Category: Food

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May 18, 2017 Recipes

Recipes with Coconuts

desiccated coconut recipes

In my earlier post, I covered coconuts,

here are a few recipes with coconuts-

Hyderabadi Chicken curry

Hyderabadi Chicken curry

Ingredients–

3 chicken legs cut in half,

5 tbsp. oil,

2 medium onions crushed,

½ tsp caraway seeds,

3 green cardamoms,

3 cloves,

1-inch cinnamon stick,

1 tsp each ginger and garlic paste,

4 green chilies chopped fine,

1 tsp each salt and chili powder,

300 ml coconut milk,

100 ml thick yogurt mixed with 2 tbsp. cashew powder

Method–

Heat the oil in a pan and fry caraway seeds, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. Add the onion puree and ginger garlic paste and let it turn brown a bit. Next, add the salt, chili powder, and chopped chilies, and continue frying whilst stirring continuously.

Add a little water if browning too quickly, adds the chicken and cook for 5 minutes until it turns pale. Add the coconut milk, yogurt, cashew powder, and 1 cup water and let it come to a boil. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked.

Coconut and cherry muffins

Coconut and cherry muffins recipe

ingredients

150 gms self-rising flour,

60 gms butter chopped,

½ cup (35 gms) grated coconut,

½ cup (100 gms) Glace red cherries halved,

75 gms powdered sugar,

140 ml coconut milk,

1 egg lightly beaten,

2 tsp. cherry syrup or flavoring.

Method-

Sift the flour in a large bowl; rub in the butter with your fingertips till it resembles breadcrumbs. Sift in the sugar and stir with a spatula. Mix in the remaining ingredients and combine. Spoon the batter into six muffin molds and bake at 200c gas mark 6 for 25 -30 minutes.

Coconut and berry cake bars

Ingredients

Biscuit base and jam layer

100 gms butter chilled, plus extra for greasing,

175 gms plain flour, plus extra for dusting,

2 tbsp, desiccated coconut,

½ tsp salt;

2 tbsp powdered brown sugar,

1 egg yolk (reserve the white for the cake),

½ tsp vanilla essence,

3 tbsp. raspberry jam

Cake

175 gms butter,

150 gms yogurt,

3 eggs +the reserved egg white,

150 gms plain flour,

¼ tsp salt,

2 tsp baking powder,

175 gms powdered brown sugar,

100 gms desiccated coconut,

175 gms mixed raspberries and blueberries.

Method-

Lightly grease and dust a 23-cm square cake tin and line it with baking powder (grease and dust the baking paper also). For the biscuit base put the flour, butter, and salt into a food processor and pulse to fine crumbs, then pulse in the desiccated coconuts and sugar. Then in a separate bowl beat the egg yolk along with the vanilla essence and about a tablespoon of chilled water, add it to the crumb mixture with the beaters running, to make a soft dough. Remove and roughly press into the prepared cake tin with your hands.

Press down with the back of a spoon to push the batter into the corners and flatten evenly. Prick with a fork, and then chill for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200c, gas mark 6. Bake the biscuit base for 15 minutes or until pale golden. Cool for a few minutes and then spread the jam over the biscuit base. Lower the oven temperature to 180c, gas mark 4.

For the cake, melt the butter in a pan, then take off the heat and using a fork beat the yogurt, then the eggs and the reserved egg white. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and stir in the desiccated coconut and the sugar.

Pour the egg and yogurt batter into the flour mixture and mix well with a spatula. Pour over the jam base, level the top, and scatter with the berries. Bake for 45-55 minutes until golden and risen all over and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the tin and then cut into bars and serve.

Bon Appetit!
desiccated coconut recipes
desiccated coconut
Coconut Lime Cupcakes
You may like to read Coconut Lime cupcakes
May 16, 2017 Food

Cooking with coconuts

Coconuts on a tree

Coconuts are known for their great versatility, not only in the culinary world but also for their varied uses in cosmetics. While coconut is considered a mainstay in the diet of nearly one-third of the planet, it is an exotic ingredient in the western world! They are classified as a fruit but frequently confused for being a nut, and are a one-seeded drupe (same family as peaches, plums and cherries).

Fresh coconut
Fresh coconut, ideal for cooking

The fruit is made up of three layers: the outside layer is known as the exocarp, and the fibrous husk or mesocarp is the inside of it. The thin woody layer surrounding the actual coconut is the endocarp.

The term coconut is derived from the 16th century Portuguese and Spanish word coco meaning head or skull, from the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features. The name supposedly came from Portuguese explorers, the sailors of Vasco da Gama in India, who first brought them in Europe.

It has generally been accepted that the coconut originated in the Indian-Indonesian region and distributed itself around the world by riding ocean currents. Most of the world production of coconuts is in tropical Asia, with Indonesia leading followed closely by Philippines and India. Together, the three countries account for 73% of the world’s production.

Canned coconut milk
Canned coconut milk can be solid on opening the can. Heating will make it liquid again.

Coconut milk is a common ingredient in many tropical cuisines. Coconut is also a very frequently used ingredient in South Indian cuisine. The most common way is the addition of freshly grated coconut to vegetable and spices at the end of the cooking. Also, the coconut chutney which accompanies most south Indian dishes like dosa and uttapams is a prime example of the extensive use and importance of coconut in the cuisine of the Southern states.

Coconuts are used extensively in Hindu religious ceremonies. Coconuts are usually offered to the Gods, and a coconut is smashed on the ground as part of a new beginning to a business or a construction or inauguration of new projects or also to launch a newly completed project. This act signifies a sacrifice of ego, the idea that wealth stems from divinity, and that, if due credit is not given, bad karma is taken on.

You may like to read Recipes with coconuts

April 18, 2017 Recipes

Bread Recipes

Bread recipes

Continuing from my earlier post on Bread, following are a few bread recipes worth trying out

Simple White Loaf

white bread yeast baked loaf
white bread yeast baked loaf

Ingredients

250 gms strong white flour, plus extra for dusting,

1 tsp yeast,

1 tsp fine salt,

1 tsp castor sugar,

2 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for greasing.

Method:

Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the oil and 130 ml of hot water. Mix together with a wooden spoon until combined, then bring together with your hands. Knead by hand on the work surface for 8-10 minutes, only dusting with a little flour if it’s sticky.

Once the dough is smooth and shiny, rotate it in your hands, whilst tucking under to make a smooth dome shape on the top.

Place the seam side down on a floured baking tray; gently pat down the top to flatten slightly. Gently cover with a lightly greased cling film and leave to rise for about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200c, gas mark 6. Uncover the dough and using a sharp serrated knife make three 0.5cm deep slits across the top. Cover again and leave for 15 minutes.

Uncover and dust the top with a little flour and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before slicing and serving with butter.

Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia

Ingredients

300 gms flour,

1 tbsp. sea salt,

finely ground plus extra (flaky) to sprinkle 2 tsp. yeast,

1 garlic bulb,

15 ml extra virgin olive oil,

Plus, extra for kneading and greasing.

BIGA

BIGA is a type of pre-fermentation used in Italian baking. Many popular Italian types of bread, including Ciabatta, are made using Biga. Using Biga adds complexity to the bread’s flavor and is often used in bread that needs a light, open texture with holes. To make

Biga you need:

200 gms flour,

Pinch of yeast,

Rosemary oil,

20 gms rosemary leaves picked,

100 ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

Prepare the Biga the previous night. In a deep bowl, mix the flour and yeast with 150 ml of warm water. Scrape down the sides, cover and leave at room temperature for at least 8 hours, or ideally for 12- 16 hours. Mix the rosemary and olive oil, cover and set aside. The next day, using your fingers, gradually incorporate the flour, salt, and yeast into the Biga with 225 ml warm water and all the oil, (reserving about 2 tablespoons of the rosemary oil and leaves) until you have a smooth and sticky dough. Transfer to a well-oiled working surface and knead vigorously for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 minutes; repeat this twice, using more oil as needed. Put the dough in a large oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove at room temperature for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200 c, gas mark 6. Put the garlic bulb on a sheet of foil and drizzle with oil; wrap and seal tightly. Roast for 25-30 minutes until tender. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out the flesh and set aside, discard the skin.

Lightly grease a deep 20cm x 30cm baking tin or dish with oil. Scoop in the dough and stretch it out so it mostly fills the tin. Press the roasted garlic into the dough, then indent all over with oiled fingers. Cover with oiled cling film and prove for 45-55 minutes, until doubled in size.

Put a deep, metal baking dish on the bottom of the oven. When ready to bake, sprinkle the dough with flaky salt and set the tin on the middle shelf, fill the bottom dish with just boiled water. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden (if it is browning quickly, reduce the oven to 180c/ gas mark 4). Remove the bread from the tin and cool on wire rack; cover with a clean, damp tea towel and cool completely. Rub with the reserved 2 tablespoons of rosemary oil and leaves.

OR

You can prepare as Gordon Ramsay does – Olive, Rosemary, and Tomato Focaccia – Gordon Ramsay

BON APPETIT!

April 17, 2017 Food

Give us this day our daily bread!

Give this day our daily bread

There is nothing more enticing than the smell of freshly baked bread- and it is even more satisfying when you have baked it yourself. But most people are put off by the misconception that baking is challenging work. It is in fact, quite simple and extremely therapeutic. It is a terrific way to work through stress and aggression by mixing and kneading the dough!

Baking Bread

Baking their daily bread
Bakers baking bread

Bread is a staple food prepared from the dough of flour and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history, it has been of importance since the dawn of agriculture. Proportions of types of flour and other ingredients vary widely, as do modes of preparation. As a result, types, shapes, sizes, and textures of loaves of bread differ around the world.

Bread is served in various forms with any meal of the day. It is eaten for breakfast, as a snack and used as an ingredient in other culinary preparations such as sandwiches, and fried items coated in bread crumbs to prevent sticking.

Bread pudding
Bread pudding Food dessert

It is the main component of bread pudding, as well as of stuffing’s designed to fill cavities or retain juices that otherwise might drip out.

Bread is the staple food of the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe and in European-derived cultures such as those in the Americas, Australia, and Southern Africa, in contrast to East Asia where rice is the staple. Bread is usually made from wheat flour dough that is cultured with yeast, allowed to rise and finally baked in an oven. The addition of yeast in the bread explains the air pockets commonly found in bread. Owing to this high level of gluten, common wheat is the most common grain used.

Gluten free home made bread
Gluten free homemade bread

Gluten-free slices of bread have been created for people affected by gluten-related disorders. Gluten-free bread is made with ground flours from a variety of materials such as almonds, rice, sorghum, corn or legumes such as bacon, but since these flours lack gluten they may not hold their shapes as they rise.

History of wheat

Wheat has been cultivated by man since before recorded history. It is conjectured by anthropologists that hungry hunters first stockpiled the grain as a storable food source. When it got wet, it sprouted, and people found that if the grain was planted it yielded more seeds.

Grown in Mesopotamia and Egypt, wheat was likely first merely chewed. Later, it was discovered that it could be pulverized and made into a paste. Set over a fire, the paste hardened into flat bread that kept for several days. It did not take much of a leap to discover leavened (raised) bread when yeast was accidentally introduced to the paste.

In Egypt, around 1000 BC, inquisitive minds isolated yeast and could introduce the culture directly into their bread. Also, a new strain of wheat was developed that allowed for refined white bread. This was the first truly modern bread.

The Greeks picked up the method for making bread from Egyptians; from Greece, the practice spread over the rest of Europe. Bread and wheat were especially important in Rome where it was thought to be more vital than meat. Bread continued to be important through history as bread riots during the French Revolution attest.

Today, even with the competition of a growing variety of foods, bread remains important to our diet. It has a prominent place in supermarkets, at local markets, in our homes, in restaurants and burger chains and patisseries, which offer a wide selection of sandwiches and frankly without a bread bun we would not have had a burger.

You may like to read Bread Recipes

Give this day our daily bread