Multigrain Bread and Pickled Mushrooms

I have always wanted to bake bread. Each time I went to a super store, I would see range of different kinds of breads and most of them were made by home chefs, and I would think, someday I will bake it too.

 Many times I had even bought yeast, waiting for my moods, the yeast aged and I had to throw it away. Then this lockdown happened, I was not able to go to the store to select the loaf of bread that took my fancy, that’s when I decided that I would bake it.

 

The first one I tried was with just plain flour. I watched about twenty different videos on U tube, to understand the techniques. Baked the first one, it took me about five hours, it did come out good but plain flour bread is not my liking.

 

Then I decided to make multigrain bread and voila! It was just the type I wanted.

 

 

So, before I forget the recipe, I decided to write it down.

 

Just soaked 1 tbsp dry yeast with salt and sugar in warm water for 10 minutes for it to ferment

 

Meanwhile take 1 cup plain flour, plus 1/4 cup Wheat flour plus 1/4 cup Rajgira flour

 

Add 1 tsp of Fennel seeds, 1tsp Poppy seeds, 1tsp Cumin seeds,  1tsp Sesame seeds and a pinch of Baking powder

 

Mix it well and add the fermented yeast

 

Mix it well, it should be wet and sticky, transfer to the greased silicon baking dish...smoothen it with wet hands

 

Cover the dough with mixture of crushed almonds walnuts n pistachio.

 

Keep it for one hour..

 

It will rise to double its size

 

Bake it for 30 minutes, cool and cut into slices..store it in the freezer..

 

Although the bread tasted very good but I decided to make Mushroom pickle too so that I could toast this slice of bread and have it with mushroom pickle.

 

This is how I pickled it

 

Clean and blanch the mushroom and chop into thin slices.

Add crushed garlic, chilies, finely chopped dry fruits like walnuts almonds pistachio, veg cube, lime juice. Pour olive oil and keep it bottled for 2 days.

 

Mushroom pickle can be stored in fridge for 15days and I use it for topping pizzas, or add in fry rice or even with pastas. One spoon should be enough for one serving…

 

Better to pickle it rather than to let it go bad with neglect.

Root Vegetables and Yam Kofta Curry

I love root vegetables. Plenty of vegetables fall under this group, like sweet potato, carrots, beets, to name the few. They are very nutritious and so very tasty.

Carrots are the part of my daily diet. The minute my maid step into my house she rushes to make fresh vegetables juice with carrots, bottle gourd, apples and cucumber. I love carrots raw too, just chomp them while chopping veggies. Sometimes I pickle them, and eat it with roti. It is handy on my lazy-to-cook-days.

Colocasia is another root vegetable that I love for its nutty taste. Boiled and soaked in tamarind sauce tastes great but I like to deep fry the boiled colocasia and then garnish it with dry spices, it pairs well with dhal and rice.

Ginger is another root vegetable that I relish it and use it regularly to spice up my curries. I pickle thin slices of ginger with lime juice and green chilies and this becomes important accessory to pair with bland meals.

Potato is another favorite that is grown underground, although technically they are tubers, not roots. Sweet potato is the root but I am not too fond of it.

Since many foods are grown underground in manure, dirt, compost, I prefer to peel them, and throw away the skin. But if you like the skin, then it would be better to invest in a proper scrubbing brush to clean the dirt off the veggies.

Another root vegetable that I particularly like is Jimikand or Yam. Suran is what we call in Hindi. I normally cook this on meatless day and follow meat recipes to cook it.

This week I cooked Yam kofta curry and took it to my sister’s house to enjoy it with her family. I was happy when they side stepped the mutton dish and preferred my spicy vegetarian fare instead. 

I had used Shaan masala (instead of garam masala) in this recipe and it turned out good. Roasted this powder and then used it.

I tend to forget my own recipes so this is actually a note to self, in case I decide to make it once more.

Yam Kofta Curry

Ingredients:

For Koftas:

200gms Yam

2medium size potatoes

1cup gram dhal

5-6 garlic pods

1 inch ginger

½ onion

2 green chilies

1 tsp garam masala

½ lime

2tbsp crushed almonds

2tbsp crushed cashew nuts

salt to taste

For the gravy:

2 medium size onions

2 medium size tomatoes

1pkt Nihari Masala

1tsp crushed garlic

1tsp grated ginger

5-6 green chilies

1tsp Kashmiri red chili powder

For garnishing

2tbsp lime juice

2tbsp chopped coriander leaves.

Method

Soak Gram dhal for 2-3 hours. Make a paste with gram dhal, onion, garlic, ginger, green chilies.

Boil, peel and mash the yam and potatoes.

Add gram paste, salt, coriander powder, gram masala, coriander leaves and lime juice to the mashed yam and potatoes. Add chopped almonds and cashew nuts. Make golf size balls

In another pan, heat oil and add finely chopped onions, cook till light brown. Add one cup water and cook onions are tender. Place the kofta balls on top of onions, cover the pan and cook for ten minutes.

Remove the ball after they are steamed and keep it aside.

To the remaining onions, add grated ginger, crushed garlic, green chilies, Kashmiri chilies and tomatoes.

In another pan, roast Shaan Nihari Masala and add one cup water. Cook and then add it to the gravy.

Cook the gravy on slow fire till oil floats on the top.

Before serving, heat the gravy, add the steamed balls, cover and cook for five minutes. Transfer carefully in the serving dish and garnish with lime juice and coriander leaves.

Serve with onion-cucumber salad and freshly baked Parathas.

Eggplant is Actually a Purely Vegetarian Brinjal

Yeah..there is no egg in an eggplant........hehehe

When I was writing recipes for my cook book I was always confused what name should I give, In Sindhi we call it Vaagan, in Hindi we call it beyngan,  but to translate it into English was quite challenging, should I write brinjal, eggplant or aubergine?  Or maybe garden egg?  Or madapple?  This fleshy edible fruit/vegetable is known by different names and as many names that it has, that much more versatile it is and it has found its identity in every country around the world.

During my growing up years I have seen mom cook brinjals in variety of ways. Mom was very creative in her cooking. Even if she cooked the same vegetable every day, it was always cooked differently, so if we had deep fried brinjals with dry masalas sprinkle over it one day then it baigan ka barta the next day, sometimes it was used in the mixed bhajji or in Sindhi curry and sometimes cooked with raddish and tomatoes.

I especially liked the brinjal dip that we have with salads. She would use hung curd for this purpose, roast the brinjal over fire, peel and mash it with hung curd, add chilies, garlic, coriander leaves, salt and mix it in the blender.

This is one vegetable that I never made a fuss because I liked its sweetest pulpy taste.

It was when I had gone through a different cooks book that I was surprised to see it being relished all over the world.

I especially like the way Chinese use it in the most innovative way. The brinjals are peeled, sliced and deep fried and then stir fried with other vegetables to produce a beautiful vegetarian dish. The pulp retains its firmness because it is deep fried and Chinese sauces are easily absorbed by this vegetable.

This vegetable is very nutritious and it has healing powers. 

The peel or skin (deep blue/purple varieties) of aubergine has significant amounts of phenolic flavonoid phyto-chemicals called anthocyanins. Scientific studies have shown that these anti-oxidants have potential health effects against cancer, aging, inflammation, and neurological diseases.(source)

However, it is not recommended for pregnant women......

I am always confused when I see several variety of eggplant in the market. There is green long one, then a purple round one, there is one with light purple stripes, then tiny round ones. Oh! There are so many different types that you need to have a recipe in your head before buying them, Its funny how our brain works, as you eyes scan the vegetables, the recipes flips in our mind with each vegetable, helping us decide what we would like to buy and what recipe you are going to use. 

Strange..isn't it?

But while buying I always make sure that they are shiny, plump, firm, unwrinkled and heavy for its size. They should not have any scars or bruises. If I press a bit, it sinks in but it should spring back quickly to its shape.  Its better to cut it with stainless steel knife because carbon steel causes it to turn black.

I normally cut it and salt it for some time, wash and pat dry before cooking.

This week I made brinjal pickle. This is a very easy recipe and very tasty, It can keep for a week in the fridge and can be enjoyed with all meals. I have with khichri, puri, bakri roti or even just for time-pass.

Step one

I picked up one kilo of small round dark purple brinjals from market. Slit them lengthwise and boiled them in salty water till they were soft.  Discarded the water. (don't want that bitter, salty water with floating nutrients)

Step two

Grind 50 grams of garlic, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp crushed mustard seeds, 1 tsp red chilie powder, 1 tsp salt, 50 grams dried red chilies into a smooth paste

Step three

In a sterilized jar, transfer the boiled brinjals, add the paste, add four glasses of water and 1 tbsp of oil. (you are drooling, right? I am too)

Step four

Cover it air-tight and keep it for two days, stirring occasionally, whenever you pass by the jar. Its like saying “hello, you okay?”  As you shake its tummy..er..I mean jar….

After two-three days you will see the color of the pickle change and oil begins to float. Take a spoonful to taste.

If it is spicy, sour and tasty, it’s ready to eat. To boost your ego, share it with friends………