Ende Kushini

Yippeeeeeee. We are in the last week of this month long marathon and I am happy that I have managed to be ready with all the 5 recipes for this week. I just have to edit the pictures and my post.

For the last week the ingredient I have chosen in raw mango. It is off-season now but I managed to get 1 or 2 mangoes for some of my recipes and few recipes I had prepared over summer but never posted.

Manga kari makes an entry 2-3 times in our kitchen during the summer season. There is a mango in the name of kilimooku in tamil and kilichundan in malayalam meaning parrot's nose. Whenever I find this mango (Raw) I buy them in huge and make a variety of recipes like this manga kari, manga chammandhi, manga koottan etc... Will try to post most of these in this week's marathon.

Starting this week with a very easy to make and instant pickle. This pickle often finds its place in the sadya menu. This can be made in a jiffy. The only time consuming process being chopping up the mango into small pieces. This kari stays good in room temperature for 2-3 days. Most of the times it gets over within that time. If you are planning to keep it for more time then it has to be refrigerated and consumed within about a week.

Ingredients:

Mango,unripe - 1

Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Roasted fenugreek seeds powder - 1 pinch

Salt - As needed

To temper

Sesame oil - 1 tblsp

Mustard - 3/4 tsp

Method:

Chop the cleaned mango finely - as tiny as possible and place in a mixing bowl.
Add salt and raw asafoetida and mix everything with the chopped mango.
In a pan/ kadai, heat oil and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table.
Switch off the stove and add fenugreek seeds powder, turmeric, red chilli powder and mix well.
Add this to the chopped mango. Mix well until the oil is evenly coated.

Instant mango pickle is ready!! Enjoy with a bowl of curd rice.

Notes:

Adjust the spice and salt according to the tanginess of the mango.
You can also add 1 red chilly while tempering. I usually don't add.
This pickle also goes well with biriyanis.

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As promised in my previous post, the next recipe is Manga chammandhi which I make with the kilichundan manga. I learnt this recipe from my MIL. I always make this chammandhi along with biriyanis. Its a very great combo. When it is off-season for mangoes, we substitute mango with lemon juice for the tanginess. This chammandhi is a very good accompaniment for kanji also. It is ground without adding water and all the ingredients are added raw. So stays fresh for a longer time.

Ingredients:

Coconut (grated) - 1 cup

Raw mango - 1/2 of a mango (kilichundan)

Green chillies - 5

Shallots - 3

Ginger - 10 grams

Salt - to taste

Coriander leaves - few

Mint leaves - few

Method:

Wash the raw mango. Grate and keep it aside. You need not discard its skin.
Peel the ginger and shallots.
Put all the ingredients along with salt in a mixer and grind coarsely.
In between open the mixer and mix all the ingredients with a spatula and pulse the mixer 2-3 times so that the chutney is ground evenly. Do not add water.

Easy Manga Chammandhi is ready!!

Notes:

Check the tanginess of the raw mango before adding it to the chutney.
This chammandhi is very high on the spice level. If you want to reduce the spice level then you should also reduce the tanginess or the amount of raw mango.

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Mamidikaya pappu is a famous dish of Andhra Pradesh. I came across this dish for the first time in one of my fellow marathoners blog. But then after, I found this recipe repeating itself in many of the food blogs and I felt compelled to prepare this mango dal. I had prepared this recipe over the summer when mangoes were available in abundance but somehow did not get a chance to post it. So i reserved this recipe for this mega marathon when I decided on one of the ingredients as raw mango.

It is a very easy recipe and it turned out very well. The dal is cooked with raw mangoes and mild spices. Try out this mango dal in the following summer season and i am sure you will love this mamidikaya pappu . Though this dish is generally paired with rice, it also goes well with rotis also.

Ingredients:

Raw mango - 1/2 cup

Toor dal - 3/4 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red chili - 2

Green chili - 2 - 3

Garlic - 2 pods

Ginger - a small piece

Asafoetida - 2 pinches

Onion - 1

Curry leaves - few

Ghee - 1 tblsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin | jeera - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Coriander leaves - few

Method:

Peel and cut the mango into cubes and cook it in little water.
Wash and and cook the dal with enough water, salt and turmeric powder.
Chop the onions finely, slit the green chili and finely chop the garlic and ginger.
In a pan add ghee and add mustard seeds, cumin, slit green chilies and red chilies.
Once the mustard splutters, Add the finely chopped garlic and ginger and the asafoetida
Cook for 2 minutes and add the finely chopped onions. Fry till the onions are translucent.
Now add the dal and the cooked mango pieces. Add water as per the required consistency. Generally mango dal is made thick. I too made it thick. So I did not add any water.
Allow this to boil for 5 minutes.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Mango dal is ready!! Enjoy with rice or rotis.

Notes:

You can also cook the dal along with the spices and mango pieces in cooker. Since I Tried it for the first time I tried everything on stove top.
Add green chili according to the sourness of the mango.
I garnished the dal with fried onions along with coriander leaves to enhance the taste.

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The name raw mango is rhymed with pickles right? So here I am with another easy pickle. This is not a very spicy pickle rather a salted one, but it stays fresh for about a year at room temperature - if stored properly.

Kerala Style Uppilitta Manga or Mangoes in brine is one the ways of storing raw organic mangoes. We also have a famous film song (black and white) which has the lyrics - "uppilitta mangai undu unnan vaa machunane" meaning "salted mango pickle is available, come have lunch dear".

For first timers who want to preserve raw mangoes; let me tell you that there is no such recipe for this. When I asked my Mother, all she said was boil salt and water together, cool completely, pour over mangoes, let it sit for at least a month and use it during the monsoons for curries, chutneys etc

It is better if this mango pickle is preserved in bharanis. But since I don't have them I preserve it in glass bottles. Until now I have preserved it for about 6 months and it stays good. Just keep the glass bottles in dark places.

Ingredients:

Raw Mango: 1 kg

Salt: 1 cups (125 grams)

Water: 3 to 4 cups or as needed

Green chillies - 20 nos

Method:

Clean and wash the mangoes, pat dry with a towel.
I sliced the mangoes into cubes of 1 inch. Generally mangoes are cut into big pieces lengthwise. Or if they are small mangoes, then they are just cut into two. I cut them into smaller pieces so as to compactly fit in my glass bottle.
Slit the green chillies lengthwise.
Add the chillies and the cut mango pieces to a glass jar/bottle.
Boil salt and water together, cool it completely and pour it over the mangoes. Cover tightly with a lid and keep it for a week. In between I check on it and give it a shake.
The mangoes should be completely covered with water. So add water accordingly.
After about a week you should start seeing the mangoes skin change color from a bright green to a mild green.
When the complete mangoes have changed color, you can start using them.

Uppilitta manga ready!!!

Notes:

I topped the sliced mangoes into a big clean and dry glass jar. If you have a ceramic pot or "bharani" use it, though steel or aluminum is not ideal.
If the mango skin is thick, it might take time to absorb the salt and hence the change in color.
Once in a while check if there is any fungus formation on top; if there is wipe off with a clean towel or napkin. Make sure water covers the mangoes.
Use always a dry spoon to take the magoes out. I show the spoon in flame for about half a minute and then insert it into the mangoes.

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Today is the last day of this mega marathon. Yippeee!!! I succeeded this time in posting all the recipes almost on time. Also this is the 300th post I am publishing. What a coincidence. And I am posting my favourite pickle. This pickle tops my list. If this pickle is available I will eat anything!!

I guess kadugu manga is the most favourite pickle of all kerala brahmins. Haven't heard anywhere else so... Others prepare kanni manga achar, or vadu maanga oorgai, but both of them can't come near the authentic kadugu manga oorgai that is prepared in the kerala brahmin household. I guess it depends on the type of this raw mango. Though I am unable to find what this particular type of raw mango is called. I guess the tiny mangoes of the raw mango with which we prepare "aavakkaya oorgai" might be the apt one.

Mind you this pickle preparation is a strenuous job. But this pickle is very healthy since when compared to other pickles this has less oil and no water is added. The water that is seen in the pickle comes from the mangoes it self.

Ingredients

Vadu manga / maavadu / baby mangoes - 5 cups heaped

Salt (rock salt preferred) - 1 cup

Castor oil or sesame oil - 2 tbslp

*The baby mangoes should be round variety

To Roast and grind

Red chillies (Long variety) - 20

Vendhayam (fenugreek seeds/ methi seeds) - 1/2 tsp

Mustard - 3/4 tsp

A small piece of turmeric Or turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Choose fresh, roughly same size of baby mangoes / vadu manga. Wash properly and don't remove the stalks. You can probably cut the stalks if they are too lengthy but dont remove them completely.
Pat dry completely in a clean kitchen towel and dry in the shade for making sure it has no water.
In a porcelain bowl or glass bottle, big enough to hold the mangoes, transfer the mangoes and salt in layers.
Keep stirring or shaking the mangoes every day. By the second day, water would have started oozing out of the mangoes. Keep stirring daily until the water level reaches above the mangoes. Generally this takes about 15-20 days time.
Now, roast the items given under ‘To roast and grind table’. Add asafoetida powder towards the end. (I used the solid ones). No need to roast the turmeric. Roast until the mustard starts cracking. Do it in medium flame. Cool down and powder everything.
Take the salted water from the raw mangoes and mix in the chilli powder and mustard powder in clean bowl and add to the mangoes.
Keep the jar covered air tight and keep in a cool dark place. Keep stirring every day for another week. The pickle will be ready to use in a week.

Kadugu Manga is ready!!! Relish it with a bowl of thayir sadam....

Notes:

As always told for pickles, always use clean spoons while handling the pickle.
Use only peengan/bharani or glass bottles as others may not withstand the salt content in the pickle.
Using kal uppu / rock salt is recommended.
Do not forget to toss the mangoes everyday atleast 2-3 times for a week.

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Presenting the round up of this mega marathon. I thorouhly enjoyed participating and posting recipes in this mega marathon. Though there were lots of ups and downs in the personal front, yet I could complete my recipes and post it as planned and I also reached my 300th post. Would definitely love to participate in more such mega marathons.

I chose different ingredients for every week and also dedicated one complete week to millets. Learnt some very good new recipes also.

