Lemon Rice

My husband usually takes lunch from home every morning. This is a recipe that I tried out this morning for the first time. I have eaten it before many a times but had never made it myself. I ate it for breakfast, pretty good. I had lots of left over rice from last night's egg curry and rice dinner, so I gave it a shot. I packed this Lemon Rice with Masala Capsicum (Green Bell Peppers cooked in spices, recipe to follow), fruits and a salad. I hope he ejoyed it.


Ingrediants
2 portions cooked white rice, not mushy
1 tbs oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp channa dal
1 tsp urad dal
2 whole dried red chilli
1 green chilli, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
5 curry leaves
3 tbs peanuts
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp salt / to taste
juice of one lemon

Heat the oil in a wok type pan. Add mustard seeds, let them pop or they will be bitter. Add channa dal, urad dal, red chilli, green chilli, ginger. Fry for a few seconds. Add the curry leaves and peanuts, fry for a min. Lastly add the tumeric, salt & lemon juice and the cooked rice. Stir them gently until the rice is coated with the spices. Serve hot.

Egg Curry

This is one of the recipes that my mum used to make when we were kids. It has a Kerela influence. Since my dad grew up in Kerela and because of his addiction to all things Kerela, we too grew up eating the same food he grew up eating.. Not that I am complaining.. It is delicious. You will eventually notice that all the South Indian dishes that I make have the same South Indian Masala Powder that I make at home ( this I will post it in a seperate recipe ). I serve this egg curry with rice, papadums & yoghurt. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingrediants
4 hard boiled eggs, shelled
1 tbs oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 whole dried chillis
1 medium onion, small dice
1 tomato, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tbs South Indian Masala Powder
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 - 2 cups water


Directions
In a heavy bottom saucepan heat the the oil on medium heat, add the mustard seed. After they have sputtered add the dried chillis, and curry leaves. Add the onions saute for a min until they are pink. Add the ginger, garlic, stir, then add the tomatoes, salt, tumeric, & stir. Cover the pan with a lid and let them simmer in their own juices but keep a eye on it and stir once in a while. After 10 mins you will notice that the tomatoes have become mushy, now add the South Indian Masala powder, stir. Add the water and let it come to a boil. Make small slits in the eggs and add to the gravy. Let it simmer for 5 mins or so, add the coconut milk simmer again for 10 mins.

Serve

Pound Cake

This Pound Cake just melts in your mouth and smells so good. I don't usually like pound cake because it's heavy and dry and not my favorite, but this one has definitely changed my mind.
Its a simple to make and the results are amazing. I like to tweak it once in a while by marbling it with 2 tbs cocoa powder in half the batter. I also like to add orange extract to it sometimes. I want to try it with Madeira wine and candied ginger next. Will post how that goes. This recipe makes a big cake. Most of the time I half the recipe and make it in a loaf pan, but the baking time remains the same. It may be a bit sweet, so if you want you can cut down the sure by 1/2 - 3/4 cup. So here goes



Fail-Proof Pound Cake

Ingrediants
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (you may use lemon or almond flavoring instead)

Directions
Generously grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Do not preheat the oven.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and heavy cream to butter-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in flavoring.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Put into a cold oven and set the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes without opening the oven door. Bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary. Remove from the oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto cake plate. For a real treat, serve yourself a slice while it's still warm.

Classic White Bread

I have been making bread at home for about 9 months now. They all didn't look so good or even tasted as good as the Kalamata Olive bread I made this week. In the beginning they didn't even taste like bread. But my pledge in Feb'09 to never again buy a loaf of artisan bread from the fancy bakery, kept me going. Without bread thinking of what to make for breakfast and those simple weekend brunches would have been a nightmare.
So I have been trying alot of different recipes for that simple loaf of bread, some work some don't. Some just have too many ingredients for an everyday loaf. I like the recipe below because it is simple, few ingredients, and it tastes pretty damn good. Although the recipe calls for All-Purpose flour, if I have unbleached white bread flour on hand I like to use it. It gives a much better texture to the bread that you just don't get with all-purpose. I usually like to make half the recipe just for one loaf which is enough for my little family of 2. Oh and I failed to mention this is a Julia Child recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups water (105-115 F)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 7 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• Optional Kalamata olives, pitted, 2 handfuls
  

Directions

1. Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl and mix with yeast and sugar til foamy.

