Pita Bread

Days before, while dining out at one of our favourite restaurants(and a hang out place too) a menu was placed before us that had pictures of the dishes along with the title and description. Through visual viewing of the dishes it was easy to place the order afterwards. Since then I have been thinking to do something similar in my blog too, where an user would be able to select a recipe by viewing the picture of the dish along with the title. I started working on it and though it took me few days due to the limited time I'm able to devote to blogging daily I have finally come up with a new Recipe Index, the link to which I have provided at the top of the page. Hoping this would provide easy access to the recipes.With the page creation having taken much of my blogging time, today I'm here with a simple and easy dish-Pita Bread.

Pita bread is a type of flat bread and belongs to traditional Middle-Eastern cuisine. This soft and spongy bread can made with either wheat flour, all purpose flour or combination of both. This may be served along with dips like Hummus or may be wrapped around fillings like gyros, kebabs to form sandwiches. Pita bread is usually baked at high temperatures that cause the bread to rise and turn puffy. The dough is kneaded well for few minutes and left to ferment for few hours by placing it in a container greased with oil and covered with a damp dish towel. The fermented dough is then punched to release trapped air, spread with a roller and baked.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 tbsp yeast

1 tbsp sugar

Salt to taste

1.5 tbsp olive oil+ more for greasing

Warm water for making dough

Method:

• Dissolve granulated sugar in 1/4-1/2 cup warm water. Add yeast and keep in a warm place for about 15-20 minutes or until it rises and foam forms at the top.
  
• Mix the flour with oil, yeast and salt. Add enough warm water and make a smooth dough. Knead the dough for at least 7-8 minutes.
  
• Place the dough in a bowl greased with oil and lightly coat the surface of the dough with oil too.
  
• Cover the bowl with a damp towel and keep in a warm place for about 2.5 hours till the dough has doubled in volume.
  
• Punch the dough to release trapped air and divide into equal balls.
  
• Spread out each ball into any shape you desire-oval or round.
  
• Allow it to rest for at least 15 minutes before placing in oven.
  
• While its resting prepare your baking tray. Preheat oven to 400F(200C) and keep your baking tray inside the oven while in preheat mode.
  
• Bake for about 4 minutes. The bread should have puffed up after this time.
  
• Serve hot with hummus.
  

Pooja.

Other Middle-Eastern Dishes:

Hummus and an Award!!!

Hummus is a middle-eastern dip with chickpeas, olive oil, tahini(sesame seed paste) and few other ingredients. A few weeks after my arrival in US I was dining out for the first time here with one of our friends and family when they ordered Hummus as an appetizer. It was served with Pita bread. Not knowing what Hummus was at that moment they challenged me to figure out the ingredients. I tasted a bit and thought the taste was familiar...I could figure out garlic, lime but what was the thick paste made of...kept thinking..thinking... somewhere at the back of my mind I knew...but what? Suddenly it clicked,"Hey isn't this chickpeas?" Voila! That was how I was introduced to Hummus and I have loved it ever since.

No cooking time is required to make this dip and all you need is a food processor and a can of cooked chickpeas. Hummus is easy to prepare with canned chickpeas because they blend more easily rather than making with freshly cooked drained chickpeas. Lemon juice, garlic and tahini gives added flavour. Tahini can be obtained at grocery stores. To make tahini, sesame seeds are blanched in hot water to remove the outer skin that floats to the top. These are removed and the seeds are ground along with salt and olive oil.

It may be served as an appetizer, dip or used as sandwich spread...its left to your imagination! On days when I feel lazy to cook or don't have enough time I even make it as a dinner entree along with Pita bread. Chickpeas is a good source of proteins and fiber. Sesame seeds too are a good source of protein, vitamin E and is a powerful antioxidant. So when you mix all these together..wow!..you get a whole bunch of nutrients in one simple dish!

