Melting Moments

Grocery mornings used to be a torture. Every time I walked through the speciality biscuit & cookie aisle, I would look at these delicious cookies and with a heavy heart continue on. Don't get me wrong, I don't have huge amounts of will-power, so on the odd occasion, a packet has made its way into my trolley :-) I finally decided to try baking some at home. 

It was a success and I was over the moon. However what made me happier still was the fact that when you make something from scratch, it becomes all the more valuable; so much so that each member of the bubble gets a rationed quantity of one cookie per day (they even get counted several times a day by various members to ensure nobody else has sneakily gobbled up one :-) :-) :-)) and that way they last longer than the store bought packet!

So without further ado, here are the melt in the mouth - Melting Moments.

I 

Ingredients -
For the cookies dough
Softened salted Butter - 180gm
Icing sugar - 60gm
Custard Powder - 60gm
All Purpose flour - 180gm
Baking Powder - 1tsp

For the cream
Softened salted Butter - 100gm
Icing sugar - 1cup
Vanilla essence - 1tsp

Method - 
Preheat the oven to 180 degreeC. Line a baking tray / sheet with parchment / baking paper.

Cream together the butter and sugar till the colour changes and it is nice and fluffy. Add the custard powder and mix well. 

Sift the flour and baking powder into the butter sugar mixture. Gently fold in the dry ingredients with a wooden spatula so as to just incorporate but not over-mix the resultant dough.

Take 1 tsp or approximately 10gm of the dough at a time and roll into a ball. Place the balls of dough on the prepared baking tray about an inch apart. Gently press the balls down with a fork. 

Bake for 15mins or till golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack till completely cooled.

Butter cream
Whisk the butter and vanilla essence till smooth. Add the icing sugar such that the resultant paste has a 'thick icing' consistency. Spoon this butter cream into a piping bag connected with nozzle alternatively you can just use a spoon.

To assemble - the cookies will be dome shaped on one side and flat on the under side. Holding the flat side up, pipe a generous amount of the butter cream and place a second cookie flat side down on top of the cream. Apply gentle pressure from the top and bottom so as to squeeze the cream till the edges of the cookie. Repeat the same till all cookies have been assembled. Once done, dust the cookies lightly with icing sugar.

Store in an air-tight container.

Hope you enjoy making these just as much as I have! 

Note - I have used vanilla for the butter cream but the cream can be flavoured with ginger, nutmeg or any other spice of your choice. 

Badam Katli - Almond fudge

Here is another recipe that draws on my love for my आजी's (maternal grandma) cooking of traditional Indian sweet treats. This is a variation of the very popular sweet called 'Kaju Katli' - Cashew nut fudge. This sweet is decadent and 'has to be' diamond shaped with a fine layer of edible silver foil on the top face.

I used to really like the silver foil (called 'Varkha') on the sweets till I found out how the foil is made and the 'non-vegetarian' nature of it. Since that day, I have steered clear of silver foil. 
Anyway I digress.

Coming back to the recipe at hand - Badam Katli - Almond Fudge. I have replaced the cashews for almond while still retaining the delicious taste, texture and the shape. A very easy to execute recipe if you have all the ingredients in your pantry. 

So here goes -

Ingredients - 
Almonds* - 1 cup
Granulated Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - As per taste
Milk - 3 Tbsp
Ghee - 1Tbsp (and a little more to grease)

Method - 

Grind the Almonds to a fine powder, taking care to ensure that the oil does not begin to separate turning it into a paste.

Heat a thick bottom pan. Keep the flame / Gas on low heat. 

Add the milk, sugar and the cardamom. Mix well and cook till the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar has melted, add the almond powder and mix it well.

Cook the mixture with continuous stirring till the mixture starts to come together into a dough like form.

Add 1Tbsp ghee and turn off the heat. Mix the ghee well into the almond mixture. Allow this to cool; enough to be able to handle it with bare hands.

Grease a tray** with the additional ghee and spread the almond mixture evenly to about 0.5 cm thickness. Allow to cool and set - approximately 5 mins. With a sharp knife, cut into desired shapes.

Transfer the cut pieces to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Lasts well for a week; in my household, this is usually gone within two to three days!

Make this recipe to impress your guests especially if they visit you at short notice or just to satisfy your sweet tooth! Enjoy!

Food inspires a lot of emotions and a dear friend, Suranga Date, wrote a dedication to the 'hero' in this recipe - the Almond. You can find it here

Notes - 

* This recipe is even quicker if you have Almond meal or Almond flour on hand.

** Instead of greasing a tray, you may line it with parchment / baking paper.

Panforte di Siena

Panforte is an Italian fruit and nut dessert not unlike the traditional Christmas fruit cake. The origins of this dessert go back to the Tuscany region of Italy (so I understand from Wiki!) It is quite a dense cake made almost entirely with fruit and nuts. A little flour binds the whole dish. The spices lend a deliciously heady aroma.

Ingredients –

250g Figs or Pitted Dates
50g Honey
100g Soft Brown Sugar
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
½ tsp Ground Clove
½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
½ tsp Ground Cardamom
½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
250g Candied Fruit
50g blanched Almonds
50g toasted Hazelnuts
4 tbsp sifted Plain flour
50ml Vin Santo dessert Wine or Rum
Icing Sugar for dusting

Method –

Preheat oven to 150oC. Line a 25cm round or 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.

Mince the figs / dates and put them in a pan with just enough water to cover the fruit. Add honey, sugar and spices.

Cook gently for about 10 mins and then transfer to a bowl. At this stage the fruit mix should be soft and sticky but not wet.

Add the candied fruit and the nuts. Mix well. Then add the flour and wine and mix to a sticky mass. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and bake for 30-40 mins.

Take out from the oven and let cool in the tin. When cooled take out of the tin. Sprinkle generously with icing sugar and serve with a glass of your favourite bubbly!!

Transfer to an airtight container. It does have a long shelf life provided there is any leftover!
bon appetite!

Peach Cobbler

A 'Cobbler' finds it's origins in the British American colonies of old. There are several different variations of this dish depending on the region it is made in.

The recipe here is from the 'deep South' (USA), the Southern classic Peach Cobbler. The southern people are quite generous with their Cobbler recipe serving it with a dollop of Vanilla Ice Cream!!

Ingredients -
113g unsalted Butter
1 cup all purpose Flour
2 cups Sugar
1tbsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 cup Milk
410g Canned Peach slices
1tbsp Lemon juice
Ground Cinnamon or Nutmeg

Method -

Melt butter in a 13"x 9" glass baking dish.
In a bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, stirring just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Pour this batter gently over the melted butter. Do not mix it up.

In a pan, add the remaining sugar, canned peach slices along with it's juice and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat while stirring continuously. Once it is boiling, remove from heat and gently pour over the batter in the glass dish. Again, important - Do not mix it up.Sprinkle with cinnamon / nutmeg. Bake in a preheated oven at 1900C for 40-45 mins or till the top looks golden brown.

Serve warm with a dollop of Vanilla Icecream or whipped cream and garnish with roasted chopped Hazelnuts.

This dish is best eaten warm with the cold icecream or whipped cream. Having said that it can be served cold as well

Notes : During the baking process, the fruit along with the juices, sinks down to the bottom of the dish and the batter layer rises to the top. Therefore it is important to not mix the layers.

When serving the cobbler, cut a piece and turn it over when plating up so that the bottom layer consisting of the fruit is now the top.

2 minute Chocolate Brownie

We came back from school this afternoon to the clap of thunder. The house was cold and the general feeling was one of doom and gloom. The hour between 3pm and 4pm is also the proverbial witches hour with the rush for after school snacks, recounting all that happened at school and such. After-school snacks are always tricky because they need to be easily accepted by the girls at the same time not too sugary and relatively quick to fix. To my utter amazement I came across just such a recipe earlier in the day!!


Ready in under 2 mins, chocolatey and as a bonus it went down a treat with the girls as well as the Mister :-) Couldn't ask for more!

This is a recipe for individual brownies made in ramekins or like I did, in Tea cups. The measures therefore are for one serve only. Also it is a 'hold your breath' a microwave recipe which you could whip up in 2 minutes if unexpected guests arrived. 

Anyway so here's the list of ingredients for one serve - 1/4 cup Self raising flour
1/4 cup Caster sugar (plain sugar is ok too)
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
3 tbsp water
Icing Sugar for dusting

Method -

Take a microwave safe bowl (cup or whatever container you are going to serve the brownie in - cook and serve in same container!!)
Add the flour, caster sugar, cocoa powder, oil and water to the bowl. Mix well to get a smooth mixture.
Place the bowl in the microwave and cook on high power for 1min 20secs. My microwave is 1200 Watts. You will need to adjust cooking time accordingly.

Remove from microwave and let rest for 2-3 mins. Dust some icing sugar over the top and the brownie is ready to be served. If you like your brownie to be moist, some warm chocolate sauce on the side will do the trick.

Easy as 1,2,3!!

Enjoy!!

Return of The Convert Foodie

Return of The Convert Foodie as A Convert Foodie

It is with immense excitement that I embark upon this blogging journey, once again. I started blogging a few years ago and then disappeared for eons (that's another story for another day!)... and because desperate times call for desperate measures, COVID-19 happened you see, I find myself gravitating back to the blogging world. 

During these past few lockdown weeks, though 'working from home', there was still the need to cook two meals a day for our isolation bubble. And we all know, nobody wants to eat the same couple dishes more than once a week. So then it was time to go back to all the saved recipes on the various social media / magazine cuttings and what not. 

After all the hard work of finding a recipe for which has all the necessary ingredients, cooking it and plating it for that perfect photo, it is only fair that one wants to show-off what exotic dishes one is conjuring up for their bubble!! I mean these days it is my strong belief that cooking happens only to take spectacular photos of handsome plates of food. 

Yet another story here for another day and I now find myself back into the blogging arena! I have one particular school friend to thank for my return here - you know who you are dear SM, I hope this blog lives up to your expectations and that you try out every recipe with immense success! 

Coming back to the more important stuff at hand, the recipes I post here are vegetarian for the most. Having said that, you may come across the occasional egg, in some dessert recipes but that will be a rarity (psst ... we have an egg intolerant member in our bubble!)

Thank you for visiting me here, hope you get to take away something from here. Feel free to leave your ideas/suggestions/comments :-)!!

Welcome to down to earth but sometimes indulgent food :-)!!

Bhindi Masala

Taste or waist dilemma with Bhindi Masala

A plate of food needs to be appealing to the eyes before it even has a chance to be tasted!! We do eat with our eyes first. Bhindi (Okra) for example, tends to be quite slimy when you chop it up. Doesn't look very inviting. Dress it up as Bhindi fry or Bhindi masala and it goes down a treat.

Here's where the 'dilemma' makes it's entrance. Popular bhindi preparations tend to be heavy on oil. The taste goes straight to the waist :-) I had stopped cooking bhindi. Nobody in our house liked the traditional maharashtrian style 'bhendi chi bhaaji' because it tends to be very slimy. The non-slimy version (fried!!) uses way too much oil, though is mouth watering.

Just the other day, a childhood friend suggested I try her recipe. She said it was tasty and crispy but did not need much oil. So now I totally refused to believe it. I mean, tasty-crispy is directly proportional to oil, right? Anyway I decided to try it out and see it for myself.

Here's what the end result looked like

Ingredients:

Bhindi (Okra) 500gm
Turmeric Powder
Red Chilli Powder
Coriander - Cumin Powder (Dhane-jeera powder)[You can get ready Dhane-Jeera powder in most Indian spice stores or make your own in 2:1 ratio of Dhane:Jeera]
Amchur Powder
Coarse ground peanuts(Danyache Kut)
Salt
sugar
Cooking oil spray
Chopped coriander leaves (Optional)
Lime Juice (Optional)

Method :
Wash and pat dry the bhindi. Remove the tops and tails and cut bhindi length wise.

Spray an oven-proof dish with cooking oil. Spread the cut bhindi, evenly in the dish.
In a bowl combine the spices, ground peanut, salt and sugar. Taste the dry mixture and adjust the spices as required. Sprinkle this spice mixture over the bhindi and toss it to combine. Make sure that the bhindi get coated quite evenly.
Spray once more with cooking oil.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C(fan-forced). Put the bhindi in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.
You do need to check the bhindi and 'stir' it around every few minutes just so it does not burn on one side while remaining under cooked on the other.

Once done, the bhindi will have a hearty brown colour to them.
Remove from the oven, drizzle lime juice and sprinkle some chopped coriander, if you like.

