How are you doing this morning.  It's finally the weekend and I am sure you are feeling as good as me.  I am dying to get out and walk in the woods somewhere.  Yes, as soon as we have had this visit I will scour the internet to find somewhere nice to take off on a day excursion tomorrow.  Guess what I have to make a neat sandwich?  Culmination of English and Indian you could say.  Kabab like patties.  I say that because I sneaked some 'Shan Kabab masala into the ground beef I had together with some more ingredients and popped in the oven.  Oh, boy! never did a spur of the moment idea turn out so well.  Tasted like kababs though the texture was not as good because I refused to grind the meat fine in my mixer.  However, if you do have a way of grinding fresh meat at home do that with the recipe that follows and you will be making some delicious kababs at home.

   It's tart and hot and will go into a wrap or sandwich bread and make a pretty good lunch.



Ingredients:

Ground Meat - 1/2 lb
Onions      - 1 small finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbspn
Salt        - 1/2 tspn
Lemon juice - a squeeze ( I am thinking about 1 tspn)  Please be careful how much you add because the quantity of meat is very little.  Also, if you are using ginger garlic paste its already salted and had a sour taste.
Mint Leaves - 3 sprigs (take out only the leaves and chop fine)
Green chilies - 3 finely chopped or 2 well ground
Shan kabab masala - 1 tspn 
paparika -  a dash
pepper   -  a dash



Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients together.  (Use a glove if you do not like to work with fresh meat)
2. Make small patties, as thin as you can with the palm of your hand and place it on an oven proof tray
4. Bake at 400 D for 20 minutes.  Turn the patties with a spatula after 10 minutes and brush the juices the meat express back on.

Enjoy it as is or sandwiched between bread or crumbled into a wrap with your favorite salad dressing.

Contributor: Sunitha

I had a fantastic weekend with friends. I hope you had a good time as well. Isn’t spring about new birth and hope of wonderful things to come? And so is a get together for a baby shower! That was the high point of my weekend. My friend, the mother-to-be, was glowing and happy to see us all gather in her honor.  We played games, ate a lot of food and generally had a good time.

  Some of the games were a little distressing because it made me painfully aware how inept I am.  For  example the game - of unscrambling words.  One of the words to unscramble was ‘emtipan’ and I kept thinking that must be ‘emit pan’ confusing the meaning to that of ‘slop jar.’ Yeah, I know! Strange indeed are the patterns of my brain! But finally, when I was told it meant ‘nap time’ I could only put up my hands in defeat, shake my head and hang it low.  But not for long.  There were these adorable children! Just cute enough you could eat them.  Delicious kinds! They kept running and playing around the room. Oh boy, how they make my insides turn into mush with their dimpled smiles and outrageous pranks. Had a real good time with them children!  That made everything else seem trivial.


Let’s get to the more important reason we are all here, the recipe - Challah. A Jewish bread that is delicious! Some of you may disagree because it has a pronounced taste of egg. But as for me, I love it. It is also very pretty to simply lay it out on your table, and see your guests gush out in surprise. And when you tell them you baked it - priceless!


Ingredients:
Water – 1 cup
Yeast - 1 packet active dry yeast
Sugar – 1/4 cup + 1 tspn
Eggs – 3
Bread Flour – 3 ½ - 4 cups
Salt – 1 ½ tspn
Oil – ¼ cup + 2 Tbspn

Method:
1. Take a big bowl in which you can knead the dough. Pour 1 cup of warm (110 D F) and add the yeast and about 1 tspn of the sugar. Stir and let it stand. It will froth in about 5 – 10 minutes.
2. Add salt and the remaining sugar to 3 1/2 cups of flour and set aside.
3. Beat the egg lightly and reserve about 2 tbspn to brush the bread later.
4. Add the beaten eggs and oil into the bowl, mix well and add the flour, sugar and salt mixture.
5. Using the hook of your hand blender or stand mixer, beat the bread until it leaves the sides of the pan and come together. This should take about 5 to 6 minutes.
6. Dust a clean surface with flour and slide over the dough. Knead until you get a smooth and supple dough
7. Cover and set aside to rise for about 2 hours.
8. Once it has doubled in size, punch down and tucking in the edges make a round smooth dough.
9. Cut them evenly into 6 pieces.
10. Roll them using a little flour if you need to make long strands.
11. Lay all the six strands side by side and join one end, seal and tuck in.
12. Now you braid and tuck the other end.
13. Brush the bread with egg and lay it on a cookie sheet covered to rise. For about 1/2 an hour to 1.
14. Once it doubles brush them with another coating of the egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake at 375 D F for 35 – 40 minutes.
15. To test if the bread is done knock over the bread and it should sound hollow.
To learn how to braid the bread see a video here.