Ingredients:

1 13 oz can(400g) chickpeas(channa) drained

1 tbsp olive oil

Juice of 3/4th lemon

1.5 tbsp tahini

1/3 cup plain yoghurt

2 garlic cloves

Salt to taste

Method:

• Add chickpeas, tahini, yoghurt, salt, garlic, lemon juice to a blender/food processor and blend well until it turns into a smooth paste.
  
• Add olive oil and blend well to mix.
  
• Serve with Pita bread.
  

Tina of Kaipunyam.com has passed me this lovely award: Blogging With A Purpose. Thanks a lot Tina :)

Hummus goes to:

15 minutes cooking event hosted by Mahimaa.

AFAM Olives hosted by Priya of Easy n Tasty Recipes and started by Maheswari.

Pooja.

Other Middle-Eastern recipes:

Other Appetizers:

Dill Rice

Dill rice is another traditional dish of Persian cuisine. As said in my post on Kuku Sabzi I had the privilege of learning to make this simple, yet flavourful dish from our Iranian friend. Rice forms an important part of the cuisine and is served along with other side dishes, soups, stews, kebabs etc. It may be served plain or during occasions it is made with meat/fish/chicken along with vegetables and beans. Herbs like saffron, dill are used to enhance the flavour. There are many varieties of rice available in Iran and its said that Indian Basmati rice is similar to these varieties. The rice used in occasions, grown in Iran are known for their aroma.

My love for Persian cuisine lead me into researching more about the Persian techniques and came up with some information that I would like to share it with everyone.

There are three methods of cooking rice in Iran- Kateh, Damy and Polo.

In Kateh method rice is cooked until the water is completely absorbed.

The Damy method is similar to Kateh but at the start of cooking other ingredients like beans are also added to rice, heat is reduced minimum and cooked.

Here I have mentioned the Polo method of preparation where the rice is steamed in its own moisture. The rice is added to boiling salted water and cooked until the grains are no longer crunchy but firm. The rice(then called Chelo) is then drained using a colander. The pot used for cooking rice is greased with enough oil and rice mixed with chopped fresh dill is added in spoonfuls, heaped into a mound without touching the sides of the pot. The rice is then poked to make holes to allow the steam to pass. The top of the pot is covered with a towel to trap steam and the lid is placed tightly on top of this. This is then cooked until the rice is done. After cooking time a golden crust of rice(called Tah-deeg) forms at the bottom of the pot which is taken out by placing the pot in cold water and served along with the cooked rice.Instead of the golden rice crust, thin breads or tortillas or sliced raw potatoes may be placed at the bottom of the pot with the rice placed on top of this. The crusty, crunchy golden bread/tortillas are served along with rice. As I'm not very fond of having the crusty rice I have not used it here. This method of preparation yields fluffy rice, where the grains are completely separated and do not stick. A small amount of rice is taken, mixed with saffron and garnished by sprinkling over the rest of the rice.

Dill rice with Kuku Sabzi & Grilled Fish

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked Basmati rice/Long grain rice

1 cup chopped dill

Few strands of saffron dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water

Salt to taste

Few tortilla strips(optional)

Water for cooking rice

2 tbsp oil(or more)

Method:

• In a large pot bring salted water to boil. The amount of water should be more than double the amount of rice.
  
• Add washed rice and cook for about 5-8 minutes or until the grains are no longer crunchy but still firm.
  
• Drain the rice in a colander and mix with chopped dill.
  
• Add oil to the pot and then add rice slowly until it is heaped to a mound not touching the sides of the pot.
  
• Poke holes in the rice to allow steam to pass through.
  
• Cover the top of the pot with a towel to trap steam and place the lid of the pot tightly on top of this.
  
• Cook at medium heat for few minutes, then turn heat to low and cook until the rice is well cooked. It may take about 20 minutes or more for this step depending on the rice you use.
  
• After this stage a golden crust of rice should be formed at the bottom of the pot which is taken out by placing the pot in cold water. If you need golden crusty bread instead of rice, place few tortilla strips at the bottom of pot and then heap the rice on top of this and cook.
  
• Transfer the rice to a serving bowl.
  
• Take a small amount of rice, mix with saffron dissolved in water and garnish by sprinkling on top on of the rest of the rice.
  
• Serve with broken strips of golden crusty rice along with Kuku Sabzi and Grilled Fish. Enjoy!
  

This goes to Monthly Mingle-Ravishing Rice Recipes event hosted by Nags and started by Meeta.

Pooja.

Other Middle-Eastern dishes:

Kuku Sabzi

Kuku Sabzi is a famous Iranian dish. It is a herbed omelette, made with fresh herbs, spinach and eggs and has high nutritional value. This thick and fluffy omelette forms a complete meal with Persian dill rice, grilled fish and salad. This is one of the traditional New Year dishes in Iran. Its believed that the herbs symbolize rebirth and the eggs, happiness.

Herbs form an important part of the Persian cuisine. Saffron, cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices are frequently added to enhance the flavour of special dishes. This dish is traditionally prepared on stove top but can be baked too. The stove top method is usually preferred because it cooks relatively faster and is much more tastier. On stove top you have complete control over the dish, including temperature control and the omelette has to be flipped over and cooked after a certain period of time. The important point to be kept in mind is that only fresh herbs should be used for making the dish. It makes a world lot of difference to the overall taste.

Kuku Sabzi with Dill rice and Grilled Fish

I was introduced to Kuku Sabzi through an Iranian friend of ours who is a gifted cook and a renowned baker. I love her dishes especially the desserts..they taste heavenly! Before marriage my husband used to have this dish whenever he went to visit the family and used to get occasional cravings. The first thing that he told her on seeing them for the first time after marriage was,"Teach her how to make Kuku Sabzi!"

Spinach and herbs are chopped into small pieces, mixed with eggs and other spices and put into a pan greased with enough oil to prevent the omelette from sticking to the bottom of the pan and getting burnt. The pan should never be closed while cooking as the water oozing from spinach has to get evaporated and the dish has to become dry. The omelette is cooked on both sides until browned and well cooked. The omelette being thick cannot be flipped over as a whole and hence is cut into pieces before flipping over to the other side.

Spinach is rich in iron,calcium and other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in antioxidants.The combo of spinach along with fresh herbs and eggs rich in proteins makes a complete meal .This may be served as an appetizer or as a side dish.

Ingredients:

Eggs- 9

Fresh Spinach- 10 oz(283 g) chopped

Cilantro(coriander leaves) chopped- 1 cup

Fresh Dill chopped- 1 cup

Few basil leaves chopped(around 10 leaves)

Fresh chives chopped- 2 tbsp

Fresh parsley chopped- 1/2 cup

Spring onions(green onions)- 4 chopped

Sage-3/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Ground pepper- 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Nutmeg Powdered- 1/2 tsp

Italian seasoning - 2 tsp

Method:

• In a large mixing bowl add chopped spinach, cilantro, dill, basil, chives, parsley and spring onions. Mix well.
  
• Beat the eggs well and add to the above mixture.
  
• Add sage, salt, pepper, turmeric powder, Italian seasoning, nutmeg and mix well.
  
• Heat a wide mouthed pan at low-medium heat and grease with enough oil.
  
• Add the egg-herb mixture(if your pan is small add only half the mixture and cook in separate batches) and cook till the bottom surface is browned well and has become firm.
  
• Cut the omelette into halves with the spatula and flip each half to the other side. Before placing each half grease the pan with more oil.
  
• Cook until the bottom surface has turned brown and the whole omelette has become firm. Also a knife inserted into the center should come out clean.
  
• Remove from the pan, cut into pieces and serve hot.
  

This goes to:

SWC-Cooking with Greens event hosted by Soumya and started by Lakshmi.

Jhiva for Cilantro event by Cilantro.

Event for Eggs hosted by Sudeshna of Here I Cook.

Pooja.

Serve With:

Other Middle-Eastern dishes: