Monday Meals ~ Eggless Zucchini - Carrot Bread

I had planned early on that I would bake at least one loaf of bread for this marathon. I wanted it to be a little on the sweet side, moist and yummy instead of a plain sandwich loaf and this zucchini - carrot bread adapted from here perfectly fit the bill. This quick bread would be a great addition to any breakfast / brunch menu. I converted the original recipe into an eggless version, replaced a portion of plain flour with wheat flour and used equal quantities of carrot and zucchini. This bread is a great way to sneak in vegetables for picky eaters.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm milk (I used fat-free milk.)

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 

1 medium sized zucchini (about 1 cup gated)

1 large sized carrot (about 1 cup grated)

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or substitute all purpose flour)

1 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup raisins 

Method:

* Stir together milk and vinegar in a bowl and keep aside.

* Peel and grate carrot. Peel and grate zucchini and squeeze out excess liquid.

* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease a 8"x3" pan. (I used 9

x5 pan.)

* Combine flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking salt and salt in a mixing bowl.

* In another bowl, whisk the milk-vinegar mixture, oil and vanilla. Next add brown sugar and mix until smooth. Gently stir in grated zucchini and carrot.

* Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the raisins finally and stir gently to combine.

* Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. (Mine was done in about 45 minutes.)

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Saturday Snack ~ Oven Roasted Peas

Here is another traditionally deep fried snack in a guiltless form. The idea of roasted peas came last week when I was snacking on some sev mix that included fried peas. Somehow these peas never crossed my mind while planning this marathon though I have eaten roasted peas zillions of times before. This recipe is similar to the oven roasted chickpeas but the difference I noted is that it is hard to ruin this dish if done properly. The oven roasted version yields crispy, crunchy peas without any hardness. Enjoy a low calorie, yummy snack without any guilt.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh / frozen peas (I used about 14 oz. frozen peas.)
2 tsp. oil
Salt & chili powder to taste

Method:
* Wash the frozen peas in a colander and drain completely. Blanch the peas if using the fresh variety and drain.
* Wrap them in a thick towel and leave them for about 15 - 20 minutes. Or can be dried between absorbent towels.
* Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.
* Combine peas, oil, salt and chili powder in a bowl and toss the bowl to combine. Or mix with your hand so that peas are coated well with the seasonings.
* Spread the peas on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and place it in the oven.
* Bake them, intermittently stirring once in every 10 to 12 minutes, until they turn crispy and crunchy. Do the taste testing to be sure.
(I baked around 60 minutes and turned off the oven. I left the baking sheet in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes or so. Take the timings I mentioned as a mere guideline and start watching the peas carefully after about 30 minutes since the oven timings vary.  )

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Fun Friday ~ Biscut Suji

I was planning to bake different shaped breads as part of the 'Fun Friday' and scheduled to bake them once I was done with the other posts. As planned, I baked 5 instead of 4 breads including this rose bread. Two turned good in terms of taste and looks and I goofed up with the shape of another excellent tasting bread. I couldn't arrive at the exact shape I was planning to achieve in the case of fourth bread which was supposed to be today's post. I thought of redoing the recipes again but had to let go as I had run out of yeast and was in no mood to go out to buy.
The supposed bread I was about to post today had three colors and I am subbing it with these three colored cookies instead. It was fun making these tie-dye kind cookies and surprising my daughter. She was as curious as I was (when I saw them first time) to know how to arrive at that shape. When I came across several versions of cookies online, I noticed that they all pointed to one particular Malaysian recipe and since the blogger called them biscuit suji, I am also doing so. This recipe doesn't contain any suji / semolina as the title suggests but I have seen another version of suji cookies which are entirely different than this. These cookies are slightly crumbly and taste excellent. They are along the lines of the wedding cookies, moon cookies or the kifli and if you have tasted any of those before and liked it, you are going to love these too. 

Ingredients: (Make 18 - 20 cookies)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup ghee / clarified butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 food colors
Extra Icing sugar to decorate

Method:
* Sift four, baking soda, baking powder and salt together into a mixing bowl. Then add icing sugar, almond powder, ghee and vanilla to the bowl. Combine them to form a dough.

