Through my lens ~ Coffee Stains

"Through my lens" is a new series of food photography. An idea to portray beautiful things I indulge in every day life and share the moments with my friends and visitors to this blog. This series primarily focus on food and things related to it (food). Today I tried to click coffee stained paper through my lens.

The above picture goes to Click July 2008. This month's theme is Coffee and Tea.

Materials used: Coffee Mug, coffee stained paper towel, brown textured paper used in background to compliment coffee stains.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSCP100.
About photo: taken in bright sunlight beaming from window and without flash.
Nicks & Knacks: adjusted the brightness and contrast.


"The coffee stains clicked here is not wasted intently for the snap, but indeed was spilled by mistake when my hand hit the coffee mug in my refrigerator. I wanted to make a cold coffee but nevertheless I ended up clicking the dried out paper towel instead for this event ;)"

Cherry Rose Rolls

Impressive appearance matched only by their delicious flavor

Baking is an art and I am still a learner. In India we never owned an oven to try all those baking goodies at home. If we felt like eating cakes, breads, delicious pastries and rolls we used to depend on small bakeries in our town. I remember when I was in 12th standard Monginis was the first ever brand name in baking I knew of! So after coming to land of opportunities[US], baking is one amongst other few arts which I learned here. More on how I used my oven when I was new to it, you can read it from here.

I slowly gained momentum in baking all the goodies and well but consider myself still at a learning stage only. Last week I brought some books on baking from our local library. Cherry rose rolls caught my eyes while browsing out for some new recipes from the Sourdough Cookbook by Rita Davenport. For more on Baking with the Sourdough, I will draft few points from this book and post it separately for all Enthusiastic Bakers. Keep watching!!


Here are some snaps on 'The making of Cherry Rose Rolls'

Kneading the dough

Shaping the rolls

let them rise!

Making indentations

Spooning the cherry filling

Source: The Sourdough Cookbook by Rita Davenport

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 3 hours

Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 24 to 30 rolls

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients:
3/4 C milk
1 envelope active dry yeast (1T)
1/2 C water
1 C sourdough starter
1/2 C butter or margarine, melted
1/2 C granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3 to 4 C all-purpose flour
1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling
For decorating:
1 C powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 T milk

Method:

• In a small saucepan, heat 3/4 cup milk almost to a boil over medium heat. Do not boil. Set aside to cool 10 minutes.
  
• Sprinkle yeast over water, set aside to soften 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine sourdough starter, cooled milk, softened yeast mixture, butter or margarine, granulated sugar and salt. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough.Turn on to a lightly floured surface. Clean and grease bowl; set aside.
• Knead dough 5 to 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Add more flour if necessary. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease all side. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator 2 hours or overnight.
• Grease a large baking sheet; set aside. Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 24-30 equal pieces.
• Gently roll each piece between your hands to a 12-inch rope. On prepared baking sheet, loosely coil each rope, tucking end of rope under coil.
• Leave 2 inches between coiled ropes. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm place free from drafts. Let rise 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 400F (205C). Press the center of each roll with your fingers until you touch baking sheet. Make indentations about 1 inch wide.
• Spoon cherry pie filling into each indentation. Bake in preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  
• Remove from baking sheet, cool on a rack.
• For decorating, In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla and 1tablespoon milk, Beat until smooth. Spoon into a pastry bag. Decorate rolls by pressing mixture through a tip with small opening.

This weekend (19th July 2008) we went to Dorney's Park near Allentown, PA. It has both Wildwater Park and Amusement Park. We thoroughly enjoyed and had aches and sores by the end of the day! I took these rolls for snacking and everyone in our group enjoyed having them. So, its a nice picnic snack too!

I am sending this to Bread Baking day - Small breads event started by Zorra and hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen

And to Susan for YeastSpotting

more baking from my kitchen:
Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
Amish Zucchini Bread
Banana Chocolate chip Muffins

Ponganalu

Ponganalu for breakfast or brunch!!!

Ponganalu ~ telugu word for fried batter puffs on a special pan. This is very popular breakfast in Andhra, Southern India and in general served with a chutney, sambhar or any pickle. I brought a nonstick Ponganalu skillet from India recently and was very eager to make Ponganalu.

In this recipe I used the left over batter for Idli (steamed rice cakes), diluted a little bit and added chopped onions,cilantro and freshly ground black pepper. You can add different variety of veggies to make it more delicious and nutritional like grated carrots, zucchini, cucumber, chopped spinach etc. You can also manipulate with the batter by using chickpea flour or all purpose flour used for pancakes. Its totally up to your imagination!

I made "peanut-garlic-cilantro chutney" and "erra karam" to go with it.

Ponganalu batter poured into special pan and fried ~ Flipped Puff Ponganalu!

For Idli batter:
Soak overnight 3 cups of rice and 1 cup of urad dal/black lentil along with 1 t fenugreek seeds. In the morning thoroughly wash it and grind batch wise into a smooth paste by adding water, it should be of a smoothie consistency remember neither too runny nor too thick.

Ponganalu served with peanut-garlic-cilantro chutney
and erra karam

Source: My Mother

Cuisine: Andhra, South Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:
4 C of Idli batter
1/2 C water
2 medium onion, chopped handful of cilantro,
chopped 1/2 t baking soda
freshly ground black pepper
salt as per taste

Method:

• Mix all the above ingredients and keep aside for 30 mins so that all the flavors are incorporated in the batter.
• Grease or oil spray the "Ponganalu pan" keep it on medium high flame.
• Slowly spoon in the batter, cover and let it cook for 4-5 mins approx.
• Once the batter is cooked, turn over the Ponganalu and cook for another 4 mins.
• Remove and serve hot with your favorite chutney/pickle/sambhar.
• Makes around 30 ponganalu
  

You can find Ponganalu skillet/pan in USA on Bed Bath and Beyond, check them out here and here.

My Style Shrimp Fry with authentic Indian spices

My Style Shrimp fry

Shrimps are one of my favorite seafood. They are low in fat but high in cholesterol. I know these days some people are avoiding eating shrimps/prawns because of its high levels of cholesterol and not good for heart and overall health. Having them sometimes a year is kinda okay for me. I generally have then seven to eight times a year!! Yes, it is true that shrimps are my favorite but JB doesn't like it much so I avoid cooking at home and rather eat them outside. I love having them at Chinese buffets as appetizers, Thai entrees, salads, pastas and sometimes make them at home in our Indian way.

So far posted only a single recipe on shrimp, this shrimp fry is a traditional way I cook whilst experimenting different flavors and spices with it. The recipe is simple and easy to follow, all you need to do is get a small bunch of curry leaves, coz that adds the real flavor and aroma to it. The best place to shop for curry leaves is the local Indian grocery stores.

Shrimps really cooks fast in about 6-7 mins or so. Once they turn pinkish white, curls and turn opaque that means they are done. If your shrimps turn rubbery solid and hard to crack that means you have overcooked them! In this recipe, I used lightly toasted coriander seeds and cumin which gives the smoky aroma to it. Rest all are very common ingredients you will find in any Indian kitchen. Little garnishing makes it worth while.

Ingredients:
20-25 shrimps, fresh or frozen
1 big red onion, minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
2-3 green chillies, avoid if you don't like it too hot
1/2 C curry leaves, finely chopped
1/2 t red chilli powder
a pinch of turmeric/haldi
2 T coriander seeds/dhaniya
1 T cumin/jeera
2 T cilantro/kothambir,roughly chopped
1 T olive oil or any cooking oil
freshly ground black pepper
Salt as per taste

Method:

• If using frozen shrimps thaw them at room temperature and de vein them and clean under running tap water. Add a tsp of salt,cover with a plastice wrap and refrigerate it.
  
