Simple Whole Wheat Bread

We eat oodles and oodles of bread and are almost always confused by the ingredients in store bought bread. And so, in a burst of adventurous cooking, I decided to go forth and make bread. I used a combination of recipes from the Whole Wheat Bread blogger and the F&W.

When I started out, I have to admit that I was apprehensive about how cumbersome the process would be. But once you break it down, it’s just kneading, letting rise, kneading again, letting rise again, and baking. No knife work, no chopping, just a lot of of patience. Which is why I baked ours over two movies on a relaxed weekend afternoon .

What We Used:

Whole Wheat Flour – 3 cups

Ground Flaxseed – 1/2 cup

Warm Milk – 1/3 cup

Honey – 1/4 cup

Warm Water – 1 cup

Salt – 1 1/4 tsps

Olive Oil – 1/4 cup

Packet of Dry Yeast – 1

Roasted unsalted sunflower seeds – a handful

Large Bowl – 1

Wooden Spoon – 1

Loaf Pan – 1

Plastic Wrap or Damp towel – 1

How We Did It:

• In a large bowl, stir in the water, milk, salt, honey and oil. Empty the yeast on top and let stand for a couple of minutes till it starts to foam.
• With a wooden spoon, stir in the whole wheat flour and the ground flaxseed until the dough begins to form and pulls away from the bowl.
• Sprinkle some flour on a surface and knead the dough on it for about 6-8 minutes till dough is smooth.

• Wash out the bowl, dry completely and pour oil into the bowl. Transfer the dough into the oiled bowl and make sure dough is coated in oil on all surfaces. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise in room temperature overnight or in a warm oven for about 1 hr or so. [Our experience is that the time also depends on how warm your climate / room is. You are aiming for the dough to rise about double its size, so adjust accordingly].
• Once it has risen, sprinkle sunflower seeds on to the dough. Knead in the sunflower seeds on a floured surface. Shape in the form of a loaf and transfer to greased loaf pan.
• Loosely cover pan with oiled plastic wrap and let rise again in a warm place till the top of the dough is just below the rim of the loaf pan.
• Place in the centre of a preheated oven (350 F) and bake for 20 minutes. Then, cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes.
• All the sites we trolled recommended that the loaves are done if, when taken out of the pan, they sound hollow when knocked on the bottom. So knock away, and if no hollow sound is emitted, pop back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes or so.
• Once done, allow to cool on a wire rack.

Watermelon Mojito

A while back we were at a food fair, where lovely edibles from the city’s many restaurants could be sampled. And among the kiosks was one with nothing but drinks – pretty coloured drinks with pretty coloured names. I loved the Watermelon Mojito – it was so refreshing & the tastes so gorgeously balanced that we had to troll the internet for a recipe.

Many trials & much inebriations later, here’s the recipe from a close favorite, courtesy of the Food & Wine site.

What We Used (for the two of us):

Chopped mint leaves – 10

Superfine sugar – 1 tbsp (if you like yours sweeter, you can up to 2 tbsps)

Small Limes – 1, cut into wedges & seeded

Fresh Lime Juice – 1/8 of a cup

Light Rum – 1/4 cup (if you wish, you could omit the rum & make yourself a nojito)

Watermelon puree – 6 tbsps

Crushed Ice

Shaker & Muddler

How We Did It:

1. In a large shaker, muddle the mint, sugar and wedged limes (chowhound has a most excellent video on how to muddle right).
2. Fill the shaker with ice, rum, watermelon juice & the lime juice & shake well.

3. Strain into old fashioned glasses or a highball glass.

Almond Hummus

Hummus is among the top five items that I routinely crave & get very nostalgic for. To say it was prevalent in the countries I grew up in, would be an understatement. No, it was more like ubiquitous. Every street corner, every big or small restaurant in the Middle East had the shawarama stand with its towering spit of meat roasting for hours, along with the gorgeous dense chickpea mixture that is a hummus.

Trying to make a shawarma was out of bounds for our kitchen & our skills. But hummus could be very easily taken care of. So easy it was, that we made two versions of it. One a slightly unorthodox version, made from almonds & the traditional other made from chickpeas. The almond hummus turned out to be the fan favorite so here’s the recipe for it, with modifications & thanks from drBenKim’s website.

What We Used:

Almonds – 2 cups (soaked for 12 hours, then rinsed)

Tahini – 2/3 cup
(If you have tahini, a paste made from ground sesame seeds, that’s fantastic. I didn’t have any and chowhound suggested substituting with sesame oil. Which I did, for I trust the foodies at chowhound most implicitly. If you are using sesame oil, use about 1/4 cup)

Water – 1 1/2 cup
(My suggestion is to add 1/2 cup first and then keep adding the water as you blend, till you reach your desired consistency)

Sliced Garlic – 3 cloves
(because I like me some garlic, but you are not a fan, use 2, as the original recipe suggests)

Juice of small lemons – 2

Sea salt – 1/2 tsp

Chopped fresh cilantro – 1/2 cup

Cummin Powder – 1/4 tsp

Coriander Powder – a pinch

Blender

How We Did It:

• Place all ingredients in a blender and puree. Yes, it’s really that simple!
• Serve with pita bread, chips, crackers or toasted bread.

Our Verdict:
These are milder than traditional ones made from chickpeas. And one of our guests said it was more cooling, which I kind of understand but also wonder if that was so only in comparison with the chickpea one. I guess tasting and adjusting for spices while you blend would be good, if you are not into mild flavours.

Easy Black Bean Soup

Yesterday was a hectic, ‘lets throw a meal together & chomp it down while doing other things’ kind of evening at the KoshyMostafa household. There were lists to check off, shows to be watched and conversations to be had, & we had so little time to spare for cooking.

Thankfully, we had homemade stock in the fridge that we used to make an easy & most nutritious black bean soup.

What We Used:

Chicken Stock (or any other kind of stock you have available) – 1 1/2 cups

Canned Black Beans – 1 can

Chopped Onions – 1

Chopped Tomatoes – 4

Chopped Parsley – less than 1/4 cup

Diced Green Chilli – 2

Sliced Carrot – 1

Diced Sweet Potatoes – 1/2 a sweet potato

Minced Garlic – 2 cloves

Water – 1 1/2 cups

Cumin Powder – 1 tsp

Coriander Powder – 1 tsp

Paprika Powder – 1 tsp

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Thick bottomed pot

Olive Oil

How We Did It:

1. Heat the olive oil in the pot. Stir in the onions, garlic and green chilli. Add some salt and allow onions to wilt.
2. Add the diced sweet potatoes, sliced carrots, tomatoes and stir for a little while. Add the cumin, coriander powder, paprika powder & pepper and stir.
3. Pour in the beans, chicken stock, parsley, and 1 1/2 cups of water.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or till the potatoes and carrots are soft and can be pierced with a fork.
5. Taste and season accordingly with salt & pepper.

6. We had some boiled brown rice lying around which we added to the soup, topped the soup with some sprouts, and went on with our evening .

Basic Turkey wraps with Mint & date dip

Ok.
These did not come out as originally planned. It started life as a Turkey Kathi roll with Mint dip, via Padma Lakshmi – her of the Salman Rushdie, Top Chef fame – through my source of all things gastronomical, the Food & Wine website. Mishaps, however, occurred along the way, from tortillas failing to behave when I folded them to my soul shirking from frying them. I had to admit defeat & accept what the recipe really wanted to be – a basic Turkey wrap.

The metamorphosis irked me at first. I am usually fairly successful in creating from F & W. But after I accepted the wayward recipe, I found the results quite mouthwateringly healthy with sprouts, basil & pomegranate powder in them. They were a little unwieldy to hold but if you eat them as soon & as fast as you can, you’ll be alright!

What We Used for the Turkey Wraps

Ground Turkey – 1 lb

Garlic Paste – 1 tsp

Ginger Paste – 1 tsp

Finely diced onions – 1/4 of an onion

Chopped sprouts – 1/2 cup

Finely diced habanero chili – 1/2 a habanero (You can substitute small green chilies for the habanero, but since the habanero is way more hot, substitute two for 1/2 a habanero)

Finely chopped basil – about 1/2 cup

Madras Curry Powder – 1/2 tsp

Pomegranate Powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Oil

Frying Pan – 1

How We Did It:

• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add onions, sprouts, garlic paste, ginger paste and salt.
• Once the onions wilt, add the habanero and basil.

• After a couple of minutes, add the ground turkey, madras curry powder, pomegranate powder, pepper and fry (The curry powder gives it a savory flavour, whereas the pomegranate powder gives it a bit of a tangy taste).
• Once the turkey is browned, add to tortillas, wrap & cut in half.

What We Used for the Mint Dip

Mint – 1 cup

Chopped Dates – 3 (Prunes can be substituted for dates, if you are out)

Red Rooster (Siracha) Sauce – 1/2 tsp (or according to taste)

Fresh squeezed lemon juice – 2 tbsps

Water – 2 tbsps

Salt – according to taste

Blender

How We Did It:

• Place all ingredients in a blender and puree till smooth. Once smooth, check for salt & season accordingly. Spoon dip on to the wrap and eat away .

We had ours with lemon tea over a beautifully cool evening. Enjoy!!!

Healthy Blueberry Muffins

Ever since getting fresh blueberries from the Farmer’s Market, I have been itching to make blueberry muffins. There’s nothing more wholesome sounding than blueberry muffins. Every time I think of baking myself blueberry muffins, my brain seizes upon images of apron clad beings in little cottages with iron ovens, from whence comes soft, bouncy little goodies stuffed with blueberries. Which they proceed to eat, along with piping hot coffee, by the sea. In my brain, all apron clad people live in cottages by the sea.

I digress.

Here’s an interesting tidbit about blueberry muffins. Did you know in 1988, Minnesotans decided to declare it their state muffin?

So, in honor of my lovely friend Anu who brings her own brand of sunshine to cold, cold Minnesota; I give you healthy Blueberry Muffins, modified from Coconut & Lime’s Virtuous Muffins.

What We Used:

Whole Wheat Flour – 1 cup

Flax Seed – 3/4 cup

Blueberries – 1 & 1/2 cup

Sugar – 1/2 cup

Yogurt – 3/4 cup

Oil – 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Baking soda – 1 tsp

Salt – less than 1/4 tsp

Egg – 1

Cooking Spray Oil

Bowl – 1

12 cup muffin pan – 1

How We Did It:

• Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray oil & sprinkle flour over the muffin pan.
• In the bowl, mix well the flour, flax seed, sugar, yogurt, oil, vanilla essence, baking powder, baking soda, salt and egg till it makes a smooth batter.
• Fold the blueberries into the well combined batter.
• Pour evenly into the 12 cup muffin pan.

• Bake for about 17 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Our Verdict:

We love how soft these muffins are, despite the fact that it has no butter in it. Using yogurt reduces the fat content and also makes it chewier but still soft. As for flax seed – it adds a pleasant nutty taste to the muffin. If it’s not sweet enough, a little honey poured on top of the muffin will make it sweet. All in all, we enjoyed this moist, hearty concoction for breakfast, snacks and in between. Hope you do too!

Chicken in Pomegranate & Walnut sauce from Iraq

I was quite excited to try this recipe from Lamees Ibrahim’s The Iraqi Cookbook, which she reviewed for The Guardian, because the combination of pomegranate sauce and chicken sounded v.intriguing. And also, I dont think I have tried Iraqi cuisine before (though as Lamees states, this recipe probably made its way to Iraq through Iranian travelers).

Here’s our version, with a couple of tweaks to suit my pantry & palate.

What We Used:

Cubed Chicken breasts – 2 chicken breasts

Finely chopped onion – 1

Chopped walnut pieces – 1 cup

Pomegranate molasses - 1/2 cup (check link on how to make homemade pomegranate molasses – it’s easy!)

