Category: VEGETARIAN

Apple Pear Open Pie … come mingle with ‘Fruit in Baking’

“It is, in my view, the duty of an apple to be crisp and crunchable, but a pear should have such a texture as leads to silent consumption.”
Edward Bunyard

mainThey’re rolling off shelves this year; apples are ruling the bazaar. Rosy, red and delicious like in Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, my heart leaps with joy when I see local varieties tempting us with almost a forbidden promise! No more guilt ridden shopping for imported fruit this year. The past few years saw a drastic fall in local apple production. Tempting, shiny rosy apples bore the Washington stamp, with Chinese Red Fuji and Australian Granny Smith jostling for space alongside – priced high and positively jet-lagged. This year has been wonderful with record breaking local production in the  Kullu valley, which is nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas. A snowfall in the higher climbs  of the mountains 2 days ago brought more relief to the native population of the region as prospects for an record high output shine! Good for them, and good for us too!

With local produce  flooding the market, and the family reeling from an overdose of apple crumble, the next best option was apple pie, a first for me. I have loads of ‘apple to bake somethings‘ bookmarked, but had an open apple pie in my head! My father came by and dropped kilos of apples and small pears a few days ago. Some HAD to be baked, and the idea of a pie had me enchanted. The lad had seen me dig into cookbooks, turning pages, screeching to a halt at a delicious looking  American Apple Pie. He had been on my case since, but I was in no mood to do a double pastry one. Calories had to be cut, and I decided that my next best bet was an open pie, and the tiny pears would go in too.

This was my first ever Apple Pie … and was it good! I added the pears to keep the apples company. The pie is baked for about an hour, loosely covered with foil. This way the apples get cooked but retain a bit of bite, the pears silently accompanying them {somewhat like the quote above says}! The walnuts and currants add to deep warm flavours, tying in nicely with the cinnamon and nutmeg. I let the pie cool for a bit to let the juices thicken. The hub liked it served warm with some low fat unsweetened cream, and the rest of us enjoyed it cold, with the cream of course!

Pears are an excellent source of dietary fiber and a good source of Vitamin C. An apple, on average, contains more antioxidants than a large vitamin C dose of 1,500 mg. Apples are also full of phytochemicals that help with antioxidant activity, as well as in preventing cancer. Antioxidants combat particles in the body called free radicals, which can significantly damage the cells and may contribute to the development of certain cancer types. Apples can help turn all this around … read more here

Which brings me to the mingle. I am happy to host Monthly Mingle this month, the brain child of lovely Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey. Being a HUGE fan of  ‘fruit in baking‘,  it was my my natural choice for the theme. Trying to include fruit in bakes, keeping it seasonal as far as possible, continues to be a passion with me. I enjoy following fruits in season, and discovering what more I can do with them. I loved doing the Chocolate Plum Clafoutis that Meeta beautifully wove into the MM badge below, and also recently, a Quark Mousse with Roasted Balsamic Strawberries.If you bake with fruit this month, do send it to the Monthly Mingle. I will set the table up at the end of November, where we can meet over tea & coffee, fun, food, stories and laughter … and of course fruity bakes! Would love to see what you did with fruit this Oct/Nov, and yes, pumpkin is very much a fruit {Er, as is a tomato, well technically!!}. Also, If you don’t have a blog, but still have a picture, do drop me a mail at vindee{at}airtelmail{dot}in, and I will be happy to include you in the round-up.

  1. Create a dish that fits the Fruit in Baking theme as described above, and post it on your blog from now till 22 Nov 2010 {Entries must be in English, please}.
  2. Your creation should be prepared for the current Monthly Mingle theme and only shared with a maximum of 2 other blog events. Let’s try and keep the creations as fresh as the ingredients you use.
  3. You must provide a link to this post and/or the official Monthly Mingle page.
  4. Once you’ve posted your dish, please send your entries to vindee{at}airtelmail{dot}in with your name, location, post link and a 300px wide picture {not bigger than 1 MB}

I am kicking the event off with this ‘Open Apple & Pear Pie’, and hope you’ll join me with ‘FRUIT in BAKING’.

