Easy Garlic Focacci

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/4 tsp crushed powder
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
• 1/4 tsp honey
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. In a cold skillet combine olive oil, garlic and crushed pepper.
2. Place the pan over  a low heat and cook for 5 to 10 minutes before the garlic turns brown.
3. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl combine warm water, yeast and honey. Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes.
5. Add 1 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of the oil mixture into it. 
6. Stir until the flour has moistened. Leave it to sit for another 5 minutes.
7. Stir in the remaining flour and salt into it.
8. When the dough comes together, move into a floured surface and knead until smooth.
9. Transfer the dough into large oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise for 2 hours.
10. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 200°C.
11. Use a little remaining oil to pour on the baking sheet.
12. Then the dough to the baking sheet , press it down into the pan. Use your fingers to dimple the dough. Then drizzle the top with the remaining garlic oil mixture.
13. Let the dough rise for 20 minutes until it puffs slightly.
14. Bake until golden brown for 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. 
15. Cool baked focaccia bread on a wire rack.

Enjoy Baking

S

• Recipe Source:  https://www.inspiredtaste.net/
  
  

Arippathiri

(Ground Rice Chapati)

• 500 grams boiled rice
• 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
• 1/2 litre water
• 2 tbsp ghee

Method:

Pick and clean the rice.

Boil the water.

When the water boils, add the rice and remove from the fire.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid; keep aside.

After half an hour open and stir the mixture.

Set aside for 3-4 hours.

Drain off the water, wash with cold water and drain.

Add salt to taste and grind it to a smooth thick paste, adding very little water.

{Or  -- Grind to a loose paste and add 3- 4 tbsp Ami's  rice powder to  a make thick paste.}

Oil your hand well.

Take  some rice paste and shape it into a ball as big as an orange and flatten it to a chapati shape of 1/4 inch thickness onto a foil  or banana leaf.

Heat a tava, put the chapati on it and remove the cloth or leaf.

After two minutes turn it over and let it cook for 2 minutes again.

Repeat this 2-3 times more, then slightly press it with a piece of crumpled paper so that it puffs up.

Turn it over and press the other side in the same way.

Remove from the tava.

Make similar pathiris with the rest of the dough.

Melt  the ghee and add the coconut milk.

Dip each pathiri in the coconut milk and serve hot with mutton or chicken curry.

Idli with Red chutney

Idli and chutney is one of my favourite breakfast.

• 1 1/2 cup idli rice
• 1/2 cup urad dal
• 1/4 cup  boiled rice (ponni)
• salt to taste

Wash and soak Idli rice, Urad Dal and boiled rice  together in water at least for  5 hours.

Grind  them with enough water and salt to a paste.

The batter consistency should be thick (Do not make the batter to thin).

Transfer the batter to a big container(so that the batter does not overflow while it ferment).

Leave the paste to ferment overnight.

Pour the batter into the oil greased molds of an idli tray for steaming.

Check the idli  with a toothpick. If it comes out clean they are done.

Chutney:

• 1 cup grated coconut
• 3 dry red chilly
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 string of curry leaves
• salt to taste

Grind coconut with dry red chilly, tamarind paste , salt and 1/2 cup of warm water in a blender.
Heat oil in a pan.
Add mustard seeds, once it starts to crack add curry leaves.
Pour grounded coconut paste into it and slow the flame (don't let it to boil).

French Toast

• 6 slices of bread
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp milk
• Beat the eggs, milk with sugar.
• Ghee as required
• Heat ghee or butter on a tawa.
• Dip each slice of bread in the egg mixture. Dredging on both sides.
• Place the slices on hot tawa. 
• Cook for few minutes until golden brown.

Serve hot .

In case you are storing in the fridge. Warm it in the toaster for few minutes.

Enjoy Cooking

S

Sanna

Thanx to Mitchelle of food , football and baby blog  sanna for the first  time turned out perfect. Mitchelle has got a lovely website , please do check it out when time permits.

• 1 1/2  idli rice
• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1/4 cup beaten rice
• 1/4 cup +1 tbsp urad dal
• 2 tbsp sugar
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp yeast dissolved in 1 tbsp of warm water
• water for grinding

Soak idli rice, basmati rice, beaten rice and urad dal for 4 hours in water.

Wash the above with water and grind in grinder adding salt , sugar and water.

Pour the batter in a bowl and stir in the dissolved yeast.

Leave the batter overnight to ferment and rise.

To steam I used a idli vessel. 

Grease them well with the oil. This is important since the sannas will stick.

Pour batter into them and steam for 10 minutes.

Take them out and leave it cool.

Once cooled run a knife around it to remove from the idli cups.

Sanna's go very well with chicken curry. 

You can also have it with chutney.

Appam

(Hoppers)

                                                                                                        Appam , each one of us has a different way or different measurement. One can serve with thick coconut milk and sugar or with mutton or chicken stew. 

• 1 glass of basmathi rice
• 2 tbsp of cooked boiled rice
• 4 tbsp  grated coconut or 2 tbsp of coconut powder
• 1 tsp of instant dry yeast
• salt to taste.

Soak basmathi rice in water for 4-5 hours.

Wash and add coconut ( I prefer to use coconut powder since it blends easily with the rice) and cooked rice.

Grind it with yeast, salt and enough water to a very smooth paste.

Cover and keep aside till it rises (6-12hours).

Once the batter is fermented one can see that the batter is double the quantity and has a smell.

Stir the batter well.

Place the appachatti if you don't have place a non-stick small pan on a high flame.

Pour about 1/4 cup of batter, tilt the pan around to coat the side the appachatti with a thin layer of the batter.

Cover the lid , when cooked romove to a plate.

 Serve with coconut milk or curry.

Note:

1.  These appam (hoppers)  can be be made without yeast by adding soda bicarbonate and sugar the previous night.
2. Instead of cooked boiled rice, you can add 1 tbsp of boiled rice with the basamthi rice and grind to a smooth paste.

Rava Puttu

365 days .... for morning breakfast... this is something you will find it at my grandma's house. I enjoy having with sugar and fried kerala banana.  I bet that's a deadly combination....!!!

• 1/2 coconut
• 200 grams fine rava(Semolina)
• salt to taste.

• Roast rava lightly, without turning it into brownish.
• Remove and cool.
• Grate the coconut.
• sprinkle salted water and mix till it looks like bread crumbs.

Heat water in the 'Puttu Vessel'.(The 'puttu'- or steamed rava cake : vessel is fitted with the 'Kutti' { a cylindrical contraption} at its mouth. The half filled water in the main vessel is boiled and the steam escapes through the 'Kutti', threaby cooking the puttu)

• Sprinkle little grated coconut in the 'Puttu Kutti' and put two handfuls of the preapread rava.
• Again sprinkle coconut and rava in two layers.
• Keep it in the vessel and cover with the lid.
• Cook till steam comes out.
• Remove the 'Kutti' from the vessel till steam comes out.
• Remove the 'kutti' from the vessel and push out the contents to a plate.

Serve hot with sugar and plantain or stew.