It's 10th of the month and time for MFB challenge.. couldn't participate last month due to my super packed hectic schedule.. but this month I wanted to participate without fail.. and Alhamdulillah I was able to cook for this months  challenge..
......  this month challenge cooking with OLIVES..usually I add olives in my pasta or pizza other wise it's usually had  as an accompaniment.. when I saw olives the first thing that came in my mind was foccasia.. but then thought of searching the Google dear for more options and my eyes fell on the Moroccan tray bakes and Tagines..




        After days of searching and thinking I finalised these Moroccan Sheet Pan Chicken... from here    I 've never made a tray bake and this was my first .. after I made I was thinking why I have not tried tray bakes till now.. such an easy way to make dinner or lunch... you just have to arrange them on a pan and put them in the oven to cook.. job done..
...... let's come back to this recipe.. the recipe speaks for itself.. it shouts Morocco.. juicy chicken with caramelized onions and sweet lemons and tangy olives.. it was yummy..
Actually the recipe calls for 3 pieces of chicken .. but I made for 4 by just adjusting a little spice here and there..  In an hour a hassle free dinner is made..
....... if I added anything to the recipe.. at last I spruced the oven to max and grilled it for 5 more minutes for the skin to get extra crispy.. other than that it's the same...
          Serve this tray bake on a bed of couscous with  a side of bread.. I served it with garlic bread for my family but personally I would advice to have it along with some carbs like mashed potato or thick soups... as the way I served turned out as a light meal and we were hungry ....
so without delay lets move to how to do this recipe..



You Need:

For The Spice Mixture:

Salt                                            3/4 tsp
Ground Cumin                          1/4tsp
Paprika                                      3/4 tsp
Cayenne Pepper                        1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder                      3/4tsp
Olive Oil                                   1 1/4 tbsp.
Balck Pepper powder               1/4tsp
Melted Butter                           1 1/4 tbsp.
Garlic cloves (grated)               4 nos

For the Sheet Pan :

Lemon big                                2 nos
White Onions                           2 nos
Extra virgin Olive Oil              2 tsp
Salt                                           1/4tsp
Turmeric powder                     1 tsp
Skin on Chicken Quarters        4 nos
Olives(pitted n sliced)              1 cup
Coriander leaves chopped         2 tbsp.



Preparation:

Preheat the Oven at 220*C
Mix everything under the spice mixture...
Clean and wash the chicken.. Dry the chicken well with a paper towel.
Rub the chicken well with the spice mixture.
Slice 1 lemon into thin slices. Arrange them in a single layer in a sheet pan... juice the other lemon
Cut the onion into 12 wedges each. Scatter them over the lemons..
Sprinkle the salt, olive oil, turmeric powder, over the onions.
Place the chicken over the onions and drizzle the rest of the spice over it.
Keep them in the oven and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. the juices should run clear from the chicken.
If you want the skin to be little crispier increase the oven to max and grill for 5-10 minutes.
Remove from oven and drizzle around 1-2 tbsp. lemon juice.. scatter the olives and coriander leaves..
Serve them with couscous and bread.                  

   

Tomorrow December 18 is Qatar National Day... a day filled with joy the whole country both expats n citizens gear up to celebrate QND every year and this year too you can see the corniche is decked up with lights of the National flag.. All the Malls... shops.. cars.. buildings... all decked up for celebrating QND.. Its festive mood everywhere.. Last year I posted this recipe on QND and it was a traditional recipe..




        This year wanted to do something colorful and I think with going for Cake Decorating Classes my mind got fixed in baking and cake decorating.... Found cupcake liners in LuLu Hypermarket that matched the festive mood.. then with lots of browsing   settled down for Red Velvet Cupcake...
thought the color would match the QND... I ve followed  Nigella's recipe which turned out great..
I made only  half the recipe as for the past two weeks Ive been baking ..baking.. and baking only..
and also limit the consumption..hehehe....
    I got 6 overfilled delicious cupcakes.... (my mistake... didnt know the batter would rise so high)..
The cupcakes were soo moist n was not too sweet  and the sweet cream cheese Icing complemented it perfectly... if you are not fond of icing then sprinkle them with icing sugar...
I colored half the icing in Burgundy to match the qatar flag color.. the final product turned out how I wanted alhamdulillah.. and I am happy I could make something special to join the festive mood here in this beautiful country..



I am sharing the recipe for making 24 cupcakes you can always half the quantity to make them 12..
now off to the recipe..

You Need:

RED VELVET CUPCAKE
Makes 24 cupcakes

All purpose Flour                               250 gms
Cocoa Powder                                    2 tbsp
Baking Powder                                   2 tsp
Bi carbonate of Soda                          1/2tsp
Unsalted Butter                                   100gms
Castor Sugar                                       200 gms
Red Gel color                                     1/2 heaped tsp
Vanilla essence                                   2 tsp
Large Eggs                                          2 nos
Buttermilk                                         175 ml
Cider Vinegar                                    1 tsp

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Icing Sugar                                       500gms
Butter                                                125 gms
Cream Cheese (room temp)              125 gms
Cider Vinegar                                    1 tsp
red sprinkles for decorating




PREPARATION:

FOR RED VELVET CUPCAKES:

Preheat oven @170* C .
Place cup cake liners in two regular Muffin tins ( 1 muffin tin can make 12 cupcakes/muffins)
Shift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda together
Cream the butter and sugar  well.. when the mixture becomes soft and looks pale in color add the food coloring and vanilla essence and mix well.
Now while mixing add half the dry ingredients and 1 egg.. mix well.. then add the remaining dry ingredients and one more egg..
At last add the buttermilk and cider vinegar and mix well..
Divide the mixture into the cup cake liners... fill only half the liner.. do not over fill
Bake them for about 20 minutes. insert a toothpick to test.. if it comes out clean then it is done.
After 10 minutes remove them from the tin and allow them to cool completely

FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

Shift the icing sugar ..
Beat the icing sugar, cream cheese, butter and cider vinegar  for about 5 minutes.. it would have formed a smooth and luscious icing ..

TO ASSEMBLE:
Ice each cupcake with a spoon or spatula and decorate with sprinkles.


NOTES:
1.coloring the icing is completely optional.
2. If you plan to frost the cupcakes with rosettes or swirl you will need more icing
3. you can make the cup cakes a day before .. cool and put in an air tight box and place it in the refrigerator
4. It tastes best when iced and eaten on the same day.. but store if any leftover in an air tight box and place it in the refrigerator.

You need:

Very Ripe Bananas                       2 nos large
Vanilla essence                             1 tsp
Rolled Oats                                   2 cup
Salt                                                1/2 tsp
Dates (pitted n chopped)              1/4 cup
Chopped Nuts                               1/4 cup ( walnuts /, hazelnuts,/ pecans)
Cinnamon powder (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven at 175*C . Grease a 9*9 inch square baking pan with olive oil or butter.
Peel the bananas and mash them well with a fork .. there should be around 1-1 1/4 cup of mashed bananas.
Add the rest of the ingredients except for cinnamon .
Pat the thick mixture in the pan and if desired sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely . Slice them into bars and enjoy with milk.
They can be stored at room temperature for 5 days.

I've already shared the recipe of the famous  Dumroot/ Dummadai / Rava Adai almost five years back in my blog. After receiving  a request for the eggless version of the Sweet.... thought of what could be the substitute to the eggs as this is completely an egg based sweet. Then I remembered the basboosa recipe where yogurt is used in the recipe and no eggs... but my preparation method of Dummadai didnt suit it.... Seeked the help of my friend who has shared a couple of recipes in my blog. She gave me her recipe and I substituted the eggs instead and used yogurt.. the recipe was a success and  here I give you the Eggless Dummadai / Rava  Adai

Calling for celebration now... Alhamdulillah completed 6 years of blogging ..... Feels like just started the blog but see how time has passed.... 6 long years .... Thank you my dear blogger friends for supporting me even though I don't blog very often due to my personal commitments..... In these 6 years have learnt many things through blogging...... grew confident that I can cook .... gained lots of friends .... and not  to mention my wonderful family who have been the pillar of support to me in all these years.. .
  For this years blog anniversary I am posting my Mom's recipe - Singapore Butter Cake ... this recipe has been in my drafts for quite some time and I thought why not post this now ....  Butter cake the word itself describes how buttery the cake would be..... Still reminiscing the utterly butterly taste of this yummy cake... I remember those early days where we would beat the butter n sugar with a whisk... and fight to lick the batter in the bowl..... the whole house used to smell so heavenly....

This cake is usually in our house with margarine and that too with a particular brand Planta available in Singapore / Malaysia.... this tastes the best.
The alternative to it is our very own Amul Butter .... this  cake will have little salty touch to it
But then you can use any unsalted butter too.
I made this cake with Planta the last tin I had... not available in Qatar now... and sorry for not so good photo ... actually baked this cake for a friend and managed to click in between.
Lets proceed to the recipe





You Need:

All Purpose Flour         400gms
Margarine/ Butter         450gms
Sugar (powdered)         350 gms
Eggs                              8 nos
Baking powder              4tsp
Vanilla Essence            2 1/2tsp
Salt a very small pinch - optional
Butter(2tbsp) & Flour (2tbsp) -- For Greasing


Preparation:

Preheat the oven @180*C.
Grease two  9" round pan with butter first and dust the flour over it completely. Turn the pan upside down and remove extra flour.  Alternatively you can grease it with butter paper too or spray non-stick baking spray.
Bring the eggs to room temperature. Shift the flour n baking powder together.
Beat the Butter and Sugar till pale and creamy in your hand mixer or stand mixer.
Add in one egg at a time. Beat well after each addition of egg until it turns creamy.
Add the vanilla essence
Add the flour little by little incorporating well each time.
Pour into the greased pans. Tap well to remove any air bubble . Bake them for 45 min - 1 hour.
Check whether the cake is completely cooked by inserting toothpick in the middle of the cake.
If the toothpick comes clean... the cake is cooked completely.
Allow the cake to cool for 10-15 minutes. then slowly flip them on the wire rack .
Slice them n Serve warm.

NOTES:
This cake can also be served at room temperature.
If you want to decorate the cake .. cool the cake completely.

VARIATION:
MARBLE BUTTER CAKE:

Divide the batter in two parts. Keep one part white and to the other part add around 1/4 cup Cocoa powder and mix well. place alternating spoonfuls of each mixture in the pan and swirl mixtures into each other with a skewer.  Bake as mentioned above

Picture of Planta:
Recipe Source: http://fzh.com.sg/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=720

Very excited to host this month's Home Baker's Challenge  and especially its my favorite Malay cuisine. Malaysia is famous for its cookies and bakes. I still remember my Grandmother making cookies for Raya (Eid)..... yummm  it was.  I chose this Suji crystals and it was a super hit in my house... especially my daughter who loved the colorful cookies. Very easy preparation but I changed the recipe a bit as the original ones were like volcanoes, and the dough was a bit stiff.... so I used regular ground almonds, and did not melt the ghee.. found this version better.



Recipe adapted from: http://www.umaskitchenexperiments.com/2011/12/suji-crystal-cookies.html

You need:
All purpose flour                  1cup
Baking powder                     1/2tsp
Baking soda                          1/2tsp
Icing sugar                            1/2 cup
Ghee                                      1/2 cup
Ground almonds                    1/4 cup
Salt                                        1/8th tsp
Vanilla extract                       1/2tsp
Edible Food colours              pink, yellow , bue
Castor sugar for coating the cookies



Preparation:

In a cup sift together all purpose flour,baking soda, baking powder and salt.
To it add ground almonds and icing sugar .
Beat the ghee well using your hand in a bowl, for about 5 minutes. The ghee should have changed its consistency.
Now add this ghee and vanilla extract to the dry mixture and form a soft dough. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
Divide the dough in to three equal parts  and add food coloring's of your choice, I used only pink and blue, the other I left it white.
Take about 3grams of dough from each colour and combine it to a ball which will produce marbled effect.
Prepare all the cookies and place it on a cookie sheet  with 2 inch gap in between. Pre-heat the oven  to 170*C and bake the cookies for 10 - 15 minutes. the cookies should not brown.
Cool the cookies, roll them in castor sugar and store in air tight container.