Apple & Pear Open Pie
Pastry recipe and inspiration from Baking Course, Isabel Moore
Shortcrust Pastry
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp/80gm butter, chilled, cut into pieces
2-4tbsp iced water
Method:
Run the flour and salt in the bowl of your food processor for a few seconds. Add butter and run until you get fine breadcrumb like mix.
Drizzle in 2 tbsp of water. The dough should begin to come together. Take out flour mix into a large bowl. Add another tbsp of chilled water, and knead the dough till it is smooth and silky. Add more chilled water if required, but make sure the dough is silky and pliable {This is important, else it won’t roll out}
Once it leaves the sides of the bowl cleanly, make into a ball, flatten, wrap in cling-wrap and chill for 30minutes.
Filling:
4-5 medium apples, cored, peeled, diced
8-10 small baby pears, cored,peeled, diced
Juice of one large lime
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup black currants
2 tbsp cornflour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Method:
Toss the ingredients together in a large bowl as soon as the fruit is cut, mixing well.
Assemble pie…
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Roll out the pastry to line a 9″ pie dish {greased if you like}, and line the dish. {I used a 10″ loose bottomed dish, so the dough fell slightly short}. Add the filling to the pie base, dot over with 2 tbsp of unsalted butter, and bake at 180C for 20 minutes. Then cover cover loosely with foil and bake for a further 40 minutes. Cool on rack. Allow to sit for a while so that the juices thicken.
Note: Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled with unsweetened whipped cream, or a dollop of slightly sweetened cinnamon cream. Vanilla ice cream would certainly offer luxury on a warm slice!
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

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

Baking | RUSTIC GARLIC LOAVES for World Bread Day – Dough from Mark Bittman

“Talk of joy: there may be things better than beef stew and baked potatoes and home-made bread—there may be.”
David Grayson

When you have friends who charm you into posting for World Bread Day in the most enticing manner, then how can you possibly escape? Got onto twitter after ages this evening to find Nics tweet about Pumpkin Bread for ‘World Bread Day’. Yikes, was it the 16th already? Dang, missed the date completely even though I had so many breads sitting waiting to get posted.

Life has been a tizzy of late, and I am lagging behind! The transfer to WP has complicated time-lines even more, but  a shove in the right direction was all I needed from these exuberant ladies, so here I am.

Cherrapeno: @vindee Post, post, post!!!!!
lifesafeast: @vindee come on, girl, you have time! I wrote mine this morning 🙂

World Bread Day is hosted every year on the 16th of October by the wonderful and talented bread baking gal Zorra at Kochtopf. It’s the 5th edition of World Bread Day this year. The original World Bread Day was an event created by UIB International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners, who want to provide an opportunity to talk about bread and bakers, to find out about their history, their importance as well as their future.In Zorra’s words … Let’s bake and talk about bread on this day again! Anybody is cordially invited to participate. Lots of people stopping by this blog that weren’t around last year, I encourage both old and new friends to join in. And please spread the word! The theme is open, just bake a bread with or without yeast, use sourdough, experiment with different flours, add some seeds… It’s up to you!

There is so much I love about this post that I’ve done on fast track, typing, pictures and all. I love blue and white, I love baking bread, I love garlic and I love rustic loaves. I made these Roasted Bell Pepper, Mushroom and Ricotta Calzones adapted minimally from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food. They were an instant hit, and I’ve made them several times since, with different fillings ranging from spinach and ricotta, to chipotle chicken, and they’ve been loved each time. I had the dough ready to make them yet again, when it was suddenly announced that we had company for lunch.

A quick change of plans and the calzones were turned to garlic bread to go with the rest of the menu. I took a chance but I just knew it would work out fine, and it thankfully did! Once baked, the loaves were sliced and slathered with garlic butter – wonderful! Disappeared in no time, and looked rustic beautiful too. I loved the crust it got, and think this is a nice plan ahead dough to make ,especially since it offers the option of a long rise in the fridge overnight! Always a pleasure to wake up to well risen, no need for ‘dough rise anxiety’! Of course you can give it the regular 2-3 hours rise too, but an overnight sleepover in the fridge offers guaranteed security! Just make sure your yeast is alive!

