A contest WIN -the first prize -for a change!

A win!
A win!
A win!
And the first prize to boot!

And the dish that won the first prize...
A special meal with the parents...
Schezuan Stir Fried Chicken and Veggie Noodles.

 Schezuan Stir Fried Chicken and Veggie Noodles ...
A special meal with the parents ...
The meal is now special...
Even more ...now that the meal is the winner of the Fortune rice Bran Oil..

Thank you ,thank you...
Thank you blogadda.com for wonderful opportunities and Fortune!
Yay!!!!!
I am taking a bow!
And those of you who havent ...
Try the recipe and try Fortune rice Bran Oil!!!!!
In the mean while...I'm going to let the feeling sink in...
And make Schezuan Stir Fried chicken and Veggie Noodles Again...

So what are you baking today???

Read More

Afghani Gravy Paneer- Paneer or Indian Cottage Cheese in White Gravy

Cottage Cheese or Paneer...
And  a dreamy ,silky sauce...
Or should it be called a gravy...
On maybe a curry...
Whatever.After all a rose will always be a rose.

This is one of my absolute vegetarian favourite curries...

As smooth as silk...

With a slight tang of yogurt...

And a wee bite of the chillies...

And the after taste of fenugreek leaves...

Mild enough that a chili virgin can enjoy it without getting the mandatory tears in their eyes...

Yes...

I have been subject to that...

Chili Virgins!

Two Grown Men...

After a dinner of the super fiery Rajasthani Lal Maans(Mutton cooked with red chillies-that colour the gravy red),the two men had watery eyes...

The tears were assuaged with bowls full of yogurt raita and my astonished apologies...

Lessons learnt...

Whenever you invite people ...keep the spice factor low!

The one lesson I follow to date...

And with the leftovers...

A tadka-or a tempering of red hot chillies to up the ante!

With or without a tadka...

Try the Afghani Paneer...

Mild-I use a similar gravy for the Cream Chicken.Just replacing the chicken with the paneer -or Tofu for that matter.

Let's start...

PS why Afghani...Inspired by the afghani gravy dishes that are available in restaurants-no chillies and high in nut based creamy gravy-mine-totally low in calories and HEALTHY!

Afghani Gravy Paneer- Paneer or Indian Cottage Cheese in White Gravy...

you need

500 gms paneer or Indian Cottage Cheese

1 kg/1000ml slightly tangy yogurt(Regular-not Greek yogurt)

1 tsp refined vegetable oil/olive oil

1 tsp shahi zeera/black cumin

1 tsp garlic paste

4 tbsp onion paste/grated onion

salt,red chili flakes to taste

1/2 cup cashew nuts soaked in warm water for half an hour

1 tbsp kasuri methi/fenugreek leaves

1 tsp cornflour

1-2 dried red chillies-optional

Start with the cashew nuts and the Kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves to make the creamy nut paste.

In the wet grinder jar of your mixer, place the soaked nuts and the kasuri methi/fenugreek leaves with a little warm water and buzz till you get a fine fine paste.

It will stick to the blades and refuse to let go of the security of the jar...ease it gently off with warm water...gently...ever so gently!

Now the yogurt ...

Whisk it well...there should be no...no lump.Dissolve the cornflour into it and set it aside.

Heat the oil in the pan and add the shahi zeera/black cumin and red chillies -if you are using them-and allow them to pop and sizzle.

Now add the onion mix to the pan and the garlic paste and the salt...

And keep stirring ..you just want the raw smell to go ,not to colour/caramelise the onions...add in the red chilli flakes...

Now add in the cashew paste that you have liquefied with water...

And cook stirring, you'll know its done when the paste thickens to a puree like consistency...the greenish he is thanks to the fenugreek leaves...not some alien blood...

Stir the yogurt well...

Now add the yogurt mix to the cooked paste and stir...

You'll need to stir gently till the yogurt mix comes to a boil.The cornflour was added only to help the yogurt stay together...

The yogurt will not split...

Now check the seasoning.

