Tag: make ahead

Categories
Cookies dessert Not sure

Mokonut cookies

I don’t bake cookies much through out the year but around the holidays I try to make different cookies, try new recipes, and give some as gifts.

My family loves chocolate and especially dark chocolate, in fact we don’t buy any chocolate that’s less than 60% cocoa. I love ginger in all forms- in my tea, in chutney, ginger beer and candied ginger.

So what can be better than a cookie that has bittersweet chocolate and candied ginger.. everyone is happy.

 

This year I did not make many since I am traveling during the holidays, but when I got the latest Global Baking issue of Saveur Magazine, I knew I had to try a couple of recipes.

I loved the Swedish buns recipe so I made these St Lucia Buns inspired by that article. Those turned out amazing. I have a quick video on that, do check it out.

For these chocolate ginger cookies, you need candied Ginger, you can always buy it but I feel that it is so easy to make it at home that I always prefer that. If anyone wants a recipe for candied ginger, let me know and I would be happy to share.

I ended up making Buddha’s hand candies as well. If you have not tried using Buddha’s hand, you must, it’s just incredible. I love how it looks and smells, and you can use it like a room freshener.

I’m trying to make quick videos of the recipes I make, so I have posted the one I made for these cookies.

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Chocolate Ginger cookies

Fudgey center, dark chocolate, subtle heat from the candied ginger and the touch of salt flakes make for a decadent grown-up cookie. Perfect for the holiday parties or as a part of your dessert platter

Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Keyword baking, chocolate, cookies, dark chocolate, Ginger
Prep Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 32 minutes
Servings 12
Author Anagha

Ingredients

  • 1 1⁄2 cups All purpose flour
  • 1 tsp Unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup Coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Light brown sugar
  • 3/4 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 Oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 3 Oz Candied Ginger
  • Flaky sea salt(like Maldon) for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda, and set aside.

  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer  with the paddle attachment, cream butter, coconut oil, both sugars, and salt. 

    Cream on medium speed until pale and fluffy, it typically takes 1-2 mins

     Add the egg, and mix until combined.

    On low speed, add the flour mixture, and mix to incorporate. Mix in the chocolate and ginger until just combined.

  3. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Press and shape to form a 1-inch-thick rectangle, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

  4. For baking :

    Preeheat the oven to 375°F

    Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. 

    Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on top. Slice into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and transfer to the prepared sheets, leaving at least 1 inch between each. 

    Sprinkle with sea salt.

  5. Bake until the edges have crisped slightly, 10–12 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

  6. Dont be tempted to bake longer, trust me this time is enough 

Note:

The first time I made a batch of these cookies I followed the exact recipe, but the second time I substituted the coconut oil with equal amounts of unsalted butter. Also, I added a pinch of dried ground ginger to the dry ingredients. Try this variation for flakier cookies!

Categories
Belgian bread Breakfast Brunch dessert

Real Belgian waffles

I love a good breakfast. When my family goes on vacation, I always look for hotels which have a breakfast buffet. You start your day right when you feed your soul and tummy with good food at the beginning of the day.I love a good breakfast. When my family goes on vacation, I always look for hotels which have a breakfast buffet. You start your day right when you feed your soul and tummy with good food at the beginning of the day.

I love this quote from Winnie the Pooh;

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”

“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”

“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.” 

See doesn’t it make complete sense?

I love Indian breakfast foods, like Pohe, Parantha, and Appe. And eggs are always classic breakfast candidates, I love them even for dinner. In fact, I do ‘breakfast for dinner’ more often than I probably should. Eggs Benedict are perfect when you are in a mood to indulge, and ‘Huevos rancheros’ when you want something spicy. I love good scrambled eggs, made the French way. A video on those will be coming soon!

When I am in a mood to make something special, waffles are always on the breakfast or brunch table. I love making different types of waffles: savory, plain or something so decadent that you can have it for dessert. Today’s recipe was introduced to me by my son, Mihir. He is not only a foodie, but my best critic and a great cook as well. He makes some mean pork and fish.

He ate these waffles at Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco and loved them. So obviously, as soon as he was back home, we started chatting about it and next thing we knew, we were planning brunch for the weekend.

What we might picture as Belgian waffles are very popular in the United States; typically, a waffle that is much thicker than the standard American waffle but made with the regular pancake batter. In the process of making these waffles, I learned that the true Belgian waffles are in fact more like a brioche dough, enriched and risen with yeast.

Look how gorgeous the dough looks with all that amazing yeast at work.

The yeasty dough and the pearl sugar is what make this recipe special.

So what is Pearl Sugar.

I did not about this until came across this recipe. I even found an article that shed a little more light on this. When I wanted to make this recipe, I searched on Amazon and found this. Sometimes its also called Nib Sugar.

If you don’t find pearl sugar, you can take the sugar cubes we get for coffee/tea, and crush them a rolling pin.

When the sugary goodness melts and caramelizes, its just divine. I love serving it with just freshly whipped cream and sometime some fresh fruit compote.

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I know its a dish that you need to plan ahead, but trust me its really worth all that planning and effort.

So give it a try and let me know how you liked it

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I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen who had heavily tweaked from the excellent Gaufre de Liège Recette Blog and the copious notes of Not Martha.

Categories
Breakfast Indian Maharashtrian Snack Vegetarian

Dahi Sabudana- tapioca pearls with spiced yogurt

Spring/summer  is here. The rain gods have been kind and hence all the mountains around where I live are still green.  Near my home there is a barn and they bring out their sheep for grazing at this time, with the rolling hills, and the sheep,  it feels like Swiss countryside.
In India, we celebrate Holi. During holi a effigy of a demoness is burnt in fire. This demoness symbolizes all the mean thoughts, all the resentments that one might be carrying, you burn it all in the fire of Holi.  This is the time when we celebrate New Year according to the lunar calendar. Interestingly around the same time Parsi’s and Iranis’s also celebrate Navrouz, which translates to ‘New Day’. In short its all about starting afresh, leaving all the baggages that you might be carrying and focus on the future.

In India we have Navratri ( which translates to ‘9 nights’) twice a year. Interestingly they both fall when the season changes from hot to cold and cold to hot. One is in spring time and one in fall. During this time you fast, you don’t eat meat, regular vegetables, no cereals. I think it is very much needed, it gets your body time to adjust and also get ready for the new season. Its like a cleanse, where you eat light foods, people also try not to eat garlic & onion.


Each region in India has its own rules of what to eat and what not to eat during these nine months, some eat spinach, some eat tomatoes, others don’t. A few things like tapioca, water chestnut, sweet potatoes, cucumber are eaten across the country.

I come from Maharashtra where Sabudana Khichadi is very popular. I recently did an Insta story on it. Whenever I ask my kids what they want special for breakfast, the answer is Sabudana Khichadi . My husband can eat bowls of it. I normally end up making enough so I have leftovers as he likes to eat it the next day again.

Everyone knows Sabudana Khicadi but might not know this recipe. My mom makes it so well, my sister can eat bowls of it for days and not get tired. I like it more than Khichadi because it feels kind of cooling and I love yogurt 🙂

Dahi Sabudana

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups tapioca pearls ( you can get them in any indian grocery store)
  • 3-4 green chilies ( I use the thai chilies that are super spicy)
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1/3 cup roasted peanut powder
  • 1 cup buttermilk (if you can not get buttermilk, you can churn 1/2 yogurt with 3/4 cup water)
  • 1 cup
  • salt to taste
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Method

  • Dry roast sabudana/tapioca
  • After it is cooled down, soak in some water for about 30 mins
  • Pound the cumin seeds and chilies to make a coarse paste. I prefer using mortar pestle but you can also use a chopper
  • After 30 mins, drain all the water and soak in buttermilk for at least 4-5 hours.
  • Now add yogurt ( preferably whole milk), roasted peanut powder, chili-cumin mixture and salt n sugar to taste.
  • Garnish with cilantro

Note:

  • You can also cook the sabudana in water until it is translucent ( instead of roasting and soaking in buttermilk).
  • Mix it with yogurt, roasted peanut powder, salt, sugar and the chili cumin mixture. You can also  add tadka of ghee jeera mirchi if desired
  • Garnish with cilantro
Categories
Breakfast French Kids favorite Snack Vegetarian

Leek, Potato & Goat cheese Galette with Pistachio Crust

Last few days have been very challenging, I consider myself a very strong person but it is amazing how vulnerable one gets when they are emotionally invested. I know it will be alright eventually but right now it hurts.  I really needed to do something that takes my attention away. So I have started lifting weights and  decided to try at least one new  recipe every week.

I love love brunches. You can try different things than your usual lunch and you are not rushed to have everything ready. Perfect for lazy mornings and occasions like Mother’s day. On the occasion of Mother’s day, I am sharing this recipe that can be a perfect addition to your brunch table. You can make the prep ahead of time and then comes together in less than 15 mins.

I love nuts, and especially pistachios. I am in love with combination of  green, pink colors you see in these raw nuts. I recently made a nice torte with pistachio crust and it was a major hit at my work.  Todays recipe uses the nuts in the crust, giving it a unique toasty flavor and crunch.


I had seen this recipe on Bon Appetit and have been wanting to make it. I have grown fond of goat cheese recently and loved the contrast of the tangy, creamy goat cheese against the caramelized leeks and sweetness of honey.

Goat Cheese & Leek Galette with pistachio crustPistachio Galette

 

Ingredients

For the dough

  • ½ cup shelled pistachios
  • 2½ cups unbleached flour
  •  1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

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Toppings

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 large leek, halved lengthwise, white and pale-green parts only, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup  heavy cream
  • 4 ounces goat cheese
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  •  2/3 Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
  • 4 tablespoons coarsely chopped dill, plus more for serving
  • 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
  •  1 large egg, beaten to blend Honey (for drizzling)
  • Crushed szechuan peppercorns
  • Flaky sea salt (optional; for serving)_MG_3039

Method

 Dough

  • Pulse pistachios in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add flour, kosher salt, and sugar and pulse until combined.
  • Add butter and pulse until a coarse meal forms.
  • With motor running, slowly add ½ cup ice water and process until dough comes together.
  • Transfer dough to a work surface, form into a ball, and flatten to a disc.
  • Wrap dough in parchment and chill 30 minutes.
Dough
crust

Topping

  • Preheat oven to 400º. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low; cook leek, stirring occasionally and being careful not to brown, until just softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, mix cream, goat cheese, and garlic in a medium bowl until smooth. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
  • Transfer dough to a work surface and divide into 4 pieces.
  • Working with one piece at a time, roll out to an 8″ round.

Layer it up

  • Using an offset spatula, spread one-quarter of the goat cheese mixture on dough, leaving a 1″ border.
  • Top with 1 Tbsp. dill and a thin layer of potato slices. Drizzle with oil and season with kosher salt.
  • Top with one-quarter of the leeks. Fold edges over, overlapping slightly.
  • Carefully transfer galette to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
  • Brush crusts with egg wash. Bake galettes until crusts are golden brown and potatoes are soft, 30–40 minutes. If you want to make a vegetarian version, you can skip the egg and instead use some water mixed milk to brush the edges.

Cut slice

Original Recipe:

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/goat-cheese-leek-and-potato-galette-with-pistachio-crust#recipe-ingredients

Categories
Cookies Italian

Coffee-Almond biscotti

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This year is supposed to be a El Niño year, which means a lot of rain is expected. We have been hoping that it rains a lot and gives a relief from the drought situation in California. It has rained but not too much, so when this weekend it poured, everyone was super happy.

Rain always makes us think of Pakodas( fried lentil fritters), a cup of ginger tea. Rain makes everything look so pretty. Spring is in the air, flowers everywhere. The wisteria in our garden is looking gorgeous, vibrant with purple chandeliers.

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It was a very relaxing weekend, we had an amazing lunch at our favorite ethiopian place. They make such incredible food, especially their chicken is cooked so well. We ended that meal with a ethiopian coffee, which is always accompanied with a fragrant herb, ‘rue’. You let the herb seep in it’s flavors in the coffee before you drink it.

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Talking about coffee, recently my family has been obsessed with coffee. My son has been taking very scientific approach to coffee making. Weighing the coffee beans, freshly ground with handheld steel coffee grinder, water temperature measured by thermometer, even the pour has to be perfect. He looks like Alton Brown every time he makes coffee. He made me a macchiato with a little heart a few weekends ago, so perfectly made.

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On my recent trip to Guatemala, I visited this coffee shop which not only serves amazing coffee but also sells beans from the neighbouring areas. I picked a few pounds from there and we also replicated the same set up at home. It made such an amazing cup of coffee.

IMG_4349I love coffee in many forms whether it is coffee ice cream or Tiramisu or even Tiramisu french toast for breakfast, I love it all. So when we were talking about some cookie to go with the coffee, I decided to make this Biscotti. I love making biscotti for many reasons, you can make it ahead of time, you can make so many variations and they are not fragile so they transport well.

Since I love the coffee flavor, I decided to add it to the biscotti as well.

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Ingredients

2 3/4 cups of unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 stick of unsalted butter softened

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs at room temperature

1 pinch of salt

3 tsp instant granulated coffee

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup of almonds roughly chopped

Chocolate dip

5 oz of dark chocolate chips

crushed almonds or sliced almonds

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt together.

Cream the softened butter with sugar.

Add coffee granules and vanilla mix a little more.

Add one egg at a time while the mixer is running.

Scrape down the liquid ingredients.

Add the flour mixture a little at a time. The dough will be sticky at this point. Keep the dough in the fridge so it will firm up and will be easier to handle.

Take the dough out and divide in two parts.

Form two logs of about 2 inch by 8 inch. Remember this will spread as they bake so dont make them wider than 2 inches.

Place the logs on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Bake for 25-30 mins.

Take it out of the oven and cool for 30 mins.

Biscotti means baked twice. So as the name suggests, we will be baking these twice.

Using a sharp serrated knife, cut in 1 inch slices.

Arrange these slices cut side down on a cookie sheet and bake again for 15-20 mins. Remember that these will harden as they cool so be careful to not overcook these.

After baking it the second time, let them cook on a rack.

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Chocolate sauce

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, heating in the 30 sec intervals, stirring in between.

Dip one end of the cooled biscotti in the melted chocolate and sprinkle with crushed almonds. Layer them back on the parchment paper till the chocolate is solid again.

These store very well in a airtight container.

Serve with your favorite cup of coffee.

 

Variation:

You can skip the coffee granules in the batter, and add 1/4 cup of cocoa instead.

You can also make these with no chocolate or cocoa or almonds in the batter, and add 1 tsp of Anise seeds, 1/2 cup of cranberries & 1/2 cup of pistachio instead.

 

 

 

 

 

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