Baked Cheesezee Broccoli

This bake goes to my Hubby who is on High Fat Low Calorie (HFLC) / Paleo diet where,  sugar (in any form), grains, cereals, legumes, refined / hydrogenated  oil, and all high calorie / high in glycemic index foods are not allowed.  Time to time, I try to post few HFLC / Paleo recipes.

I tried this as a trial, but it turns out to be a really good bake. Chewy halloumi cheese with broccoli in a spicy, tangy sauce kind of mix is a divine dinner. Usually Halloumi is used to be grilled or fried but, I used it here to bake as I do not have enough stock of mozzarella, which is the ideal cheese for bake. 

Ingredients :     One  med-size broccoli (cut into florets, stems peeled and sliced or diced)       ;        1/4 cup of Schezwan paste      ;       1 tbsp of chopped garlic (fried in 2 tbsp of butter)          ;          1 tsp of soya sauce       ;      salt to taste      ;        250 grams of full fat halloumi cheese.

Ingredients for Schezwan paste :    15 no’s of Kashmir red chilies      ;      ½  Capsicum        ;           7 – 10 gloves Garlic (finely chopped)          ;      small piece of ginger  stem (finely chopped)          ;         ¼ tsp of  soy sauce           ;          ¼ tsp of vinegar        ;       1 tsp of tomato sauce      ;     1 ½ tbsp. of  coconut oil  ;      salt to taste

Procedure for Schezwan paste :  Remove the stems from red chilies, and soak them in hot water for about 30 mins and transfer it to a mixer grinder along with  chopped capsicum and grind into a fine paste and set aside.  (If require add some water)

In oil, stir fry the finely chopped garlic and ginger for about 2 -3 mins Add into the mixer along with chili paste and grind further to a fine paste and set aside. In a pan add oil, red chili paste allow to boil in low flame till the oil starts separating. Add soya sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce, and salt and cook further about 5min in low flame.   (note : Schezwan paste can be used in pasta and noodles preparation and can be stored in a air tight container in the fridge for month)  

Procedure for Cheesezee Broccoli :  After washing the broccoli allow it to dry and toss the broccoli florets with the schezwan paste, salt, soya sauce and butter fried garlic and spread them on a baking pan.

Sprinkle the halloumi cheese chunks all over the broccoli and transfer into  180°C Preheat oven and bake (without stirring) about 30 – 35 mins or until the edges are crispy.  (As halloumi has got very high melting point, it may not melt thoroughly) Serve it hot.

Baked Sprouted Dal Vada

Last week, we were at local south Indian restaurant for a breakfast. We ordered masal vadai or paruppu vadai (Dal vada). There was lot of oil in it. (Of course, in a deep fried items oil can’t be avoided) 

Due to oil, I resist myself to make vada at home. Suddenly, my son asked “why you can’t bake a vada, instead deep fry” Not a bad idea. 

But, don’t want to bake the same vada batter and bake. Want to enhance bit healthier by adding Sprouted moong dal and Veggies.

It was not bad at all. The taste is pretty close to the original deep fry. But, the shape is not circle. It’s a bar shaped. As long as its taste good and healthy, who bothers the shape?

The Ingredients*** are :   1 cup of chana dal   ;    1 cup of sprouted moong dal        ;             1 onion chopped     ;     1/2 cup of carrot & capsicum chopped      ;      2 green chilies       ;       2 tsp of salt      ;      1 small piece of  ginger     ;     3/4 tsp baking soda.

***Please find below the ingredients name in English and Tamil at the end of this post)

Procedure :  Soak chana dal in water for 2-3 hours and drain the water. Grind channa, moong, ginger, green chili, coarsely.  Add the onion, chopped carrot & capsicum, salt, baking soda and mix well. Allow it to stand for about 10 – 15 minutes.

Transfer the mixture into a greased baking tray and spread evenly for about ¼” thickness.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C, for about 15-20 minutes or till top is golden brown. Cut into 1" squares.

Can be consumed with tomato ketchup or even sprinkled with chaat masala. I just eat without anything with chai.

*** Chana dal (Hindi)  =  Bengal gram (English)  = கடலை பருப்பு

Green Moong dal  (Hindi)  =  Green gram whole (English) = பாசிப் பருப்பு

Bear Bread with Paneer Bhurji

This month challenge in we knead to bake was Different Shape bread with Savory filling. I decided to bake bread that (shape) attracts the children. The bread recipe, adopted from notquitenigella. 

I am quite happy with shape and softness of the bread. With the savory filling and cup of tea this bread is a divine.

