Capsicum edged chicken cutlets

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Preparation Time : 30 -40 minutes

Cooking Time : 35 minutes

Serving : 7-8 members

Description

Cooking good food is nothing less than an art and when you have to do this repeatedly nearly every single day , it is a bit of a challenge . The pain in watching kids pull a long face at the sight of the regular at the table is heart breaking . Hubby dear is no different , though he doesn’t say it . I know he secretly looks forward to the sneak outings with his friends to feast his heart out on mouth watering local fare . To them ( actually include me as well ) , a dish is worth digging in to only if it tantalises the taste buds . Knowing all this , cooking tasty food with innovative recipes is a must always . I try my best to spring in a surprise on my family daily at the table at least for one meal . Like wise this was one such recipe that I tried giving a twist to the regular cutlets that I make at home always . The idea was borrowed from one of the master chef India seasons , not sure which season . Having it in mind for a long time . Every time I see fresh , vibrant coloured peppers I buy them having this dish in mind but end up using them for various other dishes . This time made it but again going out of stock of the green one which I thought I had but had already used for some thing else . Not again, this is not going to stop me from making this dish . Served it and the beaming smiles on the faces of my family said it all . In fact they couldn’t believe it was home cooked food . perfect your next party with this show stopper that sure will lead you to high praise . My favourite was the red pepper ones as the caramelised red peppers added a sweet element to the cutlets . I experiment with many dishes and continue to delight my family everyday spoiling them for sure that leads to more pressure demanding me to come up with more innovative tasty food .

Ingredients for outer cover

Red , green and yellow capsicums – 2 each cut into 1/2 inch thick circles . Remove the inner white cores and seeds if any .

Ingredients for the filling

Ingredients
Quantity
potato 1/2 kg ( boiled , peeled and mashed )
chicken200 gm (boneless )
Turmeric powder 1/4 tea spoon
onion 3 chopped
garam masala powder1/4 tea spoon
green chillies4 crushed
ginger garlic paste1/2 tea spoon
chilli flakes1 tea spoon
coriander leaves2 table spoon chopped
mint leaves1 table spoon chopped
saltto taste
lime juice 1/2 lime

Ingredients to coat

Ingredients
Quantity
egg1 beaten
salt pepper to taste
bread crumbs2 Cups

Ingredients to shallow fry

oil – to shallow fry .

Method 

  1. Boil chicken with turmeric powder , ginger garlic paste and salt to taste . Cook till dry n shred the chicken .
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a non stick kadai . Add onions and green chillies and fry to translucent . Add all the other ingredients one by one except for egg , bread crumbs , lime and oil to shallow fry . Sauté till all the flavours infuse together .
  3. Remove from flame add lime juice . Mix well taste and adjust and cool . Make equal round balls of the potato mixture , dip in beaten egg . Then roll over in the bread crumbs .
  4. Place each ball in between each capsicum found on and flatten with your palms to get a patty edged with the capsicum circle . dust with more bread crumbs .
  5. Do the same with all the filling mix and capsicum rings . Heat oil and shallow fry the cutlets carefully on both sides for one minutes on each side to golden brown in colour .
  6. Drain and serve hot with tomato ketchup , mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce .

Notes

  1. The same can be done with fish , mutton , beef and prawns .
  2. Vegetarians can avoid the chicken and substitute with panner or soya chunks .
  3. Be careful while shallow frying the cutlets as the capsicum rings tend to come out leaving the filling separate .

Gol gappa shots

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Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 5 minutes to deep fry the pain poorie’s . If using ready made pain poorie’s cooking time is nil .

