COLORD BREAD WITH SPINACH AND CARROT

Weekly one time I bake bread for breakfast, last week when I was baking got bored with white or simple wheat bread every week and I wanted to bake some thing new. And I started searching for a new and interesting bread recipe and I came though some colored bread recipes but most of those recipes are colored with food colors. Maximum I avoid food colors in my cooking so what to do I was thinking… I wanted to make my bread more interesting and healthy. Opened my diary and searching if I got any ideas from that... long back I made colored chapatti with spinach and beetroot so now I thought why didn't I that same method in bread making hurrrrrrrry it worked and here is the beautiful colored bread with natural colors here I go………….
FOR SPINACH DOUGH:-----
Wheat flour – 2 cups
Yeast – 1 teasp
Sugar – 1 tea sp
Cumin seeds – 1 teasp (lightly roasted and crushed)
Spinach paste – 1 tab sp
Garlic – 1 tab sp crushed
Salt – 1/4 tea sp
Egg – 1 (optional)
Milk powder – 1 tab sp (optional)
Butter – 1 tab sp softened

METHOD:----
1. In 1/2 cup warm water add yeast and 1 tea sp sugar and mix well and leave in a warm place for 10 min. to rise and become creamy and bubbly.
2. Now in a big bowl add butter, flour and salt and rub well then add egg, milk powder spinach paste, crushed garlic, crushed cumin seeds and yeast mixture and make soft dough
3. Then place this dough on a floured surface and knead for 10 min. or till dough become smooth and elastic.
4. And place the dough again in the same big bowl grease little butter on top and cover and leave in a warm place for 1 - 2 hours or till it become double in size..
FOR CARROT DOUGH:--
All purpose flour – 2 cups
Yeast 1 tea sp
Sugar – 1 tea sp
Milk powder – 1 tab (optional)
Egg – 1 (optional)
Carrot paste – 2 tab sp s
Butter – 1 tab sp softened
Salt a big pinch
METHOD
1. Same as like spinach dough in 1/2 cup warm water add yeast and 1 tea sp sugar and mix well and leave in a warm place for 10 min. to raise and become creamy and bubbly.
2. Then add flour, salt butter and rub well and then add carrot paste, milk powder, and egg and yeast mixture and make soft dough.
3. Then place this dough on a floured surface and knead for 10 min. or till dough become smooth and elastic.
4. And place the dough again in the same big bowl grease a little butter on top and cover and leave in a warm place for 1 - 2 hours or till it become double in size.

5. Now after the dough raised up punch back both dough s and knead for 2 min on a floured surface
6. Now take the spinach dough on a floured surface and roll in to a thick circle.
7. Then take the carrot dough on a floured surface and make same sized thick circle like spinach dough.
8. Now place the both circles on top of the other and roll like a swirl (like a Swiss roll) and close the both ends with little milk.
9. Place this roll in a greased loaf pan in a warm place till it became double in size.
10. In the same time pre heat the oven at 350 degree F or 175 degree c. or in gas mark 5 for 10 min.
11 Reduce the temperature to 250 degree F /120 degree C/gas mark 3 and bake for Now brush the roll with milk on top and bake it on a pre heated oven for 25-30 min. or till it turn golden color then remove from oven and leave it a side and let it cool before serving.
12. Slice the colored bread after it cool down and enjoy as a breakfast with eggs or jam or cheese.
If you want you can use All purpose flour in the place of wheat flour.
Can remove the eggs from this ingredients list if you don't like to add egg s in the dough.

DOSAKAYA MUKKALA PACHADI (CUCUMBER CHUTNEY)

Yellow cucumber is one of the favorite vegetables in Andhra pradesh which is well known as Dosakaya.according to wikipedia cucumbers are originated in India and there are many varietie s of cucumbers are caltivating in India. Espicially in andhra pradesh this yellow cucumbers are commonly used as a vegetable in curries,sambar and dosakaya pappu and dosa avakaya is very famous and also as achutney too.And according to Ayurveda cucumber is a cool vegetable, for this reason it is used widely as a treatmet to remove dark circles around eyes.Cool juices of cucumber helps to reduce body heat. We use cucumber a lot in cooking espicially as spicy chutnies and here I am with a spicy chutney recipe with yellow cucumber DOSAKAYA MUKKALA PACHADI........

