FRENCH BREAD DIY - BASIC BREAD

WHAT DO YOU NEED ?

-          All purpose flour (maida) 500 gr

-          Corn flour 100 gr

-          1 and ½ teaspoon Active Dry yeast

-          300 ml Water

-          Salt

-          Bowl

 (I am not endorsing these brands, just they are easy to find in any grocery store around Delhi as the principle of my blog ""ingredient which are healthy and easy to find, no fancy stuffs :-)  !)

HOW TO MAKE ?

Keep 300 ml water in a small bowl, warm it up a little bit, about 30-40 oC, test with your finger, sprinkle the dry yeast on the water and cover it for 5 minutes. Mix 300 gr all-purpose flour, all corn flour (corn flour to help your bread fluffy and light) , salt, together in a bowl then pour over the mixture of yeast and water, use a spoon to stir up the flour paste until well mix. You can use the hand mixer with dough hooks for 2-3 minutes (I always use hands – best tools -).  

If use mixer, add 50gr of dry flour while you mix. If knead by hand, use this 50gr to dust the surface, fold in the dough and press it out with your palm.Then cover with plastic or just put the lid on.  Keep it in the warm place for 2 hours or till it double the quantity. 

Then take the dough out on the clean surface and knead it with the rest of dry flour for another 5 minutes. Remember just fold in the flour, using your fingers to fold in and palm to press out. If you already know how to make atta for roti then this is just a joke to tell you how to knead the flour. Only with bread you do not need to knead it too much.

Cut the dough into 2 or 3 or 4, depend on the size of the bread you want. After cutting, fold each of dough into a ball and cover it with damn cloth. Let these ball rest for 5- 10 minutes.

Now take the dough, flatten it with your palm then make the French bread shape using your palm to roll it (see photo), carefully lift the roll up and put it on baking tray where you should already have dusted with dry flour. Remember to keep gap between the rolls so that they will not stuck together when it raise.

Cover the whole tray with plastic sheet or polybag, keep it for 30 min or till it double the size. Then remove the plastic sheet and use sharp knife or blade to slit the bread.

Turn on the oven in 15 minutes at 250 degree, place a small steel bow of water in the bottom of the oven.

By the time the oven reach to desired temperature, the bread should look like the photo above. Spray the bread and oven with water before you place the tray in oven to bake to create the moisture environment to help the steaming process. Adjust temperature to 220 or 200 oC, bake for 20 minutes. Then open the oven door and leave it ajar, continue to bake for 10 more minutes with the top heat on (toast mode). When the bread become nice golden, take it out and keep it on the net to cool down. 

My husband never want to wait till it cool down a bit, he always wait their and grab it immediately. winter. We always finish one bread stand right next to the oven, just eat plain… Nothing beat the smoky hot bread just comes out from the oven in winter. Try yourself. It is not difficult at all.

 

TIPS

-          When you buy the active dry Yeast, check for the expire date, it should be 3-4 months old from the manufacturing date only. Even though it always written on the box, best before 12 months but with the condition of storage in India, you never know what you have got. If the yeast is not good, the whole process is just waste. So when you sprinkle the yeast on water, after 2-3 minutes, the water will turn opaque, if it is still clear water, the yeast might gone so just throw it. To keep the yeast in good condition for the next baking, keep the book in the fridge so it always handy whenever you want to bake bread.

This is the basic recipes for bread, the moment you are success with this try, you can use the same for pizza and stuff bread, Swiss sweet roll or Greek Olive bread.. Yummy !

HOW TO WASH YOUR LEAFY VEGETABLE

Winter in Delhi offer you fresh and beautiful vegetable. I always mad with the leafy, green vegetable and love to fix a bow of salads for our dinner, no matter what kind of food we are eating.

One doctor who is the friend of our family said that Indian people has stone in their kidney or gall bladder because they eat the dust and sand along with their vegetable. I thought it might be right because I saw the way people clean vegetable in Delhi (can not say about India, I have not travel much inside India), they would either hold the vegetable and keep it under running water wash it very quickly which is according to me is not clean at all. First of all, sand and dust are still stuck and second, you expose yourself to great chances of swallowing some parasites eggs and they are going to grow inside you and harmful chemicals..ehhhh, feel bad ? Then read below :-)

First cut the roots (if any) and clean out all yellow or rotten leaves then soak them in a lot of water so that  vegetable should be floating above the bottom of the bucket or bowl or tub, soak at least 30 minutes. You can mix with a little bit of salt or vinegar, this help to remove any worm or parasite eggs (do not mix to much otherwise you will ruin your vegetable). After 30 minute, open every leaf, rub it gently along the stem and leaf under running water and fill the bucket or tub with fresh water, then wash again twice or thrice then chop it the way you want and cook or make salad (I wash 4 - 5 times in case the vegetable to be eaten raw).

If the leaf is small, soak in water the same like described above, then use your finger to stir the vegetable inside water then open your fingers and scoop the vegetable out from the water, repeat the process twice or thrice. you will see there is quite much amount of mush and sand in the bottom of your bucket or bowl. Just imagine, if you swallow these.....This is not to mention the bacteria or worm which is not visible to your eyes.

It is advisable not to chop the vegetable and then wash, all the vitamin will be washed way and too much water will soak into vegetable, make it less tasty.

Have a good and healthy meals !

Brownie for kids who love chocolate

On the kids "goodbye party" at Flying color School who asked me the recipe of chocolate brownie. This recipe is originated from Joy of baking, i did test and adjust a bit according to materials we can get easily from any shop in Delhi.  It is quite an easy recipe and the brownie came out so good and yummy that my kids wanted to eat all the time so I make these brownie almost every 3-4 days and keep in the fridge.  Materials 100 grams dark chocolate, coarsely chopped. I used Bournville dark chocolate 40% cocoa (rich cocoa). 113 grams Salted butter, cut into pieces 200 grams granulated white sugar or breakfast sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 large eggs (if you do not want to use eggs then 200 ml hung Yogurt - mean you put yogurt in a handkerchief and squeeze out the water from yogurt (dahi)) 95 grams maida  (all-purpose flour) Chocolate Ganache: 100 grams) semi sweet chocolate, chopped 80 ml heavy whipping cream (Amul cream) 14 grams salted butter (it is better if you can find unsalted butter but since it is quite difficult here so it is ok with Amul butter) How to make: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, an 8 inch (20 cm) round or square baking moulding.  Melt the chocolate and butter in a large stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until fluffy. Next, whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs (or yogurt), one at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, stir in the flour (maida). Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.  Chocolate Ganache:  Melt the chopped chocolate, cream, and butter in a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature and then spread the ganache over the brownies.If you would like to make some decoration can drop some Amul cream (kept chill in fridge) on the top of chocolate sauce and use toothpick to make line or heartshape...

MIX STIR VEGETABLE IN OREGANO SAUCE

Now back to Vegetarian food.  You can serve this as main course with rice or as accompanies with pre-plate food like chicken steak (If you ever eat in Big Chill ?)

I. WHAT DO YOU NEED ?

- 1 red bell pepper

- 1 yellow bell pepper

- 150 gr French bean

- 150 gr baby corn

- 100 gr button mushroom

- 2 pieces of small eggplant

- Chinese dry mushroom (optional)

- Mushroom sauce (or maggi magic cube or salt)

- Oregano herbs

(You can add broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage, green pepper whichever available in your fridge or whatever you like)

II. HOW TO COOK

Cut all vegetable into cube of 1 inch. Heat 2 table spoon of oil in the wok, fry eggplant pieces until brown, and keep aside. Put all vegetable into wok and stir for 2 minutes then add 2 table spoons of water into water, stir and cover with lid. Open the lid and stir vegetable every 5 minutes to prevent it change colour. Cook in 15 minutes and stir in 1 table spoon of mushroom sauce and sprinkle 1 teaspoon oregano herb on the top, keep stirring for 2 minutes then turn off gas, serve immediately.

III. TIPS

-          If you do not have Chinese mushroom sauce then use 1 piece of Maggi soup cube, crush before open, then sprinkle over vegetable. Add 1 tea spoon of corn flour in 1 table spoon of water, pour into the wok and keep stirring. This corn flour will make vegetable look shining and yummy.

