Chicken-Soya Burger

There's nothing more delicious than homemade juicy burgers. Forget your jaws and fill as much as you can ... full open your mouth and stuff it with the burgers.. yummm ! I can't resist that. 

These are juicy , melt in mouth, easy to follow, simple to make and delicious little patties ; shallow fried in oil or grilled and then sandwiched between buns and salads of your choice. The recipe is a revised version of that adapted from Vah re Vah . I had mixed soya with chicken for healthy reasons and a little variation in the spices. Noo likes chicken and Raz likes vegetable burgers. So I say Noo that these are chicken burgers and to Raz I say Soya burgers.. Both are happy and I don't have to lie.. taada !

INGREDIENTS

2 cups/450g Chicken mince *

160g/1 cup Soya

4 tbsp cream

1 tsp Pepper powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp Lemon juice 

3 tbsp Chopped coriander

1 tbsp Red chilli, crushed

2 Onions, finely chopped

1 tsp Garam masala

Salt

1/2 cup Bread crumbs

Extra Bread crumbs to coat

 METHOD:

 1. Soak soya nuggets in warm milk for atleast an hour. Drain them nicely, press till all moisture dries up and then  process in a food processor. 

2. Add chicken mince to it and blend again.

3. Place chicken and soya mixture in a bowl. Add all other ingredients except bread crumbs to coat . Mix well using a wooden spatula. 

4. The mixture will be very wet and sticky(that's the secret behind juicy burgers). Place some bread crumbs on a plate. Shape the chicken soya dough into patties and coat them with bread crumbs. You can either fry them then and there or freeze them for later purpose. Click here for freezing tips. 

5. Fry them till it turns golden color and get cooked through. About 3-4 minutes on each side on medium-high flame.

6. For assembling:- I used mayonnaise, lettuce,onions, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, pickled jalapeno peppers, cheese and saute mushrooms.

* If you are using chicken breasts, cut them into chunks, clean and dry them nicely, process them in food processor.

Chocolate/Strawberry Donuts

These little cuties are so heavenly delicious that you won't go again to Dunkin or Krispy Kreme for donuts again. I got this recipe from a tv programme , but made my own adjustments and improvised the recipe after 4 attempts. I love this version more. You can play with your own imagination on the toppings. There are lots and lots of varieties. Chocolate, strawberry and icing sugar are few famous ones, which I've mentioned below.

Ingredients:

(Yields: 12)

1 ½ tsp Instant Yeast

250g White Flour (1 1/3   cups)

1/4 cup Milk Powder

 ½tsp Baking Powder

2 tbsp Caster Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

50 gButter, melted (4 tbsp)

1 Egg

Lukewarm water to knead (125 ml approximately)*

 Chocolate Icing:

1 cup Icing Sugar

1 tsp Butter

1 tbsp Cocoa Powder

2 tbsp Water

Strawberry glaze:

1 cup Icing Sugar

2-3 tbsp Water

2 drop Strawberry essence

1 drop Pink Color

Method:

1. Mix yeast in lukewarm water and keep it aside until froth appears on top just like in the second picture in the collage below.

click the picture for clear view

2. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and milk powder together.

3. Make a well in the centre and pour the yeast mixture, slightly beaten egg and melted butter to it. Mix well in circular motion and turn into a dough using enough water.

4. Spread little oil on top and wrap with a cling film. Let it rise into double the size. It took about an hour for me though it depends on many other factors like the kitchen temperature, humidity etc.

click the picture for clear view

You can see how my finger impressions came out on the dough when it had risen.

5. Now, punch down the dough and knead well. Punching down helps to deflate the dough and let the air bubbles come out of the dough which was formed by the yeast during rising.

6. Take a small portion of the dough, flatten into 1/2 inch thick. cut out into donut shapes using donut cutter or 2 cookie cutters or even 2 bottle caps of different sizes.

7. Keep these cutouts on a tray and let it rise for about an hour or so till it doubles. Otherwise, you can keep in oven to rise. Preheat oven to 200C for about 15 minutes and switch off the oven. Place the donuts tray inside and leave it there for a few minutes till donuts double in size. Don't forget to turn off the oven before you keep the donuts.

click the picture for clear view

8. Fry these risen donuts in medium-low heat oil till they turn brown. Drain on tissue paper and let it cool before icing is done.

Chocolate/Strawberry Icing:

Sift icing sugar and discard the solids. Heat all the ingredients in a pan until sugar melts nicely. Dip donuts one by one into the icing (chocolate/strawberry)  halfway through , take it out and keep it on a tray. Sprinkle chocolate vermicelli ,sprinkles or walnut chunks on top of that if you wish.

Alternatively, for sugar coated donuts; dip these donuts in melted butter and then coat with icing sugar mixed with a pinch of cinnamon powder.

 Notes:
- * The measure of water mentioned here is just an approximate amount. It varies depending on humidity, size of the egg etc.

-The icing thickens easily. If so, heat it again till it melts . You can add more water if needed.


Linking this to Let's Cook for Easter

Khaliat Nahal/Honeycomb Bread

Khaliat Nahal /Honeycomb bread (now popularly known as Hanan's Honey Bunny) is quite famous now in our family. Hanan(my sis) introduced this among our cousins and everyone just loved this. They are behind her now for the recipe and no better idea to share this here than sending to each one of them.

Khaliat Nahal, which means Bees' Hive, is a middle-eastern delicacy which get its name due to its appearance similar to the honeycomb. These are bite size stuffed buns which differs according to the filling or syrup used. Some are sweet while others savoury. Here is  sweet version with cheese stuffed and later soaked in sugar syrup. These buns are too soft that kids as well as elders would defenitely love this.

Bun:

Ingredients:
All purpose flour/Maida  3 1/2 cups
Milk 1 cup
Milk powder 2 tbsp
Water 1/4- 1/2 cup
Egg 1
Sugar 3tbsp
Oil 4 tbsp
Butter 4 tbsp,melted
Instant yeast 1 1/2 tsp*
salt 1/2 tsp
Triangle cheese- 6-8 pieces
Egg 1 , slightly beaten for egg wash
Sesame on top 2 tbsp (optional)

Method:
1. Sieve the flour, then add milk powder, sugar, yeast and salt to it. *If the yeast is granule type, then soak in warm water for 15-30minutes until it bubbles up. And if it is pizza yeast, just throw it into the flour.

2. Make a well in the centre and add oil, butter and the egg. Mix together. Now add all the milk. Start kneading together and gradually add the water a little at a time. You might not need it all, so add it sparingly until your dough is nice and soft. Knead for a good 8-10 minutes. The more you knead it the softer the buns will be.

3. Touch a bit of oil with your fingertips and apply all over the ball of dough. Cover in a bowl and set aside for 40mins to an hour for it to double in size. You can pop in the bowl into preheated oven and rest it there which would make the whole process fast. For this, you should preheat your oven to the maximum temperature and then turn it off before keeping the bowl inside.

4. Once it doubles in size, punch it down, and break off tiny bits of dough. You should get about 30-40 tiny pieces out of this. Take each piece of dough, and stretch it out with your fingers, then add a small piece of cheese in its center. Bring the edges together and form a ball so that the cheese is completely enclosed within the dough. Repeat this with all the dough.

5. Grease your pan/pans with butter. Place the balls of dough in a 'honeycomb' pattern. Try to get them close to each other so that there are no or very little spaces in between.

6. Cover the pans and set aside for a second rise, about half an hour. Sprinkle sesame on top (if using)

7. Now apply egg wash on the balls, preheat your oven to 180 C and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the bread is nice and golden on top. If your balls are smaller 15 minutes might do.

8. Remove from the oven and pour your syrup all over the hot bread. Remember that the syrup needs to be cool and the bread needs to be steaming hot straight from the oven. Turn it out and place on a rack to cool and for the syrup to glaze slightly.

Sugar Syrup/Glaze:

Ingredients

Sugar 1 cup

Water 3/4 cup

Honey 1 tbsp

Saffron a pinch

Method:

Boil sugar,water and saffron together until all the sugar melts and the syrup is slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add honey. Mix and set aside to cool completely. 

LInking this to  Bread from Scratch Event hosted by he Big Sweet Tooth & Cooks Joy 

Healthy Pancakes

• Happy Childrens Day!! 

• A healthy pancake with all healthy ingredients such as oats, wholemeal flour etc. to all those wonderful moms who keep worrying about their kids' health and to all those kids who love eating delicious junks .
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• Ingredients:
• Courtesy:Eating Well
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• Buttermilk 2 1/2 cups**
• Oats 3/4 cups
• All purpose flour/Maida 1 cup
• Whole purpose flour/Atta 3/4 cup
• Light brown sugar 1/4 cup ,packed
• Baking powder 2 tsp
• Baking soda 1tsp
• Ground Cinnamon 1tsp
• Salt 1/2tsp
• Egg 1 ,large
• Eggwhites 2, large
• Oil 2 tsp

** For Buttermilk, add 2 1/2 tbsp of vinegar to 2 1/2 cups milk and allow it to remain at room temperature for a minimum of 15 minutes, without stirring/mixing it.

