[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Aroy

.....
As I take pictures every time (around 3 times a month) I will put them here if you are interested, as there are around 15-20 pictures taken of all steps every time.

Would love to see pictures of the crust and crumb, specially the crumb.
Whole wheat flour somehow never gives a soft and springy loaf; it's more like a dense loaf (which can have its own charm).

How much bread do you consume? Bread worth more than a kilogramme of flour would last us forever!
I find that home made bread does not keep well. In fact it keeps for no more than 2 to 3 days compared to a week that any commercial loaf will keep. I'm talking about current temperatures in Delhi; we do not keep bread in the fridge.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by Aroy

... 1. Maida : 9 cups = 2 x 0.5kg
2. Atta : 2 cups
3. Bajra/Ragi (Optional) : 1 cup
4. Sugar : 1/3 cup
5. Salt : 1/2 TBS
6. Yeast : 1.5 TBS
...

Thanks, dada.

What will happen if I substitute all the Maida with Atta, i.e. pure atta?

Also, TBS = Tablespoon?

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

Does anyone have any tips on how to keep the aroma down especially when you live in apartments ?

Use a high suction power chimney that channels out the whole smoke, aroma and all into the external duct/chute etc. which should help matters.

[Gannu_1]

Decided to cook some food yesterday for lunch and we bought a kg of boneless chicken. We didn't realise 1 kg would be so much (and this was boneless!) and we decided to make some fry (chicken 65 types) and some gravy with the rest. Chicken was cheap at Rs. 250 per kg.

The fry recipe was simple because we had the powder readily available and all we had to do was to mix this powder with the chicken pieces and keep it marinated in a fridge for about an hour before deep frying them. Called up my sister (as always) and she helped me out with the finer adjustments and the gravy recipe.

She suggested adding egg white to the mix of masala powder and squeezing half a lemon into it. Adding some corn flour would lend a layer of covering outside the pieces after frying them but we don't like those layers so we didn't add corn flour to the mix. Marinated the pieces and kept them in the fridge for an hour or so while we went on to prepare the gravy.



As for gravy, 2 onions were sliced into small pieces and were sauteed in oil (sunflower) along with some curry leaves, a tb. sp. of ginger-garlic paste, 3 green chilies cut into small pieces, 1 tomato cut into small pieces and half a capsicum (green).



1 tb. sp. chicken masala, 1/2 tb. sp. coriander powder, 1/2 tb. sp. chili powder and 1/4 tea sp. turmeric powder and salt to taste, were added to this mix. Water and chicken pieces followed along with coconut powder (to thicken the gravy) and some coriander leaves. They were cooked for about half an hour in medium flame and the smell was AMAZING!





After the gravy was done, we took out the marinated pieces from the fridge and deep fried them in sunflower oil. Ate a small piece and realised that it wasn't spicy so added 1/2 tb. sp. chili powder to the pieces and the proportion was perfect.



We ordered some tandoori roti from a nearby restaurant and ate a sumptuous lunch yesterday.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

She suggested adding egg white to the mix of masala powder and squeezing half a lemon into it. Adding some corn flour would lend a layer of covering outside the pieces after frying them but we don't like those layers so we didn't add corn flour to the mix. .

Looks good!!
Next time go by your sisters suggestion - your end result will be even better!! The cornflour helps to keep the flavours within the chicken, also the chicken will be softer.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Would love to see pictures of the crust and crumb, specially the crumb.
Whole wheat flour somehow never gives a soft and springy loaf; it's more like a dense loaf (which can have its own charm).

How much bread do you consume? Bread worth more than a kilogramme of flour would last us forever!
I find that home made bread does not keep well. In fact it keeps for no more than 2 to 3 days compared to a week that any commercial loaf will keep. I'm talking about current temperatures in Delhi; we do not keep bread in the fridge.

Our bread lasts a week, if none of the children are at home when it is baked. Otherwise one loaf of oven hot bread gets finished immediately. We keep the bread in the refrigerator. The bread keeps well for at least two weeks. You just toast it to regain the freshness. (That was a trick passed on by our Nan supplier, who advised us to toast old Nan to regain freshness).

You can take the Atta and Bajra out of recipe. Half every ingredient for smaller lots. As our oven is big and it consumes the same amount of gas irrespective of the load, I tend to bake a big lot at one time.

At times I also roast potatoes, wrapped in foil, or Brinjal for Bharta.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Thanks, dada.

What will happen if I substitute all the Maida with Atta, i.e. pure atta?

Also, TBS = Tablespoon?

The more maida there is, the fluffier the bread and bigger the loaf. The atta adds to the density and taste, though pure maida bread fluffs up like crazy.

TBS = standard table spoon. My son bough a set of standard measures - 5 cup sizes and 4 tables spoon sizes. For repeatability I use these measures.

[Aroy]

Here come the pictures


Atta


Bajra


Atta again


Salt and Sugar


Yeast and milk


Maida and the grains - mix now


Add yeast


Dough ball - put it in a container for resting


Dough nearly doubled - now knead it again


Put it back in the pot


Dough doubled again - knead it again and proportion it


Dough in the moulds


Dough has risen in the moulds


Finished


Another View

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

The fry recipe was simple because we had the powder readily available and all we had to do was to mix this powder with the chicken pieces and keep it marinated in a fridge for about an hour before deep frying them. Called up my sister (as always) and she helped me out with the finer adjustments and the gravy recipe.

The key to good fried chicken is:
1. Oil at correct temperature.
2. No moisture on the surface of the chicken.

To test the temperature of oil simply insert a wooden toothpick or spoon.
There should be bubbles forming around it. If the oil reached smoking temperature then it will deteriorate.

When you add pieces, the temperature of oil will drop. So if you add too many pieces at once your oil will end up going below the cooking temperature and the crust will fail. This will also cause the finished pieces to be oily.

Take care that the vessel is not overfilled.

Also remember to use a thick vessel. It helps regulate the temperature much better.

Moisture causes sputtering. This is a big problem as not only can that oil hurt you, but clean up becomes a big problem.

Coating the chicken with a powder helps reduce the moisture.

Another trick if you absolutely dont want a crust is to put all the uncooked pieces on a grill and keep under a fan. Don't forget to put an old newspaper under the grill to catch the few drops that will fall.

Have fun cooking.

[thoma]

I'm in love with Andhra Podi, the fine ground spicy one. We get Andhra Dal Powder packets in the supermarkets here, but those won't come near to the ones I had from two places - one at Pongal restaurant, near Indira Nagar towards Thippasandra, Bangalore. The other from a humble meals hotel right in front of the second gate of CTS main building, Thoraipakkam, Chennai. These two tastes haunt me more than calling it lingering. Mix a couple of spoons with oil or ghee to hot rice, can't explain the ecstasy afterwards.

I tried making one as per this site, but not the same as the ones I had tasted. So, I am hoping that someone will help me over here with some mouth watering Andhra Podi recipe.

[JMaruru]

I have misplaced my LG Microwave MC-7689MSR recipe book. The same is not available electronically on LG site. Are there any generic microwave indian cookbooks? Please advise.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by thoma

I'm in love with Andhra Podi, ... at Pongal restaurant, near Indira Nagar towards Thippasandra, Bangalore. The other from a humble meals hotel right in front of the second gate of CTS main building, Thoraipakkam, Chennai. ...

If I am not mistaken, neither of these institutions is likely to serve 'Andhra Podi' (Pappu Podi, Karam Podi, Idly Karam etc. - simplified: Gunpowder).

It would be 'Parappu / Parippu Pudi' - the TN equivalent. This is closer to the 'Chutney Pudi / Hudi' of Karnataka, than to the Andhra Gunpowder - coarser, less spicy, more sour. Try the MTR brand of Chutney Powder, or look for stuff from Chennai or Palakkad.

If not, see if you have a Godrej Nature's Basket nearby. They stock some decent genuine AP Gunpowder - something that one remembers the next day too! Rs.33 a packet or something like that.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

If I am not mistaken, neither of these institutions is likely to serve 'Andhra Podi' (Pappu Podi, Karam Podi, Idly Karam etc. - simplified: Gunpowder).

It would be 'Parappu / Parippu Pudi' - the TN equivalent. This is closer to the 'Chutney Pudi / Hudi' of Karnataka, than to the Andhra Gunpowder - coarser, less spicy, more sour. Try the MTR brand of Chutney Powder, or look for stuff from Chennai or Palakkad.

I really do not know if it is Andhra podi or TN podi but I remember the people at both the restaurant saying Andhra podi. One thing I know for sure is that it was very finely powdered that it tends to get into your nose under a fan if not mixed with rice immediately. And it was really spicy which helps as a pusher. Oil was also kept on the table to pour into the rice along with the powder. The one in Chennai, I asked for the recipe but they told they bring it from their native in Andhra.

What is that really? I have tried MTR rice powder (meaning, dal powder to be used with rice) and Krishnas dal powder. Both were miles away from what I had from the restaurants. My search continues.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by thoma

... One thing I know for sure is that it was very finely powdered that it tends to get into your nose under a fan if not mixed with rice immediately. ... My search continues.

Aah, that's Pappu Podi alright. Here's what I got from Godrej Nature's Basket - genivine AP stuff:

[thoma]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Aah, that's Pappu Podi alright. Here's what I got from Godrej Nature's Basket - genivine AP stuff:

Thanks for the efforts. Any idea if they have the Pappu Podi rather than the Chutney Podi? If then, my BIL in Pune can source it and send me across.

[bblost]

I bought a ceramic pan from Metro Cash and Carry.
The brand is Tarrington House and after discount it was priced at Rs 700.

The Bhola Bhetki was bought from a shop at Panjagutta Junction. Rs 160 a kilo.

I rubbed some salt on it then applied lemon juice, parsley and some seasoning powder.
Added olive oil to the pan and then added the fish.

Once cooked, I removed the fish and wiped the pan with a tissue.
The picture was taken after wiping it.

Love this pan. At this price point I don't mind if it has a life of just 2-3 years.