Poori

Deep fried dough puffed up the moment it hits hot oil known as poori and largely serve at breakfast with milk potato masala . There are many version of poori and today i'm blogging the basic recipe for crispy,soft and puff poori. Recently , i came across of many videos in Facebook shared by my friends how to make a perfect poori that puffed up nicely when fried but this is the recepi i learnt from my mother that never failed me. I made this poori as a simple lunch when i'm in no mood for rice and two pooris is all what i need to satisfy my hungry tummy. So, lets get started on how to make puffy poori.

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp butter
Oil for deep frying

Methods

In a large bow, add flour,salt,sugar and oil. Mix well.

Add little warm water at a time to knead the dough into a dough.

Smear 1 tsp butter on the dough and cover the bowl. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

Knead the dough for 1 minute and roll the dough into equal sized balls.

Dust a clean working surface and your rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough into medium thickness.

Over a medium flame, heat oil in a frying pan for deep fying. Gently slides the poori  from the sides of the pan to the hot oil.

Once the poori floats, gently press the ladle on one side for the poori to puff up. Flip the poori to cook on the other sides. Once the poori turns golden, drain the oil and place them on a plate lined with kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.

Continue the process with remaining dough.

Serve with potato masala. I served mine with fish curry.

Notes

The oil shall not be too hot or too cold.

The dough should not be too soft. It shall be slightly stiff.

Do not roll the poori too thin this will prevent from the poori puffing up while frying.

Creamy Jewel Salad

No hidden treasure in this creamy bowl of happiness. What i meant with jewel is indeed the vibrant ruby colored pomegranate seeds. Paired with slices of sourish Granny Smith apple and toasted walnut absolutely divine to taste. I served them with Yorkshire pudding and potato gratin. Creamy and full of of flavors especially when the pomegranate seeds burst into your mouth on every bite.

Ingredients

2 Granny Smith apples
1 large pomegranate
Handful of toasted walnuts
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp cream
1/4 tsp salt
Salt to season

Methods

Wash,core and slice the apples into thin slices. Soak in salt water to avoid discolouring.

Cut the pomegranate into halves and with your back of wooden spoon, give a good smack on the pomegranate skin and seeds will easily fall off.

In a large bowl, add mayonnaise,cream,salt and pepper. Mix well

Add the sliced apples and pomegranate seeds into the mayonnaise mixture and mix well.

Serve immediately.

Steamed Silken Tofu With Shitake Mushroom

This is the dish i wanted to try for quite sometimes now yet, not sure why  i hesitate to give it  a try. I was little worried the soft tofu will break apart and ruin the dish maybe, thats the reason why i hold back. Anyway, finally i found my courage to make this steamed tofu when i saw so many postings in my Facebook newsfeed. This simple dish was cooked and shared by many of my foodie friends and it =s simply delicious to scroll down and finally, its my turn to post the dish. There are many different version of steamed tofu i used Shitake mushroom for its meaty texture and flavor and i'm very much happy with the outcome.

Ingredients

1 tub silken tofu
5 pcs fresh shitake mushroom, cut into slices
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp,dried shrimp powder
1 inch ginger,julienned
1 tbsp peanut oil

Methods

In a wok, heat peanut oil and saute ginger till fragrance. Add sliced shitake mushroom and dried shrimp paste. Saute till the mushroom soften.

In a bowl, combine light soy sauce,vinegar and sesame oil. Place the tofu in a plate, pour the sauce over the tofu. Topped with the mushroom mixture.

Boil water in a steamer, steam the tofu for 5-7 minutes.

Serve hot with white rice 

Kancheepuram Idli

Idli is my favourite food in the world and trust me i don't even know there's such thing as Kancheepuram idli till i came across of one upon my visit to Bangalore last year. Me and my sister decided to have a short walk around the hotel area we were staying when we bumped into a small roadside stall releasing tons of steam from a big steaming pot. When we stop by, there was a large tray of white cake look alike dish only to be known later to us as Kancheepuram idli. Being a Idli fan i give it a try and wallah the most delicious idli i ever had. Loaded with aromatic Indian spices and cut into cake slices just a piece of it definitely gonna blow your mind.

Ingredients 

For Idli Batter

1/2 cup raw rice
1/2 cup idli rice
1/2 cup urad dhal
Salt as needed

For Tempering

3 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
1/4 tsp hing
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp chana dhal
1 tsp urad dhal
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp broken cashew nuts
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp chopped green chilly
1 sprig curry leaves,chopped
2-3 tbsp gingely oil

Methods

Soak raw rice,idli rice and urad dhal separately for 4-5 hours. Grind Urad dhal till fluffy and keep aside. Then grind the rice into coarse paste. In a large and tall vessel, mixed both urad dhal and rice mixture. Season with salt and give a good mix. The batter should not be too thin or too thick. Rest the batter to ferment for 7-8 hours or overnight.

In a frying pan over a medium heat, add gingely oil and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutters, add curry leaves,chana dhal,urad dhal,hing,cumin seeds,cashew nuts,black peppercorns,chopped ginger and chopped green chilly. Cook til the dhal turn golden.

Add the mixture into the fermented batter and add chopped coriander leaves. Mix it well.

Pour the batter into a lightly greased shallow plate and steam for 10-15 minutes or till well cooked. Remove from steamer and slice according to your preference.

Serve hot with sambar and chutney of your choice.

Yorkshire Pudding

Yorkshire pudding usually paired with roasted beef or lamb over Sunday lunch and made with beef or lamb drippings. As I'm not into roasting for our Sunday lunch yet, still thinking of baking Yorkshire pudding I replaced the drippings with canola oil which works perfectly well.The beauty of Yorkshire pudding is the ability of it to stand tall as poppers. Crispy outside, soft and spongy inside... this pudding is in my to do list for a very long time. 1 item ticked in the checklist though.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup full cream milk
3 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
6 teaspoons canola/vegetable oil


Methods

In a large bowl, add flour,milk eggs and salt. Beat for 1 minutes with hand/stand mixer till no lumps. Cover the bowl and rest the batter for 3-4 hours/

Preheat oven at 425'F or 220'C.

Add 1/4 teaspoon oil into the muffin tray holes and heat the oil in the preheated oven for 3-4 minutes.

Beat the batter for 1 minute. Remove the muffin tray from the oven and pour the batter 3/4 full into each muffin holes.

Bake at 425'F or 220'C for 25-30 minutes till golden.

Serve hot or warm 

Pistachio Baklava

Few weeks ago i posted almond baklava and as the craving goes, i can't have enough of baklava. Whipped up some pistachio baklava to satisfy my sweet tooth and thank goodness i have enough phyllo pastry in the freezer and more than enough pistachio nuts ready to be filled. I packed this delicious pistachio baklava into the girls lunch box as a dessert and the lunchbox came home all cleaned up. I shall store more phyllo pastry so that i could try many other versions of baklava as and when the craving hits.

Ingredients

1 package frozen phyllo pastry, thawed
1/2 cup melted butter (for brushing)


For Filling

2 cups coarsely chopped pistachio
1/4 sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder


For the Syrup

3/4 sugar
3/4 water
3/4 honey
2 tbsp orange blossoms water
2 cloves


Methods:

In a large bowl, mix together chopped pistachio,sugar,cinnamon powder.

Clear the large space of your working kitchen counter and make sure the melted butter, the filling is nearby you. You have to work fast as the phyllo pastry tends to dry off quickly

Unwrap the phyllo sheets and carefully unroll onto the assembly surface. Keep the remaining dough covered with damp towel

Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom off a 9' inc baking pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with melted butter, lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter and repeat the step for 4 phyllo sheets. Spread the fillings on top of the phyllo evenly. Place a phyllo pastry on top of the filling and brush with melted butter repeat the same with 4 more layers of phyllo pastry.  Brush the top layer of phyllo with generous amount of melted butter and cut the phyllo stacks with a very sharp knife in a shape of rectangular.

Position the rack in the middle of the oven and place the baking position the rack in the middle of the oven and place the baking pan. Bake in 180' C or 350' F  for 45-50 minutes till golden brown. 

Meanwhile, prepare the sugar syrup by boiling sugar,honey,water and cloves over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the orange blossoms water.

Pour the syrup over the warm baklava and let it soak completely for an hour. 


Notes:

• Phyllo pastry tend to dry up fast. Always damp a kitchen towel and lay it over the unused phyllo.

• Brush a generous amount of melted butter over a each layer of phyllo before baking to avoid it from breaking  while baking.

