Category: VEGETARIAN

Baking | Simple Straightforward Delicious 100% Wholewheat Pizza … #cleaneating

“I want to live in a world where the need for pizza belittles that of war.”
Jason Barnett

100% Wholewheat Pizza … nothing else. Simple, clean, quick, delicious and versatile. As I mentioned recently, I have a few good to go recipes that I hold in my head. Most involve eye balling, throwing into the KitchenAid stand mixer rather rapidly, mixing in all at once, and then leaving the yeast to rise to the occasion. Life gets tiring at times with so much going on. For times like those, simple is best. If it can go wholegrain, even better.

There’s nothing to this recipe. In line with my recent experiments, I use cultured buttermilk {available as plain chaach in the local market} to knead the dough as a substitute to water. Chemistry falls flat with me, schooling largely forgotten, but possibly yeast with the added culture does work in there to allow for a quick rise. You could add a spice blend, minced garlic or herbs to the dough as well. I added a dash of Genoa to perk up the grilled vegetables for the topping, the topping inspired from Epicurious. I’m giving away a set of spice blends away here, so you can try and enter if you like. The spice blend paired well with the vegetables and herbs. Worked a charm. Bland vegetables like eggplant and mushrooms take really well to added flavours. Just herbs, garlic and lime also work really well.

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100% Wholewheat Pizza

Simple, quick, fuss free, this 'loaded with goodness' 100% Wholewheat Pizza will keep the young and old all happy. Base done, fix the toppings as you like, else there is a recipe below. Recipe can be easily doubled.
Course Appetiser, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 2 people

Ingredients

100% Wholewheat Pizza

  • 1 cup wholewheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • pinch sugar
  • 125-150 ml cultured buttermilk tepid
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink rock salt

Topping

  • 3-4 long eggplants sliced
  • 10-15 button mushrooms quartered
  • 3-4 cloves garlic sliced
  • 2 tsp fresh herbs
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • 1 tbsp Sprig Genoa spice blend
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tomato chopped into 1/2" bits
  • 1/2 cup sweet corn
  • 4 tbsp jalapeno cream cheese
  • 4 tbsp pizza sauce
  • 200 g mozzarella

Instructions

100% Wholewheat Pizza

  • Place everything except buttermilk in bowl of stand mixer. Stir on low speed for 3 seconds, with knead hook attached. Begin pouring in the buttermilk, a little at a time, till you get a soft dough that begins to comes together.
  • Increase the speed and knead for 7-8 minutes on speed 5 until you get a smooth elastic dough. Add a little more buttermilk f the dough is dry, or some more flour if the dough is too wet. {Every brand of four has a different absorption capacity. I usually eyeball the amount.}
  • Transfer to an oiled bowl {or leave in in the KA bowl like I do}, cover with cling-wrap and leave in a draft free place to rise for an hour, until doubled. {You can also leave it in the fridge overnight for a slow rise}

Topping

  • Toss the eggplant slices with 1/2 tsp salt, and leave in colander for 30 minutes. Squeeze out excess water, then toss with mushrooms, spice blend, garlic, lime, olive oil and fresh herbs.
  • Grill in hot oven for 10 minutes then leave to cool.
  • Toss tomatoes with freshly chopped mint and basil and some salt, Place over a colander to allow excess water to drain out. Mix into the grilled vegetables.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C.
  • Divide the dough into 2 or 4 as desired.
  • Roll out quite thin {we like thin crust pizzas}, or as thick as you like. Brush with extra virgin olive oil, and lightly sprinkle with Himalayan rock salt.
  • Place of a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Cool a little.
  • Assemble
  • Give the base a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, then a smear of cheese spread, followed by one of pizza sauce.
  • Top with the grilled mixed vegetables and sweet corn, grate over mozzarella.
  • Bake for 10 minutes in a hot oven just until the cheese melts and the vegetables get warmed through.
  • Garnish with chili flakes, fresh herbs. Serve immediately.

Genoa Fougasse with spiced yogurt, hummus & foxnuts … for the love of bread

“Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all it’s flavour.”
William Cowper

Genoa Fougasse turned out to be the best bread I’ve baked in a while. Sometimes you just need ‘bread luxury’, and this became that and much more. The difference here was the new level of deliciousness brought on by the addition of a gourmet spice blend, Genoa, from Sprig. It brought the flavours alive, went beautifully with the cheese and walnuts within, making it our new favourite bread at home. French Fougasse has always been on top of my list of fave breads. The Genoa Fougasse just knocked it off!

Spices have always fascinated me since I entered the kitchen. My love affair with them getting more intense when I joined Dolphia and Simi on the spice journey with The Masala Dabba. The colours, the flavours, the versatility never cease to amaze. I am rather light handed with spices in the kitchen, using them only to enhance flavours rather than overpower the dish. The fougasse I planned to make was just a cheese and walnut bread.It’s a dough I’ve been working with, an experiment which goes on substituting grains on the go. I wanted a light bread, so I decided to stay half whole wheat and half plain flour. Also instead of water, I like kneading my dough with cultured buttermilk. Kills two birds with one stone, no make it four! Adds some calcium, makes the dough buttery light, reacts faster with the yeast, and of course lends beautiful flavour too! I recently did pitas with a similar dough, playing around with the quantities a little. Seems to work its charm each time!The  charm however turned to absolute joy with this gourmet spice blend from Sprig. The spice blends arrived as the dough was proofing. On a whim I decided to add some to the bread. The fresh flavours please you as you undo the foil, the aromas very enticing. The packaging is quite eye catching, the quality excellent. If you look closely, you can pick out the ingredients as listed on the box. It’s quite a generous portion in the box, will see me for a while. It added colour, flavour and real happiness to the fougasse which was quite aptly renamed Sprig’s Genoa Fougasse. I can see a Syracuse Fougasse, maybe a Tangier Fougasse in the future perhaps. That’s the really nice thing about spice blends. They are so versatile to use – as a rub, marinade, glaze, paste, crumb, sprinkle or dressing! Or like me, with my imagination on about everything. You can see just what happened!!I made a Genoa Dipping Oil to serve alongside the bread. Just when you think the bead can’t get any better, one dip into the oil and you reach another exciting new level. Ideas popped into my head. You can do Malacca Naans or Tangier Pita Breads! Imagine a themed meal with the spice blend running through the meal? Really had me happy. Tangier Pitas with Tangier marinated grilled chicken, a hearty salad within paired with a mild Tangier laced salad dressing. Just the idea makes me happy!As I see spices, new ideas constantly develop in my head. How about a spice blend spiked yogurt, like a raita. I gently tried sprinkling some Malacca and melon seeds over home made yogurt. I can’t even begin to tell you how addictive that was. It was actually bowl scraping good. Next time it’s going to be either grated radish, a spice blend, chopped walnuts, maybe a dash of garlic and fresh mint or coriander as a side. The possibilities bring a smile to my face, somewhat like these fox nuts {or makhanas below}.

As the days pass by, there is always something interesting happening in the kitchen. These days falafal seems to rule, hummus much in demand. While attempting to make hummus the other day, I added the Tangier Spice Blend on a whim since it seemed to tie in with the region. What an amazing result. It lifted the hummus to a new delicious level. The daughter dug in asking where it was from. ‘You made it? Really? This is much better than store bought hummus‘.So chuffed, I added some into the falafal mix as well. This turned out to be fun! Pitas, falafal, garlicky dip, salad all happening in tandem!This gourmet spice blend from Sprig is available at Nature’s Basket, Foodhall and many stores across India. Locate a store here, else shop at the online store.

Sprig has offered to giveaway a set of the Gourmet Spice Blend to a reader of Passionate About Baking.

To enter all you need to so is like Sprig on FB and tell me what dish you would make with any {or all of the spice blends} should you win. I’ll pick a winner on the 25th of July. You must be a resident of India to enter.

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Genoa Fougasse

Genoa Fougasse turned out to be the best bread I've baked in a while. Sometimes you just need 'bread luxury', and this became that and much more. The difference here was the new level of deliciousness brought on by the addition of a gourmet spice blend, Genoa, from Sprig. It brought the flavours alive, went beautifully with the cheese and walnuts within, making it our new favourite bread at home.
Course Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Bread dough

  • 130 g aata
  • 130 g maida
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • 30 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 200 ml buttermilk

Filling

  • 1 1/2 tbsp Sprig Genoa spice blend
  • 100 g mozzarella grated
  • 50 g walnuts, toasted, chopped

Topping

  • 20 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Sprig Genoa spice blend
  • 2-3 Few sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink rock salt

