The best eggless whole wheat banana walnut bread

If, like me, you buy bananas every time you go to the grocery store and end up with a few over ripe ones, this is a great way to use them up. This is a fail-proof recipe that yields the perfect loaf every single time. You can use whole wheat flour, all purpose flour or a combination of the two. The bananas make the loaf naturally sweet. So you don't have to add a lot of sugar into the batter. Every time I make this, the kitchen smells wonderful and it gets over in no time at all.






















What you need:

Whole wheat flour - 1.5 cups (Can be substituted with APF or a combination of APF & WWF)
Butter - 1/2 cup, melted (Can be substituted with oil)
Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Bananas - 3 (very ripe ones, mashed with a fork)
Powdered cinnamon - 1 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Chopped walnuts - 1/4 cup
Raisins - a handful (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the mashed bananas, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Gently stir in the walnuts and raisins.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely and then slice using a serrated knife.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#82

Eggless whole wheat strawberry cake

One of our favorite activities to do together as a family is strawberry picking. We love to drive down to the farm early in the morning and pick and taste strawberries. We usually come back with more strawberries than we can eat. So for a few days it is strawberry milkshakes and various kinds of bakes using these berries. I also freeze a good amount of strawberries and use them in fall and winter, and that brings a little bit of sunshine to the otherwise cold days.

What you need:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

All purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp.
Butter -  1/2 cup, softened at room temperature
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Strawberries - 1/2 cup, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line with parchment paper, a 9 inch cake tin. Sieve the flours, baking powder and baking soda together.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the dry ingredients, milk, vinegar
and vanilla extract. Mix well and pour into the prepared pan. Top with the chopped strawberries. Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the strawberries. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#82

Chocolate chip cookies

There are some dishes that you can always create in your kitchen with perfection and, seemingly, with no effort. A chocolate chip cookie is not one of them. It is one of those things where the end product can sometimes end up too soft and gooey, or too crisp or at times, brown so much that it starts to smell charred well done. There's no easy way around this one. You must try, try and try again until you have that perfect recipe. And once you do, you write it down so that you won't forget the measurements you used and then, you can recreate that perfect cookie any time you want to.
This recipe that I am sharing with you today is an adaptation of one such recipe that I came across in a book called Sensational Cookies by Linda Amendt. Following this recipe will yield cookies that are soft, chewy and just right.

What you need:

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Butter (softened, at room temperature) - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
Chocolate chips - 1 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and beat well to mix. Mix in the vanilla. Then slowly add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix with a spatula until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie, as these cookies will expand while baking.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to turn a light brown.
Remove onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

This is my second recipe for Blogging Marathon #72 under the them Kids' Delight - Cakes & Cookies. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM
This recipe also goes to Kids' delight event hosted by Vidhya’s Vegetarian Kitchen and run by Srivalli – Spice Your Life!

Black forest cake (Eggless)

When I was growing up, cakes were not very common. There were plum cakes for Christmas, but other than that, we hardly ever ate much cake. For birthdays, the standard fare was always payasam and a sadya - very rarely did the celebration involve cutting a cake. The few birthday cakes I remember eating were all iced with flowers that looked bright, colorful and beautiful, but were really hard to bite into. Now, with a profusion of flavors, frostings, toppings and fillings to choose from, I find that I prefer simple flavors and minimal frosting.
For the last few years, I have been baking the new year cake for the get-together that me and my friends host on new year's eve. This year, I made a crowd favorite - an eggless black forest cake.

What you need:

Basic chocolate cake - 1
Whipped cream ( 1cup of heavy whipping cream + 5 tbsp. of sugar beaten at high speed till stiff peaks form)
1 jar of canned cherries
Chocolate shavings

With a serrated knife or a cake leveler, cut the cake into two layers. Place the bottom layer on the cake board. With a pastry brush, apply some of the canned cherry syrup all over the cake. Alternatively, you can use sugar syrup too. Evenly spread a layer of whipped cream on this layer and top it with some chopped cherries. Place the second layer of cake on top of this. Apply cherry syrup over it and then spread whipped cream on top of it. Frost the sides of the cake and smooth the icing with an offset spatula. Top the cake with some cherries and chocolate shavings.