* Divide the dough into three equal portions.

* Add about 6 drops of red food color to one ball of dough and knead well until combined uniformly. Repeat the steps by adding blue and yellow food colors to the remaining dough balls. (I chose to go with red, blue and yellow colors. Use contrasting colors of your choice. The original recipe had green instead of blue.)

* Pinch about olive sized dough pieces of three colors and place them on the palm of your non dominant hand. And fuse them using your fingers of the other hand. (I did not realize until editing that the picture was out of focus but had only one picture to show this step.)
 
* Roll the dough pieces gently between your palms and shape it into a disc. Repeat the steps with the remaining dough and place the shaped discs on a greased or parchment / foil lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. The discs are going to expand while baking and so take care to place them apart.

* Bake them in a preheated oven at 325 deg F / 160 deg C for 15 - 20 minutes. (I baked them for about 20 minutes.)
* Cool them and roll in icing sugar to coat them lightly.
 

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Thursday Teatime ~ Saffron Cookies

These saffron cookies were the first ones that got baked by me for this marathon. I came across these lovely cookies when looking for some simple ones with Indian flavors. These are made with the basic ingredients found in any Indian pantry and gets done in a short time. I made a small batch of these as I had baked other cookies too.

Ingredients: (Yield 6 to 7 cookies)
1 tbsp. warm milk
A pinch of saffron strands
3 tbsp. powdered sugar
3 tbsp. softened butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. cardamom powder
Slivered almonds to garnish

Method:
* Crush the saffron strands and soak them in milk for a couple of  minutes.
* Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F / 180 deg C. 
* Beat sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the saffron milk and mix.
* Next add flour and cardamom to the bowl and combine to form a soft dough.
* Divide the mixture into 6 - 7 balls and gently flatten them between your palms.
 
* Arrange them on the prepared baking sheet. Garnish with slivered almonds.
* Bake them for about 15 - 20 minutes. 
(I baked for about 17 minutes. They firm up once they cool down and so bake accordingly. No need to bake until they turn crispy in the oven.)
* Remove them from oven when done and let cool. Store them in airtight container.

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Veggie Wednesday ~ Okra Fry

If you are wondering whether I have burnt or charred the fry, I did not and trust me, that fry tastes delicious. I usually toast okra in the oven to the point where they turn crisp and loose all their 'green' color. I do it on purpose each time I roast okra as everyone in my family loves it that way. Trust me, if not for this post, you would not have noticed those green pieces of okra in the above picture. :) However if cooking my way, one has to pay attention at the final stages of the cooking since our aim is not to burn the okra but turn it into crispy pieces.

Okra fry is loved by everyone in our family and especially it is my daughter's favorite dish. My husband remembers to bring home okra whenever he spots the fresh ones, for her sake. Some go into making this fry and some to the Andhra style dal. The oven toasting cuts down the oil usage considerably compared to the stove-top roasting and I prefer the oven method when I want my vegetables to be crispy and guilt-free. I mostly cook okra, tindora and potatoes this way.

Okra is one of those vegetables which turn slimy if they are wet / have any trace of water on them while chopping. Here is a tip to avoid the sticky situation and save time in sitting and dry wiping each okra. Wash and drain the okra completely and leave them overnight or a few hours (depending on when okra are needed) on a thick towel to dry out or lay them on one half of the towel and cover them with the other half. By morning they will all be clean and completely dry. Then proceed with the chopping as the recipe requires.

Ingredients:

About 2 cups finely chopped okra / 45 okra

3 to 4 tbsp. oil

Salt and chili powder to taste

Method:

* Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.

* Chop off the tips and finely chop the okra pods. Try to keep them in same size for uniform cooking. Add the chopped okra and oil to a bowl and mix well so that each okra piece is coated generously with oil.

* Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup later.)

* Spread the okra pieces on the prepared baking sheet. Slight overcrowding will do since the quantity of okra is going to be reduced after some minutes of baking.

* Bake until the desired consistency is reached, flipping once or twice intermittently. Pay attention at the final stages of baking to avoid burning.