Week 1: Garlic / Poondu / Vellulli

Garlic chutney

Garlic pickle

Garlic fried rice

Week 2: Ivy gourd / Kovakkai / Tindora

Kovakkai Poriyal

Tindora Rice

Kovakkai Thogayal

Tindora-Nu-Shaak

Manoli Kadle

Tindora Masala

Week 3: Puttu / Rice flour cakes

Tamarind Puttu

Lemon Puttu

Egg Biriyani Puttu

Veg fried Puttu

Thakkali Puttu

Puttu Payasam

Week 4: Varagu / Koovaragu / Kodo Millet

Varagu Pulao

Varagu Kanji

Varagu Adai

Varagu Idli and Dosa

Varagu Pakora

Varagu Pongal

Week 5: Mangai / Raw mango

Mangai kari

Manga chammandhi

Mamidikaya Pappu

Uppilitta Manga

Kadugu Manga

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The first sweet cookie recipe for this mega marathon is the Crown Cookies. The other options that I had for 'C" are either starting with Chocolate or starting with Christmas. Somehow I was not inclined towards both of them. Needless to say I picked the recipe from Gayathri's and didn't do any other research. Just followed her instructions.

Since I decided on joining the mega marathon quite late, the problem for me is that I cannot fail in any recipe. I most probably have only one chance to make the recipe and the outcome should be perfect or atleast near perfect. This recipe seemed bit difficult. So I read and re-read it until I kind of by-hearted the steps. And was very careful. But when the dates filling didn't look like the one shown in Gayathri's pics, I was really scared. Mine was quite thick and gayathri had filled it in a piping bag. Still I went ahead and placed the filling with the help of spoon and hand. The cookies came out ok. I was not very satisfied but as I said I didn't have time to repeat the recipe. Basically I felt the cookies were too big. I should have tried to make them smaller.

The taste of the cookies was awesome - actually not too sweet. Don't miss to dust with icing sugar in the end. Without that the cookies will taste quite blunt. This cookie takes quite some time to be prepared but worth the effort.

Recipe Source: gayathriscookspot
Country - Lebanon

Ingredients:

For The Dough:

Semolina/ Sooji- 1 1/2 cups
Butter-1/2 cup, melted
Water-5 tbs
Rose Essence-1/2 tsp
Icing sugar - 100 gm

For The Filling:

Dates-200 gm
Butter-2 tbs

Method:

In a bowl mix together semolina and butter.
In another bowl mix water and rose essence.
Add this to semolina and mix.
Transfer to a ziplock bag and chill it overnight. I actually chilled it for one whole day due to lack of time.
The next day, bring it down to room temperature and process it in a food processor or a mixer.
Add little by little water like 1 tbsp at a time, to moisten the dough. When the dough comes together transfer to a bowl and keep it covered. I had to use around 4-5 tbsp.
Remove seeds from dates and add 1/4 cup of water. I had bought seedless dates from shop.
Cover and cook until there is no water left.
With a blender make it into a fine paste.
Heat a pan and add butter. Add this dates paste and cook until thick. Allow it to cool.
Now divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
Roll a portion into a thin log, place the log between two butter papers and roll into a thin ribbon.
Carefully place the filling in the centre like a thin pipe.
Now bring both the sides of the dough and seal until it becomes a rope.
Cut it into two equal portions. Shape each rope into a circle and seal edges.
Arrange on a baking tray.
Bake in a 180°C preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Cool on wire rack. Dust with icing sugar and serve or store in airtight jar.

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Another dates cookies from Gayathri's space. Now she says that she found this recipe in an Indian cookbook. So I am naming the origin of this recipe as India. But I doubt the same since Indian cuisine generally doesn't involve dates and we also have very less "baked" recipes from Indian cuisine.

Nevertheless this recipe is quite easy and I loved the biscuits. I am actually eating it daily. Gayathri's recipe asks to roll the whole dough and then to cut it into squares. But I did it the old fashioned way. I made a big log of the dough. Rolled it in a cling wrap, refrigerated and then cut it into small round cookies. The other difference is I didn't sprinkle poppy seeds on top. I felt that would not add on to the cookie taste.

Recipe Source: gayathriscookspot

Country: India

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour - 50 gm

Maida/ White Flour - 100 gm

Granulated Sugar - 75 gm

Butter - 75 gm

Milk - 3-5tbs

Dates - 50 gm

Salt - a pinch

Method:

Powder the sugar in a mixer grinder.
Mix salt, maida and wheat flour in a bowl.
In another bowl cream butter and powdered sugar together.
Add 2tbs of milk and chopped dates and beat until creamy.
Add the flour and mix well.
Add milk if necessary to get a clumpy dough. Just so that the dough comes together. Don't make it very sticky.
Make a log of the dough, roll it in a cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Remove the dough from refrigerator and cut it into thin round discs.
Place on a lined baking tray.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
Remove from oven and place the cookies on a wire rack.
They will be soft when hot but will become crispy and crunchy when cooled down.

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The next cookie inline is the Japanese Sesame cookies. I have made this eggless, but in Japan most of them are made with eggs.

Japan is called the land of rising Sun. Yes it is the far east side in our globe and is kind of a collection of islands. I have interacted with Japanese people during my work. They are very hard working people and also the Japanese generally live a long life. The average life expectancy of Japanese is 83 whereas the average life expectancy on an Indian is 68. I haven't tried much of Japanese cuisine until now. I guess these cookies are the first one.

