Challah (Bread)

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1/4cup sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
1package regular or quick active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1cup very warm water
2tablespoons vegetable oil
1large egg
some oil for greasing
1 egg (for egg wash)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds


Method

In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add warm water and oil and beat with electric mixer on low to medium speed for about 3 minutes - keep scraping bowl frequently.Add egg and beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour to make a dough.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead  for about 10 minutes to get a smooth and springy dough.  Grease a large bowl with oil. Place dough in bowl and grease it on all sides. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.
Once it has doubled in size, remove it from bowl and punch to remove all the air. Knead well and make 3, 4 or 6 strands to braid the bread.

I took the help of the following video to braid a 6 strand challah.
"how to braid a 6 strand challah"

Place the braided dough on a greased cookie sheet and let it sit for 1 hour till it doubles. Give it an egg wash with 1 beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top (you can even use poppy seeds). Bake it in a 375 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 30 to 35 minutes untill bread is a deep golden brown color.

This challah can be eaten with butter and jam or even just like that.

Ham & Caramelized Onions Panini

Ingredients

6 slices of sourdough bread (any other bread works too)
6 slices ham - cute into small pieces
1 big onion - thinly slices
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar (regular sugar works too)
1 cup cheddar cheese - shredded (optional)

Method

In a frying pan add the oil - when it gets hot, add the sliced onions along with the salt and brown sugar and let it get a nice caramelized golden brown. Remove the caramelized onions into a mixing bowl. To the same pan add the chopped slices of ham along with the worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup and sriracha and mix well untill you get a nice caramelization on the ham. Add this to the same mixing bowl with the onions. Mix well till onions and ham are incorporated.
Place a bread slice on the panini maker/press and add the ham and onion mixture to it. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and place another slice on top of it. Close the panini maker or press with the panini press till the bread gets a nice crust and grill marks on top.
Serve with colseslaw and fries or chips.

Sweet Peppers stuffed with Crab Meat

Ingredients

8 to 10 sweet peppers - I had red, yellow and orange
1 cup cooked crab meat
1 medium onion - finely chopped
9 to 10 garlic cloves - grated
1 cup - chopped spinach
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 teaspoons dhania jeera powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
2 teaspoons oil
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional)
salt to taste

Method

Clean the peppers and cut it lengthwise in the middle into 2 portions. Remove the seeds and the veins and get the hollow to fill the stuffing in.
In a karahi add the oil. When it gets hot, add the onions and garlic and let it saute till the onions turn translucent. Then add the spinach and let it cook. when the spinach is all wilted, add the dhania jeera powder and the garam masala and the crab meat and mix everything well. Add salt to taste and mix well. Let this mixture cool down. Pour it into a mixing bowl and add the egg and bread crumbs and mix well.
Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and spray oil on it. Lay the peppers in a line. Fill the pepper cavity with the crab mixture. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the crab mixture and spray some oil over it again. Bake this in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Chicken Seekh Kebabs

Ingredients

1 pound ground chicken/chicken mince
9 to 10 cloves garlic - grated
1 medium onion - finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon salt (add more if you feel it needs more salt)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon tandoori masala
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon butter (melted)
Steel skewers or wooden skewers (these need to be soaked in water overnight - to avoid them from burning)

Method

Dry roast the coriander seeds, the cumin and the fennel seeds and make a coarse powder with it in a spice grinder. Take the ground chicken in a mixing bowl - add the onion, garlic, cilantro, salt, tandoori masala,  the spice mix made with coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin and mix well. to this add the bread crumbs and the egg and mix everything well with your finger (wear gloves if you do not want to touch the chicken). Make seekh kebab shaped sausages around the skewers. Place it on a baking sheet and brush the outside with the oil and butter mixture. Bake it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 to 25 minutes.
Serve with coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

Deviled Eggs (Wasabi flavored)

Deviled eggs have been an all-time favorite with hubby and me. We have savored the best deviled eggs at Dinosaur BBQ in Rochester, NY. I have never made deviled eggs at home - though always wanted to try em. Yesterday was the ideal day - baked a focaccia and was too bored to make anything great for dinner - so ended up whipping some deviled eggs - and it was some yumm and easy dinner :)
Traditionally - once the deviled eggs are stuffed - it is covered and is refrigerated for 24 hours to get that mayonnaise and other things to mix well. Here, we just made the mixture and added it to the egg whites and relished the dish.

Ingredients


8 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon grated wasabi (you can add more if you want it spicy - wasabi is very spicy)
1 celery stalk - chopped fine
2 spring onions - chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon sweet relish (optional)
pinch of salt
pinch of crushed black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
chopped parsley for garnishing



Method


Pop out (remove) the egg yolks to a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, celery, wasabi, spring onion, relish, horseradish, tomato ketchup and salt & pepper and mix thoroughly. Fill the empty egg white shells with the mixture and garnish with shopped parsley
Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to one day before serving - you can serve it right away too.