This bhindi is very crispy, almost like eating 'Bhindi chips'. And with just a couple sprays of oil, the 'Taste to Waist' dilemma is also taken care of.

This goes very well with Dal-fry and Jeera Rice; it is the 'Mister's' favourite food combo at the moment!!

Enjoy!!

Stuffed Capsicum (Bell Peppers)

A complete meal in a couple capsicums!! I like 'stuffed capsicum' for two reasons. One is pure convenience, each stuffed capsicum incorporates all the food components. The second reason is that the flavours are utterly irresistible :-)

As per my promise, an easy to follow recipe, minimum preparation with maximum result.

Ingredients :
4 Capsicums (Bell Peppers) in your colour of choice
1 cup Cooked Rice
2 tablespoons finely chopped Onion
1 clove finely chopped Garlic
350-400g of Tomato puree (If not available use finely chopped tomatoes)
3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese (or whichever cheese is available easily)
Dried Basil, Chilli flakes and Salt as per taste.Method :

Wash and pat dry the capsicums. Cut a thin slice from the stem end of each capsicum. Hold on to these 'caps', set them aside.

Remove the seeds and empty out the capsicum of all the membranes. Stand the capsicums in a plate / tray. If they tip over, cut a thin slice off the bottom so that they are able to stand without tipping over. This is important for when the capsicum is stuffed. Set these aside.

In a wok/pan/skillet, lightly spray some cooking oil (or about 1/2 a teaspoon, if you don't have a spray). Add the onion and garlic and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, till the onion is lightly brown.
Next add the cooked rice, tomato puree, dried basil, chilli flakes and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes, just so the added ingredients warm up.
Remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C (Fan-forced). In a glass baking dish (I used a Pyrex roaster) stand the capsicums. Spoon the rice stuffing firmly into each capsicum, fill it to the top. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the stuffing.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes or till the cheese shows a pale brown. The capsicums too will show hints of brown near the top edge.
Remove from the oven and let stand for a couple minutes. Garnish with some more cheese and some dried basil.

The capsicums will have a little bite to them when you cut them open. Place the cut tops back on the capsicum when you serve them :-) They look so cute and when you take your first bite, it's all 'yummy'ness :-):-)

For a non-vegetarian option you could add your choice of meat along with the onion.

Enjoy!!

Orange-Cinnamon Cookies

I am on a cookie roll at the moment. It is one of those food items that can be dressed up or down, made as fancy as you want it to be or kept at it's simplistic best!! That for me, is the defining character of a recipe - the versatility. It moulds itself in its makers design.

This recipe uses the basic cookie recipe I have blogged about earlier but a different flavour combination. I give you the Orange Cinnamon Cookie. The measures given below will typically make about 30 cookies but it all depends on how big or small you wish your cookies to be.
Another thing to remember is that I use a fan-forced oven, so you will need to adjust your baking temperature accordingly. 

Ingredients -
225 g - Softened Unsalted butter
200 g - Caster Sugar*
Grated rind of 1 Orange
4 tsp - Orange Juice
280 g - Plain Flour**
2 tsp - Ground Cinnamon
Salt to taste

Method -
Preheat oven to 190 degrees C or 180, if using a fan forced oven.
Combine butter, 140 g of the sugar and orange rind in a bowl. Cream it well.
Add 2 tsp of Orange juice. Mix to incorporate the juice.
Add the flour and salt and combine so as to form a dough. Shape the dough into a log.
Wrap it in plastic wrap or baking paper and refrigerate for 20-30 min.
Roll out the dough into a 30 cm/12 inch square.
Brush the square with the remaining orange juice. Sprinkle the remaining sugar and the ground cinnamon evenly over the dough square.
Gently roll the dough like a swiss roll. Wrap it once more and refrigerate for a further 20-30 min.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Unwrap the roll and with a sharp knife cut the roll into 1 cm discs. Place them about an inch apart.
Bake for 10-12 min or till the cookies look light golden. remove from oven and let cool for 5 min. The cookies will be a bit soft at this stage.
Transfer the cookies carefully to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Once cooled store them in an airtight container.
Enjoy these cookies with your favourite cuppa!!

Note -
*Granulated sugar can be used as long as it gets mixed well with the butter. Also to make this recipe Diabetic friendly, use a sugar substitute like 'Stevia'. I have tried these with Stevia and I found I needed about 75 g of Stevia.
**You can use wheat flour instead of plain flour, the texture however will be a bit different in terms of the crispiness.

