Baking Soda vs Baking Powder

I did not know the difference between Baking soda and powder, until recently. Since I am baking more than ever these days, I thought it would be a great idea to write up a post about soda/powder.

They look similar. Baking soda is whiter. The packets for one will mention clearly whether it's Baking Soda or Powder. From my experience, Baking powder tastes mild and fluffs up a cake much more than baking soda. So if you are baking cupcakes, and have used baking powder, you'd have probably used about 1/2 tsp or more, and filled the cupcake cups only to about 1/3rd. Also, baking powder recipes tend to improve if standby time is increased. So if you make the cake mix, and wait for half hour before baking, your cakes will turn up fluffier and spongier.

On the other hand, baking soda fluffs up the cake much lesser. And if added more, tends to leave a salty minty aftertaste. So I use it very carefully, not more than a pinch in any of my recipes, if not lesser. Also, they are good to make instant cakes. If you are  planning to wait before you make cakes out of your batter, make sure you stir up the batter well again. Also, since it fluffs up the cake less, you will need to fill up the cupcake cups to more than half the cup.

What do I prefer using? Well I think it just depends on what I have in my shelf at the time. If you have any comments or experiences using the two, do share. It will help me and others.

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Sugarfree Blueberry Pancakes

My little one is one is not a food enthusiast. So when this morning she said - "Mom I wanna have Pancakes for breakfast", I thought I heard something wrong! Not sure what made her crave pancakes, maybe "Arthur" or "DW" had some in one of the recent episodes, but whatever, I was elated! One of the very rare occasions when my baby asks for FOOD! And I have blueberries in the refrigerator. 

Ingredients here make 4 pancakes. Time to cook is 30 minutes (if you have a larger pan that can make more than one pancake at once, you'll need lesser time).

• 3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 pinch of baking soda
• 1/2 pinch of salt
• 1 Tsp grated ginger
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp fresh or dried whole blueberries(optional)
• Honey or Sugarfree Maple Syrup for garnish
• Whipped cream for garnish (optional)
• 1 Tsp vegetable oil

Method:

• Melt the butter and let cool.
• Mix the wheat, flour, baking soda, salt, ginger together in a bowl with a fork.
• Add the egg and butter and mix in.
• Now add the milk and stir to make a thick batter. Make sure there are no lumps.
• Now add the blueberries. You can add raisins too.
• Heat up a non stick pan.
• Soak a small paper towel with the teaspoon of vegetable oil.
• Rub the surface of the pan well with the paper towel and keep safe for subsequent use.
• When the pan smokes, reduce heat to medium and put 3 tbsp of the batter in the center of the pan.
• Once the surface of the pancake looses its shine, flip it over.
• Flip the pancake on medium heat until both sides are browned. It took me about 6-7 minutes to cook one pancake.
• Take out on a plate and drip generous amounts of honey/syrup on the pancake.

• Serve with whipped cream.

Tip:

• Rub the pan with the same paper towel soaked in oil before you make another pancake. You can easily make 8-10 pancake with just a teaspoonful of oil in that way.
• Serve with fruit salad. In a bowl, chop bananas, strawberries, pineapples. Add some raisins. Add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice and 2 tsp honey. Mix up.

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Carroty Deviled Eggs

Fixed up a quick egg snack/appetizer, turned out real nice. Cooked in a hurry, posted in a hurry! :)

Serves 2-3. Time to cook is 10 minutes.

• 3 Hard boiled eggs(halved)
• 1 Medium sized carrot(grated)
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 Tsp vegetable oil/butter
• 1 pinch of Salt
• Pepper for garnish

Method:

• In a non stick pan, heat the oil/butter.
• Add the grated carrot and saute for a while in high heat.
• When the carrots are fully dried up, add some salt and continue sauteing for a minute or two.
• Take pan off from heat.
• Add the milk.
• Separate the yolk from the eggs.
• In the same pan, crush the yolks with the spatula. Don't turn on heat.
• Mix the carrots and yolk well.
• Part into 6 equal parts and make balls with each part with your hands.
• Put the balls back in the eggs. I pressed them with a large fork to create a subtle design.
• Garnish with pepper.

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Baked Aaloo Pithe

My husband's favorite "Pithe" - the deep fried extra sweet POTATO based "Aloo'r Pithe". Doesn't strike a chord for the "Oh so calorie conscious" me ;) Well, my extra pounds have nothing to do with my being calorie conscious!

I tried making these baked Potato Pithe, and they turned out "nice". Now, "fried vs. baked" is no competition at all, but they did taste..."nice"! And I DO lack vocabulary!

All I can say is they disappeared fast enough to prove they were delish. Especially if you lend a thought to the fact that they were made "minus the oil". Ah! Now that strikes a chord!

