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Summer Lemon Sponge Cake

 

Hello my wonderful readers!

How have you all been? As you can see, I haven’t really had much time to blog and cook as I have been spending time at the school and after with my little one. I stay at the school along wth my baby and once we are back we continue with activities etc together. Not cause blogging is not as interesting, its just that it really feels nice to spend time with Adi. In the last few weeks, as a mother there are so many changes in my little one and its just the best. I couldn’t imagine not sharing these changes with him. The perks of staying home with your baby, I guess 🙂

For March – April the temperatures are soaring like crazy and apparently they are only going to get worse. So I decided to make a little lemon sponge cake for the evening tea. The cake is light and spongy and so so delicious. Paired with a cup of tea this makes the perfect summer evening tea.

As the days go by there is this reality that hits you that these moments, hot, cold, summer or rain, will never come back. Little precious moments with the little boy and as a mum the only thing you want is for your little one to be able to make decisions on his own with a sensible head. As a parent we are so so weak. Some times even if its for his good, it takes a lot out of me to keep a straight face when I am trying to explain why he should do some thing . Or when I ask him if he wants to go to school and he replies with “OR THE MALL? ” like its really an option .. lol…. secretly I think he enjoys the car / auto ride to and from the school more than anything. He holds the railing behind the auto driver and pretends to be driving the auto with all the expression and sound effects the auto and its driver. Once we are home, everyday he makes a fuss to enter home. Cause he knows its time for lunch and then his afternoon  sleep which is such a struggle!! But in all its the best feeling to see his little black straight hair flutter gently when he runs to jump, his little look from the corner of his eye when I ask him to keep back things or when I say “What did Amma say?” and he says ” No Skweeeeming ” … These little moments make my heart warm and every moment worth living. Oh my there I go again about how I love my little honey bee.

Ok back to the recipe. You want all the ingredient at room temperature and do not forget to butter and dust the pan WELL!

Ingredients :-

1. Flour – 1 + 1/2 cups
2. Butter – 1 cup
3. Eggs – 3
4. Butter milk – 1 Cup ( whisked well)
5. Caster Sugar – 1 + 1/4 cup
6. Vanilla Extract – 1 tbsp
7. Lemon Zest – from 2 lemons / 1/4 cup
8. Lemon Juice – from 2 Lemons
9. Baking Powder – 2 tsp
10. Extra butter and flour to grease and dust the pan
11. Extra powdered Sugar for dusting

 

Instructions :-

1. Pre Heat the oven to 180C
2. Grese and dust a pan with butter and flour. Make sure to tap out the excess flour
3. Now in a large bowl, add the butter and sugar . Cream till pale and fluffy
4. Then add the eggs one at a time. Make sure to cream the mixture well and incorporate as much air as possible.
5. In a large pan, mix the flour and baking powder. Sieve the mixture thrice to incorporate air and to distribute the Baking powder well in the flour
6. Now into the butter and egg mixture, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract and mix well ( if you are using a hand whisk this is easy, the same can be done with a hand held whisk)
7. Next add the butter milk to the lemon egg mixture and mix well
8. With a spatula divide the flour mixture into 3 and slowly fold the flour into the  buttermilk butter egg mixture ( wet mixture)
9. Once you have added all the flour to the wet mixture, your batter is ready! ( do not over mix the batter)
10. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and tap to release bubbles
11. Pop the cake tin into the pre heated oven and bake for 45 – 50 mins or till the tooth pick inserted comes out clean
12. Cool completely on a cooling rack and then turn it out onto a plate
13. Finally dust with powdered sugar and lemon slices !

