WHOLEMEAL MOZARELLA CHEESE BOMBS





I make these rolls atleast twice a month coz I have a cheese lover in the family. She can have anything dairy for all 3 meals, 365 days a year. Yes! That's my daughter for you!

I know most of you may wonder why I cant just get these from the bakery! Why do I go through the entire bread making process myself?!Well..... I make it wayyy healthier by using wholemeal flour and we do not use softening ingredients or stabilizers. We make it 100 % natural and healthy. 




It's literally a cheese bomb! Serve it hot/warm so the cheese can ooze out! Yummmm!!!!!!! great for snacks/snack box!



Makes 15 rolls
INGREDIENTS:
warm milk - 1 cup
sugar - 2 tbsps
instant yeast - 2 and 1/4 tsp
egg - 1
salt - 1 and 1/2 tsp
dried herbs (italian seasoning)  - 1 tsp
garlic, minced - 2
wholemeal bread flour - 2 cups (see notes)
all purpose flour - 3/4 cup (see notes)
unsalted butter, softened - 2 and 1/2 tbsps
mozarella cheese - 300 g 
egg,lightly beaten - 1 
salted butter - for brushing once the rolls come out of the oven

PROCESS:
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the sugar and warm milk. Add the yeast and give it a stir.
  • Add in the egg and give it a good whisk.
  • Next, add the salt, dried herbs and garlic and mix well.
  • Add in the flour and mix on low speed. You can also mix with a big spoon because it will be too stick to use your fingers.
  • Knead for atleast 10 minutes with your hands or the stand mixer. Once the dough has come together (it will still be sticky at this stage) add the butter.
  • After you mix for 2 minutes, the dough will be wet but no longer sticky. At this point roll into a ball and tuck the uneven edges at the bottom.


  •  Cover and keep in a warm place to rise till its doubled in size. Mine took 1 hour and 15 minutes.


  • Choose a baking pan that will fit 15 rolls. line it with parchment paper and keep it ready.
  • Cut the mozarella cheese into 1 inch cubes and keep it ready.
  • Once the dough has doubled, lightly flour your work surface and place the dough on the counter. Gently press it down so that it deflates. 
  • Divide the dough equally into 15 balls.
  • Take each ball and roll it out roughly into a circle. Place 1 cheese cube in the middle and close it by bringing the edges together. pinch the edges closed so that it looks like a ball.




  • Do the same for the rest of the dough and arrange it on the baking tray leaving little space for the dough to rise.


  • Cover and leave it in a warm place for the second rise, say about 30 minutes or until doubled.
  • Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celcius.
  • Brush the rolls with the egg and bake in the pre heated oven for about 18 to 20 minutes or until browned.


  • When its done baking, brush it immediately with some butter and let it cool on the counter.
  • It will become nice and soft once it has cooled down.
  • Pop it into the microwave before eating and serve warm.
NOTES: 
  • I have used 2 cups wholemeal flour and 3/4 cup all purpose flour. but you can choose to use all purpose flour completely or even half and half. Its completely upto you.

SPINACH AND CORN CHEESE SANDWICH




This is one of my absolute favourite sandwiches. Absolutely healthy and filling. This recipe is so easy that I have never posted it. I actually don't have any sandwich recipes on my blog! 

But we are amidst a time where nutritious and quick recipes such as these will come in very handy. Schools are still not open and we are still doing online schooling. So amidst all the chaos of juggling many roles we have to work smart and have such nutritious and quick recipes up our sleeve. 

This filling can even be made a day in advance. My kids do throw a tantrum when they see that spinach............ but then we can always bribe them with those french fries!!  It's all about the negotiation yáll !!:D

Corn and spinach are two ingredients that go hand in hand. With the addition of milk it gives you a very creamy appearance. So let me know if this is a keeper recipe?!:)



This recipe makes about 3 closed sandwiches.
INGREDIENTS:
to make the filling-
butter - 1 and 1/2 tbsps
garlic, minced - 1 tbsp
corn - 1/2 cup
spinach, chopped - 200 g (washed and cleaned)
all purpose flour - 1 tbsp
milk - 3/4 cup
salt and pepper to taste
dried italian herbs - 1/2 tsp
chili flakes - as per taste

to assemble the sandwich:
bread slices - 6
cheese singles - 3
butter - to toast

PROCESS:
  • To make the filling- Melt some butter in a pan. 
  • Add in the garlic. Saute for a few seconds until nice and fragrant.
  • Add in the corn and saute  for a minute or 2.
  • Next, add in the chopped spinach. Mix well till the spinach has wilted and reduced in quantity.




