Chocolate Coffee Cookies - SRC Time Again!

Softish chocolate cookies with a mild coffee kick. Actually sort of brownies masquerading as cookies. Low fat and easy. Well, if you look at it, when it comes to baking a lot of things like chocolate cookies or even brownies, though simliar ingredient wise, they invariably find their way into the baking list again and again, thanks to the lure of different textures and techniques or varying flavors. Gooey centers, whole grain, soft, flaky, low fat, super easy, just cocoa, loads of dark chocolate and barely there flour, eggless - too much temptation and just another reason to bake - again!! This time around, I had another reason to add, the Secret Recipe Club! A yummy new blog, lots more yummy recipes, tick-tac-toe, tick-tac-toe  which one which one do I choose? Jocelyn at Bru Crew Life sounds just like  me when she says that her sweet tooth always manages to get the better of her! Well, Jocelyn, I have my weight-woes (wail!!!), can somehow keep up with a bit of exercise, but starving the sweet-tooth, IMHO is cruel ;-) and nearly impossible! Its a constant battle between my sweet-tooth, weight issues and the compulsive desire to bake all the time, sigh!

Low fat cookies with my two of my favorite ingredients - chocolate and coffee, seemed to be just the thing to bake when I wanted to humor my sweet-tooth, with the problem of shrinking clothes on my mind. What better than baking to drive away the blues? :)). To minimize the danger of over-eating and to feel slightly virtuous about using only 2 tablespoons of butter, I made half the recipe on Jocelyn's blog.

The recipe calls for espresso and since I have not come across a good brand of instant espresso powder, I have used instant coffee. Good, soft brown sugar (not demerara sugar, which for me is good as a crunchy topping, but surely not for use in cake batter or cookie dough as it just doesn't dissolve!) is expensive. I had once got some brown sugar from Hypercity, a brand called Waitrose if I remember right, but it was quite expensive, I do remember that! Soft, moist, quick-dissolving fine grained sugar, which can be packed into the measuring cup. How I wish molasses was available for sale here. Otherwise, making brown sugar at home is as simple as stirring together molasses and fine grained sugar! The amount of molasses could be varied to make it either light or dark brown sugar. I have used a brand called Trust which is not as soft or moist or as fine grained but works.

 
Chocolate Coffee Cookies ( By the name Chocolate Espresso Smores on Jocelyn's blog  )

Ingredients (to make 20 small cookies)

Semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped - 112 grams / 4 oz
Unsalted butter - 2 tablespoons / 30 grams
Brown sugar - 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (74 grams approx, read note)
Egg - 1, large
All-purpose flour - 3/4 cup / 98 grams
Instant coffee powder - 1 tablespoon
Baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt - a tiny pinch
Semisweet chocolate chips - 1/4 cup

Procedure: Mise en place. Sift the flour, baking powder, instant coffee powder and salt. Next time I bake these, I will stir in the coffee into the warm chocolate for a more intense coffee flavor. Keep aside. Place chopped chocolate and butter in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until almost melted in spurts of 30 seconds on HIGH power. Make sure you melt the chocolate smooth and liquid or the cookie texture may differ. Set aside to cool slightly.
Beat brown sugar and chocolate on high speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. The sugar will not dissolve completely and remain a bit gritty. Add the egg, beat for about 30 seconds on low speed till it is well combined.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to chocolate mixture. Beat until smooth, this will take about 30 seconds. Stir in chocolate chips. The dough will be soft and sticky, but will firm up as it stands. Wrap dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 4 hours. The dough will now be very firm.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C /350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Pinch out (about 20 balls) and roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place two inches apart on baking sheets, they will not spread a lot. Bake 12-13 minutes (recipe says 9-10 minutes) or until browned around the edges (but this is tough to make out!). Do not over-bake or the cookies will be dry. Cool cookies on wire racks. The cookies will puff up and feel soft in the center when pressed lightly when they come out of the oven. But they will harden as they cool. So please do bake a test batch, allow the cookie to cool completely before you taste and decide the baking time for the rest of the cookies.

Please note: As with most cookies, these taste best warm. I liked them most, texture and taste-wise when I baked the cookies after 4 hours of refrigeration. The batter left in the fridge over-night gave me cookies which were great out of the oven, but slightly dry later. The cookies do not taste too sweet warm, but they did taste a bit sweet later. May be more coffee or less sugar next time?  I would not store these for more than a day though. But you could try microwaving any let over cookies.

If you are looking for buttery tasting cookies, these may not be the cookies for you. Very chocolate, warm cookies with less fat - yes!! If you love chocolate and coffee both, you must give these a try!

Quick Cinnamon Apple Buns (No Yeast) - A Guest Post By Deeba Rajpal

 Passionate About Baking and Deeba Rajpal - India's best baking blog and the very passionate baker behind the blog - who has remained immune to their charms?? Exploring food blogs, when I first came across PAB I was spellbound! This lady baking all this in India and how!! That was the beginning of her being a constant source of awe and inspiration to me, the sea of her delightful recipes, the slightest nudge a baker (obsessive or reluctant!) needs to turn on the oven. Apart from being a very talented baker, food stylist and superb photographer, she is one of the sweetest and most generous people I have known. Not to mention a very-down-to-earth and humble person for all her celebrity status. Be it in the way she admits to the odd baking disaster in her kitchen or in the way she effusively thanks her readers for the smallest of gestures. Am sure you will agree, every blogger in India aspires to achieve at least a tiny fraction of the adulation and name Deeba has achieved. As food bloggers, we are indeed fortunate to have PAB to look up to, the blog which has put Indian home-baking on the international map!

I had a short while ago requested Deeba for a guest post and she instantly agreed! Am touched by her words, my heartfelt thanks to my favorite blogger for guest-posting for me! Its truly an honor to have her gorgeous and delectable Quick Apple Cinnamon Buns on my blog. I can smell the cinnamon and the butter, oh! yumm!!  Now over to Deeba...

  

Thank you Suma for asking me to guest post for you. These Quick Cinnamon Buns are for your yummy blog, a constant reminder of how sweet a food blogger can be. I am fortunate to have crossed paths with yours! I have endlessly bothered this poor girl for baking stuff like vital gluten from Bangalore that I cannot find in Gurgaon/Delhi, and she obliges happily each time. Inching forward, my list hesitatingly began with gluten went on to dark cocoa {from Nilgiris} ...and then I stole a mile when she offered an inch! Now I regularly get parchment paper, instant active yeast, piping bags from this lovely lady.

 

She hesitatingly asked me a short while ago if I would do a guest post for her, and I was amazed! After all I have pestered her to do, it's her right to ask and my duty to oblige! So here I am, with a' quick bread' which works great for breakfast or a snack, yet doubles up as a rustic dessert.

  

Quick Apple Cinnamon Buns {no yeast}, a quick bread I discovered while looking for recipe ideas for last months Daring Baker challenge. {I made Double Chocolate Dessert Popovers then...}. I made changes, as thats something inherently characteristic of me. I subbed a little plain flour for wholewheat, and added some apples and walnuts to the filling. Also a dash of cinnamon to the topping!

 

Great for breakfast, wonderful with that indulgent cup of filtered coffee, and charmingly rustic for a warm dessert. How nice to have it baking while dinner is served and then dig into warm apple walnut cinnamon buns bursting with flavor. Oh, did I tell you the whole house smelt so good?

  

So if you are wary of the yeast monster, these are quick buns for you. And, if you aren't afraid of the yeast factor, yet want some fast track yumminess, these are worth every bite.

[print_this]Recipe: Quick Cinnamon Buns with Cinnamon Icing

Summary: Quick no yeast apple, cinnamon and walnuts buns which bake in a jiffy {no yeast} and make for a nice rustic dessert {or quick snack}. Adapted minimally from Cook's Illustrated

Yield: 8-10 buns

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

• Filling
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1-2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large firm apple, peeled, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• Dough
• 2 cups plain flour {plus additional for work area}
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
• Icing
• 2 tbsp low fat cream {or cream cheese}
• 2 tbsp buttermilk
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 225 C. Pour 1 tbsp melted butter in 9-inch nonstick cake pan; brush to coat pan {I lined the bottom with parchment}.
2. Filling:
3. Combine sugars, spices and salt in medium bowl. Add 1 tbsp melted butter to start and stir with a whisk or fork till it resembles wet sand.
4. Dough:
5. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk and 2 Tbsp melted butter in measuring cup. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed and the dough starts coming together in a shaggy ball { I needed to add about 1/4 cup extra flour but I think that was because I used the Thermomix which wasn't necessary}. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead until just smooth and no longer shaggy{ about 1 minute}
6. Pat and roll dough into 12x9 -inch rectangle. Brush dough with 2 tbsp melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with filling, leaving 1/2 inch border of plain dough around edges. Press filling firmly into dough, and sprinkle over chopped apple and walnuts.
7. Starting on long side, roll dough, pressing lightly, to form a tight log. Pinch seam to seal. Roll log seam-side down and cut evenly into eight pieces. With hand, slightly flatten each piece of dough to seal open edges and keep filling in place. Place one roll in center of prepared pan , then place remaining seven rolls around perimeter of pan. Brush with remaining 2 tbsp melted butter. {Don't worry if there are gaps. They will fill up during baking}
8. Bake until edges are golden brown, 23-25 minutes. Use offset spatula to loosen buns from pan without separating. Place a large plate carefully over top of pan and using potholders invert pan onto plate. Using a second large plate and potholders, carefully invert rolls again to be face-up. Cool about 5 minutes before icing.
9. While buns are cooling, whisk together cream, buttermilk and cinnamon with the powdered sugar until thick and smooth. {Add more sugar/buttermilk as required to get a thick consistency}.
10. Drizzle over buns, or serve on the side if you wish.
11. Serve immediately.

[/print_this]

Gasgase Payasa - Poppy Seeds Pudding

There are some dishes I cook as I have grown up eating and watching my mother cook them, and a few others which I have eaten a few times, but learnt making them from my mother-in-law. My mother doesn't make them you see. My mother-in-law lived in Mysore for quite some time, my mother has her roots in Rayalseema (a part of Karnataka which is the border between Karnataka and Andhra). So they have different styles of cooking and their own specialties. Some dishes which my mother makes, mother-in-law doesn't and vice versa. Mother-in-law makes excellent kodubale, chakli, kobbari mithayi, menthya bele huli, kayi-sasuve chitranna etc. Gasagase payasa or poppy seeds pudding is another dessert she makes really well . Apart from other occasions, she makes this for Ganesha Chaturthi as a family tradition (I have no complaints eating dessert for breakfast, will make sure this tradition is carried forward dutifully!). The pooja in the morning is quite elaborate and by the time we eat breakfast, its around 12!!  Breakfast  comprising of soft idlis, coconut chutney and gasagase payasa will thankfully be ready by then and waiting, so nobody (read me) actually faints of starvation. The gourmet breakfast is substantial enough to keep us full till the late elaborate lunch of kadabu, chitranna, ambode, majjige huli etc ...burrp!

 The payasa itself was not very common to me, the combination even uncommon. Dunking some idlis in the chutney and some in the payasa - a nice combination if you have a sweet-tooth. This pudding (for the medicinal value of poppy seeds) is supposed to be a remedy for mouth ulcer (don't you love such delicious medicines!) Again, there are different ways of making this pudding. Commonly made by grinding soaked poppy seeds (sometimes roasted), dry fruit like almonds or cashew, rice and fresh coconut, simmered with jaggery and water. A splash of milk and the customary ground cardamom is added in the end . I prefer and like a predominant taste of jaggery and less milk and a slightly thicker consistency. You could add more of milk and less of water and also thin the consistency if you prefer.

Ingredients

Poppy seeds - 1/4 cup
Almonds - 10-12
Rice (uncooked) - 1 tablespoon
Fresh grated coconut - 1 3/4 cups
Crushed jaggery - 1 cup (alter t suit your taste)
Crushed green cardamom - 5-6 pods
Water - 2 cups, divided use (or as needed)
Milk - 2-3 tablespoons
10-12 broken cashew nuts fried golden in a teaspoon of ghee for garnish

Procedure: Soak the poppy seeds, almonds and rice in enough water for at least 3-4 hours. ( I soak overnight in the fridge if I need to make this early in the day). Drain and the water (using a fine meshed sieve preferably, makes it easier with the tiny seeds) Pour more water through the sieve to rinse. Using as little water as possible, grind the poppy seeds, coconut, rice and almonds to a fine paste. The smallest jar of your mixer will be the best for this.

In heavy bottomed pan, take the jaggery and 1/2 cup water, heat to dissolve it. (Strain the liquid if there are any impurities and return the jaggery water to the heat. Mix the ground paste with 1/2 cup water to thin it to the consistency of dosa batter. Add it to the water and jaggery. Mix well. Add 1 cup water (approximately) to get the desired consistency. Go easy with the water (or milk), you can always add more later to thin it. Cook on low heat till it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of milk if desired. Mix in the crushed cardamom and the fried cashew nuts. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Please note: Alter the amount of jaggery (this also depends on the variety) and milk / water to suit your taste. When you add the jaggery, do remember that the pudding will taste sweeter and will also thicken slightly once it cools. The color of the pudding depends on the color of the jaggery and the amount of milk used. The pudding in the above pictures has a little more milk than I prefer adding, hence the lighter color. You could use milk from a tetra-pack instead of the coconut, but the coconut really helps grinding the poppy seeds to a smooth paste, so I prefer using fresh coconut.

The above proportions will make enough to serve 4-5 people.

The pudding goes to Raven's  Cook Eat Delicious Desserts event hosted by Sadhana Of Sensible Veg, the theme is  Wholesome Desserts With No Refined Flours Or Refined Sugars. The vent comes with a giveaway of a delicious book

Homemade Pizza / Pasta Sauce

Watch my video! Please follow my page on Facebook for updates on new videos for beginners in baking, every Monday! Click here to subscribe to my You Tube Channel. Click to subscribe now!

Its summer and I know it has arrived in more ways than one! For one, its a little less difficult to drag myself out of bed at 5.30. Later during the day I feel less guilty pulling the kids out of bed, a little less envious about hubby sleeping luxuriously - till I threaten to turn on the sprinkler system over the bed (fantasy of course, which I would love to bring alive sometime!). The exams around the corner has me 'mentally preparing' my son (from morning) to study in the evening.

I try in vain to tell my attention-demanding daughter how important it is for Amma to sit with Anna for the practice sessions. I am preparing myself mentally to put in more hours of work (while I live in a virtual madhouse, no less, with my kids), which means I will have to let blogging and baking take a temporary backseat (I am used to the luxury of working part time). While I worry about my son's exams and finding a good life-saving summer-camp, I also worry about making sure I have a few posts in my drafts (lest you forget me by the time we see the end of summer). Need to get the battery of the UPS replaced to help me run my system non-stop from morning till evening during the power-cuts. And hey! how about a power generator for my oven? Aah! Another fantasy!

As the mercury levels soar and my bread dough rises faster than usual, I think about giving making dosa-idli batter another try. Oddly and embarrassingly, I have constantly had this problem with fermenting my batter. I earlier would not believe in some 'hands' being able to do this better than others, but now I am forced to believe it. I finally (and conveniently) gave up on making batter at home, I don't have a wet grinder, no space (I see your shocked face!). As my baking buddy's hubby remarks, we belong to the very strange category of people who go to great lengths  trying things at home which normally people buy (like breads, cakes, puffs, ice creams) and buy things like idli-dosa batter which people normally make at home. I do cook fresh food everyday, but if given a choice, I would love to let someone take over the routine cooking and I would only bake. Goodness! I really must stop fantasizing!  Kudos to many of you who manage to bake a lot and also cook everyday food with equal enthusiasm and passion. I remembered that I am probably kind of  'abnormal' in this respect (am not proud of this, trust me)  when I wrote the  pizza post and mentioned that I used home-made pizza sauce.

This sauce is one you could use for making pasta too of course. Very easy and quick, this makes fresh and simple sauce in very little time. Few ingredients here, but again, please do make sure that they are fresh and the herbs aromatic.

Adapted again from Champa, who has made it from Heidi's 101 Cookbooks . The recipe uses canned crushed tomatoes, I have used fresh ones. I have blanched them to remove the skin and then pureed it in the mixer till quite smooth (my kids do not like chunks) you could leave it chunky if you wish.  Please do alter the ingredient proportions to suit your taste.

The below recipe makes about a cup of sauce, enough to make 3-4  9'' round pizzas depending on how much sauce you would want on your pizza. Double the recipe if you wish, as this keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Ingredients:
Fresh, ripe, but firm tomatoes - 400 grams (I have used plum tomatoes)
Extra virgin olive oil - 2 tablespoons
Grated fresh garlic - 1 teaspoon
Dried thyme - 1/2 teaspoon
Oregano - 1/2 teaspoon ( I use the seasoning which comes with pizza)
Red Chilli powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Crushed black pepper - to taste
Sugar- 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Salt to taste

Procedure: Wash the tomatoes. Blanch them in very hot water for a couple of minutes. Cool, drain and peel the skim. Roughly chop into largish chunks and puree as you wish. (chunky, less chunky or almost smooth) I made mine quite smooth. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add the grated garlic.(Heidi says, combine the olive oil, salt and garlic in a cold saucepan, then heat, I missed on this) On medium heat, saute for a minute or so, do not let the garlic turn brown. Add the pureed tomatoes, herbs, red chilli powder, salt, crushed black pepper and the sugar. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Cool. Use as needed.

Isn't this really simple? Thanks to Champa and Heidi, this will be a recipe I shall be using very often!

Peter Reinhart's Napoletana Pizza Dough

You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six..Yogi Berra


While I do enjoy eating pizza from a pizzeria, I must admit, I have relished the pizza more for the taste of the cheese and the toppings. The crust is not really the thing I have remembered a pizza eating experience by. I have probably 'made' pizza at home ages ago with the thick pizza base we get at our local super-markets. Needless to say, it was never remembered for its taste or made again. Since I am now friends with yeast, a pizza from scratch is an idea which appeals immensely.

When it comes to baking a pizza crust at home, Peter Reinhart's Napoletana pizza crust is undoubtedly one of the most raved about ones. If you haven't read about him yet, he is an acclaimed master bread baker and author. While you could find a number of recipes for pizza dough, Peter Reinhart's Napoletana dough is special as it is made with ice-cold water and allowed to ferment in the fridge. This of course is not a quick recipe which can give you pizza in a couple of hours as the recipe calls for overnight fermentation of the dough in the fridge. The slow fermentation helps get more flavor in the crust. This particular recipe calls for chilled flour and water and if you are like me you are unlikely to have either on hand at all times.(Then there is also his Neo-Napoletana dough which uses flour and water, both at room temperature, both ways give great pizza says Peter Reinhart, I shall be trying this soon)

The crust is simple - chilled flour, salt, instant yeast, oil and cold water, mixed in a stand mixer or by hand. Easier and simpler when you have a stand mixer. If making by hand, a bit of elbow grease help from your (forced-to-be) chivalrous better-half. On mixing, the divided dough portions can be refrigerated (if you plan to use it within 3 days) or frozen up to 3 months. You could make your own sauce or use ready pizza sauce (Pompous as it may sound, I think a home made crust pizza with bottled sauce is fine, but not home-made sauce and store-bought crust!).

The dough was quite easy sounding, but I was unsure about the baking temperature and time.( I had of course not noticed the maximum temperature till I tried baking breads which needed this). Pizzas are supposed to be baked at a very high temperature of about 287 degrees C / 550 F for a short period of time. But since the maximum temperature in our microwaves and ovens (no idea about gas ovens though) is 250 degree C / 500 degrees F, I had to settle for a longer baking time and a very special, slightly browned cheese topping. But don't let that deter you, it was still very tasty.

With inputs from Champa, she has adapted it from Heidi's 101 Cookbooks . Here is how you go about. You could halve the recipe as I did, but I plan to make the entire recipe next time and freeze half of it for future use.

Please do watch this video on using yeast if working with yeast for the first time.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) / 567 grams/ unbleached high-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled ( I used APF)
1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast (Can't interchange with Active Dried yeast)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil (optional)
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40°F)

Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting

Method: Line a baking tray or a flat box with a lid with baking parchment, grease lightly. You will be keeping portions of dough on this later.

1.Whisk together the flour, salt, yeast, mix well with a metal spoon to distribute all the ingredients evenly . Stir in the oil and the cold water, mix until all the flour is absorbed. With a strong wooden spoon, beat the dough for about 5-7 minutes ( I did for 6) or until the dough is smooth and sticky. I would not recommend using a hand mixer with dough hooks as my experience has not pleasant with this. (The recipe says you need to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand, reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. This would be difficult, so I did not do it)

The dough should clear the sides of the bowl, but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour (little by little) just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. (The above quantities worked fine for me and I did not have to add flour or water). The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50 to 55F.(If you are like me, just so that you don't lose  sleep over this - mine was 65F and this was not disastrous) Champa says, the temperature is to make sure the stirring has induced heat enough for the yeast to grow.

2. Grease or dust your kitchen counter with flour, transfer the dough onto it. Using a dough scraper or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (for the recipe proportions above). The size of the pieces would depend on how thin and large you would need your pizza to be. Cutting the dough into 6 equal portions will give you 9'' pizzas with a medium thick crust.

If the dough sticks to the scraper, dip it in cold water in between. Make sure your hands are dry, sprinkle flour over the dough. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls to the prepared pan, mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a food-grade plastic bag. The dough did not seem to rise or expand much at all in the fridge, so you don't need to space them so much apart.

(Note: At this point, right after dividing the dough, if you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the dough balls in a ziplock freezer bag. Dip each dough ball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it, rolling the dough in the oil, and then put each ball into a separate bag. You can place the bags into the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.) Put the pan into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days.

3. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza.

Grease 3-4 aluminum sheets (12 inches in diameter) very generously with oil. If you do not want to flip the pizza, press the dough into flat disks (mine was about 1/2 inch thick and 5'' inches in diameter).  brush the top of the dough with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Now let rest for 2 hours. At the end of 2 hours, the dough will have some bubbles, and would have expanded to some extent.  

4. Towards the end of 2 hours, pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees C (or higher if possible in your oven)

Just before baking, gently push the dough around with your fingertips to cover the pan. Stick some thickly cut onions, capsicum on the crust. I usually prick the crust with a fork first. Bake for about 10 minutes until the edges are a nice deep golden brown. Remove the pizza from the oven (keep the oven on), slide a long thin metal spoon under the crust so that it is no longer sticking to the pan. Top with thick pizza sauce, grated mozzarella and fresh basil. Do not use too much sauce as the crust will become soggy. Bake for 2 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Transfer to a cutting board. Wait for just 1 minute (no longer), cut with a pizza peel or a pair of large scissors. And serve immediately!

Not quite the Domino's ad pizza, but may I try to distract your attention with a picture of the crust..  

The pizza was very tasty and quite crisp (though not very much so, which is fine by me), the pizza fresh-fresh tasting with the home-made sauce! Am happy with my pizza, shall be making it again. Guess making good pizza is also a matter of practice, but will try not to complain too much! More updates as I repeat my attempts.

The pizza is Yeast-spotted.

Note : If you do not have a flat aluminum sheet for baking pizza, you can use the back of a 9'' or 8'' round tin, but it will be a bit tricky to get a grip on it.

Use multiple sheets or pans and place the dough directly on it, try not to toss it unless you are a pro. The dough is quite sticky, so hard to play with it.

Please use homemade pizza sauce, something from a bottle will ruin the experience. You can freeze the sauce as well for another time. Use cooled sauce(not hot)

I have found that adding cheese in the beginning itself will make it rubbery and brownish, so I add it for the last 2-3 minutes. 

Try not to use too much topping, as the specialty of the pizza is the flavor and texture of the crust. Do not miss out on this.

Lastly, have fun making this. Unless you burn the pizza or eat uncooked dough, you can't really go wrong with it. 

Channar Payesh - Cottage Cheese Pudding - For Secret Recipe Club!

The Secret Recipe Club - Doesn't this sounds quite mysterious? If you haven't heard of this famous group yet, its the brain-child of Amanda of Amanda's Cooking. This began with Amanda and her friend cooking from each other's blogs for fun, but then thought, the more the merrier! Thus was formed a group of food bloggers who would cook from each other's blogs every month, but shhhh! its a secret whose blog you will be cooking from! Each member of the group is given a blog to cook/bake from, and a reveal date is set for each of the 4 groups. Members blog about the recipes on the reveal date and only then you know who has cooked or baked from your blog! Each month a different blog to cook from, and as Amanda says, indeed a fun way to discover new blogs. Click here to join the club.

I was assigned the blog  Chocolates And Dreams by Rituparna, the girl who was pushed into the kitchen by her mother, now A Daring Baker, way to go! As I browsed through her blog, the Croissants , Baklava, Chocolate Olive Oil Cake  beckoned me. Much as I would have loved to try these awesome recipes and some more other recipes, I was pressed for time and zeroed in on the quick and delectable Channar Payesh or Cottage Cheese Pudding. With a taste and texture similar to rabdi or basundi (but much softer), this is a familiar sweet dish you can find at most Bengali sweet shops, one dessert I love to eat!