 

Enjoy your summer Tea party ❤

Pal Appam — Lace Hoppers

 

 

Hello my wonderful readers,

Do you follow my Instagram feed? Many a times Appam is our preferred breakfast and it is super easy to make once you have the batter. Much like the dosa batter but I use yeast in this recipe. There are recipes that do not include yeast but I love that lovely fermented smell that comes from the yeast and frankly its more like  a – ‘Soak, Dump , Grind and Rest’ method. The reason it is called a Lace Hopper is because of those wonderful intricate lace like weave that it has on the outsides. The inner centre of the circle is thicker and the outer ring is crispier. These are perfect with a coconut milk based egg curry. The recipe for which I will share later. You could also pair with left over curry from the previous day.

My son started school this week and man now I know how it feels to be a mum of child going to school!! no am not talking about the work that goes into getting him ready for school but the fact that this little human being is already ready to start his formal education! The school is like no other school we have ever seen. It believes in being as natural and close to the environment as possible. Infact as you enter into the school you wonder where the building and concrete structures of the school is. Lots of lush green, children learning under trees, no foot wear, greeting each other with a namaste. In all, this is the perfect place for my little one. While the little one is inside his little environment, I sit outside and just breathe! all the fresh air and the sounds of chirping birds, the occasional squirrel running around. It feels like a Gurukula straight out of the Mahabharata! In all this new change is one my little bunny is trying hard to cope up with but is also something he looks forward too. Wish me luck people! I hope he likes it for all the years to come..

So back to the recipe! This recipe makes easily 20 appams and you have 3 breakfasts from the week sorted.

Now before I get into the recipe, I wanted to tell you this. Traditionally appam is make with ” Kallu” / palm wine / Toddy . It helps in the fermentation and it gives the appam its unique smell. But Kallu is hard to find and yeast gives you just about the same smell so why not? My grandmother lives on a property that houses almost 5 dozen coconut trees and so back in Kerala toddy is easier to come across and the appam is so so good! Also the heat and the humidity of the place also helps in making the perfect batter. This is my straingforward recipe and it works all the time. All you need to make sure is it to keep the batter in a warm place of your kitchen over night. Not in the fridge! Not near a window with cold air blowing in etc. A nice warm corner for the yeast fairy to work her magic!

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Ingredients :-

1. Ponni Rice – 2 cups
2. Boiled cooked rice – 1 cup
3. Desiccated Coconut – 1 cup
4. Yeast – 1 tsp
5. Sugar – 1 tsp + 3 tbsp
6. Warm Water – 3 cups ( more if required)
7. Coconut oil for greasing the pan

Instructions :-

1. In a large vessel, wash the Ponni rice. Then soak the rice in water for 5 -6 hours ( 12 hours is best) I usually soak in the morning and do the rest after dinner
2. After the rice has soaked in the water for sufficient time, in the bowl of your grinder or blender, add the soaked rice, cooked rice and desiccated coconut
3. In a small bowl add 1/2 cup of warm water and 1 tsp of sugar. Then add the yeast and let it stand still till the yeast becomes frothy ( activated yeast)
4. Then add 2 cups of water to the blender jar with the rice and coconut and blend to form a nice smooth paste. There shouldn’t be any coarse rice pieces or coconut pieces
5. finally just before you remove the blender jar from the machine, add the yeast water and the rest of the water and run the blender for 1 min.
6. Now use a large vessel / container for the fermentation.
7. Pour the batter into the container and add 2 tbsp of sugar. Mix well and combine.
8. Now cover the container loosely and set it on a plate. Place the container in a warm place over night. By the next morning you will see the batter rise up and be bubbly
9. This is because of the yeast in the batter . Your batter is ready
10. Now heat up your appam chatti.  ( Appa chatti is a vessel that is used to make these hoppers, the market is flooded with teflon non stick pans, but I DO NOT USE any teflon / non stick pans in my kitchen, so if you are interested in buying a pan I suggest you look for a iron pan, the one I own is from —   the Village Fair 
11. Heat your Appa chatti on a medium flame. Once it is hot grease the pan lightly with coconut oil. I dip a cotton cloth in oil and then spread it around the chatti
12. Now using a ladle pour the fermented Batter into the chatti. Slowly swirl the chatti round to spread the batter to all the sides of the chatti and then place it back in the flame. You will notice that the batter settle back to the centre. That is fine, that is what gives it that fully centre and crisp side. Now if you do not like it to thick, just reduce the amount of batter and rotate the chatti for a little longer that way all sides are crisp yet not too thick. Also make sure to use mittens or use a cotton cloth to hold the sides of the chatti
13. Close with the lid and cook on medium flame for 3 -4 mins
14. Once it is done, take off the lid and let it cook for 1 min.
15. Finally using a soft wooden spatula loosen the sides of the appam
16. Then slowly loosen the centre and transfer to a plate!
17. Your appams are ready! Serve with egg curry, or Kadala curry 

