[DerAlte]

Basil Pesto after a long time:



The recipe is pretty simple. I used almonds as I had run out of pine nuts.

1. Dry grind a handful of pine nuts or almonds. Use the small jar of the mixie

2. Add a bunch of peeled raw garlic (paste won't do). The quantity is to individual taste; I like it strong. Grind fine with the nut powder

3. Next, add a bunch of Italian or Thai basil to the jar and blitz till it forms a smooth paste

4. Add (extra virgin) olive oil - lots of it - gradually till the mix is a smooth paste. Remove to a bowl

5. Add 3-4 table spoons of finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese. Since no salt is added, the cheese provides the seasoning

6. Transfer to a sealable container, and cover with olive oil. Olive oil preserves the Pesto and prevents it from turning black

I also chopped some (garlic) chives and mixed it into a tub of Brittania Cream Cheese. I miss the French herbed fresh cream cheese, and this is the closest I can get. With this and Pesto, I am sorted out for spreads for the next couple of weeks. Mogambo khush hua!

Originally Posted by bblost

It WORKED. ....

Did it set by itself or did you add more gelatin?

[searchingheaven]

I have just shifted to BLR, and living alone in a flat. I am 19, and being sheltered till now, have developed very bad selective eating issues. As such, i am trying to fish myself out of this soup. I have got an induction cooktop to cook some basic things myself. But the problem is that IC's work differently from Gas hobs. I tried some recipes yesterday. The results were:

1. boiled eggs. When i cracked them, i was yellow & white. Completely runny.

2. Act2 Popcorn: 1 or 2 started coming nicely, suddenly the whole pan started smoking and caught fire. As a result, black deposits on the base of the pan.

If anybody has done these two on an IC, please tell me in a detailed manner. I am starving here without proper snacks.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by searchingheaven

I have just shifted to BLR, and living alone in a flat. I am 19, and being sheltered till now, have developed very bad selective eating issues. As such, i am trying to fish myself out of this soup. I have got an induction cooktop to cook some basic things myself. But the problem is that IC's work differently from Gas hobs. I tried some recipes yesterday. The results were:

1. boiled eggs. When i cracked them, i was yellow & white. Completely runny. Water boils much faster in a IC compared to gas stove (my eperience). I like hard boiled eggs and usually boil eggs till a fine crack appears on the surface. Another thing is when boiling eggs add some salt to the water - it helps in premature cracking of egg shells and everything leaking out of it. Also once the water starts to boil lower the heat to lower setting.

2. Act2 Popcorn: 1 or 2 started coming nicely, suddenly the whole pan started smoking and caught fire. As a result, black deposits on the base of the pan. Try a lower heat setting. You must have used pretty high power setting.

If anybody has done these two on an IC, please tell me in a detailed manner. I am starving here without proper snacks.

You can make anything you can make with gas on IC - just buy some thick bottomed vessel (aluminum cladded with iron would be best). I find using IC much easier compared to gas.

[searchingheaven]

Originally Posted by archat68

You can make anything you can make with gas on IC - just buy some thick bottomed vessel (aluminum cladded with iron would be best). I find using IC much easier compared to gas.

Thanks for the quick reply. So basically it happened because my pan base was thin, right? It was given free, with the IC, so that must have been the case. Also, i had used 60 degree temp. for popcorn

[archat68]

Originally Posted by searchingheaven

Thanks for the quick reply. So basically it happened because my pan base was thin, right? It was given free, with the IC, so that must have been the case. Also, i had used 60 degree temp. for popcorn

Yes! The thin stainless steel pans are useless for cooking. you can boil water maximum.
Get a few vessels with thick aluminum pan with iron sandwitched bottom (prestige makes them among many other) and you will be good to go.
Get something like this and you use it as pan as well as a pressure cooker.
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/pres...utm_campaign=5

[bblost]

Originally Posted by SPEEDY_RACER

first soak prawn/fish with some hot water along with salt for couple of minutes,clean the prawn/fish and keep it aside.

I bought some dried anchovies.
Soaked them in hot water for 20 mins and cleaned them up.

The hot water did a great job in getting rid of the grit and sand.


After cleaning them, I added some turmeric, chilly powder and coriander powder.

Fried in oil with some curry leaves.

[bblost]

Take a packet of generic sprouts available at most supermarkets.

Get any leafy greens like spinach. I used Ponnaganti Koora.

Saute some chopped garlic. Add the greens. Add the sprouts.

A super tasty and healthy lunch salad.

[aka_iitd]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Dal does not get soft if you cook it with salt. The preferred method is to cook the dal, and add salt only when you season (tadka) it.

This applies to all dal and beans.

I suggest to add half portion of salt during cooking as almost all dal is cooked in one whistle (do not open the cooker let the steam go on its own)if soaked for an hr or so
Rest can be put during tadka preparation or just after opening the cooker.
This method saves gas and dal proteins and other nutrients

[rohanjf]

I just came here to reopen the discussion on whether to add salt while pressure-cooking the dal, or not. I see that it is already reopened by aka_iitd :-)

Today morning, I soaked my dal mix (equal portions of masoor dal, tovar dal, moong dal and chana dal) for half an hour and then pressure-cooked without adding salt. I followed my usual method, of cooking the dal for 4 whistles.

When the cooker finally cooled down, I opened it. I found that the dal had cooked just like the way it does when I add salt. All except chana dal had become liquidy, and cooked grains of chana dal had settled at the bottom.

[sdp1975]

Anyone tried baking bread at home ? I tried with whole wheat flour ( atta ) and it did came out hard - not soft like the ones available in market.

Googling suggests using all purpose flour for making bread - not sure what this is , but should I try using a mix of maida and atta ?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Anyone tried baking bread at home ? I tried with whole wheat flour ( atta ) and it did came out hard - not soft like the ones available in market.

Googling suggests using all purpose flour for making bread - not sure what this is , but should I try using a mix of maida and atta ?

I make bread regularly. Full Atta bread is not feasible as the gluten takes at least 4 days to develop, and without gluten the bread will not rise. Here is what I do
. 1 TBS of yeast. If you want to make bread regularly get a 500g pack which costs around 250 in Delhi. The small pack of 20g is way too expensive.
. 1/2 kg Maida. I use one available from Kendriya Bhandar for around 17.
. 1/8 kg Atta
. 2 TBS sugar
. 1/2 TBS salt
. 1 cup milk

1. Mix the yeast and half the sugar in warm water. Let the yeast "bubble", say 1/2 hour
2. Mix Maida and Atta with salt and sugar
3. Make a well and add the yeast and milk
4. Knead, adding water as required. The consistency is same as that for Roti or Puri. To get the best rise knead for at least 1/2 hour, so that the dough becomes smooth.
5. Let the dough rest for 1 hour. It should rise to at least twice its size.
6. Knead again for 5 minutes
7. Put the dough in a bread mould, or else shape it in classic style.
8. Let the bread rise for 1-2 hours.
9. Preheat the oven at its maximum setting for 1/2 hour.
10. Put the bread in and check after 1/2 hour. Depending on the heat the bread takes between 20 min (for very hot Pizza Style ovens) to 1 hour for small home ovens. Keep checking every 10 min till a brown crust forms.
here is a link to my recipe
http://www.bcmtouring.com/forum/reci...-bread-t38819/

[petrolhead_chn]

Never knew such thread existed. I made this Carrot halwa and as per my wife's remarks it turned out well.

P.S. Most part of the recipe was under the guidance of my wife.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by Aroy

I make bread regularly.

Thanks Akroy ! I made bread today following your recipe and it came out really well . It was denser than what's available in the market.

What do you do after taking out the bread from the oven ? I covered the baking tray with a vessel for about 30 mins so that the moisture could not escape and the bread remains soft.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Thanks Akroy ! I made bread today following your recipe and it came out really well . It was denser than what's available in the market.

What do you do after taking out the bread from the oven ? I covered the baking tray with a vessel for about 30 mins so that the moisture could not escape and the bread remains soft.

I take it out of the baking mould immidiately, and put it on a cooling rack. That way the moisture does not turn the bread soggy. Smear a bit of oil on the inner surface to ensure that the bread does not stick.

If you want a crisp crust (and I like it that way), pre heat the oven with a small bowl of water in it. The steam generated while baking makes an excellent hard crust with soft interior.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by Aroy

If you want a crisp crust (and I like it that way), pre heat the oven with a small bowl of water in it. The steam generated while baking makes an excellent hard crust with soft interior.

I used convection mode in my microwave to make cakes and it turns out pretty good.

Can bread be also baked using the convection mode?

I earlier had round cake ovens that I've used for more than 20 years to bake cakes/cookies. It recently conked off and I tried the MW oven and was surprised with the result!! But my attempt to bake bread failed with the round cake oven. In a convection MW the heat comes mainly from top. For baking cakes I cover the cake pan with a steel "thali"/plate and remove it for the last few minutes to get the crust browned. Will this be OK for bread?