Thalipeeth (Mixed Grain Pancakes)

Thalipeeth is one of the healthier pancakes. This is a traditional authentic Maharashtrian recipe. To make thalipeeth you need a combination of roasted flours.

You will need
For the bhajani
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup urad flour
1 cup roasted channa flour (dala)
1 cup nachni flour (finger millet)
1 cup bajri flour (pearl millet)
1 cup jwari or jondhala flour (sorghum)
1/2 cup coriander and cumin powder (instructions below)

For the thalipeeth (to make 6)
3 cups bhajani
1/2 onion
handful cilantro
1 Serrano pepper, minced
salt and paprika to taste

Bhajani is the flour used to make thalipeeth. To make the coriander cumin powder roast a handful of coriander seeds with a scant handful of cumin seeds until fragrant and seeds start changing color. Grind to a powder when cool. Keep aside. Roast each of the flours separately and keep aside. When cool mix them all together. The bhajani can be stored in an airtight container for a few weeks.

To make the thalipeeth combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Using a little water form a soft dough. Knead for a couple minutes and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Heat a griddle pan. Divide the dough into 6 portions. Knead one portion well and flatten on a greased ziploc bag or wax paper. Using your finger make three holes in the center.

Place the prepared thalipeeth on the hot griddle. Pour a few drops of oil in each of the holes. Cover and cook on medium high heat for a few minutes until brown.

Uncover and flip over. Cook the other side until brown. Remove from heat. Repeat for each portion.

Thalipeeth is usually eaten with fresh made butter. But you can have it with a savory side or pickle.

This is my entry for week three, day one of BM #42 for the theme Millet.

Bibimbap with Carrot, Spinach, Zucchini and Shitake Mushrooms

Bibimbap is a very nice looking and a very tasty main dish. A bed of rice is made in a stone bowl on which are arranged all the mix-ins like carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and spinach. The idea is to mix it all together and eat. I made this dish as part of a Korean meal. As luck would have it this was picked as the recipe for the Daring Bakers challenge for the month of July. Since I had it ready I posted it as is even though it was the star dish of my Korean meal.

This dish was very tasty especially when eaten with some soy sauce and spicy sesame sauce.

To prepare the carrots
You will need
1 carrot
1 tsp. sesame oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Peel the wash the carrots. Heat oil in a pan and saute the carrots until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

To prepare the zucchini
You will need
1 zucchini
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. scallion greens, chopped
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
salt and black pepper to taste

Peel and chop the zucchini. Heat oil in a pan and saute the zucchini until cooked through. Season with garlic, scallion, sesame seeds, salt and pepper.

To prepare the mushrooms
You will need
10 shitake mushrooms
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. scallion greens, chopped
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Wipe the mushrooms clean and cut into slices. Heat oil in a pan and saute the mushrooms with the other ingredients until cooked through.

To prepare the spinach
You will need
10 leaves of spinach
1/4 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. scallion greens, chopped
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
salt and black pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil in a pan. Blanch the spinach for a minute. Drain the water from the spinach. Squeeze the water out of the spinach using a paper towel. Season with the rest of the ingredients.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Bowls

Soup served in bread bowls has always fascinated me. These broccoli cheddar soup bowls are very tasty and a fun way to eat your soup. 

Broccoli cheddar soup is one of the favorite soups in our house. However, I refrain from ordering it in restaurants because of how calorie laden it can be. Today instead of cream or half and half I used milk with a little whipping cream. It tasted great!

Recipe adapted from here
You will need
1/4 cup butter
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cup milk (use half and half for a rich soup)
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 bay leaves
1 carrot
1 large head broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Here is the recipe for the bread bowl

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Melt butter in a pan and add the diced onions and garlic to it. Saute until onions are tender. Then add milk, whipping cream and vegetable stock. Let the soup simmer on medium low heat for a few minutes.

Grate the carrots and dice the broccoli florets. If you like the soup chunky, cut the carrot into pieces and break up the broccoli into florets. Dissolve the corn starch in a little water and add it to the soup. Let the soup thicken then add the nutmeg, bay leaves, carrots and broccoli. Cook until the vegetables are tender.

Finally add the cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve hot in a bowl.

Or in a bread bowl. For the bread bowl recipe look here.

This is my entry for week 29 of the 2014 52 Week challenge for theme from your pantry.

Baked Potato

Baked potatoes is not my favorite but may daughter loves them. She has loved them from the time she first had them in her school cafeteria, a time when the food in her school cafeteria was made with fresh ingredients and tasted great.

Since then every summer she asks for baked potato. Today I served it with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream topped with a little sprinkling of cilantro.

You will need
1 Russet potato
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. sour cream
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 twig cilantro, minced

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and clean the russet potato. Coat with oil and place on foil on a baking sheet. Prick the potato with a fork at 1 inch intervals all over. Bake for 50 minutes turning it over once. Take it out of the oven and fold into the foil. When ready to eat. Slice the top and add the butter. Let it melt. Add the sour cream and shredded cheese. Sprinkle cilantro.

Enjoy!

Asparagus in Orange Juice

For this dish I baked Asparagus with orange juice and garlic. The end result was tender asparagus with a sweet and sour taste. Delicious!

You will need
A handful asparagus
4 tbsp. orange juice
1 clove garlic minced
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash the asparagus and break of the hard ends. Place the tender tops in a baking dish and rub with olive oil. Mix the other ingredients and pour over the asparagus. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until tender.

Enjoy!

Bread Bowls

Bread bowls filled with soup is a something I have always wanted to make at home. These buns are quick and easy to make. They make great bread bowls for your favorite soup. I served it with broccoli cheddar soup.

This recipe uses what I would consider the optimum amount of yeast. It rises very quickly. I would like to try a slow risen sourdough version but since the soup soaked bread is flavored with the soup these quick risen buns tasted great too.

You will need
3/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp. instant yeast
1/2 tbs. sugar
1 3/4 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl combine the yeast, sugar and water. Sift in the flour and salt.

Form a soft dough and knead it until it is smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes.

Cover and keep aside for about 45 minutes. The dough should have risen to twice its volume.

Preheat the oven to 475 F. Transfer the risen dough to a floured board and divide it into 4 portions of just over 100 gm each. Work with one portion of dough. Fold in the sides to the center and pinch together. Roll the ball with the seam side down on the board until smooth. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat for the other portions. Score the top. Dip you hand in a bowl of water and touch the surface of each bun. Keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Bake the buns for 2 minutes at 475 F. Remove and touch again with a wet hand. Reduce the temperature to 425 F and bake for 7-10 minutes or until done.

Cut the top holding the knife vertically downward. Pull the cut piece out. Fill with soup and serve.

Blanched Spinach Paratha (Palak Paratha / Paalak Paratha)

I already have a spinach paratha recipe on this blog made with raw spinach. This recipe is a variation using blanched spinach.

You will need

1 cup spinach
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. carom seeds (ajwain)
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. red chilli flakes
1 tsp. garam masala
salt to taste

To roll and roast the paratha
2 tbsp. olive oil

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a pan and add the spinach. Let it blanch for up to a minute and drain. Cut up the spinach and mix with the other ingredients for the dough. Using water as needed mix the flour into a soft dough.

Divide the dough into six portions. Take one portion of dough and roll it into a small disc. Apply a little oil on the surface and fold it in from all four sides to form a square.

Using flour as needed roll out the paratha. Cook the paratha on a hot griddle pan. When the underside is cooked flip it over.

While the second side cooks add a few drops of oil on the first side. Flip over and apply oil to the second side.

Flip over again so both oiled side are cooked on the pan completely. Take off heat. Repeat for all portions.

Enjoy!

Red, White and Blue Cookies

Visiting family on a long weekend is always fun and when that long weekend is around the 4th of July it makes the trip really special. This year we are visiting my cousin and the plan is to watch the fireworks from the roof top parking garage near his workplace. My cousin has a three year old and I wanted to make a fun gift to take along. These red, blue and white swirl sugar cookies were perfect.

Fourth of July was a time we went to the roof top to watch fireworks. That was when we lived in Arizona. We had a great view of the city and had a ringside view of the fireworks. The boom echoed on the mountain behind us making it a unique experience.

Back to the present and making cookies. As I made these cookies I realized I had not given myself even time to refrigerate them. I put them in the freezer to reduce the time by half. It worked very well.

You will need
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
red food coloring
blue food coloring

Beat the melted butter in a mixing bowl until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until the sugar is incorporated completely. Add the egg and the vanilla extract. Beat until light and fluffy. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat until a soft batter is formed.

Divide the dough into three portions. The easiest way is to weigh the portions. Flatten one portion into a rectangle, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

To the second portion add red color and beat until the color is incorporated. Flatten it into a rectangle, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

To the third portion add blue color and beat until the color is incorporated. Flatten in into a rectangle, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

After 20-30 minutes remove the dough from the refrigerator. Place a piece of wax paper over the dough and flip it. Peel off the plastic wrap. Place another sheet of wax paper over the top and roll it out to a fourth of an inch in thickness. Remove the wax paper covering the top.

Do the same with the white dough and place it over the blue dough.

Repeat with the red dough and place it over the white dough.

Wipe the wax paper and place it over the red dough. Flip the three layers over carefully so the blue layer is on the top. Roll the three layers into a tight roll with blue inside and red on the outside.

Roll it in wax paper and then plastic wrap. Refrigerate for four hours or freeze for about two hours. Placing the roll in a glass prevents flat sides.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Take the roll out of the refrigerator and cut into 1/4 inch pieces. You could make the cookies thinner or thicker according to personal preference.

Place on a prepared cookie sheet about two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly colored. Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely.

Store in airtight container.

Colorful Cutlets

Picnic BBQ is a great way to spend time outdoors with friends. Most park ramadas are equipped with electrical connections. All you need is an electric skillet. These cutlets make a great snack for the afternoon tea. You can shape them ahead of time and cook them when needed. As I was making these at home today I decided to bake them. But the process for stove top cooking is exactly the same.

You will need
1 large potato
3 carrots
1/2 cup frozen peas
paprika, salt and cumin powder to flavor each vegetable
1 tbsp. oil.
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

If you do not have breadcrumbs make your own. Bake day old bread for 5-8 minutes until toasty, or you can toast it in a toaster. Try not to use the store bought sugar laden breads. Allow to cool without covering. Cut up the cooled dry bread in a food processor and you have breadcrumbs.
Boil the potato, cook the carrots and peas separately. Peel and mash the potato. Mash the carrots and peas. Season each vegetable separately and divide into 8 portions. Take the butter out of the refrigerator and cut it into 8 portions. Flatten one portion of potato in the palm of your hand. Spread one portion of carrot on the potato and finally on the peas. Place one portion of butter in the middle.

Bring the sides together trying to ensure the layers remain intact. Flatten it to shape like a cutlet and roll in the breadcrumbs. Repeat for all the remaining portions. Arrange on a sheet (oven proof if you want to bake them).

At this stage you can cover the sheet and keep aside until needed. On a hot day keep the sheet refrigerated or on ice. When ready to cook either pop the tray in an oven preheated to 375 F for 25-30 minutes or cook on a skillet with a tbsp of oil.

Enjoy!