 

 

Strawberry doughnuts with Honey and Lemon sugar

Hello My dear wonderful readers,

How are you all doing today? So it was cheat day the other day and I had one of these and OMG I had to give them away cause these doughnuts are so so addictive. Strawberry season is here and I think I would use it in everything and anything. This is my second strawberry recipe for the season and let’s be honest, I can never have enough of these ruby red beauties. These doughnuts are baked and not deep fried so they are more cakey than fried but trust me when I say this, one bite and you wont be able to go back evaaaa!! These pink rings of heaven are the perfect mix of sweet, tart, fresh and  “munchy”. Those little red spots on the donuts are the finely chopped strawberries. The key is to dunk them in honey when nice and warm and therefore the lemon sugar melts into the doughnuts and OH MY GOD., the magic is insane!

In fact I baked 12 of these but only 11 got to the photos 🙂 cause these donuts, my friend, are just so awesome!! lol

So while I was baking these my little munchkin decided it was time for him to play in the kitchen as well. So when I was whisking and piping, my little boy was sitting on the kitchen mat, making “rice, mutta (eggs) and cheese ” which is when I was reminded about how I went to the toy store to see if I could get him a kitchen set or a toy oven but to my surprise all the kitchen toys were only in this hideous bright pink with photos of little girls making food. So what I couldn’t understand is – why is that only girls like these kind of games? I mean some of the best chefs in the world are men and they are respected all over the world, then why is it that boys cant be allowed to play with the same kind of toys. Also why is it pink?? I have never come across a pink kitchen my entire life! And no working real kitchen can ever function to its fullest if it where white or pink! Why not have a kitchen that is the same colour as the real thing! Anyway the bottom line is, I decided if he wants to play he can play with the stuff in my kitchen and when he is old enough I will help him learn and understand that there is no job that was either reserved for men or for women. Girl or boy we all deserve equal opportunity and equal respect for the choices we make.

Now back to the doughnuts, just like all my bakes, (unless otherwise specified) make sure the ingredients are at room temperature and the baking tray is well prepared. Try not rushing this step cause these doughnuts will just pop out easily if you do so. Now for the recipe

Ingredients :-

1. Butter – 1 tsp
2. Flour – 2 cups + more for dusting the pan
3. Baking Powder – 1 tsp
4. Oil – 1/2 cup
5. Sugar – 1/ 2 cup + more of dusting
6. Eggs – 2 large eggs
7. Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
8. Apple Cider Vinegar – 1 tsp
9. Salt – 1/2 of 1/4 tsp
10. Nutmeg – 1/4 tsp
11. Butter Milk – 3/4 cup
12. Strawberry – 1 cup ( chopped fine)
13. Red food colour – 1 small drop ( optional)
14. Lemon Zest – from 2 limes
15. Honey 2 tbsp