Ingredients for Bear Bread  :   2 ½ cup  of All purpose flour   ;   1 tsp Instant yeast   ;     1cup of Luke warm water ;    2 tbsp of Honey    ;    20 gms of soften butter   ;    tsp of Salt   ;   1 egg for glaze (optional)   ;  few pepper corns for eyes / nose

Ingredients Paneer (Indian cottage Cheese) filling :  150gms of Paneer crushed ;    1 small Onion (finely chopped)    ;  ½  Capsicum (finely chopped)   ;  1tsp Chilly powder    ;     1tsp  Oil   ;  ½ tsp Tomato sauce   ;   Salt to taste

Bear Bread preparation : In the bowl add honey, yeast, salt and water and mix. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes in a warm place.

Add flour little by little to make dough. Add butter and start knead the dough till become soft.

Shape the dough into a ball and cover with cling wrap and allow it to rise for double in size. (may take up to one hour)

In the meantime, let’s do the filling…… In pan add oil, sauté onion and capsicum till onion changes to pink color then and chilly powder, sauce, salt, paneer and stir for 1-2 min or till all combine well and dry.

Now back to the Bread dough……remove the cling wrap and punch down the dough and knead for a minute.

Shape the dough into eight equal small balls (keep some dough for nose and ears) Roll the dough into 3 inch disc keep 2 to 3 tbsp. of filling and close. Try to maintain the ball shape even after filling.

Now prepare the ears and nose and fix them. Also fix the pepper corn for eye and nose. Keep the bears on a greased baking tray and cover with the damp cloth for about 45 min.

Those who don’t like egg and glaze, they can bake the bread at 180°C in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.

Those who don’t mind egg in the bread, they can glaze the bread with beaten egg, just before baking. The Glazing will give the fabulous finish. 

Whole Meal Flour Pizza with Grilled Chicken

 

I try my best to avoid disappointing my Veggie readers by not posting any meat recipes.  (But, egg is an exemption. Because,  Eggs are one of the basic ingredients in Baking, can’t avoid. However, I have given egg alternatives in the Tips & Tricks page)

But today, I am posting first meat recipe. I can see the smile, in my non-veg reader’s face. 

It’s a revised (non veg) version of my earlier Pizza recipe. The veggies can still read this and Substitute Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) for Chicken.  (Both Paneer and Chicken are Rich in Protein) 

Usually, Pizza is made with 100% All purpose flour. Here, we are going for a healthier version.

Ingredients for Pizza base : 2 1/2cup of Whole meal flour   ;    1/2 cup of All-purpose flour  ;   1 ½ cups of  Water    ;    ½ tsp  Sugar  ;       1 ½ tsp  Salt   ;     1 ½ tsp Yeast  ;  1  Egg     ;       1 tbsp  Olive oil    ;  1/4 cup  Pizza sauce.

Ingredients are required for Topping : Onion, sliced 1 medium  ;   half grilled chicken (grilled paneer for Veggies)   ;   Tomatoes cut into thick strips 1medium    ;    Green capsicum cut into thick strips 1 medium    ;   ¾ cup of   Low fat Mozzarella cheese, grated   ;    1 tsp Olive oil    ;    ¼ tsp of  Dry oregano    ;  1tsp  Chili flakes.  

Ingredients are required for Grill chicken :  Chicken Breast   ;   Tandoor masala  ;  2 tsp of Oil   ;   2 tsp of  Curd (Yogurt)    ;      Salt to taste

Grill Chicken Procedure :  Mix Tandoor masala, oil, yogurt, salt well and Marinate the chicken breast for about an hour. (if require sprinkle little water)

Grill the Chicken in Oven till it done. Allow it to cool and chop in to chunks. 

Making procedure of Pizza Base : Mix yeast and sugar with Luke warm water and set aside until it become frothy.  Thanks to the process fermentation 

Add salt, olive oil, egg, meal flour and all-purpose flour to the yeast mixture and kneads into soft dough. 

Leave the dough covered with a damp cloth in a warm place until dough is about double in volume.  It may take about forty five minutes, depends on the atmosphere temperature. Our friends yeast and bacteria, acts much faster in tropical conditions (around 100°F or 38°C).

Divide the (pizza) dough into two equal half, roll out each portion into medium thick discs. Prick with a fork all over. (If you don’t prick, Pizza base raises like a bun while you bake. Resulting, the toppings to fall)

Preheat oven to 220°C... …….Meanwhile, let’s prepare the topping. 

Spread prepared pizza sauce on rolled pizza base, top it with sliced Onion, grilled Chicken chunks, Tomato, Sliced Olives and Capsicum strips. Finally sprinkle grated low-fat mozzarella cheese to evenly cover the pizza top. 

Sprinkle chili flakes on top with olive oil. Place it on greased ovenproof tray and bake in the preheated oven at 220°C until the pizza base is crisp and the cheese melts and starts bubbling.  (May take about twenty minutes) Remove from oven, sprinkle with dried Oregano and serve hot with preferred sauce.