Contributor: Sunitha

Today is another big day for Indian Cricket. India is playing the World cup finals for the third time in history and I wish our team all the luck. Hopefully they will bring the home the cup and if they do that will be one which we are getting after a long 28 year gap. Fingers crossed.


I still remember the first time I learned the game. I was in primary school and this was the time before TV and Cable. My father ,uncle and grandfather all ardent fans would be listening to the commentaries on radio. It was fascinating, and I wondered why otherwise sober people would scream and make funny noises of exhilaration or disappointment. It was enough to pique my interest. Now my noise was in the mix asking them what is going on. They tactically explained only the major details like wicket and runs. It was enough for me then, I suppose. But after a year or so while I was visiting my cousins over summer vacation I got more information. One of my elder cousins was totally into the game and therefore everyone else in the family. Once when the game was going on my cousin needed company to go the neighbors, since only they had TV at that time. I was an easy sport at that time and accompanied her. That's when the rules of the game was cleared and my enthusiasm was fueled by my dear cousin. I had arrived in the cricket scene so to speak. What about you? I would love to hear your story of how you got into watching cricket matches.



When you have a game to watch it's always nice to have snacks and goodies handy. Though I still have some aval pori/ Beaten rice snack, I decided to make some brownies as well. Also, I wanted to join Ria and the rest of the blogging world, who is participating, in an event where everyone is making finger-foods especially for cricket time. So here is a recipe for a beautiful Rocky Road Brownie. Best part is you can enjoy these even when there is not game going on.

Oh, I have to tell you this, the selection of a blue background was completely by chance. Now I realized that we all bleed blue today :-)




Ingredients:

Butter- 3/4 cup
Granulated sugar- 1 cup
Light brown sugar- 1 cup
Cocoa powder- 3/4 cup
Hot water- 3 Tbsp
Eggs- 2
Pure Vanilla extract- 2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
All purpose flour- 1 1/3 cup
Baking powder- 1/4 tsp
Chopped walnuts- 2 cups
Miniature marshmallows-2 cups
Semisweet/Bittersweet Chocolate chips- 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Method:

1.Preheat oven at 350 degree F. Grease and flour a 9 by 13 inch rectangular pan.
2.In a heat proof bowl combine the cocoa powder and butter.keep it in a boiling water-bath and mix well.Or mix them and keep in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl and keep on high for half a minute to one minute or until everything is combined together.Take out in between and whisk together.
3.Add the hot water into this and mix well.
4.Mix the sugars and salt with egg in another bowl.Add vanilla extract and mix again.
5.When the cocoa mixture is cool enough add it into the sugar mixture and mix well.
6.Stir in the flour and baking powder.
7.Fold in half the nuts.
8.Pour into the prepared pan and bake until done, for about 25 minutes.
9.Take out from the oven. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and the marshmallows.
10.Meanwhile keep your oven on broil option.Keep the pan back into the oven and keep it for half a minute or until the marshmallows have puffed up and slightly browned.
11.Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Notes:

Adapted from Here and Here
Contributor: Namitha

Kolache (also spelled kolace, kolach, or kolacky, from the Czech and Slovak plural koláče) is a traditional Czech bread stuffed with dried fruits or cheese compote. I preferred a dried fruit filling for this recipe. This was made a while back and is from my drafts. It is an apt time to use recipes from my drafts, because I am not keeping well. No, there is no serious illness, but some aches and pains that need resting.