Rustic Garlic Loaves from Mark Bittman’s Pizza Dough
Makes 2 rustic loaves
Minimally adapted from Mark Bittman’s Pizza
3 cups all-purpose plus more as needed
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1 to 1¼ cups water
2 heads of garlic, roasted
4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
Method:
Squeeze out the roasted garlic into a bowl, and mash  with the tines of a fork.
Combine the yeast, flour, roasted garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in the container of a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and the 4 tablespoons of oil through the feed tube. {I did this in a large bowl, using the hand mixer with dough hooks}
Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds. {In the unlikely event that the mixture is too sticky, add flour, a tablespoon at a time.}
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball. Grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough, in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let rise in warm; draft-free area until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. You can, cut this rising time short if you are in a hurry, or you can let the dough rise more slowly, in the refrigerator, for up to 6 or 8 hours. {I made the dough at night and let it rise in the fridge overnight… and how it rose!!}
About an hour before you plan to bake the bread, take out the dough and divide it into two.  Dust your work place with flour and shape the loaves to fit your baking tray. Line a baking sheet with parchment, gently transfer the loaves onto it, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 250C.
Just before popping into the oven, give the loaves 4-5  slashes at an angle with a very sharp edged knife and pop into the oven. Place a small bowl of hot water at the bottom.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the loaves are nice and brown, and make a hollow sound when tapped on the underneath.
Note: I sliced them, gave them a generous brushing of garlic butter, and baked them at 180C for 15 minutes till golden and crisp.

{Garlic Butter: I mix butter with olive oil in a 4: 1 ratio, and add minced garlic, red chili flakes, dried oregano and salt to it. Skip the salt if you use salted butter}

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

Previous World Bread Day Posts:
French Fougasse with Roasted Red Bell Pepper, Walnut & Gouda, WBD 2009
Roasted Chili Garlic Bread, WBD 2008

Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

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{Baking/Vegetarian} ROASTED BELL PEPPER, MUSHROOM & RICOTTA CALZONES … l♥ved ’em!

“Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?”
Author Unknown
Happy ‘hump day‘!! Am battling the flu and a flu ridden family but seem to have gotten the better of Wednesday. ‘Wordless Wednesdays‘ prove elusive as always, maybe because I have too much to say. For that matter I never seem to make it to a ‘Meatless Mondays‘ post either; guess that’s fine because my food isn’t ruled by days of the week. That said, I make sure the grub is meatless at least 3 times a week, and these calzones proved to be just the thing. The combination of the filling, the depth the roasted bell peppers provided and the yumminess of the ricotta in here was a winner! This is one recipe I shall make often! {By the way, Tuesdays mean ‘Tuesdays With Dorie‘ for me, even though I haven’t had the courage to join the group!}
Saw them on FoodGawker the other day, and something about them stuck in my mind. The very thought of ricotta and bell peppers had me captivated, and I imagined how good they must have been! A trip down to Nummy Kitchen had me sold as she said “Calzones are such a fun dinner and are easy to personalize for the kids and picky husband. This recipe is from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food and starts with his basic pizza crust recipe”. So here I am, having made these delicious calzones as soon as I could.
The basic dough is Mark Bittman’s pizza dough. I loved that I could make it the night before and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. Seems to make bread and pizza making so much more appealing. No need to worry about it being warm enough to double rise, done or not done etc? Let it slowly rise in the fridge, while you sleep over it, and wake up the next morning to magically well risen dough! I just love the option. Of course, you can do it the normal way of letting it rise n a warm place for a couple of hours too!
As Andrea writes, Mark suggests using ricotta and spinach, but leaves the options wide open, suggesting the use of pizza toppings mixed with the ricotta. She chose to use roasted bell peppers, and why ever not? These roasted beauties tasted absolutely rustic delicious in there. I went a step further and sautéed some sliced mushrooms in EVOO with garlic and red chili flakes, and added those too. They tasted just wonderful, and me thinks next time I might just double the mushrooms in there. The filling had the most beautiful flavours possible!

Do you make your own ricotta? I made the ricotta at home from a David Lebovitz recipe, and you can too. Do make sure you drain the ricotta well, else you just might end up with soggy calzones. Making ricotta at home might sound tedious, but I assure you it’s not. I made it 2 days prior to making the calzones, and let it drain, wrapped in cling-wrap in the fridge for 2 days. I roasted the bell peppers in advance too, and having done the dough the previous night, I was left with just basic mushroom filling to make, and assembly for the next day! Easy and breezy!
I think these will make handsome little bites for a kids birthday party too, and great snack box fillers! My kids had them for an after school snack, and then later for dinner too! I absolutely loved the option of a vegetarian calzone that would win over a non vegetarian option. Pizza toppings as filling? YES PLEASE!!

Roasted Bell Pepper, Mushroom and Ricotta Calzones

1 recipe Mark Bittman’s pizza dough {recipe follows}
Filling
Adapted from Nummy Kitchen
2 cups ricotta cheese {homemade from 1 ltr of whole milk, 1/2 cup yogurt and 200ml low fat cream; recipe here}
4-5 red & yellow bell peppers, roasted and chopped
1 cup shredded mature cheddar {I didn’t have mozzarella, but this worked great}
200gms button mushrooms, finely chopped / sliced
4-6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
A handful fresh basil leaves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil { I used Borges from here}
Salt and Pepper
I got 6 medium sized calzones from the dough. You can even make 4 large ones.
Method:
Heat the olive oil gently with 1/2 -1 tsp of roasted chili flakes and chopped garlic. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and sauté on high flame till the liquid evaporates. Add the chopped bell peppers with their juices and sauté again until dryish. {Not bone dry, but not drippy either, else they will make the calzone soggy}
Reserve in a large bowl until just warm. Now add the basil, grated cheddar and ricotta to this, stir well to mix. Adjust seasoning if required.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Divide the dough into 6 equal balls, and roll out into circles about 8 inches each, by rolling or patting the dough down.
Divide the filling equally among the six rolled out bits of dough. Fold over and pinch the sides to seal.
Bake for about 30 minutes until nice and risen, and brown. {You could give them an egg wash for a rich colour. I just gave them a brush of olive oil}
Cool for 5-7 minutes, and serve. {Be careful when you serve them to kids, as it might have hot air trapped within as they tend to puff up.}
Mark Bittman’s Pizza Dough
3 cups all-purpose plus more as needed
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1 to 1¼ cups water
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
Method:
Combine the yeast, flour, and 2 teaspoons salt in the container of a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and the 2 tablespoons of oil through the feed tube.{I did this in a large bowl, using the hand mixer with dough hooks}
Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds. {In the unlikely event that the mixture is too sticky, add flour, a tablespoon at a time.}
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball. Grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough, in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let rise in warm; draft-free area until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. You can, cut this rising time short if you are in a hurry, or you can let the dough rise more slowly, in the refrigerator, for up to 6 or 8 hours. {I made the dough at night and let it rise in the fridge overnight… and how it rose!!}
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

MANGO KULFI … Traditional Indian Ice Cream

“Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:”
Alfred Lord Tennyson 
We spend a lifetime teaching the kids not to give in to temptation, not to be unreasonable.  That there are lots of things in the world that one would like to do but self restraint is a virtue that needs to be exercised … blah blah blah. After all, we’ve been there, done that … and we know better! The lines from Tennysons ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, which we studied in school eons ago, flood my mind often, especially the word ‘reason‘!  I really do like the lines now. Hated them in school though as they sounded like gobblygook then!
Food blogs these days are tempting, to put it mildly, and in some ways I am ever so glad to be the empress of the kitchen! No mother to tut tut at me while I succumb to temptation, no one to question why I cannot resist what I see, and no one to check my free run amidst pots and pans! One day, I fell into Spice Spoons blog post virtual trap, and saw the kulfi which was served in enviable shot glasses, coloured stirrers used as sticks. Predictably, I fell into a dreamy trance, knowing just where I was headed … ‘our’s not to reason why, ours but to do and die‘! I HAD to make the Shayma’s kulfi,  a traditional Indian style of ice cream that needs no churning, is dense and creamy, and sublime to the very last bit.
While in the kitchen, here’s a sneak peek of our kitchen remodeling – a simple country style kitchen, with a warm wooded look that I love. Things are looking up finally, with work progressing at more than snails pace now. Still can’t bake as much, but have become quite passionate about frozen desserts … Fresh Cherry Fro Yo, Plum Fro Yo Popsicles, Peach-Ginger & Plum-Vanilla Granita to name a few. So the kulfi was  one I could not let pass by. I sneakily bought a litre of low fat cream. A tin of condensed milk has been sitting with me forever because it wanted to be made into Dulce de leche but never quite got there. Figured this was destiny’s plan!
The pictures on Shayma’s post called my name, and I soon made them. The kulfi, a dessert which is very popular across the sub-continent, was absolutely divine. With the low fat cream, I didn’t need to simmer it for more that 15 -20 minutes, but I did err in that I forgot to give it the odd stir every few minutes, so it got slightly caught on the base of the pan. Didn’t matter because I got this beautifully burnt caramelized flavour … a little more apathy and I would have been crying over disaster. Take heed dear readers, don’t forget to stir!
The idea of using pistachios and almonds slightly ground or rather finely chopped in the blender is certainly novel. I’ve never heard of it before, and it’s quite genius. It helps thicken the cream, and distributes a beautiful nutty flavour though out the ice cream, making it almost luxurious, a royal serving! The teeny nutty bits get sort of soft with the cooking and plump up enticingly making the end result deeply satisfying.
I added some pureed mango to about a quarter of the batter after it was cooked and set some kulfis with half plain half mango mixture, others with a layer of mango etc.  I used a variety of metallic moulds from my collection, and saw at Cherrapeno that silicon works well too. I had fun and the flavours were fabulous. This is a recipe I shall make often. Taking pictures was a downright pain as it was sweltering hot, cloudy and humid that day, but the taste made up for everything!