• Dry roast the coriander seeds and cumin separately, cool and grind it into fine powder.
• Chop finely the red onion or mince it in a food processor, its the easy way to chop onion finely.
• Heat oil in a kadai and add the onions to it, fry for a min and then add chopped shallots and chopped green chillies.
• Add a pinch of salt to sweat the onions and then add finely chopped curry leaves. This is the main ingredient that gives flavor to this dish.
• Add turmeric/haldi, ground coriander-cumin powder, chilli powder and freshly ground black pepper. Fry for a min, sprinkle some water in between and cook till all the raw smell is gone for about 4-5 mins.
• Lastly add the shrimps, salt and mix well so that all spices are blended together, cover and cook for 6-7 mins on medium flame.
• Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and serve with hot rice or biryani.
  

more Shrimps from Padma's Kitchen:
My Style Shrimp curry

Celebrating 1st Milestone, Penne with parsley pesto and zucchini

Back to Blogging!
Its been a little over 4 months I was away from blogging. My short trip to India (three and half months were not enough for me) kept me off the board, I was sad to part away from my blog but was very happy that I will be seeing my family after 3 long years. Being my first trip back home after coming to US, I was feeling very nostalgic about it from the day I booked my tickets.

Going back is always so emotional, its like you are on a journey to meet part-2 in you. Visiting the places you grew up, going to your favorite food joint, chatting up with your friends and neighbours, meeting your school teachers and recollecting the time you had with them, mother's pampering or having the road side food be it Chai, Pani puri, Chats or the famous Wada-pav... being a kid all over again makes you happy and content. I had a very nice time in India, except for the sultry summer in Mumbai, Vizag and Ongole.... we came back in mid of June and now slowly getting adjusted to the life here.

Padma's Kitchen turned 1 today!!!!!

Coming to my food blog, I am happy to announce that Padma's Kitchen turned "1" today. The journey so far has been very close to my heart. I made so many new friends around the world, who supported me, inspired me and taught me every day every way. I must not forget to say that my writing skills improved too and getting better day by day, though I may not be a good story teller. I am dedicating one of my favorite dish, I learned after coming to US... as a part of this celebration. Hope to survive blogging about food for many more years to come and make some wonderful and t@sty friends forever :)

Pasta has become more popular in my home, even my mom does cooks as evening snacks by adding Indian flavors, it really enhances the taste. I prefer Barilla plus multigrain pasta as it is a good source of protiens and ALA Omega-3. Eating pasta at least once a week has almost became a ritual in my home, JB enjoys taking for lunch. Here is one of my adapted version I grab from Giada's Everyday Italian on Foodtv. I must say that her show truly inspired me to try Italian recipes, but I envy her on the huge chunks of parmigiano-reggiano in her pantry. I wonder does she bulk order it!!

Penne with Parsley pesto and Zucchini

Ingredients:
1 C /100 g Uncooked multigrain penne pasta
1 Zucchini, sliced
1/8 t red chilli flakes
1 Shallot, chopped lengthwise
1/4 C Parmesan cheese, grated
1 T Butter
For parsley pesto
2 C Fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1/3 C Extra virgin olive oil
2 Garlic cloves
1 t Basil
1/2 C Pine nuts, toasted
Freshly crushed black pepper
Salt as per taste
Method:

1. Heat the one quart of water in a large pot, when it starts boiling add 1 T salt and add pasta to it. Check for the cooking instructions on the pack or if its whole wheat pasta you have to cook for 5 more mins. Check if the pasta is al dente and drain the pasta.
2. In th time it take the pasta to cook, toast the pine nuts make sure you wont burn them. Prepare pesto by combining all the ingredients in a blender and pulse it for few seconds.
3. Heat a tablespoon of butter add shallots to it and let it fry for a minute on a medium flame. Then add zucchini and saute it for another minute.
4. Add the cooked penne and roughly mix it. Toss parlsey pesto and red chilli flakes with the pasta until all the flavors marry.
5. Sprinkle some freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve hot.
   

I thank all my readers, friends, family members, my husband JB (who is the backbone of my blog) from the bottom of my heart for your unlimited support and valuable comments ~ inputs, boosting my confidence and making the impossible possible.....finally I am cooking ;)

I THANK YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN!