Whole grain brownies

These brownies are so delicious that you will hardly notice the difference! I always try to substitute all purpose flour with a whole wheat flour when possible. Only if the taste is not much compromised. I feel that there are so many avenues these days through which we consume all purpose flour that it’s better to avoid when possible. This recipe from KAF is a keeper! I baked half a batch of the recipe and then froze some. I also skipped adding the chocolate chips to avoid making it overly chocolatey – DH doesn’t like it then. To brownie purists I would say that it’s not there isn’t a difference but these taste really good!

Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cups light brown sugar
• 3/8 cup Dutch-process cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, organic preferred (I used the Indian atta that I always have on hand)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a small pan; I used an 8” X 8” pan but even that was big for the half batch. Bread pan seemed to small. So if you have anything in between use that. Line the pan with parchment paper if desired.
2. In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine.
3. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly just till it's hot (about 110°F to 120°F) but not bubbling. Don't worry if it separates; just stir it briefly to recombine a bit. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder if using, and vanilla.
5. Add the eggs, stirring till smooth.
6. Then add the flour and chips, again stirring till smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, until a cake tester or sharp knife poked into the center reveals wet crumbs, but not raw batter. The brownies should feel set on the edges and in the center. Remove them from the oven, and cool completely on a rack.
8. Cover and let sit overnight before cutting and serving; this gives the bran a chance to soften and become "invisible" in your mouth. I was guilty of tasting it the same day – hard to resist brownies!

Chutney powder/pudi

I’ve been on a roll making instant mixes and powders! Don’t ask me why because I don’t know myself Maybe because it’s been a long time since I did this. As part of my list of to-make-instant-mixes/powders was also this item – chutney powder/pudi. DH loves chutney pudi so I thought it would be nice to try making it at home. That also gave me a chance to try doing something different! I used the recipe here. The proportion called out in the written recipe is a little different than the one in the video. I followed the written directions. The result was a yogurt box full of chutney pudi! Will probably last us a year The taste is really good – the mix of tamarind, jaggery and chilli has got out well. It’s a little on the spicy side – so next time I will reduce the amount of chillies by 1/3rd. I might also increase the curry leaves quantity.

If you’re using your vitamix to grind this – I can’t say about the full size version, I have the S50 – then do so in small quantities. If you put it all together or even half of it, it’s not going to work that well. I know the hard way . Eventually I split it into 5 batches I think and that worked very well. So impressed with my Vitamix

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chana dal
• 1/2 cup urad dal
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 10-15 curry leaves
• 2-3 tbsp jaggery
• big lemon sized tamarind
• 1/2 cup dessicated coconut or dried coconut
• 25-30 byadgi chillies (they are mild chillies)
• 1 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Dry roast the chana dal for about 5 minutes. It gets a little brown in color.
2. Dry roast urad dal for about 2 minutes till it also gets a little brown in color.
3. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies. Saute till mustard seeds splutter and the curry leaves become crisp. Turn off the heat.
4. Add the dals and the rest of the ingredients to this and mix well.
5. Let it cool.
6. Grind to a powder. Leaving it a little gritty is good.

Dhokla

This fail-proof dhokla recipe is indeed fail-proof! I had bookmarked it a long time back but couldn’t try it because I didn’t have citric acid. The recipe calls out that it is important to have citric acid. I had tried other dhokla recipes without citric acid and they didn’t come out that well. Actually they were also without Eno. So hard to say if one is more replaceable than the other. Nonetheless, I’m glad that this turned out just perfect. DH and I both like dhokla and we both like snacks which is why I’m always on the lookout for healthy snacks. Since dhokla is a healthy snack, I always wanted to get it right so that I don’t have to depend on ready mixes. Not just for their availability at home but also because of high sodium content in ready mixes. I halved the recipe called out and it was great for 2 of us (probably a little extra but it was so yummy that we ate all of it!). You can see how nice and spongy it has come out!

I made the dhokla in a rice cooker. I put around 3/4 cup of water in it. Put in the utensil with the dhokla batter – make sure you elevate this so that water doesn’t get in during steaming. When the rice cooker turned off the dhokla was done. I modified the recipe just a tad.

