Savory Scottish Baps, Chicken Tetrazzini, Paneer-Potato Omelet

Hi everyone, hope your weekend was went well and had fun.
It's been raining heavy here for days. It's a welcome change although it also turned very humid, feels like we are living in New Orleans now! :)

I decided to bake some bread this week, made it savory instead just bland bread, they turned out very well. Here are the dishes I made last week to post today. Kids are at home, so there will more non-veg dishes prepared these days. Usually I am happier cooking vegetarian dishes if kids aren't home for lunch, I don't feel the need to cook meat dishes but got to please the meat lovin' kids!! :D
Savory Scottish Baps,
Chicken Tetrazzini,
Paneer-Potato Omelet/Omlette.

Savory Scottish Baps, my style!!
A traditional breakfast in Scotland, these soft and simple Heavenly little Breads are a delight to have any time of the day. Always made without sugar or spices traditionally, these buttery breads are excellent with just some honey, a dab of butter and Marmalade in the morning. But you know me!! I have got to add some spices to the dough to make them savory!! :P
If you skip spices and add some sugar to the basic recipe, you will have a sweet bread in your hand to enjoy breakfast even more. Basic recipe for Baps is from one of the "Bread" books by Williams-Sonoma series.

Flaky inside:
You can divide the dough as small or as big a portions as you want, it probably give you a about 10 or 12 palm size breads. If you find that this recipe is too much for your small family, you can divide the dough into 2 portions and freeze one portion in a zip lock bag for the next time or bake the breads and then freeze to just reheat for the next time.

To bake these, here is the basic recipe, you can add sugar or spices as you like:

1. Sift 3 cups Plain flour or Bread flour, 1 tsp salt and 1 pack (2 1/4tsp) quick-rise or regular Yeast together and put it in a bowl. (Can use 1/2 cup more flour if needed to knead later)
2. Heat 1 cup Milk (2% or half fat is okay) and 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) Butter until butter melts and stir until mixture is 110F, not too warm or too cold.
(Add 1 tbsp dry spices of your choice or 4 tbsp Sugar to the dough at this stage depending on sweet or savory bread or just use the basic recipe without any spice or sugar)
3. Add Milk to the flour mix and knead by hand or in the machine with dough hook, adding 1/2 cup more flour if needed until dough is soft, but not sticky.
4. brush some oil, cover and let it rise until double for about an hour. Punch down, divide to 10-12 portions.
4. Knead each ball, to flatten slightly to 1/2" round or oval shape, sprinkle and brush some flour on top, arrange them on thick baking sheets, cover and let them rise again for 20mins.

Preheat the oven 400F.
Uncover the bread, press the center of each bread with your index finger once or twice to make slight indentations. Bake the Baps for 15-18mins or until golden. Don't bake for a long time. Cool them well on a rack before storing in a zip lock bag. Freeze half of the bread if you like.

Chicken Tetrazzine:
Kids are home, so there will be more Meat dishes now at home than just vegetarian dishes these days. here is a delicious Noodle dish, smothered in yummy chicken Alfredo sauce baked with a crunchy and aromatic herb topping. You can replace the chicken in this dish with cubed Paneer or mixed vegetables to make vegetarian. Got he idea for this recipe from Giada but with some of my own improvisations to suit our taste. It's a long recipe but I will try and make it easy for you as I made it. Enjoy! :)


To bake Chicken Tetrazzine:
1. Cook about half lb of Linguine or Spaghetti or any Noodles in salted water and 1 tsp oil until soft. Drain the water and add the Noodles to a wide and deep casserole dish.
2. Heat a pan, add 1 tsp butter, add 2 cups cubed Chicken breast, sat and pepper and saute until pink is gone and chicken is almost cooked. Add chicken on top of the Noodles or add to the sauce.
To make sauce:
1. Heat 1 tbsp butter, add 1/4 cup diced Onion, 3 fresh garlic minced, saute until soft, don't let it color. You can add Mushrooms and Greenpeas at this stage to saute but I didn't add them.
2. Add 3 tbsp plain flour, stir well until raw smell goes. Add 1/2 tsp dry Thyme, Basil or any fresh or dry herb of your choice.
3. Add 4 cups of milk, gently simmer for 10mins or until slightly thickens or creamish. Add salt and pepper as needed, add 1/4 cream if you like for better taste. Add 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, mix, grate 1/4 tsp Nutmeg over it, add 1 tsp dry spices and herbs of your choice now.
4. Add this sauce on top of the Noodles and chicken evenly, sauce should be covering the whole Noodles. Make sure Noodles are covered in sauce.
5. Sprinkle 1/4 cup each Italian Bread crumbs, finely grated Cheddar cheese, 1/2 tbsp fresh or 1/2 tsp dry mixed herbs on top.

Bake:

Preheat oven to 400F.
Place the Casserole dish in the oven and bake for about 15-20mins until Tetrazzine bubbles. Don't let the top burn. Let it cool as the sauce thickens. Serve with a salad.

A delicious Paneer and Potato Omelet, just a quick Lunch!
Nothing special, something I made one day for lunch since kids are home and I am cooking for 3 at home for lunch now. I had tried Finla's ( of "happy Cook") Potato Omelet recipe once, we all loved it so much that I make it often. This time I added cubed Paneer along with some grated Potatoes and spices in the Omelet. It was absolutely delicious. Thanks for the idea Finla.

Golden flipped side, doesn't that look gorgeous?
1. Beat about 4 eggs well, add 1/4 cup diced onion, 1 minced Garlic, 1/4 cup raw grated Potatoes, salt, 1 tsp dry herbs and spices, 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, pepper, 1 tbsp finely chopped Cilantro.
2. Keep 1/2 cup cubed Paneer (Indian cheese or you use cubes of Spanish Queso Blanco) ready on the side.
3. Heat a non-stick wide mouthed pan on a medium heat, add 1-2 tsp butter. When it melts, swirl it around the pan. Add beaten Egg mixture.
4. When the Omelet is halfway done, sprinkle Paneer cubes on top and let it cook without burning the bottom on medium heat.
5. Shake the pan gently to release the bottom, slide the whole Omelet on a flat faced plate. Invert the pan over the plate and flip the whole Omelet upside down to cook the other side.
6. When done, cut Omelet in to wedges and serve with Toast.


Movie:
Watched "It's complicated", "Dear John" and "The Road" on DVD, pretty good movies to watch once.

I watched an old hilarious movie I must tell you about! It's called "The Gods must be crazy" by a South African director Jamie Uys. I had watched it many years ago but got the chance to watch again on DVD last week. It's about a tribe in Kalahari who were never touched by any kind of western culture ever before, never fought with each other, never hit or even raised their voices against the children, no jealousy among women or disharmony of any kind but then.....
One day a pilot who was flying over Kalahari desert just discards a Coke bottle from his plane and flies off. When that Coca Cola bottle hits the ground, it was found by one of tribal guy who didn't know what it was, takes it to his tribe. What that bottle starts, the problems it creates and changes that bottle brings in that whole tribal behaviors is something you need to see or watch in this movie. Absoultely amazing!! Oh, the humanity!! ;D
After the unexpected super duper success of this movie and the buzz it caused after it was released, there were many movies followed in the same name as sequels but none of them are as interesting as this first movie.
Here is a YouTube link which do have few trailers of this movie on the right side. Enjoy! :)

Planning to watch "Prince of Persia" this weekend.

Book:
Currently listening to Russian author, Playwright Anton Chekhov's "Tales of Chekhov Vol-1", love his stories. His numerous short stories and Plays have been translated in English, a great treasure to collect atleast some of his short stories book and Plays in your personal library. Here is WIKIPEDIA info about his life.

It's almost June already, can't believe how time flies! Enjoy rest of the week and the weekend.