US - Spring 2009 Meet :

Semi - Healthy Pav for Pav Bhaji

Yesterday I wanted to make Pav Bhaji for dinner as I was bored of making the same old Chapathi, palya ( subji) , rice and dal. I wanted to make Pav from scratch so started my search on the net and found 2 awesome recipes one from VahChef( uses all purpose flour) and the other from Jugalbandhi ( healthy version uses whole wheat flour). So I combined the 2 recipes together and made my own and it turned out moist and delicious. I haven't posted the Bhaji recipe because I think all most all of you make it at home. If you try it let me know how it turned out!

Ingredients
3 and ¼ cups flour (I used 1¾ cups whole wheat and 1.5 cups maida/all purpouse flour)
3 tsps. active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1.5 tbsp. butter (melted)
1 tsp. salt
1 cup ( I used skim milk)

1/4 cup luke warm water

2 tbsps. melted butter to brush

1. Add the sugar and yeast to a bowl, then add 1 cup luke warm milk, mix and leave it for a while for the yeast to get active, it will take abt 5- 10mins. You will see a nice froth, thats when you will know that it is ready. Then add salt.

2. In a large bowl mix both the flours. Make a well in the middle and add the milk, start kneading, if the dough is too dry then add the water 1 tbsp at a time and knead further.

3. Knead for about 6-8 minutes adding the melted butter, until you get a smooth, elastic ball of dough. If it is too watery then add a little flour.

4. Kneading can be done either on the kitchen counter or in a large bowl.

5. Put it in a large bowl, cover the bowl with oiled cling wrap, and keep it in a warm place until doubled in quantity. (one to 1.5 hours)

5. Lightly grease and dust a baking tray.

6. Punch the dough down gently, knead it a bit, divide it into 6 or 8 parts, depending on how big you like the pavs.

7. Roll each piece into a ball, cupping your palm, into tight balls. It has to be done in just one direction.

8. Place the balls on a baking sheet 1 inch apart, press then down very lightly, and cover them with a cling wrap. Let them rise again in a warm place until almost doubled (about 30 minutes). When they rise, they will merge at the edges.

9. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F. After the second rising, bake the breads for 13-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in them comes out clean. Brush with the butter and bake for another 5 minutes.

10. Cool them on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Enjoy it with Bhaji!

Orange Loaf Cake

Since I am into baking now, here is one more tasty and low fat cake recipe. Enjoy!

Recipe source: Recipezaar, made some modifications.

* 1 3/4 cups cake flour ( I did not have cake flour so i substituted it with all purpose flour + corn flour. From 1 cup flour take out 2tbsp and add 2tbsps corn flour )
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup canola oil
* 3/4 cup orange juice (original recipe said 1/2cup, but it was too thick, so added 1/2 cup more, I used fresh)
* Zest of 1 orange
* 4 egg whites
* 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (for dusting the cake loaf after baking)

Directions

1. Prepare a 9x5x3" loaf pan with cooking spray then lightly dust with flour.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
3. Add the oil and orange juice to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth.
4. In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
5. Fold egg whites into wet mixture.
6. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
7. Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until a pick comes out clean from the center.
8. Cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack.
9. Let loaf cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar and slicing.

Nutfree-dairyfree-lowfat-chocholate cake!

This is my friends' mother's special recipe.

My friend's father was allergic to dairy & eggs, so this cake was made quite often almost in every christmas...It was my pleasure to be her helping hand while she was running her cooking classes & this recipe comes directly from her own kitchen.

I have been making this cake for almost a decade now..My near & dears ones have always loved it & the best part is, you can eat as much as you want and still its light on belly :)

here goes the traditional basic recipe :

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar / can be replaced by honey;as per desired sweetness.
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup lukewarm vegetable oil

2 cups of normal temp water

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients together.

2. Combine all the wet ingredients together in another bowl. if you are adding fruits or nuts, add them before you add water;because fruits hold some water content.

3. Pour the liquid ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients, and beat until smooth. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 20-25 minutes.

4.The time will vary according to the type of oven you use, your altitude, your current location weather; so cake is done when the toothpick is pricked & it comes out clean!

5.Let it set & cool in pan itself.

6. When cool sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

You can do variations with this basic recipe..for more tips & tricks feel free to ask any questions you have in mind!