Pita Bread

Pita Bread

Pita bread is a popular staple in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. It is a very simple yet versatile bread,you can serve it with a variety of dips and spreads,make sandwiches and wraps,even make chips out of it. I love it specially with hummus. 

The recipe basically uses white flour,but I have used an equal proportion of white and wheat flour (to make it healthy). The bread turned out very soft,you can change the proportion of the flour according to your convenience.

Ingredients

Warm water - 2 cups

Active dry yeast - 1packet 
Honey - 1Tbs
Wheat flour - 21/2 cups
All purpose flour - 11/2 cup

Salt- 2 tsp

Olive oil/vegetable oil - 1tsp

Method

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add honey and stir until dissolved.Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.

Combine white flour, wheat flour, and salt in large bowl. Making a small depression in the middle of flour add warm yeast water.

Then slowly add the remaining water as needed and mix with a spatula or hand to form an elastic dough.
 

Place the dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it is done.

Coat large bowl with oil,I used olive oil and place the dough in bowl. Turn it upside down so all of it is coated with oil. Allow to sit,covered in a warm place for about 2-3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Once doubled punch down and knead the dough lightly.

Meanwhile preheat the oven (350 degree F) and lightly oil the baking sheet.

Make small balls out of the dough about the size a bit larger than golf balls.It will make about 10-12 balls. Let the dough balls sit covered for 10 minutes.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles to a thickness of about 3/8 to1/4 inch thickness(For larger or smaller pita bread pieces, take more or less dough).
 

Place on baking sheet and bake at 350°F on the lowest oven rack for 4-5 minutes until the bread puffs up and then turn the pitas and bake for another 3-4 minutes 

Remove done pitas with a spatula and bake the remaining similarly.

Take spatula and gently push down the puff.Pita bread is ready. If you plan on storing the pitas for later eating immediately place them in storage bags.

For immediate use serve it with hummus or any other dip and enjoy.(Hummus recipe coming next)

Storing Pita bread

Pita bread can be stored for up to a week in a pantry box, and up to a month in the freezer,take care to use freezer bags

Pita bread dough can also be refrigerated for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Farfalle with Tomato-Goat Cheese Cream sauce

I saw this recipe in Vegetarian times magazine.....it looked so delicious. I decided to give it a try. I have done some minute changes in the original recipe.

 

                                    Background image source:Vegetarian times

Ingredients

12 oz farfalle /Bow-tie pasta

Creamy tomato soup - 1 1/4 cup prepared (You can buy ready made soup or prepare it,will post the recipe soon.)

Creamy mild Goat cheese* - 2-3 Tbs

Frozen petite peas - 1 cup

Sunflower seeds-2 tsp (the original recipe had pine nuts)

Olive oil 1/2 Tbs

Garlic - 3 cloves minced
Salt and Pepper-as desired

The original recipe also had:

Regular/nonfat half-and-half -1/2 cup &

Dry white wine(optional) - 1Tbs

I skipped these  two ingredients.

Method

Cook pasta in boiling salted water pot as per package directions until al dente,add peas during last 2 mins of cooking. Drain in a colander.

Return the empty pot to the burner.Wait a few seconds until the pot looks dry,then lightly toast the sunflower seeds on a medium flame for half minute or until fragrant and toasted.Transfer  the seeds to a plate.

Heat oil in a pot and saute garlic until just beginning to brown.

Stir in the prepared soup,simmer over medium high heat until the soup is slightly  reduced and begins to thicken,stirring occasionally.Add goat cheese and cook 2-3 minutes more, or until the cheese is completely melted into sauce,stir.Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Stir in pasta,peas,sunflower seeds,toss well and serve.

Ummm......the result is a creamy pasta with a tang!!!!!!

* Mild Goat Cheese gives a unique tang to the orange colored sauce.If you don't like Goat cheese,you can use low-fat cream cheese.

Bharli vaangi----Stuffed brinjal

Bharli Vaangi-Stuffed Eggplant

I  am not a fan of eggplant...I feel like eating it but somehow can't eat  it,donno y????? But my husband loves eggplant and he's a huge fan of this curry.Though I don't eat eggplant,I love the masala of this curry.....so I just feast on the masala :)

This post is specially for you my dear hubby.

Stuffed eggplant or Bharli vaangi as called in marathi is a very simple, easy and yummy recipe.......

Ingredients

Eggplant-4 small
Onion- 1, finely chopped
Roasted peanut powder-1/2 cup
Garam masala-1 tbsp
Red Chili powder-1 tbsp
Turmeric powder-1 tsp
Oil -1 tbsp
Salt -to taste
Water

Method
For stuffing/masala

In a bowl mix chopped onions, red chili powder,turmeric powder, garam masala, salt and roasted peanut powder. Mix it properly and add 2-3 tbsp of water to bind all the masala together.Take care not to add too much water.

