International recipes

Irish Bannock (European cuisine )

January 3, 2014 By

Starting with my first post for BM this new year valli had chosen very wonderful themes and I was so excited to cook for the themes . For the first week I chose the internal cuisines in which I will be exploring European cuisine for first week. European cuisine are versatile by themselves , I had some to do list so took this theme as a chance to finish cooking my to do recipes from European cuisine . Even though I haven’t explored most part of European cuisine its not only mine but a bloggers wish to cover all the cuisines and explore all the recipes at home am sure of it , so this year I am hoping to cover and explore as many different cuisines and those unknown Indian recipes which are more traditional here in my space. So , gud luck to be and the explorers in this blogosphere :)!! and coming to my today’s recipe it is an Irish quick to make bread which doesn’t need any proving and can be prepared in quickly when compared to other bread and main thing is this is complete yeast free.

Irish Bonnack is a bread which is similar to scone which some people call as soda bread as these are quick to make.This bread are perfect for breakfast or teatime and tastes yumm when they are warm. So here is my first bread from European cuisine .Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 36

Recipe Source : All recipes

Ingredients

2 cups All-purpose flour / Maida
2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp Unsalted butter
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk ( made with curd and water)
1/2 cup dried cranberry or any currants

Method

In a bowl mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Cut butter into flour mixture with pastry cutter.
Add buttermilk until dough is soft. Stir in currants.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth. Form dough into a round cake pan.
Place it on a lightly oiled cake pan or cookie sheet.
Cut 1/2 inch deep cross side to side. slit the cross like we do for hot cross buns.
Bake in a preheated 375 F (190 degrees C) oven for 40 minutes.

Bienenstich Kuchen (German Bee Sting Cake) – Eggless

December 24, 2013 By

Today am so very happy to present this post as this will be my first post for We knead To Bake which I recently signed in for next years Bread baking . I was so excited and couldn’t wait more and starting by bread baking from this months challenge. Thanks to Aparna Balasubramaniam for letting me in in this very popular baking group . So this month Aparna suggested a very very addictive and delicious ( I mean it ) super delicious bread / cake from Germany . This was so addictive My H was like give me more n more it was a super hit one and I and My H enjoyed this a lot. Germany Bee sting Cake originally known as Bienenstich Kuchen is a very famous german yeasted cake with a honey almond toffee like topping and custard pastry cream filling – this might sound so irresistible isn’t it – Indeed it is !!..

The Bienenstich has a brioche like dough which is normally made for yeasted cakeswhich might contain high amount of butter and milk in it.
Even egg is added to these but have an egg free recipe.The pastry cream filled in is not runny and must be a bit stiff so that it can carry the weight of the upper cake layer.
The problem in this cake is when you cut the cake into slices the filling might squish off which should not happen . So you must refridgerate it so that the pastry cream becoms stiff and you get a clean slice.The remaining filling can be used as a sauce or dip for this cake or can be licked as I did 😛 Let move to the recipe of this irresistible German cake .

Recipe Source : My Diverse Kitchen

Ingredients

For the Pastry Cream Filling

250 ml milk (I used whole milk)
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp vanilla flavored custard powder
200 ml cream ( I used Heavy cream )
1 tbsp corn-starch

For the Dough

1/4 cup milk (I used whole milk)
7 tbsp butter, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
Instead of 1 egg I added extra 1/4 cup warm milk

For the Honey-Almond Topping

3 1/2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup almonds, sliced* (see Note above)

Method

For custard filling

The filling can be made in the previous day and refrigerated till required.
Remove 1/4 cup of milk, and put the remaining milk and the sugar in pan.
In a medium heat, bring this to a boil while stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar.
Meanwhile, dissolve the custard powder in the 1/4 cup of milk. Add this in a stream, to the boiling milk and keep on whisking so that no lumps are formed.
keep on stiring until the custard becomes very thick.
Take the pan off the heat and let the custard cool to room temperature. Give it a mix in few intervals so that there is no lump formation and custard remains smooth.
If it does become lumpy after cooling, use a hand blender or mixer to make it smooth.
cover this with cling wrap and refrigerate
Once you are ready to fill the Bienenstich, whip 200ml of cream till soft peaks form. Then add the corn-starch and whip till it forms stiff peaks. Whisk the custard to make sure it is smooth. Gently fold the cream into the custard. If you feel it is too soft, refrigerate for a couple of hours and then use.

