Paneer Stuffed Buns | Homemade Paneer Buns

From there are certain things that jog your memory and take you down the memory lane, most of them would be linked with food. There is always something that reminds you of those days gone by and you get fonder for those each moment. Buns, especially savory ones have always been such favorite. When we visit the local bakery, I always look at the freshly baked buns and always wanted to bake at home.

Somehow when I started baking at home, I never got around clicking pictures. And this time again, I made the same dough as for homemade pizzas and wanted to bake these buns for Konda with some Paneer stuffing. There was so much commotion, what with both Konda and Peddu wanting the pizzas, while Chinnu was sulking for Maggi, I ended up with a messy dough, which wouldn't stay it's shape and then short of time, all resulted in me forgetting the vital thing. Brushing with butter and milk to get the golden crust on top. Albeit the lack of the final thing, I decided to go ahead sharing this as it surely didn't lack in taste.

I would surely bake these again with the final touch and change the pictures, hopefully sometime. Even when I was clicking them I was wondering what was missing, but if you can imagine a five minute break that you get between shots and mouth, you would understand my predicament. 

With the new year fast approaching, with kids exam started today, it's been a week to remember. The last few weeks of the year that's been so eventful in so many ways. As always so many memories, best of course would be one of these bakes.Since my hands were too messy, I was glad I had Konda to click a step by step pictures for me. She is very interested in photography and has the P&S that I am no longer using. I am waiting when she will get to handle bigger ones.

Step by Step Pictures

Paneer Stuffed Buns

Ingredients Needed:

For the Dough

All purpose flour / Maida - 3 cups
Dry Yeast - 1 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt a pinch
Olive Oil / Cooking Oil - 4 tbsp
Water to make the dough

For the Paneer Stuffing:

Onion - 1 medium
Paneer, crumbled - 1 cup
Roasted Chili flakes - 1 - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Garlic, grated - 2 pods
Oil - 2 tsp

For the Final Brush

Milk - 1 tsp
Butter - 1 tsp

How to make the dough

Heat the milk to lukewarm, add the yeast along with sugar and keep it covered for 10 mins.

In a wide bowl, take the flour, salt and mix well. Then when the yeast has risen well, add to the flour and crumble well. Slowly add the water to knead into a soft pliable dough. Keep adding the oil in intervals, until you get a dough that doesn't stick to your hands.

Pat down well and keep it covered for an hour. Punch and knead again and let it rest for 2 hrs.

How to make the stuffing

Heat a pan with oil, add the grated garlic, saute well. Then add the finely chopped onions. Once they turn colour, crumble the paneer, add salt and chili flakes. Mix everything well.

How to make the Paneer stuffed Buns

Once the dough doubled it's original quantity, punch it down again and pinch out small balls. Flatten in the middle, place a spoonful of the stuffing and enclose wel.

In a greased baking tray or a foil covered tray, place the stuffed in buns. Let it rest for another 30 mins or so. By then the dough would again rise.

Bake in a pre heated oven at 185 C for 15 mins. Allow it on the wire rack for a while before serving this warm.

Check out the bloggers doing the Bakeathon: Champa, Sumana Deepak, Priya Suresh, Veena Krishnakumar, Preeti Deo and Jayasri Ravi

Orange Cashew Wheat Cookies | Eggless Wheat Cookies with Orange and Cashew

For the second day of Bakeathon, I decided on a simple cookie that had only Wheat cookie recipe and also called for an addition of Orange Juice. After baking I almost thought this was a flop, only I decided I would bake it further and see what happens. I was pleasantly surprised at the way this turned out.

I must note here that this is the best tasting cookie I have baked and would make sure I repeat this again. Fearing that it might turn out so so, I had halved the recipe, which I sorely regretted. I must have gone ahead and made the full recipe. Having decided on the entire set of recipes that I want to bake, I keep out the butter everyday and then keep it back in again. Finally I was able to bake late in night and managed two in one shot, though I had wanted to do three. So this repeated for the next two times. I guess this is easy to manage with cookies and cakes, though yeast bread might end up little tough to manage in a late night drama. The recipe is adapted from my filed collection.

Baking Mode : Convection Mode
Preparation Time : 10 - 12 mins
Baking Time : 20 - 25 mins at 185 Deg C

Orange Cashew Wheat Cookies

Ingredients Needed

Whole wheat flour - 3/4 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Chopped cashew nuts - 5 whole,
Orange juice - half of a whole orange (2 tbsp)
Milk - almost 1/2 cup or as required
Butter for greasing

How to bake Orange Cashew Wheat cookie

Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk to get a soft dough.

Pre heat the oven at 185 Deg C.

On a greased tray, scoop out a spoonful of batter. Bake at 185 deg C for 20 mins.

Depending on the crispiness, bake for another 5 - 7 mins or till the cookies are golden brown in colour.

Cool completely and store in an air-tight container.

Notes:

You can freeze the dough for 10 mins and then cut out shapes or using a piping bag, press out even discs. Depending on the nozzle, you can shape the dough out.

I started with baking at 15 mins, then continued for 5 - 6 mins.

Baking time can vary depending on the moisture content with the milk and orange juice added. You can always take a risk at opening it in interval to check on the done ness of the cookie.


The cookie had a nice and inviting brown colour with a delicious after taste. You are left with wanting to bite more. The cashew bits added to the richness and you wouldn't think this was baked with just wheat flour.

You can check out my partners in crime doing the Bakeathon: Champa, Sumana Deepak, Priya Suresh, Veena Krishnakumar, Preeti Deo

Cinnamon Butter Cookies | Eggless Cinnamon Biscuit

December is always a month that turns out to be so nostalgic. As every year passes by, I end up thinking how quickly the days fly and before you know, December is right there in front of you! Anyway December apart from being a month to think back and wonder if you have done all that you wanted to do, it's also a month when I think of Christmas Cakes and those evenings spent wondering how it will be if it snowed in Madras. I know you think I am crazy, my fondest wish has been to get a snow cad December in Madras.

Anyway if horse fly, I can take wings as well. Now don't ask me why I quote it wrongly, well I take my creative license a bit far. Posting on this space has been sparing and that's exactly what prompted me to jump in when Champa announced her Bake-A-Thon. When she did last year, I badly wanted to join, but I knew I won't be able to make it. This year it was too much of a temptation. If there was one thing that rings quite often at odd times, then it's Oscar Wilde whispering "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it... " and I did just that.

So whole of this month you will end up reading non stop about baked goodies. Of course Champa has been kind enough to give us a day off in between each post. After all, this has to be fun and if we are always tensed and don't enjoy these, what's the point.

Since a week, I have been short listing fourteen different baked dishes, mostly they ended up being cookies or cakes. And I have made sure these don't feature chocolate much, as I am planning on taking up those themes in BM # 23. So you see I am going to be one busy person this month.

Hopefully I get to find somebody who will mind the business of eating these cookies and I won't be tempted in eating them myself!

As always composing these cookies to look decent is quite a task. I was in a hurry to finish up as well. I wonder why I always worry about seeing if the set up is good, then only to find that I am in a hurry to finish up.

Cinnamon Butter Cookies

Ingredients Needed

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Powdered Sugar - 3/4 cup
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Butter - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 tbsp or as required


How to make the Cinnamon Butter Cookies

In a bowl, take the wheat flour, Maida, powdered sugar and cinnamon powder. Mix well.

Then add softened butter, and crumble well.

Add milk  to get a smooth dough.

With a ladle, scope out the batter and place on a greased tray for baking

Pre heat the oven at 185 deg C and then bake for 30 mins.

 

Notes:

My batter turned out very creamy after adding butter to the powdered sugar mix. Without checking I added 2 tbsp at one shot, you can mix first and then add if required.

If you want a thick batter and cut out shapes, you can refrigerate the dough for 30 mins, then cut out shapes.

I started the baking for 15 mins, then increased by 10 mins to reach the 30 mins mark. You can slowly increase to check if the biscuits turn out crispy or not.

Toppings can be either, icing sugar,, grated chocolate on warm cookies or slivered almonds to the dough.

You can even add vanilla essence, somehow I don't prefer that in my cookies.

The other enthusiastic bakers who have jumped in with me, are seasoned bakers who are doing this for the second time. 

Champa

Sumana Deepak

Priya Suresh
Veena Krishnakumar
Preeti Deo

Coconut Square Cookies | How to make Coconut Cookies

With the Cookie Mela coming to an end shortly, I couldn't miss baking some cookies. As luck would have it, I had an unexpected off from work and what better work than baking those cookies that I have been planning to bake since a month. Almost for a week now, every day I would get the butter come to room temperature, only to put it back.

So finally I had enough time and energy to bake these and I decided I might as well bake as many as I can. I have been baking non stop since evening and baked around four different varieties. As always the one with chocolate and looking brown was a hit with kids. Rest of course we enjoyed.

Coconut Square Cookies

Since it's going to be four different varieties, will be posting on both the blogs. So stay tuned for some exciting versions of cookies that you can enjoy anytime anywhere.

These Coconut square Cookies always remind me of the bakery biscuits. Having excess of fresh coconut on hand, I thought I should try out some Coconut cookies. Since I didn't have the dried coconut, I dried it in microwave for 2 mins and added to the flour. Maybe next time I might try caramelizing for more effect. Though it was coconutty in taste, I think the bakery one has sugar coated on top. However these tasted awesome just the same!

I also make some Chocolate Piped Cookies and two more to share which will be up tomorrow!

Off these go for my Cookie Mela

Step by Step Pictures

Coconut Square Cookies

Ingredients Needed:

All purpose Flour / Maida - 1 and 1/2 cup
Butter - 150 gms
Fresh Coconut, grated - 1 cup
Salt a pinch
Icing sugar - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

How to make the Coconut Square Cookies


Grate the coconut and microwave for 2 mins with one minute interval. This will make sure the coconut is dried up.

In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until the mix is very creamy. Shift the flour together with baking powder and salt.

Slowly add to the bowl and continue creaming. If the dough is thick, knead with your hands. Add milk if required.

Grease a rolling board with greased rolling pin. Pat on the sides to make sure you get a square. Cut into small squares.

Meanwhile pre heat the oven at 185 Deg C. Once done, arrange the squares with enough space on the tray and bake at 185" C for 15 mins. Start at 12 mins and continue for the next 3 mins if required. I had to complete the entire 15 mins.

Allow to cool before digging in.

Notes:

The coconut I used was enough to give a good coconut taste. The ones you get in the bakery is really loaded with coconut. For that effect you can increase by another half cup of coconut.