Mini Berry Bundt Bread

This recipe goes to Mele Cotte’s Cooking to Combat Cancer Event. It’s a cause close to my heart and I took awfully long to figure out how to get the most healthy treat ever for this competition. So many times when we were faced with an illness, the food we get to eat is beyond blandness, and I wanted to make something that would be healthy but still a treat. And what could be more of a healthy treat than portion controlled mini bundt bread?

The recipe comes to you, courtesy of Nature Ripe Farms, with our tweaks.

Serving – 16; Time – 45 mins

What We Used:

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – 3 3/4

The original recipe asks for plain flour. I like Whole Wheat Pastry flour because it imparts a heartier, more chewy wheat texture & taste to the bread. But in case you are not a fan, you can substitute by using a mixture of half whole wheat and half plain flour. You just have to make sure to monitor your baking time more closely.

Baking powder – 2 tsps

Sugar – 1 cup

Powdered sugar – 1 cup

Lemon zest – 1 tbsp

Egg Whites – 1 cup

Unsweetened applesauce – 1/2 cup

Lemon extract, divided – 1 & 1/2 tsps

Vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp

Skim milk – 1 & 1/2 cups

Frozen Berries – 3 cups

For the Glaze:

Powdered Sugar – 1/2 cup

Skim Milk – 2 tbsps

Lemon extract – 1/2 tsp

Large Bowls – 2

Mini Bundt Pan

Blender

How We Did It:

• Combine & mix 3 3/4 cups of flour, baking powder, sugar, powdered sugar and lemon zest in large bowl.
• Add egg white, applesauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract, vanilla extract and milk to flour mixture, mixing until ingredients are blended.
• If batter is too runny, gradually add 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in between until batter is creamy and blended. I found that my mixture was too thick and so I had to add tiny amounts of water slowly while blending.
• Remove 1 cup cake batter and place in medium bowl.
• Puree the berry medley (thaw the frozen berries before pureeing).
• Add berries to reserved batter and mix just until blended.
• Spoon half the plain batter into the pan; top with half the berry mixture. Swirl the batters with a knife.

• Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• While the bundt bread cools, invert & keep aside. Combine powdered sugar with remaining 2 tablespoons milk and 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract; blend until smooth and creamy.
• Using an uncooked spaghetti stick, poke holes in the cooled bundt and drizzle lemon glaze over them. I let them sit for a while for the glaze to soak into the bundt, then filled the center with berries & had them for breakfast.

Lahmacun

Once, a time ago, I was on a stopover in Turkey and the beautiful hotel I stayed at had the most amazing display of bread like food, ranging from the v.dense to light, fluffy, airy ones; with different textures and garnishes. My favorite among the display was Lahmacun, which technically is not bread but what my beautiful friend LS calls the ‘turkish pizza’.

It had been a difficult flight, with yet another long one after; and the hotel & it’s wonderful simple food restored me & my spirits. So much so that even now, the smell of Lahmacun with a drizzle of lemon on it makes me smile so.

Here is my attempt to recreate that wonderful dish. This simple recipe comes to you, courtesy of Zeyda Üstün at the Mymerhaba website.

Serving: Two

What We Used:

For the Dough

Flour – 2 cups
Salt – 1/8 tbsp

Vegetable Oil – 2 tsps

Water

For the Topping
Minced Turkey – 1/8 pound

Diced Onions – 1/2 an onion

Diced Tomatoes – 1/2 a tomato

Tomato paste – 1 tbsp

Diced Yellow Pepper – 1/4

Diced Eggplant – just a spoonful

Garlic Paste – 1/4 tsp

Chopped Parsley – a handful

Chopped Cilantro – a handful

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Lemon – for drizzling

How We Did It:

• Mix & knead the ingredients for the dough together. Roll out till it is very thin.
• Mix the ingredients for the topping together.
• Add toppings to the dough (I placed vegggie toppings on one half and veggie / non-veg toppings on the other half – just for variety).

• Bake in a 450 ºF for 10 – 12 minutes.
• Drizzle lemon on it and enjoy with a bowl of yogurt.

Edited to add: Mine doesn’t look exactly like the ones you get in Turkey because (after much fretting) I realized I forgot to add the tomato paste to my recipe (it was yum nonetheless).

Baked Chicken in Banana Leaves

Last weekend at the Farmer’s market, I was kicked to see cut banana leaves on sale. With nary a thought in my head, I ventured forth and bought a dollar’s worth of leaves. It was only after getting home that I wasn’t sure what I would do with them. For one, they were cut the wrong way for serving food Onam style. For another, I don’t trust myself enough to make traditional Kerala wrapped-in-banana-leaves food without my mom’s specific guidance.

So a rummaging on the internet we went, & out popped this delicious recipe from Kitchen unplugged. We were intrigued by the process – meat wrapped inside banana leaves, being cooked with trapped steam, infused with flavor & juices. But we didn’t want to go out to buy ingredients, and felt a little lazy for post grill cleaning. So tried a baked variation with what we had – & it turned out succulent, nutlike, with a faint banana leaf inspired flavor.

Here’s our version of it for two. Total Time taken = 8 – 10 hours (this includes the marinating time too )

What We Used:

Cornish Game Hen – 1

For the marinade:

Sriracha hot sauce (Rooster sauce) – according to taste

Peanuts – 30

Dates – 10

Green Chillies – 8

Garlic paste – 1 tsp

Ginger paste – 1/2 tsp

Cilantro – 1 tbsp

Bay leaf – 2

Banana Leaves – enough to wrap the chicken. If banana leaves are unavailable, Cook’s Thesaurus suggests substituting with parchment paper or corn husks

Bowl – 1

Baking dish – 1

How We Did It:

• Grind all the ingredients for the marinade in a spice blender.
• Marinate the chicken with the ground ingredients overnight.

• Wrap the chicken in banana leaves, place in a greased baking dish and bake in a pre-heated oven (350 °F) for over 2 hours (use a meat thermometer to check if chicken is done).

• Unwrap & enjoy. I threw in some eggplants & sweet potato in there to make a veggie mash to eat with it.

Easy Potato Gratin

Gawd, this recipe is easy. So easy that when the Mostafa said he would cook Potato Gratin for Easter lunch, I was slightly disappointed because it really doesn’t take much effort. And when I am being given a dinner by the Mostafa, I expect him to sweat over it a little

I did get over my disappointment quickly when I found the recipe was a modified version of an Ina Garten one, who though a bit on the ‘Hampton name dropping’ side, seems to have a deliciously calm cooking style, focusing on quality rather than ‘lets take 30 minutes to run around like a hurricane & make 10 dishes’ type of quantity.

Here’s our version of it for five servings:

What We Used:

Thinly sliced Celery – 1/4 cup

Fennel powder – 1/4 tsp

Thinly sliced yellow onion – 1/2 an onion

Unsalted butter – 1/2 tbsp

Thinly Sliced, peeled Russet Potatoes – 2

Heavy cream * – 1 cup + 1 tbsp (reserved)

Grated Gruyere Cheese - 1 1/4 cup (For substitution – Other cheese that have the same kind of buttery, salty flavor as Gruyere are Smoked Swiss cheese, Emmental or Jarlsberg cheese)

Salt – 1/2 tsp

Pepper – 1/4 tsp

Olive Oil

* I always have a problem finding Heavy cream. Instead I seem to run across a ton of Heavy Whipping cream. Most of the sites I have looked at tend to brush off the difference and condone the substitution of Heavy Whipping cream for Heavy Cream. The difference between the two lies in their fat content & I haven’t had any unfavorable experiences with the substitution, so I am doing the same here. If anybody does have an alternate view, do let me know.

Skillet – 1

Baking dish – 1

Large Bowl – 1

Total Time taken – 1 hr 30 minutes

How We Did It:

• Preheat oven to 350 °F.
• Heat oil on the skillet, saute the sliced celery with crushed fennel powder and onions till tender (about 5-10 minutes on medium-heat).
• In a large bowl, mix the sliced potatoes with the cream, cheese, salt and pepper. Add the sauteed celery mix and combine well. Don’t forget to keep aside 1 tbsp of cream.

• Butter the inside of a baking dish and pour the potatoes into it. Smooth the potatoes by pressing down with a wooden spoon.
• Combine the reserved cream with 1/4 cup of cheese and sprinkle on top (& that will give you the browned crust, from which comes the name gratin – ta da!)
• Bake for 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender and the crust is golden, like below:)

Ina recommends setting it for 10 minutes and then serving, which we dutifully did.

This goes to Tasty Treats for the ‘My Favorite Things’ competition.

Kerala Easter Breakfast

Growing up in the Middle East, we didn’t really get into Easter celebrations because it didn’t fall on a holiday. Which seemed like a terrible waste because that meant there was no respite from the exhausting experience that was Good Friday Service (stretching from morning to evening – though our parents did let us sleep in and attend at noon ).

What we did get to enjoy on Easter though, was my mom’s delectable Appam and Chicken Stew curry for a hurried breakfast before we scuttled off to school. Also enjoyed after school, before play, after play, before bed, anytime – because it was just that Yummy!

This Easter, the appam that I made was edible & photo worthy, but not entirely post worthy.

The chicken stew, though, was most excellent. And I owe it to Mallugirl at Malluspice, whose recipe was what I looked at for our Chicken Stew, because I had left it too late to call my mom up for hers .

I added some changes like marinating the chicken for a bit, and skipping the poppy seeds, curry leaves, lemon and yogurt (personal preferences), and got a very close version of my mom’s chicken stew.

What We Used:

Cubed, boneless Chicken – 2 1/2 cups

Chopped Red Onion – 1/2 an onion

Chopped, skinned Tomatoes – 1/4 a tomato

Chopped, skinned Potato – 1

For the Marinade:

Vinegar

Black Pepper

Coriander Powder

To be ground:

Cashew Nuts – 6

Cumin Seeds – a handful

Chopped Green Chilies – 2

Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp

Ginger Paste – 1 tbsp

Dry Spices to add to the stew:

Turmeric – 1/4 tsp

Coriander Powder – 1 tsp

Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp

Chopped Mint leaves – 2 leaves

Chopped Cilantro/Coriander leaves – 1/4 tsp

Cinnamon Stick – 1

Cloves – 3

Cardamom – 2

Oil

Salt & Pepper – according to taste

Canned (13.5 FL.OZ. or 400 ml) Coconut Milk – 1/2 a can

Large cooking Pot – 1

Small Skillet – 1

Bowls – 2

How We Did It:

1. Wash the chicken pieces throughly. In a bowl, marinate the chicken with vinegar, pepper (enough to cover the chicken pieces) and coriander powder (1 tsp) for about 30 minutes.
2. Soak the cashew nuts and cumin seeds in warm water, for 30 minutes, in a small bowl. I am thinking this is so that it gets nice and soft for grinding. After 30 minutes, grind the cashew nuts, cumin seeds, garlic & ginger paste, and chilies together.
3. In a small skillet, add a bit of oil, and lightly fry the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom on low heat, till their aromas waft out.
4. In a large cooking pot, add some oil and fry the onions (on medium heat) till they are transparent, add the fried spices (cinnamon, cloves & cardamom) to this and stir for a while.
5. To the cooking pot, add the ground paste (cashew, cumin, garlic, ginger and chilies), the dry spices (turmeric, coriander powder, ground pepper), a little water, and stir well.
6. Once the onions are nice and soft; add the chicken and potatoes, salt, pepper, and cook on high heat, for about 5 minutes or so.
7. Lower the heat to medium, add the canned coconut milk and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Taste for salt & pepper.
8. Add the tomatoes, the chopped mint and cilantro leaves and cook covered till the chicken and potatoes are done.

We had it with appam for breakfast, and with paratas for a snack

Jicama Coleslaw

It was burger night at the KoshyMostafa place (beef for the M & veggie for me); and for a side salad, we chose to make a Jicama Coleslaw to go with it. We had bought fresh Jicama on a lark at the Farmer’s Market, just because we had never before cooked it at home. It is sort of crunchy & crisp for something that looks incredibly like a yam from the outside.

And it just sat there in the fridge for a week and a half, till the right recipe came along, courtesy of Mr. Bobby Flay. Here’s our version, with a couple of modifications.

What We Used:

Peeled & Shredded Jicama – 1/4 of a whole Jicama

Shredded Cabbage – 1/4 of a whole Cabbage

Chopped Cilantro – a handful

Vinegar – 2 tbsps

Low fat Sour Cream – 1/4 cup

Mayonnaise – 1/4 cup

Chipotle Peppers, diced – 2 (Ours were from the canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce)

Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice – 1/2 a Lemon

Honey – 3 tsps

Garlic powder – 1 tsp

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Big Bowls – 2

How We Did It:

1. Mix the shredded jicama, cabbage, cilantro and vinegar well in a big bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, honey and chipotle peppers and whisk well.
3. Place the shredded mixture into the dressing and toss to coat well. Chill for half an hour before serving with burgers and fries.

Carrot & Zucchini Ribbons

I am on the home stretch of Lent and these last couple of days have me making some basic Kerala veggie dishes. I didn’t want anything fancy, anything spectacular – just some easy recipes via my mom. I was all set to make Carrot Thoran, when I chanced across an infomercial for a vegetable peeler. Smooth, long ribbons of carrot flowed out of said peeler and they were so gorgeous that I had to make a Carrot Ribbon something. And as is usually the case in our place, I had a Zucchini lying around for whom I had no plans, so in it went and out came Carrot & Zucchini Ribbons.

We made two dishes out of this. One an extremely simple & elementary Carrot & Zucchini Ribbons Salad, another a simple Carrot & Zucchini Ribbons Thoran.

The Carrot & Zucchini Salad for Two

What We Used:

Carrots – 2

Zucchini – 1

Vinegar – 1 tbsp

Dried Red Chilli Flakes – 1/2 tsp

Chopped Cilantro/Coriander Leaves – as garnish

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Potato / Vegetable Peeler – 1

Bowl – 1

How We Did It:

1. Peel the carrots and zucchini skins and discard.
2. Lay carrots flat on a cutting board and use the peeler to shave off long ribbons from them. Do the same for the zucchini.
3. Fill bowl with water and clean the ribbon strips.
4. Drain and gently pat dry.
5. In a dry bowl, season the strips with salt, pepper, vinegar, red chilli flakes and chopped cilantro. Leave for 5-10 minutes for the seasonings to soak in and serve.

The Carrot & Zucchini Ribbon Thoran for Two

What We Used:

Carrots – 2

Zucchini – 1

Chopped Small yellow onion – 1/2

Chopped Green Chili – 1

Shredded Coconut – a little less than 1/4 cup

Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp

Chili Powder – 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Vegetable Oil

Mustard Seeds – for tempering

Large frying Pan – 1

How We Did It:

1. Using the same method, shave ribbons off carrots and zucchini, wash, drain and pat dry.

2. Heat oil over the pan, and sprinkle a few mustard seeds.
3. When they splutter, add the chopped onions and chopped chilli.
4. Add a little salt and saute till the onions are soft.
5. Add the carrot & zucchini ribbons.
6. Grind coconut with turmeric powder, chili powder and coriander powder. Add to the pan with salt and pepper. If you feel it’s looking a little dry, add the tiniest bit of water at this point to wet it, and cover the lid and let cook over medium heat.
7. Once the veggies are cooked all the way through, you are done. I had it with some white rice, a little dal, a little yogurt and a little pickle – and it was bliss!
   

Turkish spiced Chicken Pita

We had such fun at the lovely Turkish Food Festival over the weekend. What was especially endearing to us as foodies was that each food stall had printed recipes of the food served within. Since I have been meaning to make a Chicken Pita sandwich for the longest time, I decided to do a variation of Tavuk Izgara (Grilled Chicken) from my newly hoarded Turkish recipe cards.