Channar or paneer is cottage cheese as we know, and this pudding is simply thickened, sweetened milk simmered with cottage cheese. Add saffron or cardamom or kewra water and nuts as you please and chill. There you get one of the most delicious of easy desserts! You could use grated store bought paneer or fresh home-made paneer or cubed cottage cheese as Rituparna does. I have used crumbled home-made fresh paneer as I love the soft texture it brings. Much as I would like to have it the other way, full fat milk or whole milk elevates this dish to a different level. So, full fat milk and home made channar (with full fat milk, help!!) it has to be! If the calories are your concern make half the portion (which you will regret later) or even simpler, just invite me over and you will not have any left-overs! 

Recipe adapted from here
Ingredients:
Full fat milk - 1 liter
Sugar - 8 tablespoons (add more to suit your taste)
Crushed cardamom pods - a few
Saffron strands (optional)

To make the channar
Full fat milk - 1 liter
Lemon juice - from one lemon about 1 tablespoon

Procedure : In a heavy bottomed pan, bring one liter milk to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the saffron if using and keep boiling with a ladle in the milk to avoid boiling over. Suspend a fine meshed strainer over another bowl.  In another heavy pan, heat the remaining one liter of milk. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, add the lemon juice. Boil for 2-3 minutes (approximately, I forgot to time), the milk will separate and you can see the whey and the milk solids. When you see no more milkiness and only the yellowish whey and solids, turn off the heat. Strain immediately. Do not boil the channar  or leave it sitting in the hot whey for longer as it may turn rubbery. Once you strain, pour some cool water over it, 'washing' it 3-4 times. Rinse the channar as you do so, this will help remove any hint of lemon from it. Allow the excess water to drain away in the strainer (about 30-45 minutes). Crumble the channar lightly with your fingers so that there aren't any large chunks of cottage cheese.

Now back to the simmering milk. Let the milk reduce to half the original quantity, till thick and creamy, this will take 30-45 minutes for this quantity depending on the heat you are giving. Add the sugar, stir to dissolve. Add the channar, boil for 3-4 minutes (not much longer), turn off the heat. Add the crushed cardamom. Cool completely and chill. The pudding gets thicker as it chills, so you may need to add some more milk to adjust the consistency. Garnish the chilled payesh with nuts and serve.

Please note : You could use sweetened condensed milk to thicken it, in which case you don't need to add the sugar. But I personally find it too sweet, hence avoid using it.

Thanks Amanda, had fun doing this!
 
Check out other fabulous recipes from the members

Crunchy, Whole Wheat And Barley Chocolate Chip Cookies

A collective 'Gro..oan'!!! I heard it! I heard it! Considering that I gave you an over-doze of cookies last month, I am not very surprised to hear groans from you on seeing cookies here again! But then I guess, it would be hard to say 'No' to chocolate chip cookies which are crunchy and light, made with whole wheat and barley, less butter, some oil and no plain flour at all, making it a 100% whole grain cookie. Relatively healthy, but still delicious cookies you may want to fill your cookie jar with. And not feel very bad or guilty when your kids happily snack on them. Is there ever a time when there is no demand for chocolate chip cookies warm out of the oven? Not at my home, am sure, neither in yours! Strange as it may seem I don't enjoy my bakes very buttery, chocolate chip cookies included. Some amount of buttery-ness is welcome though. So when I came across this recipe in one of my bed-time reading books, which happens to be the King Arthur Whole Grain baking book a good number of times, I had to try it of course.

A pantry which does not stock on whole wheat flour is so very rare in this country. But barley is one grain, I never bothered to buy till I got the KAF book. Its rich in soluble fiber and minerals and brings along a host of other nutritional benefits with it. I have used it earlier in Graham Crackers and the flour certainly delivers the crunch factor as the book promises. Since I have not come across barley flour in our supermarkets here, I get a small quantity of barley milled and store it at home. You could get whole barley at most super-markets, failing which you can surely find it at your neighborhood wholesale rice trading shop.

The original recipe in the book uses a combination of brown and white sugars and a lot more chocolate chips. I have baked these cookies a few times and below is the version which I liked best, taste and flavor-wise. I have used only white sugar instead of a combination of both brown and white sugars, reduced the sugar and chocolate chips, omitted the espresso. Since the regular granulated sugar we get here does not dissolve easily (specially if the butter and oil in the recipe is less), I have powdered it and then used. You could alternatively use good quality caster sugar. Please find the original recipe proportions in the note below. I have halved the original recipe to give me about 20 medium sized cookies, which is a good enough quantity to bake in the sizes of ovens most of us bake in. Please feel free to double it if you wish. I prefer weighing the ingredients, flour, butter and egg (since I have used half an egg here) for best results.

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter - 30 grams / 2 tablespoons / 1/4 stick (soft at room temperature)
Vegetable oil - 1/4 cup
White sugar - 1/2 cup, measured and powdered.
Pure vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
Salt - Scant 1/4 teaspoon (less than 1/4 teaspoon)
Apple cider vinegar - 1/2 tablespoon
Egg - 1/2 (25 grams)
Baking soda- 1/4 teaspoon
Baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Whole barley flour - 56 grams / 2 oz/ 1/2 cup approximately
Whole wheat flour - 56 grams / 2 oz/ 1/2 cup approximately ( I use Ashirwad)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips - 3/4 cup

Procedure: Pre- heat oven to 180 degrees C/ 350 F.  Line a baking tray with parchment. Mise en place. Sift the flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. (To use half an egg, I whisk a whole egg, then weigh 25 grams). Take the butter, oil and sugar in a large bowl. Beat till smooth. (I used my wire whisk to beat for about 2-3 minutes, this will be quite easy as the mixture will be very creamy) Add the vinegar, egg and vanilla. Beat to incorporate, about 30 seconds with the wire whisk. Stir in the flour mixture to mix, and then mix in the chocolate chips. The dough will be a bit on the softer side, but will turn firmer as it stands. It will also be a bit oily. Drop tablespoons of the dough, flatten slightly and bake  for 14-16 minutes. They will turn a golden brown around the edges towards the end of the baking time (if using both brown and white sugars, the cookies will turn a golden brown all over). Bake a small test batch to determine the baking time and your preferred texture. Allow the test cookie to cool completely before you taste to decide as the cookies will turn crunchy as they cool. Cool completely and store in an airtight container, but certainly not before eating some warm from the cooling rack...