Mango Kulfi {Indian Ice Cream}

Adapted minimally from Spice Spoon
Serves 12-15 if using kulfi molds. {You will need a heavy-bottom pan to prepare this, otherwise the cream and sugar will stick to the base of the pan and burn.}
1/2 cup almonds, skins removed
1/2 cup pistachios, shelled; unsalted
1 litre half-and-half {I used 25% low fat cream}
300 ml condensed milk {about 2/3rd of a 400ml tin was enough for me}
1 large mango, pulp pureed in blender till smooth, strained
Method:
Grind almonds and pistachios in a blender {not a food processor} by pulsing a few times. At the base of the blender, where the blade is, some of the nuts will turn into a flour like powder. This will help thicken the kulfi.
Place pan on medium heat on the stove. Pour in half-and-half.
Add almonds and pistachios.
As the temperature of the half-and-half rises, start adding in condensed milk. You will have to do this by a taste test. I used about 2/3rd of the tin. Once the mixture starts to bubble, turn the heat to low. STIR!!
A skin will form on top, just keep stirring it in. You will continue to stir for 20-25 minutes {one hour if using half and half} till the mixture thickens and reduces, becoming thick.
Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Add the mango puree to half, or the whole, and stir in to mix uniformly. Pour slowly into popsicle moulds {or shot-glasses}.
Place moulds/glasses in freezer. At the 30 minute mark when the kulfi has started to form, place popsicle sticks in each mould/glass.
Freeze overnight or for at least 8 hours.
To unmould, dip quickly in warm water.
Serve with a scattering of pistachios and almonds.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

Vanilla Chocolate and Chocolate Walnut Eggless Cake … back to the basics

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
John Wooden
It’s time for the Daring Bakers and this time I have to say I’m sorry I couldn’t keep a date with the challenge. My kitchen is ‘under attack‘ {read renovation}, and things are still in disarray. What should have been completed last week is yet to be done, dragging on frustratingly. That’s not to say I haven’t managed to sneak in a bake now and then, but I couldn’t manage the chocolate dipping stage etc of the challenge. I did have a LMP {last minute plan} with some clarified butter on hand. Thought I could manage the brown butter pound cake, but bad store-keeping meant that the jar was empty, and my plans fell through. Fate maybe?
I did however set up a personal challenge for myself, something I have always vehemently denied as possible, an EGGLESS CAKE! No es posible has been my standard response to the many mails I have received in the past. A cake sans eggs? You kidding me? How in the world would it get a crumb, find rise, be good to eat etc! Eventually ate my words with this beautiful cake from Sailu’s Kitchen. {Gear up dear readers for a longish post because I tried 2 versions, with butter and with olive oil, and both were wonderful!}
I tread the kitchen floor mildly, in mortal fear that the cake would not be a cake. Never baked one without eggs. The other surprise ingredient was home made yogurt. I set yogurt at home every other day, and bake with it often, but eggs always keep the yogurt company. I watched in childlike fascination when the cake began to rise, rejoicing wildly, thankfully in solitude! Who would be able to understand the sheer joy of an eggless cake rising? I {almost} followed each step religiously, something I don’t often do, but…
… expectedly had a last minute ‘moment of panic‘, and added butter instead of oil to make sure the guinea pigs wouldn’t reject it outright! Oil sans eggs was just not convincing at the time, and I thought the luxury of butter might rescue my cake from rejection. I needn’t have been so skeptical, and the next time I used my stash of Borges olive oil from here. The cake exceeded all expectations! It was moist, it was flavourful, and above all, it was an eggless cake with a beautiful crumb! Beautiful enough to disappear very fast, some stashed away by the daughter for friends who don’t eat eggs, the rest enjoyed on a rainy day!

