Spices n Secrets

Then try a bread loaf that is reminiscent of a pizza.

With minimal toppings and soft bready base, this Pizza Focaccia Bread will become your new favourite.

Serve it as breakfast loaf or take few slices in tiffin for lunch or picnic, this bread is quite versatile.

On the one hand, this recipe is a simple and pretty basic focaccia recipe, you can also prepare a proper deep-dish pizza with vegetables and meat toppings. And rather than a loaf pan, bake it in a round pizza pan.

The best part of this recipe is that since the dough is a wet one, you do not actually knead the dough for a long time to develop gluten. The yeast does its work on its own. Just spread the dough with oiled fingers (to avoid stickiness) to all corners of the baking pan and you are done!

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2. 3/4 cup warm water
3. 1/4 cup processed cheese
4. 1/4 cup pizza/marinara sauce
5. 1-2 tbsp. oil
6. 1 tbsp. dried oregano or mixed pizza/pasta spices
7. 1.5 tsp. sugar
8. 1 tsp. dry yeast
9. 1 tsp. salt
10. 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic

Method:

Dalia is coarsely broken whole wheat grain. And dalia can be eaten by making both sweet and savoury dishes.

Today, I am sharing an often repeated breakfast dish called Lapsi aka dalia halwa.

Lapsi is easy to prepare. Fills your stomach for hours. Is a nutritious dish. Loved by all ages. And fulfils your craving for something sweet and yummy.

To make the perfect fluffy halwa consistency,  water plays a key role. If you add too much water then halwa will be lumpy. So, the right amount is 2-2.5 cups of warm water for 1 cup unsoaked dalia. For this recipe, I neither soaked dalia in water before cooking nor washed it. If you fear dust particles in dalia or you purchased dalia from open containers, then surely wash the grain before cooking. But in that case add lesser amount of water.

You can also prepare the same recipe using milk. Milk enhances the taste but definitely makes the dish heavy. I would recommend using milk when preparing Lapsi for children. Also, add more milk and turn Lapsi into a kheer consistency.

The quantity of sugar is just right in my recipe. But for times when you want to serve Lapsi for special occasions or to guests, then increase the quantity of sugar, ghee and add more nuts and raisins. 

But for a basic recipe that is great for breakfast and tiffin, try this.

So, lets begin!

Ingredients:

1. 2+1/4 cups warm water
2. 1 cup dalia (unsoaked and unwashed)
3. 1/2 cup sugar (you can also use same quantity jaggery)
4. 2 tbsp. ghee
5. 1/4 tsp. cinnamon powder
6. 8-10 raisins
7. 1-2 tej patta
8. 3 elaichi

Method:

Summer is the season for experimenting with flavours and fruits. Especially in baking, summer fruits offer so much variety.

One of my favourite is a mango cake. While, I do prepare mango cake the usual way, I also like to seek ways to make it eggless and perfect the texture of cake.

Here, I am sharing quite an impressive eggless whole wheat mango cake that resembles a lot like a pound cake.  

Ingredients:

1. 1+1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2. 1/2 cup sugar
3. 1/2 cup fresh mango pulp
4. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
5. 1/2 cup milk
6. 1 tsp. baking powder
7. 1/4 tsp. baking soda
8. 1/4 tsp. salt
9. 1/4 tsp. cardamom powder

Method:

Modak is essentially a Maharashtrian dish. 

It is sweet, soft and has two main star ingredients - rice flour and coconut.

Not much of an elaborate recipe, Modak is something you can make anytime of the year when you are craving a sweet dish that is not very calorific. 

In fact, when you get a hang of the shape of modak without cracks, you can actually fill savoury fillings and steam. I tried making mince chicken modaks and served them with chilly tomato sauce once, and it was a hit. Think of it like a momo but with a rice flour covering instead of Maida.

I am not a pro at making modaks especially handmade. But if you use specialized tools for shaping, I am sure modaks will turn out pretty looking.

Modaks are best eaten warm. Once it is cold in fridge, modaks harden. But re-steaming or microwaving for few seconds, again makes them soft. 

My recipe for traditional modak provides you with proper ingredients for a flavourful modak. Shape is for you to perfect.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup rice flour
2. 1 cup water
3. 1 cup coconut powder (fresh or desiccated)
4. 1/2 cup jaggery crushed 
5. 1 tbsp. ghee
6. 1 tsp. oil for greasing
   
7. 1 tsp. salt
8. 1 tsp. cardamom powder 

Method:

Yogurt is an excellent food for digestion and gut health. And a few raisins into yogurt just increases the nutritive value.

Yogurt is light, refreshing and can be consumed any time of the year or day.

I love yogurt and prefer to always make it at home.

Today's recipe is a rather simple one. Infact, it is not even a recipe, just an assembly of a 2-3 things.

My Raisin Yogurt is best eaten as a breakfast. But it can also be eaten as a snack post-lunch.

Since I prepare my raisin yogurt as a single serving (only for me!) I culture the yogurt into the cup I intend to eat in the morning. I pile up a handful of cornflakes over the chilled yogurt, sprinkle sesame seeds and honey on top.

Needless to say that if you wish to prepare for more people, then double or triple the recipe.

Ingredients for 1 :

1. 1 cup warm milk
2. 1 tbsp. unflavoured sour yogurt 
3. 8-10 small raisins

Method: