anshu – Page 29 – The Secret Ingredient

Baking

Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread

By anshu August 4, 2014

Focaccia is an Italian flat oven baked bread similar in style and texture to pizza. It is usually seasoned with olive oil and salt and some times topped with herbs and few vegetables. I have been longing to make this for a long time but finally I did it last week. And each time I was having its bite I was regretting why I dint bake this earlier. It came out outrageously delicious! It was topped with rosemary and garlic, a divine combination.Period.

I devoured like a retard, my husband was crazily digging into it and my 2 year old was shaking his head in joy while eating its little pieces. So all in all it was total madness. And the bread was gone in flat 5 minutes.

Directions:

1. In a container take some lukewarm water. It should neither be hot nor cold, just hot enough to comfortably put your finger into it . The right temperature of the water is very important for yeast to activate. Put yeast into it.

2. Along with yeast add some sugar.

3. Give it a gentle stir with a fork and let the mixture sit and activate for 10 minutes or until you see some bubbles on top and mixture has become frothy and milky.

4. Add salt to the yeast mixture.

5. Take all purpose flour in a bowl and add the yeast mixture to it. Knead for 10 minutes until it forms a dough.

6. Add olive oil and knead for 5 minutes again.

7. Transfer the dough ball in a oiled bowl. Also cover the dough with little olive oil so that it doesn’t form a skin. Cover with a plastic clingwrap and store in a warm place preferably inside unplugged microwave. The dough will double itself in 1 hour and 10 minutes.

8. The dough doubled in volume. I used half of the dough to make a smaller sized dough. The rest of it I kept in a ziplog bag and froze.

9. Chop some garlic in slices and keep aside.

10. Take a flat bottom baking sheet or baking dish and grease it with oil generously.

11. Stretch and roll the dough into the baking dish using your hands.It should be about 1/2 inch thick.

12. Now cover this with cling wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.

13. After 20 minutes remove the cling wrap but don’t throw it away. Brush some olive oil on the dough surface using a brush.

14. Top it up with as many or as less garlic slices you want.

15. Sprinkle chopped fresh Rosemary or dried rosemary all over the surface.

16. Season it with Salt and black pepper.

17. Again cover it with cling wrap and rest for another 25 minutes.

18. Pop into a preheated oven on 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes or until its golden brown.

19. Serve as a side dish with pasta or any chicken cheese recipe.

[yumprint-recipe id=’41’] [whohit]GarlicRosemaryFocaccia[/whohit]

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Dinner

Baigan Ka Salan | Eggplant in Hyderabadi Curry

By anshu August 3, 2014

Baigan ka Salan is a specialty from Hyderabad. Salan is a term which denotes to a spicy gravy made with peanuts. So I had some small sized brinjals/ eggplants lying in my fridge. I was not in a mood to make Bharwan Baigan nor Baigan pahari style. So I looked for some new recipes on the internet. I had my reservations before making this for it asked for peanuts and being a North Indian we are not very fond of peanuts. Is’nt it ? But I am glad I found this recipe. The Gravy was tangy, spicy, creamy and married with eggplants so well. This is a slight twist to salan recipe as it is cooked with little yogurt. But the outcome was delicious!

Directions:

1. Wash and slit the eggplants in four, ensuring that you retain the stem. This way it will still be one piece slit in four at one end.

2. In a pan pour some oil and fry your slit eggplants.

3. Meanwhile, in another smaller pan dry roast Peanuts, Sesame seeds and Coconut powder on low flame.

4. Once they have acquired slight colour remove from the heat and transfer to a blender. Pour some water and make a smooth paste. Set aside.

5. On the other hand when eggplants are fried they will change their colour. Remove them from the pan to a paper towel to soak extra oil.

6. In the same pan with remaining oil add some Mustard seeds Cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds.

7. After the seeds start to crackle. Add sliced onions and whole dry red chilies.

8.After onions have become soft add kaddhi patta leaves.

9. Add salt to your taste.

10. Add green chilies.

11. Add Ginger Garlic paste.

12. Add turmeric powder, chili powder and coriander powder.

13. Its time to add the peanut, sesame paste we made.

14. Also add half a cup water. Cover it and let it simmer on low flame for 30 minutes.

15. After 30 minute the oil will separate from curry and will float on top.The curry will also reduce. Add chopped fresh coriander.

