Category: BREAKFAST

Cold Cucumber Garlic Soup… 10 things you can make in your Kitchen Aid Blender

Cold Cucumber Garlic Soup is what I whizzed up in the Artisan Power Plus Blender from KitchenAid India a few days ago, and marveled at how quick and how well it worked. Did you know it can make blend cold soups and hot soups with equal ease? That got me thinking of how much I have been using this wonder machine the past few months, and in so many ways. The Cold Cucumber Garlic Soup is only one small example {recipe at the bottom}. I use it in sooooooooooooo many ways. Here are a few more…

Smoothies is the easiest way to begin and of course, the first thing that comes to mind! Do you enjoy making smoothies?

I certainly do. My way forward is quite simple like in this Very Very Berry Smoothie made with the Blender. What a fabulous powerful appliance to have on my kitchen counter. Fresh cherries + Frozen strawberries + Tender Coconut Water + Dash of Lime + Honey/Maple Syrup if required. Two minutes to refreshing goodness!

For sweet smoothies, I pick a fruit or more {in season}, a flavour I like {vanilla, cinnamon, saffron, pie spice, coffee, chocolate}, a base to make the smoothie {yogurt, milk, buttermilk, almond milk etc}, a sweetener if required {raw sugar, honey, jaggery}.I often add ingredients to ‘up the nutrition‘. Think cooked chilled quinoa, oatmeal, almonds etc … you get the drift? The rest is taken care of by the Artisan Power Plus Blender. In seconds, you have smoooooooooth Smoothie! You can find this Peach Almond Oats Saffron Smoothie on the KitchenAid blog.

Peach Almond Oats Saffron Smoothie. Then there are Smoothie Bowls.I love doing these since they look so pretty and are fun to build up. Like an empty canvas, you create your own pretty bowl! These are no brainers.

So you basically begin with a thick smoothie { T H I C K } since it’s got to hold up a lot of stuff on the top {so the picture looks good!!}. Choice of toppings could range from cooked quinoa, seeds, nuts, cut fruit, granola, fresh herbs, frozen berries. Smoothie Bowls are great fun to create and a great kids project in the kitchen too. Now that summer’s practically gone, and autumn’s almost here, think apples & pears, cinnamon, maple syrup, walnuts, granola, popped amaranth, pumpkin seeds …

Nut Butters like almond butter, cashew butter, tahini or then this dead easy Smooth Peanut Butter which is a staple at home. I make two jars a week, and it barely lasts. Use it in PB & J sandwiches, to make cookies with , in Thai sauces, in salad dressings, in smoothies {think chocolate peanut butter smoothie}. It is a good way to up your daily protein. My daughter just eats it by the spoonful!! You can make it chunky by keeping a 1/4 cup of the chopped peanuts initially before adding the oil and honey.
How to make it – 400g roasted peanuts {I use salted} + 1/4 cup neutral oil + 1/4 cup honey. Place peanuts in jar. Process for 5 seconds. Reserve 1/4-1/2 cup for chunky peanut butter if that’s what you like. Add the oil and honey. Process until smooth. {If making chunky peanut butter, add the reserved chopped peanuts in the end and stir in}.
Note: The peanut butter thickens a bit as it stands.

Did you know you can make super quick Blender Waffles in the KitchenAid Blender too? I always keep my waffles wholegrain, usually oatmeal. I did two versions and both are so fast tracked, even the poor waffle maker needed more time to heat up! One favourite are the Blender Chocolate Waffles which I like to pair with single unsweetened cream and fruit.

Just a few days ago I made Savoury Blender Oat Cheese Waffles inspired by a recipe from Martha Stewart. Those turned out exceptionally well and quite perfect. Low fat, whole grain, cheesy, garlicky too and crisp, those are my best savoury waffles to date. They also had the most perfect little pockets on top. You can find that recipe on the KitchenAid Blog soon.

