Steamed rice cakes and Black chickpeas curry (Puttum Kadalayum)

Hey everyone, how are you all doing? I finally started my work at the University this week - on Tuesday! Its become really hectic at home nowadays since I take the bus and have to leave home at 6.50 am. The evenings are just as hard because poor lil LM also gets home after almost 9 hours at school and is really tired after all the running around! I am planning on taking the Fridays off and finally my first weekend is here today!! :-) Its a lot of work at the research lab with a lot of standing and walking around! But I should say that it feels good to be back in a lab after a gap of 3 years. Because of the new experience, I couldnt plan well on my posts last week, but I hope to post regularly from next week onwards!


This recipe for the Black chickpea curry is from my mother-in-law who visited us last year. I had taken these pictures then and was saved as a draft for so long!! Puttu (steamed rice cakes) and kadala (black chickpea curry) is an outstanding breakfast combo in Kerala, India. Eventhough it is more popular as a breakfast item, you can get these anytime you fancy, from one of the roadside stalls or restaurants. Puttu is a simple blend of rice flour, salt and water which is then steamed in cigar shaped or bowl shaped molds. You can also use a regular steamer in which case the puttu will not be in any molded shape. I didnt like it as much when growing up, but after moving to the US and not getting to eat these made it a delicacy for us!!

Puttu can also be eaten with sugar or ripe bananas (for sweet versions) or also with whole moong dal curry (cherupayar curry). Since coconut is abundant there, Keralites typically tend to use a lot of coconut in their cooking - puttu can be made by either mixing grated coconut with the flour or just lining the steamer with grated coconut.

I made these steamed rice cakes in a small steel "chiratta" vessel which is shaped like a coconut shell and can be steamed on the steam outlet of a pressure cooker. So its called chiratta puttu. In addition to imparting the cute shape to the puttu, the "chiratta puttu" vessel also makes it easier to steam the individual portions of puttu in less than a couple of minutes. Read more about puttu at wiki. I usually use the puttu flour available in Indian stores (Double Horse brand), for making these. It is basically plain rice flour, but the ones for puttu is more coarsely ground than the fine rice flour available in general grocery stores. If using fine rice flour, it might help to dry-roast the flour in a skillet, wetting the flour with water and then steaming the puttu.

Black chickpeas takes a long time to cook, so do soak it overnight in water. Using a pressure cooker makes it easier to cook after soaking, even then it takes about 20 minutes. If using a saucepan to took, be advised that it will take longer. Chickpeas curry can be had along with many other traditional Kerala breakfast or even with rice. The coconut milk in the curry makes it an all time delicious and sought after traditional Kerala curry.

I hope these descriptions are enough for those who are not familiar with these dishes. Trust me, its a very delicious combo, especially the black chickpea curry with coconut milk. The recipe follows. So try these out and let me know how it turned out. I would be happy to answer any more questions that you might have. Enjoy!!

Black Chickpea Curry

Recipe :

Dried black chickpeas - 1 1/2 cups
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 3 cloves, sliced lengthwise
Onion - 1 small, sliced
Curry leaves - a handful (if using)
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Canned thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup

Method:

Soak the chickpeas overnight in water.

Pressure cook the chickpeas in enough water for a whistle.

Reduce the flame and cook for about 15-20 minutes.

In a pan, pop the mustard seeds in oil.

Add the sliced onions, garlic and curry leaves and saute.

Once the onions are soft and sauteed well, add the spice powders.

Saute until the spices are well cooked.

Add the cooked chickpeas with any remaining water to the pan.

Season with salt and bring to a boil.

Boil the curry until it is of the desired consistency.

Just before removing from heat, pour the thick coconut milk and mix well.

Serve hot with puttu!!

Steamed rice cakes / Puttu :

Take the desired amount of rice flour and add salt to it. Then add warm water, a little at a time until the flour is just wet. Break up the lumps with your finger tips and palms, until soft and powdery, and just wet. The puttu flour is now ready to be steamed.

