Garlic Braided Bread with Potato Cheese Capsicum Filling

 
Yippieeeeeee!!!

Ha ha, don't get thrilled, I've not won any medal nor I'm going for a vacation to Seychelles; it's just that I baked my first bread ever and it was really not bad. For more than a week, I had this enthusiasm running in my nerves to bake some home-made buns/burgers. I got a packet of dry yeast for that especially and just don't know what was stopping me to pop it up. Finally, the day arrived, because there was no wheat flour/aata left and I had no other option than to switch over to Maida/APF. I was in a full mood, all set to bake some buns and then was about to prepare some aloo bhaji to go with it, and then suddenly the milk I had kept for boiling otherwise got some chemical issues and wooop, it was no more in its form!! The curdled milk was giving me jitters because that was the last packet I had for my doll, but as it is said, 'Everything happens for a reason'. I never use any tetra packs or fresh packs of milk without taking a boil (a genuine habit, you see) and that perhaps saved me. Fortunately, the security guard came to my rescue buying 2 fresh packets for the little one and then I was excited rather to use this curdled milk in some form. I took a long boil to run over any bacterial deterioration and made sure it was not spoiled or sour smelling. When the mind gave the permission and the 'green signal' was released, I immediately caught hold of it, sieved it, and washed it well with cold water. Again it was caged in the sieve for around 20 minutes to let the excess water drain out. And now was the final question: Whether I make Paneer Pav Bhaji with this or something else? The dough was already sitting in the dish for rising and was almost done and fermented. And then a sudden thought flashed like lightening, directing me to think about a stuffed bread, and what else could I think of better than the 'Braided Bread'!!

Although I had doubts about how it would come up finally since this was my first attempt on breads, but believe me guys, it was worth all the efforts, in fact more than that. When hubby darling arrived from office, the breads were graciously welcoming him on the dining table and he was almost shocked to see that I made them. He said, now we can open a 'Bakery Joint' in Bangalore. (Ha ha, I know he's too sweet, and he always tries to keep my spirits high by saying all these lovely words)

Well, but they weren't that bad, too. I actually loved them, just loved them. They reminded me of the Footlongs we used to relish back in my hometown, and in fact these home-made braided ones had that extra crsip n crust in them which you miss out in footlongs/buns.

Now, here's the simple recipe to charm your hubby, kids, family and even guests.

GARLIC BRAIDED BREAD WITH POTATO CHEESE CAPSICUM FILLING

Preparation Time: 20 minutes (excluding the time taken for dough rising)

Baking Time: 15-25 minutes (depending on your oven)

Makes 2 breads

Ingredients:

For the Bread:

1. Maida/ All Purpose Flour: 1 cup

2. Yogurt/curd: 2 tbs

3. Baking Powder: 1/2 tsp

4. Salt: 1/2 tsp

5. Sugar: 1/2 tbs

6. Dry Yeast: 1/4 tbs

7. Milk: 1/3 cup for the dough + 2 tbs for brushing

8. Butter: 1 tbs

9. Garlic Powder: 1 tsp

For the Filling:

1. Large Potato: 1

2. Paneer/Cottage Cheese: 1/2 a cup

3. Capsicum: 1/4 cup (finely chopped) - roughly half of a capsicum

4. Onion: 1(finely chopped)

5. Tomato: 1 (finely chopped)

6. Green Chilli: 1 (finely chopped) - optional

7. Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp

8. Red Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp

9. Coriander Powder: 2 tsp

10. Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp

11. Garam Masala: 1/4 tsp

12. Salt: 2 tsp or as per taste

13. Amchoor Powder: 1/2 tsp

14. Chopped cilantro/coriander leaves

15. Oil: 2 tbs

16. Cumin seeds/jeera: 1/4 tsp

17. Fennel seeds/saunf: 1/4 tsp

18. Mayonnaise/Cheese Slices: optional

Method:

