Sunday, April 30, 2017

Watermelon Salad with Lemon dressing



 Watermelon with its bright pink colour flesh will be seen around summer in India. As the fruit has high water content and is a thirst quencher in the hot temperature.



 It is also said that taking watermelon reduces high blood pressure. For this month's Sshhhh secretly cooking challenge , I was paired with Veena Krishnakumar.The ingredients which veena krishnakumar gave were watermelon and Mint.





Requirements :
 1 bowl of scooped Watermelon
 Quarter cup of Pomegranate
1 large onion
Mint sprig
For Dressing
1 lemon
1 tbs Sesame oil
½ tsp Pepper powder
Salt to taste
½ tsp chopped mint leaves


Method :
Chop half onion finely and remaining into slices.
Squeeze juice out of Lemon.
In a bowl , add the watermelon balls , pomegranate and chopped onion , toss well.
In the serving bowl , arrange the sliced onion around the edges. Place the mixed salad in the centre .


Chill in the refrigerator till serving.
In a shaker bottle add the lemon juice , salt , pepper powder , sesame oil , Chopped Mint leaves and shake well.
Pour the salad dressing just before serving.
Place the mint sprig on top and serve.







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Watermelon salad with Lemon dressing is ready to serve.



Saturday, April 15, 2017

The Ramayana #Paperboat



 I received the The Ramayana by R K Narayanan and Panakam from Paperboat after one week of Ramanavami.

 Ramanavami is the festival celebrated by Hindus as the birthday of Lord Rama. Panakam was the main offering to the Lord Rama on the day.




 I was delighted to enjoy Panakam and to read the Ramayanam.

 Though most of us know the story of Ramayanam, reading in the narration of well-known author was a pleasure….





Thank you Paper boat for this happiness……..

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Grissini – Italian Breadsticks#BreadBakers



      For this month’s bread bakers Breads from Italy was the theme given by Anshie of SpiceRoots. I first thought of making Focaccia then changed my mind to make this easy bread sticks. I always prefer to bake easy breads .
     I was surprised to read about the history of this easy bread sticks.




About Grissini :
                  Piemonte : Grissino
     Grissino is a long , thin and crispy stick made with bread dough. It’s widely popular in the whole world since centuries . The history of grissini is closely related to that of Piedmont , a region in northwest Italy .

    Grissini were invented at the end of the 17th century to cure health problems of young Duke Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy. The duke had major difficulty digesting most foods and Don Baldo di Lanzo , the court doctor , commissioned the court baker , Antonio Brunero , to make an extremely light and friable bread.




     Antonio decided to take part of the dough use to make ghersa , a typical bread of Turin , and stretch it out  into long , thin strips. Once baked , the thin breadsticks were crisp and easy to digest. Thanks to this recipe the duke’s health improved . the duke was crowned as king in 1713. Legend has it that the ghost of Vittorio Amedeo , with a grissino in hand , still haunts the rooms of his old castle.


  Napoleon  referred grissini as “ little sticks of Turin’’ and  loved them .He had  them delivered to paris  directly from Turin (Piedmont).



Requirements :

Multigrain wheat flour – 3 cup
Lukewarm water – ¾ cup
Sugar – 2tsp
Salt – 1 ¼ tsp
Instant yeast – 2 tsp
Dry milk – 1 tbs
Olive oil – 2 tbs

Topping :

Sesame seeds
Mixed Italian Seasoning




Method :

  I used store bought Multigrain wheat flour to make this bread sticks. You can use wheat flour or pastry flour to make this bread sticks.

In a bowl , add the flour , dry milk , sugar , salt and yeast , mix together .
Add in the lukewarm water , olive oil  and mix well.
Sini.
Knead for ten minutes or till the dough becomes soft and supple.

Cover the dough with a towel and let the dough rest for 2 hour or till it doubles.

Knead the doubled dough again.

 I made plain grissini , Mixed Italian seasoning grissini and black sesame seed grissini.

Divide the dough into 24 small balls. Take a ball and place it on the kitchen counter , dust a little flour and roll it into rope with the four fingers of both hand.

 Roll till you get the desired length – plain Grissini.



For herbed grissini , roll the plain grissini on the mixed Italian seasoning .
For sesame seed grissini , I rolled the plain grissini on the black sesame seeds.

Arrange the prepared  grissini on the baking tray , brush each grissini with olive oil.

Bake in the preheated oven @ 180*C for 20 minutes or till the sticks are lightly brown.

Remove from oven and cool on a rack and store in air tight container. It will be fresh for 3 days.


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Serve grissini with your favourite dip.



#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com


BreadBakers





  • Casatiello by A Shaggy Dough Story


  • Ciabatta Sandwich Rolls by Herbivore Cucina


  • Classic Italian Bread by Hostess At Heart


  • Cornetti by Gayathri's Cook Spot


  • Einkorn Parmesan Piadina by The Wimpy Vegetarian


  • Fingermillet and Rosemary Focaccia by Sizzling Tastebuds


  • Focaccia Caprese by Sneha's Recipe


  • Grissini by Sara's Tasty Buds


  • Gubana - An Italian Sweet Bread by The Schizo Chef


  • Il Pane di Matera by Food Lust People Love


  • Italian BLT Focaccia by A Salad For All Seasons


  • Italian Easter Bread by Palatable Pastime


  • Italian Easter Cheese Bread by A Baker's House


  • Italian Herb and Garlic Focaccia by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks


  • Italian Stuffed Pane Bianco by Cook's Hideout


  • Mini Panettone by Mayuri's Jikoni


  • Pane Bianco by Veenas Vegnation


  • Pane di Genzano by Spiceroots


  • Piadina by Passion Kneaded


  • Pizza alla Siciliana by Karen's Kitchen Stories


  • Rosemary and Cabernet Salt Focaccia by What Smells So Good?