Sourdough bread

It was a cold, lazy weekend afternoon early last year. The little one was happily tucked away into her blanket for a nap and dear hubby was watching football. I was flipping through one of the baking books I had bought recently and a recipe caught my attention – Sourdough bread. We both love this bread and always bought it from the store. Can it be made at home? Then, began an extensive research for methods and ingredients on the internet.

What I found was quite fascinating. You mix all-purpose flour and water and leave it in a warm open place for a few days with frequent monitoring. The batter picks up yeast and bacteria from the environment, starts bubbling and turns sour. This would be the starter. The quality of a starter would depend on where you live and whether the batter picks up the right guys. San-Francisco starters are supposed to be the best. Also, once someone has a starter going, it is fed periodically and kept alive for a long, long time – for generations sometimes.

I tried. The first time, nothing happened. February was a cold month (Yeah! sometimes, even in Florida) and so, I decided to wait for the spring. I gave it another shot in March. This time it looked like things were happening and I saw some bubbles on day 3. It was exciting! I added half a cup of all-purpose flour and warm water everyday, for the next 4 days. It got bubblier. It was time to try out my very own bread….or so I thought! I mixed more flour, sugar, salt and waited for it to rise to twice its size. I waited, waited and waited even more! It rose but not to the extent described in the cookbooks and internet sites. With a heavy heart I punched it back in for the second rise. Waited for 3 more hours for the rise and baked it. What came out was a shame. The crust was too thick, the inside was no-where close to being called soft and the taste…I had…ahem…added a little too much salt.

Totally frustrated with my first attempt, I put off the thought of baking bread for a while. I still kept the starter alive for a few more months. It was not before June, that I made my second unsuccessful attempt and dumped my starter in disgust and decided not to venture into the bread making business anymore.

Then, in September,  THIS happened! I read through the post at least 3 times before I left a comment. Few days later, she baked her first biscuits. Now, this was exciting. I left another comment and she replied ‘Thanks, Hema! If you want to give it a shot, I’m more than happy to pass along some starter anytime’. Really? I wrote back to her with my mailing address and sure enough received this package with some dried starter and a lovely little note with instructions. She actually took time and dried some starter for me. Yes, she is our very own ‘Out of the wor…garden – Linda!’.

Thanks Linda! You are awesome!
I stored the dry starter in the refrigerator for over two months before I got a chance to get working with it. I followed Linda’s instructions and pretty soon the starter was bubbling with activity.

A day before I decided to take the plunge, I added a cup of flour and half a cup of warm water to the starter. Next morning, I took a cup of starter for the bread and stored the rest in the refrigerator. With it went in ½ tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt. Then, I cheated (blush). Well, you see I have had horrible sourdough experiences in the past and really wanted soft bread this time. So, I added some commercial yeast…just a pinch, actually (blush, blush). Dissolved it in a tbsp of warm water and added it to the dough after 5 minutes. Then I added flour(about 1 cup), one spoon at a time till the consistency felt right – soft and workable, but not sticking to your hands. I brushed some olive oil on it and let it rise in a warm place (oven with lights on).

It rose to twice its size in about 2 hours! YAY! I punched it back in and this time put it into my loaf pan for the second rise. 2 hours later, I made a slash on the top and popped it into the 425 F preheated oven for 8 minutes and then reduced the temperature to 375 F and baked it further for another 20 minutes till the crust turned golden brown.

Out came my precious bread, with my home smelling like a bakery:) I let it cool and gave hubby the honour of cutting my first bread and taking this picture.

It was soft and tasted almost like what we get at stores..a little less sour, but that maybe because of the extra yeast I added. Now, I can proudly say baking bread is not a big deal’. Thanks Linda. Could’nt have done it without your help.

5 things the world doesnt know about me!

was tagged by Coffee of My Khazana. Thanks coffee!

1. Let me start with something my blogger friends don’t know about me. I am an Environmental engineer approaching the big 3-0. Yeah, that feels old. Crossing 25 did’nt feel that bad. From, a career oriented graduate in search of a challenging job 5 years back, I have now transformed into a wife and a mom, whose priorities have changed for good. I still work and sure I love my job, but more so because it is not challenging and allows me to spare the time I need for my family.

2. I hate football. Yes! I cant stand the game and can’t get myself to watch it. Americans give me wierd looks and/or are offended when I tell them this and I can very well understand their sentiments. Football to Americans, is like cricket to Indians.  It runs in their blood! I would hate it if anyone speaks ill of cricket. Sadly though, I just find the game too rough for my likings. I am sure a lot of you may be shaking your head in disgust right now, but if it makes you feel any better – I hate rugby too

3. I have rotten molars. Yeah,  I never brushed ‘twice a day’ as a kid, how much ever my mother begged and pleaded and then my teeth bore the brunt of eating all those chocolates  at bedtime. 2 root canals and 4 fillings at age 15! The good part is,  I can now show my daughter what could happen to her teeth if she didn’t take care of them well.

4. I love gazing at stars on a clear night. I feel, there is nothing more breathtaking than the beauty of the black sky sprinkled with glittering stars. Oh! how I miss our terrace back home.

5. I hate snakes and I hate driving at night. What’s the connection? I often have this thought – What do I do,  if I find a snake in my car while driving on a freeway at night? It gives me the creeps. Dont laugh now, give me a solution to the problem! I have not been able to come up with one yet. Keep in mind, I will not be in my right senses at that time.

Now, that was fun. Not sure who has already been tagged and who hasn’t. So, here are a few names I picked just because I see they do not have anything written up yet. Play it if you want to, Prema, Priya, Mythili, Archana and Archana!

Aamla (Gooseberries) in brine

Yesterday, I spotted a bag of frozen aamlas at the Indian store and grabbed it greedily. This was the first time I had laid eyes on amlas in the 5 years that I have lived in the USA. Well, I should say, this was the first time I noticed. Last month when I spoke to amma, she said aamlas were available for Rs.10 a Kg. What I bought was maybe a 200g bag of frozen aamlas for $1.99 (quick and rounded calculation – Rs.100). I could have bought 10 kgs of amla for the same price! 

It has been a while since I did such calculations. New to this country as a student, back in 2001, it was my regular habit to convert dollars to rupees for every purchase and go ‘Rs.2000 for a week’s worth of grocery?’ or ‘Rs.150  for a cup of coffee at starbucks?’. But now, when I  go to India, I do the calculations other way around and feel happy about how much I saved. I still can’t tune my brain to work in miles, faranheit and pounds though. Why the US doesn’t follow the metric system still beats me. The ‘think metric’ photo at  Mythili’s blog really made me smile.

Anyway, back to aamlas. The best way I like to eat them is by soaking them in brine for a few days, which is what I did right after getting back home. You need a glass bottle with a leakproof lid. Make brine with water and required amount of salt. I would say about a tablespoon for every cup of water. Add some turmeric and drop in the aamlas. Make sure you give the bottle a good shake once in two days. In about 4-5 days they will soak up the salt and swell up with flavour. Enjoy!

Ever wondered?

Have you ever wondered how a launch would look from realms beyond the earth?  I got these snaps as attachments in an email. Just thought I could share them with you. Here’s something that you don’t see every day…….

Space Station happened to be passing by when the Shuttle ‘Atlantis’  launched. The launch, as seen from the International Space Station (09/09/06).

Is it not beautiful?

Poli

I had made poli on bhogi, the first day of pongal. A good friend read out the recipe from her Samaithu paar (cook and see) part I by Meenakshi ammal. I have made poli before, but I always had problems working with the maida. Hoping to get a better result this time, I heeded the book’s advice of adding all that oil that it recommended to make it more workable. The dough worked well but the filling was not upto the expectations. Why?  because, the recipe suggested that the chana dal be cooked well and then the excess water removed. Smart that I thought I was, I cooked the dal in minimum water and didnt realize that some portions of the dal though cooked, remained hard until it was too late to go back and correct it.

For the filling:

Uncooked chana dal – 1 cup

Jaggery – 1 cup (I used less since we prefer  it that way)

Cardamom – 1 tsp

Ghee – 2 tsp (The recipe did not list ghee. Just my choice)

For the dough:

Maida – 2 cups

Salt – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric – a pinch

Sesame oil – almost 1/3 cup

Water enough to make a soft dough

The method is same as what you would find here or here.

                                     

Filling cooked to the right consistency (Click to expand)

The verdict: The poli was actually pretty good since the grinder did a good job of hiding my stupidity. The next time, I will try adding some atta alongwith the maida.

Ingi (Ginger) Thughayal

As soon as I saw the ingredient for this month’s JFI, the first thing that came to my mind was our morning cup of tea. Ginger is such a versatile ingredient that finds its use in various cuisines and is an extremely medicinal root as well. Cakes, breads, cookies, beverages, sauces and our very own Indian pickles, murabba, curries, kashayams…the list is endless.
Thughayal is a thick-chutney like dish that is eaten mixed with rice and sesame oil. Appalams and vadams or even potato chips are a great accompaniment to this rice. Curry leaves, cilantro, mint leaves, coconut,  eggplant,ginger and onion are very common thughayal varieties. And since it is ginger month in the blog world, that’s the one I picked!

What we need:

Ginger peeled and cut into small pieces – 2 tbsp

Udad dal – 2 tbsp

Red chillies – 3 nos (this is 8/10 spicyyy…reduce if required)

Tamarind extract – 1 tbsp or tamarind concentrate – 1 tsp

Asofetida(hing) – 1/8 tsp

Sesame oil – 1 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Mustard – 1 tsp

Heat up the pan and spoon in a tsp of oil. Add the Udad dal, hing and red chillies. Use the block hing if possible. Roast till the dals turn brown. Add the ginger and saute for a minute. Turn off the heat, add salt and let things cool down before transfering to a blender. Add the tamarind extract and grind into an ‘almost smooth’ paste with minimum water. Heat up the rest of the oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add it to the thughayal and it is ready to be packed off to JFI-Ginger!

Banana chaat

  

Bananas have long been man’s favourite fruit. How long? Well, the picture above says it all! Bananas are a great source of fiber, Vitamin C and potassium. They also contain all the eight amino acids that our body cannot produce itself.  And guess what? There is a whole site dedicated to this wonderful fruit! So, go ahead and check it out.

To be honest, I am not a big fan of bananas. In my defense, I did say man’s favourite fruit – not woman’s! But again, I didn’t want to miss the first fruit at the  AFAM event hosted by Maheshwari. So, here’s one of the few ways I love to eat bananas. This is a quick, easy and a tasty recipe I learnt from my aunt.

What you need:

Bananas - 2 nos.

Jeera – 1 tbsp

Red chili pwd – 1 tsp

Rock salt – 1/8 tsp or to taste

Lime juice – 1 1/2 tsp

Mint leaves or cilantro for the garnish

Dry roast the jeera (cumin) and dry grind. You could use cumin pwd bought at the store, but the fresh roasted powder is a lot more fragrant. Make sure the bananas used are not very ripe. Cut the bananas into slices. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well making sure not to mash up the bananas. You are done!

The monkey-banana photo source:http://www.thegoldenlink.org

Pudina (Mint leaves) Vatral kuzhambu

Vatral kuzhambu or more commonly called vetha kuzhambu is a sambhar-like preparation made without the use of any cooked dal. It is a spicy concoction made with lots of tamarind, typically one vegetable and of course some spices. Though traditionally, dried vegetables (vatral) like sundakkai and manathakalikkai were used to make this kuzhambu (hence its name), baby onions, egg plant, potatoes, carrot, radish or any other fresh vegetable or even  a combination of vegetables can be used. Venkaya (baby onion) vethakozhambu happens to be my and almost everyone else’s favourite. Pudina (mint leaves) and vendiyam (methi/fenugreek leaves) come a close second for me.

Here’s what you need:

Mint leaves – A big bunch

Tamarind – 1/2 cup thick extract

Turmeric – 1/2 tsp

Sambhar pwd – 3 tbsp

For tempering:

Sesame oil – 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Hing – 1/3 tsp

Red chillies – 2-3 nos

Tur dal – 3 tsp

Chana dal – 2 tsp

Methi/ fenugreek seeds – 2 tsp

Curry leaves – about 10

Salt to taste.