Please note : The original recipe uses 6 tablespoons of brown sugar and 6 tablespoons of white sugar each (making a total of 12 tablespoons for the recipe of the proportions above) I have reduced it to 8 tablespoons ,i.e, 1/2 cup.  The recipe has 1 1/3 cups of chocolate chips (the above pictures were taken earlier) by the and 1/4 teaspoon espresso added too.  The amount of sugar I used was just right for me as the chocolate chips add to the sweetness of the cookies. You could also use chopped bits of dark chocolate in place of the chips or use a combination of lightly toasted walnuts and chocolate chips / chunks. I liked the texture of the cookies when the dough was flattened and baked rather than rounded tablespoonfuls of dough baked for a couple of minutes more.

The above pictures are of the cookies from the earlier attempt. They will be slightly flatter and have less chocolate chips if you go by the recipe above.

You could try using flax-egg or use cornstarch to substitute the egg here, it should work fine. Use 1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 1 tablespoon warm water whisked together to replace half an egg.
Mix 1/2 tablespoon flax meal with 1 1/2 tablespoon warm water, let it sit for 5 minutes. Use the mixture to substitute half an egg. Please refer Champa's post here for more details.

 

Dark Chocolate Pots De Creme

Custard and its various delicious incarnations - I am just opening my eyes to them! Creme Anglaise or home made custard sauce was super delicious, tempting me to try more of its variations, Pots De Creme one among them. Deeba's gorgeous Pots de Creme made me sigh, made me wish I could have really tasted it, made me  forget my resolve to not eat desserts (just for a while;) and then finally before I knew it, I was reaching out for the packet of cream and chopping the chocolate. Chocolate is temptation enough as is and when chocolate is  'smooth, silky and deep mousse-like' as she describes it, its more so. Aah, the lure of desserts which need so little effort and hands on time, how can I love chocolate and not give in ?

Pots De Creme (pronounced as Po de Krehm) is also called as pot-au-creme, French for Pots of Cream. As Deeba mentions, Pots De Creme, refers to the little desserts as well as the little lidded pots these are served in. Essentially baked custards, these are made by heating milk, heavy cream or half and half and sugar, then added to vanilla, coffee, caramel or chocolate (most commonly) or other flavors. The hot mixture is gradually whisked into egg yolks and sugar, then strained and poured into the baking dishes. 

Straining is an important step here as it helps remove any bits of uncooked egg, giving the custard a smoother texture. The custard is baked in a bain-marie or water bath. The water bath helps the custard cook slowly and evenly with indirect heat and also offers protection against curdling. Information complied from Potsdecreme.

Aluminum foil or plastic wrap is used to cover the custard as it bakes, which helps prevent formation of a thicker, drier layer of custard, the skin - you either love this or hate this I learn! (I discover I don't like it) The custard is baked at a low temperature, the resulting dessert a  lightly set custard which can be eaten warm or chilled. A truly delicious, easy and quick recipe, which can be conveniently made ahead and refrigerated, perfect for entertaining or when you need that dessert fix on that lazy weekend. Here is how we go about making these

Adapted from Passionate About Baking, originally from Cannelle et Vanille. Deeba uses cherries and Aran uses raspberries in the desserts, I have made them plain.

Ingredients:
Whole milk - 200ml
Low fat cream - 250ml {I used Amul 25% fat}
Vanilla bean - 1, split and seeded or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vanilla sugar or regular fine grained sugar - 40gms
Egg yolks - 85 grams (a little less than 5 yolks, do weigh)
Bittersweet chocolate - 160gms, chopped into small pieces

Getting ready:

Assemble a large, heavy saucepan with a handle, a ladle of about 1/4 cup capacity,  3 large bowls, plus another large bowl with a wide base, a large fine meshed strainer, a couple of spoons, a whisk, a spatula. You will need 6-8 (sorry, forgot how many this filled) small 120 ml capacity ramekins or oven proof bowls. If using ramekins of different capacity the baking time will vary. Small portions are better.

Suspend the strainer over one of the large bowls (You should be able to easily pour the custard from this bowl into the ramekins).

We need a baking  tin which will fit the ramekins without crowding them in, but not too much empty space otherwise. This is particularly important if baking in a convection microwave as your ramekins will swim in the water as the turntable rotates.

Place a small kitchen towel to cover the bottom of the tin, then place the ramekins in the baking tin. I needed to use two tins, one 8'' square another smaller one.

Have some very hot water on sim on your stove, better more than less. A tea kettle will be perfect! The water has to later come halfway up the ramekins when you keep them in the baking tin.

Have on hand a pair of mittens or thick kitchen towels.

Helps to have your microwave or OTG at a comfortable level as its dangerous to lift up the tin with the hot water.

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C / 320 degrees F.
Place the chopped chocolate in one bowl.
• In the wide based bowl, whisk the egg yolks and half of the sugar. Set aside (do not leave it sitting for too long as a film will develop over the yolks).
• In the saucepan, bring the milk, the cream, vanilla bean and other half of the sugar to a boil. Pour this over the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. If by the time the chocolate melts completely, the mixture cools slightly, heat it again carefully. 
• Using the ladle, very gradually and slowly, whisking constantly, dribble the hot chocolate mixture into the egg yolks. Dribble all of it gradually. If you rush this process the eggs will curdle.
  
Strain the custard through the strainer into a bowl.
• Pour the custard into the ramekins just a little below the rim. The custard doesn't rise, it just sets as it bakes.
• Taking care not to splash the water into the ramekins, carefully pour the hot water in the baking tin so that it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.(You could first place the baking tin the oven and then pour the hot water, but this is not possible in my small oven or even the microwave, the rack may tilt in the process). 
Open the oven door (If baking for the Valentine, have him stick around and hope he will be chivalrous enough to open at least the oven door for you!) Now place the tray carefully in the oven.
• Bake the custard in the water bath for about 25-30 minutes or until the center appears set, but jiggly when you gently shake the ramekins. The baking time depends on the size of your ramekins and your oven, so watch carefully from 20 minutes onwards. Do not over bake or your custard may turn rubbery. Err on the side of under baking as the custard will set further on refrigeration. I normally remove the ramekins from the water bath soon after as I am scared it will continue to cook in the hot water.
  
• Cool the custards to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight for best results. I must mention, I don't like these warm! The chocolate flavor is more intense on chilling.
• Chill for at least 3-4 hours or even better overnight or even a day! This will allow the custard to set well and allow the flavors to mature.

Please note : The baking time is very important for the best texture of the custards. The custard  may appear to need more baking (but it should not be liquid or gooey)  if you spoon out some when warm, but it will set well on refrigeration. So slight under-baking is better than over-baking.

If baking in a very small OTG (not microwave) there is a risk of uneven baking, a convection microwave works better here as your tin rotates while baking.

We loved the custard chilled, it was indeed really good! Hubby loved it, son ate it very slowly, savoring every quarter spoonful (can't let it get over too soon!) that went into his mouth till the bowl was squeaky clean. He even proudly showed it to me, saying there was no real need to wash the ramekin! Yes, its real rich, delicious chocolatey smoothness. Thanks to Deeba, I have another keeper of a chocolaty recipe, one I shall be making again and again.

Please note: I have used 85 grams of yolk as given in the original recipe.  I would not skimp on the yolks, and no there was no eggy smell. Use whole milk and not skimmed or low fat, it does help to get a good consistency. Do strain the custard to get a really smooth custard.

Now, if you have all the ingredients on hand, you really do not have an excuse to not bake these right away and treat your Valentine to some chocolate indulgence today.

Microwave Dried Thyme & Confessions Of A Food Blogger

Cure for one obsession : get another one - Mason Cooley

Obsession - while this is not exactly unheard of, it gets a new dimension with food blogging. Obviously, people who are obsessed with food are the ones who write food blogs. This only compounds the obsession, taking it to greater heights. While the families do get to eat some new chow now and then, they also need to live with this species called as food bloggers. Here come some of my confessions about my passion and obsession...hopefully some common to the food blogger community and probably some specific to me(sheepish!)...

• Food is on my mind almost 24/7, no exaggeration. Dreams feature baking that perfect flaky croissant or what I can do next with the puff pastry. Nightmares are power cuts when your rich Christmas cake is baking or your trusted brand of chocolate out of stock...
• Storage space constraints just don't matter when I buy new baking pans or blog props. God forbid, you may see me limping tomorrow as one of these may fall on my foot - either from the overcrowded rack in the tiny dining room or from my overflowing wardrobe where I stash away some precious jumbo sized bake-ware. I guess some may be of no use to me currently, but am sure I will find it extremely useful ... may be 3 years down the line?
• Oh yeah, talking of props, those delicate dessert glasses are more for my pictures. Once I am done with the pictures and we eat out of them, any leftover desert the next day can be eaten out of the sturdy melamine bowls which can actually be tossed into the sink!
• My son mentioned he needed a plain white T-shirt for his school day, and I made sure he got it... after dragging the reluctant kid to may be just half a dozen shops for that perfect white shirt - he needs it you see. And may be it will also make a nice background for that ice cream in a cone shot, no?
• Love it when folk visit us. A chance to bake something - for a new post! That cake which I want to post, but the pictures are not quite nice. Bake it again, take the pictures, quick! hide any signs of 'shooting' before the guests arrive. But save the presentation and serve it to them like I that's how I eat food everyday!

 
• I was never interested in gardening - or may be I should admit, my only serious interest till date has been food. But I never find these fresh Italian herbs when I need them - so I grow them! Apart from oregano, basil, thyme and sage, and yeah, mint, coriander and red chillies make a great garnish, so I got to grow them all. Oh yes, I would have grown strawberries and oranges too, but I guess they don't grow all that well in a pot?
• I plan and plan for that birthday cake for hubby and kids, as I want to bake it for them of course ( please don't hurt my feelings by even thinking otherwise!). Guess it would also double up as a nice post for the blog anniversary or Valentine's Day or some such thing ?

• Just twice in my 2 years of blogging, I was so engrossed with hubby's birthday cake, I almost forgot to cook him a nice birthday lunch.. almost! - believe me. And when I am supposed to be happily singing the birthday song while hubby, son or daughter cut the cake (latest before 5.p.m before the sun goes down, we conspire for things to work like that ;-) ), I am more worried about how the cake will be cut. The first slice needs to pose for the pictures (a 15 minute break please) before its eaten...All food, freshly baked and cooked, will be eaten only once it gets photographed and cold . Patience is a virtue - which I enforce on hubby and kids - for my convenience, and my blog!

• Christmas fruit cakes - I made about 4, all different recipes of course, (picture me indignant looking) in a week. I had to get the recipe which made me happy. By the time, the 4th one was baked, hubby and kids did not want to touch candied peel or fruit with a barge-pole or smell cinnamon and cloves baking for the next 6 months. Poor things, for all that trouble, power cut ruined the best cake and blogger could not post it on Christmas Day...sigh!!
• I have more pictures of food on my computer than of my own kids. Forgive me kids - I don't even qualify for applying to be the best mother around.

• From the time I was in school, I never was one to show any bit of interest in art and craft. I filled up one entire 6'' square cloth with cross stitches, chain stitches, crochet of that vague resemblance of a flower...all over a period of one year, in that dreaded work experience class. Forgive me Sister Susan. I can still see that disapproval in your nod for the pathetic art and craft student. I hope you will be happy if you know that today, I am really interested in something which vaguely fits this category. chocolate borders, candied roses with orange peel, painting cartoon characters, heck I even made Practice 'Buttercream' - just to learn how to pipe those borders neatly.
• Being unable to attach a picture on the blog is a matter of emergency. Hubby is my tech support helpline, no down time please! My small expectations - he can request the airlines to delay the flight take off by about 10 minutes, before he flies to Dubai for that meeting to discuss software and other uninteresting things. Gosh, the internet is down and I need to recheck that recipe, he could quickly read it out to me? I promise I won't stop him from getting back on that con call with the waiting client soon after! 
• The friendly neighbor with the very pretty, immaculately manicured hands could please hold a basket of strawberries for my pictures...maybe a score or more till the non-photographer finally gets it right...Hey, hang on, I will just transfer them to the computer and check, in case I need to, could we redo?

I concede that being spouse/child/neighbor of a food blogger is not always easy, but hopefully not so bad either? All said and done, what's life if you are not passionate about something? It does make life a bit crazy at times, drives folk around you crazy...but would we have it any other way?

The obsession also makes you feel insanely good about owning a pot of thyme, for stocking up on good fragrant dried herbs, something rare to find around here, something you don't get even for a price. Most of the times, I personally find the bottled ones less fragrant, the oregano seasoning sachets which come with pizza are something I love. I love thyme and when I get a packet of this fresh herb, I like to dry it in the microwave and store it.  You could dry the herbs in the sun, but outdoor space to safely dry them and good sunlight are both real luxury for a lot of us here. Alternatively you could slow dry them in the oven at a very low temperature. Here is how we do it in the microwave...