-          Never heat the oil to hot, it will change the property and turn into bad cholesterol. When put oil in the wok, add 1 piece of garlic crush. When the garlic turns brown lightly then the heat is enough to start cooking. Make habit of adding garlic when you use oil is also help to reduce cholesterol and add flavour into your food.

-          To maintain the colour of vegetable, do not cover the lid more than 10 minutes during cooking time and after cooking.

-          REMEMBER that all good vitamins in vegetable will be destroyed if you are over cook them.

PRAWN IN GARLIC CREAMY SAUCE

Keep aside the diet salad recipes. Let's have some little candle light dinner. It was our little celebration at home, i make this special to give my husband a treat. We are quite content to have good food at home, only two of us with nice crockery and a big mug of beer or Gin and tonic. The best part is that you do not have to pay for bill. ha..ha hha...I forget to click photo so here it is downloaded from Australian website.

 I. What do you need ? 

- 150 g Korean rice or sticky rice (or 1 1/3 cups cooked rice)
- 30g (1 1/2 tablespoons) butter or 1 1/2 tablespoons oil
- 16 green prawns, peeled and deveined (remove black line on the back of prawn, fish seller will do it for you)
- 4 large garlic cloves, crush to peel and finely chop
- 250ml (1 cup) thickened cream (can use Amul cream)

- 1 tablespoon finely shredded basil

II. How to make ? 

Wash and soaks rice in water for 30 minutes then put water 1.5 of amount of rice (1.5 cup of water for 1 cup of rice) put on gas till boil then slow fire and cover with lid, continue to cook for 15 minutes until all water drain off, stir. Turn of gas and keep lid on to keep warm.

Heat butter or oil in a frying pan or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add prawns and cook for a couple of minutes, until prawns have just changed colour but are not completely cooked through. Turn prawns once during cooking. ©

Reduce heat to low, stir in garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, being careful not to brown garlic (it can develop a bitter flavour).

Add cream and increase heat so that the mixture is simmering rapidly.

While the sauce is reducing (keep an eye on the sauce to ensure it doesn't reduce too much), spoon one quarter of the rice into a mould, using the back of a spoon, firmly press the rice into the mould. Invert mould onto a serving plate, tap on mould to release rice and lift mould away. The best is that of you have ring mould, if you do not have doesn’t matter, use steel bowl in your kitchen. Repeat with remaining rice.

Simmer sauce until it has thickened to the desired consistency and prawns are cooked through. Stir in basil and remove from heat.

Place 4 prawns on each plate. Drizzle prawns with sauce and serve immediately.

III. TIPS

-          You can find prawn in INA market, big size prawn will have 13-16 pieces per kg. King size has 8 to 8 pieces per kg. For this recipe, better use big size or even little smaller prawn is also good.

-          Prawns are good when they has bottle green colour, the shell look shining and when you lift the prawn up, see the join at the head and body, if it is not broken then it is fresh.

-          You can use basmati rice in this recipe but it will not stick together when put in the mould and also the taste will be less sweet.

-          To avoid rice stuck on the mould, you can cover it with clean wrap then put rice on top of clean wrap.

BROCOLI SALAD WITH YOGURT (DAHI)

Last week, my sister in law family visited us. My husband was telling them about the yummy salad he likes so i promise to put it on this blog so that she can see it anytime she want. Every time they keep asking my recipes but never make  it at home. I think this is the way Indian show how they appreciate your food by asking "how do you make it ?" but they really never want to know, just asking for the shake of asking. Lol.

I. What do you need ?


- 1 Broccoli about 300 gr
- 1 small cup of Mother dairy Yogurt (Dahi). You can use home make dahi but i found it is always sour and not have creamy taste like Mother Dairy Yogurt.
- 1 table spoon Amul cream (optional). Omit it if you afraid it will make you fat.
- One small garlic
- 2 teaspoon cooking oil.
- Salt, pepper to taste.

II.  How to make it
Broccoli cut into small florets, wash and keep dry.In the wok or fry pan, add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil and crushed garlic until garlic is slightly brown. Add Broccoli and stir for 2 mins. Add 1 table spoon of water the cover the lid, cook 4-5 minutes or until water is drain out and broccoli is cooked. Off gas and keep it unlid to avoid colour change.

Mix Yogurt with cream and salt+ pepper, mix well. Topping the broccoli with this mixture and serve warm or room temperature.

III. Tips

This dressing is quite Western food taste. If you like the tangy taste of Indian masala, you can add chat masala or chilli powder.

FRENCH BEAN SALAD

Summer in Delhi is hard, especially for the one who always want to have salad with meal like me. Price of green leafy vegetable is touching sky high and still not available. So, let's make some dishes which what are available in Mother Dairy vegetable shop nearby. French bean salad is very very simple, quick to make and great to eat. The technique of making this salad is how you boil the bean so that it should not be over cook or too raw and still maintain the green colour of vegetable. I remember, once the landlord of my friend said to her that Vietnamese do not know how to cook food, they only eat everything in steam and boil. I told my friend, tell that person, if she can boil vegetable in the right way so that veg. remain colour and vitamin is not killed the way Indian torture vegetables. Anyway, I am not going to enter into this war between my friend and her landlord. Just want to say, there is an art in making everything even the task which is look simplest. Like i saw my mother in law roll the roti, it comes perfectly shape like moon in full circle which i tried many time still can not even make right square....

Ok. Let's start our salad now

I. What do you need ?

- 500 gr French bean
- One onion (optional)
- the great salad dressing (see my last post for recipes)
- water

2. How to make ? 

Put 1/2 litter of water to boil. When i say boiled water, i mean water should be boiled with a lot of bubbling (right temperature will help to maintain the green colour of bean and help salad look tasty. French bean, clean and wash then drop in the boiling  water, cover for 5 minutes then open the lid and stir upside down all the bean. Then cover again for 5 or 10 min then off the gas, open the lid, otherwise bean will turn yellow. Let bean stay in hot water for 5 minutes, pour the whole thin in the plastic net and drain it in running water then keep it dry.

Slide Onion into rings. Toss bean + Onion ring with the great simple salad dressing (vinegrette) before you serve. This can serve warm or room temperature. Bean should have little crunchy noise when you bite it.

THE GREAT AND SIMPLE SALAD DRESSING (Vinaigrette dressing)

So now you know about vegetable which are good to make salad. Then here is the Great and simple salad dressing which popular known as Vinaigrette dressing.

Why I say The Great Salad Dressing because with this dressing you can use for many many salads. It is simple easy to make and also healthier than the dressing which has cream or mayonnaise.


I. What do you need?

- 1 piece of garlic or more if you make more quantity of dressing
- 1 table spoon of vinegar
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 table spoon extra virgin olive oil (hey do not worry, if you do not have extra virgin olive oil then use olive oil or even you do not have olive oil in the kitchen then use normal oil) but next time buy olive oil, it is good for heart.

II. HOW TO MAKE

Crush garlic in bowl, add all ingredients above and stir well until sugar and salt dissolve. You can store this dressing in a jar and keep in fridge for someday. Sauce should be little sour, little sweet.
After you prepare vegetable then just simply add this dressing on top of salads and serve.

KNOW YOUR VEGETABLES

We have heard about Bollywood film stars are on diet with boiled vegetable or salad, many also want to have the same diet but feel that is it hard to eat boiled vegs or munching on raw veg  (most of the time is tomato, cucumber, onion and white radish) will with little nimbu and salt like many Indian of. ten make what is so called salad.

In summer, vegetable are very less in the market but still there are many things there for you to make taste and yummy salad which can help you to have glow skin, slim waist and many other more benefits from veg salads.

First before you decide that your lunch will be only salad from now onwards to get the target of 26 - 27 waist to flaunt it with your new saree, you should know what veg is good to eat raw and what veg can use to make salads.

I. GREEN LEAFY.

Eating green leafy can help you to remain young, vitamin E and other vitamin will help anti aging, keep cancer at bay, give you that dream smooth glowing skin and heart care and pregnancy care. So let's see what leafy you can use to make salad included

I am telling you what is available in Delhi market, Spinach (palak), iceberg, lettuce (green and purple colour), cabbage, morning glory, young leaf of white radish.

