Spinach Roti

After a long time...back to blogging:)...
Was thinking about a dish with spinach and my Taste buds said a big "No" to anything with rice for  today...
Got in to the whole wheat mode!
A very simple yet healthy meal I chose to eat for lunch .To marry the fiber ,I made a good protein equivalent "soya chunks " quick fry.

What I had:

• Spinach - 1/4 cup 
• Whole wheat flour -1.5 cups
• Warm water-3/4 cups
• Oil- 2 tsp 
• Mustard -a few 
• Cumin seeds-1/2tsp
• Garlic -1 (chopped)
• Green chilly-1/2 
• Chilly powder -a pinch 
• Salt to taste 

How I made:
Preparation of Spinach & Dough:

1. Wash and cut the spinach leaves. Heat a small pan, add 1 tsp. of oil , mustard, cumin seeds, garlic and sauté for few seconds. Add spinach , a little bit of salt per your taste ( we will add some more to the wheat flour as well).
2. Sauté the mixture for 5 minutes till the spinach gets cooked well.. Allow the mixture to cool for another 5-8 minutes and then blend it coarsely in  a hand blender or mortar & pestle.
3. Sift the flour  and 1 tsp of salt using a hand  sifter to remove any large particles or clumps in the flour. This way the flour texture is all even .
4. To the dry ingredients ,add spinach mixture,remaining 1 tsp of oil, and start to knead  the dough usinb clean hands by adding little bit of water  periodically .Repeat the process over and over again till you find a smooth non -sticky dough. Let the dough rest in an air tight container for 10-15 minutes . It makes the dough even smoother.

Preparation of  Roti:

1. Take the dough and make small lime size balls out of it and flatten it to make a pattie.
2. Take. Wooden board,spread a thin layer of dry flour, place the patties and start to roll using the rolling pin  to get a  thin round pancake
3. Heat another pan with  a little bit of oil  , place the roti on the pan and fry until it turns slight brown /till you see small brown blister  like pops on the top of the roti.

Serve hot with any curry, raita.

Blueberry Bread

Another Bread from my kitchen….My all-time favorite blueberry bread!
Strikingly attractive flavor ,credit goes to the "Interesting Berries"
I made this for my friends on a fall day morning for breakfast!

All you need is
All Purpose Flour-2 ½ Cups
White sugar -1 cup
Salt- ¼ tsp
Baking Soda-1 tsp
Milk-1 cup
Fresh Blueberries 1 cup
Eggs(beaten)-2
Vegetable Oil-4 tsp
Vanilla Essence-1 tsp
Almonds, Walnuts, Pistachios -1/2 cup

To Do:
1.Beat the eggs and Sugar together
2.Now add milk, essence and oil ;mix it again
3.As usual, Stiff the flour, baking soda, salt and mix with a spatula till well-blended.
4.Combine the blackberries with this mixture slowly such that the berries are smashed in the flour mixture. Add the nuts as well.
5.Carefully fold in fresh or frozen blueberries and broken walnut pieces.
6.Pour into 9 x 4 inch loaf pan with greased parchment paper. Add some sliced almonds (my fav nut) on the top of the mixture
7.Bake at 350 deg F for 60 minutes. Check if it fully baked by inserting a fork or tooth pic in to the bread;it should come out clean!
8.Allow the bread to cool down in the pan.


9.Slice in to desired pieces.

Peach-Blackberry Bread

Peach-Blackberry Bread from my kitchen….I did not give much thought when I made this…
I grabbed two fruits(Canned/Fresh) and made this..
I gave it a try with peaches and blackberries..
Definitely good…It had the mild sweetness from yellow beaches with the crispy touch of the dried peaches combined with slight sourness of the berries..It was new to me..


Just thought to share with you!
I took:
All Purpose Flour-2 Cups
Brown sugar -1 cup
Salt- ¼ tsp
Baking Soda-1 tsp
Peach pure-1/2 cup
Dried Peaches-1/4 cup
Fresh mashed peaches-1/4 cup
Fresh Blackberries-1/4 cup
Eggs(beaten)-2
Melted Butter-1/2 cup
Vanilla Essence-1 tsp
Raisins-1/4 cup
I did:
1.Take a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
2.Now add the eggs and melted butter, Stir the mixture with a spatula.
3.Add Peaches and Blackberries in to the mixture (with care)
4.Combine the mixture with the essence and some raisins as well.
5.Pour the flour mixture into a 9x4" pan with greased parchment paper
6.Bake at 350 degree for 60 minutes; allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes
7.Once the bread is completely cooled down, cut in to slices

Best with any whip cream or plain cream cheese.

Banana Bread

The most common fruit which is cultivated in more than 100 countries all over the world-------------"Banana" has the highest % of vitamin B in it.
I wanna include a recipe which has the exact flavour of it irrespective of all the added ingredients...........thz Banana Bread............


We need..
All purpose flour 2 cups(measuring cup)

Ripe banana 2 ½ cups
Nutmeg powder ½ tsp
Brown sugar 3/4 to 1 cup
Butter ½ cup
Egg 2
Walnuts, raisens, cashews ¼ cup
Cinnamon powder ¼ tsp(optional)
A pinch of salt (optional)
Method:
1)Preheat the oven to 350 F
2)Take a bowl, Mix the flour, soda, sugar and butter
3)Take another bowl mix egg and banana (smash it well before mixing it with the egg)


Else you can slightly blend this mixture in a blender!
4)Now add both the flour and banana mixture together and stir it well to get a better batter.
5)Grease the loaf pan with butter, pour this batter in to the pan.



6)Bake it in the oven for an hour’s time till the loaf is perfectly cooked (insert tooth pick to check whether its baked well, it should come out of the loaf without sticking).
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7)Allow it cool for few minutes (10-15 minutes) transfer it to a bread plate or any flat plate and cut the loaf in to slices.

Itz mild enough…………….. with a moist texture…Try and taste it once……I bet you can never Say NO>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mixed Vegetable Sandwich

Another easy and a nutritious bread recipe…………….
I made a similar kinda super fast sandwich some years back when my cousin came home..,,,,,,,,
By d way, she loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All ingredients are of your choice!!YES! thz sandwich…there are so many ways to make this..
With cheese, different chutneys, sauces, lettuce, or juz with onion-tomatoes and much more..
When all my other recipes fall under weekend category of cooking for the blog and frnz….this is my weekday life giver!!

..Juz bread and the toppings …
Wheat bread 2
Mustard seeds ½ tsp
Thinly chopped Onions
Minced chillies
Well chopped and boiled vegetables (Carrot, beans, cauliflower)
+Green peas (juz boiled) 1 cup
Ginger-garlic paste ½ tsp
Turmeric powder 3/4tsp (a pinch)
Tomato 1
Cumin 1tsp
Coriander-cumin powder 1tsp
Pepper powder 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder ½ tsp
Lime juice 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter

Method:
1) Heat the pan, to 1 tsp of butter add mustard seeds (allow it to splutter), cumin seeds, onions, chillies, ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes and fry it well for around 10 minutes

2) Now add all the four powders (coriander, pepper, garam masala, and turmeric), salt and fry for around 6 min

3) Add the vegetables, sauté it well and allow it to boil (the vegetables should blend well with the masala).


4) Add 1 tsp of lime juice to the mixture.

5) Take any bread; I have taken wheat bread, place the raw onion slices on either sides of it.

(Bread-first topping (onion slice)-veg mixture-last topping (onion)-bread).Serve with hot sauce!






Note: If you prefer to toast the bread or add any cheese toppings, you can do that too..

French Toast

This is a mouth watering breakfast from Denny’s restaurant,U.S. I have tasted so many French toast dishes served with hot syrup & butter…But this is fabulous in deed…… Yummmmmmmmmmmy.. Thought it’s going to be a tough task to bring out the taste..But not so….. It all depends on the bread we choose and a perfect serving. I learnt this toast from one of the world class chef’s site who shared this recipe as part of his experience at Denny's.

