Semolina Bread

A Different Kind Of Bread

 As children, one of our pet hates was Uppuma which my Mum made every Monday without fail  for breakfast.  It is one dish that I seldom make.  I was quite surprised to see this recipe online a while ago from Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana and was eager to try it out.  So when my husband bought sooji or semolina instead of the sago I wanted,  it was the right time  to make this different kind of  bread, tweaked to suit our taste.  It passed our taste bud test and am looking forward to making it again.  Surprise, surprise!

The Recipe:

1 3/4 cups fine sooji; 1/4 tsp salt; 3/4 cups water; 7.5 gm instant yeat; 1/4 tsp brown sugar; 1 1/2 tbsp warm water; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1/2 tsp mustard; 2 green chillies, minced; 1 sprig curry leaves, chopped fine; 2 spring onions, minced; 1 medium tomato, chopped fine; coriander leaves for topping; 2 tbsp nuts for the topping; 1 tbsp olive oil for drizzling on top.

Additional 1 tbsp olive oil for seasoning.

Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water in a glass bowl and keep aside for 10 minutes.  Next, mix the sooji, salt and water together with a wooden spoon and add the yeast to it.  Mix really well and add 2 tbsp olive oil.  Mix together and leave in a warm place for 15 minutes to prove.

In the meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a non stick pan.  Lower flame and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, chillies and spring onions.   Stir fry till the onions are glazed.  Throw in the tomatoes and fry till mushy.   Remove from the fire and cool for about five minutes.  Add this seasoning to the sooji and mix well.  The dough must be moist and of a dropping consistency.   Transfer to a 9 inches x 4 inches rectangular loaf tin.  Scatter the nuts of your choice and chopped coriander leaves on top.  Drizzle the olive oil all over and bake in a preheated oven at 175 C for 20 minutes or until skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven, cool , unmould, slice and enjoy plain or with your favourite curry.

NB: the tomato can be omitted.  My Mum never used it while making Uppuma.  

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Deepavalli Oreo Cake

This is a cake that I made for a friend and I got the icing recipe from Ranita.    It looked spectacular and I was really proud of my efforts.  Make it yourself and see how easy it is to bake a cake that not only looks fancy but tastes out of this world as well.  Happy Deepavalli and may the Festival of Lights brighten the coming year.

The Recipe:

For cake:  1/2 cup butter; 1 cup caster sugar; 1 1/2 cups flour; 2 large eggs; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp vanilla essence OR 2 tbsp cocoa powder;  3 )reo biscuits (remove the icing), crushed.

For Icing:  125 gms cream cheese; 125 gms cream; sugar to taste; 3 Oreo Biscuits (remove icing), crushed.

For Decoration :Oreo Biscuits- Icing Removed and two Almonds.

Mix all cake ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon till thick and glossy.  Bake in a preheated oven in a greased and lined  9 inch round cake pan at 160 degrees C or 325 degrees F for 35 minutes or until skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Cool overnight.

Next day beat the cream cheese (room temperature), cream, crushed oreos and sugar to taste till smooth.  Unmould cake onto a board and spread the  icing all over the top and sides.  Smooth it with a knife.  Take the Oreo biscuits and halve them.  Press them on the sides of the cake.  Cut one half of a biscuit into two and place both on the top of  the cake.  These are the Festive Deepavalli Lamps.  Put the almonds in place.  These are the flames.  Make sure you admire it and take a photograph for your album before you eat it or give it away.  Wishing you a Deepavalli sparkling with joy and glowing with warmth.

Impressive Christmas Chicken

Christmas Chicken

I have had a blast this Christmas, cooking all my favourite foods and trying out new recipes.  There's a real satisfaction in churning out fantastic food and I have experienced it very often.  There's nothing I like better than to see people enjoying the food I cooked.  It makes everything worthwhile and here is another simple recipe for the home cook.  Make your Christmas special with this unique blend of coconut milk, lemon grass, chilli powder and other aromatic ingredients.  This is one Christmas Chicken everyone will love.

