Eggless Spinach Lasagna

Lasagna I always associate with loads of cheese, and eggs, and in fact it is! I do not like cheese much, but S is fond of some Cheese dishes. One among them is Veggie Lasagna. My sister in law visited us once from India, and she wanted to try Lasagna. However most of the places we inquired told Lasagna has meat etc. So she could not get to taste it here. I thought may be sometime I  make lasagna at home. But never got the chance to search or make lasagna.  Nupur One Hot Stove posted a Spinach lasagna recipe last year from Cooks Country, and I was again thinking of making lasagna.  I chose to make this lasagna minus the eggs. I made lasanga with some changes, though was apprehensive how will it be without eggs.  I saw this eggless lasagna recipe on Edible Garden  and thought lasagna indeed can be made eggless. It came out well and was well binded without eggs too. My husband, stated it is good though bland and needed more spices to suit our taste buds. Please feel free to adjust the spice level per your taste. I made another lasagna recipe, and added some Indian spices to add the zing! Stay tuned for another lasagna recipe I tried and that hit the flavors!
Lasagna is a layered dish having tomato sauce sauteed with mix of vegetables (per choice), lasagna sheets, Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese, and these layers are repeated to make 3 layers.

Ingredients

30 ounces frozen chopped spinach (used 20 ounces equivalent to 2 packets) and Also used sauteed mushroom (1/4 cup)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped fine

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (add more per taste)

2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (used 2 fresh tomatoes and 1 14 oz can)

6 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil (Used dried)

24 ounces (3 cups) Ricotta cheese

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 1/2 cups)

12 no-boil lasagna noodles (Barilla brand used 6 sheets)

12 oz (3 cups) mozzarella cheese, shredded (used 2 cups)
Salt and Pepper per taste

Method
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Microwave spinach in covered large bowl until completely thawed, about 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Squeeze spinach dry, reserving 1/3 cup liquid. Pulse spinach in food processor (or blender or Mixie) until ground, 8 to 10 pulses, scraping down bowl every few pulses. Wipe out large bowl with paper towels. Transfer spinach to now-empty bowl; set aside.
2. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, ½ cup processed spinach, salt and pepper per taste, and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in 3 tablespoons basil; set aside.
3. Process ricotta and reserved spinach liquid in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add Parmesan, remaining 3 tablespoons basil, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and process until combined. Stir ricotta mixture into remaining processed spinach.
4. Cover bottom of the baking dish with 1¼ cups  spinach-tomato sauce (use the baking sheet that you have, and adjust accordingly the number of lasagna sheets used) . Top with 2 noodles and spread one-third of ricotta mixture evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup mozzarella and cover with 1¼ cups spinach-tomato sauce. Repeat twice, beginning with noodles and ending with sauce. Top with remaining 3 noodles, remaining sauce, and remaining 1 cup mozzarella.
5. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil sprayed with vegetable oil spray and bake until bubbling around edges, about 40 minutes. Discard foil and continue to bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes.

Sending this lasagna to the SpicyTreats Love2Bake weekly event.

Eggless Chocolate Biscotti

I tried chocolate biscotti for the first time when I visisted by brother's home, in US.  That time I did not know that I will be baking biscotti at home!  Biscotti in Italian means baked twice. Biscotti does not taste overly sweet, and the texture is not very soft either. This makes biscotti a perfect light and crunchy snack for tea/coffee. I googled for both eggless and regular recipes to understand how it is made. I do eggless baking though I learnt a lot about biscotti when reading about regular recipes as well.
I made chocolate biscotti following recipe from Spicy Treats. This recipe yields the perfect taste and texture chocolate biscotti. I still have to try the almond biscotti, and will post here once get to bake it. I enjoyed baking this biscotti. My daughter was the star helper helping me prepare the dough, and cut the slices.

Ingredients
All purpose flour   1 and 1/2 cup
Rolled Oats     1/2 cup ( Used quick cooking rolled oats and grinded them to coarse powder)
Cocoa powder   1 Tablespoon
Salt     a pinch
Baking powder   1 tsp
Baking soda  1/2 tsp
Sugar     1/2 cup
Butter (room temperature)   1/2 cup
Vanilla extract   1 tsp
Baking Chocolate  1/4 cup or 2 oz, melted (Used Ghirardelli semisweet)
Milk     2 tbsp ( add if the dough is crumble & dry)
Chocolate Chips    3 Tablespoon

Method (Please refer to SpicyTreats for pictorial steps)
Sieve together  the flour,rolled oats,cocoa powder,baking soda,baking powder,salt in a bowl. Whisk together the butter,sugar until they turn smooth.  Add in the melted chocolate,vanilla extract and give a quick stir.Now slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix everything well, if its hard to knead add milk, if its sticky, add in few flour. Lastly add chocolate chips and knead to a soft dough. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll the dough as a log and transfer it to a baking sheet lined over a baking tray. (This dough crumbles very easily, I found it easier to roll the dough on the lined baking sheet itself.) Bake the log for 15-20 minutes. Cool it for 10 minutes. With a sharp knife, slice it diagonally as 1 inch pieces or roughly to get around 15-20 pieces from the log. Bake it again for 5 minutes. Flip the biscottis and bake again for an another 2-3 minutes. Keep a close eye on the oven as the biscotti is baked 2nd time. This can get over baked very fast, and can spoil the crunch and crispiness. Cool it completely before storing in airtight container.

Sending this biscotti to Kids Delight event hosted by Gayathri's Cook Spot and organizer of this event Spice Your Life  Thanks Gayathri and Srivalli.

Eggless Linzer Cookies

I bought the linzer cookie cutter set an year before, thinking I will use it sometime. However it did not happen. Recently, I saw these cookies posted by Nitha on the weekly hosted event Love2Bake by Spicy Treats, and bookmarked the recipe. I showed my daughter the picture of these cookies, and she was very excited to bake and decorate these cookies. I prepared the dough and kept in the fridge overnight , and baked them the next day with my daughter. My kid enjoyed cutting these cookies, and liked to decorate these with jam, and icing sugar. Hope you get to enjoy these too!

I adapted the recipe from  Nitha Kitchen and  Cook's Hideout. Please refer to Nitha's blog for detailed step by step pictures.

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour – 1 cup + 2 tbsp (I used whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
Ground Almonds – 1/2 cup (Used store bought Almond meal)
Sugar – 1/4 cup
Salt – 1/8 tsp
Ground Cloves – 1/8 tsp
Ground Cinnamon – 1/4 tsp
Unsalted Butter – 8 tbsp, (1 stick)Softened at room temperature
Lemon zest or Lemon extract- 1/4 tsp
Orange zest or Orange extract -1/4 tsp
Vanilla Essence –1/2 tsp
Strawberry Jam or any other fruit preserve as required
Powdered Sugar – 1 tsp + extra for dusting

Method
Combine the flours, sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, zest, and vanilla essence in a stand mixer or by hand. Add the butter, and mix well until the dough comes together. Don't over do the kneading. Divide the dough in half, then wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour for easy rolling. I refrigerated the dough overnight. Line a baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough 1/8" thick. Cut the shapes using the Linzer cutters. Bake at 325 F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove the cookies onto a cooling rack and let cool completely before. Spread the solid cookie with the filling and place the cutout cookie on top of the filled cookie.  Note that filling/preserves makes the cookie gain the moisture.  I did not fill on the cookies with preserve. Therefore, I stored some of the cookies in air tight container, and took out to decorated as need basis.

Sending these cookies to Sangee's weekly Monday event  Love2Bake.

Sambhar

Sambhar is the one among the most popular and main meal accompaniment in South Indian cooking. You can find more information on wikipedia. It is a kind of vegetable and lentil stew. I learnt making authentic sambhar recipe from my mother-in-law. I make once a week sambhar in my home. I make the less spicy version for kids by adding less sambhar powder while initially cooking. Then I take out kids portion after everything is cooked, and add more sambhar powder to make spicier version for S.  My mother in law (MIL) makes the sambhar powder at home, and I use the same for making the sambhar at home.  My MIL will boil the daal (lentil)  and the vegetables separately, however I cook everything together.

I am sending this recipe for My Legume Love Affair # 69 hosted this month by Cindystar. This event has been started by Susan of Well-Seasoned Cook, and supervised by Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen.

Ingredients
1 Cup Toor daal (If possible wash and soak an hour or so before cooking)
1 medium size cut onion
1 large tomato cubed in small pieces
1-½ cups mixed vegetables, cute into bite-size cubes (I use mix of beet-root, zuchhini, carrot, beans, summer squash, drumstick, brinjal or any other vegetable available in fridge)
2 Tablespoons oil
Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seed (methi)
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
Pinch of Asafoetida (hing)
Pinch of turmeric (haldi)
10-12 curry leaves
2 red chillies (optional if need more spicy)

2 tablespoons tamarind pulp  (I make the tamarind pulp and store it in fridge, else you can buy ready made from grocery store or make at home by soaking lemon size tamarind in hot water, and extract the pulp using strainer)
2 teaspoon salt (per taste)    
1-2 Tablespoon sambhar powder (depending on spice level

Method
Heat oil in pressure cooker. First add the seasoning. Add the mustard seeds, once the mustard seeds crackle, add the jeera, hing, curry leaves, methi seeds, and red chilli. Now, add the cut onion. Once the onion begins to brown, add the cut tomato. Add the turmeric and sambhar powder. Now fry these for 1-2 minutes, and add the cut vegetables. Add about 3-4 cups of water, salt per taste, and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles and then reduce the heat to minimum and slow cook for 5-10 minutes. Open the cooker once the steam is over, add the tamarind pulp, and let it boil for 3-4 minutes. Add water to adjust the consistency per taste. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve. This dish goes well with rice, dosa, idli, and serves 4-5 people.


Sambhar Powder Recipe (Source: Mother-in-law)
Please note I am lucky enough to get this powder from my mother in law, however you can easily buy it in Indian stores, or make per the recipe below.

• Red Chilli  4-5
• Coriander seeds (Dhania) 2 Tablespoon
• Astofeida (Hing) a pinch
• Fenugreek (Methi) seeds 1/4 teaspoon
• Black pepper 1 teaspoon
• Cumin seeds (Jeera) 1/2 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds 1/4 teaspoon

Low roast above ingredients. Let the mixture cool down to room temperature, and grind it to find powder. store in an airtight container. Above proportion can be used for making sambar 4-5 times. 

Eggless and Natural Red Velvet Cupcakes

I had been thinking of making the red velvet cake for long time. I saw some egg-less recipes but those used color and I was not keen on using any colors. This recipe posted by Anushruti from Divine Taste is surely a winner and keeper in terms of ingredients as well as taste and texture of the cupcakes. Do try this recipe. The secret ingredient Beetroot gives the bight red color can not be felt at all in the cupcake. I asked S if can he make out what did I use for color, but he could not! So try baking these cupcake and play the guessing game for the secret ingredient.

Adapted from Divine Taste

It is important to boil the beets with their skin to get maximum color from them. 
Ingredients

For the Cake
3/4 cup beet puree (directions follow)
1 1/2 cup plain flour (Used whole wheat pastry flour)
4 tsp cocoa powder
11/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk + 1 tbsp vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract


Method
Take 2 medium sized beets, wash them and cook in a pressure cooked until tender without peeling them. This ensures that you get the maximum colour out of the beets.
Once the beets are cooked through, allow to cool and peel the skin. Chop into pieces and blend to a puree using approximately 4 tbsp water. Line cupcake or muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a bowl assemble all the dry ingredients the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together and sieve once. Pre heat the oven to 175 C/350 F.
In another bowl put in the milk and vinegar and allow it to sit for about five minutes. Put in the granulated sugar and oil and blend with a blender until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the beet puree and the vanilla extract.
Now put in the sieved dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients and beat until well mixed, about 3 to 4 minutes. With the help of an ice cream scoop or a spoon drop the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. The cupcakes baked in 20 minutes in my oven.

Method for the Frosting

Ingredients
1  8 ounce package cream cheese, at room tempertaure
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups icing (confectioner’s) sugar
1 to 2 tbsp cream or milk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method:
Beat all the ingredients together with an electric mixer or stand mixer until smooth and fluffy.
Makes 15 cupcakes or one 9 inch cake. I halved the recipe for frosting as we like cupcake without icing too. I used Wilton 1M tip for icing the cupcakes.

Minestrone Soup

I received a stainless steel soup pot as a birthday gift from a friend. I used this new vessel to make the minestrone soup. I like the olive garden Minestrone soup, and always wondered how to make it. I read through several online minestrone soup recipes, and adapted the one to suit our taste buds. For the last one year, I have been making this soup at home. I use hard anodized vessels for cooking. This new stainless steel soup pot is now a part of my kitchen collection, and I will be using it more often to make soups.  I had apprehensions that the food may stick/burn and will be hard to clean, however this pot received score of 10/10 from cooking to the cleaning perspective.

Sending this soup for the event No Croutons Required - Vegetarian Soups and Salads hosted by Lisa's Kitchen

Recipe source adapted from here Two peas and their pod

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 cup fresh or frozen green beans
2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (Used 2 fresh diced tomatoes)
4 cups vegetable broth (used 1 can of vegetable broth)
2 cups water
1 (14 ounce) can cannellini beans  (Used mix of Great Northern beans and Pinto beans, and boiled them in pressure cooker)
1 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese-optional, for garnish
(I also added 1 tsp Red Chilli flakes, 1 tsp cumin powder, and pinch of nutmeg)

Method:
1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add in zucchini, green beans, and diced tomatoes. Stir in vegetable broth and water. Add beans, macaroni, oregano, and basil. Simmer until vegetables and macaroni are tender-about 35 minutes.

2. Season soup with salt and pepper, additional powders from the ingredients section, and serve warm. Garnish with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Hokkaido Eggless Milk Bread with Tangzhong

I saw this bread on Aparna's My Diverse Kitchen Blog We Knead to Bake Group. I was intrigued to try this bread as the bread dough is a slight variation from usual way I have been baking breads. There is a starter called tangzhong for the dough that is made before the actual dough is prepared. The bread can also be shaped in different shapes and forms. Making the tangzhong may seems laborious. However the end result is a airy, soft and mildly sweet white bread.The bread can be made more sweet, savory, and filled with different fillings. I made the basic bread and next time will try to make different fillings.

Sending this bread for the even Love2Bake hosted by Sangeetha of Spicy Treats.

