Pesto Bread

All set for our India Trip, preparing to get drenched in the nostalgic memories of family and friends.

One among the few  wishes I have when I get home, is to see the rain in Kerala.

 Love the smell of Earth the first day when it rains after a long time.

 Am not sure if I'll be able to see rain as Monsoon there starts only by June

:(  

Longing to taste some Seafood which is one another wish that I have when I get home, hopefully I can enjoy the same as its available all year round.Mussels , Crabs and fresh Sardines are among the top most priority in the list that I have asked my Mom to prepare the day that I reach home :)

This Bread is something that I love to make, have made it a couple of times and each time I make it, I take a picture intending to post it here, but haven't posted it because of some reason.

Today in the midst of packing, I was thinking of things that I'll miss here and my Blog was the first most among the same,so thought to post something here before I go for vacation.

Found these pics in my drafts,so decided to post this recipe here today.
The reason why I love to make bread is that nice aroma of fresh baked bread which fills the home
also because bread is one of the most preferred food in my family.
Make any filling as you like, a mint chutney would be good too if you don't prefer making Pesto.

Ingredients 

For Bread

All purpose Flour -  2 and 1/2 cup (May substitute less than half with whole wheat flour)
Active Dry Yeast - 2 and 1/2 tsp
Warm Water - 1 cup to 1 and 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Olive oil or Vegetable Oil- 1 to 2 Tbsp
Parmesan cheese Powder - For sprinkling after baking (Optional - I didn't use)

For Mint Basil Pesto

Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Basil - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 2 cloves
Olive Oil - 2 to 4 Tbsp
Almonds or Pine-nuts - hand full (more or less)
Salt and Pepper Powder to taste

Method

Prepare dough for the Bread

* Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water  (Shouldn't be hot) , add yeast and allow yeast to rise and get active. (Takes about 5 to 7 Minutes if everything is well)

* Slowly Pour water (with activated yeast) to the flour, add salt and mix using your hands or using a stand mixer with fitted dough attachment, Until the dough comes together to a ball.

* Coat the dough ball with some Olive oil or Vegetable Oil , Cover the bowl with a towel / paper towel or plastic wrap, and keep in a warm place to rise at least for an hour or until the dough doubles in size.

 (During winter, its better to keep the dough to rise in a preheated to warm Oven switch off the temperature before keeping the bowl in the oven to rise, check the oven wrack- if too hot , let it cool before you place the dough to rise)

 Meanwhile prepare the pesto.


   * Grind all ingredients given under Mint Basil Pesto - above to a smooth paste. Keep aside.

* Roll and spread the dough (sprinkle the surface with flour before working with the dough),
   I rolled it to 1/4 to half and inch thickness (roughly)

* Spread the pesto over and tightly roll up the dough.

For the Braided Bread : Use a sharp knife to slice through the dough completely from end to end and braid the dough. Place this braided shaped dough in to a round pan and allow to rise for another 30 Minutes.

For the Loaf - Cut the rolled dough in to 1 inch size circular pieces , arrange these pieces in to a loaf tightly. Allow to rise for another 30 Minutes.

You can braid it or make it to any shapes as you wish (Simply cut the rolled dough in to 1 inch size pieces and arrange these flat in to any round baking tray, to get a cinnamon bread like shape)

*Sprinkle Parmesan cheese (If using) over the top before baking.

* Preheat the Oven to 350 Degree F and Bake for 40 minutes, Cover the bread with a foil loosely when the bread is half done/baked (after 30 minutes).This keeps it from burning the top part.

Its ready!

Store in air tight containers.

Enjoy the goodness of fresh baked soft bread at home :)

Notes
       

          : Make sure the yeast is active , that's when you mix it with lukewarm milk/water , after 5 minutes it should slowly start to rise / should show some changes, I think this is the key step during the making of bread.
        

        :  Also give the dough enough time to rise , it usually happens if the yeast is active , keep it in the warm place, only if it rises can we be sure  that the bread is going to be soft and good in texture. 

        : During winter, its better to keep the dough to rise in a preheated to warm Oven switch off the temperature before keeping the bowl in the oven to rise, check the oven wrack- if too hot , let it cool before you place the dough to rise

         :  Cover the bread with a foil loosely when the bread is half baked (after 30 minutes).This keeps it from burning the top part.

