Tomato Basil Flatbread

Heres a good one... I totally loved it for a change...

Easy...Less time taking...tasty

For the dough- All you need is:

3 cups- wheat flour

2 tsp- instant dry yeast

1 tsp- sugar

Salt to Taste

Water to knead

4-5 tsp olive oil

Topping:

2-3 medium sized tomatoes- thinly sliced

Salt to sprinkle 

Black pepper to sprinkle

Dried Basil to sprinkle

• Take half cup of luke warm water (105-115 degrees Celsius), put 1 tsp of sugar and sprinkle 2 tsp of yeast. Let the yeast rise for 10 mins.
• In a mixing bowl take flour, add salt, 2 tsp of olive oil.. mix well
• Add the yeast and more water as required to knead into a soft dough.
• Put 3 tsp of oil and smooth out the dough, cover the dish with a kitchen towel and let it rest for an hour.
• The dough will rise almost double, punch out the extra air.
• Section the dough into small balls and roll out into a circle.
• Heat pan, put half tsp oil, on low flame- place the disc, on top put 3-4 thinly sliced tomatoes, sprinkle some salt, black pepper and dried basil.
• Add another tsp oil on top, flip and sear it on high flame for 2 mins...
• All done, flip on to a plate, you can cut with a pizza cutter or have it like that.

I liked this bread as it doesn't take that long, its nice and soft, fluffy and tangy.

Way healthier than store bought bread and good for a change... you can bite on to it just like that and don't need any accompaniments.

Foodie Out!!

Lasagna

Hey everyone, this is my version of Lasagna.... turned out to be totally awesome... a hearty meal indeed.

I am yet to try different fillings and variations for this recipe,  there's a three tier filling- 

• Tangy tomato paste
• Cheesy filling
• Stir fried vegetables

I am going to divide the recipe as per layers-

TANGY TOMATO PASTE

4-5 tomatoes

1 green chilli

1 inch ginger

2tsp sugar

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

1 tsp oil/butter

• Grind the tomatoes, chilli and ginger into a paste
• Heat a skillet and add butter and sugar, as soon as the sugar starts to caramelize a bit add the tomato paste to it.
• Stir well and add salt, black pepper, oregano, chilli powder and flakes.
• Mix well on high flame and cover the skillet. 
• Keep stirring occasionally until the excess water has evaporated and turn off the heat, keep this aside.

CHEESY FILLING

1 and 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (paneer)

1/2 cup processed cheddar cheese

2 tsp fresh cream

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

• Take a mixing bowl, put all the ingredients and mix well, keep it aside for later.
• Don't mash the ricotta cheese too much...let there be lumps in the mix.

STIR FRIED VEGETABLES

4 medium sized carrots

3 green bell peppers

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

Salt to taste

• Heat olive oil in a deep bottomed pan, add carrots, green pepper, salt and pepper. 
• Stir and cook the vegetables on high flame, once nicely seared keep it aside.

LAYERING THE LASAGNA

• Boil water with salt and oil, add the lasagna sheets and cook until done.
• Take a glass baking dish, dash a little olive oil and grease the dish.
• Put one layer of boiled sheets at the bottom and smear the tomato paste generously.
• Put another layer of lasagna sheets and layer this with the cheese filling evenly.
• Put another layer and place the vegetables on top.
• Put the final layer on top, you can either sprinkle cheese on top, or fresh cream. Since I felt there was already too much cheese for my liking, I smeared fresh cream on top and final sheet.
• Cook for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees Celsius.

All done... hope you like my version!

Foodie Out!!

Baguettes

I was itching to try making bread at home... didn't turn out that bad at all.... At the end of the day m kinda proud! :D

It is a long process and needs some patience- recipe is fairly simple.
I'll say m not perfect at the moment and this was just my first attempt... hopefully I will master it soon!
All my learning has been through the web- thank you to the people who took out time to make a video- my Google's favorite keywords are always- "how to make ______ @ home"

So after a lot of nervousness and killing my yeast twice :'( I finally got my way round to making bread!

Here's what you need:

1 cup- luke warm water
1 tsp- yeast
1 tsp- sugar
1 tsp- salt
1 tbsp- oil
approx 3 cups of wheat flour (amount of flour depends on the temperature of surroundings- one needs to keep adding till the right consistency is reached)

For Egg Wash replacer:

1 tsp- sugar
1 tsp- milk
1 tsp- oil
Beat well to form a sticky liquid

•  In a deep bottomed mixing bowl put 1 cup luke warm water and mix sugar. Sprinkle 1 tsp of yeast- DO NOT MIX, cover the container with a dish towel. *** Make sure the water is neither too hot- it will kill the yeast or too cold- it will deactivate it. Yeast rises best at 70-80 degrees Celsius.
• Set it aside for 5-7 mins. You will notice bubbles in the mixture, to this add half cup flour and whisk well.
• Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp oil and another half cup flour and mix well.
• Keep adding half cups of flour until the dough is not sticky and resembles a roti dough. Work the dough until the surface is even.
• Take a greased bowl and put the dough making sure the excess oil is evenly spread on dough. Cover the container with a dish towel and let it rest for 40 minutes.
• After this the dough should have risen, punch the dough a couple of times and cover it again with a dish towel and let it rest for 40 minutes.
• Once done, work the batter for a few seconds to take out the excess air, section it to three pieces.
• Roll and elongate each piece, make sure the top is stretched smooth and excess is scrunched at the bottom.
• Line the baking tray with butter paper and place each baguette. Give some space for it to rise.
• With a knife, trace stripes on top.
• Using a greasing brush or fingers lavishly bathe the baguettes with egg wash replacer- this will help give a beautiful golden colour as sugar caramelizes.
• Pre-heat oven at 190 degrees Celsius, bake the bread for 40 minutes on the middle shelf.
• Let the bread cool and rest, put in a plastic wrap in the fridge for later use.

So I hope my version turns out well for other too.

I will post more once I get around and master the recipe!

...till the... Foodie Out!

For those who hate to spend time in the Kitchen 102- Pasta Tomatina with Fresh Basil

In a hurry to leave for office.... tired of making the same poha, upma and parathas for breakfast??
Here's a simple recipe to the rescue and hardly takes any time.

All you need is:

1 cup- macaroni
water for boiling
1 tsp salt for cooking macaroni
***********************
2 tbsp- cooking oil
4-5 chopped tomatoes
1 tsp- red chilli powder
1 tsp- sugar
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp- black pepper
2 cloves, 1 black cardamom, 1cm star anise- finely ground
1 tbsp- fresh cream
2 cubes of cheese
5-6 leaves- fresh basil

• In a low bottom cooking pot boil water, add salt and cook the macaroni until done.  Drain excess water and keep aside.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a low bottomed pan, add the chopped tomatoes and sauté for a minute. Add salt to taste, 1 tsp of sugar, red chilli powder, black pepper and finely ground spices.
• Cook until the consistency is thick, add the boiled macaroni, fresh cream and grated cheese.
• All done, add fresh basil in the end and mix well.

Ready to go... can serve hot or can have it later when cold!

Fresh and Simple!

Foodie Out!

D.I.Y. .... Murukku (Chakli) @ home

Its monsoon and probably you are craving for a "pakora" everytime there's a splash.... My waistline's true enemy.... so lets stick to some basic deep fried stuff, which you don't gobble a plate at time ... Murukku is the best evening snack ...

As suggested by some of my friends, goes well with piping hot cha or tangy mango chutney.... I like to have it straight from the jar on the go! :P

Fairly simple and m sure many mommies still make them at home.

Here's what you need:

2 cups- Rice Flour

1/2 cup- Urad Flour

1/2 cup- Besan

1/2 cup- softened Butter

1 tsp- cumin seeds

1 tsp- red chilli powder

1 fist full- sesame seeds

salt to taste

water to knead

oil for frying

• First, mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl- rice flour, urad, besan, cumin seeds, red chilli powder, sesame seeds and salt.
• Add the melted butter and mix well till it looks like sand and then add normal water to knead into a soft dough, make sure the dough isn't too runny or else you can't get the right shape.
• Heat oil for frying in a low bottomed pan.

• Take a good amount of dough and put it in the chakli press/maker like the one in picture above and use the star shaped disk for murukku design.
• Map out spirals on a greased plate first, once done, with the help of a spatula pick the spirals and deep fry.
• Dry out on a kitchen napkin, cool and store in a dry jar.

Enjoy the crunchy chaklis/murukku at home! :)

Foodie Out!!

"Cake... Oh so Christmasy!!"

Just the right recipe to lift your holiday spirits... a recipe that will probably remind you of an evening in winters sipping hot cup of tea, snuggling in your quilt and enjoying the lazy winter holiday season.

All you need is:

250 grams- Plain all purpose flour
3-4 drops vanila essence
1 level tsp- baking powder
1 level tsp- soda bicarbonate
1 cup- oil
1and half  cup- powdered sugar
1and half cup- milk
1and half cup- pepsi/coca cola
75 grams- tutty fruity
50 grams walnut
1 inch- cinnamon stick- grounded
4-5- cardamom- grounded

Procedure:

• First on a sheet of paper through a sieve mix the flour, baking powder and soda bicarbonate.
• Run this mixture through the sieve at least 4 times so that all the dry ingredients are mixed properly
• In a deep dish or a mixing bowl pour oil, sugar and mix well. Add cinnamom and cardamom dust, vanilla essence and walnut and mix well.
• Add the sieved mixture to this bowl 1 cup at a time. Do not add the entire mixture at once, this will result in lumps... add 1 cup, if the mixture starts to dry out then add a bit of milk and pepsi and mix well.
• Repeat this process until the entire dry mix has been incorporated into the batter.... they key is to mix the batter well in good circular motion for atleast 5-7 mins to get that spongy cake...
• Pre heat over at 170 degrees, pour out the batter on the cake tin which has been well oiled and dusted in flour. Once the batter is poured out on the dish sprinkle tutty fruity on top. This way it won't get stuck to the bottom of the cake.
• Bake the dish for 40 minutes... ready to go.

Hope you enjoy eating this one as I enjoyed cooking it...

Foodie out!

Eggless Chocolate Sponge Cake

The ultimate and the most cooked sweet dish in most homes is the Chocolate cake.... I know mom's are ultimate Divas when it comes to cooking them but however it is somewhat difficult to find a decent recipe for an eggless one.

Since most of bakery items involve eggs which helps bind the elements that go into it and ofcourse is a good rising agent... I would like to thank my mom for managing to find this recipe from some neighbourhood aunty long time back.... I like the eggless versions of cakes... it has a cleaner taste... at times if not cooked properly the cake gives out a very eggy essence which I am not really a big fan of.

So I know probably many of you wouldn't really want to go through a recipe of a cake... but for those who are looking for an eggless options... here the recipe to the rescue...

All you need is:

250 grams- Plain all purpose flour
1/2 cup- cocoa powder
1 level tsp- baking powder
1 level tsp- soda bicarbonate
1 cup- oil
1and half  cup- powdered sugar
1and half cup- milk
1and half cup- pepsi/coca cola
2 tsp- coffee

Procedure:

• First on a sheet of paper through a sieve mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda bicarbonate.
• Run this mixture through the sieve at least 4 times so that all the dry ingredients are mixed properly
• In a deep dish or a mixing bowl pour oil, sugar and coffee and mix well.
• Add the sieved mixture to this bowl 1 cup at a time. Do not add the entire mixture at once, this will result in lumps... add 1 cup, if the mixture starts to dry out then add a bit of milk and pepsi and mix well.
• Repeat this process until the entire dry mix has been incorporated into the batter.... they key is to mix the batter well in good circular motion for atleast 5-7 mins to get that spongy cake...
• Pre heat over at 170 degrees, pour out the batter on the cake tin which has been well oiled and dusted in flour.
• Bake the dish for 40 minutes... ready to go.

Serve ,.... any which way you like.... You can make ganache and apply it as an icing... serve hot with icecream... or just gobble it up....

Foodie out as Somya stirs :)