Spicy brown bread

I have two major culinary blind spots. One, I cannot make deep fried snacks that look like what they are supposed to look. Two, I cannot bake without trying to sneak in something that's wholesome and cutting down on even essential fat with the result that the end product isn't always the best textured! As a result, I stay away from both these methods of cooking most of the time.
But I took the plunge and made a spicy, wheat flour bread yesterday! All because it's almost time for me to fly back home to India for delivery because international flights don't allow you on board once you cross the 32 week mark! So, what's that got to do with baking, you might ask. Back in India, my mom's house is in a little town in Kerala where maida (AP flour) rules the roost! The buns, cakes, breads, halwas, puffs, samosas...are all made with white flour! I sure am going to miss my trips to the local bakery out here that allows me a range of freshly baked multi-grain products.Don't know if I will actually bake once am back there, but anyway thought I'd give this a try here in my very own kitchen. A couple of months ago had attempted 'masala buns with potato stuffing' in whole wheat. Made slight alterations to it this time since the buns though they tasted good enough, were a little too chewy !

Whole wheat flour - 250gms
Fortified all -purpose flour - 150 gms
Oat flour - 50 gms
Instant yeast - 10gms
Baking powder - 5 gms
Extra virgin olive oil - 50 ml
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Buttermilk - enough to make a soft dough
Egg white - 1 (to egg wash the crust to prevent it from drying up)

The spice mix

Dry red chillies - 2 large (dry roasted and hand crushed)
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon (dry roasted)
Garlic - 2 large cloves (minced and dry roasted)
Fresh Mint leaves - a generous handful (roughly chopped)

Sift the flours, baking powder, yeast, and salt a couple of times together so that they mix in well. In a deep dish, throw in the ingredients along with the olive oil. Add the buttermilk little by little and knead the mixture into a soft, pliant dough. The texture should be a little sticky and easy on the palms. Continue kneading till the dough turns smooth and stops sticking to your palms (approx 10-15 minutes of kneading). Cover with a cotton/muslin cloth and allow to rise for an hour.

After an hour you will find that the dough has almost doubled in size. Add the spice mix, a little more olive oil and knead again for 10 minutes. Place into a greased baking dish and allow to rise for another 30-40 minutes.
Whisk the egg white and brush it on liberally over the top of the dough. Use a fork to stab a few air holes into the dough.
As for the baking,I have a very basic OTG that I preheated for 10 minutes at 100°C. The actual baking took 12 minutes at 250°C and another 5 minutes at 150°C to get the bread done.

The bread tasted quite nice with a warm cup of tea and even better the next day when I used the leftovers to make a quick sandwich with light mayonnaise and cabbage shreds.

Chocolate morsels

Yesterday, a friend and family invited us over for a weekday night dinner without prior information. Hubby was busy at work and I was stuck with limited mobility (a woman catching a cab by herself out here is not a very sensible choice and I don't have a gulf valid driving license!). However, we have a small supermarket at walking distance and I decided to browse around for something to take for the host's little boys. Somehow din't find the regular, off the shelf choclates attractive. Suddenly remembered a Nigella Lawson recipe that I chanced upon a long time ago on Travel and Living. A simple chocolate recipe which called for very little time, effort, and ingredients. I really don't remember the exact name or propotions the recipe called for but decided to give it a shot anyway. Turned out quite nice and I felt extra nice when the younger child, an avid choclate eater, finished an entire set, ran up to me, and very sweetly said, "Aunty, this is really very nice. thank you so much". Must I say I am still grinning

Mars choclate bars - I used up an entire 27g gms bag of mini bars
Corn flakes - 2 cups
Unsalted butter - 10 gms
Water - 1/4 cup
Roasted, almond flakes - 1/2 cup (optional)
Cup cake cases - 40-50 small ones

Roughly break up the choclate bars into a thick bottomed skillet. Add the water and simmer stir till the choclates begin to melt. Add the butter in and keep stirring till the choclate completely melts and it thickens. Add the cornfllakes and almonds and stir till the choclate completely coats the flakes. Take off flame. Line up the cup cake cases on a tray and and spoon in the mixture while still warm into the cases. Allow to set for an hour or so.


Watch your lil ones enjoy the tiny chocolate morsels.

Mixed veg kurma in nutty gravy with Beetroot paratha

Yesterday was one of those low energy days. Frequent trips to attend nature's call might be a common side effect of pregnancy, it also is a sure shot way to mess up a good night's sleep! Since hubby had an early meeting to attend, there was no way I could sleep on hoping someone would cook for me. Made this as lunch and also dinner.

