No Knead Bread

Hey everyone. I know I know i've slowed down to a crawl here. I've actually been cooking everyday but haven't made anything new that hasn't already been posted. I have nver made bread before. This recipe came to me from Gareth. Its actually a very popular recipe posted in the New York Times. Check it out here . There is also a youtube video of making this bread. I'm not much of a baker. I love breads but never ever ventured to make some on my own fearing all the kneading etc. This is an extremely easy recipe...it takes some time just for the dough to ferment and rise but is soooo easy its definitely worth a try. The bread is really really good.
I'm posting some of the pics of my bread making but not the recipe since the article has it. Unlike the recipe and as shown in the video I used my oven at 500 degrees instead of 450. Also, for some reason, maybe I didn't use enough flour on my towel, the bread stuck to the towel before baking and I had too pull it off losing a little bit of dough with it. This happened to Gareth too so I warn you to use maybe a thinner cotton towel that will easily come off. I also stored my dough after rising in the fridge and baked it the next day. That was fine too. I sincerely hope you try this one.

Yes we can

On this historic day let us welcome the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack H Obama, and wish him the best in his task ahead. As residents of this country we should understand and acknowledge our duties and responsibilities to assist in the rebuilding of a peaceful and prosperous nation and world. Yes we can!

Peas Paranthas

I love stuffed paranthas. It reminds me of my dad. He loved stuffed paranthas and being a vegetarian he always ordered this in any Indian restaurant. I can't believe he left us so early in life. Jan 16th was his 61st B'day. Happy B'day Pappa....this is for you. I remember him everytime I makes paranthas and can almost see him at the dining table waiting eagerly. I wish you guys had known him...he was such a sweetheart. The most important thing I learnt from him was always see the good in people and see the positive side of life whenever you're down. I read this food blog a couple of days back where the author was so called "venting" but she said such mean things about such trivial issues with her co-workers that I was shocked. However hard or long your work day was what bitterness do you hold within you that makes you say such terribly nasty shallow things about people who mean no harm. There's a thin line between venting and being downright mean. What a waste of blog space!! After reading her post I thought of my dad and his sweet outlook on life...because of it he was a happy man. Remember people keep the happy thoughts in, throw out the bad ones and use that "hate" word sparingly. Well I have totally digressed from my main point...here is the recipe for paranthas stuffed with peas in my dad's memory.

Ingredients
2 cups peas, cooked in water
2 green chillies
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste
Dough recipe

Grind together the cooked peas, green chillies and cumin with salt to form a thick mixture. Roll out the whole wheat flour dough into a 2 inch thick 6 inch diameter circle.



Add a spoon full of peas mixture in the centre. Fold the dough over it and seal the edges to form a ball. Flatten the ball in some flour and roll gently using flour to prevent sticking or tearing. This can be hard especially since the peas mixture is mushy. I just rolled a much thicker dough than normal and it was still good. So roll the paranthas thick so as to not tear the dough and spill out the filling. Heat a pan. Place the parantha on it. Lightly brown on one side. Turn over. Add oil to the browned side and flip again to bring a golden brown glossy colour. Cook this way on both sides. Do not press the paranthas too much as this makes them hard. Serve hot with yoghurt.