Sam's Recipes

Pav or Milk buns

recipesbysam — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:27:00 +0000

Baking bread is one of the simplest tasks in home baking. The recipe is easy and fool proof. The product tastes great and the best part is that the bread can be baked into any shape. Just let your imagination run wild.

Makes 12 roles

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour + more for dusting

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

2 tsp sugar

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1 tsp salt

1 cup warm milk

Rolls, Challah, Soup rolls and a little Tortoise

Light and fluffy inside of the buns

My whimsical tortoise

Prove the yeast by mixing yeast with sugar and water and letting it stand for 5 mins. When the yeast starts frothing slightly, add the salt and the flour. Slowly add milk till the dough starts coming together.

Flour the chopping board surface and knead the the dough with the ball of your hand till it is smooth. Keep aside a few tablespoons of milk.

Let the dough rest in a bowl covered with cling film till it is doubled in size. This will take about 2 hours. Make a cut in the shape of a cross on the dough. This will help it rise better.

Punch the dough and knead it again. Dust the surface with flour if required.

Roll the dough into a rough rectangle and make 12 cuts. Knead each piece like you are tucking in the sides. This will give a nice smooth ball.

Place the dough balls close to each other on a greased baking tray and let them rest for about 1 hour till they are doubled in size.

Wash the dough balls with half the leftover milk.

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 mins at 180C for 30 mins. Wash the dough balls again with the leftover milk and turn the tray around for even baking. The double wash will give a better gloss and colour to the bread.

Let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Banana Muffins

recipesbysam — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:19:59 +0000

One of the recipes where overripe bananas can be utilized in is muffins. It is quite simple and makes for a good breakfast or after dinner snack.

Makes 12 mini muffins of 6 large ones

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup oil

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/4 cup raspberry jam or any other jam (optional)

1/4 cup sunflower and pumpkin seeds (optional)

Banana Muffins with Raspberry Jam filling and Topped with Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds

Peel and chop the bananas and whisk them till they are completely mashed. Add sugar, oil and the egg and whisk till combined.

Now add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and vanilla essence and mix well. Mix in half the sunflower and pumpkin seeds as well.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with paper cups.

Pour batter into the cups till they are half full. Gently drop 1 tsp jam in the middle of each cup. Cover with the rest of the batter till the cups are 3/4th full. Sprinkle the rest of the pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Bake at 180C for 20-25 mins. Cool completely before serving.

Croissants and Patties

recipesbysam — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:24:58 +0000

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child

Chocolate Croissants

Savoury Patties

Spinach, Corn and Peanuts filling

Brandy Snaps

recipesbysam — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:58:29 +0000

Every thing I cook has a story behind it and almost all the time the inspiration comes from my Hubby. So Hubby and I were watching The Big Bake Off the other day and the participants were making brandy snaps. As you can guess, Hubby suggested I make them at home as they looked oh so delicious on TV. After dilly-dallying for a couple of days and making my resolve strong if they did not turn out as expected, I finally gave it a try. OMG….did I miss baking or what! Well, they turned out pretty great and I am logging the recipe here for future uses. I have not used brandy but it can be added in place of lemon juice.

Ingredients

50 gm unsalted butter

50 gm sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

50 gm all purpose flour

1 pinch cinnamon

1 tsp lemon juice

Wooden spoon with round handle (oiled) or a thin rolling pin

Brandy snaps

Heat butter, sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan till the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little.

Add flour, cinnamon and lemon juice and mix well so no lumps remain.

Heat the oven to 180C.

Line a baking try with parchment paper. Drop two tablespoons of batter atleast 4cm apart. This will allow the batter enough space to spread without sticking together. Bake in the oven for 6-8 min.

Remove and allow the snaps to rest for a few seconds. When the snaps can be lifted from the parchment paper with a knife, roll them quickly around the handle of the wooden spoon. I used a thin plastic rolling pin. The snaps will quickly cool and hold their shape.

Remove and store in an air tight container. Serve with whipped cream.

Tip: It would be best to bake in small batches. I baked in batches of two. This allows enough time to roll the snaps as they become brittle very quickly. If they do so, they can be made malleable by placing in the oven for a few seconds.

The Daring Cooks’ July, 2011 Challenge: My Noodle Hands!

recipesbysam — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:54:33 +0000

Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks’ July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

July’s challenge was a really tough one as it is not easy to make pasta at home. The only reason I was tempted was because it is supposed to taste much better than the ready-made one. Well, the verdict is yet out on that. Meanwhile, check out the recipe for home made egg fettuccine below.

Ingredients

1 (200 gm) cup all purpose flour + extra for rolling and coating

2 eggs

2 tbsp olive oil

Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour the eggs and olive oil in the middle. Start mixing slowly till the dough starts getting together. If the dough is sticky, add a little flour and if starts to dry up, add one more egg yolk. However, the thumb rule is one whole egg for 100 gm flour.

: Notice how yellow the dough is cos of the egg yolks

Divide the dough in four portions. Work with one part while keeping the rest covered as it will start drying up fast.

Sprinkle some flour on the kitchen top and roll out the dough portions one by one to form an elongated rectangle.

Sprinkle some dough on each side of the rolled out dough portion. This will prevent the dough from sticking.

: Roll out the dough to form long rectangles

Carefully roll the dough into a cylinder. Cut into equal parts. Unroll.

: Roll Cut and Unroll

This pasta can be prepared immediately by boiling in water for 5 mins or can be dried for later use. You can dry the pasta on bamboo sticks or the backs of chairs as shown below. The time taken by the pasta to dry will depend on the thickness as well as the environment.

: Pasta hanging out to dry

Once pasta is dry, store in an air tight box or freeze it for later use.

: Dry Pasta

Check out the amount of pasta obtained from 200 gm of flour. Can’t wait to try it.

Apple Tart

recipesbysam — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 15:35:40 +0000

Whether you are a complete beginner in the kitchen or want to advance your skills, Cookery School can turn ordinary cooks into extraordinary cooks. I always wanted to try some English recipes but could never gather the courage if it was not for Cookery School. This recipe book has recipes by Richard Corrigan and teaches difficult looking dishes in a simple manner. It also describes the difficulty level of each dish and mentions the skills required. I tried apple tart from Cookery School and it turned out to be fabulous. I substituted a few ingredients but the result was as mentioned in the book.

Ingredients

250 gm ready-made puff pasty

4 Gala apples

25 gm unsalted butter, melted

2 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp honey

70 gm walnuts

: Apple Tart with maple syrup and walnuts

Roll the pasty out on a floured surface to 2mm thick and then cut into 12cm strips.

Peel the apples, remove the cores and cut them into slices.

Place the pasty on a cookie sheet and layer the apple slices on it neatly.

Brush the apple slices with half the butter and sprinkle half the sugar on it. Bake the pasty in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 20 mins.

After 10 mins, brush the apples with the remaining butter and sprinkle the rest of the sugar on it. This will help to caramelize the apples well.

Chop the walnuts and roast them for 2 mins. Drizzle honey and sprinkle walnuts on the apple tart before serving.

Creme Caramel

recipesbysam — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:52:36 +0000

Creme caramel is a pudding best served cold and so can be prepared in advance. I have taken this recipe from the book Cookery School with recipes from Richard Corrigan. The recipe produces 4 individual puddings but I have scaled it down to 2. Also, I have tweaked the recipe to use semi-skimmed milk.

Ingredients

100 gm castor sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence

300 ml semi-skimmed milk

2 eggs

Start by making caramel. Place 70 gm sugar in a pan and add 2 tbsp water. Swirl to help the sugar dissolve evenly in water. One absolute rule is that you should not stir the caramel as this causes crystallization.

Cook for 4-5 mins till the sugar turns golden brown. Pour the caramel in two ramekins. Swirl a little to coat the sides of the ramekins. Set aside.

In the same pan in which caramel was made, add the milk and vanilla essence and the remaining sugar. Allow to warm on a low heat but do not allow to boil.

Break the eggs and beat them in a separate bowl. Add a little of the warmed milk to the eggs while beating the eggs continuously. This will bring the temperature of the eggs up to that of the milk without scrambling them. Pour the eggs back into the milk.

Sieve the custard to remove any chunky matter.

Pour custard into the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a deep roasting pan and pour boiling water upto three-fourth the height of the ramekins. This will allow even cooking of the custard.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 20 mins. Carefully remove the ramekins and tilt slightly. The custard should be just set.

Place the ramekins in the refrigerator for atleast 30 mins to cool.

When serving, loosen the creme caramel by passing a knife along the exposed edge. Place a plate upside down on the ramekin and invert it with the plate. The creme caramel should fall cleanly onto the plate.

Poached Egg

recipesbysam — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:31:07 +0000

Poached egg is a breakfast classic but I never had the courage to try out myself. That is unless I received this amazing cookery cook called Cookery School with recipes by Richard Corrigan. It teaches how to make poached egg with pictures and the steps seemed quite simple. So I said, onward ahoy!

Heat water in a pot. Add a dash of vinegar if the egg is old. This will help to hold the egg white together.

Poached Egg with Toast and Ketchup

Break the egg in a ramekin or a cup. When the water is simmering, stir the water to encourage the egg to swirl around and set compactly.

Dunk the egg in the middle of the whirlpool and leave it to cook for a few minutes. Ideally the egg white should be cooked while the yolk should be runny. However, if you like your egg well done, you can leave it in for a few more minutes.

Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper or a tea towel before serving.

Lifafa Paratha

recipesbysam — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:00:25 +0000

Sometimes it is good to put a twist on the ordinary things. Same goes with Lifafa paratha. It is the same as a wrap but folded like an envelope and then cooked on a pan. The filling can be of your choice. I have used a mixed veg sabzi for the filling.

Ingredients – For Rotis

1 cup wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil

Mix all the ingredients and knead with water to form a dough. Divide the dough into golf sized balls and roll them into rotis.

Cook the rotis on a pan without oil till brown spots form on both sides. Keep aside.

Ingredients – For Stuffing

1/2 cup cauliflower florets

1/2 cup sweet corn

1/2 cup green peas

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tomato, chopped

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp kasuri methi

1 tsp dry mango powder

1 tsp cumin powder

Heat the oil in a pan and cool the tomatoes. Add the rest of the veggies with the spices and cook. The result should be a dry sabzi.

Lifafa Paratha

Assembly

2 tsp oil

Place sabzi on a roti. Fold the roti like an envelope so that opposite sides overlap each other.

Spread 1 tsp oil on the pan and cook the folded paratha. Press slightly to seal the edges. Flip and repeat.

Serve hot.

Paneer Stroganoff

recipesbysam — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:41:47 +0000

Memories have a way of creeping back into your life. The best ones are those which transport you to another world and make you wish you were there. Needless to say, I am talking about a food memory. Hubby and I used to visit a small restaurant called Mash on the Chennai beach side. It was a ramshackle place filled with nicks and nacks and wooden furniture with hardly any place to move. Thankfully the place was air conditioned but one could look out on the beautiful sunny beach with the waves crashing against the shore. It was like being in heaven but a cool one (cos of the air conditioning…he he he). We loved the sandwiches there but we also had our favorite – paneer stroganoff. It was creamy and yummy and we could never get enough of it. Unfortunately, we moved from the city and stroganoff was a thing of the past…..until….I got loads of time on my hands with nothing to do but try all the recipes in the world.

There is always a roadblock though, isn’t it? I searched on the net but there is no paneer stroganoff recipe to be found. Moreover, no two recipes are the same. Some add vegetable stock and some use red wine. Some use creme fraiche and some use cream. Basically, I came to the conclusion that I will have to invent my own recipe. I used very few vegetables but more can be added depending on taste. Veggies like mushrooms, corn and bell peppers go well with this dish.

Ingredients

200g paneer

1 onion

2-3 garlic cloves

200ml creme fraiche

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp oil

Paneer Stroganoff served with rice

Cut the panner into cubes. Heat the oil in a pan and sear the paneer till browned on the sides. Remove from pan and keep aside.

Chop the onions and saute them in the same pan. Chop the garlic and saute with the onions.

Cut the bell peppers into juliennes. Saute with the onions.

Mix the creme fraiche with the flour. If it is too thick, add a little water or milk for more creaminess. Add the creme fraiche to the pan and bring to a boil.

Add paneer and salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve hot with rice or noodles.