Monday, December 27, 2010

Chicken Biriyani

I've tried making so many different types of chicken biriyani & there was only one so far which has come closest to satisfying my 'image' of a biriyani. I love maqlooba but a proper biriyani? Oh well I don't like it being too oil or too spicy. Tonight we'll be having Biriyani for dinner. Some special people will be here for dinner & I hope it will go well with them.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Been a while

Hadn't got time to jot down all that I've been upto. I made my first set of paraffin candles recently, make some melting moments cookies & a couple of batches of chocolate chip cookies too. My christmas baking so far includes a few strawberry upside down cakes, a yule log & a strawberry tart. I will be baking some more soon. Will keep posted.

Strawberry upside down cake

With frosting

A slice

Strawberry dipped in chocolate

Yule Log


Monday, October 11, 2010

Finding things around Bangalore

Edit in 2015 September :
After taking up sewing a year ago, I've been on the look out for sewing related items. I will be updating the list below with places to find sewing supplies as well.


When I seriously considered baking & candle making, I wasn't quite sure where to find what. And I decided I'd compile a list of where I found what. I'm guessing this is one post I'll keep updating from time to time.

Candle Making:
For Gel candle making, I found most of the things I needed at a shop called Mahendra Novelties inside Raja Market. It's on the 1st floor & this is one shop which is almost always crowded. You get the Gel wax, pre tabed wicks, candle scents & colours, (beads including glass ones), pebbles, coloured sands of varying grade & fineness, fabric paint, doll making things, Tanjavoor painting items, embroidery frames, & foam sheets, Coloured net cloth which can be used for wrapping gifts, threads, needle. Name any art  & craft related item & they are sure to have it.
Itsy Bitsy also has Wax, candle colours, scents etc.

Baking/Cooking: There are some shops I frequent as most of my baking/cooking needs are met in these few shops. But at times I'll have to venture further away from my local Supermarket(s). I'm more likely to go to those shops for cheese, good quality cocoa powder etc. I'll list some items & where I find it & put up a list of what I shop for in some specific shops. This is not an exhaustive list of all places in Bangalore, just the places I'm aware of, or where I've found items of interest.

Cake pans, moulds / Aluminum mould : You are likely to find these at your local supermarket. If not, check in Nilgiris, Spar & such other large outlets.

Oil: I find olive oil at my neighbourhood Supermarket. I always buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil only. Nothing else is as pure as the Extra virgin. You will find 100% pure virgin oil & Pure Olive oil labels. Do not be deceived. Those are NOT other terms for Extra Virgin Olive oil. It is the best for use in salads & arabian/mediteranean dishes. I've found good bargain on Olive oil in Spar.
For Canola Oil I used to go to Nilgiris but now my neighbourhood Supermarket sells it so I don't head for Nilgiris everytime I'm out of canola oil. I use this for dishes that requires oil but one which does not give off a strong flavour, also for making Garlic sauce, frying falafel etc. You will find even this in Spar.
Other types of oil like Sesame, Groundnut, Sunflower etc are often found in the neighbourhood supermarkets. You also get these at Auchan, D Mart etc.

Cooking Chocolate: Its unlikely you'll find this in every other supermarket. I buy these from different places, depending on where I go shopping. I'd either buy them from M.K Retail or Nilgiris. I'd asked for cooking chocolate at Spar, Oasis Mall one, but they didn't have any. I was surprised! If I'm lucky, I'll find dark chocolate in my neighbourhood Super market but then its not a reliable source.
I have seen foil sheets, that are almost A4 size, in Itsy bitsy, but these had to be cut to the size
Lavonne in Indiranagar (

https://www.facebook.com/lavonneindia)
 is another place that I frequent for Cooking chocolates. You will find other baking / chocolate making essentials there as well. They stock on the chocolate foil wrappers which comes pre cut. They also have chocolate moulds in silicon, plastic and poly carbonate, cake tins, cookie cutters, fondant by the kilo, balloon whisk, rolling pin for fondant etc.