16. Whisk curd or yogurt in a bowl and keep aside. Make sure it smoothens out.

17. Add yogurt to the curry and combine.

18. Add fried eggplants and cook for another 5 minutes.

19. Serve hot with roti or biryani.

[whohit]BainganKaSalan[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’40’]

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Dressings and Spice Mix

Domino’s Oregano Seasoning

By anshu July 30, 2014

As an Indian I would say that for us all cuisines are the same rather we have the talent to indianize everything. We will add garam masala to momos, turmeric to pasta. oh dont get me started! My cousin even adds Oregano Seasoning to raita, yogurt based side dish. I am sure there will be many out there who would stack the oregano seasoning sachet Domino’s provides with its pizza. Now you can make your own oregano seasoning at home. You can even make your Domino’s Garlic Breadsticks with this.

Directions:

1. In a bowl mix Salt, Black Pepper powder, Basil Leaves, Oregano, Garlic Powder, Rosemary and Chili powder.

2. Now with the help of mortar and pestle coarsely grind them with hand.

3. Store it in a container to use later.

[whohit]OreganoSeasoning[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’38’]

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Appetiser

Domino’s Garlic Breadsticks

By anshu July 29, 2014

I have moved to a small city, Almora in Uttrakhand which has green lush mountains, pine trees, beautiful weather and a sunset to die for but it doesn’t have any food chains which means we are constantly craving for fast foods. I specially miss eating Domino’s Garlic Breadsticks, who doesn’t know about them!! They are little bites of soft, buttery, garlicky bread sticks generously loaded with Oregano Seasoning. One fine day I stumbled into a recipe on the internet of BharatzKitchen who claimed that his recipe makes exactly Domino’s style Garlic Breadsticks. I was not sure but then thought why not give it a try. I baked them and we were like Ohhh Boy! they taste exactly the same. Thank you Bharat for this incredible recipe. 🙂

Directions:

1. In a container take some lukewarm water. It should neither be hot nor cold, just hot enough to comfortably put your finger into it . The right temperature of the water is very important for yeast to activate. Put yeast into it.

2. Along with yeast add some sugar and spoonful of All Purpose Flour.

3. Give it a gentle stir with a fork and let the mixture sit and activate for 10 minutes or until you see some bubbles on top and mixture has become frothy and milky.

4. In the meanwhile yeast is getting activated chop some garlic and set aside.

5. Add olive oil, melted butter, salt to the yeast mixture.

6. Also add chopped garlic and most importantly Oregano Seasoning (Learn to make it here).

7. Now add the wet mixture to one third of the flour and mix well with a whisk.

8. Add rest of the flour and mix well to combine into a smooth dough. You can do this on a flat counter top. It will be a sticky dough but do not worry.

9. Pour some olive oil and knead again for 5-7 minutes so that gluten develops. Meaning that the dough becomes stretchy.

10. Oil a big size bowl and place the dough ball in it and oil it from top as well. Do not make the mistake I made, I used a relatively smaller bowl and my dough was everywhere 😛 Cover it with a plastic wrap and let it rest and rise in the fridge for a minimum 24 hours. Yes you heard me right for 24 hours and that too in the fridge. Even I was skeptical when I was asked to do so. I followed the orders and I was rewarded with a delicious garlic breadsticks. So just do as I say 😛

11. After 24 hours my dough rose pretty well against all my doubts. I sprinkled some flour on my counter, placed it on top and deflated it.

12. Divide the dough into more or less equal sized four balls. Each ball represents one loaf of garlic breadsticks in future. Cover them with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap for ten minutes before we start working on it.

13. We are going to now work on one dough ball. You can freeze the other three dough balls to make bread sticks later. I placed them individually in three zip log bags, removed the extra air inside and put them in freezer. They can be removed from freezer half an hour to one hour before you wanna bake these babies.

14. Sprinkle some corn meal also known as makki ka atta, on the counter and place the dough on top. If you cannot find corn meal in this season you can always substitute with semolina or sooji.

15. With the help of your fingers flatten the dough to form a a circular shape just like a roti or pizza crust. It shouldn’t be thin like a roti.

16. Now lift its one end to meet the other forming a semi circle.

17. Seal the ends with your finger gently.

18. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush it with melted butter. Sprinkle on top some oregano seasoning and place the rolled semi circular dough.

19. Cut the dough in to sticks using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife. The stick can be 1 to 1.25 inches thick.

20. Brush it generously with melted butter and sprinkle on top Oregano Seasoning .

21. Put it in a preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes on 180 Celsius (Learn more about Oven Temperatures and Conversions) and then for 5 minutes on 220 Celsius till the crust has become slightly golden brown. Serve hot with Creamy Cheese dip.

[whohit]DominosGarlicBreadstick[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’37’]

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Breakfast

Soya Veggie Vermicelli Seviyan Upma

By anshu July 24, 2014

Vermicelli Seviyan Upma is a healthy and quick breakfast option which is loved by all. To make a new breakfast recipe every day is a constant struggle. The bigger concern is to have a healthy meal for a healthier start to the day. Coming from a Punjabi Family where breakfast largely revolves around stuffed Parantha cannot be considered healthy for every morning. So I started making this quick vermicelli with veggies and soya granules. Vermicelli is nothing but broken thinned wheat pasta, known as Sevai or Seviyan in Hindi and Fideo Pasta in Spanish Nowadays you get roasted Vermicelli in market which further cuts down the cooking time and uses less oil.

Also if you are a bachelor or working women you can buy a pack of frozen chopped vegetables and dump it in your freezer for making your life convenient. But nothing compares to the taste and freshness of fresh vegetables. Anyways, the choice is yours.

Directions:

1. Finely chop Capsicum, Onions, Green Beans and Carrots.Take lukewarm water in a bowl and put frozen corns to thaw. Keep aside.

2. In a pan or wok pour some oil and add Mustard Seeds. When they start to splutter add Cumin seeds.

3. Put chopped onions and saute them till they start sweating.

4. Add Kaddi Patta.

5. Add capsicum, green beans and carrots and cook for 5 minutes or till you see they loose their firmness.

6. Drain water from the corns and put them along with the vegetables to cook.

7. Add salt, turmeric and red chili powder.

8. Add water and cover with a lid and cook on medium low flame for 5 minutes till the vegetables become tender.

9. Add vermicelli and Soya granules.

10. Mix everything together and add water.

11. Cover with a lid and let it cook on low flame till the water is absorbed.

12. Fluff it up and Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Other Breakfast recipes you can try : Italian Frittata with Mushrooms and Spinach, Fried Egg Over Polenta with Homemade Basil Pesto, Blueberry Buttermilk Pan Cakes, Apple & Cinnamon Pan Cakes, Shakshouka, Shahi Poha.

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Dinner

Vegetable Hakka Noodles

By anshu July 21, 2014

Indo Chinese Cuisine is an adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes. We all like Chinese food but we Love Indo Chinese version because the taste is very homely, very Indian, very warm. I think each country adapts Chinese food to their taste buds. When we lived in Mexico the Chinese food almost tasted like Mexican food, similar salsa and similar seasoning.

The way Indo Chinese food has penetrated in our daily life style its simply amazing. Be it hakka noodles, manchurian, fried rice and many many other dishes. Infact I make it quite often in my kitchen because my kiddo loves pasta and noodles and with the help of noodles I can make him eat vegetables. I was requested to share recipe of hakka noodles by one of my viewers. I thought I must share this easy breezy recipe.

Directions:

1. In a large pot boil water till it starts bubbling. Add salt.

2. Now hold the spaghetti noodles in your hands and twist them from one end and insert it in boiling water. This way you don’t have to break the noodles and it perfectly falls inside the pot. Cook al dente and drain extra water using a colander . Gently wash noodles under cold water and keep them in cold water until use.

3. Chop Cabbage in length. Make sure you throw away the hard portions. Also chop capsicum, bell peppers and onions in length. Keep aside.

4. Thoroughly wash chopped cabbage for any dirt or worm under the tap in a colander. After washing keep it aside to drain off extra water.

5. In a wok pour some oil and saute onions on a high flame.

6. After onions are sauteed add capsicum and bell peppers. Keep tossing the vegetables on high flame till they acquire colour but are still crisp.

7. Now add cabbage and toss till its crispy but cooked.

8. Once vegetables are done add noodles after draining the cold water. Add vinegar.

9. Add soya sauce and Salt and pepper.

10. Toss everything together ensuring not to break the noodles. Serve hot.

[whohit]VegHakkaNoodles[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’35’]

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Dinner

Gatte ki Kaddhi

By anshu July 19, 2014

Gatte ki Kaddhi is a spicy delicacy from the state of Rajasthan. It is made with gram flour dumplings flavored with spices and steamed to form ‘gatte‘. Then these gatte are dunked in yogurt based curry and best enjoyed with puris or rice. My mother makes another version of it where gatte are dunked in tomato garlic based curry which we call Gatte ki Sabji. I prefer my mother’s version because it becomes little tangy in taste and it is made with love 🙂 I will soon upload recipe for Gatte ki Sabji.

Directions :

1. In a bowl take gram flour and add salt, turmeric and chili powder.

2. Add yogurt, oil and carom seeds.

3. Combine it together with your hands into a sticky dough. Keep your hands oiled for ease in kneading.

4. Divide the dough into four equal parts and using the palm of your hands roll it into sticks approximately 5 inches in size.

