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Nan-e-Barbari – Persian Bread

 Breads, Breakfast, From Around the world  14 Responses »
Feb 032013
 
Nan-e-Barbari - Persian bread

I have been missing home, a lot, lately. That is one of the reasons why you are and will be seeing a lot of bread / Naan/ Indian bread related posts on Spiceroots. There is something in those not so distant mountains that I see from my kitchen window that speaks of home to me. Its almost hypnotic. How they change from the time the first rays of sun touch them to the time the sun hides behind them almost feels like a conversation. I do feel very blessed to live in Colorado. It feels like home and yet makes me miss home. Ironic. I know.

I chanced upon this bread in the latest issue of Food and Wine and immediately knew I will make it soon. I leafed through the magazine to get my daily dose of food porn, but I kept coming back to the pictures of this bread.

There was an instant connection, almost a pull. Something about the bread was familiar. When I read the recipe, I knew what the connection was. The Bread uses a roomal – mixture of flour, water , oil & sugar for that exquisite color and texture. And that is what the local Kandur ( bread maker) in Kashmir uses when he is making the special breads with rogan – very similar to roomal.

 So I kept the magazine down and set to work. This bread had to be made and made immediately. The whole process of making this bread was nostalgic. And I am glad to say the Nan-e-Barbari has reached the coveted place of “myfavorite bread” in Miss S’s books! That is no mean feat!

 

This bread is also heading over to Yeast Spotting.

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Nan-e-Barbari – Persian Bread

Serves: 2 breads

Nan-e-Barbari – Persian Bread

Recipe slightly adapted from Food and Wine Magazine.

Ingredients

    To make the dough
  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
  • 4 cups all purpose flour Plus some more for kneading
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups lukewarm water
    • To make the Roomal
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 Tbs all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp sugar
    • Final touches:
  • 1 tbs Nigella seeds (optional )
  • 1 tbs sesame seeds (optional)
    • some extras:
  • 1tsp oil

Instructions

  1. Add the yeast to water and let it bubble up.. about 5 minutes
  2. Mix the salt into the 4 cups of flour and add to the yeast mix.
  3. Knead to a very smooth dough ( 6 - 7 minutes in a stand mixer) ( If kneading by hand - knead until your dough can stand the window pane test ; If the dough is a little sticky, apply flour to your hands and keep kneading... )
  4. Oil a bowl and put the dough in it, cover and let it rise for an hour, until double in volume.
  5. Next punch the dough down and divide into two parts. cover and let it rise again.
  6. While the dough is rising this time, make the roomal.
  7. Combine the flour, oil , sugar, with half a cup of water and mix it all in and cook it on low heat until it thickens. cover and let it cool.
  8. Preheat the oven to 450*F.
  9. Working each part of the dough separately, shape the dough into a rectangle and put it on a well oiled baking sheet.
  10. Make the ridges in the shaped dough, apply half of the roomal paste, sprinkle half of the sesame, nigella on it and bake for 15- 18 minutes.
  11. Repeat wit the second part of the dough!

Notes

http://www.spiceroots.com/2013/02/nan-e-barbari-persian-bread/
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Mango Oats Smoothie

 Breakfast, Vegetarian  19 Responses »
Nov 302012
 
mango oats smoothie

 

Feed your kid a big breakfast. Easier said than done. Give her a helping of fruits with the breakfast. Climbing Mt. Everest might be an easier task. And if you are blessed with someone who likes to count each morsel while she eats and you doze off to sleep because it is painfully slow, the alarm goes off- time to grab the bag, load the kid into the car with one shoe in hand, the other dragging behind attached to one of her legs – God bless you!

To keep her nourished, so she can get through a high energy, high focus day at school and then at her extra curricular activities is a task I take seriously. I get creative with food. It’s not that she doesn’t enjoy eating, she does. She just eats slowly. Which is why, we resort to drinking breakfasts.

Fruit smoothies, milk shakes and the likes. One of our most cherished breakfasts on the go is the Mango oats smoothie. Supreme taste with excellent nourishment and very easy to make. Good Morning

 

I am re-posting this for the Power food blog group Friday. As I wanted to add the benefits of eating a whole grain into this post.

Apart from helping you eat lesser by keeping you fuller for a longer time and hence help you lose and maintain your weight goals, oats is a great booster for your healthy immune system. The beta-glucan found in oats, significantly enhancesthe human immune system’s response to bacterial infection.

