Mint Almond Wheat Bread!

I've been on a Mint roll lately, Made some Mint Pesto, Mint Chutney and now Mint Bread! I got a bunch of fresh Mint from Mona and have been putting it in pretty much everything, salads, fruit chaat, Lentil curries and so on.

This bread is a nice dense bread with some cracked wheat and almonds and a ton of Mint!.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup bread flour
• 3-4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cracked wheat boiled
• 1/2 cup almonds soaked in warm water for an hour or more
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves ( 30-40)
• 1/2 inch ginger( optional)
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons active yeast

Directions:

1. Soak the cracked wheat in water for an hour and then Boil the cracked wheat till it softens (3-4 minutes).
2. Let the mixture cool a bit then add Yeast and sugar to it.
3. Let it sit for 10 minutes or until frothy.
4. In a blender, add the mint leaves, soaked almonds and ginger and blend coarsely. Add some water if needed.
5. In a greased mixing bowl, add the flours and salt and mix well.
6. Add the oil, yeast mixture and mint mixture and 1/2 cup of water and knead for 8-10 minutes. ( if using stand mixer, 3-4 minute batches with intermittent scraping)
7. Add more water if needed.
8. Place dough in a well greased container, covered in a warm place for 2 hours.
9. Lightly punch the dough and using a little flour knead and shape into a loaf by pulling on all sides and tucking under.
10. Place loaf in well oiled bread pan and cover with damp towel. Let rise for an hour.
11. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes.
12. Cool completely before slicing!

This one headed to Susan's Yeastspotting !!

Jalebi!

Jalebi is an Indian Sweet which is basically deep fried batter in pretzel kind of shape and dipped in sugar syrup!

There are several ways to make Jalebis. I checked some recipes from Sanjeev Kapoor's site and at Manjula's kitchen. Check out Manjula's video for how to shape the Jalebis.

You can also use baking powder instead of yeast. Baking powder recipes and other variations can be found at Sanjeev Kapoor's site .

Here is what I came up with!

Ingredients:

Sugar Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• pinch of cardamom powder
• pinch of saffron strands crushed

Jalebi:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• just about 1/2 cup luke warm water
• 1 Tablespoon non dairy Yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon quick rise yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• pinch of saffron crushed
• orange food color(optional.. I dint use color)
• Oil for frying

Directions:

1. To prepare the sugar syrup, Boil all the ingredients till the syrup comes to a boil and thickens a bit. (2-3 minutes after the syrup boils). You can add other flavors to the syrup like kewra essence or rose water/essence instead of cardamom.
2. For the Jalebi batter, In a bowl, add warm water, sugar, saffron and yeast and mix well.
3. Keep the mixture for 10 minutes or until it is frothy.
4. Add in the flour, yogurt and mix well to make a smooth pouring consistency mixture without lumps.
5. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and keep for an hour.
6. Pour the mixture into a squeezy bottle or a zip-lock bag and cut a small hole(1/8 inch) on one side of the ziplock bag,
7. Authentic Jalebis are meant to be fried in ghee(clarified butter), like are you kidding me, 2 cups of ghee is probably 10-20 gallons of milk!. so I fried these in canola oil.
8. Starting from the center, squeeze out the batter in circles to make a big concentric circle.
9. Fry it on medium high heat on both sides, till the Jalebies turn golden brown.
10. Transfer Jalebis to warm sugar syrup and remove after half a minute.
11. Serve warm or cold as is or topped with Vegan Rabdi!

Seen below, the right sized hole fun Jalebi, and the jalebi at the back is with a smaller hole hence too crisp.

This one headed to Susan's Yeastspotting !!

Blueberry Apple Wheat Bread!

This one is a bit different than the regular blueberry breads I make with fresh blueberries added to the dough. I made a light sugar blueberry compote and added that to get a nice distribution of the berries and a nice color to the bread as well!

It is not a sweet bread, so it can be used as a sandwich bread!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup bread flour
• 3-4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 cup water
• 5 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon quick rise yeast and 1 teaspoon active yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• half an apple coarsely blended with little water

Directions:

1. Make ahead: Warm 1/2 cup water and add 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon active yeast to it . Mix well and keep aside for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. Add 1/2 cup bread flour to it, mix well and keep it for an hour and then refrigerate for 8-12 hours to get a sticky gooey sponge.
3. For the compote, boil 2/3 cup of water and add 4 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and blueberries to it. Boil for 15-20 minutes until it thickens and all blueberries burst.
4. For the dough, Grease the mixer bowl and add in the flours and salt and 1 teaspoon quick rise yeast and. Mix well.
5. Add in the oil , sponge, blueberry compote and some water. and knead for 10-12 minutes( batches of 3-4 minutes and then scrape the bowl and wait for the mixer to cool a little if too warm) Add more water or flour if needed.
6. Dough should be soft and pliable. Use more flour or water if needed.
7. Place dough in well oiled container, covered with plastic wrap in a warm place for 2 hours
8. Lightly take the dough out and fold it with additional flour if needed. Shape into loaf by pulling on all sides and tucking under. Use flour on hands to avoid dough sticking to hands. Handle dough gently to avoid losing the trapped air.
9. Place loaf in well oiled bread pan and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let rise for 1.5 hours. Bake loaf at 375 degrees F for 40-45 minutes.
10. Cool completely before slicing. I usually place the cooled bread in the refrigerator for half an our before slicing with an electric knife for nice and clean slices!

This one headed to Susan's Yeastspotting !!

Date Fig Burfi(Sugarless Date Fig Indian fudge)

Mom got lots of dates and figs this visit. And we were wondering what to do with them. So I tried this Sugarless Burfi which uses some of the figs and dates!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dates( 8-9 dates)
• 1 cup figs( 7-8 figs)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 2 Tablespoons high fat oil. I used canola.. coconut oil would do too( used to make this with ghee).
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder (optional)

Directions:

1. Coarsely grind dry almonds and cashews and keep aside.
2. Soak the dates and figs in hot water for about an hour.
3. Blend them coarsely using some of the water used for soaking.
4. In a large pan, heat oil at low heat until melted. Spread oil to cover all of the pan.
5. Add in the date fig mixture and cook at low heat stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.
6. Add in the almond and cashews and keep cooking on low heat until the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan. Use more almonds and cashews if the mixture is too flowy.
7. Add a little cardamom powder or other spices like vanilla, nutmeg or saffron according to your taste preference. I added only cardamom. Taste and adjust sweetness. Add some brown sugar if you want the mixture to be more sweet.
8. Mix well and spread the mixture on a well greased pan.
9. Let cool, refrigerate for an hour and slice.
10. Keep refrigerated for a couple of days if it does last that long!.
11. You can also reserve some of the almond cashew mix and sprinkle it on the greased pan and on the mixture so the fudge pieces are less sticky. Roasted poppy seeds can also be used for topping.

Mom's Cauliflower onion Paratha! (Stuffed Indian Flat bread)

Mom made some Gobi Parathas the other day. The base recipe is the same for all parathas(Stuffed Indian Flat Breads). The filling was grated cauliflower and finely chopped onion. Add some salt to the grated cauliflower and onions and keep for 10 minutes. Then squeeze the excess water and add the spices and keep filling ready. Or, add all spices except salt and keep the filling ready, sprinkle salt only when adding the filling to each rolled dough ball. Cauliflower usually leaks a lot of water once salt is added and hence can make the dough soggy while rolling.

Follow the rest of the instructions as the Aloo paratha!

Enjoy hot with Indian pickles, Raita(Indian Yougurt dip) or with an main course curry!

The hot off the pan Parathas never last for more than 5 minutes. They are usually consumed best hot and steaming!

Mom's Sandwich Loaf!

Mom made the sandwich loaf my recipe and came up with this awesome bread!

Grape Oats Flaxseed Molasses Wheat Bread.

Heres one for the daily dose of Fiber, Omega-3s , Iron , vitamins and tons of other goodies!

I know it sounds too healthy for a bread, but trust me, once you start eating tasty wheat breads you will give up white breads like thattt!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup bread flour
• 2-3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 Tablespoon vegan butter
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Dark Molasses
• 1 packet quick rise yeast (1.25 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/3 cup flax seed
• 1.5 cups green or red seedless grapes

Directions:

1. Warm 1/4 cup water and add sugar and yeast to it . Mix well and keep aside for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. In a blender, add flax seed and oats and grind coarsely. Just a few quick short pulses.
3. Add grapes and molasses and blend till grapes are blended. Use water if needed, though the grapes will be moist enough to make a puree.
4. Grease the mixer bowl and add in the flours and salt. Mix well.
5. Add in the oil , grape mixture, water and yeast mixture and vegan butter(optional, substitute another tablespoon of oil) and knead for 10-12 minutes( batches of 3-4 minutes and then scrape the bowl and wait for the mixer to cool a little if too warm)
6. Dough should be soft and pliable. Use more flour or water if needed. The molasses will give the dough a nice brown color and some additional stickiness.
7. Place dough in well oiled container, covered with plastic wrap in a warm place for 1.5 hours
8. Punch dough down and knead for a minute with additional flour if needed. Shape into loaf by pulling on all sides and tucking under. Use flour on hands to avoid dough sticking to hands.
9. Place loaf in well oiled bread pan and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let rise for 45 minutes. Bake loaf at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes.
10. Cool completely before slicing. I usually place the cooled bread in the refrigerator for half an our before slicing with an electric knife for nice and clean slices!