Tea -time wonders -- Eggless Scones

Tea-time had always been a very special part of the day for me. Even as a kid I looked forward to evening tea with the entire family since that is when I used to get to eat some of my favorite cookies and cakes. My Dad used to often get certain triangular shaped nutty delight from his favorite bakery. Years later I learned that those were the scones that the British introduced into the Indian tea-time.

I recently came across a recipe for scones and decided to make my own. They had to be egg-less for me so I modified it according to my taste. I added the quintessential Indian flavor of saffron and cardamom to these legacy delights of the Raj!

Here's what you'll need:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt or whole milk+ few drops of lemon
5 Tbsps of butter
1/2 cup of chopped almonds
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1+1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp saffron
1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Pre-heat the oven at 400 F.

Soak the saffron in 1 table spoon of milk.

Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom and salt in a mixing bowl.

Cut butter into the flour mix to get a crumbly texture.

Mix in the sugar first then add the almonds and cranberries.

Now add the saffron and the buttermilk(or yogurt) little by little to get a soft yet manageable dough. Do not add all 3/4 cup of buttermilk, the dough should be soft but not runny. Grease a baking tray with butter and with oiled hands shape the dough into a 1/2 inch round.

Now take a knife, apply some oil to it and cut through the shaped dough to make eight triangular pieces.

Brush the top with some milk and sprinkle some sugar.

Bake for 15 mins or till it turns light golden brown.

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Microwave Rava Dhokla

The presence of a microwave and the absence of specialized Indian dishes used for cooking certain items led me to try microwave cooking. Since I did not have any stovetop steel dish to steam my Dhoklas traditionally I tried this recipe because I was craving for them. And to my delight they turned out so soft and puffy. My microwave dhoklas were very well received at a potluck at my community classes. They go very well with the green coriander chutney.

You will need :

2 cups Rawa
1 cup plain Yogurt
1 cup Water
1 tsp Haldi (if you like your Dhokla yellow)
Salt to taste
2 tsp Eno Fruit Salt

For Tadka:

2 tbsp Cooking Oil
Handful of Curry leaves
2-3 Green Chillies diced lengthwise or dried red chillies
1 tbsp of black Mustard seeds
2 tbsp Water
1/2 bunch chopped Cilantro
2 tbsp shredded Coconut

Soak 2 cups rawa, 1 cup yogurt and 1 cup water for 30 minutes.

Grease a microwave proof pan (corning ware with a cover). I use a long
pyrex dish with a cover because you should spread the mixture not very thick
but in a thin/medium layer for them to be soft and pliable.

Add two tsp of Eno to the rawa mixture and pour immediately in the greased pan cook it in the
microwave covered for 10-12 minutes.

After the dhokla's are done. Heat 2 tbsp oil, add black mustard seeds, curry
leaves and green or dried red chillies to the oil. Once the ingredients start spluttering, add
the water and immediately pour the tadka over the dhokla.

Cut the dhokla into pieces and garnish with cilantro and coconut.

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Pleasures of a gourmet dish--Stuffed Tomatoes

Things have been a little hectic in the preetibhoj household. Four of our friends were paid a visit by the stork and we have been busy welcoming little bundles of joy. It is amazing to see the face of a newly born, it fills you with so much more faith in life. And since babies are being born, grandparents from India have been visiting, which gives me more reason to invite people over for food, chit-chat and memories. I have been busy looking for new recipe with each new dinner and wanted to include something different each time. And my search led me to gourmet cooking and stuffed tomatoes were served and well-received in one of the gatherings.
I have had baked tomatoes at parties and always liked it. This recipe includes making a stuffing and baking tomatoes at 350 degrees F. It is easy to make, yet delicious.

You will need:
5 ripe but very firm tomatoes

...and for stuffing:
1 can whole kernel corn, 1/4 cups finely chopped cauliflower, 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, 1/4 cups of cooked beans(i used edmame beans), about 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, 3/4 cups of bread crumbs, 1 tbspn of lemon juice, 2 green chillies finely chopped, salt and pepper.
...preparations for stuffing:
Drain the corn of all water. Put a tsp of butter in a pan and roast the corns for about 3-4 mins so that they turn a little crunchy.
Cook the cauliflower in the microwave for 2 mins so that it looses some of its water.
Now mix all the ingredients of the stuffing together.

