ensure that all breads turn out perfectly through out the year. The hanging bun is replaced each year.

I have never heard of these stories behind the buns until recently. When I came to know about this interesting tradition, I wanted to give these a try. They were wonderful with a lovely blend of spices and sweetness. You can always adjust the spice level and the sugar level. Try these buns and enjoy the Easter with your family and friends.

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour – 3 and 1/2 cups
• Sugar – 1/3 cup
• Ground spices – all spice (4), cardamom (1), cloves (4)
• Ground nutmeg – 1/4 tsp
• Baking soda – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Unsalted butter (melted) – 1/4 cup
• One egg lightly beaten
• Active dry yeast – 1 package (1/4 oz or 7 grams)
• Warm milk – 1 cup (240 ml, not so hot)
• Sugar – 1 tsp
• Raisins – 1/3 cup
• Candied fruits (tutti frutti) – 1/3 cup
• 1 tsp of cinnamon with 2 to 3 tsp of granulated sugar
• One egg white with a splash of milk

Frosting:

• Confectioners sugar (icing sugar) – 1/2 cup
• Milk or heavy cream – 1 to 2 tbsp

Method of Preparation:

Add a package of yeast to warm milk and add a tsp of sugar for the yeast to feed on. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Yeast will become foamy.

Add flour in a mixing bowl and add spices, sugar, baking soda, salt and mix well. Make a well in the center and add yeast mixture.Mix well with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. You can also use a stand mixer if you have one.

Now add melted butter and one beaten egg and mix well until incorporated.

Transfer it to a flat surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and not sticky.  If required add more flour while kneading.

Grease the mixing bowl with oil or can spray and place the dough and grease it with oil. Cover it with a clean cloth or plastic wrap and keep it in warm place until it is doubled in size which takes for about 2 hours.

Dough is double in volume.

Punch down the dough and flatten it on the counter or a flat surface and sprinkle the mixture of cinnamon and sugar and the candied fruits and raisins. Close all the sides and knead until everything is blended in. Now make lime size balls and place it in a pizza tray or a rectangle baking sheet. Leave about an inch of distance in between the balls. Cover it with a moist towel and let it rise for an hour.

Dough balls are double in size. Now let’s see how to make a cross on top.

Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Take a pair of scissors and gently cut it on top to make a cross symbol.

Mix one egg white with a splash of milk and brush the dough balls with a pastry brush so that when it will be nice and brown on top.

Bake them for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Let the buns cool completely.

Now prepare the glaze by mixing confectionery sugar and milk or cream in a bowl with a whisk until thick and creamy. Transfer it to a piping bag or a ziplock bag and cut the ends. Draw cross on top and let it dry.

Enjoy your freshly baked Hot Cross Buns…

© Nithu for Spicy Tasty, 2012. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Samosa is a potato stuffed, deep fried snack which is very popular in India. I am a huge fan of samosa and I wanted to make proper punjabi samosa for a long time. The secret ingredients for making a proper punjabi samosa are coriander seeds, dry pomegranate seeds and fennel seeds. Samosas came out really good and I am so excited to share the recipe.

Time of Preparation : 1 hr
Spice level : 3
No of servings : 20 (medium size)

Ingredients:
For Outer Layer:

• Maida / All Purpose Flour – 2 cups
• Carom seeds (Ajwain seeds) – 1 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp (adjust according to taste)
• Ghee – 2 tbsp
• Water – as required

For Stuffing:

• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Green Chillies – 2 (very finely chopped)
• Ginger (grated) – 1 tbsp
• Potatoes(medium size) – 3 (boiled and mashed)
• Red chilly powder – 1/2 tsp (adjust according to taste)
• Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
• Dry mango powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Coriander seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Dry Pomegranate seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Peas – 1/2 cup (frozen)
• Cashews – 1 tbsp (roasted) (optional)
• Oil – for deep frying

Method of Preparation:

1. Mix maida, salt and carom seeds and add the ghee.Mix it in such a way that there are no lumps.
2. Add water to it little by little so that the dough should be little stiff.
3. Cover it with a damp cloth for half an hour.
4. In the meantime dry roast coriander seeds, fennel seeds and dry pomegranate seeds and powder them coarsely and keep it aside.
5. Now for the stuffing, heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
6. Then add the green chillies followed by the grated ginger and the potatoes (boiled and mashed coarsely).
7. Now add the red chilly powder followed by coriander powder and dry mango powder.
8. Now add the freshly powdered coriander, fennel and dry pomegranate powder and mix well.
9. Add the peas salt and cashews and mix well till the raw smell goes.
10. Now divide the dough to 10 equal sized balls and roll them to thin oval shape.
11. cut to two halves and apply water to the edges.
12. Make it like a cone (center straight part will come as the tip of the cone) and add a spoon full of the potato stuffing.
13. Seal the edges by applying water.
14. Heat oil in a wide pan and fry the samosoa in the medium heat.
15. Fry till they become golden brown and serve hot with coriander chutney or ketchup.

