CORN & POTATO PARATHA

Paratha or unleavened flat bread is usually pan fried on griddle, stuffed with potato, leaf vegetables, cauliflower, lentil or paneer. It is so light yet filling. They  can be served during breakfast, lunch or at dinner time with chutney, pickle, yogurt, meat or any  vegetable curries.

For this recipe, had combined whole kernel corn with mashed potato. Green chili is added to improve the flavor of this nutritious paratha. They turned out so soft and best eaten hot immediately after you have cooked them.

CORN & POTATO PARATHA
Yield       :    5 paratha

1 C  whole wheat flour
3 green chili
1/2 C  corn kernel
1 potato boiled & mashed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil
less than 1/2 C milk

DIRECTION

Blend corn kernel and green chili.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour and salt.

Add in mashed potato, blended corn kernel, green chili and oil.

Gradually pour in the milk, forms into soft dough.

Divide dough into 4-5 balls. Roll out into 5 in round.

Place each paratha on a heated flat pan, cook until brown spot appears then flip and cook the other side.
Drizzle with oil if preferred.

Complete the rest of the dough. Serve hot with spicy gravy of your choice.

PUMPKIN BANANA MUFFIN

I did a little baking for our breakfast. Since I had pumpkin and banana in hand so the best thing to do is to incorporate them in this experiment.

This turned out incredibly moist and delicious. Really happy with the result, yet you can creatively think of other tweaks. Perhaps adding chopped nut or chocolate chip to the batter.  They're a perfect way to start the day!

PUMPKIN  BANANA MUFFIN
Yield     :      12 muffins

1  C  all purpose flour
1/2 C  whole wheat flour
1/2 C  pumpkin puree
1/2 C  mashed banana
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp  baking soda
6 TB  oil/melted butter
3/4 C  buttermilk
1/2 - 3/4 C  sugar
1/4 tsp salt

METHOD

Sift both flour, baking powder and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Preheat oven @ 175 C.

Combine buttermilk, oil, banana, pumpkin, sugar and salt,

Add banana mixture to the flour, stir until just moistened, add in cinnamon.

Pour onto muffin pan lined  with paper cases  3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Remove and transfer onto rack to cool.

APAM PISANG BAKAR (BUTTERLESS YEASTED BANANA CAKE)

This is a common recipe from our household using fully ripe banana. It is normally steamed but my recipe below is baked. Have also added instant yeast to rise.

For sugar,  either increase or decrease according to the sweetness of the banana you had used. After mixing all the ingredients together, pour onto greased pan and let rise until doubled. Make sure your pan is deep enough to accommodate the increase, mine rose to the rim of the pan or use muffin pan but filled only half full..

APAM PISANG BAKAR (BUTTERLESS YEASTED BANANA CAKE)
Yield     :    One loaf

1+1/4 C  all purpose flour
1 C  mashed banana
1/2 C  castor sugar
3/4 C + 1 TB  warm evaporated milk
1/2 tsp salt
1+1/2 tsp instant yeast

DIRECTION

Grease 8 in deep cake pan. Whisk together milk, yeast and sugar in a small bowl.

In a mixing bowl, put in flour, banana and salt. Stir well.

Now add the milk mixture to the flour, stir to combine.

Pour mixture into greased  pan and let sit for 1 hour. Towards the end of rising time, preheat oven @  170C.

Bake for 40-45  minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Let sit in the pan for 10 minutes, transfer onto rack to cool.

Linking to  Yeastspotting 10-28-11  

2C PULAO

Instead of plain white rice, try adding colorful vegetables to them, not only it improves the flavor but colorful and healthy as well.

Corn  is rich in fiber, contains Vitamin B1. B5, Vitamin C and helpful for detoxifying your colon while carrots are an excellent source of  beta-carotene.

If using basmati rice, soak it for 30 minutes then drain. Add in the rice after the water has reached boiling point. It is best eaten with spicy gravy of your choice..

2C PULAO
Serves  2

1 c uncooked rice washed and drained
1/2 C carrot cubed
1/2  C corn kernel
2 green chili slit
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 stick cinnamon
2 TB oil/ghee
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1  onion chopped
a sprig of curry leaves
2 C water
salt to taste
fried onion for garnish

DIRECTION

Heat the oil in a deep pot, fry mustard seed, let it crackles. Add cumin seed, cloves, cinnamon and curry leaves, fry until fragrant.

Add in onion, ginger garlic and green chili, fry until onion turns soft.

Now add the carrot, salt and corn, fry for a minute. Pour in 2 cups of water and the drained rice.

Bring to boil and cook until water evaporates. Using the lowest heat, cover the pot and cook for another 5 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and place onto a serving plate.  Garnish with fried onion if desired.

JEMPUT2 PISANG/ BANANA FRITTERS (BAKED)

Undisputedly our traditional kuih serve for generation. It is served during breakfast or as teatime snack. There are many variations to prepare it some added sugar and coconut. But I prefer to omit those since banana is already sweet and opt for healthier version by baking them.

They tasted as good as you have fried them but the only missing is the golden color you get when deep frying.

JEMPUT2 PISANG / BANANA FRITTERS (BAKED)
Serves   2-3

1 C  all purpose flour
6 very ripe banana mashed
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

METHOD

Preheat oven @ 175C and heavily greased your baking pan. If possible use non stick baking pan.

Mix by hand banana, baking powder and salt.

Add in flour and combine well.

Drop a tablespoon on the greased pan.

Bake for 15 minutes then flip the other side, bake another 15 minutes.

Your fritters are ready to serve with your cuppa.

JAM FILLED BUNS

This recipe is taken from  here but I have converted them into Jam Filled Bun since a certain ingredient is not available at my pantry.

It is semi rich dough,  won't rise much and you can bake them using lightly greased silicone mold or muffin pan.  The easiest way to fill the bun is by flattening the dough then place the jam in the middle, close the edges, shape back to a ball.  I shaped the dough into a coil about 10 inches long.  Choose one that you are comfortable with, either way they turned out fabulous though.

JAM FILLED BUNS
Yield      :    9 buns

2 C  all purpose flour
1/2 C  evaporated milk
4  TB  soft butter
3 TB  sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp  instant yeast
1/4 C  fruit preserve/jam

DIRECTION

In a small bowl, combine milk, sugar and butter. Heat the mixture in a microwavable bowl until warm to touch.

Place flour and instant yeast in a mixing bowl, stir to combine.

Now add the milk mixture and salt, forms into soft dough.

Transfer onto floured work space and knead by hand for 6-8 minutes. If too sticky at a tablespoon of flour.

Place the dough into greased and covered bowl for 1-11/2 hour until puffy, may not double in bulk.

Divide dough into 9 balls. Flatten each ball and stuff with a teaspoon of jam, roll back into a round again. Or. make coil by rolling the ball between your hand about 10 in long.  Coil dough strip with the folded side down onto baking sheet. Make a deep indentation in the middle and fill with jam.. Let sit for 1 1/2 hours. Towards the end of rising time, preheat oven @ 180 C.

Bake the buns for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Linking to  Yeastspotting 10-21-11

STRAWBERRY BREAD

Easy bread to be enjoyed at any time of the day. Fresh strawberries are added to the batter  This makes a nice treat with your coffee or a great addition to brunch..

The final product yielded an incredible results. The bread was studded with a little moist chunk of fruity goodness. All  members of my family liked it.

STRAWBERRY BREAD
Yield  :   One loaf

1+1/2  C  all purpose flour
3/4 C  sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2  C  melted butter
1 C  fresh strawberry chopped
3/4 C  yogurt
1/4  tsp nutmeg

DIRECTION

Preheat oven @ 180C and grease 8 in baking pan.

Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda into a mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, combine butter, yogurt, sugar and nutmeg.

Pour the wet ingredients onto flour mixture, stir to mix.

Add in strawberries, mix well. Pour onto prepared pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and transfer onto rack to cool completely, 1 hour or longer.

Slice to serve.

This goes to 6th World Bread Day 2011

  

BAKED BEIGNETS

Beignets are sweet baked treat that are part bread, part doughnut. It was introduced by French families in Louisiana  during  mid 1700 along with their chicory coffee.

 Never baked beignets before but  when I saw them on the net, decided to bake them myself. There are two types of beignets - fried or baked. Of course my choice goes to healthier version and easy method.

Combination of beignets and sweet coffee is so satisfying and  filling too.  Start baking yours to enjoy this lovely bake!

BAKED BEIGNETS
Yield  :   20
Modified from KAF

2  C  all purpose flour
1/2 C  evaporated milk
1/4  C  hot water
2 TB melted butter
1 TB sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1/4  C confectioners'  sugar

DIRECTION

Place all purpose flour,and instant yeast in a mixing bowl, stir to mix.

In a small bowl combine evaporated milk, hot water, butter and sugar.

Pour milk mixture to the flour, sprinkle salt and forms into soft dough. If it is sticky add 1-2 tablespoon flour.

Transfer to the floured board, knead by hand for 10 minutes or you can  use your mixer to do the job.

Place the dough into greased and covered bowl, let rise for an hour.

Gently degas the dough, roll out into rectangle on floured  work space. Cut into  1.5-2 in squares. Preheat oven @ 180C. Let sit for 45 minutes.

Place the squares onto baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

While still warm, toss with  confectioners' sugar until well coated.

Linking to  Yeastspotting 10-14-11

DAL GOSHT

This is a wonderful recipe combining lentil and meat. Though it requires constant stirring to ensure that the gravy does not stick to the bottom of the pot, it is so satisfying and absolutely delicious.

Instead of toor dal, you can use kidney bean, bengal gram or a mixture of all the dal. Another option, add vegetables like cauliflower, potato, yam or turnip to this dish for a more healthier version.

DAL GOSHT
Serves 4-6
Adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor

1/2 C  masoor dal (split red lentil)
750g mutton cut into bite size
1 big onion
2 green chili
2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1+1/2 tsp chili powder
1+1/2 in ginger chopped
6 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 TB cooking oil
2 TB lemon juice
3 TB chopped cilantro
salt and sugar to taste

DIRECTION

Place dal, onion, green chili, cumin powder, turmeric, half of the ginger and mutton in a deep pot.

Pour in 4 cups of water and bring to boil. Cover and cook until meat and dal are tender, stirring in between.

Heat the oil, add cumin  seed, when it begins to change color, add remaining ginger and garlic, saute until fragrant.

Add chili powder, stir then remove from heat.

Pour this mixture together with the oil into cooked dal and meat.

Add lemon juice, salt, sugar and garam masala. If more gravy is needed add more water. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.

Serve hot, garnish with chopped cilantro.

SESAME AND ALMOND SLICE

Breakfast slice is a great way to serve your kids on busy mornings. It barely take a few minutes to prepare. Not only that, you can customize to suit the taste of your family members, the ingredients include many things you probably have on hand.

Next time, when you need an easy and healthy breakfast on the go, give this a try. Definitely you will love them!

SESAME AND ALMOND SLICE
Yield  :    24 small squares

1/2  C  self raising flour
1/2 C breakfast cereal
120g melted butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C toasted black sesame
1/2 C toasted chopped almond
2-3 TB milk

DIRECTION

Preheat oven to 180C. Well greased a 12 x 8 in pan.

Combine flour, sugar. sesame and almond in a mixing bowl.

Add in melted butter, stir to combine.

Press the mixture into  prepared pan.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Cool on pan 5 minutes. Cut into small squares while still warm.

CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD

There are various recipes to bake Cinnamon Swirl Bread found on the net but settled with this one from Nestle and  made changes to the filling used.

It turned out fabulous and  my family love them so much. I  have to confess that bread baking is now part of my regular routine and enjoy every minute of the whole process.

If your evaporated milk is chilled, do add hot water but if it isn't, just add warm water. The temperature of the liquid should be warm to touch if too hot, let it cool down a bit.

CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD
Yield     :     One loaf

2 + 1/2 C  all purpose flour
1/2 C evaporated milk
1/2 C hot water
1/4 C  sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 TB butter
1 + 1/2 tsp instant yeast

FILLING

1/4 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp all purpose flour
1 tsp cocoa powder (optional)
1 TB melted butter

DIRECTION

Combine milk, hot water, sugar, butter and salt in a mixing bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour with instant yeast.

Make a well in center, pour the wet ingredients and forms into soft dough.

Place dough onto floured board, knead by hand for 10 minutes until smooth.

Transfer into greased and covered bowl, leave to rise until doubled for an hour.

Gently deflate the dough, roll our into rectangle. Brush with butter, spread the filling evenly leaving 1 in border.
 Tightly roll the dough jelly roll style.

Pinch the ends to seal. Pinch the long seam closed. Place into greased loaf pan, let sit for an hour. Towards the end of rising time, preheat oven @ 180C.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Brush with melted butter if desired after removing from the oven.

Cool on rack. Slice to serve.

Linking to Yeastspotting 10-07-11  

PASTA WITH SPICY TOMATO SAUCE

For a change, I love to cook this pasta cooked in spicy tomato sauce. It has slightly tangy and sweet flavor. Besides prawn, that I'd added you can opt for chicken pieces. Throw in some vegetables of your choice, this has became a complete meal by itself..

For chili paste, you can buy a tub from supermarket or make your own using 10-15 dried chili, soak in hot water for a few minutes then drain and blend. If you love spicy food, it is economical to grind a lot more for future use.

In case you are vegetarian, do omit the  prawn/ chicken, replace them with tofu.

PASTA WITH SPICY  TOMATO SAUCE
Serves    4-5

400g pasta of your choice, cooked according to packet instruction
250g chicken/prawn  shelled and deveined
2 TB  chili paste
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 medium onion chopped
4 cups chicken/vegetable stock
4 TB  tomato puree
3 TB  chili sauce
1 can button mushroom sliced
coriander leaves for garnish
3 TB olive oil
salt and sugar to taste

METHOD

Heat the oil in a deep pot, add in the onion, fry until translucent about 10 minutes..

Add the garlic, fry until fragrant.

Pour in the chili paste and fry until the oil floats on top. Add in tomato paste and salt.

Add in the chicken pieces if using, fry for 1 minutes, pour in the stock and bring to boil. If using prawn, add them after the broth is boiling.

Once the chicken is tender, add in chili sauce,  mushroom,  sugar and salt.

Simmer for 1-2 minutes, off the heat.

To serve, place the cooked pasta in a serving bowl, pour the sauce over the pasta,  garnish with coriander leaves.