Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Olive Bread | Olive Dabal Roti | Whole Grain | Eggless


Weekend baking and this time I made Olive Bread. I love black olives and one of the places they add so much flavor is in bread! Typically this would be a white bread. However I prefer not to use all purpose flour in my bread baking adventures. I find whole grain flours add so much texture and taste to a loaf. So I generally try to mix a couple of whole grain flours while baking bread.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Zucchini na Muthiya | Zucchini Dumplings | Farm Fresh Produce


Muthiya or steamed dumplings are a quick, easy, and healthy snack and I love to make them for tea or sometimes even for early dinner. Muthiya  is a classic Gujarati snack dish and it is made with a combination of flours and some vegetable - often though not always lauki | dudhi (bottle gourd). Methi, dill, carrot are some of the vegetables that are added to muthiya dough, though you can use any vegetable you fancy. We don't get good quality lauki around here except in late summer when I stop by at the farm to pick it up. So I generally make muthiya with zucchini.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Gajar ki Puri | Carrot Poori | Deep Fried Carrot Flatbread


Today's recipe is a well loved one - carrot puris. A simple fried bread made with multiple flours, grated carrots, and spices. These are good snacking puris and perfect for the lunch box. Kids love them for their chewiness and their taste. I like to make a big batch once in a while and save them in the refrigerator. They will last for at least a week - if you can keep your hands off them. Just warm them in the microwave using a damp tea towel and you are good to go.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Vrat ka Khana | Fasting Foods: Sabudana Thalipeeth | Sago Flatbread


Its been sometime since I updated my collection of recipes prepared during the fasts. And since we are no more than a few months away from the Navratris, I was really keen to get a whole new batch of recipes out to my friends and readers.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Panch Phoren Tarke Wali Chana Dal | Bengal Gram Lentils with Five Spices

Panch Phoren Tarke Wali Chana Dal

The first time I came across Panch Phoren was in university. Invited for dinner at a Bengali friend's home, I enjoyed some delicious vegetables prepared with these spices. Of course, this was not the first time I had tasted this spice mix - but it was undoubtedly the first time my attention was drawn to it as a cook!! After dinner my friend showed me a bottle of this mix - a delightful combination of mustard seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and fenugreek seeds. A bit like a spice combination for a typical pickle from Uttar Pradesh!! No wonder I loved the flavours.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Seeded Zucchini Quick Bread | Farm Fresh Produce


This morning I baked a Zucchini Quick Bread with some of the zucchini I had picked at the farm. I used my regular recipe - one that I developed after the Daring Bakers once got together to make quick breads! Its a tried and tested recipe and so simple that you can't possibly go wrong with. I used a blend of whole flours that added to both the taste and texture of the bread and threw in some sesame seeds and flax seeds for good measure!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Zucchini and Potato Fritters | Farm Fresh Produce


Its that time of the year again when our favorite farm is open to 'Pick Your Own' seasonal vegetables. Saturday was the first time this year we drove down to pick delicious sun kissed vegetables including summer squash, zucchini, kohl rabi, kale, green onions, and beets! Quite a haul you might say - but we have been waiting for over a month for the farm to open up. Extended winter and an unusually cold spring delayed the vegetables this year and I can't believe that it is July when the produce actually began to show up in quantities that has allowed the farm to open! But we are not complaining - we are ready and willing to pick:)

Monday, July 8, 2013

Gajar Marcha no Sambharo | Fresh Carrot Green Chili Pickle


Fresh pickles are famous in India. Every year when the first vegetables or fruits of the season make an
appearance, people rush out to but these tender treats and make fresh pickles with them. Fresh pickles are generally made with raw ingredients and seasoned with spices and a little oil. They are meant to be eaten with the meal for which they are prepared. Sometimes they may be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two but no more.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Daring Bakers June 2013: Strawberry Preserve Crostata

Strawberry Preserve Crostata

The June 2013 Daring Bakers Challenge was to make a delicious pie - four kinds of pies were offered up by  Rachael from pizzarossa. I chose to make a fairly straightforward Jam Tart or Crostata di Marmellatta. I began with making an egg free Pasta Frolla or Basic Italian Pie Pastry. For the filling I used some fresh home made strawberry preserve delicately flavoured with Italian Lime Juice!!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Food Event: Healthy Me and Healthy Us | July 2013

Healthy eating is a challenge no matter where you live, what you do for a living, and even how organized you may be. Indeed it takes a real effort to evaluate our eating habits and begin including healthy foods in our diets in uncomplicated and tasty ways! Ways that will encourage our families also to enjoy them both for their nutritive value and taste.

Given the above, and I know this from my friends, it can be time consuming to hunt healthy recipes. In March of this year, Priya @ Mharo Rajasthan announced an event that goes some ways to make our lives easier. Healthy Me and Healthy Us is a food blogging event that not only encourages us to include healthy, fresh, and whole foods in in our diets, it also provides a forum wherein we can share our recipes and discoveries of nutrition adding foods that are really good for us. It is with great pleasure that I announce the July 2013 edition of Healthy Me and Healthy Us at Annarasa ~ Essence of Food.