Focaccia - Onion & Oregano flavored

 

Focaccia (pronounced as Fokashia by some and Fokachia by some others) is a flat Oven baked Italian Bread, which may be topped with herbs or other ingredients (Definition from Wikipedia). I baked this last Saturday when once again, ‘A’ was out playing his Cricket (a tournament which his team won .. YAY!!) & it turned out to be pretty good.  I was really glad after baking this one, it was so flavorful, just like those Breads from the Italian joints, my home smelled heavenly when I baked this.

I did not take pictures at all the stages while baking this. The Yeast proofing is done exactly the same way just like in Challah - Braided Bread; only the quantities differed this time.  

Here is what you will need to make my Onion and Oregano flavored Focaccia:

This recipe is adapted from www.showmethecurry.com recipe of Focaccia – Easy Bread Recipe

My Recipe is here:

Active Dry Yeast – 2 tsp

Warm Water - 1 2/3 Cups  (I Microwave the water for Yeast Proofing at high for 30 seconds, it definitely feels higher than 60c/140F but it gives fantastic results, DO NOT use boiling Water, that would kill the Yeast)

Sugar – 1 tsp

All Purpose Flour – 5 cups

Salt – 2 tsp

EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) – ¼ th Cup + 5 tbsps

Onion – ½ of a large – thinly sliced

Oregano – 2 tsp

Italian Seasoning – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

How to make Onion & Oregano flavored Focaccia:

Yeast Proofing: In a large bowl, add 2 tsps of Active Dry Yeast in 1 2/3 Cups of Luke Warm water & 1 tsp of Sugar, mix and let it rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, a foamy mix will form of the Yeast, Water & Sugar indicating that Yeast has been proofed

Add Salt, ¼ th Cup of EVOO, 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning & 5 Cups of All-purpose Flour, add the Flour 1 cup at a time and keep mixing with a Spatula till a gooey dough is formed, adding more and more flour will result in the dough becoming stable in consistency; once it becomes manageable, put it on a working surface dusted with dry flour and start kneading it, knead it will for about 5-7 minutes, add extra flour when needed till it forms a smooth dough

In the same large bowl, grease the surface with a little bit of EVOO, tuck in the sides of the dough into a tight round, oil the upper surface of the dough, cover with a Kitchen towel and let it rest for 2 hours, neat

After 2 hours, the dough would have doubled in size, punch down the dough, grease the baking tray with 1 tbsp of EVOO and put the dough in, stretch the dough on all the sides so that it fits well into the baking tray, cover with a Kitchen towel and let it rise a second time for another hour

While it rises for the second time, thinly slice the Onion and dip into 3 tbsp of EVOO, add the Oregano and mix. Pre heat your Oven to 250C

 

Once the dough has risen the second time, dip the index finger of your working hand into a tbsp of EVOO and make small indentions about an inch apart on the risen dough, you have to dip your finger a few times before achieving all the indention's

Once done, with a brush spread the EVOO-Onion-Oregano mix onto the dough, make sure you cover all the edges so that they do not dry out while baking. The Onion slices will not stay at the bottom of the bowl you mixed it in and not come out with a brush, use a spoon to layer the Onions & whatever little liquid is left in the bowl onto the dough

I changed the Microwave mode to Convection and baked the Bread for 25 minutes at 220C (All Ovens are different so keep an eye on it after it crosses the 18-20 minute mark, we do not want a dark brown color on the surface, we want a soft brown crust on our Focaccia

 

Once done, please it on a cooling Rack and give it 30 minutes to cool down

Even after 30 minutes it will be nice and warm inside, eat by dipping the bread into EVOO or some Hummus

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Kashundi Chicken

Chicken has been my stable diet since I was a kid. If you include just 1 tiny piece of Chicken in my meal, I will eat anything that you serve to me with it without any complaints; I know that quite sounds like our four legged companions, but I am totally lame when it comes to eating vegetables, so even 1 teeny-weeny bit of Chicken makes me smile.