I have added both black and white sesame seeds and as usual followed Gayathri's instructions. The only problem was that I used coconut oil and H felt coconut oil doesn't go well with this cookies. Probably should have tried with olive oil. But the cookies tasted absolutely delicious.

RecipeSource: gayathriscookspot

Country: Japan

Ingredients:

Oil-3/4 cup

Sugar-3/4 cup

Milk-1/4 cup

Flour/ Maida- 1 3/4 cups ( I used 2 cups but the dough was crumbly)

Baking Powder-1 tsp

Salt-a pinch

Black and White Sesame Seeds-3/4 cup

Method:

Powder sugar in a mixer jar.
Add it with oil and mix well.
Add the sesame seeds to it and mix.
In another bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
Add this to the oil mixture and mix to form a soft slightly thin dough.
Divide mixture into two. Place them in cling wrap and shape into rolls. Refrigerate until firm.
Cut into 1/4″ slices and arrange on a baking tray. If it crumbles, then shape into round cookies and arrange on a tray.
Bake in a preheated oven of 180°C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow the cookie to cool in the tray.
Remove with a spatula and arrange on a wire rack.
Once completely cool, store in airtight box.

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Today's Bake is from France. This flat, round fougasse loaf is very popular all over France. The fougasse, the French version of the Italian focaccia bread, is topped with mixed herbs. The flat bread can be slashed to form shapes (a leaf, tree, or wheat stalk), or the slits can be cut to form a lattice, making the bread easy to pull apart.

I enjoyed making this bread. What I love most in this bread is the shaping. The dough is rolled into leaf shape and slashes are made with a knife and then they are separated to form the beautiful leaf shaped fougasse. You can do a variety of shapes in fougasse.

I Couldn't get the leaf shape perfectly. One of the reasons for that is my oven is of small size and I have a round tray. So coudn't expand the dough to get the leaf shape. I added garlic and basil leaves. The taste was awesome. We actually had it without any side dish and also packed it for one of our journeys.

Ingredients:

Flour – 2 cups

Salt – 1/2 tsp

Olive Oil – 2 tbs

Instant Yeast – 1/2 tsp

Dried basil leaves – 1/2 tsp, crushed

Warm Water – 3/4 cup

Garlic – 2 cloves, grated

Sesame Seeds – 2 tbs

Pepper Powder – a little

Method:

In a bowl mix together flour, salt, olive oil, instant yeast, garlic and basil leaves.
Add water and make a soft dough. Knead it for 3-4 minutes.
Apply oil in a bowl, place the kneaded dough inside, coat the top with oil and cover with cling wrap.
Set aside for 1 hour or until double in volume.
Punch down dough and dust with flour. Divide it into two portions.
Roll it into a thin triangle. With the help of a pizza cutter, make a slit in the middle, leaving one inch on both sides.
Now make diagonal side slits like the veins of a leaf leaving 1” intact between the centre cut and the sides.
Pull the dough to enlarge the cuts. Brush with milk, sprinkle sesame seeds.
Set aside for 15 minutes.
By the time, preheat oven to 220C.
Place the tray on the lowest rack and bake for 10 minutes.
Replace the tray on the top rack and bake for 5 more minutes.
Remove from oven and enjoy piping hot..

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Couldn't believe that so soon we are on the last day of the second week, this is the 7th recipe of this mega marathon. Though there is still a long way to go I somehow feel that we reached here very quickly. So for the 7th day I am presenting another cookie - this time from Egypt.

Ghorayebah or Ghreybeh is the traditional Egyptian cookies which melt in your mouth as soon as you taste it. They are very similar to our Indian butter biscuits. These cookies are sometimes also called "Queen's bracelet" probably owing to their shape. It seems these cookies are mostly served during Eid occassion.

This cookie is made with just 3 ingredients - butter, flour and sugar. This was the easiest recipe that I have tried until now for this mega marathon. This cookie is shaped like rings in the traditional way, the baked ones actually look like bracelets with a "nut" gem in the centre. I took the measurement in grams rather than cups, and after mixing all the ingredients my dough was slightly crumbly. The result was that I couldn't shape it into rings. Ofcourse we can also make them like flat cookies with the nuts in the middle. But I wanted to shape them into rings. Finally I Added 2 tablespoons of milk and kneaded the dough for another minute. Then I was able to roll them into rings. These cookies taste awesome and really do melt in your mouth. Try them out for yourself.

RecipeSource:veggieplatter
Country: Egypt

Ingredients:

Butter - 100 grams
Sugar - 100 grams
Flour - 200 grams
Milk - 2 tbsp
Pistachios - to garnish

Method:

Powder the sugar in a mixer. Let the butter be in room temperature.
Take the butter in a bowl and add the powdered sugar and beat well until the butter turns creamy and fluffy.
Now add the flour little by little and mix evenly.
Finally add the milk and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes and make it into a nice round ball.
Divide the dough into small equal portions. Make small balls of the divided portion - like we make for chapathis.
Take each small ball and roll it into a thin log of about 4-5 inches long. Bring the 2 ends of the log together and shape it into a ring. Seal the 2 ends and place a pistachio on the seal and press it.
Repeat the procedure with other balls.
Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with parchment sheet.
Place the cookie ring in the baking tray. Don't keep them too close, they puff up a little.
Bake for about 18-20 minutes until they start turning slightly brown.
The cookies should remain ivory colored, so don't over-bake them.
Remove them from oven and let them cool.
Store in an airtight container.