Cheese: The normal Mozerella, Gouda & Cheddar you'll find at your local supermarket. If not I'd try out Nilgiris, Spar, The Gourment (M.G Road)).  You will find Parmigiano-Reggiano also Parmesan cheese (grated of Kraft brand) in Nilgiris on Brigade road & I've found whole Parmesan slices in Spar. You will also find it in Food World Gourmet in M.G Road. I've seen the Not just cheese & wine outlet on the way to marathalli but haven't tried it yet. I once found cream cheese at Nilgiris & recently I picked up a 180gms Cream Cheese by Britannia from my local supermarket. If nothing else works, try Godrej's Nature's basket outlet or even their website under Cheese & Dairy (
http://www.naturesbasket.co.in)
Other baking pans: There is this shop called Homex in Kamanahalli that has the bread pan, tart pan, custard pan, pizza pan, the ring pan to make ring shaped cake. Nilgiris is another place where I've found the cake pans of different shapes & sizes, cup cake moulds (aluminium ones, individual & tray type of 6, 9 & 12moulds).

Silicon Moulds: Found a few in Nilgiris & Homex (Kamanahalli) had a whole bunch of different cake moulds & tube mould etc. Most of the large supermarkets tend to stock on these. Itsy Bitsy also has a few in stock.

Ramekins: well I found it in a shop in Arihant plaza. Its the 3rd shop at the basement if I'm not mistaken. Don't remember the name of the shop. I even got a Marinex measuring jar from there. Interestingly they even had some pebbles which I use in my candle making projects. There are websites selling them, a simple google search will show you.

Measuring cups, spoons, spatulas: Nilgiris has most of your baking goods they also have rubber & plastic spatula, silicon moulds etc. Most large supermarkets / hypermarkets tend to stock them. Itsy Bitsy carries the measuring cups and spoons (although I can't gurantee if all their outlet have them.

Pine nuts: I found these at Spar. I'm told you get these in a supermarket around Brigade road. Haven't tried yet. You are most likely to get these in huge hypermarkets around Whitefield / M.G road.

Spring form pan: This week I was in Homex (Kamanahalli) & I saw a 24" & 26" spring form pan.
Jamals have them but they don't necessarily stock them.

Spar, Jamals, Nilgiris, M.K Retail, Homex, 7days supermarket, Foodworld Gourmet, Village Hypermarket are good places to find most of the items you'd want.

For those living in the other end of Bangalore, near Electronic City you can find most of the baking / chocolate making items in either M.K Retail, Nilgiris or Village Hypermarket. I am told that there is a place in Madiwala where you get all baking essentails. I have not yet come across this. If I do I will surely update the post. I have found a baking supplies shop near Bommanahalli main road. I have not yet visited this place. Once I do, I will update this post.

For candle making and other general craft supplies I generally head to Itsy Bitsy in HSR Layout. They usually carry items in smaller quantities, so if I need items in bulk, I head to Mahendra Novelties in Raja Market. For handmade paper charts etc I usually get from the local Novelty store / stationary shop.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Arabian Night :-)

We invited a few friends over for dinner & the dishes , we decided would be arabian. Well when I say arabian, shawarma is the topmost thing on our minds. B wanted me to make just the shawarma but I thought we needed more than just shawarma. So we had Tabouli salad, Sheek kebab with mint chutney, Khubus, Hummus, Thoum, Tahini dip, Shawarma & for rice dish I made Maqlooba. I gave choice between chocolate cake & choco lava & the latter won the favour so made choco lava & served that with a scoop of Ice cream. Shawarma could've been more crispier but my oven was working too hard bringing out the khubus that Shawarma had to do with the prep on Gas stove.
On the whole we had a good time. I love it when I've a house full of ppl to be fed. I don't feel tired or out of energy. In fact its just the opposite. But once my day is done, I'm ready to crash :-D.
Prepared the 'sauces' 1 day ahead. Maqlooba was a totally last minute decision. I was afraid shawarma wouldn't be sufficient & so thought maybe a l'le bit of rice would do fine to finish up the dinner. The last thing I wanted was people going back hungry after dinner :-).
Was a nice long hard day or hard labour :-D. All in all I enjoyed it.



Thursday, September 30, 2010

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Onion Rings & Garlic Breadsticks

                                          

Had a dear friend coming over in the afternoon & wanted to make something for her & thought I'd try out my new recipe for Onion rings & I also made some garlic sauce to go with it. I do love the garlic sauce a lot. Guess I try to find opportunity to make it so often! I could've baked these instead of deep frying, but I thought I'd try the fried version for now & will bake the next time. Now for the recipe:

Onion Rings:

2 Large Onion
2 Tbsp Corn Flour
75gms Plain Flour
Pinch of Chilly powder
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 egg
125ml Milk
Salt & Pepper to taste
Oil for frying (alternatively you can bake it)

1) Cut the onions into 1 cm round slices & seperate them as rings
2) In a bowl mix together all the dry ingredients & set aside
3) Mix the egg with the milk & whisk together
4) Transfer the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients & whisk together till the batter is smooth & free of lumps
5) Heat the oil  & drop each onion rings to the batter & fry them till light golden brown & then turn & fry the other side.
6) Season with salt before serving

This can be served with Garlic sauce also called as Thoum.


Been a while since I wanted to make Garlic Breadstick & finally did it last night. Made the dough the same way I do for a pizza & for the garlic butter, take a little softened butter (unsalted) & crush a few cloves of garlic & add oregano & a little salt & mix together & before baking add the butter on top of the breadsticks & voila! u've got your breadsticks.

I had a little  dough left after making the breadsticks & I made these rolls.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle & spread some garlic butter in the centre & spread some grated Parmesan cheese & few Olive pieces. Cut them as you would do for a cinnamon roll  & bake for about 20mins.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Roasted Potato


Roasted Potatoes or broiled potatoes are quite easy to make. I make them on days when I'm pressed for time. This can be had with a sandwich or as a side dish. Now for the recipe:

Ingredients:
3-4 Medium sized potatoes with the skin
5-6 cloves garlic thinly sliced or minced
1 - 1/2 Tbsp of dry or fresh parsley
1-1/2 Tbsp of dry of fresh Basil
1/2 tsp Salt
Olive oil

1) Wash the potatoes thoroughly such that the outer skin is free of mud and dirt
2) Slice the potatoes into small square pieces so that thy cook through well when grilled
3) Preheat oven to 225C
4) In a bowl add the garlic, parsley & basil & olive oil enough to coat all the potato pieces. Add the cut potatoes & mix well with all the ingredients. All potatoes must be coated well with all the ingredients.
5) On a baking sheet drizzle a little olive oil & transfer the potatoes. Grill the potatoes on top rack at 225C for about 10-15 mins (depending on the oven).
This can be served with garlic sauce.

Chicken in lemon sauce:

This does not take too long to make but yes it take about 20 - 30 mins in all. We made this on Friday night after we got home from night prayer. I hadn't prepared dinner so made this along with the potatoes & had with son bun as a sandwich. I had some garlic sauce which I prepared 2 days back. So that was the sandwich spread. We loved the lemony taste & the chicken & the onions was not too crispy but just tender & right.

Ingredients:1 Chicken breast piece cut into thin strips
2 Medium sized onion
Juice of a lemon
1Tbsp Parsley
2tsp Ginger Garlic paste
Salt to taste
1) Preheat the oven to 250C
2) Cut the breast pieces into thin strips, slice the onion into medium sized pieces & not too thin. To this add the juice of a lemon, ginger garlic paste, parsley & salt & mix well. Transfer this to an aluminium foil & seal the contents with the foil
3) Bake the chicken in sealed aluminium foil for about 10 mins.
4) After ten minutes carefully open the closed foiled & grill the chicken till lightly crispy, about 10mins.
5) Transfer to a serving bowl & use as a sandwich filling.
Alternatively instead of grilling, it can be baked for a further 10mins at 200C & served with Lemon sauce.




Garlic Sauce:
Juice of a lemon
4-5 cloves of garlic minced with some salt
1/2 - 1 cup of Canola oil
White of 1 egg

1) In a blend together the minced garlic, a little lemon juice & a little oil, alternating between the lemon juice & oil. The lemon juice reacting with oil & the garlic produces tiny curd like particle along the sides of the blender. You may not need the whole of the lemon juice & it can adjusted according to taste.
2) Continuously blend till the mixture appears to have tiny white pieces along the sides of the blender. Stop & scrape down the sides. Continue to blend a while longer & add the white of an egg.
3) Continue to blend till the mixture takes on a mayonnaise like consistency.
4) Once the mixture thickens, transfer to a bowl & refrigerate it overnight for the best result.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Hot chocolate cake


This is one chocolate cake which MUST be had hot & would go great with  a scoop of vanilla. Made this last evening.



Recipe:
4oz. Dark chocolate chopped ( I use selbourne)
4oz. Butter cubed
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Plain flour
2 Eggs (kept at room temperature)

1) Melt chocolate over double boiler. Once melted, remove from the flame.
2) Once chocolate is melted, add butter to it & let the butter melt in the heat of chocolate
3) Preheat the oven to 180C
4) Beat together the eggs & sugar till frothy & double the original quantity
5) Fold in the chocolate & butter mix to the beaten egg & sugar mixture.
6) Add the flour & mix
7) Grease a pyrex bowl & bake at 180C for 35-40mins.
8) Allow cake to cool in the bowl for 10mins & run a knife along the edge of the bowl.
9) Invert the cake over a serving plate & cut & serve with a vanilla scoop or butter scotch.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Once again a few days break

Busy days... B's mum, dad & bro are in town. Mum had a slight accident, she has crack on her wrist bone & has her arm plastered up, poor thing!! so me extra busy these day :-). Will be back in my mood soon. Oh! today I 'discovered' the Thoms Supermarket/Bakery. I am definitely going back there to check things out in DETAIL :-). Every time I say that B gets nervous coz it means I'll spending hours checking out every item they stock so that I can add to repertoire of where to find what :-D. Gotta hit the sack... pretty worn out.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Fish Curry

Its not everyday that I make fish/chicken curry the Kerala way. I'm not even sure I can ever achieve that 'mum's curry' taste :-). So want do you do when you are sure you can't do it the way its done? You improvise obviously :-D. B's folks will be here tomorrow & I guess I'm too nervous to even make a single dish the straight way. Its the 1st time Pappa is coming to see us in Blr & I guess I want them all to be happy with what I dish up :-D. Hmm... anyway the fish curry didn't come out like the way I make it usually & so I'm not sure what they'll think :-S.
I saw this Coffee Walnut cake in "What's cooking today!!" http://recipesfortheverydaywoman.blogspot.com/2010/09/coffee-walnut-ring.html & I couldn't resist the temptation to cook. So in the time between I kept the knead dough to rest & dal to soak, I started my baking session. Thankfully my l'le princess was asleep or else I'd have her cake batter prints all over my kitchen counter! So anyway while the rotis were being made, the cake was in the oven & I waited patiently for it to cool down & yes I did take my 1st bite.... LOVED it! Must thank Aliena for it :-). I didn't have maple syrup at home so I used the cherry syrup instead. Must ask Aliena where to find it. Wonder if its the normal pancake syrup... hmm must find out.

Sour cream - Cheese Potato casserole


That was our dinner last night. I must say I was lazy to cook dinner and yet dinner must be cooked or else I'd have a starving husband & a l'le baby :-). Checked out my fridge & I had a l'le sour cream and carrots n some pineapple. Oh well, I can throw 'em all in together & make a casserole. So off I went & boiled the potatoes & carrots, mashed them up, melted some cheese & tossed in the potato carrot mash & added some sour cream.



And off it went to the oven. Wanted to add in the pineapple but forgot so once it was off the oven, I tossed some pineapple on top & let it 'cook' in the heat.
For garnish I used a l'le dry Basil & a piece of Pineapple

Monday, September 13, 2010

Yet another chocolate cake :-)



Well don't misunderstand, I don't make the cakes & bakes for myself... On some days I love to cook on other days I wish I never had to enter the kitchen...ironic isn't it? But I can't resist the temptation to bake. When the temptation overpowers me I simply give in & bake something for friends :-).

Here's the chocolate cake I made yesterday.

Top of the cake

This time I used buttercream icing. I'm so excited about the piping bag my sis got for me from Muscat & I use every opportunity to bake for someone so I can decorate it with the beauties my sis gifted :-).
 
I didn't do a thick frosting on the cake side as its too much butter. I didn't want this 'gift' to make 'em put on weight ;-).

Thursday, September 9, 2010

It must be Freekeh!

When I found the recipe for Mujaddara, I believed that was the my mystery dish... but after making it I was convinced that's not it... I've not been blogging coz I took a mini vacation of sorts. The best ppl in the world (well MY world) had come down & the joy of joys being able to spend time with my favourite nephew & niece! While I was there & looking through some of mum's cook books I came across something - Chicken Freekeh. Felt I must check it out & NOW i'm convinced that THIS is my mystery dish. Freekeh explains the 'greenish' thing I couldn't quite figure out... its Freekeh - roasted green wheat!!! yup and its made with chicken, beef or lamb. I was on top of the world to have finally discovered my mystery dish.
U'd think I'd jump at the opportunity, get the ingredients together & cook it... Just one problem though - I'm not able to find Freekeh anywhere in Bangalore. At least not where I've searched. I'm not as yet aware of a place/shop/outlet where one can get Middle eastern food items per se.

I spend a week almost searching the net for some clue as to where I may find these roasted green wheat. C'mon we are after all a wheat producing nation. Could it be that we really don't know about how in some parts of the world they set on fire the wheat when its green itself & use the grain as we use rice?
Freekeh is a very very healthy item to have. I read that its better than the brown rice too. And yet a lot of people are ignorant about this item. I tried making the dish with the normal broken wheat but it didn't turn out to my satisfaction. It is nothing close to what the Lebanese Flower used to make. Sigh... maybe I should go back to Auh & bring some Freekeh with me :-)... ya that's what we call wishful thinking!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Chocolate cake with whipped cream



Made a choc cake for a dear friend a few days back and clicked a few snaps of it too. I made it as a 2 layered cake with whipped cream as the icing. I put a few cherries between the two layers and decorated the cake with some cherries on top along with some chocolate shavings. I tried to make a frosting with plain cream (25% fat) but it didn't come out as expected.


Chocolate Cake Recipe:

1-3/4 cup of plain flour
3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups of sugar
1-1/2 tsp Baking powder
1-1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp salt
2 Eggs
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
2 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 cup of boiling water

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F
2) Grease the baking pans & dust with flour
3) Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl
4) Add in the eggs, oil, milk, vanilla essence & beat on medium speed for 2 mins
5) Stir in the boiling water. The batter will be thin. Pour into the greased & dusted pans.
6) Bake for 35-40mins (depending on the oven)or until wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes clean.
7) Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10mins
8)Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan & invert it. Let the cake cool on wire rack.

Buttercream frosting or any other frosting can be used to decorate the cake. I used whipped cream & l'le bit of chocolate shavings.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Dates pickle

I've been to my hometown to attend my sister's bro-in-law's wedding & one of the item was dates pickle. I loved the taste! I'm not a fan of dates at all. I've never really liked it even when it was available in plenty in auh. Nor did I develop a taste of it afterwards & I've had dates lying around the house which neither B nor I ever 'remembered' to eat. Thankfully it was in the fridge & hadn't gone bad yet. So what do you think is the first thing I do once I'm back in Blr? Make the date pickle obviously. While at mum's place I found a recipe book which had the recipe for dates pickle. Without wasting any time I got to my work & I must say I liked what I made. Like I said before I'm neither a fan of dates nor or pickles in general. I don't like a lot of spicy food. But THIS dates pickle is more sweet than hot. It can even be had with samosa, kachori etc. Here's the recipe:




Dates Pickle:


500gm dates
2tsp Chilli powder
2bunchs Garlic
2x 1inch pieces Ginger
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 cup gingenelly oil ( I used canola oil)
3/4 cup vinegar
Boiled water cooled(I used 1-1/2cup)
Salt - to taste
1) Remove seed from dates
2) Make a paste of 1 bunch of garlic & 1 piece of ginger
3) Grind together with Chilli powder, cumin & mustard
4) Heat the oil & saute with 1 & 2
5) Slice rest of the garlic & ginger into long thick pieces & add into 4
6)Add vinegar, boiled water that has been cooled & salt & let it all boil
7) Add dates to the above & immediately take off the flame.

Take off the flame & mixed it all up & allow to cool. After cooling store it in an airtight container.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

For the Bride & the Groom

I will be attending my sister's bro-in-law's wedding & I thought I'd give one of my 'creations' as a gift. Had the idea of making a gel showpiece with a bride & groom piece in the centre.

This is the finished work:








Fruit Tart



I love fruit tart especially when there is strawberry in it. Reminds me of the days in Auh office. Our department would often find reasons or occasions to celebrate and beautiful strawberry tartlets were on the menu by default :-). So, anyway I decided to make a tart instead. I got a tart pan from my usual place & got some kiwis n mandarin. Unfortunately strawberries were not to be found (quite to my disappointment) but decided I'd go ahead & make the tart anyway with the l'le fruits I had.
I used the kiwis, mandarins & some green seedless grapes.
B hardly had any. My dad & I finished most of it :D. Must make the tart again some day when I get strawberries!

Now for the recipe:


To prepare the crust
8 Tbsps cold butter
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp heavy cream

1)Blend together the butter & sugar till well combined.
2)Add flour & salt & blend a few more times
3) Add yolk & cream & blend till incorporated. Dough will be slightly crumbly & should hold together when pinched.
4)Turn dough in a tart pan & Press into the pan, working up the sides till it is pressed evenly around the rim. Trim excess dough. Chill tart for 20mins
5)Preheat oven to 160C/325F
6)Bake the crust for 10-12mins or till golden colour.


To make the Pastry Cream
2 Large Eggs
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 cups heavy cream or 1/2 heavy cream & 1/2 milk
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 Tbsp Butter

In a small bowl whisk together eggs & cornstarch until cornstarch is completely absorbed. Whisk 1/4 cup of heavy cream.
In a medium saucepan combine remaining heavy cream,sugar & salt & bring to boil.
Whisk 1/4 cup of hot cream mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly till mixture becomes thick.
Remove from heat & whisk in the vanilla & butter.
Transfer to a bowl & immediately press a piece of grease plastic wrap on top of the cream, to prevent skin formation on top of the cream. Allow to cool in the fridge.
When cream & crust are cooled, spoon in cream into the crust & spread evenly with a spatula/spoon. Arrange the fruit slices.

Glaze on fruits:
When fruit pieces arrangement is completed, brush fruit pieces alone with melted gelatine.
Melt unflavoured gelatin in hot water till all crystals dissolves. Brush with a pastry brush


Chill & serve.

Wheat Pizza

 My wheat Pizza
I always think  of making wheat pizza but somehow end up using plain flour! This time around I remembered to use up my wheat flour & voila! it came out just fine. I didn't find it much different from the other pizza anyway. I rolled out the dough & while transferring to my baking pan it got stretched & so instead of a 'round' shape it came out looking more like a rectangle. Now for the recipe:

Wheat Pizza: (Serves 5)
3 cups of Wheat flour (or 1/2 cup of plain flour & 1/2 cup of wheat flour or use 3 cups plain flour)
1 & 1/2 tsp Yeast
1/2 cups of warm water (to dissolve yeast)
1 cup of water
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp SaltOlive oil
1) Heat the water in a saucepan & dissolve yeast & sugar in half cup of water. Set aside for 5-10mins
2) In a large bowl sift together the flour & salt & make a well in the centre. Once yeast proves, pour in the    centre of the bowl & mix in the flour.
3) Add the remaining 1 cup of water & form the dough. Knead it lightly & form a soft ball. Dough should be elastic & not rigid.
4) Coat another bowl with some olive oil & on the dough & the sides of the bowl.
5) Cover the bowl with a cling wrap & place a towel over the bowl & Let the dough rest in a warm place for an hour or till it doubles in size. (I usually place this inside my oven & of course the oven will be switched off)
6) Preheat oven to 225C
7)Once the dough has risen, punch down the air & knead it lightly till it is soft & form balls out of it & let it rest for 10 mins
8) Roll out the dough into circle & indent the dough surface with a fork so that when it is baked it wont rise like a bread.
9) Bake for 10 - 15mins (depending on the oven).
10) Apply the tomato sauce on the base & add on the desired toppings & grill for 10-12 mins or till the cheese melts & crust turns golden brown.
Take out of the oven & let it cool for a few mins & then serve with tomato ketchup.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Been long

Mujaddara & Kabsa




        
Thoum, Hummus, Raitha, Marinated chicken & Khubus


The past week was a busy one. Had guests over and so I made some Khubus, Hummus, Thoum, Kabsa, Falafel, Tahini etc etc etc... This morning I tried out a recipe for Mujaddara. I've been in search of the name of a dish that I remember was served in Lebanese Flower, Abu Dhabi. Its part of the mixed grill platter but for heavens I can't find anything that closely resembles it. Its greenish colour, tasted like a mix or rice and lentil probably but this one had lamb pieces in it. Mujaddara was something that came close to the description so I decided to cook it and see. Well I must say I don't recall the exact taste, its been 2yrs since I've had that stuff :-S. Maybe one day, somehow i'll be able to find out the name of my mystry dish :-).


                                                   Apple Pie

This afternoon I made my very first apple pie from scratch. And it tastes good. I must state though I didn't use Granny Smith apples but the normal red ones. So I used only half the measure of sugar the recipe called for and still my pie came out more on the sweet'ish' side :-). I was so impatient that I didn't wait for the pie to 'set' before I cut it :-S. I love the cinnamon with apples smell and taste. Its yum! B is not fond of apples... must see what he'll say to the Apple pie :-D.


Couldn't wait till the pie had cooled down & cut it & the result...

Made chicken quiche with the left over pastry roll :-) didn't want to throw it away so I made quiche for dinner.

                                                            Chicken Quiche
Quiche just before going into the oven
Chicken Quiche, fresh out of oven

                                                                                                          

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Another 10







Last week was a busy one. I was into my gel candle making sessions so had to go to market & bought my supply of gel, embeds, wicks, scent etc. I forgot about the colours though. Hmmm maybe someday I'll go get that.
One of these days I'll put up the info on where I go buy my baking/candle making/art & craft items.