My Foodcourt turns 10! We are celebrating with the prize winning recipe for Microwave Borscht with Golay!

Yes! My Foodcourt turns 10 today! and a recipe for Microwave Borscht with Golay- to celebrate this decade long journey,the win and good food in general!

Spiced Pumpkin Bread Rolls – We knead to bake

This is one of the most adorable breads I have baked! These supersoft , flavourful,festive  Spiced Pumpkin Bread rolls are just in time for Thanksgiving- whether you celebrate or not 🙂

Aparna aptly chose these for the our monthly bread baking group-We knead to Bake. Thank you Aparna, I had so much fun making them. As gorgeous as they look, they are quiet easy to make.

Apart from looking like mini pumpkins, these rolls use Pumpkin puree too. I followed Aparna’s recipe without making any changes.I made my own pumpkin puree, since canned is not available here. Also I used pumpkin pie spice mix to flavour the rolls, instead of the individual spices. The kitchen smelled heavenly, while the rolls were being baked 🙂

This recipe for the Spiced Pumpkin Bread Rolls is adapted from Beyond Kimchee.I used only the 2 tbsp honey, recommended by Aparna so they were not sweet.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread Rolls
(Adapted from Beyond Kimchee)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup warm milk

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp instant yeast

1/2 cup puréed pumpkin (unsweetened)

40gm butter, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp powdered dry ginger

1/2 tsp allspice

5 to 6 pecans, sliced into 3 vertical sections

Method:

Pour the warm milk into a bowl. Add the honey and yeast and mix well and leave aside for about 5 minutes until the mixture is starting to look “frothy”.

Put the flour, the salt and the spice powders into a food processor or stand mixer bowl and run a couple of times to mix them well. Then add the yeast mixture, the pumpkin purée, the melted butter and the egg to the processor bowl.

Knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough that will be somewhat sticky. It should pull from the side of the bowl. Add a little more flour (or milk) if required, to obtain this consistency of dough.

Turn the dough out to a wooden board dusted with a little flour and knead by hand for a minute or if using a stand mixer continue to knead on medium speed.

Shape it into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning it around to coat it well. Loosely cover and let the dough rise for about an hour or so, until double in volume.

Deflate the risen dough gently to remove large pockets of air and divide it into about 8 or 10 equal sized portions. Shape each portion into a ball. Flatten each ball slightly and using a sharp knife or a pair of scissors make 7-8 cuts at equal distance from each other, from the edge of the ball towards the centre but leaving the centre uncut – like a flower.

Place the dough “flowers” 2” apart on a lightly oiled or parchment lined baking sheet. Loosely cover and let them 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 centre of each “flower” for the pecan “stem”. Brush them with milk (or egg wash if you use it).

Bake the rolls at 180C (350F) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Take them out of the oven and brush the rolls with melted butter or a little honey diluted with water for a shine, if you like that.

Let them cool and then place a sliced pecan piece for the “stem”into the indentation of each roll.

I served them with a hot soup.

 

Desi Health Bites- Multigrain Daliya Hot Pot

I am back with another recipe showcasing my love for multi-grains again for the #Fortunehealthbites – Multigrain Daliya Hot Pot . It’s a Hot Pot alright – but a quick, no meat and no bake kind of Hot Pot- unlike the ‘Lancashire Hot Pot’ which inspired me for the basic idea and presentation for this recipe.

Daliya or the broken grains/Lapsi of wheat is the most commonly used in Indian cuisine for making savoury as well as sweet preparations. Jowar and Bajra groats are traditionally used to make ‘Khichada’, a spicy version of the Khichdi.

With the appearance of organic stores in town/online there is a now a variety of Daliyas easily available. My pantry now hosts an array of these nutritious, relatively quick to cook Daliyas .

I have flavoured this Hot Pot with Allspice, just because I have these flavourful leaves growing abundantly in my kitchen garden. The grilled sweet potato garnish adds some crunch to the Multigrain Hot Potmaking it look like a ‘gourmet’ makeover of the humble Khichdi, while still maintaining its ‘Comfort Food’ status.

I had recently switched over from Sunflower to Ricebran oil as per suggestion from my all knowing elder brother 🙂  and then as if on cue, Fortune Foods sent over their Rice Bran Health oil.

Fortune rice bran health oil has a key micronutrient called “oryzanol”, an antioxidant found only in the bran of rice. It helps reduce bad cholesterol,increase good cholesterol and keeps your heart healthy, making it a healthier choice.

Squalene is an organic compound naturally produced by human skin cells and is a natural moisturizer. Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil contains good amounts of it which prevent the ageing of skin.

Antioxidants improve health by fighting free radicals that harm the immune system. Fortune Rice Bran Health oil has natural antioxidants that help build strong immunity.”

“Also I learned that it is a myth that colourless or transparent oils are healthier than dark oils. FRBH is refined optimally to keep all the essential micronutrients intact. It has a darker appearance primarily due to Oryzanol.

It is a myth that colourless or transparent oils are healthier than dark oils. FRBH is refined optimally to keep all the essential micronutrients intact. It has a darker appearance primarily due to Oryzanol.

It is enriched with a gamut of nutrients and is good for heart, immunity, skin and hormones. It is appropriate for people of all ages”

Here’s the recipe for my recipe for the Multigrain Daliya Hot Pot

Multigrain Daliya Hot Pot

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

1 ¾ Cups mixed Daliya (Broken :wheat,jowar,barley,Buckwheat,corn,rice- any or all of these)

¼ cup green moong dal

¾ cup chopped veggies ( Beans,carrots,peas,beetroot,beetgreens,red pumpkin etc..)

1 small onion finely chopped

1 small Tomato chopped

½ tsp grated ginger

2-3 garlic pods crushed (optional)

1-2 Allspice leaves of Bay leaves

Handful of mint leaves torn into pieces or you can use coriander leaves

5-6 cups of vegetable stock/water (for porridge like consistency)

Salt to taste

For the tempering

3 tsp Fortune Rice bran Health oil

2 tsp cumene seeds

2 tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ sp Asafoetida

3-4 dried red chillies torn into pieces

2-3 tbsp peanuts (optional)

For the Hot Pot Topping

2 large Sweet Potatoes sliced

½ tsp crushed black pepper

1 tsp Rock Salt or to taste

7-8 mint leaves torn into pieces

2 tsp Fortune Rice bran Health oil

Juice of ½ a lime

Method

In a bowl Mix the crushed black pepper,rock salt,lime juice,mint leaves & oil.

Pour over the sliced sweet potatoes and rub all over.Keep aside.

Wash the Multigrain Daliya and the green moong dal with water.

In a pressure pan, heat the oil.

Add the mustard seeds and once they crackle add the cumene seeds.

Add the turmeric powder,asafoetida,dry red chillies and peanuts .Stir for minute.

Now add the Allspice/bayleaf and the chopped onion, crushed garlic and grated ginger. Sauté for a minute.

Add the chopped tomato and cook for a few seconds.

Add the veggies next and mix well.

Now add the multigrain Daliya along with the green moong dal. Mix again.

Add ~ 5-6 cups of Vegetable stock or water (for porridge like consistency).

Add salt.Cover and cook for 1 whistle+10-12 mins on SIM or till the Daliya is cooked.

Meanwhile, grill the Sweet potatoes on a griddle pan on the stove top or in the oven ~ 10 minutes on each side- till they are just cooked.

Take out the Hot Multigrain Daliya in a flat bottom serving bowl.

Garnish with the mint leaves.

Top all over with the grilled sweet potatoes and serve hot immediately.

Pomegranate + green onion Raita and roasted Nagli/Ragi papad make great accompaniments for the Multigrain Daliya Hot Pot.

Notes:

If you have the time, soak the mix Daliya and the green moong dal in water for about half an hour. This can reduce the cooking time.

The veggies can be chopped in advance and refrigerated in airtight containers.

Fresh Basil is also a good option as a garnish for the Hot pot instead of Mint or coriander.

This blogpost is in association with Fortune Foods as a part of their Desi Health Bites activity– The Hunt for the Best Rice Bran Oil Recipes. For more updates and healthy recipes using Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil, follow Fortune Foods on Facebook and on Twitter at @fortunefoods 

Check out more Desi Health Bites by all the awesome Food Bloggers here at Fortune Food