INGREDIENTS:---
Dosakaya(yellow cucumber) --- 1 medium size
Green chilli s -- 5 no.
Red chillis -- 3no.
Urad dal -- 5 tea sp
Fenugreek seeds --- 5 seeds
Mustard seeds -- 1/2 tea sp
Tamarind --- 1 inch pieces -- 2no
Turmeric -- 1/4 tea sp
Asafoetida -- 1/4 tea sp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves -- 1 tab sp chopped
Oil --- 6 tea sp

METHOD:----
1. Peel the skin of yellow cucumber cut in to half and check the taste,some times this yellow cucumber are in little bitter taste that will spoil the chutney taste.
2. So check the taste and remove the seeds in to a bowl and leave a side.
3. Then cut the cucumber in to small pieces and leave a side.
4. Now heat 2 tea sp s oil in a fry pan and add green and red chilies, fenugreek seeds and 2&1/2 tea sp s urad dal and fry till light brown color.
5. Now add salt to taste, turmeric, tamarind pieces, cucumber seeds and a tab sp of cucumber pieces to this and grind in to a fine paste.
6. Now add this paste to cucumber pieces mix well.
7. Heat remaining oil in a pan and add mustared seeds and let them popup then add asafoetida remove from heat and add this to pachadi then add chopped coriander leaves mix well.
8. Serve with hot rice and a drop of ghee...

VINAYAKA CHAVITI POOJA

VINAYAKA CHAVITI SUBHAKANKHALU - HAPPY GANESH CHATURTHI TO ALL
OM GAM GANAPATIYE NAMO NAMAHA

Vinayaka chaviti well known as Ganesh chaturthi also which is Lord Ganesha's birth day who is the God of wisdom and prosperity. Ganesh chaturthi is celebrated every year on Bhadrapada monthSuddha chaviti day means fourth day after no- moon dayand it continue for 10 days. In this festival Ganesha idol is important, I always prefer Eco friendly so in my childhood also we use to brought a clay idol now after I came hear to UAE I started making Ganesha idol by my self with terracotta clay

MY GANESHA IS GETTING READY FOR POOJA
Second important thing in this pooja is Pathri pooja (patri means leaves) and reading story of Ganesha.

And next important is neyvedayam (food offerings to God) they are...
Kudumulu --- Rice flour dumplings stuffed with coconut and jaggery mixture.
Vundrallu --- steamed coarsely grounded rice flour ball s.
Poornalu (poornam boorelu) --- deep fried lentil and jaggery mixture stuffed rice flour dumplings.
Garelu (vada) – deep fried lentil doughnuts
Chalividi – cooked rice flour and jaggery mixture.
Panakam --- jaggery, black pepper and cardamom flavored drink.
Vadapappu – soaked and moong lentils.
Palatalikalu – rice noodles cooked in milk and jaggery water.
Lemon rice – rice mixed with lemon juice.
Ohh today I am very tired so will post the recipe in my next post.
Enjoy the festival

BIRTHDAY CAKE (PLAINCAKE)

It's my husband s birthday last Thursday I made this cake. For this cake base I used old simple cake recipe which my mom use to make. In those days my mom use to blend the cake mixture with a wooden spoon for long time because we don't have mixee to powder sugar so she use to mix sugar, eggs together mix till sugar melts and the mixture became like a cream so this process use to take a long time. And also she uses to bake the cake in a pressure cooker. My mom had that 12lte prestige pressure cooker so she use to pour sand in the bottom of the pressure cooker and then arrange a steel stand preheat for 10 min. and then place the cake tin and bake in a medium flame for 10 min. and then in a low flame till nice cake smell comes out. When ever amma bake this cake we find the aroma from the gate it self mmmmm golden childhood days…………Here I go with the plain cake recipe.

