Beetroot, Pear and Feta Salad with Orange Balsamic Reduction

 This is a gorgeous salad and a must try. Even my Dad who is a little conservative in his tastes (as he ages, else it was he who was the ultimate foodie when I was growing up!!) loved it and had second and third helpings. I initially made this for this dinner with friends and served it with a Lamb Chilli and Spaghetti Aglio - E Olio, but it is so simple that this can be a quick addition for an everyday meal with just pasta or even grilled chicken or fish.

The original idea comes from Feast on Cheap which has the beets roasted in her version while I pressure cooked them. Indian beets must be different because they just didn't cook in the oven after all that time. Pressure cooking was way simpler. Also, the orange balsamic reduction is from another recipe of hers but I liked it so much I incorporated it into this one. I omitted the onions/shallots in the original recipe because Indian onions are quite pungent. Be sure to mix the pears and the beets only when ready to serve because otherwise the pears will turn blood red - my pic was taken after 15 minutes and its already red.

The sweet flavours of the beet and the pear are interpersed with a sharp tartness from the balsamic vinaigrette and heightened by the salty feta - my favourite!. Such a beautiful combination of flavours!!

Beetroot, Pear and Feta Salad with Orange Balsamic Reduction

(Adapted from Feast on Cheap)

Ingredients:
Beetroot - 3 medium
Pear - 1 ripe - firm variety
Feta Cheese crumbled - 1/2 cup (about 100 gm)
Walnuts - 1/2 cup (toasted and lightly rubbed to remove the peel)
Coriander leaves - 2-3 tbsp
Dressing:
Orange juice - 4 tbsp
Balsamic vinegar - 1/2 cup
Olive oil - 2tbsp
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Grated giner - 1/2 tsp
Grated garlic - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Freshly crushed black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste


1.  Put the beets into a vessel or directly in a pressure cooker, with a little water and cook for one whistle (8-10 minutes)
2. Meanwhile,  heat the balsamic vinegar and orange juice together on a medium flame till it reduces to half (about 4-5 minutes), stirring occasionally.
3. Whisk in all the other ingredients of the dressing along with the orange juice reduction and keep aside to allow the flavours to meld.
4. Once the pressure cooker can be opened and the beets have cooled, peel them, cut the ends and then cut into 1" cubes or thinner (I did thinner slices). Place in the salad bowl you will be serving them in.
5.Cut the pears into very thin slices. Crumble the feta cheese.
6. Add the toasted walnuts, feta cheese, and pears to the beets and toss with the dressing till well mixed. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve immediately.
7. To make ahead and serve later, toss the beets in 1/2 the dressing and refrigerate covered. In another bowl. In another bowl, add the feta, pears and walnuts and rerigerate covered. Just before serving, add the pears, walnuts and feta to the beet bow, toss with the remaining dressing and garnish with chopped coriander.

Garlic Bread Soup - and other Leftover Tales

This is a literally a recipe which came about because of Leftovers. My usually dependable recipe for paav went kaput and I was left saddled with a laadi of baked but inedible pav. Well one could technically eat them, but not actually enjoy them. Plus I had a dinner with some friends and there was French baguette left over the next day, which became quite hard and stale by the next day since it was outside uncovered while we chatted and ate.

I found a great savoury pudding recipe from Mark Bittman which I adapted to make a bake for the dinner itself. But the French bread was languishing the day after and getting harder everyday. So I looked around and found that soups were another great way of using up leftover bread! And this soup is so good, I would gladly buy fresh bread to make it! A great find by the way for someone like me who loves soup - The Joy of Soup

It looks very ordinary but the combination of garlic and onion and bread is simply awesome. I didn't add as much cheese and stuck to Cheddar instead of Parmesan - but I did use much more garlic and it was just amazing. The flavours of this soup come together very well and I must ask you try this - we had this in 38C weather, so its not like one of those hearty, warming soups which make you feel all full - its quite light.

