Saturday, March 30, 2013

Eggless Dinner Rolls - Baking Eggless



 This is 3 rd bread post I am posting for this month. All the breads are for the baking groups I had joined.
                                      
 This bread was the challenge of baking Egg-less group Happening @ Gayatri's cookspot and the dinner rolls is suggested by priya of enveetu kitchen.  Each month a recipe is selected which was made using egg . we the group members has to make it egg less  For this month soft dinner rolls was the challenge.We has to make the soft dinner rolls without using egg.





 Till date I didn't made bread with egg. So , it was easy for me. First , I thought of using Tangzhong to make these dinner rolls . As, I already posted two breads , I skipped that idea .
 Finalized, using mashed potato instead of egg. It gives soft dinner rolls, I liked its texture. I made certain shapes of the dinner rolls.





Requirements :
All purpose flour – 2 cup
Mashed potato -  1 cup
Dry yeast – 1 tsp
Sugar – 2 tbs
Salt – ¾ tsp
Butter – 2 tbs
Water – ½  cup
Luke warm milk – ¼ cup



Method :
I pressure cooked a large potato to make a cup of mashed potato.
As I used dry yeast , I has to proof the yeast.
Heat the half cup of water till 110 * C or till Luke warm.
Add in the ½ tsp of sugar and the yeast , let it proof for 15 minutes.
In a bowl , add the flour , salt , sugar , butter and mashed potato , mix well.
Add in the proofed yeast and milk , mix well.
Knead with the hand till a soft and smooth dough is formed. It may takes about 10 – 15 minutes.
Keep this dough in a oiled bowl , cover with a plastic wrap and let it double for 2 hours or more.
Deflate and shape into different shapes as you desire.
Round Dinner Rolls :
Take a small part of the dough and roll into a round shape without any crack.Making this is simple. If making stuffed bun means , stuff the filling and shape.



Pumpkin rolls :
Same as the dinner rolls , make a cut vertically throughout the round on equal distance. Cut deeply or else it will disappear while baking.



Rosette / Kaiser Rolls :
This roll resembles the rose. Its making may seems difficult.
Take a small part of dough. Roll the dough with the palm of the both hands , it will roll into a log and lengthens on rolling.
 By taking this log in the hands , put a knot by intersecting both the ends , a circle will form in the center.
Bring one end above the circle and another under the circle.
Secure the edges tightly.
Rosette shape is formed.



Clover / Muffin Roll :
It resembles the shape of the clover and is made using the muffin pan.
It is simple , just roll three equal sized balls , arrange them in the muffin cups.

Knot Rolls :
Roll the dough into a log as in Kaiser roll , intersect both the ends and bring the ends into the center.



Arrange the prepared rolls in the baking tray.
Let it double again.
Preheat the oven to 220 * C @ convection mode.



I always use milk and sugar to brush the bread. But this time used milk powder dissolved in little water . It gave the bread lovely color.



Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or till brown on top.
Let it cool.


Eggless dinner rolls are ready to serve.



Another Libester Award




 I received another Libester award in the same month from of Priya of priyasvirundhu
                               
Her blog is a collection of all types of recipes. Thank you priya for this wonderful award.
These are questions she asked me to answer…..
1.              What inspired you to start a blog ?
  My passion towards cooking .
2.              what is the best food you ever had ?
It was always my mom’s food.
3.              Name  one dish you always love to cook ?
All easy breezy dishes
4.              which one would you prefer going for a picnic with your
friends or relatives ? Why ?
With both of them will be enjoyable
5.              What is the most memorable moment in your life ?
Every moment in my life was memorable……….
6.              Which type of movie do you prefer realistic or fiction ?
Fiction………..
7.              Which is your favorite holiday spot ?
My Native………  
8.              Where do you prefer to live a city or in a village ?
Village as it was pollution free………
9.              What is one device you wish to be in your kitchen ?
I want to be what I am now and not a device….
   10 . what is your hobby ?
       Reading , Embroidery ……….   
  11 . what is your dream in your life ?
       To help the needy  as much as possible……

  I am sharing this award with all my friends and followers.........
















Friday, March 29, 2013

Shell Pasta in Spinach Pesto Sauce



 Pasta is the integral part of the Italian cuisine. Like wise pesto is the common accompaniment.

Pasta is a staple food of the Italian cuisine with the first reference dating to 1154 in sicily. Pasta is made from an unleavened dough of durum wheat flour mixed with water and formed into sheets or various shapes , then cooked and served in any number of dishes. There are two broad categories of pasta , fresh ( pasta fresco ) and dry ( pasta secca ). Eggs are used in fresh pasta instead of water.
 Common forms of pasta include long shapes , short shapes , tubes , flat , sheets , miniature soup shapes , stuffed or filled and decorative shapes.
 Pasta is mostly served along with sauce. Pasta sauce gives taste and colour to the pasta.
  Simple sauce like pesto are ideal for long and thin stranded pasta while tomato pasta combines well with thick pasta.

 In northen Italy white sauce is commonly used while in southern Italy tomato sauce is used.
 I had already posted about my version of the spinach pesto , I used the same recipe in this pasta preparation. This was a delicious and best recipe for lunchbox.

Requirements :
Boiled pasta – 2 cup
Spinach pesto – 1 cup
Cherry Tomato - 1
Oil – 1 tbs
Cottage cheese
Milk – 4 tbs
Method :
Boil the pasta with the double the water and oil for 5 minutes. Drain the water and wash in running tap water.
Heat oil in a pan , Add the chopped cherry tomato and saute for a minute.
 Now , Add the pesto and sauté for five minutes.
Add the milk and mix well.
Add in the pasta and stir well.

Cook in medium flame and stir in between for five minutes.
Take off from the flame .



Sprinkle the crumbled cottage cheese and serve.
Pasta in spinach pesto sauce is ready to serve.

Check out my cold pasta salad .



hudson event @ Cooking with SJ
                   

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Orange Pistachioa Biscotti



 Biscotti is more correctly known as biscotti di Prato , also known as cantuccini , are twice baked biscuits originated in the Italian city of  Prato . the biscuits are oblong shaped , made crunchy through cutting the loaf of dough and re-baked.
Biscotti is the plural form of biscotto. As these are twice baked and dry could be stored for long period.

Modern biscotti recipes often contain almonds , pine nuts , pistachios and hazelnuts or spices such as anise or cinnamon.
After baking , chocolate glaze can be given.
 I used orange juice in the traditional pistachio biscotti , for flavor and taste. Yes , it has the flavor of orange and it gives some color to the biscotti.
Requirements :
Shelled unsalted pistachios – ¾ cup
All purpose flour – 2 cup
Sugar – ½ cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Orange Zest – 1 tsp
Juice of one Orange
Butter – 1 tbs
Vegetable Oil – 4 tbs

Method :
Mix flour and baking powder well.
In a bowl , add the butter and sugar whisk well.
Add in the vegetable oil and whisk again till the sugar is dissolved.
Add the orange juice , zest and pistachios mix well.
Now , add the flour mixture in mix well.
On the kitchen counter , add this dough and knead well with hands for five minutes.

Shape into rectangles and arrange in the baking tray.
Preheat the oven to 220 * C @ convection mode.

Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch.

Let it cool for ten minutes, then slice with a knife  into ½ inch slices.
Keep these slices in the grill rack and bake for another 5 – 7 minutes / crisp and golden brown.
Let it cool and store in airtight container.

Orange Pistachios biscotti is ready to serve.
Note :
I used the nut as a whole , can be chopped coarsely and used.





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Italian Dishes for Kids Logo Nivethanam and Nithu 


  




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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Beetroot Stuff Green Paratha



 The name of the dish itself sounds interesting. Yes , I made this for Taste and Create event. It was a monthly event in which each blogger is paired with a blogger. This was my first challenge and I was paired with Hetal of Gujarati Zaika. Her blog has many interesting recipes , but I selected this colorful recipe as today is the Holi festival. This paratha was colorful and apt for the festival season.

 This is healthy paratha as many vegetables are used in making this. It will be appealing to everyone's eyes. It was a excellent recipe for lunchbox.
Requirements :
For paratha :
Whole wheat flour – 2 cup
Salt as required
Oil – 1 tsp
Spinach – 1 cup
Water ( optional )
For filling :
Grated Beetroot – 1 cup
Grated Cabbage – ½ cup
Grated Onion – 1/3  cup
Grated Carrot –  ½ cup
Chopped Capsicum – ¼ cup
Tomato sauce – 1 tbs
Chili powder – 1 tbs
Garam masala – ½ tbs
Oil – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method :
Making of Dough :
Add the spinach to warm water and let it for few minutes.
Drain the water and wash in cold water , grind into a fine paste – spinach puree.
In a bowl , add the flour , salt , oil and spinach puree.
Mix well and knead into soft dough. Add water if needed.
Let it rest for 15 minutes.
Make into small balls of dough.
For stuffing :
Heat oil in a pan , add the grated onion sauté well , till the raw smell leaves.
Add the grated beetroot , carrot , cabbage and chopped capsicum.
Sauté these veggies for about two minutes.
Add the chili powder , garam masala and salt , sauté for a minute.
Add the tomato sauce and stir once.
Take off from flame and let it cool.
Make into small balls.
Making of paratha :
Roll the dough ball into a thick paratha.
Place the stuffing in the middle and secure the edges fully.

