Category: Cuisine

Thandai leches cake

Update : March 2021

This time I made this recipe as cupcakes in these cute clay pot silicone molds, they look exactly like how the Thandai is served in India for Holi

I love deserts especially when they involve dairy :). So when I first ate ‘ Trés Leche Cake’, I fell in love with it. All this while I had eaten cakes that were that were like a pound cake so I could not get over the fact that this cake was so moist and yummy, my Aai also loved it and we knew we had to make it at home.

Usually I try to make something special for my close friends’s birthdays. This very good friend celebrates her birthday in April which is also the time when Indian celebrate ‘Holi’ , the festival of colors.

As you know I love to put an indian twist on dishes. As I was making this cake around Holi, I thought why not make this cake with ‘Thandai flavors’!

Thandai is a milk based drink made on Holi. The literal meaning of the word is ‘ a cooler’, something that cools the body. It is perfect for Holi since that is summer time in India. To make Thandai, a paste is made with various spices and almonds etc and then mixed in sweetened milk. It so served in small clay cups. The paste has nuts like almonds and some interesting seeds like watermelon & cucumbe which had creamy sweet taste, and spices like black pepper add some heat. You can even make a dry powder of the ingredients and store it in a container.

So back to my cake. It is a basic sponge cake soaked with goodness of the wonderfully flavored Thandai Milk. It is actually ‘Quatro Leche Cake’, you will see how. The batter has the dry Thandai powder and the soaking liquid has the paste, the result is perfectly moist and delicious cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Sift flour with baking powder & salt.

Mix the Thandai Masala with the milk.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for 1min till they start becoming a but frothy.

Add sugar and beat till soft peaks form.

Add one yolk at a time and keep whisking.

Add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively.

So it will be something like;

1/3 cup flour ,1/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup flour ,1/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup flour

Take a baking pan and butter and flour it well. It is very important since that will ensure that the cake comes out of the pan in a clean way.

I also put a parchment paper for extra ease.

Now pour the batter in the prepared pan. Make sure the pan in at least 10 inches round or even 9x 13, if you take a smaller pan the cake is too tall and the liquid does not get absorbed very well.

You can also make cupcake with this batter

Bake for about 30 mins until the knife comes out clean.

Let the cake cool on a stand for about 30 mins.

Now the fun part.

Mix all the liquid ingredients.

Transfer the cake to a deeper dish, large enough to hold the cake and also hold all the liquid volume.

Poke a lot of holes in the cake

Now pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly paying extra attention to the edges.

Keep it in fridge ideally overnight. I feel that it allows the cake to take in all the liquid and develop some harmony.

As you can see the entire amount of liquid is all absorbed.

Frosting

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup of powdered sugar ( optional)

Whip the cream with or without the sugar until soft peaks form.

Now the bestest part

Serve yourself a nice big slice. Turn some nice music on.

Sit down and enjoy the cake.

I have made the cake toppers with brown edible clay. Filled it with the milk mixture and topped with the whipping cream.

Ingredients

Cake

4 eggs at room temperature separated
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 Pinch of salt
2 tbsp Thandai Masala you can buy it in any store
1/2 cup whole milk.

Milk mixture

1 14 oz can of condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 – 3/4 cup of ‘ Thandai Syrup’

Frosting

1 Cup Heavy whipping cream
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Tsp Saffron

Topping

3 Tbsp Dried Rose petals
3 tbsp Chopped pistachio
1 tbsp Fennel seeds

Instructions

For the cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Sift flour with baking powder & salt
Mix the Thandai Masala with the milk.
Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for 1min till they start becoming a but frothy.
Add sugar and beat till soft peaks form
Add one yolk at a time and keep whisking.
Add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively

Prepare the pan

Take a baking pan and butter and flour it well. It is very important since that will ensure that the cake comes out of the pan in a clean way.I also put a parchment paper for extra ease
Now pour the batter in the prepared pan. Make sure the pan in at least 10 inches round or even 9x 13, if you take a smaller pan the cake is too tall and the liquid does not get absorbed very well.
Bake for about 30 mins until the knife comes out clean.
Let the cake cool on a stand for about 30 mins

Milk Mixture

Mix all the liquid ingredients.
Transfer the cake to a deeper dish, large enough to hold the cake and also hold all the liquid volume
Now pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly paying extra attention to the edges.
Poke a lot of holes in the cake
Keep it in fridge ideally overnight. I feel that it allows the cake to take in all the liquid and develop some harmony.

