festiveFood – The Secret Ingredient

Baking

Easter Hot Cross Buns

By anshu April 9, 2020

Hot Cross buns are symbolic to Easter and may go back to 12th Century. The relic goes that a Monk baked buns and made a cross on them in honour of Good Friday. Gradually, they became popular world over and were associated with Easter. Interestingly, there are a few superstitions and tales linked to baking these sweet hot cross buns on Good Friday. If you are interested you can read them at The kitchn.

This is about the origin of recipe but what exactly are Hot cross buns? Well they are mildly spiced, sweet buns which are loaded with black currants or raisins. On top of these buns a cross is marked, which can be either done with icing sugar or its etched in the dough at the time of baking. As a kid we relished eating these buns and loved to sing Hot cross buns, Hot cross buns, One a penny, Two a penny, Hot cross buns. This ignites nostalgia and takes me back memory lane.

On the occasion of Easter, I collaborated with Eggee, the best organic high protein eggs, to curate this recipe for my readers. The addition of fresh eggs in the bun dough took this recipe to a whole new level. If you can find these organic eggs around you, give it a try. You sure would know the difference in taste and freshness. I have used home made Pumpkin Pie Spice and Candied Orange Peel in the recipe. You can make it yourself from scratch.

I am jumping to the recipe right away without wasting much time. Easter is just an excuse to bake these but honestly I can eat them all year round. If you try this recipe share your feedback with me and tag me on facebook or instagram.

Directions:

1. In a large bowl add all purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

2. Also add to the bowl sugar and zest of orange and lemon. Mix well and set aside.

3. In another bowl or jar take some lukewarm milk. It should not be hot just lukewarm. Add some sugar to the milk.

4. Sprinkle yeast on top and give it a gentle stir. Let the mixture stand and wait for yeast to bloom. I have used yeast from out online store The Gourmet Shop.

5. In another small bowl add melted butter and whisk in some eggs.

6. Once the yeast has proofed or bloomed and has become frothy, add this to the dry ingredients along with egg and butter mixture.

7. Mix them well till everything comes together into a sticky dough. Knead well for 6-8 minutes till the dough is smooth and supple.

8. Add black currants and candied orange peel and mix well into the dough.

9. Dust your counter with some flour and dump the dough on it and knead well will your dough has developed gluten and is elastic and pliable.

10. You can slightly poke your finger in the dough to test if its kneaded well or not. If the dough bounces back its ready and if it doesn’t you need to knead a few more minutes.

11. Grease a big bowl and place your dough in it to rise until it has doubled in size. This depends on the temperature of your kitchen. The warmer the kitchen the sooner the dough proofs.

12. Once the dough has proofed. Again dust your counter with some flour and punch dough the dough to deflate it.

13. Divide the dough into equal 16 parts with the help of a bench press or metal scraper.

14. Roll each portion into a round ball with a smooth top.

15. Grease a baking tray with butter and place these rolled dough in the tray. Each bun dough should be placed at some distance from each other.

16. Cover them with a kitchen towel and let them rise till they have doubled up in size.

17. Give them an egg wash and preheat your oven to 180 degrees C for ten minutes. Once preheated place your buns in the oven for 20-25 minutes on 180 degree Celsius until the top is golden brown.

18. Place them on a wire rack to cool down. While they are cooling make royal icing. Learn to make Royal Icing here.

19. Pour this royal icing in a pipping bag and snip the end just enough for it come out. Pipe X on top of each bun and enjoy.

20. Enjoy these hot cross buns with a cup of coffee or tea. My kiddo gobbled two of these while they just got crossed. So tea or no tea you will love them as it is.

Happy Easter Friends!