 
Idea adapted from Champa

Wash and drain the herbs in a colander. Shake off excess water, remove from the colander, shake off any more excess water. Wipe dry with a kitchen towel. Pick out the very thick stems. Spread the thyme on a microwave safe plate in a single layer. Microwave on high power for a minute. Mix the herbs, microwave again for 2 more minutes, redistributing the herbs once after a minute. The herbs will feel fairly dry by now. If your herbs are wet, it may take another minute for them to feel dry. Microwave 3-4 times on high power for 30 seconds, redistributing them once after every 30 seconds. Once the herbs are almost completely dry, remove the plate from the oven. The herbs will dry and crisp further as they cool. Once completely dry and almost crisp, crush them between your palms or grind in the smallest jar of your mixer. Store in an airtight container. I store mine in the refrigerator.

Its worthwhile taking some time and effort to dry your herbs as it adds a lot of flavor to breads, soups, pasta...

Please note: The microwaving time may vary depending on the quantity of the herbs you microwave at a time and the power of your microwave. Do experiment with what works for you best. Be careful not to overdo the microwaving, avoid microwaving the herbs for long periods at a stretch as this may cause the herbs to burn.

Just between you and me, do you have any confessions of yours to tell me?

No Knead Cheese & Roasted Garlic Flatbread - For Divya...

My first ever guest post - for Divya Kudua! She needs no introduction, she is an inspiration for the reluctant chefs. I was all too happy to guest post for her, one of my sweetest blogger pals. I am honored to be putting up my post on Easycooking, her very well known space in the blogosphere.

One recipe, so many variations! Breads do let you have your way with them, giving the baker a whole lot of freedom and flexibility with flavors, proofing time and techniques. The smell of freshly baked bread wafting in your home is something truly amazing and very addictive. What you can bake at home is something you will never find in a bakery, the satisfaction - paramount! All the more reasons, why you must absolutely bake breads if you have not started yet. Sorry cakes, cookies and co if  I am shifting loyalties (just a bit!), but I am smitten by yeast!

Here is flat bread with the flavors of roasted garlic and thyme. Bits of mozzarella in between bites - slightly gooey when you eat it warm, slightly chewy if you can wait till you eat it later. Doesn't sound too bad right? What's even better is this is something you can put together in a snap, have it baked and ready on your table in very little time. And the best part - it requires no kneading at all! A  bread to bake on a lazy weekend or on a hectic weekday, or when you want something nice in a hurry - here is a bread for you to try! Head over to Easycooking for the recipe and lots more...

If you are new to baking breads, do read the below posts for better success rates!.

Know Your Yeast
Basics About Yeast Breads

Creamy Vanilla Bean Pudding ( Eggless, No Bake)

You know the feeling akin to spotting a long lost friend when you see certain things at the supermarket. And then buying them in large quantities just to have the comfort of having it on hand when you may need it. You may of course not use all of it, but it is good to have these in abundance in your pantry. The strange looks the person at the billing counter gives you as she eyes the cart is absolutely fine. The spouse's quizzical looks don't matter much either. As long as you can get these home, sigh in pleasure, think about all the wicked ways you can have with it. You use some and then after some days, look at it with a frown, furiously browse your favorite cookbooks and blogs for a recipe - the classic case of buying too much and then racking your brains about how you will put them to the best use before the product expires! At least some of us do this most of the times I guess. I am very definitely guilty of doing this!

In our country, we hoard, not because we are greedy or anything, we just don't want to be in a  situation (life and death, goes without saying) where we want to cook or bake something desperately and 'this' thing does a disappearing act.. again.! for months! And oddly enough, most recipes you want to try during this period feature this absconding ingredient. The referent here is fresh cream. I like to use Amul cream, specially the small 200 ml packs. I find them very convenient to make just that bit of ganache or to go into an ice cream or pasta. Annoyingly, it has this strange habit of periodically disappearing off the shelves. Along with its family member, mozzarella (another fav product of this brand). On one of my grocery shopping expeditions, I ended up buying quite a lot of these handy tetra packs of cream. And had a couple of precious packs to finish before the expiration date...life and death situation again, undoubtedly!

An unexpected visit to a friend's home for a meal, had me volunteering to make dessert (my most favorite part of a meal to cook and to eat both). Friend doesn't eat eggs and is not a raving fan of chocolate. Not very easy for me as I first think eggs and chocolate or at least one of them when I think dessert! Uhh, how about a subtle, creamy vanilla bean pudding? Inspired by the Vanilla bean pudding on  Smitten Kitchen, I wanted to try an egg less version of it. Good vanilla beans at home, thanks to Deeba, made this a very tempting, quick dessert to try. But had to get the richness, texture without using eggs. And no, not too much of cornstarch as I do not favor the texture it brings. Cream of course! So, here is my version of the Vanilla bean pudding, which is subtle, really easy, quick and delicious, a convenient make ahead one as it thickens with refrigeration. And tastes even better the next day... or is it my imagination?

The below quantity makes enough for about 6 generous servings.

Ingredients:
Whole milk - 4 1/2 cups (divided use)
Cream - 1 1/2 cups/ 400 ml ( I used 25% fat)
Vanilla bean - 1
Cornstarch - 5 tablespoons
Sugar - 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (more if you like sweeter)
Pure Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon

Procedure: In a heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk together the milk and cream till well combined. Add the sugar. Scrape the vanilla bean and add it to the milk and cream mixture, bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat. Allow to cool slightly. (At this point, you could cover and allow the flavor to infuse for an hour or so if time permits) In another small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with the remaining half a cup of cool milk. (if the milk is hot, the starch may become lumpy). Whisk well to make a smooth mixture. Add to the milk and cream mixture little by little, whisking constantly. On medium heat, cook for about 5 minutes, whisking constantly as it thickens.  The pudding will coat the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat. The pudding will be quite thick now (but not very much so) and will thicken further as it cools. When cool, add the vanilla extract. Let the bean remain in it till you pour the pudding into individual serving bowls. Chill for at least 4-5 hours or overnight before serving.

This makes a just about sweet, creamy dessert, which tastes like vanilla ice cream, but with the texture of pudding of course..

 
Please note : Make sure you use good vanilla beans and extract to get the best of flavors. Full fat milk certainly gives the pudding texture and body.  Low fat milk will not give the same results. If you use low fat milk, you may need to use more cornstarch, which I personally do not prefer, taste and texture wise. If you do not have vanilla beans on hand, you could use vanilla essence, but again, it will be nice, but not quite as rich in taste, so I would not recommend it very highly.