Frosting

Mix the saffron thread in milk
Mix this with the whipping cream along with the sugar
Whip till soft peaks form
Frost the cake

Topping

Sprinkle all the toppings and enjoy

Tags cake, holi, holi dessert, holi sweets, sponge cake, thandai, tres leche

Chicken Thai

Thai basil chicken

If I had to pick my favorite food it is obviously Indian, I grew up in India and that was the only cuisine I ate until I came to the USA. When I came to the United States is when I tasted Mexican and Thai cuisines. And now these two cuisines are my favorites. I love the use of fresh herbs in thai cuisine. Galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and of course Thai basil. These aromatic herbs add a lot of flavor without any fat and most of these also have medicinal properties. In spring you get many kinds of basils in the farmers market and one of these basils is ‘Lemon Basil’- it has a unique flavor which is a combination of lemongrass and basil. I love it. Today’s recipe is super simple and can be made in 15 mins if you have all the ingredients ready.

Thai Basil Chicken

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, chopped in small pieces 4 cloves of garlic 4 thai chilies ( adjust as per your spice level preference) 1/2 tsp oyster sauce 1/2 tsp sweet soy sauce 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce 1/2 tsp sugar A handful of basil leaves

Method

Make a coarse paste with the chilies and garlic. Don’t make it extra fine. I feel like the ingredients are simple and so is the technique. I prefer using mortar pestle for making the chili garlic paste. Heat oil in the pan. The pan should be super hot. Make sure you are ready with all the ingredients, you don’t want to eat burnt garlic. Sauté the garlic paste for a few seconds making sure it does not burn. Add chicken pieces and sauté for another 30 seconds. Add the liquid mixture of soy sauces, oyster sauce and sugar. If the chicken is cooked, add the basil leaves and turn the heat off. Cover and let the basil flavor infuse in the meat. Serve with brown or white rice. Vegetarian option It is made exactly the same way as the chicken. I like to use vegetables like mushrooms, snow peas, broccoli, bell peppers and onions. Make sure you cook the vegetables on high heat so that they don’t give out water and become soggy. Once ready you can also mix these vegetables into your chicken to combine to make a wholesome dish. I always include vegetables in our meals and also if you have any vegetarian friends they can also enjoy the lovely flavor of the lemon basil if you make this variation.

Tags Basil, chicken, healthy, quick, Thai

dessert Indian

Lychee Phirni with a touch of orange blossom

Post author By Anagha
Post date April 29, 2015
2 Comments on Lychee Phirni with a touch of orange blossom

I am born and brought up in India so me liking dairy based dessert is very natural. Most of the indian dessert have dairy in them in some or the other form. The famous rosogulla has paneer, which is like fresh cottage cheese. Gulab jamun have ‘khoya’, which is milk boiled till it is a semi solid clay like texture. The famous mango lassi has yogurt. So you see my love for dairy based desserts is but natural.

When the weather starts warming up, I like to make dessert that are cool. So today’s dessert is perfect in the summer months.

It is an indian equivalent of ‘arroz con leche’. The recipe is simple and the ingredient list is small. 🙂

I love playing with flavors, so decided to put a twist of this traditional Phirni. I love the intoxicating perfume of ‘ orange blossom water’. It is typically used in Mediterranean dessert. I love adding it even to my bath water. I buy it from a local middle eastern store and use it very regularly. Also, I love adding surprises to my dishes. When you think of Phirni, you don’t anticipate anything crunchy. I feel that this addition goes really well with the rest of the components and adds a clear element of surprise and variety of texture. I add chopped Litchi to my Phirni.

It does take time and patience but it is not complicated at all. It uses the ingredients that are typically available in homes.

Ingredients

1/2 gallon of whole milk

1/2 cup of rice, soaked for 30 mins( I have used basmati)

1/2-3/4 cups of sugar

1 tsp orange blossom water

1 can of lychee chopped

Method

Take milk in a heavy bottomed pot and heat on a medium flame until the milk comes to a boil. Make sure you’re stirring constantly so that you do not get a skin formed on the top surface and the milk does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

This is where your patience comes into picture, you must store patiently on low flame unto the milk is reduced to pretty much half of its original volume.

While the milk is boiling, grind this soaked rice with very little water. Make sure you do not make a paste. You do want a mixture that is granular.

Now add the rice mixture to the milk in a steady stream. Make sure you’re starting the milk as you add the rice make sure so that no clumps are formed. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, take the mixture on a spoon and check if the rice is cooked.

Now add sugar and keep starting and cooking until you get the desired consistency. Remember the mixture will thicken as it cools down so make sure you do not cook it too much. If you end up with a very thick mixture after it is cool down, You can add a little bit of milk to thin it down.

Once the mixture has come to the room temperature, add the chopped the lychee pieces and the Orange Blossom water.

Serve chilled.

Tags arroz con leche, dairy, dessert, Indian, vegetarian

Appetizer Chicken Healthy foods Kids favorite Not sure

Chicken porcupine kabob

You hear all the time that kids are fussy eaters and you got to try all kinds of tricks to get them to eat good stuff. I must say I got lucky, both my kids never troubled me with eating, they eat anything & everything I make for them( may be barring ‘indian bitter melon).

I also see and hear that the kids want to eat junk and throw tantrums if they don’t get any. I have seen kids eat chicken nuggets everyday. Again, I can not complain here, my kids don’t eat junk at all, in fact if you open my pantry, you will not find any chips, cookies with vegetable shortening. Instead of eating something that is processed and full of preservative, excess salt and sugar, my family eats dry fruits, dehydrated fruits & veggies, nuts…I am very thankful for that.

As you can see, my pantry is loaded with nuts, dry fruits, healthy indian style popped lotus seeds etc. I have a designated place for everything so they find it easily. Most of my containers are clear and labeled.

So back to the making food for kids. I feel that if you make it fun, the kids enjoy and might try different things.

Today’s recipe is one such fun recipe. It is tasty, healthy and easy to make.

Chicken porcupine kabob

It is a very simple recipe and if you have all the ingredients, you can make it in under 30 mins.

Ingredients

3/4 lb ground chicken ( I use a combination of breast & thighs)

1/2 onion chopped really fine

1-2 cloves of garlic crushed

1/2 inch Ginger, chopped or grated

1 green chill finely chopped

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cumin powder

3/4 tsp coriander powder

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tbsp chopped mint

1 tsp chaat masala

Others

1/2 cup basmati rice plus 1tsp salt, soaked for 1 hour

1 tbsp oil

Method

Drain the soaked rice. Take it on a plate.

Start boiling the water to steam out Kabob.

Mix all the ingredient for kabob very well.

Take the oil in a bowl.

Make small balls from the chicken mixture. Dip it briefly in the oil, and roll in the rice grains.

Arrange them on the steamer dish.

Steam for 5-7 mins depending on the size of the chicken ball.

Take out one and check if the chicken is cooked through.

Edit

As you can see the rice is steamed and pluffs up nicely.

You can serve these with spicy mint chutney or a sweet and sour tamarind chutney or tomato ketch up.

Edit

Tags chicken, gluten-free, healthy

Appetizer Chicken Fusion Uncategorized

BIRYANCINIS- Biryani goes to Italy

Post author By Anagha
Post date March 23, 2015
No Comments on BIRYANCINIS- Biryani goes to Italy

I love watching Master Chef India. On that a couple of weeks ago someone had made arancinis with an Indian flavor. I remembered my experiment from two years ago a and thought I would blog it today.

Here is my post from a couple of years ago.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/euphoric.delights/permalink/616844488354528/

Arancinis are fried rice balls that are stuffed with cheese, originated in Sicily. I ate Arancinis in a famous restaurant in New York. Since then I have been meaning to put Indian tadka on it.

So here is my attempt of ‘BIRYANCINIS’

Cover

Ingredients

2 cups of rice

3.5 cups of water ( that is how much I use)

2 green cardamom

2 brown cardamom

2 inch stick of cinnamon

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp black pepper corn

1/4 tsp cloves

Few thread of saffron soaked in 1 tbsp milk

Chopped mint and cilantro

1 egg

Method :

Soak rice in cold water for atleast 45 mins.

Boil water with all the whole garam masala like Cinnamon, clove, cardamom, bay leaf.

Add soaked rice and cook until done. When it is almost ready add saffron.

After it was cool add chopped cilantro n mint. Add the egg and mix.

Stuffing

1/2 onion chopped

1 lb minced chicken

Chopped mint

1 green chili chopped fine

Powdered garam masala containing cardamom, shahee jeera,mace powder

1/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1/2 bread crumbs seasoned with dry mint & paprika

Sauté chopped onions till caramelized.

Add chopped green chili, garam masala powder.Add minced chicken and cook. Add a lot of chopped mint.

When cooled, add the shredded pepper jack cheese( enough to bind) .

Make balls of the cooked rice with chicken mixture in the centre.

Dip the balls in beaten egg white( we had only used yolk for the filling), roll in bread crumbs. Deep fry in oil( next time will try it in appam pan).

Serve with cilantro raita as a dip.

Tags arancinis, biryani, chicken

dessert Fusion

Shrikhand and Sicily

Today is ‘Gudhi Padwa‘, it is the New Year for us. We believe that today is the day when Lord Brahma began the creation of the world. This day people start new ventures, buy new things even buy new homes. People from Iran also celebrate their new year, Nowruz today. I guess because it is based on Lunar Calendar and we also follow Lunar Calendar in India.

I always find it fascinating that my mother tongue Marathi has so many words from Persian language. It was also interesting to know that the community I belong to, traces some of its genes way back to Iran. I love learning about such connection and then observing the similarities in foods, rituals etc.

My work took me to Sicily a couple of years ago and needless to say I loved it. I was in Catania which has a very rustic cute downtown. Cobblestone streets, open cafe, small pastry shops- it was amazing. This is where I tried the famous Sicilian Cannoli.

I loved that contrast of Crisp, flaky pastry filled with creamy, fluffy Ricotta cheese with a crunch of chopped pistachios.

Cannoli comes from Siciliy but originated probably from Iran. There is a Iranian Pastry which sounds very similar to Cannoli, ‘ Qanawat’, I thought it was very interesting.

Going back to my new year story, I decided to celebrate Gudhi Padwa and Navroj this year with a desert which is a fusion of ‘Shrikhand & Qanawat’.

Presenting –

Cannoli filled with Shrikhand

Shrikhand

Ingredients

64 oz yogurt ( I prefer whole milk yogurt for this recipe)

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 Tsp salt

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp Saffron

Method

Hang the yogurt the night before you plan to make it. You can keep it outside or in the fridge.

Take the saffron and warm it gently. Crush it and mix with 1 tbsp of milk.

Take the thickened yogurt and mix in sugar, salt, spices and mix well.

Your Shrikhand is ready.

Cannoli Shells

The cannoli shell recipe is based on Mario Batali’s recipe. It is very simple and easy.

Ingredients:

2 cups All purpose flour

1 1/2 tbsp cold unsalted butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup white wine

1 egg white optional

Method

Cannoli Shells-

Cut butter in small pieces.

Mix flour & sugar. Take butter and cut into the flour till it resembles grains of sand.

Add egg yolk and mix a little.

Add the wine and mix it very lightly barely till the dough comes together.

Now take a plastic wrap and put the dough in the wrap and keep it in the fridge for an hour.

Making the cannolis

If you check any recipes for cannoli you will see that it needs Cannoli molds. Since I don’t have the molds, I decided to make my own.

My son who also loves cooking had an idea. He went to the hardware store and got a 1″ inch pipe and got it cut in 5″ pieces, and there we had our cannoli molds.

Heat oil in a pan. Make sure there is enough oil that the dough with the pipe is submerged.

Take the dough out is the fridge and knead very lightly. Roll it out very thin.

Use a bowl to cut a circle.

Take the cannoli mold and wrap the rolled out circle around it. Make sure there is some overlap and use water or egg white to seal that overlap in place.

Also, flare out the ends so it is easy to take out the mold after the pastry is cooled.

Fry in the oil till golden brown.

Let it cool and then take the mold out gently.

You can make the cannoli shells ahead but fill them up when you are ready to serve.

Filling the shells

Take a pastry bag or a plastic bag and fill with the Shrikhand. Use a big star tip and fill up the shells from either sides.

Take chopped pistachios and dip both ends of the cannoli.

Enjoy your Shrikhand Canoli & Happy New Year!

Edit

Tags Cannoli, dessert, Sicily, Yogurt

Appetizer Fish Mexican

Ceviche – a healthy, flavorful way to eat fish

Post author By Anagha
Post date March 20, 2015
2 Comments on Ceviche – a healthy, flavorful way to eat fish

Tilapia Ceviche

The weather is warmer and the family wants to eat fresh fruits, lighter meals. It is not easy to cook something which is fresh, healthy and tasty. And of course it has to be easy to make.
One such dish is Ceviche.

The first time I ate Ceviche in Cabo San Lucas. We were on our annual vacation. All of us are big foodies so invariably the first thing we do when we go to a new place is to find out good food joints. When we asked the person who cleaned our room what her favorite place to eat was, she told us about this small place near the beach. We got out of the resort, took a local bus and reached this small village. There was this cobble stone street that went all the way to the beach. The village center was a church and around that there were many vendors selling various things. We also had the best fish tacos there.
We found the small shop that lady had recommended, that is where I are Ceviche the first time.
Let me tell you, I am not a fish lover rather I eat only select kind of fish. So for someone like me the idea of eating raw( it does get cooked in the acid) was pretty tough to try. But am I glad I did. That fish was perfectly cooked and marinated in the lime juice and paired very beautifully with crunchy cucumbers, onion, creamy avocado and with a kick from Serrano pepper.
It was a perfect warm weather snack.

So here is my take on Ceviche.

Ingredients:

2 tilapia fillet, chopped in small pieces
1 cup lime juice

1/4 onion finely chopped 2 Persian cucumbers chopped fine(you can also use equivalent English cucumber)
1 Serrano pepper chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tomato chopped ( don’t take the seeds)
Salt to taste

It is important to chop the vegetables in a uniform fashion, it looks pretty and you get a sample of all in one bite.

Method:

Mix the lime juice and tilapia pieces. Make sure you use a shallow container so that all pieces are covered in the lime juice. Sometimes I like to use orange juice in addition to the limes you use. Here I have used a blood orange that has given nice pink hue to the fish.
Let it sit for at least 45 minutes in the fridge. Then you take it out, the fish would look white, very opaque. This is the sign that the fish is cooked in the acid.

Drain the fish in the colander.

While the fish is in the fridge, chop all the vegetables and mix them in a bowl together. Add salt to taste.
Add the drained fish to the vegetable mixture and mix everything well but with the light hand. You don’t want the fish or the avocado to break and become mushy.

It has a very fresh crisp taste and goes really well with crostinis, pita chips, tortilla chips or even in lettuce cups. I serve it in empty avocado shells, it makes for a great presentation.

Tags healthy, quick, Raw, tasty, tilapia

Condiments Jam & Preserves Pickles & Chutneys Rajasthani Uncategorized

Lehsun-mirch ki chutney

If you observe food from any particular region, you can start learning a lot about the people, the weather, the produce available etc. It is very evident in the various cuisines from across India.

One such cuisine is the cuisine of Rajasthan.

I am in love with everything about this place . This land is known for its sand dunes, colorful dresses, camels and palaces. It is the western state of India, the dessert state, water is very scarce here and fresh fruits and vegetables are not readily available all the time, so a lot of the dishes from this region use ingredients that are available easily. Things like lentils, grain flours, dried chilies, dried vegetables and milk products.

2015/03/img_1035.jpg

I have been to Rajasthan a few times and fell in love again with its people and food. I have learnt a few recipes on my visits and would be sharing them here.

Today’s recipe- Chili Garlic Chutney

I love spicy food. Today’s recipe is easy and can be made very easily, most of the ingredients should be available in your pantry. It is one of those dishes that can perk up any dull meal or add a bit of spice to it. 2015/03/img_2445.jpg

Ingredients:

10-15 Red Chilies

6-8 fresh garlic cloves

2 tbsp Kashmiri red chili powder

1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds

2 tbsp Oil

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp tamarind pulp( optional)

Method:

Some people also add onions, I feel that they make the chutney sweet so I don’t add it.
Soak dry red chilies in warm water for 1 hour.

In a blender grind the garlic & soaked chilies with little water.

Heat oil in pan, add mustard seeds. When they splatter, add the cumin seeds. Add fenugreek seeds and fry for 10 secs. Add the red chili powder. Add the chili garlic paste. cook till you see oil separating,mix salt & sugar and mix well. Add tamarind pulp to taste.

Chutney is ready, serve it with any Indian meal.

Note:

I mix it with greek yogurt and use it as a dip for fresh vegetables.

I also mix it with a little bit of butter and use it as a spread for sandwiches.

Tags Indian, spicy, vegan

Chicken Curry Maharashtrian Masala (Spice Mix)

Kolhapuri chicken- A fiery treat

Post author By Anagha
Post date March 9, 2015
2 Comments on Kolhapuri chicken- A fiery treat

Kolhapuri chicken rassa- a fiery treat that you can not stop eating.

