Ladi Pav / Eggless dinner rolls

 Ladi means row and Pav means bread derived from Portuguese Pao - so this refers to the bread rolls baked in a row in a single pan and pulled apart when served. 

Ladi Pav is a popular food item in Mumbai and used as a base in many Mumbai street foods like Vada pav, Dabeli, Misal Pav, Pav bhaji, Bun maska…..Home made ones are so easy to make and preservative free too - can be ready in less than 2 hours. Yes we just prepped up in the morning after bfast and baked them mid morning and it was ready for our lunchtime! The freshness you can see and taste in homemade Ladi PAV wants you to eat more - once you taste success your tongue wants more ;). 

Ingredients 

Milk - 3/4 cup (warm)

Sugar - 1 Tbsp

Active dry yeast - 1 Tbsp

All purpose flour - 4 Cups

Butter - 4 tbsp

Salt - 1tsp

Method

Mix the sugar in the milk and let it sit. 

To this add the active dry yeast and mix well. Let it sit for 7mins.

Take the all purpose flour, add the butter, Salt, yeast mixture in the stand mixer bowl.

Start kneading the dough on medium speed. To this add 1/2 cup of warm water. Knead for about 7mins.

After 7mins, stop the mixer and bring the dough together and cover the bowl. Let the dough sit in a warm place for proving for an hour.

Now, place the dough on your working space and knead a bit - divide into 12 equal portions.

Grease the baking tray with butter or Oil - roll each portion of the dough in between your palms to form balls and place the on the tray in a row/line. Let this prove again for another 30mins.

Apply some milk on the top

Bake at 360F pre heated oven for 20-25mins depending on your oven. 

Once you take the bread out of the oven, brush them with some butter on the top and cover them with a damp towel. Let this sit covered for about 15mins.

Once done, uncover the towel and pull them apart to feel the soft fluffy dinner rolls.

Ladi Pav or Dinner rolls are ready to be served with the choice of your soup or any street food you like!

So once you taste home made = your tongue wants more :):). 

Chocolate chip muffin

Chocolate chip muffin is one of our all time favorite and a must during holiday season. This time around with our new stand mixer all the more interesting to experiment dishes! Here’s the first one of the lot -  

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 21/2 cups

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Unsalted butter - 1 1/2 sticks at room temp

Sugar - 1 1/2 cups

Eggs-3

Milk - 1/4cup

Sour cream - 8 ounces

Vanilla essence - 1 1/2 tsp

Choco chips - 1 cup

Method

Sieve all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Keep this aside.

Pour the butter in the stand mixer 

Add sugar. Add the paddle and cream it together for 5 mins on medium to low speed. After 5mins, this becomes light and fluffy.

Next on low speed, add one egg at a time.

Add milk and continue on low speed.

Add sour cream, this is roughly about a cup.

Add Vanilla and continue on low speed. 

Add flour mixture little by little until its just incorporated and make sure not to over mix it. Switch off the stand mixer and get the bowl out.

Now add the chocolate chips and gently mix it using a spatula.

Pre heat the oven to 350F, line the muffin tray with the cases and fill in the cases with the batter.

Bake for about 25-30mins and let it cool on the cooling rack.

 

Now your whole home smells of muffins and soon it ll become your family favourite too!

Happy holidays :)

Vietnamese summer rolls

This season is all about Mindfulness - so it’s being aware in everyday activity like eating, drinking, walking, breathing, washing dishes etc. I was reading a book on The art of living written by Thich Nhat Hanh. So he is a Vietnamese global leader teaching about appreciating every moment and every meal, how all living things are interconnected in a simple way. His emphasis on finding joy in the present moment and the power of a mindful/compassionate mind is amazing to read. Though hard to practise immediately - gradually we can get there. He says ‘There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way’!

So we decided to indulge on a Vietnamese dish to celebrate ‘The art of living’! Here we go - 

 Vietnamese summer rolls are an ideal dish for mindful eating - as it involves fresh ingredients, art of rolling process just enough to pliable and not to tear the rice paper. This helps our mind to focus on the task and be in the present moment. We decided to have a weekend DIY meal over the gadgets meal - so we chose our own ingredients with fresh salad veggies, tofu, vermicelli and herbs. This got us freshness and happiness together as a family!

Ingredients

• Super thin rice noodles boiled and cooled
• Mint finely chopped
• Coriander leaves finely chopped
• Red pepper thin strip
• Carrot thin strips
• Cucumber thin strip
• Shallow fry firm tofu cubes/strips
• Rice paper
• Bean sprouts (i prefer steamed)

Method

• To prepare the rolls, firstly pour hot water in a shallow dish. Place the rice paper in the water for 10 sec and carefully remove it and place it on a chopping board.
• Next at the bottom of the paper, layer the noodles, veggies, tofu, sprouts and herbs according to your choices. You can also add a dash of spicy ketchup here.
• Gently fold over once and tuck in the edges. Continue rolling until the seam is sealed.
• Place the seam side down on a serving place and cover with a damp cloth to keep it fresh. Repeat the same steps until all the fillings are done.
• Serve it as a healthy snack or a light meal with peanut sauce or any other spicy ketchup/sweet chilli sauce.

 

Pumpkin Brocoli Soup

Food prepared with love tastes like happiness! Likewise eating mindfully lets us feel it - eating slowly, taste fully without any gadget distractions (biggest challenge in this age) brings us that happiness through food. When we honour the food on our plate, we honour the earth, the hands that made it and the life it gives us! So lets enjoy the calmness and reflect on this tasty yet healthy soup for a supper night!

Ingredients

Olive Oil - 1 Tbsp

Garlic - 4 pods

Onions sliced - 1

Walnuts -3

Black pepper powder - 1 Tbsp

Pumpkin - 200 gms

Broccoli - 200 gms

Salt to taste

Water - 500ml

Milk - 300ml

Method

Chop the Pumpkin, Broccoli and Onions.

In a pan add Oil and saute garlic, Onions until slightly brown.

Then add Walnuts, and Pepper. To this add the Pumpkin and Broccoli - saute for 2/3 minutes.

Add Salt and Water - mix well. Cover and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat.

Then let this cool. Once it cooled, blend the mixture into a smooth paste.

Add this back in a pan with the milk and bring it to boil.

Switch off the heat and ready to serve the hot delicious soup with the choice of your bread!

We decide to slow down and savour every bite……deliciousssoooooo:):)!