INGREDIENTS: ----
Flour --- 250 gm. (all-purpose/ maida)
Sugar – 250gm.
Butter – 250 gm.
Eggs – 4 no.
Vanilla essence --- 1 tea sp
Baking powder – 1&1/2 tea sp
Milk --- 1/2 cup
METHOD:---
1. Preheat the oven at 350 degree F or 175 degree c. or in gas mark 5 for 10 min.
2. Grease a 9inch- 9 inch round cake tin and dust with little flour and leave a side.
3. In a bowl cream to gather butter and sugar and then add eggs on by one and blend till it become like a cream.
4. Then add vanilla essence and mix well.
5. Shift flour and baking powder to combine to gather and then add little by little to the eggs, butter and sugar mixture mix well.
6. Now add 1/2 cup milk and mix well till all the ingredients are combine well to gather.
7. Now pour the cake mixture in to the prepared cake tin and reduce the temperature to 250 degree F /120 degree C/gas mark 3 and bake for 30 – 40 min. or skewer inserted in to the center comes out clean.
FOR BUTTER ICING:---
Vegetable shortening --- 1/2 cup
Butter – 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract – 1 tea sp
Confectioners sugar --- 4 cups
Milk – 2 tab sp
In a bowl cream shortening, butter,
And vanilla then add sugar one cup at a time and mix well each time then add milk and beat till light and fluffy cover till you decorate the cake other wise icing will get hard.

MANUGUPOOLU

Manugupoolu is one of the variety of very famous tea time snack in allover India, well known as Muruku or mullmuruku in some places.Manugupoolu is the name of this veriety muruku in Andhra Pradesh, all the recipe is same as other muruku recipe but little different in the shape and recipe too.
This recipe is requested by some of my viewers and my fellow blogger and friend Aparna prabu of Aps kitchen, so here I go with the recipe friends check it out………………..

INGREDIENTS:----
Rice flour ---- 2 cups
Fried chick pea flour (putnalu, porikadalai, hurigadala.daliya, chutney dal, veyinchina senagapappu) - 1/2 cup (dry roast fried chick peas till little warm and grind them in to a fine powder)
Chick pea flour (besan, senagapindi, kadala mavu) --- 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Butter – 1 tab sp (you can use oil)
Red chili powder --- 1 1/2 tea sp (according to your taste)
Vamu (Ajwain, carom seeds) --- 1 tab sp
Seasame seeds – 2 tab sp
Oil for frying
METHOD:-----
1. In a big bowl mix 3 flours, salt to taste, Red chili powder, vaamu and seasame seeds mix well.
2. Heat 2 tab sp oil in a pan and add this oil to the flour mixture and mix with a spoon. If you want to add butter then no need to melt or heat the butter just add 1tab sp butter and rub with your hand and mix well.
3. Now add enough water and knead in to a soft dough
4. In the same time heat enough oil in a deep frying pan for deep frying the Manugupoolu.
5. Fix the disc with star hole in the chakrala press ( muruku maker) and press on top of a polythene sheet.
6. Now lift them from the sheet and drop in to hot oil and fry till golden color in a very low flame.
7. If you fry them in a high flame they won't cook properly and become hard so fry them in a very low flame it will take time but result will be great and you can get yummy and crispy manugupoolu.

8. And some more tip's I want to share with you all is when you are pressing manugupoolu, press them on the back side of a round ladle and slowly drop it with ladle this prevents oil burnings on your hand.
9. Make sure you dough is soft and is enough to press through from the muruku press If your dough is hard then when you drop muruku in to hot oil they break in to smal pieces and oil will spoil. so dough should be very soft(like a sticky chapathi dough)
10. Wet your hands and dick every time when you are filling the dough in to murukumaker. This will be very help full in pressing muruku.
Hope you all like my recipe and enjoy your snack with a cup of coffee..

VENNA VUNDALU - SWEET BUTTER BALL 'S

Venna undalu is one of the special sweet for Krishna janmashtami (Lord Sri Krishna s birthday) and also a traditional sweet from Andhra Pradesh. Venna undalu- butter ball s, small sweet ball s made with butter.
Krishna janmashtami is a festival that we celebrate in India on the eighth day after the full moon day in Sravana month which falls in the month of August. Devotees of Lard Krishna observe fast for the full day till mid night (midnight is the Lord Sri Krishna's birth time till that time).On this special day we prepare some special dishes with butter and also we offer fresh butter to Lord Krishna. This venna undalu is one of the special sweet that we make especially on this auspicious day

Normally I make vennaundalu only with maida (all-purpose flour) but when I saw the recipe in Hari chandana s blog she added 1/4 cup rice flour too and they looks so nice in color and crisp. So I adopted that step from her, Thank you so much Chandana for this nice idea they came out very well and crisp not hard but soft and crisp. Check my version of making venna undalu here is the recipe………
INGREDIENTS:----
Maida (all purpose flour) --- 1 cup
Rice flour --- 1/4 cup
Salt a pinch
Butter --- 2 tab sp
Sugar --- 1 cup
Cardamom powder --- 1 tea sp
Milk – 1/2 cup
Cooking soda --- a pinch
Oil for deep frying

METHOD:---
1. Mix both flours and cooking soda, salt then add butter and mix well and rub between your palms and make like bread crumbs.
2. That should be like in the down pic. If you hold it in your hand that should become like a ball like in the pic.

3. Then add milk and make soft dough and cover with a wet cloth and leave a side for 1 hour.
4. After 1 hour remove the cloth and make small balls out of this dough and leave them in a plate again cover with the cloth and leave a side for some time.
5. Now heat oil in deep frying pan and drop this ball s in to the hot oil and fry in a low flame till nice brown in color.
6. Now in a heavy bottom pan take sugar, water and boil till sugar dissolves in to water .
7. Now remove from the heat and strain this syrup in to another heavy bottom pan (this processes is to remove any dart from the sugar).
8. Now bring back this syrup to the heat and bring to a full boil now you can see lot of bubbling and rising to the surface stir continually and cook till when you drop a bit of this syrup in to cold water it will solidify like a ball.
9. When syrup reaches this stage immediately add the fried butter balls and cardamom powder
10. Mix well to coat the syrup on the balls well and spread them on a plate (otherwise they stick to gather) and let the butter balls cool.
Then offer them to Lord Sri Krishna and then serve.

WATERMELON SAMBAR (WATER MELON IN LENTIL GRAVY)

Watermelon sambar yes what you reading are right. I made sambar with water melon. Usually I make watermelon kuttu and it taste just like white pumpkin kuttu (boodida gummadi kaya) then I got this idea of making sambar with watermelon. As I said before that white part of watermelon in very nutritious with lots of water content so I don’t want to waste it. Some how I make sure to use it every time and this time I cut the white part with little bit of red part too. Sambar taste just awesome with very little sweet taste. Check it out here how I made it………..

FOR SAMBAR POWDER:---
Coriander seeds --- 1 tea sp
Cumin seeds --- 1/2 tea sp
Black pepper corns --- 1/4 tea sp
Fenugreek seeds --- 6 seeds
Channa dal (split chick peas) --- 1 tea sp
Dry roast all above ingredients in a fry pan and add a big pinch of asafetida just before removing from heat.
Let it cool for some time and grind in to a fine powder
Cover and leave it a side.
FOR SAMBAR:----
Tuvar dal (split pigeon peas, kandi pappu) ---- 1/2 cup
Turmeric --- 1/2 tea sp
Tamarind --- 5 Gms. (1 medium size lemon sized tamarind)
Salt to taste
Red chili powder --- 1/2 tea sp

