Sweet Milk Bread

Most of the kids develop special liking to a particular food and then it gets very difficult to wean them off from it. My kiddo is very fond of this specific brand of milk bread, and she is so used to it that she finds other breads almost inedible. The advantage of living here in Dubai is that we get so many varieties of almost everything. Big supermarkets have their own bakeries and they produce dozens of kinds of breads, you name the type of bread and you are sure to get it fresh. 

So why am I baking bread when it's so readily available for under 5 Dhs for a large packet.........

It's my kiddos love for milk bread which tempted me to make it for her, and I was really happy with the result. The bread turned out to be very soft and mildly sweet with subtle flavours of cardamom and saffron. And my stubborn kid who always wants her bread toasted loved this bread to the core...she smothered the bread with nutella and enjoyed it warm straight out of the oven.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour- 3 Cups

Active Dry Yeast- 1.5 Tsp

Saffron- A big pinch 

Milk- 2 Tbsp

Condensed Milk- 1/4 Cup (See notes at the bottom of the post)

Salt- 1 Tsp

Butter- 2 Tbsp

Cardamom Powder- 1/4 Tsp

Luke Warm Water- 1 1/2 Cup Approximately

Procedure:

 Soak saffron in 2 tbsp of warm milk.

In a large bowl take all purpose flour and add salt, cardamom powder and yeast.

Melt the butter and let it cool, once cool add it in the flour mixture.

  Now add in milk infused with saffron and condensed milk.

Add water little by little and make a soft dough by kneading for atleast 5-6 minutes. The dough will be little sticky. Transfer the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a cling film or damp kitchen towel. Keep the bowl in a warm place and allow it to rise so that it doubles in sizes, this will take around 45 minutes to 1 hour. We have very hot and humid weather here and my dough took around 35-40 minutes to double in size.

Once the dough has risen, punch it back and knead again for another minute or so. Place the dough in a greased loaf pan and cover it. Let it again rest for another 45 minutes.

Brush the top of the dough with little melted butter and keep the risen dough in pre heated oven at 180 Degrees C and bake it for 35-40 minutes or till the crust turns golden brown in colour. Keep an eye during the last few minutes as I did not and  my loaf's crust turned dark brown. When tapped the bread should sound hollow. Invert the bread onto a cooling rack and when it gets little cool, cut it into pieces. 

Notes:  My loaf turned out to be mildly sweet, but for a sweeter version instead of 1/4 cup add in about 1/2 cup of condensed milk and reduce the amount of water proportionately.

Ajwaini Bhindi (Okra With Carom Seeds)

As a kid I used to hate okras, the mere sight of this slimy veggie was enough to make me loose my appetite, but my mom never lost her hopes of seeing her stubborn daughter finish her okra meal. She used all the tricks under her hat to convince me to eat it. Mom used to say that if I eat okras then my brain will become sharp and I will excel in my mathematics, but I used to dash her hopes by neither eating okras nor scoring centum in my maths. Slowly over the years I acquired taste for okras, and now I love it in any form. Finally my mom's dream have come true but still that mathematics issue remains.........

Carom seeds or Ajwain are known to have many medicinal qualities, the seeds have thymol in them which aids in digestion. Carom seeds also help to control asthama and is effective in treatment of cold and flu symptoms. 

Ingredients:

Okra- 1/2 Kg

Oil- 2 Tbsp

Mustard Seeds- 1/2 Tsp

Cumin Seeds- 1/2 Tsp

Carom Seeds- 1 Tsp

Potato- 1 Medium Sized Cut into pieces

Onion- 1 Large Sliced Finely

Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tsp

Salt, Chilli Powder- To Taste

Coriander Powder- 2 Tsp

Dry Mango Powder- 1/2 Tsp

Procedure:

Wash the okras and completely dry them with a kitchen towel, if the okras are wet they will be very slimy. Now chop off and remove the crown of the okras and make slit from top to bottom vertically and horizontally, so that each okra is divided into four long stripes. If the stripes are too long then cut them in half.

Now take a deep frying pan and add oil in it, keep on gas. When the oil heats add in mustard, when the mustard starts crackling add in cumin and carom seeds. Now add in finely sliced onions and fry them, till they turn translucent. Add in potatoes and okras along with turmeric powder, mix everything well. Cover the pan with a lid and cook till the potatoes and okras are well done. Now add in salt, chilli powder, coriander powder and mango powder and gently mix everything together. Cook for another two to three minutes and then remove the pan from the gas. 

Serve hot with plain rotis, or parathas.