Galician Empanada

Galicia is the name of a community in Spain and the Galician Empanada is a very popular stuffed bread in Galician cuisine. This is usually had as an appetizer . But I made it in big quantity and we had it as our dinner with soup. It was quite filling and yummy. Thanks Swathi for choosing this dish for this month's . Baking Partners Challenge .

The clicks are though not upto the mark as the camera was not working properly.

Recipe source : Marisa of Thermofan.  

Ingredients :

For Dough :

2 cups....................warm water
1 tsp.......................yeast
1/2 tsp ...................sugar
250 gm ..................wheat flour
1 tbsp......................oil
1 tsp........................salt


For Filling : ( zaragallada )

2 tbsp..................oil
2 ......................onions ( chopped )
1 tsp..................garlic cloves ( finely chopped)
1....................... carrot ( scraped n chopped)
1 cup.................cauliflower ( florets)
1 cup................shelled green peas
1 cup................chopped tomatoes
1 cup................capsicum ( chopped)
1 tsp...................pepper
salt







Method :

Filling : 

In a thick bottom pan heat oil and add onions and garlic.

Saute the onions till trasparent and add all veggies except tomatoes and capsicum.

Again stir till the veggies are half cooked .

Add tomatoes and capsicum.

Adjust salt and pepper and cook till done.

The vegetables dish should be completely dry or strain out the liquid formed.



Dough :

In a bowl add yeast, 1/4 cup warm water and sugar and keep for 10 minutes.

Now add 2 tbsp oil, flour and salt and mix well.

Now gradually add remaing oil and flour and knead a soft elastic sticky dough.

Knead the dough well for 10 / 15 minutes.

Wrap it and keep aside for 1 hour for the dough to rise.

Now take a baking tray and grease it.

Take half of the dough and roll it as thin as possible.

Now carefully transfer it on the greased tray.

Spread the prepared veggied evenly on it leaving a border of 1 inch on all sides.

Roll out the remaing dough similarly and lay it on top of the filling.

Seal the borders on all sides and make a slit at the centre for steam to come out.escape.

If some dough remains you can make some design the way I made on top.

Brush the top with milk.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30/ 40 minutes.

Cherry Shortcakes

Shortcakes were something I had heard of but never ever tasted or tried. So felt very excited to try them out when Swathi suggested these yummy berry shortcakes for this month's baking-partners challenge. They were very simple to make but had an exotic feel. The taste was yumm and were enjoyed by all of us. 

These shortcakes are very rich and heavy too. They make an excellent dessert options and the cherries can be replaced with any other fresh fruit of your choice .

Ingredients :

2 cups.......................fresh cherries
4 tbsp.......................sugar
1 cup........................maida
1/4 cup...................cornflour
1 tbsp....................baking powder
1/4 tsp.....................salt
2 n 1/2 cup ..............fresh heavy cream
2 tbsp......................melted butter





Method :


Wash, wipe n deseed half the cherries n chop them roughly.

Now sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar on it keep them aside so sugar mixes well in cherries .

In a bowl mix well maida , salt , 1 tbsp sugar and baking powder together.

Mix beated heavy cream gradually and try to bring all the flour together with fingers.

When it resembles like bread crumbs add cream so that the flour just comes together.




Take care not to knead the dough at all.

Now pat this dough on a well floured platform and shape it into a 1/4 inch thick disc.





Cut rounds with a cutter.




Dip these rounds in molten butter and arrange them on greased baking tray.





Bake them in a preheated oven for 20 minutes  or till they rise.





Cut the cakes horizontally into half.

When the cakes are baking whip the remaining cream n sugar till stiff .

When the cakes cool down add a spoonful of this stiff whipped cream and some chopped cherries.

Keep the other half on top and again add a spoonful of cream and cherries.

Masala Scones

Though I love baking I am not an expert baker and so there are certain bakes which I hesitate to prepare. Scones is one such baked dish. I have gone through many scone recipes in the past but was too scared to try one.

So this month when I saw that  Archana has suggested Scones and Tarts for our this months baking-partners-challenge it was tarts for me. But then when I read the recipe of scones found it interesting and moreover Archana made it sound so simple that I couldn't resist trying it out.

 And then when I finally gave them a try was really glad that I made a right choice . They were so crumbly and soft . The cheesy flavor was just yumm.

 Though the original recipe is eggless I tried them with eggs when I saw Swathi doing the same because I did not want to spoil the dish at any cost. I also substituted sage leaves with coriander leaves and chillies . The result was amazing and loved these scones with our morning breakfast.

Ingredients :

2 cups .....................wheat flour
1 tbsp.......................baking powder
1 tsp......................pepper powder
5 tbsp.....................chilled butter ( cubed)
2 tbsp......................fresh coriander leaves ( chopped)
2 ..........................green chillies ( very finely chopped )
2 .........................eggs
2 tbsp..................fresh cream
100 gms................grated cheddar cheese
salt to taste







Method :


In a bowl take the flour and add pepper powder and baking powder.

Now add the chilled butter cubes and rub the flour with your fingers.

Continue till you get a crumbly texture.

In another bowl whip eggs and fresh cream .

Mix chopped coriander and chillies to egg and cream mixture and beat lightly.

Add this to the crumbled flour.

Also add  cheese and salt and knead into a dough.

Take the dough on a well floured platform and roll it into a thick disk.





Cut the disk into triangular parts and arrange them in a greased bowl.




Brush the surface with butter and bake in a preheated oven.

Bake at 180 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes till the top is golden .

Saltine Crackers

This month it was  Aarthy  who suggested a brilliant idea of making crackers for baking-partners a very interesting event by Swathi . She suggested two type of crackers - Saltine Crackers which are usually salty and Graham Crackers which are sweet . I chose to make Saltine Crackers and am also planning to make the sweet variety soon .

 As making crackers was completely new to me I did not modify the recipe at all and thought of following the original recipe . But I made two goof ups -  firstly I completely forgot to fold the rolled out dough and then also forgot the prick the rolled crackers with a fork . But even after all this my crackers turned out good. They were not very crispy n crunchy but still were yummy and delicious. Planning to make them again for perfection.

Ingredients : 

3/4 cup.........................maida
1 pinch.........................baking soda
2/ 3 drops ...................... vinegar
1 pinch .........................salt
1/2 tsp.........................sugar
1/4 cup........................lukewarm water
1 1/2 tsp......................dry yeast
3 tbsp........................water
1 tbsp........................butter
1 tbsp.......................oil
1 tsp salt + 1 tbsp pepper powder ( for topping )


Method :


Boil 3 tbsp water, butter and oil till butter melts and cool till it is lukewarm

Add yeast and sugar to 1/4 cup lukewarm water and set aside for 10 minutes.

When the yeast mixture becomes frothy add maida, salt , soda and vinegar .

Mix the mixture and add the lukewarm butter mixture.

Now knead to form a dough.

The dough will be very soft and sticky.

Keep the dough in a well greased bowl and plastic wrap it.

Keep the bowl in fridge overnight.

The next day bring the dough to room temperature and knead it .

You will need extra maida as the dough will be very sticky.

Roll the dough in a rectange and fold one third rectange through the left half .

Fold the right side on the left part .

It should resemble the folded envelope. ( I forgot this step totally )

Again roll the dough in rectange shape and roll it very thin.

Press the topping with the rolling pin for it to stick in the crackers

Cut them into squares .

Seperate them carefully and place them on a greased tray.

Now prick them with a fork . ( I forgot this step too )

Bake these crackers in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

Crunchy Seed Cookies

Made these crunchy nutty cookies for the valentines day. They are very healthy and nutritious as I have made them with whole wheat flour. The fennel seeds give these cookies a very unique flavor. Thanks Swathi for these lovely yummy cookies.