Ingredients

Recipe Source My Diverse Kitchen

For The Tangzhong (Flour-Water Roux)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk 

For The Dough:

 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1.5 cup whole wheat flour)

 3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp powdered milk

2 tsp instant dried yeast

1/2 cup milk (and a little more if needed)

1/8 cup cream (I used Philedelphia 1/3 less fat brand)

1/3 cup tangzhong (use HALF of the tangzhong from above)

25gm unsalted butter (2 Tablespoons)(cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)

1/2 to 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips if making the chocolate chip rolls 

Method

In summary, the method involves preparing the tangzhong, and let rest it for 2-3 hours. In the meanwhile prepare the bread dough by mixing the bread dough ingredients. Mix the tangzhong with the bread dough ingredients, and knead using hand/mixer in shape of a ball. Cover the dough and let it rise until double in volume. Deflate and shape the dough per instructions, let it rest again until double in volume. Pre heat the oven to 325 F, brush the bread top with milk, and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

Please refer to Aparna's blog for pictorial steps.

The Tangzhong  (Flour-Water Roux)

Whisk together lightly the flour, water and milk in a saucepan until smooth and there are no lumps. Place the saucepan on the stove, and over medium heat, let the roux cook till it starts thickening. Keep stirring/ whisking constantly so no lumps form and the roux is smooth. If you have a thermometer, cook the roux/ tangzhong till it reaches 65C (150F) and take it off the heat. If like me, you don’t have a thermometer, then watch the roux/ tangzhong until you start seeing “lines” forming in the roux/ tangzhong as you whisk/ stir it. Take the pan off the heat at this point. Let the roux/ tangzhong cool completely and rest for about 2 to 3 hours at least. It will have the consistency of a soft and creamy crème patisserie. If not using immediately, transfer the roux to a bowl and cover using plastic wrap. It can be stored in the fridge for about a day. Discard the tangzhong after that.  

The Bread Dough

I made the bread dough using my stand mixer. Mix the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, powdered milk. Next mix the Tangzhong (prepared above) and make a soft dough like made for any bread. The dough will start out sticky but kneading will make it smooth. If the dough feels firm and not soft to touch, add a couple of tsps of milk till it becomes soft and elastic. When the dough is done, you should be able to stretch the dough without it breaking right away.  When it does break, the break should be form a circle. I had to add 1 Tablespoon of milk. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl turning it so it is well coated. Cover with a towel, and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes or till almost double in volume.  Place the dough on your working surface. You don’t need flour to work or shape this dough. This recipe makes enough dough to make one loaf (9” by 5” tin), 2 small loaves (6” by 4” tins) or 1 small loaf (6” by 4”) and 6 small rolls (muffin tins). Depending on what you are making, divide your dough. If you are making 1 loaf, divide your dough in 3 equal pieces. If you are making two smaller loaves, divide your dough into 6 equal pieces. I made one loaf. I first divided my dough into three equal pieces to make one big loaf. 

Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape, about 1/8” thick. Take one end of the dough from the shorter side of the oval and 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. Roll the rectangle from one short edge to the other, pinching the edges to seal well. Do this with each of the three larger pieces and place them, sealed edges down, in a well-oiled loaf tin. Cover with a towel and leave the dough to rise for about 45 minutes. Carefully brush the top of the loaf with milk and bake it at 170 C (325 F) for about 20 to 30 minutes till it is done (if you tap them they’ll sound hollow) and beautifully browned on top. Let it cool in the loaf pan for about 5 minutes and transfer to a rack till slightly warm or cool. 

Hot Chocolate Mix

During the Christmas holiday season last year 2013, S just asked me if I can make hot chocolate. I started browsing internet for Hot Chocolate recipes, and liked the one by Nupur One Hot Stove.  Luckily I had all the ingredients at home and took 10 minutes to make the mix. My daughter, S, and I liked the flavors of hot chocolate mix prepared without any preservatives. This is still a hit in our home.  In my opinion, the quality and/or brand of the chocolate makes subtle differences in flavor.

Adapted from One Hot Stove

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 to 7 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate: about 2 bars or approx 3/4 cup (Used Ghirardelli brand)
2 to 3 oz. chopped milk chocolate: 1 bar or approx 1/3 cup (Used Dairy Milk)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp. espresso powder
pinch of salt

Method
I used my Preethi Indian mixer to grind the above ingredients together to a fine powder.
Bring the chocolate to room temperature if chocolate is refrigerated, that will help to chop and grind the chocolate easily. You can grind all the ingredients in food processor. These are approximate quantities for chocolate. One can try adding little more or less per taste. I had made this mix using Hershey's  chocolate, however we liked the taste better with the Chocolate brand listed in Ingredients section above. Please note these are my viewpoints, and do not represent in any way any brand naming. Store the mix in airtight container. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons (quarter cup) of mix to 1 cup warm milk, and enjoy!

Herb and Cheese Pull Apart Bread : We Knead to Bake# 14

For the month of February, Aparna from the We Knead to Bake (WKTB) group asked us to bake any bread of our choice. I have been very keen on to try all the breads this group WKTB baked last year. So I chose the 1st bread this group baked last year. It is called Herb and Cheese Pull Apart Bread. This bread has a very nice different appealing look, and tasted great as well. I adapted the recipe as mentioned below in ingredients section.

Ingredients
Recipe Source My Diverse Kitchen

For the Dough
1/2 cup warm milk
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 3/4 to 3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour)
1 tsp salt
25gm butter, soft at room temperature (approx 2 Tablespoon)
3/4 to 1 tsp garlic paste
3/4 cup milk (+ a couple of tbsp to brush over the bread)
For the Filling:
15 to 20gm melted butter (2 Tablespoon)
2 tsp dried Provencal or mixed herbs* (Used basil, orgeano, and parsley)
1 tsp crushed cumin seeds
Crushed pepper per taste
Red chilli flakes to taste
Spring onions -1
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Method

For pictorial step by step instructions on how to shape the dough, please refer to the recipe source Aparna's blog. I used my Cuisinart stand mixer but you may knead the dough by hand. Basically, first we make the dough using the ingredients, and then let it rise until it doubles in volume. Deflate the the dough, and take a rolling pin to make a flat square shaped dough.  First rub the melted butter on the top of the squared dough, and spread all the other ingredients in filling section on the flattened squared dough. Use the rolling pin again on the filling that is laid over the dough to make sure the filling sticks to the flattened dough. Make 6 strips using pizza-cutter or knife in the dough. Keep all the cut strips one over the top of another. Cut again the stacked 6 strips horizontally into squares, and place these cut squares on the bread loaf pan. Let it rise again for an hour, and then bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 F.

Kale, and Leeks Brown Rice with Masoor Daal (Brown Lentils)

I usually buy spinach, and methi leaves as so called green vegetables for cooking. When I saw this recipe on Vaishali's blog, it intrigued me to try this recipe on how does leek and kale taste. First time I made the recipe with basmati rice. The dish came out well and liked by my family members. I did not take any pictures then. This time I prepared the recipe using brown rice, and it still tasted nice with new flavors rich in nutrients, and fiber. I adapted the recipe from here Holy Cow Vegan Recipes. I was not sure how long would it take for brown rice to cook on slow heat. I added more water at the end of cooking, and the brown rice was little mushy in texture. I did not have all-spice powder so I used a pinch of nutmeg, and cloves along with other spices. I used 1 teaspoon of raw jeera (cumin seeds) during saute process for the leeks, and used brown rice for preparing this dish.

Ingredients

Source:  Holy Cow (One-Pot Mujadara with Leeks and Kale)

2 leeks, cleaned thoroughly. Trim the roots and slice the white and green parts into thin ribbons (use a large onion if you can’t find leeks)

1 cup brown lentils (whole masoor, sabut masoor). Place in a microwave-safe bowl with enough water to cover the lentils by an inch, then microwave for about seven minutes. You can do this while chopping your vegetables. Drain the lentils.

¾ cup basmati or other long-grain rice (Used brown rice)

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp allspice powder (used a pinch of nutmeg and cloves)

5 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp cayenne pepper (used red chilli powder)

2 bay leaves

1-inch stick of cinnamon

Salt to taste

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 cups leafy greens (use any combination of vegetables), finely chopped  (I used kale)

Method

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the leeks and saute, stirring, over medium-high heat until the leeks are golden and crispy. If you use too little oil the leeks won’t crisp up. Remove half the leeks to a bowl and sprinkle with a little salt while still warm. To the pot with the remaining leeks, add the garlic and bay leaves, stir for about 30 seconds, and then add the cumin, allspice and red chilli powder. Stir for a few seconds to coat with the oil and then add the rice. Saute for a few seconds until the rice turns opaque. Add the drained lentils, cinnamon, and salt to taste. Stir well, then add 4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to low until the water just simmers. Place a tight-fitting lid on the pot and let it steam away for 15 minutes. Open the pot, arrange the greens on top in an even layer, cover, and cook for five more minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the dish stand at least 10 minutes before opening the pot. Garnish with the reserved leeks and serve hot. 

Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread

I stumbled upon this bread recipe with oats as main ingredient, while looking for whole wheat bread. Oats add a very nice soft texture to the bread.  I adapted the recipe using more of whole wheat flour, and less of all purpose flour. I have made the bread using the exact recipe, and sometimes modified version using less oil, and sugar. In all instances the bread comes out good in taste in all methods.  So one can tweak the ingredients per one's taste buds. This bread recipe yields 2 loafs one big and one small. The 2 loafs go easily for my family for a week. And several occasions I share one of the loaf with friends.

Hope you get to enjoy this too.