 

Garlic Bread Soup

Recipe adapted from The Joy of Soup

Onion - 1 chopped
Garlic - half a bulb of garlic - not a clove, but half of a whole garlic, chopped
Bread - crusty French  bread is great, but any bread you want to use up is good. - about 1 cup diced.
1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 3 cups of water. (about 600-700ml)
1 bay leaf
2-3 peppercorns

1/2 tsp paprika powder
salt, pepper and olive oil

1/4 cup cream
2-4 tbsp grated cheddar cheese
parsley/coriander to garnish

1. heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the onions, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves to it. Saute for about 5-7 minutes till the onions turn a little brown.
2. Add salt and the chicken stock and bring to boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes on a low flame and then add the paprika powder and some more salt if needed
3, Add the bread and wait for it to dissolve into the soup. Remove and cool. Blend into a smooth consistency.
4. Add the cream and warm gently on a low flame. Add the cheese and wait till it dissolves or add it individually when serving in bowls. Garnish

Insalata Caprese

This is a beautiful salad - Toninos on M G Road makes a lovely one - this is the first time I made it at home. Simple and delicious. Tomatoes, Mozarella Cheese, crushed pepper, salt, extra virgin olive oil and parsley (should have been basil leaves but didn't find any). Less than 5 ingredients to Nirvana

Basically, just slice and layer the tomatoes and the mozarella and then drizzle the olive oil, season and garnish with herbs. The important thing is to use really fresh and good quality ingredients - so the tomatoes should be nice and juicy, some nice mozarella and extra virgin olive oil.

Creamy Mushroom Risotto

I grew up eating phulkas/chapatis every day for lunch, since it was so much easier to carry to school and work. Mom, born and brought up in Chennai, is definitely a rice eater and while she continues to have chapatis for one meal for health reasons, she is most happy with a plate of rice before her. For the longest time I vehemently believed I was not a rice eater. Turns out, that while I do love phulkas, when I haven't had rice for sometime, I hanker for it.

Just about the time I was noticing this, I also figured that my tummy was perfectly fine when I travelled abroad - so I pin pointed the difference down to the chapatis that I have for lunch every day when I'm home. Too much fibre for my digestive system (which struggles with any kind of fibre - just found I can't tolerate soy milk as well !). So, I sadly parted with the daily chapatis and now struggle to finish my rice, which I find makes me drowsy in the afternoons. I am currently experimenting with less rice and more veggies, but since I lose weight so rapidly, I need to keep up my carb intake and so try to alternate with pasta and sandwiches twice a week - yes, we skinny types have our problems too, Thank you very much!

Anyway, so why do I say I love rice? because my eyes light up when I see a steaming bowl of khichdi. my ears perk up when I hear of a nice biryani joint. Sunday afternoons are almost always rice based meals - all the better to have nice nap after. I dream of the sticky rice at Monk - a great Chinese restaurant in the Galaxy Hotel, Gurgaon. And, as my good friends have pointed out to me, I love ordering a risotto when I go out to a nice Italian restaurant.

Now this may also be because I have become instinctively aware of what rests easier on my stomach and so automatically gravitate towards it. Or maybe because there is something so alluring about a well made risotto - where each grain of rice is cooked just so. Not too little so that its crunchy and not too much so that it becomes a soggy mess. The creaminess of the stock and the starch melding to make a wholesome, satsifying dish - the subtle flavours of the herbs or mushroom or cheese making it such a good meal. And since it does take a bit of elbow grease and patience to turn it out at home, why not make the most of having it when you are out!

A couple of Sundays back, I pulled out the pack of Arborio rice which had been sitting in my cupboard for too long, determined to have risotto for lunch. Out came my (now) fav cookbook - Nigella Express, where I remembered seeing a cheese risotto and adapted the recipe to include mushrooms in it. The risotto was topped with some sharp cheddar cheese and was just perfect for our afternoon meal - one of our first winter meals in fact.

The important thing to remember about risottos is to keep stirring it gently, without being brisk and rough and breaking the grains of rice; also make sure the stock is warm all the time. Keep adding the stock one ladle at a time just as the earlier one gets absorbed;  take it off the heat while the dish is still creamy and serve immediately so that it doesn't dry out.

Creamy Mushroom Risotto

1 cup arborio rice

1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil
1 medium onion sliced thin
6-7 mushrooms, sliced thin
1/3 cup white wine
1 tsp mustard
3 cups hot vegetable stock
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

1. Heat the pan and add the butter, when it melts add the oil. saute the onions till transluscent
2. Add the sliced mushrooms and saute till it releases water, drain the water into the hot stock. Add the rice and saute 2 minutes.
3. Add the white wine and the mustard and stir till wine is absorbed.
4. Add the hot stock one ladle at a time and stir when it is absorbed fully before putting in the next ladle of stock. Continue in this way - it took me almost half an hour before the rice was cooked - no overcooking till it is mushy, so it might feel like it still has a bite to it when you taste it.
5. Add the grated cheese along with a dash of freshly ground pepper.
6. Ladle straight into warmed plates, still stirring and eat immediately.

Baked Cauliflower in a Creamy Sauce

I know there are some people who don't like cauliflower because of the smell which is common to vegetables like these including cabbage, broccoli etc. These are called cruciferous vegetables because they are grown from stalks that are cross shaped sectionally. The smell, however, is due to chemicals ( in particular sulphur compunds) which have been shown to lower the risk of cancer. These chemicals stimulate the production of enzymes which are now known to break down carcinogens and thus aid in preventing cancer. Who would have thought huh?

I personally like cauliflower a lot - whether cooked with potatoes Punjabi style to make Aloo Gobhi or put into a South Indian kurma with other vegetables. Cauliflower is a very accomodating vegetable and shares space very easily with other vegetables. However, it becomes a little monotonous to have the same recipes every week, so I try to move things around a bit by changing the way we eat the same vegetable.

This was one attempt at doing that - cauliflower made in a kind of casserole to go with a potato bread I had made earlier that morning. For something which rustled up so quickly, it had lots of flavour and was a good match with the crusty bread. Definitely a must-try - the chicken soup can be substituted with any other thick soup like Cream of Mushroom. The top becomes a little bit crusty while the inside stays creamy.



1 medium Cauliflower

1 onion chopped fine
1" ginger - finely chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
green chillies - 2 sliced

2 tomatoes finely chopped
salt to taste
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp


1/2 packet Knorr Chicken Delite Soup dissolved in 350ml water
1 1/2 cubes grated cheese (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped coriander

1. Cut away the hard stems of the cauliflower and immerse it whole into salted water for about 10 minutes. (This will get any bugs/worms out)
2. Wash the cauliflower and separate into small florets, cutting with a knife if necessary.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic, ginger and green chillies and saute for few seconds, put in the onion and saute till translucent and soft.
4. Add the chilli powder and coriander powder and saute, then add tomatoes and salt and cook till pulpy. (go easy on the salt because the soup mixture will have some)
5. Add the cauliflower , cover and cook for about 5-8 minutes till half cooked.
6. Pour in the dissolved soup mixture and bring to boil and cook for about a minute. Pre heat the oven to 190C
7. Add the grated cheese (reserving about 2 tbsp for the topping) and the coriander and turn off.
8. Pour the cauliflower into a casserole, sprinkle the grated cheese over it and bake for 15 minutes.

Cheesy Pasta Bake

Mac & Cheese has somehow not held me in thrall though this largely American dish seems to be a sure fire crowd pleaser. I used to be mystified about the various recipes that peppered the foreign magazines my circulating library in Chennai delivered. There was “classic Mac n Cheese”, “Mac n Cheese with a twist”, “Mom’s secret recipes” – I couldn’t imagine the to-do over what is essential cooked macaroni baked with a rich cheese sauce. Apparently, this dish became even more popular when Kraft introduced its instant version, packaged as a “meal in a box”, where the cheese sauce was made from powder base – this idea got a big boost with the World War II rationing and working women which meant that meat, dairy products and time were all in short supply.

Now, I’m no food snob and actively encourage the “to each his own” attitude; I suspect that the blandness of this dish is what makes me stay away. We usually like a nice pesto pasta and an Arrabiata sauce is also a great favourite with us. My daughter who dotes on pasta usually gets a version which has lots of veggies in it, a mild tomato sauce which is finished with a dash of milk and gratings of cheese.

But there are those days when you crave carbs and lots of cheese – okay, okay, not you, It’s just me! But I do. This cheesy bake was made on one such day. I did put in veggies though, since I couldn’t imagine eating just pasta and cheese and also added a couple of tablespoons of pureed tomatoes to give it some more flavour. It's a modified version of Mac & Cheese I guess....

It was deliciously satisfying to cut into that cheesy white sauce covered bake…..so tell me, what do you do when the craving for carb strikes? What is the dish that acts as an immediate remedy? – is it rice and sambar? Or khichdi? Or aloo paratha?

Cheesy Pasta Bake

Dad's Spanish Omelette

Sunday breakfasts cooked by Dad were really special. While he was in Iran, he learnt to make a mean Spanish omelet from the Swedish engineers he worked with there. The last time he made this for me was on my birthday 4 years back and he hadn’t lost his touch. It was simply delicious – thick wedges layered with potatoes, stuffed with slowly browned onions and capsicums, topped with cheese. Hmmm… reminds me, I should ask him to make it again the next time he visits.

When I grew up and started reading more about food, I found that in Spain this is called a “tortilla” and is widely served as a snack or a light meal in Spain – especially in Tapas bars. Quite a different concept from the breakfast dish I had always known it as. In Britain it is called Spanish omelet, while in Italy there is a version which is called “Frittata”. They are all flat open faced omelets with a large variation in the fillings and while the bottom is cooked on the stove top, the top is finished in the oven. Read more here.

I made this recently on a Sunday morning (for some reason I can’t wrap my head around making this on any other day! I guess the tradition continues...) Along with the potatoes I also tossed in some sliced sausages and topped it with feta cheese, dried herbs and fresh coriander. The combinations for a frittata are endless - feel free to experiment with bell peppers, mushrooms and any other ingredient you fancy.

Frittata cooking on the stove top

Go easy on the salt if you are using feta cheese since it is naturally salty. Even my daughter gets to share this lovely breakfast because I sprinkle the crushed pepper and some chilli flakes only on 3/4th of the frittata leaving one wedge for her to enjoy.

Frittatas usually use anywhere between 6 to 10 eggs - thats how you get those thick wedges which you can cut. Which is why I usually make these when we have friends staying over with us....makes for a nice brunch of sorts without too much time spent in the kitchen. This time, since it was just the three of us (2.5 actually!), I used 3 eggs. I don't have a smaller non stick pan so I used the normal one which is why it is much thinner than usual.

When making the frittata with 6 eggs or more, I use a round oven proof tin - first on the stovetop and then later in the oven to set the top. This time I put the non stick pan inside the oven - not a good idea at all.
a. Non stick pans are as such a bad idea because of the teflon coating (am trying to find some good cast iron frying pans I can season and use) and one inside the oven isn't a good idea either.
b. I kept in there for about 3-4 minutes, but it might melt the plastic handle of the frying pan.

So, what I'm going to do in future (and would suggest the same for anyone trying this) is to use an oven proof pan which I can also use on the stove top. Think pie pans, roasting tins....

I am sending this recipe on to Family Recipes - the event which brings memories of family, food and fun - the brainchild of Shelby and Laura.

Dad’s Spanish Omelet

Ingredients:

Eggs - 6

Milk - 1 tbsp

salt and pepper to taste

Potatoes - 2, sliced thin and cooked in water for about 8 minutes, till almost done

Mushrooms/sausages/bell peppers - 1/2 cup sliced thin

Red chilli flakes/paprika powder - 1 tsp

Fresh coriander & mint - 1/4 cup chopped

Dried herbs (optional) - 1/4 tsp

Feta cheese - 100 gm

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in an oven proof tin and arrange the parboiled potato slices at the bottom of the tin and cook each side till golden, about 5 minutes.

2. While that is cooking, beat the eggs and the milk along with the salt and pepper. When the potatoes are almost done, add the mushrooms/sausages/bell peppers to the pan and cook on low for about 5 minutes till they wilt.

3. Pour in the egg mixture and wait till it spread evenly. Sprinkle the fresh herbs, dried herbs, red chilli flakes and feta cheese. Pre heat the oven to 180C

4. After about 2-3 minutes, the egg would have set and the bottom would be almost cooked; Put the tin into the oven (or under the grill) and bake for about 5 minutes till the top is cooked and golden. The cheese will also have melted. Serve warm, cut into wedges along with a hunk of bread on the side.

Olive and Feta Cheese Spiced Rustic Bread

Haven't baked bread for a long long time now though I have been itching to get into the kitchen for a spot of baking. Oh the joys of full time work! It's worse when you know one of your birthday gifts was a book on breads by Sara Lewis and you have been using it as bedtime reading, drooling over the pics instead of sinking your teeth into one of them!

Well, though I had a very long Saturday (AGAIN!) I was determined to bake bread. So, broke out the yeast and set to work. The book had some excellent recipes for flavoured breads and I loved the Spiced Potato and Onion bread as well as the Olive and Tomato Tear and Share Bread. So what does this Gemini do when faced with making a decision - combine the recipes and modify them of course! :)

I didn't have time to boil the potatoes since it was already 7 pm. So I decided to use only the fennel and cumin from that recipe and stick to the olive bread for the most part. Since I didn't have any sun dried tomatoes at home, I decided to use feta cheese instead. I know, I know - bear with me - it gets better, I promise. Then to stir things up some more, I fried some chopped onions with the fennel and cumin seeds and kneaded it into the bread and replaced two thirds of the flour with whole wheat flour.

I was a bit worried after this whether the bread would even rise with the different proportions I had used, but I needn't have worried; the flour didn't know about my penchant for experimentation. It doubled beautifully the first time and when I added the olives and feta cheese and kept it for the second proofing, it rose again.

I baked it for 25 minutes and then covered it with foil to prevent it from browning too much and continued baking for another five minutes. The crust was beautiful and the insides were nice and soft. The flavours were really nice - the fennel and the feta cheese being a great combination!

I an sending this to the 3rd World Bread Day being hosted over at Zorro's in celebration of World Bread Day '08 which falls on October 16th this year.
The original World Bread Day - an event created by UIB International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners - wants to provide an opportunity to talk about bread and bakers, to find out about their history, their importance as well as their future.

Olive and Feta Cheese Spiced Rustic Bread
(Adapted from The Bread Book by Sara Lewis)

Whole Wheat flour - 3 cups
Refined flour - 1 cup and upto half a cup more if needed
Active dried yeast - 2 1/2 tsp
1.5 cups water
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Chopped Olives - 1/2 cup
Feta Cheese - 1/2 cup crumbled


1 big onion chopped fine
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp
1 tsp oil

1.Warm the water and mix in the sugar and yeast and leave for about 15 minutes till it froths and bubbles.
2.Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin and fennel seeds and when they crackle, add the onions and chilli flakes and fry on low for 5 minutes till soft and browned.
3. Mix both the flours along with the yeast, onion mixture and salt and knead well for about 10 minutes to a smooth dough. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in a warm place for about an hour till it rises and doubles in size.
4.Punch the dough down and knead again for about 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball 8" inch in size, place on an oiled baking tray and pat in the chopped olives and sprinkle crumbled feta on top.
Keep aside for another half an hour to 45 minutes till it rises again.
5. Bake in a pre heated oven at 180C or 350F for about 25 minutes. If the crust is getting too brown in the last 10 minutes, cover with aluminum foil till done.
6.Remove from the tray and cool on a rack till completely cool.

Baked Eggs

What do you do when the rest of the family (which is just 1 and a quarter members anyway) wants to eat cornflakes and oats for breakfast on a Sunday morning when you are in the mood for something more elaborate? - Why?! Go right ahead and make something just for yourself.

And its even better if it is something which can be specifically be made in portions for just one person; that way when its time to eat breakfast with everyone else, you don't have to "share".
*evil grin*

Wicked thoughts aside, I was really in the mood to have some eggs for breakfast, but making an omelet with just one egg was not fun while two eggs were too many for a single person. So I baked myself an egg in a ramekin.

The fancy name for this is Eggs en Cocette. Cream, ham, veggies and cheese with just set eggs make a perfect breakfast for one in about 15 minutes. Of course, you can make as many as the people at your table.

I used cream cheese, tomatoes, coriander and LOTS of pepper for my version of this protein packed breakfast. It goes to Weekend Breakfast Blogging's (WBB) second anniversary edition being hosted by Raaga of the Singing Chef - this month focuses on Express Breakfasts. WBB is originally the idea of Nandita of Saffron Trail.

Baked Eggs

1 Egg
1 tbsp Cream Cheese
Half a tomato chopped
2 tbsp coriander leaves
salt
pepper

1. Preheat the oveen to 220C
2. Lightly grease a ramekin and fill the bottom with the cream cheese
3. Top the cream cheese with tomatoes and chopped coriander. (If you want to add other veggies like mushroom, zucchini etc, just saute them a bit before adding)
4. Carefully break an egg into the ramekin on top of the tomatoes and coriander.
5. Add salt and pepper - grated cheese can be added at this stage.
6. Place the ramekin into a baking dish with water in it which covers 3/4 th of the ramekin.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes, I cooked it till it was firm and set.
8. Eat it from the ramekin with toasted bread while other members look on wide eyed :)

Elaborate versions here and here.

Revisiting recipes – Crustless Quiche with Spinach and Feta Cheese

I have often wanted to make this recipe of mine; invariably I would either be out of eggs or feta cheese. Last week when my daughter had a day off from school, a couple of friends and I planned an "art day"for the kids at my place. (Read keeping the kids busy and out of our hair!)

My upstairs neighbour organised the brushes, the face paint and loads of one sided paper. Some simple cuts in potato and brinjal halves and they had a whale of a time dipping them in the paint and making block prints! Then there was spray painting which they did with cut outs and an old toothbrush. Of course most of the paints seemed to be on them than on the paper LOL!

Lunch was a mixed spread. Phulkas, Lobia Saag (Cowpeas beans and Spinach Gravy), Cucumber and Tomato salad, Crustless Quiche with Spinach and Feta cheese, Brown Rice with Chicken and Pumpkin and Apple Crisp.

I have made a similar quiche before using roasted peppers and cream cheese. I wanted to make it again with different ingredients; spinach was the first thing which came to mind and since I had feta cheese too, it seemed perfect.

I was searching for other ideas and I came across this recipe from Baking Bites - the talk of flour that would automatically separate from the batter and form a crust seemed too exciting, though I had used flour in my earlier recipe too and didn't remember a crust forming. I decided to try this once again and adapted the recipe.

The quiche was good and we really liked the wedges we had; the browned top making a lovely contrast to the flaky insides and the delicious feta complimenting the overall taste. But I didn't get the crust effect separately though the bottom was quite firm. Maybe next time I will stick to the recipe completely and see what happens since the flour proportion was quite different from what I used in mine.

Crustless Quiche with Spinach and Feta Cheese

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
Refined flour (maida) - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Baking soda - pinch
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Egg whites - 3
Milk - 1 cup
Spinach - 1 cup cleaned and chopped
Onions - 1 cup chopped
Feta cheese - 1/3 cup cut into small squares
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Carom seeds (ajwain/omam) - 1/4 tsp
Crushed black pepper - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.
2. Pre heat the oven to 180C and grease a 10" pie pan or a shallow baking pan. Take a pan, heat the oil and put in some ajwain seeds, when they change colour (1/2 a minute), add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes till transluscent. Then add the chopped spinach and saute till it softens and wilts (about 3 minutes). Remove and cool.
3. Whisk the egg whites and add the milk, salt, crushed black pepper and chilli powder to it.
4. Mix in the flour mixture gently and then add the spinach onion mixture.
5. Pour in the batter into the prepared pie plate and place the pieces of feta cheese on top.
6. Bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes, a toothpick inserted will come out clean and the top will be golden brown.