• Method:

1. Combine buttermilk and rolled oats in a small bowl; let rest for 20 to 30 minutes to soften oats. Stir all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour,  brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk egg, egg whites and 1 teaspoon oil in a separate bowl. Add the oat mixture and the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
2. Lightly brush a large nonstick skillet with a little of the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and heat over medium. Using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake, pour batter onto the skillet and cook until the underside is browned and the bubbles on top remain open, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the pancakes over and cook until the underside is browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and keep warm in a 200°F oven. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet with a little of the remaining oil as needed. Serve hot, topping with maple syrup if desired.

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SOYA MUSHROOM BURGER- Happy Teachers Day!!

Just now read somehwhere "Teaching is the profession that teaches all other professions!" How true! We seldom realize such simple things in life unless told by someone.  I like all my teachers except two ,whom I really hate.(there's a genuine reason).As a child, I was very shy to express my respect or love towards them. So today I wanted to take this oppurtunity to share about some of my favourite teachers who left their impact on me.

Qamarunnisa Ma'm who taught me in Grade 2 from Al Noor School,Auh was my first favourite among teachers. She was so caring and knew to deal with small kids really well. I always got motherly affection from her and was surprised when she could recognize me after 8 years. The other favourites were Jayasree Ma'm, Sangeetha Ma'm, Hari sir, Lissy Ma'm, Sheena Ma'm etc. etc. and the list goes on. I wanted to thank all my teachers from the bottom of my heart. I wouldn't have achieved first rank in 12th without them and I really mean it. I was so careless in my studies; but the teachers' trust in me overpowered everything and I had to prove myself.

Coming over to the recipe, a wonderful , melt in mouth and healthy recipe which you can make ahead and freeze for your kids' school. You can avoid mushroom if your kids don't like it. Otherwise a power packed, nutritious food is just a few minutes away.

Ingredients :
Courtesy: Mummy Ka Magic
(Makes 10)

Soya bean chunks 36 medium sized
Button Mushrooms 6
Green peas 1 1/2 cups
Potato 2 cups, boiled and mashed
Onion 3, medium
Garlic 2tsp
Pepper 2 tsp
Oregano or Italian mixed herbs 3/4tsp, (Optional)
Bread crumbs, 1 cup or more for coating

Method:

Pour boiling water over soyabean in a bowl, let it soak for 10-15 minutes. Drain and squeeze them nicely. If there's any moisture left behind, there's a chance to break while frying.

Mince soya beans, mushroom and greenpeas together in a grinder or foodprocessor. Keep it aside in a bowl.

Make a paste of onions. Heat oil in a pan and saute in garlic for few seconds . Add onion paste to it. Saute till the paste leaves sides of the pan. Add spices to it.

Add this paste into the soya mixture. Mix in breadcrumbs nicely. Take a handful of mixture and make patties out of it. Coat breadcrumbs and shallowfry this in little oil.

If you want to freeze, follow the same procedures I followed in freezing Meat Cutlets.

Linking this to Back 2 School Event hosted by me

Healthy Breakfast Event

Danish Butter cookies- The Swirl/Round One

Danish Butter Cookies in a Blue tin brings back lots of childhood memories. They were considered as the most cherished and premium cookies, li'l bit expensive and the first option opted as  gift while visiting guests. Things has not changed much inside the blue tin since years. They still look and taste the same. We kids took a while before selecting our favourites among them. Of all, the one with a whole in the middle and the one with raisins were my favourites. I always tried to insert my finger inside that whole of circular cookies and ate just like that, lol!! I couldn't stop with just one or two cookies at a time; Insanely addicted, I must say!

I've been thinking about baking this for a while now. My kids now started liking home baked goodies more than the shop bought ones. That's a bit relaxing for me too as I can play with certain ingredients to make it healthier and also keep my kids away from preservatives or the kind.So googled it and found the recipe here. It's too delicious. I've baked one more flavor which will soon be posted here.

 Baking cookies is not a big deal though; this one especially is so easy as we don't have to keep it for resting in refrigerator or no hassle with mixing or beating butter... Just mix all the ingredients together, pipe it onto baking sheets and bake it for 8-10 minutes; that's it!

Ingredients

1 egg (60g)
200g butter
130g icing sugar
320g flour
1 1/2 tbsp of vanilla essence

Method

1.Mix all the ingredients together using egg beater or hand mixer.

2. Pipe wreaths (circular shapes) onto cookie sheet or baking tray using an open star tip. I used Wilton 1M , but you can use a smaller one too.

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 7-8 min. I baked at 170C for 9-10 mts. 200 degrees was too much for my oven.

4.Leave to cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet.

5.Transfer cookies into airtight container after cookies are at room temperature.

Linking this toCutchii Kitchen

                                                 

 

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