White bread

Yipee this is my first bread !!! yes an actual bread that you make sandwich from .I got the recipe from the this website and here is the modified version. The bread turned out pretty decent for a first time albeit a little bland but who cares the doors of bread baking are open!!!

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups water (105-115 F)
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 7 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1/4-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Directions

1.Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl and mix with yeast and sugar til foamy.
2.Let sit for 5 minutes until creamy.
3.Put the yeast mixture, rest of the water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour into the mixer with the dough hook.
4.Mix slowly until blended then add the rest of the flour.
5. Add salt and mix at medium speed for 10 minutes (or do half in mixer and half kneading) til dough is smooth and elastic. ( you can do all this by hand too
6. Back in mixer add butter 1 tbsp at a time (dough may come apart, but mixing will pull it back together).
8Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl.
7.Turn dough so it is completely coated in the fat, then cover in plastic for 45 minutes to an hour (I did an hour and half), til it has doubled in size at room temperature.
8. Roll out into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle.
9.With the short end facing you, fold the dough into thirds like a sheet of paper to go into an envelope, creating a roll.Place on a aluminum foil sheet.
10.Cover the loaves with buttered plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place (80°F) for 45 minutes, until they double in size.
11.Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the center of the oven.
12.Bake for 35-45 minutes til they are honey brown.
13.Immediately turn out of pans onto a rack to cool.

Aloo sabzi with kalonji

INGREDIENTS :
Potatoes - 500 gm.
Nigella seeds - a pinch.
Green chilies - 6 gm.
Sugar - 4 gm.
Poppy seeds - 20 gm.
(heaped)
Oil - 30 ml.
Ghee - 25 gm.
Red chili powder - 5 gm.
Salt to taste.
METHOD :
Heat oil and add nigella seeds. Add diced potatoes and fry lightly for 10 mins. Grind poppy seeds with a little water and add to the potatoes. Cover with lid, stirring occasionally and adding 2 tbspn. of water. When water dries and potatoes are done, add green chilies, sugar, salt and red chilly powder. Top with ghee and allow to cook for one minute. Serve hot with rice.

Happy Earth Day

Yesterday was world earth day. Over the past years 'saving our planet' and 'going green' has gained prominence but beyond the big words and fancy jargon is a simple concept of using your share of the earth. This link contains the bigger picture the ugly turn of events perpetuated by us, the dwellers of planet earth.

But question is how can we help, what can we do and how will it help ? Most people associate being environmentally friendly with fancy organic products at exclusive markets or high priced green products, but the problem can be tackled at an even more basic level than that. Take a look at this you tube video which simply demonstrates little changes we can make and also see what Oprah has to say on this.

Here are a few on my suggestions for being kind to the environment.

1) Use a tap fitted water filter, its so much better and cheaper than buying water jars at the grocery store. Trust me its really worth it, the cost and convenience aside the water is safe pure and available to you as desired.

2) Recycle plastic,metal,paper,fiber,cloth and anything reusable. Recycle jam and sauce jars to store spices, grocery bags to throw out trash, old worn out fabrics to wipe surfaces, aluminum foil can be used more than once, the list is endless.

3) Plan your grocery shopping is such a way that you don't end up wasting food. Have a good idea about your consumption to buy and cook only as much as you consume.

4) Do away with the extras while eating out, share meals to avoid wastage, do away with accompaniments that you never eat ( like sticky rice in a Chinese restaurant). Use your disposable crockery with discretion ,you don't need 5 sets of plastic spoons for two people and why bother take those chopsticks when you are never going ot use them.

5) While doing laundry try to do a full load and try to be judicious with what goes for laundry (that scarf you wore for 2 hours need not be washed).

These are just a few of the little changes in our lifestyles that can go a long way in creating a better planet for tomorrow.We have been using up more than our share of resources so its time now to give back to the environment.

Chocolate cake for someone special

It was my darling husband's birthday three weeks back and I decided to bake him his favorite - chocolate cake. I went to the local grocery store and picked up all that I needed only to forget the main ingredient chocolate powder ! So there I was with roughly two hours to bake a chocolate cake with no chocolate. I turned to my food guide the food network website and found this cake recipe which used hersheys' syrup instead of powder. And since it was a Paula Deen recipe I took the liberty of using only half the original quantity of syrup. The cake turned out to be yummy, nice and moist but firm and the chocolate content was just right. I used store bought frosting to give it the birthday look.

Cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounce hershey's chocolate syrup (the original recipe asked for 16 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

Baking the cake
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in another bowl. Add to creamed mixture, continuing to beat. Add vanilla and chocolate syrup to batter and mix well. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Just before cake is done, prepare frosting.

Fig and date halwa

This was a very middle eastern inspired halwa. It turned out to be super sweet and uber yummy like most middle eastern desserts. Next time I'm going to try reducing the amount of sugar because the figs as well as the dates are both laden with sweetness.


5 big dried figs (chopped)
8 medium dates (pitted and chopped)
1/2 a stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried shredded coconut
7-10 Elaichi(cardamom)




1) Add the frozen butter stick in a non stick pan to melt slowly on medium
2) Meanwhile make a coarse wet paste of the dates , figs and half the coconut.
3) Add Sugar to the butter, take care not to burn it, cook for 3-4 mins
4) Add the paste and elaichi powder
5) Just when the butter gets incorporated in the halwa add the rest of the coconut
6) Serve warm or cold.


So this was my a fabulous meal> I hope to create something similar soon.

Feast of love V - Vinegar and tamarind sauce

This was a watery sauce that I served with the fish. It was extremely tangy and went well with the fish which although spiced were mild. Even with plain rice the sauce tasted amazing. Although I prepared it impromptu with any recipe in mind I'll just jot down the ingredients with out the proportions .

White vinegar
Lime juice
Tamarind extract ( Its dark paste available at most desi or oriental stores)
Salt
Sugar
Grape juice ( I used welch brand )
Ginger (1 inch piece cut into slivers)
Green chillies (cut into a thin pieces)
Red chilly powder

Mix the ingredients in a proportion that suites your tastes. Chill and serve.

Feast of love part IV - Tandoori fish

The main dish of my meal was a simple tandoori flavored fish. I marinated the fish for about 4-5 hours which resulted is mild fishy odor with a great tandoori smokiness. Although I'm not a big boxed masala person but in certain preparations they really enhance the flavor, tandoori dishes for instance.



Ingredients

6 big pieces of trout
3 tablespoon yogurt
1 Tbls spoon salt (the marinade has to be salty)
2 Tbl spoon Shaan tandoori masala (love this brand it has food color already added)
1 tblspoon dhanya zeera powder
1 tblspoon green chilli paste
1/2 tbls spoon redchilli powder
oil



1)Take all the dry ingredients and green chilli paste and mix it with enough yogurt to form a semi dry paste its shouldn't be too runny just wet enough to coat the fish.

2)Marinate the fish in a closed container in the refrigerate for as long as 6-8 hours.

3)Pre heat your oven to 350'

4)Take a flat baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and grease it with oil

5)Place the fish pieces on the sheet and dribble oil over it.

6)Bake it for 30 - 45 mins just before serving.

My next post will be about the tangy sauce to go with it.

Feast of Love Part III - Vegetables in garlic butter

delectable


Second on my feast of love series is a very simple yet very delectable dish that can be eaten as a side too. It's got elements from Italian cooking as well as southern cooking.Its a blend of vegetables lightly baked in garlic butter seasoned with just salt, parsley and pepper.

Ingredients
Mushrooms chopped 2 cups (I used baby portabello , you can use regular shitake or a mixture )
Potato - baby, fingerling, yukon 1 cup chopped
Broccoli cut - 1 cup
cauliflower florets - 1 cup
parsley chopped - 1/4 cup
garlic - sliced - 2 table spoons
garlic powder 1 tsp (If you dont have this add extra garlic slices)
Butter - 3 table spoons
Salt - to taste
black pepper - freshly ground - to taste

Take all the vegetables, wash them add a little water and microwave them till for just a few minutes , the crunchiness should be intact.

Meanwhile set the oven to 350' , place a glass baking dish big enough for the vegetables add butter , parsley and garlic slices to it and place in the oven as it preheats.

Add the steamed vegetables in the melted butter and cook for 10 mins.

Toss the vegetables and add salt, garlic powder and fresh pepper.

Let it cook further for 15 mins, add more butter if required.

The aroma will lets you know that the dish is done !!!

Vegetables......................



.................all steamed up

Feast of love Part II - Tomato juice ceviche

I've had ceviche a few times being an essential component of Caribbean and Mexican food. Ceviche is essentially seafood marinated in sour juices served in single servings. The shrimp oyster or fish in most cases is raw but I decided to roast my shrimp before marinating. So here goes my tomato juice ceviche.

Ingredients - for two servings
2 Tbl spns - small shrimp or if you have large shrimp chopp them up
2 tbl spns - tomato juice from a can of diced tomatoes
2 tspoons - diced tomato piece
2 tsp - white vinegar
2 tsp - lime/lemon juice
pepper to taste
salt to taste




Preparation
Roast the shrimps on a hot very non stick pan in order to minimize the smell.
mix all the ingredients in a small sealable box
Add extra salt and pepper if u want it stronger
Refrigerate for 3-12 hours
serve in small bowls or a china soup spoon

You should have a taste for raw seafood to enjoy this,you can also add more vegetable like cucumbers to dilute the fishy taste.

Feast of love Part I

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I decided to take our weeknight dinners to a different level this week. By preparing a gourmet four course meal of fusion dishes. I had been watching a lot of food network and browsing loads of food blogs lately so I decided to come up with a meal with each course inspired by a different cuisine. The end result was fabulous and I felt really proud of myself.
The appetizer a tomato ceviche chilled till the last moment which was mexican inspired of course, followed by a side of herb and butter vegetables which was my southern influence, the main course was tandoori fish which is indian but served with an interesting thai inspired chutney along with light cinnamon and cardamom pulao. The dessert was an middle eastern food inspired date and fig halwa.
Watch this space in the coming posts for these recipes !