Caramalized Onions and Walnut Stuffed Wholemeal Buns

These days my bread baking spree has taken a back seat. For reasons unknown to me as well, I somehow do not get excited enough to bake a regular bread. Maybe because there aren't many eaters at home and so the idea of me eating the majority of it alone pulls me down. So I keep on thinking of new ideas of making the bread making process more interesting and be exciting enough to push me to bake. Today's recipe is one such interesting one which I totally loved. I made it as a very small batch since I did not want it lying on the kitchen counter for days. If you have a love for onions and  even more for caramalized onions, you will love this bread!

                                    

Ingredients

For the filling

4 big onions finely sliced

1/2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)

5-6 walnuts toasted and finely chopped

1-2 tsp olive oil

For the buns

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup wholewheat flour

1/2 cup oats, any variety (you can either roast the oats and grind it or use as it is)

1/4 cup milk powder

3/4 tsp instant dry yeast

1/2 tsp sugar

80 ml warm water

1 egg at room temperature

1 tbsp butter softened

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp milk for milk wash

Sesame seeds for sprinkling on top (optional)

Direction

In a bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and add the yeast. Mix thoroughly and let it stand for 10 minutes until frothy.

                                      

In another bowl, mix all the dry ingredients except the sesame seeds. Pour the yeast mixture and mix. Now add the egg and the butter and start kneading a smooth and elastic dough. If you find the dough too sticky, add a wee bit of either wholewheat or plain flour. Continue kneading till you have a soft but moist dough. Lightly oil the dough from outside and tightly wrap with a clingwrap and keep it in a warm place to rise, about 1 hour or until doubled.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Coat the onions with the oil properly and spread it out on the pan evenly. Let it stay uncovered for 5-10 minutes on low heat, stirring once or twice in between. Now add salt and sugar and mix and continue the process till the onions start caramalizing and turn into a beautiful deep brown color. Be careful not to burn the onions at this stage. Add the balsamic vinegar, if using, and reduce the excess liquid. Using this, the onions will get a beautiful sweet and tangy taste and takes it to a higher level. Once the liquid dries up, remove from heat and transfer to a clean bowl and let it cool. The caramalized onions also serve as a amazing pizza topping!

                                     

Now, take the dough out and punch it down a few times till the trapped air releases. Now pinch out plum sized balls and spread it slightly on your palm. Make an indentation in the center and add some of the onions followed by the roasted and chopped walnuts. Seal the edges and form a smooth ball again.

                                    

Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.

                                    

Arrange the filled balls in an oven safe greased dish and cover and keep aside in a warm place for the second proofing, about 1-2 hours or until doubled.

Towards the end of the proofing time, start pre heating the oven at 180 degree celsius. Take the dough dish out and gently brush with milk. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and bake in the pre heated oven for 20 minutes or until browned on top and a tap on the top sounds hollow. I added some  Parmesan cheese as well but you can skip that.  Remove from oven and let it cool on wire rack. Serve warm.

                                     

 

A Healthy Refreshing Breakfast - Chilled Granola Parfait

On my recent trip to Hong Kong, the one thing that I regularly had was Granola Parfait for Breakfast. The hotel that we stayed had a complimentary breakfast, as in most hotels these days, and among other things the Granola Parfait was the one which scored the highest marks. Hubby passed a gentle remark that he wished he could eat this regularly at home for breakfast while I pretended not to hear a word! 

Coming back, this was on my top priority list but got a little delayed due to my ill health. While the granola at the hotel was a rather simple one with not much nuts and fruits, this homemade version is packed with the goodness of almonds, pistachios, apricots, and raisins. 

Parfait is typically a French dessert for layers of ice cream, fresh preserves, fresh fruits, nuts, chocolate, and usually topped with a huge dollop of whipping cream. This granola parfait however is ideal to be had for breakfast, mid mornings, after gym, or during afternoon/evening hunger pangs. All you need to do is prepare the layers separately and keep it handy and just assemble and eat! You can also keep your glass assembled in the fridge and let it chill till serving time. Have a happy and healthy weekend!

