Scones

Scones are baked pastries often served at tea time . I had it for the first time at panera bread and was totally knocked down by its'  taste and texture.I have never thought that scones could be made at home until I saw a video posted by chef john. It is such a wonderful recipe that could be made easily by anyone with the very basic items that we have  in our  pantry. It doesn't need cream cheese / cheese or any magical skills to deal with yeast .  Here is the recipe for you...

Ingredients :

 1. All-purpose flour - 1 3/4 cups 

 2.White sugar - 1/4 cup 

 3.Baking powder - 4 teaspoons 

 4.Salt - 1/8 teaspoon 

 5.Unsalted butter - 5 tablespoons 

 6.Milk - 1/2 cup 

 7.Sour cream /thick curd - 1/4 cup 

8. Egg - 1 lightly beaten

9.Milk - 1 tablespoon 

Method :

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2.Whisk flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a knife or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3.Stir together 1/2 cup milk, sour cream in a small bowl; stir into flour mixture with a fork until just moistened and holding together.

4.Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into rectangle.

5.Fold the rectangle in thirds. Turn dough a half turn, gather any crumbs, flatten back into a rectangle, and repeat four to five times.
6.Cut into eight pieces.Further cut each piece into 2 triangles and place each scone on a silicone baking mat.

7.Whisk egg and 1 tablespoon milk together in a small bowl.Brush mixture on top of each scone.

8.Bake scones in the preheated oven until risen and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy .

Whole wheat pizza with Tandoori paneer topping

Had been making the normal pizza for my kidoo once in a week and was thinking to make this into a guilt free recipe and there comes its' healthy counter part. This pizza is both yummy and at the same time healthy. One advantage of making the pizza at home (from scratch) is that we can customize each and every part of it including the sauce , base and most interestingly the topping to our choice.I always prefer to use shredded cheese for pizza topping as this gives a even spread and you can use either mozzarella or cheddar if you cant get a combo of both.If you dont have paneer then try a different topping of your choice with the most basic veggies which is readily available in your pantry or simply onion and capsicum would do.So no worries go ahead and try this recipe.

Ingredients :

For the dough :{1 cup = 125 ml}

1. Wheat flour - 2 cups & extra for dusting
2.  All purpose flour - 1 cup
3. Sugar - 1 tbsp
4. Salt - 1 tsp
5. Warm water - 1 1/2 cup
6. Yeast - 1 package
7. Oil - 1 Tbsp

Pizza sauce :

1. Tomato - 2 to 3
2. Tomato ketch up - 1 Tbsp
3. Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
4. Oregano - 1/2 tsp
5. Salt  &  Pepper - As required

Topping :

1. Paneer cubes - 1 cup
2. Capsicum - 1 cup
3. Onion - 1 cup
4. Shredded Mozzerella
& cheddar cheese - 2 cups

Marination for paneer cubes  :

1. Curd/yoghurt - 1 cup
2.  Garam masala -   1 tsp
3.  Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
4. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
5. Coriander powder - 1  tsp
6. Salt - As required.

Method :

Pizza dough :

1. Take a large vessel and add 1 1/2 cups of warm water to it.
2. Then add yeast to it.Immediately add 1 tbsp of sugar to it.(To activate the yeast).
3. Then the water must become frothy within 1 or 2 mins which shows that the yeast is being activated.

4. Then add salt , oil and then the wheat and all purpose flour one by one.

5. Make a dough and leave it covered with a damp cloth for atleast 20 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the pizza sauce.

Pizza Sauce :

1. Boil hot water and then add two tomatoes to it. When the tomatoes are soft ,take them out and allow to cool.
2. Then blend them in a blender.
3. Take a pan and pour oil to it.Then add finely chopped garlic to it.

4. Then add the tomato paste. Allow it to cook for 10 minutes.Then add the ketchup.

5. Finally add the oregano and the Italian spices to it along with salt and pepper.

6. If it is getting dried up, add little water.Switch off the stove when it reaches the sauce consistency.

For the Topping :

1. Take a pan and pour 2 Tbsp of butter to it. Then add the paneer cubes to it. Fry them for 5 -6 minutes.(Carefully watch it as the paneer cubes might get hard very soon).

2. Then add them in a bowl of hot water.
3. And then make the marination in a separate bowl and add these paneer cubes to it.

4. Refrigerate the marination for atleast 1/2 an hour.

5. Meanwhile dice the capsicum and onions.
6. Fry the capsicum and onion in a pan and keep it aside.

Final preparation :

1. Take the prepared dough. By this time the dough must have doubled in size.
2. Gently knead once and if it is too sticky dust with some wheat flour.

3. Put the dough on to the pizza pan and make a flat surface out of it.

4. Add the pizza sauce over the top, forming a thin layer.

5. Then add the marinated paneer cubes and then the onion and capsicum to it.

6. Finally add the shredded cheese forming a dense layer.

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F/ 180 C for atleast 20 - 30 minutes .
8. Serve hot and Enjoy.

Beetroot chutney

Freshly grated beetroot tossed and ground along with all other south indian spices . This chutney recipe gives a very special and wonderful taste as it blends all the tastes.I got this recipe from my mother in law. It goes well with rice , roti and idli/dosa as well. Let us jump into the recipe .


Ingredients :

1. Beetroot(grated) - 1/2 cup(1 cup = 250 ml)
2. Big Onion  - 1/2
3. Red chilli - 3 or 4
4. Garlic - 2 cloves
5.Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
6.Tamarind - a little
7. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
8. Ural dhal - 1 tsp
9. Chana dhal - 1 tsp
10.Salt and oil - As required

Method :

1. Take a pan and pour oil.
2. Add red chilli, ural dhal , chana dhal ,tamarind and curry leaves.

3. When all of them  change color, add onion and garlic.

4. Fry them for a while until the onion turns translucent .
5. Then finally add the shredded beetroot. Fry them until the raw smell goes off.

6. Then switch off the stove and allow to cool .
7. Grind them in a blender . Tempering is optional.

8. Serve with idli/dosa/roti or even rice.

Masala pasta

Pasta cooked and coated with a blend of Indian spices. No adding of cheese so it could be a good tea time snack for the entire family. It gives a taste much similar to the Indianised noodles recipe. A splash of tomato sauce on to the pasta as a final touch gives an extra hand to the much needed kids friendly version.

Ingredients :

1.Pasta - 2 cups (1 cup= 250ml)
2. Big onion(Finely chopped) - 1
3. Tomato - 2
4.Garlic - 4-5 cloves
5. Carrot(Finely chopped) - 1
6. Beans(Finely chopped) - 10
7.Turmeric powder - 1-2 tsp
8. Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
9. Pav bhaji masala - 2 tsp
10.Salt and oil - As required 
11.Coriander leaves - To garnish.

Method :

1. Bring water to a rolling boil and add salt to it.
2. Then add pasta to it and let it cook until soft and fluffy.
3. Take a pan and pour oil to it.

4. Then add finely chopped garlic. When the raw smell goes off, add onion.

5.When the onion turns translucent, add the veggies. 

6. Fry for a while and then add tomatoes.

7.When the tomatoes turn mushy add turmeric,chilli and pav bhaji powder to it.

8. Add very little water if it is too dry. And cook  for 2 more minutes.

9. Add the cooked pasta to this and garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Wheat pancake

More healthier pancakes for those who are struggling with a  sweet tooth and a fitbit .I swear you would love it, if at all you liked my earlier post on fluffy pancakes. The wheat pancakes were silky soft though not much fluffy. I had been wondering as  " Is there anything in the whole world that would  be more satisfying for a  breakfast other than pancakes ????" ( yup !!! I have a sweet craving right in the morning..) 

Ingredients :

1.Whole wheat flour - 3/4 cup (100 grams) 
2.All-purpose flour - 3/4 cup (100 grams) 
3.Sugar         - 2 tablespoons 
4.Ground cinnamon - 1/2 teaspoon 
5.Baking powder        - 1 tablespoon 
6.Milk        - 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups (295 to                                                                  350 ml)
7.Egg        - 1 large 
8.Unsalted butter( melted )     - 4 tablespoons 
9.Vanilla extract        - 1 1/2 teaspoons 
10.Salt                                           -      a pinch

Method :

1. Combine all the dry ingredients such as wheat flour,all purpose flour, salt, sugar,cinnamon powder and baking powder in a bowl.
2. Combine all the wet ingredients (Egg,vanilla extract,butter and milk)  in yet another separate bowl.
3. Now mix the wet ingredients with the dry ones. Leave it for 10 minutes.(Just mix them so that no lumps of flour is formed. Dont beat them much ).
4. Take a dosa pan or a heavy bottomed pan.Drizzle cooking oil over it.
5. When the pan is hot, pour 1/4 th cup of batter and cook in medium flame.
6.When bubbles are formed on top , just flip it only once and cook the other side.
7. Remove from stove and serve with maple syrup/honey/whipped cream with strawberry.