Carrot Rice

I love cooking. Duh, why else would I write a food blog?  But there are days I don't feel like doing any cooking/baking. This recipe is for such days. Since I cook every day, some times twice, I usually don't have any left overs. And if I don't feel like cooking, we will all have to eat either frozen naan and some curry or have to go out. This kind of recipe comes in handy for such days. You can add any vegetable you want as long as it cooks fine in a rice cooker along with the rice.

 
One Year Back - Chocolate Chip Chocolate Bread
Two Years Back - Zucchini Bread
Ingredients: 
Rice - 1 cup uncooked (Sona masoori or basmati is preferred)
Oil - 2 TBSP
Cumin - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 stick of 2"
Cloves - 6 - 8
Green Chillies - 6 - 8 chopped fine
Cashews - 2 TBSP
Carrot - 6 - 8 medium peeled and chopped
Peas - 1 cup (frozen peas or pre cooked peas if using the dry ones) - optional
Salt - to taste
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Coconut - 1/2 cup grated
Cilantro - 2 TBSP chopped

Method:
Wash and rinse rice. Add drained rice and 2 cups of water to the pot of rice cooker. In a pan, heat oil. When hot, add cumin. When it splutters, add green chillies, cloves, cinnamon and cashews. When the cashews are toasted, add carrot pieces, green peas and mix well. Sprinkle salt and the spice powders. Mix well. After a minute or two, add coconut, cilantro and mix one more time. Add this entire mixture to the rice cooker in which water and rice are soaking. Mix and add enough salt for the final dish. Turn on the rice cooker. When it is done, turn it off and fluff the entire mixture. Add more cilantro if required. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Linking it to Srivalli's Blogging Marathon. 

Enjoy.

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Eggplant Coconut Rice

I don't know much about vegetable gardening or gardening in general. I have been growing vegetables for the past 3 years or so. There is one thing that I have been growing every year - Tomatoes. But apart from that, I try different things every year. This year was a trial of growing eggplants and Bell peppers. Needless to say, we are eating a lot of eggplant nowadays. Here is one rice using this veggie.

One Year Back - Easy Pineapple Coconut Cake
Two Years Back - Zucchini Bread
Ingredients:
Rice - 1 1/2 cups uncooked (I used sona masoori, you could use basmati too)
Oil - 2 TBSP
Red Onion - 2 large
Eggplant - Long thin ones 3 sliced (Or use one medium big eggplant)
Dry Coconut / Kobbari - 1/2 cup  (If you can't find it, use dessicated unsweetened coconut flakes instead)
Garlic - 2 pods
Green Chillies - 5 - 6
Jaggery or brown sugar or white sugar - 1 TBSP (don't skip this)
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp (See notes if using regular tamarind)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 2 broken
Turmeric - a generous pinch
Curry leaves - few
Chana dal / Bengal gram dal - 1 TBSP
Raw peanuts - 2 TBSP
Salt - to taste

Method:
Wash and rinse rice. Cook with enough water ( 1:2 ratio). Let cool and fluff with a fork to separate the grains. Slice one onion into chunks and the other one into thin slices. In a pan, heat 1 tsp of oil. When hot, add the onion chunks, garlic, green chillies and coconut. Sprinkle some salt and let it cook. When cooked, set aside. To the same pan, add the remaining oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add broken red chillies, curry leaves followed by bengal gram dal and peanuts. Let the peanuts get toasted. Add the sliced onions, turmeric, little bit of salt. When onions are half cooked, add the eggplant slices and mix well. When this is getting cooked, take the contents you have set aside into a blender and blend into a coarse paste without adding any water. When eggplant is cooked, add the ground paste, tamarind paste, jaggery or sugar and mix well. After two minutes, add the cooled rice and mix well. Check and adjust the salt if needed. Turn off the heat. Serve as one pot meal.


Notes:
If you do not have tamarind paste, you can add about a small lime sized tamarind when you grind the onion, coconut and garlic mixture.

Linking it to Srivalli's Blogging Marathon.
Enjoy.

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Lentil Pulav / Masoor Pulav

Lot of people can do a lot of things. Some are natural at swimming or arts or music. Me? I am a natural when it comes to food. Not just the eating part, but making part of it. Oh yes, I love food. If not for the consciousness of getting wide and wider, I could live to eat good food. My mother and grand mother used to say that there is something in a person's hand that whatever they cook, becomes great tasting. I don't think it has anything to do with the hand. It has everything to do with mind - understanding flavors and understanding the math of how much to use for what. Here is a simple rice and lentil dish that serves as a main dish. A one pot meal to be exact.

One Year Back - Oatmeal Bread
Two Years Back - Zucchini Bread
Ingredients:
Whole Masoor / Red or Green lentils - 1/2 cup
Basmati rice - 1 cup soaked in water for 30 minutes
Oil - 2 TBSP
Cumin - 1 tsp
Red onion - 3 medium or 2 large sliced thin
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 - 3/4 tsp
Amchoor powder / Dry Mango powder - 1/2 tsp (See Notes)
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Cilantro - 1/4 cup chopped

Method:
Wash and rinse masoor. Add enough water and start cooking it till cooked but not mushy. Turn off the heat and drain the excess water. Save it for using while cooking the rice.
In a pan, heat oil. When hot, add cumin followed by onion. Sprinkle some salt and let it wilt. When onions are almost cooked, add red chilli powder, amchoor powder, cumin powder. Mix all well and add drained rice, cooked lentil. Mix one more time and add enough water to the reserved water to make 2 cups. Pour it into the pot and bring to a boil. Add more salt if required. When there is a full boil and most of the water has evaporated, add cilantro and lower the flame and cover with a lid. Cook for 5 - 10 more minutes till rice is completely cooked. Turn off the heat and fluff the rice after 10 minutes. Serve with raita or plain yogurt.

Notes:
If you cannot get dry mango powder, when the rice is done, add the juice of a lime and mix well.

Linking it to Srivalli's Blogging Marathon.

Enjoy.

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Easy Fondant Roses

Most of the things that are very famous and talked about are controversial. It applies to Fondant cakes too. People either love fondant or hate it. I am not talking about people who eat the cake, but people who work on decorating the cakes. Some people love buttercream so much that they do not even want to think about fondant. Some people vouch for fondant so much that they refuse to work with buttercream. If you need piping skills for buttercream, you need modelling skills for fondant. Whether one likes fondant or not, nobody can disagree that they can make cakes beautiful and so much real for a lot of projects. One of the main part of fondant decoration is the flowers on wedding cakes. You cannot place plastic flowers (yes, you could, but they don't look great, plus there is no personal thing about it) and not all fresh flowers are edible plus you cannot get all kinds of flowers at all the time. So, fondant and gumpaste flowers have their own market.

This post is about not how to make the real traditional fondant rose. I made those when I took cake decorating class and I know how time consuming they are. You make the base, let it dry, add one row of petals, let them dry and add the next and next and let the whole flower dry. Forget about the drying time, making them itself is an elaborate process.

Here is what Duff Goldman taught how to make roses in a jiffy. Remember, they don't look anywhere closer to what the real rose looks like, but they work and have a contemporary look if I may say so. These are cute and you can either top the center of a large cake with a bunch of them or just top each cupcake with one and put a leaf or two in between.
Step 1: Roll the fondant on a surface dusted lightly with corn starch.

Step 2: Cut three circles using a cookie cutter. You could use any sized cutter you wish. Same sized three circles is what you need.

Step 3: Place them overlapping as shown.

Step 4: Brush the center with some water as shown to act like glue.

Step 5: Roll them tight like a cylinder.

This is how it looks..

Step 6: Cut in the middle of the cylinder to get two pieces. And spread them a little bit with your hand or the ball tool. The fondant I have used was so dry that it cracked a little. If you use half fondant and half gumpaste, you can make thinner petals and they won't crack.

Few pictures of the rose made with a bigger cutter..

I have tried to thin the edges a bit.

Here is two sizes..

I know they don't look anywhere closer to what the traditional fondant rose is, but when you are pressed for time, you could make these.

This is my third day's entry to Blogging Marathon organized by Srivalli.

Have fun.

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Royal Icing

When I took the cake decorating classes 4 years back, second course was all about royal icing flowers along with few other butter cream decorations. I was surprised when the instructor said these are made to dry prior to placing on the cake. Very much similar to fondant, but completely dried fondant flowers are not good for eating, whereas these royal icing flowers are more like candies. Just sugar and water and egg white to hold them together. There are egg free versions, but I have not used them and cannot vouch for their effectiveness. Making royal icing is very easy if you have a powerful mixer. I prefer to use them for drop flowers when I am short of time. You could make them weeks ahead and stick them on the cake for a quickly decorated cake. Example is the cake I made this year. They make great cupcake toppers too.

