My Diverse Kitchen

Onion Paneer Calzone And Home-made Marinara

2008-07-24T11:10:00.005+05:30

Printable recipe here.

Calzone are a sort of folded over pizza like dough or turnover with filling, originally from Naples. When baked the dough swells up to somewhat resemble a “stuffed stocking or trouser leg” which is what “calzone” means in Italian. Smaller snack size versions, called calzonetti, may be deep fried also.
Calzone may be filled with a variety of vegetable combinations of choice. Here, I used sautéed onions and paneer with bell pepper and cheese.

Ingredients:

For the dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
1½ tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp dried Italian seasoning (or herbs of choice)
1 tbsp olive oil

For filling:
1 tsp olive oil
3 big onions, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper (juliennes)
1 cup paneer, crumbled
1 cup processed cheese, grated (this is what I had on hand)
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

The filling:
Heat the oil, add the onions and a bit of salt and sauté the onions till soft and light brown. Add the pepper and the bell pepper juliennes and stir a couple of times and take off the heat. Crumble the paneer and grate the cheese. Keep aside till required.

The dough:
Put the flour, herbs, yeast, sugar and salt in the food processor bowl. Add the yeast mixture and enough water to the flour to make a soft yet elastic dough. This may be done by hand too. Now add the olive oil and knead well. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and allow to double.
Take the dough, press out the air and divide into eight pieces. Roll each piece into a circle about 6” in diameter. Place the onion filling on one half making sure the edges of the semi-circle are free. Put some crumbled paneer over the filling and top off with some grated cheese. Moisten the edges with water and carefully fold the filling free half over to form a semi circle. Using the tines of a fork, press the edges down.
Place the calzones on a greased tray and cover with a cloth. Allow to puff up a bit, for about 5 - 10 minutes. You can see that my calzones puffed up quite a bit so that the fork marking are almost invisible!
Bake the calzones at 180C for about 20 minutes or till brown.

Serve hot for dinner, with a soup and salad, or as a snack either plain or with marinara sauce.
This recipe makes eight calzones.
This is my submission for BBD #12 which is being hosted right here, this month.

Home-made Marinara (my version)

This marinara is something I almost always have in my fridge as I make large quantities and freeze it in smaller portions. We like Italian food (the vegetarian version) and my daughter loves pizza and pasta in any form. I use this sauce for making pizza and for pasta recipes that call for tomato sauce.
I have added bell pepper to this sauce as my daughter doesn't like it but doesn't mind it this way.

Ingredients:

½ kg tomatoes, pureed
3 (200g) packs of tomato puree
2-3 onions
½ tsp garlic paste
1 large capsicum, green
3 heaped tsp sugar
1 ½ tsp kashmiri chilli powder
1 ½ tsp crushed black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning/ mixed herbs
(basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, sage, etc.)
2-3 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Method:

Chop up the onions and capsicum and blend to a paste with garlic paste.
Heat the oil and fry this paste till the raw smell of onion disappears. Then add both the tomato purees and all other ingredients, except the seasoning, and stir well. Allow to come to a boil and then turn down the heat. Cook till quite thick, stirring occasionally. When almost ready, add the seasoning. Cook for another 2 minutes and the sauce is ready. Cool and bottle. This keeps in the fridge for 7-10 days. This sauce can also be divided into smaller single portions and frozen.

DK of Culinary Bazar is hosting AWED: Italian this month and calzones would be perfect for it.

Laura's Portuguese Sweet Bread, A No-Knead Bread from Jugalbandi and Meeta's Achari Aloo

2008-07-22T10:12:00.007+05:30

Laura’s Portuguese Sweet Bread

For this month’s Taste & Create, Nicole at For The Love of Food paired me up with Laura of the Spiced Life. This event requires us to recreate a recipe of our choice from the collection of the blogger we have been paired up with.
Being a vegetarian living in India, I sometimes find myself narrowed down on choices of what to cook from the assigned blog. First because, of course, I’m vegetarian, and then I find that many of the listed ingredients are just not available here.
Going through Laura’s blog I came upon a Portuguese Sweet Bread which I thought I would try.

My bread doesn’t look like any Portuguese sweet bread you’ve probably seen. My fault entirely. I thought the amount of dough I had wasn’t enugh for two small loaves and I didn’t have a big loaf tin. So I used my cake tin thinking I would get a nice roundish bread. Well, the dough had other ideas! It rose quite a bit and ended up looking like this.
I followed Laura's recipe with two exceptions, one intended and the other one accidental. I used only one egg instead of the two she suggested. But after I had kept the dough for rising, I realized that I had misread 6 tbsps of sugar as 6 tsps. So I went back to the almost doubled dough and kneaded it again adding 2 tbsps of honey. Then I allowed the dough to double again before baking it.

The bread was just sweet enough for us (so maybe it was a good thing I misread the recipe) with a soft and spongy texture with a very dark yet soft crust. It made great toast the next day.

Jugalbandi’s No Knead Bread

Anyone who has been following my posts would know that I enjoy baking, especially bread (so much that my blog is close to becoming a bakers’ blog). Sometime back Bee had suggested that I could try making their No Knead Bread. After all, what could be easier than swishing all the ingredients together, plopping everything into a bowl, allowing the mass to rise and baking it into a great bread?

So make it I did. Not just once or twice, but many more times. But I have neglected to post it or acknowledge the recipe. So when Nupur of One Hot Stove, who is hosting this month’s Monthly Blog Patrolling (MBP), announced “Less is More” as the theme, this was the perfect opportunity for this bread to see the daylight on my blog. This bread is made with four ingredients – flour, yeast, salt and water. As Nupur’s event guide lines state that water and salt would not count as ingredients for this event, this bread is made with only two ingredients!!

The recipe is the one at Jugalbandi but I couldn’t resist substituting half the flour with whole wheat flour. The result has always been a very crusty wonderful bread which is soft “holey” inside. This bread is on the way to becoming a “regular” at our table.

Meeta’s Achari Aloo

Zlamushka of Zlamushka’s Spicy Kitchen has chosen to showcase Meeta’s blog, What’s For Lunch Honey, through her Tried and Tasted event. Meeta’s blog has a varied collection of recipes and extremely beautiful photographs.
I chose to make her Aachari Alu - Potatoes in Mango Chutney Sauce to serve with chappathis and plain yogurt.