FOR SEASONING:---
Oil --- 2 tab sp
Mustard seeds --- 1 tea sp
Red chilies – 2 broken
Curry leaves – 2 springs.
1 tab sp chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.
FOR WATERMELON PIECES:----
Cut the watermelon and remove the red fruit part and peel the green skin and take the white part and cut in to 2 in size pieces.
METHOD:------
1. Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 min and extract the juice with 1 cup of water and leave a side.
2. Wash and soak dal for 1/2 hour and cook with 1/4 tea sp turmeric and cook till soft and remove from heat mash a little bit and leave a side.
3. Now add water melon pieces to tamarind juice and add salt to taste remaining turmeric and red chili powder and cook till watermelon pieces become tender and raw smell of the tamarind disappears.
4. Then add cooked and mashed tuvar dal mix well and bring to a full boil and check the salt if require adjust.
5. Now add ground sambar powder mix well and again bring to a full boil and let it cook for few min.
6. Now in a fry pan heat oil and add mustard seed and let them popup then add red chilies and curry leaves and add the seasoning to sambar and switch of the flame cover and leave a side for some time(at least for 1/2 hour)
7. Then sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top and serve hot with rice or idli s
ENJOY YOUR MEAL.
And I am sending this watermelon sambar to Monthly Mingle-Marvelous Melons at Chew On That. and this mingle was started by Meeta of What's For Lunch Honey?

SIMPLE EGG SANDWICH

Bread and egg s are always a hit combination in breakfast. This bread butter and jam or eggs in breakfast came to India with English people I think, before that we Indian people don't know what bread is especially South Indians. What we use to have for breakfast Idli, Dosa, Upma, pesarattu in Andhra These are the special breakfast s what normally people use to eat as breakfast in villages is more healthy then this Idli, Dosa and all other things that is ragi ambali(ganji finger millet gruel), jonna sankati (porridge) or annam ganji(rice gruel). These breakfast dishes are good for health and nutritious too any way coming to bread and eggs is use to be a rich men's breakfast few years back but now a days every one like to have bread butter and jam in there breakfast and that's became like a fashion also, of course a easy idea for a working women too. But so many people I have seen having there breakfast as just 1 slice bread toast with butter and a cup of coffee or tea is it ok for a person who is walking a long way to catch a bus for going to there work place and do work for the whole day…………… I don't think sooo, what you people say? For me break fast is important, I like to take a full means heavy breakfast after that a simple salad is enough for my lunch….

Ok coming to eggs,Eggs are high in protein and very nutritious, but with high in cholesterol too 1egg a day is good for health I think with out yolk is much better isn’t it!? Now a day s we are getting Eggs with omega 3 fatty acids in market (I don't know if we are getting them in India).this omega3 eggs are made by feeding hens a diet containing polyunsaturated fat and kelp meal. The brand that is bringing this to the market they are giving this information on this egg s packet and of course there is a difference in nutritional values in each brand. I feel they taste better then normal eggs and here I am with my to day s recipe EGG SANDWICH with little spicy taste…………

INGREDIENTS:---
Bread slices ---- 4 (brown or white bread as you like)
Hard boiled egg --- 1
Coriander, mint, green chili paste – 1 tea sp (take 1 tab sp coriander leaves, a few mint leaves and 1 or 2 hot green chilies and grind with little water in to a fine paste or if you have green chutney that will be fine)
Mayonnaise or cream cheese spread --- 1 tab sp
Salt --- a big pinch
Pepper powder --- a big pinch
METHOD:----
Slice the hard boiled egg
Spread green chutney on 2 bread slices
Spread cream cheese or mayonnaise on other 2 slices
Now place the sliced eggs on the green chutney layered bread slices and close with cream cheese layered bread slices and cut in to triangles and serve with a glass of fresh orange juice and fresh vegetable salad.
Enjoy your breakfast.

VANKAYA - ALU PULUSU FROM MAHANANDI (EGGPLANT AND POTATO CURRY)

Brianjal is a favorite vegetable in all over India, especially in Andhra we know this as vankaya and we make a dry curry well known as Gutti vankaya kura . This gutthi vankaya kura is all time favorite in all Andhra homes, other curries what we make in Andhra with brinjal vankaya pulusu and vankaya bangaladumpakura(brinjal and potato curry).normally I make brinjal and potato curry as a dry curry for sambar rice or a side dish for roti. When I saw this gravy curry in Indira s place I just love the recipe and her pic. s made me drool According to wiki this delicious brinjal is native to India and a very effective in the treatment of high blood cholesterol. And here I go with the recipe…….

