Potato - Cheese Bread

This delicious, cheesy bread comes from Cookshelf Baking by Emma Patmore. I rarely pay attention to cookbooks and generally keep recycling our family recipes for everyday cooking. However my trip to our local library doesn't end without a visit to the cookbooks aisle. It is hard to pick from the large collection over there but the titles "vegetarian / vegan" and how colorfully the dishes have been captured in the book play a part in my selection. I go through them leisurely at home and as my husband points out, I give cookbooks as much attention as an interesting novel deserves even though hardly anything interesting happens practically. :) He is not wrong, I just keep admiring the work of the author and the photographer without actually cooking anything from the book.  

The story is same with the books I own too. And so for a change, I went to my bookshelf this time instead of rushing to the library when I thought of "Cooking from a Cookbook" theme. Many years ago, a couple of books caught my husband's attention that were being sold at Michael's, the arts and crafts store. Each book had about 120 recipes, with crisp pictures and neat description. They were easy to carry and moreover sold at a petty price and so he brought them home. This Cookshelf - Baking book was one of them and I have to say this was the second recipe I tried in 8 years. :) And both this cheese bread and the Olive oil, fruit and nut cake I tried didn't disappoint. I served this bread with a salad and a veggie - corn chowder.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mustard powder
2 cups grated red Leicester cheese (I substituted it with sharp cheddar cheese.)
2 cups cooked and mashed potatoes
3/4 cup water (minus 2 Tbsp worked for me.)
1 Tbsp oil

Method:
* Sieve the flour, salt, mustard powder and baking powder into a bowl.
* Reserve 2 Tbsp cheese aside. Stir in the mashed potatoes and the remaining cheese into the bowl. Mix well until combined.
* Add oil and then pour in water gradually and prepare a soft dough. 
* Work on a floured surface and shape the dough into a 8 inch round loaf. 
* Place the loaf on a greased baking sheet. Mark the loaf into 4 portions with a knife, without completely cutting through. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese.

* Bake the loaf in a preheated oven at 425 deg F for about 25 - 30 minutes. (I baked about 22 minutes and at 350 deg F baked for about 10 minutes.)
* Transfer the bread to a wire rack and allow it to cool. Serve it fresh.

Check here to know what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

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Date -Tamarind Chutney / Khajur - Imli Chutney

When I planned to go with a "Sauce" recipe for the BM, my mind kept going towards  those that are used regularly in western cooking ranging from pesto sauce to chocolate based one. I however had to control myself as two of my refrigerator shelves are already filled with an assortment of condiments, bought by the other overzealous shopper at home. It would have been ridiculous to go with another sauce just for the sake of blogging and so kept wrecking my head until again my husband came to aid. He had gone out on some other work and as usual ended up in Indian grocery store and came home with a bag of samosas. Samosas led to this sweet chutney and the husband had rightly suggested that the Indian green chutney and sweet chutney are also sauces and I could go ahead with any one of those. And so, sweet and tangy date - tamarind chutney it is.

Nupur's date - tamarind chutney is the one I have been following in the recent years whenever I make chaats at home. I follow the recipe just as a basic guideline and prepare as my taste preferences. As she mentioned in her post, each time we end up with a unique chutney because the sweetness of the jaggery / dates or the sourness of the tamarind are never the same. The products vary with each batch / brand. Following your taste buds is the key for success here. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 cup soft pitted dates
1/4 cup tamarind
1/4 cup jaggery
Salt to taste
Cumin powder & coriander powder as preferred

Method:
* Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Press down on the tamarind and dates using the back of a ladle or a potato masher and extract as much of the pulp as possible. Stir well to dissolve all the ingredients. Taste and adjust tamarind / jaggery or salt to get the sweet/tangy/salty balance you like best. 
* Filter the mixture through a sieve to remove the fibers. Chutney that is too thick may be difficult to strain so dilute it with filtered water if necessary. 
* This can be served with most of the chaat items.

The above method was Nupur's. I go the easy way and zap the tamarind with little water in the microwave and squeeze out the pulp thereby removing the fibre directly. Then I grind the ingredients together and sieve the mixture just in case to avoid any fibre if still present. Then I taste, adjust the ingredients and simmer the mixture. Chutney can be refrigerated for little less than a week. I actually freeze the extra chutney as it doesn't store well for longer periods even after refrigeration. Also there was no chili powder in this chutney and I am not bothered because a spicy green chutney accompanies it usually at my home.

Check here to know what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

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Rice Rava - Mixed Vegetable Upma / Biyyapu Rava Upma

I could never get away with an easy sandwich, a cereal - milk or a muffin kind breakfast at my home. I, being the one who have to cook on a daily basis can do with a nutella sandwich for my own convenience. However the younger one doesn't like anything sweeter and these quick, instant kind breakfasts get a big "No" from her. While the other adult who keeps traveling for his work, really hates the stuff intensely and besides, I can never shove food down somebody's throat just because I cooked it. And therefore each morning, we prepare and eat what we are used to since our childhoods - a filling, savory Indian breakfast. Friends/ relatives of ours' are surprised to see me dishing out hot steaming idlis, dosas in the morning rush hours, even after being away from the homeland for about one and half decades. 

And so even though sandwiches seemed as the easy route, I went with an upma. Upma is a common south Indian breakfast and a quicker one to pull through among the traditional dishes. To make it quicker, rava frying, cooking the onion / vegetables and boiling the water can be done simultaneously. It is hard to clump up rice rava upma like the semolina one and it tastes wonderful.

Ingredients for 4 servings:
1.5 cups rice rava / finely cracked rice
Serrano peppers, finely chopped - 3 to 4 (If using any other variety, use as many as required.)
2 onions, finely chopped
1 cup prepared and finely chopped vegetables (I used frozen mixed vegetables that had carrot, beans, corn, fresh lima beans and peas.)
Salt to taste
For tadka:  
2 -3 Tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp chana dal / Bengal gram
1 tsp urad dal / Black gram
1 tsp cumin seeds
few curry leaves
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
3 cups water

Method:
* Dry fry the rava on medium flame until the rava starts to turn a shade darker. Remove the rava and set it aside.
* Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan / kadai. Add mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter and the dals turn red, add chillies and curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds and then add onion and turmeric powder. Cook until the onion turns translucent. If using fresh vegetables, add them along with the onion and cook covered until they are done, for about 10 minutes. 
* Next add water, frozen vegetables (if using) and salt to the pan. Set the stove to highest setting and let the water come to a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling, lower the flame. Add rava slowly in a steady stream, holding the rava container in your left hand while stirring with your right hand to avoid the lumps.  Stir properly and cover the pan. Continue the cooking for a few more minutes until the rava is cooked, stirring in between once or twice. 
Serve hot with chutney or chutney powder or daliya powder.

Check here to know what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

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Aloo Chole

I hardly ever prepare in advance when I am doing theme based cooking as this marathon for instance. Most of the cooking happens on the day I post unless it is a cloudy day. This time however I had the fudge post ready in my drafts. Based on that, I went with the choice of alphabets for this week's marathon and ended up cooking another dish in advance too, only not to use it at the last moment. See, advanced planning never works for me. :) Yesterday, I had prepared aloo chole and thought of using that instead of the initially planned one. And so, this delicious, protein packed Aloo Chole is for the letter "A". I kept the dish to the basic version as I was not in the mood for an overtly spiced one.

Ingredients: (4 servings)
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans / Kabuli chana
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 onions, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled, cubed and cooked
1 tsp chole masala
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp chili powder or as needed
1 Tbsp kasoori methi
Cilantro to garnish

Method:

* Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they start to turn brown, add ginger, onion and turmeric powder. Stir and cook until the onion turns translucent. Next add the tomatoes and cook until they turn mushy.
*Take out a small portion of the cooked beans and grind it adding a small amount of water.
* Now add this ground paste, the rest of the cooked garbanzo beans, potato, salt, chili powder and chole masala to the onion - tomato sauce. Add some water if needed. You can use the water used to cook the beans. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add kasoori methi, stir once and let it simmer for a few minutes, for the flavors to mingle.
* Garnish with cilantro and serve with roti / bhature / naans.


Check here to know what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

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Lemon Poha

A reader had queried what she can do using lemons apart from the regular pickle and rice. There are baked recipes that use lemons / limes, if one is interested. And there are of course lemonade and lemon curd. Coming to Indian context, one can use it as a flavoring agent in curries / some savory snacks, replace tamarind in dals with lemon juice like this one or prepare dishes like this lemon gojju, sevai or this capsicum - lime rice. (Note that lime and lemon juice and interchangeable in these recipes.) And if you have any other ideas, please leave them in comments.

And today's recipe is also one that uses lemon juice -  Lemon Poha for the letter "L". If you are among those who don't prefer bread / cereals as part of their breakfast, then here is a decent savory breakfast option from an Indian kitchen that can be put together in about 15 minutes that can serve 2 - 3 adults.

Ingredients:(2 -3 servings)
1 cup thick poha
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp peanuts
1 tsp Bengal gram / chanadal
1 tsp black gram / urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
3-4 green chillies, finely chopped
A pinch of asafoetida powder
Few curry leaves
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut (optional)
Small lemon ((1 to 1.5 Tbsp juice is enough.)
Salt to taste
Minced cilantro to garnish

Method:
* Wash the poha in a colander. Drain and let it sit for five minutes.
* Heat oil in a pan and add peanuts, chanadal, uraddal and mustard seeds. When the peanuts and dals start to turn reddish, add chillies, curry leaves, turmeric powder and asafoetida. Saute for a few seconds and then add poha, coconut and salt. Mix well once, cover and cook on medium flame for 5 - 7 minutes and turn off the stove. * Add the lemon juice as needed and cilantro. Mix well and serve.

Note:
1. The variety of thick poha I am acquainted with in India, needs soaking in water for about 4-5 minutes. Here in US, the poha I get needs no soaking and by mistake, if the poha is soaked, I end up with a mush. And so one has to decide to soak / wash poha depending upon the variety of the poha. And thin poha is not a substitute for this recipe.
2. Also the amount of lemon juice this recipe requires depends upon one's taste buds. I prefer a little over a Tbsp of lemon juice and not much for the quantity of poha I used. Note that poha doesn't need that much lemon / lime juice as the rice.

Check here to know what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

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Foolproof Fudge

 

 

My theme for this week's marathon is "Cooking with Alphabets" and I picked the alphabets - A, F & L. The first recipe in the series is going to be this fudge for "F" that is fool proof and utterly delectable as per my daughter. It is ridiculously easy and quick to prepare. All you need is few minutes to melt the chocolate chips and leave it to set. And I ensure you that this is a recipe impossible to mess up.

I was just looking for recipes using condensed milk one night and my daughter soon joined me in browsing. She decided on this as soon as she laid eyes on it and kept asking me whether I would try the recipe for her. The recipe literally needs no effort / time and yields a yummy treat. I thought of surprising her and and tried it after she went to sleep. In return, I got the big surprise. I literally have to be after my daughter each day to finish her food. She hardly reaches for food on her own, even though my dining table would be stacked with goodies. And she never touches refrigerator. However this fudge changed the story. She opened the box from the refrigerator without any coaxing from me and ate the fudge whenever she felt like eating and finished the batch. Touch wood. :)

I used only half the recipe and so set it in a small square box. I got 9 squares.

 

Ingredients:

3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

14 oz sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional. I used walnuts.)

1.5 tsp vanilla extract

A dash of salt

Method:

* In a sauce pan, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt on low flame. Remove from heat, stir in nuts if using and vanilla.

* Spread evenly into wax paper or aluminium foil lined 8 or 9 inch squared pan. Chill for a couple of hours or until firm.

* After the fudge is firmly set, lift the fudge out of the pan. Place on a cutting board, peel off the paper / foil and cut into squares.  

* Store them covered in refrigerator.

Check here to know what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

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Tomato - Minapappu Vadiyala Pappu

 

Urad dal / black gram and lemon are two common ingredients of any Indian kitchen. However bringing them together in a dish is a challenging task and that's what we were supposed to do in this month's Magic Mingle. In south Indian kitchens, urad dal plays a major role in their signature breakfast dishes. Be it the mouth watering dosas, soft, healthy idlis or the crisp, fluffy vadas. Besides the dal is used in tadkas, and preparing papads. And of course there are dals, kachoris and pooris from the North kitchens.  

However urad dal and lemon playing major roles in a dish needed some thinking from my end and finally I decided to come up with a recipe of my own, based on a different recipe from my MIL's kitchen. The result is a tangy, healthy dal with crisp wadis thrown in at the end to add texture and make it more flavorful. A dal, I truly enjoyed.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup minapappu vadiyalu (urad dal wadi)

3/4 cup toordal

1 Tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

Few Curry leaves

4-6 green chillies finely chopped (or as needed)

2 tomatoes, finely chopped 

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

Salt as needed

Juice from 1 lemon (or as needed)

Minced cilantro for garnish

3 - 4 Tbsp oil to fry urad dal wadis

 

Method:

* Cook toor dal adding about 1.5 cups of water in a pressure cooker. After it is done, lightly mash the cooked dal with the back side of the ladle. 

* Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add green chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves. Saute for few seconds and add tomatoes and turmeric. Fry the tomatoes on low flame, until they turn mushy. Add salt, mix well and turn off the stove.

* Next add the mashed dal and lemon juice as required to make a tangy dal. Garnish with cilantro.

* In the mean while, fry urad dal wadis in hot oil until they start to turn reddish brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

* Add fried vadiyalu / wadi to the prepared dal while serving. Don't add them before serving as they may turn softer and loose their crunch. 

This is my entry to Magic Mingle #14 with Uraddal - Lemon as the theme ingredients. 

 

 

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Quinoa - Dry Fruit Muffins ~ Moist, Yummy and Eggless

 

I honestly had no expectations when I decided to try these muffins and was also skeptical about the outcome in terms of texture of these muffins. I somehow had this preconceived notion that the quinoa muffins would be on the drier side. However since I am always gung ho over quinoa as my non enthusiastic husband points out, I wanted to try them out for a healthy snack option (as I don't eat sweet stuff for my breakfast) and also to figure out how quinoa works in baking recipes. 

I landed here while looking for baking recipes that used whole grains. The positive review the recipe got coerced me to try the recipe. I changed it into a vegetarian one and I must admit I was very much impressed about the texture and flavor of these muffins. Besides the muffins rose beautifully too. (I dropped about a heaped Tbsp batter into each muffin cup.) This recipe yields perfect textured, awesome tasting, moist muffins and it is a keeper. It gets five stars from me. Even the signature flavor of the quinoa was unnoticeable and so, if you are looking for ways to sneak in quinoa in your cooking, this is a good one to go.

Ingredients: (Yield 12 standard size muffins)

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup all purpose flour 

1 tsp salt 

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar 

2 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used canola oil.) 

1/4 to 1/2 cup dry fruits of your choice (I used finely chopped dates, raisins, dried cranberries, and walnuts.)

1 banana, mashed

Scant 1/2 cup milk 

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease a muffin tray and dust with flour, tapping the excess or use the paper liners.
2. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, dry fruits / nuts in a mixing bowl. Add quinoa and mix well.
3. In another bowl, whisk together oil, milk, mashed banana and vanilla. Add this to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. 
4. Divide batter among the muffin cups, filling them about only 2/3rd. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Mine were done in 30 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. 
5. Serve them as breakfast or as a snack. Refrigerate the left over muffins.

Note:
1. I had cooked quinoa ready. I cooked 1/2 cup quinoa + 1 cup water in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles. It can be cooked in a saucepan too. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add quinoa. 
Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until quinoa is tender and all the water has been absorbed. Don't make it watery.
2. If you prefer subtly sweet muffins, then reduce the brown sugar quantity to 1/4 cup in the above recipe.
3. Don't skip the dry fruits from this recipe. I would personally recommend dates and the dry fruits certainly enhance the taste of the muffins.


This is my Day 3 post under "Baking with Whole Grains" theme. Check here to know what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.
Also sending this to "Dish name starts with Q" event.

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English Digestive Biscuits

I buy digestive biscuits regularly but never thought of baking them at home until I happened to notice this recipe. The simplicity of the recipe and the fact that my son likes them led me to try them. And to my surprise, this time I was the one who consumed the most as I really liked them.

The digestive biscuits / sweet meal biscuits are popular worldwide though they originated in the United Kingdom. They were developed during the latter part of the 19th century to increase the fiber in the Victorian diets. They were originally known as wheaten and the term "digestive" was coined from the belief that the use of sodium bicarbonate in the recipe had antacid properties. (Source: Wiki)

Ingredients: (yield 20 biscuits)

1.5 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners sugar (I used 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup cold milk (I used 1/2 cup)

Method:

* Combine the flours and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender / two knives or your fingertips. Add sugar and enough milk to make a stiff dough. Transfer this mixture to a floured surface and knead it until smooth. I used my food processor for the job and it was done in no time.  

 * Flour the working surface. Roll the dough into about 1/8 inch thick and cut into rounds of 2 1/2 inches diameter. Or one can choose to go with any desired shape other than the traditional rounds. I used a small stainless steel cup to cut the rounds.

* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F and grease a baking sheet.

* Place the cut rounds on the greased cookie sheets and prick evenly with a fork. 

 

* Bake until pale gold, about 15 - 20 minutes. Don't be tempted to bake longer than the mentioned time or you would end up with harder biscuits. 

* Serve them with tea or coffee.

This is my Day 2 post under "Baking with Whole Grains" theme. Check here to know what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

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Oats - Raisin Scones

 

I usually try to stay away from high calorie baked stuff. However I don't feel guilty to consume one or two scones whenever I bake them. And so naturally my inclination was towards scones, when I was planning to bake with whole grains this week for the blogging marathon. I came across these when looking for some oat based ones and modified the recipe a little, to suit my needs. I ended up with slightly bread textured scones since I added melted butter by mistake but am still happy with the result. They tasted good with a crunch offered by raisins and nuts. 

Ingredients: (Yield 16 scones)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick cooking oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup / 4 oz / 1/2 stick butter

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup each - raisins & walnuts (I used 1/2 cup each.) 

Method:

* Preheat the oven to 375 deg F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

* Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks unevenly crumbly. (Using a food processor to cut in the butter is what I recommend. By mistake, I used melted butter and ended with soft, bready scones.) Mix the raisins and nuts. Stir in the buttermilk and form the dough.

* Transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide it into two portions. Form each portion into a disk and pat into a round of about 6 inches in diameter. At this point, you can sprinkle with coarse sprinkling sugar if desired. Cut the round into 8 wedges. Don't separate the wedges.

 

* Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet and bake them for about 20 minutes or until they are just beginning to brown. Remove them and serve them warm.

Check what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

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Simple Pastas ~ Cheesy Rotini

The only lunchbox item that I am sure of getting finished by my daughter has to be the simple cheesy pasta.  It is her favorite and so I decided to go with this dish even though I had other recipe ready for today. She prefers to taste only pasta and cheese in her dish and nothing else. I therefore follow the basic, simple recipe with no  addition of healthy / fancy ingredients. The Mac n cheese I posted earlier being her favorite though I resort to boxed Mac n cheese sometimes for the convenience. Today my daughter was in mood for Mac n Cheese for lunch but I had only rotini and shell pastas in my pantry. I chose to go with the former as it was tri colored one and would look more appealing to the kid. I am just giving the basic recipe here but you can jazz it up with the addition of veggies / meat / spices etc. Or go with your favorite sauce.

Ingredients:
12 oz rotini
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese powder (Or grated cheddar cheese)

Method:
* Cook rotini pasta al dente, according to the package directions. (I didn't use salt.)
* Add milk and cheese powder and cook for a minute or so, until a sauce is formed. Turn off the stove. Serve it with any sauce of your choice or with ketchup.

 

This is my entry to

1. Srivalli's "Kids' Delight" event, hosted this month by PJ, with the theme "Lunch Box Recipes"

2. Blogging marathon #25.

Check what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

 

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