Here goes all about the toast for your taste….Don wait try it out...................
You will adore it



Eggs 2-3
Whole milk 2/3 cup
All-purpose flour 1/4 cup(measuring cup)
Sugar 1/3 cup
Vanillas extract ½ tsp
Salt ¼ tsp
Cinnamon powder ¼(optional)
Thick bread (thicker than the usual white bread…TEXAS TOAST)
Butter 3 tsp

To Garnish
Powdered sugar
Butter
Maple syrup /honey (if u have some other fruit syrup too...u can add)

Method:
1. Whisk together eggs, milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon powder in a large bowl. See to that you get a fine textured batter without any flour balls.

2. Heat the pan in medium flame or even low. When the pan is hot, add 1 tsp of butter.
3. Drop each bread slice into the batter for about 10 seconds per side. Let some of the batter drip off from the bread put the bread on the pan.

Cook each battered bread slice for 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden brown.

4. Serve the bread slices, dust each slice with powdered sugar, butter and also with some maple syrup/honey on the sides.

Note: if you don’t have thick breads can try out with ordinary bread slices, but it’ll become slightly soggy and thin when you dip in the batter. So give a try with thick bread slices.
Some people won’t prefer to use egg, so avoid that..You can expect the exact taste …
But you will like it as any wheat variety dipped with flour, milk and sugar will surely be good…

Bread Bajii

Bread Bajii-A solid Snack with Tea... ultimate taste....itz not the method we cook... Who ever makes this..itz going b yummy. our part is juz dip and fry... the flour and bread with oil...make an excellent yummy combination...

ALL U need is
Sojii flour 1 cup
chilli powder 1 tsp
cumin seeds(optional) 1tsp
Hing powder 1 /2 tsp
Salt to taste
Soda oil

Method:
1) Pour oil in a deep frying pan Let the oil heat up..

2)Add Chilli powder,cumin seeds,Hing powder salt ,soda to flour,mix it well without leaving any balls..whisk it once..so that u get a even batter.

3)cut the bread in any shape u like,dip it in batter fry in the oil.


Here u go......A sweet an salty snack!!! Best with coconut chutney /sauce

Simple Strawberry Jam/Spread

Strawberries-Tiny and Mighty !!!!!!, Nutritious! They contain Vitamin C and also antioxidants which fight against the free radicals which damage our cells. These antioxidant properties are believed to be linked to what makes the strawberry bright red. In addition to this strawberries also provide an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese, as well as folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Almost all the nutrients are found in this list... Come on...we shall have these berries in our daily diet according to our taste and preference! Fewest ingredients ....delicious in taste is this spread! Ingredients

Ripe Strawberries 400gms
White Sugar 200gms
Water 1/2 cup(measuring cup)
Lime Juice 1/2 cup
Method
In a wide bowl, wash, cut and coarsely the crush strawberries (Dont Mush too much).
Now mix together the strawberries and lemon juice.



Take sauce pan mix sugar with required amount of water stir over low heat until the sugar is dissoved.to this, add the strawberry -lime mixture



Increase heat to high, Boil, stir often and skim out any excessive foam until you get a semi jelly consistency
Transfer to hot sterile jars and seal and just refrigerate. Leave it for some hours and you will be really excited see the eye catching spread ready to be on your bread.....



hmmmm...if you want a bit sour with less sugar..jus decrease the amount of sugar you add to it.
Done.....

Rich in Vitamin C , K.

Bread Halwa

Ingredients :

Bread 5-6 slices
Milk 3 cups
Ghee 4 tsp
Butter 3 tsp

Granulated Sugar 1 cup
Vanilla Extract 1 tsp
Fried cashew nuts and almonds 4 tsp

Method:
1. Cut the bread slices into small pieces and fry in 2 tsp of ghee/butter till it turns slight brown.
2. Add milk and granulated sugar to the fried bread pieces and continue stirring, add 1 tsp of vanilla extract for special flavor
3. Add ghee and keep on stirring until the bread mixture and the ghee are engrossed properly
4. Add fried cashew nuts ,almonds . Serve hot.

Try out:
This halwa tastes yummy gummy when used as a combo with ice creams !