INGREDIENTS:----
Brinjals – 3 (green)
Potato – 1 small peeld and cut in to cubes
Ripe tomatoes --- 3 chopped finely
Onion --- 1 small sliced
Coconut powder --- 1 tab sp
Poppy seeds --- 1 tab sp ( here I didn't have poppy seeds so I replace them with melon seeds)
Ginger, garlic and coriander leaves paste --- 1 tea sp
Red chili powder -- 1 tea sp
Turmeric powder --- 1/2 tea sp
Oil --- 1 tab sp
Mustard seeds --- 1 tea sp
Cumin seeds --- 1/2 tea sp

grind poppy seeds or mellon seeds in to a fine powder and keep a side.
Cut brinjals in to medium size quater pieces and drop them in to a half a bowl of salted water ( in a bowl take some water and add a tea sp salt in that water mix well and drop this brinjal pieces this will prevent the color changing in brinjal).
Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds and let them popup then add cumin seeds and then add sliced onion and fry till golden color
Now add chopped tomatoes and fry for a sec. and cover and cook till tomato become soft and mash.
Then now add potato cubes, brinjal pieces, salt to taste, turmeric, red chilli powder,coconut powder, poppy seed powder(or mellon seed powder), ginger,garlic and coriander leaves paste mix well and add 1/2 a cup to 1 cup water.Cook in a medium heat for about 15 to 20 min.or till potatoes are become tender.
remove from heat and serve hot with rice or with ganji.

CARROT CAKE WITHCREAM CHEESE FROSTING FOR SWEET AND SIMPLE BAKES

Sweet & simple bakes this month s baking recipe is a Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting . since I like cakes I wanted to join in this event so I don't know how to join and one day I leave a comment in there blog and they gave me the answer to join them and this months recipe is carrot cake.so I started giving my trying, first one is a big disaster i think I add a more cooking soda so it didn't come out like a loaf. and then second time it came out very well. and it is just awesome perfect sweet and every thing . Before I made carrot muffins but they are egg less(with flex seed powder)but a lot of difference in both recipes check this carrot cake recipe from sweet and simple bakes, it was so soft and delicious but only thing when I was taking the pic. s my frosting was started melting because of U.A.E s hot weather some how I managed that. and here is the recipe.....

INGREDIENTS:----
Self -raising flour --- 180 g
Bicarbonate of soda-- 1/2 tea sp
pinch of salt
Ground cinnamon --- 1 tea sp
Freshly grated net meg --- 1/2 tea sp
Mixed spice(pumpkin spice) --- 1/2 tea sp
Eggs --- 2
Vegetable or sunflower oil -- 150 ml
Soft light dark brown sugar --- 200 gms
Grated carrot --- 300 gms
Sultanas -- 100 gms
Walnuts --- 75 gms

FOR CREAM CHEESE ICING:---
Cream cheese --- 75 g
Softened butter --- 75g
Icing sugar -- 125 g
Vanilla extract --- 1/2 tea sp
FOR DECORATION:
Sprinkles or walnut halves
METHOD:---
1. Grease 13cm 23 cm loaf tin oil and line the loaf tin with grease proof paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 150 c/ 300 f/ Gas mark 2
3. Shift all dry ingredients in to a bowl and leave a side
4. Beat the eggs in alarge bowl, now add the oil,brownsugar, grated carrot, sultans and chopped walnuts.
5. Stir in all sifted dry ingredients and bring the mixture to gather with a wooden spoon.
6. Turn in to the prepared tin,smooth the top of the mixture and bake in the oven for 1 - 1 1/4 hour or till skewer inserted in to the center comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 min. before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:--
Beat the cream cheese and butter to gather in a bowl until combined.
Ad vanilla extract, icing sugar and mix to combine using a palette knife
Spread the frosting evenly over the top of the cooled cake.
Sprinkles or walnuts halves if desired
Serve cut in to slices.