Instructions :-

1. Pre-Heat your oven to 180 C
2. Prepare your doughnut pan by brushing butter on the inside of your baking pan. Make sure to butter the hole in the centre too . This recipe makes 12 doughnuts
3. Now lightly dust the buttered pan with flour. Invert the pan and shake of the excess flour. Set aside
4. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and sieve twice
5. In another bowl, add the oil, eggs, apple cider vinegar , vanilla, sugar and butter milk. Whisk together till the sugar has mixed well with mixture
6. Then add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in 3 batches. Make sure to mix well at every addition of dry mixture to the wet
7. Once you have all the dry ingredients mixed, add the chopped strawberry and colour
8. Mix well to combine
9. Now pour the mixture into a piping bag. Snip the bottom and pipe the batter into the prepared doughnut pan
10. Fill till 80 % of the hole
11. Pop into the oven to bake for 20 mins or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean
12. While that is baking lets make the lemon sugar
13. In a plate, zest the lemons. Then add 1/2 cup of caster sugar. Now with dry hands, mix the sugar and lemon zest. You will see the sugar turn a light green colour
14. Once the doughnuts are done, let them cool for 5 mins
15. Then when the doughnuts are still warm, using a pastry brush, brush honey on the face of the doughnut
16. Then dunk the doughnuts into the lemon sugar
17. Place on a cooling rack to dust of the excess sugar
18. Your strawberry doughnuts with honey and lemon sugar are ready

 

Parsley, roasted garlic and Lime Garlic Knots

 

Hello my Dear Wonderful Readers!

How are you all doing today? As the weather changes and the cold sets in, I find myself pulling out my blankets, fuzzy socks and jackets out. So in anticipation of soup season, I also have a feeling we will have a lot of bread making in the house too. Did i mention I ruined my oven? Yes, so while I was getting the house ready for Diwali, last month, I cleaned the oven and when I turned it back on, the whole house lost power!!! Yeah I managed to destroy my favorite kitchen apparatus and I havent gotten around to getting the company guys to come take a look at it either (talk about being lazy) :-).

So this time I made my bread in the “convection” mode of my microwave oven and to my pleaseant surprise in really does work! how awesome is that. Now did I mention that this recipe also incorporates, whole wheat? Yes, sir it does!! So I added equal amounts of bread flour and whole wheat flour to make these babies so that they are not all that unhealthy and make a perfectly wholesome meal when paired with a big bowl of healthy soup.

Do you guys love the small bread baskets that they serve in Italian restaurants? With the flavoured butter? I am a sucker for them. While my husband refuses to have it cause he says its a distraction from the main food. I say I love it all.. hahaha..

Ingredients :-

 

1. Bread Flour / Maida – 1 + 1/4 cup
2. Whole Wheat Flour / Atta – 1 + 1/4 cup
3. Sugar – 1 tbsp
4. Salt – 1 tsp
5. Oil – 2 tbsp
6. Yeast – 1 tbsp
7. Water – 1 cup (warm)
8. Garlic – 9 cloves
9. Lime – 1
10. Parsley – 1/4 cup (chopped fine)
11. Butter – 50 gms (at room temperature)

 

 

 

Instructions :-

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add sugar, water and yeast. Set aside to rest for 10 mins. In 10 minutes it should have become nice and frothy
2. Into the same bowl, add the flour, salt and oil
3. With the hook attachment on, turn on the mixer to a medium speed for 7 – 10 mins
4. It will form a nice sticky dough
5. Grease a big glass bowl and tip the dough mixture into the bowl
6. Let it rest for 2 hours or till the dough has doubled in size
7. Meanwhile, drizzle a little oil over the garlic cloves and put them into an oven at 200 C for 15 min or till they are golden and almost black on the outside. Once they have cooled down, with the back of your spoon, press them to form a nice paste
8. Now take a bowl and add the melted butter, zest the lime, chopped parsley and garlic paste. Season with salt and mix well and set aside
9. Peheat your oven to 200 C and line a baking tray with baking paper
10. Once the dough has doubled in size, tip the dough onto a floured surface.
11. Slowly knead the dough for 2 mins
12. Then make a large ball and cut it into 2. Then cut them into 5 each. You should have around 10
13. Slowly roll out the dough into long rolls
14. Then just like you tie a shoe lace, tie the knot with the rolled out dough
15. Once you have made the knot, place on the prepared baking tray. Do the same with the remaining dough
16. Dip a pastry brush in some olive oil and brush the tops of the knots lightly
17. Place the tray in the pre heat oven and bake for 15 – 20 mins or till lightly golden on the top
18. During this time, melt the butter mixture in a microwave
19. As soon as the knots are ready take them out of the oven and dip them into the melted butter
20. Use a mitten while you dip the knots as they will really hot!!
21. After dipping them, place them back on the tray
22. Just before you serve them, brush again with the flavored butter!!