To make the dough

Heat the milk until it is warm but not boiling. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the milk, stirring it until the better melts completely. keep side so that it cools down a bit.
Meanwhile, put the flour, sugar, salt and the yeast in the bowl .
Mix all the ingredients add the butter-milk mixture(it should be warm, not hot) and also 1/4 cup of warm milk and the then knead till it forms a smooth and soft (loose) brioche-like dough . The dough must be easily handle-able.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl. Cover loosely and let it rise for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
This dough will rise quite well but not to double in size as our other breads do.
Deflate or punch the dough, and shape again to a smooth ball.
Place it in a 8” spring form cake tin lined with parchment.
It is very importation to line your tin with parchment otherwise it will be difficult take them out of the pan .
Flatten the dough a little, pressing down lightly so that the dough fits the cake tin.
It ok if it doesn’t touch the corner of the tin .
Let it rise for about 30 to 45 minutes more. It will not rise very much and look a little puffy.

To Prepare the topping while the dough rises

Melt the butter, sugar, honey and vanilla in a small pan, over medium heat.
Keep stirring frequently and it will start bubbling up. Let it cook for about 3 minutes or so ( not more than that else it will turn hard ) until it turns to a light beige colour. Add the sliced Blanched almonds, and stir well till the almonds are well coated.
Take the pan off the heat and let it cool a bit. The mixture will become quite thick.

To Bake the bread

After the dough rises spread the fudgy like topping evenly all over the top of the dough. If there are small gaps they will get covered once the bread/ cake is baking.
Bake at 180C (350F) for about 25 to 35 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbling.
A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then gently loosen the sides with a spatula and unmould. Let it cool completely on a rack.

When it has cooled completely, slice the cake into two equal layers carefully, using a very sharp knife.
Spread the pastry cream or the filling on the lower layer and top with the upper layer and refrigerate till ready to serve.

Banoffee Pie -SFC#3

December 22, 2013 By

Banoffee pie is something I would love to make again again Bcoz of the addictive dulce de leche in it :). Dulche de leche is a famous in south America which is nothing but a slowly sweetened milk till it attains a caramelized color . The milk is slowly cooked with sugar till it turns thick and turns into brown color. Now a days we make use of condensed milk to make it more easier and this way it takes less time to make a addictive dulce de leche which tastes just like a toffee. This addictive caramel milk is used in many desserts and one such english dessert is famous Banoffee pie. Banoffe Pie is one of my fav after i tried the first time when an non blogger share it in my space for come on – lets cook event. I was so excited when preeti of “ Simply tadka” suggested that this months international dessert for our “Sweet fantasy club” is going to be a banoffee pie.

Banoffee is a traditional British dessert, which includes Banana slices, sticky toffee or other wise called as dulce de leche , and topped with whipped cream are arranged in layers crust made with digestive biscuits, outcome is a addictive and irresistible dessert. Using crushed digestive biscuits for the crust balances the taste of this yummy treat.

Ingredients

Condensed milk – 1 Can
Marie biscuit – 10 No
Butter – 1/4 Cup
Banana – 2
Whipped cream – 1/2 Cup ( whipped till stiff peaks)

To garnish

Grated chocolate
Crumbled Chocolate cake
Cherries (optional)

Method

For Dulce de Leche (In Pressure cooker)

Prepare the pressure cooker by adding ample amount of water so that the condensed milk tin can immerse in it .
Remove any label from the tin and see if there is any damage in the tin if there is any damage don’t use it as it might lead to busting of cooker so be cautious.
Put the can in the pressure cooker which is filled with water , it should be fully immersed.
Close the lid put the weight / whistle and cook them in a till one whistle and then lower the flame and cook the for 20 mins.
Switch of the flame and let the pressure completely subsides.
Do not shake the pressure cooker at the time stay in the water till water completely cools down.
You can store the can/ tin in refrigerator and use them the next day or wait till the tin is completely cool.

Dulce de leche is ready to use!!

*Notes – Avoid opening the can of condensed milk when hot

For the crust

Powder the biscuits by putting them in aziplock and rolling them with the rolling pin to form a fine pd or use a mixer .Now Mix melted butter with the pd biscuit pd . Crust of the pie is ready.

Assembling the pie

Set the crust in the bottom of a bowl, glass of tart moulds.
Spread the Dulce de Leche on top of the crust
Slice the bananas and place it over the Dulce de Leche.
Spread the whipped cream on top of the banana layer
Decorate with grated chocolate/cocoa powder / crumbled chocolate cake finally.

Set in fridge and serve them chilled.

Tips

You can also assemble banoffee pie in a bowl Like I did in the below pic.

Peperonata – Italian Stew

November 22, 2013 By

For my 3 day of BM theme ” Cooking with capsicum” I chose this delicious and yummy Italian Stew which served a great accompaniment for any bread . It will serve as an delicious stew to top on Bruschetta. I found about this recipe while was randomly searching in internet . The original recipe uses red wine instead of vinegar but this tasted very very delicious . This stew is made mostly in summer when we can find enormous amount of colored capsicum in the market. But peperonata tastes yummy in any season of the year. You can even sandwich this stew in between bread and enjoy them . How so ever you like to have them but this is a must try stew . The flavor’s of fresh rosemary , basil brings out an delicious taste and aromatic stew. We enjoyed this delicious stew on top of toasted white bread they tasted yummm..Lets move to this yummy and easy to make recipe of this flavorful Italian Stew . Click here for Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#34.

Adapted from here

Ingredients

2 No Capsicum ( I used orange and green) – slice it into long strips
1 Onion, sliced into half-moons
1 Tomato ( seeded and cut into strips )
1 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp Sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
4-5 fresh basil leaves ( roughly chopped)
1 tsp vinegar

Method

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan ,add the onions.
Add little salt and saute for while till the onion turns pink.
Add the peppers and saute well to combine with the onions.
The peppers must be half done that is it should be cooked but also have a little crunch in it.
Add the garlic, and saute for some more time.
Add the tomatoes and saute for few seconds .
Add the sugar dried oregano, Rosemary, basil and cook them for a while.

Add some pepper pd to taste and also add vinegar. Mix well and served with toasted bread or enjoy as is .

Tips

You can use any mixed colored capsicum for this dish.
This stew is done in many ways I have done my own way adjust the pepper and salt an per individuals taste.

Rose Petit Fours , Rose cake pops and Indian Doll cake – Guest post for Priya aks

November 20, 2013 By

Am so happy today to post this guest post in my inspirator’s space who is a famous blogger and a versatile cook who share’s all her innovations to the world . She is so energetic and punctual , her passion for cooking is seen in her blogging.Priya aks has been hosting this event ” Rendez Vous With A Foodie” – where all the budding blogger share recipes on 7 th and 20th of the month, So its my turn today to guest post on her blog .Yeah am sure you all would have found out she is +Priya Suresh aks of ” Priya’s versatile recipes ” . I was honoured to do a guest post for the person who inspired me to blog and am happy to let her and the readers know how she inspired me to blog. Just before few months I accidently got attached to these bunch of blogger buddies and am so happy to be around them . Even though I was an not so known blogger they made me think one among them and as time passed our relationship got more stronger . Thanks to all my friends for being with me and supporting me .

Thanks to +Divya Pramil and her event SNC which was a medium for me to connect to such kind hearts 🙂 . Priya aks is one among them who never fails to encourage and boost me every time when I feel low :). She is a very jovial person who is like a college mate to me . Thank you so much priya aks for giving me this wonderful opportunity to be a guest in your space . We all love her baking she is so perfect while it comes to baking isn’t it 🙂 So here are some baked goodies I got her today 🙂

When I was thinking for some baked goodies I wanted to make some flower bakes and so I ended up making these Rose petit fours and using the leftover cake I made some cake pops . I even wanted to include the Indian doll cake which I made for my daughter for her 3rd birthday and also for ” Priya’s versatile recipe” (Her blog) we have achieved so many milestones till now and I wanted to surprise her blog with this cake I made .Do hop on to “Priya’s Versatile Recipes ” for some interesting chit chats and recipes of the bake’s I made for priya aks and readers 🙂

Rose Petit Fours

Rose Cake Pops

Indian Doll cake

Do Visit “Priya’s versatile recipes” for the recipes and an lovely chit chat here

sending to cooking 4 all seasons

Eggless Oats Chocolate Biscotti

November 19, 2013 By

This months challenge for HBC was hosted my +Priya Suresh aks and she challenged us with an array of delicious biscotti’s . This was my first ever biscotti I made they cam out so yummy . Infact I made them twice, the first time I didn’t get the exact look as priya aks lot . Her biscotti’s were perfectly cut and looked fabulous I didn’t wanted to post those biscotti as I haven’t got the exact shape and cracks were troubling me. But the second time I made them they turned of to be wonderful . I got addicted to these healthy and yummy biscotti’s it was worth making twice . Thanks for challenging and sharing this delicious recipe aks.

Biscotti are twice baked cookies which oblong shaped . They are generally dry and crunchy can be made with lots of variations. These are originated from Italy which are traditional served with drinks like coffee . Lets move the this delicious and addictive biscotti recipe.

