Life comes a full circle!

I have always been caught between the new and the old, modern Vs tradition. As a kid growing up in the city, summer vacations in kerala,India always made me realize the difference in the two lifestyles. There are so many things we have let go in the pursuit of technology. The simple life of our ancestors was so stress free.

There are no kachrewali knocking at the door to pick up the waste. Everything is "reused" there. Kitchen pipes are invariably let out in the garden. So no feeling of guilt while washing lentils or rice. All kitchen waste that go down the drain , promptly appear near the plants where you have a medley of animals feasting on it - hens,squirrel, crow, etc
Last month at my grandmother-in-laws house, i saw a crane pecking at the cow-dung water. My husband explained that it is picking the worms thriving in that water.

From these would sprout all kinds of plants - chillies, pumpkin.

Plastics were never heard of , though now they do seem to be appearing.

Our ancestors made curd on a daily basis. But now with various types of yoghurt being available in the market, it is so easy to pick up from the shop rather than making it at home. Over time we will forget how to make it at home and believe it is a very difficult thing to do. A few generations down the line, an enterprising person will decide to make it at home and realize what an easy thing it is. So while making huge strides into the unknown, we leave behind a few things.

The article that prompted this thought was a blog by a very sweet lady - Annie
http://annies-eats.com/2012/03/08/diy-greek-yogurt/

I never manage to make any of her dishes. But i just love reading her blogs - more than her recipes. Gives me an insight into her life, her thoughts.

While reading this particular article, it hit me that till last winter i would generally buy yoghurt packs from the shop - since they never turned out well at home. But then an elderly neighbor shared her recipe wherein she always has fresh homemade curd for lunch and dinner. Simple tricks like warmth of the milk, storage place, etc does wonders to the curd making process. So will this be another lost art here in India especially in the urban areas with our busy life's and easy availability of items ?

Here are a couple of blogs that expend on this concept
http://homemade-yogurt.blogspot.in/

Brahmakamal Blooms

Sugar Coated Cinnamon Rolls

Sugar Coated Cinnamon Rolls






This delicious snack/dessert is a an absolute delight to eat. I have made this a couple of times but this time i tried to replicate Ria's cinnamon roll recipe. Turned out delicious - especially the sugar frosting. The only addition i made to the dough is 2tsp of honey and 2tsp of milk powder (for additional flavour & richness).

Also this is the first time i tried bread dough with egg in it. I believe it made the dough more soft. For pure veg (like my husbands colleague - who couldnt taste this) the veg version of the dough is given below.

Another good reference is Perfect Cinnamon Buns @ veganyumyum site

Preparing the dough




Preparing the rolls





Bread Dough Ingredients (without egg)

• Maida - 250 gms
  
• Sugar - 10 gms
• Milk - 100ml
• Butter - 15gms
• Water - 50ml
• Salt - 1tsp
• Milk Powder - 1tbsp
• Fresh Yeast - 2tsp
  

Garden Spring View

View(s) from my garden

• Bird Feeder

• Tomato

• Coimbatore jasmine - Full bloom

• Helliconia

• Lemon Tree

• Mint

• Football Lily

• Chillies

Baked Bread Rolls

This is something i learn't in the cooking class- Mixed Platter - Corn n asparagus corustades . It is a good breakfast option.

Ingredients

• 1 onion - finley chopped



• 1 tsp olive oil



• pepper powder - as per choice



• 1/4 cup milk



• 2 tsp maida



• 1 tbsp cheese - grated



• Dry Herbs - 1/2 tsp oregano,1/4tsp basil



• Salt - as per taste



• Jalapenos or Olive - in addition to this use the water in which it is stored



• Hot Dog Rolls



• Vegetables of choice :-1/2 cup corn - boiled ; 1/4 cup broccoli - finely chopped; 2 tbsp bell pepper (red, green) - finely chopped; Mushrooms - finely chopped

Stuffing Preparation

1. Heat oil. Saute Onions till slightly brown



2. Add vegetables (finely chopped) - mushrooms, bell pepper, broccoli, corn.Saute till they are slightly cooked.



3. Keep flame low. Add maida and saute till light brown.Keep stirring at this stage to avoid the flour from sticking to the bottom.
   



4. Add herbs like oregano, basil.



5. Now add milk and water (1/3 cup). Mix well.



6. Add cheese (grated), salt, pepper. Mix well to ensure that cheese totally melts.
   



7. Add bottledwater of jalapenos/oliver (optional step). This adds more flavour.



8. Cook till the stuffing thickens.

Hot Dog Preparation

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1. Cut the hot dog roll into half.