Dips next. What’s not to love? My two favourites are Chickpea Hummus and eggplant dip. I can’t pick which one I like better, so I make both often. The hummus is smooth as can be, and so is the Smoked Eggplant Walnut Truffle Dip. Both are fabulous to have in the fridge as can be made ahead of time!

If dips are covered, can Chutneys be far behind? I ALWAYS have chutney in the fridge. I still remember my Dad making chutney and butter sandwiches when we were kids and went on road-trips. White bread, loads of butter, the depth of chutney was bliss! Here’s a chutney I made the other day for Vada Pav since I was craving them on returning from a Food Styling Workshop in Bombay.


Hari Chutney {Fresh coriander chutney} – Big bunch fresh coriander roughly chopped stems and leaves, 5 cloves garlic, 2-3 fresh green chilies, juice of 2-3 limes, salt to taste. Place 1/4 the fresh coriander in jar of blender with all other ingredients except salt. process to grind. Add the remaining coriander in 2-3 lots. I use lime juice as my liquid base. You could add a small amount of water in addition if you don’t like your chutney very tangy. Once smooth, add salt to taste.
Note: Ingredient ratios are ‘andaz‘ or eyeballed. Play around with flavours that you like. My mum adds fresh mint and onion to her chutney. Use raw mango instead of lime in summer. Keeps in the fridge for a week.

And talking about chutneys here’s another I love playing around with, a Coconut Chutney. I’ve slowly mastered the art of making perfect crisp dosas {glutenfree savoury pancakes} and there’s nothing I love more. Served with a coconut chutney and quick stir fried potatoes, it’s a meal like no other!
Coconut Chutney {my way}: Fresh coconut diced, 4-5 cloves garlic, 1-2 green chilies, coconut water, Greek yogurt, salt to taste. Place all ingredients except yogurt and salt in blender jar. Process until smooth. Add enough yogurt to get right consistency. Add salt to taste.

From savoury, it’s back to sweet again. Fruit purees! Smooth, delightful, indulgent, this is a quick way to dessert toppers, jams, smoothies etc.

Here’s a Jamum Mousse I made using a jamun {wild Indian Java plum puree}.There are so many ways to use fruit purees. Think breakfast, think dessert, think dessert for breakfast, see what magic fruit purees can create!


Chocolate Cherry Coconut Chia Pots {below left}: Layers – Coconut milk + maple syrup + cocoa powder + chia seeds, Coconut cream + raw sugar, pureed balsamic cherries, Seedy GF maple syrup granola, fresh cherries & mint
Quaker Oat+Milk Chia seed Breakfast Pudding {below right}: Stir heaped 2 tbsp of chia seeds into the oat milk in cognac glasses. Let stand overnight. Top with fresh mango puree, fresh jamun puree, fresh diced mangoes, fresh mint and rose from the garden.

And then Salsas, Pestos and all the fun things in the world. Use a pesto in a sandwich, or toss a pasta into it. Else simply serve it with handcut home made hot chips!!Dahi badas or Lentil Dumplings in garlicky yogurt, the batter ready in minutes. You can do medu vadas, idli/dosa batter and so much more.

Last but not the least, frozen desserts.  Think ice creams, fro yo, sorbets etc.Can your blender do all this {and more}?


Tel me what you love making in your blender the most!

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Cold Cucumber Yogurt Soup

Refreshing, flavourful, raw cold soup is just the thing for summer and fresh produce!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 3 slices English cucumbers scrubbed clean {save a couple for garnish if desired}
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 small green chili
  • juice of 1 small lime
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • Handful fresh mint
  • Salt to taste
  • Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients in jar of KA blender. Process until smooth. Chill for a couple of hours. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Salad … go light with summer

It’s the time of the year where your palette changes as the season changes. Springs given way to summer, and thankfully it’s been kind of mild so far. The flavours are shifting gear from hearty earthy soups to salads and smoothies galore.