I stayed with Meeta’s recipe except for the mango chutney sauce. I didn’t have this so I used 1 ½ tbsps each of mango chundo and mango thokku. The result was a delicious potato preparation with a wonderful mingling of spicy, tangy, salty and sweet flavours. This is a dish worth trying.

I would like to finish this post by saying a “Thank You” to the Foodbuzz team for the lovely tote bag and badges they sent me.

Lump-Proof Vegetable Rawa Uppuma/ Upma (Semolina Cooked With Vegetables)

2008-07-17T17:02:00.009+05:30

Printable recipe here.

What is Uppuma (or uppumavu)?
In Tamil, “uppu” means salt and “ma” means flour. While this doesn't quite explain it, uppuma is a savoury dish somewhat like couscous. This south Indian preparation, usually served for breakfast, can be eaten as a snack or brunch and is a wholesome meal in itself. Usually made with coarse rawa (semolina), uppuma can also be made with broken/ cracked wheat, broken rice and semia (vermicelli).
There are plenty of people (including my husband and daughter) who don’t particularly like uppuma (or upma as it is mostly referred to as), but I’m not one of them. I really like uppuma, especially when it is served hot, and made with lot of vegetables.
Traditionally, in our homes, uppuma is made using coconut oil and without vegetables or onions. Sometimes, freshly grated coconut is also added at the end, just before taking the uppuma off the heat.
Uppuma is usually served with coconut chutney, though it can be eaten with Indian pickles/ sugar/ banana or even plain yogurt! I like it without any accompaniment and occasionally with the small sweet variety of bananas.

But one thing I avoid eating is lumpy or sticky uppuma. I know many people make it and enjoy it this way. Then I’ve seen some people adding a lot of oil to the uppuma just before taking it off the stove to ensure it doesn’t cool down to a lumpy mass. I prefer my uppuma to have a crumbly and fluffy texture and learnt how to make it this way from my mother. And it has worked for me every time, well almost. Occasionally, though, the quality of the rawa (semolina) can play havoc with the best of recipes. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups rawa (coarse semolina)
1 ½ tsp ghee/ oil (optional)
3 cups water
salt to taste
1 cup finely chopped assorted vegetables (carrots, peas, cauliflower, beans, potatoes, sweet corn)
1 big onion, finely chopped
2” piece ginger, minced
1 -2 green chillies, chopped
2 tsp oil or coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp urad dal (black gram dal)
2 tsp chana dal (Bengal gram dal)
1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

If pre-roasted rawa is available, then that’s best for this uppuma. Otherwise, heat the ghee/ oil and add the rawa. Roast the rawa over low to medium heat till golden in colour and an aroma emanates from the rawa. Using ghee gives the uppuma a very nice and unique taste. If you prefer, you can avoid the ghee and oil here and dry roast the rawa. Keep aside.
Add salt to the 3 cups of water and keep to boil. Cook the chopped vegetables (not onions) in the microwave till just done. If not using the microwave, add the vegetables to the water kept for boiling. They will cook by the time the water boils.
In a wok, heat the 2 tsp oil and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the urad dals and sauté till golden brown. Now add the ginger, onions and green chillies. Sauté till the onions are soft. Add the curry leaves and vegetables (if microwaved), stir and add the rawa. Stir everything so that the rawa uniformly coats the vegetables. Turn down the heat to low. Slowly add the boiling water (with or without the vegetables) because at this point the mixture tends to spit. Stir everything so it is well mixed. Keep mixing occasionally till the rawa absorbs all the water and the uppuma is fluffy. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve hot. This recipe serves 3 to 4 people.
Sia of Monsoon Spice is guest hosting Nandita’s WBB and this month’s theme is Summer Feast. My Vegetable Uppuma goes there. Mansi of Fun and Food reminded me that this preparation would be right for the event she's hosting right now. Uppuma is a great way to start off the day as it is full of vegetables, fibre, low in fat and extremely filling. So this is goes to Healthy Cooking too.

I just realised (actually my husband pointed this out, or I wouldn't have noticed) that this is my 101st post.

Natashya of Living In The Kitchen With Puppies has been kind enough to think my blog deserves a Yum-Yum Blog award. Thanks Natashya for your kind words too.

Reminder:
Just a reminder that the last date for entries for Think Spice, Think Nutmeg is the 27th of July and BBD #12 - "Small Breads" is the 1st of August.

A Mango Coconut Kulfi and A Peachy Mango Milkshake

2008-07-10T13:25:00.006+05:30

Printable recipe here.

This is a recipe which started out as with a different end result in mind. I gathered all these ingredients planning to make a mango fudge when halfway through I realized that the fudge wasn’t going to materialize. So I froze the custardy mixture and to make it a kulfi. This recipe could qualify as a gelato as well but it had all the classic features of a kulfi (milk, sugar, cardamom and pistachios).
A kulfi is an Indian frozen dessert some what like an ice cream. Traditionally, kulfi is made with full fat milk, sweetened with a lot of sugar and boiled to reduce it to a thick creamy custard. It is then flavoured with cardamom, saffron and pistachios and frozen. The best kulfi is the one that comes in matkas (small earthenware pots) with no other flavour additions.

This kulfi has mango and the coconut milk in it lends a barely discernable flavour but gives the kulfi a very creamy taste and texture. And needless to say a lot of calories!
I haven’t mastered the art of photographing frozen desserts and the temperatures here don’t help in this matter. So please don’t be driven away by this picture. This kulfi is absolutely delicious, especially on a hot summer day.

Ingredients:

1 can (400g) sweetened condensed milk (I used Nestle Milkmaid)
1 ½ cups fresh mango puree
1 cup milk
1 pack coconut milk (or thick coconut milk from 2 small coconuts)
¼ tsp salt
3 – 4 tbsp chopped pistachio
1 tsp powdered cardamom

Method:

Put the condensed milk, milk, mango puree and salt in a heavy bottomed pan. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes. Now turn down the heat and add the coconut milk and mix well till blended. Make sure the mixture does not boil as the coconut milk will split. Take the pan off the heat. Add the chopped pistachio and cardamom. Mix well again and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming on the kulfi custard.
Pour into kulfi or popsicle moulds and freeze. If you don’t have either, pour into a metal/ plastic container and freeze. Serve like ice cream.
Kulfi becomes very hard when frozen like icecream. So you may have to keep it at room temperature to soften slightly before serving.
I'm sending this to Meeta for her Monthly Mingle: Mango Mania.

Peachy Mango Milkshake

Why am I doing a two recipe post today, and pairing these two recipes?
No particular reason, I’m just doing it. If you really want to connect up the two recipes, the common elements would be milk and mangoes. This recipe got made up because I needed to empty my fridge of perishable items as I would be away from home for about a week. So some peaches left over from my last recipe and some mangoes became a milkshake and my fridge is fruit free for the present.

This is one of the few devious methods I use to get my daughter to have certain fruits she doesn’t like!

Ingredients:

4 small peaches
2 mangoes
½ litre cold milk
Sugar as required (depending on how sweet/ or not, the fruits are)
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Method:

Chill the fruits till quite cold. Peel and chop the peaches and mango. Put all the ingredients into the blender/ liquidiser and blend into a smooth milkshake. Serve immediately. This would make 3 large or 4 small milkshakes. This is great with breakfast.

This recipe of mine is going to join others at Culinarty's Original Recipes and the event I'm hosting Think Spice, Think Nutmeg.

I shall take this opportunity to thank Sireesha of Mom's Recipies who has bestowed my blog

(and me) with a Bear Hug and Ivy of Kopiaste who made my day by giving me a You Make My Day award.

I truly appreciate the gesture and my apologies to both of you in taking some time to acknowledge them.
I shall be travelling out of Goa and be away for the next six days and so will not be able to acknowledge your comments or e-mails till I get back. See you all next week.

Confetti Cupcakes for a Birthday Girl

2008-07-08T13:00:00.008+05:30

It was Akshaya’s birthday on the 6th. We aren’t really celebrating anything these days and she just wanted to have a couple of friends over for tea, this birthday. I had promised to make her a frosted cake this year. This was a big step for me. I have baked any number of cakes but cutting them up, sandwiching them with buttercream and decorating them is an entirely new and frightening thing for me. After making a few Daring Baker cakes, I’ve lost a bit of that fear but realized that there are many things that can and will go wrong while decorating a cake! So I did make her a chocolate covered buttercream sandwiched cake, which I will post later.
So what else did she want? Lots of chips (the Lays kind) and fruit juice to drink (we avoid buying fizzy drinks).
And croissants. Croissants?
Ok. The thing is, for us here, bread is really not breakfast. Well, maybe on those occasional days when I’m not feeling good or we’re pressed for time, bread features in breakfast along with fruit, cornflakes and milk. Otherwise, bread sometimes is dinner with soup. Or for sandwiches at snacktime.
She wanted “plain” croissants, without chocolate or anything else! So I made some of those using the Danish pastry dough that was last month's Daring Baker's challenge.

Then she wanted “white” cupcakes (as in no chocolate, because she's tired of chocolate cakes) with frosting! A bit of a surprise for me, because she doesn’t really like very sweet things and has never been very keen on icing/ frosting. But then Akshaya’s tastes in food (and clothes) have been changing quite a bit so I should have expected this.
So I decided to go searching for cupcakes to make and finally found the perfect cupcake at Baking Bites. Baking Bites is a great blog if you’re interested in baking and Nicole has a wonderful variety of baking recipes.

I chose to make Nicole's Confetti Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting. I especially liked the idea of a frosting without butter. I kept to the original recipe, but used honey in place of corn syrup, vinegar instead of cream of tartar and reduced the sugar for the frosting by ½ a cup as I find most frostings very sweet. The recipe is for 12 cupcakes and I got 14. I also had a little under half of the frosting left over (maybe I was meant to use more on the cupcakes).

The cupcakes were soft and very attractively speckled with colour. I've never tasted frosting like this and quite liked it. It was quite soft yet stiff enough in texture to hold its shape.
The evening ended with 4 very happily stuffed girls and 2 not so stuffed, but rather tired adults clearing up after them.

Announcing Bread Baking Day #12: Small Breads

2008-07-05T13:15:00.005+05:30

In the southern part of India, where I come from, bread and baking is, traditionally, not a part of our food and cooking. One reason for this could be that the predominant grain in our part of the world is rice and wheat is grown in the plains of northern India.
However, the idea of making my own bread, tasty and free from the additives of commercial baking, has always appealed to me. Yet my early disasters (and there were so many) at making bread nearly made me give up the idea. A couple of years back, a good friend showed me how to conquer yeast and since then I have been enjoying my discovery of the world of breads.
Some time back I also came upon Bread Baking Day (BBD), an event started by Zorra at 1x umrühren bitte, dedicated to getting bread makers together every month. The themes put forward by the hosts every month has opened up a wide variety of breads to me.
Last month’s BBD was a first anniversary special and hosted by Zorra herself with “Bread with Sprouts” as the theme. You can find a round up of breads chock full of health here.

This month, Zorra has given me the opportunity to host Bread Baking Day and I have chosen “Small Breads” as the theme. By small breads, I mean individual serving size breads. That would bring to my mind breads like buns, rolls, biscuits, bagels, waffles, beignets, doughnuts, croissants, bread sticks, pretzels, etc. There are many more small breads I do not know of so I am waiting to learn about them from you.

You can make them sweet or savory, plain or stuffed, or add fruit/ vegetable/ nuts/ seeds/ herbs/ spices, etc. You can get creative and shape your bread decoratively. The sky’s the limit for possibilities. The only two things to keep in mind are that the bread should be “small” and should be made with a leavening agent.
Since this is a vegetarian blog (eggs are okay here), I must request that all entries be vegetarian.
So I’m looking forward to all your entries. To be a part of this event, you just need to do the following:

1. Bake some “small bread”.
2. Post it on your blog anytime between today and the 1st of August and link back to this post.
3. Then send me an e-mail at aprna00@gmail.com (aprna zero zero@gmail.com), with BBD #12 as the subject and the following details:
Your name
Your location
The name of your blog along with url of your blog
The name of your bread and url (permalink) to your post
A 300 pixel wide picture of your bread, if possible.

If your blog is not in English, then please send me a translation of your post in English or do the BBD post on your blog in English.
If you do not have a blog but would like to be a part of this event, please send me your recipe and write-up (with picture, if possible) and I would be happy to include it in the round-up.
Remember, the last date is the 1st of August and I will post the round-up around the 5th of August. And feel free to use the banner with your BBD post.
Happy Baking!

Spiced Peach and Honey Gelato

2008-07-03T16:04:00.006+05:30

Printable recipe here.

I came up with this recipe for four reasons.
- Some very beautiful peaches, all yellow with a blush of pinkish orange, tempted me at the market and I bought quite a few. Appearances are truly not everything as these peaches proved. They were not as sweet as they looked, so there were no takers for them.
- I had some extra milk in the fridge.
- We don’t need excuses to eat ice cream in this house. Anytime is ice cream time!
- Mike at Mike’s Table is having a “Frozen Dessert Party”. This wasn’t a reason at the time this recipe was put together, but it is now. So Mike, this comes to your event.

I wanted to make some ice cream without cream in it. Actually, I’ve never made ice cream at home using cream, except once. And a gelato seemed a good idea.
A gelato is a sort of Italian ice cream made with milk, sugar, eggs and fresh fruit/ chocolate/ nuts. Northern Italy is known for its milk based gelatos where as southern Italy is known for sorbettos, a gelato made from fruit but without milk.

Gelatos have a softer texture and are best served fresh (because of the fruit).
I try to avoid eggs if I can, so I’ve used readymade custard powder (which is largely cornstarch) here to make the custard. The spices add an interesting warm and spicy note to the gelato.
My picture doesn't do this gelato justice (its all melty here and I'm not the greatest photographer) but trust me when I say this is really good. And no calories from cream and fresh fruit too! You can have your gelato and eat it!!

Ingredients:

4 cups milk (3% fat)
4 large peaches, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup honey
4 tsp vanilla custard powder (or cornstarch and vanilla extract)
2 points star anise (from 1 flower)
3 pods cardamom
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp salt

Method:

Add the lemon juice to the peaches, mix and puree. Keep aside.
Heat 3 ½ cups of the milk in a thick bottomed pan. Add the brown sugar to the milk, stir, and bring to a boil. Powder the spices and add to the remaining ½ cup of milk. Also add the custard powder to this milk. Whisk well and add to the boiling milk. Keep stirring continuously while doing this to prevent lumps from forming. The milk mixture will become a little thicker (a custard of pouring consistency). Turn off the heat and allow it to cool, while stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming over the top.
Put the cooled milk custard and the peach puree in a blender. Blend well.
Pour into a steel or plastic container with a tight lid and freeze. As soon as the gelato starts freezing around the sides, break the ice crystals using a blender. Do this twice more to get a creamier texture. Freeze till ready to serve.
The gelato will be very hard, so you may need to set the temperature a little lower than for freezing ice cream. Otherwise, let it sit outside for a little while before serving. Ideally, the gelato should be a bit soft and melt on your tongue.This recipe makes plenty of gelato. We got roughly three servings each (not all at once!).

This gelato is also going across to Mythereyee at Paajaka for her Sweet Series.

Announcing Think Spice, Think Nutmeg

2008-07-01T13:42:00.011+05:30

Think Spice, Think……, an event that Sunita of Sunita’s World came up with to showcase individual spices, has created a spice route of its own and stops here this month.
I am delighted to host this edition and have chosen the Nutmeg to be this month’s spice.

Why Nutmeg?
I will be honest and tell you that it is because I have this on my kitchen shelf and haven’t really put it to much use, so far. So I’m really looking forward to discovering the many ways in which it can feature in foods. If you have any recipes using nutmeg, then this is the opportunity to blog about it. Or if you are like me, then this is when we can figure new ways to cook with nutmeg.
But before we go further, a little about the Nutmeg.

The Nutmeg:

The nutmegs Myristica are evergreen trees indigenous to tropical southeast Asia and Australasia. Two spices derived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace.
Nutmeg is the actual seed of the tree, roughly egg-shaped and about 20 mm to 30 mm (1 inch) long and 15 mm to 18 mm (¾ inch) wide, and weighing between 5 g and 10 g (¼ ounce and ½ ounce) dried, while mace is the dried "lacy" reddish covering or arillus of the seed.
Several other commercial products are also produced from the trees, including essentia oils, extracted oleoresins, and nutmeg butter.
The outer surface of the nutmeg bruises easily.
The pericarp (fruit/pod) is used in Grenada to make a jam called "Morne Delice". In Indonesia, the fruit is sliced finely, cooked and crystallised to make a fragrant candy called manisan pala ("nutmeg sweets").
The most important species commercially is the Common or Fragrant Nutmeg Myristica fragrans, native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia; it is also grown in the Caribbean, especially in Grenada. Other species include Papuan Nutmeg M. argentea from New Guinea, and Bombay Nutmeg M. malabarica from India; both are used as adulterants of M. fragrans products.

Culinary uses:
Nutmeg and mace have similar taste qualities, nutmeg having a slightly sweeter and mace a more delicate flavour. Mace is often preferred in light-coloured dishes for the bright orange, saffron-like colour it imparts. Nutmeg is a flavorful addition to cheese sauces and is best grated fresh.
In Indian cuisine, nutmeg powder is used almost exclusively in sweet dishes. It is known as Jaiphal in most parts of India and as Javitri and Jathi seed in Kerala. It may also be used in small quantities in garam masala.]
In Middle Eastern cuisine, nutmeg powder is often used as a spice for savoury dishes. In Arabic, nutmeg is called Jawzt at-Tiyb.
In Greece and Cyprus nutmeg is called moschokarydo (Greek: "nut that smells nice") and is used in cooking and savoury dishes.
In European cuisine, nutmeg and mace are used especially in potato dishes and in processed meat products; they are also used in soups, sauces and baked goods. In Dutch cuisine nutmeg is quite popular, it is added to vegetables like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and string beans.
Japanese varieties of curry powder include nutmeg as an ingredient.
A Norwegian bun called kavring includes nutmeg.
Nutmeg is a traditional ingredient in mulled cider, mulled wine, and eggnog
(Source: Wikipedia)

Some interesting history about the Nutmeg can be found here.

To be a part of this event, you just have to do the following:

1. Cook up something in which nutmeg features as the main spice. This is a vegetarian blog ( eggs are ok) so please ensure that you send in vegetarian entries.
2. Post it on your blog anytime between today and the 27th of July and please link back to this post and Sunita's Think Spice post. Feel free to use the logo with your post.
3. Then send me an e-mail at aprna00@gmail.com (aprna zero zero @gmail.com), with Think Spice, Think Nutmeg as the subject and the following details:
Your name,
Your location,
The name of your blog along with url of your blog,
The name of your dish and url (permalink) to your post,
And a 300 pixel wide picture, if possible.

If you do not have a blog but would like to be a part of this event, please send me your recipe and write-up (with picture, if possible) and I would be happy to include it in the round-up.

Happy cooking with Nutmeg!

Updated on 18th July, 2008:
Angela of A Spoonful Of Sugar has pointed out "Morne Delice" is actually a brand of nutmeg products. Looks like Wikipedia made a mistake there!
Angela also says that "The soft pericarp is turned into nutmeg syrup--delicious on pancakes--nutmeg jam and nutmeg jelly. I've also had it caramelised and layered in a tart with pastry cream.
Incidentally, the outer shells of the nutmeg are used in place of gravel in a few resorts in Grenada. The scent made me perpetually hungry!"

Delicious Danish: Daring Baker Challenge June 2008

2008-06-29T07:20:00.001+05:30

The Daring Bakers hosts truly have us globe trotting without buying a ticket. We have gone French in the past, with Bread and the Opera, and this time we’re doing Danish!
Welcome to this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge and my fifth one. Kelly of Sass and Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin set us to make some Danish pastry this month. As usual, this is another cooking/ baking direction I’ve never gone before. But this time was a bit different for me. I went into the challenge knowing what a Danish pastry looked and tasted like!!
As usual, we were provided with lots of information regarding the history and also links and details for working with Danish pastry. And a recipe to bake by.

I’m not reproducing the recipe here to keep this post from being too long and boring everyone with a recipe seen on countless blogs. For those interested in the recipe, a printable version can be found here.

My Danish Experience:

The dough:

Of course, we started the challenge with the making of the dough (Detrempe). I didn’t use any vanilla beans because they are not available here and sourcing them from elsewhere would have proved expensive. Then Rachel, a fellow DB, offered to send me some but I had finished baking my Danish pastry by then.
So I used double the amount of vanilla extract (3 tsps) instead. There were no oranges to be found at the market (not the season for them here), so I used the zest/ rind of some lemons and unsweetened orange juice from a carton. And I used salted butter as I couldn’t find the unsalted kind. I know, many of you find this hard to believe, but it’s true.
I don’t have a stand mixer, so my arms got a lot of exercise. Otherwise, I had no problems with the dough. The butter (beurrage) behaved well and didn’t leak. This could have been due to the lower temperatures here these days (the monsoons are finally here).

All ready for a sleepover in the fridge.

I made a full recipe of the dough and froze it.
Here is a good link that shows how to make Danish pastry dough and shape them.

The filling:

We were required to make a braid with either the given apple filling recipe or a filling of our choice, provided we had made it. I made a half recipe of the apple filling for the braid as I love apple pie. I sprinkled some cashewnuts, sautéed in a little ghee, over the filling before braiding the dough.
I also used some other filling for the individual Danish pastries I made.
- Mango preserves I had made earlier.

Apricot and Almond & Cashew filling

- Apricot and Almond & Cashew filling using left over almond-cashew meal from the Opera Cake. I followed Beatrice Ojakanas’ recipe.

Sweet moist coconut filling

- Sweet moist coconut filling. This is a traditional south Indian sweet filling we use in many of our sweets. Take 1 cup of loosely packed, freshly scraped/ flaked coconut (dessicated or dried coconut won’t do) and ½ - ¾ a cup of powdered jaggery (depending on sweetness of the jaggery). Put both in a pan with 2 tbsp of water and stir, on medium heat, till it comes together (about 3 – 5 minutes). If this is kept on the stove for longer, it will take on a toffee like texture which is not desirable. The filling should be moist but not wet. Add a tsp or so of ghee (clarified butter) and a tsp of cardamom powder and mix well. Take off heat, cool and use.
- A savoury Indian style filling made of steamed cauliflower, potatoes and peas sautéed with turmeric, chilli, cumin, coriander, garam masala powders and salt. Actually I had this leftover from lunch, so I used it to make some turnovers.

Putting it all together:

I made the braid as instructed but left out the egg wash. The braid still baked to a beautiful brown. I used a half recipe of the Danish pastry dough for the braid and used the remaining half to experiment with various fillings and shapes.
It is important to keep the strips long enough for braiding or else the braid will open up during baking. The thing would be to mark the dough rectangle into three equal parts, place the filling in the middle third and then cut the outer thirds of the rectangle into strips for braiding.

Apple filling and cashews

Almost ready for the oven

For individual Danish pastries I made a few each of the following.
Spandauer – pastry folded into envelopes with mango preserves.
A sort of packet, with coconut filling, where the four ends of a square of dough were brought together and twisted into a top knot.
Bears claws/ Cock’s combs/ Kammar filled with apricot filling. (I bet you never saw a bear with paws like these!)
Pinwheels with the coconut filling.
Open Danish twists with the mango preserves/ grated bitter-sweet chocolate.
Snails with the apricot filling
And “croissants with no filling”, at my daughter’s express request.

Verdict:

This challenge worked well for me. No unfortunate experiences, for a change!
The dough could be made and frozen, fillings made ahead and refrigerated (except the savoury kind), and then assembled conveniently.
And the smells that float throughout the house when these are baking is another experience. All the spices (cardamom is my absolute favourite) and fruit baking up in pastry full of butter makes for a wonderful fragrance.
I didn’t find the dough too sweet, probably because I used salted butter! So this dough made a good combination with savoury fillings as well.

Most Danish pastries, I understand, are either sprinkled with sugar before baking or drizzled with a sugar glaze afterwards. I chose not to do this as I didn’t want the pastries too sweet. I didn’t get the layered effect in my braid (though it was good) but got some layering in my individual ones. I did get lovely layers in my filling free croissants. These were the best.
I think I might just venture forth into the world of puff pastry in the future.

Thank you, Kelly and Ben, for demystifying (for me, at least) one more baking tradition. I say this every time, and I’m saying it again. Please do go across to my fellow DB blogs to be tempted by the sheer variety of Danish pastries baked up across the world.

Spicy Whole Masoor (Puy Lentils) Dal

2008-06-28T21:29:00.005+05:30

Printable recipe here.

This is one of those recipes I have come up with over the years. When I first started cooking, I was a bit out of my depth finding an “easy to put together” vegetable, lentil or anything that would be good with chappathis.
In my parents rice eating south Indian home (and my husband’s), chappathis were not considered “filling” enough for lunch or dinner but more of a “tiffin”. So while I didn’t find it too difficult to cook up a south Indian meal, finding something (to serve with chappathis or parathas) that was easy to cook, wholesome and tasty took a little longer.
I have since added a few such recipes or come up with my own concoctions that are now a part of my regular cooking.

This dal is one of them. Whole masoor doesn’t need soaking and cooks quickly. There is very little fat in this dal and the addition of home-made yogurt (from low fat milk) makes for a creamy and rich tasting dal.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked whole masoor (puy lentils)
2 onions, diced
1 big tomato, diced
½ tsp ginger paste
½ tsp garlic paste
2 green chillies, slit lengthwise
½ cup fresh yogurt
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 ½ tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
2 tsp oil
1 – 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves, for garnishing

Method:

The whole masoor should be well cooked but not mushy
Grind the onions and tomato into a fine paste.
Heat the oil and add the ginger and garlic pastes. Saute and then add the green chillies and the onion tomato paste. Over medium heat sauté till the raw smell of onion disappears. If the paste looks too dry while sautéing, add 2 tbsps of water and continue cooking.
Once the paste is cooked add the turmeric, coriander, cumin and garam masala powders. Sauté a few times, and add the whole masoor/ lentils. If the lentils are too dry add enough water (between half and one cup should do) to ensure the dal is thick in consistency. Add the salt, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and cook for about 5 minutes add it.
Whisk the yogurt and add to the dal, stirring continuously. Turn off the heat and mix the dal well to ensure the yogurt is well blended.
Do not turn up the heat or allow the dal to boil once the yogurt has been added or it will split/ curdle spoiling the appearance of the dish.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve warm with chappathis, parathas or rice.

This on goes to Ivy at Kopiaste who is hosting Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets along with Ben at What's cooking?.
This also is going to Siri at Siri's Corner for Frozen Yogurt.

Shades Of Yellow - CLICK : June 2008 Yellow For Bri

2008-06-26T08:00:00.005+05:30

By now, I’m sure all of you would have heard about Briana Brownlow and her battle with cancer. I had not heard of her or her blog, Figs with Bri, till this post at Jugalbandi.
This post is just in case there is someone who wasn’t aware of the fundraiser for Briana (not many I’m sure) and would like to help in any way.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer.

Intensive chemo and other treatments, including holistic alternatives are not completely covered by her health insurance. The team at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR. This includes a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. You may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.

You can also lend your support by taking part in CLICK, a food photography event, where this month is YELLOW for Bri. Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

Cancer is an illness that has touched all of us in some way or the other. I have seen its presence not only in my family but in those of our friends. Someone I knew but lost touch with lost her painful battle with cancer last month. She leaves behind a 13 year old daughter. My cousin's wife has had two surgeries and is undergoing chemotherapy to fight a tumour in her brain which refuses to go away.

Many such battles do have a happy ending, but after a difficult journey. I recommend Lance Armstrong’s book about his battle with cancer “It is Not About the Bike – My Journey Back to Life”, if you haven’t read it yet.

Let us do what we can. Remember that every little bit of support (in any manner) counts. There is a saying in Malayalam (a south Indian language), “Pala Thulli Peru Vellam” that translates into “Many little drops make a big pool of water”. And let us keep Bri and her family in our thoughts and prayers.

This is my contribution to CLICK: Yellow for Bri. “Shades of Yellow”

My glass of mango juice is served up with a Kiwi Cheesecake from the Sept- Oct 2003 issue of Tarla Dalal’s Cooking & More.

Microwaved Mango Preserves

2008-06-25T07:15:00.002+05:30

Printable recipe here.

It is almost the end of the mango season here and I’ve been taken over by a bit of mango madness in the last couple of months. We’ve eaten mango as fruit, had it in pickles, juices, milk shakes, ice cream, in dessert, baked it, and cooked it into absolutely delicious “curries”. I think the only thing I’ve not thing I’ve not done is deep fry it!

I also made some preserves using some slightly over ripe mangoes I had sometime back. Since I made them in the microwave, I’m sending this to Srivalli at Cooking 4 All Seasons to be part of her MEC: Bottled!

Ingredients:

5 mangoes, peeled and chopped
¾ cup powdered jaggery/ brown sugar
1 ½ tsp dried ginger
1 tsp cinnamon powder
4-5 cloves
½ tsp salt

Method:

If you would like the preserve to be more like jam, then run the mango a couple of times in the blender.
Put all the ingredients, except the ginger in a microwave safe bowl. Mix and then cook at 100% for ten minutes. Now add the ginger, stir well and microwave at 80% for another 8 minutes. Allow the preserve/ jam to cool. It will thicken a little bit. Bottle and refrigerate. I got enough preserve to fill a medium sized jam jar.
My mangoes were quite juicy and so took longer to cook and reduce. You might have to adjust your cooking time depending on the variety of mango. Similarly, you might need to adjust the jaggery/ brown sugar required depending on the sweetness of your mangoes.

Some Appreciation For My Blog:

Some more fellow bloggers have passed on a couple of awards, as they feel my blog (and I) are worthy of them. I can only say thanks and feel pretty good and humbled by all this.

Simran of Bombay Foodie has given me a “You make my day award” and Rachel of Tangerine’s Kitchen has given me not one, but two awards – A Yummy Blog award and a Rocking Girl Blogger award.

Thank you so much, Simran and Rachel.

Nicole's Four Grain Pancakes

2008-06-24T08:35:00.007+05:30

Printable recipe here.

This month, for Taste and Create, I was paired with Nicole herself (whose idea this event is) and got the chance to go through her recipe archives.
The first time I decided to go through her recipes (For The Love Of Food) I was in for a bit of a shock. Apparently, some nut had erased most of the posts from her blog! Imagine how terrible it can be to see all your hard work just disappearing overnight. As Nicole herself puts it to the person behind this awful deed, “I hope that you find cockroaches in your shoes the next time you slip your feet in!”
Though some of her posts are gone for ever, she and her husband have managed to put a lot of them back on her blog and are continuing working on the matter.

What I did find find on Nicole’s blog was lots of vegetarian recipes. And I’m going to try some of them for sure. But for this particular event, I chose to make some Four GrainPancakes.
Nicole’s recipe is below:

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Flour1/2 Cup Corn Meal
1/3 Cup Quick-cooking Rolled Oats
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Lactose-free Milk (originally calls for Buttermilk)(I used low fat milk)
1/3 Cup Butter, melted (I used oil)
3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup (I used honey)
2 Eggs, beaten

Directions:
In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and stir well until there are no longer lumps in the batter. Adjust the thickness/thin-ness by adding more flour or more milk.
On medium-high heat, heat a griddle until hot. Reduce the heat to low if you are working with a gas range. Lightly grease the griddle with some cooking oil. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until bubbles form and burst open on the surface of the pancake. Flip the pancakes and cook another 2 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve immediately, or keep warm between 2 plates.
Makes about 16 4-inch pancakes.

Verdict:

First of all check out the beautiful pancake pictures on Nicole’s blog.
I halved the recipe and made some minor changes (see the ingredient list) but otherwise went with Nicole’s recipe. I also covered the pancake for about a couple of minutes after pouring the batter on the griddle (do this on low heat) and then turned it over to cook the other side. This fluffs up and cooks the pancakes giveing them a nice “holey” appearance. The result was absolutely light and fluffy pancakes which are not too sweet. The other nice part about this recipe is that it doesn’t take much time to put together. This is a keeper and it’s going to feature regularly in my kitchen. Next time I’m going to try it without the egg.
Nicole suggests serving the pancakes with “maple syrup, fresh squeezed orange juice, berries, butter, or whatever you wish”! Akshaya had hers with mango jam, I had mine just plain and my husband didn’t have any this time (he is away on work)!

Manipuri Khichdi and Ootti

2008-06-22T10:54:00.011+05:30

Printable version here.

The recipes in this post are the result of a lot of Internet searching! When Bhags of Crazy Curry announced North Eastern food as the theme for RCI, I was quite interested. For one thing, I have been fascinated by the sheer beauty of that part of the country that I’ve seen in books and on TV. The North Eastern states of India are home to some of the most beautiful orchids in the world.
After going through the many search results, most of which were sketchy and largely repetitions of each other, what I realised was that non vegetarian food forms the bulk of their cuisine. And I had never heard of many of the ingredients used in those recipes.
We refer to the different states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh by putting them together as one entity, but each state has its own particular separate identity.
My search for vegetarian recipes from these states led to my discovery of two blogs, Anthony's Kitchen and Monica Gi Chakum, with some Manipuri vegetarian recipes.

I chose to cook Manpuri Khichdi and Ootti from Anthony's blog. As he hadn’t given very exact measures for some ingredients, I have put down what I used. I didn’t have any pictures to refer to either. Otherwise I have stuck to his recipes.

Manipuri Khichdi

(Original post here)

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice
¼ cup tuvar dal
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tbsp peanuts, skinned
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 each of bay leaves, cardamom pods, cloves and red chillies
¼ tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp ghee

Method:

Cook the rice and dal till done but firm.
Heat the oil and ghee, add the peanuts and sauté till golden. Now add the bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, red chillies and cumin. Stir a couple of times and add the onions, sautéing till golden and soft. Add the turmeric powder, stir, and then add the cooked rice and dal. Salt as required. Take off the heat and mix everything, gently till well coated with the onion and spice.
Serve hot.

Ootti

(Original post here)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups white peas
1 big onion, finely sliced
1 ½ “ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 red chillies
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp cooking soda
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Method:

Soak the peas in water for about 5-6 hours and cook till done but firm. Put the peas into a pan, add one cup water, salt and the cooking soda. Bring it to a boil. There will be a lot of froth from the soda! I have never cooked (baked, yes) with cooking soda and it seems to make the peas a bit mushy.
In another pan, heat the oil and add the bay leave, cumin and chillies. Just sauté and add the ginger and onion. Saute till onions are brown. Pour this into the peas and mix well.
Serve hot.

We enjoyed the Manipuri Khichdi for lunch with Ootti, roasted pappads and some pickle. And in true south Indian style, finished the meal with yogurt (curds)!
I also just discovered, when Arundati reminded me, that the deadline for RCI submissions was long over. That’s how up to date I am with all things “bloggy” these days!!

Updated on 23rd June, 2008:

Bhags at Crazy Curry has requested me to send this in for RCI: North East Indian Cuisine, as she hasn't posted the round up yet. So Bhags, here this comes your way.

Nupur’s Ragda Patties & My Tamarind and Date Chutney

2008-06-19T14:33:00.009+05:30

Printable version here.

When Zlamushka announced that she had chosen to showcase Nupur’s blog, One Hot Stove, for her event Tried & Tasted, I headed there. This blog is one that I read regularly and she writes very concise and informative posts, not to mention her good collection of recipes and knitting projects. I am also an admirer of Dale.
I chose to try out her ragda patties. It is something I’ve eaten but never made at home. This was just the thing to have with a steaming hot cup of tea, especially on a cold and rainy (the monsoons are finally here) evening. And I was planning to make a batch of my tamarind and date chutney.
Ragda patties is a food that has all the elements of a chaat when served with this chutney, yogurt, sev and chopped coriander. I followed Nupur’s recipe, only adding a bit of chilli powder to the patty dough and we enjoyed it. We actually ended having this in lieu of dinner instead of teatime, but that’s another story.

Nupur’s ragda patties are my choice for Zlamushka’s Tried and Tasted and also for Monthly Blog Patrolling started by Coffee of Spice Cafe.. This month, MBP: Street Food is being hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice.

My Tamarind and Date Chutney:

This is something I’ve been making for a long time and is great as an accompaniment for snacks like samosas and kachoris (both deep fried pastry with savoury fillings) or any other food that calls for a sweet and sour chutney.

Ingredients:

1 cup thick tamarind pulp
(made from a packed handful of tamarind soaked in about 1¼ cup warm water)
¾ - 1 cup powdered jaggery
½ cup loosely packed seedless dates, finely chopped
2 tbsp golden raisins, chopped
1 ½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
black salt (kaala namak)/ salt to taste

Method:

Put the tamarind pulp and jaggery in a pan. Over medium heat, stir the mixture till the jaggery dissolves. Now add all the remaining ingredients and cook till the chutney thickens a bit and takes on a shiny appearance.
Allow to cool and use as needed. This chutney keeps in the fridge for a while.
The amounts of tamarind, jaggery, chilli powder and salt may be adjusted as required. This chutney should be sweet, sour and spicy.
I’m sending this chutney across to Sig of Live to Eat who is hosting JFI this month, with Tamarind as the theme.

Egg Moillee (Egg Curry with Coconut Milk) And 2 Awards

2008-06-17T10:48:00.007+05:30

Printable version here.

This post will be a bit of a surprise on this blog since it is a vegetarian blog! But then, we are ovo-lacto-vegetarians. I refuse to get into discussions about how could I be vegetarian if I eat eggs!!
The fact of the matter is that though we eat eggs occasionally, I am always happy to see a cake, cookie or bread recipe without eggs. That said, this particular dish is a bit of an exception. While I don’t make it very often, we like this egg curry (though my daughter will pick out the yellow and keep it aside). It must be the coconut milk that goes into the curry.

This recipe is adapted from The Vegetarian Menu Book by Vasantha Moorthy.

Ingredients:

6 eggs, hard boiled
2 large onions, sliced thin
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 -3 green chillies, slit lengthwise
½ tsp ginger paste
½ tsp garlic paste
½ tsp turmeric powder
3 cardamom pods
4 cloves
2 small sticks cinnamon
2 bay leaves
4-5 tbsp ghee
thick milk from 1 coconut
1 sprig curry leaves
3 tbsp chopped coriander
salt to taste

Method:

Cut each egg in half. Heat the ghee in a pan and place the eggs with cut side face down. Shallow fry the egg halves, gently turning over, till golden brown. Remove from pan and keep aside.
To the remaining ghee, add the bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamom and stir a couple of times. Add the green chillies, stir and now add the sliced onions. Sauté till soft and golden in colour. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and sauté till the ghee separates.
Add the turmeric powder, curry leaves and tomatoes and allow to cook well.
When done add the coconut milk, 2 tbsp coriander leaves, salt and mix. Just bring to a boil and take off the heat immediately. If you allow the curry to boil after adding coconut milk, it will split. The consistency of the coconut milk gravy should be thick and sauce-like rather than watery.
To serve, place the shallow fried egg halves in a serving dish and pour the coconut milk curry over this. Garnish with remaining 1 tbsp coriander leaves.
Serve hot with chapathis/ parathas/ rice or aapams (fermented rice pancakes).
This spicy and fragrant egg curry goes to Suganya of Tasty Palettes who is hosting this month’s edition of AFAM : Coconut.

The Awards:
I'm going to take this opportunity to thank Jayasree and Anamika for passing on two awards to me. It is truly cheering to know that your fellow bloggers think your blog is worthy of recognition.

Jayasree of Experiments in Kailas Kitchen has been nice enough to pass on the Good Chat Blog Award to me. My husband and daughter certainly agree with her because they know (though Jayasree doesn’t) just how much I love to talk!

Anamika: The Sugarcrafter has also passed on the Yummy Blog Award to my blog. I truly appreciate your kind words about my blog and that it deserves this award.

I would like to pass on these awards to each and everyone of you who has given me the encouragement to continue blogging by your presence at My Diverse Kitchen. Thanks to you all.

Bread With Sprouts

2008-06-13T10:25:00.007+05:30

Printable version here.

Sprouts in a bread?
That’s what I wondered when I came across the Bread Baking Day 1st Anniversary edition Zorra is hosting BBD this. She chose “Bread with sprouts” as this month’s theme. Sprouts bread is higher in protein and fibre and if made the traditional way, low calorie and almost fat free.
The whole concept of sprouts in bread is new to me. So I looked up some links Zorra had given us and did some research into the subject. Without going into too many details, what I figured out was that there were two main types of sprouts bread.
One type, also called Essene bread, has its origins in biblical times. Here wheat sprouts are ground, made into flat unleavened loaves and baked at low temperatures. This sweetish tasting bread is mentioned in Ezekiel Verse 4:9 in the Old Testament of the Bible. Typically, no oil, salt, flour or leavening agents are added to this bread, though there seem to be varieties of it with fruits, nuts and seeds.
The other type of bread is made with different types of flours to which sprouts have been added. The choice of flours and sprouts seems to be with the baker.
I was a bit confused and Zorra further clarified matters by saying that the bread was to be made with sprouts made at home. The Essene bread didn’t sound too appetizing (though many people think it is quite good) so I decided to try the other type.
The two “easily sprouting” beans I had with me were moong beans and black eyed beans. I took a handful of a mixture of both beans and soaked them in water overnight. Next morning, I drained the beans, put them in a flat plastic container and sprayed them with a little water. I turned them around in the container every few hours and by night they had sprouted. I refrigerated them and used them the next morning to make bread.

The sprouts should have "tails" about the length of the bean for an optimal result when used in this bread. If the sprouts are too short then the full nutritional benefit is not obtained and if they are too long they also spoil the texture of the bread!

I couldn’t find too many recipes for this type of bread and most of them used ingredients I didn’t have or could get easily. So I came up with my own recipe, which is below.

Ingredients:

½ cup warm water
1 ½ tbsp honey
1½ tsp active dry yeast
½ cup sprouts (I used moong and black-eyed beans)
1½ cups flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup malted millet flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oil

Method:

Run the sprouts in the mixer-grinder/ processor to just break them up. Do not grind into a paste.
Dissolve the honey in ½ cup of warm water. Add the yeast, mix well and allow to prove. Put the flours, salt, oil and crushed sprouts into the processor and run a couple of times to mix well. Now add the yeast mixture and enough water to form a soft dough. You may do this by hand, if preferred.
Form the dough into a ball, put into a greased bowl and cover it. Keep aside till double in volume. Punch down the dough and shape into a loaf, using flour if the dough is sticky. Allow the dough to rise (for about ½ an hour) and bake at 190C for about 40 minutes. When done, the loaf will sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a rack.

I expected this loaf to be very dense, but it wasn’t. It was quite soft and slightly crusty. Taste-wise, it was slightly sweet with a nice crunch on the crust wherever there were sprout pieces. And this bread makes great toast. We really liked it.
My sprouts bread is joining Zorra's BBD #11 Bread with sprouts.