Eggless Chocolate and Vanilla Cake with Cherries
Adapted minimally from Sailu’s Kitchen
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sieved
1 cup yogurt {home made}
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted {or oil}
1/2 vanilla bean {optional}
1/2 cup frozen cherries {optional}
1 heaped tbsp cocoa {I used Valrhona}
1 sachet vanilla sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to 200 C for 10 minutes. Grease a 6″ round tin, and line the bottom.
Beat the vanilla sugar, scraped vanilla bean and yogurt for 5 minutes on high speed. Add baking powder and baking soda, beat in on low, and allow to stand for 3 minutes. You will find that bubbles appear.
Beat in the melted butter and vanilla essence. Next, slowly add the flour in 4 lots, blending in well after each addition.
Take 1/3 of the dough in a separate bowl and stir in the cocoa. {You can make just vanilla as well, in which case, omit this step}
Add 1/2 the vanilla batter to the bottom of the tin, smooth it out to spread across the whole surface. Add all the chocolate batter, and smoothen it out too. It might be pretty thick, as mine was. Top with the remaining vanilla batter to make a third layer. Top with frozen cherries if using, and sprinkle over the sachet of vanilla sugar.
Bake at 200C for 10 minutes, reduce temperature to 175C and bake for 40-45 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. {Original recipe uses a ring mold I think, and the baking time at 175C was 20-25 minutes. Mine took a lot longer, so test before taking it out of the o}.
Cool the cake for 20-30 minutes and then overturn onto a plate.
Wait for an hour or two before slicing it else it doesn’t slice neatly. {My kids couldn’t wait}. The cake was very good the next day too, and sliced beautifully!

I would suggest the use of a good quality dark cocoa, having recently discovered that it can make a huge difference. I used Valrhona that Shayma from The Spice Spoon sent for me, and after experiencing it’s virtues first hand in this Chocolate Almond Biscotti, I am totally sold on it! I added a scraped vanilla bean to the batter as I love the depth of flavour vanilla offers to baked goods, and some frozen cherries to give the cake a cheerful face-lift. Also a smattering of vanilla sugar on top, just because …

Small piece of advice … make sure you let the cake sit in the tin to cool for 30 minutes before turning it out. Also try and resist the temptation to slice it when warm. We couldn’t of course, but I found later that it sliced beautifully after 3-4 hours, or even the next day as it firmed up. This is a nice basic recipe to have on hand for folk who need an eggless cake for various reasons whether health, allergic, religious etc.
I had to get back to try the oil version soon enough as the Borges bottles on my shelf tempted me yet again. Time for eggless cake version 2, and this time around I enjoyed myself thoroughly, baking in careless abandon, knowing that things would work out well. I made the cake early in the morning, the minute the kids left for school, and then chilled it for a couple of hours after it had cooled down. Moist, deep, chocolaty and to die for! The walnuts scattered on top got nicely toasted, and added to the flavours.
The idea of making an eggless cake, without any compulsions, came to me whenever I looked at PAB’s search results on Lijit. Do you give your stats a second look? I’ve recently started looking at them for direction, inspiration, ideas etc and found several searches for an eggless cake. I was recently inspired from there to make a Mango Vanilla Bavarian Cream Cake. Todays view looks something like this –

Passionate About Baking

You have been searched 1498 times about chocolate sauce pudding, kebabs, strawberry bread, pie, tandoori roti
View your search stats.
… and I can already feel a ‘kebab inspiration‘ coming in!!

The thought of an eggless cake crossed my mind often, but I never did come across a recipe that tempted me out of my ignorance. Until I saw this post. It intrigued me and I looked at it in disbelief … Was it possible that an eggless cake could look so good and picture perfect? I had to give it a go, and am darned glad I did! You will be too if you are looking for a good eggless cake recipe. This was fabulous, and gone in a day between the kids and their friends! Without further ado, here is the 2nd version, using olive oil!

Lesson learnt … ‘Anything is possible, and fear needs to be conquered!’

Eggless Chocolate Walnut Cake
Adapted minimally from Sailu’s Kitchen
1 cup all-purpose flour,
1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder {I used Valrhona}
1 cup yogurt {home made}
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup olive oil {I used Borges from here}
1/2 vanilla bean {optional}
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 sachet vanilla sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to 200C. Grease a 6″ round tin, and line the bottom.
Beat the vanilla sugar, scraped vanilla bean and yogurt for 5 minutes on high speed. Add baking powder and baking soda, beat in on low, and allow to stand for 3 minutes. You will find that bubbles appear.
Sift the flour and cocoa 2-3 times. Reserve in bowl.
Beat in the olive oil. Slowly add the flour mix in 3-4 lots, blending in well after each addition.
Sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts, followed by a sprinkling of vanilla sugar from the sachet.
Bake at 200C for 10 minutes, reduce temperature to 175C and bake for 40-45 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. {The original recipe used a ring mold I think, and the baking time at 175C was 20-25 minutes. Mine took a lot longer}.
Cool the cake for 20-30 minutes and then overturn onto a plate.

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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

{Product Review & Recipe} Cottage Cheese & Bell Pepper Quesadillas, Pickled Peppers and Gulab Jamuns – Strange Bedfellows? Maybe …

“Life is the sum of all your choices”
Albert Camus

Given the choice, I would cook and bake all day with olive oil as my happy cooking medium … SIGH … if only I didn’t find the price a little prohibitive. My dream came true when Sharon brought me a selection of the recently launched Borges Olive Oil product range {more here}. The bottles staring down from the shelf in the living room tempt me {yes, the kitchen is still ‘work in progress’}, and of particular interest is the Extra Light Virgin Olive Oil that Borges has developed specially for the Indian market. It’s a blend of refined and virgin olive oils, making it ideal for Indian cooking.

I was skeptical as to whether it would withstand the high heat for deep frying but decided to give it a shot since another product was awaiting review … a gulab jamun mix from GITS! The marriage of 2 reviews together inspired me, so I set off to ‘knead the dough’ to make Gulab Jamuns, also known as ‘waffle balls’!

There are many things I stay away from. Top of the list is deep frying, unless of course it is  Beignets & Donuts, or maybe Churros; ready to eat packaged foods is also not quite me. My mantra is very much ‘Do It From Scratch‘, and I rarely deviate from my path. Some time back I received an interesting foodie parcel from GITS, a company at the forefront of the instant foods revolution in India. It had a selection of ready to cook, as well as ready to eat foodstuff. A quick check of the fine print read no preservatives; I was happy to live with this for once. The gift bag had ready-to-eat Dal Makhani and Palak Paneer which were very impressive, and then yesterday I needed to make a quick dessert and the Gulab Jamun mix caught my glad eye! I wasn’t too convinced about how it would turn out but thought I would give it a shot, as it offered me a chance to deep fry in Extra Virgin Light Olive Oil!

Gulab jamun is one of Indias most popular desserts and is traditionally made out of evaporated milk blended with wheat flour, fried and soaked in sugar syrup. It jamun gets its brownish red color because of the sugar content in the milk powder or khoya. Gulab jamun originates from an Arabic dessert, Luqmat Al-Qadi {Arabic for “the judge’s bite”}, that became popular in the Indian Subcontinent during the Mughal era. Rosewater syrup is often used; however saffron syrup and honey are also common. The dessert also became popular in Turkish-speaking areas, spreading to the Ottoman Empire.

