Category Archives: Other Bakes

Nankhatai

By Posted in Other Bakes, What's cooking Tagged , , , , , 3 Comments

The dishes I made for the last two days were things my daughter enjoys and is super happy when I bake. Today’s dish is something I have very fond memories of from when I was a child. My Mom is an awesome cook and can master most dishes and cuisines in a snap. Once she was done with the popular dishes of that time like Punjabi and Indo Chinese cuisine, Mom decided to try her hand at baking. She took a class and came back with few recipes and loads of enthusiasm.

I remember the red oven we had when I was a kid and in my mother’s usual style, she only managed to sell it 2 years ago after almost 30 years of having it. One of the first recipes she tried was a nankhatai. For some reason it sounded funny to us as kids and we had no clue how it would turn out. So we kept making juvenile jokes about it. But once we bit into these little pieces of bliss we were transformed. I remember my friends being so much nicer to me because they wanted more of it and for one week my life was fun.

I asked my Mom for the recipe but she couldn’t locate it in time. Of course she hasn’t thrown it out. It still exists, 4 sheets of typewritten paper nestled between the pages of her brown recipe book. So I picked this recipe from Gayathri’s blog, who is a fairy godmother for many bakers like me.

Makes 12-15 cookies

WHAT WE NEED

100 gms All purpose flour

25 gms Chickpea flour

25 gms Semolina / Rava

100 gms Powdered sugar

90 gms Clarified butter / ghee

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Cardamom powder

4-5 Pistachios

WHAT TO DO

  • Preheat the oven to 165C
  • Add the ghee, sugar and cardamom powder to a bowl and whisk well to mix
  • Add the all purpose flour, chickpea flour, semolina and baking powder and mix well to a soft dough
  • Grease a baking tray or line it with parchment paper
  • Take a small piece of the soft dough and roll it into a ball and place it on the baking tray
  • Continue till the entire dough has been rolled and placed on the tray. You should get around 15 cookies
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes till the bottom is golden brown
  • Take off the tray from the oven and let the cookies be on the tray for 10 minutes
  • Transfer them to a cooling rack and let it cool completely
  • Store in an air tight jar
  • Enjoy

This is my post for the Kid’s Delight event started by Valli of Spice your Life and hosted by me this month for the theme, ‘Baked Treats‘.

BMLogo

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Advertisements

Garlic & Cheese Pretzels

By Posted in Breads, Other Bakes, What's cooking Tagged , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

When we lived in Malaysia, we frequented Auntie Anne’s for their delicious pretzels. The daughter and I would spend some time simply watching them behind the counter shape the pretzels with amazing accuracy and speed. She loves the soft pretzels as do I and we both always picked the savory ones as against the sweet options. So this dish is an attempt to recreate that memory for us. Though my shaping skills need a LOT of work, the pretzels tasted good and the daughter was happy. So it is a kind of mission accomplished.

Adapted from here

Makes 6 Pretzels

WHAT WE NEED

1 cup Milk

2 1/4 tsp Instant yeast

3 tbsp Brown sugar

2 1/4 cup All purpose flour

5 tbsp Unsalted butter

1 tsp Salt

2-3 tsp Garlic powder

6 tbsp Cheese, grated

2 tsp Mixed dried herbs

For the soda bath

1/3 cup Baking soda

3 cups Water

WHAT TO DO

  • Mix the yeast with the milk in a large bowl
  • Add sugar, flour, 2 tbsp of butter and salt
  • Knead till it forms a smooth dough, around 7 minutes
  • Set it aside till it doubles in volume, around 1 hour
  • Preheat the oven to 230C
  • Grease a baking tray or line it with parchment paper
  • Add the 4 tbsp cheese, mixed herbs and garlic powder and mix well
  • Divide the dough into 6 pieces
  • Roll each piece into a thin long rope and shape like a pretzel

  • Dissolve the baking soda in warm water
  • Dip each pretzel into the soda water and place it on the baking tray
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes till it is golden brown in colour
  • Brush the pretzels with the balance butter and top with cheese
  • Serve warm
  • Enjoy!