2. Apply butter on both sides.



3. Toast hot dog roll on a pan.



4. Take a hot dog slice spread mayonnaise or salsa dip or chilly sauce or tomato ketchup on one side.



5. Then spread the prepared filling.



6. Grate cheese on top of it.



7. Sprinkle pepper powder.



8. Bake till cheese melts.



9. Serve hot.

P.S: This post has been written specially for my bro in US, who is struggling with breakfast options :).If he is able to replicate this,i would be very pleased.

Sausage Stir Fry

Another quick recipe with sausage

Ingredients

• Sausages - chop into circles
• Onion
• Spring Onion (green and onion)
• Roasted and Powdered Groundnuts
• Chilly powder
• Soya Sauce
• Chilly Sauce
• Salt

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add in chopped onions. Fry till light brown

2. Add in chopped spring onions.
3. Add in chopped sausages.

4. Add in salt, chilly powder and mix well.

5. Add in roasted groundnuts powder.Fry for some time.

6. Add in soya sauce and chiily sauce.

7. Keep on flame till a few more minutes.

8. Serve with rice.

Sausage Sandwich - his style!

This post is about a sandwich which is R's speciality.
Sunday was tired with all the household work and continuous cooking. So hubby stepped in to take the dinner load off my shoulders. Phew!!

There is a great difference in our styles of cooking. While mine is more random - oh! need a tomato now, let me fetch it from the fridge and chop some. His is more organised . All ingredients are collected, chopped and kept ready in small bowls (pictures speak for themselves).
So now that i am clicking photos to add to the blog recipes, it requires extra effort on my part. Guess need to learn some things from him!

So sunday we were treated to a sumptuous dinner of Egg-Sausages-Mushroom Bread Sandwich.

My brother who has recently been posted to US, is struggling with home cooking. He has been asking me for simple recipes which he can try out there. So this recipe (with all details) is just for him!

Ingredients

5-6 mushroom - thinly sliced

4-5 sausages/hot dogs - finely diced

3 green chilly - sliced and finely diced

3 eggs

2 onions - thinly sliced

butter

mayonnaise

pepper powder

cheese - grated

salt - as per taste

1 tsp milk

bread loaf/ burger buns to make sandwich

There are 3 parts to the sandwich making process

1. Make the egg omelete.
2. Prepare the bread base.
3. Assemble everything.

Part 1: Egg Omelette This is a fairly straightforward process. But R has a technique of stuffing the omelette to make it more rich. So instead of separately stuffing the bread with egg, sausages, etc. He prepares a jumbo omelette with all these stuff inside it. So here goes the recipe

 

1. Get all the ingredients (mushroom, sausages,onion) chopped and kept ready.
2. Whisk the egg in a bowl with a little salt , chopped chilly and a tsp of milk. Milk will make the omelette more fluffy.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add mushroom slices in it with a little pepper powder. Pan fry till all the water evaporates.Remove it into a bowl.
4. Next pan-fry sausages with pepper. When ready, remove it into a bowl.
5. Next pan-fry onion slices till brown in color and remove it into a bowl.
6. Now spread the whisked egg batter onto the pan (preferably non-stick).
7. Spread fried onion, mushroom & sausage slices on the top of the batter.
8. Cover the pan and let the omelette cook .
9. When it is cooked, remove from pan and cut into the serving slices.

NB: Another method would be to close the omelette, so that the stuffing is sealed inside the omelette as opposed to being visible on the top. So a layer of egg batter would have to be spread on the top of the stuffing while preparing the omelette.

Part 2: Preparing the bread base. 

1. Slice the bread loaf into half and then divide it into sections. If you are using burger buns then only slice it into half.
2. Smear the pan with butter
3. Toast the bread slices on the pan.Remove from pan.
4. Spread mayonnaise on the bread slices.Keep ready.

Part 3: Assembling the sandwich 

1. Smear pan with butter
2. Put in one part of the bread slice.
3. Add omelette on top of the slice. If some fried onion slices are remaining, you can add now.
4. Grate cheese on top of the omelette.
5. Cover it with the other bread slice.
6. Serve hot with potato wedges. 

This is a wholesome meal in itself. Enjoy !!

Update 13Mar2013:  With my bro happily married now (and not having bothered to try this recipe in his bachelor days) , his wife J has shown an interest in this recipe. So hopefully my lazy bro will finally get to relish this recipe!