Onion and Olive Bialy

In the rainy weather I get quite a craving for hot bread. This time i decided to do a bialy.

You need:

For the dough

1. Maida – 3 cups
2. Active Dry yeast – 1 tsp
3. Sugar – 1 tbsp
4. Salt – 1 tsp
5. Water – 1+1/4 cups
6. Parsley - 1 tsp (dried)
7. Oil – for brushing & greasing
8. Whole wheat flour – 4 tbsp (for dusting)

For the filling:

1. Onions - 3, medium, chopped
2. Black olives - 1 cup
3. salt to taste
4. pepper to taste
5. Olive oil - 1 tsp
6. Tomato ketchup - 1/2 cup
7. Sesame seeds for topping

How to:

Filling:

1. Heat the olive oil
2. Add onions and saute till they just start turning brown
3. Add black olives and cook for 30 seconds
4. Add salt and pepper, mix well, remove from flame and keep aside

Dough:

1. Heat water to lukewarm (make sure it's not too hot or the yeast will die)
2. Add yeast, salt and sugar to the water. Cover and keep aside for 5-10 minutes (till it starts frothing)
3. In a large bowl mix maida with this yeast mixture and knead for 10 minutes. Add parsley and mix well.
4. Coat with oil and cover and keep in a warm place to rise for 2 hours
5. When the dough doubles in size, punch the air out of it and knead a little. Divide in to 8 equal parts and roll in to a ball. Dust in wheat flour.

Assembly:

1. Flatten out the dough balls and keep on a greased baking tray for the second rising. Press the rounds in the middle to create a depression that will hold the filling. The sides should be risen. 
2. Prick the depressed center with a fork. This will ensure the center with the filling does not rise.
3. Cover and let them rise for another hour
4. Preheat oven at 230 degrees C
5. Spread a tsp or more of ketchup on each of the depressed center and place the onion filling on top. Brush some oil on the sides and sprinkle sesame seeds
6. Bake for 12- 15 minutes or till the crust turns golden brown. keep checking as the time will vary for every oven
7. Serve hot

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Apple pie

Apple pie is one of my favorite desserts and i've always wanted to bake one. But it looked so daunting that it took me some courage to attempt it. The below recipe it a bit of trial and error, (i'm a dab and dash kinds cook, so measurements are always a task for me) but posting it here due to popular demand :). So here goes.

For the crust you need:

1. 1 1/4 cup maida (or all purpose flour)
2. 1 tsp salt
3. 110 gms of butter - chilled and cut in to cubes
4. 1/4th cup ice water

To make the dough, mix the flour and salt together. Rub in butter till the whole mixture has a flaky texture. There should be no flour left without a bit of butter rubbed in. Slowly start adding ice water to bring the dough together till it forms a ball. Do not knead much. Wrap in cling foil and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 2 days.

NOTE: With these proportions I was able to make 3 mini pies and 1 7" pie.

For the filling you need: (NOTE: This filling is only for the 7" pie)

1. 4 apples - peeled cored and cut in to thin pieces
2. 1 tbsp lemon juice
3. Raisins - a handful
4. Bread crumbs - 3/4 cup
5. Brown sugar - 4 tbsp (optional, I like the flavor so added it)
6. White sugar - according to taste (I added almost 1/4 cup. Keep in mind that the crust is not sweet, so adjust taste accordingly)

To make the filling, heat a non stick pan. Add apples, sugar, lemon juice and cook till the apples are tender. You can also add some orange juice if you like the flavor and reduce it down as the apples cook. Add raisins. Add the breadcrumbs slowly, just enough to soak up the excess liquid. Check and adjust for sugar again. Remove from flame and keep aside to cool.

To make the pie

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees
2. Grease a 7" pie tin with butter. Grease it really well otherwise the pie may stick.
3. Take half the dough and roll out a circle on a floured surface. Large enough to cover the pie tin.
4. Take the rolled dough and place it in the tin. Firmly pressing it on the bottom and the sides of the tin. Trim and extra dough from the sides.
5. Put the filling in and press it down, keeping a slight mound in the center
6. Take a smaller ball of the dough and roll out another thinner circle, just big enough to cover the top.
7. Cover the filling with this rolled dough and pinch together the sides with the base dough, firmly closing it in.
8. Take a knife and place some cuts on the top to let the steam escape
9. Brush the top with some milk and place the pie in the oven on the third rung from the top. 
10. Bake at 180 degrees for at least 45 minutes. If the top is browning quickly, cover it with some aluminium foil once it reaches the desired color. You'll have to check in after 20 minutes or so to do this.
11. After the pie is done, take it out from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. Take it out of the pie tin and cool slightly on a wire rack before cutting.
12. Ready to serve with a dollop of cream or a scoop of icecream

Whole wheat bread

Are you a fan of warm just baked bread? Then you'll love this recipe. 

You need:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp dry active yeast

1/2 cup milk - lukewarm 

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp oil (I used olive oil)

How to

- add yeast and sugar to the lukewarm milk. Make sure the milk is not hot else the yeast will die. Leave it to proof for 3-4 minutes

- in a bowl mix flour, salt, oil and butter. Crumb it well so the butter is mixed well with the flour.

- once the yeast has bubbled up, add the milk to the flour and mix well to form a dough

- knead well for 10 minutes

- coat with some more oil and leave to rise in a warm place for 20 minutes ( if you are in a hurry. Else leave it for 45 min or till the dough doubles in size)

- punch te dough down and knead some more. Shape in to 6 balls and arrange on a geased baking tray. Leave to rise some more

- meanwhile pre heat the oven at 180 degree centigrade

- put the rolls in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes till they are well browned 

- serve hot with butter 

Bean and Rice Burritos

Here is my take on bean and rice burritos made from stuff lying around at home. Took me 1 hour to make everything, so doable for dinner

You need

For the tortillas

• Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Olive oil - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/ 2 tsp
• Water

For the rice

• Brown rice (not red rice) - 3 handfuls - boiled well
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Yellow bell pepper - 1/2 - finely chopped
• Red bell pepper - 1/2 - finely chopped
• Spring onions - 2-3 - finely chopped
• Red chilli sauce - 1 tsp
• Chilli vinegar - 1 tsp 
• Olive oil - 1 tbsp
• Pepper - 1/2 tsp

For the bean filling

• Black or red beans (Rajma) - 1 cup - soaked overnight and boiled (drain out all water)
• Onion - 1 - chopped
• Garlic - 4-5 cloves
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Olive oil - 1 tsp
• Salsa sauce - readymade - 1 tbsp
• Jalapenos - I used 4-5 slices from a bottle and chopped them finely

For the guacamole (more like yogurt guacamole. I didn't have sour cream for a separate topping so I added yogurt to the guacamole and it turned out fine)

• Avocado - 1 ripe - peeled and chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Garlic - 1 clove
• Curd/ yogurt - 1 tbsp (must be thick, of a dip consistency)
• 2 tbsp chopped onion
• 2 tbsp chopped tomato
• salt to taste

For the garnish

• Cheese slices - 4 (this is what I had, if you have better cheese, use that)
• finely chopped tomato
• finely chopped green onion
• Readymade salsa sauce
• coriander leaves

How to

Bean filling

1. Heat olive oil in a pan
2. Fry onions till translucent
3. Add garlic and fry some more
4. Add the beans and mash them really well. Add some water if necessary to make a loose pasty consistency
5. Add salt, salsa sauce and jalapenos and mix well
6. Keep aside

Rice

1. Heat olive oil in a pan
2. Add the chopped peppers and stir fry
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except rice and stir fry 
4. Finally add the rice and toss well
5. Keep aside

Guacamole

1. Toss everything in a mixer and give a quick churn to make a chunky sauce

Tortillas

1. Mix everything and knead into a tight dough
2. Divide in to 4 equal portions and roll out thin tortillas
3. Heat a griddle and cook till lightly brown on both sides

Assembling

1. While the tortilla is still hot on the pan, add a slice of cheese to melt it slightly
2. Take off from the flame and in to a plate.
3. Spread the guacamole in one long line
4. Then spread the rice along the same line
5. Add the bean filling on top of the rice following the line
6. Top it up with rest of the garnishing 
7. Fold the tortilla tightly to make the burrito 
8. Serve hot with some additional guacamole and rice

Fried Idlis

Since I've moved to Bangalore I've been making a lot of Idlis and Dosas. I especially love mini-idlis with hot sambar. But often, inevitably some idlis are left over. And well, you can't really have the same breakfast twice. So I've found a snack that works best for me with my evening chai (or coffee if you prefer). It's quite simple really.

You'll need:

• Leftover idlies - 4 if they are mini, 2 if they are regular
• 1 medium onion - julienne
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 
• 2-3 curry leaves
• 1 dry red chilli
• 1 green chilli - sliced long
• 1 tbsp oil 
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp sambar powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp fresh grated coconut (you can also use dry grated powder that is readily available)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• A pinch of sugar (optional)

How to

• Cut the idlis in to bite size pieces
• In a bowl, mix chilli powder, turmeric powder, sambar powder, salt and the grated coconut. If you are using sugar add that too. Mix well. 
• Add idlis to this bowl and rub the spice mix over them. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan (preferably non stick). When hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chilli, green chilli and the chopped onion. Stir well and fry till onion turns golden brown.
• Add the spiced idlis and mix well. Cover and cook on a simmer for 1 min. Keep stirring in between to ensure that the spices are getting cooked well and do not burn
• Turn off the flame. Add lemon juice and mix well
• Serve hot. You can garnish with some fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut

Spaghetti in cheese & cream sauce

So this one is a real quick fix and doesn't really need any fancy ingredients. It's quite a flexible recipe and very easy to play around with depending on what you have at home. I made it for dinner today and munched on it with a can of happiness (read Coke).

For one person you definitely need:

• Spaghetti - A handful ( I just grabbed enough to fit my fist and it was just a slightly bigger portion that what I usually can eat)
• Cheese - Any kind really except mozzarella/ stringy cheese. It should basically melt in the sauce. I had 2 cubes of processed cheese and a few smallish (1/2" inch) chunks of cheddar. And I like my pasta cheesy so I put it all in. You can cut down on cheese a bit if you want
• Italian seasoning - Use anything really. I had some leftover oregano and chilli flakes from a pizza I ordered yesterday. So in went 1 small pack (abt 1 tsp) of oregano and a similar portion of chilli flakes
• Olive oil/ butter - 1 tsp
• Milk - 1/2 cup with some cream in it
• Onion - 1 small - finely chopped
• Salt - to taste

How to make it:

1. Heat a large pan of water and add spaghetti to it once it comes to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes approx. Check often to see how much you want it cooked. Some want it al-dente and some like it slightly softer. 
2. Drain spaghetti and put in a pan of cold water.  
3. Meanwhile, heat oil/butter & fry the onion till translucent
4. Add milk and cheeses and cook till the cheese melts
5. Add oregano, chilli flakes and salt. Bring to a boil. 
6. Add spaghetti and toss well
7. Serve hot with a slice of garlic toast

Tips to make it better

If you have some more ingredients you can mix and match and make it better

• Got any garlic? Crush and fry it with the onion (step 3 above)
• Fresh coriander? I feel it really goes well with pasta. Give it a quick whirl in the blender, without water. Add to the sauce in step 5 above
• You can use black olives as garnish while serving

Imli ki Chutney

Had a few friends over for dinner and wanted to make some chaat. Figured out my stock of mom's chutney is over so had to whip this up myself.

You need:
- Imli (Tamarind) - 1 cup (soak for 2 hours)
- Gud (Jaggery) - 1 cup (or less if you want it more sour)
- Salt - to taste
- Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
- Raisins - a handful - soaked
- Dry ginger - 1 tsp
- Jira (cumin seeds) - 1 tsp - roasted

How to:
- Sieve the pulp from the tamarind in a pan, add as much water as needed to make it soupy in consistency.
- Add jaggery and bring to a boil.
- Add everything else and cook on low flame till the chutney thickens.
- Taste and adjust spices if needed

Tip - leave a chutney slightly runny as it will thicken when cold