© arthi for Spicy Tasty, 2012. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: appetizers, fried, Potato dishes

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Mexican Vegetarian Gumbo is my all time favorite dish from Qdoba, a fast food restaurant serving Mexican cuisine. Other than rice, beans, soup and salsa, I usually load it up with all the vegetables they have such as corn, tomatoes, some lettuce and green peppers. I haven’t mentioned it in the recipe. But you can add your favorite grilled or fresh vegetables to your Gumbo and enjoy. Like the restaurant, I have prepared the required ingredients separately and mixed it together to make Gumbo. I am planning on making One Pot Gumbo. Will share the recipe soon. Though it is a bit time consuming to prepare everything separately, it is totally worth it. Try and let me know how you like it.

Ingredients:

• Tortilla Soup – 4 cups
• Cilantro rice – 2 cups
• Black or pinto beans – 2 to 3 cups
• Hot salsa – 1/2 cup
• Light or fat free sour cream – 4 oz
• Fat free Mexican cheese blend – 1 cup (optional)
• Guacamole
• Tortilla strips

Preparation of Tortilla Strips:

Cut 2 corn tortillas into thin strips of 2″ length. Spread it in a baking sheet and spray some oil or can spray and toss it well. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes at 400ºF (205ºc). You can also deep fry the tortilla strips in oil.

Ingredients for Cilantro Rice:

• Cooked brown or white rice – 2 cups
• Oil – 1 tsp
• Lime juice from one small lime
• Chopped cilantro – 1/2 cup
• Garlic clove – 1
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Cook a cup brown rice or white in water or vegetable broth. Vegetable broth gives a nice flavor to rice.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped garlic and mix rice in it.
3. Add chopped cilantro, lime juice and a little salt. Mix well and transfer it to a bowl.

Ingredients for Black Beans:

• Black or pinto beans – 2 can (can substitute with black beans, soaked and cooked)
• Oil – 1 tsp
• Chopped red onions – 1/4 cup
• Vegetable broth – 1 cup
• Cumin powder – 1 tsp
• Lime juice – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a sauce pan and saute onions with a tsp of oil.
2. Drain and wash black beans and add it to a sauce pan along with vegetable broth over medium heat.
3. When it starts boiling, add cumin powder, lime juice and a little salt.
4. Cook for 2 minutes and turn off heat.

Ingredients for Hot Salsa:

• Tomatoes – 2
• Chopped red onions – 3 tbsp
• Chopped bell peppers – 2 tbsp
• Jalapeno pepper – 1 1/2 (seeded and finely chopped)
• A hand full of cilantro (chopped)
• Garlic cloves – 1
• Fresh lime juice – 1 tbsp
• Chili powder – 1/4 tsp
• Finely chopped scallions (spring onions) – 1 tbsp
• Olive oil – 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Finely chop all the vegetables and mix it in a bowl with lime juice, oil , chili powder and salt. Pulse it in the mixer grinder for a couple of times. Refrigerate it for 2 hours or over night.

Preparation of Mexican Gumbo:

1. Take four serving bowls and add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of rice and beans followed by a cup of tortilla soup.
2. Add 2 tbsp of hot salsa and a dollop of guacamole, cheese and sour cream.
3. Top it with a few crunchy tortilla chips. Serve hot.
4. Each layer is flavorful and when you mix everything together, it will be wonderful.
5. Enjoy your homemade Gumbo.

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My husband asked me for a long time to make fried rice we get in roadside. He liked the taste and it is almost tasted like the roadside fried rice . Also those who do not like cabbage will definitely like this fried rice.

Time of Preparation : 30 minutes
No of servings : 2
Spice level : 4

Ingredients:

• Basmathi Rice – 1 cup
• Cabbage (thinly sliced) – 3 cups
• Capsicum (thinly chopped) – 1 cup
• Onion (finely chopped) – 1/2 cup
• Ginger (grated) – 2 tsp
• Garlic (grated) – 2 tsp
• Soy sauce – 1 1/2 tbsp
• Chilly vinegar – 1 tbsp
• Black pepper (freshly ground) – 2 tsp (adjust according to spice level)
• White pepper – 1/2 tsp
• Green chillies – 2 (slitted lengthwise)
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
• Egg – 2 (optional)

Method of Preparation :

1. Add 1 and 1/2 cup of water to the rice and cook and keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds followed by green chillies and onions.
3. Fry till they become translucent and add the grated ginger and garlic.
4. Fry for two minutes and add the capsicum. Fry till they become half cooked and add the chopped cabbage.
5. Fry for 5 minutes and add the soy sauce, vinegar, white pepper and followed by black pepper and salt.
6. Reduce the flame and add the cooked rice and mix well.
7. Add more salt and black pepper if needed.
8. If you want to add egg, keep another pan add the eggs, little more salt and pepper and when it is half done, add the cabbage rice to it.
9. Serve hot with hot sauce or ketchup.

© arthi for Spicy Tasty, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Rice dishes

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