One way to make sure that the flour has been adequately wet is to hold a handful of flour and press lightly to shape. If the flour holds the shape and then breaks up easily when pressed, the flour is ready!

For the chiratta puttu:

Boil a cup of water in a pressure cooker. Cover with the lid and allow the steam to escape through the outlet on top. Line the steel puttu mold with a bit of grated coconut. Fill the mold loosely with wet puttu flour. Cover with the mold lid. Keep the mold on top of the steam outlet. The puttu is done when steam comes out of the top of the puttu mold. Srve hot and enjoy with hot chickpea curry!!

Hope you enjoyed reading the post. Have a great weekend!!

Garden Tuna Melt from Kraft foods

Good morning everyone! Hope you all are doing fine. Last week was really hectic with last minute stuff to be taken care before my work and with lil LM starting school and all. She's going to her new school from tomorrow onwards. Hopefully everything will go alright, keeping my fingers crossed!!

I am kind of bummed that I was not able to post regularly the last couple of weeks. I am all the more bummed that my regular readers seem to have given up on me!! I am so sorry for the infrequent posts, I hope to get it back on track now!! Hope you all will continue to visit me and drop me your cheers, I really do miss it!

This recipe is from kraftfoods.com an excellent source for quick meals and creative desserts. Check out the actual recipe here. I tweaked the recipe a little and made it in my own way according to our tastes. Please make sure that you read the tips for a crisp sandwich. All of us love tuna sandwiches and this recipe was delightful as well, with the added crunch of crisp green bell peppers. It was delicious, trust me!! This recipe is a keeper for us and I hope it will be for you too!! Its THE BEST recipe for a quick and healthy munch any time of the day!

Recipe (Makes 3-4 servings) :

Canned tuna in water - 1, drained and flaked
Mayonnaise - 7 tbsp, divided
Chopped green pepper - 1/4 cup
Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp
Bread - 8 slices
Cheese singles - 4

Method:

Mix tuna, mayo, green peppers and seasonings together.

Divide the mixture between four slices of bread.

Place a slice of cheese over the tuna mixture on each sandwich.

Top with the other four slices of bread.

Spread 1 tbsp of mayo on either side of each sandwich.

Cook in a skillet until crisp and brown on both sides. **




Tips:

1. I omitted the onions and dried basil from the actual recipe.
2. I tried browning the sandwich in a skillet and my sandwich turned out to be a bit soggy.
3. For the second sandwich I used two slices of bread toasted in a regular toaster and then omitted the mayo spread on the surface. The result was an amazing healthier, crisp and appealing tuna melt sandwich.
4. I used wheat bread for the sandwich.

Hope you all will come visit me again. Have a great day and a relaxing weekend!!

A healthy breakfast - Porridge with dates and pistachios

These past few weeks had been really hectic for me with some unexpected schedules and sickness in the family! Lil LM had a cough which persisted for days and finally we had to take her to Urgent Care. She is on anibiotics right now, and so I was kind of busy taking care of a irritable 3 yr old ;-). She is doing well now, back to her old self, playing and back to preschool!

I had a few recipes as drafts but didnt get a chance to post any! Since these days were really hectic, I know how much a quick and easy recipe would help the busy. So heres a quick breakfast for all those busy people out there!! This porridge is healthy and deeeeeelicious, with pureed dates and pistachios. It is very quick to put together and makes for a great breakfast for everyone! I used chopped pitted dates which made the recipe even simpler. I halved the recipe, but added about the same amount of milk as mentioned in the recipe because I like mine a little thin. Do try these out and let me know how it turned out for you!

As you all know, the second phase of voting for Santa's Holiday Challenge is going on strong! The poll will be open until Sunday, January 25. Please vote for your favorite recipes if you have not done that already! Thanks for the overwhelming support!

