Povitica- Daring Baker's Challenge for October 2011

Hi All,  I'm back after a very long time, I can imagine what's going on when you are reading this, where did you disappear suddenly..  Well, I have some reasonable reasons for not being blogging in the past few weeks, something which is more important than blogging.
Anyways I'm back with Daring Baker's Challenge.  I would have skipped this month if I had an opportunity, but I have missed quite lots of challenges in this year, so was determined to complete this one.

This time we were challenged by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk to make Povitica.  Povitica which is pronounced as po-va - teet - sa, is a traditional Eastern European Bread which is served during holidays.  It's also known as  Nutroll, Kalachi etc.. As I said Nutroll, just as the name suggests, this soft layered bread is filled with layers of sweet and delicious nut filling.  The actual recipe suggests walnuts, you can use your creativity to play with different filling which is sweet or savoury.

Ingredients:
For the dough:
All purpose flour- 300 g
Egg- 1/2 beaten
Dried Yeast- 1 1/2 tsp
Oil- 1/2 tbsp
Warm milk- 120 ml
Salt- 1 tsp
Sugar- 1 tbsp

For the filling:
Walnuts - 100 g
Butter- 1 tbsp
Milk- 3 tbsp
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
Cocoa powder- 2 tsp
Egg- 1/2 beaten
Cinnamon powder- 1/4 tsp
Sugar- 1 tbsp

For the topping:
Chocolate- 100 g
Walnuts - 5 to 6 chopped finely

Method:
Prepare the dough:
Sift the flour and salt in a large bowl and mix it well, add the sugar and yeast, mix it together.  Make a well in the center, add the oil, beaten egg and warm milk.  Beat it together with a electric beater fitted with a dough hook, until the dough comes together.  Knead the dough in a floured surface for about 5 minutes.  Place the dough in a clean and oiled bowl, cover with a cling film and let it sit in a warm place until it doubles in size.

Prepare the filling:
Powder the walnuts in a blender.  Mix together the powdered nuts, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla in a bowl. Heat the milk and butter together, until the butter gets melted completely.  Pour the hot liquid into the nut mixture and mix it together.  Quickly beat the beaten egg into the mixture and allow it to sit in room temperature, until it reaches spreadable consistency. 

Start preparing the loaf:
Take the risen dough, knock the air back.  Dust your work surface with flour and roll the dough as thin as possible.  Spread the dough with the nut mixture and start rolling the dough like a Swiss roll.  Grease a 2 lb loaf tin and place the roll inside the tin.  Cover and loosely with a foil and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius and bake the loaf in preheated oven for 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 170 degree Celsius and bake it for further 30 to 40 minutes, until the top of the loaf look brown in colour.  Take it out from the oven and allow it to cool in the wire rack.
Once the bread is cooled down, pour the melted chocolate on top of the bread and sprinkle the chopped nuts on top.  This bread would be great as a dessert or even with a hot cup of coffee.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Vazhaipoo Usili for Blog Hop Wednesday

Phew! It's time for blog hopping again, I just can't believe how time flies.  I know almost everybody says this, how quick the time goes, even little kids at the age of 2 and 3 are saying, Oh! I'm busy, don't disturb me.  Whatever I talk to them, come back to me at some point .  Feel like so much to be done in very little time.

Anyways this week for blog hopping, I hopped over to Schmetterling Words.  I love her recipes and I was lucky to taste her food when we were in Germany.  This is a recipe which I have been waiting for a long time to try it from her blog.

Just a short explanation about this recipe,  Vazhaipoo is nothing but Banana flower.   Vazhaipoo Usili is made with banana flower and ground lentils with a blend of spices.  This can be served along with rice, rasam or dhal.  I found this recipe very delicious just like soft and crumbled lentil vadas.  Hope you enjoy making this recipe at home.

Preparation Time:  20 minutes
Cooking Time:  20 minutes
Serves :  2 to 3

Ingredients:
Vazhaipoo/ Banana Flower- 1
Toor dhal- 1/2 cup
Dried red chillies- 4
Fennel seeds-  2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Curry leaves- 5 to 10 leaves
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Onion- 1 medium sized ( finely chopped )
Oil- 1/2 tbsp
Salt- To taste

Method:
Soak the toor dhal in water for 1 hour.  Then grind it into a coarse paste along with two red chillies and 1 tsp of fennel seeds.
Start preparing the banana flower,  peel the banana flower completely until you get a white part which is found inside.  Chop the top part like a stem.  Now chop the top part which contains small florets.  Chop finely the remaining  white part, and immerse it in a thin buttermilk to avoid discolouration. 
Mix the chopped  vazhaipoo , salt and  ground toor dhal.  Steam the mixture in a steamer or idli plates for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, dried red chillies, fennel and curry leaves.  Add the chopped onions and saute until it looks soft. Add turmeric  powder and mix it well.   Finally add the steamed mixture and keep stirring continously without sticking at the bottom.  Keep stirring for about 10 minutes until the mixture looks well cooked and dry.
Serve it warm along with steamed rice, rasam or dhal.