Recipe Source : Priya’s Versatile Recipes

Ingredients

1+1/4 cup All purpose flour
1/2 cup Rolled oats
1 tbsp Cocoa powder
1/4 cup Chocolate chips ( Melted)
2 tbsp Chocolate chips
3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
2-3 tbsp – Milk ( optional)
1/2 cup Butter (room temperature)
1tsp Vanilla extract
A pinch Salt

Method

In a bowl take flour,rolled oats,cocoa powder,baking soda,baking powder,salt.
In another bowl whisk together the butter,sugar until they turns smooth. Add in the melted chocolate,vanilla extract and give a quick stir.
Now mix the dry ingredients,chocolate chips and knead as a soft dough, if its hard to knead and the dough is crumbly just sprinkle few drops of milk as needed to make is soft .
Preheat the oven to 350F..
Roll the dough as a 2 logs as shown in the pic below and transfer it to a baking sheet lined over a baking tray / a greased cookie tray.
Bake the log for 20-25 minutes. Cool it for 10 minutes.
With a sharp knife, slice it diagonally as 1 inch pieces or roughly to get around 15-20pieces from the log.
Bake it again for 5 minutes.
Flip the biscottis and bake again for another 5 minutes.

Let them cool completely.
Store it in a air tightened box.

Crostini with Cherry Tomatoes & Mozzarella

November 3, 2013 By

This month Host for IFC was our dear blogger and wonderful chef +Priya Suresh aks I was so excited to try the italian cuisine recipes she challenge this Month. This is My first one from the list of italian dishes she had given us option. So happy to be apart of IFC ( International food challenge) an group evolved by +Saraswathi Tharagaram (author of saras yummy bites ) and +Shobana Sekar (author of Kitchen secrets and snippets ).

Campania is a highly populated region in the southern Italy, Located on the Italian Peninsula, with the Mediterranean sea to the west. There are various regional cuisine in Italy and Campania is one among them. Best known around for its world famous pizza.
Campania’s exuberant cuisine relies on sun-kissed vegetables and herbs, salty capers, dried pasta, and fresh farmhouse cheeses, chief among them water buffalo’s Mozzarella.

Recipe source : Food Family and Finds

Ingredients

1 loaf French Bread, sliced ( I used store bought)
1 ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced or Grated Mozzarella as required .
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
1/2 stick butter, room temperature
1 glove garlic, minced
Few chopped basil leaves ( you can also have the leave instead of chopping them )

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a small bowl, mix garlic and butter
Brush both sides of sliced bread with garlic butter
Top with cheese and tomato slices,chopped basil leaves.
Bake 10 – 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve warm.

Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#34.

Kugelhopf (Savoury Bread)

October 8, 2013 By

So happy to be apart of IFC ( International food challenge) an group evolved by +Saraswathi Tharagaram (author of saras yummy bites ) and +Shobana Sekar (author of Kitchen secrets and snippets ).This Months IFC was been hosted by shobana and we are exploring Alsace – Lorraine region cuisine which is basically inherits partly french and partly German cuisine but they come under French cuisine .

Alsace and Lorraine are separate regions in France’s north-eastern corner, and share borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland But they differ in language , tradition and atmosphere.Alsatian cuisine, somehow based on Germanic culinary traditions, is marked by the use of pork in various forms. Traditional dishes include baeckeoffe, flammekueche, choucroute, quiche lorraine and fleischnacka. Southern Alsace, also called the Sundgau, is characterized by carpe frite (that also exists in Yidish tradition).

Ingredients

For dough
All purpose flour / Maida 1 1/2 cup
Instant yeast 1 tsp
Warm milk – 6 tbsp
Curd – 2 tsp (Whisk it till smooth and should be at room temp)
salted Butter 2 1/2 tbsp
Oil 1 tbsp
Sugar 1 tbsp

For Filling
Cheddar cheese – 3 tbsp
1 medium size Onion (chopped)
1 small zucchini (cut into cubes)
1 tomato ( deseeded and cut into cube)
salt to taste
Oil as needed
Mixed Herbs or Thyme – 1 tsp

Method

To prepare the dough

In bowl add 1 cup flour, salt , sugar, yeast and the softened butter and mix well
Mix them well till they resemble crumbly.
Now add warm milk , curd to the dough and Mix them well , it will form a sticky dough.
Now add oil and combine them well.

Add the remaining 1/2 cup flour and Mix well with the dough.
Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes with your hand.
Apply some oil to the dough and pan.
Cover and keep the dough in a warm place till it doubles in size , it takes about 1- 2 hours .

To prepare the filling

In a pan heat a tsp of oil and saute the onion with a pinch of salt until they are translucent.
Remove them from the flame and transfer them to a bowl .
Noe saute the tomatoes in the same pan for few secs and then transfer to the bowl
Now saute the zucchini with a pinch salt until they are half done .
Transfer all the sauteed veggies in a bowl and add pepper pd, salt if needed , cheese, herbs.
Mix them well and keep it aside.

Forming a Log

Once the dough doubles in size , punch them and roll it into rectangle.
Spread the veggie evenly on top .
Now roll the dough from the top to form a log.
Place the log in a bundt pan or a round cake tin.
keep it in warm place for second proving or rising for 30 minutes.

Baking Kugelhopf

Pre heat the oven at 200 C for 5 min
Bake the second proved dough for 30 mins.
These savory breads tastes good as is .

Xigua Niu Nai (Taiwanese Watermelon Milk juice)

September 28, 2013 By

Am so immensely happy that all have been enjoying My A-Z theme and leaving so many lovely comments thank you all BM members and my dear readers . My exploring journey seems like a never ending journey as i have so much to learn and Cook. Today’s letter is X and after so much googling i found a delicious drink which fitted perfect.

Today my blog is landing in Taiwan , East Asian state which is popular for its enormous supply of fruit. You can find all types of fruits over there . Thinking for X letter I wanted to make an delicious drink as I wanted a Drink in my A-Z list so comes this addictive milk juice which perfectly fitted the letter and my themes.
So X for Xigua nui nai under International theme , Xigua which means Watermelon , Niu Means Milk, Nai is juice so a perfect refreshment to have any time in a day. I was so addicted to this made them twice and drank them all alone 😛 . Taiwan is famous for it flavored milk which can be found carters in every store But nothing is more better than home made this is super simple to make and an addictive flavored milk which is so smooth and delicious . So with out further ado we will move on to the recipe.
Recipe source : Here

Ingredients

1/4 part of a medium sized seedless watermelon (about 3 lb about 6 cups seedless watermelon chunks)
2 cup milk
1-2 Tsp sugar (optional – if needed adjust to your taste)

Method

Take a seedless watermelon cut of the rind part and chopped the fruit in to dice’s .
Put the watermelon chunks and the milk into the blender. If the watermelon is very sweet, omit the sugar. If your watermelon is not sweet enough, you can add the sugar .
Blend the watermelon mixture for until they are well pureed with out any bits.
Strain the mixture through a sieve. Store the juice in the refrigerator and serve chilled over ice.

Tips

In Taiwan they make this milk even with papaya so can make this Milk juice with papaya even . You can also try and experiment with other such as pomegranate, orange, honey dew melon etc .

Logo courtesy : Preeti

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 32

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Wali Na Maharage (Rice and beans) – Tanzanian Red Beans Gravy

September 27, 2013 By

For today’s letter W we are traveling straight to Tanzania , Africa. In Tanzanian cuisine spicy foods are common and they make lots of coconut milk base curries. the cuisine is similar to Indian cuisine like chapathi, korma, kebab , samosa are even made there. I was really happy to know that most of the recipes are common in Tanzania because of the huge Indian migration there.

As there is a large Indian population living in Tanzania this recipe is said to be influenced from the Indian curries and as you know in south India we make coconut based gravy this is similar to what we make But am sharing this under International theme and this curry is a famous Tanzanian dish. Wali Na maharage simply means “Rice and Beans”, in Tanzania every recipe served is flavored with spices and even the plain rice is flavored with spices. The rice is cooked with cardamom cinnamon, clove, anise and bay leaves so the flavors are highlighted . I made the popular street food which is qamdi Which was a Somalian dish from africa , serve this delicious aromatic curry and a flavorful rice with it an very filling meal is ready to go.
Lets move on to the recipe of this delicious curry !!

Ingredients

1 cup Red kidney beans (soaked over night and pressure cooked
2 cups coconut cream/ Coconut Milk (fresh / store bought)
1/4 tsp Turmeric pd
1 onion ( medium sized chopped)
2 tomatoes (medium sized chopped)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
2 Slit Green chillies ( adjust to your taste)

Method

Cook the beans in pressure cooker if using fresh (I used tinned ).
Heat a pan add oil add onions and saute them till translucent then add green chilli and saute.
Now add tomatoes and cook them till mushy , after which add the red beans and milk them well.
Add coconut milk and cook them till they boil for few minutes .

Remove from stove serve hot with flavored rice or quamdi /mahamri.

Tips

For flavored rice just cook the rice with all the dry spices like cinnamon, clove, cardamom, bay leaves .
This curry even goes well with our Indian breads too.
If using Coconut cream you can add required amount of water.

Logo courtesy : Preeti

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 32

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