Garlic bread- a trick recipe

Who is not fond of warm, fragrant garlic bread?? Add a little grated cheese and you have got a winner!!
 They are a perpetual accompaniment of the Italian dishes and we love them.


 I buy garlic bread from a local bakery but sometimes  they are out of stock.
Now what does a lazy foodie do?


Find a trick!


So here's what I do when I have to have garlic bread.
Make garlic butter, smear on ordinary bread and toast it and….eureka! 


Ingredients
1. Butter- melted, 1 tbsp
2. Garlic- 4-5 cloves, minced
3. Salt & pepper- to taste (the use is optional)
4. White bread-4 slices


Method
1. Mix garlic, salt and pepper in the butter
2. Apply this garlicky butter onto the bread. I spread about 1tsp of the mix onto the bread.
3. Place it on a non-stick skillet or tava. When one side it done, put the buttered side down and let it brown on a low flame.
4. Sprinkle shredded cheese and microwave it for melted cheesey and garlicky bread
5. Serve hot with your pasta or use it as a starter.

Naan/ White flour flatbread- Khana restaurant style

Let me admit it..I feel proud of myself that I could make this amazing restaurant staple at home..yipee!! And that too without oven…yes, I made it on stove top. Amazing, isn't it! I really have to thank recipe website by Nishamadhulika for this easy method, but I'll share my experience with you.

Naan- for the uninitiated, it’s a kind of soft, differently flavored  flatbread we associate with big wedding parties and restaurants in India. It's made in big clay ovens or "tandoor"  as we call it. These triangular naans go best with North Indian dishes like kadhai paneer, dal makhni, dal fry, butter chicken, mutton in rich gravy, palak paneer,dum aloo and the list goes on. Basically heavy (read, rich in fats and spices) gravies go well with naan.

Ingredients

White flour- 200gm

Curd- 100gm

Baking soda/soda bicarb/Khane ka soda- 1/4 tsp

Sugar-1/2 tsp

Salt-1/4th tsp

Oil- 2 tbsp

Lukewarm water- to make dough

Method

1. Take white flour/maida. Make a well in the centre.
2. Pour oil and curd in this well and also add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Mix thoroughly.
4. Add lukewarm water and knead till a soft, pliable dough is formed.
5. Keep covered for 2-3 hours in a warm place and let it rise. It should approximately double it's size.
6. Divide the dough into 8-10 portions. Keep a little white flour on the side in which you can roll the portions like we do to make chapati.
7. Roll one portion into a round. Apply butter on the edges and fold into a "D". Again apply butter onto the edges and fold to make a quarter of the circle. With a rolling pin extend this shape to make a triangular naan.
8. Heat a skillet/heavy tawa
9. Apply water on one side and place it on the skillet, water side down.
10. You will observe bubbles on the visible side…this indicates that its browning at the other side.
11. Remove from skillet and cook the other side (the bubbled one), on the flame directly.
12. Serve hot

Savory cheese pasta cups

Sometimes you need something new to add to your evening snack apart from cheese and crackers. These pasta cups were a perfect filler. Easy to make and tasty (its got cheese..right!). I would say a thumbs -up to it anytime.

Cheese Pasta Cups
Please serve freshly made ones, reheating makes them lose flavor.  
Adapted from eCurry

Ingredients:

1. 1 Cup Cooked Pasta: Boil the pasta as per instructions.( I used macroni..u can use shell or any other small sized pasta)
2. 1 Cup Grated/Shredded Cheese (Any Cheese or any combination of 2 or 3 cheeses – cheddar, parmesean, amul or britannia cheese cubes will also do) I used grated paneer alongwith cheese cubes.
3. 2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour
4. Salt to taste
5. Black Pepper to taste
6. Herbs (optional- any herbs you want to use…. I used dried Parsely and a mix of Italian seasoning)
7. Garlic -3-4 cloves minced or grated

Preparation:

• Lightly grease muffin pans/cup cake liners or silicon cups.
• Combine all the ingredients above & spoon it into muffins pan or cup cake liners.
• Bake at 375 Degree F for about 15-20 minutes or till the cheese melts & start to brown on the top.
• Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes.
• Carefully take out the Pasta cups. Serve Warm.

Eggless Choco-orange cake with Nutella frosting

Happy new year!!

I know I've been absent from the blog space for a while now, but now I'm bacck! And we are starting this new year with this very celebratory choco-orange cake...yummm.


Choco-orange cake with nutella frosting
Adapted from Anushruti's cake 

Ingredients

200 gm (1 1/2 cups) plain flour (i use whole wheat flour, pre-milled)

50 gm (1/4 cup) cocoa powder( i used Hershey's)

30 gm (4 tbsp) fine sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda/ sodium bicarbonate

1 tin/400gm sweetened condensed milk ( Nestle)

150 gm butter melted

1 tsp Orange extract

250 ml  (1 cup) water

For soaking the sponge

Orange juice ( fresh or packed, i used packed)- 5 tbsp approximately, but you can use more if you wish to. I intend to use more next time.

Nutella frosting

 Nutella- 1/3 cup

orange extract - 1 tsp

Filling for layer

Pulp of 2-3 oranges (or mausmi/moshumbi)  - about 1/2 cup

Icing sugar- 25 gm (5-6 spoons approx.)

20 gm butter

Method

1. Grease and line the bases of cake tin with greaseproof paper/baking parchment/butter paper.

2. Assemble the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and baking soda, mix with a fork and sieve once to make the mixture uniform.

3. Preheat the oven at about 150 c/300F.

4. Add in the condensed milk, melted butter, vanilla and water. Beat with an electric hand mixer or whisk till the mixture is uniform and smooth and there are no lumps. Do not overbeat.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 50-60 min. or until a skewer or toothpick comes out clean.

6. After the cake is, allow to rest in their tins forsome time and then cool them by keeping them on a cooling rack.

7. When the cake is cooled, slice it from the middle and divide into 2 parts. Sprinkle the Orange juice. Keep both parts seperate and leave them overnight.

Filling

Mix all the ingredients together and leave it overnight.

Frosting

Put Nutella in the microwave for 10-15 sec to make it smoother in consistancy, add orange extract and whip it to mix well.

 Assemble the cake

Spread the filling on the bottom portion of the cake and place the upper part on it. Press gently. Now spread the nutella frosting on the top and sides with a flat spoon or butter knife. You can sprinkle a little icing sugar or white chocolate chips on it.

Devour the yummy cake...;)

enjoy