Green peas and Edamame parathas

I was in the mood for parathas..and not the regular potato kind..dont get me wrong...I love those..but I just felt like something different..and my fridge was noticeably low on veggies which I could think of..no mooli, no palak..hmm...what now..how about those green peas in the frozen compartment..and why not add some edamame to it..just for fun..Im sure it cant go wrong..

So take 1 cup of green peas and 1 cup of edamame and thaw them..Run them in a chopper for couple of minutes..I kept them coarsely chopped...

Heat a tbsp of oil and add minced green-chilli and ginger (abt a tbsp) along with 1 tbsp of besan and stir well. Add the peas mixture and some garam masala and salt to taste. I crumbled some blasamic vinaigriatte marineted-tofu slices in it and cook till the raw feel is gone. Form small balls and fill in the paratha dough and roll out the parathas. Cook on tawa with some olive oil.

I served this with some fusion green-onion/potato bhaji and raita.

The peas/edamame taste was distinct and nice and satisfied me for packing in a bunch of nutrients !

Back in time @ Daring Bakers..

The first ever time I had Cannoli was at Boston's North End, the Italian world within the city...We had inadvertently landed there on a week-long stay and how fortunate ! Those hot cuppa espressos which we would drink just standing , those intimidating Italian restaurant owners , the fresh baked breads and ohh, those small bakeries with amazing array of sweets all inviting us in....Daring Bakers took me back there with this amazing Daring Challenge -

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

Cannolli !! Thats what we made around the DB world this month and what a great challenge it was..

First the ingredients:

I didn't have the foresight to order for the cannoli forms in advance but fellow DBs came to help and I used Cannelloni shells and it turned out pretty great with it.

Marsala wine - 6.99 and 12.99 ...guess which one I picked :) .. last month I spent $20+ for sushi ingredients..neways

It is pretty simple to make once you have all the ingredients..

For Cannoli shells:

2 cup AP flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup + marsala wine

Mix all the dry ingredients and add the oil, vinegar and wine till a moist dough is formed. Cover and rest in freezer for couple of hours or more.

Roll into small round balls and wrap around the cannelloni shell and dab water where the ends meet. Deep-fry and let dry.

Cannoli filling:

1 can of ricotta cheese strained overnite

Confectionars sugar as required

Vanilla as required

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Whip everything up and fill in a ziploc bag with one end cut off. Squeeze into both sides of cannolo. Top with nuts or chocolates and enjoy....

A holidays 'Sandesh' ..

I know Im a bit late with the 'Sandesh' but as they say ..yada yada yada..or MY blog and I put stuff up when my mood strikes..meaning rarely these days.. neways,

This Diwali was very low profile in terms of cooking for one reason or the other , but this was something I had seen around and wanted to try my hand at so when the opportunity presented itself i.e. the milk went bad , instead of throwing it off(pardon me ! but I just cant take that smell!!) I heated it up and squeezed some lime into it and voila ! Some instant paneer !!

Squeezed all the water out and kneaded it till all smooth.. added some sugar and heated till it lost that raw feel.. about 5-7 mins..let cool a bit and form small rounds and press on some powdered nuts..and thats your 'Sandesh' - an easy, fresh, light, melt-in-the-mouth Bengali sweet !

Friday night, a pie and a cobbler

Last friday , DH was out of town nd two girls decided to make it a galz night out with a movie and lot of chatting...

Till my sweet friend wrapped up her great tasks for the next day and joined me , I whipped up - literally whipped up these 2 dishes that I've been meaning to try out since long :

2 years back on my birthday we had been to this beautifully artsy town Asheville (which reminds me of Edinburgh for some reason) and tried this place someone had recommended, which was good but with very few vegetarian choices . The gentleman server there got this tomato pie for me , which introduced me to this delicious concept of savory-pies.. Fast forward to a few days back when I saw this recipe @ Gourmet.com and I book-marked it for an appropriate occasion ..and what better occasion then this for a hearty , warm , cuddly pie...so there you go..

I followed the recipe to the pat , except a few minor adjustments :

> adding some ajwain in the pie crust , which gave a nice flavor

> skipping the mayo,

> make do with swiss cheese , thats all I had

and it turned out great!

I had some trouble rolling out the pie , but I rolled it around in some flour and it was good to go..the pie was flaky and biscuity on the outside and warm and spice on the inside ..I should be so proud of my pie-making skills ;)

I have also wanted to try this thing I keep seeing around, called cobbler , and I had some peaches handy too and a quick google search revealed this great recipe for an Easy Peach cobbler..and indeed..easy it was..

In case you didn't know (I didn't) - a cobbler is usually a dessert consisting of a fruit filling poured into a large baking dish over a batter that rises through when baking..

So thats what I did..Prepared my fruit, ie peach and can you believe this is the first time Ive tried this great tip and it works like a charm :

Note: you can dunk the peaches in boiling water for 45 seconds, then into ice water, and the skins will usually slide right off.

I have so much to learn yet ..

Next , I prepared a basic batter with 1 cup APF, 1 cup sugar (3/4 next time), 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and milk to mix.

In a wide baking dish melt about 2-3 tablespoon of butter and pour the batter into it. Without mixing, arrange the peach slices/pieces evenly on the top.

Now bake for abt 35-40 mins @ 350 degrees. The batter will rise up to cover the peach slices . The end result is this heavenly crust with gooey sweet and sourness of peach embedded within..It will go very well with some ice-cream too ..

Taken just before this last piece was devoured by the trio of DH, my loyal-fan Dora and moi..

An award and biscuit cake...

My fellow traveller on this journey, Jaya from Jayaspace nominated me for this award and Im over-joyed and happy to receive my first blogger award !! Thanks a lot Jaya !!

Of-course, it comes with conditions.. namely, listing 7 interesting things about me which is not as simple as it sounds... but here goes ..

• I went to Medical college for 15 days and left it and joined engineering..I do wonder what my life would've been if I had continued ..
• I have learnt to 'Never say never' cos we never know where our life will take us and what you will evolve into..for example, I never thought that I would own and love a dog...
• There was a time in my life when I used to read 2 novels a day..those 350 or so pages ones..
• I don't suffer fools gladly
• I really dislike people who give less thought to having a child than buying a car ...
• I ran my first 5k last november, I trained myself for it , and before that I used to hate gyms
• This from DH - Im a liberal , eco-conservative activist/feminist

I dont know how interesting the above set of random facts is for anyone, but atleast I tried and also in spirit of kreativity - this childhood favorite recreated :

Biscuit cake :

1 pkt Glucose biscuits from Indian store

1 chocolate butter frosting

Indian style - Mix fresh made butter, cocoa powder and refined sugar to make icing consistency.

Current version - Heat 50g semi-sweet chocolate chips in a double boiler till it melts then let cool. Add 1/2 stick room-temperature butter bi-by-bit and blend in.

Layer each biscuit's smooth surface with the chocolate buttercream and place above the other. Form a layered stack and apply buttercream on the sides. Let freeze. Cut diagonally to enjoy the crispy chocolate-y goodness !

I also get to share this award, and I am passing on this award to :

1. She has got so many awards already but she is 'kreative with a K' and I pass on this award humbly to Lolo @ Vegan YumYum

Ohh...its so tough to pass on the award..as every other food blogger I know already has the award or are way beyond that ..i think I was the last one to join the band-wagon...:( I think I will have to share this on the go...sorry guys ! Though , if anyone thinks of some blogger please let me know and I shall be ever thankful !!

Carrot cake , a sweet and simple bake..

As if all the baking I had already done wasn't enough I also decided to take on Sweet and Simple bakes challenge this month..

As the name suggests though, the recipes are pretty straightforward and this one was particularly something that I had wanted to try since long..I've always relished the idea of a carrot cake but never really given it a go...

Here's my go, adapted from this Basic Recipe to exclude eggs, availability and measures :

2 cups APF

3/4 cup sugar

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

pinch of salt

2 cups grated carrots

4 tbsp shortening (I used unsalted butter)

1/2 cup or so milk

3/4 cup walnuts ,chopped

a handful of raisins.

Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly. Cut the shortening in. Add the carrots and mix well. Pour milk to form a batter. Fold in chopped nuts.Heat oven at 375F and bake for 30-40 mins. I added some slivered almonds on the top after baking for 15 mins to avoid the cream cheese frosting ..as much as I love my cream cheese :)

The cake was a hit, very soft and moist and nutty. I was skeptical about adding the raisins but those gave a nice sweet/sour tang to the cake...definitely a keeper !

Strawberry shortcake

Another in-season produce Im into this time is Strawberries!
Every saturday I bring about a quart of strawberries and have learnt that they are better used up in couple of days .. so strawberry milkshake, pancakes with strawberry and since they are bit sour and hubby dear is not into that and doesnt really likes 'fruits'..I thought it was about time I tried something Ive seen floating around..Strawberry shortcake !!

So, there I go :
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp shortening
2 tbsp sugar
Milk as required
Pinch of salt..

Mix the dry ingredients and pinch butter into it and mix with a fork or spoon until granular..
Add milk only to bind a bit, a little less than batter consistency..
Form about 2 inch diameter rounds and bake on 425 F for about 10-15 mins, until brown.

Meanwhile, cut strawberries into slices and add some sugar and let it seep in its juice. Add some wine/rum if possible.

Place the shortcake on a plate, top with whipped cream or icecream and strawberry slices and enjoy !!

The recipes often calls for AP flour , but I used whole wheat pastry flour instead. I think I shall try AP once, to know how its supposed to be .
It turned out well, but I couldnt really cut into half horizontally as called for as the shortcake rose from the middle and not the side. It tasted like a 'churma baati' in my regional cuisine...
All in all a good one, but may improve upon further tries..