Instructions

  • Bread dough
  • Place all ingredients in bowl of stand mixer. Mix gently first at speed 2 for a couple of minutes, then at speed 4 for 4-5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  • Add a spoon or two of buttermilk if the dough is a bit hard, or a spoon or two of flour if it is still sticky.
  • Cover the bowl with clingwrap and leave in a warm place for an hour until doubled. {Alternatively, leave in the fridge overnight for a slow rise}
  • Preheat oven to 225C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Knock back dough, and flatten to a rough rectangle of 8" X 4" on a floured surface. Drizzle a little olive oil, then sprinkle over with Sprig Genoa Spice Blend. Top with grated cheese and walnuts. Fold into thirds, flatten again, and fold into thirds again.
  • Place on prepared cookies tray, and shape into large oval, about an inch high. Cut slits through the dough to resemble leaf like cuts. Drizzle over with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle over with more spice blend, rosemary sprigs and Himalayan rock salt. Leave to rise while you preheat the oven to 20 minutes.
  • Bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven, middle shelf, both upper and lower elements, until puffy and golden brown. Serve with a spice blend infused extra virgin olive oil for dipping.

Overnight Thandai Oats with Peaches & Plums…. summer is for breakfast like this

“Fussing over food was important. It gave a shape to the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner; beginning, middle, end.”
Robert Hellenga, Philosophy Made Simple

Overnight Thandai Oats with Peaches & Plums, a no brainer at best. A recipe that took far too long to come, one that is the easiest and has a nice gentle touch. The home made Thandai Nut Mix adds a delightful touch, tying in well with the almond milk, sabja/basil seeeds and melon seeds. Of course, feel free to use chia seeds as they are super foods too, though imported. I use basil because they are locally available and swell up so beautifully. My sweet friend Madhuli @ My Food Court makes sure my supply of basil seeds is never ending.Peaches and almonds make for great pairing. What’s not to love about a breakfast that offers everything in a bowl? Oats, nuts and seasonal fruit? The nut factor comes in from this Thandai mix. Thandai, or sardai, is a cold drink prepared with a mixture of almonds, fennel seeds, magaztari seeds, rose petals, pepper, vetiver seeds, cardamom, saffron, milk and sugar. It’s a traditional cooler from the Indian subcontinent, one that is very popular around Holi, the festival of colour. The recipe for my Thandai Nut Mix is here on the KitchenAid India blog. There are hundreds of versions of the mix online, some more complex than others, yet most customisable to taste. Feel free to use your own, or a store bought variety, else add almond meal or chopped walnuts. If nuts are not your thing, maybe just skip them but do try this once. It’s quite gentle on the palette and ties in well with the stone fruit.Talking about stone fruit, this is the best time of the year to enjoy them to the maximum. I use them as much as I can these days. In bakes like crumbles, or trifles {as above}, just simply much through them, or then like this lemonade below. Elevate your simple everyday lemonade or nimbu paani to a Peach and Cherry Lemonade. Allow peach slices, pitted cherries and fresh mint leaves to sit in the lemonade for about an hour in the fridge. You’ll be delighted with the change in colour and gentle flavour.

 

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Overnight Thandai Oats with peaches and plums

What can be better than waking up to a chilled healthy and delicious breakfast on a warm summer morning. These Overnight Thandai Oats with peaches and plums are the best thing to wake up to. A no cook, beautifully balanced breakfast for a great start to the day! Oats + nuts + seeds + fruit herbs all share space in a make ahead jar. Use any seasonal fruit you like. Berries, mango, kiwi, pineapple, sapota etc.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes
Servings 2 people

Ingredients

Overnight Thandai Oats

  • 8 tbsp breakfast oats
  • 2 tbsp Thandai Mix
  • 2 tbsp melon seeds
  • 2 tsp basil/sabja seeds
  • 2 tsp brown sugar {optional}
  • 200 ml milk

Topping

  • 2 peaches,large sliced
  • 2 plums diced
  • 2 tbsp melon seeds
  • Few sprigs fresh mint
  • Few sprigs fresh mint

Instructions

  • Overnight Thandai Oats
  • Divide the oats, Thandai mix, melon seeds, basil/sabja seeds and brown sugar between 2 lidded glass jars. Top with just enough milk to soak the mix.
  • Stir gently, cover and leave to stand in the fridge overnight.
  • Topping
  • Next morning top with sliced fresh peaces and plums, scatter over with melon seeds and fresh mint

Baking | Wholewheat Garlic Oat Soda Bread … Instagram inspired baking #makehalfyourgrainswhole


“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight.”
M.F.K. Fisher

Wholewheat Garlic Oat Soda Bread. Bread I baked after ages. Each word of the title appeals to me, yes, even the soda bit! I’ve read about this quick baking bread with no proofing/time for the dough to double for years. For some insane reason, I never baked one. The baker in me was always mesmerised by the challenge of yeast breads, also the joy of seeing the dough rise seemed exciting. Well as they say, been there, done that several times over, the yeast monster well tamed. That was 5 years ago, when the net wasn’t exploding with information and social media was still maturing! Soon one realises that yeast just needs to be alive. It works wonders if you give it enough time in a cuddly warm draft free place! It is quite piffling; there is truly no monster there.

Now baking bread is fun, therapeutic and stress free. Grab some good yeast and you are in safe hands. This is why when I saw the image of the soda oat bread that shared by Laura of My Little Honk Kong Kitchen on Instagram, it was love at first sight. Her loaf adapted from BBC Good Food looked rustic, moorish, earthy and so me! Also baking bread with soda was new for me. I had to have a go ASAP!

Oooh, did I tell you that Instagram is my most fave to be at? It used to be Pinterest earlier, but I am currently addicted to insta!

Soda bread is a variety of quick bread traditionally made in a variety of cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate (otherwise known as baking soda) is used as a leavening agent instead of the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk. The buttermilk in the dough contains lactic acid, which reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. Other ingredients can be added such as butter, egg, raisins, or nuts. Ireland, Scotland, Serbia, Australia are some countries that have their own version of this quick baking bread.

It’s strange that a bread can come together so easily and yield such a moorish loaf on the other side. The Wholewheat Garlic Oat Soda Bread almost sang to me as it stepped out of the oven. Such a pretty bread. Pretty, pretty, pretty. Turned out to be darned tasty too. I had to play around with the ingredients a bit since I was out of plain flour, well almost. With only a few tablespoons in the bag, I used pretty much of whatever else I had on hand. Of course I grated some garlic into the dough. For me, savoury bread should must have garlic. Must!

A splash of extra virgin olive oil in the dough too added to the overall texture and flavour of this near wholegrain bread. Fresh rosemary, pink Himalayan salt, maybe even pink pepper all add nice touches to bread.  Slice it warm, drizzle with more EVOO, scatter some smoked mature cheese, some toasted walnuts, maybe capers, rocket too. Sit back and enjoy!!

Recipe: Wholewheat Garlic Oat Soda Bread

Summary: Wholewheat Garlic Oat Soda Bread is possibly the quickest bread you can bake. From almost a no knead shaggy dough that is quick to throw together, it’s our current favourite bread. Try this near wholegrain version to see how good quick bread can be. Recipe adapted from My Little Hong Kong Kitchen. Makes one 6″ round loaf.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • Dough
  • 200g wholewheat flour
  • 50g plain flour
  • 50g oatmeal
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 15g extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 250ml cultured buttermilk {approximately}
  • Topping
  • Fresh rosemary sprigs, Himalayan pink salt, garlic slivers, drizzle of extra virgin olive oil {with more to serve}

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Lightly grease a heavy baking sheet, or line with parchment.
  2. Place both flours, oats, soda and salt in bowl of stand mixer {or in a large bowl} and stir to mix. Add the garlic, rosemary and extra virgin olive oil and stir again.
  3. Gradually add the buttermilk to make a soft dough. {You might not need it all, or you might need a spoon or so more}. Just knead the dough until it comes together; don’t overwork it or the bread will get tough.
  4. Shape into a round loaf, approximately 6″ in diameter, cut the top 2-3 times with a very sharp knife.
  5. Drizzle over with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle fresh rosemary, garlic and Himalayan pink salt.
  6. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until the bottom makes a hollow sound when knocked. If it doesn’t, turn over and bake for a further 10 minutes.
  7. Take out of oven, cool on a rack for 15-20 minutes. Slice and serve with loads of sweet butter or flavoured olive oil, mature cheese, walnuts etc.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Recipe | Indulgent Hot Chocolate Mix … warming up to late winter

“Blustery cold days should be spend propped up in bed with a mug of hot chocolate and a pile of comic books.”
Bill Watterson

Hot Chocolate Mix. This mix took a long time coming. I’ve been thinking of making it forever yet for some reason winter never really ‘arrived’, if you know what I mean. Until mid January this year, we’ve had an alarmingly mild winter. It saw the mustard fields flower before time, and other such signs that could spell disaster for winter crops and the months ahead. Then thankfully a cold spell arrived just in the nick of time. Shudder to think what might have been had we not seen these last few weeks of the below 7C temperatures.And that prompted me into action. The kid that loves a good hot chocolate, yet labels on hot chocolate mixes alarm me. The fine print reads a lot of stuff which shouldn’t really be in a comfort drink, leave alone in the body. It also seems oxymoron to buy something which is possibly the easiest and quickest to create at home. Good quality ingredients will give you the best hot chocolate mix ever. All you need is a sturdy food processor which is probably part of every kitchen today. My thermomix whirs into action for things like this. Till today, it’s been my best kitchen buy ever. Sturdy, dependable and fun to use. Of course this mix can be made in any dry grinder too. If you want to do it by hand, do try and grate the chocolate as small as possible to allow quick dissolving. Else by the time you stir in the hot water, the drink might well become cold chocolate. Not a bad idea for cooler days when they come!!

Recipe: Indulgent Hot Chocolate Mix

Summary: Indulgent delicious Hot Chocolate Mix. Ready in minutes, this is great comfort food to have on hand in winter. It  seems oxymoron to buy something which is possibly the easiest and quickest to create at home. Good quality ingredients will give you the best hot chocolate mix ever. All you need is a sturdy food processor.

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

  • 150g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 100g brown sugar
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 200g milk powder
  • 1 vanilla bean, scraped

Method:

  1. Place chocolate and brown sugar in bowl of food processor and process until powdered.
  2. Add cocoa powder, milk powder and insides of scraped vanilla bean. Process again for a minute or so until well blended.
  3. Transfer to a clear airtight jar.
  4. Use approximately 4 heaped teaspoonfuls for a mug of hot chocolate. Place mix in mug and top with boiling hot water. Stir until smooth. Top with cream or marshmallows as desired.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

The Masala Dabba #1… exploring the Indian spice box

“Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I’m taking with me when I go.”
Erma Bombeck

The Masala Dabba. A name that paints a spicy picture. A fun food styling experiment born out of a conversation one day in December last year. Spices are something that intrigue us, and are sometimes challenging to shoot. So Dolphia floated the idea, and it was instantly lapped up by Simi and lazy me. It’s always great to have something that gives us inspiration, or maybe focus to shoot. The idea was to shoot the spices, in sets of three, month after month.

Doing something creative as a group is always fun. Makes you want to reach out for the elements time and again. Makes you also impatient to see how different minds style and shoot. It’s another new creative start, one that should see a few months of spicy good fun! This month we each picked a spice…

Nigella {not Lawson 😉}  sativa or kalonji
Fenugreek or methi daana
Caraway or ajwain

A step back into the history of the world, and in many ways spices were central to exploration of uncharted territories, to discovering exotic lands. Spices led to wars and empires being built, and then eventually being lost! Nowhere in history would you find the same ingredient common to being celebrated as an aphrodisiac, holding proven medicinal qualities, yet being an inherent part of the ‘recipe’ for embalming! Such great properties can only be SPICEY!!

Spices are an integral part of the Indian kitchen and each one adds punch and flavour to the pantry. Even though I’ve never used the three of these together, individually they pop up every now and then when I cook. Ajwain shows up a great deal in radish or mooli ke paratha, in root vegetable stir fries and in curries. I use it often as a substitute for oregano in my pasta sauces, giving the seeds a good rub between the palms before throwing them in. They have huge digestive properties.

Fenugreek finds itself more often than never in pickles and curry powders. My mother’s aam ka achaar or mango pickle always had fenugreek, and I still remember the slightly bitter aftertaste after biting into the soft firm seed once pickled. I use fenugreek the most in the tempering or baghaar for kadhi, a yogurt curry with dumplings, which is a huge favourite at home. Fenugreek too offers great digestive properties, is used to treat diabetes, reduces blood pressure, congestion and a host of other illnesses.

Nigella of course lands up most often on the naan, sometimes in a ‘paani ke station wale aloo‘ ki recipe {a water based no oil potato curry served with puri at railway stations in India}, and an inherent part of paanch phoron. Paanch phoron is a five spice blend quintessential to Bengali cuisine. Nigella satvia is one of the five, the others being fenugreek, mustard, fennel and cumin, all seeds.

Shooting spices is always challenging but quite addictive. Already looking forward to what we can do next month with the spice girls!!

Do stop by and explore the dabbas/spice boxes of my other two partners in crime spice
Simi @ Turmeric n Spice
Dolphia @ Story of Cooks

…and if you’d like to learn a bit of food styling, do check out my next workshop with Darter below

Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

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