Soulful Creations

The temperatures have finally cooled down and I can turn the oven ON....!! Nothing else would even compare to take a shot at a Daring Bakers Challenge. The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat! I made a quarter batch (in retrospective I should made at least the half batch and frozen some- it was that good!) Quarter Batch Dough Ingredients (Makes one loaf 1.25 lbs/565 grams) To activate the Yeast: ½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/2¼ gm) Sugar ¼ Teaspoon (1¼ ml/¾ gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Warm Water 1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/3½ gm/0.125 oz/½ sachet) Dry Yeast Dough : ½ Cup (120 ml) Whole Milk 3 Tablespoons (45 ml/43 gm/1½ oz) Sugar ¾ Teaspoon (3¾ ml/9 gm/0.17 oz) Table Salt 1 Large Egg 1 tablespoon (30 ml/30 gm/¼ stick/1 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted 2 cups (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz/0.62 lb) ...

These days I rarely watch any cooking shows at all but I am glad I chanced upon this one- Mad hungry with Lucinda. This particular episode caught my eye because most dishes were vegetarian and the few that were not, could easy be turned into a green meal :D. This recipe has been adapted from that show- hers was almost the bare bones rice and beans while mine has a few bells and whistles. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups black beans, soaked for 8-12hrs 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 medium carrot, chopped 1 bunch scallion, chopped (because I love scallions) 1 medium onion, chopped 1 tsp cumin 2-3 tsp ground roasted cumin powder 2-3 tsp ground coriander powder red pepper flakes, I use a lot oil salt and pepper to taste water to cook beans Brown rice- 1 1/2 cups cooked (I did toast them lightly in about 1 tbsp butter and a bay leaf) Garnish Lemon wedges and avocado (I did not have any) Method Pressure cook beans in about 3 cups of water and some salt Drain the bea...

A very Happy Diwali! It is the season of lights, warmth, gifts, peace and love! I wish everyone all the happiness in the world- enjoy what you have been bestowed with and share what you been given with everyone else!  I knew someone like that- a larger than life personality. I am in denial and shock- a tragic road accident in Haiti ended her life-that is it, just like that..... reminds one of how fleeting life can be I was not going to make anything then I thought you know why not- she loved to celebrate and share her happiness with her friends. I did not know her that long or that well but that did not matter... I made thattais and pedas (from store-bought khoya!) this year-  For the thattais Ingredients Rice flour (best if you made this yourself, unfortunately mine was store bought*)- 2.5 cups Urad dal flour- 0.5 cups Butter, softened- 25 gms Salt- as necessary soaked in water Hing- a pinch soaked in water Garnish ~1 cup Pottukadalai (I roa...

I decorated this blank photo frame (made from recycled material) for my patti- it has the news article about her thoughts on independence in DNA India. I have always been proud of my patti! Love you Savi... PS - do you recognize the pencil shaving?!!

I am constantly churning out fried rice recipes- its like I want to perfect it! Well here is a picture of one- brown rice with broccoli, tofu, carrots, scallions seasoned with low sodium soy sauce, ground roasted cumin and coriander, a pinch nutmeg, some sriracha and sesame oil! It was heaven, I hope I remember the exact recipe at some point :D  

When you too much lauki on hand- this is something you can try. Ingredients 1 medium sized Lauki, cubed 1 tbsp sambar powder 1 lemon-sized tamarind ball, soaked in hot water and the pulp extracted Seasoning  1 tsp Mustard seeds 1/2 to 1 tsp Methi seeds 1 tbsp Chana dal 2 dried red chillies, crumbled Oil 1 - 2tbsp Rice flour, as a thickening agent, dissolved in about 2-3tbsp of water Method Heat the oil, add the seasonings. Once it splatters, add the lauki and saute it. Add sambar powder and saute till the raw smell is gone. Add the tamarind water and cook for about 10 min. Add the rice flour mixture and cook for about 5min or until the kuzhambu is thick. You can also use drumstick  and other berries in this recipe. But the all-time favorite is this one here . Judgement : It tasted great as always- for some reason I thought laukis would turn sweet but thankfully they tasted amazing PS: A halloween horror story about these...