                             

Ingredients

For the granola

1 1/4 cup baby rolled oats (any variety is okay)

1/3 cup regular cornflakes, crushed coarsely

Handful of almonds chopped (quantity depends on you)

Handful of pistachios chopped (again depending on your discretion)

Handful of raisins chopped

Handful of dried apricots chopped

1/2 cup honey

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

For the sauce

1 pack packed raspberries (can be substituted with any berry and quantity depends on your discretion)

Sugar as per taste

1-2 tsp water

Other ingredients

2-3 tbsp whipped yogurt

Fresh/frozen strawberries or whatever available

Direction

Dry roast the oats, cornflakes, and all the chopped nuts till oats is slightly browned, nuts crunchy and fragrant. Remove from heat and let it cool.

                                          

In the same pan, melt the butter and add honey, water, and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the roasted oats mixture and stir till well coated. Continue stirring on medium flame till the excess liquid dries up. Transfer to a parchment paper and spread it out with the help of a spatula. Let it cool completely and then transfer to air tight container and can either be kept at room temperature or in the refrigerator. This granola might not be too hard and crunchy, depending on the quality of your honey. However, it is perfect for the parfait.

                                           

Now moving onto the sauce, blend the raspberries coarsely in the blender. Transfer to a wide pan and add sugar according to taste and a dash of water. Put it on a medium flame and stir continuously till a shiny glazed liquid with medium thickness is formed. Remove from heat and transfer to a glass jar and let it cool completely before refrigerating it. 

                                            

The assembly

Take your parfait glass or your serving dish. Add 2 heaped tbsp of the sauce followed by the whipped yogurt. Sprinkle the granola on top taking care not to dunk it in the yogurt. Lastly, top it with some fresh/frozen strawberries or any other fresh fruit. Serve chilled!

                             

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies - No Butter No Oil

I love to look good, look fit, look lean. Well, who doesn't? But I love to eat too, especially baked goodies. Now, that is quite a contrast given that bakery goodies quite often come loaded with butter. I and my family are not quite adapted to like the taste of healthily baked goodies and rather prefer eating the butter loaded cookies and cakes in smaller quantity. However, staying at home and stepping in and out of the kitchen all day, I like to keep munching something every now and then. With butter loaded cakes and cookies, it is never possible to keep a tab on the waistline and so I am constantly on the lookout for recipes which, although healthy, do not compromise on taste. Today's recipe is from my virtual friend Sonal's blog Simply Vegetarian. The cookies are a perfect tea time company and can also serve well as a mid morning snack with a glass of juice! These guiltfree no butter no oil cookies can be made even better by selecting chocolates which are lower on fat content. I went for 75% dark chocolate for half the quantity. Eat healthy, stay fit!

                                    

Ingredients

1 cup oatmeal flour (dry roast any variety oats and grind to a powder)

1 cup almond meal (grind almonds to a fine powder, with or without skin; I used store bought almond powder)

1/2 cup assorted chocolates (the original recipe called for chocolate chips. I wanted to clear my stock of chocolates and so skipped the chips)

1/4 cup milk plus extra (2-3 tbsp) while making the mixture

1/4 cup brown sugar (if using chocolate chips, increase the sugar by another 1/4 cup or as per taste)

A pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

Direction

Melt the chocolate with 1/4 cup milk in a microwave safe bowl, stirring in between. Choose a bowl which you can later use to mix the other ingredients as well.

Once melted, add all the other ingredients, except the extra milk, one at a time and start mixing. You can see the dough getting quite dry by now and so start adding the milk 1 tbsp at a time till everything just comes together. Do not add excess milk else your cookies will spread out on the baking sheet and won't hold shape. 

Pre heat the oven at 180 degree celsius and line a baking tray with parchment paper or silicon sheet or simply grease the tray.

Now, grease your hands very lightly and pinch out small balls and place it on the prepared baking tray. Gently flatten the top and form a uniform round shape from the sides. Repeat for the rest of the dough. Now bake in the pre heated oven for 15-20 minutes. For crispy cookies, bake till 20 minutes or until the cookies are just a bit firm to touch but still a little soft in the center. For chewier cookies, bake for about 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Store in air tight containers. Enjoy!