BAKED BEIGNETS

Baked 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  Baked Beignets and sweet coffee  are  so satisfying and filling too.  Start baking yours to enjoy this lovely bake!

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 Sesame and Almond Slice a try. Definitely you will love them!

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.  Pasta w/Spicy Tomato Sauce  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.