Apricot-Pecan Cookies

There is something heart warming, very inviting, about baking aromas wafting through the house. Especially on cold and wet days! Well today is just that kind of day - cold, wet and miserable.

You see, I really love baking and so transforming a miserable day into an enjoyable one is sometimes as easy as mix, bake, cool and bliss!! I must admit, I have days when nothing helps to make my day better. That is life though and makes you treasure the good times.

Anyway, here is one of my 'go-to' cookie recipe. A cup of your favourite hot beverage and a couple of these cookies is sure to lift your spirits and transform your day!!

The Ingredients -
Unsalted Butter(softened) - 225g
Caster Sugar* - 140g
Vanilla Essence - 2tsp
Plain flour** - 280g
Grated rind of 1 orange
Dried Apricots, chopped - 55g
Pecans, finely chopped - 100g
Salt - 1tsp or as per taste

Method -
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.
Cream the softened butter and sugar using a wooden spoon/spatula. To this, add the salt and mix well.
Next, add the Vanilla and orange rind and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well so as to incorporate all the flour.
At this stage, I use my hands. So wash hands thoroughly and start mixing the cookie mixture so as to form a pliable dough.
Shape the dough into a log and wrap it in plastic film or baking paper.
Refrigerate for 15 to 20 mins.

After about 20 mins, remove the wrapping and cut the log into 1 cm discs. The apricot gives these cookies a very appealing marble look!!
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Arrange the discs 2-3 cm apart.
Bake for 12-15 min or till the cookies turn light golden. At this stage the cookies will still be a bit soft.
Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, transfer cookies to an air tight container.
The measures given here make around 30 cookies, depending on how thick a log you roll.
These should stay fresh for a good week, if they have not been gobbled up already!!
Typically in my house, these are gone in a couple days.
Enjoy!!

Notes -
* Caster sugar can be replaced with regular granulated sugar. Only cream it well with the butter so that it is properly dissolved. Alternately you could powder the granulated sugar in a mixer grinder and use that.
**Plain flour can be replaced in part with wheat flour to make these cookies healthier.

Pistachio-Almond and Chocolate Cookies

Going along the thread of the basic butter cookie, here are two different flavours you can try. The outer ring of cookies are a combination of Pistachio, almonds and cashew nuts. The centre is a chocolate cookie.

Incredibly easy to make, once you have the basic butter cookie recipe :-) 

Ingredients :
1 measure Basic Butter Cookie dough recipe
2 teaspoons 'Icecream' essence or Vanilla essence
2 tablespoons crushed mixed nuts (Pistachio, almonds and Cashewnuts) [For those with access to 'Everest' brand milk masala, you can use this in place of the crushed mixed nuts. The flavour is amazing]
1 teaspoon cocoa powder 

Method :
Make one measure of the basic butter cookie dough. Add the essence to the dough. Knead the dough just enough so as to incorporate the essence.
Divide the dough into two portions.
To one portion, add the crushed nuts and ensure the nuts get spread evenly through the dough.
To the second portion add the cocoa powder ensuring an even colour. If the cocoa does not mix through evenly, fret not, the cookies will have a beautiful marbled look.
Divide the two doughs into small equal sized balls. Flatten each ball on the palm of your hand while leaving it about 1/2 centimeter thick.
Space the cookies out on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C (for a fan-forced oven). Place the tray in the middle rack of the oven. It will take between 20-25 mins for the cookies to be done.
We are looking for a 'gold - just a hint of brown' colour for the pistachio-almond cookies. For the chocolate cookies, it is difficult to note any major colour difference. They will take the same amount of time as the other cookies if they are being done together.

The cookies will be 'soft touch' initially when you remove them from the oven. Transfer them to a cooling rack. As they cool, the cookies will loose the 'soft touch' and become crispy.
Notes : You can add chocolate chips to the chocolate cookie dough and make double chocolate cookies.

Add a dash of pink food colouring to the nuts cookie dough and make 'special' cookies for kids! I used a butterfly cookie cutter for these ones and the girls had a ball, decorating them.

Let your imagination run wild!!

Basic Butter Cookies

Here is a recipe for basic butter cookies. This one is my trusted recipe which I always keep handy. It's versatile, in that if you make one measure of this cookie dough, you can make several different flavour combinations.
As you can see in the picture, these were for a birthday hence the writing and smiley.

Ingredients :
250g Unsalted butter
1 Cup plain sugar
2 1/2 cups All purpose flour / Maida
Salt to taste

Method :

Cream the butter and sugar till the butter changes colour (looks paler than when you started)
Add the flour little at a time making sure the batter is getting mixed as you go along. Add the salt.
As you add the flour, the batter will thicken and you will need to use your hands to mix it. Ensure that all the flour gets incorporated. The result should be a soft pliable dough.

Divide the dough into tiny balls about 1 inch in diameter. Gently flatten them on the palm of your hand while leaving them about 1/2 cm thick.
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Space the cookies about 2-3 cm apart, just so they don't stick together once they get cooking.

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (if using fan-forced oven). Check the conversion for temperature in degrees F and for gas mark.
Make an imprint on the surface of each cookie (I have used a fork) so that the cookie doesn't puff up.
Place the tray in the middle rack of your oven.

The time required for the cookies to get done will vary from oven to oven. It will take between 20-25 mins. Go by the colour though. A 'gold - very pale brown' colour is what we are aiming for. Once you have got that, remove the tray from the oven and transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

At this stage the cookies may feel slightly soft to touch. As they cool down they loose the soft touch and become crispy. The colour also darkens a little once the cookies are out of the oven (hence the 'gold-very pale brown')
Totally depends on the size of dough quantity you take to roll as to how many cookies this measure makes.

Hope you enjoy making them as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you!!

Braided Pizza Bread

This recipe has migrated from when 'A' used to be 'The' and hence the watermark on the pictures!
Bread is one of those staple foods I had not had much success with. Searching high and low, trying out different recipes with variable results - I had almost given up. That's when I came upon this amazing recipe like the proverbial 'hit rock bottom before achieving a high'. It is deliciously easy to make and believe me, will be gone from the table before you know it.

Without further ado, here's the recipe 

Ingredients -
For the Bread
1 ½ cups All purpose Flour
2 ¼ tsp Instant dry yeast
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Sugar
¼ cup Milk
¼ cup Water
2 tbsp Olive Oil + a little extra
Garlic Oil to drizzle [To make garlic oil - warm 4-5 tbsp Olive oil, drop 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic in it and let steep]

For the stuffing -
1 Onion chopped fine
1 Tomato chopped fine (without seeds)
1 Capsicum chopped fine
½ cup Corn Kernels
1 tsp dried Basil
1 tsp Chilli Flakes
1 tsp Italian mixed herbs
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
¼ cup Pizza Sauce
Garlic Salt to sprinkle (Sea Salt/Rock salt is a good option too)
Salt to taste

Method -Preheat oven to 2000C (1900C for a fan forced oven)

For the bread –
Add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast to a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the milk and water (both lukewarm). Mix to form pliable dough. At this stage the dough could be sticky. Add the oil and knead for 5-7 mins. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, coat it liberally with oil, cover with a damp cloth and set aside till it doubles in size.

This will take about an hour (depending on how hot / cold the room temperature is in your kitchen)
Punch down the dough and knead well for 2-3 mins. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle making sure it is not too thick. This could be done on a ‘flour dusted’ clean work surface or on a sheet of baking paper.

For the stuffing –

Heat oil in a pan, add the onion and sauté for 2 mins or just enough to get rid of its raw smell. Add the remaining vegetables and cook on high flame for 2-3 mins. Remove from heat, add the herbs, chili flakes and salt and mix well. 

To put them all together –

Longitudinal, along an imaginary center line spread some pizza sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella so as to cover the pizza sauce.

Top it with the prepared vegetable mixture. Sprinkle once more with mozzarella and herbs.

Score the dough with a sharp knife starting from the stuffing, radiating outwards at an angle.

Bring in the slit strips alternating from both sides to give a ‘braid’ like appearance.

Brush the prepared bread with the garlic oil, sprinkle lightly with some garlic salt, herbs and some mozzarella.
Cover with baking paper and let rest for 15-20 mins.
Bake in the oven for about 30 mins or till the top is golden brown.

There you have one delicious home baked bread ready to serve.

Enjoy!!