Recipe has been adapted from here (Clockwork Lemon)

Recipe from Leslie Mackie's Macrina

Ingredients, and Steps

Step one:

1 1/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup boiling water

-combine and stir until the water has been absorbed

Step two:

2 tsp yeast

1/4 cup warm water

-combine in mixers bowl, let sit for five minutes then stir to dissolve

Step Three:

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (it turns out great with regular milk, I have used the unflavored yogurt for buttermilk substitute, and also sometimes used mix of both milk and yogurt)

1/2 cup canola oil (I use 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used 1/4 cup)

- I usually combine these in a bowl while I let the yeast sit

(I used more of whole wheat and less of white flour, so have modified this below)

1 cup white flour + 1/2 - 3/4 cup extra (even with 3/4 cup dough should be very sticky)

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp kosher salt

- add these to the mixing bowl with the yeast in it. Mix the flour and yeast on low with the paddle attachment while you pour in the milk, oil, and sugar mixture

add the oats and mix until combined

-switch to the dough hook and knead for 15-20 minutes. The dough will be sticky.. very sticky. Resist the urge to dry it out with more flour. I usually turn the dough over by hand half way through the kneading to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom and not getting kneaded. (the dough will stick to your hands while you do this. don't worry its fine)

Step Four

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to double (one hour or so)

Step Five

Gently flatten the dough into a 12x6 inch rectangle. Cut this in half and then pat into two slightly bigger rectangles. Fold the two sides to overlap (like folding a letter) then roll the dough away from you to form a loaf. Flip the loaf over and let it sit on its seam for a minute. Repeat with second piece

 Place the formed loaves on  trays or loaf pan. Cover in plastic and let rise for 30-45 minutes. Preheat the over to 385. For 15-20 minutes bake at 385 F, and once the bread starts settling in, cover the bread with foil, and  bake for additional 20-25 minutes at 350 F until done.

Eggless Oreo Cookies

I went to a friend's home today, and my daughter got to eat Oreo cookies. After returning from my friend's home, my daughter asked me to buy Oreo cookies for her. I generally do not buy these cookies, as I mostly bake cookies at home for my kids. Though my husband likes to buy these Oreo cookies while going on any fun trip.  Most of the time the big packet would go wasted.  This triggered me to try making these oreo cookies at home.  I googled for eggless Oreo cookies recipe. and finally adapted the recipe from here Gayathri's Cook Spot.

The changes I made to the recipe is to use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour. I had to bake the cookies for approx 15 minutes, but this can vary. The dough was hard to roll and cut, so I made round shape cookies with hand. The first batch of cookies was uneven. The second batch was atleast better in shape, though still not perfect. I placed the cookies in airtight container in the fridge per the notes in Gayathri's blog. Hope you get to make and enjoy these cookies for your kids too!

Sending this to Baked Treat for Kids event hosted by Seduce Your Tastebuds , Thanks PJ
Thanks Srivalli for the Kids Delight Post

Black Chana (Chickpea) Recipe

Kala Chana as it is called in local Indian Hindi language is one kind of legumes that can be cooked in various ways. It is very rich in protein. It is available generally in Indian grocery stores in United States. One can make lentil soup with kala chana, make it as part of salad, and/or make main dish in form of curry.  The trick is to make sure to boil this legume properly. Per my mom, best way to cook this chana is to soak overnight or 6-8 hours before cooking. Soaking kala chana not only doubles the volume but also reduces the cooking time. If one is pressed on time, add water to the chana in pressure cooker, let it boil on medium high heat for 5 minutes, turn off the heat. Let the chana sit covered for approx an hour and then boil as directed below.

Kala Chana/Black Chickpea

There are different ways of making the curry/gravy dish with black gram. One way is to saute in onion-tomato-ginger-garlic paste, and masalas listed below, and pressure cook together the soaked chana with the prepared gravy. 2nd way is to boil the chana and make the gravy separately and then mix/prepare both together as the main dish. Both the above methods give good results. It depends on one style and preference of cooking. My kids love chana in the boiled version, so I saute boiled black chickpea with olive oil, cumin powder, salt, and black pepper as a quick accompaniment for  rice/chapati.

Pressure cooker method:  Soak the chana in atleast 4 cups of water for 6-8 hours. Place the soaked chana with soaked water in pressure cooker, and add approx 3-4 cups of water. If the pressure cooker whistles, cook the chana on medium-high heat for approx 5 minutes, and let the pressure cooker give 3-4 whistles. Then reduce the heat to medium low, and cook for 40-45 minutes. Turn off the heat after 40 minutes, and let the steam go off by itself. This much time is needed to boil the chana to make sure the chana is cooked properly.  During the time chana is getting boiled one can prepare the gravy.

If not using pressure cooker, boil the chana on medium high heat, and then cook on slow heat for approx 1 hour on low medium heat, stirring in between, and adding water as needed until fully boiled.

Ingredients (Mom's recipe)
1 Cup Black Chana
1 medium size onion
1 medium size tomato
1 Tablespoon grated ginger
1 Tablespoon grated garlic
1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon haldi ( turmeric)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon(or per taste) red chili powder
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon amchur or use l tsp lemon
1 teaspoon garam masala
3 Tablespoon Oil
1 tablespoon chooped cilantro to garnish

Method
Chop the onion into small pieces, tomato can either be chopped or pureed using grater. Similarly chop/grate the ginger and garlic. Add oil the pan, add jeera, asafetida, add onion, let it fry, add ginger-garlic, add tomato, coriander powder, haldi, red chili powder, and garam masala. Once the masala is cooked, mix the boiled chana in it. Add salt. Use a spatula to mash some of the boiled  black chickpea well in the gravy. This extra step gives nice taste to curry, and also thickens the curry. Simmer for few minutes, and garnish with lemon/amchur, cilantro, and pinch of garam masala. Serve with rice/chapati.