 

 

 

 

Dark Chocolate covered Chocolate Cookie hearts

Hello my dear wonderful readers!!

Its been so long and there has been so much happening, I do not know where to begin! We finally moved to our own place and I am so excited cause there is so much sun light and space in the form of big balconies! lol. So to start our sweet journey at the new place, I decided to make these simple yet decadent cookies. Hey you know what I discovered, if you want to get rid of the smell of paint in a new place, all you need to do is bake some thing nice! I made these cookies and the paint smell reduced considerably. The next day I made some biryani and that sealed the deal.  hahahahaha…

These cookies are super easy to make and are perfect if you want to make chocolate cut out cookies.

Ingredients :-
1. Flour – 2 cup
2. Baking Powder  – 1/4 tsp
3. Cocoa Powder – 4 tbsp
4. Demerara Sugar – 1 cup
5. Butter – 100 gms
6. Milk – 4 tbsp
7. Salt – one pinch

 Instructions :-

1. Pre Heat your oven to 180 C – Using your baking paper or silpat mat, line your cookie baking tray
2. In a bowl combine butter and sugar. Beat well for 2 – 3 mins
3. Then add the baking powder, salt, flour, cocoa powder. Then slowly add the milk to flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon and once the dough comes together use your hands and bring it all together
4. Finally you will reach a nice thick doughy consistency
5. Lay a baking paper over your kitchen counter and place the cocoa dough in the centre
6. Then place another piece of paper over the dough ( the same size as the paper underneath (40 cm x 40cm)
7. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a nice thin size
8. Then remove the paper over the dough and using the cookie cutter, cut out the desired shape
9. Slowly place the cookies over the prepared baking sheet. These cookies do not expand so its ok to not leave too much space between the cookies 
10. Bake for 20 – 25 mins ( do not wait for the cookies to turn dark brown)
11. Once they are ready , place them on a cooling rack and they are ready for their dressing 🙂

For the glaze
1. Micro wave, 50 gms of dark chocolate in spurts of 30 seconds each. Make sure to put out the bowl every 30 seconds and mix with a spatula. This will help prevent the chocolate from burning
2. Dip the cooled chocolate cookies in the melted chocolate and place over a wire rack to let the excess drip down
3. Sprinkle with your favorite kind of topping / sprinkle!!

Peach Clafouti – Sweet and Tart Peaches in a soft cakey dessert

Hello my Dear Wonderful Readers!!

How are you all doing today? Its been raining here all week and its been so cold, I am always in my socks and either I am eating some thing warm or drinking the same. While it is quite easy to make cold desserts, warm desserts are a little “different”. Now I know I could make a batch of warm cookies or brownies and eat them right out of the oven. But here is the thing, I wanted to incorporate fresh fruits in there as well. Now, synonymous to these cozy days, is the world Lazy! So the last thing on my mind is to bring everything to room temperature and adding raising agents etc! So this is my” no stress, just vegetate and eat warm gooey deserts” recipe.

Also this is a great option when you have surprise visitors over for dinner and you do want to make some thing sweet at the end of your meal. You could use any kind of fruit, the base remains the same and let me tell you, in my opinion, tart fruits work the best cause they cut through the sugar in the base and leave you with this wonderful warm happy feeling!

