Weekend Pizza Baking

Pizzas are one of our favorite food. I had always had a desire for trying to bake pizza at home. At last i got the procedure from Cookingforengineers thanks to the great blog. The first time i tried the base was not so crispy. i baked another one with little varaition according to our taste.

3 cups Bread flour or all purpose flour

7 g of yeast

salt – 1 tsp

sugar – 2 tsp

1/2 to 1 cup milk

2 tbsp olive oil

tomato sauce – 2 tbsp

capsicum, onions, tomatoes

parmessean cheese – 1 cup

Italian herbs – 2 tsp

Prepare the doughby adding flour, yeast, salt , sugar and milk in a dough mixer using medium speed. Once the dough is done it should be rested in a warm place to rise up. I used the oven to rise for faster action. Heated the oven to 180 c switched off the oven and placed the dough to rise.  After 30 minutes the dough had doubled it size i placed it in a plate and plate for another 30 minutes to rise.

spread oilve oil on the dough. Now the time comes to garnish with tomato sauce i used the italian pasta sauce, fresh tomatoes, capsicum, onions and finally spread the grated mozarella cheese. Garnish with some italian herbs. Now bake the pizza for around 35- 40 minutes until the crust is brown and chesse start to melt. Let it stand for 5 minutes the yummy pizza is ready.

 first batch the base still slight brown

second batch was a perfect base with delicious garlic chilli sauce

Pizza ready to serve

ಸಬ್ಸಕೇ ಸೊಪ್ಪು ವಾಂಗಿ ಬಾತ್/Dill Masala bhath

There are a variety of food prepared with sabaske soppu i am unaware of the english name for this. I could not take the picture of the spinach i will update the next time may be in a months time if i could get it.  Spinach could be used for preparing sambhar, koot,  chutney and even parothas.

 

2 bunch of Sabaske soppu/ jeerage keerai/Dill leaves

2 cups of basmati rice

4 pods of garlic

2 green chillies

1 big onion

2 medium siezed potatoes (boiled and cut in small cubes)

1 tablespoon of vangibhat masala

1/3 cup desicated coconut

amchur powder – 1 tsp

Heat 2 tablespoon of oil add garlic, green chillies. Let the garlic turn light brown now add the slit onions. Fry for few minutes until the onions are light brown in color. Add the sabaske soppu or jeerage keerai (cut it very fine), salt to taste fry for 2 minutes. Steam for 5 minutes until it is cooked well. This needs a little oil more than for lemon rice. Check the spinach if still raw stir fry and again steam it for sometime. This is best when the spinach is fresh. Add potato cubes, vagibhath masala, amchur powder, salt  and mix well. Add the cooked basmati rice and stir fry for sometime and steam in low fire for 2 minutes. Now add the desicatted coconut and mix well. Sabaske bhath is ready for serving.

 

Kesari bhath

Last weekend i had a few guests coming over. The thought of making sweet always makes me to think what to make??. I decided to make a simple dinner. Finally decision ended up making kesari bhath. Until now i had never prepared kesari bath for any guest visit, the thought of using so much ghee and sugar always would take me off. But after all this makes it very authentic so … here goes…

 

1 cup sona masuri rice

2 cups sugar

10-15 strands saffron

a pinch of salt

1 cup ghee

Cashew nuts -10

Raisin -10

2 tsp lemon juice

Boil rice in pressure cooker using 1:2 rice to water. Make sure the rice is soft. Transfer rice to a heavy bottom vessel. Add 1/2 glass water with ghee, saffron, salt and stir until the ghee stats floating and the rice should have a texture of nearing porridge but the rice must not smashed. Now add sugar let it start to boil and leave ghee floating switch off fire. Add 2 tsp of lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with fried raisin and cashenuts

This is more tasty when it fully cools with the fragrance of saffron and ghee.

Thondli fry

  

This is one of the ways we prepare thondli fry commonly known as Thondekayi in kannada. The first time i saw this in singapore was really so happy to find the same vege that i relished with vangibhath, poladhya and palya is in town.