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Starting the third week of this mega marathon with a savoury bread that we all loved at home. I just baked it and took it out of the oven and whiff - the butterflaps vanished. I just managed to take some snaps. Actually these were the initial snaps which I took when the breads were kept in the wired rack to cool. And since I don't have time to bake them again, I have to post with these snaps only.

This week I am little worried. All the recipes that I have selected seems to be little tough ones and I am not ready with any of them. On top we also have a festival and travel plans. little nerve-biting, lets see how I cope up with.

These guyanese herbed butterflaps are very tasty and also ideal for breakfast. You can surprise your guests with this and it is also easy to make. Do try this.

RecipeSource: snehasrecipe
Country: Guyana

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 250 grams

Salt - 1 tsp

Milk Powder - 50 grams

Warm water - 3/4 Cup

Sugar - 3 tbsp

Rapid Rising Yeast - 2.1/4 Tsp

Olive oil - 2 Tbsp

Butter - 2 Tbsp

For the spread

Salted Butter - 3 Tbsp

Garlic - 1 Tbsp (finely minced)

Basil - 1 tbsp (finely chopped)

Coriander - 2 tbsp (finely chopped)

Thyme - 1 tbsp

Black pepper powder - 2 tsp

Method:

Warm the water, stir in the sugar and yeast and leave covered for 10-15 minutes till it is frothy.
Mix the flour, salt and milk powder and add the oil. Mix well.
Add the yeast which should have raised by now and mix well with a spatula.
Knead well adding more milk or water only if required. Make it into a ball. Take this dough on to a work surface and add butter by stretching and folding the dough till the butter is incorporated. Keep stretching and folding for about ten minutes to get a smooth and elastic dough.
Transfer to a oiled bowl and leave covered to rise for 1 to 1.1/2 hours till the dough doubles in volume. Gently deflate and divide into 6 to 8 equal balls.
Roll into balls and roll out to small discs. Spread the herbed butter on the disc.
Now fold the disc into half and spread herbed butter again.
Now fold it into quarters.
Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Transfer the butterflaps to a greased baking tray.
Bake at 180C for 15-17 minutes.
Cool them in a wire-rack before serving.

Butterflaps are ready!!

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Irish soda bread is a very different bread wherein the raising agents are baking soda and buttermilk. This is a no-fuss bread which can be made very easily and tastes great.

I made these like small cup cakes or buns so that we can eat one at a time and also I was bored of making the regular bread or cake. There are many variations available for this bread. As usual people add a lot of spices, tutti fruities, dried fruits, dried grapes etc.. I kept it simple and just added some badams. Same way instead of buttermilk you can probably add yogurt and little water also. Being summer I had a stock of butter milk making my job easier.

RecipeSource: ammajirecipes
Country: Ireland

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 2 Cups

Baking powder - 1 Tsp

Baking soda - 1 Tsp

salt - 1/2 Tsp

brown sugar - 3 Tbsp

badam - 1/2 Cup

butter - 1/2 Cup

Egg - 1

butter milk - 3/4 Cup

Method:

Pre-heat oven at 180C & brush a muffin pan with butter or alternatively line the muffin pan with small cups.
In a big bowl sift flour, baking powder & baking soda. Add salt and brown sugar to this and mix well.
Chop butter in to small pieces & add it to the flour bowl.
In another small bowl whisk egg & buttermilk.
Add the egg mixture to flour bowl & mix it well. Fold badams into the dough.
Dust the plain surface with flour & place the dough & form a ball of dough.
Arrange the buns in muffin pan & brush them with little melted butter on top.
Bake them at 180C for 20 minutes. Then increase the temperature to 230C and bake them for another 10 minutes.
Once you see the brown crust & after a tooth pick comes out clean, remove the pan from oven.
Allow them to cool & serve them with butter or your choice of jam.

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I can't believe it - I made this cake today and I am posting it today. Today since there was some construction related work, I chose to stay back at home. But the actual reason was I wanted to bake a cake. I was really skeptical as to how the cake would turn out to be and on top of that I am not tasting it. I am packing it to my relatives place as a gift. Lets hope they just find it yummy.

Julekake (or Julekaka/ Julekaga) is a rich holiday bread flavoured with cardamom, and is traditionally served at Christmas in many Scandinavian countries. It is particularly popular in Norway and Denmark. Incidentally, Julekake means “Yule Bread” in Norwegian.

This bread is more cake-like in texture because it is made from enriched dough. It is left plain or sometimes is dusted with powdered sugar or glazed with a white sugar icing. If it is not glazed or left plain, then it is usually served warm at breakfast with butter or a Norwegian caramelised brown goat milk cheese called Gjeitost/ Brunost.

In Norway, Julekake traditionally only a lime green citrus peel called sukat is added along with the cardamom. Nowadays many people also add red and green cherries to reflect the colours of Christmas. Other popular additions are raisins, candied orange peel, and coloured candied peel. Some recipes for Julekake also feature almonds, but the main flavour in this bread comes from cardamom.