NOTES

  1. Though the soda bath is not mandatory, it is recommended. If you do not use the soda bath then broil the pretzels for 2 minutes to get a nice golden brown colour
  2. I did not top the pretzel with cheese because the daughter doesn’t like it though I love the extra cheese on top.
  3. I used mozzarella cheese. You can use any other cheese as well like cheddar or parmesan

This is my post for the Kid’s Delight event started by Valli of Spice your Life and hosted by me this month for the theme, ‘Baked Treats‘.

BMLogo

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Baked Mini Donuts

By Posted in Other Bakes, Snacks, What's cooking Tagged , , , , , , 2 Comments

Today is the first day of a three day weekend. The daughter and I have an agreement that she eats whatever I make during school days and I make whatever she asks for during holidays. Most of the time it makes mt life easier though I understand I have to renegotiate this just before vacations. So today she asked for donuts and I had to bake something for this week’s theme of Baked Treats. Thankfully this worked dor both of us and we had some delicious baked donuts.

I picked the recipe from King Arthur Flour whose recipes work for me. This is a recipe with eggs though I will try and post about the eggless version soon.

Makes 12-14 mini donuts

WHAT WE NEED

185 gms All purpose flour

75 gms Sugar

35 gms Brown Sugar

30 gms Unsalted butter

30 gms Oil

1 egg

3/4 tsp Baking powder

Pinch of Baking soda

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup / 100 ml Milk

WHAT TO DO

  • Preheat the oven to 230C
  • Whisk the butter, oil, sugar and brown sugar till it is a smooth mixture
  • Add the egg and whisk again till it is fully blended in
  • Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground nutmeg and mix well
  • Add the flour and milk alternating between the two starting and ending with flour. It will be a thick batter
  • Grease the donut pan and pour the batter upto half of the cavity
  • Bake for 10 minutes
  • Take out the pan and let them rest for 7-8 minutes
  • Demould the donuts and cool on the wire rack
  • Add your favourite toppings
  • Enjoy!

NOTES

  1. A simple topping can be icing sugar sprinkled on top of the donuts while it is warm
  2. Chocolate and nuts also are a good topping option.

This is my post for the Kid’s Delight event started by Valli of Spice your Life and hosted by me this month for the theme, ‘Baked Treats‘.

    • BMLogo

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

    Flaxseed Dinner Rolls

    By Posted in Other Bakes, What's cooking Tagged , , , 16 Comments

    DSC_1155

    I love dinner rolls and keep finding new recipes to make. You can have them with other dishes like pasta or if you are like me, you can have them with a slather of butter anytime of the day. These rolls taste wonderful with the flavour of herbs coming through as also the nutty flaxseed and the slight crunch of bran.

    Recipe adapted from here

    Makes 8 rolls

    WHAT WE NEED

    1 1/2 cup All purpose flour

    1 tbsp Wheat bran

    1 tbsp Flaxseeds, ground

    2 tbsp Dried mixed herbs

    1 1/2 tsp Instant yeast

    1 1/2 tsp Sugar

    2 tbsp Olive Oil

    1/4 tsp Salt

    1/2 cup Warm water

    WHAT TO DO

    • Mix the flour, bran, flaxseed, herbs, sugar and yeast
    • Add Olive oil, salt and warm water and knead to form a smooth dough
    • Set aside for 1 hour or till the dough doubles in volume
    • Take out the dough and roll it into a 1″ thick circle
    • Cut it into 8 wedges
    • Roll each wedge from the broader side ro form a crsescent like roll
    • Grease a baking tray and keep the rolls on it dor 20-25 minutes
    • Preheat the oven to 185C
    • Bake for 20-25 minutes or till the drop turns golden brown
    • Serve warm
    • Enjoy!

    DSC_1161

    This is my post for the Blogging Marathon under the theme,’Wraps & Rolls’.