2015/03/img_2435.jpg

I like to eat it with Jowar Bhakri, raw onion and raw methi & white butter ( makhhan).
Recipe:
2 chicken breast- chopped
1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1/4 tsp lime juice
4 tbsp Kolhapuri masala
2 tbsp Bedgi chili powder.
Oil
1 medium onion chopped

Method
Mix ginger garlic paste, salt and lime juice with chicken and keep aside for at least an hour.

Take oil in the pan. Saute finely chopped onions till they are brown.

Add the red chili powder. Add the marinated chicken and cook for 30 sec. Add the masala paste and saute more. Add salt to taste.
Add hot water to get the consistency you desire. Cover and cook for a few mins.
This actually works better with the mutton but since my husband prefers chicken, I make it more often

Tags chicken curry, Indian, no dairy, spicy

bread Italian

Focaccia with fennel seeds

Post author By Anagha
Post date February 11, 2015
No Comments on Focaccia with fennel seeds

I love this time of the year, after a long winter when you start seeing flowers blossoming on the bare tree branches, you see birds busy building nests and the mercury starts going up. So this is the time when I am again motivated to cook a few dishes that need fermentation. In India the weather is always warm and you dont have to think if your batter will ferment or not, or if your bread will rise or not, but here one has to plan. It can be quite frustrating when you plan to make Dosa ( Indian crepe made from ground rice & lentil batter) and the batter does not ferment or when you are trying to make Yogurt and it does not set because you forgot to keep it in the oven and so on.

So as soon as I found out that it is going to be warm I decided to make my favorite Focaccia. I lvoe Focaccia especially when it is topped with sea salt and some fragrant herbs. I like it plain just out of the oven or with some nice vinegar. I love fruity vinegars like Fig Vinegar. There is a shop in the Ferry Building and they have some amazing varieties of Olive oils & Vinegars. I love their Meyer Lemon loive oil with Fig Balsamic…I could eat a whole loaf of bread with that.

Coming back to focaccia, as you may know I like making things from scratch, I feel it makes me appreciate what I am eating more and appreciate all the efforts when someone makes it for me. I like to bake breads but it does not come naturally. Growing up in India, most of the breads are made without any yeast and don’t require any proofing, so I started baking breads when I came to California.

This is a very simple recipe but needs patience. There may be a shorter way to make this but I like the way this turns out so I don’t mind spending the time. It is funny where I got this recipe. I had gone to London for work and it was frigid cold. I still remember that I went out to grab a bite and I thought my fingers are going to fall off, it was that cold. Anyway, since it was cold I was in my hotel room watching TV. A cooking show came on and how can I forget, it was an Italian Chef. I did not understand what he was saying but he was so cute that I decided to watch the program any way. He had made this focaccia and to my surprise at the end of the show they shared the recipe in English..I have made this recipe quite a few times with variations of toppings and each time it comes out good.

Focaccia with fennel seeds & caramelized onions

Ingredients:

2 cups of bread flour ( I have made it with regular flour and it is not bad)

1/2 cup Semolina ( Rava/Sooji)

1tsp salt

1 packet Regular Yeast

3/4 cup water at 75F

1/4 cup olive oil

Method:

Mix all the dry ingredients.

Add half of the olive oil, add water and knead a soft dough. Knead for 5 mins, this is absolutely critical for the gluten to develop.

First Rise: Oil a large bowl and out the ball of dough in it. Cover and keep in a warm place to rise for 45 mins.

Second rise: After 45 mins, take out the dough on a board and flatten it out. Make a sort of envelope and out it back in the bowl for another 45 mins

Third Rise: After 45 mins, take the dough and place it in the skillet or baking tray you plan to bake it in. Let it rise again for 45 mins

Fourth Rise: You will see that the dough is again doubled. Using the fingers poke holes in eat and spread it around to the edges of the skillet. Spread a couple of tsp of olive oil to keep the dough moist. Let it rise for another 45 mins.

Bake: Now take a toothpick and pierce the dough in a few places to release the air. Brush more oilve oil on top. Sprinkle with sea salt & herbs, I used Fennel seeds, crushed red pepper.

Bake it at 500F for 15-18 mins until it is golden brown

Tags bread, egg less, focaccia, vegan, vegetarian