Cube the paneer into one inch pieces and

Add them to the gravy.

Allow this gravy to simmer for about 15 minutes...

This tastes best when allowed to stand a while...

So for a dinner ,make this in the morning.

Best served with Naan Bread or Tandoori roti or normal roti...Or even hot buttered Toast...

Garnish with coriander or tempered red chillies...

And enjoy!

So what are you baking today???

Read More

Whole Wheat Bee Hive Bread and going Back To School

Bee Hive Bread ...

Back to School...
So where is the connection???
There is something that is called a profession and then there is a passion...I'd call it my calling.
School has always been fascinating for me...only after I graduated from there, mind you...
The best part of school...children!
And the cacophony and the laughter and the arguments and the pressure an d the stress ...
I only realised how much I missed it all when I went back to school after 4 years and a day.
So I am back teaching...maths...to high school children...
What warmed my heart so much were the concerns of the people who follow my blog...

The blog stays...
I just have something more to do...
Like this whole wheat  and milk bee hive bread.
It looks so pretty...a total attention grabber!
It will do so well on a dinner table, with various kinds of breads and rolls in its belly...so  even if you run out of rolls..you can eat the container that contains the rolls!
And the Nigella seeds and Poppy seeds look really pretty!
The bread was soft and yummy and almost too pretty to eat...
This was for breakfast with mum and dad...we added salami and tomatoes and with this for good measure...
It was so easy to make...despite looking totally complicated,you'll never know until you try...
Like with everything else in life!

for the

Whole Wheat Bee Hive Bread and going Back To School...

you need

2 tsp dried yeast
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soft butter
1/2-1 cup tepid to warm milk-save a little to brush the bread with before baking
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups plain flour/maida
1 tsp nigella seeds/kalonji
1 tsp poppy seeds/khus
A 1 1/2 l dome shaped bowl
butter/oil to grease the bowl

Start with the yeast. Blend half the sugar with a few tablespoons of warm milk in a small bowl and add the yeast. Gently mix together and set aside to froth.
In the mean while place the salt and flours and the remaining sugar in a large bowl...

The yeast is all nice and frothy by now...
All you knead to do is knead the dough with the frothy yeast and warm milk.

Once the dough is done...knead in the half the soft butter into the dough...

After the butter is incorporated...just turn out the dough onto your worktop and knead till the dough is smooth and elastic...it took a vigorous 10 minutes...and mum was sympathetically telling me to not make the effort..mums...they want everything to just fall into your lap...
Bless them!

Set aside for 15 minutes while you set up all else...
The bowl, overturned on the baking tray and greased with olive oil...

The dough out on the work top again....cut into 16 pieces...why 16??easier to handle ...

And taking 2 pieces...roll them into a small rope...

And twist them to form a small rope...like so...

Place this to surround the bowl and wrap...make thin rolls of each piece and continue the rope...

Make more rope and roll around...till you reach the top!

Now cover the bee hive with cling film and let it prove...
After about 20 minutes turn the oven on to 230C/450F and let it heat...
In about 10 minutes, brush the bee hive with some milk and sprinkle the seeds in whichever order...
Pop it into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes...I knocked on the hive with a spatula and heard a hollow knock...we knew the bread was ready to come out of the oven...

Brush the hot bread with the remaining butter to polish it...My brush was in my pantry...so we let the butter slip and slide in and on the bee hive...the warm yeasty bread aroma with butter melting...what could be a better breakfast???

That's the view from the bottom...we had to owl.wait about 10 minutes before we could peel the bee hive off the bowl with out breaking the bread of mum's bowl...sweet child came and went at least 10 times...
Patience is not a virtue!

All in all,totally worth the effort...all the extra handling made the bread soft and crusty...
really good to mop up the juices off the plate...

The crevices held the perfectly roasted seeds and melted butter...and warmth to surround your soul...
Try something fancy...
Like the L'oreal Blurb...
You're worth it!

So what are you baking today???

Coming up...the best ever Sunday lunch Mutton Biryani...

Time spent the parents always makes food taste better!
Cheers!

Read More

Genoise au Chocolat and Some Growing up and the Magic of Rose

Fancy Schmancy!

Chocolate cake!

Just 3 tablespoons of fat!

Light as a kiss of air...

Directed by the queen of baking herself...

And then I had to go and weigh it down with butter cream frosting and crushed oreos and Fondant!

Why???

Because I can!

And because a bunch of 30 seventh graders working hard ,cramming for their final exams,wanting to party just this last one time together deserved it!

This was a short notice ,last minute demand from sweet child...I would have rather helped him revise than spend time over a beater...but he insisted!

And I gave in.

What else does poor mum do!

Except extend best wishes for sweet child and his class mates in the seventh grade.

With a Genoise au Chocolate.

Genoise ,is a light as a feather cake -a sponge cake made faithfully with Rose Levy Bernanbaum's Cake Bible.

Something that I had been planning and procrastinating about for the longest time...as I am doing so now...

to blog or not to blog...

I have been meaning to make /bake so much stuff ,but with fewer friends around here...the thought of a full fridge is not so inviting.

Any ways this cake is worth the effort...light in calories and super light in texture...

less guilt and quick to disappear.

This cake was less...but I had less time...

So if you need to feed 30 chocolate deprived kids...make double!

for the 

Genoise au Chocolat and Some Growing up and the Magic of Rose...

you need

3 tbsp beurre noisette -fancy name for desi ghee or clarified butter

3/4 cup cake flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/4 cup boiling water 

1 tsp vanilla essence

5 large eggs-to make 1 cup

1/2 cup sugar

Before you start out...read instructions at least twice...it seems a little complicated the first time,the second time is easier!
Cake flour- 1 cup plain flour ,from which two tables spoons are removed and replaced with cornflour.Simple.

Education comes from many places...buerre noisette-is just clarified butter where the butter is to be heated till the milk solids become brown and lend a lovely nutty aroma and flavour to the liquid!Simple.

I generally forget to turn off the gas on time while making ghee,so mine is generally noisette!

To be kept HOT! at 120 F or about as 45C.

Pre heat the oven to 180C/350F.

Grease  a 9 inch cake pan.Cover the bottom with non stick paper and grease and flour it again.

Whisk the cocoa with the boiling hot water and vanilla and set aside-cover with a lid or cling film.Leave the whisk/fork in-you'll need it later.

Bain Marie...

A bowl over a pan of simmering water...

Place the eggs and the sugar-exactly measured out...Exact 1 cup!

I took the recipe literally-in the bowl and beat.

Place over the bain marie and continue to beat till the eggs triple in volume. At no time should the bowl touch the water or you will have sweetened scrambled eggs left behind.

5 minutes...and off the bain marie.

From this mix, pour about 2 cups into the cocoa mix and whisk well to get a light and creamy chocolate liquid mix. This chemistry helps the cocoa mix well and not sink to the bottom of the cake making for a super feathery light cake.

Sift the flour over the eggs and fold in with a metal spoon or a spatula.

I'm not that confident about the folding yet...so I used a whisk also...
Quickly poured into the prepared tin and popped into the oven...the cake wont rise much...but will be softer than a sponge cake for sure!

Exactly 30 minutes...the cake began to come away from the sides...you don't need to poke the skewer into the belly of the cake to check out that the cake is done...if it moves away -its done!
All you need to do is wait for 5 minutes, run your knife around the cake and overturn the cake...
And turn it over again...

Et Voila!
Since I was short of time...sliced and set to cool and frost with butter cream frosting from here .Crumb coated Centre and all around and then stashed in the fridge...

Oreo Butter Cream Frosting from here...
this cake was for 30 seventh graders..it had to be sugar high...so that they could get a sugar rush....
APT!
Then a wee bit of fondant and ...

All my best wishes...
OK the exams ended and the results are out...the kids did well and start with the eighth grade this week...
So this cake carried the wishes...long for them...

Kids ...have a wonderful year and do well!



So what are you baking today???

Read More