1. Add the yeast and sugar to warm milk (1/3 cup) and let it stand for 10 minutes till it starts frothing.
2. Sieve the maida/all purpose flour, and add salt, baking powder, garlic powder to it.
3. Now add butter and yogurt to the flour and mix well. Make a well in the centre of the flour and slowly pour in the yeast milk mix. Keep on kneading and adding slowly till a sticky soft dough is formed. You might not need the complete milk even, so add small quantities and keep kneading. The dough will be as soft as the dough we make for naan.
4. Knead it well till it becomes pliable and soft. 
5. Now grease the outer dough with little oil to avoid drying and keep it covered in a warm place for about an hour or more (till it doubles up in size).
6. In the meanwhile, you can prepare the filling.
7. After one hour, when it's doubled, deflate it gently with your palms and make two equal sized balls with it. 
8. Take a ball and roll it into a cylindrical/oval shape.
9. Place the filling (you can also top the filling with some mayonnaise/cheese slices) on the central vertical line covering 3/4 of the length of it. 
10. Make long slanting slits/cuts on both the sides of the filling in a feather fashion. Make sure that the cuts on both the sides of the filling are the same.
11. Now close one end of the dough by pulling it within near the filling, and then start braiding the strips alternately on both sides like how we braid our hair, tucking in one end below the other and sealing it. Continue till you reach the end and twist the bottom part under the roll/bread.    
12. Cover these with a wet, clean cloth and keep covered for almost 30-40 minutes (better an hour) for rising.
13. Pre-heat the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes and keep the baking tray greased and ready. 
14. Now brush them with milk (and sesame seeds, if you wish) and place them on the baking tray.
15. Bake for 15-25 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius till the top turns light golden brown. The browner it goes, the crispier it becomes.
16. Take them out and let them cool for 5 minutes. Smear some butter over them and savour with some chutney or tomato ketchup.

 

 For the Filling:

1. Chop all the vegetables finely, including the peeled potatoes.
2. Either prepare paneer/cottage cheese at home or grate the store-bought paneer.
3. Now take oil in a pan and heat it.
4. Once hot, add cumin seeds followed by the fennel seeds. Then add in the chopped onions and fry till turn golden brown.
5. Throw in the chopped capsicum and cook for 2 minutes.
   
6. Add all the spices and give a quick stir.
7. Push in the chopped potatoes and salt and mix well. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes on low-medium flame.
8. Now add in chopped tomatoes and let them cook for 3-4 minutes covered. make sure that the potatoes are cooked by now else continue for some more time. Also, there should be no gravy form and it needs to be dry/slightly moist. If you find it runny or loose, then cook uncovered for some time.
   
9. At last spoon in the grated cheese/paneer and cook covered for 4 minutes. 
10. Give the final flavors with cilantro/coriander leaves and let the mixture cool down.
11. Use as explained above and use the leftover with some chapati or naan. 

Suggestions:

1. If you are using instant yeast, use the same amount.
2. There's another way of making the dough in which all the ingredients are mixed together and dough is formed; no separate frothing of yeast in milk required. Although I prefer the original method.
3. If the dough is not rising because of the temperature (i.e. it's not warm), you can place the dish containing the dough over a vessel filled with warm water (and not dipping in the warm water). This will help providing the right temperature for rising.
4. The filling can vary according to your choice and availability of vegetables.
5. I made two breads, and one of them was also filled with some mayonnaise resting on the veg filling. The taste was amazing and you can use cheese slices in place of that, too. 
6. Baking timings vary according to different ovens, but this cannot be baked in a microwave oven without convection mode. 

 The recipe takes off to:
My event: Cooking Made Easy With Cheese/Paneer
Bake Fest by Vardhini hosted by Kalyani, I Love Baking by Radhika
  Midweek Fiesta and Hot and Spicy Treats at Food Corner,

Healthy Morsels- Pregnancy at Taste of Pearl City, 
Spotlight- Colorful Holi  initiated by Indrani and hosted by Chandrani,
I'm The Star by  Veg Food and Me, Color n Sweet - Holi Fest by Preeti,

EP Series: Herbs and Spices  by Erivum Puliyum, Holi Fest at Kalyani's space,

Comfort Food by Daily Cuppa, Sumee's Bon Vivant: Savory Items

Ragda Patties/ Aloo Tikki Matar Chaat

 

The journey to childhood is a dream I often see, with wide open eyes on a sunny day, chewing some nuts, flipping old pictures and virtually behaving like a kid again. Have you ever walked, rather jumped in a hopping fashion like frogs when you were a kiddo? I used to do that and sometimes even now I feel like giving some bumpy jumps and run around the house like a kid. Now, with my little one around, it's not difficult to try all that since I teach her funny things and we play together, from 'Ringa ringa roses' to ' I Meena, Super Cello' , and she just loves all that. She would wake up in the bed clapping on my hands and calling, 'Mumma, I Meena....' and I simply adore those nights and this beautiful time blessed with her.

Now, when my child soul has been awakened by these breezy thoughts, I want to go back to the times in old eightees (80's) when all we cousins used to bang our gang in summer holidays and then my nani who used to give 2 Rs to each kid every day re-livens in my flash-back memories. We would add all the money and walk ahead for a new story everyday, counting the coins and then finger-pointing the hit list menu for that day. I can still smell the Pani Puri and Aloo Chaat we used to relish on the street sides and I can't get my mind off the 'Gota/ Burf ka Gola' and the special Falooda; also the tangy tongue-tickling 'imli' and 'kokam', and not forgetting the 'Soda' with the crackling sound of the glass ball that used to tickle on opening the bottle....aaaah... I really really wish, from beneath my heart, that I could live those days again, and I'm so upset that the next generation will certainly miss all this because our pure souls have disappeared somewhere in this mad flashy crowd. But grazing against the wind, I would surely love her to at least feel a morsel of that, and this is what pushes me to recall and try every tit-bit I enjoyed then. I promise ( and I really mean it!), I'll brighten my space with all these recipes some or the other day because I just don't want to miss on any of them. :)

Since I want to start with a chatar-patar chatpat snack, I can't think of anything better than Aloo Tikki Chaat aka Ragda Patties...very famous on the stall of 'Chhotu Bhai' at 'Sukhadia Circle' but I love even the small street corner stalls which serve them with a vibrant spicy tinge. I always used to ask the stall-boy to add in some more Mint Chutney because I love this herb to its core and now replicating that recipe is surely not an easy job, but I almost reached there with a heart throb. 

RAGDA PATTIES/ ALOO TIKKI MATAR CHAAT

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes ( excluding the Matar and Aloo boiling part)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For Patties/ Tikki:

1. Potatoes/ Aloo: 6 (boiled, peeled and mashed)

2. Mix veggies ( I used the frozen ones): Carrots, cauliflower, beans, peas and corns - (optional)

3. Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp

4. Salt: 2 tsp or as per taste

5. Green Chillies: 2 ( finely chopped) - optional

6. Coriander Powder: 1 tbs

7. Cumin Powder: 1 tsp

8. Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp

9. Garam Masala: 1 tsp

10. Bread Crumbs: 1/4 cup or corn flour: 3 tbs

11. Oil/Ghee: for deep/shallow frying

For Ragda/Matar:

1. Yellow dried peas/ Sookha Matar: 1 and a half cups

2. Onions: 2 (finely chopped)

3. Tomatoes: 3 (finely chopped)

4. Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbs (optional)

5. Green Chillies: 2 (finely chopped)

6. Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp

7. Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp or more

8. Cumin Powder: 1 tsp

9. Coriander Powder: 2 tbs

10. Salt: 2 tsp or as per taste

11. Garam Masala: 1 and a half tsp (If you want it hotter and spicier, add in a little more)

For the final garnish:

1. Chopped onions:2

2. Chopped tomatoes: 2 (optional)

3. Green Coriander Mint Chutney

4. Tamarind Chutney

5. Chopped Coriander leaves

6. Bhel Sev/ Namkeen ( I used 'taar-fini/ soot-fini' here in place of sev)

7. Yogurt/ curd with spices and salt

Method:

For making Patties:

1. Boil the potatoes, peel them off and mash them really well.
2. Steam/microwave/ boil the mix veggies for 5-10 minutes on the other hand.
3. Now take the mashed potatoes. steamed soft veggies, all the spices, salt and bread crumbs/corn flour together and make a soft dough. Do not add any water.
4. Divide the dough in eight or ten equal portions and make flat patties by pressing round balls between your palms. 
5. Since I avoid deep frying the patties, I prefer the shallow-frying method. Take a non stick pan/ skillet (tawa) and pour some oil/ghee on it. Spread it evenly on the skillet/pan. 
6. When the oil/ghee gets enough heated, place the tikkis/patties on the skillet/pan and let them cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.
7. Press a little with a wooden spatula and wait till it turns golden brown on the bottom.
8. Now flip over and pour in some oil/ghee from the sides. Again wait for this side to go golden brown.
9. Keep pressing in between with the spatula because this will help flattening the patty and it will fry evenly.
10. When fully done, take out on a tissue paper and remove all excess oil.
11. The patties are ready to be served.

