ITALIAN SEASONING & A TIP

I use a lot of dry herbs and spices; they are convenient. However, there are some spices that I don't use all that often. For example, that little $3.99 jar of rubbed sage gets used for a single holiday and then languishes on my spice rack, only to be thrown away. Well, I've discovered the (bulk) dry herb and spice section of the health food isle. The spices are sold by the pound, so the big hand full of sweet basil I bought the other day was a whopping 45 cents. I am buying all of my dry herb and spices this way from now on. They are not only economical, but they are super fresh and are an excellent quality!!
.
This recipe for Italian Seasoning is a far better blend than any ready-made jar that I've found so far. I hope you will try it.
3 tablespoons dry basil
3 tablespoons dry oregano
3 tablespoons dry parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 teaspoon dry rosemary
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
.
Stir together thoroughly and break down the larger herbs (like the rosemary) with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder (just don't grind it too fine).
.
Store in airtight jar for up to six months.

NOTE: I wash out the glass jars that spices usually come in, and refill them with the bulk herbs and/or spices.

Read more »

Pizza Apne Desh Ka (Indian Style Pizza)

Today I have wonderful news to share with you all , as you all know my Bread Swirls was in contest at Manjulas kitchen n I won it....all because of you. Thanks a ton to all my blogger friends for your support as you spared some time to vote for me.Also won a giveaway at Akhilas blog.On this wonderful occasion I am going to share pizza from scratch with Indian style sauce n toppings. I used to prepare this version before blogging n shared with lot of friends n whoever tried it have fallen in love with it. I used to buy pizza base earlier but now I make it.I am 100% satisfied. Yesterday I made two pizzas one medium size n one pan size. My hubby like more crispy n I love little soft so I made accordingly.

This sauce is made with all Indian ingredients which suits our taste buds.It can be prepared quickly before making the pizza or store it for a couple of days.We always enjoy this version n hope you too.

Thank you once again for your love,support n encouragement.

Ingredients for Pizza sauce

• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 cup chopped tomatos
• 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped cilatro
• 1 tsp chopped chillies
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste

Cooking Procedure

Heat oil in a pan ,add add onion ,garlic n chillis saute for a min then add bell pepper n fry for a min .Now add tomatos ,cilantro n cook till tomato become soft ,now add coriander powder, cumin powder,salt n ketchup n let it cook for one more min n switch off the flame n let it cool .After it cools make a coarse paste n keep aside (Note if ur tomatos r not juicy add 1/4 cup water after tomatos cook n before adding masala)

Ingredients for Topping

• 1 cup diced mushroom
• 1 cup diced cottage cheese(cut them to 1cm cube)
• 1 cup diced bell pepper(all colors)
• 1/2 cup sweet corn
• 1/2 tsp chill powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chat masala
• 1 tbsp kasuri methi
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Mix all the above ingredient except oil and marinate them for 20 min. After 20 min heat oil in a pan ,add all these veggies n stir fry on high flame for 4 min n shift it to a plate

Ingredients for Pizza Dough

• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour+tbsp for dusting
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 3 tsp oilve oil + 1 tsp to coat the dough

In a big bowl add yeast,sugar,salt n warm water let it sit for 10 min. It will become foamy. Then add oil Then add flour slowly 1/2 cup at a time n stir with spatula. Then take it make it into a ball(It shpuld be little bit sticky than usual). Grease it with oil cover with a damp cloth n let it sit for 1 hr.

After a hour or till the dough become double.Take it out n punch it in the center to take all the air out.Again make the dough to a round shape let it sit for 30 min.

Pizza Assembly

After 30 min take the dough to a floured surface n divide the dough into 2 parts n with a rolling pin spread it into a circle to the size of the pan. shift it to pan and adjust according to that and press the dough toward the edges to give a nice crust.I prepared one medium size n one pan size pizza.let it rest for 10 min.

Preheat the oven to 400 with silicone sheet/or a pizza stone in the lower rack

Take the the pizza base n spread the pizza sauce on the pizza dough base ,spread the toppings and sprinkle cheese on top of it n apply oil to the edge with a brush.

Baking the Pizza

Bake the pizza for ten minutes after which remove from pan n shift it directly to the silicone baking sheet/pizza stone n increase the temperature to 450 F n bake for another 5 min. Your pizza is ready!! Serve warm after 10 min.

Note: Temperature may vary from oven to oven so make sure to keep looking at it. Once it starts to change color to light golden brown remove it.

To make pizza crispy you can keep for another min.

If you wish to thin crust pizza then you have use lesser dough or bigger pan. You can use any baking pan it need not be a pizza pan. I used pie pan for my pizza.

____________________________________________

Tags: Pizza , Indian Style Pizza

Read more »

EASY BAGEL CHIPS

Whether you like sweet, savory or plain bagel chips, this is a quick, easy and efficient way to turn those day old bagels into a great snack. I used cinnamon raisin bagels, but any flavor bagel would work well.

Cut bagels into ¼" slices and put them into a roomy plastic bag (or container with a lid).

For each whole bagel, melt 1 tablespoon of butter (*see note). For savory bagels, such as garlic or onion, add ¼ teaspoon garlic salt (or onion salt) per tablespoon melted butter and mix. Drizzle the seasoned butter over the sliced bagel pieces then close the bag and shake like crazy to distribute the flavored butter. Place the coated chips on an ungreased baking sheet, in a single layer, and bake in a preheated 325 oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Start watching them at 15 minutes; their baking time will depend on how thick you cut them.

Cool baked chips on a baking rack and then store in an airtight container.

NOTE: Chilled bagels slice easily.

NOTE: Coat only 2 bagels at a time with the butter mixture to insure even coverage.

NOTE: For my sweet variety, using cinnamon raisin bagels, I did not add anything to the butter, but I sprinkled them liberally with cinnamon sugar (just on one side) before baking.

NOTE: Any flavor will work for these chips, your imagination is the only limit: herb, plain, just salt, barbecue, whole wheat, etc.

Read more »