Adapted from Alice Medrich,


Ingredients :

1 tbsp....................white sesame
1 tbsp..................black sesame
1 tbsp................fennel seeds
2 tbsp..............sugar
1/3 cup ..........sugar
2 cups .............wheat flour
1 tsp................baking powder
1/2 tsp.............baking soda
1 ..................egg
3 tbsp..........butter
1 tsp............vanilla
salt





Method :

Mix both sesame, saunf and 2 tbsp sugar and keep in a plate.

Beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar till smooth and well blended.

Add egg , salt , vanilla and beat well.

Add baking powder and soda and beat again for a minute or two.

Now add the flour gradually and knead the cookie dough.

Knead as little as possible do not over knead.

Now flatten the dough on a flour to 1/4 inch thickness .

Cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter.

Press one side of cut cookie in the mixture of sesame and sugar.





Place these cookes on a greased tray an inch apart from each other.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 180 degrees in a preheated oven.







Linking this to  baking-partners an event by a dear blogger friend Swathi

Koffiebroodje ( Coffee Buns )

For the month of January we the members of  baking-partners  were given two Dutch recipes for baking .
Our this month's host Kaveri suggested two very yummy and interesting recipes : Apple tarts and Koffiebroodge or Coffee buns . I found the recipe of coffee buns very interesting and hence decided to make them . They are Dutch sweet buns usually had with coffee and hence the name. These buns are actually baked slice rolls with sweet custard feeling . These yummy buns are very spongy and soft and went perfectly with hot cup of coffee. Thanks Swathi  and Kaveri for this lovely recipe.

Ingredients :

2 cups ..........................maida
1 tsp..............................dry active yeast
3 tbsp...........................sugar
1/4 cup ......................warm water
3/4 cup .....................warm milk
1/2 tsp.......................salt
2 tbsp.......................butter
1 tsp.........................vanilla

For the filling :

1/2 cup.................milk
2 tsp...................vanilla custard powder
2 tbsp................sugar
1/4 cup..............whipped fresh cream
2 to 3 tbsp..........dried blueberries ( soaked in little water )


For the glaze :

2 tbsp...................strawberry jam
1 tbsp..................water

Method :

Mix together yeast, sugar and warm water and keep aside for 10 minutes to rise.

Add flour and salt and mix well.

Also add butter , vanilla and warm milk and knead to a soft elastic dough.

Cover and let the dough rise for 60 to 70 minutes.

For the filling mix custard powder in 2 tbsp milk .

Heat the remaining milk with sugar.

Add the custard and milk mixture slowly to this hot milk and stir continuously.

When the mixture is thick remove from the gas.

When it cools down add whipped cream and mix well.

After 1 hour take the dough and punch it.

Knead it again and make 2 parts.

Roll each part into a rectangle shape.





Apply the custard evenly on it and sprinkle the blueberries.




Now roll the dough with seam down.

Cut 1 inch slices and arrange them on a greased baking tray.

Again let it proof for half an hour.

Brush the slices with butter and bake in a preheated oven for half and hour at 180 degrees.





For the glaze mix the jam and water and brush it on the baked slices.

Serve warm with a cup of strong hot steaming coffee.

Nicaraguan Christmas Cake

As we all know that the month of December brings fun and joy along with it and the atmosphere is so festive that you just don't feel like being left out .

 This month for baking-partners-challenge  too we were given such delicious options like Traditional Yule Log and Nicaraguan Cake by Swathi  which were perfect to bring in this festive mood . Nicaragua is a country in Central America and corn is extensively used in their cuisine. In this cake too the custard as well as the cake makes use of cornstarch and so decided to give it a try.

 I was also fascinated by the unusual method of custard making in which we had to boil the custard instead of being gentle and careful. In normal custard if you overheat it then the custard curdles . Whereas in this you actually had to boil the custard for 2 minutes to make it thick. So here I am finally with this beautiful cake . We enjoyed the cake thoroughly.