This is my second recipe for Blogging Marathon #72 under the them Kids' Delight - Cakes & Cookies. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM
This recipe also goes to Kids' delight event hosted by Vidhya’s Vegetarian Kitchen and run by Srivalli – Spice Your Life!

Basic chocolate cake (No egg - uses egg replacer)

A basic chocolate cake recipe is a must have in every baker's repertoire. This recipe is one that I use frequently as the base for my cakes. It tastes great as it is, and even better dressed up with whipped cream, ganache or chocolate buttercream. With a few modifications, it can also be turned into a delicious black forest cake.

Basic chocolate cake frosted with chocolate buttercream

What you need : (Makes one 8 inch cake)

Cake flour - 3/4 cup

Sugar - 1 cup
Cocoa powder - 4 tbsp. (heaped)
Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
Baking soda - 3/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Ener-G egg replacer powder - 1.5 tsp (Mix this powder with 2 tbsp. of warm water and blend till frothy)
Oil - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Warm water - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease and line an 8 inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add in the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into the cake pan and bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let it cool in the pan and once completely cooled, slice and store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

I am beginning this year by participating in the Blogging Marathon. This week, I will be posting recipes under the theme Kids' Delight - Cakes and Cookies.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM
This recipe also goes to Kids' delight event hosted by Vidhya’s Vegetarian Kitchen and run by Srivalli – Spice Your Life!

Challah - a beautiful braided bread

Challah is a Jewish braided bread made and eaten on Sabbath and some other Jewish holidays. Most versions I have seen of this bread are sweet, with cinnamon and raisins being popular additions to the dough. Since I made a sweet bread yesterday, I have made a non sweet version of the Challah for my second post for Blogging Marathon #64.












What you need :
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Lukewarm water - 1/2 cup
Instant yeast - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 1/8 cup
Egg - 1

In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast, water, oil and egg.
Add the flour to this, a little at a time and knead to a smooth pliable dough. My dough was very sticky and I had to add an additional 3 tbsp. of flour to make it smooth and non sticky.
Transfer the dough to a well oiled bowl and  turn it over a few times so it is coated with oil on all sides. Cover and let it rise until doubled in volume (about an hour).
Punch down the dough and separate it into three portions. Roll each portion into a longish rope (about 15 inches or so). These will form the three parts of the braid.
At this point, you can make a savory stuffing and stuff it into each segment. I made a really tasty tomato, onion and garlic filling. However, for some reason, after I flattened one of the strands and put in some of the filling, I just wasn't able to close the ends together. No matter how hard I tried, the ends just wouldn't stick together. Not sure why that happened. So I took the stuffing out, patted the dough with some paper towels to absorb the extra moisture from the stuffing and then proceeded to braid the bread.
To braid the bread, place the three dough ropes side by side and pinch the top of the three ropes together. Now, start braiding the bread just as you would braid hair or rope until you reach all the way to the bottom of the strands. In the end, knot the three ropes together and tuck them under so that you have a neat braid.
Cover with a wet towel and leave it to rise for 30 - 40 minutes.
Brush some milk on top of the bread and sprinkle the top generously with fresh/dried herbs. I used dried Italian seasoning.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes or until the top turns a nice golden brown.
Slice and serve when warm.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Khaliat Nahal - Honeycomb buns

Khaliat Nahal, which in Arabic means bees' hive, derives its name from the typical honey comb like pattern in which this bread is baked. It can be made either sweet or savory. I have made the sweet version with its traditional cream cheese filling, and coated it with sugar syrup after baking.
This recipe makes 17/18 smallish buns. The buns are baked close together in a round pan, giving it its characteristic honey comb shape. The recipe is one I'd bookmarked when I was part of the We Knead to Bake group and thanks to Blogging Marathon #64 where I'll be posting three different shaped yeasted breads this week, it is finally moving out of my bookmarks folder and seeing the light of day.

Khaliat Nahal - Honeycomb buns

What you need:
All purpose flour - 2.5 cups
Sugar - 3 tbsp.
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Instant yeast - 1.5 tsp
Melted butter - 3 tbsp.
Lukewarm milk - 1 cup
Cream cheese - for filling
Some milk for brushing on top of the buns

For the sugar syrup:
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Mix the melted butter, flour, sugar, salt and yeast using your finger tips. Add the milk, a little at a time and knead until your dough is smooth, pliable and elastic. You may not have to add all the milk.
Coat with a little oil on all sides, cover and leave aside in a warm place to rise. It should double in size in about an hour.
While the dough is rising, you can make your sugar syrup. To do this, bring the sugar and water to a boil and then let the mixture simmer on low heat for a few minutes until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Keep aside to cool until needed.
Once the dough rises, divide it into two parts. Roll each part into a rope that is roughly 9 inches long. Cut each rope into nine parts, so that you have eighteen parts in all. Flatten each part of dough a little, place a little of the cream cheese inside and close the seams and smoothen the dough into a round ball. Place the balls of dough in a well greased 9 inch round pan, arranging them in concentric circles, filling the base of the pan. Cover with a wet paper towel and let it rise for about an hour. Brush the tops with milk.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes or until the tops are well browned.
Remove from the oven and while the buns are still hot, pour the sugar syrup on top of them. If you want your bun to be only mildly sweet and not sticky, you could just brush the sugar syrup on top of the buns. Let this sit for a bit so that the sugar syrup sets a little.
Serve warm.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Focaccia Caprese

We are already three months into this new year. Yet, this is my first post of the year. Despite intentions to the contrary, the blog has ended up being neglected. As always, the Blogging Marathon is what I've relied on to bring some action back into the blog. This time round, I've chosen to blog on flat breads from around the world for three days. By choosing this particular bread, I am also able to tick off one of the breads from the list of breads that the We Knead to Bake group has chosen to bake.
Focaccia is an Italian flat bread and Caprese refers to something that comes from Capri - an island off the coast of Italy. The topping on a focaccia caprese is tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella and basil. I have made some changes to the original recipe, the major one being that I have used whole wheat flour in place of all purpose flour, and the minor ones being the use of Italian seasoning mix in place of dried oregano and the use of grated mozzarella and parmesan in place of slices of buffalo mozzarella.

What you need:
For the dough :
Whole wheat flour -  3.5 cups
Instant yeast - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 1/8 cup (Original recipe calls for 1/4 cup)
Lukewarm water - 1 to 1.5 cups

For the topping:
Tomato - 3-4, sliced into thin circles
Grated mozarella and parmesan - 1/4 cup
Parsley - some, chopped fine

For the herb oil :
Oil - A little less than 1/4 cup
2 large cloves of garlic minced
Italian seasoning mix - 2 tsp
Mix these ingredients together and set aside.

To make the dough :
Take the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add water, a little at a time and mix to form a pliable dough. Add oil and knead well. Let this rest in a well oiled bowl until doubled in volume. This took approximately two hours.

Divide the dough into two parts. Roll out each part roughly into a rectangle of 11" by 7". I patted it out into a rectangle by hand, to give it a rustic look. Transfer on to a baking tray and let it rise for 20 minutes. Drizzle some oil over it and give it a dimpled look using your fingers.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 - 20 minutes or until the focaccia starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and drizzle the herb oil over the focaccia. Arrange the tomato slices evenly over it and sprinkle some grated cheese and some chopped parsley on top. Top with some more of the herb oil and bake again at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-8 minutes until the cheese just melts. Remove from the oven and top with some more fresh chopped parsley.

Cut into slices/wedges and serve while hot.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Apple crumble - the easiest and best dessert ever

Like I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I came home with a whole lot of apples after we went apple picking recently.  I've wanted to try an apple crumble for a long time and this seemed to be the perfect time to do it. I like to think of my version as a healthy one as it uses whole wheat flour for the topping, and very little fat in the form of butter. The smell while this is being baked in the oven is absolutely delightful and makes you want to keep opening the oven and breathing it in.

What you need :
For the bottom layer :
Apples - 2 medium sized (with peel), diced
Sugar - 2 tsp
Maple syrup - 1 tsp (optional)
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

For the topping :
Whole wheat flour - 4 tbsp
Brown sugar - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1 tsp
Cold Butter, cut into small pieces - 2 tbsp 

Take the chopped apples in a large baking dish. Squeeze lemon juice over it and mix well. Add the sugar and maple syrup and stir.

Take the ingredients for the topping in a mixing bowl. Mix with the tips of your fingers until it becomes crumbly. Evenly distribute the topping over the apples.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until the topping becomes dark brown and most of the moisture has evaporated. The mixture will bubble a lot once the apples start releasing their juices. So make sure your baking dish is big enough. Switch off the oven and let the dish remain in the oven for another 15 minutes. Serve warm as it is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Note:
This, served with ice cream, makes three small servings. It is easily one of the easiest and best desserts I have made to date. The topping is crisp and offers a wonderful contrast in texture to the soft, cooked apples.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45

Eggless no food colour red velvet cupcakes

Red velvet cakes and cupcakes, with their bright red color and cream cheese frosting on top are stunning to look at and popular with adults and kids alike. I have shied away from making these because of the huge amount of artificial food coloring that is used to give the cake its vibrant red hue. In my search for alternatives to artificial food color, I stumbled upon this recipe which I recreated in my kitchen. Pureed beets are used in this recipe to give the cupcakes a natural red color.

What you need:
Whole wheat flour - 1.5 cups
Beet - 1 (medium sized, boiled with skin, cooled, peeled and pureed)
Sugar - 1 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1.5 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Cocoa powder - 4 tsp
Curd - 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

In a large mixing bowl, take the oil, sugar, beet puree, curd and vanilla extract. Mix well until sugar dissolves. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix. Spoon the batter into a lined muffin pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degree F for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely and frost, if desired.

Verdict:
While the color of the cupcakes was gorgeous,(The photo doesn't reflect how beautiful the color is as I used my mobile camera) there was a slight smell and taste of beets in them and though the spouse and I didn't mind that too much, the child was put off by it. The quantity of beets and using other ingredients that would probably mask its smell is something I am planning to experiment with and will update on this post.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45

The best whole wheat garlic bread recipe ever

For someone who hadn't tasted garlic before marriage, I sure have come a long way. This is one thing that is still not bought at my parents'. I, though, have developed a taste for the pungent bulb in certain dishes. Garlic bread is a favourite in our household and we are partial to the one served at Dominos. I tried recreating that at home using this recipe as the base and then tweaking it to suit my taste. I have made this using only whole wheat, no maida/APF at all.


What you need : (Recipe source : Veg Nation)
Whole wheat flour : 1 cup + 1/2 cup (The original recipe uses APF)
Instant yeast - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 7 cloves - peeled and ground/crushed coarsely
Olive oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Water - Start with 1/2 a cup and then add more if needed. I used a little over 3/4 cups.
Italian seasoning - 2 tsp
Grated cheddar - 2 tbsp

Add instant yeast sugar, salt, 1 tbsp of olive oil and lukewarm water to 1 cup of the flour. Knead gently till the mixture just comes together. Cover and set aside until it doubles in volume. Once it doubles, punch the dough down, add the remaining flour and ground garlic and knead again to a smooth dough. Cover and let it rise until double again.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a circle. Spread the grated cheese over it and then fold the circle in half over itself to make a semi-circle. Seal the edges by pressing well. Spread the remaining oil on top of the dough and sprinkle seasoning over it.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy warm.

This post goes to PJ who is hosting Valli's Kid's Delight themed on Baked Treats.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 37

Jeera biscuits - savoury cumin flavoured cookies

The local trains of Mumbai are a world of their own.  Getting into the local train every morning is an exercise in dexterity and street smartness. Not only do you have to make sure you are properly positioned on the platform to make your entry into the exact compartment that you want to get into easy and quick, but you also have to deal with people who elbow their way through the crowd, walking into the thick of things and then standing right in the middle of all the seats. All quirks of humanity unfold along those railway tracks, in a compartment where humans are packed like sardines. Some smell like sardines too, but then, you learn to ignore and move away. The quirkiness of some of the regulars is enough to merit a post of its own. So I'll leave that for another post and move on to the subject of this post - salt biscuits that taste great with tea or on their own. Spiced with cumin, ajwain and methi, carrying these with you will also give you something to look forward to in case you get stuck next to someone who thinks that deodorant is an insult in a foreign language. You might elicit strange looks, though, if you keep opening your dabba and smelling these, but then, who cares?


What you need:
Whole wheat flour - 1cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp (adjust to taste)
Cumin seeds/jeera - 1 tsp
Ajwain/omam/carraway seeds - 1 tsp
Kasuri methi - 1/2 tsp
Ghee/clarified butter - 1 tbsp
Curd - 3-4 tbsp

Take the whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and ghee in a large mixing bowl. Mix with your finger tips until the mixture is crumbly. Add cumin, ajwain and kasuri methi. Add curd, starting with 1 tbsp and then adding as needed, and knead to a smooth dough. Set aside for 15-20 minutes.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees celsius for 10-12 minutes until the bottom starts to brown.
These cookies will be a little soft when you take them out, but become crisp as they cool down.
Store in an air tight container once completely cool.
This post goes to PJ who is hosting Valli's Kid's Delight themed on Baked Treats.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 37

Seven years of blogging and savoury muffins

This blog completed seven years of existence on June 30th. I remembered, but just didn't have the enthusiasm to sit down and type out a blog post to commemorate this milestone. Every now and then, I go through a stage where though I have a lot to say on the blog, I just don't feel like sitting and typing it all out. How I wish there was a software that would create a blog post just by listening to me speak. Now that would be truly something, wouldn't it?
I am hoping to shake off the inertia by participating in Blogging Marathon #31. The theme I have chosen is Non-Indian breakfasts and that is what you will see on the blog for the next three days. 
Breakfast, to me, has to be something filling and nutritious. No Chocos or Corn flakes for me - I cannot stand eating something sweet in the morning. These savoury muffins are nice to look at, soft and moist in texture, and taste really good. Your imagination is the limit when it comes to deciding what goes into this muffin. Here's a look at all that went into my muffins.

What you need:
All purpose flour/maida - 1.5 cups
Grated vegetables - 2 cups (I used cabbage, carrot and onion)
Curd - 3/4 cup
Olive oil - 1/3 cup
Salt - to taste
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Egg - 1
Baking powder - 3 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

Take the flour, baking powder and grated vegetables in a large bowl. To this, add cumin powder, red chilli powder, oregano and salt
In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, curd and oil. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Mix well. Add baking soda and mix gently but thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 175 degrees centigrade. Grease a muffin pan and spoon in some of the mixture into each depression. Sprinkle some sesame seeds or rolled oats on top of the batter and bake for 15-18 minutes.
These can be baked beforehand, refrigerated and then warmed up the next day for breakfast.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#31

Vanilla cupcake

My luggage, when I was going back to hostel after vacations, used to be mostly comprised of several large steel dabbas filled with ribbon pakoda, murukku and sweets. I am sure I must have been quite a strange sight on the bus that I took from home to hostel. Where most people would expect a college student to travel with books and clothes, here I was with no books, a small bag of clothes and a large number of steel containers. Despite the fact that I am not a huge fan of sweets, my mother would make maida cake, seven cup cake, rava laddoo and rava kesari so that  I could take it back for my friends who had not one, but many sweet teeth.
This vanilla cupcake, which I tried from Joyofbaking is easy to make and will definitely enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

What you need:(Recipe source : Joyofbaking)
All purpose flour/maida - 1.5 cups

Butter - 1/2 cup (softened, at room temperature)
Sugar - 2/3 cups
Eggs - 3
Baking powder - 1.5 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Milk - 1/4 cup
Vanilla essence - 1.5 tsp

Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time and beat well. Add the flour mixture and the milk to the wet ingredients, alternately and in three additions, beating well each time.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees centigrade. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan/muffin liners until 3/4th full and bake for 15-18 minutes or until done.
I have topped the cupcake with whipped cream frosting and some multi-coloured sprinkles.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#26
This goes to Kamalika who is hosting Kids' Delight, brain child of Srivalli, themed on Back to Hostel Food.

Herb and cheese pull apart bread

To bake good bread has been a dream of mine for  a while now and so, when Aparna who blogs at My Diverse Kitchen and is an accomplished baker called for people to join her in baking a bread a month through this year, I did so without thinking twice about it. The very first bread that our group which is called We Knead to Bake has baked is a herb and cheese pull apart bread. Aparna gave us the basic recipe and the freedom to alter the ingredients as per our taste. I am glad that I didn't do much altering and that the bread proved to be quite a hit at home.

 What you need: 

For the Dough: 

Warm milk - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Instant yeast - 1 tbsp
All-purpose flour - 3 cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Butter, soft at room temperature  - 25 gms which is approx 2 tbsp
Garlic paste - from 7 or 8 cloves of garlic
Milk - 3/4 cup + a couple of tbsp to brush over the bread
For the Filling:
Melted butter - 1 to 1.5 tbsp
Finely chopped corrainder/cilantro - a handful
Crushed ajwain/omam/caraway seeds - 1 tbsp

Grated cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup (I used cheese that was flavoured with pepper....if using plain cheese, you could add crushed pepper to the filling if desired)

Method:

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, instant yeast and the 1/2 cup of warm milk. To this, add the flour, salt, softened butter and garlic paste. Mix well and knead to a smooth, pliable dough.

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat it completely with oil. Cover and let it rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until almost double in volume.
Dust your work surface lightly with flour. Deflate the dough, shape it into a square and roll the dough out into a larger square that is about 12’ by 12”. Brush the surface of the square with the melted butter.
Evenly sprinkle the chopped corrainder, ajwain and then the grated cheese. Gently run a rolling pin over the topping to ensure that it doesn't fall off later when you are stacking the bread.
Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, slice the dough from top to bottom into 6 long and even strips.
Lay each strip on top of the next, with the topping facing upwards, until you have a stack of the strips
You can put the 2 strips cut from the sides in the middle of the stack so it looks neater. Usinga pastry scraper or a sharp knife, cut straight down through the stack dividing it into 6 equal pieces (6 square stacks).
The stacking of strips is what I was not able to do, mainly I think, due to the fact that I had not dusted my work surface with enough flour and the strips were at risk of getting torn. So I decided to roll the strips from one end to the other, making six humongous rolls. I then arranged these rolls side by side in a round baking pan.

Cover the pan with a moist towel and allow the dough to rise further for an hour.
Lightly brush some milk over the top of the rolls. Bake the dough at 180C (350F) for about 30 to 40 minutes until it is done and the top is golden brown.

Taste wise, this is a wonderful bread, and paired with soup, makes for a filling meal. I will definitely be baking this again, and hopefully, will get the stacking part right this time so that the bread will look as good as it tastes.

Raisin bread

When we lived abroad, one of the things I loved to buy at the store was raisin bread. Biting into plump, juicy raisins in every mouthful was nothing short of a delight. When I saw the recipe for this bread at Suhaina's Singapore kitchen, I knew that I just had to make it. I have made very few changes and that too, only because I didn't have some of the ingredients on hand and am trying not to use maida these days. The bread is absolutely delicious and has been packed away for us to carry on our weekend outing tomorrow.

What you need:
Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Fresh yeast - 2 tsp (Can be substituted with active dry yeast which will need to be proofed first)
Sugar - 4 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Milk - 1 tbsp
Raisins - 1/2 cup soaked in 3/4 cup of water overnight
Oil - 2 tbsp
Vegetable shortening/vanaspati - 1 tbsp

Rub the sugar into the fresh yeast until it dissolves. Add the flour, salt, milk, oil and shortening. Mix well. Now add the raisins along with the water in which it soaked and knead to a smooth, pliable dough. If needed, add a little more water at this stage. Cover and set aside until it doubles in volume. Punch the dough down. Grease a loaf pan and spread the dough evenly in the pan. Cover and leave for 30 minutes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees centigrade for 25-30 minutes.
When completely cooled, slice and dig in.
Do check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#24

Chickpeas stuffed braided bread

A few years back, bread to me, meant a packet of Modern or Britannia white bread picked up from the neighbouring store. That was before blogging happened. Now, I know that bread isn't just bread - there is whole wheat bread, there is multi grain bread, focaccia, no-knead bread - the variety is endless. The simple, short term bread encompasses a whole world within it.
I am amazed that I am able to bake good bread at home and that I have become more and more adventurous by trying out my hand at different kinds of bread. I am participating in the Blogging Marathon this month, and the theme I have chosen for this week is Cooking with chickpeas. I was certain that I did not want to take the well travelled path and make chole or kadala curry. I racked my brain to see how I could come up with something 'different' and that's when the idea of this stuffed bread was born. The basic bread recipe I have used is the same as the one I have used in my Iyengar bakery style stuffed buns.

What you need:
For the bread :
Maida/All purpose flour - 2 cups (heaped)
Vanaspati / vegetable shortening - 3 tbsp
Yogurt - 1 tbsp
Milk - 2/3 cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp (Use 1 tsp from this for proofing the yeast)
Yeast - 1 tbsp

Dissolve 1 tsp of sugar in 1/4 cup of lukewarm milk. Add the yeast to this. Cover and set aside for about 10 minute until the yeast mixture becomes frothy.
Take the maida, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, milk, yogurt and vegetable shortening. Knead to a soft, pliable dough. Cover and keep aside in a warm place to rise until double in volume. This take about 1.5 to 2 hours. Once it rises, punch the dough down and keep aside for a second rise (roughly 45 minutes)

For the stuffing:
Chickpeas/chana/konda kadalai - 1 cup, soaked in plenty of water overnight
Medium potato - 1, cooked, peeled and mashed
Onion - 1, sliced thin and long
Tomato - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp, heaped
Salt - to taste
Oil - 5 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Pressure cook the chickpeas until one whistle and then reduce the heat and cook for a further 20 minutes. The chickpeas should be cooked until soft and you should be able to easily mash it. Lightly mash the cooked chickpeas and keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadai.Add the cumin seeds. When the seeds start to sputter, add the sliced onions and a quarter tsp of sugar. Saute until brown. Add in the tomato and cook till soft. Now add the mashed potato, chickpeas, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well and heat until all moisture evaporates.
Keep aside to cool.

To make the stuffed bread :
Transfer the dough to a generously floured kitchen counter. Roll it into a thin, long rectangle/oval shape.
 
Spread the stuffing in the middle of the rectangle.
 
On both sides of the stuffing, cut the dough into parallel strips.
 
Criss-cross the strips over the stuffing to make braids. Apply a mik wash over the dough. This will give an even brown colour while baking.

Preheat oven to to 175 degrees. Bake for 22-25 minutes until golden brown.
 
Wait until it cools a little and then, cut into thick slices and dig in.

 Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other marathoners doing BM#22.
This bread goes to Let's Party - Eggless Bakes and Treats - an event started by Surabhi and guest hosted by Nivedhanams Sowmya.

No knead focaccia with caramelized onions

A lot has happened between my last food post and this one. For one, we have moved cities AGAIN. I am now a Mumbaikar doing my best to do justice to the umpteen kinds of street food served in the city. Between sampling every kind of chaat imaginable and setting up home in this city, I totally forgot to acknowledge the sixth anniversary of this blog which came and went  in June this year.
 Suma Rowjee's No Knead Focaccia is something that I wanted to bake when she posted it waaaay back in May of last year. Then, of course, I promptly forgot all about it until she re-posted it on facebook yesterday. Memory and want rekindled, I decided to bake it today. The basic recipe I have followed is hers, with changes made to suit our palate, as far as the add-on ingredients go.

What you need:
Maida/All purpose flour - 1.5 cups + 2 tbsp
Lukewarm water - 3/4 cup
Salt - 3/4 tsp
Active dry yeast - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1.5 tbsp
Juice of half a lemon
Onion - 1 large, chopped lengthwise into thin  strips
Seasoning - I used a mix of dried garlic, rosemary & parsley - 2 tsp (to be mixed with the dough)+ 1 tsp(for sprinkling on top)

Step 1 : Proof the yeast.
Dissolve sugar in water. Add the yeast to it. Mix well and let it stand covered for 10 minutes till it becomes frothy.
Step 2 : Caramelize onions. 
Take a teaspoon of olive oil in a pan. Stir in the onions along with a teaspoon of sugar. Saute on low heat till light brown. I did not let them turn dark brown in the pan as I felt that the onions would burn once they were in the oven.
Step 3 : The dough
Mix all the ingredients (including the caramelized onions) together with a wooden spoon. Once well mixed, stir it around 20 strokes with the spoon. Grease a round baking dish generously with oil (I used olive). Transfer the dough to the greased dish and spread it using your greased hand. Cover and let it stand for an hour. After an hour, I found that my dough had not risen much. So I let it stand for another 30 minutes. Again, not much of a rise, but the dough did look puffy and aerated. Dimple the surface of the dough with your fingers. Drizzle 2 tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of seasoning on top. Preheat the oven to 200 degree centigrade. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Mine looked done at about 20 minutes, but I put it in for an additional four minutes to let the top brown further.
Cool on a wire rack.

Slice and enjoy!!!

My thoughts :
This really is an easy and fool proof recipe. If you are looking for a good recipe to start baking bread with, this is it.
The caramelized onions add a lovely flavour to the bread. However, feel free to substitute with any topping of your choice. I think I did the right thing by not letting the onions brown too much. By the time they were out of the oven, they were crisp and beautifully browned.

Eggless Mango banana muffins

The mango season is upon us and the variety of mangoes that is available in the market leaves me confused as to which one to buy. I end up buying a different kind each time.
On a recent trip to Coorg, I saw a stretch on the Bangalore-Mysore highway filled with street carts that were laden with different types of mango. The foodie in me had to stop and take a closer look. What I liked best about these vendors is that they give nice juicy chunks of mangoes as samples.....you can taste the mango(es) before you decide which one you want to buy.

These vendors from whom I bought mangoes were very happy to pose for a photo.
The mangoes I bought from them have nothing to do with this post because they were eaten up in almost no time.
I recently (as in this morning) bought a silicon muffin pan and immediately started scouring the web for a good muffin recipe. The search led me to Vaishali's mango cupcakes. I made some minor changes to incorporate ingredients that were in a "use-or-perish" state and the end result is a moist, soft and delightfully yellow cupcake.

What you need:
All purpose flour/maida - 1.5 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Mango - 2 medium sized ripe ones
Banana - 4 small, over ripe ones
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Oil - 1/4 cup

Mix the maida, salt, baking powder and cardamom powder together.
Puree the mango and banana. The quantity I used gave me two cups of thick puree. Take sugar, oil and vanilla essence in a bowl. Add the puree to this and beat till well blended.
Stir this into the flour making sure that it is well mixed but take care to not beat too vigorously.
Pour into the muffin pan until 3/4th full. With a silicon pan, there was no need to grease and the baked muffins were extremely easy to pop out of the pan. I made a few in paper muffin cups as well.
Bake at 175 degree centigrade for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let it cool completely and then dig in.

This post goes to Divya's Show Me Your Muffin event.

A sweet punch indeed - molten lava cake

Even though I mailed the Sweet Punch team a few months back, this is the first challenge that I am participating in. Despite my microwave user manual telling me that it is safe to use metal in the convection mode, I was wary, mainly because a service technician who tried talking me into buying extended warranty for the machine told me that I should never use metal, no matter what the mode. Then, a few weeks back, on my FB page, I asked if we could use metal in the convection mode, and lots of people replied saying that they've been doing it for a long time. Off I went to the store and got myself a few small ramekins for this month's Sweet Punch. I was so terrified that there was going to be a mini explosion once I put the metal into the microwave, that I asked hubby to watch over the cake as it was getting done, while I stood nearby with fingers over my ears. A few minutes passed and nothing happened. A few more...and the whole house smelled wonderfully chocolate-y. I am definitely going back to the store to get myself some more metal bake ware in different shapes and sizes.
The recipe for this month's Sweet Punch was chosen by Divya.
Recipe source : showmethecurry.com
To make molten lava cakes, you need:
Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate – 4 oz (113g)
Butter – 4 oz (113g)
Eggs – 2
Sugar – 1/3 cup (75 g)
All-purpose Flour – 1/4 cup (40g)
Butter/oil – for greasing ramekins

1. In a double boiler, melt chocolate.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat Eggs and Sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Once chocolate is melted, remove pan from heat and add in butter. Mix until the butter melts fully.
4. Add chocolate/butter mixture into the eggs, add all-purpose flour and mix until well incorporated.
5. Butter bottom and sides of ramekins (small glass/porcelain bowls) and pour in mixture about 3/4 way full.
6. Place ramekins on a baking tray and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 C) for 10 – 15 minutes. Shorter for gooey (molten) inside, longer for stiff inside.
The idea of a gooey center did not appeal to me...so I baked mine for 17 minutes and the result was a soft center.

Another look....