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.

Pumpkin Bread Rolls

This month challenge in we knead to bake #33 was Spiced Pumpkin Bread Rolls to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Thanks to Aparna for introducing this pumpkin shaped bread roll, which attracted not only the kids, also the adults.

Thanksgiving is celebrated in US, to thank for the fruits of the previous harvest. Grilled Turkey and pumpkin pie are traditional served food of the day. 

But, for a change instead of pumpkin pie, Spiced Pumpkin Bread Rolls on our lunch! This recipe adapted from Beyond Kimchee. 

Ingredients-       1/3 cup of warm milk     ;    2 tbsp honey   ;   2 tsp instant yeast      ;        1/2  cup of pureed pumpkin (unsweetened)        ;       40 gms butter melted   ;        1 tsp salt       ;     1 ¼ cup of whole wheat flour      ;     1 ¼ cup all purpose flour   ;      1 tsp spices (dry ginger + cardamom+cinnamon)      ;        6 pieces cashews (for stem)

To make pumpkin purée, peel the pumpkin and clean out the middle, then cut into small cubes and steam cook till soft. Drain the liquid. Once cooled, blend it to a fine paste.

Pour the warm milk into a big bowl. Add the honey and yeast and mix well and keep aside.

 

In a mixing bowl, add the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt and the spice powders into the bowl and mix them well.  Finally add the yeast mixture and Melted butter and the pumpkin purée.

Knead until you have smooth and elastic dough that will be somewhat sticky. Add a little flour or milk depends on the consistency of dough.

Turn the dough out to a wooden board dusted with a little flour and knead by hand for a minute. Shape it into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning it around to coat it well. Cover with damp cloth; let the dough rise for about an hour or so, until double in volume.

Deflate the risen dough gently to remove air pockets and divide it into about 6 rolls equal sized portions. Shape each portion into a ball. Flatten each ball slightly and using a sharp knife or a pair of scissors make 8 cuts at equal distance from each other, from the edge of the ball towards the center but leaving the center uncut – like a flower.

Place the dough “flowers” 2” apart on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover again for the second rise for about 45 minutes. Use your fore finger or the round end of a wooden spoon (dip it in a little oil or flour so the dough doesn’t stick to it) and poke a deep hole in the center of each “flower” for the cashew as “stem” (after bake)

Brush them with milk and transfer the tray into 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Take them out of the oven and brush the rolls with melted butter and allow them to cool. As a final touch, insert the cashew in the middle as pumpkin stem.