Source: Wilton
Ingredients: 
Confectioner's sugar - 1 lb
Meringue powder - 3 TBSP (Egg white powder, not the whole dried egg powder)
Warm water - 5 - 6 TBSP depending on the consistency needed

Method:
Make sure all the bowls, beaters are completely grease free. Combine the meringue powder and confectioner's sugar and slowly add water and beat till it makes stiff peaks. It takes about 10 minutes using a heavy duty mixer and up to 15 minutes if using a hand held mixer.

Uses:
Make flowers, other cake decorative toppers. Icing cookies. Use stiff icing to give the outline and thin down the royal icing to flowing consistency to fill it.

Method to make drop flowers:
Make the royal icing. Tint with whatever color you want. Fill the bags and use the swirl tip. You can use 21 which gives you small flowers or 3D or 2C or 1M to get big ones. On a cookie sheet or a hard surface, place a sheet of wax paper. Keep the tip of the icing bag on the top of the wax paper. Squeeze and twist your wrist to about 40 - 50 degrees rotation. You will get the swirly petal. Add the center with a dot using a contrasting colored icing. Let them dry 24 - 48 hours. Humidity can make it not dry fast. So, make sure you are not rushing. Peel off and store in an air tight container.

Use of royal icing is just not for the flowers. When I made this cake, the bridge was made using royal icing. I piped the lines and stuck the wax paper to a cup to get the curve. It dried like that.

Egg free Royal Icing recipe (From Vegalicious):

 (I have not used it but have read it works fine)

1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon juice
food coloring (optional)
2-3 tsp. soy milk

Beat all the ingredients except food coloring and use.

  This is my second day's entry to Blogging Marathon page of Srivalli.

Enjoy.

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Easy Cupcake decorating ideas

Today's post talks about easy cupcake decoration without using too many tools and without the need of high skills. Remember even for a small repair work, you still need at least a screw driver and sometimes a wrench. So, it does need couple of things but not a lot. Watch out for two more posts in a row about easy cake decoration tips.

What you will need..
Frosting of course. Refer to this post for various kinds of frostings.
Frosting consistency is medium same as used for borders and flower petals. Neither too thin, nor too thick.
Cupcakes - I had a bunch of kids to feed today, so I made them into mini cupcakes. Not ideal for showing decoration, but who needs bunch of kids with sugar rush around?
Piping bags - You can use any kind but I have done a light bag striping for one kind. You need parchment paper bag for that.
Tips - round tip, start tip, petal tip. You could just use a ziplock bag for round, and make zig zag out of the same for star, but you do need petal tip.
There are totally seven different kinds that I have done. I couldn't take better shots - had four kids staring at the table and waiting for me to say you can have the cupcake and fighting over who gets which one.

One:
This is a simple blob of icing piped as a big round and tapering towards the top like a hill. This is something anyone can do.

Two:
This is made with round tip but in a swirl fashion. You start at the outer edge of the cupcake and make a circle, but don't join and keep going as a spiral overlapping the outer circle. Finish at the center.

Three:
Same as two, but made with a start tip.

Four:
Instead of one big spiral, small spirals or rosettes as called in cake decorating lingo are piped to cover the entire cupcake. It is like writing '@' using a star tip and icing.

Five:
Zig zag lines are drawn on the top of the cupcake with star tip.

You can add sprinkles, colored sugar, mini chocolate chip to make it more colorful. All the above cupcakes are good for doing that. You could also top the cupcakes one through three with citrus zest, small sliced fruit or nuts, toasted coconut etc.

Six:
This is piped with petal tip. Start making the petals by turning your hand while squeezing the icing on the outer edge. Make a full circle. Start the inner circle and concentric circles fill the entire cupcake. Make one at the center.

Seven:
This is the cupcake that I have used bag striping technique. You paint one or two lines with gel color on the inner side of the bag and fill it with frosting. You get the tint only on the edge. I have used the same technique as the cupcake above - number six, but I have shaken my hand a little bit to get the zig zag effect of petals more.

Linking up to Blogging Marathon page of Srivalli.

Have fun and don't forget to visit tomorrow to read about Royal Icing flowers.

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Yeasted Jalapeno Cornbread (Vegan)

There should be at least 1000 corn bread recipe on the internet. But most of them are quick breads. Very few are Vegan and even fewer are made using yeast. Here is one of my addition to the numerous corn bread recipes.