HBC members please link your entries to the linky tool below. Link tool will be open till December 31st . Add in your entries my friends

Who wold say no to crispy flaky sweet delicacies, definitely not me! When Nupur of UK rasoi selected these delicious Arabic desserts for HBC my heart directly went to these baklavas.Due to my busy schedule I couldn't post this recipe back, but now I take this opportunity to post it. I've prepared Lebanese Baklava Rolls a couple of times but this preparation is very authentic. The use of clarified butter gave it a aroma of Purity, I was very elated that I learnt an authentic way of making Baklavas. Before entering into the recipe I am very happy to tell you all that my recipe is published in the Indus Ladies - Kids Lunch Box Recipes. Download the book friends , here is the link: 
http://www.indusladies.com/food/kids-lunch-box-recipes/

I wish to thank Indus Ladies team for giving me this golden opportunity to participate in the event. 





Recipe source: http://travelerslunchbox.com/2006/03/09/temptation-thy-name-is-baklava/

You Need:

Filo Pastry                        450 gms
Unsalted Butter                 300 gms
Unsalted Pistachios           300gms
Sugar                                2 tbsp

For Sugar Syrup:

Sugar                               1 1/2 cups
Water                              1 cup
Honey                              4 tbsp
Cardamom Pods              1 tbsp ( slightly crushed)
Lemon juice                      2 tsp




Preparation:

Syrup:
Combine sugar, honey, water and cardamom pods in a sauce pan and boil it for about 5-10 minutes.
Then add the lemon juice and simmer for 30 seconds.Allow to cool and Refrigerate.
The syrup will be little thick, scoop out the cardamom pods. If the syrup turns out too thick then Add little water and give a quick boil.

Clarified Butter:
 Melt the butter in  a saucepan over medium heat and gently bring it to a boil. Boil without stirring
until a layer of foam has risen to the surface and the white solids have sunk to the bottom . Skim off the foam , then strain the  liquid into another container, leaving the solids behind . Keep the clarified butter warm.




Baklava:

Pulse the pistachios and sugar together till they are finally chopped but not powdered. Set aside a few tbsp of them for garnish.
Thaw the filo sheets and keep them covered in a damp tea towel, as not to make them go dry. Brush a large square baking pan smaller than the filo sheet with butter. If the sheets are much bigger then trim ti fit. Lay 12 sheets of filo , one at a time, in the tin, brushing generously with clarified butter between each layer, pressing the filo into the corners of the pan.

Spread the nuts evenly on the sheets. Fold over the pastry that extends over the top of the nuts. Then cover with the remaining sheets, brushing each, +`--including the top one, with melted butter.With a sharp- pointed knife, trim the top layers so that they fit perfectly in the pan.Cut parallel lines about an inchand a half apart, and cut other parallel lines diagonally, to get diamond shaped pastries. Cut right through the bottom.

This is the 5th year of my blog baby! How time flies fast.......  From a novice cook I've turned into a better cook... Lots of ups and downs.... Burning dishes to perfect bakes. A special thanks to all the blogger friends who have been a pillar of support in all these years. ## Another happy news while typing this recipe my first interview is published in SmartIndianWoman
http://www.smartindianwomen.com/blog/an-interview-with-blogger-niloufer-of-kitchen-samraj/
Feeling very very happy! Maasha Allah ##

This recipe was for Shhhh Cooking Secret Challenge  this month and I was paired with Viji of Virunthu Unna Vaanga and the secret ingredient was Almonds ... My mind immediately went for this delicious Badam ke Lauze / Almond slices. This dessert is our family favorite. It can be made a day in advance  and can be reheatedand is a perfect dessert for any party. The advantage is it freezes very well too. This recipe serves 6-8