  • After the spinach has wilted, add in the flour and mix well for about 15 seconds.
  • Then, add in the milk. Let it simmer.
  • Add in the salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add in the chilli flakes and the italian herbs.
  • Once the milk has thickened and the mixture has come together switch off the flame.


  • To assemble the sandwich- In a griddle pan melt some butter and then place 2 slices of bread on it.
  • On top of 1 slice place the cheese slice and on top of the other, spread some corn and spinach filling.


  • Once the cheese has melted, place the cheese bread on top of the spinach filling, cheese side down. Give it a good press. 
  • Once the bread has becomes slightly browned and crisp remove from the pan and cut into 2. Serve with some chilli sauce.

GREEN PEAS KACHORI - BAKED



Kachoris are indian  deep fried dumplings. these are usually fried either with some stuffing or even plain. 

For a refreshing change, these kachoris are baked and hence more healthier than the original fried version. Got this recipe from Meera Sodhas recipe book! They are crisp and goes well with either this tamarind chutney or a yoghurt mint chutney. Since they are baked they were slightly hard. But becomes softer as they cooled. You can even eat this as a chat! Drench them with some yoghurt, and top off with some tamarind chutney and some green chutney  Dont forget the sev!!!!

 





INGREDIENTS:
for the pastry:
all purpose flour - 1 and 1/4 cups
salt - 1/4 tsp
oil - 3/4 tbsp
warm water to knead

for the filling:
oil - 1 to 2 tbsps
frozen or freshly boiled green peas - 2 cups
ginger - 2 cm piece
green chilli - 1
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
garam masala - 3/4 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
salt to taste

PROCESS:
  • To make the pastry - In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour and salt.
  • Add in the oil and mix with your fingers so that the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  • Slowly add in enough water and knead to form a soft but firm dough. Take 1/2 tsp oil in your hands and spread it on the top of the dough ball to keep it moist. Keep it covered.
  • To make the filling- Using a mortar and pestle nicely mash the ginger and green chilli and keep aside.
  • Pulse/ blitz the green peas in a food processer or blender till they are coarsely mashed.

  • In a small wok, heat the oil. Once heated, add in the mustard seeds.
  • Once they start to pop add in the green chilli and ginger paste. saute for a minute.
  • Add in the green peas and continue to saute for a further 4-5 minutes.
  • Now add all the masalas and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes or until there is no more moisture left in the peas mixture. Remove from the flame.

  • Now to assemble them- Grease a baking tray with some oil. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
  • Lightly flour your work surface.
  • Pinch a bit of the dough and roll it into a 10 cm circle.
  • keep some green peas stuffing in the middle.


  • Close the kachori by bringing the edges of the dough together and pinch them shut. Gently flatten them if you wish.


  • Do the same for the remaining dough and arrange them on the baking tray, pinched side down.
  • Brush the tops of the kachori with some oil.
  • Bake the kachoris at 180 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops become slightly golden brown.
  • Serve hot with any chutney of you choice. it goes well with tamarind chutney. recipe for that can be found here.

RAVA PHIRNI - A THICK MILK PUDDING MADE FROM SEMOLINA




Phirni is a thick dessert made from sweetened milk and topped with some nuts. The most common phirni dessert is made from rice, although we can make it with rava/ semolina too! 


This dessert is one of the first desserts I probably learnt back in those days, I didn't know how to cook! Its so easy and requires such few ingredients. My grandmother used to cook this for Eid and I learnt it from her....... just that we improvise it over the years:) 

This is very similar to all the payasam and kheer recipes. the consistency for this phirni is as per taste. some like it thick and some like it thinner. so you can add milk accordingly. this recipe makes it on the thicker side.

you can skip the saffron but it give you a slight tinge of that beautiful yellow. the rose water too is optional but it gives it that little extra. 




INGREDIENTS:
milk - 600 ml
rava/ sooji - 1/2 cup (dry roasted. see notes)
milkmaid/ condensed milk - 1 and 1/2 cups
cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
rose water - 1/4 tsp
pinch of saffron 
sliced mixed nuts (usually almonds and pistachios)/raisins - for garnishing


PROCESS:
  • In a saucepan, heat the the 500ml milk.
  • Once it has come to a boil, add in the rava and keep stirring so that there are no lumps. Keep the flame on low.
  • The rava cooks very fast. After the milk + rava has thickened, add in the condensed milk. Keep stirring.
  • Add in the cardamom powder and saffron. 
  • Once you have reached the desired consistency, (let it be slightly thinner because it will thicken more on cooling.) Add the rose water and switch off the flame.
  • Garnish with mixed nuts before serving.
  • Serve hot or cold.
NOTES:
  • Dry roast the rava for a few minutes before using without changing the colour. If the rava you buy says it has already been roasted, you can skip this step.
  • This phirni like most milk sweets becomes thick very fast. so you can always add more milk and heat it if it has become thick before serving.


BAKED GARLIC CROUTONS




Croutons make soups and salads more exciting! I'm sure you will agree with that. When you can't get hold of shop bought croutons, do not fret. All you need is your usual bread and you're good to go!

The recipe below is a simple non fussy recipe for quick garlic croutons.




INGREDIENTS:
bread - 5 slices ( I used wholemeal)
garlic, minced - 2 to 3 cloves
butter, melted - 2 tbsps
olive oil - 2 tbsps
mixed dried italian herbs/seasoning - 1 tsp
pinch of salt


PROCESS:
  • Cut the bread slices into 1 inch cubes. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl, mix together the butter, olive oil , garlic,salt and the italian seasoning.
  • Pour it over the bread cubes. Toss well to coat.
  • Line a baking tray with parchment paper and lay the bread cubes on it in a single layer.
  • Bake in a pre heated over at 220 degrees for about 8  minutes or until browned and crisp.
  • Serve immediately along with your favourite soup or salad.
NOTES:
  • To re heat the croutons, place in a singe layer in a preheated oven for a few minutes to crisp up.

CARROT AND CELERY SOUP




This is a very basic soup recipe which is healthy and nutritious. love these kind of soups which are so easy to put together. they taste great with some toasted bread/ garlic bread or even some croutons. The recipe for these baked garlic croutons coming up in the next blog post!




INGREDIENTS:
butter - 1 tbsp
onion, chopped - 1
bay leaf - 1 
garlic, chopped - 3
carrots, roughly chopped - 2
potato, roughly chopped - 1
celery stalks, roughly chopped - 1 and 1/2 cups
cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
chicken or vegetable broth - 3 cups
fresh coriander leaves, chopped - a handful
salt and pepper to taste
coconut milk or cooking cream  - 1/4 cup (optional)
chilli flakes/ mixed dried herbs - a pinch for serving (optional)

PROCESS:
  • In a big cooking pot, melt the butter.
  • Add in the bay leaf, onions and garlic and saute.
  • Once the onions have softened, add in chopped carrots, celery and potato. Add the cumin powder too and stir for a minute or 2.
  • Add in the chicken or vegetable broth. Cover and let it simmer and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes. Season with requited salt and pepper.
  • Once the veggies have cooked through and the level of water has reduced, add in the fresh coriander leaves, coconut milk/ cooking cream (if you are using). cook for a further 2 minutes and then switch off the flame.
  • Let it cool completely.
  • Remove the bay leaf and blend to a smooth consistency.
  • Serve hot and garnish with chilli flakes and mixed dried herbs.
  • It tastes delicious with these baked garlic croutons.

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