Ice cream or fresh cream, how ever you fashion to pair this dessert, it is a total win  – win. Oh and did I forget to mention, its a ONE POT dessert!

My mum makes another version of the same thing and adds roasted cashew nuts and bananas too. Oh that one is out of this world and to compare the two wouldn’t be fair. So if you are looking for a warm, sweet, fruit and cakey dessert that doesn’t involve too much work but you would like to enjoy on a cold night, then I strongly recommend this recipe!

Ingredients :-

1. Flour – 2 cups
2. Powdered Sugar – 1 cup
3. Butter – 100 gms
4. Vanilla – seeds from one pod or 2 tsp
5. Salt – just a pinch
6. Fresh Peaches – 6 (sliced thin)
7. Eggs – 3
8. Butter ( just to grease the bowl)
9. Milk – 1 cup

Instructions :-

1. Pop the butter into a microwaveable dish and melt. Set it aside to cool
2. While that is happening, place a kitchen towel on your counter and place your large bowl
3. Slice peaches to desired thickness and set aside
4. Add flour and sugar and whisk together
5. Then add the milk, eggs, vanilla and salt
6. Whisk well to for a lump free batter ( little thicker than a pancake batter)
7. Grease your pie tray or enamel wear or even your cake tin with butter ( using a shallow tray makes the fruit pop out better through the cakey base)
8. Pour the batter into the pan
9. Then arrange the peaches over the batter. The batter is very runny so some of the fruit may sink but that’s ok, just add more 🙂
10. Pop the tray into a pre-heated over at 180 C for around 30 – 45 mins
11. Once done, pull it out of the oven and serve right away with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh cream or ice cream!!

Beans and Veggy Salad Bowl with Mint and Garlic Vinaigrette

Hello My Dear Wonderful People!!

Shhh.. the baby is asleep ;p …

LOL.. kidding. I think the heat is driving me insane!! lol.. Hey have you heard the Rihanna song “Work”. oh man it is so addictive!! I can’t stop sining it .. haha.. see I told you, its the SUN!! So I have decided, I have got to put up some of my salad recipes, that are so simple and need hardly any cooking really. Now first of all, not all my salads fall under the “Raw” category. Simply cause its very hard for me to jump from a nice bowl of rice and curry to just a basket of vegetables. Nope I am not saying all vegetables are bad, but I will share some later ok :p Now this recipe needs a little cooking for the beans. Which really gives this bowl a boost of flavour and spice. Its just basic Indian spices but just trust me, they all work together!! and will keep you full for quite a long time!!

Now I am sure you did not miss that big slice of mango on both the bowls, yeah baby!! It’s mango season and I am gonna make sure its there on everything I eat. lol.. ok maybe not on eggs. 😛

Both the boys at home absolute love mangoes, so I am quiet sure anything with mangoes would fly at home.

Ingredients for the Salad bowl :-

1. Beans – 2 cups – ( i used double beans but you could use any beans) – used the dry kind but canned will also do
2. Mango – 1 ripe
3. Broccoli –  200 gms florets cut and washed
4. Romaine Lettuce – 6 leaves
5. Red Cabbage – 1 cup ( shredded)
6. Tomato – 1 ( chopped fine)
7. Onion – 1 medium (sliced fine)
8. Garam Masala – 1 tsp
9. Rice Bran Oil – 1 tsp

Ingredients for the Mint Garlic Dressing :-

1. Fresh Mint leaves – 1 cup packed
2. Garlic Cloves – 3 – 4
3. Olive Oil – 1 cup
4. Apple Cider Vinegar – 1/2 cup ( add more or less according to preference)
5. Salt – according to taste
6. Pepper – 1 tsp

 