Cream Cheese and Coriander Spiced Bread

Its been a while since my first attempt at baking bread and this Sunday morning with an empty fridge staring me in my face, I decided to beat back the blues by getting out some yeast and flour. After all, it was Easter Sunday!

I also somehow got into my head to include cream cheese in whatever bread I chose to bake.....so while searching for recipes which would pander to my whims, I found this recipe adapted from the book Beard on Bread. And then I went a bit crazy....

I substituted the sour cream with cream cheese,grated cheddar cheese and fresh cream. Added lots of coriander and then remembering that lovely achaari bread loaf cooked up by J&B, spooned in a generous dollop of - hold your breath! - vathalkozhambu thokku!!! This is a fiery tamarind based gravy which is reduced to a thick consistency and it contains sun dried berries or vegetables (vatthal) which impart a distinctive flavour to it. Usually eaten with steamed rice, I had bought a bottle of this delicious Tamilian delicacy from that veritable institution - Grand Sweets - on my last trip to Chennai.

The other no-so-crazy touches to the recipe - I replaced part of the flour with wheat flour and also toned down the salt since both the pickle and the cream cheese had salt in it.

I sweated quite a bit while waiting for the bread to rise and then rise again and then finally bake. I had no idea how it would turn out and I regretted experimenting with something I was making for just the second time....

BUT, it wasn't a disaster - phew! It had a great crust though it didn't rise as much as I expected it to - I don't really think that that's because of the wheat flour since I have used a similar proportion for the poee before; I suspect the yeast - so out it goes. Its a pity we don't get smaller packets of yeast which we can use just once.

The aroma which came curling out of the oven was absolutely amazing - a mix of the typical yeasty smell of bread and the spice notes of pickle. And the taste matched it completely - a lovely mix of flavours which intensified overnight till the next day one could eat it - just.like.that. No need for any accompaniments. The oil from the pickle and the cream cheese seemed to make it really moist.

Couldnt even wait for the photo session to get over and I already had a bite out of it!

What I would do the next time around - cut down on the sugar mentioned for mixing the yeast and also cut down on the milk....I think the dough needed to be a tad firmer.
We had it with a simple masala omelet and it made a perfect Sunday breakfast.

This goes to the Bread Baking Day #8 being hosted over at Wild Yeast by Susan.
Celebration Bread and she says"For this month’s BreadBakingDay, you are invited to share your own spring holiday bread tradition, explore one you’re not yet familiar with, or start a new one".

While this is not a tradition in our home, it maybe the start of one for Easter every year; I used to get fresh buns and Easter eggs every year when I was a girl from the Anglo Indian family downstairs who doted on me and I hope my daughter does too! Here's to new beginnings then, especially in my brother's home - they have a lot to look forward this year!

Cream Cheese and Coriander Spiced Bread

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 1.5 cups
Refined flour (maida) - 2 to 2.5 cups
Yeast - 3 tsp
Warm water - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 3 tbsp (2 tbsp should suffice)
Cream Cheese - 1 cup
Grated cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup
Indian spicy pickle - 2 tablespoons (I used vathalkozhambu thokku)
Milk - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Chopped onions - 1/4 cup
Chopped coriander - 3/4 cup

Method:

1. Combine yeast and sugar in warm water and set aside for 5 minutes or till its foamy.
2. Take a large bowl, add the yeast mixture, salt, baking soda,cream cheese, grated cheese and pickle.
3. Mix in both the flours gardually adding the milk while kneading all the time. I added the milk all at once and had to add some more flour since it became too sticky. The flour should be fairly easy to handle and not too sticky.
4. Knead well and keep aside in a warm place, covered with cling film for about 1.5 hours till it doubles in size.
5. Lightly punch it down, knead again and divide into two parts. Shape into rounds and place on baking trays or put into loaf tins and set aside covered for another 30 - 45 minutes for the second rise.
6. Pre heat the oven to 375F or 190C and bake for about 25-30 minutes; if baking both together then swap the loaf tins after 15 minutes.