P ~ Pongal Instant Mix

 Event: Blogging marathon
Theme: Free choice

I got overzealous with the letter "P" and without knowing had prepared in advance, 3 regional dishes and a baked dish but as soon as I saw next month BM's theme, I have to put them in reserve. That's what I do when I have choices and that's why I don't like to keep posts in drafts. :) At the last moment, I chose to go with this instant mix for pongal. In one of themes chosen for this marathon, we had the option of posting two recipes of our choice and so I had a free reign. 

In one of the earlier marathons we had one of the themes as instant food mixes, the ones like MTR brand is famous for - rava idli ix, dosa mix and so on. I had picked that theme and loved doing it. However I never thought of preparing a mix for pongal until my sister in law gave me the idea recently. When we visited north India, she insisted us to carry a rice cooker and some mixes like this to save time during our sight seeing and also to beat the monotony of roti - subzis. (Don't roll your eyes. :) If a south Indian is fed rotis for days, he starts craving for rice.) 

The tip really came handy and we loved the pongal with a spicy mango pickle. My husband was telling me to start preparing pongal with that dry consistency at home too. At home I leisurely cook almost a mushy pongal in a pot and serve with chutney and sambhar. That of course tastes heavenly but this version was also good without loads of ghee, tadka or the side dishes.
This comes handy during trips as I mentioned and also to bachelors or to pass it on as gifts. I know that for people who know how to prepare pongal, this is a breeze and a recipe is not even required. However for the needy, here I go.

1. Use rice: skinned moongdal in 2:1 ratio. 
2. If you prefer, dry roast the moong dal but this step is entirely optional. Lightly toast it until it starts to change color but don't burn it.
3. Here I used 1 cup sona masuri rice, 1/2 cup moong dal, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 Tbsp pepper corns. Pepper can be used whole or slightly crushed. I use whole and crushed pepper in equal quantities since I prefer the heat of pepper. Salt can be mixed too but usually I add it at the end of cooking since it adheres the dal cooking process sometimes. For this quantity go with about 1.5 tsp salt. Toasted or salted cashews can be added as well. Add everything to a zipper bag and seal it until ready to use.
4. If using a pressure cooker, pongal mix : water ratio would be 1:2 for a dry consistency. If you prefer your pongal to be mushy, add water more. If you are using a rice cooker, the water quantity may need to be increased. Check and add as needed. Add salt (if not added earlier) and ghee at the end and mix well. If at home, toast finely minced ginger, cumin seeds and curry leaves in ghee and combine at the end.


Logo courtesy : Preeti   
 
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O ~ Oatmeal - Cranberry Cookies

I was cleaning up my pantry before I left to India and saw that I had some leftover oats that needed to be finished. Luckily I also saw a recipe that used oats, on a bag of dried cranberry packet that I had bought at a local whole sale club. And so I tried that cookie recipe and oh boy, I was glad that I tried. My daughter was completely sold and the whole batch was gone in less than two days. After she finished the batch, she was asking whether I would bake another batch to share it with her cousins in India. And so this is a kid approved recipe. 

Ingredients: (I had about 1&1/2 dozen cookies)
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp  baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup softened butter / margarine
1 Tbsp flax meal + 3 Tbsp warm water 
1/4 cup sweetened dry cranberries
1/4 cup white chocolate chips / chunks
Method:
* Mix flax meal and water in a small bowl and keep it aside for about 5 minutes.
* Combine oats, flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl.

 * Using an electric mixer, beat together butter / margarine and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the flax meal solution and mix well.

* Add the oats mixture to it in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks if using.

* Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
* Drop a tablespoon of batter onto the cookies sheet and lightly flatten it. Repeat the procedure with the remaining dough.

* Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Note:
1. The original recipe had white chocolate chunks but I added chocolate chips as my daughter won't touch the white chocolate.
2. This was originally an egg based recipe. If you prefer to use an egg, use it in place of flax meal solution.
3. The recipe recommended to drop a teaspoonful of batter onto the baking sheet and I noticed that they were not spreading. They remained a ball after baking though they were crunchy as they needed to be. And so I flattened tablespoonfuls of batter.
4. Also I baked a few initially to see how they turn out. In the meantime, I found the batter to be too dry and added 2 Tbsp of milk to the batter (Pictured above.) for the next batch. I noticed that after the first batch came out, there was nothing wrong with the batter and the cookies came out perfect in the mentioned 10 - 12 minutes. The extra milk added batter  cookies took a few minutes longer to bake but they turned out perfect too. And so the lesson learnt is even though the batter seems to be dry, don't be tempted to add extra liquid.
5. And also the original recipe had 1/3 cup each of cranberries and chocolate chips and I found the quantity too much and have reduced it to 1/4 cup each.

Logo courtesy : Preeti

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N ~ Nazook

The letter "N" proved to be the toughest one for me in this marathon so far. I was looking for an easy, vegetarian International recipe that my family would love besides not demanding me a trip to local grocery store. I went from cooking naan pizza to nacho supreme in my head until I remembered an Armenian pastry that I had seen in Aparna's blog sometime ago, which in turn was inspired from here as a part of Daring Baker's Challenge.
 
Trust me when I say that this delicacy doesn't demand much time or efforts. I didn't have to use my head even a teeny tiny bit since it seems to be a fool-proof recipe. I blindly followed the original recipe and was rewarded with no yeast smelling, flaky pastry with subtly sweet yet delicious filling. They were so good that I gobbled up four nazook as soon as they came out of the oven and had to force myself to stop, which was very unlike me.
Apart from the waiting period for chilling the dough and the baking parts, these nazook didn't take much of my time. It took around 10 minutes for my dough and filling preparation and another ten minutes for rolling and cutting the dough. It was a lot easier compared to what I cook everyday in my kitchen.

Now what are nazooks, you ask. Nazook / Nazuk are baked, layered yeast dough pastry with a sweet filling. They are popular in Armenia and are traditionally served during Easter time. A little wiki search tells that it is popular in some other European nations as well. These slightly crunchy yet soft pastries are made by rolling out the dough, spreading the sweet flour paste on the surface and rolling the dough again into a log like in jelly roll style and cutting them into smaller pieces before baking them. The traditional vanilla flavored filling seems to be the most common one used but since there are variations, any filling of your choice, that is not overtly sweet can be used. You can also go with nuts or mahleb - made with pits of dark cherries. I went with a filling Aparna suggested and after eating the flaky pastry, I am thinking of a coconut filling like in dilpasand one for my next trial. Yes, there are going to be future trials. :)

Ingredients for the pastry dough:
1 & 1/2 all purpose flour * (See the note)
1 & 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
100 grams / 7 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat free yogurt)

Method:
I used a food processor to make the dough but feel free to use your hands if you wish. Add 1.5 cups all purpose flour and yeast to a food processor and pulse to mix. Next add butter, sour cream / thick yogurt and run the processor until the mixture is combined. Remove and work with the dough until you get a smooth and elastic dough. Cover the dough and keep refrigerated for at least 3 - 5 hours. I kept it overnight.

Note:
* Work with 1 & 1/2 cups flour initially and add extra flour if needed until you reach a workable dough, almost but not sticky consistency. I added 1.5 cups + 2 Tbsp flour
* I watched the video later (Check the link above.) and realized that 1.5 cups flour yields the perfect texture as shown. The extra 2 tbsp flour I added didn't make a difference and I had a dough with perfect consistency to work with. I just needed a dusting of flour to roll out the dough.

Ingredients for filling:
1/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup coarsely ground almonds
1/4 cup semolina / rava
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
5 - 6 Tbsp / 75 grams butter at room temperature
Other Ingredients:
1 - 2 tbsp milk / yogurt for brushing
1 - 2 Tbsp white sesame seeds (optional)

How to prepare the filling:
Combine everything until the mixture resembles a coarse powder. I had run all the dry ingredients in a food processor to combine them well and without thinking, added butter as well at the end. And so I have a little mushy filling instead of a coarser one. It didn't ruin the recipe though.

How to prepare nazook:
When you are ready to prepare nazook, bring out the chilled dough and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 - 20 minutes. Prepare the filling as mentioned above in the mean time. Divide the dough and filling into two equal portions. Take one portion of the dough, lightly knead it and roll it into ball. Work on a floured surface and roll it out into a thin but not transparent rectangle.

* Sprinkle one portion of the filling over the surface of the rectangle rolled out. The filling should be spread in such a way that it is even through out and as close as possible to the edges on the shorter side. Leave some of the dough uncovered along the lengthy sides of the rectangle. Starting from one end of the lengthy side, start rolling it tightly into a log. When you are done with the rolling, pat the log along with your fingers so that the surface flattens a little bit.

* Brush the tops and sides with yogurt / milk and sprinkle on sesame seeds if using. 

* Cut the log into 10 - 12 pieces of equal length using a knife. Repeat the procedure with the other portion of the remaining dough and the filling.

* Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Place them on a baking sheet and bake them for about 30 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Remove and place them on a wire rack to cool. Store them in airtight container once cool.

Nazook will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of weeks or can be frozen in an air-tight freezer bag for up to 3 months.


Logo courtesy : Preeti

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M ~ Methi Muthia (Fried Version)

Event: Blogging Marathon #32
Theme: Regional
Source: Here

Probably the recipe title and the images might have given an idea about the recipe even for those who are clueless about what muthias are. For the uninitiated, muthias are fried / steamed spicy dumplings from the state of Gujarat. 'Muthi' means fist in Gujarati and the name of the dish is derived from the way it is made, from the 'gripping' action of the hand. They can be made with besan, wheat flour or bajra flour but I guess besan version yields the most crispiest ones. For variation, try replacing fenugreek greens in this recipe with other greens, bottle gourd, or radish. They make a very delicious tea time snack.

Ingredients:(I halved the recipe.)
2 cups chickpea flour / besan (I added 1/2 cup more)
2 tbsp semolina / sooji
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
Salt to taste
2 tsp sugar or as needed (I didn't add any.) 
2 cups washed and roughly chopped methi leaves/fenugreek greens 
2 Tbsp oil
1 - 2 Tbsp ginger-green chilli paste
2 tbsp lemon / lime juice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp water or yogurt (add more if required or ignore adding if the besan mixture is holding well.)
1 cup oil to fry

Method:
1. Combine besan, semolina, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, sesame seeds, salt and sugar in a bowl. Next add methi leaves and mix them well. 
2. Add ginger-green chili paste, baking soda, oil and lemon juice. Mix all the ingredients and keep aside for 15-20 minutes. The methi may have released water in the mean time. If the mixture is dry and only if it is needed, add water / yogurt at this point.

3. Knead the mixture to a smooth dough. Make small cylindrical or rectangular shaped rolls with the dough. 
4.  Heat oil in a kadai or a pan. Shallow or deep fry the rolls intermittently turning them around, until golden brown and crisp. Drain them on absorbent paper towels. 
5. Serve them with spicy or sweet chutney.


Logo courtesy : Preeti

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L ~ Lime Crinkle Cookies

Event: Blogging Marathon #32
Theme: Baking

These subtly and pleasantly lime flavored crinkle cookies inspired from here were tried recently and proved to be a super duper hit at home. Crunchy, melt in mouth kind cookies are my favorite and so, I always thought soft chewy cookies were not my cup of tea and had never even tried to taste them. However the images at this blog and the reviews the recipe got, inspired me to try and I am so so glad that I stumbled upon this recipe. The cookies spread nicely with beautiful crinkles all over. They didn't last long as they were utterly delicious.
My daughter got somewhat carried away after watching Master Chef India - Kids' version and she too wanted to bake something. The girl who needs a lot of cajoling / threatening to finish off food on her plate started pestering her dad for assistance and soon was ready with measuring cups and bowls. Dad couldn't resist her enthusiasm and inquired whether she had a recipe in mind. And of course mommy was needed for suggestions and she was more than happy to pass the recipe and instructions as she was going to get help with the "L" dish for the marathon. Soon the dad, who has never even turned on the oven in his life was seen doing the prep work while the little one very conveniently remembered that her favorite TV show was running and was off to downstairs in no time. The poor dad did all the work from creaming butter-sugar to scooping out the cookie batter onto the trays while the daughter showed up later to taste the cookies. :)) Thanks to the daughter-dad duo for creating this yummy "L" dish for this marathon.

