Cranberry Sauce

I first made this Cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving back in 2007. It was the first time I had bought and used cranberries. I have made this sauce every year since then.

 I make it in small quantities and it adds a sweet and tart flavor to the meal.

Over the years I have changed it a little with organic ingredients, fresh squeezed juice and extended cook time. What I really like about this sauce is that it is tart and sweet at the same time. It can be used as a spread or substituted for jam if needed.

You will need
6 oz. fresh organic cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

Add all the ingredients to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer until berries pop. Mash gently with the back of a spoon or masher. Let the sauce simmer for about 3-5 minutes more.

Turn off heat. Chill until ready to serve. The sauce thickens as it cools.

Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Sliders / Baked Sandwiches

Sliders are sandwiches made with small buns. These delicious sliders are made with sourdough dinner rolls and stuffed with roasted vegetables. They are extremely flavorful and are usually gone very quickly. I remember the first time I made them. My daughter came running to the kitchen when she realized I was baking dinner rolls. I had not made pav bhaji for a few weeks and she thought I was making pav bhaji. When I told her what I was up to she was not very convinced she would like it even though she loves roasted vegetables and dinner rolls separately. I told her to try it before passing judgement. Once she tried this combo she loved it.

You can use any dinner rolls for these sliders. Remember to reduce the size of each bun when you bake them (about 70 gm, no more than 80 gm). The boursin cheese on the bottom prevents the rolls from getting soggy and adds a different classic flavor. If this cheese is not available where you live you can use butter.

You will need
10 dinner rolls
1 batch roasted vegetables
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
5 tbsp. boursin cheese (I used chives and garlic flavor)
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dry basil

Prepare dinner rolls. You could make sourdough rolls, 50% whole wheat rolls or 100% whole wheat rolls. You could also use store bought rolls. Prepare roasted vegetables as per these directions.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Shred the cheese and keep aside. Work with 5 or 6 rolls at a time. Without breaking them apart slice the rolls in half. Remove the top half and keep aside. On the bottom half apply boursin cheese and place on a baking tray. Arrange all the buns on the tray with sides touching each other. Though the pictures here are of a smaller batch I have made up to 15 buns in a single batch.

Add the roasted vegetables liberally. Don't worry if they form a layer overlapping the buns. It will all work out.

Add the shredded cheese. Cover with the top half. Brush the oil on the top and sprinkle crushed basil over it.

Bake for 15 minutes covered with foil. Then bake open for another 15 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Pull apart and enjoy them hot out of the oven!

Roasted Vegetables

If you like vegetables then this one is for you. In my house everyone loves vegetables and these are special favorites. I used red bell pepper, carrots, zucchini and yellow onion. You can use any other combination of vegetables. Broccoli, baby corn, bell pepper of all colors etc. would make good candidates.

My daughter loves these very much. In fact she likes all vegetables. When she was a toddler I had a grand vegetable garden in the backyard. When she asked for a snack she got a little basket. She took it outside and picked tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, green bean pretty much whatever caught her eye in the garden. I would wash them for her and that would be her snack with a cup of milk. She developed a taste for fresh vegetables with nothing added to them. Even today if you were to present her with a bowl of fresh broccoli and a separate bowl of potato chips she would reach for the broccoli. And not because it is healthy but because she loves it.

Needless to say roasted vegetables are loved in my house. Roasting vegetables with a hint of oil, salt and pepper really brings out their flavor. The vegetables can be used as pizza topping, inside sliders or eaten as a side.

You will need
2 carrots
2 small zucchini
1 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
basil and thyme

Wash and peel the carrots. Cut them into 1 inch pieces. Cut the zucchini lengthwise and then into semi circles. Cut the bell pepper in half. Remove the seeds, cut into strips and then into 1 inch pieces. Peel the onion and cut slices.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place all the cut vegetables on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil. Add salt and pepper.

Mix together and spread it around the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and using a spatula mix them all up. Bake another 10 minutes. The vegetables are done.

Use with other recipes or enjoy as a side.

Baked Gulab Jamoon / Jamun

Several years ago Gulab Jamoons used to be my go to dessert. My sister-in-law had shared this recipe with me and it was fool proof. However, the gulab jamoons were deep fried. When I stopped deep frying foods I stopped making them. I have not made them for a very long time. Lately, I have been trying to come up with baked versions of a lot of deep fried recipes. This is my latest converted recipe.

Gulab Jamoon is one of the few desserts that my daughter loves. I remember once I had to make 110 gulab jamoon for a dinner party. My daughter was just 5-6 years old then. I heated up a large kadai/wok so I could get it done quickly. I made the first batch of 10 and put them on a kitchen paper towel. My daughter asked if she could taste it and I told her she could have two. I turned around to make the next batch of 10. By the time the second batch was done the first one had disappeared. All 10 gone! Even today she prefers to have them dry before they are added to the sugar syrup. And she will not eat them unless they are made by me. Now I have a healthier version that I can make for her. She gave this recipe two thumbs up.

Last week I made my first attempt at baked jamoons. They turned out hard and unedible. In hindsight I realized the dough needed more liquid, the baking temperature should have been lower and they were baked longer than needed. Two days ago I fixed all those problems and got the perfect jamoons. To ensure that I didn't just get lucky I tried it again yesterday with identical successful results. I ran my trials on a small quantity. You can increase the amount by doubling the recipe.

You will need (for 6-7 jamoons)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup dry milk powder
a pinch baking powder
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

For the syrup
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine the ingredients for the syrup in a pan and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat all the way and simmer.

Combine the first three ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the whipping cream and form a very soft dough. Divide the dough into 6-7 marble sized portions. Roll each portion on the palm of your hand to form a ball. Place the prepared jamoon on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat with all the portions.

Bake in the preheated oven at 325 F for 6-7 minutes or until the top is dry and the under side is just beginning to brown. You should be able to pick up the jamoon without altering its shape.

Switch the oven to broil. Remove the parchment paper from under the jamoons. DO NOT FORGET TO REMOVE THE PAPER. Broil for 1-2 minutes watching the jamoon like a hawk. They should turn a deep golden brown. Turn them over and broil for half a minute. Take them out of the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes. The size of the baked jamoon should be considerably larger than the size you started with.

Place the jamoons in the syrup and let them simmer for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat. Allow the jamoons to soak for about half an hour at the minimum before eating. You can refrigerate the jamoons and they will keep for a couple of days. Heat leftovers in the microwave for about 15 seconds before serving.

Enjoy!




This is my entry for week two, day one of BM #47 for the theme Indian Desserts. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#47.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

Several years back we started celebrating Thanksgiving with a traditional meal. Stuffing was one of the recipes I wanted to make. Though the word stuffing suggests it is used to stuff something, stuffing is also eaten as a side. It was the side that I wanted to make. Having no idea where to begin I started asking around and searching online. I found prepackaged bags of bread cubes with spices. You were supposed to add the vegetables and bake it. It seemed simple enough so I bought a package and tried it. We did not enjoy it. Next year I bought a different brand but stuffing remained the least popular of the Thanksgiving dishes. Over the years I have refined all my thanksgiving recipes and a couple years ago I found this stuffing recipe made of a day old challah loaf.

I have not made any other recipe since then. This is my annual go to recipe. It has a mix of vegetables, fresh made vegetable stock and the very flavorful challah loaf. Challah is a rich flavorful bread and my daughter munches on the loaf all by itself. This year I had planned to bake the challah myself but things got rather hectic just before Thanksgiving so that did not happen. I have promised myself to make it next year. We shall see. In the meantime here is the recipe for stuffing.

Recipe adapted from here.

You will need (for one 13 x 17 baking pan)
1 loaf of day old challah (I got it from Whole Foods)
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups onion, diced
2 cups carrots, diced
8-10 sprigs thyme, use leaves, discard stem
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
3 cups vegetable stock
2 oz. butter for cooking
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

Cut the challah into small cubes. Spread the cubes on a baking sheet for at least a day up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Dice the onion, carrots and celery.

Heat 1 oz. butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the onions and sauté until transparent.

Add thyme, parsley, celery and carrots. Cook for about 10 minutes, do not cook them completely.

Prepare a 13x9 baking dish by rubbing some of the remaining butter on the bottom. Melt the rest to combine with the stuffing mixture. In a large bowl, combine the bread, partially cooked vegetable mixture, vegetable broth and the melted butter. Season it with salt and black pepper.

Transfer the mixture to the baking dish.

Bake covered with foil for 45 minutes. Remove foil and let it brown for about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Cranberry Orange Cookies

When I baked cranberry muffins using fresh cranberries I did not know what to expect. My daughter absolutely loved the sweet and tart muffins. I took my cue and decided to bake more goodies with fresh cranberries. These fresh cranberry orange cookies were very well liked. They made their way into the school lunch box as dessert.

I am not big on cookies and we rarely have cookies in the house. Today my daughter had a big chemistry test so I decided to bake some cookies for her to snack on when she got back from school. I was thinking of chocolate when I suddenly decided on fresh cranberries. She did full justice to the cookies when she got home.

Instead of all purpose flour I used whole wheat flour. As such the cookies don't keep very well. If you plan to eat them over an extended period substitute 50% of wheat flour with all purpose flour. I did not add any nuts but you could add 1/4 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts if you like.

You will need
1/4 cup butter, melted
scant 1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. applesauce
2 tbsp. orange juice
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur organic white whole wheat flour)
a pinch baking powder
a pinch salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Add the applesauce and orange juice. Beat until blended. Now mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Fold the flour into the butter mixture. Add the cranberries.

Mix together and drop large spoonfuls of the batter on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. The cookies will be very soft.

Gently transfer them to a cooling tray. They will harden just a little but these cookies are meant to be soft and moist.

Enjoy!

Samosa Chaat With Chole

I have had samosa and I have had chole but I had never tasted a combination of the two. In fact I had never heard of samosa chaat with chole where the two are eaten together. The ingredients seem like they would make a perfect combination so I decided to give it a try. I had baked some samosa. I had made tamarind chutney and pudina chutney to go with it. All I needed was chole and some whisked yogurt.

I have the say the result was exceptional. The flavors were great together. They were perfect for a cold fall afternoon. I will definitely make this combination again.

Chaat toppings vary as per taste. I have seen pictures of sev and onion added as topping to this chaat. For my family I chose the chutneys and yogurt. Once you have the base you can experiment with the topping till you find a combination you love.

You will need
For the chole
1 cup chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1 tbsp. olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1/2 large onion, diced
1 tsp. ginger garlic paste
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. chole masala
1 tsp. cumin coriander powder
1 green chili pepper, minced
1 large tomato, diced

1 1/2 tsp. tamarind paste

salt to taste

For the chaat
Samosas
Tamarind chutney
Pudina chutney
1/2 cup yogurt, whisked
Chole from recipe above

To make the chole
Soak the beans overnight. Discard the soaking water, add half a cup of fresh water and pressure until tender for about 10 minutes (3 whistles). Reserve the cooking water. If using canned beans drain the water, rinse and keep aside until needed.

Heat oil in a pan and add the onion. Saute the onion on medium low heat until it is translucent and starts to change color. Add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chole masala, cumin coriander powder and the green chili pepper. When the spices coat the onion add the tomatoes. Add the reserved water. If using canned beans add fresh water. Cook the masala until the tomatoes are mushy and the masala comes together. It will start to ooze oil. Add the tamaring paste and cooked beans.

Add a little water if too dry. Add salt to taste and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes and turn off heat.

To assemble the chaat
In a plate place two samosas. Crush their center so the other ingredients can be added.

Add a spoonful of chole masala on the top. Sprinkle some whisked yogurt, tamarind chutney and pudina chutney.

Enjoy!

Baked Samosa

Samosas are a popular Indian snack and one of the well known items on menu cards in restaurants that serve Indian food. The spicy, tangy filling in the samosa is what makes the dish. However, it is traditionally deep fried. If you have ever visited my blog before you would know I don't deep fry anything. But we all love samosas in my house and so I make baked samosas. They taste just as heavenly with all the usual fix-ins.

This recipe is a Maharastrian recipe with no onion or garlic. I add chole masala to add a new flavor to the spice mix. The mix of spices are chosen to add a tangy, hot and sweet taste to the samosas. The chutneys highlight these tastes.

For the shell I used whole wheat flour, all purpose flour and semolina (rava) in a 1:1:1 ratio. For my Indian readers, if you do not have access to all purpose flour please do not use maida. Instead use regular chapati flour.

You will need
For the filling
1 large russet potato
1 cup peas (I used frozen)
1 large carrot
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 green chili pepper, minced (or more according to taste)
1 tsp. amchur powder (mango peel powder)
1 tsp. chole masala
1 tsp. cumin coriander powder
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced

For the shell
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour (you can use whole wheat flour)
1 cup semolina (rava)
3 tbsp. olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup water (adjust as needed)

To make the filling
Boil the russet potato in the microwave or pressure cooker. Peel and dice. Wash, peel the carrots and dice. In a microwave safe dish cook the diced carrot and peas until tender but not mushy.

Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle lower the heat and add the turmeric powder, green chili pepper, amchur powder, chole masala, cumin coriander powder and minced ginger. Saute for a few seconds. Now add the potatoes, carrots and peas. Mix the spices well with the vegetables and allow to cook until the vegetables are tender and everything comes together. Keep aside to cool.

To make the shell
In a mixing bowl combine the flours, semolina and salt. Heat the oil in a small pan and add it to the flour. Mix well together. Add the water and mix together. Use more water if needed. Form a soft dough and knead well for a couple of minutes. Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.

To make the samosa
Preheat oven to 400 F. Knead the rested dough and break off a small portion the size of a lime. Keep the rest covered. Knead the portion of dough in your palm and place it on a work surface. Roll it into a 6 in disc. Using a knife or a dough cutter cut it into two equal halves.

Pick up one half and form a cone.

Fill the cup with the filling.

Moisten your finger with water and run it over the edge of the cone. Seal the edges.

Place the finished samosa on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Continue making samosas until the baking sheet is full. Warm a few tablespoons of milk in a bowl. Wash over the surface of the samosas. Bake them for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are beginning to change color.

Enjoy with tamarind chutney and mint chutney.