Serving : 8-10 members

Description

Entertaining people through food with uniquely pleasurable dining experience  is my hobby . Though it sounds like a hope less hobby , I enjoy feeding people and to touch their hearts through my food . Now this hobby of mine has become an obstacle for me as every time I have to entertain through food the expectation is high . It’s like I have added more pressure on myself through my hobby guaranteeing to impress .  So I make sure to add new short cut , rare and unique menus and ideas to any grand feast at home . Like wise having to entertain my hubbies  newly wedded niece , I came up with this gol gappa shots idea to add a dash of glamour to the meal . I vaguely remember seeing this done in one of master chef India series long before. Having dried ready made pain poorie’s in hand that’s available in the local market here at my place .( such a genius product , just deep fry these and they pop  up to pani poorie’s , drain and store them in air tight containers until to be used ) i knew I had to execute this with a drink in a short glass and the pani puri to be filled with some thing . Just the day before I had tried out a salad dressing from celebrity chef vikki ratnanis cook book which tasted like a chat accomplishment  so thought of filling the pani poorie’s with that salad and serve a juice with it . Having fresh oranges in hand added some chat masala powder and black salt to go well with the salad stuffed pani poorie’s that had an Intense burst of salty , citrusy flavours. Served it to the guests at home as a starter and they were all head over heels with this new version of eye popping pani poori with a twist . I happened to meet my hubbies niece a few day before and she told me how her newly wedded hubby raved about the feast at our home to her in – laws which they listened with interest at first ( earning me loads of brownie points :-))  and when the same was repeated over and over again they did get irritated . I did share this recipe with my friend rabia Marliya who had a Diwali thyme cooking competition at her office in Trivandrum . She made ten dishes with which four recipes were from sauté , fry n bake . The most liked dish by the judges was this gol gappa shots . This mighty easy to make old fashioned classic dish has travelled places and gots it’s say every where in a stylish way .

Ingredients

Deep Fried crisp whole pain poorie’s – 8 to 10

Ingredients for the salad

Ingredients
Quantity
Red cabbage 1/4 cup shredded
Raw mango4 tablespoons peeled and grated
Carrots4 tablespoons peeled and grated
Cucumber 4 tablespoons grated with skin
Beetroot4 tablespoons peeled and grated

Ingredients for salad dressing

Ingredients
Quantity
Chat masala1 teaspoon
Tabasco sauce1/2 teaspoon
Amchoor powder ( dry raw mango powder ) 1/2 teaspoon
Olive oil 1 tablespoon
Vinegar1 tablespoon
Honey 1 tablespoon
Salt + pepperto taste

 

Method for salad

  1. Mix all the ingredients together for the salad dressing .
  2. Taste and adjust the dressing . Mix in all the veggies for the salad into the dressing .
  3. Toss well and place in the refrigerator until needed to be served

 

Ingredients for the orange juice

Ingredients
Quantity
Orange juicefrom 4 oranges
Water to dilute the juice
Sugar to taste
Chat masala powder1/4 teaspoon
Cumin powder1/4 teaspoon
Black salt1/8 teaspoon
Salta pinch

Method for orange juice

  1. Mix all the ingredients together until the sugar dissolves . Taste and adjust . Chill in the refrigerator until needed to be served .

Assembling

  1. Take one fully puffed up pain poori . Break it in the middle on one side to get a hole in the centre .
  2. Fill the dent with chilled salad . Do the same to all the pain poorie’s and salad . Pour orange juice 3/4 level into the short glasses .
  3. Place salad filled gol gappas over each glass and serve immediately .

 

Notes

1, Fill the pain poorie’s with salad just before serving or else the poorie’s get soggy .

2 , make the orange juice half an hour before serving . If made in advance before it tends to get a bitter taste into the juice .

Sesame masala bread toast

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Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 5-8 minutes

Serving : 2 members

Description

Some times when you come across unique recipes with ingredients that you use in your  kitchen nearly every day and go ” why on earth didn’t I think of this genius way to use these daily ingredients before ” . Well this is one such recipe that really shamed me off . I came across this  idea through my fellow home chef mubeen sulthanas recipe . Gave it a try and it didn’t work out for me as I burnt the toast while shallow frying them and that was the end of this unique easy toast . But it was there in my mind always popping up every now and then alerting me that you still have this dish pending with out perfecting it . Last week had so much left overs in the refrigerator that I had to come up with a new versatile way to get it down every ones tummies at home as left overs are always considered as old food and no one is ready to eat it when on the table . The mighty sesame masala toast did spark up in mind and pressed for time i just went with my inner gut amusing the recipe . This time I made sure to bake the toast instead of shallow frying them not wanting to commit another flaw again and to come with a healthier version .served it with a bowl of hot soup for a filling dinner .  The sesame in the toast added a crunchy bite bursting with flavours  and was devoured in no time . Happy me with ticking another dish from my must try and the left overs treating all at home in a well deserved , healthy , eye appealing  new way .

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Bread slices3
Boiled Potatoes 50 grams
Carrots 15 grams ( 1 1/2 tablespoon) grated
Beans15 grams ( 1 1/2 tablespoons ) boiled and chopped
Boiled green peas 15 grams ( 1 1/2 tablespoons )
Onion1 chopped finely
Chat masala powder1 teaspoon
Cumin powder1/2 teaspoon
Coriander greens chopped few
Mint leaveschopped few
Black salt a pinch
Cornflour 1 tablespoon
Maida1 tablespoon
Sesame seeds1/2 cup
Oilto brush
Salt + pepper to taste

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius .Mix boiled potatoes , beans , green peas , grated carrots , chopped coriander green , mint leaves and onions together .
  2. Top with salt , pepper , cumin powder , chat powder and black salt . Mix well together .
  3. Taste and adjust seasoning . Mix cornflour , maida , salt to taste and little water to get a thick paste of coating consistency and set aside .
  4. Apply the potato mix over each bread slice . Spread the flour paste over and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the flour paste well .
  5. Press gently so that the sesame seeds stick to the bread slices . Do the same to all the bread slices .
  6. Place the bread slices over a foil lined baking tray . Brush oil over the top of each bread slices and bake for 5-8 minutes until crisp and light golden colour on top . ( check every 3 minutes once as each oven varies in cooking time . ) make sure not to burn the toasts .
  7. Remove and serve with any dip of your choice .

Notes

  1. can add any filling of choice ( non – veg also ) but a pasty filling not a dry one

Baked sweet potato wedges

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Preparation Time : 5 minutes + 15-20 minutes to marinate .

Cooking Time : 15-20 minutes

Serving : 3-5 members

Description

Sweet potato is one ingredient that I know to make just one dish out of it ,  oops no two actually . Well both being some what same  as I use the same ingredients just that one is in a round ball form and the other is in a porridge form . Both dominated with the flavours of coconut .having a lot of sweet potatoes at home and not wanting to repeat the same old recipes , I did come up with these baked sweet potato wedges version  . I made sure to add an Indian punch by adding our regular daily used cupboard friendly spices as well . Baked them and I had a platter full of sweet and spicy sweet potato wedges that were crisp on the out side and smooth on the inside . I served it as it is with out a dip and it was all vanished away in seconds . I have never been a fan of spicy and sweet combinations in a dish , but these sweet potato wedges did convert me . The magic simple vegetables can create is unbelievable . I know there are at least a million recipes for any wedges and I am happy to have added my version as well with an Indian twist to it .

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Olive Oil1 teaspoon for tossing
sweet potatoes, peeledsliced into 1/4-inch thick , long wedges
paprika/ red chilli powder3/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seed powder1/4 teaspoon
saltto taste
black pepper powder 1/4 teaspoon
garlic powder / crushed garlic 1 teaspoon
Sugar1/2 teaspoon

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius .
  2. Line a sheet baking tray with parchment paper / foil paper . In a large bowl toss sweet potato wedges with oil and other ingredients .
  3. Set aside for 15-20 minutes . Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd.
  4. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally for about 20 minutes. Let it cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Cheese crisps

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Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 3-4 minutes for each batch deep fried

Serving : 4-5 members

Description

Every holiday of my daughter here at my place with out my son- in – law ( wait a sec people , Uff comedy nights with kapil’s repeat telecast on air , it’s just not letting me go ahead here with you all . Have changed the channel and now I can peacefully be with you all ) is a real hard task for me to keep her entertained here . And every now and then end up in the kitchen with some wired experiments  together . This snack was also done on a similar day as such by both of us . My gal Anisha likes a local savoury snack called diamond cuts and was craving for it . So we wanted to make it at home . I took all the required ingredients out but my gal made a big fuss saying no way are you going to use flour ( maida ) substitute it with wheat flour . The health freak in her does bug me always  and I was so sure this dish is going to be a flop show with soggy wheat diamond cuts . Told her and she was like no way mom .  Fine request accepted , then she says why not make a twist of adding Italian flavours by adding cheese and dried herbs . I was like go ahead and do what you want to and silently helped her with her demands as I hate it when other people get bossy over me at my kitchen . She changed the diamond shape to strips and deep fried .drained  and it was soggy . I was all giggles , teasing her . But once cool and at room temperature it was crisp . She just took over and knocked me out teasing me in return . We made a mayonnaise dip and devoured the entire lot watching the telly not knowing how much each one of us ate . In one hours time I could feel my chest   burn with acidity and felt as if all the cheese just stuck to my heart . Started walking vigorously and my gal was like what’s wrong with you mom ? I told her what was going on with in me and she laughed her guts out saying you should always have portion control over what ever you eat . Nothing got into my head as all I wanted was the irritating sensation in me out of my soul . As I started feeling a bit better my gal is like ” mom , even I am feeling the same as what ever you mentioned ” I burst out laughing teasing her to the core and there she was walking vigorously just like me :-)) . All in all a day that we took turns to tease each other but later we did find out that the culprit that caused the acidity was the mayonnaise dip and the over eating as well . So happy portion eating peeps .

 Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Wheat flour1 cup
Cheddar cheese grated 1/4 cup ( I used amul cheddar cheese )
Milk1/2 cup
Black pepper powder1/2 teaspoon
Mustard powder1/2 teaspoon
Baking powder 1/2 teaspoon
Oil1 teaspoon
Dried herds 1 teaspoon ( oregano , thyme , rose Mary , basil )
Salt to taste ( be careful as we are adding cheese that is salty too )
Oilto deep fry

Method

  1. Mix all the above ingredients together except for oil and milk . Add milk and knead to a smooth dough .
  2. Set aside for half an hour . Roll the dough out to a big , thin circle . Prick all around with a fork . Cut into long thin strips . Heat oil to deep fry to medium heat .
  3. Fry the thin strips in batches to a light golden brown . Drain and cool completely to get a crisp texture . Serve with any dip of your choice . Tastes good as is is as well .
  4. Can be stored in air right containers up to 4 /5 days at room temperature .

Chicken stuffed pleated doughnuts

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Preparation Time : 45 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 6 – 8 members

Description

Chicken stuffed pleated doughnuts . A picture tutorial that I came across in the world wide net that caught my attention immediately as this snack looked so innovative and new with an inspiring idea . Saved the image and googled the water marked name in the saved picture for the recipe . Got the recipe , saved it and gave a try one fine day following the recipe religiously . I had too many obstacles to cross with the original recipe on my first try so my second try tweaked the recipe of the dough , stuffing and method a little  to my comfort zone but with stealing the idea of this innovative snack  as before in an elegant way . The previous had a bread texture as the recipe demanded for yeast in the dough but my version has no yeast so it tastes more like a pie crust pastry . This tweak gave a whole new dimension to the snack that was worth the try and totally justified the effort put in . I enjoy playing around with recipes and ingredients . Served it , surprisingly was an instant hit   and a family favourite now . While on the table , there was an argument going on about naming this dish from chicken vada to pleated vada to chicken stuffed doughnuts . I just jumbled up all the names suggested together to get this name finally .  This did remind me about choosing names for my children when they were new born :-)) . I was just particular about one thing was my kids should have their names starting with the alphabet “A” . No particular reason but it just happened that way . A few months back I did receive a picture from my friend Sindhu Krishna that was about an interview in a Malayalam magazine on her elder daughter  aahana  ( who is a Malayalam movie star ) with some thing written in Malayalam . Me not knowing what was written was dead curious and later found out that. It was about our trio friends ( Sindhu , sulu and myself ) making a promise as kids in boarding school that we name each of our eldest child with the alphabet “A” . Sindhus eldest daughter is aahana , sulus eldest son is abid and my eldest one Anisha  :-)) . Well I don’t remember this incident or promise but it did happen that way :-)) . The liberty of naming is a joy for sure .