Also the impression when I read the recipe was ‘daunting,’ but soon my fears were laid to rest because once you start getting practical it works like a charm. It really does! Hope you are encouraged enough to try them yourselves.


Ingredients: (Makes12 rolls)

For the Rolls:
Active Dry yeast- 2 tsp
Sugar- 1 1/2 Tbsp
Warm water- 1/4 cup
Warm Milk- 3/4 cup
Grated zest of one Lemon
Egg- 1
Salt- 3/4 tsp
All purpose flour- 3 to 3 1/4 cup
Unsalted Butter- 4 Tbsp, at room temp, cut into pieces

For Dried fruit filling:

Dried fruit of your choice (Peaches,sour cherries,apricots,prunes etc)- 4 oz
Fruit Brandy- 2 Tbsp (optional)
Sugar- 1/4 cup
Grated zest and juice of half a lemon
Unsalted butter- 1 Tbsp


Method:

1. Mix the yeast, warm water and bit of sugar, from the 1.5 Tbspn mentioned under rolls, in a small bowl. Stir to mix well and let it stand till it's frothy.
2. In a large bowl mix the rest of the sugar, warm milk, lemon zest, egg, salt and 1 cup of flour. You could either mix using an electric mixer or whisk by hand.
3. Beat well for one minute. Add the yeast mixture and ½ cup more of the flour. Beat for another minute.
4. Now add the butter pieces and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time and after 3 cups a tablespoon at a time, until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed.
5. If you are using hands, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 2 minutes. If kneading by machine, change to the dough hook and knead for 2 minutes. Do not add too much flour, or you may end up with dry dough.
6. Place the dough in a greased deep container. Grease the top of the dough as well. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled.
7. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Combine the dry fruit, fruit bandy and enough water to cover the fruits. Boil, reduce the heat and cook for about 20 minutes or until the fruit is tender.
8. Drain if there is a lot of liquid, reserving 2 tablespoons. Mix the warm fruit, lemon zest and juice, butter and reserved liquid in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside or cover and refrigerate until needed.
9. Deflate the dough by punching down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
10. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and divide each part into 6, making 12 rolls.
11. Cover and let rise for abut 30 minutes.
12. Preheat the oven at least 20 minutes before you start baking at 350 degree F.
13. When the rolls have risen well, make an indentation with your thumb or back of a wooden spoon.
14. Fill with the prepared dry fruit filling and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until the rolls have turned slight brown.
15. Cool on a wire rack.


Sending this to Yeastspotting

Notes:

1.These mildly sweet rolls are light and delicious.
2.You could also use a cheese filling for this. Unfortunately I don't have a recipe to share right now.
3.These are also called Bohemian Sweet rolls
Recipe from: The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger
Contributor: Namitha

St Patrick’s Day is new to even my Christian friends from India. Then again, I have not checked with any Catholic friends of mine to see if they celebrated it while growing up. Sunitha says - she had no clue until she landed in the U.S.


When you have children, everything colorful and vibrant catches your eyes. It could be the grocery store, department store, out in nature, everywhere. And if you have young ones going to school, they will definitely regale about every colorful experience they have in school! Well, at least until they are teenagers, I hope. Therefore, it must have either been the bakery which first made me curious about the colorful cupcakes, or my daughter’s animated description of some fantastic cupcake her friend shared with her. Whichever way, my interest was piqued and I participated in St Patrick ’s Day in my own way.



Historically, this is a festival in honor of the patron Saint of Ireland and celebrated on March 17th. The festivities started with the Catholics in Ireland, but have now taken a secular swing, spreading far and wide. I can confirm this is secular and gone beyond the boundaries of Ireland because even a mother from a small town in Kerala now fully participates by baking rainbow cupcakes on this special day.


For some people, St Patrick’s day is about coloring lakes green, wearing green attires or getting pinched for not wearing green, drinking a lot of green drinks, and even spotting funky hats. Others may call this an eyesore and decide not to participate. But as for me, it is another reason to celebrate in the middle of March! The beautiful color green signifies the arrival of spring. You know I will take spring for anything. In short, ‘have a great time’ is written all over this festival and I have decided not to shy away.