Recipe (Serves 4) :

Fresh dates - scant 2 cups
Rolled oats - 2 cups
Semi-skimmed (low-fat) milk - 2 cups
Water - 1 1/4 cups
Salt - a pinch
Pistachios - unsalted, shelled, roughly chopped, 1/2 cup

Method:

Halve the dates and remove the stones and stems.

Cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 30 minutes, until soft.

Strain reserving 6 tbsp of the water.

Remove the skin from the dates and place them in the food processor with the reserved soaking liquid.

Process to a smooth puree.

Place the oats in a pan with the milk, water and a pinch of salt.

Bring to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 4-5 minutes until thick, creamy and thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently.

Ladle the porridge into serving bowls, top with a spoonful of the date puree and sprinkle with the roughly chopped pistachios.

Serve immediately while piping hot!

Source: Cook's Encyclopedia of Low Carb Cooking by Elaine Gardner.

Tips:

1. I halved the actual recipe to serve 2.
2. I used chopped dates available and then soaked it in boiling water for 30 minutes and then pureed it. I didnt puree it finely so that there would be tiny chunks of dates to bite into.
   

Wishing you all a great day and an awesome weekend ahead!

Kasoori-Methi Parathas

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!! I am sorry for my unexplained absence from blogging! My parents are visting from India for a couple of weeks (yay!!), but since the visit is really short (just for 3 weeks!), I am keeping back from blogging. Thank you for all your concerns and wishes!

Most of you would be busy over the long weekend, going on a quick getaways, whipping up a great thanksgiving meal or having guests over. Well, we have a Thanksgiving get-together at the place of a great friend of mine! But I just thought I would post a quick recipe which has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but is a recently discovered favourite of mine. I've never used kasoori methi (let alone methi leaves!) in my cooking before and this was a welcome treat for me. I absolutely loved the parathas, wish I'd come across it earlier. Again, this is a very common recipe, but still wanted to share with you, my new found love!

I also would like to give all of you a hint that something special is brewing on Tasty treats! The announcement will be made sometime next week. So stay tuned for the exciting and fun activity that I am putting together with a lot of help from my dear friend, Bhags of Crazy Curry!! So friends, please do check back next week and join in the fun!

Recipe:

Wheat flour (Atta) - 2 cups

Kasoori methi - 1/2 cup

Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Water - to knead into a dough

Method:

Put all the ingredients together into a bowl.

Add just enough warm water to make into a dough which is smooth (but not sticky).

Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8-10 balls.

Roll out each dough ball into a circle of about 6-8 in.

Heat a griddle and place a dough circle on the hot griddle.

Cook until light brown spots appear on the first side.

Flip the paratha over and cook until the second side is cooked, showing light brown spots.

Drizzle a bit of ghee/butter/oil if needed on both sides and flip again.

Serve hot.

Hope you all enjoyed your visit to Tasty treats. Please do check back next week for the special announcement!

Kerala-style Vegetable Stew

I am feeling extremely lazy having to adjust again to the life here with just the three of us. The in-laws left last week, so I was pretty busy having to do everything by myself again! So the little free time I get is spent lazily, either relaxing or reading. I wish I could share the recipes with you all, without spending time typing the recipes! ;-) I guess I need a little more time to get to actively blogging again! I browsed through some of my friends' blogs and was blown away by the array of recipes and events on all the blogs. I wish I hadnt missed these recipes and events, and know that I have a lot of catching up to do. Awesome job on your blogs, you all! Hope you all are having a blast! Anyways, here's another one of my Mother-in-law's recipe contributions.

The Kerala-style vegetable stew is a sweet, decadent gravy made with coconut milk as the base, which also have vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and peas. The spices are added whole to this stew, which maintains the light color of the gravy but still lends its fragrance and flavor. This delicious and rich stew is classically paired with appam, which is a pancake made with soaked rice ground into a fine batter with coconut and fermented with the aid of yeast. The appam - stew combo is a staple in the Christian homes in Kerala. It makes a greatly welcomed "special-occassions" breakfast and also seen served as a meal course in the wedding parties in Kerala. The stew is usually garnished with fried cashews and raisins and makes for a filling wholesome breakfast.The hardest part of making the stew in Kerala is the grinding and milking of the grated coconut, but since we get canned thick coconut milk in the US, the work is reduced significantly and hence can be easily prepared. Eventhough the best pairing of the stew is with appam, it also goes well with chappathi or even bread.

Recipe:

Potato - 1, cooked, peeled and cubed
Carrot - 1, cooked and cubed
Onion - 1/2, quartered and cooked
Peas - 1/2 cup, cooked
Whole peppercorns - 15
Cinnamon - 1", broken
Cardamom - 3
Cloves - 5
Star anise - 1, broken
Ginger - 1/2" sliced
Onion - 1 small, sliced
Green chillies - 2, split lengthwise
Coconut milk - 1 cup

Garnish (optional):

Cashewnuts - a handful
Raisins - a handful


Method:

Heat oil in a skillet.

Toss in the whole spices (peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and anise) and saute until fragrant.

Add the ginger, sliced onions and green chillies.

Saute until the onions are cooked and tender.

Cook the vegetables in a microwave or on the cooker. Cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces.

Add the cooked vegetables to the onion mixture in the skillet and saute.

Season the vegetables by adding salt to taste.

When the vegetables are uniformly cooked, add the coconut milk.

Stir well until well mixed.

Allow to remain on the flame and stir continuously, until heated through.

DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL.

Garnish with fried cashewnuts and raisins.

Serve hot.

Tips:

1. The potato can be cooked quickly in the pressure cooker. Halve the potato and cook along with a bit of water for 3 whistles, and then remove from heat. The carrot can also be placed whole along with the potato, and cut after cooking. If any of the vegetables appear undercooked, it can be cooked in the microwave.
2. The vegetables can directly be cooked in the microwave, after cutting into bite sized pieces.
3. We used frozen peas which were cooked in the microwave.
4. If the gravy appears too thick, add water to make it to the desired consistency.

Have a great day. Do visit often for more delicious recipes!

Date-Nut Bread

Welcome back to Tasty treats! I know I was not actively blogging over the past few weeks. I am sorry for the inactivity on my blog and I would like to thank everyone who extended their support and wishes to me over the last few weeks. Eventhough I am not posting on the blog, I still do try out recipes occasionally and am reserving them for sharing with all of you later on. One of the recipe I tried recently is the Date-Nut bread which I made after weeks of drooling, on coming across the recipe! ;-) Just like expected the bread was fantatsic, with lots of dates and nuts in each mouthful. It sure was soft, moist and flavorful. We had it with a bit of chocolate syrup drizzled over the slices and it was simply out-of-the-world! Yum-yum!!! Do try this out and you wont be disappointed! Dont forget to let me know your thoughts and suggestions!

Recipe (Makes 1 loaf):

Chopped pitted dates - 1 1/2 cups
Butter or margarine - 6 tbsp, cut up
Boiling water - 1 1/4 cups
All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Egg - 1 large, lightly beaten
Walnuts - 1 cup, coarsely chopped



Method:

In a medium bowl, combine dates and butter, stir in the boiling water and let stand until cool.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Grease a 9" by 5" metal loaf pan.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Stir egg into the date mixture.

Now, stir the date-egg mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.

Stir in the walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool loaf in the pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.

Remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Source: Great Baking from Good Housekeeping.


Tips:

1. I used about 1 cup (8 oz) of chopped pitted dates.
2. Instead of walnuts I used about 1/2 cup of slivered almonds with a few sliced almonds on top.
3. I baked the bread for about 1 hour 10 minutes. It is advisable to check the doneness around the 1 hour mark.
4. Variations of the recipe include prune bread (using 1 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped pitted prunes instead of dates) and fig bread (using 1 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped dried figs instead of dates).

Hope you all are having a great time, and see you all real soon!!

Egg Curry with Coconut Milk and Idiyappams (Steamed Rice Noodles)

Today I am posting the first of a series of traditional kerala recipes that my mother-in-law is cooking up for us. The egg curry with coconut milk is an all-time favourite in our home. Keralites can hardly keep themselves from adding coconut, in any form, to their curries. And true to form, this delicious egg curry has rich coconut milk as the main flavoring. The coconut milk added to this curry gives a rich, sweet taste which balances the flavor of the blend of spices added. It also has a tasty gravy which forms an ideal dipping sauce for idiyappams (steamed rice noodles), appams and chapathis. In Kerala, the coconut is generally grated and then squeezed with water to make the coconut milk. The first squeeze would yield a thick milk which is added last to the curry (so as not to curdle it) and the second and third squeezes would yield thinner milk which generally forms the majority of the gravy. Today we have used the canned coconut milk, available in the Asian aisles, which was not thinned down. I hope everyone would love the series of Kerala recipes as much as we are enjoying them at home! ;-) If anyone is interested in knowing how to make idiyappams, please let me know! Aaswadikkoo! (Enjoy!)

Recipe (Serves 4) :

Eggs - 4, hard boiled
Ginger - 1" piece, sliced
Onion - 2 medium, sliced thin
Green chilly - 1, split lengthwise
Tomato - 1, quartered
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/2 cup

Method:

Remove the shells from the hard boiled eggs.

Heat oil in a skillet.

Saute the onions, gren chillies and ginger until the onions are cooked and tender.

Add the red chilly, coriander, turmeric and garam masala powders and saute until fragrant.

Add the tomato chunks and stir to mix well.

Pour water to the mixture and season with salt.

Bring to a boil and allow the onions and tomato chunks to cook.

Stir in the coconut milk and mix until heated through. (DO NOT boil).

Toss in the eggs.

Serve hot with idiyappam, appam or chapathi.

Check out the Egg Roast (without coconut milk) here.

This is a pictorial representation on how to shape the idiyappams. If anyone is interested in knowing more, just send me an email (jz.tastytreats@gmail.com) or leave a comment.

I am sending this to the "Curry Mela" hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons.

I was greeted today by the "Blogging Friends Forever" award passed on to me by Sujatha of Khazana of my favourite recipes. Thank you so much Sujatha, I really appreciate it! Thanks for being my friend!

The following rules apply to this award:

1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award
2. 4 of them followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

I would like to pass this onto,

Sukanya of Hot n' sweet Bowl
Vani of Illatharasi
Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen
Rashmi of Delhibelle
Shreya of Mom's Cooking (who is relatively new to my blog)

Enjoy your awards and have a nice day!!

Honeydew-Grape-Watermelon Milkshake - a Cool post!

This milkshake was inspired from a fruits-combo in an article that I received from Aarti Vivek of Nalabagham. The blend of honeydew melon, grapes, watermelon and milk was mentioned to be rich in vitamin C + Vitamin B2 that increase cell activity and strengthen body immunity. The combo sounded intriguing as they were not something that I would have thought of bringing together. I found a balance of the fruits that suited our tastes well. The shake really was delicious and refreshing, with each of the fruit contributing its distinct flavor to the milkshake! The milk enhanced the total flavor a lot (and I had doubted it would go together)!! We had it for breakfast along with some toasted bread and preserves. The grape skin remnants would come up if allowed to sit for long. If you are not fond of that, strain before serving (we didnt). Experiment to find your favorite taste balance. I would definitely make this again! Enjoy!! :-)

Recipe (Serves 2) :

Watermelon - 1 1/2 cup, scooped
Honeydew melon - 1/2 cup, scooped
Grapes - 1 cup, whole
Milk - 1 cup

Method:

Pour the milk into a blender and add the rest of the ingredients.

Blend until smooth and well-mixed.

Serve immediately.

If using unrefrigerated fruits, add a few ice cubes to the blender.

Tips:

1. Strain the shake before use, if desired.
2. I used green grapes, the original articles showed purple/red grapes.

I am sending this milkshake to:

1. WBB : Summer Feast at Sia's Passionate about life and spice.
2. Sweet series - Cool desserts at Mythreyee's Paajaka.
3. WYF - Juices & Icecreams at EC's Simple Indian Food.
4. Summer Splash at Aartee's Nalabagham.
   

From the archives:

Mango Lassi:

1. Sweet series - Cool desserts at Mythreyee's Paajaka.
2. WYF - Juices & Icecreams at EC's Simple Indian Food.
3. WBB : Summer Feast at Sia's Passionate about life and spice.
4. Summer Splash at Aartee's Nalabagham.
   

Traffic light smoothie (Kiwi-Strawberry Smoothie):

1. Sweet series - Cool desserts at Mythreyee's Paajaka.
2. WYF - Juices & Icecreams at EC's Simple Indian Food.
3. WBB : Summer Feast at Sia's Passionate about life and spice.
4. Summer Splash at Aartee's Nalabagham.

Carrot Milkshake:

1. Sweet series - Cool desserts at Mythreyee's Paajaka.
2. WYF - Juices & Icecreams at EC's Simple Indian Food.

Cappuccino Milkshake:

1. Sweet series - Cool desserts at Mythreyee's Paajaka.
2. WYF - Juices & Icecreams at EC's Simple Indian Food.
   

Confused? Dont be... Just enjoy the smoothies and shakes!! :-) Have a great fun-filled weekend ahead!! Dont forget to try some of these delicious drinks to cool you down in the scorching sun!

Strawberry Muffins

Nothing scream "summer" and "berries" more than the beloved sweet plump red Strawberries. The first time I actually picked strawberries was in Munnar, a small paradise in Kerala. I was ecstatic then and wanted to freeze that moment in my memory as vivid as possible. Little did I know that I would get to come to the US and actually pick them from a large Strawberry farm, where even now I would go crazy for these lil berries! Anyways, the strawberries I used for these muffins were not hand-picked but rather bought from the grocery store, but still I couldnt contain myself about sharing with you my excitement about picking my own berries!! We all know the strawberries wont keep fresh for long, so we have to finish it up in any of trillion ways as soon as possible. The best way is to eat it fresh, ofcourse!

I decided to make some Strawberry Muffins since we have the "WBB: Summer Feast", hosted by Sia of Passionate about Life and Spice, looming in the horizon. What better way to use up strawberries for breakfast, than to make a fresh set of muffins!! I could only tell you what a pretty breakfast it made!! Its quick, pretty and tasty! This recipe is adapted from here. Enjoy!! :-)



Recipe (Makes 8 muffins) :

Canola oil - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Brown sugar - 1/4 cup
White sugar - 1/4 cup
Vanilla - 1/2 tsp
All-purpose flour - 1 3/4 cup
Chopped strawberries - 1 cup

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Prepare a muffin tin by oiling it or lining with paper liners (cupcake cups).

In a small bowl combine oil, milk, eggs and vanilla.

Beat lightly and keep aside.

In a larger bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, brown and white sugar.

Toss in the chopped strawberries and coat them with flour.

Pour in the beaten wet ingredients.

Fill the muffin cups with the mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is springy to the touch.

Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan.

Enjoy warm or at room temperature.



Here's one for you!

Adapted from: a Strawberry Muffin recipe by Katie Mae.

Tips:

1. The actual recipe called for 1/2 cup white sugar alone.
2. I would have liked my muffins to be a little bit sweeter. Adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.
3. Cinnamon lovers can add a bit of ground cinnamon to the muffin batter to make it flavorful.

Betty Crocker's Crescent rolls & Strawberry Preserves

The last Daring Bakers challenge had left me with a craving for Danish pastries, but thinking of the effort and the calories, I had decided to leave it alone for a few more weeks. The croissants that I came across on several blogs were haunting me in my dreams, and finally I decided to make something that atleast remotely resembled these pastries, atleast in their shapes - crescent rolls. From the day I saw this recipe on Betty Crocker's cookbook, I wanted to make them, but was too lazy and impatient when I saw the dough - rising step. But after completing the Danish Braid challenge, this wait seemed like nothing, and yes, it was a cake-walk! I made only half the recipe and everything turned out perfectly!! JM and I actually ate it as the evening snack and dinner, with homemade Strawberry jam. It sure was yummy!! With just a wee little butter in the whole recipe, we didnt cringe as we ate, and enjoyed it immensely. This recipe can be used to make dinner rolls, crescent rolls and cloverleaf rolls. The crescent rolls are given as the variation of the basic dinner roll recipe. It sure made a tasty set of rolls, please do try them, they were perfect!! Yumm!

Recipe (Makes 32 rolls) :

All-purpose flour - 3 1/2 - 3 3/4 cups
Butter or margarine - 1/4 cup (4 tbsp)
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Quick active dry or regular yeast - 1 package or 2 1/4 tsp
Water - 1/2 cup, very warm (120 - 130 F)
Milk - 1/2 cup, very warm (120 - 130 F)
Egg - 1 large
Butter or margarine - melted, if desired



Method:

In a large bowl, stir 2 cups of flour, the sugar, 1/4 cup of butter, salt and yeast until well-mixed.

Add warm water, warm milk and egg.

Beat for a minute with an electric mixer on low-speed, followed by 1 minute on medium speed, both times scraping bowl frequently.

Stir in enough remaining dough to make dough easy to handle.

Place dough on lightly floured surface.

Knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and springy.

Grease a large bowl with shortening.

Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides.

Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

The dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.

At this stage the dough can be used to make any of the specified rolls.

For making crescent rolls:


Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.

Push the fist into the dough to deflate and cut the dough in half.

Roll each half into a 12" circle on a floured surface.

Spread with softened butter.

Cut each circle into 16 wedges.

Roll up each wedge beginning at the rounded end (broad end).

Plcae rolls on the cookie sheet, with points underneath and curve the edges slightly.

Brush with butter (I didnt) and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Heat oven to 375 F.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm or cool.

Tips:

1. I did not brush the shaped rolls with melted butter.
2. I only made half the recipe to yield 16 rolls.
3. If using self-rising flour, omit salt.
4. For the dough to rise, I usually switch on the oven at 200F or so for a minute or two, switch it off, and place the dough in the oven to rise.
5. I had actually stuffed a single roll with jam, as you can see in the picture below, to see how it would turn out. Experiment with more stuffings.

I am sending these crescent rolls to the "Bread baking day - Small Breads" event at Aparna's My Diverse Kitchen. The event was started by started by Zorra at 1x umrühren bitte.

I am also sending these Crescent rolls to the "Healthy Cooking" event over at Mansi's Fun and Food. I feel that these rolls are very healthy because it has a very low fat and sugar content. It is a leavened bread and is baked so that no additional fat is introduced. The recipe actually mentioned smearing the rolls again with butter before baking. I actually omitted that step and still the rolls turned out perfectly browned. The rolls can be eaten on their own because they taste great!! It would also go well with soups, salads or preserves!!

Source: Betty Crocker Cookbook : everything you need to know to cook today.

We had the rolls with home-made strawberry preserves. The preserve was made from a recipe on Sunita's blog. Here's a pictorial step-by-step instructions on the process. We had gone strawberry picking two weeks before and I used up our hand-picked berries by making this Strawberry Preserves. I am sending this Home-made Strawberry Preserve to "Eating with the seasons" event at Maninas : Food Matters.

Through and over the weekend, I am glad some of my fellow bloggers remembered me, because I again have several awards to share. Veda of Iyengar's kitchen passed me the "Blogging with a purpose" award. Srilekha of Me and My Kitchen and Hetal of Isha's kitchen passed me the "Yum-Yum Blog" award. Thanks a trillion for remembering me, you guys! I really appreciate your gesture. I would like to pass these onto,

Asha of Foodies Hope
Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner
Roopa of My Kitchen Treats
Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen
Cham of Spice-club

Enjoy your awards!! And come back to Tasty treats for more recipes through the week.

Coconut pancakes and awards!

Coconut pancakes or madak saan as we used to call it, is one of the well-loved breakfast items from my childhood days. The flour and egg pancakes enclose a juicy mixture of freshly grated coconut and sugar which just scream "sweet and tasty breakfast" to the kids! I have come across a variety of names for this tasty marvel including love letters, probably referring to the way in which they are folded!! But dont you think it could also be because of the sweet content of both the letters and the pancakes!? Anyways, it is a very simple and quick breakfast that anyone can whip up in minutes. I did not have fresh coconut with me, so I used flaked coconut available in the baking section. It has already been sweetened, so you dont have to add extra sugar. It is not as juicy as using freshly grated coconut either! Expand your creativity and use a variety of fillings like fresh fruits and nuts, or serve them as such or with pancake syrups, fresh fruit puree or some sugar on the side. This is a perfect kid-friendly breakfast that can be enjoyed by adults too.... Enjoy!! :-) (The pictures are not perfect, I know!, I am sorry! There were two impatient, stomach-growling people on my heels!). Check out the tips for making the recipe - vegetarian.


Recipe (Makes about 6 pancakes) :

All-purpose flour - 1 cup
Egg - 1, beaten
Milk - about 6 oz
Vanilla essence - 3/4 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Flaked sweetened coconut - as needed
or
Grated coconut with sugar - as needed

Method:

Mix flour, beaten egg, milk, sugar and vanilla essence to form a somewhat loose batter which is lump-free.

Heat a non-stick skillet and add a small ladle full of batter.

Swirl the skillet around so that the batter coats the base of the skillet uniformly.

You can also spread the batter in dosa fashion, lightly placing the ladle on the center of the batter and spreading it out in a coil fashion to the outside (like making dosa).

Once the upper side looks dry, flip the pancake over and cook the other side.

Remove from heat, fill with coconut and/or any other filling.

Place the filling on the center and then fold over either sides of the pancake or place the filling towards one edge and then roll up the pancake from that side.

Enjoy warm!

Tips:

1. I used about half water - half milk mixture to make the batter.
2. For my vegetarian friends out there, omiting the egg , adding 1/4 tsp of baking powder and increasing the amount of milk accordingly should give similar results! I have not tried it out without eggs, but I guess it should be just fine.
   

I am sending these pancakes to the Pancakes on Parade event at Susan's "The Well-seasoned Cook" and Sweet Series at Mythreyee's "Paajaka".



Now its .......... award time!! :

Last week was really great for me with lots of awards bestowed upon me by my dear friends, my talented fellow bloggers!! Once again, I was ecstatic when I recieved an award which is new to me - "Blogging with a purpose" award! All these gestures of love and support from all of you makes me reinforce my passion for blogging, a LOT!! I should mention once again, how much this small space on the internet has come to mean to me, I dont even have words to express it!! I cant think of stopping, EVER...I hope it doesnt come to that !! I thank Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner who again is one of my closest friends on the blogosphere and who has come to mean a lot to me, and also Trupti of Recipe Center, who again is a very talented blogger, who first saw to it that I receive encouragement in the form of my first award ever! It definitely meant a lot coming from the both of you, and thanks a lot for thinking about me!


I would like to pass this on to,

Shubha of Chutki Bhar Pyar
Bhags of Crazy curry
Madhuram of Eggless cooking
Swati of Chatkhor

I also received the Rocking Girl Blogger award from our beloved lil blogger - Swati of Chatkhor. I would like to pass this on to,



Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner
Trupti of Recipe Center
Sukanya of Hot n' Sweet Bowl
Divya Vikram of Dil Se

Hope you all would accept and enjoy the awards! Lets start this week's blogging with all this love in the air!