Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

~~~~ By a novice at baking

Yesterday afternoon my kids (seven and four) had this brilliant summer break activity idea to bake. Being a novice at baking I searched the net and looked through a lot of recipes for making homemade biscuits. I finally followed this one from Diana’s deserts and I thank her for posting this wonderful recipe. I modified it a little bit and used little more of baking powder since i didnt trust very well the one I own in my pantry.

We were all set to embark on this baking expedition and since my kiddos wanted to give it a sweet twist we also grabbed the raspberry preserve we had handy out in our refrigerator to decorate our little buddies.

What we used:

1 cup buttermilk
2 cups self rising flour
1 oz butter
1 oz margarine
½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp raspberry preserve
Blue berries to decorate

Here’s what we did-

In a bowl mixed the flour and baking powder. Then cut in the butter and margarine using a blender. Added the buttermilk in the center and stirred till moist

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and rolled while folding it several times and repeat rolling. We cut the biscuits using a biscuit cutter into circles or half moon shapes – per my little ones choice.

Now we baked the biscuits in a preheated 400oC oven for 18 min.


Once the baking was done and biscuits turned nice and golden brown, we let them cool for 5-6 min. was hard to wait off course! :-)

We then carefully separated 3 layers of the biscuit to spread in the raspberry preserve and put it back together.

Uumm… the experiment had a yummy output and gone were they in no time with our afternoon tea. But yes I did grab these snaps and lovely they look. Enjoy!


This recipe has been presented to Cooking for kids event hosted by Divya @ Dil se and Sharmi @ Neivedyam

Capsicum Boats

There are many ways people make stuffed bell pepper.

Here's my version with grated vegetables and mung bean stuffing relished with Indian style yoghurt sauce.

You will need for this

3 Capsicum (green Bell pepper)
1 cup grated carrots,
1 cup grated zuchhini (cucumber)
1 potato peeled and grated
½ cup cooked rice (Optional)
1/2 cup cooked moong daal (soaked in water until soft -abt 30min) (also called mung bean or green gram)

1 tbsp oil
1 tsp Cumin (Zeera)
1 tsp garlic paste
1 cup grated cheese (Cheddar/jack, Mozarella or as preferred)
Corriander/Cilantro for garnish

Yoghurt sauce: Mix 3 tbsp yoghurt with half a teaspoon karappodi or cumin powder

Method:
Boil the bell pepper in water for 5 min

In a wok heat oil and add the zeera, garlic and when zeera start to splutter add the grated vegetables and moong daal. Let cook until they become soft. Once the vegetables are cooked add precooked rice (this is optional, it allows the vegetables to stick together) Adjust the salt to taste.

Place the boiled capsicum in a baking tray and scoop the cooked vegetable-rice-daal mixture into the boiled capsicum and add cheese repeat the same in layers. Fill up the capsicum really to the top (When you bake it the mixture will sink in).

Now bake the capsicum in a preheated 400oC Oven for 20-25 min until the cheese has melted and the capsicum is lightly browned on sides.

Remove let cool and cut each capsicum into 4 wedges (boat shaped) lay them down and garnish with chopped cilantro and drizzle some yoghurt sauce.

Serving Suggestions: Enjoy your capsicum boats with chilled lemonade on side!

Serves as a nice and colorful party side.

Rasam

Rasam is a South Indian soup, kinda dish made with hot tamarind broth, toor daal and tomatoes. It is very popular in Andhra, Tamil and Karnataka cuisine. Other than tomatoes that are commonly used; vegetables that are used in special festive versions are- mulakkayalu/drumsticks. Horsegram /ulavalu, is a another classic ingredient used in this dish in traditional Andhra. The spices used in this are a very good remedy to treat colds and making it a soothing and comforting dish when suffering from a cold. Nothing compares to this soup as an excellent winter warm up. Its aroma makes it irresistible for anyone, anytime, anyways. Here’s my version of it. Try it and enjoy.



Ingerdients:
2 big tomatoes diced (or use canned diced tomatoes)
1 cup toor daal precooked
4 cups water
Tamarind Juice (made by soaking a lemon sized ball of tamarind in hot water)
2 tbsp Rasam powder
3 tbsp oil
2 red peppers
8-10 curry leaves
1 tsp ginger paste (optional)
2 tbsp grated jaggery
Salt to taste
A pinch of hing
1 twig of cilantro
For tempering:
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 teaspoons urad daal
A pinch of turmeric

Method:
Heat oil in a pan for tempering. Add the ingredients in order, followed by red pepper, and curry leaves. Add the tomatoes when urad daal is golden brown. Let cook till tender and add the cooked toor daal and 1 cup water and let cook. When the daal blends in well add the rest of water, tamrind juice, grated jaggery and rasam powder. Let cook till it starts to boil. Add hing mix and take off the flame. Garnish with cilantro


Serve hot as accompaniment with rice.

Thotakura-Senagapappu/Sauteed Amaranth with Bengal gram

Thotakura belongs to the Genus- Amaranth . Several species and varieties of this are grown worlwide. While the use of Amaranth leaves is well known in Indian/Andhra and Chinese cooking, its seeds are reported in studies to behold medicinal benefits. Here is one simple Andhra style dish using Thotakura and senagapappu as main ingredients

Ingredients:
2 Pounds Thotakura washed and chopped
1 cup senagapappu (chana daal) soaked until soft
1 small onion chopped

2 green peppers chopped
Salt to taste
Coriander (cilantro) for garnish
Seasoning:
2 tbs oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad daal
4-5 garlic cloves

Method:
Heat oil in a wok. Add the seasoning ingredients. When seeds splutter add the chopped green peppers, onions and senaga pappu. Cook until the pappu is tender and onions turn golden brown. Stir in the chopped thotakura and cook with the lid closed until all the thotakura is tender and cooked well. Adjust the salt, take off the flame and serve.

Serving suggestion: Serve with hot rice or chapathi