Ingredients for the cover

Ingredients
Quantity
Flour / maida 250 grams
Saltto taste
Oil 1/2 cup
Waterenough to get a smooth dough

Method

  1. Combine flour and salt together . Add oil and mix well .
  2. Sprinkle water little by little and knead to get a smooth dough and Set aside.

Ingredients for chicken filling

Ingredients
Quantity
Boneless chicken 1/4 kg
Ginger garlic paste 1/4 teaspoon each
Saltto taste
Turmeric powder1/4 teaspoon
Onions5 big chopped
Green chillies 4 chopped
Mixed vegetables - carrots , beans , cabbage , green peas chopped and boiled in water with salt 1 cup
Mint leaves few
Coriander leaves one hand chopped
Pepper powder to taste
Oil 2 tablespoons

Method for chicken filling

  1. Pressure cook cleaned chicken , salt , turmeric powder , ginger garlic paste and little water for one whistle .
  2. Bring to boil and Reduce the water . Cool completely and shred the chicken to treads ( I run it in the food processor for a second ) .
    Heat oil in a non stick board pan . Add onions and fry to translucent .
  3. Add green chilies , boiled chopped mixed vegetables , shredded chicken , mint leaves , coriander leaves , salt and pepper to taste .
    Mix well and lower the flame and keep stirring for 3 minutes letting all the flavours infuse together .
  4. Remove from heat , cool and set aside .

How to proceed

  1. Roll lemon sized balls out of the dough. Roll each dough ball into slightly thick discs .
  2. place the cooled chicken stuffing about one tablespoon full over each rolled disc to a ring pattern in the middle leaving a small circle empty in the centre of each disc . ( refer to picture tutorial ) .
  3. Take the edge part of the disc and bring it towards the empty centre and press firmly making sure it’s stuck to the centre.
  4. Do the same through out the edge of the disc to get a pleated effect doughnut . Insert your last tiny finger from underneath of the empty centre to make a round hole to get a doughnut shape .
  5. Do the same with all the round discs and chicken stuffing . Now carefully deep fry the chicken pleated droughts in batches in medium hot oil to a golden brown colour . Drain and serve hot with tomato ketchup .

Irani samosa

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Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 8 minutes

Serving : 5 – 6 members

Description

Irani samosa . A dish which lalitha Varatharajan had got along with her self for the recipe swap get together for the first anniversary of sauté , fry n bake celebration . A vegetarian delight , so simple to make and high in taste . I had to allow plenty of stomach room for experimentation that day and just had a bite of each dish to taste but could not stop with a bite on these Irani samosas … Ended up gobbling one . At times savoury treats are a refreshing alternative to sweet ones.the samosas got the sweetness of the poha , the crunchiness of the onions and a subtle citrus tang from the lime juice . This dish won the second prize in the recipe swap event .more than it being remembered for its taste … And second prize .. it sure will be remembered for the enthusiasm and high sprits  lalitha had that day . We ladies just freaked out and were our true own selves that day . Well .. Lalitha and myself are gym mates , that’s where I got to meet her first . Now we are very close friends for another main reason being , her elder two sons are studying in good shepherd international school , Ooty were I did my schooling :-)) . She did get me a glass pie dish as a surprise gift for crossing the 2000 likes in  sauté , fry n bake and our bonding is getting stronger and stronger day by day :-))

 Ingredients Name

Ingredients
Quantity
spring roll sheetsas need
onlions chopped1 cup
pressed rice or poha1 cup
chat masala1/2 ( half teaspoon)
chilli powder1/2 teaspoon
coriander leaves1 banch chopped
cumin powder1/2 teaspoon
lemon juice1 teaspoon
green chilly3 number chopped
oilto deep fry
saltas need

Method

  1. Take a bowl add chopped onions and the same quantity of poha along with chilli powder,cumin powder,chat masala,coriander leaves,green chilly and mix well.
  2. In a small bowl add 1tsp of Maida mix with some water and make a paste, keep a side.
  3. Now take one springroll sheet and make a cone,put onion and poha mixture inside this cone,
  4. Apply littlebit Maida mixture and paste it.In a pan add oil to deep fryFirst half fry the samosas,and remove , then after 5 minutes fry again till golden colour.
  5. Fry it in medium flame not hot oil. Do not fry in hot oil.

Note

  1. We add same amount of poha equal to onions .This helps to absorb the moister in the chopped onions .This is very famous in HYDERABAD.

 

Masala potatoes stuffed mirchi wada bajji

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Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 5- 6 members

Description

Masala potatoes stuffed mirchi wada bajji . One afternoon , woke up from a deep sleep hearing a loud thunder and was surprised to see it was raining .seeing the rains didn’t have the heart to go to bed again . After a long , cruel summer you just cant wait to welcome the monsoons . Admiring the first showers  of that season , my tongue craved for some milagai / mirchhi bajji ,potato bonda and ulunthu wada which are a match made in monsoon heaven .  But my laziness was not letting me get into the kitchen . Finally just pushed the lazy bugger out of me and walked straight into the kitchen . Started of prepping  for all the mentioned snakes but my pantry didn’t have chick pea flour , could not sent some one to buy it because it was raining heavily . Having no other option ( as i wanted to eat these feel good favourites with the magic of rain) I just made up my mind to stuff the mirchi’s with the potato filling and dip them with the ulunthu wada batter . I had my doubts if the batter would stick to the glossy mirchi skin so I steamed the potato stuffed mirchi’s for 5 minutes and then dipped in the ulunthu wada batter and deep fried them .As these treats were getting deep fried in hot oil , the rains were slowing down and I was like uff  , my laziness took away so much time … Or else I should have enjoyed these fried treats seeing the rains .   The mirchi wada bajji were perfect in shape , colour , crispness and taste . The beauty of these classics is that they never fail to please and tweaking the tired and true is exciting too .  Took it out to my foyer , sitting on the floor with these hot treats and a cup of hot masala ginger tea , admiring the wet floor and the plants in my garden all washed and fresh after the showers with the smell of mud  sinking into me but incomplete with out the rains .after a few bites of these wickedly cleaver treat that hits the right spot  and gulps of tea … It started raining again … A very happy me as whats more reassuring than these comfort fare ,  fried treats and a hot cup of masala chai when it’s  pouring .

Stuffing ingredients

ingredients
Quantity
boiled , peeled and mashed potatoes 2 cups
fresh coriander leaves2 tablespoons chopped
onion 1 chopped
salt to taste
grated ginger 1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder1/4 teaspoon
Lime juice a squeeze

To prepare the Stuffing

  1. Pressure cook the potatoes, till soft. Peel the skin & mash the potatoes finely in a bowl.
  2. Add fresh coriander leaves, red chilly powder , turmeric powder , grated ginger , salt and lime juice .
  3. Mix it well & keep aside.Spicy stuffing is ready..!

Ingredients for Wada batter

Ingredients
Quantity
Urad Dal / Ulunthu paruppu1 cup
Rice flour1 tablespoon
Saltto taste

Method for vadais

  1. Wash and soak urad dal for 1.5 hours. Strain the water.
  2. Grind urad dal to a smooth paste in a grinder by sprinkling water little by little. It took 15 minutes to grind 1 cup of urad dal.
  3. Use very very little water. Grind it till urad dal turns soft and fluffy.
  4. Add salt and rice flour to the urad dal mixture and mix well to a  thick bajji batter consistency and keep aside .

Other ingredients

ingredients
Quantity
Mirchi /bajji milagai5 to 6
Oilto deep fry

How to proceed

  1. Wash and dry the green mirchi / bajji milagai. Take a mirchi , make a slit lengthwise in the middle, keeping the ends intact.
  2. Scoop out the seeds with a knife or spoon leaving the insides clean for the stuffing.Now stuff the mirchi ‘s with the potato mixture.
  3. Fill in the gap of each mirchi with the potato stuffing and keep them on a greased steaming plate and steam for 5 minutes for the mirchi skin to soften . ( I used my idli steamer ) cool completely .
  4. Heat oil to deep fry . Dip the stuffed mirchi’s one by one into the wada batter coating them well on all sides and drop them gently into hot oil.
  5. Deep fry until golden, turning constantly.Deep fry 2-3 wadas at a time.
  6. Drain and remove them on absorbent paper. Serve hot with coconut green chilly chutney or tomato sauce and a cup of hot masala ginger tea .

Cater pillar roll

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Preparation Time : 1 hour + 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 18-20 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

Carter pillar roll . I have noticed that most  of my recent posts usually start off with ramblings about my family, memories, events and sometimes even about nutritional values of certain  ingredients. But today I am going to deviate a tad from the beaten path and instead I am just going to focus on the story of how i got to bake this stuffed bread and over came my fear about breads and baking .  The first time ever I got to see and taste these sort of stuffed rolls were in Coimbatore as a kid in J. M ENGLISH BAKERY . Those days it was the happening place in and around Coimbatore . Whenever I saw  these cater pillar rolls on the display counter , juicy and warm , I got this hunger pang attack my tummy simply and start rumbling non stop . I used to wonder how they got the filling inside and the striped effect over the roll . Never ever in my dreams did I think I would end up baking these myself !!! With such a drool-worthy presentation, this dish is apt for any special occasion . Sounds delicious already right? – slurp! I know – lets continue…was dead nervous about baking bread .. But to my surprise the bread was moist , soft , light and better than any bread I have tasted till date and helped me over come my fear of baking breads and gain more confidence .    Now a’int that something delectable and mouth-watering? …So why wait – get cooking!!! Good luck peeps :-))
Oops , sorry to have bugged you all once again with my memories ….

Ingredients For the filling

Ingredients
Quantity
Minced lamb / chicken ¼ kg
medium sized onion2 chopped
Chilly powder 1 teaspoon
Pepper powder1/4 teaspoon
Cumin powder1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder1/4 teaspoon
Ginger and garlic paste1/ 4 teaspoon each
Coriander leaveschopped few
Salt to taste

 Method for filling

  1. In a pressure cooker put the minced meat and the rest of the spices .let it cook up to two whistles . heat oil ,
  2. Sauté the chopped onions to translucent . Add the cooked minced meat and cook to dry .
  3. Taste and adjust seasoning . Garnish with coriander leaves . Cool completely and set aside .

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
All-purpose flour2 cups
Warm milk3/4 cup
Instant yeast1 teaspoon
Baking powdera pinch
Sugar1/2 teaspoon
Salt1 teaspoon
Egg1 - lightly beaten and divided in half
Melted butter1 tablespoon
Oil2 tablespoon
Milk powder1 tablespoon

Instructions

  1. Sieve the flour, then add milk powder, baking powder, sugar, yeast and salt.  Then add the oil, butter and half the egg (reserve the other half for brushing the bread later) and mix together.  Now add the milk gradually whilst kneading.
  2. You might not need it all, so add it sparingly until your dough is nice and soft.  If more milk is needed to get a soft dough consistency, warm a little more and use.  Knead for a good 8-10 minutes.  The more you knead the softer the bread results will be.
  3. Touch a bit of oil with your fingertips and apply all over the ball of dough. Cover in a bowl and set aside for 40 mins to an hour for it to double in size.
  4.  Divide the dough into 5 sections. Start rolling each one into an oval/rectangular shape, about quarter inch or less thickness.
  5. Brush with butter, then cut strips about a third of the way into the oval on one of the longer sides of the rolled out dough.
  6. Add your filling on the opposite side of where the strips have been cut. Fold the dough over the filling to enclose it, then roll gently all the way to the end.
  7. The strips will cover the top of the bun and give a pretty finish. Try and pinch the ends of the strips under the dough so they do not unfurl or open up during baking.
  8. Place on a greased tray and repeat with the rest of the balls of dough. Cover with a light kitchen towel and allow the buns to rest for about 30 minutes to allow them to expand again slightly.
  9. When ready to bake, preheat the oven at 180 C. Brush the remaining half egg over the bread and sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until the buns are done and golden.
  10. Remove and brush them with some butter, keep them covered with a kitchen towel to retain their softness until time for serving.

Notes

  1. The filling can be made with veggies , cheese , paneer , fish , prawn or anything to your taste .
    Sweet fillings can also be used for the sweet version .
  2. Store the cater pillar roll in the refrigerator in an air tight container and steam – microwave before serving for a minute . Best served and had on the day made and can be stored for the next day not more than that .
  3. This is the best ever bread recipe I have come across and I follow it for any recipe that demands to bake bread … So peeps don’t forget to book mark the bread recipe .

3 Coloured stacked up sandwich

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Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 2 minutes

Serving: one person

Description

3 colour stacked up sandwich . My maternal uncle shanu ( who is younger to me , I know it sounds wired but that’s the fact ) had come home for a days visit . He had to leave early morning by seven o clock the next day . Not wanting him to leave with out having his breakfast . Got in to the kitchen and went ahead with the regular idli , dosa , kuli Paniyaram schedule . But wanting to impress him with something new That would leave a mark in his memory . Having very little time , had to come up with a quick and easy recipe . Went strait to my refrigerator and just gazed at the available ingredients inside . Took out a few that would work together and made up my mind to make a sandwich but a bite size one as I had only four slices of bread and one egg  in hand . Prepared all the wanted ingredients and just stacked them up together to get an awesome , vibrant , colourful looking sandwich packed with so much character and taste . The marinated three coloured peppers and the green pesto add complexity and made  it all the more flavourful . The sandwich was ready in a flash and is apt for on the run meals , work lunch and  for kids to school that makes a welcome change from the usual . my uncle was all praises about the sandwich and my quest of a new dish with limited amount of time and things available in my pantry made my day .

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
White Bread slices4 large (cut into bite size cubes )
Cheese slice2 cut into bite size cubes equal to the bread cubes ( optional )
Salt to taste
Omeletmade with one beaten egg and cut into even bite size cubes like the bread
Capsicumgreen
yellow and red1 each cut into even size cubes equal to the bread bite size cubes
Vinegar1/4 teaspoons
Sugar 1/4 teaspoon
Mayonnaise 2 tablespoons
Tomato sauce2 tablespoons
Olives or cherriesto garnish
Tooth pickto serve

Ingredients for the green pesto

Ingredients
Quantity
olive oil2 tablespoons
garlic 2 flakes
fresh basil leaves ( tulsi leaves ) 5
Coriander leaves 1/4 cup
Parmesan cheese2 tablespoon
Green chillies2 or to taste
pine nuts1 tablespoons
butter1 tablespoon
Salt and pepperto taste

Method

  1. To make the pesto , Grind all the ingredients together in a food processor to a chunky texture and set aside .
  2. Marinate the red , yellow and green capsicums / pepper cubes  in vinegar, sugar and salt to taste   and Set aside .
  3. Mix mayonnaise and tomato sauce together and set aside .

To assemble the sandwich

  1. Toast bread slices in butter to a golden brown colour  . Spread the green pesto on one side of a toasted bread cube .
  2. Place a piece of omelet cube , top with cheese slice  cube , place green capsicum cube over and  place another  slice of toasted bread with tomato mayonnaise applied side facing towards the green capsicum.
  3. Top with pesto on the other side of the bread cube , place with yellow pepper cube , omelet cube and  cheese slice cube .
  4. Then place a bread slice applied with tomato mayonnaise applied side facing down towards the yellow capsicum , apply green pesto over , top with omelet cube , cheese slice cube and do the same by repeating the layer with red capsicum slice .
  5. Making sure bread is the final layer . Insert a tooth pick and top the tooth pick with whole olive or cherrie and serve .

Notes

  1. You can use mint chutney mixed with mayonnaise instead of green pesto sauce .
  2. Vegetarians avoid the omelet and you get the veggie version .