Easy make Dinner bread rolls

In speaking with a good friend of mine Kavisha Pinto, she mentioned how easy it is to make dinner rolls. I attempted this make over Christmas when the hubby was late coming home from work for Christmas Eve. I was too busy slaving in the kitchen to step out to buy rolls and I'm glad it worked out that way or else I would have delayed my attempt to make this super easy rolls.

What you need:

• 11/2 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 4 tbsp of mayonnaise
• Pinch of salt (optional)

The Make:
Preparation time: 5 mins | Baking Time: 15-20 minutes | Makes 10 medium sized rolls

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. You can use a muffin tray if you are concerned about the shape or what I did was randomly divide the dough to 10 different parts and place it on a butter paper on a normal bake tray.

2. In a large bowl, sift in the flour and baking powder. Then add the milk and mayonnaise and stir in well.

3. Add the pinch of salt and mix once more.

4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven until browned or nicely puffed up.

Serve hot. Your family is sure to love this esp your little ones :)

Banana Milkshake

Summer time is kicking in and its time to bring out that blender with the seasonal fruits for those delicious and cool juices and shakes!

I feel almost stupid to write this recipe as it is so simple.. but I just want to give a cool welcome to this warm weather.

I have tried this one two ways, one for my toddler and another way for me:)



You need:

• 2 ripe bananas, roughly chopped
• 1/2 a beer mug of ice cubes
• 3-4 tbsp of sweetened cocoa or 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract or essence
• 2 cup of milk of your choice
• 1 tbsp of honey or brown sugar - if you are using cinnamon instead of the sweetened cocoa

The Make
Serves 2 | Preparation Time: 2 mins | Cooking Time: 0 mins

1. In a blender, toss in all the ingredients and blend once on high and once on medium and low.

2. Pour in the ingredients into individual serving glasses or pre-chilled beer mugs.

3. Serve cold with a funny straw or top with a mint leaf or two if you are opting for cinnamon.

Sensuous Hot Chili Chocolate

With the temperatures dropping here and the ring of the New Year round the corner, I decided to finally make some Hot Chili Chocolate.  Chocolate has always been my favourite so much so I earned the nick name of being called "Chocolate" ;) . This makes for an excellent drink on a cold winter night and it is simple to make as well.  Cuddle up with your loved ones and share in the joy of CHOCOLATE! :)

You need:

• 5 tbsp processed cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar (not a must esp. in case of sweetened cocoa powder)
• 1 tsp of cayenne pepper powder or 1 tsp of crushed ginger
• 4-6 squares of bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 strawberry, 1 small chocolate piece for garnish

The make:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Serves 2 adults

1. Take a pan and add the cocoa powder, sugar(optional) and 2-3 tbsp of milk. Heat and stir evenly till the mixture blends and lumps removed.
2. Boil the remaining milk with the ginger or cayenne pepper in a milk pan and add in the cocoa mix. Whisk well to blend in the cocoa mixture.
3. Remove from heat and add in the chopped chocolate and stir till the chocolate melts and set aside.
4. Reheat, stir well  and serve hot with a slice of chocolate at the edge of the glass or a slice of strawberry or if you are feeling especially adventurous coat the strawberry with melted chocolate before serving as garnish.
Enjoy this drink with loved ones on a cold, winter evening.

Tip: You may want to avoid the ginger or cayenne pepper if you are serving this to kids.

Banana Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding is well known in the English cuisine. Not so much "Banana" Bread Pudding but the concept is pretty much English! Traditionally Bread Pudding is accompanied with sour cream or toffee sauce. It goes well with honey, maple syrup or even ice cream.

Banana Bread Pudding

This is how I made mine. Inspiration to any banana bread pudding - browning bananas and stale bread. I am so lucky.. I had both the company of both this weekend :) Jokes apart, I guess Banana Bread may have emerged from the idea of avoiding food wastage and it is pretty excellent despite the deteriorating health of its prime two ingredients. This makes for a good breakfast meal or tea snack and would go well with a nice hot cup of tea.

There is a sense of satisfaction, in making this dish when you have slightly stale prime ingredients that almost always has no takers. This is what the wise mean by "Old is Gold". Caution: I think the Banana Bread Pudding can tickle your funny bone a lot in 4-6 hours after consumption :)

To make this delightful dessert/meal,

You need:

• 8 slices of a day old bread
• 3 large bananas (or in my case 2 large bananas and 3 plantains) Tip: use what you have available at home
• 1/4 cup cane sugar or 1/2 cup of honey (you can use regular sugar as well - in fact you can use half the quantity of sugar and half the quantity of honey as honey tastes good with bananas)
• 1 cup milk (of your choice)
• 2 tsp of powdered nutmeg
• 2 tsp of powdered cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used cashewnuts)
• 1/2 cup of raisins
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
• 1 tbsp rum (optional)
• Condiments (optional) - honey or maple syrup or sour cream or toffee sauce or ice cream, etc

Banana Bread Pudding just out of the oven

The make:

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Serves 4 adults

1. Soak the bread in the milk and set aside for at least an hour. You can also leave it overnight.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and/or honey and vanilla essence.
3. Top the bread mixture with the whisked egg mixture and add the powdered nutmeg and cinnamon and  mix well.
4. Next mash the bananas well and add it to the bread  mixture.
5. Add the chopped nuts and raisins.
6. Preheat the oven to 250◦C for at least 10 minutes. Grease a baking loaf tray or a pudding tray and carefully add the pudding mixture. Place an aluminium foil over the top to ensure even heat distribution (no need to tuck the foil at the sides of the tray)
7. Lower the heat to 200◦C and place the pudding tray in the center of the oven ensuring even heat. 
8. Allow to cook for at least 30 minutes. Use a skewer to check if the pudding is cooked well. 
9. Turn off the flame once cooked and allow the pudding tray to cool on the rack. 
10. Serve hot with your choice of condiments or as it is or with a hot cup of tea.

This makes for a nice dish on cold winter days. Enjoy! Bon Appetit!

 View from the side

Served up

Onam Special Semiya Payasam (Vermecilli Milk Pudding)

It has been a long while since Onam celebrations has come and gone. I have been quite under the weather with one ailment after another but that is no excuse for not rejoicing in this special sweet delight. You can make this dish at any time of the year for birthdays, anniversaries or any special occasion. Among all the various 'Payasams' (Milk Puddings), my favourite one has always been the one with Vermicelli and now I find is my daughter's favourite one too.

Vermicelli Milk Pudding

Mum usually makes vermicelli payasam with raisins and cashews, however I had a variance. I included blanched almond thinly sliced. To know how to blanch almonds, take a look at my page on Peach Melba where I have detailed instructions on how to blanch almonds:

You need:

1. 250 gms of Vermecilli (Roasted, or you have to roast over a pan)
2. 500 ml of milk
3. 1/2 cup coconut milk or condensed milk (if using condensed milk, not much sugar) -*optional
4. 1/2 cup cashews chopped finely
5. 1/4 cup raisins (washed and dried)
6. 1/4 cup blanched almonds (diced finely)
7. 200 gms finely granulated sugar or 250 gms jaggery (chopped finely, at room temperature)
8. 4-6 cardamom seeds ground to a fine powder
9. 2 tbsp butter or ghee (clarified butter)

Method:

Serves: 4-6 adults | Preparation Time: 10 minutes| Cooking Time: 20 minutes

• First heat about 1/2 tbsp of butter or ghee in a deep bottomed skillet and then lightly roast the vermicelli and set aside.

Roasted Vermicelli and Boiled milk

• Clear the skillet from the vermicelli bits or there would be burning of the milk. Wipe the pan to make sure there are no remnants of the vermicelli. Alternatively, you can use another deep bottomed skillet. Heat the remaining ghee and add the raisins and cashews and toss for about a minute, until both are lightly brown and raisins plump. Set aside after draining the oil from the raisins and cashew nuts.
• Next bring the milk to a boil in a large saucepan. I used fresh milk. Set aside and add the sugar or jaggery and stir well.
• Return the saucepan back to a medium-low heat and add the cardamom powder. Add the roasted vermicelli and simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring continuously to avoid the vermicelli from sticking to the base or unevenly cooking. Once the vermicelli is cooked  and payasam begins to thicken, you can additionally add some condensed milk or coconut milk at this stage only for a minute as coconut milk tends to split. Remember if you are adding condensed milk, then reduce the amount of sugar or jaggery intially.
• Turn off the flame and add the fried cashews, raisins and almonds. You can also add crushed pistachios if you like.
• Serve hot or cold although I like both, I do enjoy the cold version better.

Vermicelli Milk Pudding

Semiya Paysam served for two

Tip:

• *Ensure that once you have added coconut milk(optional) you do not leave it on the flame for more than a minute.
• Ensure consistent stirring of milk and also once the vermicelli is added to avoid burning and to ensure even cooking of both the milk and vermicelli.
• You can get the store bought variety of roasted vermicelli to shorten the cooking process