Lets move on to the recipe

You need:
Eggs(medium)                 3 nos
Ground Almonds             75 gms
Milk Powder                    200 gms
Sugar                                200gms
Saffron Strands                1/2 tsp
Unsalted Butter                100gms
Flaked Almonds               25 gms



Preparation:

Beat the eggs in a bowl and leave aside.
Place the ground almonds, milk powder, sugar and saffron in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, pour over the dry ingredients and mix well with a fork.
Add the beaten eggs and blend.
Spread the mixture in a shallow 15-20 cm dish and bake in a pre-heated oven at 160*C for 45 minutes.
Check whether cooked by piercing  with a knife or a skewer, which will emerge clean if its done.
Cut into diamond shapes and decorate with flaked almonds.

This dish is best eaten hot but also be served cold with whipping cream.

Recipe Source:  the kitchn

Biscuits are baked then whats unusual about them, its a paniyaram which is baked as biscuits. Few days back we friends were making sweets and prepared the dough to make Hajur Paniyaram one of our traditional sweet, but accidentally beated the eggs and sugar in mixer. the result we couldn't fry them, with such a heap of dough in our hands, then an idea came across us, shaped it and baked them Voila!! delicious, crisp and yummy biscuits. Will give the fried version of this recipe later friends, Since it is not fried , it has less calories so can have it guilt free! Lets move on to the recipe:
Recipe and photo courtesy - My  friend



You need:

Rice flour                      3cups
Maida                           1/2 cup
Ghee                            75 gms
Eggs                            2 nos
Sugar                           1 1/4 cup
Coconut milk                1/4 cup (first extract)
Fennel powder             1/2tsp
Salt                              1 small pinch

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180*
Mix sugar, salt and egg, till the sugar dissolves.
Melt the ghee, In a big bowl sieve the  rice flour, maida, and fennel powder together, add the melted ghee and mix well, add the egg mixture and coconut milk and form into a dough.
Take a small piece of dough flatten it around 1/4 " thick, cut out shapes. Alternatively shape them into small rounds , place them on a greased tray leaving a half cm space in between them.
Bake for around 15- 20 minutes. They should get lightly browned
Cool and Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee.

  

For this month's International Food Challenge - it was French Alsace Lorraine Cuisine. out of the three given recipes I went for this easy breezy french pizza. The name actually attracted me and it tasted delicious. We loved it and with ultimate lemonade ( recipe in future) It made a hearty dinner. Thanks to Shobana Shekar and Saraswathi Tharagaram for choosing this cuisine.Sending them to International Food Challenge Now lets move on to the recipe.




You need:

Pastry:

Wheat Flour                  1 1/4 cups
All purpose flour            1/2 cup
Extra Virgin Olive oil       2 tbsp
Salt                                1tsp
Ice cold water



Sauce:

Corn kernels                  1/3 cup
Fresh Cream                  1/3 cup
Sour Cream                    1/2 cup
Ricotta Cheese               1/3 cup
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper                
Freshly ground nutmeg     a small pinch
White onion (large)          1 nos (sliced)
Gouda Cheese ( shredded) 1/2 - 3/4 cup



Preparation:

Pastry:

Put the flour, salt, oil in a mixing bowl. Add ice cold water little by little and make a stiff dough.
Grease them with oil and Cover them with wet tea towel and refrigerate for an hour.

Sauce:

Mix the fresh cream, sour cream, ricotta cheese with salt, pepper, nutmeg.

Saute the thinly sliced onions in little olive oil fro two minutes, set aside.



Tart:

Pre- heat oven to 250*C.
Roll out the dough to a thin oval/ rectangle tart, place on papered baking sheet and form a slight border by pinching the edges upward.
Spread the sauce evenly, sprinkle corn, onions, cheese and bake for 15- 20 minutes.

Slice them and serve.

Baklava Rolls the most commonly found sweet in Arab Countries was not on my favorite list until I made them for Eid this year. I always preferred eating kunafa over baklava, did not know why I did not prefer them may be for the aroma of orange blossom water was always little strong for me. This year for Eid my hubby asked to make them because I've already made kunafa earlier, browsed through internet and found this recipe from Mamas Lebanese Kitchen. It was very easy to make and for the first time loved them. Made little changes to the original recipe to adapt my taste buds and it was perfect. The original recipe calls for more walnuts but I used more pistachio and also included little almonds. Now lets move on to the recipe.



You need:

Thin Phyllo  Dough                       1 packet
Pistachio (ground)                        1 cup
Walnuts (ground)                         1/4 cup
Almonds (ground)                        1/4 cup
Orange Blossom Water                1- 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar                                           2 tbsp
Unsalted Butter ( melted)              150 gms




For Sugar Syrup:

Sugar                                          1 cup
Water                                         3/4 cup
Lemon juice                                1/2- 3/4 tsp
Orange Blossom Water               1 tsp




Preparation:

Sugar Syrup:

In a small saucepan mix the water and sugar together. Place on medium heat. stir continuously
When it starts to boil, add the lemon juice, simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add Orange Blossom Water, mix well, and allow it to cool.

For Baklava:

In a bowl mix the nuts with 2 tbsp of sugar and Orange Blossom Water.
Place a sheet of thawed phyllo dough on the work top, brush with melted butter, repeat this with three more sheets, buttering them every time. Place 4-5 tsp of the nuts filling along the width of the dough.Tightly roll till the thickness of the dough is 3/4th inch. Cut along the roll leaving the remaining dough. Repeat the process until the stuffing has been used.
Cut each log into 2" pieces and place on a buttered tray and brush the rolls with butter.



Bake in a preheated oven @ 350*F / 180*C for about 30 minutes.
The baklava should be golden in colour.
While it s still hot pour the syrup all over the rolls, and let them absorb it completely. Leave them aside for about 45 minutes.
Baklava rolls is ready to be served. These can be kept in an air tight container @ room temperature for 2-3 weeks.

Note:
You can use raw sugar / brown sugar for making the syrup.
If orange blossom water is not available then you can use orange blossom essence.
If you are baking them in batches then divide the syrup for each batch.

My second entry for HBC this month. Banana and walnut combo always works very well. The same for this muffins too. With addition of wholewheat flour and Oats its more healthy too. My family simply loved it. I even reduced the quantity of sugar and it tasted very good. Once again thanks to Shama Nagarajan for choosing this delicious recipe.




You need:

Wholewheat flour           1 1/3cup
Oat bran                        3/4cup
Banana (ripe)                 2nos
Walnuts (chopped)         1/2cup
Sugar                             1/2 cup
Baking soda                   1 tsp
Baking powder              1 tsp
Canola oil                      1/3cup
Almond milk                  2/3 cup
Salt                                1/2tsp
Vanilla essence               1tsp




Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees Celsius.
 In a large bowl mix together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda,salt, sugar, walnuts.
In a smaller bowl, mash up the bananas quite well then add in the oil, vanilla and milk.
Combine the banana mixture with the flour mixture and blend until "just" mixed.
Spoon into a lightly oiled muffin tin and bake for 15-20 minutes.

enjoy!

Such an exciting recipe for this month's Home Bakers Challenge- Spinach Cheddar Muffins. This is the first time in my life I am trying out a savory muffin and it turned out yummilicious, to be more precise its become super addictive. Thanks to Shama Nagarajan for choosing such delicious recipes. To move on with the recipe, It is very simple to make, you need to have frozen spinach and cheddar cheese then you can whip them up in minutes. It tasted best when it was hot with melting cheese,




You need:

All purpose Flour                       1 1/2 cup
Baking powder                          2 tsp
Baking soda                               1/2 tsp
Salt                                            1/2 tsp
Butter (melted)                           6 tbsp
Egg                                            1 nos
Milk                                           1cup
Frozen Chopped Spinach           1/2 cup( thawed, drained n squeezed dry)
Cheddar cheese( shredded)        1 cup



Preparation:

Preheat oven at 350*F / 175*C.
Mix the flour. baking powder, baking soda, salt in a bowl.
Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, till they are evenly blended. To it add the flour mixture and form a batter.
Place paper cases in the muffin pans, Spoon about 2tbsp of batter in each cup and bake for 35 minutes.
Insert toothpick to check whether its completely done

Serve hot

My next entry for HBC, Could there be anything better than soft moist bread? then you should really try this Chocolate Asian Marble bread. When I first saw this bread I thought it is very difficult seeing the marbled pattern, but when I started making this bread, it turned out to be pretty easy only, The bread came out very well except for the fact that I did not get the marbled effect as shown in the photo, Actually I was very tired after incorporating the colours for Rainbow Swirl Classic Bread My hands were literally paining, so did not go for many layers just went for three. Except for that it was clear success.





You need:

Water Roux:

Bread flour/ All purpose flour      1/3cup
Water                                         1cup

Main dough:

Bread flour/ All purpose flour      2 1/2cup
Sugar                                         2tbsp
Salt                                           1/2tsp
Milk powder                              3tbsp
Water (warm)                            100ml +2tbsp
Unsweetened Cocoa powder     1 1/2tbsp
Active Yeast                              1 1/2tsp
Butter (room temp)                    2tbsp
Melted Butter                            2tbsp




Preparation:

Water Roux:

In a bowl, add the flour and water and whisk together until it forms a thick paste. Keep Aside to cool.

Main Dough:

In a bowl add the water, yeast and sugar, allow it to ferment  for 15-20 minutes. Then add salt to it and mix well.
In a big bowl Add flour. milk powder, and yeast mixture and knead until its a soft dough. Then incorporate the butter in to the dough and divide the dough into 2/3rd and 1/3rd.
Knead the 2/3rd dough into a smooth and elastic dough, place them in a bowl and Cover them with oiled Cling film and allow them to rest till it doubles the side.
Mix the 2 tbsp water and cocoa to a paste  and incorporate them to the 1/3 part of the dough. Knead them to a soft elastic dough , cover them the same and allow to rest till it doubles the size.
Knock back both dough and let it rest for 5 minutes on the counter, cover both dough.
Flatten the chocolate dough into a rectangle shape of approximately 6 x 9 inches and the white dough to 12 x 6 inches. Layer the chocolate rectangle in between the white rectangle. Flatten the rectangle and cut in 2 equal portions. Layer one piece on top of the other and flatten again. Repeat this procedure a couple of times.



Cut the flatten dough into 3 equal pieces. Then again cut into 3 equal strips. Gently roll the strips and place 3 together and make a braid. Place the braided bread in the tins. Cover the tins with plastic film and let them rise in a warm place until the dough has almost tripled its original size.
Bake in pre-heated oven @ 180*C for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from oven and brush them with melted butter
Remove from tin and Cool.
Slice n Serve!!

For more details here is de link: http://simplerecipes.me/chocolate-marble-asian-bread-recipe/

 The name by itself sounds sooo colorful , Baked this bread for HBC group and this month's theme was Bread,. thanks to Priya Suresh and Manjula Kanted was having such a fun making this bread, My six year old son who helped in mixing the colours and is eagerly waiting for the bread to be baked. It is super soft and pleasure to eyes. With this measurement you would get two loafs of bread. But I made this bread with half the recipe only. Lets move to the recipe





You need:

Warm water                                  2 1/2cups
Sugar                                            1tbsp
Active dry yeast                            2 1/2 tsp
Bread flour / All purpose flour        7cups
Salt                                               1tbsp
Room Temperature Butter             4tbsp
Melted Butter                                2 tbsp
More flour for dusting

Liquid Food Colors- Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Green, Purple( mix red and blue)



Preparation:

In a big bowl add the warm water, Sugar, Yeast and mix well, Allow the yeast to ferment for at least 15 minutes.
To the fermented mixture add salt, dissolve it completely. Now to it add 4 cups of flour, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Keep this mixture aside for 10 minutes.
Add the remaining two cup of flour ( one by one) to the mixture.
Bring the dough to a flat surface , incorporate the butter to it and knead to a smooth elastic  dough.
Divide the dough into two.
I used only one half of the dough, the remaining dough you can use to make pull apart monkey bread.
Now divide the one half of the dough into 6 parts and place them in 6 different bowls, Cover with a wet tea towel.