I have actually used half the measurements given below.

Thanks Swathi for this lovely recipe.

Original Recipe : seriouseats

Ingredients :

For the Cake :

1 cup.....................cornstarch
1 cup....................maida
1 tbsp...................unsalted butter ( I used homemade loni)
4 tsp....................baking powder
2 tsp...................cocoa powder
1/2 tsp................cinnamon powder
6 eggs...............yolk and white separated ( at room temp)
1 n 1/2 cup ........sugar
1/2 cup...............milk
1/2 tsp................salt
1 tsp...................vanilla essence


For the Sopa Borracha Syrup :

6 cups ...................water
3 cups ....................sugar
2 " ........................cinnamon stick
10 to 15 ...............cloves
1 tbsp.....................lemon peel ( remove the white pith)
3 /4 cup................rum
1/2 cup ...............raisins
12 .....................prunes


For the Manjar Custard :

4 cups .................milk
2 tbsp..................cornstrach
1 cup.................sugar
1 ".....................cinnamon stick
4 ....................egg yolks
2 tbsp.............chilled n cubed butter
1 tsp................vanilla essence
1/8 tsp..............salt

Method :

For the Cake :

In a pan dry roast cornflour till fragrent and aromatic ( for 5 to 8 minutes )

Blend together cornflour, maida, baking powder and cocoa powder in a processor .

In a bowl beat the egg whites and salt till soft peaks form.

Now gradually add sugar and beat till stiff .

Add  yolks to whites and beat till just mixed.

Now add flour mixture in 3 to 4 parts alternating with milk .

Add Vanilla and mix till just combined don't over do the mixing part.

Put this in a greased tin and bake at 180 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes in a preheated oven.

Cool the cake completely.






For the Syrup :

In the meanwhile prepare the syrup .

Boil water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and lemon peels .

Let the water reduces to 4 cups . ( takes about half an hour )

Strain and discard the solids .

Add rum, raisins and prunes and let the syrup cool.

Again  strain it and keep raisins and prunes aside.






For the custard :

Boil milk along with cinnamon .

In another pan take sugar, cornflour, yolks , salt and mix very well.

Add 1/4 cup hot milk while beating vigorously .

Then add remaining milk beating all the while but not vigorously.

Again add the cinnamon and boil ( while continuously beating ) till mixture thickens .

It should be the consistency of yogurt.




Boil for some more time and switch off the gas.

Add butter and vanilla.

Take it in a bowl , plastic wrap it and chill for 2 to 3 hours


Assembling the cake :

Poke the cake on all sides with a fork.

Pour the prepared syrup uniformly and let it absorb completely.

Spread the chilled custard evenly on the top .

Decorate with raisins and prunes.

Chill before serving.

1. 
   

Pumpkin Ginger Bread ( For Baking Partners)

Due to October being the Halloween month most of the recipes posted in various blogs are pumpkin based .
 As Pumpkin is inevitably used during this month  Baking Partners too suggested some pumpkin based dishes and this Pumpkin Ginger Bread caught my attentions.

As the name itself suggests the bread has a lovely gingery flavour and is super moist . It tasted yummy just with butter . Thanks Swathi   for this lovely recipe.

Ingredients :

2 tbsp..............warm water
1 tbsp.................active dry yeast
1/3 cup ..................warm milk
1 ..........................egg beated
1 cup ...................pumpking puree
1 tbsp..................vegetable oil
3 cups..................maida
2 tbsp..................sugar
1 tsp....................salt
1 tbsp..................finely grated ginger

Method :

In a large bowl mix warm water, sugar and yeast and keep aside to rise for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes the yeast would have formed a foamy mixture.

Now add milk , beaten egg, pumpkin puree, salt  and oil and mix well.

Add to it half the maida and beat vigorously.

The mixture should be very loose and sticky.

Now add the remaining maida and knead very well for 10 minutes with hands.

You will get smooth and elastic dough.

If the dough is still sticky you can add more maida.

Now apply oil and make a ball of the kneaded dough.

Keep the dough in a big greased bowl and plastic wrap it.

Keep it aside for 1 hour till it becomes double in size.

Now punch and knead the dough well and keep it it greased bread tin.

Let the dough again rise for 45 minutes.

Bake the bread in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 1/2 an hour or till it is done.

When baked the bread top becomes hard and when pressed with finger it should spring back.

This is an indication that the bread is perfectly baked.

Slice the bread when it is completely cooled.

Kroughnuts ( for Baking Partners)

Cronuts .....has anyone heard this name before ? At least I heard it for the first time when Swathi announced it as a challenge for this month's baking-partners

 Though I was excited that I would get to make such a new invented dish for which people go crazy in America , same time I was a bit apprehensive since it mentioned the use of lot of butter. The other thing which kept pulling me back from trying them was that  this dish took almost 3 days to make.

So my first half of the month went in mustering enough courage to prepare this dish and then with a determination I tried them out.

Though they were yummy and tasty I feel I have not done justice to them . They did not rise the way they should have and so I did not get the layers. Though in the Day 3 - I have written let the punched kroughnuts rise for 1/2  hour I completely forgot this step and refrigerated them without letting them rise again . Now I think whether it is due to this mistake that they did not puff while frying.

This challenge was in real sense a challenge and am finally satisfied with my self that atleast I gave it a try.

My kroughnuts though resembled a lot like doughnuts . And I glazed them with my favorite topping - Chocolate sauce and decorated with some silver balls. Though every one at home loved them only I know the hard work which has gone into making this dish.





Original recipe : BootLeg cronut

Ingredients for the Dough :

2 cups (250 gm) .....................all purpose flour
2 tbsp.....................sugar
1/2 tsp..................salt
4 tbsp...................milk
1 tsp.....................dry active yeast
3 .........................large egges
2 tbsp..................butter ( unsalted)
150 gm ................unsalted butter
3 to 4 tbsp............chocolate sauce ( I used ready made )
oil for deep frying


Method :

Day 1 : In a bowl mix yeast, sugar and 2 tbsp warm milk and let it rest for 15 minutes.
When the mixture becomes frothy mix remaining milk, eggs and 2 tbsp butter and mix well.
Now add this mixture to the flour and salt and knead very well for at least 10 to 15 mintues.
The dough should be smooth and shiny.
Now apply oil to it and keep in a big bowl and cover with a plastic wrap.
The bowl should be large enough to let the dough rise and the wrap should now come in contact with dough.
After about 1 hour the dough with be almost more than double .
Transfer it to the frigde and let it remain overnight.

Day 2 :  Cut the 150 gm butter in 1/2 inch slab and arrange on wax paper in a square shape.
Now pound it with rolling pin till in become 4 inches square.
Refrigerate it for 2 to 3 hours.
Now unwrap the previous day's dough and roll it into a 10 inches square.
Place the chilled butter square in the middle of the dough square.
Fold the sides of dough over the butter on all four sides and cover the butter completely.
Now carefully roll the dough and elongate it to almost dough sized rectangle.
The butter should not come out of the dough.
Fold  1/3 of the right side of rectangle onto the middle and now the left 1/3rd side on top of the middle .
Now again start elongating the dough in to a 20 inches rectangle and once again repeat the folds in same way as above.
Now once again refridgerate the dough overnight.

Day 3 : Dust your kitchen platform or a smooth working area with flour.
Take out the refridgerated dough and keep it on the platform.
Pound it slightly to warm up the butter and roll it till it is 1/2 inch thick.
Now punch out the rounds with the lid of a jam bottle and punch our smaller rounds in middle with a small bottle cap.
Arrange the punched kroughnuts and the rounds on a greased sheet and let it rise for 1/2 an hour.
When they rise keep in fridge for 1 hour more.

