French Bread for the Daring Bakers!

This Daring Baker's Challenge for this month was hosted by Bread Chick Mary of The Sour Dough and Sara of I Like to Cook. Their choice was a Pain Francais (French Bread)






There I sat reading everybody’s feedback regarding their bread baking and its aftermath in the DB private blog..Got me all worked up! Should I, shouldn’t I was all I would murmur each time I saw the printed recipe.

An evening while I had some time on me…I got into kneading, yeasting and so forth..Left it to rise….it stayed flat even after 10 hours..blamed it on the yeast, the flour, my stars and everything..checked the following morning…it hadn’t risen an inch….threw it out.. started all over again ….the dough rose well above the 10 ½ cup mark in less than an hour and a half… having cleared my first obstacle..i kneaded and put it to its second rise…success again…set it on a floured towel for its third rise…success again…. slashed the tops... Whew! it then finally went into the oven……and came out looking all good..Judge for yourself.





I made two small Batards and a Round Loaf. The batards were sliced and toppped with butter and jam was loved by the toddler at home. The remaining slices were served as garlic cheese toasts the next day at dinner. The round loaf was sent over to an elderly couple nearby.




The crust was a wee bit hard.. the inside had a lovely texture...The aroma in the kitchen was heavenly when the breads were being baked. The combination of a hard crust and soft crumb is great!

Ultimately I am pleased with my result!





Do see the wonderful French Breads the other DB's have created!


The recipe is here

What! A Pomegranate Cake?

I have always loved the fruit Pomegranate...the only thing that I did not favour was separating the arils..Once that is done it is sure to vanish in no time..

When Sra came up with Pomegranate for the AFAM for the month of February....I definitely wanted to send in and was all excited . AFAM was started by Maheshwari of Beyond the Usual.

This is my last minute entry.I did make one a few days back and it flopped.So I used the weekend to remake a dish but definitely not a pomegranate salsa or a beverage.

I made a cake..Yes You heard it right! A pomegranate sponge cake...

For the cake
Eggs-6
Cake Flour-1 1/2 cups
Sugar Granulated-1 cup
Melted Butter-1/2 cup
Pomegranate Juice-1 cup

Whisk the egg yolks until they form a thick ribbon. Fold in the flour a tbsp at a time alternating with butter and the egg whites..Add in the pomegranate juice whisking continuously. Pour this mixture into a prepared and buttered paper dish. Bake until done . The cake is done when it is springy. Unmould only after a couple of minutes.

The cake had a lovely pale green colour..I expected a pink colour...The cake was mild in its sweetness.... It is quite crumbly..So i used a cookie cutter to cut them!

An entry for click!

The marble cake already posted is my entry for the click event whose theme for the month of Feb is "Flour".

Spicy chicken lost among boiled potatoes and carrots

Back from a long road trip..Every time I return from a road trip, I vow never to take one in the next few years..and very soon I am back again on another road trip..The four days of the trip was hectic...loads of things crammed together...glad to be back home in my very own abode .

Famished and the family of three was craving for a quick snack...The only requirement being a non-veg one....This is what I came up with





(note: ....randomn measurement. of the ingredients.)

Chicken- bite-sized pieces
Oil-to fry
Potatoes-boiled
Carrots-boiled

For the marination

chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, ginger/garlic paste..

Make a paste of the ingredients mentioned above for the marinade and coat the chicken pieces Add some curd too. Reserve for a few minutes in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile boil the potatoes and carrots and set them aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add a sprig of curry leaves. (This is a tip that I learnt recently from my mother. There is a heavenly aroma when you fry the chicken or any other meat. Try it..You'll know what I mean))

Fry the marinated chicken pieces and lay them on a bed of the boiled vegetables.

Enjoyed by the young and the old...

A Trial at Marble cake!

A couple of houses that I visited all served me Marble Cake. I hardly knew what went into making one….An evening that I had to myself led me into baking this .I hardly knew that the swirl of the bottom layer is what gave the marble effect…I did the swirl but the outcome is hardly noticeable in the upturned baked cake!!!



For the cake


Cake flour-2 cups
Baking powder-2 tsps
Cocoa powder-2 tbsps
Sugar-11/2 cups
Eggs-3
Hot Water-2 cups
Butter-1 cup
Milk-3/4 cup





1. Mix baking powder into the cake flour and sieve well.
2. Beat eggs, sugar until fluffy.
3. Mix cocoa powder into the hot water.
4. Add milk, cakeflour and milk to No.1 a little at a time and mix them in well. Divide this into 2 portions. Spoon them in dots spaced apart in a greased baking tin. Mix No. 3 into the remaining portion and do the same as before. Swirl with a knife and bake until done.

A CabbageThoran!

A typical accompaniment that I serve with rice and chapatti is Cabbage thoran.. I am aware that a lot of people hate cabbage for its smell and taste…

My family and I have always loved the crispiness the cabbage lends to a thoran….It has a place reserved for itself at most meals...




Cabbage-shredded-250 g
Grated Coconut-1 cup
Green Chillies-2
Garlic-1 pod
Turmeric Powder-1/4tsp
Mustard Seeds-1/4tsp
Curry Leaves- a sprig
Shallots-3 or 4 sliced thinly

Shred the cabbage, wash well and set aside. Grind coconut, green chillies, garlic and turmeric powder.. Remember not to grind it to a fine paste.. Let a certain amount of crunchiness remain….

Heat oil in a skillet…add the mustard seeds…On crackling, add the sliced shallots…When the shallots turn golden, add in the ground mixture.. followed by the cabbage and salt…Mix everything well..Add 1/8 cup of water and the sprig of curry leaves…Cover and allow to cook..

Remove and serve hot!!!

Pickled fish

I had some fish reserved and was craving for home-made pickled fish..This is a recipe that I found in Recipes for all Ocassions, Part 2 by Mrs. BF Varughese.

The recipe was for prawn Pickle..I used the same for fish and I added pepper corns for that extra spiciness....

Fish.cubed, skinless and debonned- 2 cups
Curry Leaves-3 Sprigs
Green Chillies-6
Sesame Oil-1 cup
Sliced Ginger-3 dsp
Sugar-1tsp
Salt
Pepper corns-1 tbsp
Vinegar-2 tsps
Garlic- 3-4 cloves

For Grinding

Garlic-1 dsp
Mustard- 1dsp
Cummin-1/2 dsp
Chilli Powder-2 dsp
Ginger (chopped)-1 dsp
Fenugreek-1/2 dsp
Turmeric Powder-1 dsp
Pepper Powder-1 dsp


Ensure fenugreek and Cummin are fried before they are ground. Into a pan, allow the curry leaves to crackle in oil followed by the sauteeing of green chillies, ginger and garlic and the pepper corns. Add the ground ingredients and fry well. Add in the fish and fry until the oil separates and until the water has evaporated.Add in the vinegar, sugar and salt and simmer until the entire mixture coats the fish. Remove and allow to cool. Add more oil because when you store it, make sure the level of the oil content is above the amount of the pickle itself.

This can be stored for more than a month..

Comfort food at its best!

Comfort food because Sambar for me is one among the many comfort foods..and at its best..because this time, it turned out tasting real good…




Sambar is something that I can have anytime of the day..and I cherish hot dosas with sambar to anything else..I have made sambar countless number of times..but this is the only time it tasted good…Have no clue as to why though..


The taste of a Sambar depends on the amount and the spices that are added.. There are many varieties of Sambar and each household has its own version.

Here is my version (note passed on from the mother)
For the Sambar
Toor dal/Yellow Lentils-1/2 cup
Vegetables cut into small pieces( I used carrots, beans,potato and Drumsticks)
Shallots-5 to 8 (reserve two for the seasoning at the final stage)
Green Chillies-2 to 3 sliced lengthwise
Garlic-1 clove
Tomato-1 (chopped)

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Coriander powder-2 tsp
Chilli powder-1tsp



For Seasoning
Mustard-1 tsp
Fenugreek-powdered, a pinch
Coriander and Curry leaves
Dried Red chillies

Into a pressure cooker, add the lentils,vegetables, tomato,shallots, green chillies, all the spice powders salt and cook.

In a pan, to the oil add mustard seeds and when it splutters, add in shallots,fenugreek powder and the leaves.Pour this mixture over the pressure cooked dal and stir in.

It is the leaves that enhance the flavour!

What? A Peas Moilee!

There was this period of time when most of us considered packaged food to be bad for health…one fine day I woke up to realize that they were all not really that bad..Some of them were actually healthy..like frozen vegetables for instance..I think frozen ones contain more nutrition than the so-claimed fresh ones off the shelves…I bet a handful would disagree to this…My fact is that I prefer frozen to fresh ones (note from supermarkets and stores) that have traveled in trucks or have been stored in cold storages before being displayed on the shelves..Frozen ones on the other hand are freeze packed in hours after they have been picked..

Putting a halt to his rant, I present a peas (frozen food that I so very vouch for) moilee..yeah fish moilee sounds familiar..but peas?


Peas Moilee (Peas Stew)




This is a mild curry due to the use of coconut milk..What you need for it:


500g frozen peas
7-8 green chillies (chopped)
1 tsp Ginger paste
1 1/2 tsp Garlic paste
1 onion sliced finely
¾ tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp vinegar
salt as per taste
2 tbsp oil
1 tomato chopped (big)
250 ml Coconut milk





This is a similar preparation to the kerala stew (chicken, mutton, vegetable)..this is a detour that I took using peas..

Add oil to a pan and saute the sliced onions till translucent. Add in the ginger, garlic and the chopped green chillies. Fry until the raw smell leaves and add in the turmeric powder. Add the peas that have been boiled, vinegar, tomatoes, and salt. Add in the coconut milk once the tomatoes turn soft.. Simmer for a few minutes before serving..



A nice accompaniment for white bread…