    BMLogo

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

    Eggless Cinnamon Rolls

    By Posted in Other Bakes, Snacks, What's cooking Tagged , , , 14 Comments

    DSC_1148

    The second dish in this week’s theme of ‘Wraps & Rolls’ is the classic Cinnamon Roll. I have previously posted this dish which is an egg version whereas this one is an eggless version. My recent endeavour has been to bake eggless versions of the dishes I usually bake with egg. This one is delightful, so soft and delicious. The best part is that it tastes so good without the glaze. It reduces work not to mention calories.

    Adapted from here

    Makes 15-16 rolls

    WHAT WE NEED

    For the dough

    3/4 cup warm milk

    1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

    1/4 cup Oil

    1 tbsp Butter, melted

    2 tsp Instant yeast

    1/4 cup Sugar

    2 1/4 cups All purpose flour

    1/2 tsp Baking powder

    1/4 tsp Baking soda

    1/2 tsp Salt

    For the filling

    1/2 cup Brown sugar

    1 tbsp Cinnamon powder

    3 tbsp Softened butter

    WHAT TO DO

    • Mix the lemon juice with the warm milk and set aside for 5 minutes
    • In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, butter, oil, baking powder, baking soda, yeast and salt
    • Add the milk and make a smooth dough
    • Set aside for an hour or till it doubles in volume
    • Mix all the ingredients for the filling and set aside
    • Roll out the dough into a 24*18” rectangle
    • Spread the filling on the dough with your hand
    • Roll the dough on the longer side into a tight log
    • Cut the log into 15-16 pieces
    • Grease a baking tray or line it with parchment
    • Place the rolls on the baking tray few inches apart so that the dough has space to increase in volume
    • Set aside for 40 minutes
    • Preheat the oven to 185C
    • Bake for 18-20 minutes or till the rolls are golden brown
    • Serve warm
    • Enjoy

    DSC_1151

    This is my post for the Blogging Marathon under the theme, ‘Wraps & Rolls’.

    BMLogo

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

    Herbs & Garlic Rolls

    By Posted in Other Bakes, Snacks, What's cooking Tagged , , , , 14 Comments

    DSC_1132

    All through my life I have tried to lose weight. It has mostly not worked because I would not stick to any plan for more than a week. Then I would look at people thinner than me wearing pretty clothes and sulk. This has been going on forever with no end in sight. Finally I figured out how to solve the problem. No, I am not propounding a new weight loss strategy. All I am saying is that my problem has always been other people being thinner. So I figured I would put my baking to use as a dark art and get everyone around me to put on weight. If that is not a delicious solution I don’t know what is.

    So these garlic rolls are the first step in that direction. In my defense, they did turn out delicious and quite gobble-worthy.

    DSC_1142

    Recipe adapted from here

    Makes 10 rolls

    WHAT WE NEED

    1 cup All purpose flour

    1 cup Whole Wheat flour

    2 1/2 tsp Instant yeast

    1 tsp Sugar

    1 tsp Salt

    2 tbsp Olive oil

    3/4 cup Warm water

    60-70gms Herbed garlic butter

    Sesame seeds to garnish

    WHAT TO DO

    • Add the flours, yeast, sugar, salt and oil in a large bowl
    • Add 1/2 cup water and mix to form a smooth dough
    • If the dough seems too dry then add 2tsp water at a time till the dough comes together
    • Cover and set aside for an hour or till the dough doubles in volume
    • Take out the dough and roll it into a 1/2″ thick rectangle
    • Spread the garlic butter on the dough evenly
    • Roll the dough into a tight log from the longer side of the rectangle
    • Cut the log into 10 pieces
    • Grease an 8″ round baking pan and place the rolls side-up on the pan
    • Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and set aside for 20 minutes
    • Preheat the oven to 185C
    • Bake for 20-25 minutes or till the rolls are golden brown
    • Brush with the balance butter on top
    • Serve warm
    • Enjoy!

     

    NOTES

    1. I used the store bought garlic butter but you can also make it at home. Take 70 gms of salted butter, 4-5 cloves of garlic and 2-3 tsp of mixed herbs. Pulse the garlic and herbs together in a blender. Add them to the butter and mix well. Add salt if needed and use.

    DSC_1135

    This is my post for the Blogging Marathon under the theme, ‘Wraps & Rolls’.

    BMLogo

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

    Cheese & Garlic Scones

    By Posted in Other Bakes, Snacks, What's cooking Tagged , , , , , , , 15 Comments

    DSC_1152

    When I made a Hi-Tea combo couple of months ago, my favourite of the lot of dishes was the Cheese and garlic scones. These are super easy to make and taste so good. It is one of the few baked dishes that even my husband liked and asked for seconds. I have made it several times since and it has been appreciated by kids and adults alike. This makes for a quick and easy snack with all ingredients easily available at home. I do think of adding some vegetables to it but then I feel maybe some dishes should be left just for taste instead of trying to healthy-fy everything all the time.

    DSC_1174

    Recipe from here

    Makes 8 scones

    WHAT WE NEED

    1 cup All purpose flour

    1 1/2 tsp Baking powder

    1/4 tsp salt

    1/4 cup shredded cheese

    1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated

    1/2 cup Milk

    WHAT TO DO

    • Preheat the oven to 220C
    • Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl
    • Add the shredded cheese and garlic to the bowl and mix well
    • Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the milk except for 2 tsp of milk
    • Bring together all the ingredients and form a dough
    • Do not overmix
    • Grease a baking tray and transfer the dough to the tray
    • Pat it into a 1″ thick circle and cut into 8 wedges
    • Brush the balance 2 tsp milk on the dough
    • Bake for 15-20 minutes or till the top gets brown spots
    • Cool for 10 minutes
    • Serve warm with butter

    NOTES

    1. I have tried this dish with cheddar cheese, pizza cheese (mix of cheddar and mozzarella) and matured goat cheese and it works beautifully with each one
    2. I found the goat cheese (matured) slightly bland in comparison to the other two and so I sprinkled some dried rosemary to enliven it

    DSC_1153

    This is my post for the Blogging Marathon under the theme, ‘One protein three dishes’.

    BMLogo

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

    Hi Tea

    By Posted in Muffins, Other Bakes, Snacks, Sweets & Desserts, What's cooking Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 20 Comments

    DSC_1189

    This is the final post in this week’s Thali series. My sister-in-law gifted me a cupcake / hi tea stand and I have been planning to use it in the blog for ages now. I didn’t want to miss the chance this time and so I figured making a hi tea spread for the Thali theme would be just perfect. Hi tea is a British tradition of drinking tea sitting on high back chairs at the table with a spread including cold cut meat, fruits, breads, crackers, etc.

    DSC_1187

    This hi tea spread includes –

    1. Iced tea (because it it summer now)

    2. Regular black tea & milk

    3. Cheese and Garlic Scones

    4. Walnut Cake Slice

    5. Masala Chai Mini Muffins

    6. Dry fruit biscuits

    7. Pistachio and chocolate biscuits

    8. Peas & Carrot Finger Sandwiches

    9. Cucumber & Mayonnaise Finger Sandwiches

    8. Jam

    9. Honey

    DSC_1181

    Here is a quick recipe for the masala chai muffins –

    Makes 16-18 mini muffins

    WHAT WE NEED

    3/4 cup Whole wheat flour

    1/2 cup Granulated sugar

    1/2 tsp Baking powder

    1/4 tsp Baking soda

    Pinch of salt

    1/2 cup Masala chai / tea ( no sugar)

    1 tsp Vinegar

    2 tbsp Oil

    WHAT TO DO

    • Preheat the oven at 190C
    • Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl
    • Mix the oil, masala chai and vinegar in another bowl
    • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine
    • Line a mini muffin tray and pour the batter up to 3/4 full for each muffin mould
    • Bake for 15-20 minutes or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean
    • Cool for half hour
    • Enjoy!

    This is my post for the Blogging Marathon under the theme, ‘Thalis’.

    BMLogo

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

    Rose scented Hazelnut Cookies

    By Posted in Other Bakes, Sweets & Desserts, What's cooking Tagged , , , , 11 Comments

    DSC_1139

    This is my third and final post on New Year Challenges. I have been planning forever to experiment on ideas and recipes instead of adapting other recipes. Though I am sure most flavour combinations have already been discovered and perfected, there is a thrill and satisfaction of discovering something on your own instead of simply adapting another recipe. I used to do that a lot during my initial days in the kitchen but then it slowly died down as the years went by. Now I want to try dishes on my own and document it. Here is the first one – a rose scented cookie with hazelnuts and rose petals.

    DSC_1141

    Makes around 15 cookies

    WHAT WE NEED

    1 cup Whole wheat flour

    1/2 cup Sugar

    1/3 cup Unsalted butter, room temperature (around 80 gms)

    1 tbsp Rose water

    2 tbsp Hazelnuts, chopped

    1 tbsp Dried rose petals

    2 tbsp Milk / as required

     

    WHAT TO DO

    • Preheat the oven at 175C
    • Beat butter and sugar till soft and fluffy, around 4-5 minutes
    • Add the rose water, flour and hazelnuts and mix
    • Add milk to form a smooth dough
    • Line a baking tray with parchment
    • Divide the dough into 15-20 parts
    • Roll each one into a ball, flatten and place on the baking tray
    • Bake for 12-15 minutes till the cookies get brown at the bottom
    • Let cool for 10 minutes
    • Enjoy!

    DSC_1145

    This is my post for the Blogging Marathon under the theme, ‘New Year Challenges’.

    BMLogo

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

    Cinnamon Rolls

    By Posted in Other Bakes, Sweets & Desserts, What's cooking Tagged , , 9 Comments

    DSC_1132

    Every now and then I wonder how I end up missing the classic dishes, the most popular ones that have stood the test of time. I keep thinking about baking them and blogging about it but then I discover something new and exciting and this gets sidelined to be revisited another day. I always imagine someone visiting my blog and then is stunned speechless because there is no recipe for cinnamon rolls or pound cake. So now there is one less thing to worry about.

    DSC_1137

    The husband and daughter threw a fit about having to eat too many breads. They wanted something sweet and made all sorts of threats to ensure I give them that. So I figured I could make cinnamon rolls because they satisfy my criteria of yeast dough and so kind of fall in the bread category and at the same time they are sweet and will please the family.

    DSC_1161

    Recipe adapted from here and here

    Makes 15 medium rolls

    WHAT WE NEED

    For the rolls

    120 ml Milk

    56 gms Unsalted butter at room temperature

    1 1/8 tsp Instant yeast

    pinch of salt

    3/4 tsp Cinnamon powder

    8 tsp Brown sugar

    204 gms All purpose flour

    For the glaze

    1/4 cup Icing sugar

    1 tsp Unsalted butter, melted

    1/2 tsp Vanilla essence

    2-3 tsp Milk

     

    WHAT TO DO

    For the rolls

    • Heat 21 gms butter and the entire milk together in a microwave oven/ saucepan till melted
    • Let it cool to become lukewarm
    • Transfer the butter and milk mixture to a large bowl and add yeast, 2 tsp brown sugar  and salt
    • Add the flour little by little and knead to a loose ball consistency
    • Cover and set aside till the dough doubles in volume, around 1-2 hours
    • Roll out the dough to a thin rectangle
    • Brush it 21 gms butter and top it with 6 tsp brown sugar and cinnamon powder
    • Roll the dough tightly into a long tube shape and place it seam side down
    • Cut it into 15 pieces with a knife
    • Place the rolls in a greased baking tray leaving little space between them
    • Brush the top of the rolls with the balance butter
    • Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes
    • Preheat the oven to 175C
    • Bake for 25-30 minutes or till it is slightly golden brown

    For the glaze

    • Mix all the ingredients for the glaze to form a thick glaze
    • Pour over the rolls as soon as they are taken out from the oven
    • Serve warm
    • Enjoy!

    DSC_1165

     

    This is part of the Bake-a-thon 2017