1 tsp mustard seeds

4 pods garlic

1 green chilli ( can add more for spicy)

1/4 kg thondekayi

1/4 cup grated coconut

1/2 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

 

The preparation is very simple. Take oil in a deep frying pan or tava to prepare takda. Add mustard as they splutter, add garlic and green chilli. Fry for a inute until garlic is light brown. Add turmeric, thondekayi, salt and stir fry. This should be stir fried for sometime before steaming in low fire. Depending on thondekayi it takes around 20 minutes. Keep stiring occasionaly to avoid sticking to the pan. once the thondekayi is cooked garnish with grated coconut. Serve with rice or chapati.  This dish is often prepared in my hometown by crushing the garlic, chilli and thondekayi give a very nice taste. If the thondekayi is very fresh and small size can be done this way, but takes long time to cook.

 

Om/Ajwain buttermilk Rasam/Thambli

Om seeds is a very good medicine for stomach upsets. Flavoured buttermilk rasam is a favorite for my kids.  Usually thambli or buttermilk rasam is either taken in the begining or end of the meal. This serves best for digestion. This rasam can be prepared with vaious spices like methi/jeera/mustard all will turn out good.

 

1 cup Buttermilk

1/3 cup grated coconut

1 tablespoon om seeds

2 tsp jaggery (optional i like to have it a ting of sweet)

salt to taste

method: fry om seeds until a light brown color. Grind coconut om seeds to a fine paste. Add buttermilk to the coconut paste. Add salt and jaggery mix it. The rasam should be like rava dosa batter. This can be served with rice.

 

ಕುಂಬಳ್ ಕಾಯಿ ಕಡಬು/Pumpkin Steam cake

 

This is one my husbands favorite kadabu or iddli.  Sunday started up what to make for breakfast? well i saw one pumpkin lying for quite long. As pumpkin can stay longer without getting rotten i always keep it the last to use until my fridge is almost empty. Breakfast i started with pumpkin Talipeth then what to do with the remaining i will have so much to store so i thought why not prepare kadabu.  Check out another version by Shilpa from Aayisrecipes.

 

All that you need

pumpkin cut into chunks – 4 cups

jagerry – 2 cups

iddli rice – 2 cups ( or rava i did not have rava so used rice)

fresh grated coconut – 1 cup

banana leaf/turmeric leaf

method : Soak Rice for 3 hrs in water.  Boil pumpkin by adding little until half boiled. Turn of heat. Add jagerry let it stand until jaggery dissolves. Now remove pumkin will be very watery due to jaggery remove the water to grind the rice. The rice should be just like iddli batter. Now mash pumpkin it should be mushy, mix the rice paste with the pumpkin paste. Add coconut, a little salt and cardomom powder and mix it well. Taste for sweetness. This batter should be just like iddli batter. Now take banana leaf put some batter and fold it. Repeat with the remaining batter and steam it for 20 minutes. Serve with ghee but i like with onion chutney.

Havyakas

The word Havyaka was transcended from words Havyaga or Haveega which means the one who performs Havana(Havya) and Homa(Gavya), since the very purpose of Havyaka Brahmins was to perform the royal rituals and the related functions of the empirical government. In fact, the name “Haiga” persists in Havyaka lexicon.The word Havyaka might also be derived from the place named Haigunda. That region of Karnataka which has been inhabited by Havyakas from ancient times is also called Parashuramakshethra, Gorastradesha, Gokarnamandala.^[1]

Exact facts about Havyaka’s origin are hard to come by since there are very little research available. Historically, it is believed that Havyakas are the first of the Brahmin kind to descend to the present day Karnataka around 3rd century ACE, followed by other sects like Shivalli, Smartha etc., who arrived much later, around 7th century ACE. ^[2] However, the scientific school of thought places the date of Havyaka’s immigration back to about 1300 years ago. The Brahmin king Mayooravarma was instrumental in bringing the first Havyaka families. It is believed that Kadambas brought many Havyakas in to perform the royal rituals and the related functions of the empirical government from a place called Ahichchathra in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Thus the first few families were settled in Banavasi, the capital of the Kadambas and the place adored by Pampa.^[3] King Mayooravarma’s act of inviting Havyakas to Banavasi has been inscribed on a stone stab(Shilashasana) from the period of the Kadambas, which now lies near the village of Varadahalli in Sagar Taluk of Shimoga district.

The descendants and associates of Parshuram are called Bhumihar Brahmins in Eastern U.P. and Bihar, Goud Brahmins in U.P. and Rajasthan, Chitpawan Brahmins in Maharashtra, Anavil Brahmins in Gujarat, Havyak Brahmins in Karnataka, Namboothiri Brahmins in Kerela and Mohyals in the Punjab region. Their variants are found with different names all across the Indian sub-continent. They have same Aryan looks, customs and practices.

^{- source Wikipedia encyclopedia}

Vegetable Pulav

All of us prepare vegetable pulav ( it is rich dish with a lot of vegetable flavour). Every one has its own taste of preparation. This is a recipe i learnt from my mother in law who is a great cook. This is a all time favorite of my family. Sometimes our meal would just pulav and raita. But i never happen to get my mother in laws taste. 

All that you need

Dry Masala

 

cloves – 4-5

coriander seeds – 3 tsp

cummin seeds – 1 tsp

cardomom  – 2-3 pods

cinnamon – 3 inch

pepper – 1 tsp

Dry roast and powder all the above

 

Wet masala

 

1 bunch of fresh coriander leaves

2-3 green chillies

garlic – 5-6 pods

ginger – 3 inch piece

Make a wet paste of all the above using very little water

 

Whole garam masala( bay leaves, cinnamon, cardomom,clove )

Vegatables(potato, carrrot, beans, peas and other of your taste)

1 big onion cut into thin slices

1 tomato cut into medium size chunks

2 cups of Rice

Salt to taste

 

Method: I usually prepare this pulav in pressure cooker but for a change i tried my husbands method to make in electric Rice cooker. Power on the rice cooker to cook, let it heat for a minute open the cover of the cooker pour Ghee or oil according to your preference. Add the sliced onions as the oil is heated, fry the onions well until light brown now add the dry masala fry for a few secs. Add the wet masala fry until oil seperates. Add the vegetables and Rice mix and fry for  a few minutes so that the rice and vege get coated with the masala. Add water according to the type of Rice, now  add whole garam masala, salt, tumeric, tomato slices if you would like to add cabbage add it at this time. Taste for salt and spice, if spice is not enough you can add 1-2 slit green chillies as you can see i have added. Close the cover of the cooker and wait for it to cook. Once it is ready let it stand in cooker for 5 minutes. Now transfer to serving bowl garnish with fried cashew and serve hot.

 

Yam Hasi

All you need

half yam boiled cut into small pieces

1 small onion cut into small pieces

1 green chilli

1/2 cup grated coconut

pinch of hing

2 dry red chillies

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp urad dhall

1 cup of curds

Method: Boil Yam and cut into small pieces (usually i pressure cook with the dhall and rice). Grind green chilli and coconut in a mixer. cut onion into small pieces. Take a bowl add the cut yam, onion and the coconut paste. Add curds, salt and mix.Make the takda, take some oil add red chilli leave for a sec, add urad dhall, mustard seeds, hing. add takda to yam mixture once the mustard splutters. yam hasi is ready for you to serve. Serve with rice.

Pumpkin Talipeth

Talipeth is a one of the common breakfast found in almost all parts of Karnataka. Talipeth can be made from Rice/jowar/Ragi/gram  or mix combination of flours. Adding grated vege to any type of talipeth adds a unique flavour to it. Most commonly prepared are from Rice flour though i love the talipeth prepared by jowar( jolla) flour. Here in Singapore though we find jowar flour most of the time the flour is quite old. Now a days i hardly find time to go and buy it so i use the most commonly found rice flour to make talipeth.

 

 

All you need

 

pumpkin grated – 1 cup

coconut  grated – 1/2 cup

Rice flour    - 3 cups

green chilli – 2

onion  – 1

coriander leaves – 1/2 cup

oil to shallow fry

salt to taste

 

Method: Mix all ingrediants except oil with little water. The dough should be a little harder than iddli batter. Take a little dough spread it evenly on a banana leaf or you can directly spread on the tava with your hand.

 Drizzle oil around the talipeth and let it bake evenly. If you want soft talipeth steam it using a plate on the tava. Bake it on both sides util you see small brown spots after this it will get harder. Serve hot talipeth with coconut chutney.