  Happy Baking !
     

Cheers
TN

Baklava - Middle Eastern Sweet Pastry Recipe

A fresh beginning of 2015, hoping happiness and peace in our life this coming year.
Taking each experiences good or bad as a stepping stone for a better "We" in future.

Made this sweet for New Year , a sweet beginning for this coming year no matter what.
"Baklava"originated in Turkey as said in Wikipedia. Basically a Middle Eastern sweet pastry, made with several layers of Phyllo sheets and nuts.
I felt that Baklava - is  not a dessert for which we'll fall, the first time we taste it,
Its taste and flavor slowly makes our taste buds addicted to it overtime.
That's how my family got addicted to it.

Here's a movie I made - Presenting the making of Baklava

Its not difficult as you see it, 

if you are a fan of these , do give it a try. 

Am sure you'll like it :) 

Ingredients 

Phyllo Dough - 1 Packet  (In room temperature)

Butter - I stick / 1 cup , melted ( May use more or May substitute half of it with Canola Oil)

Walnuts & Almonds - 2 to 3 cups chopped (May use Pistachios or Pecans ) 

Cinnamon Powder - 1 tsp ( Approx)

For the Syrup 

Butter - 2 to 4 Tbsp 

Sugar - 1 cup 

Honey - 1/2 ( may use more honey and less sugar - adjust as per your preference)

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp 

Water - 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup 

Method 

Prepare the Syrup 

* Heat all ingredients given under Syrup , bring to a boil, switch off the heat when its little thick. Keep aside to cool.

Bake the Baklava 

* Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.Line a flat baking dish/Jelly role pan, with a parchment paper or foil then grease it thoroughly with butter.

(Compare the size of your Phyllo sheets with the pan in which you intend to bake, if the sheets are bigger in size, may trip its sides to make it fit to the baking tray.)

* Chop 2 to 3 cups (Approx) of Walnuts and Almonds (Taken together) Toss these with Cinnamon Powder.Keep aside. 

* Using a brush, spread some melted butter over the top most layer of the Phyllo sheets, then place it on to the greased baking tray.Repeat spreading the butter and layering the sheets twice or more time. 

* Once the base layering is done, spread half portion of the total nuts mixture on to the top of the arranged phyllo sheets, spread evenly. Cover this again with the sheets and butter the same for 2 to 6 layers, spread again the chopped nuts and then cover it again with the rest of the phyllo sheets, butter each sheets as you layer it. 

* Using a sharp knife, cut these Baklava to make desired shapes. (I cut'em diagonally starting from middle then from the opposite side to diamond shapes)

*  Bake in 350 Degree preheated Oven for 30 to 40 minutes until the top part turns golden brown in color.

* Pour the syrup over the warm Baklava pieces, thoroughly soaking the same with the syrup.Let sit for several hours to absorb the syrup and to get nice and sticky ;) 

* Serve as a dessert or with Coffee :) 

Notes :

             May make the base Phyllo layer thick with more than 6 layers, I kept only 3 sheets as the base and it couldn't hold the thick upper part, hence place more sheets for the base.May use more or less sheets to make it thick and rich as per your preference.  

            Its good to sprinkle few drops of water over the "Baklava" pieces before baking'em as then it prevents the top part Phyllo sheets from getting curled while baked.

You know what ? Its very much sticky 

:/ 

But Stickiness is what you'll enjoy in Baklava.

 :) 

          

Wishing you all a blessed 2015 

Happy New Year.

Cheers

TN

Kerala Plum Cake / Rum/Brandy - Fruit Cake - Step by Step Recipe. Merry Christmas !

With few more years of experiences making cakes I feel I should be updating posts in my blog one at a time from now on. This Christmas cake recipe was posted in 2014 but there's some tips and tricks that I learned over these years which made this cake better. Updating recipe to have all the tips included 

I would now call it a matured cake :D

Christmas cake I made few years ago :) the next picture is after the transformation :D
Experience does make a difference!  

By the way Merry Christmas 2024 !!

Few years  back this time of the year, my Dad( Achachen ) was diagnosed with Cancer, the most unforgettable Christmas gift my family ever received and he lived for just an other month more,
from then Christmas never gave me much happiness as it used to. 
Still the feel of  Joy during Christmas is miraculous, laughter and cheers in the air is contagious, 
though this day is unforgettable in my life, I tend to forget the painful moments with the good spirit Christmas season spreads.

Fruit cake /Plum cake is  a Christmas specialty in Kerala, similar to the fruit cake available during this season in the European stores here. Guess this might be the European influence similar to some other dishes we have like the Port Wine and Vindaloo 

Following my Mom's recipe passed on to her from her Mom 😍 + some tips and tricks that I learned 

The quantity given here makes  one 8- inch sized cake.

But there's  no specific measurement cup you will need to make this cake unlike other cakes as they say it is equal measurements of All purpose Flour + Sugar + Butter/oil + Dry fruits + Eggs (Approximately weighs same) 

Ingredients



For Batter

All Purpose Flour/ Maida - 1 and 1/2 cup

A pinch of salt.
Baking Powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Butter - 1/2 cup and  Oil - 1/2 cup  (Butter in Room Temperature)
White Sugar - 1 cup (Powder sugar along with the spices given below) 
Egg - 4 No's
Orange Juice and Orange Rind/ Skin grated - from 1 Orange. May use Lemmon instead of Orange too.
Mixed Fruit Jam - 1 Tbsp.
Vanilla essence - 1 Tsp

For Dry Fruits and Soaking 

Mixed Fruits - 1 and 1/2 cup (Same as Flour Qty. May add more or less per preference) 

Rum/Brandy or Wine - 2 Cups (Approx.)


Spices Needed. 

It is easier to grind the spices below with the sugar to power it so you don't need to grind these separately 

Cardamom - 2 to 4 No's
Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp
Cloves - 2 no's 
Cake Jeera/ Shahjeera - 1/2 tsp (I didn't use)
Dry Ginger Powder - 1/4 tsp (Optional) 

For Color / Caramel  - For the Dark Color

White Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water -  1/2 cup 

Cocoa Powder - 1 tbsp  + 1/2 cup milk (optional) 

if not using (milk +Cocoa power ) add cocoa power to 1/2 cup Yogurt. 

I add both (plain) Yogurt and the milk + cocoa powder mixture

Pre-Preparation 

* Chop dry fruits and soak them in Rum/ Brandy or Wine for at least a day. I soak these during the first week of December to make cakes few days before Christmas. 

If you are planning to make non alcoholic version, soaking dry fruits in Orange juice or grape juice would be a good option. Keep this soaked for a day in the refrigerator. Soaking makes the fruits soggy and flavorful. 

Prepare the Batter 

* For caramelizing Sugar (For color) - Heat sugar in a thick bottom pan (keep heat in medium to low as it tends to brown fast)  when it starts to melt, add 1tbsp water to it and wait to completely melt the same and turn color, tilt the pan in between to melt sugar evenly, when color is brown, pour rest of the water to it and allow to boil, then switch off the heat. 

* If using cocoa powder - heat up about 1/2 cup milk and mix in the cocoa powder. 

* Grease Pan with butter or Non stick spray. Preheat Oven to 310 F (Lower temperature is the best to bake this cake since the ingredients in this cake is dense , it needs some extra time of baking in low heat) 
 

*  Sift Flour with salt and Baking Powder. Keep aside.

* Separate the Egg whites from yolk. Beat Egg whites till light and fluffy and keep aside. 

If you want the cake to stay thick and dense and less airy then you may skip this step and beat eggs together (whole ) instead of separating it also use only Butter (instead of the Vegetable oil)

I used to make it dense and thick , but for some reason I liked it the Bakery style -  airy cake -for which we'll need to beat the egg whites and yolks separately.  

* Beat Butter (Room Temperature), Oil  with powdered sugar  (sugar powdered with the spices)  till well combined. Add in egg yolks one at a time and beat till the mixture looks light and fluffy.

 * Add in Vanilla essence , Orange Rind , milk & cocoa mixture and yogurt (if using)

* Mix  Jam and the soaked  dry fruits to it (May add some extra chopped nuts). 

 Slowly add in the sifted flour Mixture and caramel mixture and orange juice alternately, stirring the batter in low speed if using a cake mixer. 

* Last but not the least - fold in the beaten egg white to slowly mix it into the cake batter. Do not over mix. 

* Pour the batter to the greased pan (May place a paper liner to the bottom and sides of the cake dish just in case) Pour batter to almost 3/4th of the Pan as this cake wouldn't rise much. 

Bake in preheated Oven in 310 F for 45 to 50 Minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean. 

* Keep cakes  to cool , allow the flavors to set for a few days  before you cut the same, initially it will be little more moist than the usual cake , when it sits it transforms to become a nice rich fruit flavored cake and the aroma at home is Christmassy :)  

Notes :

            : Always bake this cake in low temperature -   slow and steady wins the race :D 

      
  

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !! 

Cheers
TN

Stained Glass Cookies / Butter Cookies

Holiday spirit in the air , breezing that wonderful feeling of holidays  - the feeling of December.

People have decorated their houses with as much lights as they can afford,
when ever I see those decorated houses, I am reminded of a "Bride in India" with all her ornaments and that sparkling look.

Strange comparison isn't it ? I sometimes think funny I know ;)   

Anyways its fun time, lets think funny and keep our self's happy as I see all happy people these days.

Lights and Music everywhere lifts our spirit to keep pace with the Holiday Mood,
no matter what.
One more funny thing that I notice during December is the appearance of  " Santa- Like People " every where. I mean people who look like Santa. I feel like I see everywhere that  Merry Old Man , with long white Beard. May be because I too am waiting for my Gifts from Santa this Christmas ;)

Have a special Cookie recipe for this Christmas, though not a new idea.
These cookies looks gorgeous when hung on your Christmas tree also taste yummy.
Am sure Kids would love it as its so much fun when they can eat something which is hung on the Christmas tree. Wish I was a kid too :(

Its not that hard as it seems, only thing is the cookie cutters that you need and that perfect consistency of the Butter Cookie dough which you get with the same measurement of ingredients listed here.
Do give it a try this Christmas.

Recipe for the Cookie Dough adapted from Land O Lakes.com - Butter Cookies

Ingredients 

All Purpose Flour - 2 and 1/2 cup
Butter - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Egg - 1 no
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
Orange Juice - 2 Tbsp (Approx)
Baking Powder - 3/4 tsp

For the Glass - 10 to 20 Hard Candies (Any flavor and Color, I used Butter Scotch Candies)



Method - for the dough.

* Preheat the Oven to 360 Degree F , Grease parchment paper with some Butter and place the paper to a cookie baking tray or any flat tray.

* Sift Flour and Baking powder , Keep aside.

* Combine Butter, sugar and egg , beat in medium speed till well mixed, add orange juice and Vanilla essence to it and beat again to combine well.

* Add the sifted flour to the above mixture , beet for 2 minutes, then with your hand work to combine the dough to a ball (if the dough looks dry add few tsp of orange juice to it)

* Wrap this dough in any plastic sheet and Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes.(May keep these in the fridge for up to 2 days)

Shaping the Dough

* Place the candies in a bag , and use any hard tool or rolling pin to crush the candies and powder'em.
Keep aside.

* Roll out the dough using a rolling pin (may sprinkle some powdered sugar on the pin and on the surface) roll'em thin , about 1/4 inch thickness approx.

* Using cookie cutter , shape cookies, I used 2 star/tree shaped (one bigger and one smaller) to create some space in between to fill each space with the powdered candies. Also if planning to hang them use a straw to make a small hole on top of the cookies.

* Bake these in 360 Degree F for 5 to 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies.Bake until the sides turn brown. Take these out of the oven, wait for 5 to 10 minutes for the cookies to cool down a bit and to set before you pick'em from the tray.

* May hang these on your Christmas tree or else store in Air tight containers, then these last long.

Or pack these and gift'em to your friends for Christmas.

Notes

           : Make sure the powdered candies are just in the space as if spread outside it tends to stick and it may make the cookies also stick to the bottom. Also after baking , do not remove the cookies from the baking tray before its cooled, as the candies need sometime (5 to 10 Minutes) to set.

            : This is a basic recipe to make butter cookies.Decorate these with any cookies writers (Icing) instead of the glass effect (Omit the candies then) they look equally good :)

Merry Christmas :)


Cheers
TN