For kurmaMixed vegetables - 2 cups (I used beans,carrot,cauliflower,peas,potato,capsicum)
Onion - 1 medium sized
Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) - 1/4 teaspoon
Cilantro (coriander leaves) - a small bunch (10 sprigs)

To grindGarlic - 4 cloves
Ginger - 1" piece
Green chillies - 5 Nos (use less for lesser heat)

Dry masalaCinnamon - 1" stick
Cloves - 2 Nos
Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Kitchen king masala - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

For gravy
Almonds - 10 Nos
Cashews - 10 Nos
Low-fat milk - 1 cup (150 ml)
Low-fat paneer (Indian cottage cheese) - 1/2 cup (crumbled)

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a skillet, add the cinnamon and cloves followed by finely chopped onion. When the onions are sauted till translucent, add the ground garlic-ginger-green chilli paste. Saute well. Add the carrot and potato pieces in along with 1/2 cup of water. Cover and simmer till almost done, add the rest of the vegetables, coriander powder, turmeric powder, kitchen king masala, kasuri methi, crumbled paneer and half the milk. Cook covered till vegetables are soft.

Boil another cup of water seperately, add the nuts in and cook well. Drain and grind to fine paste adding the rest of the milk.

Add to the cooked vegetables along with finely chopped coriander leaves and salt to taste. Simmer cook stirring occasionally till the gravy thickens. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Cover and let stay for about 15 minutes before transferring to a serving dish.

For Beetroot paratha
Wholewheat flour - 2 cups
Wheat bran - 1/4 cup (optional)
Oat flour - 1/4 cup (optional)
Beetroot - 1 large
Salt to taste

Pressure cook beetroot with the jacket on. Peel and blend to smooth puree. Mix the flours and bran in a deep bowl. Add in salt and the beetroot puree. Rub the flours well and adding water little by little knead to dough. Cover and let stay for 1/2 hour. Shape lemon sized balls out of the dough and roll out (leaven) into chappathis (tortillas). Heat a flat pan and cook the chappathi with or without a little drizzle of oil. Turn over and cook other side. When done small golden brown blisters appear over the tortillas.

If paneer (Indian cottage cheese) is not commercially available in your area, you can easily make it at home. For the method, http://thefootloosechef.blogspot.com/2008/06/learn-how-to-make-paneer-cottage.html

Bird's eye chilli (kanthari) chutney and steamed sweet potatoes

Kanthari (bird's eye chilli/thai pepper/african peri-peri) is one of the ultra-fieriest members of the chilli family.
In India, this pungent and delicious chilli is rarely used in any other region apart from Kerala (open to argument). Even in Kerala, kanthari is not something you'd find on the menu of upmarket restaurants or the vegetable racks of supermarket chains. This is something that I grew up watching my parents and now my in-laws handpick fresh from the garden and then churn out superbly simple yet extremely delicious fare.If the taste wasn't enough, kanthari is also reputed to be high on the health quotient! It's supposed to be the foody way to a more temperate blood pressure ;-)

Kanthari- 5-6 Nos (less is recommended if you are are not used to heat)
Shallots (cheriya ulli/pearl onions/scallions)- 4 Nos
Ginger - 1/2" piece
Tamarind extract - 1/4 teaspoon
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Indian curry leaves - 4-5 leaves
Salt to taste

Peel the onions. Put all ingredients into a chutney mixie/blender and grind to paste. Add water only if required since the onions are quite moist.

This chutney is perfect with the smooth sweetness of steamed sweet potatoes. To steam sweet potatoes,scrub them well, cut into pieces and either place them in a pressure cooker and steam for 4 whistles on medium heat; or, place them in a stove-top or electric steamer and cook for about 15 minutes. Stab a fork in to check if tender. Peel and your meal is ready!

Bird's eye chilli chutney and steamed sweet potatoes make their way to Asvadha's 'Made for each other' event. The event is on till the 28th of Feb at http://www.asvadha.com/2009/01/announcing-made-for-each-other.html

So why are these two 'Made for each other'?
-The spicy, macho kanthari blends beautifully with the wonderful, natural sweetness of the sweet potato.
-Both are nutritional treasure troves, check this out:
Apart from being a great source of beta carotenes, fibre, vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and iron, sweet potatoes contain a unique 'root-protien' that resemble one of our internally produced anti-oxidants and hence have dynamic anti-oxidant effects!
And now, kanthari (peri-peri) again is rich in Vitamin C, B vitamins, iron and calcium. The key ingredient 'capsaicin' helps lower cholestrol and decrease high blood pressure.

Take a closer peek:

This spicy chutney also goes to Mane Adige's Chutney/Dip mania event. The event is on at http://maneadige.blogspot.com/2009/01/inviting-entries-for-mania-event-here.html

Yasmeen has created this beautiful award and passed this onto all her blogger friends. Thank you for thinking of me too, Yasmeen!

Sathya of appetitetreats.blogspot.com has passed on the Good Chat Blog award to me. thank you so much, Sathya.