One Year Back - Strawberry Cream Cheese Bread
Two Years Back - Mango Ice cream
Adapted from here.
Ingredients: 
Whole Wheat flour - 1 cup
Stone ground yellow cornmeal - 3/4 cup
Very hot water - 3/4 cup
Salt - 3/4 tsp
Active dry yeast -1  1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Jalapeno - 2 TBSP chopped (I used pickled ones. If using fresh, use just half)
Jalapeno slices - for topping (optional)
Oil - 3 TBSP divided use ( 1 1/2 TBSP in the dough, remaining to grease the pan and to top)

Method:
In a bowl, place cornmeal. Add the hot water to it. Let the mixture cool down to warm. Add the remaining ingredients except Jalapeno slices for topping and knead to make a smooth dough. No need to knead a lot. Just about 4 - 5 minutes is good enough. Dough will be a little bit sticky. Cover and let it rise / puff up for 45 minutes or an hour. It will not rise much, but will become puffy. Grease a 8" or 9" (I wanted to bake in an iron skillet and I didn't have a 9" one. I have used 10" round iron skillet. That is the reason for thin bread) round pan with oil. Punch down and Place the dough in the pan and press it to cover the entire pan. Place the jalapeno slices on the dough if desired and drizzle some oil on the top. Cover with an oiled plastic wrap and let it rise for about 45 minutes. Dough will not double. It will have raised a bit.Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake for 25 - 28 minutes or until the edges have started browning a bit. Don't over bake. It will become dry. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn on to the wire rack to cool. You can cool in the pan too. Slice and serve warm with a bowl of soup or chilli.

This is my entry for the Blogging Marathon started by Srivalli. Also sending this to Yeastspotting.

Enjoy.

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Herbed Spicy Garlic pull apart bread

I was thinking what to make for another bread post and the idea of using mint to make a bread came when I went to my backyard and saw my mint plant already spread to fill the entire planter. There were barely 4 sprigs last week and all the rain must have made them grow super fast. I plucked few mint sprigs and came inside. I have been wanting to make a herbed pull apart bread for a while now. I had seen the picture in a magazine which had Italian seasonings sprinkled between layers of dough and baked. Inspired by that, I started the process of my own spice mix. This bread is so awesome, I probably will bake it too many times and eat it and gain too many pounds. Try it and I promise you - you won't be disappointed.

One Year Back - Cake pans and their conversions
Two Years Back - Strawberry Mousse
Ingredients: (Makes one 9 X 5 loaf)
All purpose flour - 3 cups
Warm water - 1 cup
Salt - 1 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1 TBSP
Oil - 2 TBSP
Active dry yeast - 2 tsp
Green chillies - 2 chopped fine
Mint leaves - 6 chopped fine
Cilantro - 2 TBSP chopped
Garlic Powder - 3/4 tsp

To make a paste:
Oil - 2 TBSP
Salt - to taste (about 1/2 tsp)
Green chillies - 3 chopped
Mint leaves - 2 - 3 TBSP
Cilantro - 2 - 3 TBSP
Garlic - 1 clove

Method:
In a bowl, take warm water, sugar. Add yeast to it. Let it stand till it froths. Add the remaining ingredients to it and start making a dough. When all the flour has been absorbed, knead it for 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic. It should not be sticky or tacky. If it is, add 1 TBSP flour at a time and knead it. Place in an oiled bowl and turn it once to coat all the sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place. About 45 minutes to an hour or till double in bulk.
Meanwhile, line a 9 X 5 loaf pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Leave an overhang so that you can lift the loaf as soon as it is done. Coat the bottom and sides with oil or vegetable oil spray. Set aside. In a food chopper or blender (small jar) or mortar and pestle, take all the ingredients mentioned in 'To make a paste' and mince them so that it is a coarse paste with some oil. Adjust the salt if necessary and set aside.

When the dough has doubled, punch it down. On a lightly floured or greased surface, divide the dough into 12 or 14 small portions. Keep the loaf pan vertically so that the pan is sitting on the shorter edge. Take one dough ball and flatten it to about 1/2 " thick. It need not be a perfect rectangle. A rough oval shape will be fine. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. Place one dough ball in the pan, top it with little bit of the paste and spread it. Make sure you use the paste evenly to coat all the dough balls. Stack the flattened dough balls in the pan and when done, place the loaf pan correctly. If you have any more paste remaining, you can spread it on the top. You might have to maneuver the dough so that it is stacked properly. Don't worry if the dough is not full in the pan. It will get full after the final rise. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise till the dough is double or it touches the rim of the loaf pan. About 45 minutes to an hour.