The Recipe:

1 chicken, whole without skin, wash and drain completely.  Around 1 to 1.2 kg should do.

1 cup coconut milk; 1/2 tsp tamarind paste; 5 kaffir lime leaves and 2 stalks of lemon grass, slit and bruised

For The Marinade: 1 1/4 tsp chilli powder; 1 stalk lemon grass, use only the white part.  If you cannot get lemon grass use about 1 tsp lemon zest; 5 candle nuts; 1 inch piece ginger; 3 large cloves of garlic, peeled; 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1 large onion, sliced; salt to taste; 3 tbsp oil for frying or grilling.
Blend to a thick paste and keep aside.

Marinade the whole chicken in half the marinade overnight in the refrigerator.  Next day, heat a large non stick wok large enough to hold the chicken.  Add oil and lower flame.  Brown the chicken all over, taking care to keep it whole.  Add the remaining paste, coconut milk, tamarind paste, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves.  Gently stir to mix well.  Cover and cook till chicken is tender.  Garnish with spring onions and serve hot with Fragrant Christmas Rice.

NB:  You can use almonds instead of candlenuts if desired.

Christmas Macaroons

Coconut Lime Leaf Macaroons

And of course Christmas in my house won't be Christmas without my favourite sweet of the season -Macaroons.  I always make a different type every year and this year I decided to use coconut which is so beloved by my adopted country Malaysia.  I wanted to give it a twist, so when I was in Bangalore bought some copra and and brought it back with me to Malaysia.  And then a bulb went off in my head when I was in the wet market looking at all the green leafy stuff for sale.  I spotted some kaffir lime leaves and bought a few, chopped them fine and added them to the Macaroon mixture.  The taste was really good, so I've made them again to share with my numerous friends.

The Recipe:

1 1/2 cups copra, cut into tiny pieces; 500 gms sugar; 18 cardamoms, seeds only; white of 1 large egg, you may need to use more or less and a squish of lemon juice; 5 lime leaves, cut really, really fine.

Blend the sugar and cardamom till very fine.  Place in a large bowl.  Add the copra, lime leaves and the lemon juice and mix well with a wooden spoon.  Add the egg a little by little until the  mixture clumps in the middle.  Discard the rest of the egg white.  It should be neither too wet or too dry.  Make into marble size balls and place 2 inches apart on baking tray.  Bake at 160 Centigrade in preheated oven for 10 - 12 minutes until they puff out and change shape.  Cool thoroughly and store in an air tight container.  These delectable morsels make great gifts and you can pop them into your mouth any time you want a sweet fix.  Too good for words.

NB:  You can use any lime leaves for the flavour.  Kaffir lime leaves are used in a lot of Malaysian Recipes which is why I opted for it.

Into Spain

Spanish Omelette

Spanish Omelette or Spanish Tortilla  is a typical Spanish dish consisting of a thick omelette made with eggs, potatoes and fried in olive oil.  Over the years it has evolved into a thick omelette made with any or every leftover in the kitchen and you can be as innovative and creative as you like.  Eggs have always been one of our back up dishes and eating an omelette can be one of the most satisfying, soulful experiences.

The Recipe:

4 large eggs; a bunch of spring onions, chopped; 1 chicken breast, boiled and diced; 1 cube Amul cheese, grated; vegetables of your choice; 2 green chillies, minced; 1 large onion, minced and fried till glazed in a little oil; salt to taste; oil for frying.

Seperate the eggs and beat whites till stiff.  Add salt and yolks and mix well.  Heat pan and pour 1 dsp oil into it.  Pour in the beaten egg and layer the ingredients one at a time on the beaten eggs- onions, vegetable, chicken, cheese and spring onions.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove cover and fold omelette in half.  Make sure both sides are nicely browned.  Garnish with spring onions. Serve immediately with hot buttered toast.