Tahini paste (sesame seed paste) – 1 to 2 tbsp (Again, the link will tell you how to make Tahini paste)

Finely diced garlic – 5 cloves

Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp

Flour – enough to cover the chicken pieces

Ground black Pepper & salt – to taste

Hot water – 2 cups

Olive Oil

Pot for cooking

How We Did It:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Sprinkle flour over the chicken pieces and bake for about 20 minutes or so. (You can also fry the chicken, as per the original recipe).
3. Once the chicken is baked, sprinkle with black pepper.
4. In a large pot, heat olive oil. Once heated, add chopped onions & season with black pepper.
5. Once the onions are soft, add the walnuts, pomegranate sauce, hot water, tahini paste, salt, garlic and red chilli powder and bring to boil.
6. Add the chicken to the sauce and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Lower the heat & simmer till the sauce is reduced and thickened.

Serve with rice & enjoy!

Our Suggestion:

The presence of walnuts in the sauce can make it a rather crunchy affair to eat. We enjoyed it but if you don’t particularly like crunchy sauces, remove the sauce from the pot, add to blender; & blend. Place sauce back in the pot, add chicken and cook .

Tiny fish Fritters

We found these at the local fish market – these tiny fish whose name in English we are unaware of (incidentally if any of you do know the name, please enlighten ).

The boy believes this is what his people call kaski mas & google says this maybe what the Italians call Bagiggi. And I definitely know my grandmom dries or fries them at our place.

Either way, we had fun making fritters out of these tiny little things.

What We Used:

Tiny fish – 1/2 lbs

Finely diced onions – 1/2 an onion

Finely diced garlic – 4 cloves

Finely diced ginger – 1/4 tsp

Finely diced green chilli – 3 small ones

Red Chilli Powder – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt & Powder – according to taste

Flour – 1/2 a cup or enough to cover the entire fish

Corn starch – 1 tsp

Lemon – 1

Olive Oil

Knife

Mixing bowl

Frying Pan

Cutting Board

How We Did It:

1. Place the entire batch of fish on a cutting board and chop roughly. The idea is to cut the fish into smaller pieces so that they can be mixed and fried easier.
2. Heat the olive oil in the frying pan over medium heat (pour just enough oil to cover the surface of the frying pan as we aren’t going for deep fried fritters).
3. In the bowl, combine all the ingredients. Adjust the flour to ensure that everything sticks well together.
4. Once the oil has heated, drop by spoonfuls on to the pan.
5. Flip to the other side and let cool over a paper towel covered plate.
6. We squeezed a bit of lemon over it and enjoyed it for an afternoon snack.

Our Suggestion:

Use minimal spices, fry an individual fritter first, eat to see if the spice combination is to your taste & adjust accordingly. We had finished making a whole batch till it dawned on us that there wasn’t enough salt .

Dragon Fruit Salsa

I have been tip-toeing around a certain fiery looking fruit at the Farmer’s Market – curious as to what is inside and yet a bit wary of what to do with what I find inside.

A jaunt around the internet, an email to M.L later and I had come across a recipe for Dragon Fruit salsa.

Here’s our version:

What We Used:

Dragon Fruit – 1

Chopped onion – Quarter of an onion

Chopped cilantro – a handful

Chopped Jalapeño Pepper – 1

Chopped Tomato – a quarter

Salt – to taste

Pepper – to taste

Lime – a squeeze

How We Did It:

• Cut the dragon fruit in half, like below:
  

• Scoop out the flesh, using a spoon
• Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix.

Almost all the recipes we found suggested using the salsa over fish, but we used it with our chips and didn’t find anything amiss.

Our Verdict:

We couldn’t assign a discernible taste to dragon fruit. But what makes it interesting to eat is the lovely texture – soft flesh pitted with minuscule crunchy seeds, whose neutral flavor gets along amiably with the other ingredients of the salsa.

Enjoy!