norwegian cooking: March 2011

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Event Announcement and Giveaway For April

Hi All.

After a difficult challenge for the month of March, the month of April brings yet another difficult challenge for you. We have to wisely and creatively use our white cells to concoct a preparation which involves fusion of two cuisines or two regions, which tastes interesting. One can easily say it’s East meets the West or the North meets South, for example, the paav-bhaaji meets the dosa or the paneer-tikka meets the Pizza.

Priya Mahadevan of Now Serving is going to host the event for April and the rules and details of the event can be checked from her space later in the day today, once she announces it. Wish you all the luck Priya.

We will have only ONE GIVEAWAY for this month and that will be from www.tarladalal.com. They have offered to give a book called 7 Dinner Menus.

Click on the cover image to sample content from the book

This book offers 7 dinner menus from across the world and is surely a treat for everyone who wants to add more variety to their regular dinner. This giveaway is only for INDIAN participants and you NEED NOT leave any links here. Priya will pick up the winner after the completion of event.

I am also looking out for bloggers who would be interested in hosting the ‘ONLY’ Event in future. One can check up the host line up in the menu below the blog header for further details and mail me to cookingoodfood@gmail.com.

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For My Mom…Italian Calzone with Bell Pepper and Cottage Cheese Stuffing

Hi!

The tiring and hectic days finally seem to get over and as I started my new journey in my new job today, I feel ecstatic and a bit nervous too. Nevertheless, my mom wanted to carry some exotic bread from here before she left and sadly we could not make it to the market, so I treated her by making these beautiful Calzones. I packed a few for her so that once she reaches home she can just reheat and savour them.

I intended to post Italian recipes frequently and with that intention, last year I explained about a few regions of Italy and there cooking style in my post Eggplant-Zucchini Lasagne in Tomato- Ricotta Cheese Sauce. I did post a few recipes on Pasta but unfortunately did not make it to writing more about this cuisine.

In this post I will discuss the Puglia (Apulia) region and Basilicata. It is in south-eastern Italy and is famous for the Calzones which are believed to be originated here. Mushrooms are abundantly found here and are always added to the local pizzas. The Apulians are also very fond of savoury breads made from pizza dough.

A calzone is like a folded over stuffed pizza. The circle of pizza dough is folded in half over the filling and then sealed. During baking the pizza dough swells and resembles a ‘stuffed stocking’, which is the literal translation of the word calzone. A traditional calzone is stuffed with tomato and mozzarella cheese but one surely has an independence to innovate their own stuffing, I’ve used cottage cheese and bell peppers in a tomato based sauce as my stuffing here.

The calzone can be a substantial snack and when combined with green salad and soup can make an easy dinner.

Ingredients

For Pizza Dough

4 cups APF

1tsp. salt

1tsp. sugar

3tsp. active yeast

1-1/2 cups warm water

1tbsp. olive oil

For Stuffing

2 red onions chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

200gms cottage cheese cubed

1 green pepper finely chopped

1 red pepper finely chopped

3 garlic pods

1” piece ginger

2tsp oregano

1tsp basil

salt to taste

2tsp white pepper pwd.

1tsp. paprika

1tbsp. tomato ketch up

olive oil for cooking

also

100gms mozzarella cheese

and egg wash

Method for the Pizza Dough

Mix all ingredients in the food processor and knead a dough, grease it with oil and let it double in volume for about 30mins.

Method for making the Stuffing

Heat a little oil and add crushed ginger-garlic to it followed by onions and sauté till transparent, tip in the tomatoes and mix salt, oregano and basil.

Mix tomato ketch up, cottage cheese and peppers and cook till done. Cook on high flame so that the juices dry up completely.

Method of making Calzone

Divide the dough into 8-10 equal portions.

Take a portion and spread some APF on the floor and spread the dough using hand or roll using a rolling pin into a 4” disc of 4-5mm thickness.

Spread enough stuffing and also spread mozzarella cheese and fold the disc into a ‘D’ shape. Using a fork design the border. Apply an egg wash, pierce at 2-3 places using a fork, this prevents bursting of the calzone while baking.

Bake at 240C for 10-15mins.

Serve hot.

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Message

Nous venons d'être destinataire du message suivant:

Coucou à tous les automobilistes ! Je suis juste là pour vous rappeler de faire bien attention sur la route car c'est la période des bébés hérissons ; trop mignon, inoffensifs et utiles !

Ce serait dommage de nous écraser, nous et nos parents-hérissons, non ???

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Eggless Semolina and Banana Cake

hi!

Finally I made it to posting something. Today is my SIL’s birthday so thought of making something sweet, now that I’m so time bound and hardly find time to cook anything exotic I tried this simple cake which is completely no fuss version and tastes really good. Since I have my parents and MIL staying with me these days I opted to make an eggless cake. I had some frozen bananas which I finally brought to good use…

This cake took just 15-20 minutes to bake, and it turned out soft and amazingly flavoured with banana. We all relished it, especially my dad who has a sweet tooth.

I am still going very busy and have not checked your blogs in the last few weeks, kindly bear with me for the time being and keep visiting.

Finally I must say Happy Birthday G, hope the year ahead is rocking and happening for you. Have a great day with P and M.

Ingredients

1 cup semolina

1 cup mashed banana

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking pwd

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp. cardamom pwd

Method

Mix separately all the dry ingredients together and wet ingredients together.

Now mix the dry ingredients thoroughly into the wet ingredients, do not over do it.

Stand for 10 minutes. Bake in a greased square dish at 180C for 15-20 minutes. Check after 15 minutes, if the toothpick comes out clean, do not over bake else it turns hard.

Cool and cut into squares.

I added cardamom as a flavouring agent but even nutmeg tastes good with banana.

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Gobhi Mussallam

Hi!

Last time when I went for my vegetable shopping I saw these small baby cauliflowers and I just longed to buy them and cook something with them and by the time I reached home I knew what…

This is one preparation which I was longing to make again. I’d made this ages back probably before I got married and then never made it again. The baby cauliflowers tempted me to try this again after so many years and it was indeed a happy experience cooking it, though I must admit such rich curries are a rarity at my place and hence cooking them is a happening experience.

Thanks for all the prayers for my Mom’s health, I’m still shuttling between home and hospital and just managed to post this from my drafts. Mom feels much better now.

Ingredients for the curry ( serves 6-8)

3 large onions

2 large tomatoes

2 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste

5-6 tbsp. watermelon (magaz) seed paste

2 tbsp. coriander pwd

1 tsp. roasted kasoori methi crushed

2 tsp. red chilli pwd

1/2 tsp. turmeric pwd

1/2 tsp. garam masala

and 4 small baby cauliflowers

Method

Cook the cauliflower in boiling water with 1 tsp. salt and a pinch of turmeric till half done.

Strain and pat dry and then deep fry in oil till golden in colour. Remove on a kitchen towel.

Grind the onions and sauté them in the oil till the raw smell disappears.

Now add the g&g paste and sauté again.

Puree the tomato and add it to the onion paste, cook till oil separates.

Tip in the turmeric, chilli pwd and coriander pwd followed by the melon seed paste and cook again.

Now add the fried cauliflowers and kasoori methi, mix, cover and cook.

Before serving mix in the garam masala.

Serve hot with Naan, Kulcha or jeera rice.

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Stuffed Broccoli and Cottage Cheese Indian Bread

Hi.

In my attempt to provide the family a wholesome breakfast I tried this combination at home and this turned out to be a super hit with the family, something that they cherished and asked for more and more. This is the second preparation with broccoli (remember the stuffed broccoli tikkis) in the last few days that we have thoroughly enjoyed.

I found this as an excellent way to provide an iron and protein rich meal. I was especially delighted as the younger one who is the fussy eater was more than eager to eat it and carried it in his lunch box too.

Sending this to Priya’s CWS Wheat guest hosted by Suma.

Ingredients

For Stuffing

1 large broccoli flower and stalk grated

200gms cottage cheese grated

4 garlic pods grated

1-1/2 inch piece ginger grated

8-9 green chillies finely chopped

4-5 tbsp. coriander finely chopped

2 tbsp. coriander pwd

1/2 tsp. garam masala

salt to taste

For the dough

3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3 tsp. carom seeds

salt to taste

Method

Heat a tea spoon of oil in a non stick pan and sauté the broccoli with a pinch of salt on high flame and let the water disappear. Cool this and all the other ingredients under the heading stuffing to form the stuffing.

Knead a firm dough using the ingredients under the heading dough. Take two ping pong sized dough balls and roll them into a circle of 3inches.

Place double the volume of ping pong ball on one circle and seal it using another circle and roll it into a paratha.

Roast it using oil on a griddle.

Serve hot with a dollop of fresh butter along with pickle and curds.

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Peas and Sago Tikkis…an unusual combination

Hi all!

As I mentioned in my Minty stuffed eggplant post, things are just going too hectic and at times I wonder how I will manage so much later! The thought that blogging might take a back seat itself is depressing and the minute this thought haunts me I try to cook something unusual thinking that ‘kal kisne dekha hai, aaj to accha bana lo’, meaning who has seen tomorrow, let’s cook our best today. So I’m definitely trying hard to post as much as possible now as I do not know what I will do later and keep the blog going. In this process I’m being very sincere to my event ‘Only’- Original and all the recipes which are hidden some where in my mind and I had always wanted to try are being cooked and posted here.

I do not remember how this preparation came to my mind but I knew wanted to try this out, I’d never read or heard someone making this combination, pardon me if I’m wrong in thinking so, but do believe me when I say that it tastes good and the ingredients blend well.

Sending this to my event ‘Only’ Original Recipes guest hosted by Nivedita

Ingredients

a cup and a half of peas blanched

about a cup of mini sago (soaked)

1/2 cup grated cottage cheese

1/3 cup of leftover cottage cheese and bell pepper cubes

6-7 finely chopped green chillies
a tbsp. of grated ginger
1 tbsp. coriander pwd
a tsp. cumin pwd
4 bread slices soaked and squeezed
a pinch of garam masala oil for shallow frying
salt to taste
2 tbsp. chopped coriander
corn starch for coating

Method
Coarsely grind the peas and mix all the ingredients and using ping pong ball size mix make the tikkis.

Roll the tikkis in corn starch and remove the excess corn starch, shallow fry the tikkis and remove it on kitchen towel. It is my personal observation that using corn starch not only yields a crunchy crust but it helps absorb less oil.

Serve hot with tomato sauce.

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Veggie/ Fruit A Month- Strawberry, Event Round Up

Hello All!

Firstly I must thank Priya Mitharwal for allowing me host her event, I simply enjoyed hosting the event and it was fun reading so many innovative preparations using strawberry. Sadly, we enjoy this fruit only for a few days in a year so I can not try my hand on so many recipes but have bookmarked a few to try them. I’m sure you will also be tempted to try them.

I have received a total of 27 entries. Thanks to all the participants, without your co-operation this would not be possible.

Rounding up the entries in the sequence of which I received

1. Supriya Natu of Queen of My Kitchen has sent Strawberry Cobbler