Hash Brown

HASH BROWNS

(Hash browns are a staple breakfast food at diners.They go good with eggs and bread for breakfast and is also a good accompaniment with tea or coffee. Come in handy as an appetizer too)

Ingredients : 

6 medium sized potatoes  , salt to taste , 1/2 tspn onion powder , 1 tbspn rice flour

Oil to shallow/deep fry

Procedure : 

Peel and grate 6 medium sized potatoes. Give them an ice water bath and drain the starchy water and rinse them 2-3 times. Let them sit in the collander to drain off the liquid for about 30 minutes. 

 Squeeze out all the excess water with a muslin cloth. Put them in a microwavable  bowl and cook it for 12 minutes 3 minutes at a time… Stir after every 3 minutes to ensure even cooking. Add salt to taste + onion powder and rice flour or cornstarch. 

Make bite size pieces and shallow-fry or deep-fry till golden brown.

You can freeze them in ziplock bags for later use and fry them as you need. 

Cinnamon Rolls

CINNAMON ROLLS 

(The dropping temperature or an occasional overshadow , call for recipes that comfort our soul and fill our kitchen and house with aroma of spices. A go-to recipe that is bound to be talk of the town is Cinnamon rolls.)

Ingredients : 

For the dough : Dough : 1.5 cup all purpose flour , 1/4 cup sugar , 1 packet yeast (2 +1/4 tspn)

1/2 tspn salt , 1/2 cup milk , 3 tbsp oil , 1 egg , 

For the filling : 1 tbsp unsalted butter , 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp cinnamon powder

For glaze : 1 cup powdered sugar , 1/2 tsp vanilla extract , 2 tbsp milk.

Procedure :

Sift the measured dry ingredients in a mixing bowl (all purpose flour , sugar , salt , yeast). Add 1/2 cup measured luke warm milk and mix well. This will activate the yeast.

Add 1 egg  + 3 tbsp oil and mix well. At this stage the flour is a little sticky and loose. Scrape the flour mixture on a working platform with a thin layer of all purpose flour on it. Start adding additional all purpose flour little at a time and keep incorporating it to form a nice clean ball of dough. It may take around 1/4 cup all purpose flour to get the desired result. Knead the dough well for about 3 minutes. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix 2 tsp cinnamon powder and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar. Grease a baking sheet with unsalted butter.

After the dough has rested well spread a little flour on the platform and roll the dough into a rectangle shape (about 1/2 cm thick). Spread 1 tbsp room temperature unsalted butter evenly on the rolled sheet. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar + cinnamon mixture. Start rolling the longer edge of the sheet into a roll. Roll it tightly may cause peaks in the center. So make sure to roll loosely. Cut the rolls into 3/4th inch pieces and place them on a baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet and let it rest for 1.5 hrs. 

Preheat oven at 350 degrees and bake for 15 minutes.

To glaze the baked rolls , mix 1 cup powdered sugar , 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix well and add milk little at a time so that you get a thick paste. When the rolls cool down little bit , drizzle the glaze over them and relish the sweet retreat. 

Garlic Parmesan Bread Sticks.

BREAD STICKS

(This recipe is an easy fix to round off a perfectly planned Italian Meal. You may serve it with Pasta or with a steaming hot bowl of soup on a a rainy or chill day.)

Ingredients : 

1 egg (optional) , 1/4th cup olive oil (can be substituted by any oil without overpowering aroma) ,

1 tbspn butter , 1 packet (2-1/4th tspn) Active Dry Yeast , 1-1/4th tspn salt 

Dry Ingredients

3.5 cups all purpose flour , 1/4th cup sugar , 1 cup luke warm water

Procedure :

Sift the dry ingredients once to get rid of lumps if any. Add the egg , butter , Olive oil to he flour and mix it well. 

Adding egg is optional. The bread turns out great even without the egg. It makes it even lighter if you add one.

Add lukewarm water to make a semi soft dough. Knead well for about 3-4 minutes.

Place it in a bowl greased with olive oil. Cover and let it sit for 2 hours. 

This activates the yeast and ferments the dough to rise at least twice in volume. After about two hours Punch the 

dough to release the air and knead it for another 3-4 minutes. Make coconut size balls and roll them with a 

rolling pin to form a rectangular shape to 1/2 inch thickness.Place it on a greased baking sheet.

Use a pizza cutter to make sticks.Brush some olive oil on top. Drizzle some garlic powder and parmesan cheese.

Cover and let it sit for another 2 hrs.This process is called “Proofing the Dough”. Proofing ,term used by professional bakers , is the final dough-rise step before baking .
These are advisable times that give good results. If there is a crunch of time , you may wait till the dough rises decently.