Remove one piece from a bowl and place it on a plastic cutting board (or any surface you're willing to cover with food coloring). Add several drops of food coloring ( start with 10 drops and keep adding as you go).
Using gloves to prevent your hands from getting dyed, begin to knead the food coloring into the dough, adding more food coloring until it is fully incorporated. This takes some time; just be patient and it will come together!
Shape dough into a ball and return to its bowl. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, dye each dough with different color (red + blue makes purple), being sure to wash your hands/gloves and your work surface between each color.
Cover the Dough with oiled cling film and let the dough rise say about 1- 1/2 hours.
Lightly dust the working surface with flour and and roll each dough  into 8 by 4" rectangle. and  place them one on top another according to VIBGYOR format.



Roll up dough tightly from the short end into a loaf. Place loaf in a lightly greased 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Cover with a tea towel or oiled  plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Brush melted butter and bake in a Pre- heated oven @ 180*-200* C for about 30-35 minutes.
It should sound hollow when the bottom of the bread is tapped.
Allow the bread to cool and Slice
Enjoy this moist bread with butter!!

Note:
While you dye if you feel the dough is difficult to handle then you can dust some flour and incorporate the colors to the dough.

My choice of Cookie for the last month challenge of Home Bakers Challenge. Every time I look into this cookie I usually have butterflies automatically. But somehow built-up my courage to make them. It was a success at the first time itself, the only difficulty faced was cutting the small hole in the cookie, got success after 3-4 trials. But such a beauty on its own, A crowd pleaser. Thanks to Vijidarmaraj of nathivg.blogspot.com for choosing them.




You need:

All purpose Flour                   3 1/2cups +flour for dusting
Salt                                        1/4tsp
Unsalted Butter                       1 1/4cups
Granulated Sugar                    1 cup
Vanilla Essence                       1 tsp
Strawberry Jam                       3/4 cup
Icing Sugar



Preparation:

 Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C.
 In a bowl mix together butter and sugar until they are just combined.
 Add the vanilla essence to it and mix.
 Sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter and sugar mixture and  make it to a dough.
 Dust flour on working surface, Put the dough and make it into a disc. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.



 Roll the dough into ¼ inch thick and cut into desired shapes. In ½ of the cut cookie, cut a hole from the middle . Place them on greased tray .
 Bake the cookies for about 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool.
Dust the icing sugar on the cut cookie not the whole one. Now sandwich them with jam cut cookie facing on top. Enjoy!!

I have been making the layered cake for so many years but its the first time I am using mango in it. Prepared this cake for a small get together and voila it was a hit. thanks to Home Bakers Challenge for the inspiration.

My 200th post and celebrating it with this  yummilicious cake for the Home Bakers Challenge organised by Priya Suresh, actually Iam baking this cake twice the first time I made his It got burnt due to high temperature. Last time I baked the egg and butter version found them to be a lot dense but this time decided to go with the eggless version and it turned out to be good, actually this is the first time Iam using mangoes for baking and loved the flavour of it in a cake. love mango in any form without any further story lets move on to the recipe



You need:

All purpose flour                               2 cups
Baking powder                                  1 1/2tsp
Baking soda                                      1/2tsp
Salt                                                    1/2tsp
Sugar                                                 3/4cup
Cocoa powder                                   1/4cup mixed with 2tbsp warm water




Oil                                                     5tbsp
Vanilla essence                                 1tsp
Mango pulp                                       1 cup
Milk                                                  1/4cup
Yoghurt                                            1/4cup




Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350*f
Sieve the flour, baking powder, soda, salt together
Mix the sugar with oil then add mango pulp, milk yoghurt  ,and vanilla essence
To it add the sieved flour and mix well.



To half the batter add cocoa mix.
Grease the mini cake pans and fill in the batter alternating between mango and chocolate.
Bake in the middle rack for 40-45 min
Allow them to cool and Enjoy the cake