I made the candied citrus peel at home. I took a greenish yellow lemon. Took all the juice out of it. I cut the peel into very small pieces. Then added these cut peels to boiled water. Soaked them for one minute. Squeezed them out so that all the juices sticking to the peel comes out. Spread these peels in a glass plate. Microwaved these cut peels at high for about 3 minutes uncovered. Lo!! the candied citrus peels were ready. I made these out of just one lemon and that yielded 2 tablespoons of candied peels.

I have 2 recipe sources for this cake. Initially I found the cake from Gayathri's space but then I wanted to make it with egg. So referred to mydiversekitchen. Do try out this cake!!

RecipeSource: gayathriscookspot and mydiversekitchen
Country: Norway

Ingredients:

active dry yeast - 2 tsps
water lukewarm - 1/4 cup
milk lukewarm - 1/2 cup
egg - 1
butter - 50 gm (soft at room temperature)
sugar - 1/4 cup
salt - 1/4 tsp
cardamom powder - 1 tsp
all-purpose flour - 2 1/2 cups
mixed candied fruit or peel - 1/2 cup
golden or dark raisins - 1/4 cup

For the glaze:
1 egg , lightly beaten
1 tbsp milk
almonds - Pearl or crushed cubes or chopped

Method:

Put the water, milk and 1 tsp sugar (from the 1/4 cup) in a small bowl and add the yeast to it. Mix well and keep aside for 5 to 10 minutes till it becomes frothy.
Put this yeast mixture, the egg, butter and sugar and salt in a larger bowl (or bowl of your processor/ machine). Mix well, and then add the flour and the powdered cardamom. Knead well until you have a dough that is soft, smooth and elastic. Add just as much more flour or water to achieve this consistency of dough.
Take the dough out and flatten it into a largish round (shape is not important). Sprinkle the fruit and raisins evenly and then roll it up, swiss roll style. This is a good way to knead in fruit into bread dough. Then just knead the dough lightly by hand and roll it up into a ball.
Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover loosely and let it rise till double in volume, for about an hour or so.
When done, lightly knead the dough to deflate t slightly and shape it into a ball. Place it on a lined or lightly greased baking sheet (You can also bake it in a cake or loaf tin if you wish). Let it rise for about 45 minutes.
If you are using the egg wash, then brush it over the top of the dough. Otherwise brush it with milk and sprinkle it with crushed sugar cubes or chopped almonds. Ignore this step if you are going to use the icing.
Bake at 180C (350F) for about 30 minutes till the bread is golden brown and done. If you find the bread browning too quickly, cover it with foil after about 15 minutes in the oven to avoid further browning.
Cool it on a rack. Let it cool completely before you slice it or ice it.

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Khaliat al Nahal (known by many as Khaliat Nahal) simply means Bee's Hive in arabic. This is the name given due to the fact that the bread resembles a honey comb and also the bread is loaded with honey itself.

Needless to say I picked up the recipe from Gayathri's blog and didn't do much research on it. After doing a couple of bakes in this marathon I was confident that I can do it. H being a lover of sweet breads relished it. There was no need to store this bread. It vanished in 2 days. A round cake pan would have been a better choice for the shape. But I don't have time and didn't have the time to buy one so had to settle with a square pan.

This bread evidently has Persian roots, and Persians being adept at baking, have made this popular the world over. This energizing snack fulfills the urgent hunger supplement with the morning cup of coffee or tea. It has a soft inner with a smooth outer crust which simply melt in the mouth. We can do innovations in the stuffing also. I have cream cheese as the stuffing. I guess we can try it out with savory stuffing also.

RecipeSource: gayathriscookspot
Country: Middle East

Ingredients:
For The Bread:
Flour/ Maida-3 cups
Milk Powder-1/4 cup+1 tbs
Vegetable Oil- 1/4 cup
Instant Yeast-2 1/4 tsp
Baking Powder-1 tbs
Sugar-1 tbs
Warm Water-1 cup+1 tbs
Cream Cheese-1/2 cup
Sesame Seeds-For Topping

For The Syrup:
Sugar-1 cup
Water-1/2 cup
Honey-1 tbs

Method:
For The Bread:

1. Mix together flour, sugar, yeast, milk powder and baking powder in a bowl.
2. Add warm water, and vegetable oil in a bowl and add it to the flour.
3. Mix it to form a soft dough.
4. Transfer dough to counter and knead for 10 minutes until soft and elastic.
5. Oil a bowl, place the dough inside, apply a coat of oil on the dough and cover with cling wrap.
6. Allow it to rise for 1 hour or until double the size.
7. Take it back to the counter, degas it and roll it into a log.
8. Divide it into 19 equal portions.
9. Roll each portion into a ball.
10. Flatten each ball, place a tsp of cream cheese and close the ball carefully.
11. Roll it on the counter to get a smooth ball.
12. Arrange the balls in a greased 8″ round tin like a bee hive.
13. Coat the top of the balls with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
14. Cover the tin loosely with a cling wrap and allow it to double in size.
15. Preheat oven to 180C.
16. Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes until nicely brown in colour.

For The Syrup:

1. Mix together sugar, water and honey in a sauce pan.
2. Bring it to boil. When the sugar dissolves completely, switch flame to medium and allow it to boil for 5 minutes.
3. Switch off the stove and allow it to cool. Do this while the buns are proofing.

Soaking The Buns:

1. Once the buns are out of oven, pour the syrup on the buns.
2. The syrup will find way in the nook and corner and will gradually be absorbed by the bread.
3. When all the syrup is poured, cover the tin with an aluminium foil and allow it to cool completely.
4. Gently remove the bread from the tin to a serving plate.
5. Serve and enjoy!!!

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The Lion House Pantry in Salt Lake City is probably most widely known by their rolls, and I was surprised to find out that it can be made at home easily.

Honestly I don't know how I came across this blog or this recipe. But after reading I found it easy to make and so tried it right away. This is probably one of the best recipes I have tried out in this mega marathon and we all truly loved it.

I also found a nice video from the chef of this restaurant who has showed how to shape these rolls and I was delighted to find out that I was able to do it the same way. Find the video here. OF course this recipe has eggs and milk powder, so people prefering to have it egg-free or vegan way will have to find out alternate means.

I served this for breakfast with a hot spicy tomato soup and banana milkshake and the breakfast was so filling... Do try this out!!

RecipeSource: somewhatsimple
City: Salt lake City

INGREDIENTS:

warm water - 2 cups
nonfat dry milk powder - ⅔ cup instant
dry yeast - 2 Tbsp
sugar - ¼ cup
salt - 2 tsp
butter - ⅓ cup
egg - 1
all purpose flour - 5-5½ cups
melted butter - 1/4 cup

Method:

In a large bowl, combine water and milk powder, then beat until the milk dissolves.
Add yeast this mixture is still warm and let it react for a couple minutes.
Add sugar, salt, butter, egg and 2 cups of flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then turn to medium speed and mix for 2 minutes.
Add 3 more cups of flour then mix on low speed until the ingredients are wet, then turn mixer on medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. The dough will start to stiffen.
Add ½ cup of flour and mix again until the dough is soft – not sticky or stiff. It should be pull away from the sides of the mixer.
Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour approximately one tablespoon of vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl so it is covered with the oil. (This helps prevent the dough from drying out.) Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size.
Sprinkle a flat work space with flour and put the dough on the flour.
Now it’s time to roll the rolls!
Roll the dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick and brush with melted butter.
Cut the rectangle into smaller rectangles that are 2″ x 4″ – a little smaller than a dollar bill.
Roll each rectangle and place on a greased baking pans.
Cover again with a kitchen towel and place them in a warm area until the rolls are double in size (approx. 1-1½ hours).
Bake in a 220C oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are browned to your satisfaction.
Brush with melted butter while hot.

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When I first came across the manakish zaatar recipe, I thought of it to be similar to that of pizza. Yes the base looks very much like that of a pizza base but this manakish is very tatsy with the zaatar spice. I don't think we can have just the pizza base with a spicy powder without the cheese even if it is served hot. I made a small alteration here. I layered with some tomato chutney and then with the zaatar spice powder because I just didn't want the family to reject it.

But later I Felt I should have left the manakish just with just the zaatar spice. I made this manakish for breakfast and I quickly took photos because I had a small doubt that the family members would taste it immediately. I had to leave for gym immediately and I usually have breakfast after coming back from gym. I came back from gym, had a nice bath and was very hungry. I went and opened the plate which had this zaatar and I found a teeny-weeny piece in the plate that was left for me to taste. I tasted it and it was heavenly. Later I had to satisfy my hunger with corn flakes and milk.

RecipeSource: Gayathriscookspot and archanaskitchen
Country: Lebanon

Zaatar - Ingredients:

1 tablespoon sumac powder (or dried lime zest)
1 tablespoon thyme seasoning
1 tablespoon oregano seasoning
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (powdered)
1 tablespoon pepper powder
A little salt

Zaatar - Method:

Mix all the ingredients listed together and shake well to combine. Your home made zaatar spice mix is ready. Store in air tight container and use as and when required.

Manakish - Ingredients:

Flour – 1 1/4 cups
Water – 1/2 cup
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Sugar – 1/4 tsp
Instant Yeast – 3/4 tsp
Oil – 1/4 cup
Zaatar - 2 tbsp

Method:

In a bowl mix together flour, salt, sugar and yeast.
Add oil and water to make a soft dough.
Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes on counter until soft and smooth and elastic.
Place in a bowl and cover with cling wrap.
Set aside for an hour or until double.
Preheat oven to 220 C.
Divide the dough into two equal portions.
Roll them into thick discs and place on a greased baking tray.
Top the discs with zaatar spice mix and some extra sesame seeds.
Press it well into the disc.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve hot!!

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Starting this week's mega marathon with another baked sweet - nazook from armenia. And I am posting this recipe at the right time. Nazook is an Armenian pastry that's traditionally served around Easter.

The “not-so-sweet-and-overly-indulgent” kind. They are European in nature so I’m not surprised. The Europeans don’t seem to enjoy desserts that are too rich or sugary. I’m with them on that one. These cookies take a yeasted dough (that is completely sugar-less) and wrap it around what is basically a streusel to get a cylinder with a swirl. The whole process is very similar to how you make cinnamon rolls. The cookies are then cut from the cylinder, and baked up to a delicious, buttery, flaky, crunchy pastry.

RecipeSource: Gayathriscookspot

Country: Armenia

Ingredients:

For The Pastry Dough:

Flour-1 1/2cups

Instant Yeast-1 1/4tsp

Curd-1/2cup

Softened Butter-1/2cup

For The Filling:

Flour-3/4cup

Sugar-3/4cup

Softened Butter-!/3cup

Vanilla-1tsp

Method:

Mix all the ingredients given for the pastry dough. Knead for 10 minutes.
If the flour is very sticky, dust it with a little flour.
Cover the dough with cling wrap and place the bowl in fridge overnight.
Mix all the ingredients given for the filling. It will look clumpy. Set it aside.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Remove dough from fridge and knead for 2 minutes.
Divide it into 2 equal parts.
Dust the counter with flour and roll out the portion into a thin rectangle.
Divide the filling into two.
Spread one part of the filling evenly on the rolled rectangle.
Start rolling from the longer end and roll it into a tight log.
Pat it a little to flatten.
Cut into 10 equal pieces.
repeat the same process for the remaining dough and filling.
Arrange the pieces on a greased baking tray.
Brush the top with milk and bake until golden brown.
Cool on wire rack and serve

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Bialys came to the United States from Bialystok, Poland, and they are sometimes known as Bialystok Kuchen. In the early 1900s, hundreds of thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to American and settled in New York City. They brought with them their taste and recipes for bialys. A bialy is similar to a bagel, in that it is a round, chewy roll. But it is unlike a bagel in two important ways: One, it does not have a hole in the middle, but a depression; Two, bagels are boiled and bialys are baked.

Bialys were a specialty of early 20th-century bakeries in Bialystock, Poland. I imagine that they came about the same way that pizza did in Italy. Excess bread dough was pressed into a convenient shape for eating out of hand and topped with the locals' favorite vegetable – onions.

The indentation in the middle of the dough is filled with onion, garlic, or poppy seeds. And the bialy has a very short shelf like, about 6 hours - it tastes the best when hot out of oven.

RecipeSource: Gayathriscookspot
Country: Poland

Ingredients:

Flour / maida – 2 cups

Instant Yeast – 1/2 tsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Water – 2/3 cup + 2 tsp

Onion -3

Oil – 2 tbs

Method:

In a bowl mix together flour, salt and yeast.
Add water and make a smooth dough.
Transfer to counter and knead the dough for 8 – 10 minutes.
Place in a well oiled bowl and cover with a cling wrap.
Allow it to rise for one hour.
Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
Roll each portion into a tight ball and place on a tray.
Cover and set aside for one more hour.
In a pan, add oil and sauté onions until nicely browned.
Add salt and pepper to taste and allow it to cool.
Shape the balls into discs with a thick outer edge.
Place on a greased baking tray.
Pinch the dough inside the thick edge with scissors to keep it from puffing.
Fill the depression with the caramelized onion mixture.
Cover and set aside for 10 -1 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 250 C.
Give a milk wash to the bialys and bake in oven for 10 – 15 minutes.
Serve it hot out of oven.

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Presenting another easy-to-do baked recipe. Pide may refer to: Pita, Turkish version of a type of flatbread consumed especially in company of kebabs.

Pide and its various varieties are wide spread through Turkey and are established as an important food. The base is a flat-bread of a similar style to pita, chapati, or western pizza crust. A proper pide should be baked in a brick or other stone oven. Toppings vary widely and include but are not limited to: cheese, onions, peppers, tomatoes, sausage, pastrami, eggs, mushrooms, ground beef, and parsley. Pide is also available for cheap on the street from a cart.

RecipeSource: Gayathriscookspot
Country: Turkey

Ingredients:

For the dough

1 tablespoon instant dry yeast

1 cup warm water (for softer pide use milk) or 1 cup milk (for softer pide use milk)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling

1 -2 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

10 ounces ground beef or 10 ounces ground lamb

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin

1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander

salt and pepper

1 cup chopped tomato

Method:

Combine all ingredients for the dough and knead until smooth.
Grease the dough with some drops of oil, cover and let rest 30 minutes; give a short knead.
Cover and let rise until almost doubled (about 1 hour depending on the temperature).
In the meantime prepare the filling:
In a large skillet heat the oil.
Add chopped onions along with chopped garlic.
When onions are translucent, add ground meat, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
Saute for 5 minutes until meat is done.
Add tomato and cook briefly until water is absorbed.
Remove from heat and keep aside.
Preheat oven at 200 degrees Celsius/400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the dough on a floured surface; cut into 4 pieces (for medium pide) or 8 pieces (for smaller pide).
Make round balls and, using a rolling pin, roll into ovals (12 inches/30 cm for medium pide or 6 inches/15 cm for smaller pide). I possibly try to let the borders stay thicker.
Transfer the oval dough on the baking sheet.
Divide filling in equal portions; spread on the dough; pinch the points together giving a boat-like shape.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Manga Kari | Instant Pickle

Manga Chammandhi | Chutney with raw mango

Mamidikaya pappu | Raw mango dal

Uppilitta Manga | Salted Mango Pickle

Kadugu Manga | Tender mango pickle | 300th Post

Cooking Carnival recap

Crown cookies

Dates cookies

Eggless Japanese Sesame Cookies

Fougasse

Ghorayebah | cookie from Egypt

Herbed Butterflaps

Irish Soda Bread Buns

Julekake

Khaliat Al Nahal

Lion House Rolls

Manakish - Zaatar

Nazook

Onion Bialys

Pide