This recipe is linked with Blog Hop Wednesday, also sending it to Kerala Kitchen Event and ABC series: Bfor Banana

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Any One Can Cook: Series36

Hello Foodies,

Hope you all had a great weekend.  We had some excellent entries last week, my big thanks to all dear food bloggers who managed to link your entries for the event.  Here are the three selected  recipes from last week series
Chocolate Ladoo by Dee's Kitchen

Chatpate Makhane by Indulge- ashscorner

Cupcakes - My way by Crumpled Chillies

If you are a new reader to this blog, to read the details about the event click here.  If you would like to get featured in this event, all you need to do is just link your recipes which are easy to make.  If you find any trouble in linking your recipes, just mail me your recipe link to ayeesha.riaz@googlemail.com

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Beetroot Halwa Tarts for Sweetpunch October 2011

This month for Sweet punch,  we have sweet little Jam tarts from  Ria's Collections.  The first thing which came to my mind was whether I'm going to use store bought jam with loads of sugar or something home made.

Initially I had the idea of making mixed fruit jam which my mom used to make, which is still with lots of sugar.  Not sure whether it'll work with brown sugar or demerara sugar.  Finally made up my mind with beetroots.  After searching through lots of recipes in net, I was afraid that  I'm not going to get jam consistency without jam sugar. 

So I made just the way how we normally make beetroot halwas and replaced white sugar with demerara sugar and of course all purpose flour with whole wheat atta .   If you are wondering why do I have to replace white sugar and all purpose flour, you can read the reasons from here and here.

  Now about the tarts, the pastry was just amazing, it had a perfect texture and the beetroot halwa worked well with it.  My kids loved this and I enjoyed baking this.  If you would like to start baking with us in Sweet punch, click here.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 12 to 15 minutes
Makes 12 tarts

Ingredients:
Whole wheat atta / All purpose flour- 200 g
Cold butter from refrigerator- 100 g
Baking powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt- a pinch
Cold water- 4 or 5 tsp
Beetroot halwa- 12 tsp ( recipe follows )

Method:
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Chop the butter into small pieces and rub with the flour gently until it looks like fine bread crumbs.  Add a splash of cold water and bring the dough together.  Don't add too much water or knead the dough, it'll ruin the pastry completely.

  Preheat the oven to 190 degree Celsius.  Roll the dough in the middle of two baking parchment paper.  Make small rounds using a cookie cutter.  Place the small circles in the tart tin and push it in gently on the sides.  Drop a level teaspoon of beetroot halwa inside the tart cases, if you want you can cut the remaining dough in star shapes and place it in the middle of the tart.  Bake it in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.  Leave it in the wire rack to cool, then serve immediately or store it in a air tight container.

Beetroot Halwa:
Beetroot- 2 small sized, peeled and grated finely
Demerara sugar- 75 g
Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp
Ghee- 5 tsp

Add the grated beetroot and  1/2 cup of water in a heavy bottomed kadai and cook until all the water evaporates.  Keep stirring in the middle to avoid burning at the bottom.  Now add the sugar and keep stirring continuously, when it looks like a semi solid.  Finally add the ghee and cardamom powder, stir well until it incorporates into the halwa.  Take it off from heat.  Allow it cool down and use it for the recipe.






 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Mutton Pulav

This is for someone who wants something special at the same time with less spices.  Less spices, which I meant is the hotness or the chilly in the food, yes you have a lots of whole spices included in this recipe, which gives a mild flavour without any heat.  This is a recipe which I learnt from one of my Pakistani  friend.  She used to make this almost for every Eid.

  I can still remember the yummy food which I used to have in her place, pulav with kebabs , curry and finally for dessert her own home made rasmalai, truly bliss. Whenever I taste the pulav  in her place, I can feel that something is different and has a quite unique flavours, when I asked her the recipe, I found that two ingredients which gave that distinct flavours.

First Black cardamom, next aloo bukhara (dried plums).  I know most of us might use black cardamom, but dried plums may be a alien ingredient to some of us.  I tried to find some link about aloo bukhara, since I couldn't get any, posting my own image for that, taken under very low light, hope the picture is clear for you.

So, next time if you are planning for parties or any special occasion, remember this.  Hope you won't get disappointed.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice- 2  cups
Mutton- 1 cup
Mutton or Chicken stock- 1 cup 
Ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp
Bay leaves- 1
Star anise-1
Black Cardamom- 2
Cinnamon stick- 1/2 inch stick
Cloves- 2
Cumin seeds- 2 tsp
Black pepper corns- 1 tsp
Aloo Bukhara ( Dried Plums )- 4 to 5
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Onion- 1 medium sized ( finely chopped )
Yogurt- 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp ( finely chopped )
Oil- 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
 Wash the mutton well with a bit of turmeric powder and set it aside.  Heat oil in a pan or cooker in which you are going to prepare your rice.  Add all the whole spices one by one, then  add ginger garlic, stir well without burning it.  Add the finely sliced onions and  saute it in medium to low heat until the onion gets nice and soft.  Add the mutton pieces, aloo bukhara, chilly , cumin powder and mix it well.  When the mutton is cooked halfway, ass the yogurt and coriander leaves, stir it well. Do not add any water while cooking the mutton.  If it looks too dry, without any water left, add about 1/2 a cup of water. Cover the pan and cook it in medium heat until the mutton gets cooked completely.  If using a pressure cooker, cook upto 3 to 4 whistles.  Once the mutton gets cooked well, add the washed rice with 1 cup of stalk, 1 cup of water and salt to taste.  Cook for 2 whistles or using a normal pan, cook until the rice is well cooked and looks nice and fluffy.

Note:
The flavour of this pulav mainly depends upon the quality of stock.  So, use good quality home made stock or stock which doesn't contain cornstarch.

Sending this recipe to Royal Feast- Biryani.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Any One Can Cook: Series35

Hello Foodies,

Hope you all had a great weekend.  My apologies for cancelling last week series.  We are back again these week.  Thank you everyone for supporting my event  by linking your yummy recipes.  Looking  forward to your enthusiastic participation as always.  Now coming to the selected from  Series :34,

Ezy Banana  Dessert by My Kitchen Flavours- Bon Appetite

Creamy Hummus by My Culinary Adventures

Mixed Fruit Custard by Cuisine Delights

Now coming to the three selected recipes for the month of September
Creamy Hummus by My Culinary Adventures

Peanut Ladoo by Effortless Cooking, Easy Baking

Fig Mascarpone by Now Serving

Congratulations everyone.  If you would like to get featured and have something easy to cook, please link your recipes to the following link .  To view the details about the event click here.

The link will be opened from Monday- Friday ( Europe - Greenwich MeanTime )

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Apple Custard Muffin : Something naughty for the weekend

Are you a kind of person who like to stay long in the bed during weekend morning, so long till the clock ticks twelve and still feeling lazy to wake up.  Ok you wake up now, once you brush your teeth the next thing on your head, what's for breakfast.  Bored and tired of having a bowl of cereals, orange juice, bread with egg for your whole weekdays and rushing to work.  It's time to keep aside all your guilty feelings, diet conscious and enjoy these scrumptious muffins for this weekend.

Late Sunday morning, sitting on the side of  a large bright window with lots of sunlight but no heat hitting at you, with a cup of coffee and  a muffin on your hand is a bliss.  Alright , you don't have to go to any dreamland to enjoy these simple muffins, juts your regular breakfast table should be more than enough. If  you are still not satisfied to have these muffins for your breakfast, why not try it for your afternoon tea, which would be just perfect too.

  Anyway I tried these muffins from one of my favourite cookbook which is is been resting in my self for a quite long time now.  So it's a triple tested and trusted recipe which you can totally rely on.  Hope I have convinced you to make these muffins :)

Source: The Australian Women's Weekly
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30- 35 minutes
Makes 6 muffin

Ingredients:
All purpose flour- 225 g
Sugar- 85 g
Butter- 45 g melted
Milk- 125 ml
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Egg- 1/2 of 1 whole egg
Bicarbonate of soda- 1/4 tsp
Thick custard- 30 ml
Apple pie filling- 2 tbsp ( recipe follows)
Brown sugar or jaggery powder- 2 tbsp
Grated nutmeg- 2 tsp
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp

Method :
Sift the flour and baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl, add sugar, 1 tsp of grated nutmeg and cinnamon powder to the flour mixture and mix it well .  Make a well  in the middle, add egg, milk and melted butter to the flour mixture, just stir to combine, do not over mix it.  The mixture should be quite lumpy. If the mixture is too thick like a dough, add a tbsp of milk to loosen the mixture.  The mixture should be similar to that of a thick batter consistency.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.  Line the muffin tray with muffin cups.  Spoon half of the mixture equally in the 6 muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, make a small well in the middle of the mixture, drop a teaspoon of custard and a teaspoon of apple filling in the well . Top with the remaining muffin mixture and sprinkle with brown sugar and grated nutmeg on top.  Bake it in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.  Stand in the pan for 5 minutes before turning to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Apple Pie Filling:
Ingredients:
Half of 1 apple
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Sugar- 1/2 tbsp
Cinnamon powder- 1/4 tsp
Cornstarch- 2 tsp
Butter- 3 tsp

Method:
Peel and slice the apples thinly in small size.  Mix the apple, sugar, cinnamon powder and lemon juice in a bowl.   Let it rest in a bowl for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes extract all the juice released from apples.  Add the extract, cornstarch and butter in a pan, let it boil.  When it starts boiling , add the apples and cover it cook till it looks thick and saucy.  Remove it from heat, let it cool down completely and use it for the recipe.

This recipe is linked with Apple Blog Hop.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad