Dal Para(n)thas

(Indian Flatbread)

I made these Parathas with leftover Sambhar (South Indian Dal/Legumes & Veggies). I don't recall the specifics of what was in the Sambhar (as it was from the freezer), but it certainly contained tomatoes. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll mention that these weren't perfect . . . but I sure enjoyed them! Nice for a light meal with some whole-milk yogurt.

Chawla's Kitchen YouTube, Punjabi Dal Paratha / Dal Wali Roti

Aloo Para(n)tha 

(Indian Flatbread with Potato Stuffing)

These were inspired by the videos of Eat East Indian. As I already had leftover cooked potato, I decided to live it up, and make this griddle-cooked flatbread. In the interest of full disclosure, while I enjoyed eating these, I didn't get it quite right on the inside. I say that, because it's important to be able to make whatever you want, even if its not always perfect. They say, practice makes perfect. Now that I have a method and pan that work for me, I can practice more often. In the meantime, these Aloo Para(n)thas have made some nice meals for me, accompanied by applesauce and whole-milk yogurt. 

Eat East Indian Facebook 

East East Indian Youtube, How to make Punjabi-style Aloo Paratha | Indian Potato Flatbread - Aloo Paratha

Eat East Indian YouTube, How to make Aloo Paratha  (Potato Stuffed Indian Flatbread)

Eat East Indian YouTube, Mom's Aloo Paranthas | How my mom makes breakfast for us

Loaf Bread

The dough was kneaded in my mixer. (The recipe is what came with the mixer.) Somehow, the texture of the bread is similar to focaccia I've made before, rather than to the loaf bread I've made before with the same recipe. I like it, but if I get tired of it, this bread may turn into stuffing. 

Blueberry Focaccia

Throwback to: Blueberry Focaccia, posted a couple of weeks ago. Here it is featured by itself, in all its glory. To quote from my previous post: "The Blueberry Focaccia is my variation of the Sweet Grape Focaccia in Lauren Chattman's Moms Big Book of Baking. I just replaced the grapes with fresh blueberries. The bread rose so nicely, that I could easily cut a slit in the middle, and fill it with the ricotta. I've also tried it with some ricotta spread over the blueberries, which is quite good. It might be nice to use for baked French toast."

Egg Bread

This is based on the Egg Parathas of @thegutlessfoodie on Instagram. After adding a little oil to a pan, I poured in a beaten egg. Instead of a Paratha (Indian flatbread), I used what I had: a slice of Italian bread, which I placed in the egg. I melted a little coconut oil on the other side of the bread. When the egg was done, I turned the whole thing over, to brown the second side of the bread. It was very good. 

Paniyaram-Papadum Upma Bread Pizza

This is the last in what has apparently become a series, "How to Use Up Leftover Paniyaram." (You can check out recent posts for details about Paniyaram, if you like.) Yesterday's post showed Paniyaram and Papadum, broken up and cooked with spices to make an Upma. The day after that photo, I decided to go a step further: I spread some store-bought pasta sauce on toast, before topping it with the Upma, and popping it all in the microwave. Then, I sprinkled over it, some Bhujia Sev (crispy fried noodles made from legume flour). Afterwards, I cut it into bite-size pieces. Another odd experiment, that turned out fairly tasty. It's amazing how many kinds of leftovers can be turned into sandwiches and pizza!

Iraqi Chickpea Sambousek, 

Manga Pachadi (Mango Chutney), 

& Bread Gulab Jamun

This is another late-evening snack-meal, consisting of: leftover Iraqi Chickpea Sambousek (like baked samosas), Manga Pachadi (Mango Chutney), and Bread Gulab Jamun (upper right).

The gulab jamun recipe is from Kabita's Kitchen, and features dumplings made of bread and milk. I added too much milk, so then I had to add flour, but it was still a very sticky dough. That's why the dumpling doesn't look like the usual. Also, as I can't eat deep-fried food, I decided to bake them, instead. Several recipes online suggested baking at 325 F, and then putting them under the broiler. I don't like the broiler, so I just increased the temperature to 425 F. After it was baked, I soaked the gulab jamun in sugar-syrup, which contained rosewater as well as some coconut-sugar syrup.

It was close enough to real gulab jamun for me, for now. I'm sure I'll try it again, some time soon. The last time (actually the first time) I made gulab jamun, long ago, it came out exactly as it was supposed to, and I'd like to try to achieve that again.

Kabita's Kitchen Website, Bread Gulab Jamun Recipe

Kabita's Kitchen YouTube, Bread Gulab Jamun Recipe

Muffin Rolls 
(a.k.a. Yeast Herb Buns, 

Without the Herbs)

Throwback: A 1980s cookbook called these Herb Buns, but since I left out the herbs, I guess you could call them Muffin Rolls. They're made from a yeast batter/dough that doesn't require kneading, just stirring. The dough is very sticky, so it can be difficult. However, the rising times are less than usual for a yeast bread. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, so I was glad to find the rolls to be fairly light. I really enjoyed them.

Homemade Breadsticks 

These are based on BrownEyedBaker's recipe for Copycat Pizza Hut Breadsticks. (I made these to go along with some homemade spinach-kale dip.) Now, as I had to modify the recipe -- I can't have dry-milk powder, instant yeast, or butter -- the breadsticks don't look like they're from Pizza Hut. However, as I didn't expect them to look exactly like that, I wasn't disappointed. 

These breadsticks are fine, for me, as they resemble focaccia, which I enjoy munching on. If you can make the recipe as-is, with all the suggested ingredients, then I'm sure that would be delicious, too! Now at least I know a good method for making breadsticks, and can experiment with different doughs as well as trying this one again. Thanks, BrownEyedBaker!

BrownEyedBaker Website, Copycat Pizza Hut Breadsticks

BrownEyedBaker Facebook

Harcha (Moroccan Bread)

Throwback to: Harcha, from Morocco, made according the recipe of Cooking with Alia. I usually see these described as "bread." They remind me of English muffins, the way you can split them in half. I especially liked making an Egg McHarcha filled with scrambled egg!

Unfortunately, as I can't have butter, I did have to leave that out of this, and use oil, instead. However, now that I am experimenting with coconut oil, I should try it again, using that.

Cooking with Alia Website, 310 - Harcha - Moroccan Semolina Bread

Cooking with Alia YouTube, Harcha - Moroccan Semolina Bread - Episode 310

Grape Focaccia [2] / Sweet Focaccia with Grapes

This bread is from the recipe in Mom's Big Book of Baking, by Lauren Chattman. It is different from the other one that I posted a photo of a few weeks ago, in that: this version specifically calls for red grapes, and there's only one layer of dough. At that time, I had 2 lbs of red grapes, so I needed to make more than one focaccia to use them all up. Both focaccias were delicious, and seemed to freeze well. They make a nice snack, and are good to accompany breakfast.

Basic White Bread

Basic White Bread, one dough, 2 different loaves. For one person, I sure can eat a lot of bread, when I'm in the mood. I wonder what this bread will turn into . . . Will it become grilled veggie sandwiches? French toast? Chocolate bread (spread with melting chocolate chips)? Or will it become something new, some yummy delight that I've recently seen online? Hmm . . . 

This recipe is from the manual/recipe book that came with my Cuisinart stand-mixer. It was fairly simple, especially after making this bread a few times.

5 Ingredients Homemade Challah (Braided Bread)

This is a festive braided eggless bread, from a recent recipe by Lil Cookie. It sounded so simple, and it was! I used a mixer to knead the dough, so the hardest part was stretching the strands used for the braid. I used 2 Tbsp of honey for the sweetener (in addition to a little sugar when I proofed the yeast separately, to be on the safe side). Also, I used bread flour, as a) I had it, and b) I didn't have too much regular flour left and didn't want to run out. I couldn't quite get my challah to look exactly like in the recipe, but, as I hadn't made challah in a very long time, and as I really have enjoyed eating the bread, I'm satisfied.

@lilcookieblog Instagram, Feb. 22, 5 Ingredients Homemade Challah

Lil Cookie Website, 5 Ingredients Homemade Challah

Lil Cookie Facebook

Harcha-Bread Pakora, stuffed with Gingered Peas

The Harcha is from the photo of 2 days ago, and I guess I did make bread pakora out of it, after all! (Basically, I stuffed the Harcha bread with veggies, dunked it in a chickpea-flour batter, and fried it.) The Gingered Peas are based on a Suvir Saran recipe from Indian Home Cooking. As I can't eat deep-fried food, I pan-fried it, instead. (Besides, deep-frying this behemoth, would be like trying to deep fry a battle cruiser. 😄 ) I liked it so much, that I ate it up fairly quickly. However, I would have liked for it to be crispier. This only means, that I will simply have to try it again, and experiment.

Recettes Hindoucha YouTube, Harcha en 10 Minutes

Harcha (Moroccan Flatbread)

This is another version of the Moroccan bread, this time from a Recettes Hindoucha / Hindoucha Wasafat recipe seen on YouTube last Dec.4: Harcha en 10 Minutes. (The video isn't in English, but does have a list of the ingredients in French, about a minute in.)

In this version, the semolina-flour batter is cooked in a nonstick frying pan on the stovetop. As I must have used a smaller pan than seen in the video, it took me about 15-20 minutes to cook the first side, and much less for the second side. It smelled so good while it was "baking"! It also tasted yummy, with wild-blueberry spread.

The harcha was thick enough to cut a slit into, and stuff with a filling, as pictured here. Good for sandwiches. Perhaps it would also make good stuffed French toast, or a savory bread pakora. I may try those ideas . . . if there's any left! 😉😄

Recettes Hindoucha YouTube, Harcha en 10 Minutes

Recettes Hindoucha Facebook

Loaf Bread

Loaf of bread, mixed & kneaded in mixer. Recipe, which came with mixer, uses 4-5 cups of flour and produces 2 loaves, which is very handy. #tbt