Towards the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake for 25 minutes. Rotate the pan and reduce the temperature to 350 F. Bake for 5 - 8 more minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then holding  the over hang, remove it and place on the wire rack to cool completely. Pull the bread when completely cool if you can resist the smell that long. I pulled it when it was still warm. If you are one of those  who like spicy breads, I can tell you this is the best bread for you.

This is my entry for the Blogging Marathon started by Srivalli. Also sending this to Yeastspotting.

Enjoy.

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Apple Cranberry Flat Bread

You like cake. You are craving for cake. But your dresses are screaming you to stop thinking about cake. What do you do? If you can ignore the craving and forget all about it, kudos to you. I couldn't and cannot do it when it comes to food. So, I made a bread. I made it with just 3 TBSP of fat in it. Lot less sugar too. But did I feel like I was eating cake? Oh yes. Did I have to feel guilty after eating? Definitely not. This one was as spongy and soft as a cake. Its only draw back is lack of a great color. Who cares about the color anyway? If you are one of those who do, you can always brush the dough with milk before baking to get a better color.

One Year Back - Vegan Banana Coconut Bread
Two Years Back - Mango Bread, Bread Machine - Do I need it?
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 3 cups plus more for shaping
Warm water - 1 cup
Oil - 2 TBSP
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 4 TBSP or 1/4 cup
Active dry yeast - 2 tsp
Apple cored and chopped - 1 medium (I left the skin on. You could peel it if you like)
Sweetened dried cranberries - 1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP to top
Demerra or Raw Sugar - 2 TBSP (optional)

Method:
In a bowl, take warm water. Add 1 TBSP of sugar to it followed by yeast. When the yeast froths (about 5 - 10 minutes), add salt, oil, remaining sugar and start adding the flour. Because of the sugar, it will be slightly sticky dough. It is alright and don't be tempted to add more flour. Knead for 10 - 12 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl turning to coat. Cover and let rise till double. About 45 minutes to an hour.

Punch down the dough and place on a generously floured surface. Pat it roughly to a rectangle big enough to hold all the apple pieces. Start folding the dough so that all apple pieces distribute evenly through out the dough. Add the cranberries and work them in. Because of apples, it will get even more stickier. It is alright to work the flour that you have used on the board but make sure not to add more than 2 - 3 TBSP of flour. You want the dough to be super sticky. Divide the dough into two parts. Place in well greased 8 or 9" round cake pan or pie plate. Or you could pat it into 9 X 13 pan as one large flat bread. With oiled hands, pat the dough to whatever sized pan you are using. Top the reserved Sweetened cranberries on the top. Cover with an oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 30 - 45 minutes. It might not look like it has doubled, but it will have increased in size a bit.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Just before baking, top them with raw sugar. If you skip this, the bread might be a bit bland. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until an internal thermometer shows 190 - 200 F. Edges will have started browning but the top will not have a great color. Don't over bake it to get brown color. You want the bread to be really soft and spongy. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn it on to the wire rack to cool completely. Slice when slightly warm or completely cooled. Tastes great with a cup of coffee or tea.
This is my entry for the Blogging Marathon started by Srivalli. Also sending this to Yeastspotting.

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Coconut Muffins

Muffins are kind of cute to look at. Don't you think? And if you have kids, it will be a big hit since they go by the looks. They are portable to pack in lunch boxes too. With so many muffins that I have already baked, I thought of using up those ingredients which needed to be used up. An opened pack of sweetened coconut flakes.

One Year Back - Whole Wheat Jalapeno Focaccia
Two Years Back - Sourdough Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients: (Makes 10)
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Whole Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 2 tsp
Egg - 1 large
Milk - 1/2 cup
Honey - 1/2 cup
Canola oil - 1/4 cup
Sweetened Coconut flakes - 3/4 cup
Vanilla - 1 tsp

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil spray or line with baking liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking powder. Stir in the coconut flakes. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk, honey and oil. Stir in vanilla. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until combined. Divide among 10 muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn it on to the wire rack to cool completely.

This is my entry to Blogging Marathon's Day 2.

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Anise Braid / Anise Bread

I grew up eating quite a few delicacies from Iyengar Bakery in my teens. One of the favorites is the 'Om Biscuit' as it was called which are nothing but crusty bread sticks that are a little sweeter flavored with anise seeds. I still remember the taste of those bread sticks. I was thinking about that when I decided to make this bread. I used a regular brioche recipe to start with and since I didn't want to use butter, used oil instead. There are eggs in there which make it rich. You could replace it with yogurt without compromising the taste or texture. These are great as is, great toasted and even greater if you made pudding or french toast out of it.

One Year Back - Whole Wheat Jalapeno Focaccia
Two Years Back - Spicy Mint Sourdough Muffins (Egg less)
Ingredients: (Makes two braids or two 9 X 5 loaves)
Active dry yeast - 2 1/4 tsp
Warm water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 1/4 tsp
Eggs - 3 large (Room temperature)
Oil - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 3 1/2 cups - 4 cups
Anise seeds - 1 tsp (You could use more if you like the flavor up to 1 TBSP)

Egg Wash:
1 Egg yolk beaten with 1 TBSP milk

Topping:
Pearl Sugar - 2 TBSP (optional)

Method:
In a bowl, take warm water. Add one TBSP of sugar to it and add yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes or until frothy. In another bowl, whisk together remaining sugar, eggs, oil, salt. Slowly add the yeast mixture to it and start adding flour slowly. Add anise seeds along with the flour. When you have made a soft dough, start kneading on a lightly floured surface. Add more flour if needed to get a smooth, silky but not sticky dough. Knead for 10 - 12 minutes or until really elastic. Place it in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the bottom. Cover and let rise for an hour or until double in bulk.

Punch down and refrigerate for 3 hours at least or up to 24 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Punch down and divide the dough into two parts. If you are going to braid the dough like I did, divide each part into three. Or you could just shape it into a loaf. Grease two 9 X 5 pans. Place the braids or shaped loaves in the pan. Cover with an oiled plastic wrap and let it rise for an hour or until almost double. This one might not double easily, but will have significant rise in the oven. Towards the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350 F. Just before baking, brush with egg wash and sprinkle pearl sugar if using. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until brown on the top and bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the pan and let it cool completely on the wire rack.

Notes: 
I did not have any pearl sugar on hand. I used the small sugar balls we get in Indian grocery store and crushed them. You could use raw sugar instead.

This is my entry for the Blogging Marathon started by Srivalli. Also sending this to Yeastspotting.

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Spicy Whole Wheat Onion batter bread / Easy Khara Bread

I have many friends who love the spicy khara bread I make. But, they are scared of baking with yeast and the entire process. So, here is a batter bread I converted to make the khara bread that does not involve any kneading. Just mixing, letting it sit for a while, mixing one more time, scooping to the loaf pan and baking after it has raised. Simple, isn't it? I used whole wheat flour since most of my friends love only whole wheat bread.

From today, I will be posting bread recipes for one week as part of the Blogging Marathon. Yes, with more than 100 bread recipes on the blog, I had to chose the bread baking as a theme. That's what is called Passion for 'bread baking' (I am just guessing. What do I know?). If you are one of those who do not like yeast breads, don't lose heart. There will be muffins, there will be quick breads and there definitely will be another version of banana bread. For some reason, I cannot tire myself from baking banana bread.
One Year Back - Apricot Chutney
Two Years Back - Whole Wheat Savory Tomato Scallion Bread
Ingredients: (Makes 1 9X5 loaf)
Whole wheat flour - 3 cups
Active yeast - 2 1/2 tsp
Warm water - 1 1/2 cups
Oil - 1/2 cup (Yes, no typo here - See Notes)
Sugar - 2 TBSP
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp (divided use)
Onion - 1 medium chopped (about 1 cup chopped bits)
Green chillies - 12 or per taste finely chopped
Cilantro - 1/3 cup chopped

Method:
In a bowl, whisk together oil, warm water, 1 tsp of salt, sugar, yeast. Add flour and beat with an electric mixer until a soft dough is formed. This is too sticky to knead, but too thick to pour. You can scoop this by a spatula or hand. Cover and let it rest for an hour or two or until puffy. When the batter becomes puffy, Stir it down and add chopped onions, green chillies, cilantro and remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Stir with a strong spoon so that it is incorporated through out the batter. Grease a 9 X 5 pan with oil. It is better to line the bottom with parchment paper since this bread sticks. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Cover with an oiled plastic wrap and let it double in bulk. Approximately an hour or so. Preheat the oven to 375 F towards the end of rise time. When the batter has reached the rim of the pan, place it in the preheated oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until lightly browned on the top and sounds hollow when the bottom is tapped. If it is browning too fast, tent with an aluminum foil and continue to bake. Turn it on to the wire rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing.

Notes:
Next time, I would probably replace 1/2 the oil with sour cream or yogurt. 

This is my entry for the Blogging Marathon started by Srivalli. Also sending this to Yeastspotting.

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Asian style Couscous

We have a big problem at my house. Someone doesn't like the names like Quinoa, Couscous, brown rice, barley or even broken wheat. Whole wheat bread is not welcomed as easily as part whole wheat. But, I am stubborn. I keep making whatever I have found out to be healthy anyway.
I bought a big bag of brown rice and sneaked in by using it to make dosa. Barley is converted into barley dosa or barley adai. But Quinoa is a different story. I can't hide it very easily due to its nutty taste. Couscous is not only healthy but is very quick to make. You can get it ready to use in 10 minutes if you have hot water on hand. This dish is inspired by one of Rachel Ray's shows. She was making a take out style meal with some rice pasta, a stir fry with some seafood.

One Year Back - Guacamole, Making of a mermaid Cake
Ingredients:
Couscous - 1 cup
Hot water to cook couscous - 1 cup
Red Onions - 2 small or 1 large sliced into thin slices
Scallions - 5 both white and green parts chopped (optional)
Bell peppers / Capsicum - 2 small seeded and cut into thin slices (I used green ones but you can use any color)
Sliced water chestnuts -1 small can drained (optional)
Canola oil - 2 TBSP
Soy sauce - 2 TBSP or to taste
Salt - to taste
Rice vinegar - 1 TBSP
To make a paste:
Garlic - 3 cloves
Cilantro - 1 cup loosely packed
Ginger - 1 " piece chopped into chunks
Toasted sesame seeds - 2 TBSP
Juice from 1 1/2 limes - about 4 - 5 TBSP
Thai chillies - 5 (remember I am Indian - go easy on this or use more if you like spicy food)

Method:
In a blender jar, take all the ingredients mentioned in 'To make a paste' above and grind it. Don't add any water and if some of the sesame seeds remain whole, it is alright. If you don't have toasted sesame seeds, toast them on a dry skillet till golden brown and use it. Take couscous in a bowl. Pour hot water on it and cover with a lid. It will be ready in 10 minutes.
In a pan, take oil. When hot, add sliced onions. Sprinkle some salt and let it cook. When they are half cooked, add green peppers. Stir. When these are half done, add the water chestnuts and chopped scallions. Let them all soften a bit. They don't have to cook completely since they have to be crispy. Fluff the couscous with a fork. Add the paste, soy sauce and the couscous to the pot of veggies. Mix and check for salt adjusting if necessary.  Let it be on low flame for 2 -3 minutes. Add the rice vinegar finally and mix them all up. Turn off the heat and serve warm. This makes a healthy, filling dish.

Today is the last day of one week blogging marathon. Check out what all these ladies are up to today..
Diabetes Diet/Management: Srivalli, Champa, Harini, PJ
Kid Friendly Recipes: Kalyani, Shylaja, Veena
Seven Days of Soup:Usha, Sowmya
30 Minutes Meals: Priya Suresh 
Seven days of Cakes:  Anusha

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Good, Bad, Ugly fats..

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional or a dietitian or a nutritionist. All the contents in this post are my understanding from reading books and online material. There could be some points that were suggested to me by medical professionals. Do not use this as medical advice.  

A misconception: A fat person eats too much of fat. It is wrong. One can get fat by eating carbs, not just the fat. We need fat on a daily basis. I am talking about dietary fat not the folds of fat we get around our waist and thighs, hips and of course on our arms.

Why do we need dietary fat?
It is because they are the ones who provide us with essential fatty acids (EFA) which, our bodies are incapable of producing by themselves. Along with supplying essential fatty acids, fat also supplies vitamins like A, D, E and K which are also known as fat soluble vitamins.
"Fat is also necessary for maintaining healthy skin, and it plays a central role in promoting proper eyesight and brain development in babies and children," Karmally tells WebMD. (From WebMD)

If fat is good for us, why do we say it is bad for us?
That is because it is the same fat which can clog arteries, raise cholesterol levels, triglycerides and cause cardiac problems. It is suggested that our daily fat calories should be between 20% and 35 % of the total calories intake.

"Diets rich in saturated fat and trans fat (both "bad" fats) raise blood cholesterol concentrations, contributing to clogged arteries that block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart and brain". - WebMD

Fat can be classified broadly into Unsaturated fats or good fats, Saturated fats or Bad fats and Transfats or ugly fats.

Unsaturated Fats (Good fats):
Further Unsaturated fats are classified into monosaturated fats and polysaturated fats.

Monosaturated fats:
These aid in lowering the total cholesterol, lowering the bad LDL cholesterol and increasing the good HDL cholesterol. Food sources high in monounsaturated fats are olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil, nuts like peanuts, almonds, pistachios, flax seeds, avocado.

Polyunsaturated fats:
Seafoods like salmon and fish oil are the richest sources of this type of fat. These are responsible for lowering the cholesterol too. These are the source of omega fatty acids which are so good for the heart. Vegetarian source of these are corn, sunflower, safflower oil and soy.

Saturated fats (Bad fats):
These fats increase the cholesterol and LDL (bad) part of it too. These are richly found in animal sources like eggs, meat, dairy and seafood. There are vegetarian sources which have this too - coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil. When taken in excess, these cause heart problems and stroke.

Trans fats (Ugly fats):
There are traces of this ugly fat in highly fatty meats and full fat dairy. But, this is nothing when compared to the transfat present in the 'hydrogenated' fats present in the packaged goods. Be very careful when the package says zero transfat and the ingredients have hydrogenated vegetable oil present in the list. In U.S, it is allowed to mention as 0 % transfat even when there is about 1% or less of it. If you eat couple of servings of this kind, it exceeds the limit of 2% transfat which is not really good at all. Vegetable shortening, stick margarine are some of the major ingredients which constitute towards transfat and are commonly present in packaged goods.

So, how much should I consume from each of these?
(From WebMD)
Based on how much calories intake category you fall under - 
1,800 Calories a Day

• 40 to 70 grams of total fat
• 14 grams or less of saturated fat
• 2 grams or less of trans fat  

2,200 Calories a Day

• 49 to 86 grams of total fat
• 17 grams or less of saturated fat
• 3 grams or less of trans fat

2,500 Calories a Day

• 56 to 97 grams of total fat
• 20 grams or less of saturated fat
• 3 grams or less of trans fat.

Best way is to hit a balance of everything. That is the key to healthy living.

Check out what all these ladies are up to today..

Diabetes Diet/Management: Srivalli, Champa, Harini, PJ
Kid Friendly Recipes: Kalyani, Shylaja, Veena
Seven Days of Soup:Usha, Sowmya
30 Minutes Meals: Priya Suresh 
Seven days of Cakes:  Anusha

Enjoy. 
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No Sugar added Applesauce Muffins

Yes, you read that right. It is no sugar added applesauce muffins. But, is it free of calories? Definitely not. Sometimes sugar free stuff can have more calories than the one with sugar. You have to be very careful about those. I am not a person who likes artificial sweeteners. Low sugar is fine with me and so is no sugar but not these artificial sweeteners. It is just my opinion and yours might differ from it.

Long time back, I had borrowed a book from the library which was about sugar free baking. I couldn't get that book again, but remembered that many recipes used replacing sugar with frozen juice concentrates. So, I took the recipe of a banana bread which had eggs, all purpose flour, nuts and sugar and converted that into this whole wheat eggless, no sugar added applesauce muffins. You could use mashed banana in the place of applesauce to get the banana muffins. There was no rolled oats in that recipe. I used 1/2 cup in the place of 1 cup of nuts to reduce the calories at the same time giving some texture. Pictures do not do justice to this since I had to shoot in cloudy weather.

One Year Back - Sourdough Banana Loaf with almond butter
Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Rolled oats - 1/2 cup
Baking Powder - 2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 tsp
Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Applesauce - 1 cup
Canola Oil - 1/3 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup (I used 2%)
Milled flax seeds - 2 TBSP
Warm water - 3 TBSP
Frozen applejuice concentrate - thawed 3/4 cup

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12 regular sized muffin cups with paper or grease with vegetable oil spray. In a bowl, mix together the applesauce, milk, oil, frozen juice concentrate. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, spices, salt. In another bowl, whisk together milled flax seeds with warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk this into the wet mixture. Slowly add the dry ingredients to wet and stir. Do not over mix. Divide the batter among 12 muffin cups and bake for 28 - 30 minutes. Since there is quite a bit of liquid in this recipe, it takes time to bake up. Check with the toothpick at 25 minutes and then bake for more time if needed. Cool on the wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn it on to the wire rack to cool completely. These are extra moist muffins which were quite sweet.

Here is its calories info..

Check out what all these ladies are up to today..
Diabetes Diet/Management: Srivalli, Champa, Harini, PJ
Kid Friendly Recipes: Kalyani, Shylaja, Veena
Seven Days of Soup:Usha, Sowmya
30 Minutes Meals: Priya Suresh 
Seven days of Cakes:  Anusha

Enjoy. 
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