* Remove them from oven and transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle salt and chili powder as needed and toss to combine.

* Serve with hot steamed rice.

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Tueseday 'Treats' ~ Banana - Date - Walnut Cupcakes

These cupcakes even without any frosting are really a treat. They come out soft and moist every time. I have tried them a few times before, coming up with slight modifications each time and have enjoyed them all. These eggless, butterless cupcakes can be easily converted into vegan ones by substituting the milk by soy / almond milk and subbing the sugar with a vegan version. The dates added here can be omitted in case if you don't have them on hand but I highly recommend them for the little bursts of sweetness they add, while biting into these cupcakes.
 

Recipe adapted from Cook's Hideout
Ingredients: (yield 12 medium sized ones)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk (Soy / Almond milk for vegan version.)
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed bananas (I used over-ripened 2 medium sized bananas)
10 roughly chopped soft dates
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Method:
* Preheat oven to 350 deg F / 175 deg C. Line the muffin pan with paper cups. (I use paper liners even for my silicone muffin tray since it is easy to serve.)
* Sift together flours, salt, baking soda and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add sugar to the same bowl and keep it aside.
* Add milk, oil, vanilla and mashed bananas to another bowl and mix well.
* Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients bowl and gently combine until mixed. Finally add dates and walnuts and give a stir.
* Fill each muffin cup up to 2/3rd and place the pan in the oven.
* Reduce the oven temperature to 325 deg F / 160 deg C and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.
 

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Monday Meals ~ Handvo (Baked Version)

Handvo happens to be a traditional snack item from the state of Gujarat from Western part of India. This savory cake is made from fermented rice-lentil batter using a special handvo pan. However  handvo can be baked in an oven or cooked in a wide, deep nonstick pan on stove-top as well. Choose whatever method works for you. Handvo is quite filling and so can be suitable for dinner as well. I prepare it as a lunch / dinner as I find it hard to bake it in the morning rush, when breakfast is expected to be on the table around 6.30 am. They freeze well too and so can be prepared in advance for impromptu meals.

I must admit that I was quite surprised when I came across for the first time, a baked handvo version since it happens to be a traditional dish. Traditional home cooking in India hardly involves oven based recipes and for that reason alone, handvo caught my attention. However I didn't get a chance to try it until a couple of years ago. This recipe comes from a Sanjeev Kapoor's cookbook and I didn't make any changes except the vegetables used in the recipe. It is not very spicy and so even kids can enjoy this without the spicy chutneys. And don't get intimidated by the long list of ingredients mentioned below. Most of them just go into the ground batter. If you are used to making dosas / idlis, the process comes across as a breeze.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

1/4 cup urad dal / skinned black gram

1/4 cup chana dal / split chickpeas

1/4 cup moong dal

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp g.chili paste

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chili powder

Salt to taste

2 tbsp. grated bottle gourd 

2 tbsp. grated cabbage

1 tbsp. grated carrot

(I used about 1/2 cup grated zucchini and carrot instead of the above vegetables listed.)

1/4 tsp baking soda (I used Eno's salt) 

1 tbsp. + 3/4 tbsp. oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

10 - 12 curry leaves

2 tsp sesame seeds

A small pinch of asafoetida 

The grinding part:
* Soak the rice and dals together in water such that the ingredients are immersed in water, for about 3 to 4 hours.
* Drain and grind the soaked ingredients adding sour yogurt as needed. (I used about 3/4 cup yogurt.)
* Add a tbsp. oil to the batter and allow to ferment it overnight or 7 to 8 hours.

The handvo making:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F / 175 degree C. Grease a baking tin and keep it aside.
* Add ginger, chili paste, chili powder, turmeric, vegetables and salt to the batter. Stir well.
* Heat about 3/4 tbsp. oil. in a small pan. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and sesame seeds. When mustard seeds start spluttering, turn off the stove and add this tempering to the batter and mix well. (Instead of mixing the tempering into the batter, I poured it over the top). Add baking soda and again give it a stir.
* Pour the batter into a greased baking tin and place it in the preheated oven.

* Bake until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean and the top starts to turn golden brown, about 30 - 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool and cut into squares or the desired shape. 

* If using stove-top method, place a large non stick saute pan on the stove and add 1/4 tbsp. oil. Lower the heat, add batter and let it spread evenly. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Flip it over and cook covered for 15 min or until both sides turn brown.
* Cut into wedges and serve with green and sweet chutneys. Leftovers can be refrigerated for a day or two.

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Snack Time ~ Baked Mixed Dal Vada / Baked Parippu Vada

It's a rarity that we have an internet outage for no apparent reason and the customer service representative schedules to send the service guy only 24 hours later. However that's what happened with us yesterday and we had no internet connection yesterday for a good part of the day, and up until now today, though we are still unable to believe that it happened here in U.S.. Now for those who are following me on the baking marathon and wondered why there was no post from me yesterday, that should explain my absence. :)
When I planned baking snacks, vada was instantly on the top of my list. Masala vada / Split chickpea fritters are my absolute favorites among the vada category and knowing how much I loved them, my mother used to prepare them on every birthday of mine without being asked. However I think I have fried them twice or thrice in my kitchen in the past 19 years, trying to avoid deep-frying even though I love them to death. And so I took this marathon opportunity to try the baked version. I used a combo of legumes instead of using chana dal alone and made the parippu vada instead.
 
I tried them a couple of times until I got it right. The first time, I thought to brown them uniformly and they ended being a little hard though we finished them anyway. The second time I baked them until only the edges browned and they were perfect. Probably I am never going to deep fry masala vada / parippu vada again as these proved to be a perfect alternative to deep fried version and they were a super hit in my home. They actually remained crispy longer than the fried version and we finished them in a couple of days.

Ingredients (makes about 25)
1 cup mixed dals / legumes*
3 to 4 green chillies or to taste
Salt to taste
A handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 big onion, finely minced
Oil (I used canola oil.)
*  I used chana dal (split chickpeas), urad dal (split blackgram) and toor dal (lentils) in equal quantities.

Method:
* Wash and soak all dals in water together for about 2 hours or so. Take care that they are immersed in water during the soaking period.
* Transfer the dals to a colander after soaking so that the water gets drained completely.

* Now add the drained dals, salt and green chillies to a mixer / food processor and grind coarsely without adding any water. Add cilantro and pulse few times. Transfer the ground mixture to a bowl and add minced onion to it and mix well. The ground mixture must be on the thicker side.
* Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.
* Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray/brush with oil. 
* Pour about 1/8 tsp oil and gently spread it using your fingers, about 2.5 inches diameter circle. Pinch about a very small lime sized ball and pat it (directly on the spot you just greased) into a thin circle of about 2.5 inches diameter. 
 
* Repeat the steps with the remaining batter. Pat as many vadas as your baking sheet can fit, while spacing them apart.
(I greased each spot with about 1/8 tsp oil before patting the vadas to make sure that they are not going to stick to the foil. The vadas which were not greased underneath got stuck to the foil though I could recover them later.) 
* Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 12 - 15 minutes. Brush the tops with oil one more time, flip and bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown. 
(Use the time mentioned as a guideline and watch the vadas carefully during the final minutes of baking. Even if they appear yellow colored, they might have turned crisp and so you don't have to even brown the vadas as much as I did. The vadas can be even finger tapped to check whether they have turned crisp.)
* Serve them warm. If there are any leftovers, cool and store them in an airtight container and finish within two days or so.

 

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Fun Friday ~ Russian Rose Bread / Cinnamon Sugar Braided Bread

I had planned early on to try a braided bread for this marathon and was looking for one which my kids would love to try. I came across a subtly sweet, cinnamon flavored one here which was part of a bread baking challenge. The several versions I checked ended up being part of the same challenge and so only the fillings changed according to one's preferences but the bread dough and the recipe remained the same. I wonder if this recipe has any Russian origins at all since I could not find anything online related to 'Russia' and 'Rose bread'. However it seems that another version of sweet cinnamon braided bread is equally popular in another East European nation, Estonia and it goes by the name 'Kringle'.