5 . In a large vessel pour water and boil it till you start seeing bubbles. At this time immerse the sticks into the water. They will sink to the bottom.

6. Cook for 5-6 minutes on high flame or till you see the sticks start floating to the surface. That is when you know they are fully cooked. Take them out of the water carefully.

7. Cut them into bite size pieces. Keep aside.

8. For gravy take yogurt/curd in a bowl. I used the same bowl, you know less utensils to clean 😛 Add gram flour and make a lump free batter.

9. Add turmeric, chili powder and coriander powder and mix well.

10. In a wok or pan add oil and heat and add cumin seeds.

11. When they start to spatter add mustard seeds. Add dried red chilies, bay leaf and black cardamom.

12. Add asafoetida to it.

12. Add the flour yogurt mix and stir for couple of minutes.

13. Add about three cups of water and wait till gravy comes to a boil.

14. Add gatte to the gravy and also add salt as desired. Cover with a lid and cook on low flame. Keep an eye for gravy might spill off on high flame.

15. Garnish with fresh chopped Coriander. Serve hot with roti or puris.

[yumprint-recipe id=’34’][whohit]GatteKiKaddhi[/whohit]

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Dinner

Tori Wadiyan | Ridge Gourd with Spicy Dried Lentil Dumplings | Tourai with Baddi

By anshu July 12, 2014

Turai, tori, thurai, dodka, galka are all different names of Summer Squash known as Ridge Gourd. It is a very popular summer vegetable available in most parts of the country. It has a great nutritional value but not a lot of people eat specially kids for its bland flavour. I have heard many label these summer vegetables as LTT for Lauki, Tinda, Turai :P. My husband was also one of those who would despise tori. When I started cooking tori in the style of my mother he could resist eating it. Infact, I often receive requests from him to make tori, sometimes two or three times a week during season.

Now the question arises what makes my mother’s recipe so special? She makes tori with punjabi wadi, which are dried dumplings made with ground lentils and spices, dried in the sun. I remember as a kid my grandmothers would make them when I would visit them during summer vacations and my job was to keep an eye on them from birds and monkeys while they were being sun dried on the terrace. What lovely days! The fusion of tori and wadi makes this dish delicious. You can use these wadis in this Dal Ghiya recipe also.

Directions:

1. Wash and peel the skin of gourd.

2. Chop Onions, gourd along with green chilies. Keep aside.

3. Take a small sized tomato and chop it. Too much tomato can make the dish more tangy. If you want to taste the real taste of gourd keep the quantity of tomatoes minimal.

4. In a pressure pan pour some oil/ghee. Add cumin seeds. Let them cook and spatter for a minute.

5. Crush one wadi and make small pieces of it. Add them to the pressure pan with onions. Cook it till onions become transparent.

6. Add the chopped gourd along with tomato.

7. Add Salt, Turmeric and Red Chili Powder. Add two spoon of water. Close lid and pressure cook for 5 whistles or anywhere between 10 to 12 minutes.

8. Open once the pressure has released. You will see it has a lot of liquid. Turn on the flame and cook till all liquid is absorbed and evaporated.

9. Garnish with garam masala and chopped Coriander leaves.

10. Serve hot with Rotis.

You can even try Stuffed Touri which is also an incredible way to eat ridge gourd without making faces 😛

You can even try other dishes from Punjabi Cuisine like Bharwan Karela, Dal Makhni, Gobhi Danthal ki Sabji, Aloo Methi, Punjabi Style Shalgam Ka Saag , Dal Ghiya with Punjabi Vadiyan, Punjabi Pethey Ki Sabzi, Punjabi Style Bharwan Tinda, Langar Wali Dal , Punjabi Style Dum Aloo, Punjabi Pindi Choley.

[yumprint-recipe id=’32’] [whohit]ToriWadiyan[/whohit]

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Dessert

Sooji Halwa | Semolina Halwa | Semolina Pudding

By anshu July 7, 2014

Sooji halwa, a delicious pudding made from semolina, sugar and clarified butter or ghee. Halwa is known by several names like helva, halua, aluva, etc. Halwa is made in Indian subcontinent, middle east, South, West and Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans and in many other countries. The recipe has numerous variation. In India semolina halwa is made for every pious occasion, be it a festival, to celebrate birth and mourn death and even in temples as prasad.