• Orange blossoms water can be purchased from any of middle eastern sundry shops. You can substitute rose water with orange blossoms water

Sugar Cheese Bun

Whenever we visit our neighborhood bakery sugar cheese bun is what the girls will pick up as their first choice. The bakery we visit to get our daily dose of bread always have this delicious soft buns arrange neatly in their bread tray waiting for customers to grab. While i'm scrolling the net, i came across this sugar cheese bun recepi and decided to give it a try. It was super soft and fluffy with rich cheese flavor and not too sweet for our palate. The girls love them for the breakfast as the sweet and savoury bun burst with sharp cheddar cheese flavor almost the dame what they get in our bakery.

Ingredients

3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup cake flour
2 tsp active yeast
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
100 ml whole milk,warmed
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp vegetable oil
100 g unsalted butter 
1 tsp salt

For Sprinkling

1 egg,beaten lightly with 1 tbsp water
3-4 tbsp grated cheddar cheese
3 tbsp granulated white sugar


Methods

In a bowl, add warmed milk,sugar and yeast. Stir until sugar dissolved and let the yeast to activate for about 10 minutes until the mixture foamy.

In a bowl, sift flour and salt together.

In another bowl, add the lightly beaten eggs,honey and vegetable oil.

In the mixing bowl, add the sifted flour,eggs mixture. Add the yeast mixture and using a stand mixture fitted with hook attachment knead well until the mixture well combined and leaves the sides of the mixing bowl.

Transfer the dough onto a clean working surface dusted lightly with flour. Knead the dough with your hand for about 10 minutes until soft and pliable.

Transfer the dough into a large bowl greased with oil. Cover the bowl with clean kitchen towel and place the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise for about 1 or 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough and transfer onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 7 equal sized balls

Roll the balls into a disc and place 1 tbsp grated cheddar cheese in the middle of the dough. Secure the edges neatly to form a ball. Repeat with remaining dough. Arrange the dough in a greased baking pan.

Cover the baking pan with clean kitchen towel and place in a warm place for about 30-40 minutes.

Brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese and sugar.

Bake for 12-14 minutes on a 220'C preheated oven until golden.

Remove from oven and cool it on baking tray for 15 minutes.

Lebanese Almond Baklava

This is not the first time i'm making baklava. The famous Middle Eastern sweetmeat has always been one of my favourite dessert. This time i made almond baklava as i always have a full jar of almonds waiting to be used. Eventhough, working with paper thin phyllo pastry can be tricky but trust me the effort worth the end result and frozen phyllo pastry comes handy in the process of making this scrumptious dessert. The almond baklava is totally addictive and i could not stop at one and guess i shall temporarily forget about my calorie counting.



Ingredients

1 package frozen phyllo pastry, thawed
1/2 cup melted butter (for brushing)


For Filling

2 cups coarsely chopped almonds
1/4 sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder


For the Syrup

3/4 sugar
3/4 water
3/4 honey
2 tbsp orange blossoms water
2 cloves


Methods:

In a large bowl, mix together chopped almond,sugar,cinnamon powder.

Clear the large space of your working kitchen counter and make sure the melted butter, the filling is nearby you. You have to work fast as the phyllo pastry tends to dry off quickly

Unwrap the phyllo sheets and carefully unroll onto the assembly surface. Keep the remaining dough covered with damp towel

Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom off a 9' inc baking pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with melted butter, lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter and repeat the step for 4 phyllo sheets. Spread the fillings on top of the phyllo evenly. Place a phyllo pastry on top of the filling and brush with melted butter repeat the same with 4 more layers of phyllo pastry.  Brush the top layer of phyllo with generous amount of melted butter and cut the phyllo stacks with a very sharp knife in a shape of rectangular.

Position the rack in the middle of the oven and place the baking position the rack in the middle of the oven and place the baking pan. Bake in 180' C or 350' F  for 45-50 minutes till golden brown. 

Meanwhile, prepare the sugar syrup by boiling sugar,honey,water and cloves over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the orange blossoms water.

Pour the syrup over the warm baklava and let it soak completely for an hour. 


Notes:

• Phyllo pastry tend to dry up fast. Always damp a kitchen towel and lay it over the unused phyllo.

• Brush a generous amount of melted butter over a each layer of phyllo before baking to avoid it from breaking  while baking.

• Orange blossoms water can be purchased from any of middle eastern sundry shops. You can substitute rose water with orange blossoms water