My kids love 'cinnamon'y bakes and so naturally they enjoyed it. They thought this rose bread was perfect though I felt it could have been a little more sweeter. I guess it is supposed to be that way since it is a bread and not a cake and is served along with coffee / tea. The original recipe had some sugar bits sprinkled on the top but I left them out. Sweetoholics probably may drizzle some chocolate / sugar icing on it if they prefer a sweeter bread. And people who are not sweetoholics may go with a savory filling.

I accidentally prepared a cup of sugar filling and by the time I noticed it, my daughter had sprinkled about 3/4th of it but I think even if I had used up that whole cup of sugar it would not have ruined the bread. And probably that's why my bread doesn't look dark as cinnamon-sugar ratio became different. I removed the bread from the oven as soon as it attained a golden hue and was done. 
My daughter was all along with me while shaping the bread and left at the last moment when I was coiling it and so she was surprised to see a wreath shaped bread coming out of the oven. Even my son was intrigued as how I arrived at that shape and I had to show him the pictures. When you cut a slice of the bread, all you see is layers attached to each other with cinnamon sugar filling between instead of a bread slice . 

 
Ingredients for the dough:
1 & 3/4 tsp. dry active yeast
1 & 1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp. sugar
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp flax meal (optional)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Ingredients for the filling:
1/3 cup butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used about 3/4 cup.)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preparation of the dough:
* Add sugar and yeast to warm water and let it sit for few minutes, until it foams and rises.
* Combine flour, flax meal and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast mixture, oil and vinegar to the bowl and knead the mixture until it results in a non sticky, elastic dough. Feel free to add small amounts of extra water / flour if needed, to achieve this consistency.
* Place the dough ball in a greased bowl and turn it to coat uniformly with oil. Cover and leave it to rise in a warm place until it almost doubles. This should take around 1 - 2 hours depending upon the weather.

Shaping the bread:
* Lightly flour the work surface and place the dough ball on it. Using your palms, gently flatten it into a rectangle. Using a rolling pin, roll it as thin as you can into a rectangle without making it translucent or without tearing it. I rolled mine into 12 by 24 inched one.

* Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. 
* Brush the softened butter all over the surface of the rectangle, leaving about 1/4 inch space around the edges. Sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mixture uniformly over the spread butter.

* Gently roll the dough rectangle into a tight log / roulade, starting from one of the longer edges.

* Cut (and not saw) the roll lengthwise into two equal parts using a sharp knife. (Make sure that your knife is in the middle so that you end up with two equal parts. If cut down along the seam, you will have a neater wreath. I put the log, seam side up and cut along the seam.)

* Slowly turn the two halves facing outwards, so that layers show up. (Basically the layers should be facing upwards towards you or in other words you should be able to see the layers. The layers should not face downwards.)
* Place them crossing each other to form a "X" shape, with the open layers facing up. Pinch the ends together at the upper side and continue to cross them to form a rope.

* This is your 2 strand rope shape. If for any reason, some of the open roulade layers are facing sideways or downwards, gently and carefully turn them to face upwards. Gently pinch the ends to seal.

* Grease a 10 inch spring form cake pan and remove the bottom. Gently slide the spring form pan bottom under about half of the dough rope. If you have a thinner end, start from that side of the rope. Keeping that point as the center of the wreath, slowly form a coil. The open layers of the roulade should be still facing up.

* Neatly tuck in the other end under the wreath.

*  Now attach the side frame of the spring form pan to the bottom side (with the bread wreath on it.)
(Use a 10 inch round cake pan if you don't own a spring from cake pan. Gently and very carefully lift the shaped bread so that it's shape is not affected and place it in the greased pan.)

* Cover and let it rise in a warm place until the braided wreath fills about 3/4th of the pan. (I lined the pan with parchment paper for easy cleanup. The second rise may take up around 30 minutes or so. )

* If using decorative sugar bits, sprinkle over the top of the wreath now.
* Place the wreath in a preheated oven at 200 deg C / 400 deg F and bake for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 180 deg C / 350 deg F and bake for another 30 - 40 minutes or until brown and done.
* Cool the bread on a wire rack. Slice and serve along with tea / coffee.

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