Khaliat al Nahal (Arabic Bread or the Honeycomb Bread)

Khaliat al Nahal is basically a very soft bun which is filled with cheese spread and then after it is baked, it is poured/brushed with the honey glaze/syrup. The exotic flavours of the saltiness from the cheese and the sweetness from the glaze makes it very hard for you to stop eating these buns :) :)

You can also add nutella or pieces of chocolate instead of cheese (if using a sweet filling then skip the glaze) or you can also make savory buns by using chicken and cheese filling, like I tried in some buns. Use either of them and you won't be sorry !!

Ingredients :-

For the Glaze -

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp honey
• pinch saffron

Boil sugar and water and saffron together for a few minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and then add honey. Mix and set aside to cool.

For the Bread -

• 3 and half cups plain flour
• 1 cup milk sligthly warmed
• 2 tbsp milk powder
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 4 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 1 and half tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• cheese spread
• 1 egg for egg washing

- Sieve flour in a bowl. Add to it all the milk powder + sugar + yeast + salt. Mix properly.

- Make a well in centre. Add oil + butter + egg. Mix well.

- Now start adding warm milk, little at a time. Milk should be enough for making the dough but if not then keep some warm water ready and use sparingly.

- Knead the dough for a good time like 8-10 mins. Remember the more you knead, the softer your buns will be.

- Cover the kneaded dough with little oil. Cover and keep aside to rise for an hour.

- After an hour, punch it down and stretch it with your fingers.

- Now make small balls. Spread out a ball with your fingers and place a tsp of cheese in centre and then close your ball. In this way, fill all the buns and place them in your baking tray very close to each other, in a honeycomb pattern. Cover the tray and let it rise for another 30 mins.

- After 30 mins, apply egg wash all over and bake till the buns get a lovely golden top and are cooked thoroughly.

- As soon as the buns are out of the bun, apply the cool glaze all over. Remember your buns should be piping hot and the syrup should be cool.

- And lastly, just sit back and enjoy.

Happy Eating :)

Bread Cups

This Ramadan, I am trying to not make fried stuff for Iftaar ! So daily there's a battle going on in my culinary mind as to what should be the menu for the day. And interestingly, after some hard thinking you get some wonderful results !!

This is one of them ;) Very easy to make and requires little time also :)

So note down the ingredients for the filling please :)

• 500 gms chicken meat, shredded or bite size pieces
• 1 tsp green chillies
• 1/4th tsp black pepper
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1 capsicum chopped
• bunch of chopped coriander
• cheddar or processed cheese

And other than above you will need bread slices and butter

Method :-

• Put all the ingredients in a pot and cook well.
• Cut the bread slices in rounds and butter both the sides.
• Place bread on a baking tray and put a tbsp of filling on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake @ 180 degrees or till the bread is crisp and cheese melts.

*** Don't waste the remainder of the bread slices after cutting the rounds. You can use them for making bread pudding or you can simply make breadcrumbs out of them and store it in the fridge :)

Happy Eating :)

Poached Pears with Almond Praline and Honey Cream

Another Masterchef Australia recipe !! So easy and fun to make and tasted good as well.

Ingredients :-
For Poaching liquid-

1. 1 litre cranberry juice
2. 70 gm castor sugar
3. 1-2 cinnamon quills
4. 1 star anise
5. 3-4 strips orange peel

For Almond praline-

1. 200 gm sugar
2. 200 gm almond

For Cream-

1. Amul / Nestle cream
2. Honey
3. Orange zest

Method :-

Poaching -

1. Mix all the poaching ingredients & allow to boil & simmer for a 5 minutes.
2. Place the peeled pears (you need 3 peeled pears, keep the stalk intact) in the liquid.
3. Simmer gently on low flame for 20-25 minutes or till the pear is tender.
4. Set aside in poaching liquid for sometime.
5. Remove the pears and reduce the liquid to a sauce consistency.

Praline -

1. Dry caramalize the sugar. Once it melts add the whole almonds. Spread and set it in a tray.
2. Once set, chop it in a food processor till its crumbly.

Cream -

1. Mix all and refrigerate.

While serving the pears and sauce should be warm and the cream should be cold. Sprinkle the praline on top.

**Dry Caramalization - Place the sugar in a non stick pan. Let it melt and caramalize on its own. Do not stir. Just occasionally swirl the pan for it to mix.

Happy Eating :)

Vanilla Cake with Kiwi and Mango Filling

It was a time of celebration in the house and no celebration is complete without a cake. So, why bother the baker from the bakery when you already have an in-house baker ?! Me Me :)

Here's what it looked like.

I used the recipe of the no-fail sponge cake which I posted earlier. I made a two layer cake. In between I first spread the whipped cream. And then placed pieces of mango (since it was the season of mangoes!) and kiwi. If your kiwis are not that sweet, sprinkle some sugar over the pieces of kiwi in a separate bowl and leave them for a couple of hours. Your kiwis will be sweet and perfect to use !

Happy Eating :)

Cola Baked Chicken

I am a huge fan of Masterchef Australia and I always look around to try some of their recipes (which are easy and quick to make hehehe). So here I go !! And before you ask, yes it was very tasty and something new for the taste buds :)

This is what it looked like and I decided to do some Masterchef kind of plating, don't know how far I succeeded !! (Please comment and let me know)

Ingredients :-

1. 750 ml Coco cola or Pepsi
2. 1 cup brown sugar (it turned out to be very sweet for us so next time I am gonna use just half a cup)
3. 5 cloves finely grated
4. 1 large onion grated (if your onion is small, use 2)
5. 2 tbsp soy sauce
6. 1 kg chicken
7. Juice of 1 lemon

Method :-

• Mix all the ingredients and pour over chicken in a baking tray. Bake til sauce is reduced nicely and the chicken is cooked properly.

And ! It's ready to eat.

I made some mashed potatoes with it. You can also have it with stir fry vegetables or just a fresh salad and YumM !!

Happy Eating :)