Sending this to the monthly event My legume love affair # 68 hosted by Lisa thanks, and thanks creator of this event Susan 

Onion Crackers

These days, I have been looking to try different varieties of salty/savory crackers. Many recipes on savory crackers have lot of cheese, and butter. I found this recipe at Gayathri's Cook Spot that has onion as one of the main ingredients. Initially I was skeptical to add onion however once baked, I realized that the onions give these crackers a slightly sweet yet salty taste. My friends and S who tasted these crackers could not stop at one:)

Adapted from here (Gayathri's Cook Spot)

Ingredients:
Wheat Flour-1cup
Quick Cooking Oats-1/2cup
All Purpose Flour-1/2cup
Olive Oil-1/2cup
Onion-1(finely chopped; used red onion)
Green Chilly-2(finely chopped)
Baking Powder-1tsp
Sugar-2tsp
Salt-1tsp
Black Sesame Seeds-4tsp (I used white sesame seeds- 3tsp)
Water-1/2cup

Pre heat the oven to 350F. Mix all the ingredients and make a soft dough like a round ball. Next roll the dough on a flat surface, and cut in round shapes using round cookie cutter. Place these round crackers on baking try and prick with fork all over. Bake for 15 minutes and then flip to cook on the other side for again 15 minutes. Once you see the golden brown color, it gives the signal that crackers are ready to be taken out from the oven. These crackers once cooled can be stored in air tight container for 3-4 days.

Masala Crackers

I have been making sweet cookies for a while, though have not posted any recipe on it yet. Stay tuned it will come shortly. Two years before I made this savory crackers during Christmas time from the blog Tadka Pasta. My friends and family who tasted these crackers that time liked it very much.  For long time I did not make these crackers again. This year I made these crackers already thrice, and everyone who tried it says; it taste yum! Curry leaves and sun dried tomato add the zing factor for these savory cookies. You can increase the spice level per your taste.

Adapted the recipe from here (Tadka Pasta)

Ingredients

4 green chillies
2 Sprigs curry leaves
6 Sun dried tomato halves
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1¼ Teaspoon salt
¼ Teaspoon pepper
¼ Teaspoon red chilli powder
½ Teaspoon baking soda
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, soft
¼ Cup olive oil
4 Tablespoon thick yogurt

Mix all the ingredients, and keep the dough refrigerated for 3-4 hours. This helps to cut crackers evenly, and cause less crumbs while cutting the dough.  Pre heat the oven to 350 F. Place the cut cookies on baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on how crisp you would like these crackers. I baked the crackers for 25 minutes for the crispier taste. Baking for 20 minutes yield soft crackers.

Princess Cake

I made this cake when my 3 year old asked me if I can make a Princess Cake for her birthday. I read through blogs, you tube videos, and finally used the Betty Crocker's recipe on high level for the design of the cake. I made 3 eggless vanilla cake using recipe from Divine Taste. Icing is butter cream icing following Wilton recipe. I do bake cakes regularly however icing on the cake is only for special occasions.

Cake design and template adapted from here (Betty Crocker)

Egg less Vanilla cake recipe adapted from here (Divine Taste) 

Butter cream icing recipe adapted from here (Wilton)

Princess Cake

I was apprehensive how the final cake will turn out.  Planning ahead of time, shopping all the ingredients for baking and decoration, doing all the home work of reading recipe again and again helped me bake and decorate the cake.  I started making the cake 2 days before to make sure I have enough time to redo if make any mistakes. First I made the base cake and set in fridge tightly wrapped in cling wrap. Next I made the butter cream icing and colored it to the desired pink color. Somehow I feel, I need to see the color of icing in white light, or day light to make sure I got the desired color icing.

I usually do all the baking  after putting kids to sleep (when I get the undivided attention), I use the refrigerator white light to make sure I got the right color icing, silly may be:) but it worked for me.
The smile on my daughters face after seeing the cake was more than what words could define. I felt happy and content too seeing her smile and that we did not have to rush to buy the cake from store:)

Design of the cake
I made 4 cakes with below sizes;
One , 1/2-quart ovenproof bowl (8 inches across top)--I used the Pyrex Bowl that is oven safe
Three, 8-inch round cake

Cake Recipe
Pre heat oven to 305 F. Prepare the grease pans. Bake  cake at 305 F for 50-60 minutes. I baked 2 cakes at a time (since I have 2 pans), and one cake separately. Then I baked the dome shape cake in glass bowl separately. All these cakes were baked in 2 days. Make sure not to over beat the ingredients as it could result in hard cake. The texture of the cake was perfect to decorate.

Cake Ingredients
11/2 cup All Purpose Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda/ sodium bicarbonate
1 tin/400gm sweetened condensed milk
1 stick butter or 1/2 cup butter melted (I generally keep the butter outside to bring to temperature 4-5 hours before starting to bake)
3/4 cup water/milk (I use half milk and half water)
4 Tablespoon Yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream Icing Recipe (Wilton)
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, and rewhip before using.

Diaper Cake

I stumbled upon what a diaper cake is, while searching for something else on internet, Ah moment! These diaper cakes are inedible, yet sweet, calorie free treat to cherish and remember. The diaper cake serve the dual purpose. One, these truly serve the best usable gifts for expecting parents. Second, they serve as nice decoration center piece for a baby shower catching everyone's attention.
There are numerous YouTube videos, and blogs that can help one get creative ideas for decorating this cake.
I used this YouTube video as it teaches in a very simple way how to assemble the diapers for the diaper cake.
I have made 2 diapers cakes for 2 different baby showers.  I completed the diaper cake over period of three days spending 15-30 minutes/day. The maximum time is spent to roll and tie the diapers with rubber band. Decorating the diaper cake is more fun, and can be finished relatively very quickly. The first diaper cake took a little longer to complete because I was doing it for first time, however, the second one was done in less than 20 minutes because I had learnt the technique already.

I had collected all the decoration stuff for the diaper cake beforehand, so that I do not have to wait till last minute on how I would need to decorate the diaper cake. I used decorative ribbons to hide the rubber bands and the ribbons added a  nice look for the diaper cake. I made a bow with ribbon  to tie each layer together, and did not have to use the glue gun. I used the paper towel round long cardboard to hold the diapers together in the center. I placed the diapers on a cake decorating board. I used Pampers size 2 diaper pack, and made 3 layer diaper cake using 68 diapers. Top layer has 8 diapers;  Middle layer has 20 diapers with  8 diapers in center and 12 diapers outside; Bottom layer has total of 40 diapers with 8 diapers in center, 13 diapers around 8 diapers, and 19 diapers in the outermost circumference.

                                             

Focaccia Caprese (Italian Bread) We Knead to Bake #13

Focaccia Caprese  (Italian Bread) We Knead to Bake #13

My first recipe on the blog is a Italian bread baking recipe.
I have been thinking of starting my blog for long time.  Aparna's "We Knead to Bake Group" gave me the right opportunity to start the blog. I enjoy being part of this group as it gives me the needed push to not only try but also post at-least once a month! ( Thanks Aparna).

I was not spelling the name of this bread correctly, until I was being corrected by a friend of mine.
Focaccia is spelled as fo·cac·cia.

I followed the exact recipe, from here  (Aparna's Diverse Kitchen)and the bread came out with the perfect texture and color. Full recipe from the source listed below.

The main part I felt was to make a soft dough, and my Cuisinart hand mixer does a great job to make soft dough while I can do other preparation work for the bread.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

2 tsp instant yeast

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

3 1/2 cups bread flour*

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil (preferably olive oil)

1 to 1 1/2 cups warm water

A little more olive oil for brushing dough

For the Topping:

4-5 larg-ish tomatoes, sliced thin

1 6-7” round piece of fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut into1/4” slices**

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

For the Herbed Oil:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano  (I used 3/4 tsp)

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 to 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

1/2 tsp finely minced garlic/ paste

Salt to taste

Fresh basil leaves for garnishing

Note:

* If you cannot find bread flour, you can add 1 tbsp of Vital Wheat Gluten to 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and mix together well. 

Otherwise just use 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.

**I used this BelGioioso Pre-Sliced Mozzarella cheese available at Sams club or any other grocery stores.

Method:

First make the herbed oil. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. Keep aside till required.

The dough can be mixed and kneaded by hand or machine. Put the yeast, sugar flour, salt and oil in the bowl of the processor and pulse a couple of times to mix well. Then add 1 cup of warm water (and as much more as you need) and knead until you have a soft elastic dough that is just short of sticky.

Remove the dough from the processor bowl, shape into a round and place in a well oiled bowl turning the dough around so it is coated. Cover and let it rise till almost double in volume. This should take about an hour.

You can make this as 2 medium sized Focaccia or 4 smaller ones like I did. For the rectangular Focaccia, take two rectangular pans/ jelly or Swiss roll pans (I used an 11" by 7" tins) and oil them well. Then divide the dough into two equal portions and lightly roll them (or press out) out into approximately 11” by 7”. If making 4 Focaccia, then divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion out (or press out) evenly into approximately 5” by 7”. It alright if it’s an odd shape because Focaccia is really a “rustic” bread.

Lightly drizzle some of the Herbed Oil over the Focaccia and then evenly arrange some slices of mozzarella over the bread, leaving very little space between them. Arrange the tomato slices over this and a little sprinkle the chopped basil over this. The topping should cover most of the surface of the bread.

Drizzle some more Herbed Oil over the topping and return the bread to the oven. Bake the Focaccia for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese has just melted. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Cut the Focaccia into slices and serve while it is still hot. This recipe should serve 4 if served alone or 6 if served with a side.