The result was most unexpected and made me eat humble pie. I have never eaten such delicious ‘dough balls deep fried and soaked in syrup, as Allesio said on twitter; we have discussed jalebis and ras malai in the sweet past! The gulab jamuns were outstanding, with a generous addition of finely chopped dry fruits. that formed a part of the mix. They were excellent served chilled too. The box had instructions to make 25 little balls, but I made 16 and they were just right when ready. This is one product that I will certainly use in the future. My SIL asked me if the olive oil imparted any unnecessary flavour etc to this dessert. Surprisingly not! It is a clean, light olive oil and seems quite ideal for Indian cooking.

Going backwards, for lunch I made these cottage cheese quesadillas, the cottage cheese marinated in an extra virgin olive oil marinade which I got from my sis. It’s a staple I use, and good quality EVOO really makes a difference. These quesadillas are a great hit with the kids, and can easily be made into non vegetarian ones too. They taste wonderful stuffed to the gills with pickled jalapeños. Were especially good crisp and warm as it was pouring cats and dogs. Recipe follows, as does the recipe for the pickled peppers, which are last, and certainly not the least!

Pickled jalapeños is something I have been making for the last 2-3 years, but couldn’t  recall  the name of the blog I found the recipe at. Then saw it at David Lebovitzs while googling, and decided it’s a great  recipe to share. Tangy and sharp, pickled peppers are part of our foodie existence and at any given time I have one jar ready in the fridge, and the next undergoing pickling. We can’t live without them. The kids love them to bits, especially the daughter, and the peppers are an inherent part of their every meal! In India, it is during the monsoons {or the rainy season} that these bright green peppers flood the market. Now is the best time to bottle them!

 

Cottage Cheese & Roasted Bell Pepper Quesadillas
Makes 12 wraps
500gms cottage cheese, cut into 2″ strips
5-6 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil {I used Borges from here}
1 tbsp dried oregano
Juice of 2 limes
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
12 small whole wheat tortillas {I used 5″ chapatis/Indian flatbread/rotis}
1 each roasted red and yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 green capsicum, julienned
Pickled jalapeños {recipe follows}
Cheddar cheese, or cheese slices
Method:
In a large bowl whisk the olive oil with the minced garlic, oregano, lime juice, red chili flakes and salt. It should be slightly extra salty and very tangy as cottage cheese is very bland.
Leave it marinate for 30 minutes. {I often leave this in the fridge overnight, for both the cottage cheese and chicken variations. Cuts down the work the next day}

Turn into a large wok and stir fry gently on high heat until all the liquid evaporates. Let cool slightly.
Lay a flour tortilla flat. Grate some cheese over it, or place a cheese slice across. Scatter a few juliennes of green capsicum, followed by a scattering of pickled jalapeños. Top with a 2-3 tbsp of the cottage cheese filling, followed by the roasted bell peppers. Gently fold into half, and place on a hot griddle with a few drops of olive oil. Decrease heat to minimum, press the wraps down with a flat spoon for the cheese to seal the sides together. Turn and repeat for the other side, cooking each side for 2-3 minutes till slightly crisp.

Serve hot or warm.
Note: You can substitute the cottage cheese for boneless chicken strips for a non vegetarian version. This makes for nice lunch box fillers too.

Pickled Jalapeños
Adapted from David Lebovitz, who adapted it from Michael Symon’s Live to Cook by Michael Symon and Michael Ruhlman
300gms jalapeño peppers, sliced {I snip them with kitchen scissors}
1 cup apple cider vinegar {I’ve used white vinegar in the past & it works well}
1 cup water
1 tbsp peppercorns
2 tbsp whole coriander seeds {I forgot to add these}
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic, lightly bruised
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 tbsp sugar

Method:
Place the chopped jalapeños in a glass preserving jar.
In a non reactive saucepan, add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.
Remove from heat and pour the brine over the peppers. Place the lid on the jar and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate for at least a week before using, if possible. {You can use them sooner, but Michael says they’re worth the wait... I agree totally}
Note: I store them in the fridge, but like anything preserved it’s always better to take your own precautions. Can according to jar manufacturers instructions.
Also, I like to add 2-3 whole slit sharp green chillies to the jar to increase the heat as the jalapeños we get here aren’t very hot.

♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥

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

Posted by Deeba @ PAB
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