Did I forget to mention the most important part? This is a traditional Bengali sweet dish eaten during the harvest festival of Poush Sankranti. The traditional recipe calls for deep frying, and tastes a lot better than what I made here.

Ingredients below make about 20-25 "pithe". Time to cook is approx. 45 minutes.

• 1 1/2 Potatoes (Sweet potatoes taste best, and are healthier. I used regular ones.)
• 1 bowl shredded coconut
• 1 Tbsp all purpose flour (If you use sweet potatoes, you might need a little more)
• 1 Tsp melted butter.
• 10-15 Tbsp Jaggery
• 2 Bay leaves
• 3-4 Cardamoms
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil for greasing

Method:

To make the syrup -

• Boil 1 cup of water.
• Add the bay leaves and Cardamoms to the water.
• Then add the jaggery.
• Stir at regular intervals.
• Boil until the jaggery dissolves completely and the syrup gets sticky and drips slowly from the spatula.

To make the "pitha" - 

• Boil the potatoes.
• Peel and drain water completely.
• Mash the potatoes, add the coconut, flour and butter and mix well.
• Make sure there are no lumps.
• If required add a little more flour. The mix should not be sticky, but be careful, if you add too much flour, the "Pitha" would turn hard. Trick is to add flour half Tsp at a time.
• Place parchment paper on a baking tray and grease the paper with vegetable oil.
• Make small longish balls out of the mix with your hands, and line them on the baking tray.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees (F).
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Watch over occasionally.
• Then turn on broil for another 5-6 minutes. The balls would have browned lightly by then.

• Drop the balls in the syrup.
• If the syrup has gotten cold, heat it up before dropping the "pitha" in it.

Serve warm or cold, depending on preference.

Tips:

• In case you want to make traditional pithas(deep fried), simply exclude the butter from the mix. 
• You would need to add a little more flour to the mix to make sure the balls stay bound together while deep frying. 
• Also, you might add a little "rava"/"suji" to the mix. 

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Sambal Cigar Minnows (Singaporean flavors)

I love "Sambal Anchovies". There is a taste to it that hits just the right spot! Especially on a rainy day! Sambal is a chilly based sauce and is a Singaporean specialty. 

We got some small fishies from the market, with the intention of trying something new. I personally loved the name - Cigar Minnows; any fish with that name had to taste good :). Out of curiosity, I looked up the fish in Wikipedia, and found they are a species of mackerel, and a distant cousin of Anchovies! Anchovies!!! I HAD to try and make some Sambal Cigar Minnows! And it IS a rainy day :)


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Ingredients here serves 3. Time to cook is approx 30 minutes.

• 10 Cigar Minnows, washed and gutted. Any other species of mackerel would do too.
• 1/2 Onion - sliced (If onions are small, use 1 whole).
• 2 dry red chilies
• 5-6 green chilies - slit in half (use more or less depending on preferred spice level).
• 1 Tsp fresh grated ginger.
• 3 cloves of garlic (grated).
• 1/2 Tomato (sliced)
• Salt (according to taste).
• 1 Tsp molasses/jaggery (or sugar).
• 1 Tsp lemon juice.
• 1 Tsp turmeric powder.
• 1/2 Tsp Kashmiri mirch powder(or paprika).
• 2 Tbsp oil

Method:

• Marinate the fish with a little salt and turmeric powder. Keep aside.
• In a non-stick pan, heat 1 tbsp oil to smoking point.
• Sprinkle some salt on the pan. This helps the fish not to stick to the pan.
• When the oil is smoking, add 3-4 fishes at a time and fry each side for about a minute.
• Take off in a plate.
• After all the fishes have been shallow fried, add 1 tbsp oil to the same pan.
• Add the onions and fry till golden brown.
• Add the chilies (red and green).
• Add garlic and ginger.
• Fry for a while.
• Lastly add the tomatoes.
• Saute for a while and then add the salt.
• Lower the heat and cover the pan for about 2 minutes.
• Uncover and increase the heat.
• Mash the tomatoes with the spatula, add the paprika and molasses.
• Saute till oil appears on the sides.
• Now add the fish, and 2 tbsp water.
• Cover the pan for about 1-2 minutes.
• Uncover pan and lightly toss and turn the fish until all water has evaporated.
• Take off from heat and add the lemon juice.
• Serve warm with white rice.

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Tandoori Chicken

President's Day long weekend is half-way through, and since I am spending it at home, what better way than cooking and eating some of our all time favorites! I still wish we had gone on a trip though; I sure enjoy travelling way more than cooking; but this winter hasn't been very kind to my daughter, poor kid has had so many frequent bouts of cough and cold. Alike many of her friends around us. Hope everyone feels better soon, we are almost done with winter, aren't we! 

Last night, made some Tandoori chicken for dinner. This is a simpler version again, and has lesser fat content. I skipped yogurt altogether and didn't brush the chicken with oil in between roasting. Try it, and lemme know how your "healthier" tandoori turns out to be! 

Ingredients here make 3 tandooris (whole leg pieces). Time to cook is 1 hour.

• Chicken leg pieces (large)
• 12 cloves of garlic
• 1 finger size piece of ginger
• 1 Tbsp Ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 Tsp vegetable oil (for greasing)
• Salt (according to taste)
• 1 Tsp sugar
• 2 Tsp garam masala powder
• 2 Tsp Kashmiri mirch powder (or Paprika)
• 2 Tsp Meat masala powder
• 2 Tsp turmeric powder
• 2 Tsp lemon juice
• 1 Onion (cut in circles for garnish)
• 1 Lemon (cut in circles for garnish)

Method:

• Wash the Chicken leg pieces well.
• Dry with kitchen towels (paper towels). Make sure the chicken pieces are as dry as possible.
• With a fork, poke the chicken thoroughly.
• Now cut slits on the chicken with a knife.
• In a bowl, grate the garlic and ginger.
• Add the salt, sugar, ghee, turmeric, paprika, garam masala, meat masala, lemon juice and mix well.
• Marinate the chicken well with the spice mix.
• Cover and keep in the refrigerator. Marinate for as long as 8 hours or as little as 15 minutes :).
• I hadn't planned ahead so I marinated for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F).
• Grease a pan with the vegetable oil. A grill pan yields best results, however a regular baking pan would do too.
• Keep the chicken with the marinate in the pan and roast for 20 minutes.
• Take out and turn the chicken legs over the other way.
• Bake for another 20 minutes.
• Turn off bake and put the oven on broil for 6-7 minutes.
• Switch oven off and take out the chicken after 5 minutes.
• Poke the chicken with forks to make sure they are well done.

Serve with onions, lemon and salad.

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Coconut Macaroons

A very Happy Valentine's Day to all my family and friends!!! Got a lovely card from our daughter that read "To: Mommy and Daddy, Happy Valentine's Day! I love you." She has been wanting to know since yesterday what we were "baking" for today! Well, I didn't really have anything particular in mind, and was in-fact hoping she would forget the baking part. However, she did remember! We were home at 9.00 after a great dinner, and as I was wrapping up the day, I heard a little voice ask- "Mom, we could bake some dessert! It's a special day!"

So we baked some Coconut Macaroons :)

Ingredients here make about 10 macaroons. Time to cook is 20 minutes.

• 2 cups shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3rd cup all purpose floor, some more if needed
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 Tsp vegetable oil for greasing



Method:

• In a bowl, add sugar and milk.
• Mix well together.
• Add the floor and mix well. Make sure no lumps are formed.
• Now add the butter and grated coconut.
• Mix all ingredients loosely.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).
• On a baking tray, spread a parchment paper, and grease the paper with vegetable oil.
• With an icecream scoop (or any rounded spoon), place a few scoops of coconut mixture on the parchment paper.
• Bake for about 15 minutes and then put oven on broil for another 5-6 minutes. The coconut would have toasted by this time.
• Remove macaroons from the parchment paper while still hot. They tend to stick to the paper on cooling.
• Let the macaroons cool off before serving.  

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Stuffed Pomfret Fry

 

This pomfret recipe is a simpler and non-spicy version of the famous Goan Promfret Fry. I love spice, many of my close friends know that I dig "eye-watering" dishes, but when it is a four year old lady presiding over our dinner table, I am more than eager to make something which adults and kids can eat and enjoy alike. 

The ingredients here serve 3. Time to cook is approx 45 minutes.

• 3 Pomfrets (I used the Indian Pompano, Golden Pompano is larger and tastier, but much higher in fats)
• 1 Potato
• 3-4 Baby carrots
• 3 Tbsp of shredded coconut (optional)
• 2 Tsp grated ginger
• Cilantro/coriander leaves (chopped)
• 1 Egg
• 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 Tsp Lemon juice
• 1 Tsp turmeric powder
• Water for batter
• Salt according to taste
• Oil for shallow frying

Method:

  

• Get the fish whole (after getting the cavity cleaned).
• Wash the fish and dry with kitchen towels or paper tissues.
• Use some salt, turmeric powder and the lemon juice to marinate and keep aside.

For the filling - 

• Peel the potato.
• Boil potato and carrots together using very little water.
• Once boiled, drain any remaining water and smash the potatoes and carrots.
• In a pan, heat about 2 teaspoonful of oil.
• Add half of the ginger.
• Once the ginger is fried, add 2 tbsp of coconut and sauté for a while.
• Add the mashed potatoes and carrots.
• Add some salt and turmeric powder.
• Sauté until the mix becomes fully dry and oil appears on the sides of the pan.
• Add the cilantro leaves and mix them in.

For the batter-

• In a bowl, add the flour, some salt and a teaspoon of oil and mix with a fork.
• Keep aside for 5 minutes (Adding oil to the flour earlier helps it to be crispier when fried).
• Add the egg, remaining grated ginger and coconut to the flour and beat the mix. Add water to make the consistency pour-able.

To fry - 

• Heat 4 tbsp of oil in a nonstick shallow pan until the oil reaches its smoking point.
• Fill the cavity of the fish with the potato based filling we made earlier.
• Dip the fish in the batter and then put it in the oil. 
• Reduce flame to medium, and fry the fish on both sides until color turns golden. Fry one fish at a time.

Sprinkle some pepper on top and serve hot with salad.

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Whole wheat cupcakes

It was my father-in-law's birthday this week. My husband's family has this sweet custom of cutting cakes on every family member's birthday, old or young, near or far. So even though my Father-in-law was cutting his cake in Kolkata, we had a piece of it right here in Sunnyvale :) Well, not really a piece of the same cake though :)

I made these "healthy" cupcakes (with help from my 4 year old daughter) and they just came out PERFECT! Made three batches (six per batch) in about an hour, so they did not take much of our time either. And they tasted great!!!

Made these on my Mom and Dad's  marriage anniversary - 18th Feb

The ingredients here make about 20 cupcakes.

• 1/2 cup whole wheat
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4th cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk (I used reduced fat)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder OR 1 pinch of baking soda
• 2 tbsp walnuts (optional)
• 1 tbsp raisin (optional)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional, but recommended)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).
• Get the dry ingredients(wheat, flour, baking soda, sugar) together in a dry bowl.
• Mix them together with a large fork. 
• Break the eggs in a separate bowl and beat them well.
• Melt the butter and let it cool.
• Add milk, butter and oil to the beaten eggs and beat them some more. Make sure butter has cooled off before you add it to the eggs.
• Now add the egg mix to the dry ingredients and mix the whole thing for a while. Make sure no lumps are formed. Add the vanilla essence(optional).
• Add walnuts and raisins.
• Fill the cupcake cups upto a little more than half with the cake mixture (I used silicone reusable cups.)
• Keep in the oven for about 12-15 minutes
• Poke with a skewer, if the skewer comes out dry and clean, cakes are done.
• Decorate with cupcake icing.

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When did I start cooking?

I started helping Ma in the kitchen by serving tea to my grandparents, and I still remember how difficult it was to balance the cups on the plates! I was in the 3rd or 4th grade I think. But though there were lots of spills, my Dadu(Granpa) and Thamma(Granma) always had a smile on their face when I took the tea up to them. And boy, was I proud :)

My Ma is a great cook. Like in most Bengali families, in ours too, kitchen was a very important part of home; and eating, well, the most important part of life. Usually, Thamma's last question for Ma each night before going off to bed was - "Kal ki ranna hobe?", which essentially means, whats the menu for tomorrow! Everyday food in those days was no less than a 4 or 5 course meal, most often lunch and dinner menus were completely different. And taste was never to be compromised with! And though we enjoyed the food, I am sure the women did not always enjoy preparing them. It was more like a chore, that HAD to be perfect each day! I realized that early on, since whenever I dozed off on my school books, my Ma would wake me up saying - "Porashona karo mon diye, nahole ranna kore din katate hobe...". (Study my child, or you'll spend your days cooking.") Not that the two are related in ANY way at all!

My Dad loves spicy, fried food...and why not, those are the ones that are the most tasty after all. And he even liked to cook sometimes, experimental dishes he used to call them. So SOMEtimes on SOME weekends, very rarely that is, since my Thamma never approved of her son taking charge of the kitchen, it was Ma and Thamma's "chutti" (day off) from cooking, and it was Baba in action, with me and my little brother acting as helpers. And on those days, the menu shifted from pure Bong, to totally different cuisines..like Green Crauche (a green preparation of cabbage, and aptly named by Baba), Aaloo Bonda, Stuffed Peppers, variety of salads etc.

I developed an interest in cookery shows while I was still in school. I loved the bright stoves and utensils they used. Gradually I even started preparing a few of the simpler recipes they taught. Turned out, most of the dishes I made, were successful! Yeah yeah, what are parents and grand parents for after all?? But whatever, I felt happy when my parents and grandparents were full of praises. My brother, an avid foodie, however, was not so easy to conquer.

I got married to a handsome gentleman, great smile, very friendly, and well, very passionate about food. We love to eat, try various restaurants, experiment a lot, and share the love for food. I am an amateur cook, but I have come to realize over the years that I love cooking.  And this blog I shall use to document my cooking experiences, who knows, it might be helpful to those who love to cook, but have little time to spare in the kitchen, just like me :)

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