Nachos

A Mexican dish which is very popular , nachos in its most basic form, consists of tortilla chips topped with lots of melted cheese. To this basic form, you can add ingredients of your choice like black beans, roasted corn, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos and onions. No matter what ingredients you choose to add, this snack is a crowd pleaser. Here is my version of this dish.

What you need:

Tortilla chips
Black beans - 1 can
Red onion - 1 small, chopped
Corn - 1/2 cup
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Salt
Grated cheese - a generous amount

Spread the tortilla chips in a single layer on a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, combine the drained beans, onion, corn, cumin powder and salt. Mix well. Spread this mixture evenly over the chips. Top with grated cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit until the cheese melts.
Serve with guacamole, sour cream and salsa on the side.

This is my second post for Week 2 of BM#78 under the theme Oceanic Cuisine - dishes from countries that are bordered by two or more oceans.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM# 78

Quick Veggie Sandwich

Sandwiches are some of the easiest lunches to put together. With a good, hearty bread on hand,, there's nothing to not like about a sandwich. To me, a good sandwich is one that doesn't get soggy in the lunch box. I've found that a layer of thick dips like hummus/guacamole usually keeps the liquid from the vegetables from seeping into the bread and making it soggy. This sandwich is one that I often pack for myself on week days to work. This is a highly adaptable recipe, and you can use any choice of fillings as per your taste.

What you need:
Bread (I love tomato basil bread and that's what I've used)
Guacamole
Vegetables (I've used, red onions, tomatoes and cucumber) -sliced into thin rounds
Grated cheese (I've used white cheddar)

Spread a thick layer of guacamole on one slice of bread. Top it with vegetables and grated cheese. Close with another slice of bread and if you like, slice it into half.

A week day lunch cannot get simpler than that, can it?

This is my first entry for Week 2 of Blogging Marathon #77, under the theme Healthy Weekday lunches.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

The best whole wheat garlic bread recipe ever

For someone who hadn't tasted garlic before marriage, I sure have come a long way. This is one thing that is still not bought at my parents'. I, though, have developed a taste for the pungent bulb in certain dishes. Garlic bread is a favourite in our household and we are partial to the one served at Dominos. I tried recreating that at home using this recipe as the base and then tweaking it to suit my taste. I have made this using only whole wheat, no maida/APF at all.


What you need : (Recipe source : Veg Nation)
Whole wheat flour : 1 cup + 1/2 cup (The original recipe uses APF)
Instant yeast - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 7 cloves - peeled and ground/crushed coarsely
Olive oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Water - Start with 1/2 a cup and then add more if needed. I used a little over 3/4 cups.
Italian seasoning - 2 tsp
Grated cheddar - 2 tbsp

Add instant yeast sugar, salt, 1 tbsp of olive oil and lukewarm water to 1 cup of the flour. Knead gently till the mixture just comes together. Cover and set aside until it doubles in volume. Once it doubles, punch the dough down, add the remaining flour and ground garlic and knead again to a smooth dough. Cover and let it rise until double again.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a circle. Spread the grated cheese over it and then fold the circle in half over itself to make a semi-circle. Seal the edges by pressing well. Spread the remaining oil on top of the dough and sprinkle seasoning over it.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy warm.

This post goes to PJ who is hosting Valli's Kid's Delight themed on Baked Treats.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 37

Herb and cheese pull apart bread

To bake good bread has been a dream of mine for  a while now and so, when Aparna who blogs at My Diverse Kitchen and is an accomplished baker called for people to join her in baking a bread a month through this year, I did so without thinking twice about it. The very first bread that our group which is called We Knead to Bake has baked is a herb and cheese pull apart bread. Aparna gave us the basic recipe and the freedom to alter the ingredients as per our taste. I am glad that I didn't do much altering and that the bread proved to be quite a hit at home.

 What you need: 

For the Dough: 

Warm milk - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Instant yeast - 1 tbsp
All-purpose flour - 3 cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Butter, soft at room temperature  - 25 gms which is approx 2 tbsp
Garlic paste - from 7 or 8 cloves of garlic
Milk - 3/4 cup + a couple of tbsp to brush over the bread
For the Filling:
Melted butter - 1 to 1.5 tbsp
Finely chopped corrainder/cilantro - a handful
Crushed ajwain/omam/caraway seeds - 1 tbsp

Grated cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup (I used cheese that was flavoured with pepper....if using plain cheese, you could add crushed pepper to the filling if desired)

Method:

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, instant yeast and the 1/2 cup of warm milk. To this, add the flour, salt, softened butter and garlic paste. Mix well and knead to a smooth, pliable dough.

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat it completely with oil. Cover and let it rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until almost double in volume.
Dust your work surface lightly with flour. Deflate the dough, shape it into a square and roll the dough out into a larger square that is about 12’ by 12”. Brush the surface of the square with the melted butter.
Evenly sprinkle the chopped corrainder, ajwain and then the grated cheese. Gently run a rolling pin over the topping to ensure that it doesn't fall off later when you are stacking the bread.
Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, slice the dough from top to bottom into 6 long and even strips.
Lay each strip on top of the next, with the topping facing upwards, until you have a stack of the strips
You can put the 2 strips cut from the sides in the middle of the stack so it looks neater. Usinga pastry scraper or a sharp knife, cut straight down through the stack dividing it into 6 equal pieces (6 square stacks).
The stacking of strips is what I was not able to do, mainly I think, due to the fact that I had not dusted my work surface with enough flour and the strips were at risk of getting torn. So I decided to roll the strips from one end to the other, making six humongous rolls. I then arranged these rolls side by side in a round baking pan.

Cover the pan with a moist towel and allow the dough to rise further for an hour.
Lightly brush some milk over the top of the rolls. Bake the dough at 180C (350F) for about 30 to 40 minutes until it is done and the top is golden brown.

Taste wise, this is a wonderful bread, and paired with soup, makes for a filling meal. I will definitely be baking this again, and hopefully, will get the stacking part right this time so that the bread will look as good as it tastes.