Other Bread Recipe you can try are: Italian Focaccia Bread with Strawberries , Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread, Garlic Cheesy Bread, Dominos Style Garlic Bread Sticks, Honey Oats Bread, Cinnamon Raisins Bread. Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, Beetroot Bread. Georgian Kachapuri

Easter Hot Cross Buns

Recipe Type: Festive

Cuisine: European

Author: Anshu Wadhwa

Prep time: 2 hours

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 2 hours 25 mins

Serves: 16buns

Hot Cross Buns are a traditional mildly spiced sweet bread buns, bearing a cross on top, made specially on Easter, the Good Friday.

Ingredients

For the Buns:
2 and 1/4 tsp Instant Yeast
1 cup Lukewarm Milk
3 and 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
½ cup Granulated Sugar
2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
2/3 cup Currants or raisins
3 Tbsp Candied Orange Peel
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Lemon Zest
1 Tsp Orange Zest
¼ cup Unsalted Butter, melted
2 Eggs
Egg wash, one egg beaten with some milk or water.
For the icing:
1 ½ cups of Powdered Sugar
1 Egg White
Some Whole Milk, if needed

Instructions

In a large bowl add all purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
Also add to the bowl sugar and zest of orange and lemon. Mix well and set aside.
In another bowl or jar take some lukewarm milk. It should not be hot just lukewarm. Add some sugar to the milk.
Sprinkle yeast on top and give it a gentle stir. Let the mixture stand and wait for yeast to bloom.
In another small bowl add melted butter and whisk in some eggs.
Once the yeast has proofed or bloomed and has become frothy, add this to the dry ingredients along with egg and butter mixture.
Mix them well till everything comes together into a sticky dough. Knead well for 6-8 minutes till the dough is smooth and supple.
Add black currants and candied orange peel and mix well into the dough.
Dust your counter with some flour and dump the dough on it and knead well will your dough has developed gluten and is elastic and pliable.
You can slightly poke your finger in the dough to test if its kneaded well or not. If the dough bounces back its ready and if it doesn’t you need to knead a few more minutes.
Grease a big bowl and place your dough in it to rise until it has doubled in size. This depends on the temperature of your kitchen. The warmer the kitchen the sooner the dough proofs.
Once the dough has proofed. Again dust your counter with some flour and punch dough the dough to deflate it.
Divide the dough into equal 16 parts with the help of a bench press or metal scraper.
Roll each portion into a round ball with a smooth top.
Grease a baking tray with butter and place these rolled dough in the tray. Each bun dough should be placed at some distance from each other.
Cover them with a kitchen towel and let them rise till they have doubled up in size.
Give them an egg wash and preheat your oven to 180 degrees C for ten minutes. Once preheated place your buns in the oven for 20-25 minutes on 180 degree Celsius until the top is golden brown.
Place them on a wire rack to cool down. While they are cooling make royal icing.
Pour this royal icing in a pipping bag and snip the end just enough for it come out. Pipe X on top of each bun and enjoy.
Enjoy these hot cross buns with a cup of coffee or tea. My kiddo gobbled two of these while they just got crossed. So tea or no tea you will love them as it is.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Laura In the Kitchen. https://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/hot-cross-buns/

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Dessert

Ragi & Khus Khus Ladoos Recipe | Healthy Finger Millet and Poppy Seeds Energy Bites

By anshu July 23, 2017

Rakshabandhan is right around the corner and traditional sweets are a quintessential part of every Indian festivity. This year I wanted to make something which is healthy but still festive. I tried my hands on Ragi Laddoos. These are gluten free and so easy to put together and taste is absolutely top notch. When I was taking pictures my kiddo asked me if these were chocolate balls and I said yes 😉 He gobbled down two instantly and gave me a thumbs up. Isn’t it how you call a recipe successful. These are perfect for people who are watching their weight, for people with celiac diseases, for little babies and even for pregnant woman.

Make for your beloved brother or dear sister these Ragi Khus Khus Laddoos. They are incredible and taste divine. I am sure they will make this festival more joyous! You can even try Besan Rava Laddoos is you want to stick to the traditional recipes.

Directions:
1. In a wok add ghee and melt it. Add Ragi flour, I have used SOS Organics himalayan ragi flour and keep sauteing it till the aroma of roasted flour is felt. You will notice the mixture has separated from ghee. This should take good 10-12 minutes. Keep the flame low and keep stirring it.

2. Add almond meal or ground almonds and also powdered green cardamom powder. Mix well with the ragi slurry and continue to cook for a minute more.

3. Turn the flame off and add castor sugar or powdered sugar and mix well.

4.Let the mixture cool down little bit. Cool enough to make laddoos or round balls with it.

5. Roll the laddoos in roasted poppy seeds and set them aside to set and firm.

6. They also taste great when soft and warm. They stay good for about 20 days if kept at room temperature in an airtight jar.

Other Ragi of Finger Millet Recipes you can try are: Gluten Free Chocolate Ragi Brownies, Ragi Masala Twisters, Ragi & Whole Wheat Biscuits, Instant Ragi Dosa.

Other Traditional Indian Festive Food you can try are: Attey Ka Halwa Gurudwara Style, Swang Ke Chawal Ka Halwa, Apple Lapsi, Kaddu ka Halwa, Sooji Halwa, Gajar Ka Halwa, Mango Saffron Phirni, Paneer Ki Kheer, Sabudana Kheer, Makhane Ki Kheer, Gram Flour Semolina Balls, Gurr Gajar Ke Meethey Chawal, Kesari Seviyan, Rasgulla,

You can order Organic Ragi or Finger Millets from SOS Organics from here.

[whohit]RagiKhusKhusLaddoos[/whohit]

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Ayurvedic Recipes

Gurr Gajar Ke Meethey Chawal | Sweet Jaggery Carrot Rice Pudding

By anshu January 16, 2017

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I know I have been showing up after a while. When I am home with my family I dont get time to blog. Life is all busy with socializing, shopping, yapping, some baking workshop and lazying around. Last week I spent on the beaches of Goa and when I returned to Delhi it was freezing cold. The next day was Makar Sankranti which is the First Day of Hindu Calender. This day is widely celebrated in India with different names in different parts of the country like Pongal, Lohri, Bihu etc. Its believed to be the coldest day of winters when the cold is at its peak. Therefore, foods which keep your body warm are eaten and distributed with friends and family which included, sesame seeds, dates, jaggery, ground nuts and other dry fruits.

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I was home after many days and I was itchy to make something festive. So I decided to make this rice pudding with Jaggery, Dates and Carrots. Its my mother’s recipe and I have grown old on this. This is a keeper for winters. Its a wholesome meal I had also made Tilkoot which is Pounded Sesame Seeds and Jaggery Balls couple of years back . Its a traditional recipe from Uttar Pradesh.

Directions:

1. Soak Rice in Water for an hour or so.

2. Wash and Grate Carrots and keep aside.

3.Blanch Almonds and remove their skin and cut them into halves. Also deseed and chop some dates. You can also add raisins and cashews if you like.

4. For the syrup, in a pan heat water and when it comes to a boil add jaggery. Keep stirring and let the jaggery melt in water.

4. Add a spoonful of milk and a scum will form on top. Spoon out the scum and throw it away. That’s the impurity in jaggery which we don’t want to add to the rice. Turn the flame off and keep the syrup aside.

5. In a pressure pan add ghee and when ghee melts add cumin seeds.

6.Let them crackle that is when you add grated carrots to the pan and saute in ghee for a minute.

7. Add the dried nuts which we had chopped earlier.

8. Add Soaked rice without the water.

9. Lastly add the jaggery syrup and close with the lid. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or until the rice is cooked.

10. When the steam escapes fluff up with a fork and serve hot. Enjoy the winter bounty.

You can even try Tilkoot for Makar Sankranti.

Other Rice recipes you can try are: Rice Pudding with Mango & Saffron, Mushroom Biryani, Raw Mango Rice, Spicy Mint Rice, Italian Arborio Rice with Mushrooms, Kathal Ki Biryani, South Indian style Curd Rice, Bombay Biryani

GurrGajarChawal_Featured1 [whohit]GurrGajarRice[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’267′]

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American Cuisine

Festive Orange Blueberry Pound Cake

By anshu December 20, 2016

orangeblueberrycake_featured1

Its almost Christmas and time for us to move our base from the hills to the plains till the winter break is over. This is the time of the year when our school shuts down for almost two months and we get a good time to spend with our family and loved ones. My bags are packed and I am about to empty my pantry. Last few days I am baking with whatever fruit is left in the fridge. Therefore, the productivity of Oven is at its peak. When I saw oranges and blueberry in my freezer compartment I knew I have make this cake which has been on my to do list for such a long time. I wanted a simple Orange Pound cake which makes everything just right.

orangeblueberrycake_featured4

And when the cake came out of the oven it was simply to die for. So moist, flavourful with orange zest and the cake was screaming eat me up! So that’s what I did 😉 If you are planning to do something for this holiday season its highly recommended that you include this in your bake list. You will surely thank me 🙂 Until next time…

Directions:

1. In a bowl add All purpose Flour, salt and Baking Powder and combine. Set aside.

2. Take zest of two oranges and juice them. Set aside the zest and fresh orange juice aside.

3. In another bowl add add butter at room temperature. Also add sugar and whisk it till everything is creamy.

4. Add eggs and continue to whisk till everything is light and fluffy.

5. Add Orange Zest and combine.

6. Now add dry ingredients to the wet and also add orange juice. Combine everything.

7. Add blueberries and fold inside the batter.

8. Grease a bundt pan or any pan you fancy. Dust it with dry flour. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius for ten minutes.

9. Pour the batter in the baking pan, remember to fill only 3/4th of it. Because you need to give it room to rise. Bake in the oven for 45- 50 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. If the cake is getting brown too fast tent it with aluminium foil and continue to bake at the same temperature.

10. While its baking in the oven you can prepare a glaze to pour. Add whipping cream in the bowl lightly whisk it add icing sugar, if its not sweet already and add some orange zest. Combine together.

11. Add the glaze in a piping bag and make a very small cut in the tip. You dont need a nozzle for this.

12. When the cake has baked take it out of the oven and let it cool down completely before taking it out of the pan. When it’s at room temperature drizzle some glaze on top and serve.

Other festive things you can try: Gingerbread Man Cookies, Greek Traditional Christmas Cookies , Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake, Persimmon Rum Cake, Sorghum and Wheat Flour Persimmon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

orangeblueberrycake_featured2
[whohit]OrangeBluebberyCake[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’265′]

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American Cuisine

Roasted Chestnuts with Salted Coffee Butter

By anshu December 12, 2016

roastedchestnutwithcocoabutter_featured1

The magic of winters can be felt in its chill.. in the way the trees gracefully shed their leaves.. tinier days spent mostly in soaking the sun.. those longer nights where just about a hot cup of Chocolate makes everything warm and cozy.. sitting by the fireplace and eating Roasted Chestnuts. That just sums up my day in the hills

There are days when I sulk that many vegetables are not available in the hills and then there are days I find myself blessed to find things which many people cannot dream of getting. So this constant tussle keeps me busy 😛

When I saw Chestnuts in the market I knew Christmas is just around the corner. The locals call it Pangar. This name denotes all kinds of chestnuts, some are edible and some are not. But of course the one I have used are edible and oh so delicious! The skin of the chestnut is very hard and in order to roast them you must also score them with a sharp knife, carefully hunh! If you dont score them they will pop and explode and can be a little dangerous. So wise people say score them and roast them and your festivity will be joyous without any accidents 🙂

roastedchestnutwithcocoabutter_featured6
The festive season brings out the kid in me for I love to do cookies with warm spices, pies in all its forms and having hot roasted chestnuts takes it to a new level. I roasted them and when they popped open I tossed some Coffee Butter on them. That was the best thing I have done all season What are your plans for the holiday season? Write to me under the post I would love to hear from you.

Directions:

1. Choose chestnuts which are not bruised or open from anywhere. If their shell is punctured its likely they will be bad and rotten from inside.

2. Boil some water in a sauce pan. and when it comes to a boil add the chestnuts and let them soak in for 5 minutes.

3. Drain them in a colander and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.

4. Now using a small pairing knife make an X on the face of each chestnut. I know its a huge talk and by the end of it my fingers were paining. But someone has to do the dirty job 🙂

5. Once this stage is done its all easy peasy. Place the scored chestnuts in a baking tray with Scored part facing up. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius for ten minutes and pop the tray inside the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes. You will hear the popping and that will bring happiness to your soul. The skin of the chestnuts will curl up that’s an indication that they are doing just fine.

6. In the meanwhile we can work on the cocoa coffee butter. In a saucepan add butter and Maple syrup. Once it is bubbly remove it from the flame.

7. Also add instant coffee and vanilla essence. Keep stirring till the coffee has dissolved.

8. Place the roasted chestnuts in a serving platter with X side up. Drizzle this Cocoa Coffee butter on top and let it sink inside from the cracks.

9. Cover the chestnuts for a while for nuts to absorb the flavour. When they are easy to touch season them with Flaky Crystal Salt and serve.

You can even try Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon , Roasted Bell Pepper & Black Eyed Peas Salad, Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Pine Nuts Fettuccine Pasta, Roasted Rosemary Garlic Potatoes.

roastedchestnutwithcocoabutter_featured2
[whohit]RoastedChestnutwithCocoaCoffeeButter[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’263′]

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Baking

Persimmon Rum Cake

By anshu January 11, 2015

persimmonrumcake_featured1
Some days back the food groups on facebook were infested with posts to guess this new kind of fruit ultimately revealed as Ram Phal, Japani Phal and in English Persimmon. I couldn’t restraint myself when I saw these babies in the market. They were at a throw away price so I bought them a kilo. Now after eating a few I was thinking where else can I utilise them. I found this incredible recipe to make a spiced cake with persimmon, just perfect for the cold weather.

persimmonrumcake_featured2

The persimmons were sitting on my shelf for a few days now so they had become super ripe just the way they are needed for this cake. The cake came out so moist and delicious that my husband declared it the best cake baked by me so far.

Directions:

1. Wash and Cut the persimmons into half.

2. Scoop out the pulp with the help of a spoon and throw away the peels.

3. Put the pulp in a blender and make a smooth puree. Set aside.

4. In a small saucepan pour some rum and raisins and bring them to a boil on medium low heat. Remove from heat and cover. Let them come to a room temperature.

5. In a bowl add All purpose Flour, Cinnamon powder, Baking Soda and salt.

6 . Also add nutmeg powder for that extra spice.

7. In the same bowl add castor sugar and mix everything. Set aside.

8. In a different bowl crack eggs and add the persimmon puree and also add rum soaked raisins.

9. Also add to this vanilla extract. Combine everything making sure everything mixes evenly.

10. Grease a ten cup pan spring pan or bundt pan. Also preheat your oven to 175 degree Celsius.

11. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the wet ingredients into it.

12. Also add melted butter. Also add toasted walnuts or pecans.

13. Combine everything using a spatula till everything is moistened. But do not overmix.

14. Transfer it to a greased pan and even out from the top by tapping the pan.

15. Bake in preheated oven between 40 minutes to 1 hour or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from Oven and let it cool completely. Invert the cake into a serving plate.

Slice it like that only or you can top it with Cream Cheese Icing.

You can even try Persimmon Sorghum Cup Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Pumpkin Cake Rolls and Spiced Raisin Cake.

[whohit]PersimmonCake[/whohit]

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