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Besan (Chickpea flour/ Gram flour)
• 3/4 tablespoon Sooji (Semolina)
• A pinch of Hing
• 1/2 tablespoon Sugar
• Salt to taste

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon Crushed ginger and green chilies (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon Citric acid
• 1 teaspoon Oil
• ~1/4 cup water (get pouring consistency)
• 3/4 teaspoon Eno (fruit Salt)

For tempering

• 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• Curry leaves (I skipped these since I didn’t have them)
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• ~1/4 cup Water
• 4-5 small Green Chilies
• 1 1/2 tsp Oil

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients.
2. Add all the wet ingredients except Eno to the dry ingredients.
3. Beat the batter (with a whisk) well to incorporate air.
4. Get your steamer ready. If you’re using rice cooker, add the water to it’s bowl.
5. Grease your dhokla mold with some oil.
6. Now add Eno to the batter and mix well.
7. Pour the batter into the mold and steam. After adding Eno, you shouldn’t keep the batter. If you want to make multiple rounds, add Eno to the batter for one round, steam it and then repeat.
8. Let the dhokla cool for half an hour and then take out of the mold.
9. Cut it into pieces – cut like you would cut cake with a back and forth action and not a up and down stroke.
10. Prepare the tempering:
1. Heat oil in a small pan.
2. Add mustard seeds, chillies. and curry leaves.
3. When mustard seeds splutter, add the water.
4. Now add sugar.
11. Now pour the tempering over the dhokla. Dhokla should be all wet.
12. It’s all yours to devour!

Hot cross buns

“One a penny, two a penny hot cross buns” ! Have you heard that song? I learnt it in my childhood but DH had never heard of it. So I guess it wasn’t all that popular. Before easter, I saw ads and recipes every where for hot cross buns. This is the song that came to my mind . Given it’s popularity, I figured it is the thing to make on easter. I hadn’t baked anything new in some time and was looking for a new recipe to try. So on it went on my things to try on the weekend. My buns are missing the classic “hot cross” part of the hot cross buns but DH didn’t really care for it so I skipped it

I haven’t tasted them before so I can’t say how close they are to the real taste. They are sweet like the tutti fruti bread we used get back in India (although that was simpler in taste – this cinnamon and a few other spices) and closer to the cinnamon raisin bread (but much lighter on cinnamon). DH really liked it! The dough is hard to work with and hence hard to shape; which is why you se all the buns so oddly shaped and of various sizes!

I halved the actual recipe which meant there was a little extra yolk than the recipe actually called for. Hard to say what was the impact of that. I also substituted apple juice with orange juice as that is what I had in stock. You can also look at more detailed instructions for the same on their blog. Do not compare their photos with mine!

Ingredients:

BUNS

• 1/8 cup apple juice (I used orange juice)
• 1/4 cup mixed dried fruit (I used cranberries)
• 1/4 cup raisins or dried currants
• 5/8 cups milk, room temperature
• 1 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk (save the white for the topping)
• 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1/8 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 5/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

TOPPING

• 1 large egg white, reserved from above
• 1 tablespoon milk

ICING (I didn’t do this)

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 4 teaspoons milk, or enough to make a thick, pipeable icing

Method:

1. Line a 9” circular pan with parchment paper.
2. Mix the apple juice with the dried fruit and raisins, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave briefly, just till the fruit and liquid are very warm, and the plastic starts to "shrink wrap" itself over the top of the bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Note: If you worry about using plastic wrap in your microwave, simply cover the bowl with a glass lid. I used glass lid here.
3. When the fruit is cool, mix together all of the dough ingredients (including the eggs and the egg yolk from the separated egg); hold out the fruit for the time being. Knead the mixture, using food processor, until the dough is soft and elastic. It'll be very slack, sticking to the bottom of the bowl and your hands as you work with it (greasing your hands helps). Mix in the fruit and any liquid not absorbed.
4. Let the dough rise for 1 hour, covered. It should become puffy, though may not double in bulk. Since it’s cold out here I kept it in the oven.
5. Divide the dough into billiard ball-sized pieces, about 3 3/4 ounces each. A heaped muffin scoop (about 1/3 cup) makes about the right portion. You'll make 6 to 8 buns. Use your greased hands to round them into balls. Arrange them in the prepared pan.
6. Cover the pan, and let the buns rise for 1 hour, or until they've puffed up and are touching one another. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
7. Whisk together the reserved egg white and milk, and brush it over the buns.
8. Bake the buns for 20 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven, carefully turn the buns out of the pan (they should come out in one large piece), and transfer them to a rack to cool.
9. Mix together the icing ingredients, and when the buns are completely cool, pipe it in a cross shape atop each bun.