Grilled is in … sandwiches & barbeque. With it comes breads – wholegrain, chewy, deep, delicious. Yes the yeast in action gives rise to some fine French fougasse and foccacias and no one is complaining. Healthy food in Delhi is in, and it’s fun to see the change in food trends.The past two years have seen a shift in gears towards light food in Delhi. Though the number of  stand alone salad bars in Delhi are still limited, most coffee shops and restaurants have a live salad counter which throw up the most amazing of fresh and cooked salads all day long. Nirulas Pot Pourri was possibly the first ‘salad bar in Delhi’, one that brings back old memories of the 1980’s. We would hang out on the ground floor in Connaught Place, having ‘escaped’ from school, sinking our teeth into 21 Love and Jamoca Almond Fudge. the Hot Chocolate Fudge was slightly steeper, so that was for special days, toasted cashews on top and the works! We’d climb upstairs sometimes to treat ourselves to the occasional grilled sandwich, passing by the salad bar, but never stopping for any! The precious pennies were saved to buy real food in our eyes, not pineapples and Russian salad!!

How times change when you grow up. How food on the table changes too! It’s actually a combination of an internet explosion, social media, interest in food, spending time in the kitchen, reading cookbooks and blogs non stop that lead to awakening. One constantly questions ‘what is on the plate’? And it’s a great way for youngsters to learn too!The son will not eat a meal without salad, he begins every morning with a fruit salad … it’s the best thing in the world he declares! What’s the fuss all about you might wonder. Nothing at all. It’s the Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Salad that I’ve been making for years. This is a simple, refreshing, make ahead or make instantly glass of joy.

Strawberries and kiwi are two very vitamin rich fruit, though can try experimenting with maybe melons and kiwi, or mango and strawberries, maybe litchi and melon… whatever is in season and forms part of your local produce. Throw in a bunch of fresh herbs from the garden, sit back and refresh yourself this summer!

[print_this]Recipe: Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Salad

Summary: Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Salad is a simple, refreshing, make ahead or make instantly glass of joy. Strawberries and kiwi are two very vitamin rich fruit. Throw in a bunch of fresh herbs from the garden, sit back and refresh yourself this summer! Serves 2

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 12 strawberries, hulled, diced
  • 2 ripe kiwi, peeled, diced
  • 2tsp raw sugar {boora} or honey
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Fresh basil or mint

Method:

  1. Place fruit in serving glasses or a glass bowl.
  2. Sprinkle over sugar / honey, squeeze over the lime juice and gently toss to mix.
  3. Spoon into serving glasses or bowls. garnish with fresh herbs.
  4. Chill until ready to serve.

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Multigrain Granola … breakfast o’clock!

“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.”
John Gunther

Multigrain Granola … this is what flavours the mornings our end these days, and it doesn’t seem to change. I have made granola every single week for the past 4 weeks, and its gratifying to see the better half reach out for it. I had forgotten how easy granola, the ‘hippie’ food of the Sixties, was to make at home.I was born in the late Sixties of this “cultural decade” which also saw a paradigm change in the world – the Beatles, the first step on the moon, the Vietnam war, the assassination of JFK, womens liberation movements.  My Sixties saw the good old Pye tuned to BBC World Service every morning, the Hare Rama  Krishna movement gaining fame thanks to  George Harrison, blackouts during war, no television, hopscotch and hide ‘n seek…

My Sixties and Seveties also saw loads of naturally growing foodstuff  – mulberries, wild dates, jamun {Java plum}, ber {jujube/ Indian plum}, mangoes, tamarind, wild berries, wild figs. We would cram everything into our little mouths!The Sixties also saw the ‘hippie’ movement and a revival of natural, healthy foods in everyday diet, and a shunning of processed and sugary foods.My first tryst with breakfast creal began with the Gluten Free Chocolate Granola in 2011. Someway along the way, breakfast options for the dieting diva changed into smoothies, and granola got left behind. Of late, the husband has tired of ‘eggs in breakfast‘. He’s also off wheat as being gluten free makes him feel better.