Baking fancy cupcakes is one of the ways I celebrate. For this one, the process was painstaking, with half a tablespoon different color batter being poured alternatively into each cupcake mold. But when baked, and my little boy exclaimed ‘rainbow’ with his hands clutching his wide-open-mouth it was priceless. Color your day green!


I have to tell you this - the first time I got excited about rainbow cupcakes is when Sangeetha shared it on her blog Kothiyavunu. Thank you Sangee for inspiring.


Ingredients:

Flour: 1 cup
Baking powder- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp
Vegetable oil- 1/2 cup
Sugar- 1/2 cup (plus 2 Tbsp if you are not using a frosting)
Eggs- 2
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 1/2 tsp
Milk/Buttermilk- 1/2 cup
Food colors-Yellow,Red,Blue,Green

To Make more Colors:

Violet - 9 red + 6 blue drops
Orange - 12 yellow + 4 red drops.


Method:

1.Line a muffin pan to make 10 cupcakes. Beat together sugar and oil, follow up by add eggs one at a time.
2.Now mix in the vanilla extract.
3.Whisk together flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.
4.Gradually add flour into the wet mixture alternating with milk or buttermilk to make the batter.
5. Take 6 bowls and pour equal quantity of the batter into each of them. (It will be about 1/3 cup in each bowl) Preheat oven at 350 degree F.
6. Color the batter in each bowl with the food colors mentioned above. Stir well without any streaks making a uniform color. It will take about 10-12 drops of color. I know it's a lot of color but you will need to make vibrant cupcakes.
7. Now is the time consuming part. Carefully pour about 1/2 Tbsp of each color into all the prepared cups.(Be accurate, if you add more than 1/2 Tbsp, you will run out of batter !)
11.Starting with either blue or red finish all the rainbow colors. Each time make sure that you cover the bottom layer color with the one you are pouring on top. Do not spread the batter. Keep pouring each spoon of batter in the center every time and batter will spread itself.
12.Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tester comes out clean.
16.Cool on a wire rack and then the cakes are ready for frosting.

Notes:

1.This recipe yields the most moist and delicious Vanilla cupcakes I've ever tasted!
2.Using the same recipe you may choose to use just 4 or 5 colors. This will make each colored portion broader.
3.You don't have to worry about taking time to pour in each color, the cupcakes will come out perfect.
4.If you add only 1/2 cup sugar, the cake is not too sweet. This will give you enough incentive to frost without feeling guilty. I used whipped cream to frost some of the cup cakes.

Adapted from: Baking bites and Kothiyavunu

  The first time I had pretzels, it was the hard-baked miniatures.  They are the most tasteless, almost chalk-like things I have ever tasted!  It felt like someone cooked it with the sole purpose of keeping one's mouth busy, and not for taste at all.  Obviously, I never liked it and still don’t.   However, the minute I bit into a spongy, sweet, plump pretzel sold on a cart in the middle of a shopping mall in Antioch, Tennessee, I was hooked. Instant love!  

 




This morning when I decided to skip breakfast, I had no clue the thought of saying no to food could trigger a furious desire to eat.  In short, I succumbed to my carnal self and baked some spongy pretzels just like the one on the cart I had on a rainy, summer afternoon.  Maybe it was not raining, but I am just saying.  The whole pretzel experience was so good that my mind has automatically started associating it with my other favorite feature, the rain.   Breakfast ended up being quite good this morning.  The aroma of baking bread filled the room so much it was almost tangible.  It’s pure pleasure to delve into spongy, moist pretzels, and wash it down with a hot cuppa!  Now I have enough zing to get out and burn some of it off on the treadmill. 




  The recipe for the pretzels is from the Swedish Cakes and Cookies book, but I have changed some of their tedious measurements.  When I tried to convert the dl to cups, I found they were a little off.  Hence, I have made my own corrections, and the pretzels came out well.


While I sweat it out on the treadmill I hope you have a pleasant experience with baking in your kitchen. Ciao!