For the Ragda/Peas Curry/Matar:

1. Soak the yellow dried peas overnight. Next day pressure cook them for around 20 minutes with 1 tbs salt and 1 tsp turmeric.
2. They should become soft and slightly mushy which will help getting a better gravy.
3. Now take oil in a pan and heat it. When optimally hot, throw in the chopped onions.
4. Cook till they go golden brown. Now add in ginger garlic paste (optional) and green chillies  followed by the chopped tomatoes.
5. Cook for 3-5 minutes till they go soft.
6. Push in all the spices (leave 1/2 tsp garam masala to be added towards the end) and remaining salt and cook for 2 minutes till the oil separates.
7. Now add the boiled peas to it and simmer for 10 minutes. Add water if required to get a thin gravy consistency. The gravy should not be thick for Ragda else the chaat will taste very dry.
8. Sprinkle the saved 1/2 tsp garam masala, give a stir and cover the pan to secure the aroma from fusing out. 

Assembling and Presentation:

1. Take a wide bowl/plate/saucer. make 2 tikkis/patties to sit at the bottom.
2. Spoon in some steaming hot ragda/peas gravy ( about 3-4 big spoons).
3. Throw in the chopped onion and tomato.
4. Add yogurt/ curd followed by the green chutney and tamarind chutney.
5. Ornament with chopped coriander leaves and Bhel Sev/Namkeen.
6. I had my Ragda Patties with a 'twist' here. I unfortunately did not have any Bhel Sev so I gave it a slightly different form by adding super crispy 'Taar Fini/ Soot Fini' to the dish. The taste was perfect and the texture fantastic!

 Suggestions:

1. If you wish, you could roll the patties in some corn flour water and then cover them with bread crumbs for extra crispiness, but I prefer skipping this step because I like the Patties just their way.
2. The street side Aloo Tikki generally doesn't have mix veggies, but I admire this healthier version, so it's pretty optional for you to adopt this or not.
3. In place of dried yellow peas, you can also use green peas but then do not pressure cook them for long. 
4. If you wish you can puree the tomatoes and grind the onion paste instead of using the chopped ones.
5. Spices are a matter of taste buds and your stomach response, so use them the way that suits them both. You can always go spicier by adding more green chillies, red chilli powder and garam masala.
6. The deep frying option for patties is always open for people who love sinful delights. 
7. Don't forget, the chutneys are also not bland, they too have chilly in them. 

GREEN CHUTNEY:

Ingredients:

1. Coriander leaves: 1 bunch

2. Mint Leaves: 1 bunch

3. Green Chillies: 1 or 2 ( depending on your taste)

4. Garlic pods: 4

5. Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

6. Cumin Powder: 1/2 tsp

7. Red Chilli Powder: 1/4 tsp (optional)

8. Salt: 1 tsp or as per taste

9. Lemon juice: 1 tbs ( optional)

10. water: for mixing/blending

Method:

1. Take all the ingredients together, leaving behind lemon juice, and grind them into a smooth chutney. 
2. Be sure you wash the leaves properly before use because they have a lot of mud and dirt in them.
3. I generally microwave leaves post washing for about 1-2 minutes to let off all microorganisms, but that is purely optional.
4. At last, drop in the lemon juice (especially if you want the chutney for any further use, like with parathas or sandwiches). I generally add lemon juice after using it for Radga Patties because I avoid putting lemon together with tamarind in the final dish. 
5. The chutney can be refrigerated and reused for 3-4 days. If you wish a longer storage, fill the chutney in an ice tray and freeze into cubes. Then transfer the cubes in a zip-lock or an air tight container and keep in the deep freezer for as long as you want ( 1-2 months).  

TAMARIND/ IMLI CHUTNEY:

Ingredients:

1. Tamarind/ imli paste: 3 tbs ( you can also use the dried imlis here soaked in hot water and then strained)

2. Water: 6 tbs

3. Sugar: 7-8 tbs sugar ( depending on how sweet you want)

4. Black salt: 1/4 tsp

5. Salt: 1 tsp

6. Cumin Powder/ Jeera: 1/2 tsp

7. Fennel Seeds/ Saunf: 1/4 tsp

8. Dried Mint Leaves ( powdered): 1 tsp

Method:

1. If you are using dried tamarind/imli, then soak it in hot/warm water for 10 minutes and then mix it well/blend it. Strain it through a sieve to exclude all coarse impurities. 
2. Take the thick tamarind paste/ strained tamarind paste in a wok/pan. Add sugar, water and take a boil. Do not overheat else the chutney will become sticky on cooling.
3. If you want the chutney slightly runny, add in a little more water before boiling.
4. Push in all the spices followed by the mint herb. 
5. Let it cool and serve as required. 
6. This can also be refrigerated for about 10-15 days, even more.

The recipe flies off to:

Walk Through Memory Lane  by Gayatri

Celebrating Street Foods by Tomato Blues