Caramel Bread Pudding

This is a very simple and yummy dessert that can be made with easy and readily available ingredients at home. This is a no bake and no oven version and is prepared by steaming the bread-milk-sugar batter.

The texture is not like that of a cake ,but more of a soft pudding. If you have some leftover breads and wondering how to finish them off, this would be a perfect delicacy to treat your kids and family.

I have used readymade hershey's caramel syrup as I had them with me. However, I have mentioned how to make homemade caramel syrup. This recipe is picked up from VegRecipesOfIndia with slight changes to make it more sweet.

serves: 3

Ingredients

1. Whole Wheat Bread - 6 slices
2. Boiled Milk - 1.5 cups *I used the semi fat milk
3. White Sugar - 1/2 cup
4. Corn Flour - 1 tsp
5. Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Homemade Caramel Syrup

1. White Sugar - 2.5 tbsp
2. Water - 1 tbsp

Method

1. Powder the bread slices in a mixer grinder.

2. Warm the milk on a stove in a low heat. Add powdered bread, corn flour, essence and sugar and mix well on a low heat till the mixture thickens and the sugar dissolves completely.

3. Take sugar in an aluminium pan or any pan of your choice. Add sugar and water and heat it on a low flame. Keep stirring the mixture until the sugar caramelizes and becomes golden brown as shown in the below pic. Once this stage is reached, remove the pan from stove.

4. Add the bread - milk - sugar batter on to the pan which already has caramel syrup in it and pat nicely.

5. Seal it properly with aluminum foil so that steam does not enter the pan.

6. Steam the contents in an electric cooker steamer or in a normal pressure cooker for about 30 mins.

To steam in electric cooker, fill the cooker pan with 4 cups of water and switch to cooking mode. Place the steamer basket above the cooker pan as shown in the pic. Once the steam starts coming up, place the pudding batter pan inside the steamer and steam for 30 mins.

In Pressure Cooker, fill the pressure cooker with 4 cups of water and place a stand. On the stand, place the batter pan and steam for 30 mins. Do not use the weight while steaming in pressure cooker.

7. After steaming, let the pudding cool down. Once cooled down, refrigerate the pudding for 2 hours.

8. Open the pan and remove the foil. Use a knife to gently scrape the sides so that it is easy to unmold. Flip the pan gently onto a plate.

9. There you have, the delicious caramel coated bread pudding ready to be sliced :):) Yummy...

10. You can put more caramel syrup if required depending on your taste :)

Vegan Banana Bread

I have been googling a lot to find some healthy snack options for my kid which I can pack for him and send it to school. That is when I bumped on to this recipe. I am an amateur baker and still learning. I have had my bad day at baking where my cake has been either burnt or got hard or never raised. I am still figuring out the various reasons and nuances of baking and trying to fine tune the art of baking. This is a recipe picked from Veg Recipes of India and you can refer the recipe here.

I don't have an OTG and am using a normal convection mode Panasonic microwave oven. The cakes baked from OTG definitely looks more professional in terms of texture and color compared to convection oven cooking. Still, you can achieve a close enough texture and softness from convection oven by following proper tips, understanding your oven and setting the right temperature.

Baking to me has always been like a chemistry lab experiment, you add the right ingredients in right amount and there you have the final output :P:P I generally haven't had the courage to play around with ingredients due to the fear of they not turning out properly. In the picture, I have used granulated white sugar. But I suggest you to use unrefined brown sugar or cane sugar instead to make it a healthy option for kids.

This recipe turned out really well for me and my kid also loved it. I will share certain tips that I followed to prevent major mishaps while baking in order to get a smooth soft cake. Follow the exact steps and ingredient amounts to get it perfect. :)

Ingredients

1. Whole Wheat flour - 3/4 cup
2. All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
3. 4 medium sized over ripe bananas
4. Olive Oil - 1/3 cup
5. Unrefined sugar/cane sugar - 3/4 cup
6. Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
7. Cinnamon Powder - 3/4 tsp
8. Baking Powder - 1.5 tsp
9. Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Take a bowl and mash the banana and sugar together into a puree using hand blender or even mixer. I have used White sugar here, but pls substitute with unrefined brown/cane sugar for kids as its healthy.