Ingredients:

Butter - 7 Tbspn
Milk   - 300 ml (1 cup is 250 ml)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Salt    - 1/4 tspn
Active Dry Yeast - 1 Satchel ( 2 1/4 tspn)
All purpose Flour - 3 1/2 cups
Egg - 1 Beaten for brushing

Method:
1. Melt butter on low heat in a sauce pan and add milk when melted and turn off the heat when the mixture is luke warm (115 D F)
2. Add the sugar and yeast and whisk until the yeast is dissolved
3. Add half of the flour and stir with a spatula to combine
4. Add the remaining flour and knead
5. Slide it onto a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 16 parts
6. Roll each part in the palm of your hand as long as you can and shape into pretzels
7. Make sure there is enough space in between the twist and let is rise for 30 -45 minutes
8. Brush egg and bake in a preheated oven for 5 - 8 minutes or until golden brown on top

Oven Temperature: 475 D F
Convection: 425 D F

Contributor: Sunitha

   We had posted the recipe (click here) for cinnamon roll sometimes back, however, the recipe for  frosting was not given.  Therefore please use the one I am sharing today because it's absolutely sweet :) and that's just the way I like my rolls.  You could also use cream cheese frosting which goes well with cinnamon rolls.  We will have a recipe for the same updated soon. 

   Other than eating delicious cinnamon rolls, parenting continues to keep me occupied. That requires all hands on deck, you will agree!  Weather wise, aren't the colors of autumn fading away from the scenery?  Maybe it's time to bring in some daffodil or hyacinth bulb and start watching them grow and herald spring. Let's try and forget the cold days and jump right on to pleasant thoughts, what do you say?  Have a good one!



Here is a glimpse of the cinnamon rolls right out of the oven



We love having them for breakfast, or as a snack with evening tea.  It's simply great as a mid day snack with coffee too. Now, you watch out for that waistline, I cannot be blamed for not warning. :) 



Ingredients:

Confectioner's sugar- 1 1/2 cup
Milk- ~1/4 cup
Butter- 2 Tbsp
Pure Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp

Method:

1.Mix everything together well using a hand blender and spoon it onto the cinnamon rolls.(add more milk if the consistency is too thick and a little more sugar if it is too runny)The best way is to add a tablespoon of milk at a time and continue mixing.




Contributor: Namitha

     Finally, our new living space feel like home.  In spite of the depressing weather, and having got over a bout of cold/flu, I still feel good sitting at my desk, and knocking away on the key board.  Blissful! Back in my groove, so to speak!  It's more like relief, to finally stop worrying about packing, moving and putting up with a cartons strewn all over the living room.  I am glad it's behind me now.

  It's back to cooking, photographing, writing and sharing.  Without further ado about the recipe of the day, souffle.  I made souffle after listening to my friend rant and rave about the souffle from Panera Bread.  Now, hold your horses this recipe is nothing like the one from 'Panera Bread but it's good in it's own right.  Another day I shall crack the Panera Bread recipe, I told you I am feeling good!

  Making a souffle always seemed daunting, and I never tried.  It could be because when my brother was taking classes in catering, a zillion years ago, I distinctly remember him trying it at home.  It was a disaster in short.  In fact, the darn thing would not set when baked, and the ensuing cursing, from my brother, still rings in my ears.  I never knew I remembered that incident so well until I just wrote it now, and that must be the reason I trod with trepidation when it came to souffles.  However, may not any of these anecdotes deter you.  They are not as hard to make as it's cracked up to be, this one worked just fine.  Have it as a side dish with meat and it's great!
 ,

I know I should be posting this recipe in Spring or Summer but what can I say, temptation got the better of me.  So, I was at Costco the other day and I picked up a big pack of fresh blackberries and there was definitely more than my daughter could eat in a day or two.  I mean it is only so much she could eat before the freshness of the fruit was lost.  You see, I was tempted to buy, but only my daughter enjoys eating them fresh so much in this family.  Therefore, with the plenty left over I could make this delicious crumble which was on my 'to-do list.' for a while. Perfect !

  Just like the Martha Stewart site says, this bar is a marriage between the Cobbler and the Cake.The cakey bottom, merry-berry middle and crumbly, crunchy top layer are all there in this Blackberry Crumble Bar. The best part is that you can use berries of your choice.

My kids are usually not big on cobbler and fruit cake but they absolutely loved this.  The gang has already placed requests for more.  Do I need to compel you any more? I doubt it!



Are you seeing all the three layers here?



It is soooo yumm !



Ingredients:

For the Top layer:

Melted butter- 6 Tbsp
Packed Brown sugar- 1/2 cup
Salt- 1/4 tsp
All Purpose Flour- 1 cup

For the lower layer:

All Purpose Flour- 3/4 cup
Baking Powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Butter,at room temp- 1/2 cup
Eggs- 2
Confectioner's sugar- 1 cup
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1/2 tsp

Fresh Blackberries- ~10oz

Method:

1.Wash and dry the berries on a paper towel.Preheat the oven at 350 degree F.Line a 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, with an overhang on both sides.Grease and flour the paper.
2.Mix the things for the top layer using a fork till everything becomes crumbly.Big crumbles will give you a continuous layer, whereas smaller crumbles will give you the texture I got ;-) Keep in the refrigerator till ready to use.
3.In another mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt for making the bottom layer.
4.In a medium mixing bowl,beat the butter,vanilla and confectioner's sugar and beat till it is creamy.
5.Add eggs one at a time and beat well to mix everything.
6.Mix in the flour and mix again at slow speed.
7.Now spread this mixture evenly on the prepared baking pan.
8.Sprinkle the berries on it.
9.Finally spoon out the crumble mixture whihc was kept chilled on the top, evenly
10.Bake for about 40-45 minutes till a skewer comes out clean and the top turns light brown in color.
11.Cool in the pan and take out with the help of paper hang.Cut into squares.
12.Store in airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature and for a week in refrigerator.




Notes:

1.You could replace the confectioner's sugar with granulated sugar.For 1 cup confectioner's sugar you need to use 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1 tsp cornstarch.
2.Makes about 16 bars.

Sending this and Kappa/Tapioca Biryani to Smitha's event Best food I have eaten or blogged about



Contributor: Namitha
Recipe Courtesy:Martha Stewart

   So howz it going?

    Sun shiny weather with cool breeze, it's delicious.  Hope you are enjoying yourself as much as I.

    Talking about today's cooking; on my regular grocery shopping this weekend I decided to bring home one of these long French Breads.  Do you like the way they are displayed in the store.  I love it.  They are displayed outside the bakery section in large baskets or tubs with the bread sticking out like dry stick arrangement as in decor.  Quite fancy, I would say.  However, the size which is so appealing to look at puts me off from buying since it's too much for two people.  This weekend though I had a case of 'butter knees'.  Yeah! they gave way and the next thing I know I had grabbed one and dumped it in the cart.  I did not even look at Vi to see if he approved.  I walked on. He is very sweet never disapproves ;) but I knew it was a risky choice.  Nobody approves wasted food in my house.

    Now that I am home and my knees are back to its bony self and quite sturdy I am quite at loss to what to do with all the bread.  I have decided to tackle it slice by slice.  Therefore, here is a simple, quick and smart recipe for a snack which can also be a nice accompaniment with soups or salads.  A no brainer! 



You will need:
French Bread - 1/2 inch thick slices 8
Cheese          - Mozarella
Parmesan, Asiago  and Romano - I have a box with the three mixed which I use for topping salads and soups so you could just use Parmesan or any other cheese you like or simply do with only mozarella
Oregano         - to taste
Garlic             - 2 cloves chopped fine and gently crushed
Butter             - gobs of it



Method:
1. Slather butter on both sides of the slices and set on a baking sheet
2. Sprinkle oregano and garlic equally on all pieces
3. Spoon over cheese of your taste or liking
4. Top them all with mozarella.  I like to add quite a bit to make it nice and cheesy.
5. Bake in a pre heated oven at 400 D F for 6 to 7 minutes or until cheese has melted and turns a golden brown.
 

Contributor: Sunitha