Spring Onion Pancakes

 Spring Onion Pancakes

When I took up international flat breads as my theme for this week’s theme the last thing I expected was the use of a rolling pin.

Not because I have anything against a rolling pin but its not my best friend. 

I cannot roll out chapattis, parathas! I know I have them on my site but they are not out of choice. I do not enjoy the job! When the push comes to a shove I make them but the difference shows especially when I eat them!!

Last month when we were at Foodology I was rolling out the chapattis needed for choor choor rotis and I was looking out for reassurance there. I mean I am among experts here and … but my friends were all support that I was doing well.

Buoyed by their reassurance here I am with Spring Onion Pancakes and they were loved at home.

 Spring Onion Pancakes

Spring Onion Pancakes

Recipe Source: Here and Here

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups wheat flour
• ½ cups Maida
• 1 cup warm water
• Oil for the pancakes, such as vegetable, sesame, or shortening
•  salt
• 1 cup spring onion greens, chopped fine

Method:

• Mix the flours well then gradually add the water and make a smooth dough. Knead a bit more till the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Coat this ball of dough lightly in oil and put it back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
• Mix the spring onion greens with salt in a bowl and set aside.
• Make balls out of the dough the size of which is bigger than a table tennis ball and smaller than a tennis ball.
• Roll out 1 ball until it is a thin circle. (Actually rolling it in a rectangle will make better sense but I am more used to a circle.
• Brush the top of the rolled out dough with oil, then sprinkle it evenly with chopped spring onion and salt mixture.
• Roll up the dough in a tightly coiled long snake of rolled-up dough.
• Coil the dough and let it rest for at least 15 minutes, while you repeat this process with the rest of the dough.
• Roll out the coiled dough bundle into a flat, smooth, round pancake with a rolling pin or with your hands.
• Heat a tawa over medium-high heat, and transfer the rolled out pancake to the tawa.
• Cooking is like you cook a chapatti just a little different, wait till you get small bubbles on the pancake.
• Once there are bubbles turn it around, increase the flame and spoon ½ tsp of oil around the edges. Smear the backside of the spoon to the pancake. Almost immediately you will get a delicious cooked smell. The pancake has brown spots on the underside.
•  Flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes on the other side, or until golden brown.
• Repeat steps for cooking the pancakes till all are done.
• Serve immediately with soy sauce or another dipping sauce.

 Notes:

•  This recipe calls for oil in two different places: Once to make the filling, and once to fry the pancakes I used the same rice bran oil both places.
•  If you would like to make a few pancakes but save the rest for later, you can save the dough in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just make sure the dough is oiled and well-covered. You can also roll out individual pancakes and stack them between well-oiled layers of wax paper.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#50

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

 

Xi’an stuffed pancakes

Xi’an stuffed pancakes

For the alphabet X I have tried the Xain province from China.I knew of this province for the terracotta army. I would have liked to write more but as my arm is not too agreeable I am just linking my source Wikipediaof course.

These were appreciated a lot at home and the waiting period is right now extended till y arm is better then I better make these again and not just 8. Apparently younger one want 8 for herself alone. ;D

 Xi’an stuffed pancakes

Recipe Source:here

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Yield: 8 pancakes

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
•  Water as needed

For the filling:

• 200 grms mushrooms
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• ½ tsp pepper
• Pinch of jeera/cumin
• ½ tblspn soya sauce
• 1 tblspn tomato sauce
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt
• ¼ cup paneer, crumbled
• 1 cup cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oil
• Pinch of white pepper
• 2 tblspn til/sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup oil for frying+ 1 tblspn oil

Method:

Let’s make the dough first:

• To the flour add salt and water little at a time to form dough.
•  Knead for 5 minutes. Set aside keep covered with a damp kitchen towel to rest.

Now let’s make the filling:

• In a kadhai /wok add 1 tblspn of oil.
• Add the garlic and brown it.
• Add the onion and stir fry till the onions are translucent.
• Add the mushrooms and stir and cook covered.
• Once the mushrooms are done add the jeera/cumin, pepper, soya sauce, tomato sauce, salt sugar. Mix and stir fry till almost dry.
• Add the paneer and mix well. Switch off the gas and keep the kadhai/wok open. Set aside to cool.
• Once cool transfer to the chutney jar of the blender and make a coarse paste. Set aside.
•  In another bowl, combine the cabbage, spring onion, garlic powder.

Now let’s assemble the pancakes:

•  Divide the dough into 8 equal portions use one portion and keep the rest covered with a damp towel.
•  Oil the work surface lightly and roll the selected portion into a long, thin rectangle about four inches wide.
• Again very lightly oil the dough and spread on about an eighth of your mushroom paneer mixture on one side. Spread till about the middle of the rectangle.
• Add about 2 tblspn cabbage mixture to one end.
•  Roll the dough a little. Cover the sides like a burrito to make a cylinder till you reach the end of the rectangle.
• Stand the roll on one end so it's like a standing cylinder.
• Press the dough down into a flat pancake with one hand and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Repeat with all the balls. Meanwhile keep the prepared pancakes under the damp towel.
•  Pour ½ cup oil into a small kadhai/wok and heat. When put a small pinch of dough in the hot oil the dough should first sink then slowly come up. In case the dough sinks and stays under you oil is not hot enough heat it and test with a fresh pinch of dough. In case it rises immediately cool the oil. Test and then fry.
• Drop the pancakes gently into the pan and fry until golden.  You will need to flip the pancakes so fry 1-2 at a time.
• Carefully flip and fry on the other side (about 3 minutes per side). Please be careful when working with hot oil.
• When golden brown, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Taste best when eaten immediately but they can be frozen and re-toasted in the oven.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44

An InLinkz Link-up

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

Pad Thai for Thailand

Pad Thai

Again I go back to Wikipedia  which says that , “Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Balance, detail and variety are of paramount significance to Thai chefs. In his book The Principles of Thai Cookery, renowned celebrity chef, writer and authority on Thai cuisine McDang wrote

"What is Thai food? Every country in the world has its own food profile. It reflects its culture, environment, ingenuity and values. In the case of Thailand, these words come to mind: intricacy; attention to detail; texture; color; taste; and the use of ingredients with medicinal benefits, as well as good flavor.

We not only pay attention to how a dish tastes: we are also concerned about how it looks, how it smells, and how it fits in with the rest of the meal. We think of all parts of the meal as a whole - sum rap Thai (the way Thais eat), is the term we use for the unique components that make up a characteristically Thai meal."

Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy edge. It is known for its complex interplay of at least three and up to four or five fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, bitter and spicy. Australian chef David Thompson, a prolific chef and expert on Thai food, observed that unlike many other cuisines:

"Thai food ain't about simplicity. It's about the juggling of disparate elements to create a harmonious finish. Like a complex musical chord it's got to have a smooth surface but it doesn't matter what's happening underneath. Simplicity isn't the dictum here, at all. Some westerners think it's a jumble of flavours, but to a Thai that's important, it's the complexity they delight in.”

So this is my attempt at making Thai Food... I have in the past tried my hand at Veggie Thai Curry, A delicious rice in coconut milk( I realize now I have never got down to posting it) and some others that I have forgotten about!!

But this was totally different as I had guests at home my daughter’s friends, making this and the Blintzes taking pics and pouring rain things were in a chaos. Finally I did not get to taste any  of the Pad Thai as the kids had  loved it and finished it all.

My kids are thrilled about it. They keep reminding me that i have not eaten this awesome dish.etc etc.... Well I do want to  eat this instead of drooling over the pics.... This is my entry for Blogging Marathon were we are on a whirlwind tour around the World in 30 days!!

Pad Thai

Vegetarian Pad Thai

Recipe Source: here and here 

Ingredients:

• 1 ½   cups flat rice noodles
• 4 tbsp oil
• ½  tblspn garlic, chopped
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 cup cabbage, finely sliced
• 4-5 baby corn, sliced
• 3 tbsp peanuts roasted and roughly chopped
• ¾   cup paneer  cubes ( I did not use)
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 ½ tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• ¼  cup chopped spring onion greens

For The Garnish:

• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped
• 1 tbsp  spring onion greens, chopped
• 1 tbsp  coriander (dhania) , chopped

Method:

•  In large bowl soak rice noodles in warm water to cover until they are limp and white, about 45 minutes in my case. Please follow the instructions of your package.
• While noodles are soaking mix lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, chilli sauce and 1 tablespoon water in small bowl. Set aside.
•  In kadhai/wok  heat oil over high heat.
• Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry 30 seconds.
• Add the beans sprouts, then add carrot strips and green onions and stir-fry 1 minute.
• Add peanuts and baby corn, mix well and cook on a high flame for 2 to 3 minutes stirring continuously.
• Add lime juice mixture.
• Drain noodles and   add to kadhai/ wok along with the cabbage.
• Cook covered  until they soften and curl, about 1 minute.
• Divide mixture among serving plates, sprinkle with peanuts and garnish with a slice of lime and coriander.

Pad Thai

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44

An InLinkz Link-up

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

Savoury Corn Fitters from New Zealand

Savoury Corn Fitters

Now that school has reopened I have a problem what do I give in the kiddos tiffin box?

To add to my woes she does not have a breakfast, barely gulps down a small cup of milk. 

 She comes home for lunch but she wants something delicious in her tiffin box. Her idea of delicious and mine are mine are poles apart.

 The day I give something she does not want we end up having the tiffin uneaten but loaded with excuses like I had to go to the staff room as I am the CR etc.

About this time I was researching recipes for this trip around the world. I fell for the simplicity of these delicious corn fritters. It also what doctor ordered an egg…

Sorry those who do not eat eggs replace it with 1 tblspn of egg replacer or 1/3 cup of cream.

The original recipe has cheese and ham included but I did not add as I did not have time to grate the cheese and ham I do not do. Please feel free to use them if you like it.

Also the original recipe used flour or maida, APF I replaced it with oats. Another thing she refuses to eat.

The whole thing went down well with tomato sauce. Infact she ate one of the fitters before she left for school… Ahhhhhhh relief!!

Savoury Corn Fitters

Savoury Corn Fitters

Cuisine: Kiwi Cuisine

Recipe Source:Kiwi Faves 

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup red capsicum/pepper, chopped
• ¼ cup yellow capsicum, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 ½ cup oats
• ¼ cup spring onion chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 eggs
• 1 can cream style sweet corn,1 tin
• ½ tsp baking powder
• rice bran oil for frying

Method:

• In a large bowl mix together the capsicum, spring onion, onion, salt and pepper mix well.
• Add the sweet corn, mix well.
• Add the oats and give it a nice good stir. Check the seasoning.
• Add the egg/ egg replacer, baking powder. Mix well.
• If you feel the batter is dry add a tblspn or two of water. The batter should be of dropping consistency.
• The original instructions said “Heat 2 tblspn of oil in a non- stick pan add a tableful of batter in the hot oil.”  I did that but then  preferred the method of adding the ladleful of batter  on the hot pan and then adding oil to the sides of the batter, much like how we add oil to a dosa but of course I need a little more oil than the dosa needs. And I did that from the second batch that I made on the same pan. Suit yourself.
• Fry till golden on both sides.
• Serve them with tomato sauce.

Notes: 

• I used the circular cookied dough cutter that i kept on the tava/ skillet and added the batter in it to get the perfect sized round shaped.

Savoury Corn Fitters

An InLinkz Link-up

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice with Vegetables)

Nasi Goreng

Today we in our “Trip around the World in 30 Days” we stop at Indonesia for the alphabet I.

What can represent Indonesia better than Nasi Goreng?

Nasi Goreng is often described as Indonesia's twist on fried rice.

According to Wikipedia   Nasi Goreng has been called the national dish of Indonesia though there are many other contenders for the title.

The beginnings of Nasi Goreng are simple---- avoid wasting rice, just like fried rice.  The name suggests Nasi Goreng is literally meaning "fried rice" in Indonesian and Malay. In the pre refrigeration times frying the rice could prevent the propagation of dangerous microbes.

Afghani Bolani/ Boulanee e Katchaloo/ Potato Spring Onion Stuffed Flatbread

Afghani Bolani/ Boulanee e Katchaloo

Today on join me in Blogging Marathon " Around the World in 30 days"!

When I checked the net for my entries to the blogging marathon around the world the first place I checked was Afghanistan and I kept checking if I am looking at Afghani cuisine.  The reason being the Indian spices used stood out. Yet the food was distinctly different.

Later, much later it struck me, in fact Aparna mentioned so I realised  that Afghanistan being located on the historically important trade route called the Silk Route/ Silk Road  meant that Afghani cuisine is influenced by the trading communities on the route. So the Afghani cuisine has the influences of Iran, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and China.

I was requested street food at home so I am generally blogging street food, generally because occasionally I have been side-tracked by some delicious recipes that are not street food that have beckoned me!

So let’s begin with Afganisthan!!

Baby Corn Stir Fry

My kids like corn but somehow they do not enjoy baby corn.

   It is a perpetual quest to make baby corn in the form they will enjoy. One of my recent endeavors has been Baby Corn Stir Fry.

This was for the first time that I had tried making snacks for evening but I was saving it up for the last day of BM.

The girls were not aware of the presence of this new member in the fridge so they had had their snack. But I still heated the container in the microwave and as the younger one was stepping out to play came back in reverse gear to check what was cooking.

Spring Onion Stir Fry or Kanda Path Bhaji

I am finding it difficult to post anything! Is this the writer’s block or that I still have to read 200 posts that are lying in my reader?

  One break and so many posts I just cannot seem to catch-up.

Should remind myself next time I take a break.

Anyway here is a simple stir fry that I make out of spring onions often. Not only is it tasty it is also ready in a jiffy.  J

Paneer Mushroom Garlic Bread Rolls

I made the dough to make Croissants. But I made croissants out of half the dough the other half I made  I made rolls.