                           

2. Add  cinnamon powder and Vanilla extract to the puree for flavour enhancement.

3. Add olive oil. This provides the extra softness to the cake as this an eggless cake.

4. Sieve the flour (Maida+Whole Wheat Atta) and add it to the above wet ingredients.

5. Mix the batter using (Cut and Fold Method) to ensure the wet and dry ingredients are combined evenly. Do not over do it. Stop when both wet and dry ingredients have combined in right proportion.

6. Grease and dust a bread loaf pan with flour, transfer the bread batter to the pan. Tap twice and level it.

7. Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 10 mins. After the preheat temperature is set, cook the batter for 40 mins.

Tip 1: After first 20 mins of baking, cover the top of the pan with a wet cloth or wet butter paper. This is done to allow the centre of the batter to get cooked without burning the top. The centre takes long for getting cooked. Wet the cloth/paper every now and then and place it on the top to prevent burning through the entire baking process. The browning of top varies from oven to oven. So if you feel the browning of top happens quickly, then start covering the top much earlier.

Tip 2: After 40 mins, insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread and take it out. If it comes out clean, then the bread has been cooked well and you can remove it from oven.

If not, bake for another 10 more mins and repeat the toothpick step.

8. Allow the bread to cool down on its own completely and remove it from the loaf pan by inverting it.

9. You can store this cake in fridge in an airtight container for about 5 days. Warm the cake  before serving :):)

Whole Wheat Bread Upma

When it comes to bread, we always eat it either as sandwich or toast, but there is an interesting recipe that you can make with bread which forms a wholesome breakfast or an evening tiffin. I had some left over wheat bread at home and didn't really know how to use them. That is when my husband came up with this idea of bread upma. Here, I list below my version of bread upma.

Serves:2

Ingredients

1. Whole Wheat Bread- 6 slices (sides removed)
2. Bangalore Tomatoes-2 (finely chopped) 
3. Green capsicum - 1/2 of small capsicum (chopped)
4. Onion-1 large (roughly chopped) 
5. Butter - 1 tbsp
6. Mustard seeds-1 tsp 
7. Cumin seeds-1 tsp 
8. Sugar - 1 tsp
9. Hing-pinch 
10. Coriander leaves-1/4 cup chopped
11. Curry leaves-4
12. Green Chili -1 (chopped finely)
13. Turmeric-1/2 tsp 
14. Red Chili Powder-1 tsp 
15. sambar powder - 1 tsp (optional)
16. water-1/4 cup 
17. Oil - 1 tbsp 
18. Salt to taste 

Toast the bread on tawa with some butter

Turns golden brown and crisp

Cut them to cubes

Saute Vegetables

cook with covered lid

Mix the sliced bread with sauteed veggies

Method

1. In a pan, heat cooking oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and hing.

2. Once they splutter, add curry leaves and green chilies and saute for a min on a low flame.

3. Add onions and saute until they become translucent.

4. Add the tomatoes, capsicum and saute well. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, sambar powder, sugar and required salt - saute well.

5. Add water and cover the lid and cook tomatoes until they become soft and mushy.

6. Toast the bread sliced with butter until they become crisp. Chop the bread into cubes or you can roughly tear into small pieces.

7. Now add the chopped bread slices to the above mixture and mix gently. Ensure the bread slices are uniformly coated with the mixture and blended well.

7. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and roasted peanuts.

8. Yummy Bread Upma ready:) Serve with combination of tomato ketchup and red chili sauce. Tastes yum...!!!

Notes,Tips & Add-on's 

1. You can add any vegetables of your choice like red bell pepper, grated carrot etc.
2. You can also add a tsp of tomato ketchup and red chili sauce before mixing the bread. This also tastes equally awesome.

Cream of Tomato

This is a standard soup that you find in all the restaurants.However,the color and taste varies from restaurant to restaurant.This tastes best when served with bread croutons or a soup stick.This is always a safe bet when you are confused with other soup choices in the menu card.I love to add some carrots to my tomato soup as it gives rich color to the soup.This is a very simple and easy to make soup.Here goes the recipe for rich,creamy tomato soup.

Serves: 3-4 bowls

Ingredients

1. Tomatoes-4 medium/Large sized(Blanched)
2. Carrot-1 (chopped)
3. Garlic - 4 pods
4. Bay leaf-1
5. Cornflour-1 tsp
6. Salted Butter-1 tbsp *I used amul salted butter
7. Salt to taste
8. Water-as needed.

Seasoning

• Fresh Cream-1 tsp (Optional) *You can use amul fresh cream
• Pepper powder-to taste
• Bread-sliced into small squares.
• Butter-2 tsp

Method

1. Pressure cook carrot and garlic for just 1 whistle so that they become soft. 

2. Grind the carrot,garlic and blanched tomatoes in a mixer at high speed.Keep this puree aside. 

3. Heat butter in a pan,put bay leaf in the pan and saute for a minute. 

4. Now, pour the ground puree in the above pan and keep stirring. 

5. Mix cornflour with 2 tbsp of water and pour it in the above puree mixture. 

6. Add salt and keep stirring for 5 mins.

7. Remove the bay leaf from the soup.Once the soup reaches a slightly thick consistency,switch off the flame.

8. Now, toast the bread slices with butter till it becomes crispy and brown on both sides. 

9. Season the tomato soup with the toasted bread croutons,fresh cream and some pepper powder. 

10. The tomato soup is now ready to be served hot.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

• Depending on the soup consistency required,adjust adding water.Tomato soup tastes best when it is thick and creamy.Hence,ensure you don't add too much water.
• Olive Oil can be used as a healthier substitute to Butter for a vegan option without  using fresh cream.

Cream of French Onion

This is one of the most favorite soup for both my husband and myself. I remember having this soup for the very first time at Hotel Saravana Bhavan in chennai.I was completely addicted to its  rich creamy taste.Unfortunately, this soup has been removed from the menu card and I no longer find them serving this.Whichever restaurant i go, i hunt for this soup in the restaurant menu card and its always missing.Then I decided, why not make this soup at home and relish it to heart's content.I prepared this soup for my husband's birthday and he liked it so much.

This recipe is completely conceived by me after several trials and attempts. I did google for various french soup recipes across globe and then came out with the vegetarian version of this soup that is sure to leave you cheese bombed. Trust me, this is a fool proof and a tested recipe that came out really well and delicious.  Try out this soup right away and let me know your feedback in comments.

serves:4 -5 bowls

Ingredients

1. Onions- 2 Medium (thinly sliced lengthwise)
2. Spring onions- 3 (onion part thinly sliced)
3. Spring onion greens - 2 tbsp (chopped finely)
4. Sugar - 1 tsp
5. cashews - 2 tbsp
6. Maida/All purpose flour - 2 tbsp
7. Butter-2 tbsp + 2 tbsp
8. Processed Cheese- 2 cubes( I used amul cheese cubes)
9. Fresh Cream - 200 ml
10. Milk - 1 Cup
11. Water - 1 cup
12. Garlic paste - (4 garlic pods ground with little water)
13. Salt and pepper to taste

Seasoning

• Bread-2(corners removed and sliced into desired shape)
• Butter-2 tsp
• Cheese grated - 2 cubes

Heat Butter in a pan

Fry Cashews until light golden brown

Set aside for final garnishing

Fry Onions until caramelized

Preparation of soup base

Toast bread circles on pan with butter

Add grated cheese

Close and simmer for cheese to melt

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a pan, Add the cashews and fry them on medium low flame until they turn light golden brown in color. Keep it aside for final garnishing.

2. Add both onions ,spring onions (both greens and onions) and sugar and saute on a slow flame for 5-6 minutes till the onions shrink and turn golden brown. Sugar helps the onions to get caramelized(as shown in the pic).

2. Keep the caramelized onions separately.

3. Add 2 tbsp butter again and add maida, garlic paste and roast them in butter.

4. Add milk, fresh cream and cheese cubes and give it a nice mixing. Ensure the maida mixes with milk without any lumps. Keep the flame in medium for the soup to reach a thick creamy consistency.

5. Add required salt and pepper and stir well.

6. Toast the bread slices with butter in a pan till it becomes crisp and slight golden brown on both sides. 

7. Add grated cheese on to the bread and cover lid for the cheese to melt.

Serving Method

Take a bowl of the prepared soup, add some caramelized onions, fried cashews, top it with cheese bread slices and serve hot :) Gooey cheese french onion soup is all ready to be relished :)