In addition to that oats help reduce cardiovascular disease, lower bad cholesterol levels, stabilizes blood sugar.  Making oats a great part of your meals does wonders for your body. So go for it.

38 Power Foods blog group  focuses on one ingredient each week taking inspiration from the book ; Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients from the editors of the whole living magazine. Each week we all  come up with recipes, stories, articles to encourage eating nourishing food.

Jeanette at jeanetteshealthyliving ; Martha at Simply Nourished Living ; Mireya at Myhealthyeatinghabits ; Alyce at More time at the table ; Casey at My Sweet and Savory;   Minnie at TheLady8Home

 

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Mango Oats Smoothie

Prep Time: 8 hours

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Serves: 1

Serving Size: 12 oz

Mango Oats Smoothie

Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup Mango (peeled and diced)
  • 1/4 cup Oats (I use old fashioned rolled oats)
  • 1/4 cup Milk
  • 1/4 tsp Honey
  • 1 pinch Green Cardamom powder (really just a tiny pinch)

Instructions

  1. The night before, soak the oats in 1/4 C of water and keep it in the fridge
  2. In the morning, using your smoothie maker or blender, blend the oats with all the other ingredients
  3. Drink up a yummy breakfast

Notes

If you want to cook the oats just before you make the smoothie, cook it your usual way and add ice when you make the smoothie.

http://www.spiceroots.com/2012/11/mango-oats-smoothie/
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 Posted by on November 30, 2012 at 8:45 AM

Spartan Egg Bhurji

 Breakfast, Non vegetarian  4 Responses »
Nov 062012
 
egg burji

Spartan Egg Bhurji

This is one of the dishes that he cooks and I eat. He is so much in his element while cooking this that I do not even offer to help out. It reminds him of his days in school, when cooking something filling and nutritious in as little time as possible was the main idea. He also remembers how due to his cooking skills he would manage to get all the “other” work done by his friends. If any of his friends are reading this, trust me he does tell me he was sweetly wicked to make you all do the dishes!

The dish is called the Spartan Egg Bhurji because it was sort of invented in Michigan State University. Hence, to keep the nostalgia going he named it thus. It is a great dish for a brunch, or when you have to cook something fast. Eggs, onions and a few spices and you are in for a really good treat in less than 30 minutes.

This egg bhurji goes well with toasted bread, as a sandwich filler, with parathas and sometimes I fill the leftovers in tomatoes and give them a quick grilling. Delicious any which way you want to enjoy it. This does need you to perfectly boil some eggs, recipe for which can be found here : boiled eggs

This recipe is his favorite way to treat me to a lazy Sunday morning brunch. Does your guy/ significant other cook too? What is your favorite dish that he/she makes?

 

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Spartan Egg Burji

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 8 eggs
  • 1 tsp – cumin seeds
  • 2C yellow onions – diced small
  • 4 green chillies (medium size) roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp koshur salt ( or to taste)
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ¼ C butter
  • 1 Tbs oil
  • Chopped cilantro to garnish

Instructions

  1. Place the eggs in pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil on high heat.
  2. Once the water starts boiling, reduce heat to medium and let the eggs boil for about 1 and a half minutes.
  3. When the timer runs out, switch off heat, remove the pan of eggs from heat and cover and set a timer for 15 minutes.
  4. In the mean time, dice the onions and chop the green chilies.
  5. Heat oil is a skillet, and add the cumin.
  6. Wait for it to crackle, then add in the onions.
  7. Saute the onions on medium heat until they are transparent ( about 5- 6 minutes)
  8. Add in the turmeric, stir to mix. Now add in the green chilies, the red chili, cumin and coriander powders.
  9. Season with salt, stir and mix well.
  10. Now add in the butter and cook on low heat until the onions are well cooked and the oil separates from the mix.
  11. While you are letting the onions cook, The eggs would be cooked and cooled slightly by the fifteen minute mark
  12. Peel the eggs from their shells and grate the boiled eggs using a box grater.
  13. Keep this grated pile of eggs ready.
  14. Now back to the onions, they should be just about ready too by now. The oil in the masala would be floating on top. Add the garam masala. Stir to mix.
  15. Add in the eggs, stir to mix well.
  16. Serve Hot with bread, roti , or on a toast or make a sandwich.
http://www.spiceroots.com/2012/11/spartan-egg-bhurji/
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Avocado with Poached Eggs

 Breakfast, From Around the world  11 Responses »
Jun 292012
 
avocadoegg

The Plot :  38 Power Foods Blog group

Summary : 38 Power Foods blog group will focus on one ingredient each week taking inspiration from the book ; Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients from the editors of the whole living magazine. Each week we all will come up with recipes, stories, articles to encourage eating nourishing food.

Co conspirators : ( it will be nourishing for your foodie health to visit these blogs and see what they have come up with)

Jill at Saucy Cooks;

Jeanette at jeanetteshealthyliving ;

Martha at Simply Nourished Living ;

Mireya at Myhealthyeatinghabits ;

Alyce at More time at the table ;

Sarah at everything in the kitchen sink;

Casey at BookCase foodie

Episode #3 – Avocados .

Avocado, the word , is derived from the Aztec word “ahuacatl”. Avocados are the fruit from Persea americana, a tall evergreen tree that can grow up to 65 feet in height. Avocados vary in weight from 8 ounces to 3 pounds depending upon the variety.(Source: WhFoods)

Before I began writing this post, I was aware of the health benefits of avocados in general but researching this further yielded a number of amazing facts. For one, even though it is high in fat, it is heart healthy. Avocado has significant amounts of vitamin B6, Folic acid, dietary fiber and falls very low on the glycemic index. Avocados are believed to have anti cancer properties because of the presence of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant nutrients. They are a good source of vitamin K, C, B5, Potassium, alpha-linolenic acid and oleic acid.

A friend recently introduced me to “Avocados from Mexico” and I found a treasure of avocado recipes. While my earlier explorations with avocados were mainly limited to salads, smoothies and the good ol gaucamole, their website had some interesting breakfast recipes. Talk about starting the day on a right note. I found the recipe of a steamed Avocado with poached egg and I wanted to try it immediately. I did end up steaming my avocado, but I did not like the taste so I simply cooked the eggs separately and then placed them in avocado boats.

Creamy delicious avocados with soft poached eggs, a little kick from cayenne and tang from lemon. D*E*L*I*C*I*O*U*S!

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Steamed Avocado with Poached Eggs

Serves: 2

Steamed Avocado with Poached Eggs

Recipe Inspiration : Avocado from Mexico

Ingredients

  • 1 avocado
  • 2 eggs
  • a pinch of cayenne
  • salt to taste
  • Cilantro chutney to serve
  • Some lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Poach the eggs your usual way
  2. While they are poaching, Cut the avocado in half and remove the seed.
  3. Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each half to enable the half to sit on plate.
  4. Scoop out some of the avocado flesh to create space for the eggs.
  5. sprinkle with salt and lemon juice
  6. When the eggs are poached, simply place them in the center of each half. Sprinkle cayenne on top and some salt and serve with chutney.
  7. Breakfast never looked so creamy dreamy good!
http://www.spiceroots.com/2012/06/steamed-avocado-poached-eggs/
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Nimbu Paratha and Parathewali Gali

 Breakfast, Original Creations, Street Foods, Vegetarian  15 Responses »
May 292012
 
nimbuparatha

Nestled in the buzz called Chandni Chowk, right next to Dariba, the shopping haven for traditional jewellry and saris, is the Parathewali Gali. The epicurean grandness of the very rich Paratha manifests at the Parathewali Gali in Old Delhi. Yes, there is an exclsuive street named after a dish, which is dotted with shops making and selling parathas. Some of the shops in this street are more than a century old.

So what is a Paratha you may ask. The answer is not simple . It can be a multilayered, griddle fried bread. It can be a pan fried bread stuffed with various ingredients, it can also be a stuffed bread shallow fried in oil/ghee or like in parathewali gali’s case -Deep fried in ghee!

The menu at one of the shops in Parathewali gali:   and the Paratha wala

On my last visit to India, I went shopping with my friend Dee . We stopped here for lunch. We spent hours looking at hand crafted silver jewelry in Dariba and trying on a few pieces, like this beautiful choker style silver necklace:

And finally bought a few intricately detailed miniature Tablas and sighed over the miniature dholki.

 

After a fun shopping experience it was time to enjoy some old Delhi food.   Parathewali gali was a natural choice. Not only is it a culinary destination because of its history, it was highly reommended by Dee herself. That was not something I would take lightly. Dee’s Mom makes the ultimate parathas. Crunch on the outside, flaky and compltely stuffed on the inside. And her mango pickles? Oh I can write a book on those, If only I had the words.
During our online conversations before I went to visit, Dee had told me about a new paratha that was on the menu at the gali. The Nimbu paratha.

Lemon in a paratha? Now that was something I just had to try. And try we did. The lemony tangy pucker your mouth while eating paratha was quite an experience. We both shared one of those, but couldn’t eat more than that. It was way too tangy. We both agreed that it would have been more delicious if it was not all that tart. Since we were in the parathewali gali and had many more options to choose from, we ordered another one of a different flavor to share and some lassi to beat the heat.

However, the kick of  eating  the Nimbu paratha was quite memorable.  And when one of my Facebook Foodie groups decided to have a Recipe challenge on Parathas, I just knew that I had to try and make it. This time around Ms know it all Google had no help for me. The search results came up with no recipe for a nimbu paratha. Hmm.. So I was on my own afterall.

If you do try this recipe, do let me know if you liked it or if you made any changes. And If you point the hat tip towards me, I would appreciate it.

 

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Nimbu Paratha (Lemony Flaky pan fried bread)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 2 Parathas

Serving Size: 1

Nimbu Paratha (Lemony Flaky pan fried bread)

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs shredded ginger
  • 2 green chilies
  • 1 tbs cumin
  • 1 tbs coriander seeds
  • 1/4 C washed and drained cilantro
  • 1/4 tsp citric acid crystals (nimbu ka phool ) (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp anardana powder (pomegranate seed powder)
  • 3 tsp lemon juice
  • Ghee to fry
  • Paratha dough for 2 parathas

Instructions

  1. Dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds and pulse in your spice grinder for a coarse powder
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse it to a coarse paste like texture
  3. Take a griddle/ pan and set it to heat up at medium
  4. Now take a golf ball sized dough and roll it out slightly, ensuring to keep the edges very thin
  5. spoon out half the masala mixture and put it in the center of the dough circle
  6. lift up the edges and bring them together and pinch to seal
  7. with the palm of your hand, flatten this stuffed ball of dough and roll out.
  8. Put some ghee on the griddle and then place the rolled out paratha on top to cook.
  9. Repeat the same process with the other side.
  10. Best eaten with plain yogurt or lassi

Notes

The cooking style of this paratha is slightly different. I have tried to stay close to the parathewali gali style cooking, but couldn't bring myself to deep fry these.

http://www.spiceroots.com/2012/05/nimbu-paratha-and-parathewali-gali/
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Masala Frittata

 Breakfast  13 Responses »
Apr 192012
 
Masala Frittata

 

The  Indian masala omelete meets the soft fluffy goodness of the Frittata and a spice lovers Masala frittata comes to life. If you have always wanted to get started on Indian cooking, I would recommend this dish to start with. The spices used are few and mostly available in a regular grocery store if you don’t already have them.

Frittata is cooked on a gentle heat; all the ingredients are mixed in and the eggs are beaten to incorporate more air. So not quite your everyday omelet but not much different either. And since a typical Frittata uses quite a number of eggs and is usually made for a group, the dish is cut like a pie and served in wedges, slices, individual portions.

What to do with leftovers? They keep well. Can be warmed up or eaten cold chopped up in a salad. And they make for a great leftover Egg curry in a gravy of tomatoes, onions and garam masala.

 

 

Ingredients 

  • 6 eggs
  • ½ tsp cayenne powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon ghee ( or butter or oil)
  • 1/2 c finely diced onion
  • ¼ c chopped cilantro
  • 1-2 thai green chillies (optional – for more heat)

 

Directions

  • 1. Put the ghee in an oven safe saute pan, on a low heat setting.
  • 2. Set your oven on low broil and let it heat
  • 3. Mix all the other ingredients into the eggs and beat everything together until well blended.
  • 4. Pour this mixture into the pan and allow this mixture to cook for a minute or so and then stir  once with a silicon spatula.
  • 5. Let this cook undisturbed for about 6- 7 minutes or until the the mixture begins to look set up on top
  • 6. Place pan in the oven and broil for another 4-5 minutes until browned and fluffed up.
  • 7. Cut into individual serving and enjoy with some freshly made bread and fresh squeezed juice.
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