2. Let sit for 5 minutes until creamy.

3. Put the yeast mixture, rest of the water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour into the mixer with the dough hook.

4. Mix slowly until blended then add the rest of the flour.

5. Increase speed and scrape down the sides til the dough comes together.

6. (If it doesn't add a tbsp of flour at a time til it does.) Add salt and mix at medium speed for 10 minutes (or do half in mixer and half kneading) til dough is smooth and elastic.

7. Back in mixer add butter 1 tbsp at a time (dough may come apart, but mixing will pull it back together). You can now add the olives.
   

8. Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl.

9. Turn dough so it is completely coated in the fat, then cover in plastic for 45 minutes to an hour, til it has doubled in size at room temperature.

10. Butter 2 loaf pans.

11. Deflate the dough, cut in half and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.

12. Roll out into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle.

13. With the short end facing you, fold the dough into thirds like a sheet of paper to go into an envelope, creating a roll.

14. Pinch the seam closed, and pinch the ends enough so it will fit in the loaf pan.

15. Drop in the loaf pan seem side down, and repeat.

16. Cover the loaves with buttered plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place (80°F) for 45 minutes, until they double in size.

17. Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the center of the oven.

18. Bake for 35-45 minutes til they are honey brown.

19. Immediately turn out of pans onto a rack to cool.

20. Once almost completely cool, they can be cut.

21. Store in a brown paper bag for a day or two.

22. Once cut, turn cut side down onto a cutting board and cover with a kitchen towel.

One of the first things I did after the loaf cooled down is make a Cheese sandwich. Yummy with cheddar and fresh basil.

Fruity Breakfast Muffins

Last weekend I made these yummy muffins for a morning snack. They are healthy because of all the fruit and nuts & they are not too sweet either.

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup strawberries, chopped
• 1 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1/2 pint blueberries
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Special equipment: muffin tin and muffin liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix together strawberries and 2 tablespoons sugar. Let sit 15 minutes until strawberries give off juices.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, 1 cup sugar, strawberries, and lemon zest.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in blueberries and walnuts.

Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out with a few crumbs but not wet, about 30 minutes. Cool on a rack to room temperature.

Amazing Blueberry Muffins

We had some friends over for brunch the other day and I made these delish muffins.. enjoy!

Makes 16

Ingredients
* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream
* 1/4 cup milk
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 half-pints fresh blueberries

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

2009 Favourites Kitchen Gadgets

I thought I would also post some of my favorite kitchen gadgets of the year. I'm pretty certain that all these lovely things did not enter my life until 2008-9, but I am so glad they did.

• Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer.

Lady and I do not go back very far, but we're sure to be good friends. I using her a whole lot, almost everyday and i'm falling in love.

Meet Lady Mix-a-Lot. (Not me... the mixer.. lol )

• Bar Keepers Friend. Though it definitely takes some elbow grease to get things off, this stuff is great for making your stainless steel pots and pans look (almost) new again.
  
• Grater/zester. How did I ever live without one of these things? Zesting citrus, grating nutmeg and ginger, and making really fluffy grated cheese, this does it all.
• Cast iron Casserole. These are definitely not the biggest bargains of the cooking world. Like me if u manage to find a great deal & a great product it will last you a lifetime (and probably 3 or 4 lifetimes after your own). Great for tortillas, cornbread, even brownies & makhani dals & delish biryanis.
• A baking stone. Homemade pizza without one of these is great, but with one? Amazing. So crisp and delicious. Also great for breads, and if you get certain types, cookies.
• Mesh strainers in different sizes. So great for straining sauces, chicken stock, jams, etc. I cant believe that at one point I used a tiny little tea strainer for some of of these things.
  

So, there you have it. A few things that make cooking a little more fun (and a whole lot easier) for me.

I have my eye on: Victorinox Chef's Knife & a glass pitcher