II. OTHER VEGETABLE  (which is popular and available in Delhi)

A. Vegetable can eat raw

Bell pepper (grean, red, yellow), cucumber, carrot, tomato, onion, spring onion, red radish, white radish, button mushroom, celery, garden rocket, watercress

B. Vegetable need to have some process before making salad

  

French bean, cauliflower, broccoli, baby corn, corn, olive, eggplant, banana blossom, potato, bitter gourd, Chinese cabbage, lotus root, asparagus, papaya.

To be continued with very simple recipes of salad.

CREAMY MUSHROOM SOUP

Now it is summer, not the right time for heavy food with cream and butter but we suddenly feel to have something creamy and still light for lunch and it can fill stomach till dinner without crawling for some snack at 4 pm. So I decide to make creamy mushroom soup.

I. What do you need ? (for 4 servings)

- 1 box of button mushroom
- Few leaves of basil (can use coriander instead of basil leaves)
- 1 box of Amul cream
- Pepper, salt
- 1 teaspoon corn flour
- Half of Knoor soup cube (mushroom)
- 4 bowl of water (use the bowl you are going to serve the soup to measure water)

II. How to make ?

Wash and rinse mushroom carefully under running tap to remove dust and soil. Thinly slide. Put mushroom into water and bring to boil, add salt to taste. Mix corn flour with some room temperature water before added to soup to avoid cuddle. Add corn flour and cream into soup and stir. Add salt to taste. Sprinkle chop basil leave and pepper before serve.

Soup should not be too thin or too thick. You can add more corn flour.

III. Tips

In Delhi, button mushroom is packed in poly bag or blue plastic box, you can find in INA or many shops in South Delhi, in winter it is everywhere and quite cheap.
Good button mushroom should be white, small size and absolutely closed.

You can get Knoor soup cube from INA, there are chicken soup cube and mushroom soup cube.

Shake well the box of cream before open and add slowly to the soup and stir during time of adding.

CHICKEN CORIANDER SOUP

In this rainy season, this soup with ginger, coriander, lemon and pepper will help you to fight with cold and stuffy snooze. You will feel more appetizer and perfect for diet light lunch or starter in dinner. It is also easy and quick to cook.


I. What do you need ? (for 4 servings)

- 200 gr. Minced chicken

- A handful bunch of coriander (100 gr)

- A small piece of ginger (size of thumb)

- Pepper, salt

- Slide of lemon (for serving)

- 4 bowl of water (use the bowl you are going to serve the soup to measure water)

II. How to make ?

Put minced chicken in a bowl, add with half teaspoon of salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon of cooking oil (optional), mix well.

Peel and julienne the ginger or if you are not good in cutting then just grate or finely chop, put ginger in water and boil it. When water is boiled, use a small teaspoon to scoop chicken into boiling water and keep it boiled until all pieces of chicken are floated then slow down gas keep boiling in 5 minutes to make sure all chicken are well cooked. Do not close the lid during the time of cooking because it will make the soup not clear.

Add salt to taste. Coriander cut 1 inch long put into soup just before you serve. Sprinkle pepper and some drop of lemon, serve hot.

III. Tips

To make soup (broth) tastier without using MGS, chop 1 white radish (Mooli) put into water and boil for sometime, about 10 to 15 minutes until radish become transparent, then take it out and discard radish.

Black pepper should not buy ready grinded in the bottle, it will loose all aroma. Better buy some whole seed pepper and grind it as mush as you can use for a week or two then keep in glass jar air tide.

ABOUT ME !

Yes, I am not a cook by profession but I am a Vietnamese and a housewife in Indian family, mother of twins, living in India in the last 5 years (from 2005). All these details mean to say that I will give you recipes in very simple way in a normal Indian kitchen. Everybody can cook !. And of course, everybody can EAT

Something more about me ! My grandmother was original Chinese Vietnamese and a cook for Vice president of former government in Vietnam. Many recipes i got from her, may other i created myself based on what i had learn from my Mom and change to adapt with condition in India and for my Indian husband.

In my blogs you will find easy recipes for daily food and for parties from Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai foods to Some European foods which can help you satisfy your tongue and still be slim, healthy and balanced with all nutrition needed for your body. You can find tips and techniques are very easy to do, also the place where you can find materials (I am based in Delhi so i will tell you where to find in Delhi).

Keep log in to find new recipes to surprise your family. "The path to heart of a man is through his stomach". :-) lol