Preheat the oven at  350 degrees and bake the sticks for 10-15 minutes. The time it takes to brown the upper crust 

varies depending on the thickness of the dough. So after 10 minutes keep an eye on the oven and extract the sticks when golden brown.

You may serve it with Marinara Sauce or Warm Alfredo Sauce.

Tea Time Wheat biscuits.

TEA TIME WHEAT BISCUITS

(This baked tea time snack is made with wheat flour, thus making it nutritious. As all biscuits are , this one too is easy to store , easy to carry , long lasting on long journeys. The crumbly buttery texture  and aroma of nutmeg and cardamom makes it a delight to kids as well.)

Ingredients : 

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter , 1/2 cup sugar 

Dry ingredients :1 cup wheat flour , 1 tbspn besan , 1 tbspn sooji ,pinch of salt , pinch of nutmeg powder , 

1/4 tspn cardamom powder, 1/2 tspn baking powder.

Procedure :

Cut the cold butter in small cubes and mix the sugar.. With a spatula try to incorporate as much sugar as you can. All the butter and sugar may not mix well. 

In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients (including nutmeg and cardamom) and sift it into the butter/sugar mixture. Try to break all the lumps of  butter by rubbing the flour and butter with your hand. Try not to work the dough too much coz you still want to retain the coldness of the butter. At this stage the mixture may be crumbly but what you need is for all the ingredients to mix evenly rather than forming a dough. Scrape all the mixture in a plastic wrap and try to get it together to at least form a ball. The plastic wrap helps it to stay together also avoiding transfer of heat. Refrigerate it for 15 mins.

Meanwhile you can grease the cookie sheet with butter and Preheat the oven to 

350 degrees. To make the cookies you need a rolling pin and cookie cutter. Work the now formed ball on the plastic wrap. use a rolling pin to roll it flat. You may have to cover the top with plastic as well so that it doesn’t crumble. Using cold butter may make it a little challenging to form  cookies but stay assured that the crumbly melt in your mouth texture is the fruit all efforts. Once you form the cookies in shapes of your choice , bake them for 10 minutes. Place them on cooling rack for 10 minutes. And the biscuits are ready to serve.

Pumpkin Cinnamon cake.

PUMPKIN CINNAMON CAKE

Who wouldn't want to enjoy the festive treats with the holiday season round the corner. If you are in search of recipes to incorporate veggies in a picky eater's diet this is a sweet way to sneak in pumpkin. A hint of cinnamon helps to cover up the typical pumpkin taste.

Ingredients :

1 cup all purpose flour , 2 cup sugar , 3/4th tspn cinnamon ,

3/4th cup store bought pumpkin puree , 1/2 tspn baking soda ,

1 tspn baking powder , 1 tspn vanilla extract ,

1/4th tspn salt , 1/4th cup pecan halves ,

4 eggs , 1 stick of unsalted butter .

Procedure :

Pre-heat the oven at 375 degrees.

Grind 2 cups sugar to fine powder . Sift the all purpose flour , sugar , salt , baking soda , baking powder and cinnamon together 3 times. This helps to remove all the lumps and makes the cake light and fluffy. Whip 4 eggs and add vanilla extract , room temperature unsalted butter and the pumpkin pulp. Mix well. Fold in the wet ingredients with the dry ones part by part. Once the batter is smooth add the pecan halves

Grease the baking pan with butter and dust a little flour over it. This prevents the cake from sticking to the baking pan. Pour in the batter and spread it evenly ensuring no air bubbles remain. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick comes clean.

Let the cake get to room temperature and turn it over on to the serving platter. Dust in some powdered sugar over the top of the cake . Slice it into pieces and the cake is ready to serve.

Pineapple Sponge Cake.

PINEAPPLE SPONGE CAKE

A sponge cake is a simplest forms of cake with minimal ingredients. Its mild and refreshing flavor make it a good accompaniment with Tea/Coffee.

Ingredients :

4 Eggs , 1 cup all purpose flour , 1 cup sugar ,

1.5 tspn pineapple essence , 1 stick unsalted butter ,

1 tspn baking powder , 1/2 tspn baking soda.

Procedure :

Blend the measured sugar to form a fine powder.

Sieve the dry ingredients (all purpose flour + powdered sugar + baking soda + baking powder). It needs to be sifted thrice. It removes the lumps in the dry ingredients and helps make the cake light and fluffy.

Break 4 eggs and separate the egg whites and yolk. Make sure that the egg white does not have even the minute of the yolk. Use a blender to whip the egg white till the egg whites turn stiff and hold body. It turns into a white foam like substance. Beat the egg yolks separately and add pineapple essence to it.Now gradually incorporate the dry ingredients to the wet ones in a circular motion. Also add the room temperature butter and mix well.