Wash the eggplant and remove the stem.Then slit them vertically and horizontally like a plus sign from the opposite end of the stem without breaking them into halves.Keep the eggplant in water to avoid browning.

Then stuff the above prepared masala in the all the eggplants through the slits. Keep the leftover masala.

Heat oil in a nonstick pan ,once hot add the leftover masala and saute it in oil.

Keep stirring and cook the masala till oil starts separating. Then add the stuffed eggplant one by one,mix well.

Cover and cook on medium flame for about 3-4 mins,then remove the cover and add water according to the consistency you want.

Add salt (just remember that we have also put salt in the stuffing/masala.)

Once again cover and cook the eggplant on a medium flame for 8-10 mins.

Keep stirring in between as the masala may stick to the bottom of the pan.

Then turn the eggplant to cook evenly on both the sides and stir. Then cover again and cook till the eggplant gets cooked properly.

Remove the stuffed eggplant and garnish with cilantro if u like.

Serve with roti ,paratha or even rice.

Back to Blogging.....

Hi friends,I know its been a very very long time that I have been away from blogging. All my family and friends keep on asking me what happened to my blog,did I post any new recipes????? They keep returning to the blog to see if there's something new in the blog.It feels so nice to see all of them so concerned and that they would love to see me back in the blogging world.

I loved blogging,it actually helped me to meet and come to know so many talented bloggers who apart from being gr8 cooks also are wonderful people.I learnt a lot about different food, different cuisines, learnt so many new recipes. Blogging has its own advantages,its a unique learning journey.I really missed blogging and so am planning to return to this world.

I will try my best to post new recipes and interesting food and nutrition information regularly.Just wish me luck all of you :)

Do keep visiting the blog and give your valuable advice and suggestions to improve my blog.

Finally want to thank my family and friends for their love and support.

Foodie Bloggers Unite

Hi

This is a call to all Food bloggers in and around Los angeles.

All thanks to the trio : Sanyukta Gaur (Bayes) from Creative Sanyukta, Lavanya from The Diary of a disaPlaced HouseWife and Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal (Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes), a foodies meet is being planned during the upcoming 2010 holidays,though the date is not fixed yet.This meet can be a great way to network if you enjoy meeting other people, showcase your exclusive recipes and share/meet fellow bloggers and enjoy a day filled with food and fun.

I am happy to be a part of this group and would love to see u all there. So check out the Foodiebloggers meet blog for more information and hope to see u in the group soon.

Luv,
Hetal (Isha)

My recipe is in top 10......vote for me!!!!!

Vote for me.....

Hi friends,I am so happy that my Healthy soup recipe has been selected in the top 10 in the Eat healthy:Fight Diabetes contest organised by Sangeeth of Art of cooking Indian food blog. So please vote for my recipe here(the poll is on the right hand side bar). You can check out the Healthy Soup recipe here. Don't forget to check out the wonderful healthy recipes in the round up.

Looking forward for your votes.....

*Yummy Carrot Salad

Salads

..........For me salads are a healthy addition to our diet. Normally a Green salad is low in calories, low in fats and nutritionally very rich but the addition of wrong ingredients can make it unhealthy. Salads are often neglected in our diets,they should be an integral part of our meals,. A salad can even make a healthy low calorie meal by itself with the combination of proper ingredients.

These are some ways you can make your salads nutritionally rich:

Instead of using canned and frozen vegetables,use fresh fruits and vegetables (including green leafy vegetables).

Instead of the adding too much salad dressings which are high in calories and fat , ust squeeze a fresh lime juice and put in some herbs like basil which improve the flavour of the salad.

Avoid adding croutons and other extra toppings, instead add some nuts or flax seeds which make a better nutritional choice.

Cheese are a rich source of Calcium and Protein,so just take care on how much cheese you are using. Adding too much of cheese adds many extra calories.
(Source: About.com)

You can make a variety of salads, try adding a different healthy ingredients every time you make a salad.

Here's a salad recipe for you.

Carrot Salad

Ingredients

• Grated carrot- 2 cups
• Olive oil- 1 tsp
• Green chillies- 2, cut into small pieces
• Cilantro/Coriander, finely chopped- 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves- 3-4
• Lime juice- 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1-2 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.Once they splutter add curry leaves and green chillies.
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• Then add grated carrot,turmeric powder and salt (add very little).Cook for about a minute not much.
  
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• Put off the flame and add lime juice. Mix again.
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• Garnish it with cilantro and serve.
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• See, its so easy.Salad is ready.

Serves 2

** Carrots are an excellent source of antioxidant compounds, and the richest vegetable source of the pro-vitamin A carotenes. Carrots' antioxidant compounds help protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer and also promote good vision, especially night vision.
(Source WHFoods.org)

I am sending this yummy carrot salad recipe to JFI - Carrots hosted by The Cooker.