Roll again gently with care not to leak out the filling.
Cook on both sides in a hot tawa in a medium flame with ghee / oil.

Serve with gravy / curd.

We had it with aloo mattar.


Sending to Taste and Create   




Monday, March 25, 2013

Chinese Spring Rolls


Spring rolls are a large variety of filled , rolled appetizers. The kind of wrapper , fillings and cooking techniques used  , as well as the name , vary considerably within this large area.
In Chinese cuisine , spring rolls are savory rolls with cabbage and other vegetables inside from areas such as Zhejiang in eastern china and northern china . They are usually eaten during the spring festival in china , hence the name.

 The process may seems difficult , but it was simple to make with few ingredients.

I made these spring rolls from scratch. It can be made from store bought spring roll sheet. It is an excellent appetizer.
Requirements :
For spring roll sheet :
All purpose flour – 2 cup
Salt as required
Oil -2 tsp
Water – 1 cup
For Filling :
Cabbage – ½ cup
Capsicum – ¼ cup
Carrot – ½ cup
Soya sauce – 1 tsp
Pepper powder – 1 tsp
Onion – ¼ cup
Oil – 1 tsp

Method :
For the dough :
Mix the all purpose flour, salt, oil and required water.
Knead well to make soft and smooth dough.
Let the dough rest for ten minutes.
For filling:
Chop all the vegetables to fine sticks.
Heat oil, add the onion and sauté well.
 Add the carrot, cabbage and capsicum. Sauté well.
Sauté  this for ten minutes.
Add the required salt and pepper powder , mix well.
Add in the soya sauce and sauté for a minute in high flame.
Take off from flame and let it cool.
Making of spring Rolls :
Make the dough into small balls.
Roll into thin sheets with the rolling pin.

Place a spoon of the filling in one end.
Fold the sides inwards and roll towards the other end.
Stick the end by the paste made of flour and water.
Repeat the same for the remaining dough.

Heat oil in a pan, reduce the flame to medium.
Deep fry the spring rolls till golden brown.

Spring rolls is ready to serve.

 Serve with Tomato sauce .





Sunday, March 24, 2013

Hokkaido Milk Bread With Tangzong – We Knead to Bake # 3



   Being part of the We knead to bake Group , we baked spinach pesto pullapart bread and croissants on the previous month. For this month Aparna of MyDiverse Kitchen challenged us to make this Hokkaido milk Bread by using Tangzhong.

 Tangzhong is a method of using Water Roux starter in the making of bread. It gives the bread a soft texture. Its texture is described as soft cottony / pillowy texture. This bread is very popular in south Asian bakeries across the world.
 This Bread is also known as Asian Sweet Bread and Hong Kong Pai Bo.some people say this is a Japanese bread while others say it’s because the milk used In this bread is from Japan while others suggested its pure white color and the textureresemble the pristineness of Hokkaido .

History of Tangzhong :
A few years ago , an amazing method of making this kind of soft and fluffy bread  was introduced by Yvonne Chen who wrote a Chinese book  entitled 65* C ( Bread Doctor ) . In her book , tangzhong , is described as the secret ingredient which is originated from Japan , to make soft and bouncy bread . It is actually a kind of flour paste ( Water Roux Starter ) – 1 part of bread flour cooked in 5 part of water to 65 Degree Celsius ( 149 * F).

How does tangzhong works ?

   As we cook the flour – water mixture for the tangzhong over gentle heat , the starch begins to react with the water via gelatinization. The mixture will subsequently thicken up as the starch traps and locks the moisture from the water.
   At 65 degree Celsius , the gluten in the flour and water mixture would absorb the moisture and become leavened . when this tangzhong is added into other ingredients of the bread , the bread dough will be heightened and produces softer bread.

 I made a tutti frutti filling Tangzhong bread and a tortoise and Two hedgedogs. Enjoyed making this bread………….
Recipe source :
Original recipe from  65 Degree Tangzhong 65 * Bread doctor by Yvonne Chen and adapted from Kirbie’s cravings .


Requirements:

For Tangzhong : ( Water – Roux Starter )
All purpose flour – 1/3 cup
Water – ½ cup
Milk – ½ cup
For dough :
All purpose flour – 2 ½ cup
Sugar – 3 tbs
Salt – 1 tsp
Butter – 25 g / 2 tbs
Milk powder – 2 tbs
Dry yeast – 2 tsp
Milk – 1 cup
Tangzhong – 1/3 cup ( Half of roux prepared from above )
Tutti Frutti – ½ cup

Method :
The Tangzhong / Water Roux starter :
Mix together the flour , water and milk togetherin a pan until smooth and there are no lumps.
Place the pan in the stove and cook over medium flame. Keep stirring.
The mixture will starts thickening. If having a thermometer means cook till it reaches 65 * C ( 150 F) and take off from flame.

As I don’t have a thermometer , check while stirring the roux the lines will form. Take off from flame.
Let it cool for 2 – 3 hours.
It will have the consistency of the crème patisserie.
Store the remaining roux in a airtight container and store in the fridge for 2 days.
Always use the fridge stored Tangzhong after coming to room temperature.
Proofing of Yeast :
 If using Instant yeast means add directly to the flour. As I used dry yeast , it must be proofed first.
Warm a ½ cup of ater to 110 * C / Luke warm. Add in the yeast and a spoon of sugar , mix and close with a lid.
After 10 – 15 minutes frothy liquid will be seen.
Making of dough :
In a bowl add the flour , salt , sugar and mix well.
In a bowl , mix the milk , proffed yeast and tangzhong well.
Add this liquid mixture to the flour mixture.
Mix well .

If using food processor the kneading will be easy.
I kneaded by hand.
At the beginning the dough will be sticky. Keep kneadind for about 20 minutes. The dough will become smooth and elastic.
Now , add the butter and knead for another 10 minutes.
If the dough feels tough and firm add a couple of spoon of milk and knead.
There was a test to check the dough is ready or not.
Window pan Test :
To test whether the dough is ready. Stretch the dough and place infront of the window , you can see a thin membrane of dough without tearing. 

If not knead for few more minutes.
Roll the dough into a ball.
Place the kneaded dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a plastic wrap.
Let it rise for 2-3 hours or till double in volume.


To check the dough is well raised , make a hole in the center of the raised dough , the hole won’t disappear.

Shaping in to Loaf :
Place the raised dough in the working counter.
Knead and divide the dough into 4 equal parts.
I used 3 parts in making the loaf and used the other one in making tortoise and hedgehogs.
Let the divided dough stand for 15 minutes.

Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into a oval shape , about 1/8 th inch thick.
Take one end of the dough from the shorter side of the oval end fold it to the middle of the oval. Take the other end and fold so it slightly overlaps the other fold.
Roll this folded dough with the rolling pin so the unfolded edges are stretched out to form a rectangle.
 If making plain loaf , roll this  rectangle from one short edge to the other , pinching the edges to seal well.

As I made tutti fruit bread , I sprinkled the tutti fruit on the rectangle and rolled towards the other end.
Repeat with the other two rolls.

Arrange with rolls in the greased loaf tin and let it for second rise , takes about an hour.

Shaping of Hedgedogs and Tortoise Rolls

 For the hedgehog :
Take the remaining one of the dough , divide into three equal parts.
To a part , roll it with the hand into a sphere and then elongate one end to form the nose of the hedgehog. I used pepper corns for the eyes. Press well , so that it won’t fall while baking. On the body , using the scissor ,cut few times all over  to give it impression of the quills. The cut must be deep so that it won’t disappear while baking.
Repeat with the other one too.

For Tortise roll :
On the remaining ball of the dough , take a large portion and shape into a smooth ball in a slightly elongated manner. With the remaining dough , roll into a head and four limbs. I didn’t make shell separately , if want can make. Mark cross lines on the body to resemble the shell. Attach the head and limbs to the body with the help of milk.
Baking of the loaf :
Carefully brush the milk and sugar mixture on the top of the loaf and animal shapes.
Bake in the preheated oven of 220 * Celsius  @ convection mode for 30 minutes or till browned on top.


Let them cool in the tin for 5 min and then unmould to rack to cool.


For baking the tortoise and hedgehog :
Arrange them in a baking tray.

Bake in the pre heated oven for 10 – 15 minutes.




   My Diverse Kitchen