Varada's Kitchen and Garden

17 years ago I met a group of fabulous gals online. Last month we decided to bake together once a month. Kneading Bakers emerged out of this thought. Every month we plan to bake the same dish. Our very first venture is Swedish Coffee Bread. I had a lot of fun shaping this bread. I had never used a kitchen scissors on dough before. If I were to make this again I would probably go deeper with the cuts to have a very pronounced end result. But I am happy with this bread. I learnt a lot. The dough was very sticky and my palm and fingers hurt kneading it. But the resultant bread as so soft it was a pleasure to munch on. The dough is not very sweet, just the way I like it but the bread is super soft. This will be my stand by sweet bread dough recipe for the further. For the dough 1/4 cup butter, softened 1/4 cup sugar 1 large egg 1/2 tsp. cardamom powdered 1/2 tsp. salt 3/4 cup milk, lukewarm 1/4 cup water, warm 1/2 oz. Fleischmann instant yeast (2 packets) 2 1/2 cup

This challenge was inspired by the design creations of Valentina Zurkan. The end result was intimidating. I baked a sunflower bread a couple days earlier. It is easier to shape and I wanted to get an idea of how shaping the dough affects the final result. I am glad I did that but I was nervous nevertheless. Surprising, I thoroughly enjoyed playing with the dough and molding it to the desired shape. The house smelt of cinnamon and freshly baked bread. I think I found a new hobby. The bread was a treat with evening tea. My daughter walked through the door with her nose in the air asking what smelt so good. She even asked if she could take a piece to school for her mid-morning snack. The recipe was easy to follow but I tweaked it a little. I used mostly bread flour in place of all purpose flour, cut down on the cinnamon and did not drizzle anything on the bread after it was baked. You will need For the dough 1/4 cup water 3/4 cup milk 1 large egg 2 oz. butter 1

Lithi is one of the most popular Bihari dishes. Both Lithi and Chokha are cooked in the tandoor. I do not have a tandoor so I used a regular oven. The flavors of the two dishes go surprisingly well together. In fact this combo is on our school lunch rotation. The shell of the Lithi is made of whole wheat flour and the stuffing is made of Sattu. The resultant Lithi is flavorful as well as healthy. Chokha is made with roasted vegetables, I used tomatoes. It can be made with eggplant or potatoes. Sattu is roasted ground yellow gram dal. I found it in the Indian store but they did not have a small bag. I knew I would have a lot of flour left over and wondered what I would do with it. I did not have to worry. My husband enjoyed having sattu flour as breakfast cereal until it was all gone. His family is from Madhya Pradesh (Maharashtrians who had moved to Madhya Pradesh during the Holkar days) and that breakfast reminded him of his childhood. You will need For the Lithi shell 1 1/

Soft and browned to perfection with a distinct garlic taste, Garlic Naan is one of the most popular variation of the Indian flat bread. Garlic naan has been made popular by Indian restaurants that serve them fresh with their buffet. They go well with sides that have gravy or those without. My daughter loves to munch on a hot naan without adding anything to it. This naan is leavened using yeast and requires a couple hours to rise. However, it cooks very quickly under the broiler taking all of 2 minutes. You will need For the dough 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp. salt 1/8 oz. Fleischmann instant yeast 3 cloves garlic 4 tbsp. almond milk 2 tsp. thick maple syrup 1 tbsp. olive oil 3 fl. oz. warm water For the topping 10 leaves cilantro, diced 1 large clove garlic, minced Sift together the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Crush the garlic and mince. Add it to the flour. Add the yeast. Now add the wet ingredients except water. Add water a little at a time