Instructions :- 

1. For the dressing – with the help of the mortar and petal crush the garlic and mint leaves and set aside
2. In another bottle add the olive oil + apple cider vinegar + salt  and pepper
3. Then add the mint and garlic mash into the bottle and close the lit tightly
4. Give the bottle a good shake to combine all the ingredients. Set aside
5. Soak beans over night in ample water to soak the beans completely
6. Next day pressure cook till soft and tender with salt
7. Set aside to cool down. – (Please skip this step if using canned pre cooked beans)
8. Heat rice bran oil in a wok. Add onions  and tomatoes
9. Once the vegetables have cooled down, add garam masala and the cooked beans
10. Mix well and cover and cook for 5 mins
11. Turn off the flame and set aside
12. In a large pot heat water to boil
13. Add the broccoli florets and turn off the flame. After 5 mins drain the broccoli and rinse in cold water. Set aside
14. Now to assemble the salad in a bowl, arrange the broccoli, romaine lettuce, red cabbage, cooked beans, mango and drizzle the mint garlic dressing

No bake, Power Packed Chocolate Breakfast Cookies

Hello my Dear Wonderful Readers!!

How you all been? I have been quite busy of late with my grandma visiting us in Bangalore and she wanting to spend time with her great grandson. So every morning after the morning chores are done, I take my son to my mum’s house. This does not leave much time for blogging or cooking as me, my mum and her mum (my grandma) are busy taking turns and playing with my son. Mr R is very busy in office as usual and comes and picks me up from my mums place after work. We are travelling to Cochin this weekend as I am scheduled to get my gall bladder removed there. The only niggling factor i am worried about is Mr R’s capabilities in terms of child care. He’s a good dad but still getting a hang of the soft skills involved in day to day baby management. In any case, all those adventures are for a different post. Until then I will leave you with these very awesome power packed cookies. I am trying to get up early to get a post in these days and i have understood that I am not a morning person and takes a lot of effort. Till next post, Adios Amigos. 🙂

Ingredients :-

1. Dark Chocolate – 250 gms
2. Oats – 1 + 1/2 cup (Instant)
3. Mixed Dry fruits – 1 cup ( I used pistachio + raisins and dry figs)
4. Coconut Oil – 4 tbsp (50 gms of butter)

 

Instructions :-

1.  In a microwavable bowl melt the chocolate on medium power at 30 second intervals and stirring frequently.
2. Add the coconut oil to the melted chocolate. Set the chocolate aside to cool ( You could add cream at this stage to make it more creamy and rich)
3. In another bowl add the instant oats
4. Then add the dry fruits. I did not chop the nuts but you could if you want to
5. Finally add the melted chocolate and coconut oil mix into the oats
6. Stir well to combine and coat all the ingredients well
7. Now oil your hands with a little oil and slowly make small balls of the oats mixture. Arrange them on a large cookie sheet
8. Once you are done with all of them use a spoon and push them downwards (press them to form flat cookies)
9. Pop the cookie sheet into a fridge and let them set till nice and hard ( 1.5 to 2 hours)
10. Your breakfast cookies are ready!!

 

Bell Pepper and Sausage Rolls – Sausage rolls my way :)

Hello my Dear Wonderful Readers!!

So guess what!! I finally baked bread today! It feels like ages since I baked some bread. In fact I have no intention of baking today. I wanted to make a simple paneer dish for dinner and post it on the blog but my son decided to sleep for a few hours during the day, which gave me some time to write this post. Keeping in mind the requests of many followers on Instagram and the blog, to take photographs of the procedure of making the bread too, I have take a few shots of that as well. I know its not the prettiest but I am getting there.

Now before I get to the recipe, I want to share a very fond memory that I have with sausage rolls. When I was around 6, my mum had just gone back to work and she would always be back home before I got back from school. But every time I came back home, I was sure there would be a special treat at home. Some time it would be these Sausage Rolls. Very often  Amma would make them at home, but some times she would buy them from my favourite bakery “Hot Breads”. I still remember the distinct blue and white lines under the logo and that smell of fresh baked bread! Ohh!! My Amma would also make bread at home. In fact last week she gave me a cake book that I remember reading when I was very small. Most of my birthday cakes where inspired from photos in that book. These memories are close to my heart. My mum is the best baker ever! In fact her oven broke down a few months ago, but that doesn’t stop her from baking at all. She can make the most fluffiest sponge cake even on an iron skillet!! haaa!

Ok so back to the recipe. Now this is my take on the famous sausage roll. I know that the original sausage roll does not have bell peppers but I wanted to give it my own twist and an excuse to add some vegetables in there 🙂 So here it is.

Ingredients for the bread :-

1. Bread Flour – 3 cups + 3 tbsp
2. Sugar – 2 tsp
3. Active Bakers Yeast – 2 tsp
4. Milk – 1 cup
5. Butter – 50 gms (melted and cooled)
6. Eggs – 2 + 1 for the egg wash
7. Salt – 1 tsp
8. Olive oil – 1 tsp

Instructions :-

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine half the four, sugar and yeast. Give it a good mix
2. Now add butter and two eggs and with a fork combine them
3. Next turn on your mixer on low and slowly add the milk
4. Finally add rest of the flour and crack up the speed to medium
5. Run the mixer for 5 mins
6. Finally add the salt and mix for another 3 mins
7. Grease a glass bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover with a warm cloth and keep the bowl in a warm place to rise.
8. Let the dough  sit for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size

Ingredients for the filling:-

1. Red Bell pepper – 1 – chopped to squares
2. Yellow Bell Pepper – 1 – chopped to squares
3. Garlic – 5 ( chopped fine )
4. Oregano – 1 tsp
5. Thyme – 1 tsp
6. Rose Mary – 1/2 tsp
7. Pepper – 1 tsp
8. Fresh Parsley – 1/2 cup
9. Salt according to taste
10. Chicken Sausages – 6
11. Oil – 3 tbsp

Instructions for the Filling :-

1. Heat oil in a pan
2. Once the oil is hot add the garlic and fry for a min on medium
3. Then add the sausages and fry for 5 mins ( just to start the cooking process)
4. Then add the Oregano, thyme, rosemary, pepper and salt
5. Give it a good mix and then add the peppers
6. Cover and cook for 3 mins and turn off the flame
7. Let the filling cool before you use it in the next step
8. Use the parsley just as it is, fresh over  the top of the cooked filling

 

Assembling the roll :-

1. Once the dough in doubles in size, punch it down with your fist
2. Then empty the dough onto a flour dusted surface
3. Roll the dough out to the shape of a log. Then using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, divide the dough into 6 equal halves.
4. The roll out each individual pieces into 15 cm x 25 cm square pieces, leaving enough space in the centre for the filling (at least 6 cms)
5. Slash 5 -6 lines on each side of the rolled out piece (as shown in the photos)
6. Then add the filling into the centre of the rolled out dough. Make sure to sprinkle the fresh parsley over the filing
7. Then start from the top. Tuck the top most piece of dough on top of the filling, then alternatively cover on over the  other ( as shown in the photos). I start with the right, lift the pieces of dough from the right and over lap the filling and pull gently towards the centre and then towards the left. Then take the piece of the left and gently place over filling in the centre and then over to the right. After you do two of them it will become easier. Make sure to press the ends of the dough at the end or else they come out a little wonky when you bake them ( like some in the photos 😛 )
8. After you have done all of them, transfer them to a baking sheet lined with baking paper
9. Cover and let it sit for 20 mins
10. During this time, pre heat your oven to 200 C
11. Crack the last egg and beat it well
12. Then using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash. This is what will give it that wonderful golden colour
13. Pop the baking tray into the oven and bake for 30 mins or until you the see the tops turn nice and golden brown
14. Once they are done baking, pull them out of the oven and let them cool in the baking tray for 10 mins
15. Then move them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely
16. If you wanna store them, wrap them in cotton cloth and then put them in an air tight container in the fridge

 

Serve these babies with ketchup or mayo or just like that!!