Ingredients: (yield around 18 - 20 cookies)
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1.5 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
and 1/2 cup powdered sugar for dusting

Method:
* Combine 1 Tbsp flax meal and 3 tbsp of warm water in a small bowl and keep it aside.
* Line a baking sheet with parchment paper / aluminium foil or lightly grease the baking sheet.
* Place the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl and set aside.
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F / 175 deg C.
* Cream butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy using a hand held mixer. Next add the flax meal mixture, lime juice, lime zest and vanilla to the butter - sugar mixture. Beat again until combined. Now, add the dry ingredients to the bowl and stir well until just combined. Scrape sides of the bowl down with a spatula to make sure that the dry and wet ingredients are mixed well.
* Scoop about a tablespoon of the cookie dough and roll into a ball. Roll in the powdered sugar and place it on the prepared cookie sheet. Place the cookies about two inches apart since they spread while baking. Repeat the process with the remaining dough. 
(The dough would be soft and somewhat sticky. We used an ice cream scoop and scooped the dough directly into the powdered sugar and rolled them. This was a mess-free method and our hands didn't stick.)

 

* Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies begin to brown and the cookies are no longer shiny. (I baked for about 7 minutes and turned around the baking sheet and baked for another 6 - 7 minutes.) 

* Remove from the oven and let rest for a couple of minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack, let them cool and then store in an airtight container.


Logo courtesy : Preeti

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K ~ Kanda Gadda Koora

Kanda Gadda Koora / Andhra Style Elephant Foot Yam Curry

Event: Blogging Marathon #32
Theme: Regional Cooking (Andhra recipes)

I always associate this kanda gadda preparation with my mother's kitchen. One of the reasons being I rarely find this vegetable locally and even I find it, I am not ready to shell out 25 bucks for a decent sized yam. And so naturally I haven't tried to recreate this ever in my kitchen even though it tops my list of favorite curries. While I was in India, my mother who kept preparing my favorite dishes left and right, remembered to prepare this as well. And so thanks to my mother for contributing this wonderful "K" dish. 
This Andhra style preparation yields a spicy and subtly tangy-sweet dish, with a balance of all the flavors present. The yams are cooked until tender, sauteed in a ginger - chili paste and jaggery-lemon are added at the end to round up the flavors. The final product has a pronounced ginger flavor that you will fall in love with if you like these kind of dishes.  

Ingredients:
4 - 5 cups peeled and chopped kanda cubes
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
6 green chillies (Adjust the quantity depending upon the spiciness of chillies used.)
1 or 2 one inch ginger pieces
salt to taste
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
12 - 15 curry leaves
A couple of pinches of asafoetida powder
2 - 3 Tbsp jaggery powder
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Method:
* Peel and cube the vegetable. Cook adding sufficient water and turmeric until done, either in a pressure cooker or in a sauce pan.

* Grind green chillies, ginger and salt into a coarse paste adding little water.

* Heat oil in a kadai or a pan. Add chana dal and mustard seeds. When the dal starts turning reddish, add the ground paste, curry leaves, asafoetida, cooked kandha cubes, and jaggery powder. Mash the cubes lightly, add lemon juice and mix well until well combined. 
* Cook on low flame for about five minutes or so until the that flavors mingle and the curry is on the drier side, while mixing intermittently. Remove and serve with hot rice and ghee.

Logo courtesy : Preeti

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J ~ Jam filled Muffins

Event: Blogging Marathon #32

Theme: Baking

When I was looking for jam filled muffin recipes, I came across this. I must say that I was attracted to it because of the image and the recipe did not disappoint me. It is a keeper though I must admit that it got me into a panic mode when I saw that half way through baking the muffins were not raising as I expected.  The batter was thinner compared to the thick, dense batters I usually whip up for muffins. I was cursing myself for not adding some extra flour to the batter as I was in no mood to cook another "J" dish at the last moment. However they turned out beautifully at the end and tasted really good. And besides they can be a nice surprise to little ones. I guess berry jams work good for this but I have used apricot and fig jams here. Chocolate or peanut butter surprises may replace the jam filled ones.

There is one more thing I like to add here about how jam is added to the muffin batter. I filled the muffin cup with batter half way through, added jam and covered it with some batter. After baking, I realized that the jam has gone to the bottom of the muffins and so had given below the method mentioned in the original recipe. 

Ingredients: (I got 9 muffins.)

1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk (For vegan version, use plain soy or rice milk.)

1 tsp cider vinegar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter / vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract (I didn't use.)

1/3 cup jam / preserves of your choice (I used apricot jam.)

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Method:
* Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set it aside. 
* Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the center
* In another bowl, whisk together milk, vinegar, and cornstarch until the cornstarch is well incorporated. Pour this into the well in the flour mixture. Add sugar, butter/oil, vanilla and stir until combined. (My batter at this point was not on the thicker side like the usual muffin batter.)
* Fill each muffin cup with batter to about 3/4th. Create a small indentation in the batter using a spoon, by slightly spreading it from the middle out toward the edges. Measure a heaping teaspoon of jam/preserves and place the back of the teaspoon inside the indentation. Rotate the spoon, letting the jam slide into the indentation. Repeat in each well.
* Bake until the tops of the muffins are firm, about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove the pan onto a wire rack and let cool. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.


Logo courtesy : Preeti

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I ~ Irish Soda Bread

Event: Blogging Marathon #32
Theme: International / Fusion Food

I must admit that if not for this marathon and the letter 'I", I wouldn't have taken up this soda bread preparation. I like moist quick breads and somehow the fact that it is on the "dry and dense" side had always pulled me back from trying it even though I have bookmarked recipes for it. I copied this recipe from a cookbook I had borrowed long ago from my local library and the recipe got me a decent bread. 
Soda bread happens to be a quick bread, traditionally made using baking soda as the leavening agent. Flour, baking soda, buttermilk and salt are the ingredients of a traditional soda bread though butter, eggs, raisins / nuts can also be added.

Ingredients:
Wet Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter milk 
(In absence of buttermilk, combine 3/4 cup warm milk + 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar in a bowl and add. This is what I added.)
2 Tbsp melted butter
Dry ingredients: 
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark raisins (I used dark and golden raisins)

Method:
* Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Grease a baking sheet and keep it aside.
* Combine all the dry ingredients except raisins until blended in a mixing bowl. Mix in butter, buttermilk (or milk - vinegar mixture) and raisins to form a soft dough. The dough would be wet and sticky.
* Knead the dough for a minute or so on floured surface.
* Shape it into a round loaf and place it on the baking sheet. Flatten it slightly with hand. Cut an 'X' shaped slash on the top using a knife.
* Bake until golden brown or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (about 35- 45 minutes.)
* Cool on a wire rack before slicing.


Logo courtesy : Preeti 
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H ~ How to Blanch Tomatoes

Event: Blogging Marathon #32

Theme: Pictorial Post

Peeling tomatoes can prove to be a difficult job if not for blanching. Blanching is a cooking process where usually vegetables / fruits are plunged into boiling water, removed after a brief, timed interval (like 20 seconds for these tomatoes) followed by a plunging in ice cold water to halt the cooking process. Food is blanched often to soften it, or to cook it partially or fully. Sometimes to remove a strong taste. In this case, the peels will come off easily after the short process. Since it is a pictorial post, here we go through the process in pictures. (Source:wiki)

Logo courtesy : Preeti

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