An exciting moment - My recipe on Rediff page

I am so excited today after seeing my recipe published on Rediff's page.

A couple of weeks ago I saw an announcement from Rediff to publish Christmas recipes. I immediately shared my Marshmallows  recipe with lots of enthusiasm.

Today I was image googling my 'spoonandpaper'  (I do it often 😝😜) and found my marshmallows picture there. So happy to see my recipe on a well known website. Thank you Rediff.😊

Choco Bread Twists

INGREDIENTS:

Agege bread dough  - half batch

Choco-spread / Nutella - 1/2 to 3/4 cup

For brushing on top:

Egg - 1 / Melted Butter - 2 tbsp

Milk - 1 tbsp

Beat it together. 

METHOD:

1. Roll the dough to 1/2 cm thick rectangular sheet.

2. Smear the choco-spread on top.

3. Fold the upper and lower quarter to the center as shown in picture below.

4. Fold the upper flap on top of the lower fold.

5. Gently roll it to 1 cm thick sheet.

5. Brush egg wash on top. Trim and cut it into 1 cm long strips.

6. Twist each strip and place it on a greased or parchment-lined baking tray. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest and rise for 15 minutes.

7. Bake it in a preheated 200°c oven for about 12-15 minutes.
8. Right after taking out of the oven apply butter well on whole bread and let it rest covered with a cloth for 2-3 minutes to soften the bread completely.

Soft & Fluffy Choco Bread Twists are ready!!! 

Egg Puff

Makes 4 puffs.

INGREDIENTS:

Homemade Puff Pastry  - 1 batch

For the filling:

Hard boiled eggs - 2 (cut into half) 

Oil - 2 tbsp

Onion - 2 (medium,  finely sliced) 

Ginger & garlic paste - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp

Chilli powder - ½ tsp 

Coriander powder - ½ tsp

Pepper powder - ½ tsp

Garam masala - ½ tsp 

Salt - as required 

Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

For egg wash:

Egg - 1

Milk - 1tbsp

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add sliced onions. Cook till the onions become golden brown. Then add ginger & garlic paste and cook for 2-3 mins. Add all masala powders and salt. Cook till the oil separates. Add 2 tbsp water to bring everything together. Add tomato sauce and curry leaves and mix well. Remove the pan from heat. Let it cool.

2. Roll the puff pastry dough to a 1/2 cm thick sheet. Trim the edges and cut it into 4 small rectangles.

3. Place about 1 tbsp of masala on each puff pastry, followed by half a slice of egg. Put some masala on top of the egg as well.

4. Fold the upper half of the pastry on top of the filling.
5. For egg wash, beat the egg and milk. Brush/apply the egg wash on top, over the folded puffs.

 6. Place the puffs on a greased baking tray and bake in a preheated 220°c oven for 20-25 mins or until the puff pastry is golden in colour.

A yummy evening snack is ready!!!  

Nigerian Agege Bread Dough

Agege Bread is a Nigerian bread. We can make many bread recipes with this dough as base. One dough for all. Very simple but I promise you it's perfect.

Recipe source: Bilikis Kitchen
INGREDIENTS:
Flour - 3 + 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Instant Yeast - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Melted Butter - 1 + 1/2 tbsp
Vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Warm milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1

METHOD:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the wet ingredients one by one to combine the dough thoroughly.

2. The dough will be slightly sticky first. Transfer the dough to a floured workspace and keep kneading till it's no longer sticky and turns smooth. Kneading well for a long time increases the elasticity.

My little boy... Lending a helping hand. 😊

3. Roll the dough to a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover it with a cling film or foil tightly. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour or till double in size.

4. Turn out the dough to a slightly floured surface and use it according to your recipe.

Note:
1. For this recipe, my 1 cup = 240 ml
2. For Savoury recipe, reduce the sugar to half quantity.

Dilkush / Dilpasand

 

My Mom loves Dilkush a lot.. During our childhood vacations, whenever we travelled, she would buy these from the nearby bakery to have it on our way. She was the one asking me to bake this since last month.

As I googled, many recipes had the filling stuffed in buns. But that is not the perfect way. Actually the filling should be stuffed in puff pastry. So when I learnt to make my own puff pastry, I immediately tried this Dilkush and it was a big hit. MY MOM LOVED IT.

This will take you...  all the way back to your childhood. Sweet memories. Nostalgic.

INGREDIENTS :
Homemade Puff Pastry  - 1 batch

Filling:

Dessicated coconut - 3 tbsp

Tutti frutti - 3 tbsp

Brown sugar - 1/2 tbsp

White sugar - 1/2 tbsp

Butter - 1/2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon powder- 1/4 tsp

For brushing on top:
Egg yolk or melted butter - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1 tbsp

METHOD:
1. Mix all the filling ingredients and microwave for about 20 seconds.
2. Filling is ready.

3. Roll the puff pastry dough to a 3mm thin sheet. Trim the edges to make a square. Cut it into 4 small squares.

Steps 4, 5 &  6

4. Place about 2 tsp of the filling on the centre of a square. Brush the four corners slightly with water. This helps them seal when pressed together.
5. Fold 2 opposite corners to the centre and press down firmly to seal them together.
6. Fold the other 2 corners over the and again press them firmly together.
7. Repeat steps 4 - 6 for the remaining 3 square puff pastry sheets.
8. Brush the top with melted butter+milk mixture or egg yolk+milk mixture.
9. Place it all in a lined and greased baking tray and bake it in a preheated 220° oven for about 15-20 minutes.
10. It's done.

Simple Potato Roast

INGREDIENTS :
Potatoes - 350 gms
Maida - 1 tbsp
Rice flour - 1 tbsp
Cornflour - 1 tbsp
Red chill powder - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - as needed
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

METHOD :
1. Boil and peel the potatoes, and chop it to small cubes.
2. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients well. Toss in the potatoes and mix well so that the masala powders coat the potatoes nicely.
3. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the mustard seeds. When it splatters add the potato mixture. Stir and roast for about 5-7 minutes.
4. Finally add the curry leaves, stir for a minute.
5. Serve hot.

Homemade Puff Pastry

The easy puff pastry recipe.
Adapted from: Kalai's Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
For dough:
Maida - 1 cup
Cooking butter - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Ice cold water - 6-8 tbsp

For layers :
Cooking butter for layers - 8 tbsp
Maida - 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp

METHOD:
1. Mix maida, butter, salt and sugar well. Add the water little by little and knead it to soft dough. Place it in a slightly floured tray covered with with cling film or cloth and refrigerate for 30 mins.
2. Take out the dough and roll it on a slightly floured workspace to a rectangle shape of 0.5 cm thick.
3. Grease 3/4 of the sheet with 6 tbsp of butter and sprinkle 1/2 tbsp of maida over it. Fold it as shown in the picture below. Place it on a slightly floured tray covered and again refrigerate for 30 mins.

4. Take out the dough and grease the remaining 2 tbsp butter all over and sprinkle 1/2 tsp maida over it. Fold it as shown in the picture below.  Place it on a slightly floured tray covered and again refrigerate for 30 mins.

5. Puff pastry dough is ready. You can use it for any recipe claiming for puff pastry sheets. To use, just roll the chilled dough to a 3 mm thin sheet and use it as per the recipe.

Cool layers!!! 

Note :
1. For this recipe, my 1 cup = 240ml
2. If the butter melts in between the process, refrigerate for 30 minutes and then continue.
3. For later use, wrap the dough in a cling wrap and store it in freezer for about 10 days. Before use, thaw naturally and refrigerate for 30 mins.

Yummy Doughnut / Donut

The soft, fluffier donuts. I don't want to compare it with any of the store-bought ones but it's the best... You know why... It's Homemade. The very simple simple recipe (yes... It's not a typo... I typed it twice) yields the best ever homemade donuts.

Recipe source : Bilikis Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:
For dough :
Flour - 250 gms
Sugar - 37 gms
Instant yeast - 2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla sugar - 1 tbsp
Butter - 55 gms
Egg - 1
Warm milk - 120 ml (105-110ºF (40–43ºC)) 

For coating :
Icing sugar - 1/4 cup
Vanilla sugar - 1 tsp
(Mix it well)

METHOD:
1. Mix all the five dry ingredients. Add butter and egg and mix well. Slowly add the warm milk little by little to combine the dough thoroughly.
2. The dough will be slightly sticky first. Keep kneading till it's no longer sticky and turns smooth. Kneading well for a long time increases the elasticity.
3. Roll the dough to a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover it with a cling film or foil tightly. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour or till double in size.
4. Turn out the dough to a slightly floured surface and flatten the it with a rolling pin to about ½ inch thick.
5. Use a donut cutter to cut the donut. Remove the holes and transfer the donuts to a lightly floured baking tray or parchment.
6. Let the donuts sit in a warm place to rise again for about 15-20 minutes. Cover loosely with a cloth.
7. Heat oil in a frying pan in slow flame. Fry one at a time. Slide doughnut into the hot oil. Turn it over as it rises to the top. Fry them on each side until golden brown. Remove to drain on a wire rack.
8. Finally coat the donuts with the icing sugar mixture while it's slightly warm or dip it in any of your favorite glaze.

Sit back and enjoy the puffy, fluffy n soft donuts. You'll love it.

Note:
1. Yields 10-12 donuts.
2. I rolled all the donut holes to a bun and baked it in a preheated oven at 180° for about 15 minutes. It too turned out yummy.

Less-sweet Buttercream - Sawsen's Recipe

Recipe adapted from Sawsen's

A Less-sweet.. Buttery Buttercream. And surprisingly, quite stable too. Silky smooth and Yum...

INGREDIENTS:
Milk - 30 ml
Sugar - 50 gms (measured, powdered and sieved)
Butter - 75 gms
Essence - 1/4 tsp

Method:
1. Mix sugar and milk, stir until the sugar dissolves.
2. Beat the butter light and fluffy. Then add the essence.
3. Pour the sugar-milk mixture slowly little-by-little into the butter and beat till it turns silky smooth.

My tip:
1. All the ingredients must be in room temperature.
2. Powder the sugar finely.
3. I used Amul cooking butter.
4. Tastes more better if made the previous day. Make it and refrigerate in an airtight container. For using, remove it from refrigerator and bring it to room temperature.