Before I get into the recipes, I have to share some pics of the Festival, especially of the cool cooking device called a Sac they used to make Gozleme

Gozleme

And of the lovely vibrant vests worn by the dancers:

Turkish Folk Dance

I love catching brief glimpses into other cultures and can’t wait for the next Fest to hit us (by all accounts it’s going to be the Vaisakhi Fest next month – can’t wait to see what culinary goodies I can glean from there )

Ok. Here’s how we made our Turkish Spiced Chicken Pita (this recipe serves two).

What We Used:

For the Grilled Chicken:

Cubed Chicken Breasts – 1 Cup

Plain Yogurt – 2 tbsps

Grated Onion – 1/4 of a yellow onion

Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

Ground Cumin – 1/2 tbsp

Red chilli powder – 1/2 tbsp

For the Pita Spread:

Finely chopped Cilantro – 2 tbsps

Finely diced Scallion – 1

Yogurt – 3/4 cup

Canned Chipotle Pepper – 2 tbsps

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Pita Bread

Lettuce – for filling

Bean Sprouts – for filling

Freezer Bag – 1

Pan – 1

How We Did It:

1. Preheat oven to 375 °F.
2. In a large freezer bag, combine the chicken pieces, yogurt, onion, garlic paste, lemon juice, cumin, chilli powder, salt and pepper.
3. Mix the ingredients so that each piece is completely coated. Using the freezer bag means you have one less dish to wash (thanks Food Network)
4. The original Turkish recipe asks to marinate overnight for at least for 8 – 10 hours. Since I wasn’t going for the traditional recipe and had my very own spiced spread that would give me flavor, I opted out of marinating it at all.
5. Spread chicken pieces on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. In the meantime, prepare Pita Spread by mixing spread ingredients in a large bowl. Remove chicken from oven and add them to the bowl.
8. Lightly heat the pocket pita bread.
9. Fill bread with lettuce and sprouts. Spoon chicken spread into it and you are ready for an afternoon snack!

Strawberry Jam

We got some fresh strawberries from the farmer’s market the other day and I forgot all about them – shameful of me, I know. And then the chic gods at The Kitchen smiled on me and said – a little on the overripe side to eat? Make jam, mortal!

Ok – my strawberries were not in the least bit as moldy or squishy as those ones but I was intrigued.

Could I really be Martha Stewart about it and make strawberry jam?

Apparently I could – because making jam is ridiculously simple! Ridiculously simple, I tell you.

What is a bit on the ‘got to be careful & really listen to instructions’ side is the preserving bit. You have to make sure that your jam jar has been processed in a water bath – clean the jar, place in boiling water for about 15 minutes or so, dip your tongs in the boiling water for a couple of minutes, use sterilized tongs to remove jars and place them upside down on uber clean kitchen towel and let dry. I did do all of above just to see how long or tedious it would be (and it wasn’t long or tedious) but I was only going to make quantities that would last me a week or so. If you are making jam to last longer, do read Ina Garten’s excellently simple instructions on sterilizing jars. I used a variation of her recipe to make my simple jam.

What We Used:

Hulled Strawberries (see picture below) – 1/2 pound

Sugar – a little more than 1/2 cup (I don’t like my jam too sweet, but if you like it real sweet, go ahead and add a cup)

Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice – 1/2 tbsp

Bowl – 1

Heavy bottom pan – 1

Wooden spoon or potato smasher – 1

Cold Plate kept in the freezer for a couple of minutes – 1

How We Did It:

1. Mash strawberries in the bowl using your tool of choice.
2. Transfer mashed strawberries, sugar, lemon juice to the heavy bottom pan.
3. Stir over low heat till the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking and stirring on low heat till the mixture starts boiling (about 10 minutes).
4. Test to see if it has jelled by spooning small amount on to the cold plate. Let cool by placing in the fridge for a couple of minutes. Tilt plate. If your jam has jelled, it will not run off the plate. [Info, courtesy Bon Appetite].
5. Once you are done, transfer to sterile jars and seal, if preserving for longer periods. If you are planing to use it in the next week or so, transfer to sterile jars and refrigerate. Enjoy!!!