..preparing the tomato:
lightly spray the tomatoes with olive oil, then cut off a round cap at the top of tomato. Spoon out the seeds and water(can be used in soups) to make a hollow in the tomato. Now take spoonfuls of stuffing and fill liberally into the tomatoes. Bake these at 350 degrees F for 20-25 mins, till the skin of the tomato starts shrinking. Serve it warm and while basking in the pleasure of being a gourmet cook!

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Cabbage Kofta Curry

How do you turn the humble cabbage into a delectable dish? Simple, make koftas! Cabbage kofta curry is, cabbage dumplings in a flavored tomato sauce. And if you want something to take for a potluck or cook for friends, this is it. It will sure win you accolades.

My cooking is most of the time inspired by snapshot memories of my Mom serving finger-licking food to me and my sisters. My Mom very often made lauki koftas, I decided to make cabbage kofta on the same lines. What makes it more appetizing is the crunch in the dumplings which stays long after the koftas have been simmered in the flavorful sauce.
what you'll need is:
For Koftas
1 small cabbage
1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli powder
salt

For the gravy
1 medium sized onion, 4 medium tomatoes, 1" piece inch ginger, 2-3 cloves garlic, 1-2 red chilli, half a bunch of fresh coriander, 1 tsp freshly ground cumin powder, 1 tsp freshly ground fennel powder, 1 tsp freshly ground coriander powder, 1/2 tsp mango powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp poppy seeds made to a paste.

Chop cabbage to very fine pieces. Sprinkle a little salt over it and keep aside for a few minutes. Remove as much water as you can by pressing the cabbage and mix it with all other kofta ingredients. If it makes a very watery mixture add a little more besan till it becomes easy to form into rounds. Make lime sized rounds and deep fry in oil till they turn golden brown. remove from oil when done and drain on a paper towel.

To make the gravy
Make a paste of onion, garlic, ginger. Add two tbsps of oil to a wok. Add the onion mixture and fry on medium heat. Meanwhile make a paste of tomatoes coriander and chillies. When onion mixture looks slightly translucent add poppy seeds paste and tomato mixture. Keep cooking on medium to high till oil seems to be separating from it. Add all the powders now and cook for another 5 minutes. You know the gravy is ready when you can see oil separate around it. Now add around 1-2 cups of warm water depending on how much thin you want your gravy, and mix well. Add the koftas to this and cook covered for 5 minutes on medium heat. Serve warm with whole wheat chapatis or Naan.

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Delicious Sweet and Spicy Butternut Squash(or pumpkin) Bake

Back home in India we make Subji and halwa(pudding) out of pumpkin. Pumpkin here is a Halloween dish, at other times butternut squash is easily available . I used to make subji(dry curry) out of this squash, but after I had pumpkin pie at a friends place, I wondered how would a baked butternut squash taste. I wanted to make a warm casserole for dinner and after some trial and error I came up with my own recipe. After I made this dish for the first time, my husband was absolutely thrilled by the combination of spices and sweetness. Now it is a regular in my kitchen. I use pumpkin for this dish at fall time when it is available at very discounted rates.
Here's the recipe for this finger licking dish:

1 Small butternut squash/ medium pumpkin
3 medium granny smith apples

For Topping:
1/2 cup light brown /white sugar(depending on what's in pantry)
1/3 cup All purpose flour
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 tspn cinnamon powder
1/4 tspn nutmeg
1/4 tspn grated ginger
1 tspn salt
1/4 cup broken pieces nuts(almonds/walnuts/pecans)



1. Peel, de-seed and cut the butternut squash in cubes.
2. Peel core and slice the apples.
3. Place the squash and apples in a baking dish.
4. Now to make the topping mix sugar,flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and nuts in a bowl. Cut cold butter into this mix to make a crumbly topping.
5. Spread the topping evenly over squash and apples.
6. Cover with foil and place in preheated oven at 400 degrees F.
7. Bake covered for around 50-60 min. bake uncovered for 5 more mins in the end.
8. Remove from oven and enjoy it warm with some whipped cream!!

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