Saturday 28 February 2015

Yum

Quick Fix Cibatta Pizza















Ingredients:

Cibatta Slices                            - 4
Mix Vegetables                         - 1 cup (Peas, Carrot, Spring Onion,Corn Kernels,Mushroom,                                                                               Cabbage, Broccoli)
Pineapple                                   - cubes 10-12
Black Olives                              - 4 tblspoon
Italian Seasoning                       - 2 tblspoon
Salt                                             - to taste
Pizza Sauce                                - 4 tblspoon (1 each slice)
Grated Cheese                            - Mozzarella and Cheddar mix



Method:























Pre-heat the oven on 200c .
Place the Cibatta Slices on a baking tray.
Spread the pizza sauce on each slice.








Sprinkle some salt and Italian seasoning on to the slices.









Now spread the mix vegetables on each slice.









Now place some pineapple cubes and black olives on each slice of Cibatta.









Now sprinkle generous amount of grated cheese on each slice.









Bake the Cibatta pizza slices for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese melts and get golden brown.









Cibbata Pizza Slices are ready to serve with hot chocolate and your choice of dips.


Friday 27 February 2015

Yum

Whole Wheat Stuffed Buns



























Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Bead Dough                                      - 4 balls
Leftover Veggie Noodles                                        - 1 cup








Bread dough can be white as well. You can follow the links for recipe of Bun dough:
Stuffed Masala Buns
Pizza Buns

Stuffing can be anything of your choice

Method:

Roll out each ball of dough of the size of coaster.
Put the stuffing of your choice in the center of rolled out dough ball.
Now pinch all the corners of the dough and seal it properly.
Now place them on a baking tray pinched sides down.







Let them rest and rise for 30 minutes before baking.
After 30 minutes give them a butter wash and bake them for 25-30 minutes on 180c.
Stuffed Whole Wheat Buns are ready to serve with tea or coffee.


Wednesday 25 February 2015

Yum

Tooti-Frooti Cupcakes (Eggless)
























Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour/ Plain Flour                            - 1-1/2 cups  (minus 2 tblspoon)
Corn Flour                                                           - 2 tblspoon
Baking powder                                                    - 1 tspoon
Baking Soda                                                        - 1/2 tspoon
Egg replace powder                                             - 1 tblspoon (optional)
Salt                                                                       - 1 pinch
Butter                                                                   - 1/2 cup
Yogurt                                                                  - 1/2 cup
Milk/Water                                                           - 1/2 cup
Granulated Sugar                                                 - 3/4 cup
Orange Extract                                                     - 1 tspoon
Tooti-Frooti Mix                                                  - 1/2 cup
Nut Mix                                                                - 2 tblspoon (optional)
Yellow Food Colour                                             - 1 tspoon (optional)
Sprinkle or gems                                                   - for decoration

Flavors and color can be added on your choice










Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 180 C.
Line a muffin tray with 12 cupcake liners.









In a deep bowl mix flour, cornflour, egg replace powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well and keep aside.
Now in other mixing bowl, take melted butter, sugar and yogurt.









Mix it very well using hand mixer until light and fluffy.









Now mix nuts, tooti-frooti and orange essence into the butter mixture. Mix it well.










Now alternatively mix dry ingredients and milk.











If you find your mixture to be very thick, use 1 tablepsoon of milk.
Now add yellow food colour. blend it very well.









The thickness of the batter should not be very runny. It should be on the thicker side.









Now pour the batter into cupcake liners upto 3/4 of their capacity, giving the cupcakes some space to rise.








Now decorate cupcakes as per your choice. I used coloured MandM (gems).








Bake the cupcakes for about 10-12 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.








Cupcakes are ready to serve as a dessert or a snack for your kids.
















Here are some pictures to show you the texture and inside of the cupcakes.































Saturday 21 February 2015

Yum

Jalebi




Ingredients:
For Jalebi Batter:

Maida/Plain Flour                            - 1 1/2 cup
Cornstarch                                        - 2 tblspoon
Yeast                                                 - 1 tspoon
Oil                                                     - 2 tspoon + for frying
Yogurt                                               - 4 tspoon
Saffron Powder                                 - a pinch
Yellow/Orange Food Colour            - 2 drops (I use yellow for Jalebi and orange for Imarti)
Sugar                                                 - 1/2 tespoon
Water                                                 - 2 tblspoon for yeast + Mixing the batter
Cardamom Powder                            - a pinch

Sugar Syrup:
Sugar                                                   - 1 1/2 cup 
Cardamom Powder                              - 2 pinch
Saffron Threads                                   - 2-3 crushed
Lemon Juice                                        - 1 tspoon
Rose/Kewra Essence                           - for flavoring of syrup (Optional)
Water                                                   - 1 cup

















Method:

For Jalebi Batter:
In a deep mixing bowl, add Maida, Cornstarch, Yeast, Yogurt, Sugar, Cardamom Powder, Saffron powder and oil. Mix it well, Now add water to it and blend using a hand blender. Using a hand blender will give you a smooth lump free batter. If saffron doesn't give very bright colour to the batter add few drops of food colour. 
Now keep this batter for overnight fermentation.
Sometimes people just mix yeast and use the batter to make Jalebis right away but I find those instant Jalebis less flavorful and crispy. I keep the batter for overnight fermentation when I mix yeast to it.
If I do not mix yeast I keep the batter for at-least 24 hours to get fermented.
Adding the food colour is totally optional. I saw some Halwai and my mum doing that so is the reason I add it.
It's great to keep your batter a bit on thicker side before fermentation, as after fermentation the consistency changes.

For sugar Syrup:
15 minutes before frying the Jalebi, take a medium size wide pan.
Add sugar and water to it and bring it to boil. Now reduce the heat to low and simmer.
Now add saffron thread, cardamom and lemon juice to it. Mix it well. Simmer for few minutes and switch off the flame.
You can add the rose/Kewra essence at this time.
All theis will take approximately 10 minutes. By this time, when syrup will start to cool down you will have 1 sting syrup.
Now keep this pot just next to the pan, which you are going to fry Jalebis.
Adding lemon juice prevents the syrup in crystallization of sugar.









Frying Jalebis:
Take another wide Pan/Karahi. It should not be very deep but should be wide enough.
Take at-least 2.5 inch of oil in the pan for frying Jalebis. Let the oil heat up on medium flame.
Now lets check the batter of Jalebis. By this time you batter will be fluffy and airy. You can also smell the fermentation from the batter.







Now check the consistency of the batter. Mix it with the beater slowly and check if it very thick.
Take a spoon and pour the batter from height and it should pour like ribbon. Refer the picture.








If your batter is thick, add little water to it and mix well. Do not add a lot of water, add little by little using a spoon.
Take a squeezable bottle with a nozzle. Fill the batter up in the bottle.











To test the oil temperature, drop a small quantity of batter to the oil. It should come up sizzling to the top of the oil taking 1-2 second without loosing their shape. Take more time in coming up means oil isn't hot enough. Coming to the top right away means the oil is too hot.
If oil is too hot keep the pan of away from heat for few minutes and let it's temperature go down a bit. If the oil isn't hot enough do the batter test again until you get the right amount of heat in the oil.
Now Squeeze the batter out of the nozzle, applying constant pressure and making 3-4 concentric circles in the oil and sealing them in the middle.











Work from inside to outside. It takes time and experience to get proper shape and it gets better and better batch after every batch.









Sometimes I make the Jalebis in a long joint shapes like Halwais.











Do not fry more than 3-4 Jalebis in a batch. 
Once you have shaped the Jalebis in hot oil, in 2-3 seconds they will come up without loosing their shape, flip and let turn golden on the other side too. 
Once golden, take out of from the hot oil, tilting the spider or frying spoon so that excess oil is drained.
Add the fried Jalebis to the lukewarm (not hot)syrup. 









Let Jalebis soak for not more than few seconds (like 20-25) and take out again tilting the ladle to drain excess syrup else they will break and turn soggy.

Fry up all the Jalebis and soak in syrup. Serve warm Jalebis with yogurt or milk.
Store the ready Jalebis to the room temperature.
The right texture of the Jalebi will be crispy outside and when you bite them they are filled with syrup.



Wednesday 18 February 2015

Yum

Blackgram and Pasta Medley Cooked Salad


























Ingredients:

Black Gram                             - 2 cups soaked and boiled
Soup Pasta                               - 1 cup boiled
Tomato                                    - 1 cup chopped finely
Cucumber                                - 1 cup chopped finely
Onion                                       - 1 cup chopped finely
Carrot                                       - 1/2 cup grated
Radish                                      - 1/2 cup grated
Garam Masala                          - 1/4 tspoon
Salt                                           - To taste
Turmeric                                  - 1/4 tspoon
Chaat Masala                           - 1/2 tspoon
Cumin Seed                             - 1/2 tspoon
Asafetida                                 - a pinch
Apple                                       - 1/4 cup grated


Method:








Heat up the oil in a pan, crackle the cumin and add the asafetida to it.
Fry the onion in it until translucent.









Add tomatoes, grated carrots and grated radish to it. Fry it for 2 minutes.









Now add in all the dry spices to it and mix well for another minute.









Now add the pasta to the pan. Give it a good mix.









Now it's Blackgram's turn to come in the pan. Add the boiled black grams in the pan and mix it very well.









Mix well and add cucumber cubes to it. Switch off the flame, once cucumbers are added in.









Take out is a serving bowl and garnish with grated apples. You can add other fruits such as pomegranate kernels, chopped berries and so on.
















The salad is ready to serve as breakfast, side dish or evening snack.