Heat oil and deep fry the kroughnuts when still chilled .
When golden remove and cool them.
Glaze the top with chocolate sauce or any jam or even powdered sugar and cinammon powder.

Speculoos Cookie Sandwiches ( For Baking Partners)

Just recently I posted a recipe for Kourabiethes - Greek cookies and today posting a recipe for Dutch - Speculoos Cookie Sandwiches (Also known as Speculaas )

For August month's Baking partners challenge Swathi had suggested four different types of cookies from around the world and so though I made Greek cookies I was also tempted to try these sandwich cookies. 

These are actually very traditional cookies made by pressing the dough in a mould and they taste a lot like ginger biscuits but with some more spices like cinammon, cloves , nutmeg etc....

These cookies really taste  very unique due to these spices. They are then  filled with a filling of our choice.

 I made my all time favourite lemon filling which was a hit and loved by all . But I would like to mention that without the filling also the cookies taste amazing. So now off to the recipe ......

Ingredients  For the Speculoos :

1/2 cup ...................cold butter cubed
2 tbsp......................curds ( original recipe calls for 1 egg)
1/3 cup....................sugar
1 n 3/4 cup...............maida
2 tsp........................cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp..................nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp.................pepper powder
1/4 tsp................cloves powder
1 tsp.....................ginger paste
1/2 tsp ................salt
1/4 tsp.................baking soda

Ingredients for the filling :

2 tbsp...................butter
5 tbsp..................sugar powder
1/2 tbsp...............fresh cream
few drops.............yellow colour
1 tsp....................lemon juice
1/4 tsp.................citric acid crystals
1/4 tsp................cardamom powder
salt pinch

Method to bake the Speculoos :

In a blender blend together every thing except maida.

Take the mixture in a bowl and add maida to it and make a dough.

Do not over knead the dough.

The dough should not be sticky.

Plastic wrap the dough and keep it in the fridge overnight.

Next day roll the dough and cut the cookies in desired shapes.

Arrange them on a greased tray.

Bake them in a preheated oven for 10 mintues at 180 degrees.

Cook them completely.

Method for the filling :

Beat the butter and sugar very well.

Add cream and cardamom powder and again beat well.

Now add salt and lemon juice and beat .

If the filling is soft keep it in fridge for some time to make it little stiff.

Put the filling on the cookes and top with another cookie.

Keep the cookies in fridge otherwise the cream starts melting.

Kourabiethes ( Greek Cookies for Baking Partners)

This month Swathi gave us a choice of  few world class cookies to try for the Baking Partners Challenge .

Kourabeithes or the sugar cookies which were one of them are originally from Greek . They are different from other cookies as in shape as well as taste. 

So I decided to make them and was delighted with the texture n taste. The orange flavour in them make them more like marmalade cookies. 

The addition of orange rind is a must because it makes the cookies delicious. My kitchen was full of aroma of orange while baking these kitchen and it felt wonderful.

Though the original recipe also calls for adding almond powder I tried replacing it with equal quantity of flaxseed powder and tired making them a healthier version plus it did not make any difference at all in the taste or texture .  

I feel that even without powdered sugar coating they taste great. 

Thanks Swathi for this lovely challenge.

Ingredients :

100 gm .....................butter
3/4 cup........................sugar
2 tbsp.......................finely grated orange rind ( sweetened and dried)
1/2 cup......................flax seeds powder
1 cup........................maida
3/4 tsp......................baking powder

Method :

In a blender beat butter, sugar and rind till very pale in colour.
Take it in a bowl and add flax seeds powder and maida and make a dough.
Do not over knead the dough .
It should be soft but not sticky.
Now make sausage shapes and bend them a little to give a crescent shape.
Place them half inch apart in a greased tray and bake at 180 degree for 20 -25 minutes.

Even though they are little soft , switch off the oven.
They will become hard and crunchy after 10 - 15 minutes.
Roll them in powdered sugar and cool them completely.
Store them in  air tight container.

Linking this to Baking Partners Challenge :



And also to  :

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