A couple of days back my Sis In Law back in the City of Joy made this scrumptious Kashundi Chicken and shared the photo. Kashundi means a  very Bengali Mustard Dip / Sauce made with Black Mustard Seeds, Green Chilies, Ginger & Garlic which tastes out of this World – mostly to be eaten with Chops & Cutlets.  When you add Raw Mango to it, it is called ‘Aam Kashundi’ (Aam meaning Mangoes in Bengali) which tastes even better in my view; & I am again going weak on my knees thinking about the Aam Kashundi Chingri I once had at Oh! Calcutta – it was indescribable. I sure will post a photo of that dish in my blog if I can find one.

& I found it, that's Aam Kashundi Chingri from Oh! Calcutta, highly recommended!

Coming back to the recipe, my Sis In Law made this following BongMom’s recipe. She added her special touch to it by adding a bit of Curd to this dish – it tasted wonderful. I made it her way and made minor changes to the original recipe.

Here is the recipe for Kashundi Chicken with the minor changes

Chicken – 750 gms, cleaned and skinned it comes to about 500-550 gms

Grated Ginger – 1tsp

Grated Garlic – 1 tsp

Lemon Juice – 1.5 tsp

Salt to taste

Mustard Oil – 1 tbsp – use any other cooking Oil if you do not have Mustard

Put all this together and marinate the Chicken for an hour, covered

Kalonji  / Onion Seeds – ½ tsp

Green Chilies – broken from middle – 10

Turmeric Powder  –  1 tsp

Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp
Kashundi - 3 tbsp

Coconut Milk – 1 Cup (I used Maggi Coconut Milk Powder and mixed the same into 1 Cup of Luke warm water)

Curd – 2 tbsp – beaten with a pinch of Salt (I used homemade Curd)

Mustard Oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

Heat 2 tbsp of Mustard Oil in a Pan

Add the Onion Seeds / Kalonji  and let it splutter

Add  5 broken Green Chilies and let them sizzle

Add the Chicken pieces and not the marinade, in case there is anything watery left in there

Cook the Chicken pieces till they change color

Add Turmeric Powder & Red Chili Powder and stir them in – cook for 2-3 mins

Add 3 tbsps of Kashundi and mix well, give it about 2 minutes to settle in

Add the Coconut Milk and Curd and any marinade that was left

Cover and let the Chicken Cook thoroughly, keep the Gas Stove on Simmer

Once the dish is done, garnish with the other 5 broken Green chilies, the gravy will be thick in consistency and not runny

Eat with steaming White Rice

Maach-er Matha diye Moog-er Dal / Yellow Lentil Soup with Fish Head

A Heady Lentil Soup is what this dish is. It is so heavy and yummy at the same time, I can eat steamed Rice only with this Lentil Soup without any sides. Yes, we Bengalis, do not throw away any part of our Sacred Fish, especially when it comes to a Fish as tasty as the Katla; the preparation can be made with Rohu Fish Head too, but nothing beats the juicy head of a Katla. This is mostly prepared during Aiburo-Bhaat (last Bachelor Meal before the Wedding), Poite (Sacred Thread Ceremonies), Griho-Probesh (House Warming) & various other functions, mad Bongs like ‘A’ & Me even make this for dinner for their Anniversary Celebration and serve to their non Bong guests and surprise them :D

Here is what you will need to make Maach-er Matha diye Moog-er Dal / Yellow Lentil Soup with Fish Head:

A fairly large Fish Head – 1, cleaned and sliced into two halves – My Katla weighed 1.7 KG, hence the head was the size I was looking for

Moog-er Dal / Yellow Lentil – 1 Cup

Mustard Oil (Use any other cooking Oil if you do not have Mustard, but tradition says, it tastes best with Mustard) - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp

Ghee/ Clarified Butter – 1 tsp

Bay Leaf – 2

Whole Cumin Seeds – 1tsp

Whole Dry Red Chilies - 2

Cinnamon – 1“long stick

Green Cardamoms - 3

Cloves – 3

Turmeric Powder – 1tsp + ½ tsp + 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder – 1 tsp

Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp

Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp

Ginger – grated – 1 tsp
Green Chili - 2 - broken from between

Salt to taste

Sugar to balance

How to make Maach-er Matha diye Moog-er Dal / Yellow Lentil Soup with Fish Head:

In a Pan, dry roast the Yellow Lentil till you get the lovely aroma of roasted Moog, be careful not to burn them, once the color changes to light golden, turn off the stove, wash the Lentil under running water, Pressure Cook the Lentil in 1 Cup of Water ½ tsp of Turmeric, let the pressure go down on it own an set aside

Smear  Salt and 1 tsp of Turmeric on the Fish Head pieces, heat 2 tbsps of Mustard Oil in a Pan till smoking, sprinkle a little salt into the Pan (so that the hot Oil does not splash when you slide the Fish pieces in), slide the Fish heads in, fry well, 3-4 minutes on each side, break them down to smaller pieces with the help of a Spatula if you can, not into very small parts though, say about 5 small chunks from each half of the head, set aside on Paper Towels to get rid of the excess Oil

In the same Pan, add 1 tsp of Oil as most of the Oil must have been absorbed by the Fish Head already, add the Cumin Seeds and let them splutter, add the Whole Dry Red Chilies, Bay Leaves, Cinnamon, Cardamoms and Cloves and sauté for a minute

Add the grated Ginger and cook for another minute

Add the cooked Lentil into this and mix well

Add the Turmeric Powder, Red Chili Powder, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Salt and Sugar to taste and stir around till the dry spices are cooked

Add the chunks of Fish head into this and mix well

Add desired quantity of luke warm water and bring it to boil, keep in mind both the Lentil and the Fish head are cooked already, we are just trying to bring the dish together and let the flavors intermingle into each other, hence do not add too much water, also this lentil soup will be thick unlike Bengali Red Lentil Soup, so add just as much water as you would like in your dish

Once done, add 1 tsp f clarified Butter to this and give it one final mix, sprinkle the 1 tsp of Garam Masala Powder & broken Green Chilies as well

Serve with steamed Rice

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Lau Chingri - Bottle Gourd with Prawns

Memories of this dish goes back to the days when back in our home in Calcutta, Maa (My Mother) would prepare a huge bowl of ‘Lau Chingri’ (Lau = Bottle Gourd, Chingri = Prawns) and I would sneak into the Kitchen before Lunch time to eat the ‘Chingri’s’ (Prawns) out of this dish. I never liked Bottle Gourd and would never eat the dish with Rice, only finished all the Prawns from this preparation before it was served to everyone for Lunch :P

Living away from home makes you realize and appreciate many things which you never approved of when they were close to you. Many of the eternal Bengali dishes made by my Mother are the biggest example of ‘these things’ in my life. Yesterday when we went out to shop for Meat, Fish and Vegetables to stock up for the week, I walked up to a Vegetable vendor and bought a Bottle Gourd, I also bought the small Prawns without which this dish is incomplete.  Maa was indeed very happy when I told her I was making ‘Lau Chingri’ as she cannot imagine her daughter  eating anything which remotely resembles a Vegetable .. Yes, that’s the impression I have given everyone in my growing up years :P What she told me was this dish will have the special Bengali touch and be ‘Mishti-Mishti’ (with a hint of sweetness) in taste. So while making this dish, one needs to keep in mind, that the Sugar is a must in this dish, if not it will be anything but ‘Bengali Lau Chingri’ :D

Here is what you will need to make Lau Chingri (Bottle Gourd with Prawns):

Bottle Gourd - 1 thinly sliced like shown in the Picture, mine weighed 500 gms

Prawns – I used small ones – 250 gms

Tomato – 1 medium – chopped

Green Chilies – 3 / to taste – chopped

Ginger – ½ “ - grated

Bay Leaf – 1

Cinnamon – 1” stick

Green Cardamoms – 2-3

Cloves – 2

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp

Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp

Cumin Powder – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Sugar to balance (a little more than in normal dishes)

Cooking Oil – 2 tbsp

How to prepare ‘Lau Chingri’ (Bottle Gourd with Prawns):

De-vein, clean and wash the Prawns

Smear Salt, Turmeric Powder and Red Chili Powder on the Prawns and fry them in hot Oil for 3 minutes and set aside

Use the same Oil as it has become flavorful from frying the Prawns in them, add the Cumin Seeds and let them sizzle

Add the Bay Leaf, Cinnamon, Green Cardamoms and Cloves and let them splutter

Add the Tomatoes and the Green Chilies and cook till the Tomatoes become mushy

Add the Sugar and stir it in (Adding Sugar while adding Tomatoes enhances the color of the dish)

Add the grated Ginger and cook for a minute or two

Add the Bottle Gourd in, there is no need to add any additional Water to this dish for the Bottle Gourd to cook as it will release a lot of Water itself and cook in its own liquid

Add Turmeric Powder, Red Chili Powder, Cumin Powder and Salt and mix

The Bottle Gourd will release a lot of liquid and get cooked at the same time, it will also reduce in quantity in the process

This will be a dry dish hence make sure all the liquid has dried up in the end

The Bottle Gourd will be done by the time the liquid evaporates, add the fried Prawns in, mix it one final time and turn off the Stove

Serve with Steamed Rice

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Coal Miners' Style Spaghetti

When the Coal Miners’ of Yesteryear’s returned home from a hard day at work, they used to buy all the ingredients on their way back rather they bought what they found on their way and made a delicious Spaghetti with the ingredients for Supper hence the name Coal Miner’s Spaghetti.

The weekend arrived a little early this time and we were at home on Friday hence I made Coal Miners Spaghetti for Lunch and we both were happily contended with this wholesome dish. I did make my adjustments, the original recipe used Pancetta (Italian, Croatian and Slovenian Bacon) which I replaced with diced Chicken and used whole Red Peppers & Button Mushrooms too. Hopefully the Coal Miners of today will even find these on their way home and will not mind my going out of the way!

Here is what you need to make Coal Miners Spaghetti:

(This recipe will server 2 people)

Spaghetti : 200 gms – I have tried with 250 gms before, but it becomes too much for the 2 of us, depends on your appetite, I think 200 should be good enough.

Chicken Stock Cube : 1

Chicken Breast : 1 – diced

Button Mushrooms : 3-4, cleaned and thinly sliced

Red Pepper : 2 – chopped

Eggs : 2

Red Chili Sauce – 1 tsp

Green Chili Sauce – 1 tsp (If you do not have this then use 1.5-2 tsps of Red Chilli Sauce)

EVOO : 2 tsps

Salt to taste

Black Pepper : 1 tsp

Parsley : a handful – chopped

Italian Seasoning : 1 tbsp

Cheese of your choice : grated

How to make Coal Miners’ Spaghetti:

Heat a Pan with rapidly boiling water with the Chicken Stock cube in it, break 200 gms from Spaghetti from the middle and add it in, cook as per instructions on the pack – once done – drain into a colander, wash with Cold water to stop the cooking process and keep

Heat 2 tbsp of EVOO in a Non Stick Pan

Stir fry the diced Chicken pieces till they change color, if you insert a toothpick, if it comes out clean, the Chicken is done

Add the sliced Button Mushrooms and the chopped Red Peppers and keep stir frying

Add the Chili Sauces and keep stirring

Create a cooking surface to scramble the Eggs on the same Pan – scramble 2 Eggs with a little Oil and Salt and Pepper; mix with the rest of the ingredients in the Pan

Add Salt, Pepper and Italian Seasoning and mix well

Add the Spaghetti win and toss around so that the sauces and the spices coat the Spaghetti nicely

Add chopped Parsley and mix well. Do a taste test and if you need more of anything, go ahead

Once turn off the Stove, garnish with shredded Cheese and Serve

My other homemade Spaghetti (with Shrimps) recipe is here

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