Crusty Oats & whole wheat herbed Buns (Eggless)

Hello everyone, today I have got one of my trial recipe which came out perfect in one go and very much appreciated by my husband too. These days in CAL (Chef at Large) we all have a yeast mania, and our groupmates are playing with it and preparing various kinds of yummilicious breads. So just thought to do an experiment and viola!!!! it knocked quite well. 

 

These are the crusty buns which I made up with oats flour, combining it with whole wheat and plain flour (for gluten). They have a hard crust outside and soft inside. Also I added some herbs which took them to a next level. 

I served them with Tomato,carrot & coriander soup and couscous salad, believe me it was an out of world kind of lunch. They are so delicious that will be very often now made at our place. So lets look into the ingredients following the method.

Ingredients :

• Strong whole wheat flour : 1 + 1/2 cups (Strong means that it should have a high protein content approx 13-15 gms) If not available then use normal chapati flour.
• Plain flour/All purpose flour/Maida : 1 cup
• Oats flour : 1 cup (Grind quick/old fashioned oats)
• Dry active Yeast : 1 tbsp
• Sugar : 1 tsp
• Salt : 1 tsp
• Olive/veg oil : 3 tbsps
• Garlic powder : 1 + 1/2 tsps (If not available, then use 1 tsp of freshly grated garlic)
• Italian mixed herbs : 1 tbsp
• Lukewarm Milk : 1/2 cup + 3 tbsps for milk wash
• Lukewarm Water : 1/2 cup 
• Sesame seed : 1 tbsp (optional)
• Butter : 1 tbsp 

Method :

• Combine together yeast, Lukewarm water and sugar in a bowl, stir and keep aside for 10-15 minutes or until it starts to froth.
  
  

  
• In another mixing bowl, mix together oats flour, whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, herbs, garlic powder and salt.
• Pour in the yeast mixture and try to combine, add little by little warm milk  and make a sticky dough. This is how the dough should look like as in the picture. 
  
• Apply a little oil over the palms and take out the entire dough over the working surface. Knead for 7-10 minutes. You can use oil rather than using dry flour if its sticking a lot. After sometime you will see that it has formed up with gluten which results into a soft dough (it will be sticky at this stage well, but that's absolutely fine)
• Place the dough in a large greased bowl and brush the top with oil, cover with a kitchen towel and leave aside to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume. The best place I find is my oven keeping its light on (for about 1-1 1/2 hours).
• Once risen punch down the dough and divide this into 8 equal parts and shape them into smooth flat balls. The texture will not be very smooth.
• Place them onto a lightly greased baking tray lined with aluminum foil. Cover & leave in a warm place until doubled in volume.
• Once done brush them with milk wash and apply sesame seeds.
  
• Preheat oven to 190 ° C  and put a pan/tray filled with boiling water on the lower rack (For steam in the oven). Bake the buns for about 25-30 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.
• Take out from the oven and apply butter, keep them onto the cooling rack and they are done.

Tips :

• Be patient while frothing the yeast and also proofing the dough.
• Adding herbs & garlic is optional or you can add the flavours of your choice.
• Don't apply a lot of dry flour while kneading the dough, this may lead to dense buns. 

Please do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :) 

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka
 

Thanks & Happy Baking
Priyanka

Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons are closer to a cookie than its meringue cousin, and is equally sweet. They have a nice crust and chewy inside. I heard a lot about Coconut Macaroons and always thought that they are very fancy and can only be bought from a bakery. Never ever thought to prepare them at home. 

 
Once I was going through a recipe of Ina Garten and found it to be not so difficult and quick to make. The original recipe contains Condensed Milk + Coconut + Egg whites, but making some changes I totally omitted the Condensed milk part and made them with sugar. Few recipes also add almond meal to it. There are many methods to prepare them. Few beat the egg whites to the stiff peaks and then fold in the coconut and sugar and many more. But I got a very easy and simple way to prepare it for you guys. There are various varieties of coconut macaroons these days - like chocolate, nuts etc.
So lets quickly see the ingredients followed by the method.

Ingredients :

• Castor Sugar - 1 cup
• Dessicated Coconut - 2 + 1/2 cups
• Egg whites - 4 egg whites (large eggs, if medium then 5)

Method :

• In a  big bowl whisk sugar & egg whites just to mix well.
• Now add in the coconut and again mix.
• Transfer the mixture to a pan on medium to low flame and continuously stir it. (Make sure to stir continuously as if not then the egg might cook to a scrambled egg and we don't want that)
• After sometime you will observe that the moisture has dried out a bit. Just close the flame and let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. (make sure that the mixture is not too runny, if yes then cook it for some more time)
• Now take a plastic sheet piping bag or make your own, fill it with the mixture, cut a little big hole. 
• Pipe on to a baking tray lined with butter paper.
  Bake it in a preheated oven at 160 ° C for 20-25 minutes or unless they get a nice golden brown color.
• Once done, take them out and let them sit in the baking tray for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

Once cooled, store them into an air tight container and enjoy !!!!!

Note :

They are very easy to prepare, but few things have to be kept in mind -

While cooking the mixture, stirring continuously is very important

While baking, once they start changing color keep an eye, as they might get a very dark color soon.