Always use sesame oil for vethakuzhambu. It just tastes a whole lot better. Heat up the oil. Add Mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the dals, red chillies, methi and the hing. [The block hing (the one sold as a block-not the powdered one) tastes better. Powder it coarsely before adding it to the oil.] Once the dals turn brown, add the curry leaves and the sambhar pwd. Saute for just about 5 seconds and add the mint leaves. Saute for a minute or so till the mint leaves turn dark green and reduce in volume. Add the turmeric,tamarind extract and salt. Tamarind concentrate does not taste as good in this recipe. Add some water and let this boil up for about 15-20 minutes. Add more water later if needed. If the kuzhambu gets very watery, just dissolve some rice pwd in water and add the paste. Boil until it thickens up to the required consistency.

Vethakuzhambu easily keeps for about 15 days in the refrigerator. In fact it tastes even better as it gets older. So, make sure you have made enough to last at least a couple days! Mix it with rice and a drizzle of sesame oil or eat it with curd rice – but eat with your hand and not the spoon, for, the hand smells divine long after the meal is digested.

 

Sandwich chutney

My interest in cooking began when I first left home to attend graduate school, loaded with two huge carry-ons and landed in the US of A with a thud. Boy! the luggage was heavy. One box was full of spices, pickles, rice, dals etc and even a pressure cooker and other basic utensils that my mom thought would be essential for my survival. I shared my 2 bedroom apartment with 3 other indian girls who needless to say, had the same kind of treasures tucked away in their check-ins. After a couple trips to walmart we settled down and then carefully planned our cooking and cleaning turns. It was decided that I would be the chef on Wednesdays and once more during the weekends. It was interesting how the 4 of us had our own cooking patterns. S always used the frozen mixed veg pack to make her patented curry and dal to go with store bought tortillas. N made potato curry and sambhar.  J was the most experienced and the best cook amongst us and always came home with a printed page of some recipe off the net. And me…that’s a story I will narrate another day. So, one day J came home with this recipe for a chutney that she thought would be great on our morning slice of bread. The list of ingredients was somewhat long and we didnt have a blender. So after another trip to walmart we had a brand new appliance. J made her chutney and what more should I say?……I still make it after all these years.

What you need:

Cilantro – a bunch

Lime juice – 2 tsp

Ginger – a 1/2 inch piece

Green chillies – 3-4 (or according to taste)

Black pepper - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds (jeera) – 1 tsp

Onion – 1/2 medium sized

Coconut – 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Grind everything together with minimum water.  I dont know what else to write. Just to fill up some space and because I hate to see a one line method, let me teach you how to assemble a sandwich. Butter on one slice, chutney on another. A couple slices of tomato/cucumber garnished with little salt and pepper between the two bread slices. Thats how I do it. Love 5 grain bread for these sandwiches. Haha! I managed to write few more lines here. Hope you like it…the recipe I mean (I know the write-up is Zzzzzzz)

My Booty!

Anyone who goes back to India for a vacation, shops like he/she has never shopped before. Yes, when I say he/she, I do mean he too. My ‘he’ has a policy though. If you buy something you throw something out of the house. And I? I happen to be an antique collector:)) This time, I had promised him I would buy just what I needed and nothing more and I quite kept my promise. After all, the airlines decided to reduce the baggage weight allowance and I didnt want to leave anything that I bought. Also, he happens to be the packer (I suck at it), so nothing can be sneaked in without his notice.

I told him, we need a mixie – a good one that can grind well with less water. My chutneys, thugayals and vadais dont look the way they are supposed to. They just turn out watery and shapeless due to the extra water that goes into the grinding process.

Yes, lets buy one. I hope it is not too huge.

Well, the one I have in mind has 3 jars and a juicer.

Wow, that might just take up one whole luggage. Why do you need a juicer? Even if you do,we get good ones there.

(Pop came the answer…I had rehersed this before!). We need to start introducing healthy juices to our daughter. Besides, this whole thing comes for the cost of one juicer you would get back there.

That did it and I am now a proud owner of this Preeti mixie. Love it!

My second precious booty…a brand new eeya chombu! I have never possessed one of my own. Amma got it for me and boy! is it heavy. Now, the rasams are just top-class. What a difference the new metal has made!

We went to landmark at Chennai, a brilliant book and music store. Bought a bunch of books for my kitchen reading as well.

 

(Notice the healthy juices by Tarla Dalal)