Grease the baking sheet with butter and dust some flour evenly. Pour the cake batter into the baking sheet and place it into a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

Insert a toothpick into the cake after 20 minutes. If it comes clean the cake is ready. If the batter sticks to the tooth pick it needs to be baked for some more time. The cake is ready. Enjoy with a cup of coffee.

Chocolate chip cookies.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

(Children, teenagers, adults, senior citizens, virtually everybody! No wonder why it is so popular. Chocolate is a symbol of love.Valentines day (14th Feb) is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes , roses , diamonds and chocolate . A gift of chocolate is a familiar courtship ritual.)

Ingredients :

2 large eggs , 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter ,

3/4th cup tightly packed brown sugar ,

3/4 cup regular sugar , 1 tspn salt ,

1 tspn Vanilla extract , 1.5 cup semi sweet chocolate chips,

2 + 1/4 th cup all purpose flour , 3/4 tspn baking soda .

Procedure :

Melt butter in a microwave or over medium heat and get it back to room temperature. Whip 2 large eggs with a whisk . Add vanilla extract and butter to it and mix well.

Sift all purpose flour to remove lumps if any . Add baking soda + salt + sugar + brown sugar and mix well. Add the dry ingredients in small portions . Combine the dry and wet ingredients with a spatula. Make sure you do not over mix. Add the chocolate chips and mix them with the cookie dough.

Preheat oven at 375 degrees and grease the baking sheet with butter and a thin layer of all purpose flour. Drop the cookie dough on the baking sheet. Space at least 2 inch apart from each other as the cookies expand almost twice the size due to the baking soda. Bake until golden brown , for about 12-14 minutes depends on how chewy or crisp cookies you like .The cookies will be soft in the center and will harden as they cool. Use a spatula to move the cookies to a cooling rack. Let cool and the cookies are ready to eat. If you are using the same baking sheet for several batches , make sure that the sheet gets to room temperature between batches.

Tri-color cake

TRI COLOR CAKE

INGREDIENTS :

DRY : 1 cup All purpose flour (Maida) ,

1.5 cup sugar (powdered) , 1/2 tspn soda ,

1 tspn baking powder.

WET : 4 Eggs , 1 tspn Vanilla Extract 100 gms unsalted butter .

1 tbspn Tooty fruity

Food colour : Orange and green

PROCEDURE :

Sift all the dry ingredients together. Sift the mixture thrice to remove lumps. Make sure you measure sugar first and then grind it.

Mix eggs , Vanilla essence and butter in the blender.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones in part and keep mixing with hand in the same circular direction (either clockwise or anti) . Add tooty fruity and mix well

Greace the cake pan with butter and sprinkle all purpose flour.

Add Orange color to 1/3 part of the mixture. Evenly layer the orange batter in the baking pan . Add half of the white mixture and evenly layer over the orange batter . Add green color to the remaining bater and layer ot over the white batter in the baking pan.

Bake the cake approximately for 20-25 at 375 degrees or till the knife comes clean if pricked.

Let it cool after baking. Turn the cake on a flat surface.

Chocolate Brownie.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

Ingredients :
Dry :
1 Cup All purpose Flour (Maida) ,
1 Cup powdered sugar ,
1/2 tspn baking soda , 1 tspn baking powder

Wet :
1 tspn Vanilla essence , 3/4 cup chocolate semi sweet ,
4 Eggs , 1 stick unsalted butter (approx 125 gms)
1 tbsp heavy cream.

Procedure :
Mix all the dry ingredients together and sift them thrice to remove all lumps .

Break four eggs and use a blender to whip them . Add the Vanilla essence + heavy cream + butter (room tempreture) to the blender. Mix well.

Melt the chocolate chips . Make sure that no lumps exist .
Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry ones in small portions। Keep mixing them well with hand in one direction circular motion । Also add the melted chocolate to the bater। The bater is ready to bake.

Greace the baking pan with butter and flour . Add the bater to the pan . Hit the base of the pan on the table to make sure that there are no air bubbles.

Set the oven to 375 . Bake for approximately 20 mins . Use a knife tip to check if the cake is completely baked.

Once baked cut the cake into 2 parts horizontally. Spread an even layer on Ganache* on the base of the case. Then place the upper half of the cake and evenly spread the ganache on the top. Smoothen it up. Use coloured cream to decorate or text as required.

Ganache : is a mixture of melted chocolate , heavy cream and butter.

SIZZLING BROWNIE

Heat a piece of brownie in the microwave for about 15 secs . Add a scoop of Vanilla Icecream on top . Drizzle some chocolate sauce to make a delicious dessert .