Masala Focaccia

I love baking bread. There is no other reason for me to make this recipe apart from my ever increasing love for baking breads and then eating them. Finally I am able to overpower the yeast and it has started becoming a friend of mine. Whenever I see the glass of yeast with bubbles over the surface, I start smiling. Or whenever I see that the dough is rising as expected or the bread is rising in the oven or the bubbles in the dough as I roll it out, I am the most happy person on this planet.

Focaccia is one of my favorites. This is a classic focaccia recipe with a masala twist. A very light and delicious bread with a mesmerizing coriander flavor.  It tasted amazing and was over within an hour. I could just manage to take pictures of a small piece of the bread .

Let me take you through the recipe.  

Masala Focaccia
Serves: 4
Adapted from : Tadka Pasta

Ingredients:
1. 1 1/4 cup (140 g) all purpose flour
2. 1/2 cup (65 g) whole wheat flour
3. 3/4 cup (180 g) lukewarm water
4. 2 tsp yeast
5. 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
6. 3 tbsp olive oil + olive oil to drizzle
7. 3/4 tsp salt
8. 3 green chilly
9. 2 red onion
10. handful of chopped coriander

First step is proofing the yeast. Dissolve the sugar in the lukewarm water. Make sure that the water is lukewarm, it should neither be cold nor hot to touch. If the water is too cold, yeast won't activate and if the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Now dissolve the yeast in it. Keep this mixture aside covered with a towel for 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a table spoon of oil in a pan. Fry the finely chopped red onion, green chilly and coriander in the oil for a minute or so. Let it sit on the side to cool down.

If the yeast is active (it should have bubbles/foam on the top of it), it is ready to use. Else let it sit for some more time. Sift the flour and salt together. Now put in the sauteed onion and coriander into the flour. Add the yeast to the flour while constantly beating with a wooden spatula. Mix properly till all the ingredients seem to have well blended.

Take a 9x9 or 8x8 baking pan and line it with parchment paper. Now cover the inside of the parchment paper with 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Transfer the dough into the baking pan with the help of a spatula. Using the spatula or wet fingers, spread the dough evenly on the surface of the pan. You will have to spread it out to the edges. Now cover the pan with a towel and keep it in a warm place for an hour or so. Poke the surface of the dough with wet fingers for the classic focaccia and drizzle good amount of olive oil. I drizzled about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Preheat an oven to 180 degree Celsius and keep the baking pan inside the oven at the middle level.
Bake the bread for about 25 minutes or till it is golden brown.

Take the baking pan out and let the bread cool down for a few minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the bread to make sure it is not stuck to the pan. Take it out and remove the parchment paper. If you have used oil generously it would come out very clean.

Cut and serve hot along with mayonnaise or any cheesy dip.

It was a very light, flavorful, soft and an olivy focaccia. It is a recipe which I will make over and over again. Its a conquest for me in the world of breads and definitely spot on in terms of taste and flavors.

Pasta with mushroom and spinach

I was baking bread and felt like making some pasta. My sister's eyes glittered when I said pasta. She is a real foodie and I am lucky to have her around to keep trying all that I make.

My taste for pasta has evolved over the years. I earlier used to like red sauce pasta but I don't know since when I started liking white sauce pasta. I have been making pasta for a long time now and each time it feels like I have made something better. It is a simple recipe. The pasta taste delicious and is beautifully balanced. I like the not so dry, creamy, mushroomy and cheesy pasta. Next time I will make fresh pasta at home.

The bread was baking in the oven (will share the recipe once I take it to perfection), mushrooms were sizzling in the pan and pasta was boiling in the boiler. There were so many fragrances in the house that everyone was confused. I was like I don't know why is it smelling so good in here. Obviously I was giggling with happiness. I was a little extra happy cooking pasta and was very engrossed. As usual cooking calmed me and channelized my energy. I can go on blabbering but let me take you through the recipe.

Pasta with mushroom and spinach
Serves 4

Ingredients

1. 250 g tagliatelle
2. 1 1/2 tbsp whole purpose flour
3. 2 cup milk (~ 500 mls )
4. 1 1/2 + 1/2 tbsp butter
5. 7-8 button mushrooms (or as per your cravings for mushroom ;) )
6. 2 plum tomatoes
7. 150-200 g finely chopped spinach
8. 1 slice of a large aubergine
9. 40 g cheese
10. 4 garlic cloves
11. 1 1/2 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
12. 1/2 tsp oregano
13. 1/4 tsp black pepper
14. Salt to taste

For the Sauce:
1. Heat up a sauce pan and put 1 1/2 tbsp butter in it.
2. Add flour when the butter has melted.
3. Mix the flour well with the butter and let it cook for about 2 minutes. The butter and flour mixture will have a bright yellow color.
4. Add the milk and keep stirring the sauce. Continuous stirring will ensure that the flour does not form lumps.
5. Cook the sauce for another 4-5 minutes or till it starts thickening up.
6. Now add grated cheese, salt, black pepper, oregano and mix. Turn off the heat.


For Pasta:
1. Boil about 6-7 cups of water. Add salt and 1 tsp olive oil while boiling the water.
2. Add the pasta to the boiling water.
3. Cook the pasta as per the time indicated on the packet as different types of pasta require different cooking time. Tagliatelle requires 4-5 minutes.
4. Now drain the water and keep the pasta aside.

For Veggies:
1. Heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a wok.
2. Now add the chopped garlic and fry for a minute.
3. Add sliced mushrooms and 1/2 tbsp butter and let the mushrooms sizzle for a minute or two. Mushrooms taste better when they are still crunchy.
4. Now add the sliced aubergine, sliced tomato and spinach to the wok. Add some salt as per your taste and let the vegetables cook for about 2-3 minutes. (I roasted the tomatoes along with the bread in the oven and then chopped them and added them to the vegetables at the end)


Assembling together:
1. Heat up the sauce, add vegetables and mix properly.
2. Now add pasta and cook for a minute on high heat.

Serve hot. Garnish with some cheese shavings if you like.

The pasta was absolutely delicious and creamy. Mushrooms, spinach and aubergine go really well with the pasta. The sauce dries up when it is kept so I would suggest you to prepare the sauce when everything is ready. This is my all time favorite recipe for pasta and it has been running on repeat for a long time.

Have fun making and eating guys.