The key to make a perfect dense consistency halwa is to have right proportions of the ingredients. This recipe is my mothers foolproof recipe and once you learn you can never go wrong. Thank you Mumma 🙂

Directions:

1. Take semolina and equal quantities of sugar.

2. In a wok add ghee also known as clarified butter and add semolina. Keep roasting semolina in ghee by continuously stirring it till it turns golden brown. Keep an eye and do not let the semolina burn.

3. In a separate vessel take water which should be four times the sugar. Add two opened pods of cardamoms and sugar. Give it two to three boils till the sugar is dissolved in water. We do not intend to make a thick sugary syrup, just some sugar dissolved water. Keep it aside.

4. In the meanwhile chop almonds and cashews. If you wish to use any other dry fruits, I am with you 🙂 I simply used almonds because that is all I had. Oh I also had cashews 🙂

5. In a small pan put a spoon full of ghee and roast your chopped dry fruits on low flame till they turn golden brown. Set aside.

6. Now while your semolina is roasted. Add roasted dry fruits into it and turn the flame on full and immediately add the light sugar syrup. Continue to stir so that no lumps are formed. Do not worry if you see the mixture has turned watery.

7. Keep stirring on high flame till it becomes dense and semolina has absorbed entire syrup. Word of caution: when the halwa becomes dense it forms boils and starts sputtering. Ensure that you are prepared for this and take necessary precautions to avoid any burns. Keep stirring till you see halwa has left the sides and centered itself.

8. Your halwa is ready to be served. Sprinkle some roasted dry fruit on top along with few strands of saffron. Serve hot.

Other Indian desserts you can try are: Mango Saffron Phirni , Paneer Ki Kheer, Apple Lapsi, Attey Ka Halwa Gurudwara Style, Swang Ke Chawal Ka Halwa, Kaddu ka Halwa , Gajar Ka Halwa, Ragi & Khus Khus Ladoos, Swang Ke Chawal Ki Phirni, Rasgulla, Makhane Ki Kheer .

[yumprint-recipe id=’31’]
[whohit]SoojiHalwa[/whohit]

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Appetiser

Sopa De Frijol | Mexican Red Kidney Beans Soup With Baked Tortilla Chips

By anshu July 2, 2014

Sopa de Frijol also known as Kidney Bean Soup is a creamy, delicious soup from the land of corn and beans – Mexico. In Mexico we found wide varieties of beans, from regular red kidney beans to black beans, soya beans, green beans, haba beans, alubia beans and many many more. Since we were surrounded by beans we came across plenty of dishes made from them.

SopaDeFrijol_Featured1

Sopa de frijol was one of them which was not just rich and creamy but whole meal in it self. They were served with fried/baked tortilla strips. This soup is rich in proteins and kids just love it. Traditionally this soup is made with black beans known as frijoles negros which is widely available in Latin american markets. But I gave it a try with red kidney beans which are available in India. So if you can easily lay your hands on black ones please feel free to use them.Rest of the recipe remains same.

Directions:

1. Wash and soak red kidney beans or rajma in water overnight or for at least 6 to 7 hours.

2. Add beans, oregano, salt, cumin powder, garlic cloves, onion and 5 cups of water. Boil them in a pressure pan for 30 to 40 minutes till they become soft and gooey. If you are boiling in a pot, bring them to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low, cook covered and stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 2 hours.

3. Once cooked transfer them in a blender and make a smooth puree. Season it with salt and pepper. Set aside.

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4. In a skillet add little oil add chopped onions and saute them till they become translucent and lose their crispness. Now add chopped garlic and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Now add chopped tomatoes and cook them till they become soft and tender.

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5. Let it cool and then transfer it in a blender to combine into a smooth puree.

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6. In a large saucepan combine the pureed beans and pureed tomatoes and add 1 cup water or vegetable stock. Cook on a medium flame till it starts to thicken.

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7. Add fresh cream and season with Salt and Pepper.

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8. Garnish it with Baked tortilla chips. For tortilla strips, brush one face of tortilla with little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. and cut them into strips.

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9. Place them in a baking tray or bowl. They need not be flattened. Bake them in a preheated oven on 180 degree Celsius for 5-7 minutes or until they become crisp and acquire a slight golden colour.

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10. To serve, divide soup among serving bowls, and sprinkle with crumbled cottage cheese or paneer and tortilla strips.

Other Soup Recipes you can try are: Classic Russian Borsch, Cream of Broccoli Soup with Chives, Peas and Mushroom Spicy Soup, Classic French Potato Leek Soup, Tomato Soup, Zucchini Garlic Soup with Yak Cheese Shreddings, Chicken Soup with Rice.

[whohit]SopaDeFrijol[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’28’]

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