Do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :) 

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Thanks & Happy Baking

Priyanka :)

Oatmeal, raisins & choco chips cookies (Eggless & with eggs both version)

Oatmeal cookies are not new in our home as its liked by everyone hence an all time favourite snack for our family. Secondly its healthy too :). I have prepared them with & without eggs and frankly speaking didn't find much difference. They are crunchy outside and chewy inside. Have a nice buttery flavour with a sweetness of raisins & chocolate. I also add cinnamon powder to it as its my one of the favourite flavours, its totally optional but I must admit that it takes cookies to the next level :))))

Tomorrow I am planning to meet one of my foodie friend, so just thought to bake something for him. Made few goodies and will upload soon. The one thing which I thought to prepare first were these, as I am pretty sure it will be loved :). Presenting a food goodie to a foodie friend is quite tough na........But making my fingers crossed, I have packed them. 

They are very easy to prepare and have a longer shelflife. These can be stored in an airtight containers for a longer time. Having one cookie with a cup of milk is very healthy and believe me kids just love it. Once I prepared it for my niece and she became crazy for them, used to have them in her breakfast without any fuss, she is just 4 :))))). So lets quickly run through the ingredients following the method :)

I am also posting here a video for an eggless version, so all my vegetarian friends can see it. I didn't add chocolate chips in this version, if you like you can add 1/4 cup of chocolate chips too. 

Ingredients :

• Rolled oats - 1 + 1/2 cup (Old fashioned or quick any can be used)
• All purpose flour/Maida/ Plain flour - 3/4 cup
• Light Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup packed
• Castor sugar - 1/4 cup
• Butter - 1/2 cup (at room temperature)
• Egg - 1 nos 
• Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
• Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Raisins - 1/2 cup
• Choco chips - 1/4 cup

Method :

• Preheat your oven at 180 ° C/350 ° F
• In a big bowl beat butter till fluffy & light. 
• Now add both the sugars and continue beating till mixed well and the mixture becomes fluffy.
• Now add one egg and vanilla essence.
• In a separate bowl sift & whisk all the dry ingredients - All purpose flour + Baking Soda + Cinnamon powder + Salt.
• Fold in the dry ingredients to the wet (butter mixture)
• Incorporate oats + raisins + choco chips.
• Place the cookies with the help of ice cream scoop or spoons on the baking tray lined with parchment paper/aluminum foil.
• Bake them on the middle shelf for 17-20 minutes. If you like your cookies to be more chewer and not very much crispy then bake them till 15 minutes only. 
• Take them out, let them rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Later transfer them to a cooling rack and let them completely cool for atleast an hour. Once cooled store them in an air tight jar.

Note : 

• I have used brown sugar, but if its not available then you can use normal white granulated sugar too. If you can grind the sugar then that will also work great.
• Once baked, cookies tend to get bit harder when comes in contact with air. So don't panic if they are soft on touching after 15-17 minutes.
• Adding raisins & choco chips is totally up to your choice.

Enjoy with your family & friends :)

Do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :)

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Thanks & Happy Baking 

Priyanka :) 

Home-made Paneer (Home-made cottage cheese )

We all are very familiar with Paneer. Its the most fascinating dairy products, loved by mostly all. Every special occasion is incomplete without it. There has to be atleast one cuisine of Paneer. There are so many ways to use it, it is used in savoury dishes and also in preparing sweets. Its an Indian cheese which is prepared by coagulating milk via lemon, vinegar, yoghurt/curd or any other food acid. 

About the Nutritional part of Paneer, its is a great source of calcium, vitamin D, protein hence very much required to be included in the daily life. Its very useful in preventing cancer and also reduces the development of insulin resistance syndrome. Hence very useful for people on insulin. It is also help full in stomach disorders. 

I my home everyone loves paneer, but its difficult to find good quality of it here in London. Hence I started preparing at home. Now the time has come that I rarely purchase paneer from outside. Its very easy to prepare. So lets quickly see the ingredients.

Ingredients:

Whole milk/full fat milk - 2 litres

Lime juice/vinegar - 2-3 tbsps
Cream - 1/2 cup

Equipments:

Heavy bottom pot (to boil the milk)

Cheese cloth/muslin cloth

Colander

Method:

Boil the milk and cream in a heavy bottom pan. Stir occasionally in between so that the milk doesn't stick to the bottom (otherwise it might burn). Once the milk comes to boil turn off the stove, add first tbsp of lime juice/vinegar and stir. You will see that it has just started curdling. Now add the other tbsp of lime juice, stir. If required then add the third tbsp of lemon juice. You will see a light greenish whey separating. Now take a colander lined up with muslin cloth, pour the entire curdled milk into it. You can place a deep pan below the colander to collect the whey. Press the muslin cloth containing paneer nicely to drain the extra water, you can take the help of a tong here as it will be quite hot. Keep it hanging for 2-3 minutes over a tap. Now keep it over a colander, fill water in a pan (you can use the same pan in which it was prepared) and put it on the top of it for atleast for an hour. This will help in making the paneer into shape. You can also use any other heavy weight like mortar & pestle. Once done you can cut the paneer into cubes, and its ready to be used.

Tips:

• Always use whole milk, you can add 1 cup of fresh cream to the milk to make more soft paneer (makhani paneer).
• Never add the entire lemon juice/vinegar in one go.
• The whey collected from the curdled milk, can be used while making chapatis. This can also be used as an agent to curdle the milk next time, paneer will be more soft.
• Once the milk is boiled and acid is added to it then do not boil it further, this will harden the paneer.
• Don't keep the pan over the paneer for more than 1-2 hours, as this will make it more condensed.
• For storage, keep the paneer immersed in cold water in the refrigerator.

Few more clicks from another batch :

Bye n Happy cooking

Priyanka:)