That’s where granola stepped in! With the weather becoming increasingly warm, a make ahead, on the go ‘cold’ breakfast has won over egg! Topped with seasonal fruit like mulberries, fresh figs, strawberries, banana even better. Of late, my involvement with oats {and other whole grains} has been huge thanks to developing recipes and doing a TV cookshow for Saffola Oats. Suddenly anything and everything oats seems like a recipe opportunity. 

Both granola and muesli contain a mixture of grains (such as oats), nuts, dried fruit and sometimes bran and wheat germ. Muesli may contain sugar and dried-milk solids, but it can be unsweetened. Granola is typically toasted with honey and oil, resulting in a crisp texture and sweet glaze not found in muesli. Because granola contains the addition of honey and oil, it tends to have a higher sugar and fat content. As a result, granola is, on average, higher in calories than muesli. 

Click here for a range of Jordan’s cereals. Both granola and muesli offer nutritional benefits. Both have fiber from the grains, fruits and nuts. In addition, the dried fruits provide antioxidants, while the nuts offer healthy fats. Topping either muesli or granola with low-fat milk, soy milk or yogurt makes for a nutritionally balanced, filling breakfast. 

Along came a huge bowl and in went the oats, followed by popped amaranth. I use amaranth quite often these days I have plenty on hand, both flour and popped. In also went some puffed rice which is available at just about every corner store here. Nuts and raisins are always welcome. I also threw in some melon seeds, the remainder of some last used in Savoury  Hungarian Kalács & Twisted Buns.

Granola and toasted cereal is always nice to have on hand for a quick snack, to top yogurt and fruit, to make granola bars, and even to make a layered fruit dessert. In the Strawberry & Cape Gooseberry Quark Mousse above, I tossed some granola into melted chocolate, let it harden and then used it in the layered dessert!

[print_this]Recipe: Multigrain Granola 

Summary: Full of fibre, crisp, sweet, buttery too, this Multigrain Granola is sure to please! You can always substitute the butter for oil, and play around with different grains and nuts. Go ahead, make it into the granola you love!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 160g oats
  • 30g puffed rice
  • 35g popped amaranth
  • 50g melon seeds
  • 50-75g walnuts, chopped
  • 100g raisins
  • 25ml water
  • 25ml honey
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 50g brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 150C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
  2. Place the water, honey, butter, brown sugar and vanilla bean powder in saucepan. Simmer over low heat until the butter melts. Stir well to mix. {Alternatively, place in a heat proof bowl and microwave for 1 minute}.
  3. Place all remaining ingredients except raisins in a large bowl and stir to mix.
  4. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry mix, stir well to mix uniformly.
  5. Turn onto prepared sheet and bake for about an hour until dry. Stir every 15 minutes to redistribute.
  6. Toss in the raisins, cool completely and store in an airtight box.

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Eggless Almond Honey Wholegrain Cookies … #comfortfood

“You’ll never convince me that there’s more to life than chocolate chip cookies”
Charles M. Shultz

Eggless Almond Honey Wholegrain Cookies … cookies that are meant to be shared! I haven’t posted a cookie recipe for a while on PAB. Possibly since I don’t make new variations very often, or when I do, I forget to jot the recipe down. Ones that I regularly make are all time favourites like Wholewheat & Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies & these Not Quite Anzac cookies.

That morning I was due to meet a sweet girl who was coming in to meet me from halfway across India. I knew she was a vegetarian and I wanted to bake something eggless for her. Cookies seemed a good idea for the coffee morning. I had some Strawberry & Cape Gooseberry Quark Mousse chilling in the fridge for her too.

Spring has all but given way to summer. Mornings and evenings are beautifully pleasant; the season inspires like no other. Flowers bloom, fruits spill off bazaar shelves, birds chirp, butterflies zip around. Baking is fun in this weather though baking cookies is fun any time!!

The cookies came out delicious, even better since they were packed with nutrition and whole grains. I love the idea of adding nut meal to cookies. In my case I ‘have to‘ since the daughter dislikes nuts with a vengeance. She loves cookies with nut meal though!

I baked another batch soon after as we flew into breathtakingly beautiful Srinagar for a short vacation. It’s always nice to carry a ‘taste of home’ with us. Though Srinagar is known for its little bakeries that dot the length and breadth of the city, my humble cookies were much in demand with the kids too! One look at the ingredients in the recipe and you’ll see the cookie goodness I am talking about. Almonds, whole wheat, amaranth {my latest obsession}, oats, and honey instead of  corn syrup!  Told you … these are deliciously healthy cookies. Indulgent too!

Try them. Cookies don’t get simpler than these. One bowl goodness, fun to make, get the kids involved. Do watch them towards the end of baking. Honey in baked goods tends to lead to faster browning. So do keep an eye!

Healthy, fun recipes with amaranth, whole grains, oats {read lots of oats}, unrefined sugars, honey etc have kept me busy of late. I’ve been involved in doing a project for Saffola Oats here in India.

Shot two recipe videos with the very sweet Michelin Starred Chef Vikas Khanna for Food Food Channel, India as part of the engagement. You can catch the first episode for a Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Gateau {Gluten free} which has been uploaded onto You-tube.

[print_this]Recipe: Eggless Almond Honey Wholegrain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Summary: Eggless Almond Honey Wholegrain Cookies offer deep delicious butterscotch flavour thanks to the brown sugar and butter. Almond meal adds interesting taste, and chocolate chips are thrown in to make another quintessential chocolate chip cookie, this time eggless. These whole grain cookies are nice, chewy if you underbake them a little, and crisp if you bake them longer!  Makes approx 2 dozen
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 100g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 100g honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 55g brown sugar
  • 100g whole almonds {or almond meal}
  • 50g amaranth flour
  • 50g whole wheat flour
  • 100gm oats
  • 50g chocolate chips {I used dark}

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 150C
  2. Run the almonds in the processor with the wholewheat flour until you get a fine-meal.
  3. Heat butter, honey and vanilla bean powder in a pan over low heat till the butter melts. Mix well. {Can do it in the microwave too}.
  4. Add the baking soda, salt and brown sugar and whisk to mix.
  5. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to form a cookie dough. The dough will be a little stiff.
  6. Drop tbsp of dough on parchment lined cookie sheets, flatten with the tines of a fork. {I rolled the dough into balls, flattened them slightly with the palm of my hand, and then further flattened them by pressing down with a fork.}.
  7. Bake for approx 20 minutes until golden brown.
  8. Leave to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes {they are quite tender when they come out of the oven} , and then transfer on racks to cool completely.
  9. Thermomix Recipe:
  10. Run the almonds in the TM bowl with the wholewheat flour on speed 7 for 30 seconds to get a fine-meal. Scrape and repeat if necessary. Turn into a bowl and reserve.
  11. Place butter, honey and vanilla bean powder into TM bowl. Heat for 2 minutes at 60C on speed 2 until fully dissolved. Place bicarb into bowl and mix for 5 seconds on speed 3.
  12. Add remaining ingredients and set dial to closed position and mix for 30-35 seconds on interval speed…. then continue as above from step 5.
  13. Note: Since the dough has honey, the cookies tend to brown faster than normal cookies. I use double cookie trays. Keep an eye on them.

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NUTS about Alton Brown’s DOUGHNUTS …Yeastly tales with the Daring Bakers

“Be sweet and honest always, but for God’s sake don’t eat my doughnuts!”
Emma Bunton

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

It’s the 27th again, and the  much awaited Daring Bakers time of the month again! I’m still not sure if I got it right. Maybe I missed the fine print that states somewhere that we have to bake a batch too, but here I am with the challenge for October 2010. Going nuts about dougnuts is the call, and I think it’s something we love to love universally! What’s not to love about this tasty fried dough, an end result that can be seen across various cultures. Call a doughnut by another name – beignets, crullers, fritters, Sufganiot, and krapfen; tasty little bites they are!

But hello? No baking here, and 650gms of flour…what was I thinking? Was bitten by a bug from la-la land; I really should have halved the recipe. I chose the yeasted doughnuts version, and there was dough popping right out of the bowl, threatening to explode. It was everywhere and I had to fry some in a hurry as it looked like the very active yeast was set to explode. Within the hour of the yeastly rise {in the fridge that too} I quickly set the wok on fire and got frying!

They say ‘hurry makes curry‘. Tch tch … the first doughnut went into the oil in haste, and I was miserably rewarded with a splattering of hot oil! OUCH!! Got branded a confirmed Daring Baker with 2 burns across my forehead. Some stamp eh? Never heard the end of it for 5 days, “OMG, what happened?“…  blah blah blah! Could have kicked myself! Please always be CAREFUL when deep frying! Another tip: Do keep a plant of aloe vera handy in your yard/garden. It is soothing and healing, and you can barely see any marks on my face now. Just break off a bit of the cactus stem, squeeze out the clear gel, and apply… works wonders!Completed a quick batch that day after being rudely interrupted by the incident, and the remaining dough went back into the fridge. It stayed there for 2 days because by then I had so much more to do, and it just felt safe sitting there. Day 3 had me running again because it wasn’t safe to let it be anymore. I wish I had made half the quantity of dough because doughnuts are best eaten fresh. IMHO, they just seem to lose their charm as they cool off, losing their characteristic fluffiness and charm.

I made a batch in the oven too, just in case I had missed out on a DB rule for the challenge. They were OK. To make up for their lack of apparent lightness, I dressed them with a low fat cream and vanilla sugar glaze. Had to be PINK in support of Breast Cancer Awareness for Pinktober. {I’ve been going quite PINK this month – Pinkarons {pink macarons}, Quark Mousse with Roasted Balsamic Strawberries, A Strawberry and Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Cake}. The kids enjoyed the pink ones because of the glazing. I had many plans for the fried ones – pumpkin topping, pastry cream within, dessert donuts etc. But the number that had been eaten already didn’t warrant any more calories, so I let them be. They were absolutely light and delicious served fresh. This is one recipe I will use in the future, for it’s ease of making, and taste! YUM!!

The Alton Brown yeast doughnut recipe is  great one, except that 4.5 tsps of yeast sounded like too much. I used fresh yeast from my block in the freezer, and despite cutting 10g {10g = about 1 tsp dry}, and placing the dough in the fridge after kneading, an hour later it had more than doubled. The results were very good. After refrigeration, the dough was very easy to work with, and the fresh doughnuts were very, very good. I dusted them with a cinnamon/vanilla sugar mix …

Thank you Lori of Butter Me Up for this fun challenge. It’s been a while since I made donuts, and I have to say it was wonderful making them! Got to use my new donut cutter too that I got from my little shop in Old Delhi. As always, a HUGE THANK YOU to Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for keeping this fab kitchen together … and growing!!

Yeast Doughnuts
Minimally adapted from recipe by Alton Brown
Yield: 30-35 doughnuts & 30 to 35 doughnut holes, depending on size {Mine were regular sized}
Ingredients
1.5 cup milk, lukewarm
70g unsalted butter,melted
30gms fresh yeast
1/3 cup warm water {35°C}
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup granulated vanilla sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp grated nutmeg
4 2/3 cup (650g} all purpose flour {plus extra for dusting}
Vegetable oil for frying  { at least 3 inches of oil}
Method:
Mix the warm milk and butter. Set aside.
In a small bowl, pour the warm water over the fresh yeast and let dissolve for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour.  Combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. {I left it cling wrapped in the fridge, and it rose in 30 minutes}
On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch thick. {Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter}.
Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oil in a heavy bottom wok to 185°C. {Test the oil to see if it’s ready with a doughnut hole. It should immediately bob to the top of the oil, and begin to brown. If it comes up slowly, the oil needs to get hotter. If it becomes dark brown immediately, the oil is too hot…beware!}
Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown.
Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Sift a mix of powdered vanilla sugar and cinnamon over both sides immediately. Alternatively, allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

Do stop by HERE and check out how the rest of our talented bakers have gone nuts over doughnuts this October!

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Chocolate, Dried Cherry & Walnut Bar Cookies

“Will work for chocolate”
Summer in North India has become a drag, & I can’t wait for better days to come. I’ve been desperate to bake but lack motivation. Everything is HOT, & I almost don’t need to switch on the oven to bake. Power outages rule our days with electricity more absent than present. The kids summer vacations in this entire region have been extended in view of the heat wave. The mayhem at home continues…& in the midst of this, I still want to bake…I had an old Martha Stewart recipe using oats & dried cherries jotted down on a scrap of paper. I found it a couple of days ago while clearing my desk & decided to make the biscuits. With my limited supply of dried cherries all gone in many batches of these yum Chocolate Cherry Muffins, I stumbled on a bag of dried cranberries which a friend got from the UK recently. I was all set… Walnuts are always on my list to add to anything & everything that compliments the nut, so in went some walnuts. I kept changing ingredients as I went along, substituting some flour with cocoa, & eventually came up with these delicious little bar cookies. Not too sweet, the tart cranberries compliment the walnuts & chocolate beautifully. You can omit the cocoa if you like, & use 1 1/4 cups of plain flour instead. If you like sweeter cookies, increase the sugar by 1/4 cup.
There are times that I really enjoy rolling out cookies at any time of the day, & find it entirely therapeutic. Not these days though. The heat is sapping, electricity is playing truant & humidity is making life worse. So I took a call & pressed the cookie dough into my tart pan, hoping some sort of brownie/cookie/bar would emerge…
Scored lines through the unbaked dough to get 12 equal pieces (later I thought I might have managed 16 instead), sprinkled on some vanilla sugar from sachets my friend from Kiev regularly gets for me. The sachets remind me of the many dessert mix sachets I had picked up while on vacation in Moscow way back in 1995. Everything looked so good, and I picked up loads of chocolate & coffee mousses etc. It was only when we returned home, did I realise that all instructions were in Ukrainian & I couldn’t do anything with them. My limited knowledge of words like allo, da, idi suda, kharoshe, perciba didn’t help!! In those days it cost a fortune to call overseas, so my poor sachets expired silently!The last time my friend was here from Kiev, in addition to vanilla sugar sachets (the writing on which is still in Ukrainian), she got me beautiful hand painted flat wooden spoons from there, which I really love.
CHOCOLATE, WALNUT & DRIED CRANBERRY BAR COOKIES

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup demerera sugar
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Fine vanilla sugar, for sprinkling (or sanding sugar)

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 180C degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  • Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut butter into oat mixture until mixture resembles a coarse meal. In another medium bowl, mix together egg, buttermilk, and vanilla and almond extract until well combined. Stir in dried cranberries, chopped walnuts/chocolate chips.
  • Add egg mixture to flour mixture; mix until well combined.
  • Turn out dough into a lightly greased tart tin with a removable base, push it to cover the pan evenly & uniformly. Cut into 12 equal squares using a sharp knife; or roll out to 1-inch-thick rectangle, cut into 12 equal squares & transfer to a prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar.
  • Bake for 18 to 20 minutes/ till done. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool slightly before serving.

Posted by Deeba @ PAB
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