J's thoughts

I love to bake. It is therapeutic for me :) There is something about the measuring,sifting,kneading,pouring and seeing the fruits of my labour rising to glory in the oven. I have seen many bread recipes while roaming the cyber space but was a little scared to venture into trying a recipe; Until a friend of mine, who is an avid baker (oh my you just have to see her posts) posted photos of her home made bread on the social media. A little chat with her and she encouraged me and I went ahead and tried my hands at baking bread at home.  Oh my, bread making is a sticky process but at the end of it all, you feel proud of your creation. You can go wrong too if you are not careful. The bread can become dense if you knead it too much or add too much water. To sum it up, you need to try it out a few times before you can master it. Well, a semolina bread is what I would call a beginner bread baker recipe. You can never really go that wrong with this recipe. And a positive end ...

Upma is a breakfast item in south Indian households and it is one dish which can be prepared in no time if you have all the ingredients ready beforehand, You can use semolina,or wheat rava or oats to make upma. I  tried quite a few recipes till i found a method that works for me. So here goes my tried and tested version for soft fluffy upma. Ingredients: 1. Upma (semolina)  - 2 cups 2. Shallots - 8 - 10 3. Ginger (minced) - 1 - 11/2 tsp 4. Green chilli - 2 5. Cashews - 10  (optional) 6. Raisins - 1/4 cup (optional) 7. Water (hot) - 2 cups 8. Oil - 1 tbsp     Ghee - 2 tbsp 9. Urad dal - 1/2 tsp (optional) 10. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp 11. Curry leaves - a sprig (optional) 12. Salt - to taste Method: In a wok, heat the oil and ghee. Add the mustard seeds to this. When it starts spluttering add the urad dal(if using).  Then add the chopped green chillies, give it a stir and add the minced ginger.  Fry these for about 30 seco...